《Carefree Path of Dreams》 Chapter 1: Fang Yuan Chapter 1: Fang Yuan Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Clear Spirit Mountain. These mountains went on for hundreds of kilometers, with its depths unknown, and itsnds fertile. They were the lifeline of a mountain people. At this moment, two figures were walking deeper into the mountains together. Regardless whether it was jagged rocks or thick foliage, they walked on with ease as though they were passing through an empty in. Before long, a valley appeared before them. The breath of the earth rose from the ground, mixing with wisps of mist, forming crystal-like dew on the green leaves. As sunlight struck the droplets, the colours of the rainbow shimmered in the air. "Hmm...the breath of the earth rises, and it looks like springtime is permanent here. This is a decent ce. Where is that guy?" The man with a goatee, fierce eyebrows, and chicken w-like hands asked. He was d in a long green robe, with a piercing look in his eyes and a sort of careless aura about him. The other middle aged minister could only smile while wiping the cold sweat on his face. "Indeed... There¡¯s a separate sanctuary in this valley that was built by a good friend of mine. A virtuous young man lives there." "You¡¯re still calling him virtuous at this point in time?" The old man with a goatee asked coldly. "Sigh... His master and I had decades of friendship between us after all. Moreover, I¡¯ll owe him one this time... Sigh..." The minister¡¯s brows were furrowed as he gave multiple sighs. While they spoke, the both of them had already entered the mountain valley. This valley was not particrlyrge, but still had a sort of homely feel to it. A river flowed gently through the area, and its surroundings were quiet. In the centre, there was an extremely detailed haven which had tall hedges encircling it. In it grew some Vermillion Jade Rice. Each grain of rice appeared full of vitality and was also easy on the eyes. "Oh... This courtyard, thisnd, they¡¯re all not bad... That old friend of yours must be quite generous. It¡¯s a pity that he¡¯s dead..." The old man with the goatee shook his head. "Master Wenxin isted himself from civilisation, and did not bother himself with worldly affairs, but he was extremely well versed in medicine and botany. I only got acquainted with him by chance. That virtuous young man I spoke of was an orphan he adopted..." The minister exined with a shrug. Both of them continued ahead, before finally leaping over a hedge and knocking on a door. *Bang bang* The crisp sound echoed throughout the valley but there was no response. "Hmm? No one is home?" The minister was surprised and was even more so when the old man with the goatee barged right in. "Hmph! ying tricks with us?!" Within, they found a rustic and simpleyout. Other than some daily necessities, there was a small room as well. At the back of the building, there was a small door that led to arge flower garden. A spring gurgled through the garden. The sound of flowing water merged with the beautiful, colourful flowers surrounding the spring to form a picturesque scene. From behind a bunch of flowers, a youth stuck his head out. "So it is Uncle Lin? Please wait for a moment! Let me finish nting this tea flower!" He looked like he was 17 or 18, with eyes full of energy. His looks were very in and ordinary, and he wore clothes made of rough cloth. At this moment, his sleeves were rolled up, and the hem of his pants was stained with dirt, just like a professional farmer. "Oh, Fang Yuan, just tend to your chores first, I¡¯m not in a hurry!" Perhaps Minister Lin felt a little guilty, which was why heughed sheepishly while speaking. nting tea nts was an art, especially for this tea flower which preferred a cool environment and did not grow well in hot areas. Thus Fang Yuan found a cool corner near the spring, and carefully cing it into the soil. First, one had to loosen the soil, immediately water it and add fertiliser. Watering had to be done with water from a mountain spring that had been left to sit still for two days. As he executed these steps, Fang Yuan did not move quickly, instead using 100% of his focus, making people feel like they were watching an art performance. Once everything waspleted, Fang Yuan returned to the side of the spring, washing his hands and feet clean of dirt. The spring water originated from an underwater source, so it was cool but yet not chillingly cold. It was perfect. After cleaning up, Fang Yuan walked into the house, to face an old man with an unhappy look. "Uncle Lin, who is this?" He asked with a puzzled look on his face. "Ah... Let me introduce you to him!" Minister Lin broke into a chuckle, "This is Spirit Returning Sect¡¯s Outer Sect Deacon, Cold Iron Eagle Yu Qiuleng...Leiyue has just joined this sect..." "Greetings Mister Yu!" Fang Yuan broke into a big smile as he greeted his new acquaintance. "Hmph! You savage mountain men do not know your manners indeed. I¡¯ve waited for half a day, yet there hasn¡¯t been even a cup of tea!" Yu Qiuleng snorted. If it weren¡¯t for Minister Lin holding him back from the side, he really wanted to teach this brat a lesson. "I¡¯m sorry, my humble abode is rather run down, hence it held me back from serving you on time..." As for this, Fang Yuan raised his eyebrows and replied casually, before looking towards Minister Lin. "Uncle Lin, what¡¯s the purpose of your visit?" "Well...this...." Minister Lin stammered a little, and only a long whileter did he speak properly, face as red as a beetroot. "Lei Yue entered the Spirit Returning Sect, which is one of the top sects within a 100 mile radius, and also has a Wu Zong in it. The sect head tested Leiyue¡¯s aptitude and liked what he saw, so he took her in as a direct disciple. Now she will only learn the sect head¡¯s martial arts, and must be of pure yin, hence... your marriage with Leiyue..." "Hmph!" At this moment, Yu Qiuleng spoke, "Miss Leiyue is a valued disciple of my sect head, with exceptional aptitude. She¡¯ll possibly be able to advance to Wu Zong in the future..." He did not continue speaking, but the idea of a toad lusting after a swan¡¯s flesh [1] still seemed to make its way across the room. "Oh! So that¡¯s it!" Fang Yuan took in a deep breath, and slowly replied, "Both of you, please wait a moment." He then stood up and walked into the house. "Hmm?" This reaction caught Minister Linpletely off guard. He was sure that if he had met with such an incident when he was younger, he would definitely not have been able to keep his cool. "Could he be preparing to wage an all-out war on us?" Minister Lin was a little scared and looked at Yu Qiuleng at his side. Yu Qiuleng shot a nce over, making his intentions clear. Even if this youth wanted to pull a ¡¯panicking dog jumping over a wall¡¯ [3], he wouldn¡¯t be a match for this cold-faced iron eagle. "Uncle Lin!" The door to the hut burst open, and Fang Yuan walked over, holding a wooden box in his hand. "This is the marriage certificate for Miss Leiyue and myself. Since we got engaged, I¡¯ve thought about this a few times, and I realised that I can¡¯tpare to Miss Leiyue. Since Uncle Lin coulde today, you¡¯re actually helping me to resolve an issue that has been on my mind for some time." "Huh?" Minister Lin received the box while in shock, and after he opened it he saw the marriage certificate. It was real. Never did he expect things to go so smoothly, and he froze there for a moment, confused. However, Yu Qiuleng stood up and walked off with a ¡¯at least you know your ce¡¯ look in his eyes. "Sigh... Fang Yuan, I won¡¯t say much about anything else. You and Leiyue really are not fated to be together... This is a small gift, please take it!" Minister Lin took out a small package while red-faced. "Since it is a gift from Uncle, then I¡¯ll ept it graciously." Fang Yuan couldn¡¯t see what was inside either, and just epted the gift. "Good! Good!" The calmer Fang Yuan was, the more uneasy Minister Lin felt. He pulled Yu Qiuleng away and left swiftly. ... "Hmm, it¡¯s the deed to thend for the entire secluded valley. So Minister Lin could actually pull strings to get this. He¡¯s actually quite generous." After the both of them left, Fang Yuan opened up the package to see a title deed, a few pieces of gold and silver, and a jade bottle. He naturally knew that this Minister Lin set up the arranged marriage between Leiyue and himself because Master Wenxin had saved Minister Lin¡¯s life before. But now that Fang Yuan¡¯s backer had fallen, and the girl had climbed to a much higher position, being able to discuss the marriage annulment amicably instead of falling out was already a blessing. In reality, he didn¡¯t have much of a choice. That was why he received theirpensation gracefully. Otherwise, there would only be hate and anger, which could easilynd him in more trouble. "Instead of agreeing, should I have shouted back and eventually get eliminated in an attempt to remove any future threats?" Fang Yuan chuckled as he mumbled to himself. Thankfully, he was an optimistic person and had only met with Leiyue only a few times, so there wasn¡¯t any love between them. As for humiliation, reputation, etcetera... For a person that lived isted in the woods, could those mountain chickens and rabbitsugh at him? As long as he didn¡¯t care about it, his reputation in the outside world was but a strand in the wind. Nothing to worry about. Since he wasn¡¯t afraid of losing face, not taking thepensation from the girl¡¯s party would be simply a waste. "Eh? Vermillion Jade Seeds?" Upon closer inspection after opening the jade bottle, he eximed in surprise. Inside the jade bottle, there were little grains as shiny as jade, round and full, in a beautiful shade of vermillion. They had a fiery aura about them, potentially making people salivate while gazing upon them. This was a valuable spiritual nt that Fang Yuan had been searching for since a long time ago. He had requested for it from Minister Lin before, and he had finally gotten it. "Mhmm, this Vermillion Jade Rice is of the yang element, but has to be nted during a yin period [4]. I¡¯ll nt them in that newly cleared patch ofnd tonight..." Fang Yuan gazed at the jade bottle one more, with a silly smile on his face. ...... Outside of the valley. "Sigh..." Minister Lin let out a long sigh. Although he had set his mind on this a long time ago, when he saw Fang Yuan¡¯s ssy and unyielding attitude today, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a tinge of regret. "What is it? Minister Lin is troubled?" Yu Qiulengughed beside him. "The marriage has been annulled, and he has epted thepensation. Even if he decides to cause trouble in the future, we will have the moral high ground... Of course, if you¡¯re still worried, I can go back and eliminate this problem." "No No!" Waving both of his hands, Minister Lin protested, "I just feel that Fang Yuan is really a decent chap, it¡¯s a pity that Leiyue..." "Hmph, if that daughter of yours bes a Wu Zong in the future, she¡¯ll be able to choose any young man she wants, so why should you keep thinking about a mere mountain boy?" Lei Qiuleng sarcastically remarked. "Of course, if you still find it a pity, you can get another one of your daughters to marry him! As long as it¡¯s not Miss Leiyue, our sect head won¡¯t care." "Sigh..... Since this has already happened, how would I still have the face to bring it up..." Minister Lin sighed again and picked up his pace. The two of them walked on further into the distance until they vanished beyond the mountains. [1] This is a Chinese idiom, which refers to someone very undeserving or under qualified yearning for something that is beyond his reach. [2] It refers to a cornered person acting out of desperation [3] Yin and Yang, a Chinese philosophical concept. The yin element is negative/passive/female in nature while the yang element is positive/active/male in nature. Bothplement each other in order to be whole. Chapter 2: Stats Chapter 2: Stats Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions It was midnight and there was a clear moon. At the back of the valley, there was a hidden pathway. After a short walk through a shrub, the view ahead was a vast grasnd with much flora and fauna. When the sun rose, the view of the valley is clear. This surprised Minister Lin and Yu Qiuleng, but since they had already arrived, why not probe further? The rice grains here wererge as a pearl and shone under the moonlight. There was also a fertile Jasper fruit tree. The deeper the colour, the stronger the medicinal effects of the Tuber Fleeceflower, and the ones here were purplish-ck. There was also the Dragon Fruit Tree, Blue Star Grass, and many othermon medicinal nts and food; it was as though the ce had undergone a shocking transformation. Of course, if people found out about this ce, they would definitely take advantage of it. Only in the legends would there be such a miraculous ce! And this type of ce belonged to the Spirit Returning Sect. If Fang Yuan had known about this ce, he would scoff because only he knew that although this ce was fertile, it was still notparable to what was described in the legends. "Master..." Fang Yuan stood in front of an empty tombstone with sorrow upon him. He was an orphan and was adopted by Master Wenxin. Master Wenxin was a highly talented and easy-going individual, who was an expert in botany and medicine. Before his passing, he instructed Fang Yuan to cremate his body, scatter it across mountains, and if Fang Yuan ever wanted to pay his respects, erecting an empty tombstone would suffice. After instructing Fang Yuan, Master Wenxin closed his eyes for the final time, and Fang Yuan had no choice but to journey alone. He guessed that his Master had too many enemies and was afraid that they would look for him even after his death, which was why he decided to cremate his body and erect the empty tombstone, so there was no way others could track Master Wenxin. "I nted your favourite tea flowers... and the Nine Purple Grains have started to germinate..." Fang Yuan continued to mumble to the empty tombstone, "Oh... and Minister Lin came to annul the marriage, but he sent us many gifts, including the Vermillion Jade Rice you mentioned. I shall nt it tonight!" After his final prayers, Fang Yuan went to a specific empty plot ofnd. The moon rose to the top and the moonlight was bright, making it rather visible. With the aid of the moonlight, Fang Yuan used a hoe and carefully dug a hole and scattered the Vermillion Jade Rice in it. "This Vermillion Jade Rice needs to be nted at night, the water needs to be directly from the sky, the spring water within the valley can barely be adequate. When first sowed, the soil has to be loosened every six hours, and it must beplemented with Still Fire Liquid..." Fang Yuan mastered [Botany] under the guidance of Master Wenxin, butcked hands-on practice. Though it seemed effortless, his sweat trickled into the soil. The spiritual nts were far more delicate than other types of nts, and therefore nting them requires more effort. When Fang Yuan nted thest of them, the sun¡¯s brightness had already begun to shine through the horizon. "Phew... Finally, it¡¯s done..." Fang Yuan wiped his sweat and heaved a long sigh, "Since this is a spiritual nt, it should have advanced my [Botany]?" Deep down in his heart, there was a secret. From young, he would often enter a dream. In the dream, it was weird but felt real to the touch. Within the dream, he felt like he was experiencing another life. Living in the secluded valley and rarely taking a step out, it was surprising that his actions were rather matured for his age, and wiser than normal. Additionally, there was another bonus, or rather, a gift. Apanying Fang Yuan¡¯s thoughts, a sight only he can see appeared in front of him, "Full name: Fang Yuan Essence: 1 Spirit: 1 Magic: 1 Age: 18 Cultivation: None Technique: None Skills: [Medicine (Level 1)], [Botany (Level 2)]" This dream-like game vision was Fang Yuan¡¯s biggest secret. It also has a special function. When he looked at ¡¯Skill¡¯, more information popped out, "[Medicine (Level 1)] - Can heal simple wounds, including mild wounds, and with the aid of medicinal nts can achieve even better results." "[Botany (Level 2)] - Skilled botanist, can grow any simple nts to its fullest potential!" So [Botany] was the reason behind the fertile mountains and valleys. "Essence, Spirit and Magic should be inborn within one, while techniques and cultivation should be one¡¯s initiative, andstly, skill is passive and requires assistance from others..." After many years of thought, Fang Yuan understood his characteristics even more. "The present-day me has simr physical qualities as a normal adult, but with skills..." He already realised that within skills, there should be an attribute like experience which limited growth. Only through intense training and improving one¡¯s ability would the skill level be increased. Take [Medicine] for an example. Even though Master Wenxin had unparalleled Medical skills, and could give focused guidance to Fang Yuan, but unfortunately Fang Yuan had limited subjects to practise his medical skills on, and he couldn¡¯t possibly use his Master as a subject. Due to theck of hands-on practice, from the start till now he was still stuck at Level 1. Even so, he had earned Master Wenxin¡¯s praise and thought that he had achieved three-tenth of Master Wenxin¡¯s skill. On the contrary, his [Botany] improved tremendously after Master Wenxin¡¯s passing as he had no more considerations. Through his intense training, he managed to attain Level 2 in [Botany], and the results were unparalleled. Based on Fang Yuan¡¯s own guess, even Master Wenxin was not as skilful as himself in terms of botany. After reaching Level 2, it seemed that his progress in [Botany] came to a halt, even though he nted numerous nts it was seemingly difficult to level up. After countless of uneventful tries, Fang Yuan decided to try out on spiritual nts and deity nts. Since these nts were very rare, even Minister Lin himself had to wait for his daughter to be promoted in the Spirit Returning Sect before being able to acquire these nts as a form of a gift. "Vermillion Jade Rice... even being the lowest grade of spiritual nts, but within the Spirit Returning Sect, I believe only a Wu Zong and his descendants can enjoy it..." Fang Yuan heaved a sigh. Minister Lin gave it to him as a present purely to make it up to him and had no thoughts of Fang Yuan having any achievements. In fact, this was true. Without his [Botany], Fang Yuan wouldn¡¯t have wanted the spiritual nts. However, if Minister Lin could help him attain a Level 2 in [Botany] with the aid of the spiritual nts, that was enough! Now was the time to see the results! Fang Yuan stared at the soil covering the Vermillion Jade Rice. Apanying the sunrise, a white light only visible to him appeared from the ground and slowly gathered around the ¡¯Skill" segment of his information. Behind the ¡¯Botany¡¯, the ¡¯Level 2¡¯ wordings became blurred, jumped and became ¡¯Level 3¡¯! Level 3 [Botany]! Fang Yuan rubbed his eyes, made sure that what he saw was true, smiled to himself and eximed, "Haha...Haha... I¡¯ve seeded!!!" The reason behind is happiness was because the description for his [Botany] had changed, "Botany (Level 3) - You are undoubtedly the professional in this field, harnessing unlimited potential, through your nts. There is a slight chance that they might evolve to have special traits!" Slight chance or not doesn¡¯t matter to Fang Yuan, but this meant that one¡¯s own skill and ability could be improved through one¡¯s intense training! Once this thought had been proven, it showed that Fang Yuan could achieve something in this world! Afterall, it was just a normal [Botany] skill level advancement, but what entailed was unbelievable. Imagine other skills or even martial arts, what are the possibilities? "Evolving into special traits?" After calming down, Fang Yuan immediately explored his newfound ability. "All those normal nts can grow to their fullest potential in my hands, maybe... these normal nts can evolve into spiritual nts?" He mused for a little, and inside of him was excitement waiting to burst out. If his spection was correct, then the news of his newfound skill must not go out. Otherwise, he might be captured by other forces and be forced to undergo experiments like a guinea pig or might be a gardener for life. "After confirming my new ability, should I be looking for a set of martial arts techniques..." After calming down, Fang Yuan looked at his breakfast, feeling vexed. Resources were plentiful within the valley, and the food he prepared for himself was exceptional. The main course was a freshly caught barbequed fish, smoked till the outside was crispy and the inside tender, with no fishy smell. It melted in his mouth and the texture was extremely smooth. His drink was pure mountain spring water, sweet to the taste and refreshing. Other than that, there were nutritious Solomon¡¯s Seal [1], and a skewer of red berries. He first dug into a cooked Solomon¡¯s Seal, then took arge bite from the barbequed fish, "Mmmm... Delicious! Delicious! I¡¯ve heard that Spirit Returning Sect is thergest Sect within a 100 miles, I wonder how the atmosphere would be like, or how a Wu Zong would be? Thinking about it, I don¡¯t¡¯ even know how the outside world looks like! What a pity... Master did not leave behind any secret martial arts manual, isn¡¯t he a low-profile revered individual? How is it possible that he doesn¡¯t have any secret martial arts manual to pass down? This doesn¡¯t add up!" After living in the secluded valley for eighteen years, Fang Yuan grew restless and wanted to see the outside world. "Now I should unlock my own potential first... the outside world is interesting, but dangerous as well. Considering my small physique, I should quietly train first!" After eating, he returned to his room feeling satisfied and slept soundly. Not long after, he entered into his dream. [1] Solomon¡¯s Seal is a real nt, try googling it! Chapter 3: Spiritual Tea Chapter 3: Spiritual Tea Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The fire from the burning charcoal was heating the bottom surface of the small red teapot constantly, boiling the tea inside the teapot. Water bubbles started forming, with hot steam rising into the surroundings. In front of Fang Yuan ced a tea set. He prepared the tea meticulously, firstly by letting the tea to be boiled. The first set of tea was not to be consumed as it was used to clean the tea set. After which, the teapot was sealed immediately with the next set of tea boiling, ready to be poured evenly to the teacups and served. Every motion in this process was so natural that one can even sense the peace and tranquility. Though Fang Yuan¡¯s house was simple, he had tea leaves. Having that tea leaves was not the only thing that was special in his house as the tea leaves was one of the premium goods cultivated by him personally. Besides, he showed superior standards in the preparation of tea ceremonies, which was wellmended by Master Wenxin. Of course, the previous visitor was wicked and so did not experience such great treatment. The surrounding of the teacups was filled with the fragrance of the tea. Fang Yuan gently lifted up his teacup in a calm motion and began tasting the tea slowly. To him, the tea ceremony was not just for self-cultivation, but also to remember Master Wenxin¡¯s works. Although Master Wenxin did not teach Fang Yuan martial arts, he did teach Fang Yuan the techniques of the meditative tea ceremony. Making tea helped to cleanse the soul, which helped the state of the soul to have a greater sense of well-being. But why a great sense of well-being? A grandmaster once said, " Not thinking of one¡¯s body, not fiddling one¡¯s intelligence, being separated from the body, free from the shackles of wisdom and bing as one with mother earth. This is the state which has the greatest sense of well-being." The main idea behind Master Wenxin¡¯s tea ceremony was to have a unity of man and nature, so as to achieve the great sense of well-being. For Fang Yuan, he loved making tea. He even went to look for a tea set that was of high quality just to make tea. However, things were different now. From the tea aroma, Fang Yuan only felt warmth to his stomach, and then a thinyer of coldness, thus bringing a cooling effect, making him forget how cold or hot the surroundings had be. Living in the valley and not disturbed by the chaos from the world elsewhere, Fang Yuan drank and cultivated tea every day with a strong will and determination. To achieve his goals, he had to be determined and have the will to concentrate. After tea, it was the best time to reorganise his thoughts as his mind would be clearer. "Recently, I have gathered all the crops in the valley and re-cultivated with [Botany (Level 3)], and indeed the result is very different. The result shows that I have improved further aspared to his previous best results. The mutation probability is also extremely low since there is not even one case appearing in the whole valley. Of course, it is hard to say for now as the Vermillion Jade Rice is not harvested yet..." Shaking his head, Fang Yuan got up to get the hoe, bamboo baskets and other equipment before starting on his daily cultivation of crops on the farm. Watering the crops, adding fertiliser, loosening of soil and then treated in ordance to the needs of the different crops. The whole process was a smooth one. At high noon, Fang Yuan sat on the rocks and quickly drank a gourd of spring water. Looking at his farm, he felt as though a farmer had just harvested his crops, heart filled with joy. Fang Yuan then started consuming the rice balls that he had prepared in the morning and a sh appeared in his eyes again; "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 1 Spirit: 1 Magic: 1 Age: 18 Cultivation: None Techniques: None Skills: [Medicine (Level 1)], [Botany (level 3)]" ... "Essence, spirit and magic refer to my physical fitness....." Thanks to the care by Master Wenxin and his botany skills, Fang Yuan didn¡¯t really suffer in his early days. He was well fed and taken care of, allowing his foundations to be strong at the age of 18 and simr whenpared to other adults. "[Botany (Level 3)], with a very low chance of evolving into special traits...." Fang Yuan sighed and then continued eating his rice balls. The rice balls were made from the Pearl Jade Crystal Rice cultivated in the farm. Each rice grain was as small as a baby¡¯s thumb size. The rice grain was as if an art piece as it was clear and bright. The fragrance of the cooked rice was excellent. One could feel the crisp of the cooked rice which was iparable to glutinous rice. The rice even tasted great without any side dishes. The rice was best served with sour beans and sour plums. Jade Crystal Rice had a very high nutritional value. Jade Crystal Rice soup could be fed to babies in recement of milk. Fang Yuan only ate one rice ball and he was recharged with energy. He then began to continue his work. "The Fragrance ball and Rutaceae are ready to be harvested. Old Tian from the Medicine Hall should be here soon to collect them in exchange for salt and oil...." Sometimes, Fang Yuan went around his farm to pluck a few fruits to eat and to ponder about future ns. A few momentster, a touch of green met his eyes, making Fang Yuan slow down his footsteps and whispered "Hey". Hereid a tea forest and the tea trees were specifically chosen to grow tea leaves which were straight t. The tea leaves also had a fresh orchid fragrance to it, which make the tea leaves Fang Yuan¡¯s favourite. However, at that moment, something was different. Among all the tea trees, there was one that had a jasper-like tea leaves growing out, giving a crystal colour. The tea leaves from that particr tree were so special that without going through the process of frying of tea leaves, these leaves were able to give out a very strong fragrance on its own. This fragrance helped to keep the mind awake, leaving a strong aftertaste. "Premium tea leaves! The premium of the premium!" Fang Yuan gathered near that tea tree. "So this is the mutated result of the level 3 Botany tea leaves? Has this Houkui [1] be a spiritual nt?" Unfortunately, he had only seen the grains of the Vermillion Jade Rice, making it impossible for him topare. However, such leaves were definitely special! "It¡¯s afternoon, time is just right!" Seeing this tea tree, Fang Yuan put aside all his worries at that moment and began plucking the special tea leaves to make tea happily. "No... this is so tempting. I cannot endure anymore!" After plucking those jasper-like tea leaves, Fang Yuan immediately put a leaf into his mouth. "Ooohh...." At the start, there was just bitterness but after which, a very strong taste of orchid came. His tongue felt bitter with numbness as if it was electrocuted. A clean stream went straight into his mind, making Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glitter, "Spiritual leaf! Definitely a spiritual leaf!" "There is meaning in the bitterness. The original taste alone has such great vour, I wonder what happens if such tea leaves are brewed into tea?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes shone. Nighttime. Fixing, kneading, baking..... Fang Yuan was familiar with the procedures. The effect was still the same even though this time, the tea leaves were different. Under the fire, he looked at the jasper-like tea leave. His face became sluggish, saying "Beautiful....so beautiful! This newly made spiritual tea is like an art piece!" Fang Yuan then took out his tea set and went on with the brewing of tea. At the end, the fragrance of the spiritual tea filled the surroundings, making the ce feel as if it was in the Temple of Heaven. "I can¡¯t forget this excellent fragrance and taste. It is definitely a special tea!" At that moment, Fang Yuan became calm. The tea ceremony was a process which included the cleaning of tea leaves. The process also removed one¡¯s distractions. Fang Yuan¡¯ eyes glittered. His thoughts had be innocent as if they were like a pure child¡¯s. A tea taster firstly smells the fragrance and then the colour of the tea. Just by the fragrance and the colour of the tea, looking a the cup filled with green clear liquid, Fang Yuan was moved as soon as his lip touched the teacup. Boom! It was as if a lightning bolt struck in his head. As if he became a lone tourist walking among the heavy thorns, his tongue and taste being imprisoned by the bitterness of the tea. While he was suffering, the thorns disappeared. He began to taste fragrance of the tea, as if the fragrance was like a sh flood, breaking the walls of bitterness, allowing the fragrance to take over the bitterness. Fang Yuan stared into nk space. His eyes glittered. Normally, after tasting something good, one will be moved with tears flowing down. Fang Yuan thought this would only happen in his dreams but did not expect a cup of tea could produce such effect as well. "Good!" Finishing a cup, he began making another. The fragrance of the tea gradually faded away, but the taste of the tea became even stronger. After 4 cups, the taste and the fragrance of the tea still lingered. "Hoooo....." After finishing the whole pot of tea, Fang Yuan exhaled with a long breath. The taste of the tea still lingered in his mouth, leaving asting aftertaste. "This tea.... It is definitely special. It seems to be able to question the heart..." Fang Yuan wiped away his tears, "Just one such product can make me feel as if my soul has been cleansed..... I wonder if this the effect of the spiritual object? Or is it just a fateful coincidence that a miracle happened with thebination of spiritual tea and meditative tea ceremony?" He began questioning this miracle and subconsciously, he started calling out for his stats before staring into a nk space. At that moment, his stats changed: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 1 Spirit: 1 Magic: 1.2 Age: 18 Cultivation: None Techniques: None Skills: [Medicine (Level 1)], [Botany (level 3)]" "Magic increased by 0.2?" Fang Yuan looked at his stats and mumbled. These 3 stats: essence, spirit and magic did not have any changes since they rose to a value of 1 after his 18th birthday, Now, however, his magic stats actually increased by 0.2! No wonder Fang Yuan suddenly felt full of energy and was quick-witted, as if he became a lot smarter. "ording to theories, essence, spirit and magic are called the 3 treasures, which are the foundation of man" "And ording to my observations and hypotheses, essence refers to the body, the physical strength, the bones and other tangible parts of the body. Spirit refers to the non-tangible part of the body, like the power of the blood. Finally, magic, which refers to the mind, will, perception etc." "Essence, spirit and magic; these 3 statsplement each other and have their own magical effect!" Fang Yuan looked at the leftover tea leaves with his eyes glittering. "This tea actually helps to cleanse one¡¯s soul and increases the magical effect of it as well. I shall name this tea ¡¯Questioning Heart Tea¡¯." [1] Houkui is a type of tea leaf Chapter 4: Questioning the Heart Chapter 4: Questioning the Heart Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "This Questioning Heart Tea, when brewed and consumed directly, already work wonders. But whenplemented with the Meditative Tea Ceremony, it will boost your magical abilities!" Fang Yuan sat up straight in front of the table, gazing at the tiny clump of tea leaves on it as he pondered. After he considered all that he had learnt, he experimented with the tea leaves as per what he did in his dreams. One ought to know that when brewed directly, without the sincerity and reservedness of the Tea Ceremony, the Questioning Heart Tea retains its taste and will still have a purifying effect on the soul, but its effect on boosting one¡¯s magical capabilities is lost. This revtion further convinced Fang Yuan that Master Wenxin was a miracle worker. The second point to consider was an even greater source of regret for Fang Yuan. "This Questioning Heart Tea is most effective when consumed the first time, and its efficacy diminishes beyond that...there should be a limit. Could this be an issue with tolerance?" Out of habit, Fang Yuan recorded these thoughts on paper. Experimenting, standardising, recording, will create solid foundations that future experiments can be based on. This too, Fang Yuan learnt from one of the lives he led in his dreams. Even though he was only 18, he lived a whole life in that dream. It was a pity that ever since he entered adulthood, the dreams went away. "Acquiring this extraordinary item was a matter of great luck. I should be happy." Fang Yuanforted himself and began his daily work on patrolling the valley grounds. "Hm, what should I do with the Questioning Tea nt? Transnt it?" As he walked on, creases lined his brows. Although the botanic garden behind the Spirit Valley was hidden, it was not impregnable. Through his rtions with Minister Lin, Fang Yuan obtained the title deed for Spirit Valley and ten miles of the surroundingnd. The spiritual nts had their temptations, and Fang Yuan was not about to trust anyone to go near them. The mutated Questioning Heart tea nt was too conspicuous, and if it were to be discovered, it would be coveted by many. Transnting it would be for the best. On the other hand, Fang Yuan had no need to worry about the Vermillion Jade Rice crops, for they were the least spiritual among the nts and had exinable origins. "I wonder what the spiritual rice tastes like." Fang Yuan rubbed his chin and felt a rising sense of excitement. He was pleasantly surprised when he arrived at the Vermilion Jade Rice field. In front of his eyes, fiery red shoots were springing out of the earth, and they reminded him of the lotus nt¡¯s sharp corners. This was a ce full of life. "It¡¯s really budding?" Fang Yuan was ted. After all, Master Wenxin taught him that the spiritual nts relied very much on blessed soil to flourish. In other ces, even the most fertile soil and idylldscapes would only support the growth of low-level spiritual crops. The Spiritual Red Corn crop might be unsightly, but they were spiritual after all! To think that Fang Yuan himself could grow these crops on normalnd. If he could grow the Vermilion Jade Rice crops on morend, not even the Spirit Returning Sect would be as rich as he. "The Spirit Returning Sect thinks very highly of themselves, but can they eat Spiritual Rice every day? Well, I can!" Fang Yuan¡¯s lips curled up into a slight smile. His eyes gleamed. Suddenly, he let out an exmation and ran to the edge of the field. "This..." What he saw before his eyes made him ck-jawed. The blue-eyed grass patch on the bordends of the blooming field was yellowing at the edges. Some of the greenery was clearly withering away. It was as if they had been robbed of their vitality. And the Yellow Fruit Tree, the Grapefruit Rattan...all the nts that were close to the Vermilion field shared the same fate. "No way...I grew these low maintenance nts to supplement the Red Corn crops. I thought they¡¯d even make the soil more fertile..." Fang Yuan took in the sight before him and had a sudden realisation. "The spiritual nts are so overbearing. They actually sucked the essence out of the neighbouring nts. Well, this was bound to happen anyway. This piece ofnd is toomon to sustain the spiritual crops with its own power." At this thought, Fang Yuan promptly sped towards the tea garden and carefully examined the immediate surroundings of the Questioning Heart tea nt. As expected, the Questioning Heart tea nt was blooming fervently, but at the expense of the tea nts around it, which disyed signs of lifelessness. "I guess the next time I grow the Spiritual crops, I have to grow them separately. Either that or I¡¯ve got to make sure that thend is fertile enough to support their growth. Otherwise, they would exert a dire impact on their surroundings." Fang Yuan bit his lip. "There must be a way around this. Isn¡¯t it just because thend is not high-yielding enough? I could dump more fertile soil on the crops, spray Fire liquid on them thrice a day, add some Fire fertiliser around them...I¡¯mcking in some of these materials though. Aha! Old Tian is the man to look for!" Old Tian was an employee of a medical hall in the outside world and was in charge of buying and collecting herbs. Sometimes, he would go to the mountains personally to pick these herbs. Once, he was bitten by a poisonous snake and was coincidentally rescued by Master Wenxin. Thus, a friendship was formed, and Old Tian regrly brought essential items to the master-disciple duo in exchange for herbs. ording to Master Wenxin, Old Tian gave reasonable prices for his goods and was a down-to-earth fellow. Fang Yuan had listened and therefore kept up a regr correspondence with Old Tian. In any case, Fang Yuan had supplied premium herbs with very potent medicinal properties to Old Tian in their past few interactions. Old Tian must have made a tidy profit from them. "Young Master! Young Master!¡¯¡¯ Old Tian¡¯s voice broke into Fang Yuan¡¯s stream of thought. "Ah, Old Tian, it¡¯s you. Come in!" Fang Yuan greeted Old Tian at the valley entrance with a grin and invited him in. Old Tian was a funny-looking specimen of a man. He had long limbs, protruding lips and sunken cheeks. He reminded Fang Yuan very much of a big ape, and he had a sly gaze that was typical of the mountain folk. He was carrying a bamboo basket on his back and ced it down breathlessly. Old Tian rubbed his hands and smiled apologetically. "Look, Young Master. The items that you asked for thest time, I have them here." "Well done. It¡¯s been hard on you, Old Tian!" The mountain roads went a long way, and any normal person would have found them difficult to navigate, much less travel on them with such a heavy load. "The Yellow Fruits have ripened. Wait here. I¡¯ll go fetch them." Fang Yuan beamed. "Sigh..." What should have been tion on Old Tian¡¯s features was instead a look of hesitation. Old Tian then began grinding his teeth. "Err...there is something you must know, Young Master. I don¡¯t think we can trade anymore." "Oh?" Fang Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly. "But Old Tian, were you not pleased with the herbs you received thest time? Or did you find my prices too extortionate? These matters are all up for discussion." "No no no! The herbs and spices cultivated by Master Wenxin are undeniably top grade. As for you, Young Master, even the herbs on the highest mountains or in thickest forests cannotpare to the ones you gave me in terms of their richness in quality. It¡¯s just that..." Old Tian iled his arms. "In any case, it won¡¯t work out anymore!" "Alright then!" Having tested Old Tian, Fang Yuan had gained a rough idea of what was going on. He let out a grin. "If that¡¯s the case, then let us at least clear our inventory this time round. Have a seat Old Tian. It¡¯s gettingte. Why not stay for a meal and some tea before you leave?" "A meal?!" Old Tian gulped. He could almost smell the fragrance of the Crystal Rice he had dug into thest time he visited. The uncertainty he had felt previously was ovee by his inner glutton. "If Young Master would kindly spare two rice buns, this old man would be ever so grateful..." Old Tian showed no more signs of leaving. It was as if his legs were rooted into the ground. Fang Yuan suppressed a giggle. In the world beyond the valley, Crystal Rice was a superior grain that only affluent families could afford. The Crystal Rice crop cultivated by Fang Yuan was even better in quality. Old Tian only had one serving thest time and was already spellbound. He had even requested for some seeds, but it did not take a genius to figure out what happened to his crop. "You are too courteous, Old Tian. Your visits to the valley are rare asions, and I like to think that I am a decent host." Fang Yuan smiled as he entered his hut, and before long, a rich aroma filled the air. Old Tian craned his name and sniffed with all his might. His look of intense eagerness made him look even more monkeyish. It was a hrious sight. "Do put up with this simple meal!" Fang Yuan reappeared from the hut with a wooden trayden with two bowls of Crystal Rice and two more food dishes. One of the dishes was a freshly picked cucumber, rinsed in spring water and served in slices. They looked like exquisitely carved pieces of jade. The other dish was pickled beans. The fragrance of the dish wafted into Old Tian¡¯s nose and made his stomach grumble in response. "Excellent! Marvellous!" Of course, the star of the show was the pearl-like granules of Crystal Rice in the wooden bowls. Their aroma, mixed in with the fragrance of the pickled beans, had Old Tian enthralled. Old Tian decided to help himself and descended into the rice bowls with relish, letting out grunts of satisfaction at intervals. Like a raging storm, Old Tian had polished off threerge bowls of Crystal Rice and the two dishes. He then seemed to realise that his behaviour was unseemly, and gave a rueful grin. "Young Master, your culinary skills are legendary. None of the dishes served at the most expensive banquets in the city canpare to the ones you cook!" "Comee, have some tea!" Fang Yuan calmly served Old Tian a cup of tea with a look of indifference. This was a cup of Questioning Heart Tea, but it was not prepared via the Meditative Tea Ceremony. Fang Yuan had long nned to use it on someone so that he could observe its effects for himself. It was just as well that Old Tian had turned up. "Smells good!" Although not brewed ording to the proper procedures, but the tea was clear and had a pleasant scent. It was the perfect post-meal beverage. Old Tian¡¯s hands were trembling as he fetched the cup over. "I¡¯ve never seen a finer breed of tea in my life. Is this a new variety cultivated by Young Master?" Fang Yuan merely smiled in reply and said nothing. Old Tian dared not ask further and without further ado, emptied the cup in one fell swoop. Kaboom! As the tea flowed down his throat, Old Tian felt as though a great waterfall had descended into his body and purified his heart and soul. There was also a rush into his brain that triggered vivid images of his life thus far - his childhood poverty, the struggle of his youth, the hardships of his current days. Old Tian could not help but feel a wave of immense sadness, and tears flowed down his cheeks in steady streams. Fang Yuan observed the interesting changes of expression taking ce on Old Tian¡¯s face with glee. "Young Master, I am guilty!!" Old Tian suddenly began to bawl unrestrainedly and fell to his knees. "Master Wenxin saved my life, and yet I let myself be bribed into destroying your source of ie. I deserve death!" "Ahh..." Fang Yuan was taken aback at the potency of the Questioning Heart Tea. He peered carefully at Old Tian and shook his head. "That¡¯s right. Without the Meditative Tea Ceremony, the Tea cannot boost one¡¯s magical ability...Otherwise, Old Tian would not be in this state!" Chapter 5: Leaving the Mountain Chapter 5: Leaving the Mountain Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Who let you do this?" Seeing an opportunity while Old Tian was crying, Fang Yuan questioned him. The Questioning Heart Tea had the ability to cleanse the soul, but could not turn an evil person into a kind one. Old Tian had a good heart and was able to feel guilty. Therefore, he coulde to his senses under the effects of the tea. If he had an evil heart to begin with, he would have simply found that the tea tasted good, and would not have felt any guilt. "I am not human... boohoo..." On the floor, Old Tian was crying, "I understand it now, I have lived as a coward my whole life. Now that I have aged, I have acquired some sort of status. But yet I let myself be pressured into hurting my benefactor¡¯s disciple. I am not human... I have thought through it. The stupid Spirit Returning Sect, even if I don¡¯t do anything, I will not let my benefactor down..." "Spirit Returning Sect?" Fang Yuan was shocked. ¡¯Could it be that they are unwilling to let the matter rest? Wait a moment, this is wrong! If they weren¡¯t willing to let the matter rest, they would have killed me straight away. Now the situation is neither here nor there, like kids ying a fool...¡¯ At this point, he enquired, "Did the Spirit Returning Sect instigate this? Who threatened you?" "One more thing. I¡¯m not sure where I¡¯d heard this from, but I do know that I have some rtions with your people... Young Master, why don¡¯t we leave this ce, since the Spirit Returning Sect dominates the surrounding 100 miles ofnd. Once we are beyond this 100 miles, we won¡¯t have to give a hoot about them! I have some savings with me, as well as some experience in the outside world. The journey should not be a problem..." Old Tian had found his conscience, and he actively advised Fang Yuan to leave. He began to look for a route. Fang Yuan looked at Old Tian¡¯s shabby appearance and remained speechless, "No rush! No rush! We can wait..." He then sat down and enjoyed the tea by himself. "Eh?" A moment passed, and Old Tian¡¯s newfound conscience slowly faded. His sly personality resurfaced. He immediately regretted his words and thought, ¡¯What have I done? Why did I offer to give up my savings to help this Young Master challenge the Spirit Returning Sect?¡¯ To be honest, it was entirely possible for him to warn Fang Yuan and allow him to leave quickly by himself. But to throw in his life savings and escape together with Fang Yuan? Old Tian scratched his own head and had never felt more foolish. Fang Yuan stared at him and Old Tian was afraid that he would regain his conscience and run away with Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan observed that Old Tian looked uneasy and awkward, and he found it amusing. ¡¯Old Tian has a good heart, but he has too many worries in this world, which makes him indecisive...¡¯ Fang Yuan said, "Old Tian, don¡¯t you worry. I have no intention to escape, and will not bother you for help!" "It is of no trouble." Old Tian responded weakly, but deep down, he heaved a huge sigh of relief. Old Tian was still baffled at how he had found his conscience today, but since he had already agreed to help, Old Tian reminded Fang Yuan, "Civilians who know what is good for them do not challenge officials. The Spirit Returning Sect might not be made up of officials, but they are in fact more powerful. In what way has Young Master offended them? You should quickly look for someone to help you. If not, then you should hurry and leave!" "Many thanks to your good intentions, but I will miss this ce sorely..." Fang Yuan spoke the truth. This was where he had grown up and he had definitely developed feelings for the ce, feelings that were hard to rece. Furthermore, he had the spiritual tea and spiritual rice. It was impossible to transfer these goods to somewhere far in such a short notice. Additionally, Fang Yuan had faith in his own judgement. Since he had annulled the marriage, and epted the gifts, there was no reason for the other party to stoop this low and behave ruthlessly. Perhaps it was one of the lower ranking sect members who initiated this, hoping to curry favour with the upper echelons. ¡¯Could it be Leiyue that caused this?¡¯ Fang Yuan flinched for a moment. In his memory, Leiyue was not that pretty, and the image of her face was blurred. On the contrary, in his dream world, this was amon plot development in the novels, in which love rivals could suddenly appear out of nowhere and cause trouble. "Also, an embargo of goods isn¡¯t such a big deal!" He looked at Old Tian and smiled. "Next time you won¡¯t have to suffer that much!" "Eh?" Old Tian nced at Fang Yuan, feeling disturbed. "I am alone, with no attachments, and have nothing to my name. But you, Old Tian, if you follow their orders, they won¡¯t cause trouble for you!" Fang Yuan calmly analysed it for Old Tian, and took out a tter of herbs, "Here is the medicine, ourst deal is done." "Eh... Young Master, take care!" Old Tian did not approve of Fang Yuan¡¯s decision, but seeing his determination, had no choice but to leave. ... After sending off Old Tian, Fang Yuan flipped the bamboo basket on the floor. Old Tian had brought along enough goods this time, and inclusive of his current stash, the amount of stock should be enough to sustain him for the next few months. "One of the ingredients required to create Still Fire Liquid can only be acquired from the outside world. I had thought initially that I could use Old Tian¡¯s assistance... Looking at how things are now I guess I¡¯ll have to go personally!" Fang Yuan sighed, "And as for me being a target of the Spirit Returning Sect, this is a matter to be investigated..." In truth, since Fang Yuan had always lived within the secluded valley and rarely stepped out, he was actually looking forward to seeing the outside world for himself. Having decided on leaving the valley, Fang Yuan had to prepare himself. Firstly, he selected some exquisite and aged herbs to fund his trip expenses and changed into a new set of clothing. The most important thing, of course, was to bring enough food. The normal rice from the outside world could neverpare to his self-cultivated Pearl Jade Crystal Rice. Being used to consuming his own produce, food from the outside world might as well be pigs¡¯ feed. After Fang Yuan was done with his preparations, he equipped himself with a machete for self-protection and proceeded with his journey. ... Clear Spirit Mountain was vast and stretched across several counties. Qinghe County was the nearest to the secluded valley. Fang Yuan rarely left the mountains, but he had apanied Master Wenxin on his trips out a few times before, and therefore knew his way. There were a few viges along the way and Fang Yuan approached one of them. Fang Yuan was relieved, "If the Spirit Returning Sect really wanted to deal with me, with their vast capabilities, it would be difficult for me to move around... It seems like my guess was correct, was it the initiative of one of the low ranking sect cronies?" The thought of being seen as a love rival and having to deal with this mystery opponent gave Fang Yuan the shudders. "This will not do. I should look for Minister Lin and find out if it really is the Spirit Returning Sect making trouble for me. After all, they were the ones who created the problems. I doubt that he¡¯ll just stand by and watch the show." After paying the entrance fee to the town, Fang Yuan walked around aimlessly and did some deep thinking at the same time. To him, he was willing to forgo his reputation in exchange for less trouble. But to constantly trouble others was not a long-term solution. Furthermore, the meeting would definitely be an awkward one. It would be for the best if he could solve the problem by himself. "Cookies!" "Cosmetics and essories!" "Superior gold jewellery..." ... Although it was a small town, there were many shops along the streets, and the noise created from all the shouting and bargaining made the town a lively one. It was a sight to behold for Fang Yuan, and there were people who looked at him like he was an alien, but all these did not bother him. "The creation of the Still Fire Liquid requires some Leaving Fire Wood, water thates from the sky, and Realgar powder... The first two ingredients can be found in the valley, but the Realgar Powder, I will need to buy it in bulk!" Fang Yuan considered this for a moment and went into a grocery store. "What would you like, Sir?" A middle-aged cashier was at the counter, with a very warm smile. "I want Realgar Powder of the best quality! By the way... do you ept mountain herbs as payment?" Minister Lin had given some money to Fang Yuan, but he preferred to use his own medicine, and safekept the money for future use. After all, if the situation escted and worsened, and if he needed to run, then bringing money along instead of the misceneous stuff would be much more practical. Fang Yuan was reluctant to leave the valley, but he was also not a fool and knew the obvious choice. "We do ept medicines!" The cashier smiled and said, "Whatever mountain herbs you have, bring it to me, young boy!" "Mmm!" Fang Yuan knew that even though the cashier seemed friendly, the moment he handed over expensive medicine, the cashier would likely develop an ulterior motive. Having the appearance of a poor boy, Fang Yuan looked like he did not have any backing. After much consideration, he took out a cloth bag, which caught the attention of the cashier. Layer byyer he opened it and when the cashier saw that it was just Red Ginseng, disappointment was written all over his face. "Red Ginseng, 20-year-old, of rather good quality! Let me take a closer look..." Fang Yuan took out an inexpensive good, but it was still above average. The cashier wanted to look out for ws in the red ginseng so as to lower its price but to no avail. This Red Ginseng had no ws in its appearance, preservation and colour... so the only thing he could say was, "What a pity, its age is too young, I can only give..." "Wait a moment, I want this!" The cashier couldn¡¯tplete his sentence, and a stretched arm snatched the red ginseng from him, "A pity... it isn¡¯t aged enough!" The voice was like an Oriolus bird, high-pitched and tender. Fang Yuan turned around and saw this youngdy dressed in a yellow dress. With unhappiness in his voice, he said, "Lady, this is my Red Ginseng!" "How much do you want for it?" Thedy was around 17 to 18 years old, around the same age as Fang Yuan. "This isn¡¯t about money, instead I have been preparing to barter this with the cashier for something else. Your action is like extortion!" Fang Yuan shook his head, and this angered the youngdy, "You!" "Young man, this sister of mine is worried about her father¡¯s condition, which led to her being disrespectful, please do not hold it against her!" At this moment, behind the youngdy appeared an apologetic young gentleman d in a green gown. "It¡¯s nothing to worry about, your sister¡¯s filial piety will definitely touch the gods!" The young gentleman seemed to be influential, as the cashier rubbed his hands and forced a smile. Chapter 6: A Trespasser Chapter 6: A Trespasser Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Who are they?" Fang Yuan asked that question while organising the top grade Realgar Powder as he looked at the 2 siblings taking their leave. "They are from the Zhou family. You are very lucky today to have met the second son of the Zhou family. Imagine if it was the unruly daughter of the Zhou family instead...." One of the shopkeepers, who seemed to know the Zhou Family, replied and started shaking his head. "What are you trying to cure with the Red Mountain Ginseng? Is Old Zhou sick?" "It isn¡¯t that simple. The Zhou family is part of the Spirit Returning Sect. Old Zhou, who is a deacon, suffers internal injuries apparently. That is why he needs the medicine now in order to recover. Unfortunately, your Red Mountain Ginseng is not at least 50 years old. Otherwise, there is a chance for you to meet the criteria listed in the announcement!" "What announcement?" Fang Yuan showed interest and said to the shopkeeper, "Tell me more about it." "What announcement? Didn¡¯t you see an announcement made by the Zhou family? They are looking for a doctor to cure Old Zhou¡¯s illness! The Zhou family promised to give anything that the doctor wants if the doctor is able to cure Old Zhou¡¯s illness...." The shopkeeper sighed, making it seemed like Old Zhou is unlikely to recover. Fang Yuan listened before viewing his stats subconsciously. His medicine level was recorded in his stats window. Being recognised by his stats system meant that his ability had attained a certain standard. Even though Fang Yuan had learnt a few techniques, only those techniques rted to medicine and botany, which had been vetted by Master Wenxin were recognised. Hence, Fang Yuan considered himself as a much skilful doctor aspared to other normal doctors. The only thing was that Fang Yuan waszy in nature and he was also not very fond of Miss Zhou¡¯s temperament. Therefore, he wouldn¡¯t volunteer himself to help her. ¡¯Since the Zhou family is part of the Spirit Returning Sect, perhaps I can pick up martial arts from them....However, this seems dangerous, maybe I should just forget about it....¡¯ Even though the Zhou siblings were rude, they were very generous with the rewards in terms of money. The reward would definitely allow Fang Yuan to purchase the Realgar Powder in bulk with spare change left. After exiting the shop, Fang Yuan continued shopping happily. ¡¯Thinking about it, someone from the Spirit Returning Sect must have made this decision without consulting anyone. This makes the announcement less reliable.¡¯ At noon, Fang Yuan squatted at a corner and kept thinking about the announcement while consuming the rice balls he brought. This was good news as it meant that he was not forced to leave his hometown. When the Zhou Family attempted to cut his supply through Old Tian, they didn¡¯t force himself to leave, but it was hard to say what would happen next. ¡¯Maybe....Should I go and pick up martial arts from the Spirit Returning Sect and practice? Legend has it that the Spirit Returning Sect is led by a Wu Zong. What is a Wu Zong? Is it very powerful? But I¡¯m not really sure if the system would recognise martial arts...." The rice balls were made from Pearl Jade Crystal Rice and sour plums were wrapped inside them which produced a great aroma. A few beggars gathered around Fang Yuan. Their eyes glittered and they were drooling, obviously attracted by the aroma of the rice balls. Luckily there were many people along the street. If not, the beggars that gathered would have started snatching the rice balls. "Haha....so you are here, little beggar?" At that point when Fang Yuan was surrounded by those pitiful stares and wanted to give up some of his rice balls, a familiar voice was heard. He lifted up his head and saw Miss Zhou giving him a cocky look. "Me? I¡¯m a beggar?" Fang Yuan was stunned as he pointed to himself. "You are gathering with the other beggars. If you are not a beggar then what are you?" Miss Zhou grinned and brought out a purse with gold and silver linings. "How about I give you beggars a few coins to go into a restaurant to have a good meal?" Fang Yuan looked at himself and turned speechless. Usually, vigers who entered a city were dressed in this manner, which left Fang Yuan no choice but to ept it. He rolled his eyes and ignored Miss Zhou. He then continued eating his rice balls. "Haha.....you vigers treat rice balls as if they are treasures. I just came from a restaurant....what is that smell?" Miss Zhou smelled and found out the aroma wasing from Fang Yuan¡¯s rice balls. Each grain of the Pearl Jade Crystal Rice grains are clear as crystal and theyplement well with the sour plums. These rice balls did not seem like what vigers usually eat. Of course, the main attraction was the fragrance of the rice balls. She just had the same type of rice from a restaurant, but the aroma of the rice balls is just....too tempting already.... Resentful, Miss Zhou started to realise that her stomach started growling even though she had just finished a meal. This was not because of her hungriness, but the fact that the delicious rice balls were tempting her! She started to feel as if the rice balls Fang Yuan were eating were like a ck hole, constantly attracting her attention. If she continued staring, she would drool! Miss Zhou wisely decided to turn back and walked off. "Do you....want that?" Fang Yuan met Miss Zhou¡¯ eyes and felt that she was pitiful. Hence, he gave out thest rice ball, "I¡¯m giving you thest one!" Miss Zhou swallowed and started blushing. Her fingers shook a little, which seemed to be reaching for the rice balls. Atst, she blurted, "What a joke....I¡¯m Zhou Wenxin from the well known Zhou family. How could this be happening...." Her footsteps brought her closer to the rice balls as she blurted. "Oh, you don¡¯t want the rice balls I see!" Fang Yuan understood her and gave thest rice ball to one of the beggars instead, "Take it!" "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!" That beggar was drooling right in front of Fang Yuan before. He became so grateful that he kept thanking while eating the rice ball. That beggar grabbed the rice ball with a good amount of force. Meanwhile, it seemed that Zhou Wenxin was about to explode anytime. "Ooohh....this is delicious!" That beggar wolfed down the rice ball within seconds and started licking his fingers after finishing it. "You...." Zhou Wenxin¡¯s face became sluggish and blushed. Suddenly, she started crying out loud, "You bullied me!" Not really sure why she felt that way, she turned and ran away. The people who knew Zhou Wenxin gathered around Fang Yuan and admired him for what he did. This guy was able to deal with the rude Miss Zhou by leaving her crying. This guy is capable of aplishing anything in the future! "This....¡¯ Fang Yuan scratched his head and thought that he was innocent. It wasn¡¯t his fault that Miss Zhou cried. Sometimes, it was better to clear any misunderstandings that were made by others as IQ may not be equal to EQ. However, he knew his EQ was low and he knew that if he didn¡¯t start running, he would be in big trouble when Miss Zhou¡¯s bodyguards came for him. He started fleeing to a corner of another street. .... Fang Yuan¡¯s prediction was correct. Miss Zhou¡¯s bodyguards, looking angry, came running here not long after. Luckily they hadn¡¯t started locking down the whole city. Fortunately, Fang Yuan was already outside the city, on his way back to the valley. There were a few in the city who recognised Fang Yuan¡¯s looks, but no one knew where he lived. Zhou Wenxin was furious for not learning Fang Yuan¡¯s name and could only give up on this matter. The news of Fang Yuan making Zhou Wenxin cry had spread everywhere in the city, causing Miss Zhou to be very embarrassed about the incident. Many had witnessed the incident happening, which made Zhou Wenxin even more furious. Unfortunately, she had nowhere to vent her anger. "Hmm....So Wu Zong is a cultivation stage a martial artist can attain. A Wu Zong would be powerful to the extent that he would be able to defeat many. In the entire Spirit Returning Sect, there is only one such martial artist...." Fang Yuan bought a book from a stall nearby using a few copper coins and was enjoying the contents. This book appeared to be written by a schr. The contents were based on a personal ount and it seemed that the writer loved to travel. The content even mentioned something about Wu Zong, which attracted Fang Yuan. "And here lies the Clear Spirit Mountain. Here is the Qinghe County and that city just now was Qingye City...." What made Fang Yuan so interested in the book was that he was able to know where he was and the surrounding ces from the book itself. "The maind is so big. The county where I am right now is so small whenpared to the maind. However, some may think that this county is quite big already....." From the book, Fang Yuan knew how big the world is, which made him excited. "Wu Zong is only well known in this area. There should be other structures other than martial arts...." Fang Yuan put the book back into his bamboo basket and began trekking. "Unfortunately, I was unable to get any martial arts manual. I should not think about other types of manuals then...." Once back into the secluded valley, Fang Yuan felt at ease. "It is still morefortable back at home...." Although he was not away from home for long, Fang Yuan was homesick. He immediately went to the farm after putting his belongings down. "Eh?" Upon reaching the entrance, he was shocked by the presence of an animal¡¯s footprint, "A pest?" Having a farm in the mountains would definitely attract all kinds of birds and animals. Luckily, Master Wenxin had a way to prevent any pest from entering the farm. Tigers, wolves and other mammals would use their pee to mark out their territories. Other animals would not dare to enter these territories upon smelling the pee. In actual fact, some kind of herb was made into liquid form and would be poured around the whole perimeter of an area, tricking the other animals into think that that area is someone¡¯s territory and hence no one would enter. Even if this method is a failure, the traps would have solved the problem of any trespassing. However, the traps in the farm were damaged and the baits were missing as if the trespasser wasughing quietly at the back. Chapter 7: Spiritual Beast Chapter 7: Spiritual Beast Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Hmmm... from the footsteps this is an animal that is not too big not too small just like the size of a hunting dog..." Fang Yuan kneeled down and observed the distinct footprint, "It is not too deep into the ground so it shouldn¡¯t be too big in size. A wild wolf? Fox? Or a weasel or a badger?" "What a clever animal it managed to destroy our trap..." Since growing up from the mountains Fang Yuan was skillful in catching wild animals because he often had to catch wild chickens and rabbits for food. And for a trap this meticulously set up even a wild wolf or boar should not have been able to escape. But right now the trap waspletely destroyed as though the animal had thoughts of provoking the one who set up the trap. "Master once said in the deep mountains there might be unusual beasts. Even if they started out as normal animals given the right circumstances and conditions they will evolve and be smarter could it be one of those smart animal¡¯s doing here?" By setting up the trap and attempting to ¡®steal¡¯ the animal Fang Yuan felt wiser as though he was not facing a normal animal but a human. This led him to have a heavy heart. "Hmmm... our losses are not much..." He scanned around the surroundings and suddenly jumped up. He urgently made his way back to the tea garden, "This isn¡¯t good... My spiritual nts!!!" Since the thief was not a normal animal normal crops would not be able to attract them therefore the only possibility was the Questioning Heart Tea Tree and Vermillion Jade Rice that attracted it! After sorting out his thoughts Fang Yuan felt very uneasy and could not calm himself down. A moment had passed and Fang Yuan felt very angry. He shouted within the secluded valley, "Go and die... Don¡¯t let me catch you..." Fang Yuan stood in front of the Questioning Heart Tea Tree with sorrow on his face. What used to be emerald-green tea leaves was now empty branches with bite marks on where the branches were broken. The entire tree looked worn-out. Fortunately, its roots remained undamaged otherwise Fang Yuan would have lost it forever. "What is this?" After a close inspection, Fang Yuan discovered more clues around the Questioning Heart Tea Tree. He rubbed his right hand against the broken branches of the tree. Ayer of fine crystal droplets covered his fingertips. He realized the fine crystal droplets were all over the tree not only at the surroundings of the broken branches but near the roots of the tree as well. "I did not put this here could it be the thief that brought it here?" Fang Yuan ced these droplets near his nose and immediately smelt a fragrance followed by a putrid smell. "Fertilizer?" He looked at the worn-out Questioning Heart Tea Tree made a conjecture and had mixed feelings about it. This spiritual nt thief dared to treat the Questioning Heart Tea Tree as its own and even defecated on it to make sure it would grow again so it could have another meal. "It surely must have left the ce because if it saw me it would have approached me..." Fang Yuan shook his head and rushed to where the Vermillion Jade Rice was nted at. On the contrary, the Spirited Red Corn was left untouched and even grew a little taller than it was before. The surrounding nts around the Spirited Red Corn seemed like they had dried up. "The Spirited Red Corn couldn¡¯t even attract its attention the thief must have quite high standards..." Seeing that the entire garden was left untouched and that the thief only had the intention to damage the Questioning Heart Tea Tree Fang Yuan was left speechless, "I will immediately set up another trap and wait here day and night just to see who is the thief!" When his anger had subsided Fang Yuan thought that the whole incident was quite interesting as he could not wait to see who was the one who stole his tea leaves. ... After calcting all his losses he had to carry on with his normal life. Fang Yuan processed the Realgar Powder mixed it with the rest of the ingredients ording to the correct ratio and ced it in the cer for three days. He managed to produce arge amount of Still Fire Liquid. This recipe was passed down from Master Wenxin and was a great fertilizer for many fire-type nts. Since the Vermillion Jade Rice was a spiritual nt Fang Yuan had to water it thrice a day for it to grow and develop. It no longer had topete and take the nutrients from surrounding nts to survive anymore and Fang Yuan felt relieved. Days passed but the mysterious thief had not appeared. On the other hand, the constant lookout day and night took a toll on Fang Yuan. Midnight with a clear moon. Fang Yuan ced his trap and observed silently at a hidden spot. Within the Tea Forest was silence and only asional crickets which echoed within the secluded valley. "Could it be that the thief saw me and is unwilling to approach?" After keeping watch for a few hours Fang Yuan felt sleepy and a little disappointed, "I shall keep watch for another night and if the thief doesn¡¯t appear I will graft the Questioning Heart Tea Tree to somewhere safe... as for the crystal droplets it¡¯s a pity..." Through the past few days of observation Fang Yuan became sure of his conjecture and true enough the crystal droplets was a fertilizer to spiritual nts. Not only did the condition of the Questioning Heart Tea Tree improved its branches had healed and on the Spirited Red Corn which he scattered some of the crystal droplets they too began to growrger than usual. This unique fertilizer for the spiritual nts immediately aroused Fang Yuan¡¯s interest. He even considered letting the thief go if the thief was willing to share where it obtained the fertilizer from. "Ahhhchooo..." The next midnight had arrived and Fang Yuan¡¯s eyelids were heavier than before; he was ready to sleep anytime. "It seems that it will note tonight and since I have to wake up tomorrow morning to loosen the soil for the Spirited Red Corn I shall go... eh?" At the moment when Fang Yuan stood up, a white sh caught his eye. "It¡¯sing!" Fang Yuan became more energetic and in a moment did not feel sleepy anymore. The white sh rushed towards the garden and saw the trap left by Fang Yuan. It appeared undisturbed as it gingerly made its way around the trap used its paws to grab the tree branch and pulled it out. This action triggered the trap but it couldn¡¯t catch anything as the beast was already out of its way. "Wow! What a big and clever White Ferret!" Fang Yuan heaved a huge sigh. There was no mistake that right in front of him was arge White Ferret. It hadrge eyes long fur and a pair of extremely agile paws. Its ears would twitch from time to time as though it was listening to the surroundings and its white fur was extremely reflective under the moonlight. A normal ferret would be about the size of a cat but this one grew a metre long like a small leopard. "Oh boy! What arge White Ferret..." Seeing how the ferret moved about freely within the tea garden Fang Yuan took another look at his inadequate equipment and thought, "Why not... I let it do whatever it wants today and the next time ites I shall get more backup!" He was not a professional hunter to begin with and even though he prepared aprehensive list of equipment to catch it but looking at the ¡®demonic¡¯ White Ferret he did not dare to catch it. "Keke!" The moment the White Ferret entered the Tea Forest his jet-ck eyes focused at Fang Yuan¡¯s hiding spot as though it had noticed him! "How dare you! You beast!" Fang Yuan had no choice but to reveal himself, "You destroyed my tea tree for the first time and now you¡¯re back for the second time do you really treat me as non-existent? Simultaneously while jumping out Fang Yuan lit a fire torch. Under the illumination of the torch, Fang Yuan could see the expression of the White Ferret as though Fang Yuan was a joke. It did not run but instead made eye contact with Fang Yuan. ¡®Oh no, shouldn¡¯t these wild animals be afraid of fire and humans? Why doesn¡¯t it seem so now?¡¯ Deep down Fang Yuan was regretting his actions. Seeing that the White Ferret did not treat him seriously and continued to munch on the branches of the Questioning Heart Tea Tree. Fang Yuan red up, "How dare you!" He grabbed his fire torch in one hand and his machete in another rushing towards the White Ferret, "Don¡¯t touch what is mine!" "Sssss!" In the next moment, he saw the White Ferret turned around its fur standing and it was making a hissing noise. Fang Yuan knew that this was bad but proceeded to lunge forward with his machete. ¡®Sou!¡¯ The white shadow shed by as Fang Yuan felt a strong force on his wrists forcing him to take a few steps back. His wrists weakened and he dropped both the machete and the fire torch, "This beast is too quick too strong!" "Keke!" Seeing how Fang Yuan was unable to withstand his first attack the White Ferret looked away and stroked his tummy as though he was mimicking a humanughing. He was a spiritual being. He waved his little paws at Fang Yuan and pointed to the Questioning Heart Tree as though he was saying, ¡®This spiritual nt from today onwards will be mine!¡¯ "No......I cannot take this!" Being mocked at by the beast Fang Yuan felt unjust. He did a flip from the ground and eximed, "Look out for my hidden weapon!" With a flick of his wrist, a few small paper packets flew out from his hand. ¡®Peng peng!¡¯ Smoke and fog exploded in mid-air bringing with it a pungent smell. Fang Yuan appeared calm but without thought turned around and ran! Even though a fight might be lost one should naturally look for a way to escape and in the futuree back to deal with the white ferret. There was no rush for a gentleman to take his revenge. "Sssss..." Within the smoke came a shrill from the white ferret. Fang Yuan stopped in his footsteps. He turned around and saw the white ferret pacing around the white smoke as though it was very afraid of it. "Eh?" Fang Yuan felt relieved. He only meant for the smoke to help him escape because within the paper packets were normal non-spiritual items. "I ced plenty of beast-repelling powder and if it is of use how can the beast enter? It seems like it also isn¡¯t about the pepper... It must be... the Realgar Powder! Haha... Just wait and see!" Fang Yuan ran back to the valley and in no time brought along many bags of powder, "So you¡¯re scared of Realgar? Hahahaha... let¡¯s see!" ¡®Peng peng!¡¯ With the flick of his right wrist,rge amounts of Realgar Powder scattered into smoke covering the entire ce. Although the white ferret seemed determined it appeared that he was really afraid of Realgar and did not dare to move. When the Realgar smoke settled it was gone. Chapter 8: The Exchange Chapter 8: The Exchange Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions It was a quiet morning. A thick fog gathered around the emerald-green leaves, condensing into water droplets asrge as a pearl. Fang Yuan paced around the garden, and carefully scattered the Realgar Powder on the soil, especially around the Questioning Heart Tea Tree and Vermillion Jade Rice nts, as these were the spiritual nts he wanted to protect. "I can¡¯t imagine, such an agile and strong beast would have so much fear for a normal Realgar? Could it be true that one item would be the perfect counter to another?" After finishing up, he wiped his sweat, sat on arge rock and started to ponder. "Ferrets are afraid of Realgar? Wait a minute, this ferret is no ordinary ferret, it¡¯s possible that its fears are different from the usual ferret. Ferrets like to eat snakes, could it be that it ate too many snakes and evolved certain special traits?... Luckily I still have quite a lot of Realgar Powder left over!" In order to make enough Still Fire Liquid, Fang Yuan bought not only the highest quality Realgar Powder, but also got arge quantity of it, and so did not need to worry about not having enough of it for the time being. "But I¡¯ll still have to be careful, as the White Ferret may react differently once it bes desperate." Fang Yuan plucked a few fresh fruits for breakfast, went to the river and collected some pure spring water. He then took out his tea set and some Questioning Heart Tea leaves. These leaves were roasted before they were sealed, which kept the essence of the Questioning Heart Tea leaves, and since they were stored away and well hidden, the White Ferret did not manage to get its paws on it. If the White Ferret took thesest leaves, Fang Yuan would definitely be speechless and depressed. Boiling water, washing the pot, setting the tea leaves... Within the peace, every single movement seemed effortless and tranquil. Not long, the fragrance of the tea leaves rose. "Good!" Even though he had drank this tea countless times, thefort this tea brought to Fang Yuan was still able to earn his praise. He noticed his qualities and saw a change at the top, "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 1 Spirit: 1 Magic: 1.4 Age: 18 Cultivation: None Techniques: None Skills: [Medicine (Level 1)], [Botany (level 3)]" "A normal person should have an average magic value of 1, but I have already exceeded that by about half... Although the effects of Questioning Heart Tea has decreased, before it loses all its effectiveness, maybe it can increase my magic level by more than twice of the average?" More than twice of the average human, how would that feel like? What Fang Yuan didn¡¯t know was that although he had only increased by 0.4 in magic, he would feel much wiser, and memorising books would take a much shorter time than usual, as though the gods were helping him. Take now for an example, At the corner of his eye, he quickly spotted a white sh. "Keke... Have you not given up? Come out!" With the Realgar Powder in one hand, Fang Yuan waited patiently without fear and eximed loudly. From the previous encounter, he knew that the White Ferret was a spiritual being, and could not be dealt with using normal ways, and it seems that it could understand what Fang Yuan was saying. "Come out!" "Come!" "... ..." His voice echoed throughout the valley, but the white shadow was nowhere to be seen. "That¡¯s true, it¡¯s daytime now..." Fang Yuan looked at the sunrise, "Wasn¡¯t it night time? Eh... This fellow only appreciates spiritual nts, and the only thing more superior than the Questioning Heart Tea here is the..." He smiled to himself and brewed another pot of Questioning Heart Tea, the fragrance of the tea spreading far. "Keke!" As expected, a loud hissing followed by a white sh appeared. It circled the Realgar Powder but did not dare to approach it. "Seeing how the Questioning Heart Tea Tree was damaged, the essence of the brewed tea leaves would attract it even more right?" Fang Yuan took a teacup, walked a few steps forward and stopped one and a half metres from the White Ferret. "Hisss!" Behind the line marked out by the Realgar Powder, as White Ferret tried to approach, its fur stood and he made a sound of fear but dared not to approach. The fragrance of the tea made the White Ferret even more desperate as it scratched its head like a monkey. "Haha... you are a ferret, not a monkey!" Fang Yuan became intrigued and the kid in him took over. After a round of fooling with the White Ferret, he eximed, "If you don¡¯t ask and take, that makes you a thief! This tea tree and tea leaves have an owner, and only if I am willing to give it to you, then will it be yours. Understood?" Within the secluded valley, he was always living along and had already been used to himself mumbling to himself. Heughed at himself, "How would I expect for you to understand suchplicated teachings..." At this moment, Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes grew wide. The White Ferret sped its paws together as though a human apologising, its jet-ck eyes staring at the cup of tea, as though it was begging for the tea. "This White Ferret is magical!" Fang Yuan mumbled to himself, looked at the cup of tea in his hands, and suddenly he realised, "Yes... this Questioning Heart Tea has magical properties and would be even more valuable to the wild animal. Could it be that the tea leaves made it smarter?" Fang Yuan told the White Ferret, "If you want to drink this cup of tea, you will have to understand... It is hard to obtain this tea, and I do not have much of it left. If you really want this tea, you will have to exchange it with the fertilizer that you brought the other time!" Fang Yuan was still thinking about getting his hands on the crystal droplets, as they were spiritual fertilizer. This was because he noticed that by using the crystal droplets as fertilizer, the Vermillion Jade Rice grew very well, and even the broken branches of the Questioning Heart Tea Tree began to heal and shoots began sprouting. This led Fang Yuan to realise that the translucent crystal droplets that the White Ferret brought were a superior spiritual fertilizer, and it enhances the growth of all spiritual nts in ways no one could imagine. Because of his limited experience, Fang Yuan could not tell what were the crystal droplets. About 100 miles from Clear Spirit Mountain, much of it remained unexplored and only a spiritual beast like this White Ferret could have explored the uncharted territories and knew where to look for such a precious item. "Do you understand?" Fang Yuan noticed that the White Ferret was a little confused, so instead, he took out some of the spiritual fertilizer, "This is the one I¡¯m looking for! I shall treat you to this cup of tea first, treating you as a guest. Next time if you want another cup of tea, bring me this spiritual fertilizer!" The White Ferret looked at the spiritual fertilizer in his hands and appeared to understand a little of what Fang Yuan said. "Alright, now take a step back, otherwise if I topple this cup of tea, don¡¯t me me!" Fang Yuan took two steps forward. The White Ferret could understand and immediately backed away. Fang Yuan approached the line made by the Realgar Powder, and ced the cup of tea beyond the line, "Enjoy!" "Keke!" The white sh appeared like lightning. As the White Ferret approached the boundary of Realgar Powder, it slowed down and circled the cup of tea, and sounded delighted. "Mmm, it seems that it is enjoying the cup of Questioning Heart Tea! After all, I used the Meditative Tea Ceremony to brew this cup of tea..." Fang Yuan observed it, nodded his head and opened his eyes wide. He thought that the White Ferret would lick the cup of tea. However, he never expected that it would stand up, sit down like a human, then used two paws to lift the cup up and took a sip. "Phew... Keke..." After taking a small sip, the White Ferret smiled, took another sip as though it appreciated the cup of tea. "What the! I must be seeing things! This isn¡¯t a ferret..." The appearance of the White Ferret led Fang Yuan to think about Master Wenxin. Master Wenxin also had the same expression when drinking the tea Fang Yuan brewed. "Did the White Ferret learn these actions from a human?" Although he took small sips, a cup of tea was still a small amount of tea. After drinking, the White Ferret stared at Fang Yuan, as though he was an abandoned dog, and it appeared as if he wanted another cup of tea. "You are quite clever..." Fang Yuan scoffed, "Now you know how hard it is to obtain and brew these tea leaves?" Questioning Heart Tea had always been a spiritual object, andbined with the Meditative Tea Ceremony, the effects were remarkable. Other than Fang Yuan himself, even Old Tian could never have enjoyed such a tea previously. "If I gave him enough tea to drink, would it be possible for this White Ferret to be as smart as a human, and enable him to talk?" Fang Yuan looked at the seemingly smarter White Ferret, with an idea evolving in his head. "Alright, alright, looking at you, such a poor thing, how about another cup!" "Ah? Do you want more?" "No... I can¡¯t give you more, that¡¯s all the tea leaves I have for today!" Within the secluded valley, divided by a line of Realgar Powder, sat a human and a ferret enjoying tea. It was an interesting sight to behold. At the end, the White Ferret sniffed the spiritual fertilizer that Fang Yuan threw, confirmed that the teapot had no more tea, before leaving in a white sh. "One should always hold his guard against other people... animals!" Fang Yuan looked at the shadow of the White Ferret, and mumbled to himself, "Although wild animals have a purer mind than humans, I still have to guard against it, and only when it brings me the spiritual fertilizer, will I give him a few raw tea leaves, so that it knows that if it wants the real Questioning Heart Tea, he will have to obey me, then I can feel slightly relieved." Since the tea was finished, he stood up, satisfied, stretched a little and began the day¡¯s work. "Spiritual fertilizer, oh spiritual fertilizer!" Within the Vermillion Jade Rice farm, Fang Yuan poured thest of Still Fire Liquid. From the corner of his eye, he noticed one of it growing exceptionallyrge and therefore felt resentment. Because based on his calctions, even if the Vermilion Jade Rice was able to grow smoothly, it would still take a few months before the first harvest. But if he was able to supply the spiritual fertilizer every day, then he probably would be able to taste the Spirited Red Corn in the following month. "Originally, the spiritual tea will only grow new tea leaves in the next season, but today new shoots are sprouting... This spiritual fertilizer is amazing!" Fang Yuan thought of following the White Ferret, but the only problem was that it ran as quick as lightning, and so he gave up on that thought. Anyway, he just needed to have faith in his own Questioning Heart Tea. As long as the White Ferret want the Questioning Heart Tea, It would have to obediently bring the spiritual fertilizer. That night, Fang Yuan dreamt of something. In the dream, he took outrge quantities of the spiritual fertilizer, and covered the Questioning Heart Tea Tree and Spirited Red Corns with it. The harvest he managed to get was so plentiful he was not able to store it in the storage, and even though it was in his dream, he smiled to himself. ... "Keke!" "Keke!" The next morning, Fang Yuan was woken up abruptly. "Ferret Brother! The sun has not risen yet!" Hearing this sound, Fang Yuan knew who had arrived. He sneezed, went to the garden and saw the White Ferret. The moon had set and the stars were dim, but its white fur still shone brilliantly. He waved his paw and pulled out a green bag from behind. "Eh?" Fang Yuan took the bag, smelt the fragrance and eximed, "Spiritual fertilizer! So much of it!!!" Chapter 9: Guest Chapter 9: Guest Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Sizzle!" In the middle of a clearing within Spirit Valley, a fire was lit. A whole chicken was being roasted on a spit, its golden brown skin crackling with oil. The aroma of chicken meat filled the air. "Keke!" By the fire, arge white ferret moved about impatiently. "Rx! It¡¯s still early!" Fang Yuan rotated the spit gingerly, sprinkling salt and pepper on the meat at intervals. Ever since the deal, Fang Yuan had gradually grown ustomed to the presence of the white ferret. After drinking the Questioning Heart Tea brewed via the Meditative Tea Ceremony, and eating a few Questioning Heart Tea leaves, the white ferret immediately lost interest in the Questioning Heart Tea tree. But the ferret also required Fang Yuan to brew tea for it daily. In return, the ferret would bring spiritual fertiliser to Fang Yuan. Even better, the ferret would sometimes offer pheasants and rabbits that it had hunted down to Fang Yuan as tributes. Fang Yuan was not stingy with the ferret either. He had nned to share half of his meat with the ferret after it was done roasting on the spit. The ferret was used to ripping into its prey raw and had never eaten cooked food before. The taste of the cooked meat wasplemented by the seasoning and Fang Yuan¡¯s roasting technique. Before long, cooked food became the white ferret¡¯s obsession. These days, Fang Yuan would open his door every morning to find that the ferret hadin wild game on his doorstep. He would never be in want for fresh meat again. "Come on! The meat is ready!" Fang Yuan tore the roasted chicken meat in half and threw it to the white ferret. The white ferret was ecstatic and in the blink of an eye, it had ripped into the meat and guzzled it down. It then licked its muzzle. It was apparent that it wanted more. "Wow, that was fast..." Fang Yuan was speechless. He bit into a chicken wing. "Ahh, this tastes wonderful!" The roasted chicken was not only aromatic, but the meat was tender and juicy. The chicken in question must have been living on pine nuts, hazelnuts and the like, for its meat had a herbal quality to it. It was no wonder that even Fang Yuan, a half-baked cook, was able to achieve such a great taste. "You want some more?" Fang Yuan took notice of the pleading gaze of the white ferret and threw him a piece of chicken thigh meat. The ferret received it excitedly and dug into it with great fervour. "Don¡¯t just eat meat all the time. It¡¯s not very nutritious..." Fang Yuan then took out the Crystal Rice and a few dishes. The white ferret could not withstand the sumptuous sight and beg for another bowl of rice. Fang Yuan was convinced that the white ferret¡¯s stomach was a bottomless pit. Having eaten his fill, Fang Yuan crept up to the ferret, still preupied with its food, and traced his hand along its back. The white ferret had the softest fur, smoother than silk of the highest quality, and Fang Yuan could not help but run his hands over its fine, velvety hair over and over again. Also, he was secretly d that the ferret had begun to see him as a friend. "Such a majestic and fearsome beast. If I manage to tame it, it would be a great protector of the Valley. No one would ever dare to trespass again!" Fang Yuan had not forgotten that he had an unexpected enemy in the outside world. "There is no other post-meal beverage better than tea..." After finishing thest of the roast chicken, Fang Yuan smiled and went back into his hut to fetch a teapot. The white ferret¡¯s eyes lit up immediately when it saw the teapot. To the ferret, the roast chicken only satisfied its appetite, but the Questioning Heart Tea would heighten its senses and give it a new lease of life. "Sizzle" Tea, clear to the point of transparency, flowed into the teacup and gave off an amazing fragrance. Fang Yuan cleared his sight and mind, settling into a familiar set of processes. The white ferret seemed to understand the importance of this procedure and sat cross-legged solemnly. "Please help yourself!" Fang Yuan offered the white ferret a cup. Man and beast thus sat facing each other and had tea together. Both were enjoying it immensely. "Hmm, I can sense the ferret¡¯s purity of heart. It seems as though it knows how to appreciate Master¡¯s Meditative Tea Ceremony..." Fang Yuan was overjoyed. This was reflective of Master Wenxin¡¯s joy at seeing Fang Yuanprehend the teachings of the Tea Ceremony for the first time all those years ago. "So this is what it means to pass on the torch. No wonder they say that civilisation is inherited." Fang Yuan exhaled and unexpectedly came into mental contact with a consciousness that was not his own. He sensed ignorance and curiosity, and he turned his head only to meet the questioning eyes of the ferret. "Wow, I can actually feel the emotions of the white ferret?" Fang Yuan suddenly snapped out of his trance and found that he was unable to re-enter this mysterious state of mind. "If I could hold on longer to this mental state, perhaps I might be able tomunicate with you directly one day!" Fang Yuan ruffled the white ferret¡¯s crown and sighed. It was a pity that Fang Yuan was a long way off from mastering this supernatural skill. "Alright let¡¯s go! We need to add some fertiliser to the tea tree!" Having sat down and contemted for a while, Fang Yuan stood up and pped his hands. "Luckily you fetched me the Spiritual fertiliser, or we would not be able to enjoy this much tea with the natural yield of the tea tree..." Fang Yuan walked to the tea tree and undid a pouch. He then reached into it and sprinkled bits of Spiritual fertiliser onto the base of the tea tree. The ferret did its part by loosening the soil with its ws. Man and beast had achieved afortable rapport with each other. To others, this was indeed a sight to behold. "Ferret, shall I name you?" "Keke?" "Yeah. I remember from my dreamscapes a legendary ferret that was very powerful. It was a magical beast from the epic Investiture of the Gods. It was said to resemble a white rat, was the size of an elephant and had wings, sharp teeth and ws. It was a ruthless beast and was a scourge to mankind. They called it the Flower Fox Ferret. Shall we call you that?" "Keke?!" "I¡¯ll take this as a yes, Flower Fox Ferret! Haha!" Fang Yuan was extremely happy and heughed heartily. ________________________ Beyond the Valley. "Uncle Lin, does the Master that you speak of live here?" The Zhou Siblings that Fang Yuan had met before were trekking in the forest with their house servants and Minister Lini. It was a long and gruelling trek indeed. Zhou Wenxin, the spoilt young mistress of her noble household, was on the verge of tears. The mountain roads were winding and they seemed to never end. "Ah Sister, you should have stayed at home and waited for my updates. There was really no need for you toe along." Second Young Master Zhou (Zhou Erge) could not bear to see his sister suffer. "I only wanted to do my part for Papa..." "Hehe...my dears, we will arrive at the Valley shortly!" Minister Lin looked as though he was in the pink of health, not breathless in the slightest. He chuckled. "Master Wenxin was a true master. We regret that he has already passed on. However, he has left behind a disciple, who has at least inherited some of Master Wenxin¡¯s healing skills. He might not be the best physician there is, but he is pretty good..." In truth, Minister Lin was not very confident of Fang Yuan¡¯spetence either. However, he was aware that Master Wenxin and his disciple were both adept as botany, and given that they lived in the mountains, they must have gathered some valuable herbs and spices over the years. Minister Lin hoped to shamelessly acquire some of these medicinal resources for the Zhou Family so that they would owe him a favour. "Lei Yue was epted into the Spirit Returning Sect recently. I must get into her good books!" Minster Lin had other things on his mind as well. Considering the state of his rtions with Fang Yuan, it would be extremely awkward for them to meet. "What? Only one disciple?" Zhou Wenxin felt her anger rising, and was immediately held back by her brother. "Uncle Lin has our best interests at heart. Have faith in Uncle Lin. Don¡¯t be rash!" Zhou Erge then turned to Minister Lin sheepishly. "I apologise on my sister¡¯s behalf. Please don¡¯t hold it against her!" "Haha...your sister is such a bright and lively youngdy. You must be proud of her!" Minster Linughed outwardly in response, but he was secretly relieved that his few daughters were unlike Zhou Wenxin, or he would never enjoy peace in his household. As conversation wore on, the group finally found themselves at the entrance of the Valley. "My deard!" Minister Lin had been hardened by his life experiences and was thick-skinned as a result. His loud and clear voice was carried by the wind into the distance. "Oh? What is Minister Lin doing here?" Fang Yuan was clearing weeds in the Red Cornfield and was baffled when he heard the call. "I shall go take a look. Hide, Flower Fox Ferret! Remember, don¡¯t eat any of the corn sprouts!" The Flower Fox Ferret was a magical creature. Fang Yuan saw it as his trump card and did not intend to alert anyone to its existence. "Keke!" The white ferret cocked its head to one side and nced at the Valley entrance with disdain before disappearing into a nearby garden. Fang Yuan watched the white ferret go before tidying himself up. He then went over to the Valley entrance to greet his guests. "Ah, Uncle Lin. What brings you here again?" "My deard. Let Uncle Lin introduce you to my twopanions. This is..." Minister Lin kept a wide smile stered on his face as he spoke, but Zhou Wenxin¡¯s voice pierced the air without warning. "You little thief!" "Thief?!" Minster Lin and Zhou Erge were stunned. "Second Brother, it¡¯s him! He¡¯s the fellow who took advantage of me!" Zhou Wenxin¡¯s features were coloured in a violent shade of red. She was so mad that she became incoherent. "Youngdy!" Fang Yuan frowned. He obviously recognised this difficult young woman. And her choice of words was misleading! How had he taken advantage of her if he had not evenid a finger on her? "What are you guys waiting for ...get him!" Zhou Wenxin exploded. "Yes, Missy!" The manservants moved forward aggressively. "Wait! This must be a misunderstanding!" Minister Lin rushed to position himself between the potential sh and calmly reasoned. "I watched this young man grow up. I can vouch for his character!" "You are...the kid who peddled the Red Mountain Ginseng the other day?" Zhou Erge had recognised Fang Yuan too. Second Young Master Zhou had sent men to get to the bottom of things that day and had been dumbfounded when he pieced together the whole picture. To be fair, Fang Yuan was indeed meless. "Hehe...it must have been a mistake..." Seeing that Minister Lin was trying his best to defuse the tension, Zhou Erge chipped in. "Yes yes, let¡¯s talk this over!" He was used to tolerating his sister¡¯s obstinate behaviour, but he had to proceed with tact this time round because he needed Fang Yuan¡¯s to do him a favour. Chapter 10: The Trade Chapter 10: The Trade Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions " Let me get straight to the point, virtuous young man. I am here today to request a favour from you!" Minister Lin nced towards a frustrated Zhou Wenxin, hesitated for a moment, then looked at Fang Yuan. "My father is sick, and I have long heard of Young Master¡¯s impable medical skills. I havee to request for medicine!" The second son in the Zhou Family had a good upbringing and was humble in requesting for the favour, "I hope Young Master would help us out, and the entire Zhou Family will be grateful to you!" At his side, Zhou Wenxin wanted to say a few words of her own but thought twice after seeing her brother¡¯s strict expression. ¡¯Never would I have thought that the incident at the town woulde back and hound me...¡¯ Fang Yuan remained silent. He noticed the expensive clothing donned by the Zhou siblings, and also their servant with arge build. If Minister Lin was not here today, these people would never be so polite. As for Minister Lin, the previous incident of annulling the marriage resulted in their friendship bing weaker. Unless Fang Yuan recruited the help of Flower Fox Ferret to kill all of them and run away, he could not avoid this situation. ¡¯Until now, they are still oppressing me...¡¯ Fang Yuan mulled silently, but instead said, "Brothers, you have arrivedte. My Master, Master Wenxin is the true master of Medicine skills. And as for me? I only learnt a few basics from him, and before seeing your father, I cannot assess his condition..." "You little mucker..." He only thought of nning an escape route for himself, but unknowingly, Zhou Wenxin felt so unjust that she started to cry. To her, the bullying act by Fang Yuan back at the town was the biggest insult she had received. And now, even when they have approached him and humbly requested for his help, he still rejected them! This made Zhou Wenxin very angry and pushed her to the brink of crying. "Keke... You are too humble. Even though Master Wenxin is not around anymore, I could recall that you should have kept plenty of good quality herbs right? If only I could have one portion to aid my father in his recovery, that would be enough..." Minister Lin smiled and rubbed his hands together. On the other hand, Fang Yuan frowned and felt that he could not trust him. Minister Lin and Fang Yuan¡¯s friendship was the strongest as if they understood each other perfectly well. Fang Yuan was thankful that he was not Master Wenxin himself, otherwise if Minister Lin knew about the Questioning Heart Tea Tree, Fang Yuan would get into trouble. "Eh? In our previous encounter, Young Master was selling Red Ginseng. Even though the Red Ginseng was not aged enough, the medicinal properties were shocking! After my father consumed it, his conditioned improved!" Zhou Erge nodded his head as though he thought of something, and looked happy. Fang Yuan rolled his eyes but did not want to sound untrustworthy in front of Minister Lin. Fang Yuan was put in a spot. Half a dayter, he responded, "Minister Lin knows that Master Wenxin and I have lived in the secluded valley for less than 20 years, therefore the aged mountain herbs we have are all harvested by my Master from the deep mountains. There is a limited supply, and this is all we have now..." "I also understand..." Minister Lin felt embarrassed because he knew that Master Wenxin was a legend that could traverse the deep mountains and forest as though it was t ground, but Fang Yuan? He could not have such abilities yet. And therefore to eye on Fang Yuan¡¯s limited supply of mountain herbs was a little too much... For the sake of Leiyue¡¯s future, he had no choice but to ask, "Virtuous young man, if you may have any request or anything that I can help you with, spill it out!" "That¡¯s right, the Zhou Family announced that if Young Master is able to heal my father, whatever request you may have will be eded to." Zhou Erge added. "Then I shall say..." Fang Yuan was delighted because this was what he really wanted. He was afraid that he would not get anything in return for the herbs that he would provide. A human favour was the most unreliable because one could forget about it any other day. Minister Lin was right to realize this and promised something in return. "As for the precious herbs, I have thest stash here with me. It is a 60-year old aged Red Ginseng and is definitely real. But I cannot confirm that it will improve Old Zhou¡¯s condition, and therefore I will not request for anything. But because I am living in the deep mountains and forest, I would like to learn a few martial arts for self-defence. Therefore I hope that it would be possible to get a martial arts manual or something simr..." "You want to learn martial arts?!" Minister Lin appeared shocked, took a moment to observe the surrounding mountains and forest, and seemed to empathise a little. As for the Zhou siblings, their facial expressions turned sour. Seeing their reactions, Fang Yuan realised that they wrongly thought of him as the one who wants to secretly steal the Zhou Family¡¯s set of martial arts. He immediately waved his hands, "Of course, I only request the basic types of martial arts, only for self-defence. I would never hope for the most profound martial arts. If only Minister Lin gave me the most widely circted, easiest-to-learn set of martial arts manual, that would be enough!" "Oh, this... This is simple..." Minister Lin stroked his beard, and deep down felt relieved. If Fang Yuan requested for the Spirit Returning Sect¡¯s most profound set of martial arts, even if the Zhou Siblings agree, the Sect might not agree. Only the most basic martial arts, with no specified type? Considering how affluent the Zhou Family was, several skilled martial artists were recruited to protect their house. Putting together all their martial arts manual, they might have a few books. Furthermore, these are the widely circted ones, and therefore would not be any trouble to obtain. "This request is simple, I shall agree to it on behalf of the Zhou Family! Just look for me whenever you want it!" Minister Lin smiled to himself. "Good, then that¡¯s a promise. A 60-year-old Red Ginseng, for a martial arts manual, not including others... Of course, this does not include Zhou Family¡¯s reward! This is only between Minister Lin and me!" Seeing how much effort Minister Lin put in, Fang Yuan understood that giving a favour to others would establish their rtionship very clearly. "Deal!" The Zhou Siblings looked at one another and realised that they were in no position to talk, and could only witness the both of them agreeing to the deal. For Zhou Wenxin, she unhappily mumbled a sentence, "Aren¡¯t you a little old to be learning martial arts? Keke... You don¡¯t even know about the 12 Golden Gates, and you still want to achieve something in martial arts?" Her tone was a condescending one. Fang Yuan remained calm as though he did not hear her. He secretly took a mental note of ¡¯12 Golden Gates¡¯ to find out about it in the future. "Please follow me, Minister Lin!" Fang Yuan open his the door of his storage and invited Minister Lin in. He did not attempt to stop the Zhou Siblings from following. As long as the Questioning Heart Tea and Vermillion Jade Rice remained a secret, it does not matter if his stored medicine was being seen by others. By letting them in, it would also dismiss any greedy thoughts that they might have. Otherwise, in the future, wouldn¡¯t it be impractical if everyone who fell sick came over here to ask for herbs? "Hmm, you kept the storage neat and tidy." Within the storage room, a strong scent filled the air. Zhou Wenxin held her nose, but Minister Lin kept his hands at his back, "This Jade Crystal Rice is the most special, and cultivated with the best methods.Thest time I ate this rice, I did not have to worry about food and even the smell of meat could not entice me..." "If Minister Lin likes it, then please help yourself to a few bags before leaving..." Fang Yuan replied without looking back. This scene reminded Zhou Wenxin of the first time she met Fang Yuan and made her feel embarrassed and angry at the same time. All the way at the end of the storage room were rows of wooden racks, with many empty boxes at the top. Fang Yuan walked to the right side of the room, took out a box and handed it over, "Minister Lin, please have it!" Minister Lin received the box and opened it. It was arge ginseng, of deep red jadeite colour. It was preserved to perfection and of top-notch quality, and the best part of the ginseng was that none of its roots was wed. "Mmmm, very good! Very good!" His eyes darted around the floor, and shook his head in disappointment, ¡¯Looks like Master Wenxin¡¯s storage is indeed going to be empty soon......¡¯ "Good! Good! Good!" Zhou Ergu took a quick look at the Red Ginseng and was ecstatic, "Its medicinal powers would be at least 60 years old since the medicinal value of a Red Ginseng goes up with its age. Red Ginsengs aged above 50 is a rarity! Father has hope now!" "Mmm, please keep it properly..." Seeing this Red Ginseng, Minister Lin felt reluctant, but still passed it to Zhou Erge for safekeeping, and told Fang Yuan, "Don¡¯t you worry, the martial arts manual that you requested will be delivered to you." "Many thanks, Minister Lin!" Fang Yuan clutched his fist and paid hispliments. "Mmm, I shall take my leave!" Staying after the deal would make things more awkward. Minister Lin, together with the Zhou Family, walk out and disappeared outside the valley. "Keke?!" Fang Yuan let out a long sigh as he watched them walk away. At this moment, a white sh appeared and Flower Fox Ferret appeared again. It pointed its paws around and in its eyes, it seemed confused. "This time you don¡¯t have to fight..." Fang Yuan stroked Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s head, and mumbled to it, "Next time, without my presence, if anyone approaches the garden, go for the kill. Understood?" Flower Fox Ferret was able to understand Fang Yuan¡¯s intentions, and like a human nodded his small head. "I¡¯m not sure if one Red Ginseng is able to cure Old Zhou¡¯s illness, and if it cannot be cured, then what happens afterwards would be a little troublesome..." Fang Yuan took a look at the column of his own qualities: "[Medicine (Level 1)] - Can heal simple wounds, including mild wounds, and with the aid of medicinal nts can achieve even better results." "[Botany (Level 3)] - You are undoubtedly the professional in this field, harnessing unlimited potential. Through your nts, there is a slight chance that they might evolve to have special traits!" "Mild wounds, I don¡¯t even know if Old Zhou¡¯s illness can be ssified as mild... but with the aid of medicinal nts to achieve better results, that is worth seeing if it will work..." Fang Yuan now wanted to attain a higher level for his [Medicine]. Through experimenting in [Botany], it became clear to him that to attain a higher level, one needed to be proficient and undergo intense training. His own [Botany] levelled up to Level 2 through numerous cultivation of nts, but without the help of the spiritual nts, he could never have attained Level 3. To improve his [Medical], he would have to begin with arge number of patients. "Hmm... the Zhou Family? Keke..." Fang Yuan shook his head and remained silent. Chapter 11: The Secret Manual Chapter 11: The Secret Manual Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Minister Lin was a trustworthy person. Not long after, a small bag was delivered to the secluded mountains. Maybe because he felt guilty, or maybe he felt that the basic martial arts weren¡¯t much trouble, so he delivered three manuals at one go, which surprised Fang Yuan. He sat on an emerald rock, and with Flower Fox Ferret by his side, carefully flipped the pages of one of the manuals. "ck Sand Palm?" Fang Yuan flipped the manual and scanned the manual quickly. He noticed that even though the book seemed old, the wordings were written with much force, and some of it was blurred. The corner of some pages was torn, which showed how many generations the book was passed down from. This manual was simply an antique. "I can¡¯t believe he sent the original copy to me, looks like Minister Lin did not have any intention to cheat me..." Fang Yuan nodded his head. These type of martial arts manuals had to be as urate as possible because even the slightest deviation from copying to another copy might result in an entirely different result altogether, so the original copy was still the best. Just by holding on to the manual, Fang Yuan was able to know the amount of effort the martial artist ced intopiling the manual. "Hmm... Even the most basic martial arts getting widely circted goes to show that it has its own unique points!" The other two copies were in a simr condition to this manual, and this made Fang Yuan feel slightly ashamed. He only requested for the most widely circted ones because they were the easiest to verify. Anyway, he was not allowed to practise martial arts if the manual was given by someone else. Afterall, learning martial arts was one of the easiest ways to lose control of one¡¯s conscious mind. "It seems... I am guarding against others..." Fang Yuan heaved a long sigh: "After all, I still have my medical skills. Even if I only research and not practice, I should be able to spot any problems. Compared to internal techniques, external techniques are better as it¡¯s quite difficult to go wrong with them, even if there are traps inside..." Although this was known from another subject, it could also be used to prove the same theory. He put down the manual and flipped the other two manuals. "Eagle w Technique? It seems that the representative from the Spirit Returning Sect, Cold Face Steel Eagle, knew this technique. He probably knew the secret manual version of this technique, and would likely overpower the other widely circted versions..." Out of the three manuals, two of which taught external martial arts, and thest one taught a nameless technique. It focused on how to train one¡¯s body, increase tolerance to punches, and some breathing techniques as well. ording to the author, once practised fully, holding a single breath would be able to take a hit from a normal weapon. In the bag, there was also a small piece of paper, jotted on it the origins of these three books. "Presenting the ck Sand Palm, the most widely circted version of martial arts within Qinghe County." "From viger Mengyuan, the Eagle w Technique. The most basic martial arts, but one will require a special set of Inner Power to be able to train to its highest level." "Thest book is the simplest set of breathing techniques, no, it is just some breathing techniques and methods to take hits from opponents, and it doesn¡¯t even have a name, so let¡¯s call it "Rough Breathing Technique..." ... Fang Yuan realised that these three manuals were indeed the most widely circted, and none of them was a treasure. However basic a set of martial arts might be, it was also passed down from generations to generations with much thought put into it. Any normal person who was able to practise any type of martial arts would be able to defend oneself, so it was still worth cherishing the martial arts manual. Using a 60-year-old Red Ginseng in exchange for these books was a fair trade. "Considering how good the conditions of these manuals are... Minister Lin was still sincere." Fang Yuan sighed and started to study each manual in detail. Unknowingly, half a day went by and the sun began to set, with its rays scattering across the horizon. "Keke!?" "Keke?" The Flower Fox Ferret saw how focused Fang Yuan was in studying the manuals, and became curious. It could not understand a single word written in the manuals and so it gave up trying to read it. The Flower Fox Ferret ran out into the forest, and not long after, dragged arge wild rabbit back and ced it in front of Fang Yuan. "Haha... You only know about eating!" Fang Yuan closed thest manual on the Rough Breathing Technique, looked at the Flower Fox Ferret andughed. The sky began to darken. Next to the firece, Fang Yuan skinned the rabbit, marinated it and roasted it. He yanked out the thigh of the roasted rabbit and threw the remaining to the impatient Flower Fox Ferret. His mind was filled with the contents that he read about in the manuals. ¡¯The world of martial arts seems to be of a higher level than the normal world... ck Sand Palm and Eagle w Technique are purely the outer power that can be stimted with medicine. On the other hand, cultivating the inner power requires proper breathing techniques and patterns, or even focusing the mind... Regardless of the type of martial arts, there are always different levels of cultivation, and this is the 12 Golden Gates!¡¯ This term ¡¯12 Golden Gates¡¯ was constantly repeated in all three manuals. Fang Yuan thought about it hard, and finally knew what it meant. "Based on the theory of martial arts, the human body has unlimited potential. However, there are many mental barriers which restrict the use of maximum power. Therefore, the purpose of learning martial arts is to learn how to destroy these barriers to unleash one¡¯s potential!" There were 12 of these barriers, as described in the manuals. This was why it was called the 12 Golden Gates. Every time a martial artist broke through one of these gates, his strength would increase. The more gates that were broken through, the scarier it became. After breaking all 12 Gates, one would attain the level of ¡¯Wu Zong¡¯! There was only one such person alive, even within the Spirit Returning Sect. "The 12 barriers within the human body... sounds simr to the 12 Meridians, 8 Veins in Medicine. Does that mean that the cultivation of martial arts is actually to strengthen the meridian of the human body?" "The 12 barriers represent 12 levels, and in order to attain Wu Zong, every single one must be broken! I can¡¯t imagine how clever Leiyue is!" After understanding the difficulty in practising martial arts, Fang Yuan had some doubts. His impression of Leiyue¡¯s martial arts was not of such a high level. "At that point of time I couldn¡¯t understand martial arts, but Master should have noticed, that the marriage was a little too rushed......" When he thought of Master Wenxin, Fang Yuan sighed. Master Wenxin treated him fairly, and everything was for his own good. The only regret was that he passed on early. If he was still alive and saw Minister Lin, how would he react? After his thoughts, the roasted rabbit in his mouth became tasteless. Fang Yuan stood up, tidied the ce and prepared some tea in the moonlight. While performing the Meditative Tea Ceremony, Fang Yuan reminisced Master Wenxin, and this was his unique way of keeping his Master in his memory. "Hisss!?" The Flower Fox Ferret seemed to understand Fang Yuan, and at the same time seemed like it could feel the sorrow in Fang Yuan, and did not appear as joyful as the past few times. In the deep secluded valley, there was no sun and moon. Time passed quickly and it was dawn. Fang Yuan woke up early, and as usual, drank his morning tea and proceeded to farm. In the Vermillion Jade Rice farm, the shoots grew to his hip level, and fruits started to form at the top of the shoots, causing the shoots to bend. Fang Yuan dissolved the spiritual fertilizer in the spring water and watered the nts with the water. A light fragrance filled the air. "Keke!" "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret jumped around as though it was very excited. Although the small shoots of the Vermillion Jade Rice did not catch its attention, the ripened Vermillion Jade Rice did make it excited. "Remember, don¡¯t steal it!" For this, Fang Yuan had to sternly remind it and brewedrge amounts of tea for it to drink before being able to appease it. "Previously we did not nt much, so it would be good if we can harvest more than 10 pounds. But after this, we can nt even more, and should consider expanding the farm..." Fang Yuan was excited. The speed at which the Spirited Red Corn germinated and grew was faster than expected. It must have been due to the spiritual fertilizer that was brought by the Flower Fox Ferret, and also his [Botany], which resulted in the speedy growth. "Don¡¯t worry, Flower Fox Ferret! Once we harvest it, I will let you have your fill! After all, credit goes to you for finding the spiritual fertilizer!" Fang Yuan caressed the head of the Flower Fox Ferret, andforted it: "And also, as for the spiritual tea, it¡¯s the second harvest already..." He smiled and felt happy from his bountiful harvest. Every day while patrolling the farm, Fang Yuan would stop by a hut and flip the martial arts manual on the table. "I have already memorised these three manuals, and already cross-referenced with my [Medicine], and nothing seems to be wrong with it... should I start practising?" Fang Yuan imagined himself trying out the moves, but adamantly shook his head: "No way! This is not safe! I am such a coward! The only n is to go to the town, spend some money and get another one of these manuals to refer to, or pass it on to someone else to practice..." Martial arts was not a normal thing, and therefore Fang Yuan had no confidence to practise it. "The small thief is inside!" "Surround him, don¡¯t let him run away!" "Faster!" ... Suddenly, a lot of noise came from outside, which confused Fang Yuan. "What is it?" He opened the door and saw arge group of men, furiously entering his home. Zhou Wenxin stood in front of the pack, looking proud. "You small thief!" Zhou Wenxin¡¯s old and new hatred for Fang Yuan grew as she saw him. Her voice became sharper: "You insulted me, and now you used fake medicine on my father! I will not let you off today!" With a wave of her hand, a few men rushed towards Fang Yuan, surrounding him. Chapter 12: Poisonous Dragon Grass Chapter 12: Poisonous Dragon Grass Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Numerous hostile big-sized men surrounded Fang Yuan with wooden bats. Under normal circumstances, one would have been beaten badly. Fang Yuan hadn¡¯t started practising martial arts and hence would likely be beaten badly. However, he looked at these hostile men with a smile. "You dare to smile still. Beat him till his bones break!" "Hit!" These men from the Zhou family were violent and rude. Whizz! A bright light appeared and shed a few times in the area. "Aaah!" After which, a few screamings were heard. When Zhou Wenxin came back to her senses, she realised all her bodyguards were defeated. She held her bleeding right arm tightly. "What....what kind of power is this?" Her face immediately turned white. When Fang Yuan started to approach her, she was so scared that she immediately retreated and said, "Don¡¯t....do note near me!" "Miss Zhou, I made a deal with Uncle Lin. The medicine was approved by him, so who told you the medicine was fake?" Fang Yuan slowly approached her with a cold look. If he had a Flower Fox Ferret with him, the consequences for Miss Zhou would have been even worse. "Wuahhh!" Zhou Wenxin tripped and fell while retreating. She began crying, "Oooooo..... you¡¯re a bully!" "Bullshit!" Fang Yuan was left speechless. These men were obviously hostile in nature and why were they hired as bodyguards? "Speak now, or you will end up like them!" Fang Yuan intimidated her by kicking one the downed men. From the scream, Zhou Wenxin immediately stopped crying and said, "It....It was Song Zhigao who said it!" "Who is Song Zhigao?" "Aprador of the Spirit Returning Sect!" ........ Through Fang Yuan¡¯s method of interrogation, the arrogant Zhou Wenxin was able to spit out the truth and reveal everything. ording to her, after obtaining the Red Mountain Ginseng from the previous deal, the siblings happily gave it to Old Zhou. Old Zhou did recover from his illness and got better, but not for long. His condition deteriorated and until now, no medicine could help to cure his illness! Of course, Zhou Erge[1] and Lin Benchu understood that it was not that Fang Yuan¡¯s Red Mountain Ginseng was not effective. However, due to her bad temper, how could Zhou Wenxin have understood? Plus, the Zhou family was close to Song Zhigao and Song Zhigao started questioning the effectiveness of the Red Mountain Ginseng. "Song Zhigao? The one that is in charge of external trade?" Fang Yuan touched his chin and recalled something vaguely. "I have not met or heard about this man before. No offence, but I¡¯m guessing it is likely Leiyue¡¯s marriage that is creating this mess...." Had one known that the marriage would create such a mess, one would not have epted the marriage no matter what. "You have said what others had said. Now can you let me go...." At that moment, Zhou Wenxin was tearing and seemed pitiful instead of unruly. How did it look for ady from a wealthy family to be defeated in the mountains? Anyway, Fang Yuan said his age is definitely bigger than hers. "You can leave now! Bring your men along with you as well!" Fang Yuan¡¯s true colours had been seen by many. He couldn¡¯t bear to kill one and destroy the traces of the murder. He then gave cold look. "Leave now!" Zhou Wenxin and her bodyguard retreated immediately as if there was a big flood that was charging towards them. In their minds, Fang Yuan, who could now defeat so many strong men is no different from a magician who practices dark magic in the mountains. ....... "Keke?" Flower Fox Ferret appeared after they left. It went round and round around Fang Yuan as if it was asking for a treat. "You did well! The main point is that your speed....became even faster!" Since then at the farm, Fang Yuan was able to see Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s full power for the first time. The previous Flower Fox Ferret escaped and only its shadow could be seen. Till now, it seemed that it was because of the spiritual tea that improved the speed. The speed was so fast that those downed bodyguards didn¡¯t even know what attacked them. Even though Fang Yuan has requested to go easy on them, those bodyguards were still attacked quite badly. "Luckily you were not too hard on them just now, if not....." He touched the Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s head, with his mind lingering with fear. The Flower Fox Ferretfortably close its eyes and raise its paws, as if it was saying, "There is no one I cannot defeat!" Fang Yuan couldn¡¯t help butugh at the Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s posture. ....... "Even though the Flower Fox Ferret is very powerful, ording to a manual, one may still be able to track the Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s location even if the Flower Fox Ferret is able to defeat a very good martial artist with its skills that are way beyond a normal human being!" Inside the secluded valley, Fang Yuan was reading ck Sand Palm¡¯s secret manual. At the moment, the Flower Fox Ferret could be considered one of the great martial artists. The men Zhou Wenxin broughtst week were lowly-skilled in terms of martial arts. They were not considered the ones who really practice martial arts even if they had learnt a few moves. Based on the ability of the Zhou family, they should have the good ones. Fang Yuan then may not be confident enough to defeat the better ones when Zhou Wenxin returned next time with them. "My Red Mountain Ginseng should not be a problem. If Old Zhou had a problem with his vitality, his condition shouldn¡¯t deteriorate after consuming the Red Mountain Ginseng!" Fang Yuan was naturally confident about his products. "Then....his injuries is definitely linked to something else!" He admired Lin Benchu¡¯s courage for dealing with such muddy water with just his bare arms. "The main point is that when you jump, you somehow got my whole body in mud as well!" Fang Yuan showed a slight resentment. In fact, this was a positive solution to the problem, but Fang Yuan was not willing to execute it. As to the reason why is because..... He had trekked out of the mountains once this year already and he didn¡¯t want to do it again. Plus, it was too troublesome to find the culprit while curing the illness. Fang Yuan yawned a few times and decided to go for a nap. ........ "Flower Fox Ferret, my life will depend on you if I was to be running away for my life next time!" Half a day had gone. Fang Yuan carried his bamboo basket and continued trekking in the mountains. He envied the Flower Rox Ferret when meeting one along the way. The secluded valley was linked to the mountains and there was no risk of an ambush especially when Master Wenxin built the houses. He left a few escape roads purposely and only Fang Yuan knew these roads. Fang Yuan strongly believed that Master Wenxin probably had made a grave mistake elsewhere and was cautious of his survival ever since, which resulted in Master Wenxin creating a few escape roads. However, due to Master Wenxin¡¯s works, Fang Yuan was able to sleep peacefully every day without having to worry about any danger. Looking at how the Flower Fox Ferret was able to run freely in the forest, Fang Yuan joked about it but was also regretful. If the white ferret had been big enough to be ridden, Fang Yuan can travel and explore the whole Clear Spirit Mountain. That would have been a great thing to do. Trekking the mountains was physically demanding, especially when trekking deep in the mountains and the old forests, where there were no small rocky pathways but full of dangerous animals and poisonous insects. Fang Yuan used his knife to remove the thorns and tall nts that were in the way. He then continued on while panting. These few days he used all kinds of coercion to lure the Flower Fox Ferret to bring him deep into the mountains to find the Spiritual Fertilizer. He suspected that the Flower Fox Ferret had been tricking him. Ever since he entered deep into the mountains, he only encountered a few rare herbs and medicine but could not find the Spiritual Fertilizer. "Don¡¯t quibble with me, Flower Fox Ferret. Judging from the amount you had brought, there should still be a good amount of Spiritual Fertilizer left!" Fang Yuan looked at the sky and stopped trekking. He found a big rock to sit down, passed one of his rice balls to the Flower Fox Ferret and then started eating. "Keke! Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret carried the rice ball around and then bit the rice ball like a squirrel. It finished the rice ball quickly and then started gesturing using its paws. After a long time trying to figure out what its gesture meant, Fang Yuan managed to understand what the Flower Fox Ferret was trying to say, "So I cannot go there yet? I can only find the good stuff nearby?" He looked over his shoulders and eyed a number of rare herbs and medicine that he had collected today. He managed to agree with the idea, "Alright, we will go back home after going there for a while more! The rare herbs and medicine collected must be locked up somewhere safe or else it will be a waste to lose them!" After gulping down a mouthful of spring water, Fang Yuan was recharged and ready to trek with the Flower Fox Ferret. They then reach a depression where there was full of fog. "Well.... This ce is full of miasma and poisonous fog!" Fang Yuan then saw some colour in the fog and frowned. He immediately applied some of Master Wenxin¡¯s medicine onto his nose. Hunters and herb collectors who trekked this far into the mountains would have such medicine to apply, but the medicine made by Master Wenxin had the best remedy. "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret seemed quite anxious. "Haha.... What is the issue?" Fang Yuan happily followed it and breathed in, "Poisonous Dragon Grass?!" In front of himy a small pool with white rocks around it. A purple herb was in sight. This expensive herb was mentioned by Master Wenxin before. Such herb grew in toxic ces and was highly effective in dealing with other poisons when it was used as medicine. Many serious antidote prescription required such a herb. "Good herb!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered but did not move. Waiting for this herb was equivalent to getting half of it as there could be animals nearby guarding this herb! [1] Zhou Erge and Zhou Wenwu are the same person Chapter 13: Fisherman Chapter 13: Fisherman Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Hiss!" After the Poisonous Dragon Grass was found, the Flower Fox Ferret started making a hissing sound to indicate there was danger approaching. The Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s fur rose and its back became arched like a bow. "Hiss!" At that moment, Fang Yuan heard a sound from a pile of white rocks and a ck long animal came crawling out with half of its body raised. It showed hostility while showing its purple-red coloured tongue. "Is this....a snake?" He was shocked by the sudden presence of the snake. This snake was about 3 feet long and as wide as a thumb. The ck scales on it was glittering. What caught his eye was its white tail which was like a pearl ne. Its fangs were sharp and there was a big bulge on top of its head. The bulge was like a purple pearl showing a bit of glitter. "Pearl Tail Snake?" Fang Yuan recalled what Master Wenxin mentioned and linked the different types of the very poisonous living matter that existed in the Clear Spirit Mountain. "Definitely....not a normal Pearl Tail Snake as this ck one is way longer. Plus, the ck one has an additional bulge on top of its head....perhaps because of mutation?" He was very sure that this ck snake was neither a spiritual animal nor just a normal Pearl Tail Snake. "Hiss!" At that moment, the Flower Fox Ferret showed its ws and started moving forward. Seeing a white furred Flower Fox Ferret, this mutated Peal Tail Snake seemed to be afraid of the Flower Fox Ferret. It then curled into a circle, with its head popping out. "Yes....Flower Fox Ferrets are naturally enemies with snakes. Since this ferret is a Spiritual beast and has the effects of the spiritual tea, it should be able to defeat the snake...." Pearl Tail Snake was extremely poisonous and Fang Yuan was definitely no match for the snake with just his knife and the antidote. He immediately went to hide and anxiously oversaw the situation. Both beasts stared at each other for a while. Suddenly, the Flower Fox Ferret moved a few steps. "Hiss!" The Pearl Tail Snake started spitting out translucent liquid, like shooting an arrow, from its fangs. "Spitting poison?" Fang Yuan was watching frantically at the side, knowing that he was unlikely to dodge away from the poison if he was the one dueling. At that moment, the Flower Fox Ferret was in mid-air and dodged away from the poison quickly like the speed of lightning. The Flower Fox Ferret then moved to the pile of white rocks and then clenched onto the neck of the Pearl Tail Snake using its front ws. The tail of the Pearl Tail Snake was left wrapping around and the Flower Fox Ferret, showing its sharp teeth, took this chance to take a bite around the neck. Kacha! The head of the Pearl Tail Snake dropped with just one bite from the Flower Fox Ferret. "Well done!" Fang Yuan came over and celebrated. He went to look for the ce where the poisonnded from the Pearl Tail Snake. The ce became burnt, with the rocks being disintegrated into pieces. "Not bad Flower Fox Ferret!" Fang Yuanplimented the Flower Fox Ferret and carefully kept the Poisonous Dragon Grass. "Combine this with the Three Star Grass, a leaf and this Pearl Tail Snake....The ingredients for Master¡¯s ¡®Yama¡¯s Order¡¯ would beplete!" The name of this medicine sounded scary, but in fact is a detoxification medicine, which can detoxify many types of poison. This medicine can even save one¡¯s life who was almost dying from poison. "Hey! Stop eating so much, I still need the snake!" After the quarrel, Fang Yuan silently looked at the Flower Fox Ferret carrying the Pearl Tail Snake. The snake was bitten into half like a sugar cane. The Flower Fox Ferret dug out a purple green snake bile and swallowed it down. "Luckily, the poisonous capsules are still inside...." Fang Yuan went to check again and was relieved. Knowing that even though how divine the Flower Fox Ferret was, when facing such mutated Peal Tail Snake with extreme poison, the Flower Fox Ferret was cautious when eating the Pearl Tail Snake. ....... "Even though this time when I enter the mountains, I cannot find the Spiritual Fertilizer but I manage to gather all the ingredients for Yama¡¯s Order. I can start to prepare this medicine when I get back...." On the way back home, Fang Yuan¡¯s mood was great. Even though the effect of Yama¡¯s Order is very strong, the process of making it is not reallyplicated. Only a few types of ingredients were needed in ratio. Mixing and tanning of these ingredients would then produce the medicine. The only difficult part was getting the ingredients as they were rare. "With this medicine, it will be much more convenient when I go travel next time...." Fang Yuan pondered his face changed suddenly. A broken tree appeared suddenly in front of him. The tree, which was as wide as one¡¯s waist, was truncated at the middle portion. This was nothing but what was strange was that a very clear palm print was on the truncated portion of the tree! "Definitely a person, but someone with such strength?!" Fang Yuan became alert and found some footprints of a wolf pack. "The wolves fought all the way till the Clear Spirit Mountain here?" "Hiss!" The white Flower Fox Ferret became tense up as well after seeing the wolves¡¯ tracks. "Let¡¯s go and have a look!" Fang Yuan was a young adult and out of curiousity, wanted to find out what happened. The Flower Fox Ferret sniffed the ground and then went off in a direction. Fang Yuan went after it closely but along the way, he saw even more footprints and traces of blood. "Judging from the scene, definitely one is chasing the other...." Fang Yuan was cautious and slowed down his footsteps even more when he heard noisesing from ahead. "Han Shou....a traitor....." Along with the wind blowing from the mountains, a series of human voice could be heard vaguely. Fang Yuan didn¡¯t dare to charge to the front. He observed his surroundings and then climbed up onto a big tree. He used the massive size of the canopy of the tree as a cover and observed from above. He was lucky as it was just a piece of grasnd further up front. He saw 2 people fighting, one in white while the other in ck. Both of them didn¡¯t seem to know that they were being watched. "Master....I was wrong. Please spare me...." Fang Yuan came at the wrong time as the fight seemed to be ending. The one in ck was punched at the middle of his chest. He began spitting out big pool of blood and then kneeled down to beg for forgiveness. After seeing what happened, Fang Yuan felt that his faith in great martial artists were destroyed. "Hey....it seems that skilled martial artists need not have a good character..... Previously they could fight with no regard for their lives. But the moment when he was losing he immediately knelt and beg for his life to be spared..." Being an observer, he only thought about himself and did not think from the perspectives of these martial artists. After the one in ck kneeled down, the one in white seemed to hesitate while raising his right hand. His face turned red and started scolding loudly. Fang Yuan could only hear the 2 words ¡®traitor¡¯ and ¡®treasure¡¯ vaguely. He couldn¡¯t catch the rest of the sentence. Just when he was about to leave since he thought the show had ended, something happened! The man in ck suddenly gave a strong punch to the chest of the man in white. Kacha! The sound of fractures was so deafening that Fang Yuan could hear it very clearly. The man in white then returned with another punch onto the man in ck. The man in ck was now injured badly, but was spitting out blood andughing, making him looked arrogant. "That man is ruthless!" Fang Yuan was amazed by theeback. "Thateback was a big turnover!" At that moment, the man in ck stumbled forward to the dead man in white and seemed to be looking for something. However, the man in ck went down as well. "What? Both parties are defeated? Looks like the man in white is more skilled than the other as he managed to injure the other one before he die!" Fang Yuan hurried down the tree and went to the edge of the fighting zone, but didn¡¯t dare to move any nearer. The fight between the two and the damage they had caused scared him a little, hence he didn¡¯t dare to move closer. The man in ck who survived was especially cunning. What if he realised that he was being watched the whole time and decided to pretend to be dead, wouldn¡¯t it be Fang Yuan walking into his own grave if he decided to recover the bodies? Upon consideration, Fang Yuan picked up a rock and threw it on the man in ck. Bang! There was no reaction. He picked and threw another again! Bang! There was no reaction still. Fang Yuan became suspicious and picked a veryrge rock. He used all his strength and manage to throw it on the man in ck. The sound of a bone fracture was heard..... "Still no reaction? Or is it because he was seriously injured?" Fang Yuan saw a pool of blood flowing and was forming a small creek. "Flower Fox Ferret, go and bite his neck gently!" Fang Yuan gestured for a long time to the Flower Fox Ferret before it went forward to hold the man in ck by the neck. Fang Yuan then slowly went nearer to check. The man in white had already became a corpse. He looked simple and honest, looked like he was in his 30s. However, the man in ck, who looked okay, had a slightly sharp chin, making him look slight ruthless. At that point, his face was as white as paper. His chest had depression, along with fractured ribs and leg. "This man is ruthless....however, he is still useful...." Fang Yuan began searching the 2 men. He found nothing from the man in ck and then cursed him silently. Flintstones, a golden leaf and 2 bottles of good medicine were found in the pocket of the man in white. These things were probably what the man in ck was looking for but unfortunately, he fainted due to his serious injuries. "This medicine should be good and well known elsewhere. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t know this medicine personally...." After an intensive search, Fang Yuan couldn¡¯t find any martial arts manual that he wanted badly. He then looked at the mess the man in ck made and hesitated. He bit his teeth and decided to dig a grave to bury the man in white. He looked at the man in ck again and had mixed feelings. ....... "Don¡¯t....Don¡¯te any closer!" He dreamt of his senior brother being covered in blood, came pleading to survive. Han Shou screamed and then woke up from his dream. He was lying on a wooden bed, which had a slight soft curvature to it. There were many wooden furnitures around him and the ce looked simple. To him, who had been so close to death, this ce was like heaven. "What happen? Didn¡¯t I...." Han Shou quivered and struggled to get up. However, he was injured so badly that there was intense pain at his chest and his leg. He couldn¡¯t help but felt everything that happened was strange. He could remember vividly that he was punched in the chest with great force by his senior brother, but he just couldn¡¯t figure out why his leg was injured badly as well? Plus, how did he end up here? What was this ce? "You are finally awake?" The creaking sound of the door opening revealed a normal looking young adult carrying a bowl of medicine into the room. Heaving a sigh of relief, he said "The other day I was collecting medicine and found you injured by chance. I was scared to death but luckily thank god...." He helped Han Shou to get up and wanted to feed him medicine. Han Shou managed to sit upright. He realised his clothes and his right boot were untouched, then heaved a sigh of relief. Chapter 14: Mixed Poison Chapter 14: Mixed Poison Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "I came here to pluck herbs. There was so much blood and even a corpse! I was so scared..." The young man continued to rattle on, appearing a little silly. Han Shou was a martial artist and therefore could tell that there was no poison in the medicine prepared. He took a few sips and felt warmth in his stomach, but gazed at the young man with a sinister look. Although the young man saved his life, in order to keep his secret safe, Han Shou decided to kill him after recovering. He appeared thankful, "The few of us brothers encountered such a disaster, and I am so thankful to have been rescued by you young man, you mentioned a corpse... Could it be my elder brother... is he dead?" Han Shou face was filled with sorrow and started to tear up, as though he had real emotions. Fang Yuan felt rather impressed at his acting. "Hmm... There was no choice, I have already buried your elder brother. When you have recovered, I shall bring you to where I buried him for you collect his bones..." Fang Yuanforted. "I couldn¡¯t be more thankful, my benefactor! Even if both of us brothers reincarnate as animals in our next lives, we will also repay your kind favour!" Han Shou remained unaware and continued acting. "Keke... No need, no need!" Fang Yuan scratched his head and smiled. Han Shou was no different from a vegetable. Every time he moved he would require Fang Yuan¡¯s assistance, and therefore could not plot anything against Fang Yuan now. After observing the surroundings, Han Shou realised that there was nothing else around the ce and felt relieved. He noticed Fang Yuan reading a manual and out of curiosity, asked, "What are you reading, my brother?" "This is a treasure passed down from my father!" Fang Yuan passed the book forward, "It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t recognise some of these words..." He looked at Han Shou, with embarrassment in his face, "Can you exin it to me?" "Mmm... tendons, bones, ws and joints, the tendons are the most important. In the same way as how an eagle uses its ws, quick and deadly... Isn¡¯t this the Eagle w Technique?" Han Shou read a few more lines, but inside he felt that this was a total waste of time. Seeing how excited Fang Yuan was, he smirked and said, "This is a secret manual, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea for me to read on!" "Since I cannot understand it, how about you teach me!" Fang Yuan forced a look of excitement. ¡¯Mmm, you chose this path of no return, don¡¯t me me!¡¯ Han Shou thought to himself, but felt that he had to repay the favour, "Since you saved my life, reading a few words shouldn¡¯t matter right?" "This is great, so how do I interpret these few words?" Fang Yuan acted as though he was interested. "Mmm, this is Guan Yuan, it represents an acupoint on the body!" "What about this?" "Gu Hai!" "Qi Yuan!" ... Han Shou exined casually, but in his mind, he was mocking him. If Fang Yuan followed the instructions of Han Shou, he would lose his self-control while practising this set of martial arts. ¡¯This person... He is really evil!¡¯ Fang Yuan thought back, ¡¯On the contrary, Minister Lin¡¯s manuals were the ones with no problem.¡¯ His theory was simple. He was literate since he was able to attain his [Medicine]. If the manuals Minister Lin provided had problems, based on Han Shou¡¯s experience he would be able to tell. But now, Han Shou was intentionally twisting the meaning within the manual, in the process showing that the manuals had no problem. "How do I read this word, Brother Han?" Fang Yuan yed along. "Oh this, Nian Ming Men, a vital point on the body!" Han Shou replied casually. "Wait, how did you know that my surname is Han?" "Not only that, you interpreted the same thing differently from before!" Fang Yuan took a step back and smiled. Han Shou face reddened and knew that under such circumstances if he spoke and exined himself without much thought, he would expose himself. At the moment, his expression changes, "You tricked me?" "Han Shou, you scum, you are no better!" Fang Yuan took a few more steps back and shouted. "Go and die, you sneaky kid!" Han Shou recovered quickly and equipped himself with a copper button. If anyone approached him, he could use his final breath and kill Fang Yuan. Never would he have thought that Fang Yuan was so sneaky and disappeared in the blink of an eye. "Wait, it is all my fault. If would continue healing me, I would be willing to pass down my divine martial arts to you!" Now that Han Shou was weaker than Fang Yuan, even if he doesn¡¯t burn down the ce, Han Shou would die of hunger if Fang Yuan simply did not serve him food, therefore he had to back down. "It¡¯s alright. You tried to trick me even with these basic martial arts! How would I dare to learn your ¡¯divine martial arts¡¯?" Fang Yuan sounded sarcastic, "Brother Han, with your amazing abilities, you should just walk into your grave." Han Shou was far more scheming and skilful than Fang Yuan. Therefore, Fang Yuan was afraid that Han Shou would recovered quickly even though his condition seemed bad. It was best to kill Han Shou straight away. He would rather practise the basic martial arts than try to learn from Han Shou and risk getting harmed. "You are good!" Han Shou rolled his eyes, plotting a scheme in the meantime. Fang Yuan¡¯s voice was heard from afar, "Mister Han, you don¡¯t have to think of anything already, because your life is now in my hands!" "In your hands?!" Han Shou snickered, "The medicinal soup had no problems, how would I..." He stopped halfway. He recalled that he was all under Fan Yuan¡¯s control while he was unconscious. This meant that Fang Yuan could do anything he wanted to him, right? "You¡¯re right. I ced some Qiluo Xiang in your bandage. This Qiluo Xiang can cleanse the wound and stop the bleeding. But if ites in contact with Canhe Zi from the medicinal soup I gave you, you would experience some stiffness in your muscles, and in some parts, even rotting..." "Mixed poison?!" Han Shou looked solemn, took a deep breath, and indeed, felt stiffness in his limbs. He forced a smile. No matter how clever he was, he was still a normal person. How would he know the potential of a martial artist who had already broken through the 5 Golden Gates? Just a petty mixed poison would do no harm to his body and disappear after a few hours, considering his Inner Power. The most important thing to do now was to find a way to deal with Fang Yuan, or at least, buy some time for himself. "Oh? You seem to have a lot of confidence in yourself!" Fang Yuan¡¯s voiced travelled in, and sounded surprised, "It seems that top martial artists have such confidence to deal with this type of poison?" Han Shou suddenly felt helpless. Fang Yuan did not sound fearful of scared. On the other hand for himself, he was temporarily keeping the poison under control. But now, the feeling of stiffness came back, and there were obvious signs of rotting on his skin. "I had forgotten to mention... My own concoction of poison, with some added ingredients, has an amplified effect!" Hearing screams from the room, Fang Yuan remained calm, and took a look at his stats: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 1 Spirit: 1 Magic: 1.4 Age: 18 Cultivation: None Techniques: None Skills: [Medicine (Level 1)], [Botany (Level 3)]" "[Medicine (Level 1)] - Can heal simple wounds, including mild wounds, and with the aid of medicinal nts can achieve even better results." "Apart from healing, on the other hand, I would be more skilled in making poison! However, the most crucial ingredient is still the poison of the Pearl Tail Snake right?" After a short while, the house was dead silent, apart from the sound of meat rotting. Fang Yuan covered his nose, entered and witnessed a rotten corpse with holes and maggots around, and a pool of bodily fluid on the ground. "How¡¯s the effect?" Such a shocking effect even stunned Fang Yuan, " At least it solved the problem of dealing with the corpse..." He picked up his clothing and prepared to burn them all to remove all traces. Han Shou had an impressive origin, which meant trouble woulde. Fang Yuan wanted to clean the mess up and cut all ties with Han Shou. "But......What treasure are they fighting over?" He saw Han Shou¡¯s boots and smiled. He kept it so well hidden that if not for him looking at his boots the moment he became conscious, Fang Yuan would not have know where to look for it. He immediately went up to the pair of boots, took out a dagger and cut it up into 8 pieces. In the sole of the right boot, a piece of ck leather appeared. "This is the treasure which caused the brothers to fight each other with their lives?" Fang Yuan looked at the lines on the ck leather and guessed, "A treasure map? It seems torn... Creepy..." This leather was hidden very well and was only discovered after cutting the boots up, which exined how valuable this object was to Han Shou. But it was just a torn map, what use could it have? Fang Yuan did not understand but still decided to keep it anyway. He burned Han Shou¡¯s belongings and washed up the ce. From then, Han Shou had disappeared from the face of the. "I had forgotten to ask him which Sect he belonged to, but I believe there is only one Sect nearby, the Spirit Returning Sect?" After burning his corpse, Fang Yuan let his mind run wild. "It was such a pity that I wasn¡¯t able to obtain the divine martial arts manual, but seeing how things went, I guess it was still worth it." Chapter 15: Making Amends Chapter 15: Making Amends Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Within the deep valley. In the early morning, Fang Yuan gathered an iron pot, boiled the spring water, added fine sand and herbs, and allowed the concoction to boil. "The ck Sand Palm requires the use of specific herbs, allowing those herbs to be absorbed into the body...together with style, technique, perfecting it would allow one to split rocks and be invincible....." The 3 scrolls were checked by Fang Yuan, who confirmed that there was no problem. It was also checked by Han Shou. Now it was finally time to train. "Within the martial arts world, there are the 12 Golden Gates of cultivation, perfecting the ck Sand Palm would allow us to reach the level of the 5th gate at most..." That was the limit of the ck Sand Palm, which was also the difference between normal martial arts and magic. "The Eagle w Technique is even worse, only allowing us to reach the 3rd gate, after which it requires special mental cultivation. However, if it was attained, it would be sufficient to ovee the restraints, allowing one to reach the 8th gate. It is considered not bad within the sect..." Fang Yuan carefully arranged the information obtained from his own scrolls. "There is the Rough Breathing Technique still. While there is some vested interest, I am afraid not even the original creator knew what level the technique could reach. He failed to ovee 6th gate, the Pain Gate, resulting in his death..." Fang Yuan sighed. Every stage of the 12 Golden Locks wasplicated with multiple obstacles. "Out of the 12 Golden Locks, I only know the first 8 gates: Initial, Rest, Life, Restriction, View, Pain, Shock, and Death! There are still subdivisions within these. The first 3 gates, Initial, Rest, Life, once ovee, would result in the growth of the person, Failing to ovee gates is not a problem. For the foundation of martial arts, the two gates, Restriction and View would cause trouble. However, failing to ovee these gates would not cause much harm to the body, for thest 3 gates, once the martial artist is unsessful in oveing the gates, he would suffer bacshes or even death! This is especially true for the 8th gate, the Death Gate which must be ovee in one shot as failure will result in death!" It was never easy to practice and cultivate. "The first 8 gates are already so formidable, and thest 4 gates are rumoured to be of another level. No one knows the realm that the Wu Zong above the 4 gates is in either." Fang Yuan let out a faint sigh. "ording to legend, there are more roads to cultivation, with more unimaginable, unbelievable masters that are more highly skilled than the martial artists..." Fang Yuan suddenly yearned for a new goal in his heart. While he did not have many ambitions, the thought of bing a deity, never to grow old and die, being happy and carefree was not bad. "Furthermore, I do need some power to protect myself!" With the sand herbs done, the fine sand which was originally exquisite and white turned ck in colour, emitting the scent of the herb. Fang Yuan found a rough cloth and delicately kept the sand. "The Eagle w Technique does notbine mental cultivation and internal energy, at most reaching the 3rd gate, which makes it verymonce..." "The Rough Breath Technique was self-created, not many practices it. The original creator himself died when he was unsessful in oveing the stage... It can only reach the 5th stage at most..." ording to the scrolls and Fang Yuan¡¯s own deduction, the first three gates were mainstream and the martial artists were good at oveing the stages. Those who were able to ovee the 4th and the 5th gates were rare, well-off andmanded high positions in society. Those who were able to ovee the Pain Gate were considered to be highly skilled and geniuses within the sects. "The first 8 gates are already so formidable, what about thest 4 gates and the realm of Wu Zong above them...." Fang Yuan let out a long sigh, well-aware that the Spirit Returning Sect dominated the area and was not dependent on weaponry. One Wu Zong would be sufficient to suppress everything! "The world is so big, Clear Spirit Mountain is but one corner of the world, I must continuously cultivate and improve myself if I want to explore and understand the world..." While Fang Yuan might be indifferent andzy, once he set his mind on something, he would focus all his effort in achieving his target. "The ck Sand Palm is the most suitable for me!" All he needed was a skill which would enable him to ovee the stage, where could he find the skill which would not corrupt him? "Sigh...." Looking at the previously-filled sandbag in front of him, Fang Yuan inhaled deeply: "Palm m!" Bang! His palm strike left a print on the sandbag. He temporarily felt a burning pain in the back of his hand. "Training is hard, even though my master forced me to train in the past, I might still escape from it..." 10 Strikes! 50 Strikes! 100 Strikes! 500 strikes!! Fang Yuan finally drew back both hands after a thousand palm strikes, looking at the blisters on his palms, both palms stinging, yet feeling the cooling sensation of the herbs entering his hands. "Sigh..." Fang Yuan dared not neglect his hands and dipped his hands into the basin of water that he had previously prepared. "While training the ck Sand Palm, one must not interrupt the effects of the herbs, especially thest healing procedure. Without this, one would be useless." After half an hour, Fang Yuan discarded the water that turned ck and ced a new basin of fresh water. "It¡¯s lucky that the herbs aremonly found inrge amount in my valley..." "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret, which had been observing and yawning for half the day, suddenly ran to the side and took a sniff at the discarded herbs solution. It gave a look of disdain and walked off. The actions of the Flower Fox Ferret reminded Fang Yuan of a human. "Okay, Flower Fox Ferret, stop messing around, I will prepare grilled meat for you!" Fang Yuan scolded whileughing before looking at both of his hands. After soaking his hands in the water, the burning pain subsided. His palms felt cool, the blisters healed and the dead skin peeled off. "ording to the manuals, once the ck Sand Palm is perfected, one¡¯s palms would be even smoother and paler than that of a young maiden. However, once the skill is activated, the palms would instantly be as tough as steel, enabling the user to split rocks and even increase the damage dealt by poison to the body..." "From today onwards, I will dedicate 6 hours to honing the ck Sand Palm. I am unsure if it would be enough to ovee the gate..." Fang Yuan felt somewhat helpless looking at his own stats. It was no easy feat to be selected and chosen in this system. "If I am able to master the ck Sand Palm technique, it would be acknowledged even if it just ovee the first stage? " Fang Yuan thought, immensely proud of himself. ... "Erge, why do we still need toe here?" Outside the mountain, Zhou Wenxin and Zhou Erge were slowly making their way together into the valley. Zhou Wenxin looked both reluctant and faintly scared. "There is finally someone who is able to control my younger sister..." Zhou Erge smiled and put on a front. "You previously denounced him without distinguishing the facts, it is only right that you apologize..." The Zhou family was rich and influential, how would something as important as herbs not go through various testing before reach Old Zhou¡¯s mouth? Even Lin Yuanwai was no exception. After both parties ensured that there was no problem, Old Zhou refused to take the medicine, as if to make things difficult for others. "Then why are we still looking for him... he is obviously someone who does not know martial arts..." Zhou Wenxin was about to finish her sentence when the image of Fang Yuan appeared in her mind, scaring her and causing her limbs to tremble, making her unable to speak. "He might not know martial arts but he may be skilled in other areas... In this world, there are not just martial artists. It is rumoured that there are those who practised magic and necromancy where even those martial artists who are able to ovee the 8 gates need to respect..." Zhou Erge looked solemn. "I have looked at Ri Jiading¡¯s wound. It is curious indeed. ording to your description, you are only able to see a blinding white sh despite being sharp-eyed. This is the work of the spiritual knights ..." Thinking of the miracle that Fang Yuan pulled off that day, Zhou Wenxin was unable to speak. "Remember not to throw a tantrum today, understand?" Zhou Erge tone turned strict: "This is for our father¡¯s sake!" No herbs and stones were effective in Old Zhou¡¯s current condition. It was possible that only the spiritual masters of the legends were able to bring him back. "I.... I understand!" While Zhou Wenxin was pampered since young, she understood her priorities, lowered her head and spoke with a soft voice. Ever since the previous time when Fang Yuan taught her a lesson, a shadow was casted in Zhou Wenxin¡¯s heart. Even without the advice of Zhou Erge, she would definitely not go looking for trouble. Not long after, the valley came into sight. Zhou Erge circled the valley one time before eximing: "Zhou family¡¯s Zhou Wenwu, Zhou Wenxin would like to meet Young Master Fang!" His crisp voice echoed through the valley far and wide. "Hmmmm? " Within the valley, Fang Yuan, who was honing his skills lifted his head: "Zhou Family¡¯s 2nd young master, this voice... It is hard to imagine that he is also one who practice martial arts, and at a higher level too. I am not sure which gate he has attained..." Fang Yuan currently still had 1 gate to ovee. However, he had sufficient energy to do so. Fang Yuan was unafraid. If attacked, he had the Flower Fox Ferret which was capable enough to fend off a highly trained martial artist. If he was unable to win the battle, given the valley¡¯s location and secret tunnels, he would be able to make a swift escape. Upon reaching the opening of the valley and spotting Zhou Wenwu and Zhou Wenxin, Fang Yuan grimaced: "If it isn¡¯t the two of you. Is this still about the previous incident?" "Master Fang, please do not misunderstand. My little sister was impetuous and shed with you!" Zhou Wenwu was very sincere and turned his head. "Sister!" "I...I understand." Zhou Wenxin slowly moved in front and looked at Fang Yuan in the eyes, her limbs started trembling unconsciously. Under Zhou Wenwu¡¯s re, she stammered: "Master Fang, regarding the previous incident, I sincerely apologize and hope that you are magnanimous....." Chapter 16: Breaking Through Gates Chapter 16: Breaking Through Gates Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions ¡¯There¡¯s more trouble!¡¯ Seeing how helpless Zhou Wenxin was, Fang Yuan was speechless. They must have a purpose other than apologising since they were so polite. "Young Master!" Indeed, Zhou Wenwu continued, "My father is sick, and I would like to trouble Young Master to take a trip and visit him. The entire Zhou Family will be so grateful!" Old Zhou was already at his dying breath, and Zhou Wenwu felt desperate. "Hmm, this is weird." Fang Yuan felt suspicious, "Seeing how the Zhou Family and the Spirit Returning Sect are on good terms, did the Sect not render any assistance?" "How is this possible?" Zhou Wenwu replied, " The Sect¡¯s physicians have visited him, but were unable to find out the cause of the sickness. Based on what they said, if his sickness was so simple, then it wouldn¡¯t have evolved to this stage... If the Sect Master did not go travelling with his new disciple....... Sigh..... Such is life..." "Now I understand!" Fang Yuan scoffed. "Even the Sect¡¯s physicians couldn¡¯t tell what¡¯s wrong with him, how would I able to?" He nced at the Zhou Siblings, "My apologies, I cannot help your father. The valley is cold, you two should take your leave!" Without waiting for their reply, Fang Yuan walked back in, leaving the Zhou Siblings at the entrance. "Brother... He..." Zhou Wenxin waited for Fang Yuan¡¯s silhouette to disappear before acting up, "He¡¯s too...... full of himself, right?" "Hmm, he¡¯s giving me some really weird vibes..." Zhou Wenwu looked into the valley, eager to fight, but managed to control himself, "This valley feels dangerous... it seems perilous..." "Is he really a spiritual knight?" Zhou Wenxin shuddered in fear. "No! They¡¯re different!" Zhou Wenwu shook his head, and his face was full of sorrow. Although the Zhou Family had a low position within the Spirit Returning Sect, it was still considered one of the best families within its vicinity. Everybody would panic when Old Zhou pass away. At that point, even the Lin Family, with only one disciple in the Sect, would be above the Zhou Family. "Zhou Family... Is this the end for our family?" The mountain breeze blew, and Zhou Wenwu shuddered. ... "Eh? We can¡¯t leave?" Not longter, The Flower Fox Ferret came to report the news to Fang Yuan, who was busy practising his ck Sand Palm. This spiritual beast became more and more human-like. It was able to convey simple messages to Fang Yuan, with the help of bodynguage. Fang Yuan estimated that its IQ was of a 10-year-old child. "The Zhou Family is in a mess. If Old Lin wants to go ahead, so be it..." Fang Yuan stopped thinking and started to dig in. Since practising martial arts, his appetite grew. Luckily for him, there were plentiful amounts of food within the secluded valley. The Pearl Jade Crystal Rice was a superior food and was able to sustain his enormous diet. The sky darkened and the moon rose within the stars. Within the valley came a continuous echoing of palm-striking. Fang Yuan was sweating profusely but he was unaware, as he focused on his ck Sand Palm training. He had only one thought, that he would master this skill today! "In order to learn martial arts, one must break through the first gate. Only by breaking through this gate will I be a true martial artist!" The feeling of the Pearl Jade Crystal Rice lingered in his mouth, as he felt a burst of energy within him. His limbs felt energetic. "Breathe in... Breathe out..." "Breathe in... Breathe out..." Apanied by his deep breathing was a flow of energy in his body, as though it was about to break through a gate. "ck Sand Palm!" He shouted, and struck his right palm out. Peng! The sandbag broke, and its fillings poured out. Fang Yuan could feel that a long-awaited gate within him finally broke through! Kacha! A loud sound broke the silence, andrge amounts of energy flowed within him, making him feel renewed. "That¡¯s the first Golden Gate, I¡¯ve seeded!" Fang Yuan clenched his fists, looked up and let out a cry. The first three gates of the Golden Gates were Initial, Rest and Life. These three were the first level of cultivation within the world of martial arts. Failure to break through these gates would not hurt one. In truth, even a normal person practising a martial arts manual over a long time would be able to sessfully break through three gates. But to Fang Yuan, it was a matter of days for him to break through his first gate. He had the potential. Not just potential, but a good foundation developed in 18 years! After all, the Pearl Jade Crystal Rice and other rare fruits did help in developing his foundation. "Is this... how a martial artist feels?" Fang Yuan stood on the ground and stared intensely at his hands. He felt that all of his abilities improved after breaking through the first gate, as though he removed a restrictive barrier. "To know in general, I will still have to refer to the stats board!" Fang Yuan looked around, and the stats board appeared: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 1.1 Spirit: 1.1 Magic: 1.5 Age: 18 Cultivation: [Martial Artist (1st Gate)] Techniques: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 1)] Skills: [Medicine (Level 1)], [Botany (Level 3)]" When he focused on his Techniques, the relevant information on ck Sand Palm shed, "[ck Sand Palm (Grade 1)] - External technique, if mastered, one¡¯s palm would be as strong as steel, and would be able to break metal. There are a total of 5 Grades. This technique might epass a poisonous effect. Currently at Grade 1!" "Even Magic has increased by 0.1?" Fang Yuan sighed, "No... the effect on Magic must be due to the Questioning Heart Tea..." He cleared his thoughts. The stats represented his physical fitness, which meant it would be increasingly hard to improve. An increment of 0.1 had a different meaning between the different stats. "By breaking through the gates and bing a martial artist, would it result in an improvement in one¡¯s physical fitness?" After realisation, Fang Yuan felt satisfied. "Most importantly is that the ck Sand Palm is now an actual technique!" As long as the technique was recognised by the stats board, it meant that it could be further improved with intense training, in a more systematic way. It was a good deal. On the flipside, Fang Yuan was still a long way from being able to break through the first gate in every type of martial art technique, seeing how much effort was required just to break through the first gate. "Unfortunately... ... I am unable to see my experience with the technique, otherwise, that would have been perfect..." Fang Yuan let out a sigh. Hidden at the back, Fang Yuan spotted an empty progress bar behind [ck Sand Palm]. The progress bar seemed blurry and required one¡¯s focus for it to appear. Once the focus was lost the progress bar would disappear. "Is this... An original feature? Or is it that this stats board would monitor my progress and add more features as I improve?" Fang Yuan knew that this progress bar would show his experience. As for now, since the [ck Sand Palm] had just been registered, the progress bar would appear to be 0%. He focused on his [Medical] and [Botany] and unknowingly realised that his [Medical] had about 70% and should not be far from attaining the next level. As for [Botany], the progress was more than half. It seemed that using the spiritual fertilizer did help him improve his [Botany]. "With this experience bar, it would be much easier to track my progress in the future!" On the route to bing a martial artist, Fang Yuan felt full of energy, and without hesitation, started a new session of training. "ck Sand Palm!" After another session of training, Fang Yuan took a wooden board to test out his strength. His palm struck the wooden board, but only a faint outline of his palm appeared. It seemed that his technique still had room for improvement. "Stats board!" In the progress bar, there was an improvement. Based on statistics, it seemed like there was almost no improvement. "Does this mean that one can foolishly practise up to a million times and still break through the gates and attain the next grade?" Fang Yuan could not hold his excitement in. He knew that this was probably due to the fact that ck Sand Palm was a normal and widely circted martial arts technique. There must be certain criteria being met before one could really attain the next grade. Taking [Botany] for example, he needed the help of the spiritual fertilizer before attaining the next level. Butpared to those who trained for years and were still stuck status quo, this was a huge improvement for Fang Yuan. "Stats and the progress bar are physical quantities, and with hard work, there must be some sort of improvement!" Fang Yuan sighed, "But who am I? Who am I to deserve good potential and luck?" With hard worke rewards! Many people could only wish for such progress. Additionally, he could ess his own stats window and his dream experience. "I will unravel this mystery one day!" Fang Yuan stared into the mountains, determined. Even if he had the potential, he knew he needed to work hard and train hard. Even if he could enjoy the riches of the world, he knew he had to worry and be even more cautious. He wanted to improve himself, unlock his own potential and understand what was really happening to him. "The journey ahead is arduous, but I will walk on!" He let out a long sigh as Flower Fox Ferret witnessed everything that happened. It seemed to understand what was happening. Chapter 17: Spying Chapter 17: Spying Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "ck Sand Palm!" In the secluded valley, a man swiftly stretched out his right palm and left a very clear palm print on a target board. "My power has improved again? Not bad!" Fang Yuan kept his palm and felt excited that his experience bar was more than half filled. He became more familiar as he trained. He waspletely fascinated with the feeling of himself getting stronger after every training. "If the stats for martial arts isn¡¯t as hard to improve as the one for botany, I would have attained [ck Sand Palm (Level 5)] easily!" "Of course, nutrition is also a priority...." It was noon. Fang Yuan had Pearl Jade Crystal Rice for lunch and sighed while eating. If it was other normal families, they wouldn¡¯t have an abundant supply of Pearl Jade Crystal Rice like him. Also, how could one endure the repeated tough training for the ck Sand Palm? Unless one was talented enough to enter a Sect and be cultivated, it would be almost impossible for one to be a powerful martial artist. "Besides..... practising martial arts is also beneficial for the body...." The physical body of a martial artist would be as strong as a rock. As one¡¯s foundation of his techniques got stronger, he would be able to achieve greater things in future. Fang Yuan suspected that the reason why he was able to master ck Sand Palm so quickly was not because of his increase in magical energy. "Soon, Master Wenxin¡¯s tea tree will have fully grown tea leaves and Vermillion Jade Rice can be harvested... Even though Wu Zong needs this Spiritual Rice, there should be enough left!" Fang Yuan felt hopeful. His martial arts improved a lot faster with the presence of the spiritual nts. The reason why Fang Yuan was in a rush to master his techniques was to be able to protect himself from any danger in future. "Theprador from Spirit Returning Sect, Song Zhigao?!" If it was Lin Benchu or the Zhou siblings, it would mean no harm. However, thisprador from Spirit Returning Sect showed hostility, causing Fang Yuan to be more cautious. Although he looked like he did not have any hard feelings against anyone, he did not seem like a fool. He wouldn¡¯t allow someone to be spying on him easily. "An amount of effort is still needed toplete a tasking once and for all!" His future and skills in martial arts depended on this spiritual nt. ....... It was night time. A few shadows appeared at the outskirts of the secluded valley. "Comprador Song said that this is the ce?" A man in ck observed his surroundings and then cursed softly, "The environment here is so harsh. Only the savage can live in such conditions!" "This is the ce definitely. It shouldn¡¯t be wrong!" A huntsman carrying a giant steel fork was beside him and said, "I have been here before to trade with Master Wenxin¡¯s disciple for animal skin and herbs...." He sighed in between his words. "Why? Is reminiscing the past making you hesitate to do it?" The leader, who was the man in ck,ughed. "How can that be? Ten golden leaves are equivalent to the lives of ten vigers. Dealing with this teenager is a piece of cake" The huntsmanughed and gave an evil look. "In my opinion, why even bother spying on him. We should just charge in and kill him straight away. We will then leave the body in the forest and let it rot till only left the bones!" "I agree with that but Comprador Song will not be happy about it. We are instructed to let him be ruined and condemned by the public. Then that is when we can take action!" The man in ck said in a deep voice, "Who let that poor kid be in the way of Comprador Song¡¯s magnate?!" "Magnate?!" The people around consist of a few vigers and huntsmen living nearby and pirates. Seeing that the leader was hiding something fiercely, no one dared to question further. "This is it. Our mission today is just to investigate the situation in the secluded valley and also to find out if the boy has any hidden agenda!" The leader said, "Most importantly, of course, is to not leave any of our traces behind!" "Understood!" A few of themughed ferociously and gathered in the secluded valley. The surroundings were pitch dark. Even though there was lighting from the moon, the visibility was too low. Still, these people did not dare to reveal their positions to prevent any attacks. The resistance in the secluded valley was not that strong and plus, they were dealing with just one guy. Hence, these people were more rxed. "Hmm....This is the secluded valley? This ce is actually pretty good to live in....." "There is a flower garden and a spring. This looks normal. Let¡¯s go take a look at the back....." The group of them split up and found the farm at the back of the valley. "Looks like there is something behind the shrubs!" The ones who spotted something were experienced huntsmen and thieves. "Oh?" The leader then came forward and found a small pathway behind the shrubs. He was overjoyed when he found the pathway and said, "Let¡¯s go take look quickly! Be careful. This guy is full of tricks, even the bodyguards from the Zhou family who came the other time were all defeated by him...." He spoke halfway and heard a loud biting sound suddenly. "What happen?" A few looked at the ground immediately and spotted a ck beast. The ck beast then went on to bite the leader¡¯s leg. "A trap!" "Damn it!" The whole situation became chaotic. Previously these people sneaked in quietly. Now wouldn¡¯t they be discovered if they started screaming in the middle of the night when their screams could be heard clearly in this secluded valley? "This is uneptable...." A few of them looked at each other, their eyes filled with anger. Even though the mission objective was just to investigate, they would have to take action since they were under attack. They did not believe the rumours. How could a teenager be able to deal with the whole group of them? This teenager was cunning as he knew where to ce the traps. The group had to be even more careful. "Hiss!" "Hiss!" However, they did not expect the white ferret to appear instead of the teenager! It was the guardian of the valley, the white Flower Fox Ferret, which pounced on them so quickly like a lightning strike. At that moment, the Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s fur stood up and gave a hostile behaviour. After all, whatever that was on the farm was the Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s lifeblood. How could the farm be spied on by others? "What is that?" "A ferret?" "It is so big!" The huntsman warned, "Careful everyone. This mutated ferret could belong to the teenager...." "Heh... it¡¯s nothing much. It is just a beast and is not any different from a wild dog." One of them who wasughing changed hisplexion suddenly. A bright light shed by in front of him. "What happened, Dacheng?" Seeing that Dacheng was motionless, one of them pushed him slightly and Dacheng¡¯s body was split in half. No one knew when he was cut in half by the Flower Fox Ferret! "Ghost....there is a ghost!" This bloody scene scared the hell out of everyone. "This ferret is definitely not a normal one. It is a Spiritual Beast and a weird one!" The huntsman¡¯s scalp became numb. He suddenly recalled the legend of Spiritual Beasts. Judging from what happened, the ferret was able to understand what human said! Plus, with such body shape and skills, this ferret is definitely a Spiritual Beast. "Leave now!" A few of them looked at each other and then hurried away, leaving their leader behind. They had no choice as their employer, Song Zhigao, was just a mereprador. How much power could he hold? The leader, who was the man in ck was the only one under Song Zhigao that was out here. The rest were all hired. Such team was able toplete a tasking only when there were no troubles surfacing. "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret purposely slowed down and chased after the huntsman, as if it found a toy to y with. "Damn it!" The huntsman looked at the Flower Fox Ferret and tried to hit it with his giant steel fork. The huntsman missed and felt a sharp pain in his right hand. A row of sharp teeth appeared in front of his eyes. At that moment, blood sshed everywhere.... ....... "This noise is killing me. It¡¯s midnight. Can¡¯t they just let me have a good sleep?" Fang Yuan couldn¡¯t sleep through the series of screams. He grabbed his coat and yawned while exiting the house. "Thieves? It must have been difficult for them toe to such dested ce to steal from me...." Even though he said that, his biggest asset was still his farm and he was worried about it. He then quickened his footsteps and went to the back of the valley. "This....." It was truly shocking to see a scene with blood everywhere. Fang Yuan was dumbfounded and also furious at the same time. "What have you done, Flower Fox Ferret?! When will I be able to finish cleaning up this mess you made?" "Keke!" Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s ws were stained with blood. It was going round and round around the leader and showed an innocent look. "Don¡¯t act innocent in front of me. You will have to help to clean up this mess tomorrow!" Fang Yuan went around a few corpses and reached for the leader who was still panting. This unlucky guy got his leg broken but his life spared by the Flower Fox Ferret. He was somewhat lucky. "Don¡¯t....don¡¯t eat me!" Of course, this guy waspletely scared. He started tearing when he saw Fang Yuan approaching as if he had met a saviour. "Please spare me, sir! I was instructed by Song Zhigao. I will reveal everything!" How pitiful! To be bitten by a beast and die without burial, such way to die was too mentally demanding for one. Chapter 18: The Plot Chapter 18: The Plot Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Dawn. The sun inched above the horizon, illuminating the morning fog. The Valley slowly came alive, and the vegetation thrived. "Song Zhigao,prador of the Spirit Returning Sect." "Song Yujie, the Sect Elder¡¯s beloved son." "Song Zhong, Elder of the Spirit Returning Sect." Fang Yuan was sweeping the floor casually, removing traces of the previous night¡¯s happenings. He was deep in thought. The man in ck fromst night almost suffered a mental breakdown after being intimidated by the Flower Fox Ferret. Fang Yuan did not even have to interrogate him before he gave away everything. ording to him, Young Master Song Yujie was gifted in both the ssics and martial arts and was in every sense a suave and aplished young man. The most important thing to note was that Song Yujie had developed a serious obsession with Fang Yuan¡¯s ex-fiancee Lin Leiyue ever since heid eyes on her. Elder Song Zhong observed these developments with interest. After all, Lin Leiyue was the Sect Leader¡¯s right-hand disciple and had a bright future ahead of her. It was too bad that Lin Leiyue did not reciprocate Song Yujie¡¯s feelings and rejected him outright. Song Yujie was enraged but naturally did not dare to pursue the matter further with Lin Leiyue, the Sect Leader¡¯s favourite pupil. However, he had no reservations about taking out his anger on Fang Yuan. "Perhaps he thinks that Lin Leiyue and I are lovers? And because of this, Song Yujie¡¯s henchman Song Zhigao, with the help of Old Tian, tried to get rid of me. A shame that I did not budge, hence the follow-up..." From the information that he gathered, Fang Yuan made a few guesses and had arrived at a reasonable conclusion. This rendered him quite speechless. "I have nothing to do with Lin Leiyue. Ahh, I¡¯m just an innocent bystander, the most innocent party there is..." The weak often be prey in this world. Song Yujie had not even designed to make things hard for Fang Yuan and his men were already raring to take action. "Oh man, I feel like theing times will be tough..." Fang Yuan threw his broom away and turned towards the sun. He closed his eyes and stretched. ording to the man in ck, there were so many people in Spirit Returning Sect who admired Lin Leiyue that they could form a clique of significant influence. After all, she was the apple of the Leader¡¯s eye, one of the future leaders of the Wu Zong! Even if Song Yujie didn¡¯t look him up, a Zhao Yujie or Zhang Yujie would turn up eventually. At that moment, Fang Yuan felt extremely helpless. Heaven have mercy on him! Fang Yuan was not interested in inviting trouble, but if people were hell-bent on making life difficult for him, hiding in a corner was not an option. "Song Zhigao must die!" Fang Yuan steeled his resolve. Fang Yuan could bear with anything as long as his interests were not threatened. Events such as the cancelled engagement and the row with the Zhou Siblings, he could tolerate. However, Song Zhigao had malevolent intentions and conspired to pry open the secrets of the Valley. To Fang Yuan, other than his own stats, the Spiritual nts of the Valley were things that he would protect with his life. If his bottom line was breached, he would respond with fire and blood! "Song Zhigao must be eliminated, but I cannot put myself at risk either...I have to think of a foolproof n...Of course, the key is still to level up my skills!" The man in ck fromst night was Song Zhigao¡¯s confidant and knew him very well indeed. Theprador of the Spirit Returning Sect was undoubtedly intelligent, but he was not well-versed in martial arts. His cultivation level was only around the Third Gate. He definitely stood no chance against the Flower Fox Ferret. But the man backing him, Elder Song Zhong, was a different story. That man had broken through the 3 Prosperous Gates, 2 Peaceful Gates, to the level of the 3 Perilous Gates. He was an extremely skilled pugilist and was a known figure in Qinghe County. Song Yujie had every sign of surpassing his master in the near future. There were the metaphorical 12 Golden Gates in martial arts. One could cruise through the Initial Gate, the Rest Gate and the Life Gate, and unlocking them would lead to a definite increase in powers. Thus they were known as the 3 Prosperous Gates. The following Restriction Gate and View Gate were not too difficult to break through either. They were the 2 Peaceful Gates. It was the Pain, Shock and Death Gates that one had to take caution with. Failure to navigate through these three gates would lead to serious injury and even death. Hence, they were known as the 3 Perilous Gates. The martial arts were indeed challenging, with so many obstacles to ovee. Not to mention that after the Death Gate, there were the 4 Heavenly Gates and the Wu Zong Level. It was truly depressing to see that it was such a long and arduous way up. "Fortunately, the only person we need to deal with right now is Song Zhigao. This should be a piece of cake." So what if the martial arts were challenging? With his stats and practice, Fang Yuan had not encountered any impossible problem before. "Just as well!" Fang Yuan nced at his progress bar and saw that he had almost mastered the first level of the ck Sand Palm technique. All he needed was some more proficiency points, equivalent to tens of practice sessions. "Today, I shall unlock the second gate!" Fang Yuan had made up his mind. Fang Yuan could potentially break through the various stages at a phenomenal speed, a speed that could even attract a Wu Zong attention. After all, every stage of the 12 Golden Gates required meticulous study and intense effort, even the 3 Prosperous Gates. Fang Yuan, however, only needed to increase his Proficiency points and all would be fine. Sunrise was the best time of the day to train. "Huff" Fang Yuan achieved a state of Zen and disyed the different styles of the ck Sand Palm technique with familiarity. He further conditioned his hands with ointments and potions. After some time, the ck Palm Sand technique¡¯s progress bar in the stats window was finally filled up. "Kachak!" Fang Yuan let out a roar as he suddenly felt barriers breaking down within his body. He felt as though streams of energy were exploding from every one of his pores. As Fang Yuan¡¯s Proficiency points reached the maximum, the skill level of the ck Sand Palm technique increased by one. ck Sand Palm Level 2! In only a few days, Fang Yuan had aplished amendable feat. "Not only that, but I have broken through the Rest Gate!" Fang Yuan took a look at his stats window and noticed that there were some changes. "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 1.3 Spirit: 1.3 Magic: 1.5 Age: 18 Cultivation: [Martial Artist (2nd Gate)] Technique: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 2)] Skills: [Medicine (Level 1)], [Botany (Level 3)]" "Having trained the ck Sand Palm technique to Grade 2, its power has been greatly boosted. Whenever I prepare to channel the technique, my palms change!" Every time Fang Yuan intended to use the skill, both his palms would darken in colour, signifying a tremendous increase in pain tolerance. "Of course, the most important thing was to have broken through the Rest Gate! My Essence and Spirit points have increased by 0.2?" Fang Yuan was shocked to see that his Magic Points remained at 1.5. "Was it because the previous upgrade was due to the Questioning Heart Tea, and a normal breakthrough in martial arts only increases Essence and Spirit points? Or is it because my Magic points are too high and thus, a small increase wouldn¡¯t be obvious? Too bad his current experience in martial arts was not enough to help him decipher this problem. Nevertheless, Fang Yuan was satisfied to know that his ck Sand Palm technique could level up quickly through proficiency points and that the sky was the limit when it came to improving. "Song Zhigao..." Fang Yuan clenched his fists and felt a surge of energy. ... "Wang San hasn¡¯t returned yet?" Currently, Song Zhigao was suffering from sleepless nights. As the Spirit Returning Sect¡¯sprador, he had a genial look on his face at all times, while his little eyes carried a hint of slyness. Every matter that he was put in charge off, he settled it reliably and appropriately. Until he tried to deal with that poor rascal from the mountains in a bid to gain favour with Elder Song Zhong and Song Yujie. Everything changed since then. "Damn it!" The more he thought about it, the more he felt like throwing his beloved rain flower porcin teacup onto the floor. That darn kid had no idea of what was good for him. When he ordered Old Tian to cut off the supply of necessities to Fang Yuan and to give him a warning, Fang Yuan should have heeded it and fled. Why was he still hanging on? It was thete afternoon now, nearly dusk, and Wang San had not returned yet. Song Zhigao couldn¡¯t sit still and paced up and down his hall. "That kid might be a mysterious character, but Wang San has always been careful, and had only gone on a scouting trip this time. Surely nothing could¡¯ve gone wrong?" Song Zhigao sped his hands together and waited till nighttime. At this point, he felt a chill in his heart, as well as a tinge of regret. If only he had known better, he would not have messed with the kid. A shame that there was an enmity between them now. He had no choice but to take action. Only when the matter was settled, he could answer to his masters. But what if everything screwed up? Song Zhigao only had to think about Elder Song Zhong¡¯s methods before he became numb in the skull. He suddenly lifted his head and whispered to himself as he faced the city. "It hase to this. There is no other way." "Men!" He bellowed. "Yes, Master?" A manservant shuffled into the room and bowed. Song Zhigao might be aprador, but he was influential enough to have a group of servants at his beck and call. "Find Old Tian from the medical hall and tell him that if he still wants to make a living in Qinghe County, get his ass over here!" Song Zhigao had a fearsome look on his face. "Roger!" The manservant was flummoxed, but he went about his business dutifully. In no time, he had Old Tian following him back into the hall. Old Tian greeted him with a sheepish smile. "I hope you have been well, Master Song!" "Old Tian! The herbs and spices in your medical hall are of rather good quality. The Sect has decided to purchase arger quantity next year!" Song Zhigao mentioned the news casually as he sent the manservant away. "Ah? Thank you so much, Master!" Old Tian bowed multiple with his hands sped, delighted beyond belief. "Of course...this is not without a price though. I need you to do something for me!" Song Zhigao red at Old Tian. He was confident that Old Tian would give in. The Sect was the medical hall¡¯s biggest client. Old Tian could not afford to refuse him. "Old Tian is at your service, Master. Old Tian will do anything for you even if it means going to Hell and back!" Old Tian was a worldly man and continued with his public disy of loyalty even though he secretly dreaded what was toe. "Easy! That is..." Song Zhigao whispered a string ofmands into Old Tian¡¯s ear. Old Tian immediately turned pale. "What? This...this..." "Hehe, I know that Master Wenxin rescued you once. But you owe nothing to Fang Yuan..." Song Zhigaoughed coldly and issued a threat. "If you do not obey me, starting from next month, the Sect will no longer take any of your goods. You might as well crawl out onto the streets !" Chapter 19: Spiritual Rice Chapter 19: Spiritual Rice Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Fang Yuan was still unaware that the gears of a great conspiracy had started turning Quite the opposite, the current Fang Yuan¡¯s heart was filled with ecstatic joy. "This is..." The moment he entered the paddy field, he was struck by a sh of red. The entire vermillion jade paddy went through aplete change. All of the grains wererge and full, almost to the point of bursting out of their shells, and they gave off a slight spicy fragrance, as though as they were spices, enticing one¡¯s appetites. "The Vermillion Jade Rice is fully grown!" Fang Yuan instantly burst out in happiness "Keke!" "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret was also ted and really wanted to leap forward to help itself to the rice. Thankfully after this period of training, it finally understood that this spiritual rice was the same as Jade Crystal Rice, and had to first have their shells removed, before being steamed, only then one would be able to taste an unparalleled taste. Otherwise, it would just be wasting a treasure. Thus, the ferret still maintained its self control, simply staring at Fang Yuan from afar. "Mhmm, let¡¯s harvest it first!" After that, Fang Yuan returned to his house, retrieved a sickle and other tools, before starting to harvest the rice carefully. The good thing was that he had already broken through the Rest Gate, hence his stamina was great, surpassing that of an ordinary man, and his magical energy levels were high, thus there was confidence in every motion. With a few swings of the de, the stalks of Vermillion Jade Rice fell in an organised manner. From one side, the Flower Fox Ferret saw the scene unfolding before him, licking his ws, but still not daring to go forward to help out. It was very aware that its future happiness depended on this paddy field. If anything it did scr*wed things up, wouldn¡¯t it just cry itself to death? "Ok we¡¯re done, help me move these seedlings back." Fang Yuan tied up the Vermillion Jade Rice seedlings into bundles, at the same time tossing over the Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s share, "Careful!" After harvesting, the next step would be drying, threshing, deshelling... When the final step waspleted, he gazed upon the shiny red Vermillion Jade Rice, and couldn¡¯t help but break into a smile. The Vermillion Jade Rice in front of him was about the size of a fingernail, sparkled like jade, with a zing red line that ran through the center, and brought about a spicy fragrance to one¡¯s nose. "This harvest has yielded around 50 pounds, of which we have to keep half for nting..." On the other side, Fang Yuan piled up the grains with their shells intact in the storeroom. After keeping them properly, he let out a sigh of relief, and looked at the remaining Vermillion Jade Rice, rubbing his hands impatiently, "I¡¯ll be the one to taste this spiritual rice..." From the side, the Flower Fox Ferret had been staring at the Vermillion Jade Rice until it started drooling, but it still did not dare to make a move. Instead, it turned around to munch on a good portion of the husks, rubbing its belly with a look of satisfaction on its face. "So obedient!" This series of actions by the ferret did not escape Fang Yuan, and he couldn¡¯t help butment. Although rice husks were usually used to feed livestock in viges, they could notpare to the husks of spiritual rice. These husks probably had many more times the nutrition and elemental energy of Crystal Jade Rice. "But... if you¡¯re eating so much now, do you still have the space for the cooked Vermillion Jade Riceter?" Fang Yuan said while rapping the Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s little head. The white ferret rolled its eyes, bared its ws, and stared with a strong desire in its eyes, as though as it could eat everything regardless of the amount. "Really...I can¡¯t deal with you!" After a long guffaw, Fang Yuan went to draw some water from the spring, and added a steamer basket, cing 1 pound of Vermillion Jade Rice inside. "This Vermillion Jade Rice is a spiritual nt, so I¡¯d better take care when cooking it. Let¡¯s start by steaming it..." Stuffing the rice straw underneath the furnace, Fang Yuan looked as zing red light lit up the entire room, which made it seem like the entire kitchen was on fire. On top of that, the fragrance emanating from the steamer made the both of them salivate profusely. The rice straws were from a spiritual nt, but now it was being used as fuel for a fire. If this was seen by members of Spirit Returning Sect, they wouldment about how wasteful Fang Yuan was. However, to Fang Yuan, wasn¡¯t using rice straw to cook rice the proper thing to do? Moreover,bining these two things could possibly draw out some special benefits too. "Next time I¡¯ll use the rice husks to raise a batch of chickens and duck, then I¡¯ll have aplete spiritual feast. That would be really living the life!" In his heart, there was still that little idea. As the rice straw burnt easily, hence he had to keep adding more continuously. Once thest bundle turned into fire and vanished, a fragrance 10 times stronger than before filled the entire kitchen. "The Vermillion Jade Rice is ready!" Fang Yuan opened the steamer basket, which released arge amount of red gas into the air. The water vapour added onto the bright glow from the Vermillion Jade Rice, which had all turnedpletely red, like a cloud of fire. Inside the steamer basket, all of the rice had developed nicely, turning into the size of normal crystal rice. After they absorbed more water vapour, each grain appeared fuller than ever, with a slight hint of fire burning within. "Keke! Keke!" Leaping up, the Flower Fox Ferret seemed very impatient. "Haha...How could your share be any less! Here, eat!" Fang Yuan took out chopsticks and bowls, giving the Flower Fox Ferret a full bowl, and an identical serving for himself too. With rice fragrance swirling around him, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva before sending the Vermillion Jade Rice into his mouth. "Woo..." In that instant, his pupils dted. The Vermillion Jade Rice melted upon contact with his mouth, stimting his taste receptors like a stream of magma with a dense, fragrant spicy tinge. This sort of spicy feeling, coupled with the rice¡¯s original texture, turned into the best meal. There was no need for any dishes to go with it. When he finally swallowed the rice, this stream flowed straight into his stomach, immediately turning into icy. Such spicy rice actually turned into an icy stream after reaching the stomach? This sensation made it seem like he was inside a dream world. It was as though as after getting steamed for a good half a day inside the kitchen, Fang Yuan went to take a refreshing cold water shower. His whole body felt extremelyfortable, and every inch of his skin felt they were renewed. The Flower Fox Ferret at the side cleaned out its bowl even faster and stared at Fang Yuan anxiously. "So greedy!" Looking down at the remaining amount of rice, he felt a little regretful, but even more fear. He was afraid that he could not stay disciplined enough, and eventually would take out thest tens of pounds of rice to polish off! As he saw the look of desire in the Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s eyes, he knew that this was not impossible. "But... Since it¡¯s the first harvest, there¡¯s no problem to eat a little more today." Fang Yuan mused while stroking his chin. The taste of Vermillion Jade Rice was simply too good! Upon hearing this the Flower Fox Ferret jumped up gleefully, almost using its ws to give a round of apuse. ..... "Whew...I¡¯m satisfied..." An unknown period of timeter, Fang Yuan clutched his belly andy down on the ground, not feeling like moving even a finger. At his side, there was the simrly full Flower Fox Ferret. This human and beast did not have any self-restraint, eating over 5 pounds rice. When thinking back about this, Fang Yuan¡¯s heart ached. His original n was to rely on this harvest to sustain him till the next one, but it seemed like this was no longer a possibility. "It looks like we still have to exercise some restraint. Otherwise, we¡¯ll only be able to eat rice husks and drink porridge, living life counting every grain that we have..." Fang Yuan was very frustrated. Who didn¡¯t know that even for the Spirit Returning Sect, Vermillion Jade Rice was only consumed by the sect head and his direct disciple? Moreover, it was not something that was eaten daily. The life that he and the Flower Fox Ferret led would definitely draw many jealous stares if anyone else knew. "But...The Vermillion Jade Rice seeds that Minister Lin gave me didn¡¯t look like this..." After eating his fill, this afterthought appeared in Fang Yuan¡¯s mind. "So this is the effect of Level 3 Botany? I think the spiritual rice of Spirit Returning Sect is probably not as high quality as mine. Moreover, this is still before any mutation has happened..." "It¡¯s time to train!" When some of the food in his belly had been digested, Fang Yuan stood up, subconsciously turning to look at his stats window. What he saw shocked him, as there were new changes. "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 1.4 Spirit: 1.3 Magic: 1.5 Age: 18 Cultivation: [Martial Artist (2nd Gate)] Techniques: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 2)] Skills: [Medicine (Level 1)], [Botany (Level 3)]" "Essence increased from 1.3 to 1.4?" It seemed like Essence meant the state of his body. A sum of all of his physical qualities and attributes. Before this, the only time it rose was when he broke through a gate. But now, just from a meal of Vermillion Jade Rice, his Essence actually rose by 0.1? "Even though it should have the greatest effect since this is the first time, but isn¡¯t this a little too much?" Fang Yuan couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. A body¡¯s quality was the foundation of everything, and after a single meal of spiritual rice, there were such stunning changes. Then how impressive would those geniuses from families with an unlimited stream of spiritual rice be? "But... Their spiritual rice might not be as good as mine. Moreover, they do not have these magical fingers!" With the help of the stats window, Fang Yuan was confident in climbing to the peak of the world, obviously not fearing any geniuses at all. "Since it is so, one can¡¯t travel a thousand miles without umting a number of steps over time... So I can¡¯t ck for my daily training!" Very quickly, he immersed himself in ck Sand Palm training. But today, he felt that something was different. During the process of training, a stream of warmth spread out from his limbs and bones. It felt like warm water covered his entire body, giving him energy, and a slight numb feeling all over as though as there was an electric shock. "This is..." Since he knew something was different, Fang Yuan did a thorough check of his entire body and looking at the stats window, he made a discovery. "ck Sand Palm¡¯s progress bar is filling up really fast. Is this the effect of Vermillion Jade Rice?" If his progress bar filled up by one part in 10,000 after one round of practicing the palm technique, now it filled up by one part in 1,000! An increase of 10 times, how scary was that! "Vermillion Jade Rice¡¯s effect should not have anything to do with my progress, so could it be due to my physical state?" A thought popped into Fang Yuan¡¯s mind. Since Essence was the foundation of everything, now that his base had grown, the difficulty of martial arts training naturally dropped. At least this was the case for his progress. "It seems like I must raise my body¡¯s quality faster!" Clenching his fist, Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered with excitement. Vermillion Jade Rice, Questioning Heart Tea, together with the stats window. These were literally helping him cheat at life. Chapter 20: The Approach Chapter 20: The Approach Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Whoooo..." Fang Yuan practised his breathing, while the sun rose. "With the help of the Vermillion Jade Rice, my improvements are tremendous!" Lately, he had be addicted to practising his martial arts. After all, the feeling of gaining experience and bing stronger was an addictive one. "Maybe......It would be much easier to master the Eagle w Technique and Rough Breathing Technique now!" He used to be afraid of not being able to handle many skills at once, but now, he had no more considerations. When one was at the highest level of a certain martial art, he would experience very fast improvements if he chose to practise other martial arts, like the speed of a rocket. "Maybe I should wait till I have broken the 5th Golden Gate before attempting it..." Fang Yuan took a look at his stats: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 1.8 Spirit: 1.6 Magic: 1.5 Age: 18 Cultivation: [Martial Artist (3rd Gate)] Techniques, [ck Sand Palm (Grade 3)] Skills, [Medicine (Level 1)], [Botany (Level 3)]" "The increment to my Essence and Spirit is 0.3 after breaking the 3rd Gate, the rest must be the credit of the Vermillion Jade Rice..." "But my Magic has not increased since consuming the Questioning Heart Tea, and still remained stagnant after breaking three through 3 gates..." Fang Yuan ced more importance on Magic as it was the hardest to increase. After all, having more Magic than the average person already made Fang Yuan feel different. If he could increase his Magic even further, what would the unimaginable effects be? Fang Yuan was excited to know. "The Questioning Heart Tea is about to germinate soon... and the Vermillion Jade Rice too, I have assigned arger plot ofnd to sow the rice... The only thingcking is the spiritual fertilizer!" The droplet-like fertilizer that the Flower Fox Ferret brought had extraordinary capabilities to boost the growth of spiritual nts. And now that Fang Yuan was undergoing martial arts training, he would requirerge amounts of Vermillion Jade Rice, which increased his dependence on the spiritual fertilizer. "I need the spiritual fertilizer! And lots of it! Otherwise, the Vermillion Jade Rice and the Questioning Heart Tea would be useless..." The Flower Fox Ferret had already described to Fang Yuan how dangerous it would be to obtain the fertilizer, and it was best not to attempt to obtain it based on his current skills. "I am already a martial artist who broke through 3 gates and can even know the whereabouts of the Flower Fox Ferret if I focus... It seems that the level of danger is equivalent to in between the 2nd and 3rd Gate!" No martial artist could escape the 12 Golden Gates. Fang Yuan had already broken through the 3 Prosperous Gates. If he could break through the Restriction Gate, he would enter a new realm. Based on the Rough Breathing Technique, if the martial artists within the first 3 gates were considered beginners, then those who managed to break through the Restriction Gate and View Gate would have just realised their potential. As for those who managed to break through Pain Gate, Shock Gate and Death Gate, the 3 Perilous Gates, they could lift their heads up high and would be the ones worthy to be elders in the Spirit Returning Sect. Song Zhigao¡¯s backer, Song Zhong, was an example of a sessful martial artist who cleared the 3 Perilous Gates. Furthermore, at his age, it seemed impossible to cross the 3 Perilous Gates and enter the 4 Heavenly Realms. "Keke!" "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret appeared, nibbled at Fang Yuan¡¯s robe, and ran out of the valley. "Hmm? There¡¯s someone!?" Fang Yuan started to feel annoyed but had no choice but to take a look. In front of him was arge group of people. Minister Lin stood in front of everybody, and even the Zhou Siblings were there. There were another 4 strong bodyguards behind, carrying a carriage, with what seemed to be a silhouette within the carriage. "Virtuous young man!" Minister Lin stood at the entrance and waved, "Do you really have the confidence?" "Confidence for?" Fang Yuan was confused. "Of course, about saving a life! The Zhou Family took a gamble and brought Old Zhou here!" Lin Benchu seemed serious, "Days ago you sent Old Tian to pass me a letter, saying that you had a n to save his life, on the condition that he was brought to the secluded valley... Ahh, you must have forgotten!" "Letter?" Fang Yuan¡¯s heart sank and was left speechless. He took the letter and read it. The letter was exactly what Minister Lin described, and the main idea was that he had a n to save Old Zhou¡¯s life, but would need him to be physically here. The funny thing was that the handwriting on the letter was exactly the same as his own. "Old Tian..." Fang Yuan knew exactly where the problem was. As the only person who traded with Fang Yuan, he would have many of Fang Yuan¡¯s letters for him to copy. Furthermore, Minister Lin met Old Tian before, knew of his background and therefore trusted him. He wasn¡¯t even sure of himself, and knew nothing about Old Zhou¡¯s condition! "That sly fox!!" Fang Yuan felt fear, "What a perfect scheme, I have nothing to defend myself now!" Old Zhou was at his dying breath and was tricked to travel a long way to the secluded valley. Old Zhou might just pass away within the valley, and he would be med for his passing! Even if he argued that the letter was not written by him, no one would believe. Seeing how helpless the Zhou Family was, Fang Yuan remained silent. He thought to himself, if he was the mastermind behind this n, his final step would be to kill Old Tian to make it perfect! "It may even be plotted perfectly since Old Zhou was an old enemy of Song Zhong. But Song Zhigao would not have such guts to do this..." "Why, virtuous young man, don¡¯t tell me..." Minister Lin was wise and seemed to be able to guess, as he became increasingly worried. It was likely that the Zhou Family were at their wits ends that they decided to listen to Minister Lin, do the unconventional and send Old Zhou into the secluded valley. In all of this, Minister Lin swore and gave assurance to the Zhou Family that this was the right choice. If he were to back out now, the consequences would be unimaginable! "Let me take a look at him first!" Fang Yuan took another nce at Minister Lin and knew that he could not me him. After all, it was true that he did use Old Tian as a messenger a few times before, as it was very hard tomunicate with the outside world within the valley. "This of course!" Minister Lin felt a little scared and brought Fang Yuan to the carriage. "Master Fang, he¡¯s all yours now!" Around the carriage, Zhou Wenwu together with Zhou Wenxin and a few members of the Zhou Family greeted him. A few more highly skilled martial artist stood their ground. Fang Yuan observed andughed to himself. It made no sense because if he was really that skilful and could save Old Zhou, that was the best. But if he failed......The number of expectations on him would likely lead to his death. Was there a need for any more exnation? Would the Zhou Family members heed any advice now? "What a big graveyard, the mastermind must be Song Zhigao!" Now that everything was prepared, he had no choice but to go ahead. Fang Yuan took a step forward, opened the curtains, and a rotten stench filled the air. "What the heck! What¡¯s the difference between Old Zhou and a dead man?" Fang Yuan felt a chill down his spine, as he forced himself to see. In the carriageid an old man, as though he was in a deep sleep. He had a very weak breath, and it felt like he might go any moment. Any professional physician would conclude that there was no cure for him. The injury was at the chest of the old man, and it was no light injury. It seemed to be recovering under bandages. "Eh? This is weird!" Fang Yuan observed and unknowingly said. "Young master, how¡¯s my father? Is there any cure?" Zhou Wenwu frantically asked, and the Zhou Family members were all staring at Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan set too high an expectation for himself! His arrogance made the entire family traverse within the forest and valley, many of which had already cursed and sworn at Fang Yuan. If he was a normal person, they would deal with him! "I already have some idea, but for the details, I¡¯ll have to observer further!" Fang Yuan returned to the valley, and not long after returned with a box of silver needles. He casually took one of Old Zhou¡¯s arms and inserted a needle in. Puff! After a short while, he removed the silver needle, and it looked unchanged. Fang Yuan focused on the needle tip, took out a torch and heated the silver needle. He sniffed the needle and could smell a refreshing fragrance. "Old Zhou was not hurt, but poisoned!" Fang Yuan looked at the weak old man, and thought, "Could it be......the Drunk Lover Poison that Master mentioned before..." Master Wenxin was an expert in medicine, with plenty of experience in saving lives. He briefly mentioned to Fang Yuan before on a few medical cases, and the Drunk Lover Poison was one that was etched in his memory. This poison had no colour and taste, and even no symptoms at the beginning. It would only make the affected person feel skinnier, less focused, and end up with depression, like a heartbreak, making it extremely unusual. When affected by this type of poison, it would be hard to observe the poison, and only by heating a silver needle would the light fragrance give away the presence of this poison. Since Fang Yuan felt interested in the Drunk Lover Poison, he took down notes from his Master, and never would he have guessed that he would personally encounter a person affected by the Drunk Lover Poison. "How?" Fang Yuan appeared stressed for a moment, then rxed, and the Zhou Family did not dare to disturb his thoughts. "I can heal Old Zhou!" Fang Yuan nodded to himself. If he encountered other serious illnesses, then he would not have been qualified enough to help, but this was different. The next moment, Fang Yuan shouted, "But, I have one condition!" Chapter 21: Assassination Chapter 21: Assassination Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "The Zhou Family will obey the instructions of the young master!" Zhou Wen Wu readily promised after hearing the Fang Yuan gave his words. "My method of treating the illness is more peculiar. When I am treating the illness, no one is to watch it. Furthermore, it will take quite a while and cannot be interrupted. If not, Old Zhou¡¯s life would be in danger!" Fang Yuan said in a serious tone. "Why is that so... Can no one watch the procedure? Not even me? " Fang Yuan furrowed his eyebrows. "No! I have already prepared a room to treat Old Zhou. The rest of you can wait outside!" Fang Yuan grimaced. Zhou Wen Wu flushed as he realized that his opponent knew what he had in mind. They were afraid of the possibility that Fang Yuan would not keep his word and would disappear without a trace. "All of you will wait outside the room. If you dare destroy the grass and the trees in my valley..." Fang Yuan¡¯s words wereced with menace. "I would not let off anyone who would destroy your house and foliage!" Zhou Wen Wu eximed while thumping his chest. "That¡¯s good. Nowe in!" Fang Yuan brought everyone to a stone room within the valley. The stone room was carved out from arge boulder, with not a single window. Even the door was made from a rock around the size of a millstone. Fang Yuan did not understand the reason when he saw his master building the stone room. Now, he knew that Master Wen Xin made use of the room to cultivate his inner power. The cultivation of inner power was not as simple as the cultivation of outer power. It was critical that the person was not disturbed by the outer world during the cultivation of inner power. The room was built in ordance with Master Wen Xin¡¯s n. Only the person inside could open the door once it was sealed. If anyone on the outside wanted to enter, they would have to expend a great amount of energy to open the door. "Your father will recover within a maximum of 3 days!" Before the stone door close, Fang Yuan gave his words to the Zhou siblings before looking at Lin Yuan Wai. "Virtuous nephew, rest assured that the servants will make their way out of the valley. Only the three of us will remain here!" Lin Yuan Wai gave his words even though he disagreed with Fang Yuan¡¯s view. "Very well!" With a resounding crash, the stone door sealed shut. "I am really not sure if you are lucky or unlucky!" Fang Yuan lit the oilmp in the dark. He looked at the half-dead Old Zhou, who was carried into the room and grimaced. The Drunk Lover Poison was extremely potent. Few antidotes would be able to cure it except for one. Fang Yuan once heard Master Wen Xinmented that he would be able to save the person affected by Drunk Lover Poison if he had possessed Yama¡¯s Order. The Poisonous Dragon Grass was extremely rare and difficult to find. However, Fang Yuan happened to have the antidote with him. It was obvious that he possessed more luck than Master Wen Xin. ¡¯Who was the one that administered this poison? At this point in time, I do not have the energy or time to care...¡¯ Fang Yuan took out a pill that was as dark as ink and fed it to Old Zhou. "Pant pant..." After taking the pill, Old Zhou, who was previously grasping for air and appearing to be on the brink of death, started to breathe normally and entered a deep sleep. It would take more than a day to expel the poison from his body. ¡¯Now, all we can do is to wait... Given the power of Yama¡¯s Order, it would be sufficient to put him to sleep for 3 full days.¡¯ Fang Yuan eximed before making his way to a corner within the stone room. He dug out ayer of ground before finding a rope. He gave the rope a firm tug. Crack! A b of stone was lifted from the ground, revealing an entrance of a tunnel. "Ah Master, your design sure is handy!" Fang Yuan muttered and entered the tunnel. Not long after, he exited from the back of the valley. Master Wen Xin had created many secret tunnels with the intention of using those tunnels to escape. One of those tunnels happened to be in the stone room where he trained! Master Wen Xin was considered lucky as he managed to live to a ripe old age before passing away. Now, Fang Yuan was able to benefit from the hard work of Master Wen Xin as he made use of the tunnel to escape. "Phew phew!" Fang Yuan looked into the valley and whistled. Whoosh! In that instance, a white streak appeared before him. It was the Flower Fox Ferret. "Listen up, Flower Fox Ferret, go and guard the spiritual tea. If you are discovered, kill the person regardless of who he is..." The Vermillion Jade Rice had been properly stowed away. Fang Yuan¡¯s only concern was his Questioning Heart Tea Tree. "Remember!" He gently caressed the Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s fur, his face grim: "If you are no match for the enemy, destroy the spiritual nt and save yourself!" That was the worst case scenario. The garden was very well-concealed. The Zhou Siblings were concerned with the life of their father and the possibility of a betrayal was very small. However, it was best to be prepared in any circumstances. After giving the instructions to the Flower Fox Ferret, Fang Yuan took a deep breath and started running. He painstakingly arranged all these to create evidence that he was not around in order tomit a murder! ¡¯Song Zhigao!¡¯ Fang Yuan moved so quickly in the tall mountains and old trees that he appeared to be a shadow. He gave off a deadly aura. Since ancient times, a dog that bites would not bark. Fang Yuan had never met Song Zhigao. However, he had already formed an impression of him. After all, having an impression was the foundation of his pursuit! Fang Yuan¡¯s benefits were threatened and he has had enough! However, Song Zhigao was a member of the Spirit Returning Sect. In order to kill him, Fang Yuan must not be cast as a suspect. If not, his position in Qinghe County would be threatened. As such, while Fang Yuan knew that it was a trap, he decided to y along and use the saving of Old Zhou to create a perfect alibi to prove that he was not present at the scene. By doing so, he would be able to target Song Zhigao without a problem! ... Qingye City. Fang Yuan wore a bamboo hat pulled low which left his face in the shade. He was here to kill someone and as such, should not be out in the open and expose his face or leave behind traces of evidence. ¡¯Old Tian is just as vile, using his power to oppress and help out the viin...¡¯ Fang Yuan arrived in front of the medicine hall while pondering over the matter. Indistinct wailing could be heard from the backyard of the medicine hall. The wailing sent a shiver down Fang Yuan¡¯s spine. He was certain that something was wrong. "What happened here?" Fang Yuan asked a random passerby which he pulled from the street. The passerby struggled for a while before realizing that his opponent¡¯s grasp was firm like steel. His face turned pale: "The shopkeeper, Old Tian, passed away due to an illness yesterday..." ¡¯That was fast!¡¯ Fang Yuan was speechless after hearing the news. He let go of the passerby who hurriedly scampered away. If Old Tian was alive, he would have to be punished regardless if he was forced or not to carry out the task. However, it appeared that Song Zhigao was faster and more vicious. He had murdered Old Tian after making use of him to remove an incriminating piece of clue. After all, Old Zhou was a deacon of the Spirit Returning Sect. Old Tian harmed a member of the sect. Once discovered, not even Elder Song would be able to save him. As such it was necessary for Old Tian to die, the faster the better. Fang Yuan was silent. In his mind, he saw the shrewd face of Old Tian. ¡¯Old Tian was too smart for his own good. I wonder if he had any regrets before he passed away, whether he had walked away when he was forced to do so...¡¯ Fang Yuan let out a sigh. He turned and walked away into a street without entering the medicine hall. ... Song Manor. ¡¯By this time, the Zhou Family should have already reached the valley, am I right?¡¯ Song Zhigao smiled. He asionally took a sip of the clear tea while he pondered. ¡¯Old Tian is dead, now no one would know the deal that I had with him!¡¯ ¡¯Even if he did not die, he would be severely punished!¡¯ Song Zhigao looked around his manor, his grin widened unconsciously. He was extremely proud of his n which managed to kill two birds with one stone. He was sure that the magnate would be pleased as well! Once he gained the favour of the magnate, his sess would be imminent. "Spread the word to serve the magnate wholeheartedly. If he is neglected, all of you shall pay dearly!" Song Zhigao ordered his servant with a strict expression. "Don¡¯t worry, Master!" The servant, who had been with him for many years, smiled: "We will make sure that everything is taken care of!" "That is good! That is good!" Just then, Song Zhigao felt a sudden and intense palpitation. He felt nervous as if a great danger was approaching. "Strange...why would I suddenly suffer from palpitations?" He was uneasy and paced around the garden. He thought, ¡¯Could it be because of Old Tian? I have silenced all those involved. For the Zhou family side, given their strong headed temper, would they spare the chatan if anything were to happen to Old Zhou?¡¯ "Why do I still feel so uneasy?" As Song Zhigao was muttering to himself, a shadow sprang from the garden and pounced on him like a cheetah. "Who is that?" Song Zhigao stumbled backwards and let out a shriek. He used the Five Elements Palm of the Spirit Returning Sect continuously to protect himself fully. He was a martial artist who had surpassed the 3rd Gate and could be considered to be proficient in it. "Assassin?" Song Zhigao thought to himself, ¡¯If I am able to survive for a short while, I would be safe!¡¯ However, the man in the bamboo hat did not give him time to react. The man¡¯s arms reached out, instantly turning ck as steel. With a great force, he struck the arms of Song Zhigao! Chapter 22: Kill Chapter 22: Kill Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "ck Sand Palm?" Song Zhigao naturally recognized this widely-known technique. Honestly speaking, the technique was a stupid one. It needed an extended period of training for the bones to be able to withstand the strength the technique produced. He was being cultivated by the Spirit Returning Sect and this technique was nothing to him. However, Song Zhigao could not believe how great the power was when the technique was executed by someone else. When both got into contact with each other, a deafening sound of bones fracturing was heard. Song Zhigao experienced immense pain on both of his arms and screamed. His body flew and his blood sshed everywhere when his body was in mid-air. "Your....your power....you are a freak!" Hended on the ground. He screamed as he looked at his broken arms. He looked at Fang Yuan as if Fang Yuan was a beast. ¡¯My power now is nearly twice as much as a normal human being! This is not only record-breaking, this allows my foundations to be far greater than any normal martial artist with the help of the Vermillion Jade Rice!¡¯ Fang Yuan looked at this scene and understood why he was able to perform that well. When experts duelled, any small differences can affect the result. Song Zhigao was at [Martial Artist (3rd Gate)]. The quality of his body was not as great as Fang Yuan¡¯s. Also, it had been a long time since he was in a battle as he was used to being aprador. Plus, he was a coward. Hence, it was inevitable that he lost. "Who are you exactly?" Song Zhigaonded on the ground, rolled his eyes and was in shock. "Don¡¯t kill me. I can give you lots of treasures and even the martial arts manual...." "You talk too much!" Deep inside, Fang Yuan knew never to argue too much with an enemy. He went straight up and broke Song Zhigao¡¯s skull. "Bang!" Song Zhigao¡¯s bodyid down on the ground. "Aahh!" "Murder!" The duel happened so fast that when the servants started to react, Fang Yuan had already killed Song Zhigao. "I¡¯m not a murderer!" With a hat and towel to conceal his identity, he wouldn¡¯t have the thought of killing any witnesses, which involved hitting the ones that screamed the loudest till they fainted. This was one of the ideas that he got from the dream world. Everyone would want to im some trophies after defeating the boss. Only this time, Fang Yuan had a miscalction. "You thief! You still dare to be angry after killing someone!" "Crack!" The door frame broke into pieces and flew right at Fang Yuan like raindrops! Among the flying wooden pieces, a person zoomed past. He pointed out his fingers from his right hand and poked at Fang Yuan¡¯s eyebrows. "Whoosh!" The sword essence gave a whooshing sound as it swept through the air "An expert!" Fang Yuan returned a hit with his palm and duelled with the person in mid-air. He fell backwards and stared at the person. "You¡¯re at the 3rd Gate?" The person was wearing a jade-green coloured robe, with a golden waistband and a jade hanging by the side. He was young and had a chic outfit. He looked at Fang Yuan with disdain and said, "You have got the guts to kill myprador from the Spirit Returning Sect, how dare you!" Fang Yuan looked at the red print on his palm and was stunned for a moment. From his training of the ck Sand Palm, he had nearly achieved the highest level in terms of his skill. He should be immune to normal fist attacks, but not sword attacks. However, his palm had an immense pain this time. "I didn¡¯t expect Song Zhigao to have men around, and one who is at the 4th or 5th Gate!" Fang Yuan had underestimated the power of his opponent and his opponent was definitely a powerful one. It seemed that his opponent was well trained for a long time and had a very strong body quality. Previously, he could defeat the Old Master with random moves but would have lost if he duelled with his current opponent. "Afraid to say something?" At that moment, his opponent approached him calmly. "It is okay if you do not want to speak now. I will still take you down and torture you till you speak with the ten different levels of tortures of the Spirit Returning Sect. I¡¯m not really sure which level you can endure ..... Those who kill my men will have to pay the price!" "Your men?" Fang Yuan asked in a hoarse voice, "You are Song Yujie?" "Oh? You recognize me?" Song Yujie became curious. "Hoooo....." Fang Yuan didn¡¯t answer his question but let out a long breath. If he had met other experts, he would have ran away by now. But what about Song Yujie? To be honest, Song Zhigao was just a sidekick of Song Yujie. Song Yujie was really the man in charge! "Well, I am quite lucky today!" Fang Yuanid both his palms t. Previously, his palms were in good condition like a white jade. Now, his palms were bruised. "You should feel proud for being able to train the ck Sand Palm to such state, but your external power is too weak. How can you even match yourself with my divine power of the Spirit Returning Sect?" Song Yujie mocked him, lifted up his right fingers and aimed it right at him like a sword. "Have a taste of my Spirit Returning sword skills!" "Sword essence!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes focused on his fingers. This was a power generated from a high-level inner power and superior sword skills. Song Yujie was definitely talented to be able to achieve this. At that point, there was no way of falling back. Fang Yuan did not expect himself to be able to escape from this expert at [Martial Artist (4th Gate)] or [Martial Artist (5th Gate)]. He gave a fierce look and suddenly pounced like a crazy man, "Boundless ck Sand!" "Bang!" The power from the palm was easily destroyed by the energy from the sword skills and Song Yujie could only feel a slight force from Fang Yuan. Song Yujie looked down and saw a small ck print on his back of his hand. He then looked at Fang Yuan, who had an extra wound on his chest, and his expression changed. "You dare to hurt me?" "Not only.....haha.....I will not only hurt you but kill you as well!" Fang Yuanughed even though he was coughing out blood. When duelling with a person that had twice as much as a normal person¡¯s body quality, the healing power he brought about was shocking. At least he knew that his external injuries did not look too serious. "Why are you not admitting that you are in the wrong!" Song Yujie went forward with his trembling right hand. A spiritual snake-like light appeared and he was able to twist his fingers to be like a twisted sword! After being hurt a little by Fang Yuan, he decided to get serious. "Looks like you have not exerted your full power. I am lucky this time....haha...." Fang Yuan felt very fortunate. He knew that even though he was benefiting a lot from the spiritual nts, he was still inferior aspared to the real talents from other sects. If Song Yujie had used his twisted fingers and attacked Fang Yuan just now, he would have been dead since he did not train his sword skills. "Lucky me...." Song Yujie frowned. No matter what, he felt that the mysterious Fang Yuan had no chance in making anothereback. However, just when he was about to prepare to attacked Fang Yuan¡¯s limbs and interrogate him, he felt something strange. "My right hand....is numb...." He focused on the ck print which was on his back of his hand, and said, "You poisoned me?! How brutal!" "Now we are dealing with life and death. There is no such thing as one being too brutal to another!" Fang Yuan slowly moved forward and saw Song Yujie¡¯s face turning blue-ck in colour. Song Yujie quickly took some antidote. "You don¡¯t need to do that. I have tested this poison and it is able to poison a martial arts expert at the 3rd Gate to death easily...." Song Yujie fell onto the ground as soon as Fang Yuanmented. He was horrified to see his palm starting to rot. He had been poisoned by the mutated Pearl Tail Snake¡¯s poison. After attaining [ck Sand Palm (Grade 3)], poison could be added along with normal attacks. Fang Yuan was naturally impolite and decided to add the Pearl Tail Snake¡¯s poison to his ck Sand Palm since he had Yama¡¯s backing. The result was shocking and extraordinary as Song Yujie, who did not take any precautions, was defeated. "ck Sand Palm....added with poison? Are you a disciple of Kou Feng?" Song Yujie screamed loudly, "Aahh....you are dead. My father from the Spirit Returning Sect will find you!" "You are about to die and you still don¡¯t want to admit defeat?" Fang Yuan then moved forward and eased his pain by killing Song Yujie¡¯s skull with his palm. "The addition of poison to ck Sand Palm seems like a special technique. So only the creator Kou Feng and his disciples would know about this technique?" Song Yujie gave hisst message and it surprised Fang Yuan a little. When he first practised the ck Sand Palm, the message hinted at the possibility of encapsting poison within the palm, and after much progress, it became a skill of his own. "Is this the side effect of the system? Whenever I develop my skills to the limit, hidden abilities will always be discovered? There was little evidence to prove his hypothesis right now and so he could only guess. "But right now, I should really start leaving this ce!" He observed his surroundings. Due to his murder of the two, the Song Manor was now in chaos. There was crying and screaming from the backyard and many of the servants escaped through the main door. ¡¯There is too much movement and this will definitely attract others!¡¯ Fang Yuan abandoned the idea of going to the backyard to steal valuables. Instead, he searched the bodies of Song Zhigao and Song Yujie and found a few things of value. Without taking another look, he escaped by jumping over a wall. Before leaving, he burnt Song Zhigao¡¯s manor and watched it being destroyed in the fire. This was not only to vent his anger but also to create more chaos. Hence, others would be distracted by the fire and Fang Yuan would then be able to escape. After all, how could the local authorities disregard the fire and let it spread to other parts of the city? ck smoke filled the lighted sky. He grew in the mountains since young and could traverse any forest easily. "This is so enjoyable!" He reached a creek after escaping for a period of time. Fang Yuan heartily drank the spring water and burnt his jacket and his hat. A poem from the dream world appeared in his mind at that moment. ¡¯5,000 soldiers were sent in secretly, under the orders of amander. They were instructed to engage in close quarter battles, and kill like there was no tomorrow.¡¯ "Unfortunately, even though the killing of the thieves be quite high profile, the process was still enjoyable!" Chapter 23: Continuation Chapter 23: Continuation Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The spring water gurgled gleefully. Fang Yuan sat by the stream and cleaned up his wounds. He reflected on the mission, checking if he had left behind any incriminating ws. ¡¯Killing Song Zhigao was akin to maiming the executive arms of the Song family. Who would¡¯ve known that Song Yujie was at the scene too? He had to die too!¡¯ Fang Yuan did not regret killing Song Yujie one bit. In fact, given that he was skilled enough, Fang Yuan had no qualms about eliminating Elder Song Zhong if he was there as well. The enmity ran deep now. Fang Yuan had to uproot all his potential foes. ¡¯Having terminated Song Zhigao, there isn¡¯t anyone left who might trouble me for now...it¡¯s just that...¡¯ Creases lined Fang Yuan¡¯s forehead. He was aware that even though killing Song Zhigao was not a big issue, but Song Yujie had died as well. This would definitely incur the wrath of Song Zhong and even the whole Spirit Returning Sect. Once the sect found out, they would not rest until Fang Yuan was dead. After doing some careful thinking, Fang Yuan was sure that he had not left behind any loopholes. After all, he had so many potential alibis in the valley. Besides, no one in the outside world knew how he looked like. As for the ck Sand Palm technique being recognised as his speciality? Well, there were hundreds of the technique¡¯s proponents in Qinghe County. Moreover, his acquisition of the martial arts manual was a very recent development. Not even Minister Lin himself would believe that Fang Yuan¡¯s skills could improve by leaps and bounds in so short a time, such that he could overpower Song Yujie! ¡¯As of now, as long as nothing goes wrong in the Valley, I¡¯ll be safe...¡¯ Fang Yuan applied some ointment on his chest before putting his shirt back on. He moved about and was relieved to find out that although his wounds still hurt, they did not affect his range of motion. ¡¯Of course, I haven¡¯t seen enough of the world yet. I cannot becent...¡¯ Fang Yuan gave himself a silent warning. In this world, the pugilists were considered to be a special group of people by mortals. However, there were other fabled beings including spiritual knights, magical knights, pill masters, or even gods and monsters. These were tales, but there could be some truth to the stories. Maybe all he needed was just a few unimaginable scenarios to inspire him so that he could discover the secrets. "Of course...Song Zhong isn¡¯t that influential, although he has arge following in the Spirit Returning Sect. There is time left! I have to level up as soon as possible." Currently, he was but a novice in the martial arts, all alone in the world. He could be picked on by anyone. But what if he was the Wu Zong or even an immortal spiritual knight foretold by the legends? If that was the case, Song Zhong wouldn¡¯t dare to exact revenge for Song Yujie and Song Zhigao. In conclusion, everything boiled down to power! Fang Yuan was not powerful enough at this point in time though, which made a personal talisman all the more important. Fang Yuan peeked at the sun, then sped along the mountain roads towards the back end of the Valley. "Keke!" A white figure zipped past and simultaneously appeared as the Flower Fox Ferret. The ferret bowed its head to let Fang Yuan rub it, then frantically waved its paws in a bid tomunicate with Fang Yuan. "Oh, they¡¯ve taken no action at all?" Fang Yuan heaved a sigh of relief when he understood the ferret¡¯s message. If the Zhou and Lin families decided to make mischief and pry open the secrets of the Valley, or gained forced entry into the Valley and discovered that Fang Yuan was missing, then he would have been on the run with the Flower Fox Ferret by now. It wasn¡¯t like he couldn¡¯t grow the spiritual nts elsewhere again. But he only had one life. Anyway, everything was going ording to Fang Yuan¡¯s n. "Mm, It¡¯s been hard on you!" After he sent the Flower Fox Ferret away, Fang Yuan delved into a secret passageway which led him into a stone chamber. Old Zhou was a very important person as well. If he did not make it, it would make life very difficult for Fang Yuan. With a sinking heart, Fang Yuan lit up the oilmp, which illuminated a body lying on a stone tform. Its face was bluish-ck and had toxic boils oozing with pus. On the first look, it seemed obvious that Old Zhou had died from acute poisoning. But Fang Yuan heaved a sigh of relief. "It is done!" He knew that although Old Zhou looked terrible, he had barely escaped with his life. If the Drunk Lover Poison had seeped into the bones, no symptoms would surface on the body. Then as time passed, the poison would be fully absorbed and be fatal. Old Zhou¡¯s deformed appearance meant that the poison was being forced out from his body. "But from the look of this, Old Zhou was heavily poisoned. This amount of poison could only have been administered over a period of time!" Fang Yuan shook his head after making the observation and gave Old Zhou a dosage of Yama¡¯s Order. He then made an incision on Old Zhou¡¯s arm and performed acupuncture so as to drain out the infected blood. After around half an hour, Old Zhou¡¯s breathing became lessboured and the boils on his face had been cleared. Hisplexion regained some pinkness in colour. The worst was over. "Whew..." Fang Yuan wiped the sweat from his brow and exhaled. If he did not need the Zhou family to be his alibi, he would not have spent so much energy at one go on reviving Old Zhou. Poisonous Dragon Grass was a key ingredient for the versatile antidote, Yama¡¯s Order, and it was a rare find. Thus, Fang Yuan¡¯s stocks of Yama¡¯s Order were already low to begin with. Fang Yuan also needed to keep some of this medicine on standby because of his exposure to a variety of poisons while honing his ck Sand Palm Technique. "You lucky old man..." Fang Yuan grumbled under his breath as he pressed a switch mechanism, which activated a set of stone doors. "Click, ck" The nking movement of gears pulled the heavy stone doors open and rays of sunlight streamed into Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes. "Young master! How is it going?!" Outside, the Zhou siblings and Minister Lin were pacing about anxiously. "It was a sess!" Fang Yuan stepped aside to let Zhou Wenwu enter and carry out Old Zhou, whose recovery was nothing short of a miracle. "He has already pulled through the most crucial stage. As long as you feed him tonics regrly and allow him to rest well, Old Master Zhou will be able to recuperate fully." The Drunk Lover Poison worked the same way as bone-gnawing maggots and fed on the tonics that were brewed for Old Zhou. The Zhou family exhausted many resources in their quest to find rare and coveted herbs for the nourishment of Old Master Zhou. However, they had no idea that this, in fact, hastened his demise. Fang Yuan also knew that an enemy had infiltrated the Zhou family. But he did not reveal this to the Zhou family because after all, they were not well acquainted. "Would young master bepassionate and allow our Old Master to stay on here for a few days?" Zhou Wenwu was reassured by Old Zhou¡¯s condition and gave a deep bow to Fang Yuan. "Alright, but he will have to stay outside the valley. I like peace and quiet and I do not want to be disturbed." Fang Yuan rubbed his chin and gave a curt nod of approval. Since had already done the Zhou family a favour, he might as well help them all the way. If they went back the Zhou manor in this state and were attacked, he would be greatly affected. "Haha, it seems like our young master¡¯s healing skills are nearly on par with Master Wenxin¡¯s!" Minister Lin seemed outwardly excited as he said this, but carried a tinge of regret in his heart. "Yeah, let¡¯s call it a day. I¡¯m tired and I will not be sending you all off!" Fang Yuan pped his sleeves, showing every sign of impatience. Usually, such behaviour would be criticised as arrogance. But Fang Yuan had distinguished himself by reviving a man who was nearly dead and had won the respect of this crowd. They looked upon him with awe and immediately retreated from the valley. After all, only Fang Yuan could make sure that Old Zhou recovered properly. Also, there was no saying if Fang Yuan¡¯s healing skills coulde in handy in the future. Hence, they could not afford to offend him. Fang Yuan was relieved when this bunch of troublesome people left. With such a big number of alibis, Elder Song Zhong had no reason to suspect Fang Yuan of killing Song Yujie. Even if he previously did, these people would convince him otherwise. ...... Qingye City. In front of a pile of ruins. "Yujie?" Elder Song Zhong only begot Song Yujie when he was past fifty. All the more he cherished his only son. When he heard the news, he dropped all matters concerning the Spirit Returning Sect and rode to Qingye City in a hurry. He was stunned when he arrived at Song Zhigao¡¯s ruined manor. "Elder Song, we have brought the workers of the manor before you. All of them are ounted for!" Sect disciples bowed to him and rounded up a group of frightened-looking servants. That fateful day, although Fang Yuan had killed the Songs and set fire to the manor, he had not massacred the innocent. Having been spared, many of the servants had looted the manor and nned to flee the city. However, Song Zhong had managed to recapture all of them, which clearly indicated the extent of his influence. "Tell me everything that transpired that day! Now!" Song Zhong maintained hisposed demeanour, his eyelids half shut, tone mellow. But those who knew better could see that it was the calm before the storm. "Master Song, please spare us!" Some of the maids and manservants had begun to cry in fear. "A man with a bamboo hat charged in and killed Song Zhigao together with Young Master Song. We had nothing to do with it!" "Yujie...is dead?!" Song Zhong murmured under his breath. He could not believe his ears. He waved his hands and let a st of energy radiate outwards. "Pfft, Pfft" The force ripped holes into the servant who was talking, and blood gushed out like waterfalls. "Since Yujie has passed away, why are you still alive?" Song Zhong muttered, then called over a disciple named Song San. "Song San, you have followed me since you were a young age. You know very well my way of doing things. I don¡¯t care how you interrogate these servants. I want everything there is to know about the man with the bamboo hat!" "Yes Master!" Song San behaved most solemnly, but he was in fact overjoyed. Song Yujie was Song Zhong¡¯s rightful heir and had always taken precedence over the other disciples. Until now. Now that Song Yujie was dead, it was Song San¡¯s time to shine. If he could inherit Song Zhong¡¯s mantle and estate, he would finally be able to fly high! ¡¯Whoever the murderer is, wherever you are, I have to thank you...since you¡¯ve already helped me once, help me out one more time. Let me cut off your head to guarantee my bright future!¡¯ Song San cackled with mirth in his heart and yet was able to keep up his sombre and mournful disy. He clenched his fists to bring it up a notch. "We must take revenge for Yujie!" "Hmph!" Song Zhong sent Song San away with a wave of his hand, his eyes gleaming with disdain. Song Zhong had seen enough of the world to know the true intentions of these disciples, but he had to bear with them for now. He still needed to make use of them. The most pressing issue at hand was to exact revenge for Yujie! "I taught Yujie myself. He had already broken through the 4th Gate in his martial arts training. He was also well versed in the Spirit Returning Swordsy and Heart Manual. Hardly anyone in the world of martial arts would have been a match for him. How could he have died? How?!" Song Zhong stared forlornly at the ruins. "Could it have been my nemeses? Did they deliberate draw Yujie into a trap?" He would never have expected that Song Yujie¡¯s death would be a total coincidence. Song Zhong¡¯s thoughts were already running further away from the truth, and he began to plot against his old enemies. Chapter 24: Inner Power Chapter 24: Inner Power Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions At night, it was quiet in the secluded valley. The Zhou Family was now extremely obedient to Fang Yuan. Even when Fang Yuan chased them out of the valley, they took it lightly and went on to build grass huts outside of the valley. Little did they know that Fang Yuan had nned all these to get himself out of trouble. Wouldn¡¯t it be trouble if they found out that Fang Yuan ate Vermillion Jade Rice, and drank Questioning Heart Tea for every meal? After having his fill, Fang Yuan sat on a bamboo chair and examined his wound. "Good... You are beginning to heal..." He had an amazing physical quality to begin with. After a full meal of Vermillion Jade Rice, the healing elerated. There was increased blood flow to his wound and it felt less painful. "A speedy recovery would be best, otherwise others might find out!" With his current level of [Medicine] together with his herbs, it would have already been a quick recovery, but it was another happy surprise realising the Vermillion Jade Rice¡¯s hidden ability. Thinking about his aplishments, Fang Yuan smiled to himself. Although he did not have time to loot the entire mansion, the rewards from Song Yujie and Song Zhigao were enough. Other than money, Fang Yuan looted a Spirit Returning Heart Manual from Song Yujie! This was obviously a high-level Spirit Returning Sect manual, which Fang Yuan took as his own. He memorised the entire manual, before destroying itpletely. "Spirit Returning Sect has no morals!" He recited the Spirit Returning Heart Manual in his mind, his face looking stern. This was because in the manual, there werepses in the crucial parts. Obviously, thesepses were meant to be covered and exined by the master in order for the disciple to be able to understand. It was a form of insurance for these higher-level martial arts. If Song Yujie had any doubts about the Heart Manual, he could look for Song Zhong. But for himself? Even if he managed to save Old Zhou, could he expect him to betray Spirit Returning Sect and share this big secret with him? ¡¯Hu... It seems that if I don¡¯t join them, even if I try hard enough, I won¡¯t be able to learn the full thing...¡¯ Fang Yuan shook his head and took a look at his stats: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 1.8 Spirit: 1.6 Magic:1.5 Age: 18 Cultivation: [Martial Artist (3rd Gate)] Techniques: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 3)] Skills: [Medicine (Level 1)], [Botany (Level 3)]" At this point in time, behind [Medicine], the (Level 1) began jumping, and a short whileter became (Level 2), with its description changing, "[Medicine (Level 2)] - You are already a skilled doctor and can treat the majority of illnesses. You could achieve a greater effect with the help of normal mountain herbs." "Normal mountain herbs, this means that spiritual medicine would not have any effect on my progress..." Fang Yuan shook his head and felt that he was a little too greedy. Of course, it was a pleasant surprise for him to attain a higher level in [Medicine]. His real joy was being able to fill his experience bar in ck Sand Palm after killing Song Yujie, as though he was able to break through the next gate anytime. ¡¯In the 12 Golden Gates, the first 8 are Initial, Rest, Life, Restriction, View, Pain, Shock and Death... it would be an aplishment itself being able to break through from the 3 Prosperous Gates to the next 2 Peaceful Gates, and an eye-opener for those who practice the most basic martial arts.¡¯ Fang Yuan looked as this palm, enlightened. Martial artists who broke through the 3rd Gate were already umon, but those who broke through the 4th and 5th Gates were the elites, especially to younger martial artists. Even Song Yujie himself, who was like Song Zhong in his younger days, could only break through the 4th Gate. "From the 4th Gate onwards, even if the experience bar is full, something more has to be done to break through the next gate?" Fang Yuan looked at this fully-filled experience bar, and without hesitation, "Advance my ck Sand Palm to the next grade!" "Ding!" A loud sound followed, as he noticed the ¡¯3¡¯ behind [ck Sand Palm (Grade 3)] jump, and transformed to ¡¯4¡¯! [ck Sand Palm (Grade 4)]! "Mmm!" Fang Yuan clenched his teeth and noticed his palm turned pitch-ck. Veins were distinct like worms, as though they were crawling up his arm. A gush of hot air originated from his palms and travelled up his arm, breaking through many barriers before settling down at his chest. This heat energy was different from anything he felt before, as his abdomen felt stronger and stronger. "Is this... inner power!?" Fang Yuan became really excited. "[ck Sand Palm (Grade 4)], the skill initially strengthened the external parts of my body, but it¡¯s now starting to have an effect inside the body?!" Inner power was the essence of power for martial artists and was a foundation for high-level martial arts techniques. The sword essence that came from Song Yujie was an example of the use of inner power. Fang Yuan¡¯s strength diminished when it encountered the sword essence. If not for the poisonous effect brought about by the ck Sand Palm, Fang Yuan would have died under Song Yujie¡¯s hands. "Sadly, the inner power when cultivated through the ck Sand Palm is rudimentary and cannotpare with the Spirit Returning Sect¡¯s Heart Manual... The highest I can go will be the 5th Gate...." Fang Yuan knew that he was just one step away from attaining the highest standard of ck Sand Palm as harnessed by its creator, Kou Feng. He looked at the description, "[ck Sand Palm (Grade 4)] - External martial arts, and if mastered, one¡¯s palm would be as strong as steel, and able to break gold and jade. There are a total of 5 grades, and now currently at Grade 4. Comes with stronger poison abilities and strengthened inner power!" ¡¯With more inner power, I can break through more gates!¡¯ Fang Yuan took a deep breath, controlled the energy within his abdomen, and prepared for the breakthrough of the 4th Gate, Restriction Gate. "Crack!" A sound was heard, and immediately he felt an evenrger amount of energy within his abdomen. The inner power within him flowed freely. ¡¯Breaking through gates is one thing, and crossing realms is another!¡¯ Fang Yuan thought to himself silently. He was truly a martial artist at the 4th Gate now. If he continued to practise the Rough Breathing Technique, he would be able to train that to Grade 4 too, just that he would be unable to break through another Restriction Gate and reap its benefits one more time. Furthermore, to break through the 5th Gate, he would have to see which technique of his would break through the 5th Gate first, and it did not depend on the how many techniques he had. Within the martial artists, there was an unspoken rule of how one should not try to master everything. ¡¯A martial artist at the 4th Gate must train their inner power. Without any Heart Manual, the Eagle w Skill can only break through the first 3 gates... But if the Heart Manualpliments it, there would be tremendous improvements and even the potential to break through the 3 Perilous Gates!¡¯ Fang Yuan considered to himself seriously. The potential of the ck Sand Palm was the same as the Rough Breathing Technique and only had the potential to break through the 5th Gate. If he wished to break through the Pain Gate, he would need to find a higher-tier martial art to practice. ¡¯I would never dare to practise this iplete Spirit Returning Heart Manual. I wonder, in the end, would the stats window show me that the skill ispleted, or would it try and predict the way ahead for the ck Sand Palm...¡¯ Fang Yuan touched his chin, smiled and realised he became greedy. He dismissed his inner power, and his palms appeared normal again, as though he was a normal young man. No one would able to associate him with being a murderer. "Did my stats increase?" After a while, as the heat energy from his inner power dissipated, Fang Yuan took a look at his stats board and realised the following changes: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 2.2 Spirit: 2.0 Magic: 1.5 Age: 18 Cultivation: [Martial Artist (4th Gate)] Techniques: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 3)] Skills: [Medicine (Level 2)], [Botany (Level 3)]" ¡¯The bigger the danger, the better the chance to improve oneself. The higher the cultivation level, the harder it is to advance, especially when ites to the 3 Perilous Gates. If one fails, he might lose control of himself and even lead to death, but the rewards are worth the risk!¡¯ Fang Yuan was extremely satisfied at seeing the increment for his Essence and Spirit. At this moment, the sun rose and the sun rays peered through his window. "Unknowingly, the night has passed!" Fang Yuan took a deep breath and stood up, shook his legs a little, but then realised that his legs were never numb to begin with, but rather, full of energy. As for the wound on his chest, it was almost healed and a scab was already forming. At this rate of healing, aplete recovery would be done in no time and there might not even be any scar. "This is indeed good news!" Heughed, walked out of the door and intended to boil some water and brew tea. When he reached the entrance of the valley, he saw Minister Lin and the Zhou siblings supporting another man, all waiting at the entrance. "Zhou Tong wishes to thank young master for saving my life!" Old Zhou did not seem too old and looked quite healthy. When he saw Fang Yuan, he shook off Zhou Wenxin¡¯s hand and prepared to pay his respects to Fang Yuan. "You have only just recovered, you should spend more time resting!" Fang Yuan casually replied. "Mmm, I would like to have a word with young master, if you will!" Zhou Tong turned around, looked at the Zhou siblings with a serious look, and thanked Minister Lin, "I am eternally grateful for Brother Lin¡¯s help!" "Haha, Brother Zhou, you¡¯re too courteous!" Minister Lin was aware and could tell straight away that Old Zhou wanted to have a private talk with Fang Yuan, and said, "I have other things to see to, I¡¯ll take my leave first!" With him, he brought along the Zhou Siblings and left the entrance of the valley. "Old Zhou, please speak your mind!" Fang Yuan brewed a pot of tea and sat down quietly. "This tea..." Old Zhou lifted his teacup, took a sip and his expression changed, "Not bad!" Since Old Zhou was an outsider, Fang Yuan did not brew the spiritual tea, but these tea leaves were still grown and hand-picked by him, and with theplement of the Meditative Tea Ceremony, it still managed to surprise Zhou Tong. ¡¯He must be a talented person, to be able to brew tea of such standards. I should get straight to the point...¡¯ After one cup of tea, Old Zhou suddenly eximed, "Ah! There is misfortune within the family!" It seems that he was still unaware of his predicament. Chapter 25: Gift Chapter 25: Gift Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Sir, you must be joking ..." Fang Yuan shook his head: "There will always be people who are unsatisfied when ites to dividing benefits in such a big family!" "The words of the master are indeed wise!" Zhou Tong was surprised that Fang Yuan was very experienced and could clearly see the ways of the world. He was wise beyond his age. "I am afraid that this is not the reason you find me for?" Fang Yuan blew the steam off the teacup. He looked at Zhou Tong and grimaced. "I would not hide the truth from you!" Zhou Tong appeared to have nothing to hide: "I am preparing to return to Qingye City today." "Oh? Why is that so? While Fang Yuan did have his suspicion, he did not let on what he thought. "I received the news this morning that something big happened in Qingye City... Elder Song¡¯s beloved son, Song Yujie, as well as a servant, were murdered in the city. That vicious person even set the house on fire!" "Sss...." Fang Yuan pretended to be surprised: "Who would be so vicious?" "I am not sure as well. Elder Song is going crazy with the loss of his only son. The whole city is in a state of unrest..." Zhou Tong shook his head. Fang Yuan¡¯s acting was too good and Zhou Tong did not have any reason to suspect him. Little did Zhou Tong know that the vicious murder was just sitting opposite him. Fang Yuan could tell that Zhou Tong was secretly rejoicing. Zhou Tong and Song Zhong were from different factions in the sect and Zhou Tong was happy over Song Zhong¡¯s misfortune. "If that is the case, I will not disturb you any further!" Fang Yuan smiled as he lifted up the teacup. "It¡¯s okay!" Zhou Tong was embarrassed. He had been dismissed but he continued to stay. It was indeed awkward. He had no choice as he had a favour to ask of Fang Yuan. Zhou Tong took a look around before he kneeled down and kowtowed: "I will always be grateful to you for saving my life. However, I have a favour to ask you and hope that you would not decline" "Since you are so bold to ask for a favour, there is no need to exin further!" Fang Yuan took a sip of tea, almost as if to aggravate Zhou Tong and drive him to his grave. Zhou Tong could see that while Fang Yuan was highly skilled and could work wonders, he was extremely apathetic. However, Zhou Tong had no choice but to ask for his help. Song Zhong had be totally crazy after the loss of his son! Zhou Tong was afraid that if he was alone, he might be hurt or even killed! Song Zhong and he were of the same sect, they belonged to conflicting factions. While they never had a fallout, he was afraid that Song Zhong would be irrational and hurt him. Fang Yuan¡¯s reaction, while overboard, was within Zhou Tong¡¯s expectation. After all, he was not rted to Zhou Tong and even saved his life. There was no reason for him to continue helping Zhou Tong. Zhou Tong took a deep breath and revealed his trump card: "I heard that you are interested in martial arts? You previously traded Red Mountain Ginseng for 3 martial arts manuals? Would it not be better for me to be here to help you with the manuals?" "Hmmmmm?" Fang Yuan¡¯s interest was piqued after hearing that from Zhou Tong. He helped Zhou Tong up with his left hand and said: "We can talk after you stand up!" "Oh?" Zhou Tong could not help but felt astonished as he felt a surge of power which caused him to stand in spite of himself. "This..." Zhou Tong was a highly-skilled martial artist who had surpassed the level of [Martial Artist (5th Gate)]. He was a deacon of the Spirit Returning Sect. In order to reach that position, he possessed a high level of martial arts skills. His skills were hardly affected despite him being unwell. In spite of this, Zhou Tong was unable to resist when Fang Yuan single-handedly forced him to stand. It was clear that Fang Yuan was highly skilled as well. "I am definitely interested in some high-level martial arts that are able to enhance and improve myself!" Fang Yuan answered without hesitation. Furthermore, in order to ovee the Pain Gate in the future, he must possess a higher level of martial arts. "However, I will have to politely decline if you want to give me the manuals of the Spirit returning Sect. Not everyone will dare to cross the Spirit Returning Sect and be hunted by them incessantly!" Fang Yuan smiled. "How is that possible? I will not do something that will hurt others and myself even if I have more courage!" Zhou Tong drew out a manual: "It was by chance that Ie across Iron Skin when I was young and I never came to regret it. This technique can bebined with the Eagle w Technique to be the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique. Yu Qiuleng is very proficient in the Cold Iron Eagle and is famous within the inner circle..." "Oh, I see!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. He remembered the martial artist that apanied Lin Yuanwai during the withdrawal of the marriage. He now realised that the martial artist surpassed Zhou Tong in every aspect, be it rank or skills. The Eagle w Technique was more well-known than the ck Sand Palm Technique with more divergence of practices. For example, using the Iron Skin¡¯s defence as the focus in the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique or using the offensive ability of the skill, could greatly enhance the Eagle w Technique and even techniques such as the Fiery w, and the Icy Eagle w. Even the original creator would be confused with the countless variation of the practices. ¡¯The Eagle w Iron Skin Technique was like the Rough Breathing Technique which focused on defence. With the offensive capabilities of the Eagle w, the technique was all-rounded.¡¯ Fang Yuan was satisfied. While the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique appeared to bemonce, only those who had undergone many trials were qualified to train within the sects. Fang Yuan hesitated for a while. He made no attempt to take the manual and instead, nced at Zhou Tong: "Those who present gifts have things to request, what is your request?" Zhou Tong was momentarily embarrassed. He said, "I owe you a big favour, and will willingly climb a mountain of des or cross a sea of mes without batting an eyelid. The manual is nothingpared it. It is just that the world is cruel and deceitful and as such, I can only be shameless and make a request..." He asked heavily, "What do you think of my youngest daughter, Wenxin?" "Hmm..." Fang Yuan rolled his eyes as he thought that Zhou Tong was offering his daughter as a way to entice him. "Very energetic..." He was speechless for a while before he came to a revtion. "That¡¯s good!" Zhou Tong rxed his tone, "Truth to be told, my youngest daughter is very stubborn and I am unable to discipline her. Why not you ept my youngest daughter as a disciple?" "No way!" Fang Yuan immediately shook his head, "How is that possible? To be the master of your beloved daughter? It would be better to find someone else." He did not want to put up with a troublemaker. At the same time, he admired Zhou Tong¡¯s cheek to make such a request. He was indeed unparalleled. Furthermore, Wenxin might just be older than him. "Will you not consider it?" Zhou Tong was slightly disappointed. Having Fang Yuan as the master of his child was his brainchild after a long night of thinking. This was a n with many benefits. Firstly, he would be able to entice such a mysterious and "abled" person. Secondly, his daughter would be protected. Furthermore, regardless of Fang Yuan¡¯s martial art ability or other skills, as long as he was able to learn medicine from Fang Yuan, he would be very much settled in his pursuit. No matter how much he nned and calcted, he was unable to calcte that his daughter and Fang Yuan had crossed path before. "I never had any thoughts of having a disciple before. I think it is better for you to take back the gift!" Fang Yuan pushed the manual away from him. Even though she would look pretty after dressing up and she had no choice but to follow his orders as she was the disciple, he did not want thedy to cause trouble by his side. "Sigh, my daughter is indeed unfortunate! However, please keep this manual. If not, I would really be shameless... ..." Zhou Tong let out a long sigh. "In any case, thank you very much..." Fang Yuan was interested in the manual. Furthermore, he had saved the life of Zhou Tong. It was only right that he received the gift. As such, under Zhou Tong¡¯s insistence, he epted the manual. However, never could he had imagined that Zhou Tong had little morals! Zhou Tong smiled and looked at the surroundings after Fang Yuan epted the manual, "You live alone in the deep mountain with no one around. Let me present you a servant to take care of you!" "That will not be necessary?" Fang Yuan rejected. He had too many secrets which might be leaked out quickly should there be another person in the deep valley with him. He should protect the secrets that need to be kept while he still had the power to guard those secrets. "It is settled!" Zhou Tong waved his hand and said, "This is all ording to your uncle¡¯s wishes. Don¡¯t worry, I have disciplined the servant. It is okay to scold or even hit her!" He immediately stood up and walked out of the valet as if he was afraid that Fang Yuan would reject his arrangement. Fang Yuan realised that there was arge group of people waiting outside. They appeared to be ready to move anytime. "I will now take my leave!" Zhou Tong saluted respectfully. Majority of the Zhou Family followed Zhou Tong and left. "Sigh.... Virtuous nephew..." Lin Benchu was thest to leave. He looked at Fang Yuan with regret and said, "Other than Leiyue, I have a few daughters... what a shame..." "What happened?" Fang Yuan was confused. He soon realized that a delicate figure was left behind after most of the people had left. "Miss Zhou?" He looked over and saw Zhou Wenxin with red puffy eyes as if she had just cried. She appeared to be full of grievance. "What¡¯s wrong?" Zhou Wenxin looked as if she was ready to cry. She curtsied, "I.... I have met you before!" "What!" Fang Yuan was shocked as he realized Zhou Tong¡¯s n. He understood the reason behind why Lin Yuanwai gave him such as look before leaving. Zhou Tong did not manage to entice Fang Yuan to make Wenxin his disciple. As such, he forced Wenxin onto Fang Yuan by giving her to Fang Yuan as a servant. "What the!" Looking at Wenxin who was full of grief, Fang Yuan struggled as he did not know what to do. Chapter 26: The 4 Heavenly Gates Chapter 26: The 4 Heavenly Gates Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Father....." Outside the valley, Zhou Wenwu looked back in the direction of the secluded valley and said, "Let my sister bes a ve to someone else? If this piece of news spread, what will the Zhou family¡¯s reputation be?" "You are over worried. If both of us don¡¯t reveal anything, no one will know that it is Wenxin!" Zhou Tong shook his head and said, "Your sister is too stubborn. It is time for her to look for someone to improve her character. Since I¡¯m still alive now, it is still okay. When I¡¯m dead, she will likely bring trouble for the Zhou family!" "But....." Zhou Wenwu disapproved. "I still feel that this is inappropriate. Sister¡¯s reputation....hold on a second. Father, you want to...." "Haha, the young Master is not that kind of person. Even if so, what is there to lose out on if I have a son-inw?" Zhou Tong stroked his moustache and said, "Even though your sister is stubborn, her character is actually good in nature. We should let them get together first. Even if their rtionship doesn¡¯t work out in the end, at least your sister is able to benefit from learning a few techniques from the Master!" "Father, looks like you have much confidence in this Master!" Even though Zhou Wenwu stayed silent, he knew that Zhou Tong had already made a decision and would not change it no matter what. Also, the mindset here was different. Marrying off one¡¯s daughter or sister to a capable man meant that others would not look down on you. "Not to mention....." Zhou Tong heaved a long sigh, "Qingye City¡¯s situation is unpredictable. I am finding an alternative path for the Zhou family. Wenwu, don¡¯t follow me back to the city. Just head straight to Lieyang County and find your aunt. Stay there for a period of time and enjoy yourself!" "The situation is in such a bad state now? Zhou Wenwu was surprised and this would mean that Zhou Tong would be on his own and away from the family. Zhou Wenwu angrily said, "Father, when Song Yujie died, you still haven¡¯t recovered from your injuries. The whole family was in the mountains. How will Song Zhong dare to use you?" "In the past, he would not dare to. However, it is hard to say now...." Zhou Tong shook his head. A desperate person was the scariest. Song Zhong lost his child when he was old and since then, he had lived alone. It was hard to say what his mind had be. Plus, he was also an elder. Zhou Tong, on the other hand, was just an Outer Sect Deacon and both of them were enemies of the same Sect. If the other party lost his loved one and felt likemitting suicide, he would also bring others along and die together! Zhou Tong¡¯s face was gloomy and suspected that the poison case was likely to have originated from the Song family. Of course, Zhou Wenwu wouldn¡¯t need to know about this suspicion. "Alright, Father will with all of us. We have nothing to be afraid of since we did nothing wrong!" Zhou Wenwu shuddered as Song Zhong, who broke through two Gates, was a [Martial Artist (7th Gate)] expert! If Song Zhong became crazy and started killing everyone in Qingye City, no one could stop him as the city was not part of the Spirit Returning Sect. "Leave?" Zhou Tong listened and gave a sorrowful smile. "You should leave with your sister first. I, being the father, shouldn¡¯t!" This was just a prediction of the worst case scenario. It was totally unnecessary for now. If the Zhou family migrated elsewhere, what would the rest of the Qingye City think? If the Zhou family retreated and escaped to elsewhere when there was trouble, they would not have to think about living in the Qingye City ever again. Nowadays, families here were like beasts as they had territories they controlled. Qingye City was the territory of the Zhou family. If this territory was abandoned, others woulde and im it. Hence, the worse the situation became, the more Zhou Tong couldn¡¯t leave. "Don¡¯t worry, Song Zhong and I are of the same Sect. With Lin family around, he will not dare to do anything funny!" Even though Zhou Tong was worried, he stillforted Zhou Wenwu. Even he himself also felt this way. If not, based on his cunning character, he would definitely not go back and die. ....... "Your father sent you here to be my servant?" At that moment, Fang Yuan stared at Zhou Wenxin and remained silent. "Certainly.....certainly not...." Zhou Wenxin immediately teared after hearing what Fang Yuan said. Seeing that Fang Yuan stepped forward, she became even more terrified and retreated further with her hands clutching her shoulders. "What....what do you want? Don¡¯te near me!" "Why do you make me look like the bad guy?" Fang Yuan stroked his chin and said, "I¡¯m not interested in you. Even if I wanted to be mean, isn¡¯t it normal for me to have a servant?" "Boohoo!" After what he said, Zhou Wenxin couldn¡¯t endure any longer and cried out loud. "You are bullying me again....you are a bad guy...." "Excuse me, you are being self-affectionate!" Fang Yuan frowned and said, "I am preparing to send you out of the mountains today actually!" "What?" Zhou Wenxin stopped crying and lifted her head. Her teary eyes were staring right at Fang Yuan¡¯s. She thought that she would be suffering since shended onto a thief¡¯s hands. She didn¡¯t expect that Fang Yuan was not interested in her and was preparing to send her off! At that moment, she felt humiliated instead of being fearful. Previously, she thought that being a servant was humiliating. She didn¡¯t expect that being rejected to be someone¡¯s servant was even more humiliating! "You are not willing to leave?" Fang Yuan became a little interested and said, "Or would you prefer me to torture you?" "I.....I....." Zhou Wenxin bit her teeth tightly and couldn¡¯t wait to bite that cockyd. However, she recalled her father¡¯s advice on the situation of Qingye City and his scolding. She took a breath and said, "I will not leave!" "What?" Fang Yuan felt something strange about her sudden change in attitude. "Is your father leaving you? Looks like your family is seriously affected by the death of Song Yujie!" "You can stay in this piece of wilnd for as long as you want but I warn you first, do not enter the secluded valley or your life will be at risk!" Fang Yuan gave a warning and decided to go back and ponder further. Anyway, the Flower Fox Ferret would not be gentle towards anyone. If thisdy indeed decided to explore the secluded valley, the Flower Fox Ferret will definitely not spare her life. By that time, she would have be a fertilizer for the nts. "No entry to the valley?" Miss Zhou looked at her surroundings and heard noises made by the beasts from far. She shuddered and said, "Fine, I will not enter the valley!" "Very well!" Fang Yuan then left, leaving Zhou Wenxin behind. With the camping resources her family gave, she definitely would survive out in the wild. Hence, Fang Yuan naturally wouldn¡¯t show any concern about her. With regards to the news about her being a servant, which idiot would believe? Who would want to get into trouble? ....... "She still hasn¡¯t left?" Soon, the sun began to set and the sky gradually became dark. Fang Yuan was reading a manual about the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique and gesturing subconsciously. He met the Flower Fox Ferret and asked about Miss Zhou. The Flower Fox Ferret shook its head like a human. "Hmm....looks like there is big trouble brewing in Qingye City...." Fang Yuan got up and exhaled out a long breath. He looked in the direction of Qingye City and murmured something. The reason why Zhou Tong was thick-skinned enough to make his daughter stay put was so that his daughter could be protected and he could pull connections with Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan made a decision after understanding the whole situation. If he was satisfied with the gift, he would amodate thedy for a few days before sending her back to the city. If he was not satisfied, he would send her back right away. He followed his inclinations and what could Zhou Tong do about it? "This ¡¯Eagle w Iron Skin Technique¡¯.....". After some serious considerations, Fang Yuan started to think carefully about the techniques that he had. He was not only a young 4th Gate Martial Artist, he also had the Spirit Returning Heart Manual with him even though he was missing a few essential ones. After all, this manual was from the Spirit Returning Sect. The differentiation between the knowledge of martial arts and Gates mentioned in it should not be fake. With such confidence, he looked at the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique once more and concluded that it was impossible for Zhou Tong to trick him. "So far I have yet to attain [ck Sand Palm (Grade 5)] and [Rough Breathing Technique (Grade 5)]. I need to find other techniques to learn but the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique is different!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. "It canbine with the Eagle w Technique to be the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique. This will enable me to train to the peak of the 12 Golden Gates!" With this benefit alone, Fang Yuan would dly ept Zhou Tong¡¯s request for his daughter to seek protection here. After all, this was very important with regards to strengthening himself. The gift was timely. Even though he had saved Zhou Tong¡¯s life, it was still a huge gift that was not proportionatepared to what Fang Yuan had done for him. "The 12 Golden Gates. The 4 Heavenly Gatese after the first 8 Gates. The 4 Gates are namely Yin, Yang, Heaven and Earth. In the end, one will break through the Heaven Gate and be Wu Zong!" "The Spirit Returning Heart Manual mentions briefly about this while the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique doesn¡¯t. It clearly shows that Eagle w Iron Skin Technique is inferior as it does not mention anything rted to Wu Zong!" "But to me, having the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique is sufficient. Of course, I cannot give up ck Sand Palm. I should quickly train it to 5th Grade and then I will focus fully on attaining the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique!" Fang Yuan was determined to do that. If it was other martial artists who wanted to convert their techniques, they would have to take a long time. For Fang Yuan, he was very familiar with the conversion and was able to get it with just a few practices. After a night of training, he was satisfied by his improvement in the conversion. "If I am given another year to train, Song family, Spirit Returning Sect and others will have to step aside for me!" "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret suddenly came gesturing to Fang Yuan with its ws. "Oh? Did something bad happened to Miss Zhou?" Fang Yuan thought for a while and grabbed a handkerchief to wipe his sweat. He then reached the camping site, which was outside the valley. He saw Zhou Wenxin curled up at a corner with her hands holding two flintstones, trying to light up a fire. "Puff!" Seeing her current state, Fang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but thought that Zhou Tong was funny. It was already whimsical for Zhou Tong to send his daughter here to be a servant and even more amazing that she could take care of herself on her own. Chapter 27: Destroying the Sect Chapter 27: Destroying the Sect Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Seeing the state of Zhou Wenxin, Fang Yuan frowned, turned around, returned to the valley and continued to drink his tea. With an unreasonable attitude like hers, she deserved to be put through hardship. The best would be for her to not be able to take it any longer and leave on her own ord. What was there to pity about? Fang Yuan would never feel sorry for her. Within the valley, Fang Yuan chopped wood, started a fire, cooked some porridge and made tea. The aroma filled the air and even to the entrance of the valley. Zhou Wenxin sniffed the aroma and her stomach was growling. She unknowingly walked to the entrance of the valley, but froze there, afraid to take another step. Zhou Wenxin was unreasonable but not stupid. She knew that if she did not heed Fang Yuan¡¯s warning to not enter the valley, no one, even her father, would be able to save her. Furthermore, she could remember when her bodyguards were attacked by the white sh when she came to confront Fang Yuan the previous time. How would she dare to disobey? She could not ignore the aromaing out from the valley and continued eating her dry rations. In the valley. Fang Yuan and the Flower Fox Ferret each held a small bowl and ate the Vermillion Jade Rice Porridge, and had no intention of helping Zhou Wenxin. The spiritual rice was so valuable to the extent that Fang Yuan made porridge with it. Regardless human or ferret, both value the spiritual rice a lot and have no intention of sharing it. "Even my Pearl Jade Crystal Rice is also no ordinary rice, and eating it would bring many benefits to the body..." Fang Yuan thought for a while, and sighed, "The spiritual tea is almost used up, and the Vermillion Jade Rice too... It has be painful for me to drink normal tea every morning, and if I run out of spiritual rice too, how can I survive?" "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret raised its little paws, as though it had the same sentiments. "At the end of the day, the solution lies with the spiritual fertilizer!" Fang Yuan looked at the Flower Fox Ferret, "When I asked you to bring me there previously, you were unwilling, and see what happened? I am now a martial artist of [Cultivation Level (Grade 4)], and I believe my abilities should be able to bring us there safely?" "Keke?!" The Flower Fox Ferret licked thest grain of porridge from its bowl before it was willing to put the bowl down, and went to an empty spot. "Oh? You want to spar with me?" Fang Yuan became energetic and knew that the Flower Fox Ferret was unsure of how good he had be. They needed to spar to confirm. "Come on!" Since killing Song Yujie, Fang Yuan realised thatbat experience was far more valuable than the usual practice, and therefore was enthusiastic in taking on the Flower Fox Ferret. "Don¡¯t take it easy on me!" Fang Yuan took a deep breath, and both his palms became pitch-ck, with his veins protruding out like worms. Both of his forearms became far thicker than before. ¡¯This is usually how my Inner Power circtes within me, and now it has even affected my physical form?¡¯ The parts that were strengthened by the ck Sand Palm were the palms, forearms, chest, abdomen. As for his back, legs and head, the changes were minor. He had no choice. The ck Sand Palm was a low-tier technique which did not focus on defence. Being able to strengthen his arms was good enough. "Ssss!" As for the Flower Fox Ferret, he felt a little scared, after seeing the transformation Fang Yuan went through. Whoosh! Using his paws, the Flower Fox Ferret pounced towards Fang Yuan in a white sh like a lightning. "Chi! Chi!" Its talons were sharp and quick, like a knife. "Good, don¡¯t take it easy!" Fang Yuan struck his palm out. He only fought with the Flower Fox Ferret once, which was their first encounter under the moonlight. The Flower Fox Ferret was not as smart then, and Fang Yuan did not know martial arts back then. Now, both of them have their own improvements, which made Fang Yuan excited and eager to find out the Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s true standard. "Boundless ck Sand!" His right palm became ck and had a whiff of fragrance; it was mildly hypnotizing. "Hissss!" The Flower Fox Ferret did not dare to go head-on with Fang Yuan. It curled into a shape of a letter ¡¯Z¡¯ and ingeniously avoided Fang Yuan¡¯s palm before curling behind Fang Yuan, attacking him from the back. "Reverse Palm!" Fang Yuan turned around and immediately struck out another palm, and the Flower Fox Ferret avoided it easily. However, there were fresh w marks on Fang Yuan¡¯s arm now. "Hmm? Aggressive in attack, but weak in defence!" Seeing the Flower Fox Ferret, Fang Yuan came to a conclusion. He focused on his arms and channelled energy to it. The small wound was nothing to him, as the muscles contracted and stopped the bleeding. "Good! One more time!" Fang Yuan became increasingly excited as the battle ensued. He heaved, with both palms striking out, bringing with it a strong gust of wind and poison, which led the Flower Fox Ferret to retreat, and it did not dare to advance a single step. ¡¯Mmm... The Flower Fox Ferrer¡¯s true ability is on par with a martial artist at the 7th Gate, and if not for me mastering my outer skills, I would lose... But my defence is too weak and any martial artist in the 4th Gate would be able to break through. I can only use speed to make up for myck of defence.......¡¯ After a long fight, Fang Yuan was breathless, and raised his hand, "Let¡¯s stop here!" He needed to use all his energy and force the Flower Fox Ferret to retreat, and that took a lot of his Inner Power. If he continued to use his Inner Power, he would have lost to the Flower Fox Ferret. ¡¯If I was a martial artist of [Cultivation Level (Grade 5)], I would be able to hold on for a while more. Especially if I am able to break through Pain Gate, concentrate my Inner Power, then I would be able tost much longer, and from there should be able to win the Flower Fox Ferret...¡¯ Fang Yuan clenched his fist and felt happy for his progress. He was even happier when he realised that his experience bar was filled up by arge portion for ¡¯ck Sand Palm¡¯, and smiled. "Very good, Flower Fox Ferret, next time we shall do this a few times each day!" "Hissss..." On the other end, a tired Flower Fox Ferret stuck out his tongue, because it was extremely tired for it to remain focused and go against such a strong palm. "Keke!" Fang Yuan¡¯s progress shocked the Flower Fox Ferret, as he made a sign with his paws. "Can we do it now?" Fang Yuan understood him and was ecstatic. Could he finally reveal where all the spiritual fertilizer was hidden? Once he had the endless supply of spiritual fertilizer, the production of spiritual tea and spiritual rice would not be a problem anymore, and his progress would be much faster! ... Qinghe County, Kou Vige. The vige was considered wealthy within the county, and the majority of the people here have the surname ¡¯Kou¡¯, and of course, was the origin of a Palm Technique Master, the creator of ck Sand Palm, Kou Feng! But right now, in the entire Kou Vige, there were corpses everywhere. Arge fire rose to a few feet high and burnt down the entire vige garden. In the vige, members of the Spirit Returning Sect gave no considerations and killed anyone on sight. Aspared to the entire Qinghe county, the resistance within the Kou Vige was small. "Elder Song¡¯s orders are not to leave a single soul within the Kou Vige!" "Kill!" ... Within the mess, from a random house, a ck shadow lept out, with both palms pitch-ck full of energy. Those members of the Spirit Returning Sect who came close to him held their throats, became pale and fell to the ground. "Song Zhong, you bully!" The ck shadow was an old person with white hair, "The rules of the Martial World states that it is of no fault of the others, and even there is a reason, you only look for me, how dare you do this?" "Rules of the Martial World?" The cunning Song Zhong responded. He floated extremely quickly towards the old man, like a ghost. "ck Sand Palm!" The old man concentrated on his life¡¯s training, struck out both palms, harnessing the most poisonous palms. People only know ck Sand Palm for its aggressiveness, and many did not know that the strongest form of ck Sand Palm is bybining it with poison. This move of his revealed that he trained directly under the Kou Family. The old man broke through the Pain Gate and was a martial artist of [Cultivation Level (Grade 6)]. He was naturally at the peak of ck Sand Palm. "Bank Sand Palm, release poison!" Song Zhong remained calm, did not take him seriously and drew a circle with his right hand. Kacha! The old man was shocked as his right palm met his left palm. The intense energy and poison broke both his arms, as he spat out blood and toppled. "For someone who is able to train the ck Sand Palm to break through the 6th Gate, you are already a talent. What a pity you won¡¯t be able to find out the greatness of whates after the Pain Gate!" Song Zhong continued, "When one encounters Pain Gate, he will feel pain! When one reaches Shock Gate, he will hurt his mental state! Death Gate is the worst, if one cannot break through it, he will die! The 3 Perilous Gates, are increasingly harder to break through, and I have already broken through the Shock Gate. My Inner Power, when focused, can be as hard as metal. How will your weak poison even stand any chance against me? Now that I¡¯ve counter-attacked, your life is on the line!" "Elder Song......I have indeed offended you in the past, but I don¡¯t think I deserve this!" The old man imagined death and was filled with sorrow. "It doesn¡¯t matter if you have offended me because I am willing to reason with you, but now that Yujie is dead, why should I care..." Song Zhong calmly told him, but the old man became increasingly afraid, "Are you suspecting that it¡¯s me? No, that¡¯s impossible!" "It doesn¡¯t matter if it is you, all of you disciples of the Kou Family will all die!" Song Zhong pointed his finger at the old man¡¯s forehead. Such a person who was able to break through 6 Gates, and train the ck Sand Palm to such a level, was all but a corpse lying on the floor. Song Zhong didn¡¯t feel much happier after the death of the old man, but felt suspicious, "If what those servants said was true, and Yujie died under the poisonous ck Sand Palm, and yet not by this old man, then how would the other disciples be of any match against Yujie? Did I miss out anything?" Chapter 28: 5th Gate Chapter 28: 5th Gate Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Time flowed like water and passed with the ease of a cloth on a weaving machine. In the blink of an eye, another 10 odd days passed. "This is thest bit of Vermillion Jade Rice!" Fang Yuan tilted his head backwards and poured the Vermillion Jade porridge into his open mouth. He immediately felt a warm surge of energy circte his body. He looked at his stats window. "Mm...ck Sand Palm (Grade 4), Proficiency points at 99% already?" Although the Flower Fox Ferret had confirmed that he had the strength to advance towardsnds with spiritual fertiliser, Fang Yuan wanted a more solid guarantee for himself. Several days of hard work had allowed Fang Yuan to hone his ck Sand Palm technique to a new peak. Even the Eagle w Cloth Technique had started to be easier for him. Fang Yuan had broken past [Martial Artist (4th Gate)], which gave him the strong foundations necessary to make his execution of the technique a force to reckon with. "The Eagle w Iron Skin Technique provides protection that is more bncedpared to the ck Sand Palm Technique. Danger lurks in the spiritualnd. Being well-versed in one more defence technique wouldn¡¯t hurt!" Fang Yuan mumbled to himself, then suddenly adopted a fighting stance. "Flower Fox Ferret!" "Hiss!" The Flower Fox Ferret appeared in a sh of white. In the face of Fang Yuan¡¯s friendly invitation to battle, the ferret looked rather frightened. After all, from the past few days of training, Fang Yuan¡¯s "madness" had intimidated it. Coming into contact with the toxic wind stirred up by the ck Sand Palm technique was not a pleasant experience. "Haha...when the next Spiritual Rice crop is ready for harvesting, I¡¯ll let you eat to your heart¡¯s content. How does this sound?" Fang Yuan knew that the ferret was extremely keen on spiritual rice. "Hiss!" At the mention of spiritual rice, the ferret was immediately convinced and jumped at Fang Yuan. "Excellent!" Fang Yuan stood his ground confidently without a hint of fear. His hands erupted into a flurry of fists. They looked like ck windmills that gave off a dark and menacing wind. "Huff puff!" After a while, the Flower Fox Ferret jumped out of the fighting ring and looked rmed at the figure inside. "So...it seems like ck Sand Palm (Grade 5) brings me back to the basics!" He noticed that his hands, which had bulging veins previously, were back to their original states. Even his arms, where the muscles were flexed before, had be lean again. Still, Fang Yuan could feel internal energy coursing powerfully through his vessels. Although it seemed like Fang Yuan was back to normal, the potential amount of damage he was capable of dealing had increased by a few times! He checked out his stats window and noticed that the description of his ck Sand Palm technique had been updated. ck Sand Palm(5th Grade)------It is an external technique that has already reached its peak. This causes the user¡¯s hands to regain its original look and make them tougher than steel. It is able to shatter gold and break jade, enhanced with poison, and strengthens inner power. "Inner power?!" Fang Yuan could indeed feel a more intense inner power flushing his hands, spreading to his arms, chest and even his lower abdomen. It was as if he had be a small oven and was nurturing something within him. "Inner power woven into a rope-like form to be inner force! This is the essence of the 6th Gate, the Pain Gate......if one failed to break through the Gate, his whole body would be gravely wounded and he might even die!" At this point, Fang Yuan had already reached the deep end of martial arts cultivation. If he lost focus for even a moment, the consequences would be extremely dire. "But now..." Fang Yuan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Kacha!" A literal feeling in his gut told him that he had broken through the Gate. "Martial Artist (5th Gate), sessfully challenged!" Fang Yuan had only been training for two months, and he had already broken through 5 Gates. This was unprecedented. This was prodigious! "I have my proficiency points to thank, not to mention the Vermillion Jade Rice and Questioning Heart Tea!" Fang Yuan did not allow himself to becent and looked at his stats. "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 2.7 Spirit: 2.5 Magic: 1.5 Age: 18 Cultivation: [Martial Arts (5th Gate)] Skills: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 3)] Specialities: [Medicine (Level 2)], [Botany (Level 3)] "Eagle w Iron Skin technique ¡ª¡ª Internal and External martial art technique. Whole and without ws. When trained to Grade 12, by then the body will be imprable and resistant to hurt. Complemented by the inner strength of the Eagle w! Currently at Grade 3!" "Theter Gates of martial arts cultivation were bing unnerving. The fifth Gate alone gave me an increase of 0.5 each in both Spirit and Essence. It¡¯s a pity that my Magic didn¡¯t increase..." Now, Fang Yuan also realised that Magic was the hardest to level up among the three stats. He could trigger a prodigious rate of improvement previously all because of the Questioning Heart Tea and the Meditative Tea Ceremony. The path of the martial arts bes increasingly difficult as one progress. It is very easy to suffer a rebound while breaking through the Pain Gate. Breaking through the Shock Gate is taxing on both the heart and the mind, and tests a martial artist¡¯s magical energy [1]!If the martial artist¡¯s magical energy is too weak, he will suffer a rebound and might be mentally unstable..." With the Spirit Returning Heart Manual and the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique, Fang Yuan could approach the 12 Golden Gates with the utmost confidence. Of course, in terms of danger, the Pain and Shock Gates paled inparison to the Death Gate. Failure to conquer the Pain and Shock Gates would result in serious damage to the body, but at least he would live. The Death Gate, however, lived by its name. Failure would result in death. Because of this, even Song Zhong and the old timer martial artists had to be very certain about their chances before attempting to break through! "And Zhou Tong, who has already mastered all there is to master in the fifth Gate and with his Iron Skin technique at hand, did not dare to challenge the Pain Gate. With his timid character, he will never advance further!" Fang Yuan shook his head in disdain. Those with martial arts manuals in their possession, and yet did not dare to make use of them for practice, were the most foolish people in the world. To be fair, Zhou Tong was the patriarch of the noble Zhou Family, and the family rose or fell together with him. He could not afford topromise himself in any way. But the price he had to pay was meekness in the face of more skilled opponents, who had no qualms about taking advantage of him. "However, ording to the masters from the books, and based on my own observations, these 3 Perilous Gates might be intimidating, but as long as the martial artist has an abundance of Spirit, Essence, and Magic, he¡¯ll be able to cope well!" Because of this, Fang Yuan had every confidence in the spiritual fertilizer. He had to stock up on tea and rice in order to push these three stats into new highs so that he could smash through the 3 Perilous Gates at one go. "Alright, let¡¯s set off today!" Fan Yuan lifted a bamboo basket onto his back and called out to the Flower Fox Ferret before heading out of the Valley. When he arrived at the campsite of the Zhou Family, it was apparent that Zhou Weixin had disappeared. ¡¯A servant of the Zhou Family came by with news that Song Zhong had not be totally mad the other day, which set Old Zhou¡¯s heart at ease. Furthermore, Miss Zhou finally went home grudgingly after her torturous experience.This is just as well. There is less trouble for me!¡¯ Fang Yuan was dressed in green robes. He let out a sigh of relief. After all, Song Zhong and Old Zhou were from the same Sect. Song Zhong had lost much and took revenge on his old enemies with a dogged determination. It was worthy to note that he held back from attacking Old Zhou. He was but an elder of the Spirit Returning Sect and was not invincible. "The marks that I left behind were definitely insignificant. As long as I do not reveal my skill, especially the ck Sand Palm, who would suspect me...?" Fang Yuan was extremely self-assured. The safer the Zhou Family was, the safer he was. As long as time dragged on, and he kept improving, none of this would matter anymore. "Ferret, it¡¯s your time to shine!" Fang Yuan patted the ferret¡¯s head. Both of them then sped into the forest and disappeared. _________ Qingye City. "Useless piece of trash!" Song Zhong let out a roar. Song San immediately spat out blood and was thrown back several metres onto the ground. "I wanted information on all the ck Sand Palm experts in the county. I gave you so much time, and yet you turned up with so little..." Song Zhong began to walk forward slowly as he nced at the bloodied Song San, his features regainingposure. "Spare me, Master!" Song San kowtowed repeatedly. "The ck Sand Palm is widely practised with so many variations. Song San feels that..." "Pow!" Song San¡¯s speech had been cut short by a kick to his chest. "Are you saying that Yujie made a mistake? That he had poor eyesight?" "Song San did not mean that!" Song San clutched his chest in pain. He did not dare to even make a sound. "...Yujie naturally would not be in the wrong. It must be the servants who made mistakes in their anxiousness to leave. Maybe they heard wrong. Or perhaps...please give me more time Master!" "Hmph, get lost!" Following Song Zhong¡¯s bellow, Song San ran out of the hall wretchedly, his eyes dripping with malice the moment he was out of sight. "Master!" After Song San left, a female disciple walked in and greeted Song Zhong with a bow. "I have followed your instructions and made preparations. Zhou Tong has lowered his guard and has summoned his former disciples..." "Excellent!" Song Zhong calmed down slightly after receiving the news, except that his enraged expression gave way to a sly one. "Let¡¯s wait for his precious son to return, and we can deal with them all in one go!" "But Master, the Zhou Family is one of our own. Additionally, it can be confirmed that during the period where Yujie left us, Zhou Tong was recuperating after being severely poisoned. He had nothing to do with Yujie¡¯s death..." The female disciple looked at Song Zhong with uncertainty. "...So?" Song Zhong squinted at her. "You think I have no idea? We yed a part in his poisoning. And Zhou Tong has been in contact with the elders in his territory, telling them that I have been a tyrant....We have to kill this sheep in a disy of power to show the rest that I¡¯m not to be trifled with!" The female disciple listened in silence and spoke after a long while. "This is ruinous for the Sect." "Hehe..." Song Zhong cackled. "I¡¯ll have nothing to do with the downfall of the Zhou Family. It would be the doing of roaming gangsters. As long as we do not leave behind any evidence, who would dare to take an Elder to task?" "You are mad!" The female disciple shivered. She could see that her master was bing more extreme following the death of his beloved son. "Yujie..." Song Zhong became oblivious to his surroundings and muttered under his breath. "All the people that you¡¯ve ever disliked will not escape. And all those that you were fond of, Papa will deliver to you..." As the sun began to set, shadows danced on Song Zhong¡¯s face like demons around a fire. [1] The ¡¯Magic¡¯ in Fang Yuan¡¯s stats window is an indicator of how much magical energy he has. Chapter 29: Spiritual Land Chapter 29: Spiritual Land Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions A thick fog covered the vast green mountains. In the forest, Fang Yuan and the Flower Fox Ferret were traversing at a speed which could not be seen by the naked eye. He came to the forest to look for the spiritual fertilizer, which was essential for the development of his skills. Thus, he was rushing to find it. They reached the Clear Spirit Mountain by noon. "Come, let¡¯s eat!" Fang Yuan looked at the sky and only saw a faint light from the scorching sun as they were covered by the surrounding trees. The spiritual Vermillion Jade Rice had run out. Hence, he naturally had to make his rice balls with the Vermillion Jade Rice. This was rather tormenting for him as he was picky about his food. Simrly, the Flower Fox Ferret was in disdain when it realised the rice balls were not made from the Vermillion Jade Rice. It dived into a nearby bush and dragged a chicken out not long after. "You are indeed picky!" Fang Yuan mocked the Flower Fox Ferret and then removed the intestines of the chicken. He went to a river to wash the blood off the chicken and seasoned it with some salt that he brought. He then wrapped the chicken with leaves and started roasting it over the fire. Not long after, a freshly roasted chicken was made. As he removed the wrapping leaves, he could smell a strong aroma. "Oohh.....It melts in the mouth and is not greasy at all. It tastes so fresh...." This dish also appeared in his dreams. Fang Yuan randomly made this dish on the spot and the Flower Fox Ferret really liked it. This made the Flower Fox Ferret tempted to get another chicken. "Dreams doe true....." Fang Yuan had realised that what he dreamt dide true in real life. His life in the dream world was very simr to his in real life. "Or......in the ng of the other world, this is a form of ¡¯¡¯breakthrough¡¯, the only difference is that the current me is thebination of both memories/sides, with equal parts of both worlds...... He became clear and understood the situation. "Currently, I am Fang Yuan!" ....... "Let¡¯s go!" Fang Yuan continued on with the Flower Fox Ferret after finishing their lunch. The Clear Spirit Mountain was indeed deep. There were many rare birds and beasts, with leopards, tigers, wolves and jackals forming the majority. Not many old huntsmen and herb collectors dared toe this deep. "Roar!" A very loud roar wasing from the front. A giant tiger with a white forehead jumped out from the trees. "There are indeed many beasts in this forest!" Without blinking his eye, Fang Yuan attacked the tiger effortlessly with his right palm. "ck Sand Palm!" [ck Sand Palm (5th Grade)] gave an ultimate effect from the power it produced. However, both arms and palms did not have any changes, except for a ck circle which would appear on the palm when executed. "Bang!" Fang Yuan hit the tiger¡¯s skull with much force, causing it to roll onto the ground. This giant tiger had a thick skin. It rolled on the ground and was able to get behind Fang Yuan. It then used its tail like an iron whip and whipped his back. "Piak!" Fang Yuan¡¯s clothing was torn into pieces. "Hmm? This tiger is definitely not normal. Even though it is not a spiritual beast, it is not much different from the mutated Pearl Tail Snake previously....." Fang Yuan was surprised that it was able to survive his ck Sand Palm even though he knew that its skull was the strongest part of the body. What about the tail? Fang Yuan had Iron Skin for defence and this tiger had gotten weaker. It was no match for him. He touched his back and couldn¡¯t feel any pain. From the perspective of the Flower Fox Ferret, a fading red print could be seen on his back. "Roar!" The giant tiger realised that Fang Yuan was too powerful and decided to run away. However, not long after it escaped, it became like a drunkard and fell onto the ground, with a dark coloured blood flowing out. "Thebination of the Pearl Tail Snake¡¯s poison and ck Sand Palm is a perfect one indeed!" He then sighed. "Even though I executed the ck Sand Palm, it is actually the poison encapsted in the ck Sand Palm that killed the tiger. Should I just call it Poison Sand Palm instead?" "Unfortunately the tiger¡¯s bones....." At that moment, the tiger was poisoned to death and its body was badly destroyed. Fang Yuan regretted a little after seeing the state of the tiger. "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret passed by proudly but was disdained by the corpse of the tiger. To it, with the exception of the spiritual tea and spiritual rice, how could a piece of meat be called meat if it was not edible? "However.....there is definitely something different in this mountain!" Fang Yuan continued on with a serious look. From the Flower Fox Ferret, to the Pearl Tail Snake and then the giant tiger. This showed one thing. This Clear Spirit Mountain is definitely something! Or maybe, it was due to the influence of something mysterious present here. The ce where the Flower Fox Ferret was bringing Fang Yuan to might be connected to that influence. There could be a chance for them to meet the owner! "Keke!" As they go in deeper into the mountain, the Flower Fox Ferret became even more excited. It was also alert and used its ws to gesture to Fang Yuan. "We are almost reaching our destination?" Fang Yuan bucked up and looked at the sky. The sun was setting and the ce was going to be dark soon. "We have a little bit of time left. Let¡¯s go and have a quick look!" Fang Yuan bit his teeth and went into the bushes with the Flower Fox Ferret. "Hooo" The surroundings suddenly started to fog up, causing the visibility to be poor. "This fog.....something is wrong!" It was normal for the top of the mountain to be fogged up all year round but this white fog was way too strong. If he were to go a few steps deeper, he would not be able to see his fingers. Fang Yuan felt a huge feeling of weariness. His eyelids became heavy and he started to close his eyes unconsciously. He then went into a deep sleep. "Sleep.....sleep....." He could hear a voice whispering into his ears and he became in a trance. "Hold on a second....I shouldn¡¯t sleep. If I do sleep, everything will be over...." Fang Yuan had the magical energy that was beyond a normal human being and it proved its effectiveness. However, it only allowed Fang Yuan to stay alert. Even though he was aware of his surroundings, he was unable to move his limbs, which made it impossible for him to retreat. "The hell with it, how does the Flower Fox Ferret make it through here previously if I am like that now?" Fang Yuan was confused. He then heard noises made by the Flower Fox Ferret and it was getting further away from him. "Sleep! Sleep....Once you sleep, everything will be alright...." The weariness got even stronger. Fang Yuan closed and opened his eyes. He shook his head and bit his teeth, "Damn it.....There is something wrong with the fog!" He forced himself to sit cross-legged and summon forth his inner power to counter the fog. Normally, his power from his Dantian was able to defend against any threats. This time, it seemed that his power was useless when dealing with such great power from the fog. "Go to sleep....go to sleep....." The whisper beside his ear became blurred. Fang Yuan shuddered and a scene appeared in front of his eyes. A white-haired elder who was dressed in white was sitting beside the spring water and tasting tea. "My Meditative Tea Ceremony is based on the foundation of trust and respect, breaking away from fate, curbing evil intentions and simplifying matters. Only with these would you have a genuine outlook, peace, and be set on the path to pursue dao." "A man of heart is a master of his own body and the lord of the gods. He sits still to achieve wisdom, and the slightest movement would bring upon his downfall. In thend of fantasy, the only truth is: Who would be able toprehend the falsehood within the sweet promises? They dreamt big and underwent multiple events before they realised that there was more to life and that their hearts had changed. Who would have been aware that it was just a big dream..." ....... "Master!" A series of his memories appeared. Fang Yuan then realised he was not drowsy anymore. In fact, he was way more alert than before. He now could confirm that Master Wenxin was not an ordinary person! Master Wenxin didn¡¯t really pass down anything to him. The Meditative Tea Ceremony was the only precious gift from him. "Keke!" "Keke!" At that moment, when Fang Yuan looked at the white fog, it was no different from any other mountain fog. The Flower Fox Ferret beside him was getting impatient while waiting. It even dragged a very long banana leaf over and the leaf contained cool spring water. "Are you alright?" Fang Yuan suddenly understood what happened. "Does the mysterious magical power here target only humans? Or is it because the minds of the wild beasts are pure and that¡¯s why they are not affected?" Obviously, the Flower Fox Ferret had been through here quite a few times already but it did not have the same experience as Fang Yuan. If not, it wouldn¡¯t have brought Fang Yuan to this ce. "It¡¯s been hard on you!" After understanding this point, Fang Yuan didn¡¯t make things difficult for the Flower Fox Ferret and drank the spring water straight from the banana leaf. "This water...." The spring water was clear and sweet. The water cooled his body. Fang Yuan only drank one sip and he felt way better than before. "Good spring water!" He started praising the water. Fang Yuan had drank before many types of spring water but this spring water with such quality was rare. "Nope, this is not normal spring water. It is definitely spiritual water!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered and asked the Flower Fox Ferret, "Where does this spring watere from?" "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret stood upright and pointed forward with its ws. "There again!" He gave a serious look. He guessed that the ce deep in this fog was probably the source of the mutations that were happening throughout the whole Clear Spirit Mountain. Things like the spiritual fertiliser, spiritual beasts and spiritual water were formed because of that ce! "It seems like I have to go and visit this ce...." Fang Yuan got up and looked determined. "Spiritualnd?" The spiritualnd was formed by heaven¡¯s will and created by the gathering of earthly energy. It was filled with all kinds of spiritual nts and plenty of spiritual beasts. It is an excellent piece of fertile and sacrednd, and a treasure trove! Chapter 30: Spiritual Bird Chapter 30: Spiritual Bird Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Spiritualnd..." Fang Yuan looked ahead, his eyes full of passion. Even the lowest grade of spiritualnd was a great piece of treasure, and of course, with the rewards came the danger as well. These spiritual grasses and flowers must have many spiritual beasts lurking around. Take for instance the previous encounter with the Pearl Tail Snake which was guarding the Poisonous Dragon Grass, there had to be many dangerous animals around all these spiritual nts. "No risk, no rewards, right?" Fang Yuan clenched his teeth, and looked determined, "Flower Fox Ferret, show me the way!" The Flower Fox Ferret frequented this route, and it was safe the previous few times it came from here. As long as Fang Yuan stayed wary of the dangerous fog, he should be fine. "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret was very clever and could lead the way in front, while Fang Yuan followed behind, focusing his inner power to his ears so that he could pick up any danger from the surroundings. The dangerous fog no longer had the same effect as before, since Fang Yuan recalled his Master¡¯s teachings and utilised the Meditative Tea Ceremony. After a short while, the mountain fog dissipated and the view ahead appeared. "That is..." Fang Yuan witnessed the view in front of him and was in awe. Within his vision, he could see a small green peak covered in a circle of white fog, as though the sky had curtains covering. Once he was inside, the sky was blood red, and the view of the sunset was spectacr. "Can the wall of fog even cover the entire mountain peak?" Fang Yuan felt weird, and if not for the Flower Fox Ferret, who was guiding him all the way, he would have been mesmerised and gotten lost. This ce was much more inconspicuous aspared to the secluded valley. "Hu..." "Wait up!" Fang Yuan took a deep breath and felt different. "Even the air here smells fresher, and with it brings spirituality... A human being can extend his lifespan if he lives here, and if one practises martial arts here, he will experience amazing progress!" His eyes glittered, "Based on this magical feeling, there is no doubt that this is a piece of spiritualnd!" Fang Yuan felt as though he had won the top prize. But at this stage, he remained calm, followed the Flower Fox Ferret and ran towards the Green Peak. Behind the Green Peak was a ridge of barren cliffs, with many ck spots on it. As the sky darkened, it became increasingly hard to see. The Flower Fox Ferret became alert, waved his paws and remainedpletely silent. Fang Yuan took in a deep breath and followed it to the bottom of the cliff. "Eh? This is..." Under the cliff was a smallke. Theke water was green as jade, and surrounding theke was white sand all around. At the bottom of the cliff, the smell of the spiritual fertilizer filled the air, and he became speechless as he looked at the beach ahead. "This ¡¯beach¡¯... It is all made up of spiritual fertilizer, so much... so much spiritual fertilizer!" He mumbled to himself and was happy beyond words. He already knew how the spiritual fertilizer looked like. It was made up of translucent droplets and was everywhere around the beach. A few obvious holes seemed to be dug up by some animal, and the droplets became increasingly transparent with increasing deepness into the beach and theyer on top was pure white. "It seems that the more transparent the spiritual fertilizer, the more effective it is... I don¡¯t even know what formed this beach, I¡¯ve struck gold!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. He took out his bamboo basket, rolled up his sleeves and was prepared to collect the spiritual fertilizer. "Squawk!" At this moment, a fist-sized white bird with red eyesnded on a neighbouring tree and began to squeak in anger. Its squawking disturbed a neighbouringrge bird, which was about 10 times the size of it, like arge eagle. It flew straight at Fang Yuan. "Hmm? Another type of spiritual bird, this ce is indeed very conducive to spiritual things!" Fang Yuan remained calm, his right hand forming into a w-shape, and as quick as lightning, "Eagle w!" "Whoosh!" Amid a short squawk,rge amounts of white feathers scattered around. Thisrge bird could be considered to be a mutant at best, half spiritual bird, but still not a real spiritual animal, so how could it be Fang Yuan¡¯s match? With one swipe, Fang Yuan¡¯s Eagle w broke its neck. "Ha ha... Flower Fox Ferret, we have an additional dish for dinner!" Fang Yuan tossed the spiritual bird into the bamboo basket and smiled at the Flower Fox Ferret. However, at this point in time, the Flower Fox Ferret jumped at Fang Yuan and pulled on his clothing as though it was running for its life. "This..." Seeing how it reacted, it was obvious that it could sense that something extremely dangerous was approaching. Its fur stood up straight. Fang Yuan decided not to care about the spiritual fertilizer at this moment, picked up his bamboo basket and disappeared like the wind. "Squawk!" At his back, the small white bird¡¯s squawking increased in intensity. "Squawk!" "Squawk!" ... All the surrounding birds in the vicinity began to squawk, one by one pped their wings and flew down. It was the Red-eyed White birds from the previous encounter. "Hisss..." Fang Yuan was scared out of his wits, and channelled all his inner power to his legs, and ran for his life. He had to run! The Red-eyed White Birds covered the entire sky behind him! With their numbers, even if they were half-spiritual birds, real spiritual beasts would still be no match for them! The Flower Fox Ferret was also running for its life. "I finally know why the Flower Fox Ferret didn¡¯t want me toe here!" Fang Yuan ran and his thoughts ran faster, "With their numbers, a normal person could never outrun them and would be pecked to death!" "To the fog!" He was a decisive person and chose to run into the fog wall. The birds chased from above, and even though Fang Yuan had a head start and had the assistance of the inner power, he would be outrun in no time, and the only hope he had was to hide in the dense forest or fog to lose the birds. "Whoosh!" The Flower Fox Ferret did not lie to Fang Yuan. At his current speed, he disappeared into the fog as soon as the Red-eyed White Birds formed arge group and began to chase after them. "Squawk!" Having lost track of Fang Yuan, the murderer of their friend, therge group of birds could only circle around the mountain and squawk in sorrow... It could be heard around the entire spiritualnd. After venting their anger, the birds returned to their nest at the top of the cliff, and gradually quietened down. "Phew..." Fang Yuan heaved a sigh of relief and dared not to agitate the birds again. He slowly retreated out of the ce. Outside. After experiencing the spiritual energy within the spiritualnd, Fang Yuan felt that the outside world was unbearable, as though the heavens and earth were polluted. The truth was that the environment of the entire Clear Spirit Mountain was pretty good, but he still felt this way as hepared it to the spiritualnd. "Spiritualnd!" Fang Yuan eyed on thend covered by the fog, and felt emotional, "This spiritualnd is all mine!" He had no reason not to feel this way! A natural spiritualnd was a huge treasure itself, who knew what other spiritual nts might be hidden on the Green Peak, and the spiritual fertilizer, all these were enough for Fang Yuan to drool over. "And the spiritual birds... Such big birds, the king of these birds must be a spiritual beast, and may even be a grade higher than the Flower Fox Ferret!" Fang Yuan¡¯s biggest wish was to own the entire Green Peak and take it as his own, then shift his spiritual tea and spiritual rice over here. Nothing in the secluded valley could match up to this spiritualnd! "A pity... I am still not strong enough..." Fang Yuan frowned, "With so many spiritual birds around, I¡¯m afraid only Wu Zongs can put up a fight?" Thinking to this point, he looked at his bamboo basket. Other than a thinyer of spiritual fertilizer, there was a spoil of his battle! "Ha ha... Flower Fox Ferret, didn¡¯t youin that the beggar chicken is not enough? We can enjoy tonight!" Fang Yuan carefully observed the spiritual bird in his hands. It had feathers as white as snow, but its eyes were blood red. It also had talons that glittered like a precious metal, and to top it off, a sharp beak, like a tiny eagle. After sparring with this spiritual bird, Fang Yuan knew that it was rather strong. Although it might seem that it could not withstand a single move from Fang Yuan, after all, Fang Yuan was a martial artist at the 5th Gate, equivalent to a deacon from the outside world! Looking at how fast the Red-eyed White Birds attacked if it was a normal person, a peck and a w would have been able to dig out an eye! "What type of mutant bird is this? Why have I not heard of it before? What is it called? Red-Eyed Falcon? White-feathered crow? Red-eyed White Bird?" Fang Yuan felt like giving it a name and decided, "Mmm... Red-Eyed White Bird sounds best, Ha ha......I am indeed talented in giving names..." Unknowingly, the white ferret, who was also forced to adopt the name of Flower Fox Ferret, was speechless and rolled its eyes. Of course, it only felt unjust for a short while. The Flower Fox Ferret threw all pride away when he saw Fang Yuan cooked a meal of Beggar Bird Meat. He circled Fang Yuan like a dog trying to please its owner. "This is creepy, you are a ferret, not a dog, so act like one and have some ferret pride!" Fang Yuan didn¡¯t know to cry orugh at the scene, tore the Beggar Bird into half and threw it towards the Flower Fox Ferret. "Keke!" Flower Fox Ferret pounced and munched on it, and let out a satisfying growl. To it, what¡¯s a little dignity worth when there¡¯s good food? "Mm? Is the taste that good?" Seeing the Flower Fox Ferret, Fang Yuan took a bite off the bird, and his expression changed. "This bird meat is more tender than a chicken; it¡¯s fragrant and nice too. Delicious! Delicious!" He gobbled down the bird, rubbed his tummy with satisfaction and felt warmth rising within his body. His expression changed, "This nutrition level should beparable to a meal of the Vermillion Jade Rice right? As expected from a spiritual bird!" Chapter 31: Trouble Chapter 31: Trouble Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions It was dawn. There was fog surrounding the Green Peak and the spiritualnd. Fang Yuan looked at the cliff with anticipation. A white figure approached the beach, stretched out its ws and seemed as though it was rummaging through something. "Squawk!" Above the cliff, numerous Red-eyed White Birds were pping their wings and pecking around, not aware of the situation on the beach. In a short while, the white figure retreated and returned to the fog. "Haha... Flower Fox Ferret, good job!" The white figure was indeed the Flower Fox Ferret. Fang Yuan was unwilling to return empty-handed, and so instructed the Flower Fox Ferret to steal some spiritual fertilizer, as what it did previously. After all, the size, colour, and speed of the Flower Fox Ferret allowed it to escape even if it was spotted, and was the perfect candidate for the job. And after having Fang Yuan as a buddy, it became much more efficient. Fang Yuan retrieved the fully-filled cloth bag from the Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s neck and smiled, "Good, one more time, and we can settle the entire season¡¯s supply of Vermillion Jade Rice and spiritual tea!" "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret raised its paws, as though it was bargaining. "All right, I¡¯ll keep your portion of the spiritual tea!" Fang Yuan could not help but feel embarrassed, as he felt that the Flower Fox Ferret had be much wiser and knew how to bargain! It needs to be controlled! "Go!" With a flick of its tail, the Flower Fox Ferret went on its way to steal more spiritual fertilizer. As long as Fang Yuan eded to his request, nothing else matters. "This spiritualnd... What a pity I cannot own it yet, what a pity..." Fang Yuan gazed at the Green Peak, in his eyes a tinge of regret. He knew that although there might be treasures within this spiritualnd, the Red-eye White Birds were the owners of this spiritualnd and with their existence, he could never develop in the spiritualnd. Therefore, his short-term goal could only be to enter the mountains and to retrieve the spiritual fertilizer. "The only issue with this spiritual fertilizer is..." Fang Yuan looked up to the cliff and saw white spots falling down. His expression changed, "Oh sh*t......The Flower Fox Ferret and I are actually collecting faeces!" That¡¯s right! The white beach beneath the cliff was the ce where the flock of Red-eyed White Birds went to defecate. Those incredible, effective spiritual nt fertilizers, were, in fact, bird¡¯s droppings! It was a speechless discovery for Fang Yuan. Regardless, such a job with so much potential had to go on. "Anyway, bird¡¯s droppings are a natural fertilizer, and since these are the droppings of the half-spiritual, or maybe even spiritual birds, then it is only natural that their droppings have such wonderful effects..." Fang Yuan was used to manualbour since young and therefore didn¡¯t mind. After clearing his thoughts, he started to ount for his loot. From the Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s many trips to and fro, and thanks to the distracted Red-eyed White Birds, Fang Yuan obtained a huge amount of ¡¯spiritual fertilizer¡¯, enough for him to harvest and sow another batch of Vermillion Jade Rice, and pluck another batch of spiritual tea. He also took the opportunity and captured a few lone Red-eyed White Birds and ate them for a few meals, as a form of revenge for previously making a fool out of them. The truth was that Fang Yuan wanted to take advantage of the spiritual effect of the bird meat, and together with the Flower Fox Ferret, they hunted a few Red-eyed White Birds. Slowly, the birds learnt their lesson and rarely loitered outside the cliff. If they did, they would do it in packs, and the king bird would patrol around the area, which forced Fang Yuan to stop hunting. In fact, when Fang Yuan first saw the king bird, who was gigantic and had a wingspan over a few meters, he was shocked. It was definitely a spiritual bird! Even a few of the bird leaders had the spiritual level of the king bird! After this observation, Fang Yuan gave up hope on trying to im the Green Peak for his own. "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret rushed back with another cloth bag full of spiritual fertilizer, and their mission was a sess. This was normal, as the swarm of Red-eyed White Birds had the intellect of an average human and therefore would not pay too much attention to their own faeces. "It¡¯s time to leave!" Carrying a full basket of spiritual fertilizer, Fang Yuan walked out of the fog, looked back at it, and recalled a sentence from his dream world, "I will be back!" At this moment, Fang Yuan was not alone. ... "Red-eyed White Birds, wait and see. One day, I will transform this whole spiritualnd into my spiritual farm..." To a person who loved farming, seeing such a good piece ofnd go to waste was an unforgivable mistake. Even though he went back with their baskets full, his grudge against the birds remained. Fang Yuan brought home a grudge and even more harvest. The journey back was much smoother than the journey to the spiritualnd. When he could finally see the secluded valley, Fang Yuan had already imagined how it would be like to have a bountiful harvest of spiritual rice and tea. But as he approached the entrance of the valley, his expression changed, "Someone¡¯s here!" Around the valley was a mess, with blood stains everywhere. It was evident that someone came by. "From the marks, the person did not stay for long!" Fang Yuan felt the blood on the leaves, looked into the valley, ced his basket down and walked into the secluded valley. "Come out!" The Flower Fox Ferret sniffed the ground and pounced. Fang Yuan stood at the entrance and calmly requested. A moment passed but there was no movement. Fang Yuan frowned and waved his hand. The Flower Fox Ferret jumped in and popped his head out as though it was surprised. "Hmm?" Fang Yuan stepped in and saw someone lying on the ground. He was pale, and there was blood on his chest. He felt very familiar. "Zhou Wenwu from the Zhou Family? How did he end up in this state?" He felt for Zhou Wenwu¡¯s pulse. "It¡¯s a serious injury, but even though he¡¯s passed out, his life is not in danger... Why would this small jerk have the guts toe to my ce and give me more trouble?" Fang Yuan became speechless and came to the entrance. Previously, the Flower Fox Ferret warned him of a stranger nearby. "Who is it?" He walked out of the house and saw a man in ck attire. He looked sinister and was around 30 to 40 years old. "Eh? You noticed me?" The middle-aged man was surprised, but sounded boastful, "I am Spirit Returning Sect¡¯s Elder Song¡¯s disciple, Song San, and I am under orders to kill the bastard from the Zhou Family, and if you do know..." "Oh! That bastard is in the house, bring him away!" Fang Yuan nodded his head calmly, and caught Song San by surprise, making him forget what he wanted to say. This type of ¡¯I-have-yet-to-threaten-you-but-you-have-already-cooperated¡¯ kind of feeling was a confusing one. This person was not the average person! Song Zhong was confused, and witnessed Zhou Wenwu being thrown out like rubbish, "I only have a simple doctor-patient rtionship with this man, so take him away!" The Zhou Family meant nothing to Fang Yuan. He saved Old Zhou and had gotten the martial arts manual from him, and even protected Zhou Wenxin for a little while. That was already beyond what he would normally do. It was illogical to defend Old Zhou¡¯s son and put his own life at risk. "He¡¯s really Zhou Wenwu!" Song San took a step forward, recognised him and seemed satisfied. He turned around, look at Fang Yuan and asked, "You¡¯re the doctor here?" "I only know the basics of healing..." Fang Yuan nodded his head. "So you were the one that treated Old Zhou¡¯s poison?" "Poison?!" Fang Yuan grew suspicious. He knew that Old Zhou had contracted the Drunk Lover Poison, and Old Zhou himself had realised too, but how would this man know? Unless he was the one that poisoned Old Zhou! "What poison? I¡¯m not sure!" Fang Yuan remained resolute on his stand. ¡¯Know your limits, and know when to take a step back!¡¯ Seeing Fang Yuan, Song San knew that if the other disciples were sent here instead, they would let him off and make friends with him. There were not many people who dared to y along. He was unlucky to have met Song San because he was reprimanded by his master not long ago. Song San remained serious, and with a smirk, "Zhou Wenwu chose to look for you at his wits ends, so you must be Zhou Family¡¯s ally!" Fang Yuan became much more serious. "I do not want to stir trouble..." Fang Yuan sighed, "Why do some people seem so eager to find death?" "Whoosh!" He became a ck sh and rushed forward, his entire body pitch ck, as though he was wearing ayer of iron clothing. "Eagle w Iron Skin Technique?!" Song San heard of this famous technique before and even saw Yu Qiuleng used it. Seeing his opponents skill, it seemed like he was at [Martial Artist (3rd Gate)] or [Martial Artist (4th Gate)]. How would he be of any match to Fang Yuan of [Martial Artist (5th Gate)]? "You deserve to die!" Song San smirked, with his right hand clenched into a fist, focused his strength and prepared to strike. But at this moment, Fang Yuan smiled, "You fool, you¡¯ve been tricked!" In mid-air, his technique changed, as his ws transformed to a palm, with a ck circle in the middle. It struck down with extreme power, as though it was arge hammer smashing down. [ck Sand Palm (Grade 5)]! "You..." Song San flustered and flew into mid-air, spitting out blood. "It¡¯s you!" Heid on the floor, with blood oozing from his lips, regretful. It was as if that he realised at that moment, that this harmless young man was Song Yujie¡¯s murderer, but he could no longer bring this piece of news out. Chapter 32: The County Chapter 32: The County Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "What have you guessed?" Fang Yuan went up slowly with an apathetic face. His cold look caused Song San to feel the brink of death. "Hold on a second...." He shouted. "You killed Song Yujie and Song Zhong will definitely not let you go. He is crazy and he wants everyone to die together with his son.... I can help you since I know that old man...." He spoke halfway and was horrified after coughing out a mouthful of blood. "I will settle that old man myself. You should be on your way now!" Fang Yuan did not know anything else which could cure the Pearl Tail Snake¡¯s Poison other than the Yama¡¯s Order. This martial artist should also be easily poisoned even though he was highly skilled like Fang Yuan. Not long after, Song San became a corpse with a blue-ck face. "Unfortunately.... The poison is so effective that it killed Song San before I could get more information from him.... It seems like it is not worth to give him a pill of the spiritual medicine to let him survive a little longer...." Fang Yuan felt a little regretful after watching Song San died. He waved and said, "Flower Fox Ferret, go and patrol the area. Kill anyone who dares toe close to this area!" "Keke!" A bright white light shed past and the Flower Fox Ferret was back not long after from its patrol. Its paws were clean and it shook its head. "No one? So Song San came here on his own?" Fang Yuan had a suspicion and sighed after looking at Song San¡¯s body. "You are lucky!" If Song San had given up, Fang Yuan would naturally send Zhou Wenwu out and end their rtions. However, Song San had the intention to interfere on his own and got himself into trouble in the end. He was indeed unlucky. Moreover, he was unconscious and did not know Fang Yuan¡¯s attitude and performance previously. It would then be worth saving his life. "Song Zhong must be really crazy to get the whole Zhou family killed. Luckily, I¡¯ve saved Zhou Wenwu¡¯s life to allow him to find his sect for help. Any sects who know about his situation will definitely help him in any way!" Once a faction consolidated its power, it would never allow its own men to kill each other. Otherwise, where would the cohesiveness among the men be? If everyone from the Zhou family had been killed and there was no leader left, Song Zhong could find a few people as scapegoats and allow himself to be not traced as the murderer. Now with Zhou Wenwu alive as the sole witness, Song Zhong would not be able to escape when others knew about this! Hence, in Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes, Zhou Wenwu was worth saving as he was useful. After all, Fang Yuan killed Song Yujie and he had to kill Song Zhong so that there would be no further threats. ....... "Father..... Ah Fu...." In his dream, he could faintly see Song Zhong struggling to stay alive. Zhou Wenwu shouted and woke up from his dream feeling shocked. He was previously injured in his chest but now he felt much better. "Yes....Father fought against the enemies desperately so that my sister and I could escape through the secret pathway. Unfortunately, we were still being chased even though he was fighting the soldiers. In the end, we split....." He began to regain consciousness and took a look at his surroundings. "Is this ce....the secluded valley?" "You have woken up?" Fang Yuan served a bowl of medicine and showed concern for him. "Thank you, Master, for saving my life!" Zhou Wenwu wanted to get up to show his gratitude but was stopped by Fang Yuan. "You are still injured. You should just stay in bed and rest.... What happened to the Zhou family?" "The Zhou family...." Once he mentioned this, Zhou Wenwu¡¯s eyes became teary. "From today onwards, there will be no Zhou family in Qingye City!" "How is this possible? Are Old Zhou and Miss Zhou alright?" Fang Yuan sounded surprised and asked, "Who is the murderer?" "Song Zhong is definitely the mastermind of the murder!" Zhou Wenwu bit his teeth tightly and said, "Even though the murderer had concealed himself, I had seen him with my own eyes. I shouldn¡¯t be wrong!" "Ssss...." Fang Yuan inhaled and asked, "How could it be?" "That Song Zhong is a crazy man!" Zhou Wenwu started to get up and said, "My sister and I were separated. I¡¯m not sure whether you have seen us. When the soldiers and Song San came chasing after me, I then knew it was difficult to defeat Song Zhong...." "I didn¡¯t see them...." Fang Yuan shook his head and said, "Master Zhou, you are a good man. This ce is very secluded and Song San probably would have been gone back...." "I think so too!" Zhou Wenwu couldn¡¯t believe what had happened, but when he thought about how Fang Yuan dealt with the situation, he understood what Fang Yuan meant and answered him. "What ns do you have, Master Zhou?" Fang Yuan cut to the chase by asking him that question. "I will return to the sect, of course, and look for the leader for help!" Zhou Wenwu¡¯s eyes were red. He clenched his fist and said, "If I¡¯m alive, he will have to be dead!" He himself knew that he couldn¡¯t fight against Song Zhong on his own and he needed help from the sect. Furthermore, Song Zhong was the one in the wrong and he was definitely going to be punished as long as they were able to expose him! "With your current injuries, you shouldn¡¯t move about so much. Luckily Qinghe County is just nearby. I can only prescribe enough medicine for you to find your sect but not enough to for you to regain your martial arts skills!" Fang Yuan nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Master, for your help!" Zhou Wenwu was grateful towards Fang Yuan but he felt sorrowful. He was supposed to rendezvous with Zhou Wenxin but they had not met up till now. She probably had been killed. In that case, he would be the only one left in the Zhou family. "After my revenge, I will do anything you want to repay your kindness!" "That will be unnecessary...." Fang Yuan swayed his arms and nced at Zhou Wenwu, "How about I escort you to the county since you are still injured?" "What?" Zhou Wenwu was dazed upon hearing that. He also had this idea originally but didn¡¯t dare to request for it since he had troubled Fang Yuan so much already. Since Fang Yuan offered to do it, it made it seemed like he was a good man in Zhou Wenwu¡¯s eyes! Little did he know that in Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes, Zhou Wenwu was extremely important in making sure that Song Zhong would be dead. Hence, Fang Yuan had decided to make that offer so he could make sure Zhou Wenwu reach his sect safely. Of course, Zhou Wenwu didn¡¯t know the truth. In his eyes, Fang Yuan was kind-hearted with incredible medical skills. ....... "Qinghe County...." On the road, a cart moved slowly. Fang Yuan wore his hat and pondered over his thoughts silently. In this world, the presence of the local authority was rare. For Qingye City, the families there were the ones controlling and making the calls instead of the local authorities. The county was simr in a sense that the Spirit Returning Sect was in total control of it. The local authorities present there had no say in anything. Rather, a portion of the high-ranking officials in the county were members of the Spirit Returning Sect. Therefore, Fang Yuan could guess the state of the royal sovereignty of this county, which was simr to the one he had in his dream. That was why after his whole family was killed, Zhou Wenwu did not even consider to report to the local authorities. Instead, he went to his Sect for help. The cart was moving smoothly at a steady pace, which was helpful to the injured person lying in it. ¡¯The Flower Fox Ferret will stay behind to guard the secluded valley. I am sufficient for this trip to the county!¡¯ ¡¯Of course, I should not reveal my ck Sand Palm whenever possible. My Eagle w Iron Skin technique needs to be stronger as soon as possible!" Fang Yuan was eager to improve his technique and he nced at his stats window. "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 2.7 Spirit: 2.6 Magic: 1.5 Age: 18 Cultivation: [Martial Arts (5th Gate)] Techniques: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 4)] Skills: [Medicine (Level 2)], [Botany (Level 3)]" "Since I have the foundations for martial arts, I am able to improve my Eagle w Iron Skin Technique quickly....." Even when he was still searching for the spiritual fertiliser, he still continued to train. Moreover, he was benefitting from consuming the meat of the spiritual beast. The result was way better than when he consumed the Vermillion Jade Rice. "My Spirit has increased by 0.1. My Iron Skin Technique has gained a new grade and it is not far from reaching the peak of the 5th Grade...." Fang Yuan was satisfied with his progress. When he killed Song Yujie previously, he had revealed his ability in the ck Sand Palm Technique. Hence, he would try as much as possible not to execute this technique. On the other hand, the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique didn¡¯t have such a disadvantage and he could train it till he attained the 12 Golden Gates. By then he would naturally gain more attention from the others. Fang Yuan focused on the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique and a few messages appeared in his mind. "Eagle w Iron Skin Technique - Abination of inner and external techniques. When mastered, it would be simr to coating the entire body with iron, making it imprable by fire and water, as well as making the body difficult to wound. Currently at 4th Grade, this techniques strengthens the inner power of the Eagle w Technique!" In the path of martial arts, before the Pain Gate is broken through, only inner power, and not inner force would be cultivated! To Fang Yuan, this was the difference between the disorderly inner power and the rope-like inner force. However, practising martial arts was also beneficial for one¡¯s inner power. He had this feeling that since his power from his Dantian got stronger, he could feel a very strong energy inside it. If he were to seed in the conversion of his inner power, he would advance past the threshold for the standard of an expert in martial arts in Qinghe County! "Master....Master Fang!" Just when Fang Yuan was about to execute and train his Eagle w technique, a weak voice was heard from the inside of the cart. "How are you feeling, Master Zhou?" Fang Yuan opened the cart¡¯s curtains and saw Zhou Wenwu¡¯s pale face. "I can still hold it!" Zhou Wenwu coughed a couple of times, coughing out blood in the process. "That....that old man will not let me go easily. He will surely send his men to prevent us from reaching Qinghe County!" "So what?" Fang Yuanughed and said, " We have nothing to worry about if Song Zhong doesn¡¯t personally stop us!" He had easily defeated Song San, who was a disciple of Song Zhong. This clearly showed that his skills wereparable to the skills of Song Zhong¡¯s men. Moreover, there were many ways to get to the county. He could purposely take a different road to make it harder for Song Zhong¡¯s men to locate them. Regardless, they could still encounter trouble in the county. Chapter 33: Decision Chapter 33: Decision Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Whoosh! Whoosh!" Amon white carrier pigeon descended into a big building. This building upied a considerable amount of space at the corner of Qinghe County. It was obvious that someone of high importance lived here. The passers-by that walked past this building would either be envious or keep their heads down. No one dared to step out of line. This was the ce of the local tyrant in Qinghe County, the Head of the Spirit Returning Sect! "Kuku!" The pigeon flew into a quiet and secluded courtyard and was received by a hand that was white like a white jade. "Master! Urgent report from Qingye City!" The owner of the hand removed the message from the leg of the pigeon. His face changed as he looked at the prettydy, whose face was partially covered by a veil, by his side. Thisdy was around 30 to 40 years old. She appeared to be very graceful with eyes that shone bright like stars. It was easy to imagine that she was a beauty when she was younger. Thisdy was the head of the Spirit Returning Sect and Qinghe County¡¯s only Wu Zong. Her name was Shi Yutong. She was rumoured to have brought her disciple to visit a friend far away. At this moment, however, to everyone¡¯s astonishment, she was already in the building. Shi Yutong took a look at the message. Her brows furrowed as she spoke in a grave tone, "Song Zhong¡¯s actions are overboard!" She knew that Song Zhong had just lost his beloved son and it was inevitable that he would step out of line. It would not be a problem if he killed off a few foes. However, he was overboard in killing a deacon of the sect over a suspicion. "Master!" A young maiden at the side of Shi Yutong said, "My father..." "Don¡¯t worry. I have ordered my men to fetch Minister Lin from Qingye City. Soon, you will be able to meet him in the county!" Shi Yutong smiled. This maiden was the daughter of Minister Lin and was formally betrothed to Fang Yuan. Her name was Lin Leiyue. Shi Yutong calmly analysed the factions within the sect, as if she wanted Lin Leiyue to quickly understand the situation, "With Song Zhong as such, Elder Yan¡¯s faction would not dare to raise the matter up. ording to what I know, the Zhou Family is not totally annihted.I just have to wait for them to bring up the matter before I uphold justice!" "It is just that..." Lin Leiyue appeared to be hesitant. "Do you think that I am unreasonable?" Shi Yutongughed. She nced at Leiyue as if she knew what she was thinking. "Leiyue would not dare to think so!" Lin Leiyue apologized with a bow. "This is what I have to teach you today. Bnce!" Shi Yutong¡¯s tone grew serious, "As the Sect Head, it is important to understand and bnce the power and authority of those beneath you! Previously, Elder Yan¡¯s faction has many who are untamed. We can use the current situation and kill two birds with one stone. We will use force to ovee force and help Elder Han. By doing so, I will act as a mediator and hold the power to decide their fate. This is of paramount importance. Do you understand what I am talking about?" "What master is saying that we should not readily take sides and instead act as a mediator?" Lin Leiyue blinked her eyes. "Not bad!" Shi Yutong nodded her head, "Silly girl, you are indeed witty. You need to understand that in a powerful organization, there will be fights between the factions. As the Head, you will need to achieve bnce and equilibrium, forcing the factions to rely on us. By doing so, it will be easy to assumemand of them..." If Leiyue was just an ordinary disciple, Shi Yutong would not say such words to her. However, Shi Yutong was training Leiyue to be the next Sect Head and as such, kept nothing from her. "Thank you master for your pointer!" Lin Leiyue understood very clearly that, to her master, the Zhou Family was nothing. It would just be luck that brought them to the county. If they could not reach the county, it would just mean that they were unlucky. Since Shi Yutong had already decided to act, Song Zhong would note to a good end. As the Wuzong of the Spirit Returning Sect, Shi Yutong naturally had the grandeur and the confidence. "Hehe... It is funny that that Song Zhong¡¯s son, Song Yujie, still wanted to ask for your hand in marriage? That is crossing the line and being too greedy...." Shi Yutong nced at Lin Leiyue and poked fun at her, "Our Yue¡¯Er is such an outstanding beauty, how many guys are going to fall in love with you in the future?" "Master!" Lin Leiyue flushed and stomped her foot, "Even you are making fun of me!" "You always understand where your priorities lie. I am not worried about you!" Shi Yutong said solemnly yet gently. Lin Leiyue trained with her in a high-level inner technique which required pure yin.She had many suitors within and outside the sect. However, these people only did so to increase their social status. Both the master and disciple knew the reason behind so. "The world is vast! What you saw previously was only the tip of an iceberg..." Shi Yutong said solemnly, "Leiyue, you were born with opened meridians which, together with your Spiritual Moon Body, makes you best suited for my ¡¯Bright Moon Form¡¯. You have the potential to greatly surpass me and eventually reached the true Cultivation World..." "The true...Cultivation World!" Lin Leiyue muttered. Her eyes were yearning. Her master¡¯s friend, who was an alchemy master, whom they visited opened her eyes to the world. The alchemy masters, which were rumoured to be even rarer than the spiritual knights and the magical knights, possessed a set of skills where they were able to use their alchemy mes within their bodies,bined with spiritual ingredients to form spiritual pills that were able to work all kinds of wonders. These spiritual pills did not have harmful side-effects and its effects were miraculous, as such, each type of pills was highly sought after by martial artists who were willing to fight for them. For example, the ¡¯Frozen Moon Pill¡¯ that her master got for her, waspatible with her body and allowed her to improve her martial arts skills by leaps and bounds. It would also increase the chance of sess for her in the future when she attempted to break through the 3 Perilous Gates! Before she witnessed it with her own eyes, Lin Leiyue would never imagine such a thing actually existed! It was only natural that the alchemy masters were powerful members of the society where they were well-received. No one dared to offend them given their skills. For example, the alchemy master that she visited had a Wu Zong that acted as a bodyguard. If it was not for the friendship that the alchemy master had with Shi Yutong, the alchemy master would not have stepped in to help Lin Leiyue. This alchemy master was only a small part of the higher-levelled cultivation world! Lin Leiyue was overwhelmed by her emotions when she thought of these. Even though she was ady, she dreamt to reach the pinnacle. "I will not disappoint my master!" Lin Leiyue bowed with firm resolution. "Haha...That¡¯s good!" Shi Yutong helped her up with both hands, and said, "Now, you just have to train hard. With the aid of the pill, you would be able to swiftly ovee the Pain Gate and increase your inner power. After that, I will make you a the sessor of the sect. No one will dare to say a thing!" ¡¯Brother Fang...¡¯ Lin Leiyue thought of the ordinary youth that lived in the secluded valley when she heard this. At that time, her master cancelled the wedding without understanding the details, and Lin Leiyue was in no position to resist. If she was given another chance, would she have challenged the decision now that she had made up her mind? Lin Leiyue¡¯s heart was in a mess. This was the first time she was perplexed... ... "We have reached Qinghe County!" Not far away, a carriage pulled by an ox drew closer. Fang Yuan gazed out at the city wall and smiled. This was the first time that he hade to a big city and as such, he was excited. "Cough cough..." Zhou Wenwu insisted on apanying Fang Yuan despite his illness. His face was an unnatural shade of red. "Once we reach the territory of the sect, not even Song Zhong would be able to do a thing. However, he would certainly arrange for brutes to stop me at the city gate..." There were many routes along the way. As long as they were willing to detour, it was easy to avoid being blocked unless Song Zhong was the head of the Spirit Returning Sect. However, if he had guessed that Zhou Wenwu was making his way to Qinghe County, it would be easy to just wait for him there. "Brother Fang, do you have any idea?" Zhou Wenwu looked expectedly at Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan would not let anyone call him ¡¯Master¡¯ on the journey as it would bring attention to himself. Furthermore, his age was simr to Zhou Wenwu and after a few small talks, the two became closer and used it as an opportunity to change the way they addressed each other. "I do not have a n. However, I have a stupid idea!" Fang Yuan¡¯s lips curled into a smile, "We just choose a door and barge in. It is that simple!" "I see..." Zhou Wenwu would never imagine that Fang Yuan¡¯s idea was to use simple brute force to barge in. "This problem was caused by Song Zhong himself. Unless his faction would make a grave error and send people to stop us?" Fang Yuan spread his arms, "This county has four gates, and as long as we are not too unlucky, we have low chance of meeting him unless he can split his body..." He would be able to deal with the road blockers single-handedly if they were Song Zhong¡¯s disciples. "What if..." Zhou Wenwu was hesitant. He did not want to jeopardise the revenge now that it was within his grasp. "If we really sh with Song Zhong, we can only duel with him. The members of the Spirit Returning Sect woulde if there was a bigmotion right?" Fang Yuan nced at Zhou Wenwu. If they did not even know how to make use of such a wonderful opportunity, Song Zhong would be able to exterminate Zhou Tong¡¯s faction. "That¡¯s right! We shall do as you say!" Zhou Wenwu gritted his teeth. He had nothing to be afraid of if an outsider like Fang Yuan would dare to do such a thing. Little did he know that Fang Yuan dared to do so due to the fact that he was highly skilled in martial arts. In the event that they met Song Zhong, he just had to use Zhou Wenwu as a shield and escape. Song Zhong had no idea that he was the killer and would not chase him like a mad dog. Furthermore, if Zhou Wenwu was killed by Song Zhong in front of everybody, it would further condemn Song Zhong! "It is best for an outsider not to meddle in a battle between factions......If I take part in and did not handle the conflict well enough, I would likely be attacked by both sides or be used by them as a pawn!" Having the experience from another world, Fang Yuan¡¯s heart was clear like a mirror, "Whatever the case, once this is done, I must quickly escape and leave this ce as far as possible." Chapter 34: Four Seas Court Chapter 34: Four Seas Court Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Please halt, this is a routine check!" West Gate, Qinghe County. Numerous martial artists d in Spirit Returning Sect¡¯s robes were scrutinizing the many who were passing by the gate, and they paid special attention to therge carts passing by. Bribery did not work, and they create chaos in the vicinity. An ox carriage slowly passed by, and as Zhou Wenwu observed the scene, he became increasingly nervous. He thought that he could not hide from the strict checks, and would be forced to fight his way out. Luckily for him, he realised that Song Zhong was not around, and heaved a sigh of relief. By fearing the Spirit Returning Sect¡¯s reputation, the people entering the county did not dare to disobey. Many women were pulled out from their carriages, embarrassed. Their bodyguards were agitated. Even though the checks were slow, the queue was still moving, and not long after, it was Fang Yuan¡¯s turn. "Is it your wife or your daughter in the cart? Get her out and let me see!" A perverted Sect member came forward and prepared to open the curtains. "Keke..." Fang Yuan looked into the cart, as though the whole thing was a joke. "What are youughing at?" He could sense that the Sect member was already wielding a knife. "You are with Song Zhong? You don¡¯t even know your own death, what an idiot!" Fang Yuan shook his head, the fingers on his right hand opened and quick as a lightning, he struck. "Kacha! Crack!" A distinct sound followed as the Sect member held onto his forearm, and with agony written on his face, he fell to the ground. "Eagle w Technique?" The few Spirit Returning Sect members in the vicinity looked at each other, and under themand of a young man d in a green robe, they rushed forward, "Together!" "Ping!" Fang Yuan took a deep breath and his skin starting to turn greenish-ck. He did not run but took a step forward to counter-attack. After avoiding the sword, he felt no pain when fists and kicksnded on his body, and even so for blunt weapons, the most he felt was a slight itch. On the contrary, his ws struck out and every Sect member fell to the ground, wailing in pain. This scene created even more chaos at the gates, and reinforcements came. "Zhou Wenwu, now it¡¯s your time to perform!" Fang Yuan scoffed, spun around, headed into the city and disappeared. "I am the son of Spirit Returning Sect¡¯s deacon, Zhou Tong!" Zhou Wenwu stood out and raised an iron token. "With the Sect¡¯s token as proof, I am here to report Elder Song, for killing my entire family of 73! May the Sect uphold justice for me!" Hisst few words were loud and could be heard by all, and the Sect members changed their expression after hearing him. Even though Song Zhong might be powerful, he could not do whatever he wanted in Qinghe County, and now that Zhou Wenwu said his piece, the Sect would definitely do something. "This is really Zhou Wenwu!" Not long after, a group of Sect members hurriedly brought an old man to the gate, looked at Zhou Wenwu andforted him, "Do not worry, for the Spirit Returning Sect will not let his murderer off the hook!" He stared at Song Zhong¡¯s followers who wereid on the ground and waved his hand. "Capture them!" Many disciples rushed forward and used thick ropes to tie them up. "Uncle Xue, I hope you will uphold justice for me!" Zhou Wenwu let his emotions run wild, as tears welled up in his eyes. However, the truth was that he felt vengeful deep within him. The Sect would have known what had actually happened at Qingye City. All other elders had condoned Song Zhong¡¯s followers to wreck havoc, but all of them did nothing to blown things out of proportion, and therefore pressure the Sect Master. However, the Sect Master remained calm despite the chaos. It was as though the entire Sect swallowed her! "Oh, where is the warrior that escorted you?" Elder Xue felt Zhou Wenwu¡¯s pulse and appeared curious. "Brother Fang? I think he left by himself..." Zhou Wenwu knew that Fang Yuan did not want to get involved in the situation and so he said, "Where is the Sect Master? I want to see her right away!" "This of course, but before that, may I introduce you to the area¡¯s Elder, Elder Han! He has waited for you for quite a while already!" Elder Xue grabbed Zhou Wenwu¡¯s arm, and with his strength, Zhou Wenwu had no chance of escaping, even if he wasn¡¯t injured. "Alright!" Zhou Wenwu agreed, albeit unwillingly. ... Within the crowd, Fang Yuan witnessed the scene and dispersed with the crowd. "Indeed......The Spirit Returning Sect¡¯s internal conflicts are at its peak now, and Zhou Wenwu might be made use of by the elders!" He did not want things to end up this way, and therefore created the chaos to attract attention, and took his leave. Even Zhou Wenwu, their descendent had such treatment. What would he as an outsider receive? "This was, however, Song Zhong¡¯s fault, and if he was dealt with directly, it could save me a lot of trouble..." At a dark corner, Fang Yuan changed his appearance and walked down the streets of the county without fear. The chaos at the gate did notst long, and within the city, not many knew about it, and therefore business remained as usual. Compared to Qingye City, there were many more skilled martial artists, and even the women here were equipped with knives, which caught Fang Yuan¡¯s attention. Of course, there were those delicatedies who never left their house, but if all women picked up martial arts, there would definitely be a handful that would have the potential for martial arts. A prime example would be the Wu Zong martial artist from the Spirit Returning Sect, ady well-known in Qinghe County. "This visit to the county was primarily to send this ticking time-bomb, Zhou Wenwu here, as well as to bring back more spiritual nts and more information regarding the spiritualnd..." It was rare for Fang Yuan to leave the secluded valley, and now that he arrived at the county, he did not want to leave empty-handed. He also wanted to find out what happened to Song Zhong. "It is hard to obtain spiritual nts, and even harder to find out the secrets of the spiritualnd, but there must be someone who knows about it..." He scanned his surroundings, and saw arge building and a street market, with many people around, as though business was blooming. "Four Seas Court?" Fang Yuan mumbled to himself before entering the doorway. "What would you like, young master?" The moment he took a step in, a waiter approached Fang Yuan with a smile and did not look down on Fang Yuan because of his clothing. "I am not from this ce. What do you usually sell here?" Fang Yuan examined the ce and was filled with curiosity. "Master, you have a good taste! Here at Four Seas Court, we are the biggest retailer in Qinghe County! From provisions to martial artist manuals and weapons, there¡¯s nothing we don¡¯t sell, and nothing we don¡¯t buy!" The waiter proudly answered him. "Oh?!" Fang Yuan raised his eyebrows and knew that the waiter was not lying. The Four Seas Court was likely to have official backing, or they might even belong to the Spirit Returning Sect! Otherwise, who other than the Spirit Returning Sect¡¯s own people, would dare to say such big words? "Are you sure you sell all sorts of things?" "Master, you must be kidding. There are so many types of treasure out there in the world, and if you are talking about the treasures in the legends, then we really don¡¯t have it, but within Qinghe County, if we don¡¯t have it, then nowhere else would have it!" The waiter smiled and rebutted. "That¡¯s true..." Fang Yuan listened and had slight hopes. "I want to buy some spiritual nts, do you sell them here?" "Spiritual nts?" The waiter scoffed, "This stuff ain¡¯t cheap!" "Mmm?" Fang Yuan was surprised, "You really do have it here?" Within Spirit Returning Sect, there seemed to be a small piece of spiritualnd specially used to cultivate spiritual nts. Therefore, if some spiritual nts did get traded here it would not be surprising. After all, Minister Lin did get his hands on a bottle of Vermillion Jade Rice, so this Four Seas Court should not disappoint him. "Does master really want to buy spiritual nts?" There was suspicion all over the waiter¡¯s face. "Don¡¯t worry, are you afraid that I might not be able to afford it?" Fang Yuan looked at him, smiled, and whipped out a piece of golden leaf. "Bring me there!" For this journey, Fang Yuan brought out all the valuables he had within the valley, in case of emergencies. After all, buying spiritual nts and information on spiritualnds would require him to fork out arge sum of money. "Alright!" The waiter¡¯s eyes glittered. "Master, this way please!" Within the Four Seas Court, there were manypartments, and after passing through a curtain, there was no more noise from the outside world. "Room A13!" The waiter brought Fang Yuan to a big room, took a bow and left. Not long after, two youngdies appeared, invited Fang Yuan to take a seat and prepared tea and fruits. "This level of service is a whole new level?" Fang Yuan found it amusing. At this point, he saw an old man entered the room, looking like a minister. He greeted Fang Yuan and asked, "I am Old Qian, manager of Four Seas Court. Are you looking for spiritual nts?" "Indeed, what do we have here? We can discuss the price!" Fang Yuan waved his hand and appeared rich. On the contrary, he had the jitters as he wasn¡¯t sure if he had enough valuables to exchange for the spiritual nts. "Spiritual nts are after all not a rare item, and the Court has sold many of it. But there are only a few who managed to cultivate them, and many rich families have be poor because of this. Young master, you must consider carefully!" Old Qian seemed to be giving advice. "However, only spiritualnds can cultivate spiritual nts inrge scale, and in the entire Qinghe County, the only spiritualnd lies within Spirit Returning Sect, and so the others..." He shook his head, and his expression showed it all. "But if one spends time and money, and puts in all the effort to take care of it, then there might be a slight chance that it would germinate. Otherwise, how did the rare spiritual nts appear in the wild?" Fang Yuan, an expert in botany, had personal experience in growing spiritual nts, and with the experience, he could reply without hesitation. Chapter 35: Stalking Chapter 35: Stalking Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Oh? So you are an expert in botany! Pardon my disrespectfulness!" Old Qian look surprised and waved his hands. "Since both of us are professionals in botany, I will not be exining further. We only sell two types of spiritual nts. One is the Vermillion Jade Rice and the other is the Emerald Grass. Which type do you want? How about the Vermillion Jade Rice? However, you cannot buy that in bulk as the stock is limited...." In fact, the majority would choose the Vermillion Jade Rice when they came here to purchase the spiritual nts. After all, even if the rice stalk was not fully grown, it could still be eaten directly to boost one¡¯s elemental energy. Such trickery when doing business was how the Four Seas Court earn money. However, Fang Yuan wasn¡¯t interested in the Vermillion Jade Rice as he had sufficient supply of it back at his ce. "What effect does the Emerald Grass have?" He immediately asked. "Hmm? You don¡¯t want the Vermillion Jade Rice?" Old Qian was surprised and answered, "Both the Emerald Grass and the Vermillion Jade Rice are spiritual nts of the lowest grade. However, many herbivorous spiritual beasts enjoy eating these nts and would, in turn, improve the quality of the soil..." In fact, many who came here to purchase often traded for the Vermillion Jade Rice inrge scales. In fact, Old Qian would be able to earn quite an amount, even though the customers already knew the source of the products. "Then I shall have some of the Emerald Grass!" Even though he wasn¡¯t totally satisfied, Fang Yuan was not prepared to give up on the Emerald Grass. He began to imagine the Flower Fox Ferret eating the Emerald Grass in his mind and started tough at himself. "What? You want the Emerald Grass and not the spiritual rice?" Qian Fusheng was surprised but did not reveal it. "Every Emerald Grass seed is worth 1 gold tael. If you want 50 seeds at one go, there will be a discount!" "This price...." Fang Yuan was overwhelmed by the price and for once, he felt like a poor man. ¡¯The prices of the spiritual nts are controlled by the rich. I am not rich and the price is definitely too overwhelming for me....¡¯ He sighed while footing the bill. ¡¯Even though the Emerald Grass and the Vermillion Jade Rice are considered the lowest grade among other spiritual things, the purchase would still attract a lot of attention. Maybe I should be more discreet next time...." Because of this, he refused to bring any spiritual things to trade with. A few dozen gold taels were unable to create a deep impression on the prosperous Four Seas Courts. But what if it was 1000 or 10,000 gold taels? There was no absolute fairness in this world. There were only prices which you can or cannot afford! "Great, please keep the seeds of the Emerald Grass well!" After the payment, Qian Fusheng quickly brought out a Red Sandalwood wooden box. The handicraft of the wooden box was delicate and there was a fragranceing out from it, clearly showing that it was specially made. "The seeds of the Emerald Grass do not go well with metals. Please remember not to bring the seeds close to any kind of metallic objects...." Qian Fusheng reminded Fang Yuan and opened the wooden box. The box contained the green seeds of the Emerald Grass, which had a jade green colour. "Very well!" Fang Yuan kept the box safely. Before he left, he enquired, "Is there any other spiritualnd in the whole of Qinghe County? I¡¯m personally interested in the ces where these spiritual things are grown. Maybe you would know where I can find them?" "This...." Qian Fusheng¡¯s face changed and immediately shook his head. "Spiritualnd is naturally created and it depends on one¡¯s luck to find it. I do not know the mystery behind of the origin of the spiritualnds!" "I see!" Fang Yuan exited the building. "I shall take my leave!" After seeing him leave, Qian Fusheng paced a few steps and felt uneasy. "Little San!" "Yes, shopkeeper!" Inside the room, a painted wall automatically moved back and revealed a pathway. A person then came out from it. "Report this to the Sect!" Qian Fusheng sighed. "It was just a small purchase of the spiritual grass. Why is there a need to report?" Little San was a little surprised by Qian Fusheng¡¯s order. "Buying a few seeds of the Emerald Grass was nothing. However, that customer even asked about the whereabouts of spiritualnds, making him suspicious. Send a person now to follow him!" "Shopkeeper, you are indeed vignt!" At that moment, another person came out from the secret pathway. He was dressed in green and was a lean young master. He wore a Feline Eye Emerald on his head and his skin was glowing. He waved a foldable fan around. "It is so boring in the Sect as there is nothing big happening there. It is still more interesting outside. Even a small purchase like this could be so interesting." "You are here, Master Qing!" Qian Fusheng and Little San bowed and were humbled to see him. "I will personally follow this guy. You both should continue whatever you are doing!" Master Qing looked in the direction Fang Yuan went and gave a mischievous look. "Yes, Master!" Qian Fusheng and Little San looked at each other, both looking helpless. ....... "Hmm?" After exiting the Four Seas Court, Fang Yuan went past a few shops and frowned. Thebination of his two techniques in martial arts allowed his inner power to be very powerful for a [Martial Artist (5th Gate)]. Additionally, he had a higher than average magical energy and therefore he could sense someone stalking him. "Someone is following me? Could it be that the person wants to pick up a fight just over a few seeds of the Emerald Grass? Impossible!" He realised his guess was wrong and found out the reason why. "Looks like it was a taboo for me to find out the whereabouts of the spiritualnd..... After all, only the Spirit Returning Sect has control over the only spiritualnd in Qinghe County....." Even though his n was well thought-out, Fang Yuan had lived in the mountains for so long and was therefore careless in handling the situation. "How can the Four Seas Court afford to send a [Martial Artist (4th or 5th Gate)] just to stalk me?" Such a skilled martial artist was not themon type, which surprised Fang Yuan. At that moment, he swiftly turned into a small alley and disappeared. "Hmm?" Not long after, Master Qing also reached the alley. "Did he realise that I was stalking him?" Master Qing was not afraid and decided to go after Fang Yuan instead of retreating. The alley was short and led to a dead end. "Thief, watch my w!" "Whiz!" His clothing was torn into pieces. Fang Yuan was ready to attack anyone who had ill intentions against him. "Haha..... What an idiot! Who would reveal their position when ambushing?" Master Qingughed and folded his fan. Without looking back, he struck his foot backwards. "Flying Swallow Piercing Strike!" The normal fan wasparable to a sharp sword when in Master Qing¡¯s hands. The fan pierced towards the ck shadow and rustled through the air. "Chi!" The fan easily struck into the ck shadow, but it was at this moment where Master Qing felt something was wrong. "Oh no!" He subconsciously retreated and defended himself with his fan. The first wrong step snowballed into subsequent errors. Missing his first move caused him to be at a disadvantage! "Chi!" Suddenly, the opponent¡¯s intense Eagle w appeared right in front of him. "Good!" Master Qing was excited as he witnessed this Eagle w Technique. He retreated a few steps and distanced himself away from Fang Yuan. "Great Eagle w Technique! Compared to Yu Qiuleng¡¯s, yours is only slightly inferior. Who is your master?" With such skilful martial arts, he must have been taught by someone well-known. "You have only attained 4th Grade of Eagle w Iron Skin Technique? Looks like your skills are still shallow. I am a 5th Gate Martial Artist! Master Qing proudly announced his skill. "What an idiot!" Fang Yuan looked into his eyes and felt sorry for him. Such a person who would reveal his own cultivation level to his enemy was either extremely confident or a fool. Unfortunately for Master Qing, he belonged to thetter! "It would be slightly difficult to defeat a [Martial Artist (5th Gate)] executing the ck Sand Palm, but that is just a mere obstacle to me!" Fang Yuan looked at the proficiency points of his Eagle w Iron Skin Technique and eximed. Executing the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique, his hands started striking out into space like a pair of ws. "Hold on a second!" Master Qing was anxiously trying to understand the situation. "This must be a misunderstanding!" He only wanted to stalk and spy on Fang Yuan, so how did it be a fight to the death for both of them? Also, he did not expect the person in front of him to be so hard to get along and violent. ¡¯Luckily for me.....my inner power is far greater than his. He is using too much of his inner power to attack and will notst long. Once he has exhausted his strength, I will be able to.....¡¯ Master Qing thought for a moment and was overwhelmed by Fang Yuan¡¯s quick and incessant ws, which suddenly increased by folds! "[Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 5)]! How is that even possible?" When martial artists fight, a slight difference between the skills of the two would have a great impact on the oue. How would it be possible for one to strengthen his power out of a sudden? Master Qing was shocked and the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique broke through his defences. His body flew up high into the air and knocked onto a wall. "You....." His became pale and he spat out a mouthful of blood. "You can¡¯t kill me...." "Why?" Fang Yuan went forward and hit away his crown, which revealed a long hair. "Just because you are a.....woman?" "You found out?" Master Qing screamed and her voice became crisp and high-pitched. "Only the blind will not be able to see through such lousy make-up!" Fang Yuan was speechless. "Who are you? Why are you stalking me? How are you rted to the Four Seas Court?" "Humph!" He did not know why she could remain silent and unafraid after her real identity had been discovered. "Oh?" Fang Yuan popped his knuckles and snickered. "Lady, you better answer me now or else....don¡¯t think that I won¡¯t dare to hit ady!" She became afraid and started tearing after hearing Fang Yuan¡¯s threat. Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 36: Robbery Chapter 36: Robbery Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions ¡¯You are quite skilful in martial arts but you are mentally weak, like a flower in a greenhouse, a delicatedy...¡¯ ¡¯You have ties with Four Seas Court, and the Court can get their hands onrge quantities of spiritual nts, so you must be somebody...¡¯ Fang Yuan was a smart person, and his chain of thoughts brought him to a conclusion. "Spirit Returning Sect?" Thisdy was highly skilled and was on par with Song Yujie, and was therefore obvious that she was a skilled disciple of the Spirit Returning Sect. If he killed her, he would likely get himself more enemies. But of course, she only had the intention to stalk him, and therefore didn¡¯t deserve to die. "What do you want! Don¡¯te near me!" Young Qing looked at Fang Yuan, feeling uneasy. She thought about the many stories of people being raped throughout the martial arts world and was scared out of her wits. "If you touch me... I will..." "Don¡¯t you dare mention any backings that you might have, otherwise, I might just kill you!" Fang Yuan stuck his index finger out and flicked the skin of this young master. At this moment, the young master held her breath and stopped crying. "That¡¯s right, much better!" He patted her cheeks. ¡¯Thisdy¡¯s skin is perfect and smooth as silk,parable to the fur of the Flower Fox Ferret......Pui... What am I even thinking?¡¯ Fang Yuan shook his head violently, and in a deep voice said, "After stalking me, are you prepared topensate me?" "Compensate...?" The green master was lost. This pervert shouldn¡¯t be thinking of doing any unruly actions, right? Why did he change so quickly? After panicking for a while, she calmed down and tried to made sense of things. ¡¯Could it be that I am not attractive enough... And that even this pervert don¡¯t even want me!?¡¯ She looked at Fang Yuan and felt that his eyes could kill someone just by staring. "What are you staring at? Unless you want your body to be searched?" Fang Yuan judged Master Qing, and even though she was not as skilful in martial arts, her figure was not bad. And by not having an Adam¡¯s apple at her throat, she gave away her gender. "No! No!" Master Qing was anxious and almost sustained an internal injury. "Whatever you want... I... I will give you!" "I don¡¯t want any martial arts manual!" He recalled the iplete ¡¯Spirit Returning Heart Manual¡¯ which he looted from Song Yujie and thus felt that way. He held onto the object which Master Qing surrendered. He opened the shell-shaped box, saw its bright-red interior and became speechless. "This is the best Purple Scent Token in the county, worth 10 pieces of taels!" Master Qing replied weakly. "You rich people sure know how to y a fool!" Fang Yuan felt a little speechless, and when he knew that thedy was rich, the thought of kidnapping her arose. However, he was aware that her backing would not be any less influentialpared to Song Yujie¡¯s. This time although she lost, losing a little money would mean nothing, but letting her know about the dangers of the martial arts world would be the best lesson for her. If he indeed took the martial arts manual, or even kidnapped and ckmailed this green master, it would escte the situation. The county might even close its gates to do a county-wide search. He knew that he could not deal with all those by himself. "Keke...... Young Qing, you¡¯re quite rich eh?" Fang Yuan would be satisfied even if he was able to get a small fortune. "Qinghe Bank banknote, worth a 100 pieces of taels! And some loose change of 20 to 30 fragments of silver, and this jade bangle, and this hairpin, and this Emerald Feline Eye... Mmm, good deal, good deal!" Fang Yuan was used to being thrifty. He took the Feline Eye Emerald from her and smiled sheepishly to himself. In his eyes, Young Qing was his saviour. With thisdy selflessly giving away her treasures, it quickly covered the cost of the spiritual nt he bought and even earned a little more. "You... You......Boohoo..." Tears welled up in Young Qing¡¯s eyes. The Golden Ticket was her hidden savings! She had just deposited it in the bank today but had to give up the ticket now. She was lucky not to have tried threatening Fang Yuan. "I know, you would definitely find someone to take revenge! As long as it¡¯s not a senior, I¡¯ll ept the challenge!" Fang Yuan tilted his chin and appeared boastful. "Among our age group, I, Young Martial God Wu Ming, is not scared of anyone!" "Young Martial God Wu Ming!" Young Qing repeated these few words to herself, as though she wanted to remember them for life. "Mmm, get lost, and remember that I live at the ¡¯Ends of the World¡¯, and will wee you anytime!" Fang Yuan kept the items, turned around and left. After acting, he ran for his life! how exciting! Of course, his name was not Wu Ming, and as for living at the ¡¯Ends of the World¡¯, it was the name of thergest motel he saw on his way here. Poor Young Qing was being lied to, and unaware. "Young Martial God Wu Ming! Ends of the World! You remember this, I will get my seniors within the Sect to avenge for me!" ... "An announcement from the Spirit Returning Sect: From investigations on the alleged Elder Song, he had killed the innocent and harmed fellow Sect members. It was long since a person became mad from mourning, and after discussion among the Elders, the unanimous decision is to expel him from the Sect and put him on the list of wanted criminals. Anyone who captures this thief will get a reward of one thousand taels, a martial artist manual, or a piece of Gui Yuan Order!" Time flew by and a few days passed. A crowd formed at the gate of the county, reading the newly posted announcement from the Sect, all confused. "Song Zhong, Elder Song? He¡¯s a martial artist of 7th Gate! How did he end up in this state?" "I¡¯ve heard that news that his son passed away, and that drove him crazy!" "He¡¯s the one who created chaos and destroyed the Kou Vige!" "Hehe... Do you think the Sect would even bother if it was only a few outsiders who were killed?" Within the discussion, a person iming to have insider informationughed. "The only thing that will condemn him for life, is that he took the lives of a fellow sect member¡¯s family, the Zhou Family!" "Zhou Family? Zhou Family from Qingye City? ..." "That¡¯s right, I previously even saw the Zhou Family¡¯s young master stepping up to file the appeal!" "And Song Zhong managed to escape?" "This is their own internal affairs, otherwise why do you think they are recruiting help?" "No matter what, here¡¯s our chance!" ... As the word spread, many members of the martial arts world were enticed by the reward of capturing Song Zhong. Taels and martial arts manual may not mean much, but the Gui Yuan Order was no small reward. Whoever held this order would gain the respect of anyone from the Spirit Returning Sect like an honoured guest, and could even exchange the order for a favour from the sect. In theory, they would ede to any request that was possible! "Song Zhong... Gui Yuan Order?" Outside the city, in a farm shed, Fang Yuan stopped his training as soon as he heard the news. The city was too dangerous, and hard to escape if he got into any trouble. He could only escape if he had extreme Lightness Skill, otherwise, he would without a doubt be captured. Therefore, he left the city and took shelter from a farmer. He did not use much money; just a few taels were enough to satisfy the family and convince them to let him stay. He took a quick look at his stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 2.7 Spirit: 2.6 Magic: 1.5 Age: 18 Cultivation: [Martial Artist (5th Gate)] Technique: [ck Sand Palm (Level 5)], [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Level 5)] Skill: [Medicine (Grade 2)], [Botany (Grade 3)]" "I was all along a [Martial Artist (5th Gate)], and the progress of Eagle w Iron Skin Technique towards Grade 5 was quick. I have finally attained it..." After grasping the basics, mastering other techniques would be simple, and even the standards to meet were lowered in the progress bar, so naturally, he would have a rapid progression. He used this feature to extort Young Qing a few days ago. After all, the Pain Gate was one of the 3 Perilous Gates, and if there was an ident, one would get injured with no hope of recovery. Therefore, Fang Yuan had no choice but to take it seriously. "Initially, I thought that I could return home after the issue was settled, and focus on training. Who would¡¯ve thought that the ipetent Spirit Returning Sect could not contain Song Zhong, and even had to recruit the help of the public to capture him?" Fang Yuan did not understand. Of course, he didn¡¯t know that the internal strife within Spirit Returning Sect has escted out of control. The Sect Head, Shi Yutong was not resolute, and the two ns under the leadership of the elders, Elder Yan and Elder Han, were in conflict, which resulted in such an oue. The Sect Head only wanted peace and have positive control over the entire situation, and as for Song Zhong, she did not care if he was dead or alive. Of course, Fang Yuan didn¡¯t know so much, but he knew one thing! He would only find peace if Song Zhong was killed! Although he took steps to cover his traces, he still wasn¡¯t sure if someone could track him down. By then, if the martial artist in the 3 Perilous Gate ordered for his death, he could never escape from him. "I need to take this opportunity to get rid of him, while the situation allows!" Fang Yuan had decided, wore his clothing, ran out and soon disappeared. ... It was a piece of cake to obtain information about Song Zhong. The entire county was looking for him. It was heard that this person killed with no regard to his own life, killed his way out of the Sect, and escaped to take refuge within therge green mountains. This mountain was a part of the mountainous ridge of Clear Spirit Mountains, and after shutting down the major arterial routes within the mountain, patrolling was conducted. Many martial artists brought along their dry rations and followed, hoping that sooner orter, he would be captured. "Oh! It¡¯s so crowded?" Outside of the mountains, Fang Yuan looked up, and saw the sun burning down brilliantly, and looked around and the numerous martial artists around. He was speechless. "I shouldn¡¯t be too hasty. I just need to follow the crowd and witness Song Zhong¡¯s death!" Although therge green mountain was an arterial peak, it was also ratherrge. The mountain was covered in grass and trees, and to find a highly skilled martial artist hiding within was no easy feat. But Fang Yuan wasn¡¯t rushed. He slowly scanned the vicinity, at the same time made a few new martial artists friends and started sharing their experiences. One day, at noontime, he was sleeping on arge piece of rock. Suddenly, he heard a delicate voice. "Senior, it¡¯s him!" The delicate voice sounded familiar. He turned his head to the source of the sound and was shocked. Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dream! Chapter 37: Peeping Chapter 37: Peeping Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the depths of the forest, shadows flickered, and a few human figures appeared. The first to step forward was Young Qing, who had exhausted all her valuables in front of Fang Yuan. She wore a green dress and carried a sword at her waist. She looked even more stunning than she did the other day, but her piercing voice did much to mar her beauty. There were other young men and women around her, and Fang Yuan recognised one of thedies in a yellow dress. It was more than just recognition. He was familiar with her, and they even had a marriage agreement previously! "Sister Leiyue!" Young Qing tugged Lin Leiyue¡¯s sleeves and said, "That¡¯s him...he¡¯s the evil person who robbed me! You have to avenge me!" "How dare you steal from our Junior Qing!" Lin Leiyue gazed at Fang Yuan, stunned. The people with her had already unsheathed their swords and were surrounding Fang Yuan menacingly. This was because Young Qing had looked them up before, and they had searched the whole Qingye County and the Four Seas Court for this ¡¯Young Martial God Wu Ming¡¯ to no avail. Of course they were angry. "Wait!" Lin Leiyue suddenly held up a hand, and slowly stepped forward. She was unsure and looked at Fang Yuan with hesitation. "You are...Brother Fang?" "Hehe..." Fang Yuan rubbed his nose and said, "To think that you still remember me!" He was also surprised to see that the youngss in his memory had gone through aplete makeover. She now had the airs of a big sister. "Wait!" Young Qing looked at Lin Leiyue, then at Fang Yuan. She was confused. "Isn¡¯t Wu his surname? How did it be Fang?" "Qing!" Lin Leiyue wiped her brow embarrassedly and asked, "Are you really sure that it¡¯s this person?" "That¡¯s right, I¡¯ll recognise him even if he was reduced to ashes. Big Sister, you know him?" Young Qing¡¯s heart began to beat faster. After all, it was against the rules of the martial world to tail Fang Yuan in the first ce. "Fang Yuan? Fang Yuan! I remember! Isn¡¯t he the person you were once betrothed to?" One of the onlooking young disciples, most probably one of Lin Leiyue¡¯s many admirers, red at Fang Yuan with a look that could kill. "So it¡¯s him!" Immediately, Fang Yuan became aware that all the males present hated on him more than ever. He was beleaguered by many pairs of shing eyes that seemed to will him into burning up in mes. "Crap, did I kill their fathers or steal their wives? Is this hatred even justified?" Fang Yuan was speechless. In truth, Lin Leiyue was one of the most beautiful women in the Spirit Returning Sect. Coupled with her talent and gentle demeanour, as well as her high status, she was adored by many. Thus, when the admirers found out that Fang Yuan had a former rightful im to her, they all saw it as an intense rivalry. "Ah haha!" Fang Yuan felt slightly awkward dealing with Miss Qing. But this was not the case with Lin Leiyue. After all, he had watched her grow up and they had no bad blood. Therefore, there was nothing to be guilty about. "So it¡¯s you, Sister Leiyue. It seems like you are living well in the Spirit Returning Sect. This is a cause for celebration indeed!" "I¡¯m sorry for what happened before!" Lin Leiyue had turned slightly red, and she bowed apologetically. She was unsure about her feelings towards her former fianc¨¦. But after this outing, she had at least understood that the world was vast and that she did not want to limit her opportunities in any way. "Qing, Brother Fang is a friend of mine. This whole thing must be a joke. Let us drop this matter, shall we?" Leiyue gave Qing¡¯s hand a squeeze. After all, it would hurt their reputation if word got out about how the Four Seas Court mistreated a visitor. It was widely rumoured that the Four Seas Court was working for the Spirit Returning Sect, and to have this matter escte might confirm these rumours. Lin Leiyue did not want that. "Fine!" Qing felt like crying. Her secret savings were all gone. "But...you have to return the hairpin to me! It...it was given to me for my birthday by my grandfather!" In fact, Qing had made it all up. It was just the most expensive piece of jewellery out of the rest. "Oh, I¡¯m sorry!" Fang Yuanughed and took out the hairpin. "If I had offended you, Miss Qing, I hope that you won¡¯t hold it against me!" "This is more like it!" Qing¡¯s eyes gleamed, and she grabbed the hairpin from Fang Yuan greedily. She then thought to herself regretfully, ¡¯If I had known that thisd was going to be this obliging, I would¡¯ve asked him for more jewellery pieces...boohoo...¡¯ The more she thought about it, the more she cursed inwardly. "Alright, alright!" Lin Leiyue could not help but whisper into Qing¡¯s ear. "Really?" Whatever she had heard must have delighted her, for Qing immediately jumped up and nodded vigorously. "Yes yes yes!" She then turned to Fang Yuan and said, "Let bygones be bygones. I won¡¯t pursue the matter anymore. Brother Fang, you are wee to rob me again. After all, someone¡¯s going to pay me back doubly...hoho!" As the words left her, Qing immediately knew that she had made a mistake, and quickly covered her mouth. "Who would have known that thisss would be so money-grubbing and miserly..." The crowd had realised what was going on and did not know what to say to Qing. "Brother Fang, are you here for the Song Zhong issue? If I remember correctly, you don¡¯t know martial arts..." Lin Leiyue smiled demurely and changed the subject deftly as if nothing had happened. "Ah I¡¯ve been practising a little, and I want to see the bustling city for myself!" Fang Yuan replied carelessly. "Song Zhong is fierce and stubborn and is a highly skilled pugilist. He¡¯s still a great threat even though he might be injured. Please be careful!" Lin Leiyue had no idea about Fang Yuan¡¯s background and warned him out of concern. "Okay!" Fang Yuan nodded and turned to leave. "Stop!" At this point, one of the onlooking young men stepped in front of Fang Yuan, blocking his passage. "Have you not heard Sister Lin? This is not a ce you can stay in for an extended period of time. Don¡¯t think that you can go on a rampage with your half-assed skills. Leave while you can!" A bunch of young male disciples, regardless of their near-zero chances with Lin Leiyue, were worried that sparks would fly between Fang Yuan and Lin Leiyue. They all had the same goal in mind, to eliminate thispetitor! "Ah, Brother Zhao, that¡¯s where you are wrong!" A male disciple with a freckled faceughed coldly and stepped forward. "Since this Young Master Fang was able to bully our Sister Qing, it must mean that he is very highly-skilled. Although I am untalented, I challenge you to a fight. Do have mercy on me!" "How can you leave me out of this?" "Let me! Let me!" The male disciples were worked up into a frenzy, eyes gleaming with bloodlust. This was their best chance to prove themselves in front of Lin Leiyue! "Qing, tell me honestly. What¡¯s your progress in the Qingluo Technique that Master taught you?" As she observed the going-ons around her, Lin Leiyue pulled Young Qing towards her and whispered the question into her ear. "Grade 5!" Qing stuck out her tongue. "Ssss..." Lin Leiyue sucked in a breath of cold air. Young Qing was a crazyss. She was ady and had the backing of powerful figures in the Sect. None of the male disciples dared to go all out when sparring with her. As a result, not many people were aware of Qing¡¯s true abilities. But this Fang Yuan, hasn¡¯t he only been practising martial arts for a short while? How could he have defeated a martial artist of the 5th Gate? Lin Leiyue observed Fang Yuan a while more and realised for the first time that this youngd from the valley was indeed mysterious. She had wanted to defuse the situation but was at a loss for words now. "This..." Fang Yuan quickly scanned his immediate surroundings and deduced that these were basically martial artists who were either at the 4th or 5th Gates in martial art cultivation. They were no match for him, especially after he had consumed so much spiritual food. "This...is the effect of magical energy?" Fang Yuan was suddenly enlightened. Magical energy led to alertness and willpower! If he had more magical energy than normal, he would be able to gauge the skill level of his opponents through detailed observations. He would also be able to conceal his own abilities. Of course, the prerequisite was that he could not be too far behind in martial arts cultivation than these adversaries. Right now, after Fang Yuan had made some adjustments, none of his foes could tell that he was actually a master in his own right, having broken through the 5th Gate. On the other hand, their skills and abilities were all obvious to Fang Yuan. "I can¡¯t gauge Lin Leiyue¡¯s abilities though. She has a clear and bright aura emanating from her body. That is not normal!" Fang Yuan increased his alertness but disyed a cornered look outwardly. "This...probably isn¡¯t a good idea! I¡¯m a country bumpkin with no self-restraint. What if I hurt you all too badly?" "What?!" The crowd of male disciples were enraged by Fang Yuan¡¯s taunt, and the freckled disciple shouted, "If I am killed by you, it can only be said that I was unlucky. No one shall avenge me. Everyone here, be my witness!" "Come on!" Under the gaze of Lin Leiyue and a few female juniors, he was eager to show off and jumped right into the fray. "The humble Sun Tieshu, looking forward to being schooled by you!" ¡¯Idiot!¡¯ At this, Fang Yuan silently rolled his eyes. If the crowd had ganged up on Fang Yuan, he would have been on the losing end no matter how skilled he was. But this bunch of jokers actually intended to take turns to fight him individually. They must be tired of living! It was just as well that his Eagle w Iron Skin Technique required more practice to increase proficiency points. This battle was a good opportunity. However, just as Fang Yuan prepared to fight, his body hairs suddenly stood on end. This feeling reminded him of a chilling encounter back when he was four or five years old. He was taking a stroll in the forest then and was eyed by a wolf hiding in the shadows. ¡¯Is this...an ambush?¡¯ Fang Yuan glided back by several steps and nced at Lin Leiyue. Then he was struck by a realisation! "It¡¯s Song Zhong!" "To think that he would be this headstrong. Even as he is wanted from all sides by his enemies, he chooses to retaliate instead of hiding!" "Lin Leiyue is the direct disciple of the sect leader and has a very important status. She will be a good hostage!" "But isn¡¯t there word out there that Song Zhong is gravely injured? Are the stories untrue?" ... His mind whirring, Fang Yuan distanced himself from Lin Leiyue. She was the epicentre of trouble and it was best to get away from her. "Punk, you¡¯re running away?" When Sun Tieshu saw that Fang Yuan was retreating, he paused. "Trying to be funny huh? Are you going to be a piece of trash now?" "Ah...yes, I¡¯m physically weak. How can I ever hope to match you people? I have been aughing stock! I¡¯ll take my leave!" Fang Yuan spouted a load of nonsense and withdrew to the sidelines. It was at this moment that everything changed! Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 38: Intense Battle Chapter 38: Intense Battle Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Whoosh!" "Bang!" A loud noise was heard. Numerous steel needles flew towards a group of Spirit Returning Sect disciples. "Hidden weapons?" Fang Yuan was confused. He was already prepared to jump forward and hide behind a giant rock to escape the iing needles. "Puff!" However, the group of disciples were not so lucky. There were piercing sounds everywhere and there was a bloody explosion in the forest. Many corpses were lying on the ground and the whole scene became very bloody. After that wave of attack, Fang Yuan then popped half of his head out and saw Disciple Sun, who was mocking him previously, lying down in a pool of blood. His body became like a ho¡¯s nest. A long silhouette appeared and it seemed to be carrying something. "That is Song Zhong!" Lin Leiyue screamed and waved her sleeve. A hidden arrow was shot up into the sky and a high-pitched noise was heard. It then exploded into mes. "Hehe...are you going to look for Elder Li?" Song Zhong saw what happened andughed. "There is no need for you to do anything! I have already brought him here!" He tossed and the object he was carrying in his hand suddenly rolled towards Lin Leiyue. "Master Li?!" [1] Miss Qing screamed and almost fainted. What Song Zhong was carrying was Master Li¡¯s head, with his eyes still open. Whose head could it be other than his? "How is it possible?" Seeing this scene, Lin Leiyue felt light headed. "Haha....This Old Li¡¯s Scorching Sun Palm is quite powerful. Unfortunately, it is still inferiorpared to mine!" Song Zhong coughed out a mouthful of blood and was still very cocky. "Shi Yutong that slut, she thought that I was injured badly and sent you to finish me off. She also sent Elder Li to keep a lookout for you just in case....However, she didn¡¯t expect that I would have a chance to obtain the Resurrection Pill left by the divine healer. Thus, I had already recovered from my injuries. Haha...." Lin Leiyue closed her mouth and felt hopeless. Lin Leiyue had read about the Resurrection Pill in the sect¡¯s secret manuals before. It was named as such as the pill would be able to resurrect a dead person as long as he had a remaining breath. He would be able to recover within the night but would surely die after 7 days! Within the 7 days, the martial artist¡¯s essence, spirit and magic would be at his peak. Since Elder Li was ranked higher than Song Zhong in the sect and Song Zhong was definitely inferior to him, how could he be killed so easily? Lin Leiyue broke out in cold sweat. The situation hade to a point beyond salvation. Even if the other elders from the sect saw the signal for help and rushed here to help them, they would probably not be able to stay alive till then. After all, there was a huge difference between the inner power of a martial artist at 2 Peaceful Gates and that of another at 3 Perilous Gates. Even if the opponent was able to suppress his injuries and start a killing spree, he would still be counterattacked with serious injuries! "Elder Song, we both have nothing against each other. Why are you doing this?" Lin Leiyue asked calmly. "Nothing against each other?" Song Zhongughed and said, "Shi Yutong that slut had kicked me out of the sect and had ordered me to be killed. I will not let you go today for what you have done to my son!" As Fang Yuan heard his words, he kept his head low and was even more confused when Song Zhong looked at him. Even though he knew that Song Zhong was unaware of the real murderer, but being an ex-fianc¨¦ of Lin Leiyue, Song Zhong would definitely not spare him and Lin Leiyue the ¡¯adulterous couple¡¯! Luckily, Song Zhong was putting most of his attention on Lin Leiyue. Fang Yuan was convinced that Song Zhong would kill himself after killing the rest. ¡¯This case was serious. If Song Zhong knew who was the real murderer, I would surely not be spared...." Fang Yuan was speechless. With his magical energy, Fang Yuan could feel that he was being watched even though Song Zhong had put most of his attention on Lin Leiyue. "What do you want now?" Lin Leiyue became nervous as Song Zhong kept going nearer to her. How could one who had consumed the Resurrection Pill and was going to die 7 dayster be keeping her hostage? Song Zhong had wanted her to die together with him. Plus, he would also not spare Fang Yuan and the rest of the disciples. "I¡¯m going to die.... I have yet to explore the vast world.... I¡¯m not ready to die!" Lin Leiyue bit her teeth tightly and said, "Everyone, listen up. This person is out of control. We have to work together to defeat him! Elder Li is highly skilled and Song Zhong must have been injured while fighting against Elder Li!" Lin Leiyue was speaking to the desperate survivors. After hearing what she said and seeing that Song Zhong has a burnt palm print on his chest and a bloody mouth, they seemed hopeful. "Miss Lin, you have a good foresight.... Unfortunately, you have no idea what an injured 7th Gate martial artist can do!" Song Zhong went forward. He appeared rxed but was still able to move swiftly to one of the male disciples. He casually grabbed the disciple¡¯s neck and strangled him to death. His lifeless corpse fell to the ground. A [Martial Artist (7th Gate)] was indeed mighty. "Frozen Moon Swordy!" At that moment, Lin Leiyue eximed as she struck towards Song Zhong in front of the rest who were in shock. "Whoosh!" Her shiny sword gave out a hint of cold energy as it was special.sy "Great sword skills! Great inner power!" Song Zhong focused and deflected the sword with his fingernail. "Ding!" With a distinct resonance from the sword fight, Lin Leiyue fell a few steps back and looked at Song Zhong who was pale and expressionless. She was delighted. "This person¡¯s skills have dropped tremendously and is weaker than a 7th Gate martial artist. Don¡¯t be fooled by him!" "I should really kill this b*tch!" Song Zhong¡¯s expression changed and leapt forward. "Flying Swallow Piercing Strike!" "Green Emerald Palm!" "Frozen Frosty Moon!" Under the encouragement of Lin Leiyue, the remaining disciples attacked together without holding back and managed to surround Song Zhong. "You crazy clown, how dare you create trouble here?" Song Zhong was surrounded and gave a ferocious look. "It is because I have exhausted my Bone Piercing Needles. If not, how are you able to survive till now?" "Furthermore, you all have no idea how powerful a 3 Perilous Gate expert with inner force can be!" Song Zhong looked at both of his hands and his shirt started moving on his own. "Demonic Wind Hand!" He shouted and both of his palms produced a shockingly powerful force. "Puff! Puff!" Miss Qing and the rest changed their expressions and felt a great force going towards them. They were then thrown back and suffered internal injuries. They were martial artists of the 4th or 5th Gate, and as such, possessed only inner power and not inner force. After the Pain Gate was broken through, the inner power would bebined and after intense training, energy akin to indestructible metallic-like threads would form. That would truly be inner force! The difference between inner power and inner force was huge. This was why a [Martial Artist (6th Gate)] could be an Elder of a sect, which would allow one to have power and prestige. Song Zhong was demonstrating his power and only the talented Lin Leiyue could survive with the help of a spiritual pill. The rest of the disciples were all defeated. "Cough...." After one move, Song Zhong¡¯s face became flushed and he was quite surprised that Lin Leiyue was still surviving. "You actually survived. You should feel proud of yourself even though you are going to die next!" Lin Leiyue was holding her sword with her right hand and it trembled slightly. Despite that, she was still calm. The spiritual pill inside her body was healing her previous injuries. If she could survive this fight, she would likely be an expert in martial arts! With her talent, he needed to destroy herpletely to deny her any chances of survival. Otherwise, she would be able to make an unexpectedeback. "But....how am I still able to survive? Almost all the disciples are wiped out...." Lin Leiyue had sealed up all her acupoints to recover from her internal injuries but it was still not an easy task. "Even though Fang Yuan is a Martial Artist (5th Gate), he had missed golden opportunity to attack. Even if he does help now, what is the point?" At that moment, she was filled with despair. "B*tch, I will send you now to see my dead son....." Song Zhong took in a deep breath and managed to suppress his injuries. He then took a few steps forward. It seemed like the previous fight was not an easy one for him. Suddenly, he sensed a slight movement in his surroundings. "Hmm....trying to escape?" He turned his head, grabbed a stone and threw it at Fang Yuan "Whiz!" A high-pitched noise came from the flying rock as if it was an arrow being shot from a bow, and it hit a silhouette. "Bang!" The rocknded and a crater was formed. The silhouette managed to dodge the rock, and it happened to be Fang Yuan. He touched his head and smiled. "You can continue old man. I promise I will not say anything out to anyone...." Miss Qing, who was lying down and coughing out blood, heard what Fang Yuan said and became angry. They were fighting for their lives here and this bast*rd was trying to escape? Hmph! He was definitely an assh*le. It made her furious to think that she actually thought that he was a good guy. "I am not deaf. Are you this b*tch¡¯s fianc¨¦?" Song Zhong squinted his eyes and examined Fang Yuan. "Since you are, you shall not be spared as well!" "What the f*ck? Crazy old man, please do tell me if you are tired of living!" Fang Yuan was furious. What was there to say to the person who was trying to kill him? His expression became serious and his skin tone started to darken. Both of his hands formed the shape of the Eagle ws and he leapt forward. "Chirp!" While he was executing the Eagle w Technique, it swept through the air and produced a sound like an eagle¡¯s cry. Song Zhong closed his eyes and felt as if a flying overlord was flying swiftly towards him from the sky. "Great Eagle w!" At that moment, the rest were all in shock. [1] Master Li and Elder Li are the same person. Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 39: Murderer Chapter 39: Murderer Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Die, old fool!" Fang Yuan bellowed, and his back muscles moved like how a bird spread its wings. Arge power welled up in his back and travelled to his arms, wrists, palms and finally to the tips of his fingers. "Pitter-patter!" The joints in his body exploded with energy. The joints in his body acted as leverage. With each joint, the power increased manifold. "Eagle w!" Lin Leiyue was shocked when she witnessed the scene that unfolded in front of her. She had seen the move executed by Yu Qiuleng, who was renowned for the Eagle w Technique. Other than the fact that Yu Qiuleng was more skilled than Fang Yuan, the youngd wasparable in terms of vitality and spirit. "Is this still the old Brother Fang?" Lin Leiyue was astonished and did not know what to think. "He is so... so..." Her jaw dropped and the image of a gentle and primdy was gone. She could only think of one thing, "If he had used his full power then, I would not have been alive!" In truth, she had overestimated Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan was not as skilled in the Eagle w Technique then as he was now If he had trained systematically, he would have made rapid progress in his martial arts skills. It was apt to say that he was seen in a new light after not seeing him for a few days as his skills had greatly improved. "Huhu!" The ws were capable of ripping organs. The gust generated by the ws were sufficient to cut the skin even before the wsnded on target. "Goodd!" Song Zhong panted, his face red. He waved his hands in the air to form a sign, "Demonic Wind Hand!" "Boom!" The w and the palm made contact and a loud sound was heard. "Whoosh!" The dust rose. Fang Yuan flew away andnded squarely on the ground, a trail of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. "Why are your inner power and your stamina so overbearing?" Song Zhong stood his ground, his face puzzled. He let out augh. "It¡¯s a shame, no matter how unreasonable, that you will never be able to bridge the gap... cough cough...." Purplish-ck blood started to spurt out while he was talking. "If you are a normal 6th Gate Martial Artist, I would naturally run away... but you are just an old dog. How long can your bodyst?" Fang Yuan wriggled the joints in his palms which cracked with a crisp sound. He had heard that the Resurrection Pill could only treat injuries once and keep the martial artist at his peak. It was effective in treating Elder Li¡¯s injuries even before he was attacked by Lin Leiyue and the others. "Old...old dog?!" Song Zhong was stumped. Even Lin Leiyue was shocked. "You...you punk, you are dead meat!" Song Zhong seethed with anger. He had never been humiliated like this before as he was a [Martial Artist (7th Gate)]. Even when he was banished from the sect, a small disagreement led to this bloodshed. Yet, his punk dared to insult him in the face? Lin Leiyue found it hard to believe and came to a misperception that the world had undergone a great change. "Haha... Old dog, it is still unconfirmed who will live and who will die!" Fang Yuanughed and attacked, giving Song Zhong no opportunity to reply, "Watch mybo!" Song Zhong was at his wit¡¯s end. However, he had a strong foundation in the martial arts. There was no one around that could match his inner power if he was given enough time to recover. As such, the only strategy was to attack relentlessly! Fang Yuan was confident in this aspect! After all, he had almost twice as much Essence as amoner, which meant that he had extraordinary endurance and recovery. He was able to narrow the gap due to his inner power from thebination of ck Sand Palm (Grade 5) and the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique. "Schhhh" The gust generated from Eagle w cut the air. "Impossible, how did you recover so fast?" Song Zhong was astonished. He gritted his teeth and asked, "Are you trying to wear me out?" His face, which was originally red, started to have blood droplets flowing out from the pores, "The soul must burn to unleash the blood demon!" That was his secret move which allowed him to suppress his injury and boost his final strength. He had previously used it to kill Elder Li. The stress caused by using it a second time broke his body. "Die! Demonic Wind Hand¡ª¡ª Blood Palm!" Song Zhong lunged forward. Fresh blood dripped from his right hand and formed a coat of red around his palm. His palm shed with the Eagle w. "Boom!" There was another resounding noise as Fang Yuan flew backwards. His face changed and he vomited arge amount of fresh blood, "This feels good!" His eyes were fervent and he stood back up, "Again!" "Thisd... is he crazy?!" Song Zhong was afraid of this fighting style that Fang Yuan disyed. Fang Yuan was totally not concerned about his life. "Whoosh!" The sound created by those outside could be heard. Given by the sound produced, it was safe to say that there were highly-skilled fighters amongst them in the all-out pursuit of Song Zhong. Song Zhong paled. He immediately turned and fled into the densely vegetated jungle. Given the situation, there was no way he could murder the ¡¯adulterous couple¡¯. The only way was to hide and wait for the opportunity to arise. He still had plenty of opportunities as long as it was within seven days. This was especially true for the youth in front of him. Fang Yuan was very difficult to handle and without resting, Song Zhong was uncertain of being able to beat him. "Where are you going?" Fang Yuan bellowed as he gave chase. How could he let his opponent escape? Even if he knew the properties of the Resurrection Pill, there was a possibility in this vast world that Song Zhong might encounter a miracle and survive. Fang Yuan would never be at ease unless he saw Song Zhong dead before his eyes. When would there be a better opportunity? His opponent¡¯s energy was depleted. It was a good opportunity to kill Song Zhong even for someone of his skill level. There might not be another opportunity if he missed it. "Whoosh!" In the deep forest, the two of them ran. No one knew how far they had run. "This old fool really has a lot of endurance. I wonder if it is the effect of the pill. " Fang Yuan saw that the distance between the two of them was not narrowing. He looked around at the surroundings before he shouted, "Old dog, don¡¯t you want to know how your precious son died?" "What?" Upon hearing this, Song Zhong stopped running and turned around, his eyes fixed on Fang Yuan. "What do you know? Speak!" There was still a distance between Song Zhong and the troops. Even if he was dyed, he would have sufficient time to escape. He was more concerned about the truth and made the decision to stop. "Who killed that dog...Haha..." Fang Yuan did not stop. He rushed forward, his hands forming the Eagle w and struck at Song Zhong. "Go and ask your son!" "You brat!" Song Zhong¡¯s expression turned cold. "Do you really think I cannot kill you?" He raised his palms towards the sky. An unyielding power could be felt from his palms. "Bang!" The fist and the w met. Song Zhong¡¯s expression changed. "No...you..." He stumbled back and looked at his hands, only to see that there were holes in his palms with ck blood flowing out. "You used poison...no, this is the ck Sand Palm...It was you!" His eyes were bloodshot. He leapt forward, only to crash onto the ground. "I hate you! I hate you!" Song Zhong roared as he looked at his palm. He red at Fang Yuan with a look that could kill. If he had known that the killer of his son was standing right before him, he would have used all means avable to kill Fang Yuan, even if he had to sacrifice his life. However, he had been plotted against and there was no way he could retaliate. "You used the Resurrection Pill and used the secret arts many times. Your energy is depleted and you are crippled...After my ck Sand Palm, there is no way you would be able to survive. On this day next year, it will be your death anniversary!" Fang Yuan¡¯s expression was cold. He took out a Yama¡¯s Order and consumed it. Song Zhong was undoubtedly a master of the 3 Perilous Gates. He was struck by the ck Sand Palm and was injured but managed to counter his opponent¡¯s attack on his inner power. This caused a portion of the Pearl Tail Snake¡¯s poison to backflow, causing harm to Fang Yuan as well. However, Fang Yuan had the Yama¡¯s Order which was able to act as an antidote to the poison. Song Zhong was not so lucky. "Please be on your way!" Fang Yuan stepped forward and looked at Song Zhong who was already unable to speak. His expression turned cold. "Song Yujie repeatedly send people to cause trouble to me. Do you expect me to die and not retaliate?" "As for you, you are yet another troublemaker. I cannot let you live for one more day!" While the Resurrection Pill was able to work miracles, its effects could be nullified. There were a few fabled magical pills that could save Song Zhong¡¯s life. Fang Yuan did not want to create more problems even if it was unlikely. "Please be on your way. Remember not to trifle with me in your next life!" Fang Yuan nodded his head, lifted his right hand and brought it down sharply. "Boom!" Blood spurted out. ... Outside the forest, the sound of hurried footsteps could be head. "Footprints, over there!" "Song Zhong is just ahead. He is not going anywhere!" A group of martial artists surrounded the area. At the front of the group was Lin Leiyue and two protectors of the Spirit Returning Sect. "Leiyue, did that friend of yours chase after Song Zhong alone?" A protector shook her head, "Oh dear, that old thief is highly skilled and cunning. Your friend might have already fallen into his hands." "Fang Yuan... He would not!" Miss Qing said from the side. Those who had seen Fang Yuan and Song Zhong shed would have confidence in him as well. "Hmmm... Song Zhong possessed a high level of inner force. A person with inner power would not be able to stand up to him. Even if he was avaricious, he would have died..." Another person chipped in but stopped momentarily when Lin Leiyue looked at him.. "Hmmm? Someone is here!" The people in front came to a stop when they saw a silhouette walking out of the dense forest. "Brother Fang!" Miss Qing was pleasantly surprised. "Where is that old traitor, Song Zhong?" "Here!" Fang Yuan raised his right hand and Song Zhong¡¯s severed head appeared. This caused the onlookers to be bewildered and uncertain. "The old traitor had been served his just dessert?" The two protectors could not believe their eyes. Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 40: Secret News Chapter 40: Secret News Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Song Zhong, the previous elder of the Spirit Returning Sect, had been executed! The news travelled far and wide within the entire Qinghe County, and of course, there was another not-so-credible rumour which said that if the one who gave the final strike was a young man, he must be highly skilled and therefore deserving of the rewards the Sect had promised. Many martial artists did not believe that a young man could take down Song Zhong. Who was Song Zhong? He was a renowned fearsome martial artist of the 7th Gate and an expert in inner force! Even the eldest disciple of Spirit Returning Sect, Lin Leiyue could not hold a candle to Song Zhong. How skilful would the young man be to dare challenge the Spirit Returning Sect¡¯s top disciple? This must be a rumour! Song Zhong was likely to have been taken down by a skilled Spirit Returning Sect member. Just by his cultivation level alone would allow him to wreck havoc in Qinghe County. Only a few who knew the truth became a little worried after hearing the rumours. ... "Fang Yuan, are you really leaving?" He was at a small pavilion near the outskirts of Qinghe County. Lin Leiyue appeared confused and looked at the young man on a horse. "Just by seeing your potential in martial arts cultivation alone, you can enter the Spirit Returning Sect and be a direct disciple..." "My apologies, I have been used to exploring the wild, and cannot tolerate being confined... Sister Leiyue, I shall see you when we meet again!" Fang Yuan rejected her offer, whipped the horse and galloped away. Not long after, he disappeared within the horizon. The many people within the Sect, and the main troublemaker, Lin Leiyue, would bring many problems to Fang Yuan if he were to ept her offer. Knowing this, why would he stay long in the county? After trading for what he wanted, Fang Yuan left the country without hesitation. However, as for Lin Leiyue, looking at his shadow disappearing in the horizon brought much disappointment as she felt conflicted. "Are you feeling regretful?" With a sh, Shi Yutong appeared within the pavilion like a ghost. "He has his path to go, and I have mine. Since he made the decision, what more can we do?" Lin Leiyue raised her head and stubbornly replied. "Mmm... That¡¯s good!" Shi Yutong noded her head with satisfaction and looked in the direction where Fang Yuan left. "But, this fianc¨¦ of yours has shocking potential and is not the average person!" "He..." Lin Leiyue became excited. "Master... Please enlighten me!" "Keke..." Shi Yutong snickered, and touched her nose. "Girl, you have bepetitive... Don¡¯t worry, to me, you still have the greatest potential among your peers!" "Then why was it that previously..." Lin Leiyue was sceptical. Against Song Zhong, she could only withstand his fists and defend, but Fang Yuan could retaliate head-on and therefore everything felt illogical. "That was because that young man had a good foundation... Leiyue, you should have known. There are people who are able to harness and use their martial arts the moment they begin to learn it, and can even be Martial Artist (4th or 5th Gate)! Fang Yuan is as such, either he has a great natural talent, or that he had consumed some spiritual food or treasure, and based on your description, Song Zhong was at the brink of death and had used up most of his inner force, and fight after fight, he could be exhausted to death and I wouldn¡¯t be surprised..." Shi Yutong exined. She felt that it was a pity that the young man had such great potential. He had exceedingly high Essence, Spirit and Magic. If his magical energy was many folds more of the average human, he would be a well-known legendary spiritual knight. But for this, even if he would be outstanding in his youth, his age would catch up. After all, inner force was magical and cannot seem to be depleted when one was harnessing it. No matter one¡¯s foundation, those who had the inner force befitting of the 3 Perilous Gates would undergo a drastic change in their bodies. Those with better physical quality would experience slower progress when they reach this stage, albeit still having a small advantage over the others, but it would not be as obvious as before. Shi Yutong looked at her disciple andmented, "Leiyue, don¡¯t be discouraged. You have gained through this experience. If you can break through the 6th Gate, you would be the first among the young people within Qinghe County!" "Yes, Master!" Lin Leiyue clenched her fist, looked in the direction with Fang Yuan left, and seemed as though she was not willing to admit defeat. ... "Go!" Fang Yuan sped off on his horse, and seeing the scenery beside him fly past, he felt free like a fish in the ocean, a bird in the sky, a tiger in the forest. Qinghe County wasplicated, like a giant trap. He was still unfamiliar with the outside world, had little rtions with the powerful people, and therefore might not be pulled into conflicts. But that might not be the case if he decided to stay longer within the county, or even join the Spirit Returning Sect. "At the end of the day, the treasures from the outside world cannotpare to thefort of my home!" Fang Yuan smiled to himself. He had gained a lot from this trip to the county. Defeating Song Zhong and collecting spiritual nts is one thing, and gaining from the Spirit Returning Sect¡¯s hidden library is another. He was rewarded with the Elemental Returning Order for killing Song Zhong and used it to exchange for a visit to the hidden library. If he requested for a martial arts manual, he knew he would die and the Elemental Returning Order would not be able to save him. But if he requested to take a look at the normal books, that would be effortless to the Sect and he would not be denied entry. Seeing his rtionship with Lin Leiyue, Shi Yutong very quickly agreed after he requested for the visit. She allowed Fang Yuan to stay and browse through the books for 3 days. The only regret Fang Yuan had was being unable to see for himself the real Wu Zong in the legends. "Hmm... There are so many highly skilled sect members observing me, just not the great Wu Zong!" Fang Yuanughed and slowed the horse down. The truth is that other then the system within his mind, if word of his martial arts spreads out, it would at most be taken as a small miracle. Without looking at the exnations within the system, who would believe that he had the ability to cultivate spiritual nts, and even allow normal nts to evolve and have special traits? Because of this, he was unafraid. It still led him to feel uneasy with so many people spying on him. "Heh... Spirit Returning Sect, what¡¯s so good about you?" As he was quite a distance from Qinghe County, he slowed the horse down and slowly paced forward. "But for a price to pay, it was worth it!" He thought through in the perspective of the sect. After all, he was an outsider and precautions still had to be taken against him. Understanding their rationale was one thing, epting it was another. The risk of entering the hidden library was worth it. Within the many books and literature artefacts, Fang Yuan found what he was looking for. "I never knew... This world is so huge! Comparatively, a normal martial artist would never have the chance to know the truth... Even the spiritual knights only know the tip of the iceberg, what more about the mysterious alchemy masters and dream masters?" This information was obtained from a biography of a martial artist, and it was like a treasure to him. The author of the book was an elder in the sect long ago. He managed to break through every single Gate possible, and by exploring the outside world, he had the chance to exceed Wu Zong. Although he did not seed at the end, he passed on not long after returning to the Sect, he left behind lots of discussion and stories of his exploration, and it was an overload of information about the outside world. Within his discussion, he mentioned the formation of spiritualnds. "The spiritualnd is formed by heaven¡¯s will and created by the gathering of earthly energy. It can only be encountered and cannot be created by man......this sentence is both right and wrong!" Fang Yuan read on. "It seems that the small spiritualnd which the Spirit Returning Sect lives on formed naturally. The first Sect Master knew it was a piece of treasure and shifted the entire Sect to where it was now, using it as a foundation... But there is another type of spiritualnd, linked to the cultivators!" "Rumour has it that there was a highly skilled cultivator, and under certain conditions, like death, it may result in the birth of a new spiritualnd." "Even though this cultivator may not be Wu Zong, whatever recorded was just rumours. But then again, the entire world may have hidden mysteries. Since an alchemy master is able to gain the blessing of the heavens and earth and concoct spiritual pills, another cultivator would be able to create a spiritualnd, fertilend......it is not impossible! "I just wonder, who was the source of the spiritualnd at Green Peak..." Fang Yuan looked up, staring at the peak of the Clear Spirit Mountain, and felt a sense of familiarity. "I¡¯m home..." Within the secluded valley. "Keke! Keke!" Fang Yuan stepped into the valley, and the Flower Fox Ferret pounced on him, nibbling at his robe, as though it was very excited. "Eh, why are you so anxious?" Fang Yuan was shocked as he saw the Flower Fox Ferret running towards the farm, as he sort of guessed what had happened. "Could it be..." He was filled with emotions as he rushed out. Upon reaching the tea forest, a fragrance filled the air, making him feel more refreshed. "Indeed..." Fang Yuan was ecstatic, as he saw another tree with the Questioning Heart Tea leaves. This spiritual nt had new leaves growing and the tea fragrance was intense. "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret pointed to the soil, and Fang Yuan noticed at the root of the Questioning Heart Tea that there wererge amounts of spiritual fertilizer. "It seems that the Flower Fox Ferret was hard at work while I was away..." Fang Yuan was left speechless as he witnessed what was before him. The Flower Fox Ferret was rather proud; it did not care about other normal nts, and only took care of the Questioning Heart Tea and Vermillion Jade Rice. It could not hold back as it saw the leaves of the Questioning Heart Tea growing out. "Without my Meditative Tea Ceremony, there would not be any Questioning Heart Tea that would increase your magical energy!" Fang Yuan stroked the Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s head, "Don¡¯t worry, you will have your share!" After reading through the books, he had a deeper understanding of the benefits of the Questioning Heart Tea. There were different levels of spiritual nts. The lowest level included the Vermillion Jade Rice and the Emerald Grass, but these two could also increase one¡¯s Spirit and Essence. As for spiritual nts which can increase magical energy? It was unheard of, and if people knew about it they would go crazy for it! In order to be a spiritual knight or alchemy master, the most important factor is magical energy! Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 41: Breakthrough Chapter 41: Breakthrough Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions It was dawn. Fang Yuan came to a newly reimed farnd. Vermillion Jade Rice was grown on that farm, and he nted the seeds of the Emerald Grass there as well. "The Emerald Grass does not require a good environment to grow in. It is able to gather earthly energy and make the soil fertile. The Emerald Grassplements the Vermillion Jade Rice when nted next to them!" nting a spiritual nt was aplicated process. Fang Yuan was very focused on it and only took a short break half an hourter to wipe his sweat. "Phew....The newly reimed farnd has already reached its maximum capacity. There is not muchnd left in the secluded valley to expand the farm. Furthermore, the expanded farm will be exposed!" He was helpless. "I may have to move the spiritual nt to another ce in the future!" What ce would that be? It would be the spiritualnd in Green Peak. As that ce was very secluded, a Wu Zong would never be able to realise that a farm did exist in that location and would only be troubled by the presence of the Red-eyed White Birds. Fang Yuan had decided to relocate the secrets of the secluded valley to the new location after he had solved the current problem. After all, he was different from Master Wenxin. He had been attracting a lot of attentiontely and this would increase the chances of others spying on him. "However, the amount of Vermillion Jade Rice I have now is sufficient enough for the Flower Fox Ferret and myself to consume for quite a long period of time!" Fang Yuan touched the Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s head and smiled. The Spirit Returning Sect Head Shi Yutong could not make decisions regarding the spiritualnd by herself. There was still a need to amodate the needs of every faction as well as the export of spiritual nts. Even if the main disciples were allocated with some spiritual nts, it was not arge amount. Fang Yuan estimated that they could either eat the Vermillion Jade Rice once a week or treat it preciously like a spiritual pill and only consume it when he was ready to break gates. After all, they were not as luxurious as him! In fact, the previous amount of his consumption of the Vermillion Jade Rice could be 10 times more than Lin Leiyue¡¯s! The Spirit Returning Sect was not luxurious enough to allocate such arge amount of Vermillion Jade Rice to just one person. Shi Yutong had no idea about Fang Yuan¡¯s diet and thought that he must have been lucky to consume some natural spiritual treasure. Even spiritual pills were not natural. They were scarce and could not fulfil the requirement of a daily supply of staple like the spiritual rice could. This was the reason why Fang Yuan¡¯s foundations in martial arts were so scarily strong, as his Essence, Spirit and Magic increased tremendously like a rocket. "Other normal human beings would benefit lesser after breaking through another gate aspared to me....." Fang Yuan realised that the quantitative numbers in his stats window could be way higher than any other martial artist who was of the same level as him. "Of course, after breaking through the 6th Gate, my inner power will be fused and be inner force. Then, things will be different. Unless I can increase the supply of the Vermillion Jade Rice further and maintain my head start, the others will eventually catch up in future!" This was a bad news as it meant that Fang Yuan¡¯s advantage would be diminished. However, as he looked at his farm, he smiled brightly. It was not difficult to eat the Vermillion Jade Rice every day, was it? He not only had the Vermillion Jade Rice but also had the spiritual tea. He could drink it whenever he wanted to. "Essence, spirit and magic could be considered as the three most important factors to one¡¯s cultivation. Of the three, Essence possesses a physical form, Spirit is dependent on Essence and possesses a form too. Only Magic is formless!" "A rise in magical energy will result in stark improvements in many other aspects!" Through the previous trip and a few fights, Fang Yuan realised the effect of magical energy. Although he could not convert it tobat power directly, he could sense the enemy¡¯s moves and eventually predict the oue of the fight even before it began, making it extremely useful. This was also why he valued the Questioning Heart Tea even more. After a hard day¡¯s work, Fang Yuan went to clean himself and changed into a new set of clothes. Then, he started to make some tea. With his past experiences, he felt more natural when making the tea as he was much more familiar with the process, and there was much improvement this time. First of all, the water used was different. ording to an old saying, the most preferred type of water when making tea would be to use mountain spring water, followed by water from a river and the least preferred would be water from a well. Previously, Fang Yuan used the spring water originated from the secluded valley when making tea. The water was pure and sweet, and therefore could be considered to be of high quality. However, even since he had been to the spiritualnd in Green Peak, he found a water source of even higher quality. The water used this time was the spiritual spring water which he had gotten on the way when he collected the spiritual fertiliser. Since the water originated from a spiritualnd, the quality of it would naturally be higher than other normal mountain spring water. Good water would have to be matched with a good tea set for making good tea. Fang Yuan was using Master Wenxin¡¯s precious tea set, which was also considered a good set. The spiritual tea made was already extraordinary on its own, and now paired with Fang Yuan¡¯s meditative tea ceremony..... The Flower Fox Ferret was staring at the spiritual tea as thest step of the ceremony waspleted. "Try it!" Fang Yuan served the spiritual tea to the Flower Fox Ferret. "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret brought its paws together, crossed it knees and sat down to enjoy its tea. It carefully licked the tea with its small tongue and was contented. Even though Fang Yuan had already known the effects of the spiritual tea, he was still surprised after seeing the Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s expression. "Achieving a pure and sincere heart was the key to meditation, only then can one purify one¡¯s mind and live without worries or anger, beyond life and death......" He recited a few scriptures in his heart and his eyes glittered. This was the effect of spiritual tea clearing one¡¯s mind. At that moment, he took another sip. "Oooo...." As the spiritual tea entered his stomach, a great sensation rushed in like waves in a storm. Fang Yuan gazed; he did not know where he was. A long time had passed and he finished the whole pot of tea unknowingly. Tears flowed down his cheeks. "I had thought that it was bullshit when others said that a flower could represent the world and a de of grass could represent the heavens. But now.... A cup of tea just changed my perspective on my life?" Fang Yuan wiped his tears and remained silent for a while. He felt as though he was reborn once more after drinking the spiritual tea. It was easy to be reborn physically. However, how difficult would it be to be reborn mentally? He could do it with the spiritual tea! After a long while, he looked at his stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 2.7 Spirit: 2.6 Magic: 2.0 Age: 18 Cultivation: [Martial Artist (5th Gate)] Technique: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 5)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 2)], [Botany (Level 3)]" "Ssss...." Fang Yuan breathed in. "My magic has increased by 30%. Could it be due to the effect of the spiritual tea? No....or could it be due to my previous epiphany?" Right after he consumed the spiritual tea from the meditative tea ceremony, he entered a strange but magical state, which made him felt as if he relived his whole life again. Such a state was considered rare and precious. One such opportunity allowed his magic to increase by 0.5! "I¡¯m afraid that no other heavenly treasures can have the same benefits, right?" Fang Yuan inhaled a long breath.He could feel the inner power bubbling vigorously in his lower abdomen. The inner power from the Grade 5 Eagle w Iron Skin Technique surged forth violently on its own and reached the bottleneck of the 6th Grade! "Is this....what many martial artists have been wishing for....to attain a new grade naturally?" Fang Yuan was surprised and immediately sat down. He ordered the Flower Fox Ferret to watch over him and then closed his eyes. When a martial artist attempts to break through his current grade to attain new grade, it would most of the time be consciously using his inner power to break through, which was arduous. However, there was another way to break through. One would be able to break through his current grade naturally if his inner power was strong enough. His inner power would automatically be adjusted to work in his new grade, allowing him to execute his techniques naturally. The sess rate was nearly 100%! ....... At the same time, back in the Spirit Returning Sect. "Sister Leiyue, please have some spiritual porridge!" A female disciple carefully brought a wooden tray into the room. There was a bowl of Vermillion Jade Porridge on the tray. She could not resist the aroma from the bowl of porridge. "The Sect Head knows that you are about to break through to a new gate and she specially left a portion of hers for you! The portion is enough for 7 days and every meal will be spiritual rice." The disciple swallowed her saliva and added. She was envious of Leiyue. "Please help me to thank the Sect Head. You may leave now. I will be undergoing closed door cultivation. You will not have toe and attend to me other than when it¡¯s meal time from now onwards!" Lin Leiyue stroked her hair. Everyone in the sect had their own amount of spiritual rice and even Shi Yutong did not dare to change her portion. However, since Shi Yutong knew that Lin Leiyue was about to break through the Gate, she gave her a portion of her spiritual rice as a form of support. If Fang Yuan, nope, if the Flower Fox Ferret was here, it would not resist its temptations and would start consuming the spiritual porridge. There was too much water, and too little spiritual rice when cooking the porridge. Of course, most importantly, the grain size of this spiritual rice was way smaller aspared to Fang Yuan¡¯s homegrown Vermillion Jade Rice grains. However, in Lin Leiyue¡¯s opinion, isn¡¯t this how spiritual rice should be? She could feel a warm sensation after consuming the spiritual porridge and her inner power started to surge. "Let¡¯s start!" Lin Leiyue closed all 4 doors and began the process of breaking through. Every gate would be increasingly difficult! The 6th gate was the first of the 3 Perilous Gates. Once she had broken through those gates, her inner power would be fused into inner force! Of course, if she failed, she would get injured badly. This gate marked the difference between a real expert in martial arts and a normal martial artist. In the Spirit Returning Sect, a [Martial Artist (6th Gate)] would be capable enough to hold a senior position and repress anyone! "I possess the Spiritual Moon Body and consumed the Frozen Moon Pill. I am quite confident since I fought against Song Zhong previously!" Lin Leiyue clenched her fists and said, "With the help of the spiritual rice, I will be sessful in breaking through!" She crossed her knees and sat down. She regted her vigorous inner power and began the process of breaking through. "Bang!" She sent her first wave of her inner power but was unable to break through the gate. Lin Leiyue expected this to happen as breaking through the 3 Perilous Gates was not an easy task. She would consider herself to have failed only when she had exhausted her inner power. Time passed quickly. Lin Leiyue seemed to have forgotten how much time had passed. In her body, her vigorous inner power was about to be exhausted and she was very close to breaking through the 6th gate. There was only a straw left that could break the bnce between the two. "I cannot lose. I still want to see the outside world.....I want to surpass....Fang Yuan!" While she was still conscious, a figure of a young man appeared in front of her. The figure was gigantic and shrouded her. "Puff!" She fiercely opened her eyes and spat a mouthful of blood. She suffered a bacsh after failing to break through the Pain Gate! Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 42: Sixth Gate Chapter 42: Sixth Gate Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "What¡¯s the matter? Leiyue?" "Ping!" The door broke, as Shi Yutong entered. It was obvious that she was observing outside all along. "Didn¡¯t you say you had 70 to 80 percent chance of seeding? Why did you fail?" She held onto Lin Leiyue¡¯s right hand, transferring her Wu Zong elemental force. Lin Leiyue¡¯s skin became flushed. "Mas... Master?" "Eh... You foolish girl!" Shi Yutong heaved a sigh of relief. "Luckily you previously took the Frozen Moon Pill which protected your meridians from being damaged... You were too rash this time!" "I¡¯m sorry..." Lin Leiyue winced, unable to tell the truth. The only thing she was clear on, was that the young man¡¯s shadow would be her motivation to break through the next gate. If she could not break through this mental barrier of hers, it would be increasingly difficult for her to improve. Even with the help of spiritual pills, the improvements would be minimal. ... Within the secluded valley. Fang Yuan opened his eyes and appeared joyful. "The 6th Gate of Martial Arts, the Pain Gate, is finally broken through!" He sighed for a moment, approached an old tree, focused his inner force on his palm, and struck towards the tree trunk. Ka! A distinct sound was heard, as though something broke. When Fang Yuan took his palm away, a distinct palm shape appeared on the tree trunk. Not only that, in the middle of the palm print were many tiny holes, with wood shavings falling out of them. "Inner power and inner force are two different things. If the former is likened to a cotton thread, thetter will be likened to a steel wire!" Fang Yuan took in a deep breath and knew that it was his luck that he could kill Song Zhong. "The difference between Pain Gate and the previous 5 Gates is toorge!" He clenched his fist and felt the inner force building up within him. He looked at his stats window, and observed a drastic change: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 3.3 Spirit: 3.2 Magic: 2.0 Age: 18 Cultivation: [Martial Artist (6th Gate)] Technique: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 6)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 2)], [Botany (Level 3)]" "Eagle w Iron Skin Technique------ Abination of inner and external techniques, the technique, when mastered, would be simr to coating the entire body with iron, making it imprable by fire and water, as well as making the body difficult to wound. At the current 6th Grade, defence is enhanced! Eagle w¡¯s inner strength is enhanced!" "[Eagle w Technique (Grade 6)] enhances Eagle w¡¯s inner strength! Strengthens defence!" The inner strength within Fang Yuan was something he had experimented on before, but for an increase in defence capabilities? He mulled for a moment and dispersed his inner strength to every part of his body beneath his skin. "Shing!" In a moment, his skin tightened and became metallic in colour. His inner strength circted under his skin within him, like an armour. "With this defence, I can go head-on against any normal swords or knives..." Fang Yuan was impressed. "Such a shocking improvement in defence and attack! After breaking through the 6th Gate, I now have inner force, and am indeed very different from a normal martial artist!" With his improvement, he began to think of dealing with the spiritual birds at Green Peak. "With my skills, if those Red-eyed White Birds dare to fight me, regardless whether they are normal or spiritual they shouldn¡¯t pose any problem. As for the leader, therge eagle, there might still be a little trouble!" Fang Yuan was longing for the spiritualnd at Green Peak, in the depths of the Clear Spirit Mountain. He could not stand how every time he had to scavenge the ce for loot and deal with the numerous spiritual bird¡¯s attempt at stopping him. "The spiritualnd at the Green Peak is a good ce to set up a campsite, and the earlier we leave for it the better!" Only spiritualnds were best suited to grow spiritual nts. As of now, Fang Yuan depended on his botany ability to cultivate spiritual nts, but the amount of effort he put in and theck of a suitable plot ofnd was always a pity. And it was not the safest ce. Therefore, it was a must to get rid of the Red-eyed White Birds and take over Green Peak spiritualnd. "At most, I shall fight with all my might against those white birds. I can kill some every day, and we shall see if they can breed faster than I can kill them!" Fang Yuan revealed a sinister look on his face. ... Within the mountains, it was confined, and unknowingly, ten days had passed. The people of Qingye City began to return to their homes, after being chased away in fear of being killed by Song Zhong. It was as though everything began to revert back to the peace it had before. As for Zhou Family, which was almost wiped out, they were beginning to be forgotten. The influence that the Zhou Family once had was slowly being taken over by other families, and one of the main contenders was the Lin Family. One fine day at Qingye City. A young man entered the city, and nostalgia was written all over his face. "Qingye City is still as happening as before!" It was Fang Yuan. He spent his time cultivating more Vermilion Jade Rice, drank spiritual tea for every meal, and waited at the outskirts of the Green Peak spiritualnd, waiting for his chance to deal with the Red-eyed White Birds. [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 6)] was impressive. He did not have to care when the Red-eyed White Birds flew and pecked at him, unless if they were pecking at the vital points on his body. Using this special ability, he killed many Red-eyed White Birds and hid in the fog if he encountered the spiritual bird¡¯s nest. Every day he survived on bird¡¯s meat, spiritual tea and spiritual water. As for his martial arts and foundation, there were gradual improvements. The flock of birds were observed to decrease in size as days go by. Against a cunning Fang Yuan, the Red-eyed White Birds might even migrate to another ce. However, for now, Fang Yuan¡¯s focus slowly shifted to the Vermilion Jade Rice farm. He faced a huge problem. He was running low on realgar powder, an important ingredient of the Still Fire Liquid... Even though he stored uprge quantities of it previously, the farm did consume a lot of Still Fire Liquid, and the expansion of his production would naturally lead to this oue. With this problem, no matter how unwilling Fang Yuan was, he had to leave to get more realgar powder, unless he wanted to witness the demise of his farm. Secondly, he did not dare to push the flock of Red-eyed White Birds too much. After his massacre, the remaining Red-eyed White Birds were especially fierce and cunning. When they encounter danger they would immediately squawk for help, and catch the attention of the flock and the bird king. There was once when Fang Yuan failed to escape and was pecked by a furious bird flock. He sustained many wounds on his back and with much effort escaped alive. After getting rid of the old, weak, sick and disabled birds, the remaining were tough fighters. He did not want to push them too much, as those spiritual beasts had the wisdom of humans. If they were desperate, they might destroy the spiritualnd, and it was an oue Fang Yuan had to avoid at all costs. "Shopkeeper! Give me 40 pounds of the best quality realgar powder! I want the best!" It was the same shop as before, and Fang Yuan eximed the moment he entered the shop, as though he was an uncivilised and aggressive customer. He earned quite a bit from his previous trip to the county, and a little money did not bother him. "40 pounds?!" The shopkeeper, who was originally smiling, appeared shocked. "This amount is too much, we only have 20 pounds here..." "If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll have them all!" Fang Yuan waved his hand proudly and was prepared to wipe out stock from the next shop. "Yes of course..." The shopkeeper looked down, chased his subordinates away and personally packed the realgar powder. Out of a sudden, he smiled and asked, "Eh? Have we met before, brother?" He felt a sense of familiarity as he saw the young man. "Yes! The previous time, I also bought realgar powder from this shop!" Being a [Martial Artist (6th Gate)], Fang Yuan had little considerations and became more direct. "Previous time, realgar powder! I remember it now, you were the one who sold the red ginseng, but the Zhou Family took it!" The shopkeeper thanked Fang Yuan. "That¡¯s right!" Fang Yuan took the package over, and asked, "I¡¯ve heard that something big happened in the county town, how¡¯s the Zhou Family doing?" "Sigh..." The shopkeeper shook his head. "What else? The servants were either killed or have run away, their shop taken over, and their residence has be a gathering ce for beggars. What a pity, for Old Zhou¡¯s efforts to start the family business, and now it has all beenpletely destroyed..." Fang Yuan remained speechless. In the Zhou Family, Zhou Wenwu was still alive, and since Spirit Returning Sect was willing to punish Song Zhong, it seemed that there was a conclusion to the whole episode. To regain the Zhou Family¡¯s reputation in Qingye City would not be easy. Even if Zhou Wenwu returned, he could only do so much, and could never hope for the Sect to help him, for the Sect was not a charity organisation. "Who has the biggest clout in Qingye City now?" Fang Yuan probed further. "No doubt it would be the Lin Family, as Old Lin had a good daughter... Following, it would be Zhang Family, Guo Family, and all these are newly-built families..." In reality, these two families were initially small families in Qingye City. As their opportunity arrived, they rose to power and could be said to have leeched on Zhou Family¡¯s influence. Those who win would rule, and those who lose would be beggars. Even though it was just a small city, it was like a bloodshedpetition. ¡¯Looking at things now, it would be extremely difficult for Zhou Wenwu to start all over again, but then again, none of this is my business...¡¯ Fang Yuan shook his head, slowly walked out of the shop and disappeared into the crowd. The shopkeeper looked at his silhouette, shocked. ... "Master would like to purchase some realgar powder?" "That¡¯s right!" Fang Yuan explored the city, and as he was preparing to buy some provisions, several people appeared before him. These few people wore uniforms and seemed toe from the same origin. All of them looked proud as they smiled, and the strongest among them appeared to be a [Martial Artist (3rd Gate)]. "I am Zhang Han, and my family has long heard of master¡¯s name, and want to make friends with you, master! This is a small gift, please ept it!" Zhang Han waved his hands, and several servants carried a delicate box. Opening the box revealed top-quality realgar powder, and another box glittered, as it contained 2 rows of small silver ingots. Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 43: Fawn Chapter 43: Fawn Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions A silver sh. Two neat rows of silver ingots were so heavy the servant carrying it felt numbness in his hands. Fang Yuan ignored the ingots, aspared to gold and silver, he preferred the box of realgar powder. "Zhang Han? You¡¯re from the Zhang Family?" He looked at their leader and had a mischievous look in his eyes. "Do you recognise me?" He knew that it was probably the shopkeeper who told the Zhang Family about him, and the Zhang Family¡¯s influence was indeed strong; they could prepare the silver ingots and realgar powder in such a short period of time and even locate Fang Yuan to present him these gifts. The new families within Qingye City were indeed capable. "I do... Master Fang with magical healing abilities that saved Master Zhou from the brink of death, you are indeed the God of Medicine!" Zhang Han smiled. The news which actually shocked them was how Fang Yuan defeated Song Zhong in the county. Elder Song was the God of Killing in the eyes of those in Qingye City. So what if the Zhou Family was the strongest family in the city? So what if Master Zhou was the deacon of Spirit Returning Sect? If Song Zhong wanted the family to perish then they shall go! But even the unruly Song Zhong died in the hands of Fang Yuan, so who would dare to offend him? Whoever wanted to survive in Qingye City would have to suck up to him. ¡¯Based on my master¡¯s predictions, this person is probably a skilled martial artist who can harness inner force, but he is so young...¡¯ Zhang Han looked at Fang Yuan¡¯s face with admiration. "I did not do anything to deserve this!" Fang Yuan waved his hand to reject. "I cannot ept all these gifts!" "Master is unsatisfied? Just tell us what you want, we will make it happen!" Seeing Fang Yuan¡¯s rejection, Zhang Han became anxious. After all, he was tasked by his family to make friends with this highly skilled doctor. "I¡¯m serious!" Fang Yuan replied in a serious tone. Since living with Master Wenxin in the Secluded Valley, both of them had weird temperaments. Whatever they wanted, they would get for themselves, or trade with others, but they never received offerings from others. Based on Master Wenxin¡¯s exnation, it was hard to repay the favour if they epted the gifts. Thinking about it, only Old Tian, Minister Lin and a few other lucky ones had better rtionships with the Secluded Valley and Fang Yuan only traded with them. "Leave!" Fang Yuan waved his hands. "Master..." Zhang Han bit his lips. In front of this young man, he felt pressured, and could not retaliate. He had no choice but to bring his servants back. "If I ept rewards without doing deeds, I am no different from a thief!" Fang Yuan looked at their silhouette and shook his head. Unknowingly, he became the strongest influence within Qingye City. After all, Old Zhou of the Zhou Family only broke through the 5th Gate and was a deacon of the Spirit Returning Sect, but that was all. "Zhang Family, Guo Family were new families in the region, and they must have a few [Martial Artist (4th/5th Gate)]... Lin Family is even worse, as they only earned their reputation through Lin Leiyue in the Spirit Returning Sect..." Fang Yuan thought for a while and became speechless. A tiny Qingye City gave him a feeling that there were no true heroes, but many small contenders who fought for power. "The world is huge, and Qingye City is too small. It¡¯s like the outskirts of the outskirts... Even the entire Qinghe County was just a small secluded ce..." Fang Yuan was resolute on his viewpoint. ¡¯After I have trained hard enough, I must explore the world and see for myself the wonders around the world!¡¯ ¡¯Of course, I¡¯ll have to take it step by step, and now, the most important is for me to break through the 3 Perilous Gates!¡¯ The 7th Gate was the Shock Gate. After breaking through it, he would reach where Song Zhong once achieved. Fang Yuan was extremely confident of himself. "Shock Gate oh Shock Gate, harming the essence and manipting the magic... This should be a test of a martial artists¡¯ magic level! With the help of the Questioning Heart Tea and the Meditative Tea Ceremony, I am unafraid of this perilous gate..." "And as for the 8th Gate, the Death Gate, If I don¡¯t seed, I will die. It is closely rted to a martial artist¡¯s¡¯ Essence, Spirit and Magic points. My guess is that the higher one¡¯s stats are, the greater the possibility of breaking through!" Fang Yuan was extremely clear about the first 8 Gates and had no other doubts. "If I break through the Death Gate and enter the 4 Heavenly Gates, I can indeed have my own way around Qinghe County. As for the Spirit Returning Sect, even the elders will have to make way for me!" In the 12 Golden Gates, the 4 Heavenly Gates woulde after the first 8 Gates! Martial artists with such a cultivation level were among the strongest in the region and had the ability to start their own small n. Even within Spirit Returning Sect, they could start a n and create trouble. "Under my care, the Flower Fox Ferret should be on par with [Martial Artists (7th/8th Gate)], simr to that of the red-eyed white birds. As for the bird king, its ability should beparable to the ability of a martial artist in the 4 Heavenly Gates..." Thinking of those spiritual beasts, Fang Yuan became vexed. Without getting rid of all the red-eyed white birds, how could he take over Green Peak spiritualnd? As for the spiritual fertilizer, its magical capabilities would only increase after a long time, and new produce would not have much use. After taking over the spiritualnd, those new produce would be able to aid the spiritual nts in their growth. However, he did not know if there could be an even greater danger than the red-eyed white birds, lurking within the spiritualnd. ¡¯But this makes things interesting... Right?¡¯ Fang Yuan touched his chin and realised the change in his personality since he first took up martial arts. It was as though he had a new passion, and thirst for more? ¡¯It seems that martial arts can mould one¡¯s character and is more beneficial than it may seem. After killing Song Zhong, my thought processes have be smoother and clearer. It seems like even my personality has be more active?¡¯ Fang Yuan thought about it as he walked around a few shops to get more realgar powder, as he managed to fill his entire bamboo basket with it. He finally reached the entrance of the city. "Ah! Spare my life! Spare my life!" A crowd formed at the entrance, and screams were heard, which piqued Fang Yuan¡¯s curiosity. He became even more surprised as he went up. "Isn¡¯t he the shopkeeper from the provision shop? Why is he here? And who are those around him..." Fang Yuan saw a sh as he witnessed the scene before him. In the scene, the plump shopkeeper was lying on the floor, his face swollen and not many of his teeth were left. One of his legs was fractured and he was pitiful. Two servants were around him holding whips and staring at him. The asional whipping made the shopkeeper let out a cry of pain. These two servants wore the same attire as Zhang Han. "It¡¯s a... pity..." Fang Yuan witnessed the scene but did not feel good about it. Instead, he shook his head, turned around and prepared to leave. He knew that his previous rejection on Zhang Han¡¯s offer led Zhang Han to capture the shopkeeper who betrayed him, just so he could whip him in front of a crowd, just to let off steam and to let Fang Yuan see it for himself. This was the sad thing about being servants, because if the owner wanted them to hit, they had to obey, and for no good reason they could be killed if the owner wanted them to! "Doctor Fang!" At the outskirts of the city, Zhang Han was waiting for him. "Are you satisfied?" "The shopkeeper, is he one of yours?" Fang Yuan showed no expression and asked. "No, he was leaning towards the Zhou Family, but now he wants to lean towards my Family, he¡¯s just like a wild grass!" Zhang Han shook his head and seemed unhappy. "Since he offended the God of Medicine, the previous beating was deserving..." "Forget about it, it was just a small matter!" Fang Yuan knew that if he did show his intentions, then Zhang Han might just let the plump shopkeeper ¡¯disappear¡¯. What good did he gain from doing all that? At the same time, he looked at Zhang Han and felt sorry for him. Zhang Han appeared happy, but he would be dealt with the same way the shopkeeper was dealt with. The head of the Zhang Family did not see to things himself but tasked Zhang Han to do it. Weren¡¯t his intentions obvious enough? He would rather be safe than sorry! If Zhang Han seeded, it would be a celebration. If he angered Fang Yuan, he would be the one getting the beating and be taken as the sacrificialmb. "I have duly noted the Zhang Family¡¯s good intentions!" Fang Yuan waved his hands and walked away. "I am an uncultured person who lives in the mountains, and I am not willing to be entangled with the affairs of the city. Your family can be assured of that!" Zhang Han bowed with respect and looked as Fang Yuan walked away. When Fang Yuan first spoke, he was just nearby, but at hisst word, his silhouette could no longer be seen. Such lightness skill and inner power were of a totally different level. "Could it be... really... inner force!?" He was shocked, as his hair stood on its ends. He finally knew why the He Family wanted to suck up to him as much as possible. Previously, Song Zhong could massacre the entire Qingye City, imagine what could this master do? The only difference Fang Yuan had with Song Zhong was age. In the future, he could continually improve and enter realms he never thought was possible. Zhang Han knew he couldn¡¯t, but couldn¡¯t help it but became jealous of Fang Yuan. "Alright, everyone is dismissed!" Zhang Han came to the crowd, dispersed the observers, and ordered the two servants to stop. He supported a weak shopkeeper up. "Master Han... Spare... Spare my life, I shall not dare to do it again..." The shopkeeper continued to wail, and those who hear and witnessed the scene would feel sad for him. "Mm... You were not wrong to be loyal to my family, the only wrong you did was to offend that master..." Zhang Han walked up and gently patted the cheeks of the shopkeeper. "Of course, The Zhang Family knows how to distinguish punishment from reward! Just now, it was punishment, and now these are the rewards!" He whipped out a cheque and waved it in front of the shopkeeper. "Here you go, you can do anything you like from now onwards, even if it¡¯s to seek me for revenge, please go ahead, do you understand?" "I don¡¯t dare! I won¡¯t dare!" The shopkeeper wailed, looked at the bank cheque and was too confused to say anything at that moment. Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 44: The Stalker Chapter 44: The Stalker Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "After the downfall of the Zhou Family, two families rose to power, the Zhang Family, and the Guo Family... I¡¯ve heard of the Zhang Family before, and they used to have some poprity before. This time, they only brought out a small part of their savings... The actions of Zhang Han revealed how scheming the Zhang Family was... And as for the Guo Family, their influence had been growing, but it remained unclear as to how they did it." Within the forest. Fang Yuan was sprinting, and at the same time, his thoughts ran through his mind. After breaking the 6th Gate, and with the birth of inner strength in his Eagle ws, every aspect of him improved. For instance, he could naturally concentrate his inner strength to his legs and ran faster than the average person. This was not lightness skill but was the simplest use of inner force. With the help of his inner strength, Fang Yuan could traverse the forest as though there were nothing. "Eh?" As he approached the entrance to the valley, he realised a ck figure kneeling down. "Master Zhou, what¡¯s the matter?" Fang Yuan went up to him and saw his shaggered look. It was a young man, and if it wasn¡¯t Zhou Wenwu, who else could it be? "Doctor Fang? You... You are not in the valley?" After seeing Fang Yuan, Zhou Wenwu¡¯s eyes lit up and gave him a kowtow. His forehead was bleeding profusely. "Thank you, master, for taking revenge on behalf of my family!" The destruction of the Zhou Family was entirely due to Song Zhong. Fang Yuan saved Zhou Wenwu¡¯s life before and even escorted him to Qinghe County to testify against Song Zhong. In the end, he even killed Song Zhong. Fang Yuan earned his respects. He frowned and left Zhou Wenwu alone. "Let¡¯s forget about what happened in the past, what ns do you have for the future?" "I shall not hide my ns!" Zhou Wenwu straightened his back and showed a stubborn look. "I am useless, but the sect has decided to pass on my father¡¯s role of a deacon to me!" In actual fact, Zhou Wenwu¡¯s was much less skilful than Zhou Tong, but this was the Sect¡¯s way ofpensating for his loss. "I have decided to return to Qingye City!" Zhou Wenwu clenched his fist. "I must rebuild my family¡¯s business here!" "I see!" Fang Yuan nodded his head, as this move of Zhou Wenwu was good. The next step would be hard. How would it be possible to get Lin Family, Zhang Family and Guo Family to take a step back for the rise of Zhou Family? Especially since these few families did gain from the downfall of Zhou Family, and they had their own ns up their sleeves. Fang Yuan calcted that there wouldn¡¯t be much peace in Qingye City from now on. "Then I shall wish Master Zhou all the best!" "Ping!" Zhou Wenwu gave another kowtow. "Master Fang is my benefactor, and also my family¡¯s benefactor! If you need a favour in the future, just inform me and I will see to it, regardless what it takes!" Fang Yuan smiled. "It¡¯s alright, take care Master Zhou, I won¡¯t send you off, please return!" He entered the valley, ignoring Zhou Wenwu. Seeing Fang Yuan¡¯s silhouette disappear, Zhou Wenwu seemed disappointed and continued to kneel. ¡¯Zhou Wenwu... He is indeed sincere!¡¯ Fang Yuan returned to the pavilion, ced his goods, called the Flower Fox Ferret to check on Zhou Wenwu, and then continued to mind his own business. Zhou Wenwu knew how powerful Fang Yuan was, and therefore did not dare to offend him. Those words which Zhou Wenwu said actually meant that if one day the Zhou Family rose to power again, they would still be willing to obey Fang Yuan. "Get help from other influential families? Zhou Family... It seems too big of a price to pay for them to start from scratch." Fang Yuan shook his head. He had the ability to help Zhou Family recover, but he felt that it was not worth the effort. If he really needed the help of influential families, why would he need to look for the Zhou Family? The Zhang Family seemed impressive, and he could be polite and ask them for help anytime. "Mmm... After considering all the factors, I have to sacrifice too much, to gain too little. It doesn¡¯t make sense!" Fang Yuan shook his head, continued to prepare his ¡¯Still Fire Liquid¡¯, and took a stroll in his farm. ... It was dusk. A chill wind blew across the mountains, and the cold from the icy ground was biting. Zhou Wenwu stubbornly continued to kneel on the ground, and his mind was lost as he stared at the flickering candle in the valley. He was confident that by presenting even himself Fang Yuan would help him. However, Fang Yuan totally ignored his nonsense and closed the door on him, his mind set. Fang Yuan wouldn¡¯t frown a bit even if he froze to death out here. Being a son of the Zhou Family, Zhou Wenwu had the responsibility to carry on the family line, and if he really died kneeling out here, he would cease the family line. The moon slowly rose higher and higher. Zhou Wenwen took a long sigh as his entire body became stiff. After a long while, he finally stood up, gazed at the Secluded Valley for a long while, before taking his leave by limping towards the forest. What he didn¡¯t know was that two men in ck were observing him the whole while within the bushes nearby. "Hey, he is just one person himself, how can he rebuild his family? Does he not know that the Zhou Family is history now?" "Although the Zhou Family is destroyed, it only took a short span of a few weeks, and many rtionships were established from the incident, especially how the Sect still acknowledged the family is one of their own, and that is the crucial part!" The other person rebutted. "If they are not afraid of the Zhou Family¡¯seback, then why would master send us out to spy on him?" "You¡¯re right about that too, but I¡¯m wondering why can¡¯t we take things into our own hands and settle him once and for all in the forest!" The first guy had a malicious look in his eyes. "Are you crazy?" The other man in ck was shocked. "This person is now the deacon of Spirit Returning Sect. Even Song Zhong couldn¡¯t cover up the death of Zhou Tong, and he himself died in the end. Do you think you are more capable than Song Zhong? And you still want to kill another one?" When he said this, the other guy remained speechless. After half a day, he said, "We were lucky the owner of the valley did not promise to help him, otherwise, by his reputation and ability, our Guo Family will be in trouble." "That¡¯s right... Zhang Family¡¯s actions were a joke. He is just an ordinary doctor with little martial arts, and they gave him so much respect, what a joke!" "He was after all from a business family, and all they talk about is having peace and prosperity. But our family is different! We are based on our skilled martial arts! Every child at the age of 9 in our family will have to start picking up martial arts, and we have quite a number of Martial Artist in the 4th or 5th Gate. In addition... We still have Old Master!" At thest few words, both of them softened, and they appeared respectful. "As long as Old Master is around, our Guo Family will rise and be the number one family in Qingye City, or even number one in Jinjun County!" "Hmph, if we were not that afraid of being at the top, our family could have ruled over Qingye City easily!" The man in ck announced proudly. "There are many powerful people in the martial arts world, Take for example this secluded valley, once is was Master Wenxin, and now Doctor Fang Yuan with impable healing powers and unparalleled martial arts. If we treat him as our enemy, it would be arge obstacle for our family to progress!" The other person sighed, and both men in ck looked at each other, both wanting to find out how powerful he was. "Why not... Let¡¯s test him out first?" Although it was just a thought, they unknowingly took a step forward. "Both of us are going to ambush him, and since both of us are strong martial artists who have broken through the 2 Peaceful Gates, surely we can escape if we are no match for him..." "Whoosh!" Two shadows entered the valley and arrived at the pavilion. ¡¯This legendary Secluded Valley looks normal...¡¯ One of them appeared unsatisfied and mumbled under his breath. The moment he spoke, a white sh appeared in front of them. "Sssss!" "Ahhh!" A piercing scream was heard and echoed throughout the valley. "What is this... creature!" The other man in ck retreated quickly, as he saw hispanion fell to the floor with an arm detached, as blood spurted out. "Hisss!" In front of them was a white andrge dog... white ferret? "Mutated... Mutated beast?!" The voice of the man in ck trembled, as though he regretted his actions. ¡¯The valley is indeed mysterious and scary, as they have a mutated beast to look after the living quarters?¡¯ On the other hand, the Flower Fox Ferret was calmly stroking its own fur, and from time to time made some noise. "Chiya!" The door to the pavilion opened, and as Fang Yuan yawned he looked at both of the men in ck. "More spies? I think my luck isn¡¯t too good these few days... I must warn those who might possibly do foolish things again, otherwise, it will be rather troublesome for me..." "You are Fang Yuan!" One of them said, "Why did you let the beast attack us?" "Attack you? Haha..." Fang Yuanughed as though he had heard a good joke. "You two trespassed my valley, with ill intentions, and yet you dare use me? Both of you are indeed idi*ts!" "Idi*ts?" Both men in ck looked at each other and did not quite seem to understand, but knew it should not be something good. Both of them stared fiercely at Fang Yuan. They knew that the white ferret was extremely fast and they could never outrun it if they attempted to escape to the forest. The only way out was to defeat its owner, Fang Yuan! Even though they have heard of Fang Yuan¡¯s heroics, they have not personally seen it before and had a glimmer of hope in defeating him. "To stay alive, it seems I have to personally fight my way out!" Fang Yuan did not take them seriously. "Come, don¡¯tin that I didn¡¯t give you the chance to strike first!" "Kill!" Both guys looked at each other as both of them, even the one with a broken arm, shouted and pounced upon him. His legs struck rapidly, so quick that there wasn¡¯t any shadow. "Ferocious Tiger Palm!" "Shadowless Legs!" ... Palms and kicks flew in quick session, but Fang Yuan did not dodge. He took in a deep breath, and his skin became a greenish-ck. "Ping! Ping!" It was like raindrops hitting a banana leaf, continuous and distinct. When everything was over, and both of them were exhausted, they were surprised to see Fang Yuan still standing. Fear was written all over their faces. "Eagle w Iron Skin Technique at Grade 6 - A professional!!! Who knew such a level could be attained?" Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 45: Infiltrate Chapter 45: Infiltrate Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the early morning, Fang Yuan put on rough clothing and tended to his garden leisurely. No one would imagine that beneath this garden, there were 2 martial artist¡¯s bodies used as fertilizer! "What about the Guo Family?" Fang Yuan thought as he dug the ground. The two men were not his match and were easily defeated. After another round of beating and using of drugs to threaten them, the two men spilt everything out. The Guo Family was different from well-known Zhang Family. The Guo family was rtively unknown except for being a tyrant in a local vige. They were able to bring down many from the Zhou Family due to their ruthlessness and their martial arts skills..." Not even the Lin Family would provoke such a rabid family. Fang Yuan was unhappy. "Perhaps I should also discourage people froming to me" Fang Yuan thought. He had been in the limelight previously. Now, everyone in the Qingye City knew about a Doctor Fang who could work miracles and was highly skilled in martial arts. Fang Yuan wondered if he would still be able to tend to his field if people were to keep paying him visits to further their own agendas. He would also not be able to tend to his field if the Guo Family kept snooping around. Fang Yuan took no notice of such a small family even if they had individuals that were highly skilled, as it was not an issue. They did not cause much trouble when Zhou Tong was in charge which proved that they were nothing to be afraid of. Of course, Fang Yuan felt that it was best to improve himself so as to have more confidence. Fang Yuan blinked and the stats window appeared before his eyes: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 3.5 Spirit: 3.4 Magic: 2.2 Age: 18 Cultivation: [Martial Artist (6th Gate)] Technique: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 6)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 2)], [Botany (Level 3)]" ... "Ever since I obtained inner power, it has stimted my spirit and essence to rise significantly. Could my solid foundation be the reason for the massive increase in their stats?" Fang Yuan was vaguely suspicious. A normal 6th Gate Martial Artist would not be able to improve as much as him. As for the increase in magic, it could be attributed solely to the effects of the Questioning Heart Tea. Fang Yuan shared the tea with the Flower Fox Ferret once a day. While the effect of the tea was not as great as when he first drank the tea, he was satisfied with the constant increase in magic. Oveing the Shock Gate, the 7th Gate of the 12 Golden Gates, would test the magical energy of the martial artist. At his current standard, he was 60% to 70% confident of oveing the Shock Gate if he practised his Eagle w Iron Skin Technique enough! Given such a sess rate, it would shock many. Even Wu Zong Shi Yutong would be tongue-tied. "Flower Fox Ferret, go and fetch the Still Fire Liquid!" After much consideration, Fang Yuan fetched a few bamboo canteens. The Flower Fox Ferret received the bamboo canteens and vanished in a puff of smoke. It was very different from the past. "The Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s powers have been steadily increasing as well. It is hardly afraid of the realgar powder now..." Fang Yuan was astonished after witnessing the sight. A mainponent of the Still Fire Liquid was the realgar powder, which used to be the bane of the Flower Fox Ferret. After the Flower Fox Ferret was retrained, it no longer feared the realgar powder and just disliked the smell of it. After realizing, Fang Yuan experimented multiple times and came to a conclusion that the weakness of the Flower Fox Ferret was slowly diminishing. "That¡¯s right... the spiritual beast needs to grow and might eventually enter the realm of Wu Zong. How could such a big weakness remain?" Fang Yuan rubbed his chin and guessed that it was either the effect of the spiritual rice and tea or the growth of the Flower Fox Ferret that resulted in the change. There was not enough information to arrive at a definite conclusion. "Keke!" Not long after, the Flower Fox Ferret returned. It looked expectantly at Fang Yuan. "You are getting more and more proficient... I know I know, you will get your spiritual tea today..." Fang Yuan looked at the Flower Fox Ferret and the image of the Flower Fox Ferret passing away one day appeared in his mind. He could not help but feel sad at the thought. "There is still one more thing!" He stroked the back of the Flower Fox Ferret, his eyes cold, "I will be going out tonight. I need you to look after the house. Kill any intruders on sight!" ... Qingye City. It was a dark and windy night. The crescent moon was covered by a cloud and the horizon was grey and hazy. "What a fitting night to kill a person!" Fang Yuan raced off. His speed matched that of a speeding horse and in no time, he arrived at Qingye City. The city gate was already closed. Fang Yuan could not help butugh as he looked at the towering, mouldy city wall. He took out a long rope and a few nails and arrived at a corner of the city wall. "Eagle w!" Power surged into both his hands and he gained enormous strength. He gripped the stone wall and started to climb. Every now and then, he would hammer the nails into the cracks of the wall. These nails acted as footholds for him to climb up further. When he was halfway up, Fang Yuan threw the rope up. The ropetched onto the stone. "Woosh!" With a hard pull, Fang Yuannded lightly at the top of the city wall and vanished into the darkness without anyone noticing him. "Sigh...At my current skill level, I still require the aid of tools. When I have mastered the Lightness Skill, this city wall would be nothing..." Fang Yuan thought as he swiftly descended from the wall. He was dressed in ck attire and blended in with the darkness. As such, he went unnoticed by the drowsy soldiers guarding the gates. "Guo Family...Guo Family..." He knew where the Guo residence was as he had previouslye to the city before. He stealthily made his way to the ce. Guo Residence. The Guo family recently acquired their wealth and as such, their big house still preserved many characteristics that are simr to that found in viges. The house was heavily guarded by servants who were well-built. Even though it was the middle of the night, there were patrols with hounds patrolling the residence. The Guo Family was first in Qingye City in terms of military might and martial arts skills. Fang Yuan was unsure if it was the mannerism of the Guo Family or if the Guo Family had too many enemies to warrant such a level of security. No matter how well-guarded the residence was, the walls of the residence were significantly lower than that of the city wall. Fang Yuan looked for an opening and leapt over the wall. "Crack!" Behind the wall was a garden. Fang Yuannded on the grass which rustled. He turned and swiftly ran towards the rocks. "Woof Woof!" Two well-built servants were patrolling the area with arge hound not far away. The hound had silky ck fur and bloodshot eyes. Its teeth were white and sharp. It stopped in its tracks, looked at the ce where Fang Yuannded and turned to look at the rocks. "What¡¯s wrong, ckie?" One of the servants was curious. He released the leash and allowed the hound to move forward. The hound ran towards the corner of the wall and sniffed the ground before it ran towards the rocks. The two servants looked at each other, both on alert. One of them reached towards his waist while the other gripped the gong. "Good beast!" Fang Yuan saw the hound approaching from his hiding spot. He focused his inner strength in his eyes and red at the ck hound. In the study of martial arts, there was a saying where those highly-skilled were able to make their enemies cower just by ring at them without leaving a finger. Given his current level, Fang Yuan was nowhere near the capabilities of those in the legend. However, his magical energy was higher than that of a normal person and he was up against a simple-minded beast. Hence, he was able to handle the hound. "Wuwu..." The ck hound shivered as it felt terrified like a lone horse in the wilderness stalked by a predator. It whimpered before turning around and scampered away from the rocks. "What¡¯s wrong?" The two servants were confused. "Could it be that the hound is still hungry? Or that it is lusty? " The other servant rxed and joked. "What lusty? Did you think that everyone is like you, always looking for prostitutes in the street...my ckie is..." The servant chided. He stroked the ck hound¡¯s head and said, "Let¡¯s go, our shift is almost over. Let¡¯s return to our room, drink some wine and eat some meat..." "I agree!" The other servant nodded his head. Both of them walked off. Fang Yuan waited for the sound of the footsteps to disappear before entering the inner area of the residence. The courtyard wasrge and there were many buildings. The residence was built like a maze. Fang Yuan silently cursed himself for making a blunder as he did not gather sufficient information about the residence. "Most residences are simr. Behind the living room would be the master bedroom..." Fang Yuan scaled the wall and was ted when he saw a few lights. Lighting up themps were costly. Only the owner could afford to light up themps to discuss matters. As Fang Yuan edged closer, he realized that the security in that area was tighter and knew that he had arrived at the correct ce. An orange light lit up the surrounding. Two shadows could be seen from within the room. "Father, I was incapable. The seventh and the eighteenth disciples have not returned!" In the study room, the head of the Guo Family, Guo Jing was grovelling on the ground. If an outsider were to see this scene, they would be shocked. When did the hot-tempered and unreasonable head of the Guo Family be more docile and timid than a young rabbit? "Hmmm?!" Seated cross-legged on the mat was an old man with white hair and bright eyes. The old man turned his head in such an imposing manner that the room felt like it was struck by lightning. Guo Jing could not help but shrink away. Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 46: Hiding Chapter 46: Hiding Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "What happened, tell me about it!" Old Master Guo had a loud voice and was very much louder than the average person. "Yes, Father!" Guo Jing stood up and bowed. "The only child left of the Zhou Family, Zhou Wenwu, returned to the city. I was worried and therefore sent both my nephews to investigate and stalk him... At first, they ryed a message back to inform us that everything was normal, but when they entered the mountains and head towards the secluded valley, there was no further news." "The mountains? Secluded valley?" Old Master Guo looked down, and then said, "The doctor who could work miracles? Fang... Fang..." "Fang Yuan!" Guo Jing felt unjust. After all, he lost two martial artists, which was a big deal to the Guo Family, not to mention the kinship they once had. "After the incident, our people observed Zhou Wenwu returning from the secluded valley, but could not obtain information regarding our 2 brothers, I¡¯m afraid... They¡¯re in trouble!" "Bast*rd" Old Master Guo raged, and Guo Jing became confused, for he did not know if Old Master was angry at him, Fang Yuan, or his 2 useless grandsons. "Did those two... ever get involved in any trouble?" After calming down, Old Master Guo used a soothing voice, as he looked extremely serious. "Never in their lives!" Guo Jing shook his head. "This is a grave matter. In the entire household, only you and I know about this, not even the best second brother can know about it!" "Good!" Old Master Guo nodded his head but looked lost for the moment. "Since I was 18, I was tasked to infiltrate this ce and stay hidden. That was 60 years ago, and finally came the long-awaited orders from the Master. It was the real Master¡¯s intention to make this family influential, so as to cover up the activities that we do, and it cannot be taken lightly! As long as we seed this time, all our disciples will be able toe out of hiding and find the real Master..." "I understand this!" Guo Jing nodded his head as the eavesdropping Fang Yuan was shocked. "After hearing what both of them said, it seems that where the Guo Family came from elsewhere where they were a big power, and are now secretly inserted into Qingye City? No wonder they could be such an influential family from nothing in such a short while, like a burning fire!" "I am sure that they must have a simr n in other counties... This was very well thought-out and a very well-kept secret, it is..." At that moment, it was as though he saw arge and invisible covering the entire Qinghe County. The many disciples they had were like many tiny nodes, lying low but would all strike when themand was given. With that thought, he immediately held his breath, consolidated his magical energy, and focused his attention in the room. Their conversation was distinctly heard from outside. "My Father!" Guo Jing sounded as though he suspected something. "The sect¡¯s order for us was toy low, wasn¡¯t it? Why the change?" "This matter..." Old Master Guo remainedposed. "I¡¯ve got some insider information. It seems that there was a traitor within the sect who stole an important treasure. He escaped in the direction of Clear Spirit Mountain and was highly likely to reach our vicinity. We could use this opportunity toe out, make use of all the manpower we have and cover up for the highly skilled martial artists that the sect had sent to deal with him. After all, Qinghe County is still within the control of the Spirit Returning Sect, and Shi Yutong¡¯s sect is not one to be trifled with...." "The only problem is... It has been such a long time since the traitor escaped, and he might have already been long gone. The only reason why the sect is doing this is because they have not resigned to fate..." At this point, Old Master Guo had disappointment written on his face. On the contrary, Guo Jing looked happy. Regardless, the Guo Family could take advantage of the situation and make its mark! "Traitor... treasure..." "Such a coincidence?" Fang Yuan became increasingly shocked as he heard on. For a moment he thought of Han Shou, who died under his poisonous palms, and the hidden treasure map within his boots. The lines on the treasure map were simr to that of a talisman, and it seemed that many details were missing. After trying hard to gather more information about the treasure map, he became confused himself and decided to give up and shoved it into a corner. Now it seemed that this item was extremely precious, and the treasure of this strong influence opposing the Spirit Returning Sect! It seemed that they were willing to give up anything for this treasure. ¡¯What a pity, what use would an iplete map be?¡¯ Fang Yuan shook his head and heard Old Master Guo. "Hmm, secluded valley... Who was Fang Yuan? How dare he touch my people, does he think I¡¯m a weakling? Although we have a short history here, for us to exert our influence, we need to show others that we can fight." "The news of our two martial artists failing their mission had spread, and as for Fang Yuan, he is already a highly skilled martial artist!" Guo Jing sounded serious. "Father, although you have trained secretly and are a Martial Artist of the 6th Gate, that young man is younger than you..." If his father was in his younger days, Guo Jing wouldn¡¯t worry for him. But now, he was close to 80. Even though his inner strength was astounding, how could he match another martial artist of same cultivation level as himself? "I know, but the people in the Guo Family are not cowards!" Old Master Guo waved his hand. "Personally lead a troop to the secluded valley and gather information regarding Little Seven and Little Eighteen. If they are alright then escort them back and forget about the incident, but if they have died... Retreat immediately!" "Retreat immediately!" "That¡¯s right, I will personally inform the Sect Head to inform him on the suspicious areas of the secluded valley!" Old Master Guo smirked. "Who asked for the secluded valley to be so deeply hidden within the mountains, so mysterious? Even if the traitor came from there I wouldn¡¯t be surprised..." Guo Jing was surprised. Although he knew that this was not true and even if the martial artists from the sect knew about this, they would rather kill all those suspicious than let anyone live. "What a great n, Father!" He looked joyful. Suddenly, he noticed his father frowning, as though he was anxious. "Pa! Pa!" At this moment, there was an apuse heard from outside, as a man in ck entered the room and walked in. "Good n! Indeed a perfect n!" "A martial artist skilled in inner force!?" Old Master Guo stood up looking angry and pulled Guo Jing behind. "Careful, Guo Jing, I will deal with this!" He looked at the man in ck and was under stress. "May I know who you are, and why did you trespass the Guo Manor?" "Old Dog, you shall die!" Fang Yuan did not want to speak a word to the old man. He struck out his right hand and his index finger pointed forward like a sword. "Chi!" His arm grew in size, and under his ck outfit, his skin became ck. Even the centre of his palm had a little ck too. Eagle w Iron Skin Technique, Grade 6! And there¡¯s ck Sand Palm too! Fang Yuan mustered all that he could in one move! He had to do it. After all, this was the heart of the Guo Family, and Old Master Guo¡¯sst sentence was heard loudly, as he did it on purpose to demonstrate his inner force. Footsteps were already heard rushing towards the room. Even though a martial artist skilled in inner force could easily take out those using inner power, facing arge number of them all at once could still exhaust him out. Fang Yuan eyes were deadly. At the moment Old Master Guo outlined the devious n, he knew that the entire Guo Family had to be destroyed! "Eagle w?!" Old Master Guo was stressed out. He punched both fists in the air, and mustered all the strength he could, like a giant. "Giant Spiritual Strength!" "Ping!" The fists and ws met, and Old Master Guo was forced a few steps back. He unknowingly imprinted his footprint into the ground, as his face reddened. He spat out arge mouthful of blood, but his injury could notpare to his shock. "[Martial Artist (6th Gate)]? How could you have such aggression?" "Chi!" Fang Yuan¡¯s ck outfit was torn, which exposed his pitch-ck skin. He quickly recovered from the injury he sustained due to his impressive physical condition and did not even take a step back after the first exchange of fists. He attacked once again like an eagle; his strength on his ws came from his abdomen to his arm, then to his palm, then to his fingertips. A popping sound was heard every time his inner force passed through. "Die!" "Eagle w Iron Skin Technique!? You are Fang..." Old Master Guo was even more surprised, but he could notplete his sentence as he received another strike from his opponent. "Hmph, Spiritual Giant Supporting the Heavens!" He stretched out both palms and received Fang Yuan¡¯s ws that struck from above. "Ping!" The man in ck could gain the upper hand against Old Master Guo, and from how he was shaking from withstanding Fang Yuan¡¯s strikes, he was obviously on the brink of losing! ¡¯Faster! Even faster!¡¯ He clenched his fists and was sweating profusely. He could only wait for reinforcements to arrive. "You¡¯re not too bad, being able to withstand three ws from me!" Fang Yuan eximed and struck another w out. "Mmm..." Old Master Guo became pale and exerted all his strength to hold on to the ws. He felt relieved as he saw his servants arriving to help him. In a blink of an eye, one w broke free and went straight for his throat. "Kacha!" A distinct sound was heard as the servants entered the room, as they witnessed the scene unfolding right in front of their eyes. The pir of support for the Guo Family, the all-mighty Old Master Guo held his neck, fell to the ground and remained motionless. "Thief!" Guo Jing was angered. "I will kill you!" "Then you shall die too!" To remove weeds, you need to pluck them from the roots, and Fang Yuan understood this theory. He rushed forward and struck out his w at Guo Jing, who was attempting to hide among the crowd. "I¡¯ll fight!" Guo Jing swept his arms across. After all, he was an able [Martial Artist (5th Gate)]. Despite his attempts to summon forth his inner power, it crumbled upon shing against Fang Yuan¡¯s inner strength. "Kacha!" Fang Yuan snapped his neck, not giving him any chances. All the servants and even the descendants of the Guo Family took a few steps back, all afraid to make any eye contact with this man in ck. Fang Yuan let out a coldughter, flipped over the manor¡¯s wall, and disappeared. Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 47: The Aftermath Chapter 47: The Aftermath Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Back in the old mansion of Zhou Family. Ever since the passing of Zhou Tong, the ce became like ruins and many beggars came to gather here. However, when Zhen Wenwu was back, he immediately took the ce back under his control and operated it as a base camp. Zhou Wenwu was wearing a mourning suit and gave his respect to a few tablets that were on the altar with incense. "Father.... don¡¯t you worry. I will revive the prestige of the Zhou Family...." After the ceremony, he opened the door and felt sorrowful as he saw the dpidated courtyard. The courtyard looked much more deserted now. ¡¯Minister Lin is an old fox. Even though I¡¯m using the Spirit Returning Sect¡¯s name in my favour, he will likely not fall for it. He has stronger backers than me. How about targeting the Zhang and Guo Family? This will not be easy though....¡¯ Zhou Wenwu gazed at the moon with a troubled look. The Zhang Family did have a strong background and power which they umted over the years. Hence, it would not be wise to attack them. On the other hand, the Guo Family was violent and unruly. One would need assistance to bring them under control. "Fang Yuan was not willing to lend a helping hand, and a few rtives promised to aid us financially but the fund is still not in yet....ugh, and also my sister! No one knows whether she is dead or alive. This is indeed worrying me...." Zhou Wenwu sighed and suddenly, his expression changed. There was a loud and distinct noiseing from the Guo¡¯s mansion. "Something bad happened....to the Guo Family?" He climbed over the courtyard wall. Lights were shining everywhere and there were many screams and crying. He grew suspicious. Even though he wanted to find out what was happening, he knew that since the Guo Family was being attacked, they would be on high alert. It was better for him not to bother them right now. "Or maybe.... This is my chance to...." Zhou Wenwu gave it a good thought and his eyes glittered. "I¡¯m not sure how is Old Guo now...." "He is dead!" A voice was heard from behind, which frightened Zhou Wenwu. "Are you.... Doctor Fang?" This voice was very familiar and sounded youthful. Zhou Wenwu was dazed for a moment but was relieved after realising who was it. However, his expression became serious when he saw Fang Yuan in his nightbat outfit. Fang Yuan was present in the city at this timing and coincidently, something bad happened to the Guo Family. Could it be.... "You don¡¯t have to guess. Old Guo and the homeowner Guo Jing are both dead...." Fang Yuan spoke in a deep voice. "Aaahh!" Even though he had guessed that Fang Yuan was behind it, Zhou Wenwu was still surprised and immediately kowtowed to Fang Yuan. "Thank you for helping me. I will do anything you want me to do...." Fang Yuan waved and said, "You don¡¯t need to thank me. I am helping you this time because I will need your help in the future!" In fact, Fang Yuan ambushed the Guo Family to gather more information and to scare them. However, he changed his ns as he became furious after hearing some secrets. Hence, he killed the father and the son of the Guo Family to get the most out of the operation. He could say that he was invited by Zhou Wenwu to assist him in taking down the Guo Family. Who else could reveal the truth? Not only did he benefit without costing him anything, he even managed to reap gratitude from Zhou Wenwu. Most importantly, he gained a new assistant in the city. Zhou Wenwu could help him out and save him a lot of trouble. "Old Guo is a 6th Gate Martial artist and is indeed an expert in inner force. Guo Jing is a 5th Gate Martial artist..... Both of them are the most highly skilled in the Guo Family. I have removed them for you. Do you know what to do next?" Fang Yuan nced at Zhou Wenwu and instructed him. "Old Guo is a 6th Gate Martial Artist?!" When Zhou Wenwu heard what Fang Yuan said, he sighed and was relieved that he did not rashly attack the Guo Family on his own. He then looked into Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes with respect. Even an expert in inner force was defeated by him! How did Fang Yuan train his martial arts to such a state? "Hmm, the rest of the Guo Family that are still alive are easy to deal with. If you can¡¯t even handle such loose ends...." Fang Yuan said in a deep voice. "If I fail to handle the loose ends, I would strip myself of my martial arts and I would not even think about reviving the Zhou Family anymore!" Zhou Wenwu patted his chest and seemed confident. He then added, "What about the Zhang Family?" "Hmm?" Fang Yuan turned around and stared at Zhou Wenwu with a serious look. "I¡¯m thinking too much...." Zhou Wenwu immediately broke out in cold sweat and started apologising after Fang Yuan stared at him. "With the current situation of Zhou Family, removing Guo Family will be sufficient. Removing the Zhang Family will be too much!" Fang Yuan said coldly. Honestly speaking, the Zhang Family had more situational awareness and hence he had nothing against them. Furthermore, with the current poption of the Zhou Family, it was impossible for the Family to restore its power like before back in Qingye City. The best oue was to remove Guo Family for the Zhou Family to take over their assets and coexist with the Zhang and Lin families in a triangted situation. Zhou Wenwu should have known these principles but he was too focused on getting revenge and achieving his dream. Now, Fang Yuan reminded him of these principles, which made him admire Fang Yuan even more. Fang Yuan was not only good in medicine and martial arts but understood the principles behind human rtions as well. Was he born smart and talented? Zhou Wenwu respected Fang Yuan and said, "Thank you for reminding me. I have understood your point." "Very well, I have a few tasks for you toplete...." Fang Yuan chuckled. ....... The news of the Guo Family spread. The Guo Family left the city the next day and relocated back to their original vige. The family couldn¡¯t care less about those who plundered them at that time and were extracting their men from Qingye City. This was like a retreat from a losing party. Looking at how sensible the Guo Family was in deciding to pull out from the city, Zhou Wenwu was satisfied with the number of valuable things that were left behind by the family as it was sufficient for his own needs. He felt that he could gain a foothold in Qingye City again. This time, he was clear of the situation and secretly gathered enough men to wipe out the entire Guo Familypletely. The Zhou Family needed to be restored from scratch like the Guo Family, and hence one of the families in the city needed to be targeted in order for another family to take over. Guo Family was the best target in the whole of Qingye City. The Guo Family also realised that without the two highly skilled martial artists in the Family, they were weakened. During such times, the Lin and Zhang families were getting closer to the Zhou Family and had no intention of helping the Guo Family. At the same time, everyone knew what the secluded valley was capable of and would, therefore, think twice before attacking the secluded valley.... Of course, Fang Yuan was not really interested in any of these affairs. Zhou Wenwu would handle the loose ends on his own. Fang Yuan was already back home in the secluded valley. After taking a break, he went to the Green Peak with the Flower Fox Ferret. "Chirp! Chirp!" A flock of Red-eyed White Birds were flying past and a giant Red-eyed White King Bird was leading the flock. Fang Yuan hid in the woods and was irritated by their presence. "These birds are getting more vignt than before and they are hard to deal with now!" The presence of these birds was a huge obstacle to his sess in iming this spiritualnd. These birds had been giving him huge problemstely. Notwithstanding anything else, in one instance, when Fang Yuan went to get some spiritual spring water and spiritual fertiliser, he had to be cautious of the Red-eyed White Birds, in case they came out of their nests and attack him. Hence, the amount that he had gotten was not sufficient every time. Sometimes, the Flower Fox Ferret would be surrounded by these birds. "I will not be able to enjoy collecting the spiritual fertiliser if I don¡¯t get rid of them soon....." Fang Yuan looked at the beach that was beside the Eye¡¯s Tear Lake. "Anyway, the longer the spiritual fertiliser is umted, the better it is. Also, the storage size of this beach is quite big to store arge amount of the spiritual fertiliser. Maybe I should not get rid of the birds for now first...." Fang Yuan estimated that the best spiritual fertiliser that could really help in the growth of the spiritual nts would need at least 10 years of umtion in order to produce such an effect. With the time, he could make full use of the spiritualnd. Wouldn¡¯t he be able to grow any kinds of spiritual nts? "It is just that.....the rest of the Red-eyed White Birds are not a problem but the Red-eyed White King Bird is hard to deal with....." Of course, he was gaining little from his hunts recently. At least the number of the Red-eyed White Birds was decreasing and there were fewer eyes to keep watch over the spiritualnd. This gave Fang Yuan many opportunities to secretly enter the spiritualnd to obtain the spiritual spring water and other precious spiritual nts. "Whoosh!" He went to the other side of the cliff and suddenly hid into a nearby bush. "A normal Red-eyed White Bird will be dead once it sees me. Even a spiritual bird can onlyst a little longer....." Fang Yuan reached the One-eyed Spring and filled his bamboo canteen with the spring water to the brim. "This time....maybe I should trek deeper in!" In his heart, he already treated the whole Green Peak like his ownnd. The spring water brought a cooling effect to the body. After Fang Yuan drank till his heart¡¯s content, he felt refreshed and continued to explore the inner parts of the secluded valley with the Flower Fox Ferret. "Hmm, this spiritualnd is definitely incredible....." Even though he did not find any spiritual nts, there were many flowers blooming and the trees were bearing fruits at this unusual time. This scene filled Fang Yuan with emotions as he felt sorry for these nts. "Wasted! Totally wasted!" He looked at a piece ofnd which was fully grown with weed and felt distressed. "If this piece ofnd was used to grow spiritual nts, the food produced would be enough tost the both of us for an entire year. Damn those Red-eyed White Birds...." He cursed softly. After all, if he were to raise his voice, he might disturb the spiritual birds and they woulde and surround the both of them. By then, they would be in big trouble. "Logically speaking, this spiritualnd in the mountain should have one or two types of spiritual nts growing.....Why are there none?" As he went in deeper into the mountain, Fang Yuan frowned. He reached a big pit and squatted down. "The spiritual energy is stronger here aspared to the surroundings. Looks like there might be a spiritual object here before, just that it has been removed....." He sighed and finally knew where the spiritual nts are. If he was correct, it should be in the nest of the Red-eyed White King Bird! As a spiritual beast, it would definitely hide the spiritual nts very well like how humans would hide their precious items. "Hmm?" At that moment, Fang Yuan¡¯s expression changed and hid behind a bush. "Chirp!" A ck dot from the sky came nearer and nearer along with a deafening cry. Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 48: Bamboo Fruit Chapter 48: Bamboo Fruit Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Is that....an eagle?!" With the ck dot getting closer, Fang Yuan realised that the one who made a loud cry was a giant eagle. Its ck feathers reflected a metallic colour under the sunlight. "Spiritual beast! Definitely a spiritual beast!" This ck giant eagle was fast. Just as Fang Yuan lifted up his head, it already flew past the Green Peak and up into the sky. "This is strange....how have I not seen this eagle before?" Fang Yuan saw that the flock of Red-eyed White Birds were disturbed and had a suspicion. "Is it because of coincidence or is it because spiritual beasts areing from elsewhere?" "Chirp!" At that moment, the entire flock of the Red-eyed White Birds around the cliff were disturbed. Under the leadership of a few spiritual birds, they circled around in the air in a formation like an army troop. "Whoosh!" The giant eagle was not intimidated by the formation created but flew straight into the Red-eyed White Birds. "Chirp! Chirp!" Mournful bird chirpings could be heard and big white feathers came falling from the sky. The ws of the giant eagle were as sharp as a steel hook and the spiritual birds were struggling to avoid the sharp edge of the ws. The giant eagle also used its beak to peck through the head of one of the Red-eyed White Bird, causing the bird to die instantly, its body falling straight down. "Eagle w! This is the real Eagle w!" As Fang Yuan observed the battle of the spiritual birds intently, he felt like he had gained a better understanding of the Eagle w Technique. "Chirp! Chirp!" Finally, right after the giant eagle started to kill all of the other Red-eyed White Birds, a very loud angry chirp was heard from the top of the cliff. A white giant bird appeared; it was the Red-eyed White King Bird! It pped its wings and flew right up into the sky to fight against the giant eagle. The giant bird gained the upper hand very quickly. "Keke!" The giant eagle fluttered its wings and dodged away from the Red-eyed White King Bird. It then used its sharp ws and broke through the defence of one of the Red-eyed White Bird by ripping the bird¡¯s body. The giant eagle showed defiance towards the Red-eyed White King Bird and flew out of the formation like an arrow. A few of its ck feathers fell as it escaped. "Chirp! Chirp!" Dead spiritual birds were a rare sight even though Fang Yuan hade here many times to steal spiritual objects. Looking at the damage caused, the Red-eyed White King Bird gave a long chirp and lead the formation of Red-eyed White Birds to chase after the giant eagle. "Eh?" Fang Yuan gave a cold look and realised something was different. "The ck giant eagle slowed down its speed on purpose. It wanted to give an illusion that the Red-eyed White Birds could catch up....What a cunning beast...." Seeing the Red-eyed White King Bird leading the rest of the Red-eyed White Birds out of the nest, Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes suddenly glittered. "A chance for me!" "Chirp! Chirp!" The birds flew further and further away. Soon, they disappeared. Fang Yuan followed the pathway and kept climbing up. "There should be something of great value in the Red-eyed White King Bird¡¯s nest! Even if there isn¡¯t, I shall let those Red-eyed White Birds have a taste of a big loss!" He could only kill a few of them previously due to the presence of the Red-eyed White King Bird and a few of others. However, what about now? "Chirp! Chirp!" He appeared and the Red-eyed White Birds suddenly realised there was an intruder. The birds let out mournful chirps. "Get out!" The Red-eyed White Birds that were guarding the nest were weaker. Fang Yuan executed his Eagle w Iron Skin Technique and almost got every bird killed. Even though his shirt had been ripped quite badly, the Red-eyed White Birds were incurring much more damage. "It is considered normal for eggs to be present in a normal bird¡¯s nest...." At that moment, Fang Yuan was not attracted by the eggs and went straight up to the peak. He then leapt onto a teau. "Puff!" Both of his feetnded firmly on the teau with his right hand shielding his body. He then checked his surroundings for any potential threats or movement. The teau was connected to the cliff and there was a giant hole inside. The hole was where the Red-eyed White Bird¡¯s nesty. Seeing that an intruder had reached their nest, the Red-eyed White Birds got even crazier and went to fight against the intruder with no regard for their lives. "Get out of my way!" Fang Yuan shouted angrily. He fought against the birds and retreated a few steps back, and then got in deeper into the hole. "Chirp! Chirp!" Suddenly, among all the Red-eyed White Birds, a small spiritual bird with glittering feathers charged past all the other birds and straight at Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan couldn¡¯t dodge in time. Instead, he released more inner strength. His shoulders started to vibrate like there was a sudden surge of energy. At that moment, blood sshed everywhere! Even though he had used his inner strength to defend himself, his shoulder was injured with a deep cut by a w. "There is indeed a spiritual beast guarding this nest and it managed to injure me! Good! Very good!" He squinted his eyes and at the next moment, he leapt forward like a leopard and went straight at that spiritual beast while ignoring the rest of the birds. "You shall have a taste of my ck Sand Eagle w Palm!" His palm became ck in colour like ink. His fingers and nails gave a metallic colour and a strange odour. With the help of the system¡¯s function and his own research, Fang Yuan managed tobine the ck Sand Palm and the Eagle w Technique to form a new technique called the ck Sand Eagle w Palm. Now, Fang Yuan could finally unleash the true power of the [ck Sand Palm (Grade 5)] by umting poison on the Eagle w, turning them into a truly lethal form! "Chirp!" This mutated Red-eyed White Spiritual Bird had a very fast speed. Once Fang Yuan missed his shot, it would escape to a far ce. If the spiritual bird was slower by a bit and its wings were scratched by Fang Yuan¡¯s Eagle w, its feathers would drop. "Hehe!" After one move, Fang Yuan stopped chasing and startedughing. "Chirp! Chirp!" That spiritual bird did not fly far and suddenly, it gave a mournful chirp. It then fell from mid-air and was dead. A breeze blew its feathers up. That was the effect of the mutated Pearl Tail Snake¡¯s Poison. Its effect was so strong that an expert in inner force who had been poisoned by this poison would still be in trouble. "Chirp! Chirp!" Seeing that the spiritual bird was dead, the rest of the Red-eyed White Birds retreated and didn¡¯t dare to go forward. The birds had no choice but to let Fang Yuan enter the nest. "Oh!" The hole was not too deep and there was light shining through a gap in between the rocks. Fang Yuan walked a few steps and became alert. He then started smelling and said, "This is strange!" By right, there should be a fishy smell in the spiritual beast¡¯s nest. However, he could only smell fresh air and even the air smelled clean. The spiritual energy here was surprisingly copious. At the end of the hole, there was a giant green rock and it had slight depressions in the middle. There were a few tree branches and feathers, which formed the shape of the giant bird nest. "So this is where the Red-eyed White King Bird¡¯s nest lies?" Fang Yuan moved a few steps forward and was disappointed that there were no spiritual beast¡¯s eggs. Ever since he had adopted the Flower Fox Ferret as a pet, he became interested in adopting other spiritual beasts. It was very rare to find a spiritual beast like the Flower Fox Ferret who was willing tomunicate with humans. Fang Yuan was hoping that he could adopt one of the Red-eyed White Bird as the birds were considered spiritual beasts and could fly. "Birds would be close to the first thing it sees as it emerges from its egg. If I managed to get the spiritual beast¡¯s egg and take care of it from young, the young spiritual beast can be tamed....." Fang Yuan was filled with regrets as this Red-eyed White King Bird had notid any eggs. He went forward a few steps and looked carefully at the bird¡¯s nest. He eyes were attracted by something green in colour. Beside the nest, there was spring water gurgling and flowing down, which formed a smallke. Near the edge of theke, there were a few strange bamboos being grown. The bamboos were jade-green and as though the bamboos were carved with top quality crystal jade. The bamboos gave out spiritual energy and the polluted air was absorbed. "Looks like these bamboos cause the air in this cave to be so fresh....." Fang Yuan went forward to check out the spiritual bamboo. "Eh?" This time, he saw something different. He found some bamboo flower buds that were about to bloom. "This bamboo is flowering?" Fang Yuan then recalled an old record which stated: ¡¯It is the circle of life. The bamboo sprouts a shoot once every 60 years. The shoot will then flower, and the flower will bear fruit and wilt. The fruit will sprout again,pleting the circle.¡¯ "The blooming flower of the Jade Bamboo is bound to produce bamboo rice which is also called the bamboo fruit." "The legends of old spoke that a Phoenix would refuse to perch on anything other than a phoenix tree, to eat anything other than Lian Shi and to drink anything other than the best spring water. This Lian Shi they spoke of referred to the bamboo fruit!" "Previously, the spiritualnd had very few spiritual objects. I was guessing someone must have taken the rest of the spiritual objects and looks like I was correct. This Red-eyed White King Bird took everything!" The hole was filled with spiritual light, which clearly showed that there were many spiritual objects present here. However, there were some spiritual objects which could not be moved easily as they would be destroyed if they were rashly relocated. Hence, Fang Yuan did not dare to collect any of the spiritual objects since he did not make any proper preparations. The spiritual bamboos, on the other hand, were grown singly and grew very quickly. Hence, the spiritual bamboos did not have this problem and could be moved easily. Fang Yuan came to the spiritual bamboo and started digging using his Eagle w Technique. He was digging faster aspared to using a shovel. Not long after, he managed to dig the whole spiritual bamboo out along with its roots. The rhizome of the bamboo was in a good condition. "With this spiritual bamboo, my trip is made worthwhile!" Fang Yuan carried the spiritual bamboo happily and went to look for other spiritual objects. "Keke!" Suddenly, the Flower Fox Ferret, which was keeping a lookout, ran in anxiously. "Is that....the ck giant eagle?" Fang Yuan came to the entrance of the hole and saw the ck giant eagle. Previously, it was circling around the other Red-eyed White Birds, but now, it was charging towards him. "It drew the Red-eyed White King Bird out of its nest to distract the bird so that it coulde back to the bird¡¯s nest?" He looked happy and said, "Looks like you were alsoing for the treasures in the Red-eyed White King Bird¡¯s nest but unfortunately for you, I was here earlier to get them....." At that moment, there were many white birds chasing after the giant eagle. The Red-eyed White King Bird was leading the other birds but it was still slower than the giant eagle and both of them became more distant. Fang Yuan understood what was going on. The giant eagle was making a distraction for the Red-eyed White King Bird by picking up a fight with it and it used its faster speed as an advantage to draw them further away from the nest. Finally, the giant eagle then flew back to its target which were the treasures Fang Yuan looted from the nest. However, this giant eagle was working alone and therefore incurred a big loss as Fang Yuan managed to reach the nest first. "My apologies....All these stuff are mine now and I cannot give it to you!" With the giant eagle charging right at him, Fang Yuanughed out loud and his right hand was shaped like a ck w. He then grabbed fiercely and shouted, "Eagle w Technique!" "Bang!" The giant eagle flew right out. The Red-eyed White King Bird was not too far away and when it saw what was happening, it was enraged and gave a long and piercing scream. The tip of its feathers was tinged with blood. The beast then flew over and elerated at an rming speed. "Enraged? Then I ain¡¯t interested in ying with you guys no more!" Fang Yuanughed. He carried the spiritual bamboo and escaped quickly from the peak. Back at the entrance of the hole, the giant eagle was surrounded by the angry Red-eyed White King Bird and it gave a mournful scream..... Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 49: Spiritual Bamboo Chapter 49: Spiritual Bamboo Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Chirp" In the spiritualnds of the Green Peak. Fang Yuan held a bamboo stalk that was jade-green and ran like the wind. Behind him was an army of spiritual birds and the Red-eyed White King Bird. The Red-eyed White King Bird, King of Birds, directed most of its hatred towards the Iron-tailed ck Eagle, but Fang Yuan, the ¡¯thief¡¯, did not escape its wrath either. White birds screamed in the air and prepared to attack. "Damn it, my clothes..." In order to protect the spiritual nts, Fang Yuan had to channel the power of the Iron Skin Technique, which protected him from the aggressive wing and pecking of the birds. His clothes were torn such that he was almost naked. Of course, his clothes were not his main concern, for the Iron Skin Technique was not able to keep the birds from tearing gashes into his skin every time they lunged. "Are you not going to act now, Flower Fox Ferret?" As he charged down from the Peak, Fang Yuan manoeuvred his body and ran towards the fog. "Keke!" A bright light shed. A white figure flew past at the speed of lightning and had one of the spiritual birds by the neck. Following a loud snap, the bird¡¯s head tilted at an awkward angle. It was dead. "Haha...well done!" Grabbing this chance, Fang Yuan sped into the mist and sighed in relief. "Keke...keke..." The Flower Fox Ferret dropped the spiritual bird and frolicked beside the spiritual bamboo. It wagged its tail at Fang Yuan like a pug, as if it wanted his approval. "Hehe...seems like you know the value of the spiritual bamboo too. In order to protect it, I have suffered many wounds...ouch..." Fang Yuan inhaled a breath of cold air and used remnants of his clothing to bandage his wounds. "It¡¯s fortunate that Master left me some anti-scarring ointment. Or else I¡¯d be disfigured..." He gritted his teeth as he tended to his injuries, all the while ring at the carcass of the spiritual bird. "Great...we¡¯ll have this bird for dinner..." As Fang Yuan concealed himself in the thick fog and heard the shrieks of the giant birds from a distance, he counted his blessings. "To think that the King of Red-eyed White Birds could be this ferocious. If the ck Eagle hadn¡¯t challenged it first, I probably wouldn¡¯t have escaped..." "ck Eagle, rest in peace! I¡¯ll be leaving now!" Grabbing the spiritual bamboo and the carcass of the spiritual bird, Fang Yuan disappeared quickly into the fog together with the Flower Fox Ferret. ...... The secluded valley. Ever since Fang Yuan had demonstrated his power, no one had dared to trespass the mountains. Zhou Wenwu was also helping to keep an eye on thend. Everything was peaceful. Fang Yuan entered the valley and ran straight to the gardens. He checked that the defence mechanisms and traps were in ce before setting his heart at ease. Although the gardens were located in a more secluded part of the valley, the variety of nts to be found there, including the spiritual rice and tea, were very valuable. Fang Yuan did not want to take any chances. "In the future, when I move all these nts to the Green Peak, the valley will be just a living space. That would be the best arrangement. For now, I just have to be more careful, set traps and tell the Flower Fox Ferret to be on guard..." Fang Yuan then left for the tea garden and patrolled the vicinity. He was reassured when he saw that the Questioning Heart tea tree was untouched, and he began to think. He used to lead a simple life. Now that he had revealed his background, it would definitely attract unwanted attention and consequently trouble. Nevertheless, he had made significant gains in martial arts and had a formidable amount of inner energy. It would be enough for him to defend himself. As long as the miraculous properties of the Questioning Heart Tea remained unknown, there would be no problems. "But if these problems can be avoided, they should be avoided..." Fang Yuan had a solemn look on his face and his thoughts moved quickly. "The best form of defence is still the Flower Fox Ferret. Or perhaps a few fatal traps in the vicinity of the gardens will do the trick, with poison in the mix, a poison as potent as the Pearl Tail Snake¡¯s...of course, in the legends, the spiritual knights could set up powerful formations and borrow the strengths of heaven and earth. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible for me to do all that...let¡¯s leave it for now..." Fang Yuan had to make some decisions in preparation for his relocation to the Green Peak. Defence mechanisms were necessary. "The best formations are still the ones described in the legends. Most of the conditions aren¡¯t fulfilled though. I¡¯ll have to look at the next best alternatives..." With the Questioning Heart tea leaves,plemented by the Meditative Tea Ceremony, Fang Yuan¡¯s magical energy had increased by leaps and bounds. He had met the requirements of bing a spiritual knight, an alchemy master and the like. Too bad these beings were mythological. Even if Fang Yuan had wanted to join their ranks, he could not. "Eh?" Fang Yuan was pleasantly surprised when he arrived at the Vermillion Jade Rice field. In the field, shoots that bore a resemnce to red jade were growing strong with rming momentum. At the side, a row of emerald shoots had also emerged and were thriving. "Emerald Grass! It really doesn¡¯t take a lot for this nt to prosper." Fang Yuan squatted down and peered at the leaves of the Emerald Grass. "Flower Fox Ferret, will you eat this?" "Keke?!¡¯ The Flower Fox Ferret looked conflicted and grabbed the spiritual bamboo at the side tightly with its ws. It seemed like the Flower Fox Ferret preferred the bamboo to grass. "Haha...you little clever thing!" Fang Yuan gave a little smile. "When the spiritual bamboos are grown, you¡¯ll have your share." The bamboo was different from the other nts, for its growth was characterised by the branching out of its roots. If well taken care of, the bamboo nt would develop into a forest in a few years. It was one of the most valuable of the spiritual nts. Otherwise, Fang Yuan would not be this excited to see the bamboo. He picked it without hesitation over the other treasures of the King of Red-eyed White Birds. "Mm, here!" Fang Yuan went around the garden and found a spot next to a hill of bluestone. He nted the spiritual bamboo there and then, and created a small irrigation ditch. "Shhshhh" The leaves of the spiritual bamboo were toyed with by the wind. Little white flowers on its stem were on the verge of blooming. "Seems like the bamboo is likely to survive..." Fang Yuan washed his hands, satisfied. He also looked towards his stats window. "[Botany (Level 3)] - You are an expert among botanists and possess unimaginable powers. The nts that you grow have a small chance of evolving special traits!" Fang Yuan had already seen this small chance for himself. In the past, in all the gardens, only one tea tree had gone through a mutation. It was pathetic. But it was that one tea tree that produced the Questioning Heart Tea, and together with the Meditative Tea Ceremony, produced an incredible effect on one¡¯s magical energy. To Fang Yuan, it seemed like everything in life was predestined. Now, Fang Yuan had other ns. This spiritual bamboo, spiritual rice and spiritual grace, could all be grown in bulk. Cultivated inrge amounts, Fang Yuan could trigger more mutating yields as long as his luck was not too bad. Mutations on the spiritual nts, what would the yields be like? Fang Yuan looked forward to seeing the results. "It¡¯s just that...levelling up my skills are way harder than levelling up my techniques! My ck Sand Palm and Eagle w techniques can improve so much with only a day¡¯s worth of practice. I always hit a bottleneck when ites to my skills. It seems like I have to fulfil a specific condition before I can move on to the next level..." Fang Yuan looked at his [Botany] and [Medicine] stats with some regret. These two skills currently had 99.9% worth of proficiency points. All that was left to level up was that tiny bit, and it was taking a long time. This situation reminded Fang Yuan of the previous bottleneck. Without the help of spiritual nts, his [Botany] would not have reached level 3. "Unless...if I want to level up in [Medicine], I have to keep on healing patients, or devise cures to difficult diseases. And [Botany], does it require the cultivation of a higher grade spiritual nt?" These skills did not immediately trante into fighting power, but it would provide invaluable assistance in many other areas. Fang Yuan thought very highly of them. "Alright, tea time!" After Fang Yuan was done, he pped his hands and brought the Flower Fox Ferret to his abode. One cup of Meditative tea, to cleanse the soul. To forget material possessions and the self. Fang Yuan felt a clear aura diffuse into his body. His magical energy had begun to increase slowly, and he entered a state of semi-consciousness. ...... "Keke!" After he had settled into reality again, Fang Yuan got to his feet, rejuvenated. He suddenly realised that the Flower Fox Ferret had ran to him anxiously. "Hmm, something is wrong..." From what Fang Yuan knew of the Flower Fox Ferret, it always stayed inebriated longer than Fang Yuan after a tea session. This was the first time it had gotten up earlier. "Keke!" Seeing that Fang Yuan was not really paying attention, the ferret became even more agitated and tugged on his pants, motioning for him to tag along. "This...have you discovered something?" Sensing that something was amiss, Fang Yuan followed the ferret out of the valley. Having crossed a few rolling hills, Fang Yuan suddenly gave an exmation. He knew what the Flower Fox Ferret had found. Within his sight, was shrubbery that had been squashed by a gigantic and magnificent looking ck Eagle. There were huge gashes on its wings. The eagle had an electrifying look in its eyes and gave a defiant scream when it noticed Fang Yuan. "The ck Eagle actually escaped..." Fang Yuan was amazed and stepped forward tentatively. "Chhhchhh" The ck Eagle spread its wings and pped mightily, only managing to raise a huge gust of wind before falling to the ground. "This...what should we do? Kill it? Or ignore it?" Fang Yuan gazed at the ck Eagle hesitantly. But the Flower Fox Ferret jumped out hurriedly and wed at the air. "You want me to save it?" Fang Yuan was not averse to saving the eagle. After all, he had ruined the ns of the eagle and had even dealt it a head injury. It would be appropriate if he made it up to the eagle. "I could save it, but look at the state it is in...how do I do it?" Fang Yuan stepped forward some more, and the eagle responded aggressively. "Keke!" Flower Fox Ferret cocked its head and ran to the side of the ck Eagle. It then began to twitter patiently, as if it was doing some exining to the Eagle. Following the ferret¡¯s actions, the ck Eagle lowered its head. It was calming down. Fang Yuan watched this happen with some amusement. He was impressed. "Holy cr*p...you¡¯re a ferret. When did you learn to speak to birds?" Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 50: Healing Chapter 50: Healing Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Hey... ck Eagle, you should know that I¡¯m here to save you. Regardless of what happened previously, we¡¯re even here alright..." Although he knew that the ck eagle could not understand humannguage, Fang Yuan was still relieved knowing that the Flower Fox Ferret could trante for him. After saying a few words to the ck eagle, he turned around and returned to the secluded valley. He came out with many bottles of medicine. "Chirp....." Seeing Fang Yuan approach it, the ck eagle became increasingly anxious but wasforted by the Flower Fox Ferret. ¡¯The eagle and ferret have so much chemistry...¡¯ Witnessing this scene, Fang Yuan took a few steps forward and began to examine its injury. "Hiss..." Fang Yuan was shocked. "No wonder it¡¯s a spiritual beast. It¡¯s able to undergo self-healing, and the wounds have already begun to heal itself..." This was good news for Fang Yuan, as it meant that he did not have to use too much of this precious ointment. "Phew!" Fang Yuan took out bandages and medicine, tried to make himself look harmless and approached the ck eagle. He was extremely focused and concentrated his inner force on his Iron Skin Technique to protect himself. Even with the assurance of the Flower Fox Ferret, it was still hard to tame the ck eagle. Wouldn¡¯t it be risky if it suddenly took a bite at Fang Yuan while he was treating it? "Chirp! Chirp!" Although the ck eagle looked anxious, it tried to restrain itself and did not move. "This injury..." Fang Yuan noticed that its wound had already stopped bleeding, but broken bones and feathers were visible. They were in a gruesome mess with broken twigs and other nt matter. This would greatly hinder its path to recovery and the eagle would no longer be able to fly. "The most important is to clear the foreign objects from the wound and correct the bone. It¡¯s going to be extremely difficult for the eagle to do it on its own, but if I were to help it..." Fang Yuan stroked the wings of the ck eagle. The ck feathers felt metallic to the touch, and it was a weird feeling. "I¡¯m going to start now, try to tolerate the pain!" Fang Yuan focused, grabbed a tree branch and plucked it. "Whoosh!" A bloody arrow flew towards Fang Yuan, and the ck eagle uncontrobly attacked, as it prepared to peck at Fang Yuan. "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret continuously tried to calm it down, and it took a while before the ck eagle begun to regain itsposure. "It seems... It¡¯s unappreciative of my efforts!" Fang Yuan let out a long breath and extended 2 fingers out. Using his Eagle w Technique, he channelled his energy to his fingers, momentarily turning them akin to metal pliers. Then, He removed a piece of shattered bone using his fingers and threw it aside. He felt enlightened after studying the wound inflicted by the Red-eyed White Birds on this strong ck eagle, and he felt as though he gained a deeper understanding of the strength of the Red-eyed White King Bird. ¡¯It seems... To defeat the king bird is no easy feat.¡¯ As he thought to himself, his hands were quick and in no time, he cleared the wound and applied medication to it. "Up next is to straighten the bones..." Fang Yuan shook his head. "Even though you are a mutated species and your rate of healing is incredibly fast, you still need to give your feathers time to regrow, and so you won¡¯t be able to fly for the time being..." In fact, this was the greatest worry for the ck eagle. Even though it was a mutated spiritual bird, it still needed to eat to survive, and especially inrge amounts to quicken the recovery process. "Don¡¯t you worry, since I saved you now, I will take care of you all the way till you have recovered!" Fang Yuanforted the ck eagle as his hands felt its bones. He mustered all his strength and corrected the position of the bones! "Kacha!" A distinct sound was heard. The ck eagle winced, flung the Flower Fox Ferret away and tried to peck Fang Yuan. "I knew it!" Fang Yuanughed and was already prepared for the ck eagle¡¯s reaction. He took a step back, and suddenly punched towards its head. "Peng!" Hended a heavy fist on the forehead of the ck eagle. Its eyes rolled, and it fainted on the spot. "That¡¯s right... Finally, you¡¯re behaving!" Fang Yuan wiped his hands. "I should have made you faint from the beginning!" "Keke..." The Flower Fox Ferret was watching at the side, full of pity for the ck eagle. "It¡¯s done!" After dealing with the ck eagle, Fang Yuan told the Flower Fox Ferret, "Up next, we shall set up a campsite here, and deliver food here once in a few days, and there should be no problem..." However, his expression suddenly changed. He noticed that the ¡¯Skill¡¯ portion of his stats window had changed. The digit ¡¯2¡¯ behind [Medicine (Level 2)] became blurred, jumped and transformed to ¡¯3¡¯! ¡¯[Medicine (Level 3)]? I have finally broken through!¡¯ Fang Yuan was pleasantly surprised. ¡¯Healing this spiritual beast was a blessing in disguise...¡¯ He looked at the description for [Medicine (Level 3)]: "[Medicine (Level 3)] - You are a professional within experts, a doctor who can make miracles. Will have a multiplied effect when dealing withplicated medical conditions! (Effect does not only apply to humans)" "Does not only apply to humans..." Fang Yuan looked at the ck eagle, confused. "Could it be that I mastered veterinary without a master?" At this moment, there were more changes to his stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 3.5 Spirit: 3.4 Magic: 2.3 Age: 18 Cultivation: [Martial Artist (6th Gate)] Technique: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 6)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 3)]" "Very well, it seems that skills would be harder to improve aspared to techniques, as there would be a special condition to be met before attaining a new level..." Fang Yuan stroked his chin, deep in his own thoughts. "The greater my skills, the higher the multiplier effect in the system... It seems that my title as the doctor who can make miracles happen would spread far and wide?" The proficiency points for [Medicine (Level 3)] became zero and naturally required numerous hands-on practice before being able to fill it up. Furthermore, to break through the bottleneck, he might have to heal certain rare andplicated medical conditions. All these would require him to set up a medicinal hall and do charity work. "The idea of running this seems probable..." Fang Yuan looked in the direction of Qingye City and zoned out... ... Time passed and many days flew by in a blink of an eye. The chaos in the Guo Family begun to settle down. However, there were still rumours of a doctor who could work miracles living in the secluded valley. He was known to have a weird temper and one should never offend him. Those who were curious and wanted to see the secluded valley for themselves were stopped by the Zhou Family outside the valley, which made the secluded valley even more mysterious. It was dawn. Fang Yuan walked out of his pavilion, sowed seeds, plucked weeds, fertilized his nts... After a round of chores, he proceeded to carry on with his intense martial arts training. "The Eagle w Iron Skin Technique proficiency points have reached a maximum, and it¡¯s time to break through!" After a session of training, Fang Yuan closed his eyes, concentrated his inner force, and spit out a bright white essence, like a sharp arrow ready to prate anything in its way. "Hu... Out of the three Gates, Pain, Shock and Death, I can feel the Shock Gate now. Indeed, it¡¯s a test of one¡¯s magic points..." His improvement in [Medicine] aided his progress in martial arts. Fang Yuan understood that based on his magic points, he could undoubtedly break through the 7th Gate. As for other martial artists, if they made any mistake while breaking the Gate, they would end up crazy and there would hardly be a cure for them. "Keke!" A white sh shed by as the Flower Fox Ferret appeared in front of Fang Yuan, trying to exin something. "Something has happened to the ck eagle?" Fang Yuan thought to himself. "By now, it should have recovered and be able to fly, right? The Flower Fox Ferret appeared surprised as though Fang Yuan guessed correctly. It was reasonable for the Flower Fox Ferret to feel unjust. After all, all the food that was provided to the ck eagle while it was recuperating was caught and delivered personally by the Flower Fox Ferret. Now that it had recovered, it was sad to see it go without saying goodbye. "Being a proud animal, since it allowed us to help it while it was injured, it would definitely remember our help and will reciprocate in the future..." Fang Yuan stroked the Flower Fox Ferret. "You¡¯vee at the right time, let¡¯s drink tea!" "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret became excited after hearing about the Questioning Heart Tea. By living in the deep mountains and leading a carefree life, as well as understanding the different spiritual nts and spiritual objects, Fang Yuan felt at peace as his thoughts and his martial arts began to settle down. In technical terms, it meant that his foundation was solid, and the previous rushed efforts did not leave any hidden dangers behind. With this benefit, it would still be worth it even if his progress bar did not fill up. After drinking tea, Fang Yuan left the flower Fox Ferret to look after the valley, while he carried a small medical box and walked out of the secluded valley. In front of the valley, there was a tnd, and on the tnd were three straw pavilions. Next to the huts was a small pavilion. Many people walked past but no one dared to take a break here. In front, a plump minister was anxious. Even though the weather was rather cooling, he was sweating profusely like ants on a hot wok. "Keke... Old Lin is an acquaintance of the doctor who lives in the secluded valley. Why not just enter the valley, I¡¯m sure the doctor would not scold you..." A few people were resting in the pavilion. The first was Zhou Wenwu. He had good rtions with the Lin Family at first, but after the Song Zhong incident, the two families drifted apart, and now their conversation became sarcastic. "Haha... How would I dare?" Minister Linughed but was troubled. ¡¯Young Master Fang improved tremendously, and there were rumours that not only his [Medicine] was good, his martial arts was even better. Even Song Zhong was no match for him, so why would he give me any face? Those who offend him would be in deep trouble, and if he refused to heal the person, I might even lose my life too, so this cannot be taken lightly!¡¯ "Doctor Fang is here?" Fang Yuan¡¯s silhouette began to appear, and this shocked everyone. "Mmm, everyone, listen up. Is everyone clear on the rules? Three patients a day, and all will have toe up with payment to satisfy Doctor Fang first... If this cannot be done, please take your leave..." After his speech, he did not care less about others and entered the hut. Regardless how influential or powerful these masters or martial artists were, all of them appeared humble before the doctor who would save their lives, like obedient rabbits in a queue, and this included Minister Lin. Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 51: Saving Lives Chapter 51: Saving Lives Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Since the advancement of [Medicine], Fang Yuan, wanting to further push the boundaries, ordered the Zhou Family to release some news and rules on his behalf. He built a straw pavilion before the secluded valley, seeing only three patients a day. Patients wanting to seek treatment had to personally head down to the pavilion. In addition, the consultation fees had to be paid first. Trespassing on the back of the secluded valley was also prohibited. Any trespassers would be instantly kicked out, never being allowed back for treatment! Indeed, such rules were naturally infuriating. But in their world, only the strongest had the say and there were many people more entric than Fang Yuan. The people of Qingye City had grown to ept such rules as quirks of the divine healer, choosing to ce their faith in him. What were these mere rulespared to one¡¯s life? Over time, the rules set by Fang Yuan becamemandments that were strictly adhered to. "Today, it¡¯s a little odd!" Fang Yuan sat resolutely, his face showing signs of suspicion, "Usually it¡¯s rare to even see a person in a day. This time I¡¯m actually met with both Zhou Wenwu and Lin Benchu ..." Thinking back to the most recent patients that he treated, most of them suffered exterior wounds caused by the de or closebat. Suddenly, Fang Yuan had a conjecture. "Come in!" "My respects Master Fang!" Lin Benchu ordered his men to stretcher in a martial artist whose face was pale butcked any presence of blood, looking just like a zombie. Upon seeing Fang Yuan, Lin Benchu dared not overstep his position,pletely adhering to the etiquette that he showed to Master Wenxin when they had first met. He bowed, disying utmost sincerity, "Please save him, Master Fang!" "Medicine can¡¯t revive the dead. I need you, Minister Lin, to understand this point!" Overhearing the correspondence between Fang Yuan and Minister Lin, Lin Benchu knew that knew that the favours that he umted in the past were of no use. He let out a bitterugh, his heart experiencing an ineffable sense of regret. Fang Yuan ignored him and walked forward to lift the white cloth so as to examine the injury. "Eh?" He instantly noticed something different from that one nce. "How is it, Master Fang?" Minister Lin asked uneasily as if he was afraid that Fang Yuan would reply with a ¡¯No¡¯. "This person ... is probably someone whose skill was beyond the View Gate. He was only one step away from crossing the Pain Gate by condensing his inner force." Fang Yuan nced over at the slightly depressed chest of the body. He shook his head, "Moreover, the martial art he practiced was an extremely Yin fist technique. Overestimating his own abilities, he challenged an in-house expert. He crippled his own Yin technique and suffered injuries caused by inner force." "Tsk..." Upon hearing that, Minister Lin took a deep breath of cold air as his voice quivered, "Divine healer ... You are saying that he was injured by an inner force expert?!" "What benefit do I get from lying to you?" Fang Yuan looked at Minister Lin and rolled his eyes, "Who¡¯s the person that injured him? Where is he now?" "Well, I am not sure either ... Regardless, this guy is a disciple of Spirit Returning Sect, Zombie Fist Feng Han. I plead you to quickly treat him ..." Minister Lin¡¯s face revealed a shred of awkwardness, but he still sincerely knelt down to plead. "This injury... Way too difficult!" Standing up, Fang Yuan paced around for a few steps, before shaking his head again, "You must know that external injuries are easy to treat, but internal injuries are very challenging. I can¡¯t guarantee that I can heal this guy..." With a sigh, Minister Lin¡¯s heart sank. "However, saving his life and even allowing him to regain consciousness shouldn¡¯t be a problem..." Fang Yuan¡¯s subsequent sentence caused Minister Lin to regain his vigor, his heart aching to shout words of abuse. Fortunately, he himself knew that these were definitely not people he would want to offend. Thus, he promptly whipped out a box, "I heard that the divine healer has interest in various spiritual items. Pardon the old man¡¯s inability, but I specifically found a Vermillion Fruit ...." "What? A Vermillion Fruit" Fang Yuanughed out, "Is it the legendary fruit that can immensely improve one¡¯s inner force, a mystical fruit that bestows power equal to ten years of hard work?" "Yes..." Minister Lin face exuded a hint of awkwardness, "The Vermillion Fruit is an object of legend, so how could an old man like me obtain such a rarity? Well, I exhausted all my efforts to find this one fruit, I seek that the divine healer does notugh at my ipetence!" Fang Yuan rolled his eyes once more, almost believing that Minister Lin was ying tricks with him. However, he still took the box. Upon opening the box, a dark red fruit was in sight. This fruit was the size of a baby¡¯s fist and had the texture of a peach. While appearing ordinary, after meticulously feeling the fruit, Fang Yuan could sense a hint of spirituality. "Eh... This is definitely a Vermillion Fruit..." After confirming that the fruit was indeed a spiritual object, Fang Yuan felt an even stronger headache. The Vermillion Fruit had a legendary reputation even amongst the ranks of other spiritual nts such as the Vermillion Jade Rice and the Emerald Jade Grass. It came as no surprise that the Vermillion Fruit had such stringent requirements for the environment it grew in. Naturally, it would not sprout even after 8 or 10 years if it was casually nted in a random plot ofnd. To make matters worse, this fruit had an extremely long period of maturity. 100 years could be considered as a single unit of time when describing the length of time required. Hence, one would only be expected to obtain this fruit through a chance encounter. Otherwise, only sects with a long history would dedicate the time to grow this fruit. "If this fruit can sprout, my [Botany] skill will definitely see a breakthrough, but..." Fang Yuan shook his head, "Unless... it¡¯s within the Green Peak Spiritual Grounds, along with my unique skills, there can be still some hope!" "Divine healer... So what do you make of this situation?" Seeing the uncertainty in Fang Yuan¡¯s face, Minister Lin asked anxiously. There was definitely a case to be made with the presence of this spiritual object. Regardless of how preposterous the request was, he gathered his focus on this sole hope. "Hmm... I will help on the ount that you and my master knew each other!" Fang Yuan carefully kept the box and took out a cloth pouch containing rows of thin golden needles. With a needle in hand, his face turned serious and the aura surrounding him instantly changed. "Whoosh!" Minister Lin looked at this scene and was thrown into a trance. It was as though he was watching the reincarnation of Master Wenxin. "Chi.. Chi!" Fang Yuan¡¯s needles were seemingly flying, in a blink of an eye, he pierced over ten of Feng Han¡¯s acupoints. Feng Han¡¯s face distorted, abruptly opening his mouth to spit out a mouthful of ck blood. "Hoo...." Although he was only awake for a short instance, falling back into unconsciousness shortly, his breathing stabilised and his face had a pinker hue. One could clearly see that he managed to cling to what was left of his life. "Thank you, divine healer! Thank you!" Minister Lin was overjoyed and said emotionally, "Witnessing the divine healer¡¯s needles is like watching your master... I can¡¯t believe that despite the divine healer¡¯s young age, you managed to obtain the true skills of your master and even surpass his abilities!" Bootlicking was free and hence he naturally continued to bootlick. "Although I already knew this Golden Needle Acupoint Piercing technique beforehand, I still can¡¯t bepared to my master. With Level 3 Medicine, the effects are still magical!" Fang Yuan felt ashamed but his act of brilliance managed to gain the respect of Minister Lin. "The patient has been treated, Minister please return home. Forgive me for not sending you out!" Seeing that Lin Benchu still had words to say, Fang Yuan decisively rolled up his sleeves and lifted his hand to gesture them out. "Sigh..." Lin Benchu joined his hands to bid farewell and along with his servants took their leave. Fang Yuan nced over at his back view and murmured, "Old sly fox." If he were to really keep them around, it was not as if they would be honest and tell him the truth. Rather than trying his luck getting answers out of them, he would rather look for someone else. "Divine Healer Fang!" An instantter, Zhou Wenwu entered and bowed. He spoke with a tone of utmost respect. "Eh? Are you hurt?" Fang Yuan shook his head and poked Zhou Wenwu with the golden needle. "Thank you, divine healer!" Zhou Wenwu suffered a minor internal injury and felt that his inner power flow was not smooth. Upon the jabs of needles, he instantly feltfortable and disyed his gratitude. "Don¡¯t mention the titter tatter, what¡¯s actually happening outside? The injured that the three big families are sending here is abnormally many..." Fang Yuan frowned, "Also, these are wounds from fights. To think that these injuriese from dealing with merely Guo Family?" "The divine healer knows it himself...." Zhou Wenwu¡¯s face turned solemn, "The three big families reached an agreement to divide Qingye City. I was fully rested and obtained manpower to kill and establish dominance. The Guo Family was the best target! I discussed this n with the divine healer before...." "Indeed, but you met with trouble?" Fang Yuan nodded his head. In reality, he already knew from the get go that the Guo Family had issues but he deliberately kept it from this bunch of people, hoping that they could be the ones to draw out the problem. "Previously, everything went smoothly. Although the Guo Family was brave, they were no match for the three families. Even some of their businesses were about to be lost...." Zhou Wenwu started to have suspicions, "However, from three days ago, the Guo Family managed to get the help of a powerful ally, causing a great hit to us... There is another strange thing!" "Oh? Quick, tell me!" Fang Yuan waved his hand. "The Spirit Returning Sect has somehow managed to catch hold of this and specially sent a group a people over. The first of which was Zombie Fist Feng Han, to think...." Zhou Wenwu shook his head, clearly showing how surprised he was, "When all these news are reported to the sect, they will definitely send more people down. Maybe even an elder will personally lead a team!" While saying this, he was full of confidence. After all, from his perspective, there was nothing that the Spirit Returning Sect could not resolve within the Qinghe County. But Fang Yuan was pretty clear that the mysterious party supporting the Guo Family was someone with an unpredictable strength that could definitely match the power of Spirit Returning Sect. "The battle of the two titans is nearing...." Although he did not know how Guo Family managed to get the help of such a power, Fang Yuan was no longer kept in the dark and could understand the current situation. And perhaps even Lin Benchu that old fox knew less than he did. "Zhou Wenwu!" Contemting to this point, Fang Yuan made a decision. "Your humble servant is here!" Facing Fang Yuan, Zhou Wenwu was obedient as ever, bowing instantly and listening intently. "The Guo Family incident has aplicated background...." Continuing to contemte, Fang Yuan did not want the periphery that he built up to suffer heavy casualties, "If the sect has any requests, you should do your best to fulfill them. But remember never to personally put yourself at the frontline. I wish you all the best!" "Could it be that the divine healer feels that Spirit Returning Sect is at a disadvantage?" Zhou Wenwu heart felt a perturbing chill, suddenly feeling a great sense of inscrutability. Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 52: Winning Over Chapter 52: Winning Over Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Vermillion Fruit..." After turning away someone who was seeking medical help, Fang Yuan nced at the nearly filled proficiency progress bar while he tossed the box containing the Vermillion Fruit. He was satisfied. This might give him the chance to upgrade his [Botany] to Level 4. "It is impossible to grow Vermillion Fruits in the secluded valley, but it might be possible to grow it on the spiritualnds of Green Peak. Either way, it is always good to be prepared!" As Fang Yuan entered the valley, the Flower Fox Ferret darted towards him and circled him continuously. It seemed to have sensed a gem on Fang Yuan. "This seed is of paramount importance, I cannot allow you to eat it!" Holding onto the box, Fang Yuan said, "Anyway the Vermillion Jade Rice is about to ripen soon, are you still worried there is not enough food for you it?" "Keke!" Upon hearing this, Flower Fox Ferret thought about it extensively before indignantly making a choice. "That¡¯s right, good boy!" Right after Fang Yuan¡¯spliment, Flower Fox Ferret raised its paw and pointed towards the direction of the spiritual bamboo. Its intentions were crystal clear. "What... you want the spiritual bamboo after they have borne fruit aspensation?" Fang Yuan touched his forehead and said, "You are really insistent on not being short-changed...Eh? Wait!" Fang Yuan smelled something fishy as he looked at the expression on Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s face. It looked as though he made a deal that was almost too good to be true. This aroused Fang Yuan¡¯s suspicion and he hurriedly walked towards the spiritual bamboo. Before he even reached, he took in a deep breath and felt enveloped by a gush of current in the air. "The purity of the air here is already almost on par with that of the spiritualnd. What a pity it is stillcking in terms of spiritual energy..." Shaking his head, Fang Yuan crossed the drain. Next to a rock, a green bamboo looked as though it was brimming with life and energy. "From what I saw earlier this morning, it looks extremely different...Is this because it has finally epted this plot ofnd?" Fang Yuan broke into a smile. This meant that the spiritual bamboo waspletely alive. Furthermore, looking at the flower buds, it would only take a few days for it to blossom. Fang Yuan finally understood why Flower Fox Ferret was willing topromise on the Vermillion Fruit. It had set its sights on the spiritual bamboo! Of course, if the Vermillion Fruit was perfectly undamaged, with its flesh intact, it would be apletely different situation altogether. ... One night passed. On the next day, Fang Yuan woke up early in the morning. He immediately felt there was something different about his surroundings. "Could this be......the spiritual energy produced by the spiritual bamboo? It could even travel till here?" Appearing to be solemn, Fang Yuan was actually filled with astonishment at this discovery. "Keke!" Flower Fox Ferret sprinted towards Fang Yuan. It was obvious that there was important news from the garden. Fang Yuan rushed over to where the spiritual bamboo was. The flower bud he saw the day before was in full bloom. Its pure white petals danced in the wind, releasing its spiritual energy. It also seemed to be causing a subtle resonance in the area next to it. "Is that...the field of Vermillion Jade Rice?" Fang Yuan tensed up and walked hurriedly to the side of the field. He was shocked at what he saw. In front of him were several red stalks of rice. They were half the height of a grown man and bore enormous grains that bent the thick stalks of the nt. "It ripened surprisingly fast! This is even faster than the previous harvest!" Fang Yuan stepped forward and stroke the grains and said, "Furthermore, the quality appears to be more superior than the previous harvest. Even though there were no major and sudden changes, could it still have been gradually umted?" Looking at this, Fang Yuan was filled with aplomb. As long as he selected the best harvest and continued to grow them over the next few seasons, he would definitely be able to bring about a transformation in the spiritual nts. Looking at the numerous fields nearby, Fang Yuan was suddenly touched and thought to himself, "Great! There is sufficient spiritual rice from the harvest this time for Flower Fox Ferret and me to consume over the year...There will even be leftovers after we leave behind those for nting and cultivation...If we can sell the rest, it would definitely bring in immense riches!" The Vermillion Jade Rice was only the lowest grade of spiritual nts. There was even a department within the Spirit Returning Sect that sells it as a source of revenue. Previously Fang Yuan was thoroughly shocked by the price of this sort of spiritual nts. Based on the quality of his recent harvest, he was sure that it would be in great demand on the market. Of course, there would be people who did not deserve it but yet desired to obtain it. "If it is just the Vermillion Jade Rice, it isn¡¯t such a big deal...furthermore...why would I even need money?" Upon packing thest sack of Vermillion Jade Rice into the storage room, Fang Yuan broke into a wide smile of satisfaction. He thought, "Great, we shall eat Vermillion Jade Rice every day starting from today until we get sick of it!" "Keke!" Flower Fox Ferret which was next to him jumped about excitedly. It looked like it could hardly control its excitement. With the spiritual rice, what else was there for Fang Yuan to fret about? He cooked a big pot of fragrant Vermillion Jade Rice right away. The uniqueness of the vour of the Vermillion Jade Rice this time was many times more intense than the vour previously. The immense pleasure from eating the Vermillion Jade Rice was also intensified. After a long time, Fang Yuan finally woke up from his deep sleep. He opened his mouth and released a breath of white gas. He looked down and saw that he had already finished the entire pot of spiritual rice. Down to the veryst cell in his body, he felt as though as he was reborn "The effects of the spiritual rice are even stronger this time..." Fang Yuan was extremely pleased. As he looked in the direction of the spiritual bamboo, he was filled with doubts as he wondered, "If the blossoming of the flower of the spiritual bamboo could actually elerate the time taken for the spiritual rice to ripen, what type of spiritual bamboo is this? What are the uses of its fruits?" His doubts were answered soon enough. After three days, most of the flowers from the bamboo withered. They were reced by green fruits which hung on the branches, brimming with life. It was a sight Fang Yuan had never seen before. "Bamboo fruits...in the legends, they were the staple foods of the phoenixes..." Flower Fox Ferret was already waiting patiently at the side for some time. Fang Yuan nced at it, plucked a fruit and tossed it in the air. "Shoo!" In a sh, Flower Fox Ferret appeared on the other side of the rock with fruit in its mouth. It then devoured the fruit voraciously. "What is it like?" As Fang Yuan watched Flower Fox Ferret intently as he waited for Flower Fox Ferret to finish its meal. "Keke...Keke..." Flower Fox Ferret pretended to not understand Fang Yuan and pointed at the spiritual bamboo again. It was hinting that it could not taste the full vours of fruitpletely by just trying one piece. It needed a few more in order to get a sense of it. "What a greedy rascal!" Fang Yuan jokingly reprimanded. At the same time, Fang Yuan had a sense of assurance as he thought, "There should not be a major problem with it..." At the same time, Fang Yuan plucked a fruit and tossed into his own mouth. Crunch! It had the vours of a green apple. It was sweet and ptable. At the same time, it sent a warm sensation flowing smoothly down his throat. "Erm... this is..." Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes widened as he felt his strength, inner force, Spirit, and Magic recharged to its maximum at that instant. He feltfortable and extremely energetic at the same time. "It does not increase stats, could it be that it promotes recovery?" He thought again, "Could this allow one to recover Essence, Spirit, and Magic in such a short time?" As his train of thoughts led to Red-eyed White Bird¡¯s outburst, Fang Yuan finally understood why the spiritual bird treated the bamboo fruit as though it¡¯s a piece of treasure. After its outburst, it would definitely deplete a lot of its energy which would mean a long recovery time. However, with the fruit, this time would shorten. "Even during a duel when both sides suffer serious injuries, this fruit could be consumed?" Looking at the spiritual bamboo, Fang Yuan was gradually enlightened. He thought, "No wonder, this bamboo fruit could even snatch a person away from the hands of death, which exins its immense value..." "Hold on!" Slightly worried, Fang Yuan looked at Flower Fox Ferret and asked, "You did not seem to expand a lot of energy today and you even ate one fruit before this, why are you still asking for more?" "Keke?" Flower Fox Ferret thought for a moment and began gesturing. Fang Yuan then realised the bamboo fruits could only induce recovery in humans. However, when consumed by spiritual beasts, especially birds, it appeared to aid in their growth on top of its recovery effects. As a result, it was no surprise the Iron-tailed ck Eagle and the Red-eyed White King Bird treasured it so much. Fang Yuan broke into a slight smile as the thought of the Iron-tailed ck Eagle surfaced in his mind. Recently in the deep valley, Fang Yuan came across several dead beasts such as wild boars and tigers. Their wounds looked like they were inflicted by an animal with razor sharp ws. These must be the Iron-tailed ck Eagle¡¯s acts of gratitude. At this instant, Fang Yuan thought of an even better idea. "Flower Fox Ferret...take these bamboo fruits and tempt the Iron-tailed ck Eagle into bing ourpanion...No, tell the Iron-tailed ck Eagle that we would give it bamboo fruits if it ensured the safety of this valley. How about that?" The Iron-tailed ck Eagle had a formidable strength. Even though it was slightly inferior to the Red-eyed White Bird, it had an advantage over most others as it could fly. Generally, once it took flight and circled around the valley, nobody coulde within 3 miles of the valley, not even the most experienced foot soldiers. Actually, Fang Yuan had already thought about making use of the Iron-tailed ck Eagle for quite some time. After he finally understood the instructions, the Flower Fox Ferret sped off into the vegetation with a few bamboo fruits. ... "Caw Caw!" In no time, along with an ear-piercing shriek, a deafening noise reverberated through the valley. Fang Yuan hurried over and found a dead python that was as thick as a human¡¯s arm lying the ground. There were a few big holes on its body which fresh blood flowed out from. "Eh? Golden Silk Python?" Fang Yuan stepped forward to take a closer look. His face instantly lit up with joy as he thought, "Even though we do not have the snake gall, the skin and bones of a snake are also exceptional medicinal ingredients. Along with snake meat, we have sufficient food tost a few days..." "Chirp! Chirp!" Amidst the strong wind and loud noise, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle descended from the sky. From its back, a white little head emerged and hopped off gracefully and moved over next to Fang Yuan. "Brother Eagle, have you considered my offer?" Fang Yuanughed and drew out a few bamboo fruits from his robes. "Chirp! Chirp!" Although the bamboo shoots did capture the Iron-tailed ck Eagle¡¯s attention, it tilted its head upwards, as though it was not easily swayed by Fang Yuan¡¯s gifts. However, it was evident from the eyes of the spiritual beast that it was indeed tempted by Fang Yuan¡¯s offer. "Keke Keke...Sssss..." As Flower Fox Ferret gestured and exined, Fang Yuan quickly understood the situation. He remarked, "Oh, so Brother Eagle is unwilling to be the spiritual beast of humans? You misunderstood my intentions, I never thought of doing that. I only wanted to hire you that¡¯s all. You will help me to patrol and protect this area and I will give you the spiritual fruits as payment...if it is insufficient, there are spiritual tea and spiritual rice..." Fang Yuan shook his head and ordered Flower Fox Ferret to trante it for the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. "Chirp! Chirp!" Flower Fox Ferret and Iron-tailed ck Eaglemunicated through gestures and Iron-tailed ck Eagle eventually shook its head. "What a difficult nut to crack!" Fang Yuan wrecked his brain for a solution and told Flower Fox Ferret, "Flower Fox Ferret, let Iron-tailed ck Eagle know, we will not hire it. Instead, we are offering it...These spiritual fruits are the gifts we offer respectfully to it for its service in protecting the valley. How about this?" Shaking his head, Fang Yuan sent the Flower Fox Ferret to trante his words. "Chirp! Chirp" As expected, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle nodded its proud head this time, intently eyeing the bamboo fruits in Fang Yuan¡¯s hand. "Alright, there you go!" Fang Yuan tossed the fruit into the air and watched the eager beast rushed to consume it. In his mind, Fang Yuan was speechless as he thought, "This beast is so ridiculously egoistic. This deal I made him was exactly what I proposed earlier. Fortunately, it met me, if not it would not be as profitable..." Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 53: Urgent Matters Chapter 53: Urgent Matters Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Autumn passed by slowly into the bitterly cold winter. Snowkes asrge as goose feathers fell from the sky, nketing the entire secluded valley in no time. Fang Yuan opened the window and exhaled a mist of white air. As he was an inner force expert, the temperature of the surroundings had little effect on his body. Even though he was wearing just ayer of thin clothing, he did not seem to feel cold at all. "Chirp! Chirp!" Iron-tailed ck Eagle called out in mid-air beforending steadily on the snow. It clutched a carcass of a young deer in its talons and looked at Fang Yuan intently. Iron-tailed ck Eagle¡¯s was already extremely pampered by the offerings of spiritual items and other foodstuffs that Fang Yuan fed it daily. It seemed as if Fang Yuan were to chase it away, it would not be willing to return to its previous harsh lifestyle in the wilderness. "Keke!" Upon seeing good food, Flower Fox Ferret sped away, leaving shallow footprints in the snow that looked like plum flowers. "Choo..." Iron-tailed ck Eagle cried out when it saw Fang Yuan walking out. Its message was crystal clear. "Oh? There¡¯s someone familiar approaching?" Through some interaction recently, Fang Yuan managed to grasp some of the more basic terms of thenguage used by these spiritual beasts. However, he has yet to fully master them. Nheless, he was still definitely confident of the few terms he used tomunicate with the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. "Keep out of sight in the meantime..." As he tended to the small deer in preparation for his next meal, he spoke to Iron-tailed ck Eagle without turning his head, "Rx, there will be a portion of spiritual rice and barbequed meat for you today..." "Chirp Chirp..." With Fang Yuan¡¯s reassurance, Iron-tailed ck Eagle then flew away reluctantly, disappearing into a tiny ck speck in the sky in no time. This was Fang Yuan¡¯s secret weapon; he could not reveal it to anyone so easily. As for the existence of Flower Fox Ferret, it was no longer a secret to those close to him. Instead, the knowledge of its existence seemed to intimidate them. "Zhou Wenwu would like to meet you, sir!" Before long, Fang Yuan strolled to the small hut along with the noise of the gong. Here, he saw Zhou Wenwu with arge and thick wolf skin cloak draped over him as he waited alone. "My greetings!" Seeing Fang Yuan appear, Zhou Wenwu¡¯s eyes lit up as he stepped forward and showed his respects. "Erm...you¡¯re not a stranger, please follow me into the valley!" This man¡¯s loyalty and integrity could be trusted to some extent. In fact, they were put the test before. They were also secretly manipted by Fang Yuan and Fang Yuan treated him differently from others. "Have you found out what¡¯s the mysterious force behind the Guo family?" Fang Yuan flicked off the snowkes that had fallen on his body and asked Zhou Wenwu casually. Seeing that Fang Yuan was not affected by the cold at all, Zhou Wenwu was filled with admiration and envy for him. He replied, "I¡¯ve found out already and I¡¯m here to report my findings sir!" "Very well, let¡¯s discuss it in the valley. What a great timing, the spiritual rice is also ready!" Fang Yuan looked into Zhou Wenwu¡¯s eyes. Although Zhou Wenwu seemed pure and innocent, Fang Yuan had the feeling that Zhou Wenwu was intently sizing him up. Recognising this, he said, "Based on your martial prowess, you have already reached the 5th Gate. What you need to do now is to strengthen your foundations and break through the Pain Gate!" "The more solid and firm your foundations are, the higher the chances of breaking through the 3 Perilous Gates. Even in the event you fail, the negative effects will not be as severe...Have you finished the Vermillion Jade Rice from thest time? Take along another batch with you this time then!" "Thank you, sir!" Zhou Wenwu was instantly delighted. After all, to be able to consume spiritual rice daily to boost his martial prowess was a privilege not even the direct disciples of the Spirit Returning Sect could enjoy. He would be stupid to betray Fang Yuan. Additionally, Fang Yuan had already emced traps on his body as preventive measures. Even though he did not say it explicitly, Fang Yuan had an immense reputation for being a divine healer. Any doubts Zhou Wenwu had were erased instantly. Even if Fang Yuan were to order him to fight against the Spirit Returning Sect, he would still do Fang Yuan¡¯s bidding no matter what. Despite this, Fang Yuan still had some reservations about him. At least he was still able to maintain his possession of the spiritual tea and Iron-tailed ck Eagle a secret. "Greetings esteemed ferret!" After stepping into the valley and seeing Flower Fox Ferret, he became extremely humbled. At that point in time, he already knew that Flower Fox Ferret was the guardian spiritual beast of the valley and its specific role was to watch over the Vermillion Jade Rice. It was this sort of valuable secret that was worthy of the guardianship of a spiritual beast. Remembering when he first saw Flower Fox Ferret, it did not pay him any attention. It was hugging onto arge porcin bowl and concentrated all its attention on voraciously consuming spiritual rice from it. This scene agitated Zhou Wenwu extremely. It was too embarrassing and intolerable! Not only was he unable to defeat Fang Yuan¡¯s pet spiritual animal, even what he was eating was inferior to the pet¡¯s. What sort of miserable and pathetic situation was he in? ¡¯At least it isn¡¯t too bad... Fang Yuan still gave me some of the spiritual rice after all, even though it was not as much as the ferret¡¯s..." At this point, Zhou Wenwu was minimallyforted that at least Fang Yuan treated him as well as his own pet. However, what Zhou Wenwu did not know was that Fang Yuan did not value the Vermillion Jade Rice as highly as he did. "Have a seat!" Entering the abode, Fang Yuan grabbed a cushion and poured a cup of clear tea. Even though it was justmon tea, Zhou Wenwu felt as though he was pampered beyond measure by this mere gesture and was struck beyond words. "Have you found out the backers of the Guo family?" Fang Yuan shook off the snowkes on his body and sat down. "Yes..." As Zhou Wenwu mentioned this, he pped himself on the face. Even with Fang Yuan¡¯s prior cautioning and medical help to preserve his life, he still nearly lost his life to the Guo family. "Ever since the failurest time, our sect repeatedly dispatched many groups of people led by elders to duel with the force behind the Guo family. After several intense duels, they finally found out that the force behind the Guo family was actually the Five Ghosts Sect!" Zhou Wenwu said angrily. "Five Ghosts Sect?!" Fang Yuan frowned. It seemed that after all, he was not as familiar as the situation around him as he thought he was. "This sect is extremely secretive and mysterious. They have always operated within Lieyang County. We also just found out that the ancestor of Guo family was actually a known disciple of the Five Ghost Sect...." Zhou Wenwu sighed and continued saying, "The Five Ghost Sect is an extremely powerful sect in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. It is almost as powerful as the Spirit Returning Sect. They are even more mysterious and brutal than the Spirit Returning Sect too. By activating their spies in the Guo family and even sending out experts this time, it seems like they are looking for something..." "Oh? What are they looking for?" Fang Yuan¡¯s heart skipped a beat and he enquired immediately. "I am not too sure myself, but it definitely is a piece of treasure! It was stolen and taken away by a traitor, but a lot of time has passed since then. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s already lost..." Zhou Wenwu shook his head and carried on saying, "The Spirit Returning Sect also suffered big losses. I also just heard that in this period of time, the Guo family have also suffered great losses. It also appears that the experts from the Five Ghosts Sect have realised that they are not gaining much from this area and are starting to pull out..." "Pull out..." Fang Yuan nodded his head and asked, "Is it because of the Spirit Returning Sect?" "Correct!" Zhou Wenwu nodded his head and habitually replied in a slightly proud tone saying, "Their actions have already startled our leader. They are even preparing to send Elder Han down. No matter how proud and daring the Five Ghosts Sect are, Qingye City is after all the territory of our Spirit Returning Sect! Only that..." Zhou Wenwu then began to hesitate and stuttered, "...the retreat of Five Ghosts Sect seems to be because they are consolidating their forces for some far more important reason back home...our sect leader has already ordered us to investigate and our confrontation with them might carry on!" "So, it¡¯s like that..." After hearing this, Fang Yuan remained silent for some time. It was obvious that whatever the Spirit Returning Sect was doing at this point in time was to some extent also helping him to avert disaster. Unless the Spirit Returning Sect drew away most of the attention of Five Ghosts Sect, the Five Ghosts Sect might even head straight to the valley. Fang Yuan was however puzzled at their decision to withdraw their forces now. Qingye City was the territory of the Spirit Returning Sect and furthermore, they had the support of the Wu Zong. It seemed reasonable for them to withdraw the moment they captured the attention of Shi Yutong. However, from Zhou Wenwu¡¯s ount, it appeared they had an ulterior motive. "It seems like...I really have to leave this valley!" Waving his hand, Fang Yuan gestured for Zhou Wenwu to leave him. After intense consideration, he finally made up his mind. Fang Yuan began to ponder over this iplete treasure map that had captured so much attention from the Five Ghosts Sect. There was probably a lot more to it. ... Guo family. Several horse carriages were already lined up neatly in formation ready to set off. Members of the Guo family were looking distraught and several women were sobbing. After all, they were leaving their home for good and they did not know when they would be returning. "Hmph, all you know is how to cry! What a burdensome bunch!" From the side, a few stern-looking riders atop massive horses d in ck shouted angrily, "Stop behaving this way and move faster!" "Master, why do we have to save this household? After all, apart from the elders of the Guo family, what business do thesemoners have with our sect?" One of the disciples who had a skull embroidered on the front of his robesined to an elder next to him. "Idi*t!" The elder flew into a rage unexpectedly and said, "The elders of the Guo family sacrificed their lives for our sect and now in this conflict we caused more of their family to lose their lives. If we just abandon them like this, our other disciples will lose hope and confidence in us. You have to understand that it is precisely thesemoners that form the roots of our sect..." "Hmph, Spirit Returning Sect..." The young martial artist scoffed, "Isn¡¯t it unnecessary for someone who is around 7th or 8th Gate toe along on this operation?" "Hehe, if it was just inner force experts who came it would be easy..." The elder shook his head and said, "It¡¯s just that I heard news that Elder Han wasing along with the reinforcements from the Spirit Returning Sect. He mastered the Yin and Yang energies twenty years ago and is already a martial artist of the 4 Heavenly Gates...I am reluctant to do so but I have to admit he is more superior than me!" "This journey to Qingye City is really unpleasant..." As if he was hit by some bad news, the young martial artist now looked down in distraught and said, "We have suffered too many losses...As for the Spirit Returning Sect disciples, despite suffering serious injuries, they could recover their old strength so easily so quickly..." "Yeah, I have heard that there¡¯s a divine healer in this area. Apparently, he could even bring someone dead back to life. Rumours described him to be so divine and godly that it seemed ridiculous. But from the looks of it, there seems to be some truth in the rumours. Should there be a chance in the future I would like to meet this person..." The elder tugged on his horse reins and left without turning back, saying, "For now, nothing is more important than our sect¡¯s issues. When you get out of Qinghe County, escort this group of people to Lieyang County with the rest of your seniors. I am making a move first!" Afterpleting his sentence, he set his horse into a full sprint and disappeared in no time without even turning back. Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 54: Attack Chapter 54: Attack Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Chang chang!" "Chang chang!" The ear-splitting sounds of a gong pierced the silence of the secluded valley. "Eh?" Fang Yuan, who was in the midst of his training, frowned and looked towards what seemed to be arge crowd gathering outside the valley and remarked, "Why are there still such unruly people? They must be from the Spirit Returning Sect or the Five Ghosts Sect!" It was evident that given his capabilities, there was no doubt that he was the leader of the Qingye City. Even in Qinghe County, many of the martial artists showed him a great deal of respect. After all, in the world of martial arts, nobody could guarantee that they would not get ill or injured, and not require the services of the divine healer ever. It was probably either of those two who dared to do something like this. With this thought, Fang Yuan strolled out of the valley without dy. ... "Elder Lu, you cannot barge into the valley!" Zhou Wenwu stood his ground in front of the valley, speaking righteously, "These are the rules set by Divine Healer Fang. If you continue to tantly disregard them and offend him, Elder Zhao¡¯s injuries might worsen..." This group of people belonged to the Spirit Returning Sect. At the front of the group, two disciples were carrying a stretcher. An elderly man whose breathing was extremely weakid on it. "Phew, phew..." Elder Lu clenched his fist and his eyes were bloodshot with rage. He barked, "What do you know? If Elder Zhao loses his life, you will not be able to answer for it!" These words increased the already high tension. Looking at Elder Zhao on the stretcher, Zhou Wenwu was in a dilemma. For any sect, martial artists beneath the 5th Gate were insignificant. Once a martial artist broke through the 6th Gate and developed inner force, the martial artist would be immediately bestowed an elder position. This was the true mark of an elite martial artist. Elder Zhao was well known in Qinghe County for his Great Sun Technique and Cloud Stepping Technique. Unfortunately, while he was rushing to another person¡¯s rescue, he bumped into Gui Wusheng from the Five Ghosts Sect. Gui Wusheng was an infamous viin who was an 8th Gate expert who had broken through the Death Gate. It was rumoured that he already mastered the Yin energy and entered the realms of the 4 Heavenly Gates too! A short battleter, Elder Zhao had been injured. Thankfully Elder Lu came just in time, and Gui Wusheng seemed to be in a rush, otherwise, he probably would have lost his life there and then It was no wonder Elder Zhao was in such a depressing condition. "Move aside!" As he shouted, Lu Zhisen¡¯s temper rose rapidly as he red menacingly at those who stood in his way. "No way!" Zhou Wenwu broke out in cold sweat but he refused to budge, exining, "Divine Healer Fang is an inner force expert that broke through the Pain Gate. Elder Lu, please show some respect!" "Hmph, there are so many rumours going about to the point that it¡¯s hard to believe them anymore. Even if he is at the 6th Gate, what could someone that just broke through do against my iron pole?" Lu Zhisen remarked arrogantly. He was also speaking his mind. After all, fighting against a newly advanced [Martial Artist (6th Gate)] would definitely not be a problem for him, considering his vast amount of experience. Standing away from Zhou Wenwu and Lu Zhisen, Lin Benchu and the head of the Zhang household watched nervously in silence with a group of disciples from the Spirit Returning Sect. They were naturally inclined towards supporting Zhou Wenwu as Lu Zhisen was an elder infamous for his recklessness. However, they also did not dare to bear the brunt of Lu Zhisen¡¯s murderous rage, hence they looked to Zhou Wenwu with respect and awe. "Saving this person¡¯s life is extremely important and urgent! Get out of my way!" Having lost his patience, Lu Zhisen swung his hand at Zhou Wenwu. "Bang!" Zhou Wenwu was hit by an enormous force which he could not resist even with his inner power of the 5th Gate. As a result, he was sent flying through the air. Inner power indeed lost out when pitted against inner force. Furthermore, Lu Zhisen did not expand all his power. Should he have used his weapon, Zhou Wenwu¡¯s brains would have been sttered on the ground. Even so, Zhou Wenwu was sent soaring high into the sky. "Bang!" Afternding with a dull thud, he realised that he was not injured at all. He was forcefully grabbed up by the neck by Fang Yuan with only one hand. "Erm? So you are the Divine Healer Fang Yuan?" Looking at the youthful Fang Yuan emerge from the valley, Lu Zhisen felt an uneasiness in his heart. Fang Yuan looked incredibly young. He looked like he was younger than 20 years of age. Yet when he responded earlier by nimbly catching Zhou Wenwu with ease, his skills seemed to suggest otherwise. This confused Lu Zhisen greatly. "Yes I am..." Fang Yuan released Zhou Wenwu and while looking at Lu Zhisen, shook his head and said, "You refused to abide by my rules and yet you still expect me to tend to your patient?" "You..." Lu Zhisen¡¯s face flushed red with anger. Swinging out his right hand, he instantly grabbed a metal pole as thick as a teacup and threatened Fang Yuan, "You dare to refuse to treat my patient? Be careful of my Coiling Dragon Iron Pole..." "Fu Ha ha ha!" Seeing this, Fang Yuan could not resist breaking intoughter. It was an entertaining sight watching Lu Zhisen¡¯s reckless and temperamental behavior. Using force to threaten a doctor to tend to a patient? What¡¯s the difference between that and forcing a fengshui master to select a spot to bury one¡¯s ancestors? If Lu Zhisen intended to end his family line, he could continue trying his luck. "Argh...This is pissing me off!" Lu Zhisen¡¯s face was blood red and the veins on his forehead swelled up and protruded out. He mmed the iron pole on the ground and caused a tremor around him. Raising his immensely huge arm, he charged towards Fang Yuan. "Hmm...6th Gate inner force?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes shed and opened his palm, spreading his fingers like an eagles w, creating a swishing noise. "Sssss pa!" With a loud explosion in the air, Lu Zhisen staggered two steps backward. It was evident Fang Yuan inflicted some damage on him. "Ah... Dragon Subduing Pole Technique!" With his eyes reddening further and his body bursting with rage, Lu Zhisen was going to give everything he had. Swinging the iron pole in his hand, Lu Zhisen brought it down with immense force. "Good move!" Fang Yuan moved forward swiftly and twisted his Eagle w. When he reappeared, he broke through the shadows created by the movements of Lu Zhisen¡¯s pole technique, grabbed onto the pole and forced it downwards. "Bang!" With a reverberating explosion, the Coiling Dragon Iron Pole deeply prated the soil, sendingrge amounts of soil particles into the air. Lu Zhisen¡¯s face was now swollen and red. His nostrils were almost going to start bleeding. He grabbed the pole with two hands and mustered all his strength as he tried to yank it out of the ground. However, the pole did not seem to budge. It seemed as though the hand on top of the pole was like the Five Finger Mountain that physically repressed the Monkey God. After the short exchange of blows, Lu Zhisen broke out in profuse perspiration. The colour drained from his face as he tried to catch his breath. "So? Do you concede defeat?" Fang Yuan asked with a smile. He was delighted with his own improvement. "You...already broke through the Shock Gate?" Lu Zhisen stuttered, but there was a degree of certainty in his voice. In the earlier bout, Fang Yuanpletely dominated the fight and disyed an impable character. Every move he madepletely wowed the spectators. It was as though they were watching a renowned martial artist in action. The intense concentration Fang Yuan had seemed unrivaled. Lu Zhisen might have been a brute, but he was not stupid. He quickly got to his feet and respectfully apologised, "Sorry for offending you, I hope you would forgive me. Should you seek to dish out punishment, please just punish me!" As Lu Zhisen conceded defeat, he remembered the brilliant and talented individual the elder epted as a student. In the past, the student improved at an incredible rate. But inparison with Fang Yuan, it no longer seemed as impressive anymore. "Eh?" "This..." Lin Yuanwai and the family head of the Zhang Family widened their mouths in disbelief. It was almost as if they were in a dream. In just one bout, the fiery Elder Lu infamous for his reckless violence was brought to his knees. Furthermore, he had a reputation for being a veteran expert martial artist who was gifted in strength, and unrivaled amongst 6th Gate martial artists. Also, what did he just say? Shock Gate? At that moment, everyone turned their gaze onto Fang Yuan. They now began to look at him in fear. "If that¡¯s what you think, then so be it!" Fang Yuan gave a vague answer, making it difficult for others toprehend. In reality, he had already broken through the Shock Gate long ago. Had he failed to break through this gate with the help of the Questioning Heart Tea, it would be ridiculous and embarrassing. ¡¯Anyway, in terms of cultivation andbat power, considering I could defeat this person, it seems like my martial prowess has reached the highest levels at least in Qinghe County?¡¯ Fang Yuan thought to himself and checked his stats window. "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 4.2 Spirit: 4.1 Magic: 3.0 Age: 19 Cultivation: [Martial Artist (7th Gate)] Techniques: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 7)] Skills: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 3)]" ¡¯In the blink of an eye. a year has passed, and I came from being a nobody into a highly skilled martial artist with miraculous healing skills...¡¯ Fang Yuan thought to himself as he was flushed with a sense of aplishment. This massive advancement made by Fang Yuan affected Minister Lin greatly. Looking at Fang Yuan, Minister Lin could only feel repeated waves of regret hitting him from inside, as though his heart was attacked by a venomous snake. It was excruciating for him. Even though Lin Leiyue had Shi Yutong¡¯s blessings and the future of their sect seemed bright, it now appeared to be merely a hopeful expectation. In terms of true power, reputation and position, Fang Yuan was no less inferior than Lin Leiyue. Why was he so blind and wasteful to let go of such a desirable candidate? He could only regret as it was toote. Looking at the very impressed family head of the Zhang Family and the smug looking Zhou Wenwu, he felt very annoyed. It seemed as though they were all ready to send the women in their own families to sleep with Fang Yuan to win his favour. "An aplished martial artist at such a young age!" Lu Zhisen silently sighed. Looking at the frail and weak Elder Zhao lying next to him, he swallowed his pride and grudgingly dropped to his knees and begged, "Please try to save him divine healer! Should you want to dish out punishment, please just punish me!" Seeing Lu Zhisen fall to his knees, and even Fang Yuan was moved. Even though Lu Zhisen was a boorish fellow, it appeared even he had a soft side. "Please recover!" Waving his hand, Lu Zhisen involuntarily stood up almost immediately. Fang Yuan continued to speak, "I shall forgive and forget your earlier transgression with what you have just done...Are you aware of my rules?" For every person the divine healer in the deep valley healed, he demanded either a spiritual object or anything else that was valuable as payment. "Yes! Of course!" Lu Zhisen respectfully presented a silk booklet and said, "I obtained half of these random records. The materials inside include records by several renowned elders, as well as various stories of spiritual knights. Please ept this as payment!" Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 55: Shaoyang City Chapter 55: Shaoyang City Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "The Secluded Mountains Prefecture is one of the three prefectures in the country. It is also under the jurisdiction of the six counties, which Qinghe is a part of. It is home to several mysterious and special individuals..." "In terms of martial arts, there are several talented spiritual knights, capable of fully mastering spiritual energy and lightness skill. Only the cr¨¨me de cr¨¨me of martial artists can rival their skills..." Fang Yuan sat cross legged as he prepared his tea. The steam from the piping hot water simmered off once it came into contact with the cool surroundings as the stunning fragrance of the tea wafted out. The small firece created a sense offort from the bitter cold environment. It was a different experience reading his book in such an environment. Elder Zhao from the Spirit Returning Sect suffered a life-threatening injury as he was hit by Gui Wusheng¡¯s Ghostly w and the Dposition Toxins seeped into his bones. His condition was made worse by his internal injuries. However, with thebination of Fang Yuan¡¯s Golden Needle Acupuncture and Yama¡¯s Talisman, Fang Yuan saved his life without a fuss. After Elder Zhao¡¯s condition stabilised, Fang Yuan immediately sent off Lu Zhisen and the group of people who were thanking him profusely. He then began to read the book they gave him intently. "Erm...in this journal, the time period is longer. Furthermore, the author¡¯s martial arts prowess is so advanced. It seems like he has reached the highest level of Wu Zong..." After reading through the book once, doubts arose in Fang Yuan¡¯s mind. Most importantly, the author recorded several legends regarding spiritual knights, traditional customs and even revealed some precious pieces of information regarding advanced martial arts. This pleasantly surprised Fang Yuan. "I¡¯m left with one remaining gate to clear to break through the 8th Golden Gates in the 12 Golden Gates. After I clear this, I must master the Yin and Yang energies for the 4 Heavenly Gates..." Laying out the 12 Cultivation Levels of Initial, Rest, Life, Restriction, View, Pain, Shock, Death, Yin, Yang, Earth and Heaven in front of Fang Yuan, he only had five left to clear. "At the 8th cultivation level, I must break through the Death Gate. At the 9th and 10th, I must master the Yin and Yang energies individually while at the 11th cultivation level I have to masterbining yin and yang energies into one and to break through the 12th cultivation... At the 12th level, I must put in consistent effort in training to break through this level. Afterpleting all these, I can finally get a taste of the exhrating experience of being a martial artist of the highest level of Wu Zong..." "Many gifted martial artists have failed at this stage but apparently after passing this stage one would enter an entirely different realm altogether. There are even changes in the form...for example, one would no longer train inner force but...elemental force!" From these descriptions in the booklet, Fang Yuan was able to confirm that this author had already reached the Wu Zong level. "ording to him, it is only with the breaking of the Wu Zong and mastering of elemental force then one could be considered to be really set on the route of cultivation which can then be worthy ofparison with the spiritual knights and alchemy masters..." While reading this particr paragraph of description, Fang Yuan sensed a hint of mncholy between the lines. At this point, Fang Yuan¡¯s mood was also affected. After all, it was extremely rare even for gifted martial artists who had renowned teachers to break through the 4 Heavenly Gates. Wu Zong was more about fate. Even if one were to train and prepare for his entire life, he also had to count on fate to seed. But as for spiritual knights and the like, they started training their elemental force straightway. Their strengths and abilities at the beginning were already on par with Wu Zong. This news could possibly disillusion several martial artists. "In the first ce nothing in this world is fair!" Fang Yuan put down the booklet with a sigh. He was still very envious of spiritual knights and their kind, thinking, "Spiritual knights use elemental force and are able to manipte nature, gaining the ability of Creation. For example, magical masters are able to arrange the key elements while alchemy masters can obtain the extremely beneficial essence from spiritual nts, grabbing the valuable fruits of nature. There are also the more mysterious dream masters......" Fang Yuan no longer had further doubts about the martial arts route ahead of him before Wu Zong. Fang Yuan was only slightly puzzled about how to be a spiritual knight. "If we were to talk only about physical capabilities, there are not many people who are better than me I think. Especially in the aspect of magical energy..." As for the honing of martial arts skills, it usually consisted of just building up and enhancing elemental energy. As for Fang Yuan¡¯s growth in the magical energy, he had the aid of the Questioning Heart Tea. As for the requirements to be a spiritual knight, it seemed to be very simr to this magical energy. Fang Yuan walked to the front of a bronze mirror and released all of his magical energy. At that moment, the young man in the mirror looked incredibly vibrant and lively. He was almost shining with youth and vigour, like a luminous pearl in the night. "Luminosity...magical energy of 3.0, and I can already aplish something like that..." Fang Yuan knew that it would be a pity if he did not attempt to train to be a spiritual knight with his current capabilities. But bing a spiritual knight was not a simple task. It required determination and will. "When I leave this time, I have to also pay more attention to the details here..." Fang Yuan made up his mind, but he was still slightly troubled. As for all those spiritual knights, Qinghe Country was just a poor rural area. Even he had never heard about this area in the legends. If he really wanted to find out, he had to travel out towards the Secluded Mountain Prefecture or even the capital of the country, maybe he had to even travel out of the country to search for it in order to have a glimmer of hope. "Ow!!!" After making up his mind, Fang Yuan got up walked to the garden and called out. His voice reverberated around the valley and shook the ground. "Chirp!" "Keke!" A big and small shadow from the sky and ground respectively sped towards Fang Yuan. It was Flower Fox Ferret and Iron-tailed ck Eagle. "I¡¯m going to travel out for a long period of time, this secluded valley will now be under your charge!" Fang Yuan caressed the small head of Flower Fox Ferret and tossed a bamboo fruit to Iron-tailed ck Eagle. Taking his spiritual tea, spiritual rice, and bamboo fruit, he hid them in separate ces within the vast and huge Clear Spirit Mountain. Given the vastness of the mountain, not many people would be able to uncover his hiding spots. After harvesting the crops for thest time, Fang Yuan set a fire and burned all the Vermillion Jade Rice nts into ashes. The barren Questioning Heart Tea tree and spiritual bamboo that were left looked a bit conspicuous, but it was extremely difficult to notice them. It would be far more challenging for someone else to take advantage of their beneficial properties in their current state. Furthermore, with the protection of the two spiritual beasts, Fang Yuan felt more assured. ... Lieyang County. This was a part out of the six counties in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. It had always been the territory of the Five Ghosts Sect and a neighbour of Qingye County. As it had a few gigantic quarries, the county was economically powerful and looked more developed than Qinghe County. Winter passed and spring set in. Within Shaoyang City, people who rested during the bitter cold winter resumed transporting huge amounts of mineral ores again. These mineral ores of Lieyang harnessed some form of Yang energy. It was the cksmith¡¯s favourite material to add to their works which included weapons. After the addition of these mineral ores through a unique process, the quality of the constructed weapons would be enhanced and maybe even transformed. It might also have some divine or holy properties. It was said that such weapons could defeat the most demonic entities and were thus known to be the divine and powerful weapons of magical troops. Of course, this was just said in legends. However, the hard reality was that the demand for Lieyang mineral ores was far greater than its supply. Furthermore, along the journey, the value of these mineral ores would increase along the way. By the time they reached the main mansion of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, the price would increase by fifty percent. When they reach the capital of the country, the price would double. If one was willing to risk breaking thew and transporting it beyond the country¡¯s borders to farawaynds, the profits one could make would be almost uncountable. It was definitely enough for one to live the rest of his life in prosperity without having to work anymore. However, several dangers and obstacles gued this transportation route. These merchants were only enticed by the sheer amounts of profits they could reap to take the risk of face the bandits and robbers along the way. They had to be brave, intelligent and extremely determined on their journey in order to seed. "Is this Shaoyang City?!" As the horse carriage entered the gates of the city slowly, a jade-like hand pulled open the curtains and the person inside visually surveyed the different scenery the city held. The person was feeling incredibly excited. "Miss, we have reached the inn!" In front of the carriage stood a middle-aged man with a goatee. He looked like the hotel manager and at the same time, he also looked like he was the carriage driver. "Great!" Thedy dismounted from the carriage. Her striking red robes incongruently stood out against the dull colours of her surroundings. Her eyes were glistening beautifully, but she covered half her face with a mask, eliciting looks of disappointment on those around her. "Old Yu, thank you so much for putting on the disguise and for also being my carriage driver, it must have been hard for you!" After entering the inn and requesting a suite, thedy removed her mask and revealed a gorgeous face. It was Lin Leiyue. "I am honoured to work for you, Miss Lin!" The middle-aged man smiled and wiped off the sweat from his face. The lines on his face changed drastically and he looked evidently more light-hearted. If Fang Yuan was here, he would definitely find this man familiar. This was the man who forced Lin Yuanwai to back out of his marriage. He was the Cold-faced Iron Eagle, Yu Qiuleng! "Elder Han has already notified us that he would link up with us as soon as possible to chase down Gui Wusheng!" Lin Leiyue pped her hands and a few skilled martial artists entered, ready to take orders. "The Five Ghosts Sect has a mysterious background and they are unpredictable. When they were in Qinghe county they activated the spies they nted for many years. Their objective does not seem trivial. You are the elite spies of our sect in Shaoyang County, support Elder Han and my mission this time and find out the objective of the Five Ghost Sect!" "Yes Madam!" All the martial artists bowed respectfully. "Good, Yan San, Ma Si, Hou Wu, Zheng Liu...Four of you guard the four doors in Shaoyang County. The martial artists of Five Ghosts Sect have recently been gathering in this city. Make sure you get to know each of them inside out!" "Zou Jiu, you will..." Lin Leiyue looked as though she was issuing operational orders in an army. Herst order was to Yu Qiuleng, "Old Yu, I will put you in charge of the deployments of the Five Ghost Sect in this area!" "Rest assured, I will not fail you!" Yu Qiuleng replied in arrogant tone; he was confident that he would seed. He had no reason to believe otherwise. Since thest time, Yu Qiuleng had made massive improvements in his martial prowess. He was also promoted to an elder in his sect. His confidence was bolstered, and he was extremely satisfied. This time, he was tasked with escorting members of the sect on this mission. It was a huge responsibility, an indication of his bright future in the sect, thus exining his confidence and high morale. Seeing this, Lin Leiyue cautioned him, "The Five Ghosts Sect is as powerful as ours, do not becent!" "Very well said Miss Lin, I will remember it!" Yu Qiuleng waved as he replied. Judging from his cavalier attitude, Lin Leiyue knew then that he did not take her words seriously. Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 56: Sparring Chapter 56: Sparring Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions As days and hours gradually passed, the whole Shaoyang City instead became more heavily guarded. With such a serious and solemn atmosphere, even the ordinary folks could feel it. Every day, there would always be peopleing from Lieyang County. Even martial artists from other counties flooded the city daily. Needless to say, the people who couldn¡¯t be left unmentioned, were the disciples of Five Ghosts Sect, constantly fighting and killing on the streets and in the alleyways, almost as if there was no stop to the violence and mayhem. Along with this, was news that a treasure had been spotted in Shaoyang City. The news spread far and wide, attracting even more warriors toe forth to the city. "There¡¯s a treasure in Shaoyang City? Some imed to have seen its shine, sparkling in the sky,sting for many years?" Fang Yuan was riding a green donkey; upon hearing the exaggerated rumors, he broke intoughter. "Those rumors must be fake." Traveling beside him was a man 7 feet tall, body bursting with masculinity, as muscr as a bull. "This was personally said by brother, it cannot be any less true!" This huge man was carrying an axe the size of a door, with an air of ferocity around him, he said, "It seems like you¡¯re a kindred spirit, why note join us at Cow Head Mountain? We can eat huge blocks of meat, drink giant bowls of wine, talk about gold and silver, how enjoyable will that be, ha ha!" "Oh no oh no, Brother Wang, I am honoured by your offer and hospitality, but my martial arts skills are not up to par, so I think I¡¯ll pass." Fang Yuan discreetly rolled his eyes, unable to believe that this fool could be a mountain king. He met this man on the road. After finding out that they both were heading to Shaoyang City, they had been traveling together ever since. His name, in particr, was very special. His surname was Wang and his first name was Fugui. The name Wang Fugui meant ¡¯Rich King¡¯, and that already sounded like it belonged to a wealthy man. From what Wang Fugui said, this Cow Head Mountain was also from Lieyang County and was supposedly very famous. "Brother Wang, you¡¯re making the journey to Shaoyang City for the treasure too?" Fang Yuan didn¡¯t want to talk about recruitment anymore and thus immediately changed the topic. "We don¡¯t even know how the treasure looks like, even if we did, the experts will beat us to it, as if it¡¯s that easy to find it!" A shrewd look shed on Wang Fugui¡¯s face. "Oh? I didn¡¯t think brother would be someone who understood the situation." Fang Yuan was slightly surprised," Then why are you heading to Shaoyang City?" "Ha ha..." Wang Fugui waved his hands in excitement and said," Recently so many people are gathering in Shaoyang, and just as I was nning on gaining fame as a martial artist, I heard that Five Ghosts Sect has many senior martial artists here, even the junior ones are all here too! All I have to do is wait for a good opportunity to challenge them, beat them, and my name will spread throughout thends. With such a good chanceing up, how could I miss it?" "Oh I see!" Fang Yuan cupped his hands together, at least he finally understood what the big fuss was about, and how it could still attract so many martial artists toe too. People from the world of martial arts weren¡¯t passive and were not willing to miss out on any action if they heard of it. Needless to say, add on the promise of treasure, even while knowing that there might be danger, they would just walk straight up to face it without fear. "Brother, even though your martial arts skills are bad, but your medical prowess is unmatchable! If you could join Cow Head Mountain, and work for Brother Wang, then 1 of the 5 important positions will be left for you!" Ever since Wang Fugui personally saw Fang Yuan save a grandfather and grandson with medical techniques, he had been wowed and totally admired Fang Yuan¡¯s medical skills, wanting to recruit him into the group. Unfortunately, Fang Yuan had no interest in being a mountain thief, and thus there wasn¡¯t much Brother Wang could do. "We¡¯ve reached Shaoyang City!" His eyes lighted up upon seeing the building in the distance. "Oh? There are martial artists fighting..." Wang Fugui saw that in front of the gates of the city there was a circle of sabre wielding martial artists. There seemed to be people fighting in the centre of the circle. Upon seeing that, Fugui excitedly said, "Everyone out of my way!", as he headed towards the circle. He was huge, hence it was good to be allied with him. asionally some martial artists shed fierce looks, but upon seeing his body of steel, and the giant axe, they didn¡¯t dare to pass anyments. This allowed Fang Yuan to pass through easily. As they entered the circle, it seemed like the battle wasing to an end. The fight involved two martial artists, one old and one young. The old guy was graceful and had remarkable skills, but it was evident that he was already exhausted to his limit and was being forced to a corner by the younger guy. "This youth had actually advanced to the 6th Gate, and became an inner force expert?" Fang Yuan eyes flickered as he looked at the younger warrior. He had nice eyebrows and a nice coloured skin. However, his face was extremely pale and he carried an aura of coldness. Wearing ck, he was definitely a disciple of Five Ghosts Sect. "Who¡¯s that?" Fang Yuan saw Fugui¡¯s veins bulging in his neck, a look of eagerness on his face and was temporarily speechless. "Ha Ha, looks like you¡¯re not from around here, you don¡¯t even know Ghost King!" "Ghost King?" Fang Yuan shrugged; he really haven¡¯t heard of this name before. "This guy is one of the best disciples of Five Ghosts Sect! He was born gifted, at the age of 20 he obtained inner power and was able to break through the Pain Gate, being the first youth in Lieyang County to attain that!" Wang Fugui¡¯s eyes never left the fight, and in acknowledgment he merely murmured. "Oh..." Fang Yuan was rendered speechless upon hearing his response. Excluding himself, from thest time they met, even Lin Leiyue was still a few steps away from breaking through the Pain Gate. If this youngster had really done it then he would have set a new record. With regards to the difference in skill between Leiyue and this youngster, oh well, Leiyue would have tomit suicide out of embarrassment. After all, Ghost King was a merciless evil demon who managed to break through all 7 Gates in a year. Fang Yuan was an intellectual, but was indifferent when it came to battles. "Ghost King¡¯s martial art is graceful and elegant, just like how a spider spins its web, slowly but surely forcing its prey into a corner. The old man is alreadypletely exhausted, its best if he surrenders early lest he suffers even more internal injuries." "Five Moons Palm!" Ghost King gave a shout, his right hand turning pale beyond measure,pletely drained of colour, as he gracefully slid past the old man¡¯s defences and pressed his hand on the old man¡¯s chest. "Argh..." The old man¡¯s facial expression took a turn for the worse, as he rapidly staggered back, spitting out purplish ck blood. "Flying Crane has actually been defeated!" "He is actually a renowned master of inner force in Lieyang County!" "Seems like he¡¯s about to be reced by the new generation of martial artists..." "Ghost King¡¯s techniques are of such a high level, don¡¯t even talk about Lieyang County, even within Secluded Mountains Prefecture, I doubt there¡¯s many who can match up to him..." "Hey! Everyone listen up!" Ghost King eyed the whole circle and proudly said, "Shaoyang City is Five Ghosts Sect¡¯s territory, anyone who has any thoughts aboutpeting with us better think twice, or you¡¯ll end up just like this old man!" Upon finishing his sentence, he gave a cold smirk. Surprisingly, he and the other disciples did not enter the city. They all got on horses and rode off to an unknown destination. Wang Fugui waited until they were gone before he indignantly said, "Hmph...that bold attitude of his." "If I wish my name to be renowned throughout thends, all I have to do is go up, challenge them and win, am I right?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes were filled with ridicule. Wang Fugui had natural strength and had trained in the brute strength of the Cow Devil Technique till the 5th Grade. Usually, there were few martial artists that could match up with someone like that, but it turned out that a master of inner power was one of those who could. Wang Fugui¡¯s face broke into a smile and rubbed his head in glee but the moment he saw the Flying Crane walking away, all expressions vanished instantly. Under the shine of the setting sun, the back of Flying Crane seemed like a defeated hero, causing a tinge of sadness to suddenly hit Fang Yuan. It seemed like Ghost King¡¯s disy of power was very effective, striking fear into the circle of martial artists that were watching the fight. Having been shocked by Ghost King¡¯s prowess, they suddenly became less rowdy and entered the city in a quiet and orderly manner. "Let¡¯s go! I¡¯ll bring you to Fragrance Bar for a drink or two." After entering the city, Wang Fugui shrugged off all past feelings of sadness and said," My drinking tolerance is unmatched in Cow Head Mountain, believe me, I¡¯m not making it up!" "Ha Ha...I have other matters to attend to, please excuse me!" Although Fang Yuan wanted to personally see whether Fugui¡¯s im was true, after considering his own alcohol tolerance, he knew he was only going to embarrass himself and thus left immediately. "Oh? What matters are you referring to? Could you be going to meet some beautiful maiden?" Fugui teased. Suddenly, a carriage stopped in front of them and it¡¯s doors swung open, revealing a young maiden. "Brother Fang Yuan? Pleasee in!" "You see! I really have matters to attend to!" Fang Yuan rubbed his nose as he entered the carriage. Wang Fugui stood there in a daze, only regaining his senses after a moment. pping his forehead, he said, "It¡¯s ok, Brother Fang Yuan really has matters to attend to, he didn¡¯t hide anything from me..." Suddenly, he had a fit of anger, and scolded, "Choosing women over me? How can he leave Fugui alone here by himself! Hmph...I¡¯ll go drink wine by myself then." "Maiden Lin! What a coincidence!" The carriage had little room, and the air was filled with a fragrant smell. Sitting opposite Fang Yuan was Maiden Lin. She had a peculiar look on her face as she gazed at Fang Yuan, leaving him confounded as to why she had such an expression. Little did he know that Maiden Lin had failed before due to his mistake, and was embarrassed really badly. But she chose not to tell him out of fear that the Spirit Returning Sect woulde knocking at his door. Upon hearing that Fang Yuan¡¯s greeting came with a hint of alienation, Maiden Lin¡¯s eyes flicked as she said delicately, "I heard that your medical skills have exceeded all expectations, and have surpassed even that of your mentor. I am in awe of your achievement, but I wonder, what brings you here? Surely you know that currently Shaoyang City is filled with danger?" Fang Yuan curiously asked, "I¡¯ve heard that there was a treasure in the city, and have decided toe take a look. As long as I don¡¯t get caught up in the hunt for the treasure there shouldn¡¯t be too much of a problem... Is that the reason why Maiden Lin is here too?" Maiden Linughed, as she admitted, "This was supposed to be a secret but for some reason it has been leaked out to almost every city and county around here. Now the daily influx of warriors has increased to unbelievable amounts..." Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes shed, "Wasn¡¯t the rumour spread on purpose?" Maiden Lin shook her head," Although taking advantage of the chaos to reap benefits will be good, but I definitely will not want to do it on such arge scale." "If that¡¯s the case, this will be interesting..." Fang Yuan rubbed his chin, deep in thought. Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 57: Suspicion Chapter 57: Suspicion Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The horse carriage stopped at the back of therge mansion and immediately two martial artists dressed as servants stepped forward and respectfully drew back the curtains on the carriage. "This ce...seems to be the backyard of a house belonging to someone from the upper ss..." Upon hearing the muffledmotion from the front yard, Fang Yuan silently nodded. Fang Yuan was already impressed when he saw the technique and skill behind the tricks done earlier. Seeing that of the Spirit Returning Sect, Fang Yuan was also convinced that the Spirit Returning Sect was indeed able to rival the veteran sects. Their influence in this area was no less remarkable. "This is the secret base for our Spirit Returning Sect. Apart from the martial artists from our sect, Master Fang you are our first guest!" Lin Leiyue broke into a gorgeous smile as she led the way in front. After making their way through a few smaller doors, they arrived at a garden. The garden was intricately arranged and designed. Even though the cold winter had yet to pass, signs of life and growth were beginning to emerge. Next to the clear green pond, a moustached martial artist was practising the Eagle w Technique. "Whoosh whoosh!" Apanying each strike the martial artist made, the force pushed the air around him along while creating subtle sound effects. It was as though a pond of still water was being disturbed. "Old Yu!" Lin Leiyue made what appeared to be a casual greeting. However, Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes to this. Was not this the Cold Faced Iron Eagle Yu Qiuleng? The same person who followed Minister Lin into the mountain and then forced himself to break off his engagement? In the beginning, Fang Yuan thought Yu Qiuleng¡¯s martial prowess were formidable. After watching Yu Qiuleng, he did not seem that powerful after all. It even seemed like Yu Qiuleng¡¯s Eagle w Technique was inferior to Fang Yuan¡¯s. "Erm, you are?" Yu Qiuleng gently nodded in acknowledgement towards Lin Leiyue. Looking at Fang Yuan, Yu Qiuleng felt a tingling sense of familiarity. Frowning his eyebrows, his eyes glistened all of a sudden as he remembered, "The guy from Qingye city?!" At this moment, a tingle of hostility crept appeared on his face as he thought, "How dare he still pester Maiden Lin?!" "It¡¯s a misunderstanding Old Yu!" Upon seeing this, Lin Leiyue hurriedly exined, "I merely bumped into Master Fang along the way. Furthermore, he is an aplished martial artist and is famous in Qingye city for his medical prowess..." "Hmph, it might just be a scam..." Yu Qiuleng dismissively snorted. Even though he has heard some rumours, he stubbornly refused to believe that this teenager from the mountains could aplish so much. He might have killed Song Zhong and Elder Zhong, but it might be because they were already in a precarious position and Fang Yuan probably killed them by pulling off a trick or two. At this point in time, Fang Yuan was not disying his martial prowess, and based on what Yu Qiuleng could see through his naked eye, he could not discern that Fang Yuan¡¯s capabilities were as good as what was being said. "Oh? Looks like you do not like me very much?" Fang Yuanughed harmlessly, but there was a slight hint of anxiety in his eyes. "Sir, reporting!" At this moment, a disciple of the Spirit Returning Sect sprinted towards them with a messenger bird in hand, "We have just received Elder Han¡¯s message. He had already found the tracks of the elders from Five Ghosts Sect outside the city. Elder Han ordered us to reinforce them immediately!" "This matter is of utmost importance, we will move off right now!" Upon saying this, Lin Leiyue shot a pleading nce at Fang Yuan. Seeing this, Fang Yuan decided not to mention the next training session he was thinking of suggesting. Anyway, having seen Yu Qiuleng¡¯s pitch ck face, he knew there would be trouble for him, so there was no hurry. When an honourable man seeks revenge, waiting ten years to do so was not considered a long time. Even though he was not an honourable man, he could still wait a few days. "Very sorry Master Fang, our sect needs to attend to a pressing matter!" Lin Leiyue looked at Fang Yuan apologetically. "Oh, it¡¯s alright, I shall take my leave then..." Fang Yuan turned and prepared to leave. "Do not let him leave!" At this moment, Yu Qiuleng, who was remaining quiet, remarked, "This man has heard the secrets of our sects, we cannot let him spread them" Yu Qiuleng was originally intending to kill Fang Yuan to prevent him from leaking the sect¡¯s secrets. However, as the Spirit Returning Sect was a proper and respectable sect, and with so many junior disciples present, he could not surface his suggestion. "Master Fang, are you willing to follow Lin Leiyue?" Instantly reacting, Lin Leiyue remarked "What a coincidence! Isn¡¯t this why I came?" Fang Yuan chuckled as this was also on his mind. "Alright, let¡¯s dy no further, we shall move out this instant! There is no need to leave anyone here anymore!" Being a decisive person, Lin Leiyue left instantly. In no time, a group of people hurriedly exited the mansion and rushed towards a location in the mountains. ... "Click ck!" The horses they rode took them at a blistering speed. "Maiden Lin, can you tell me, what is the treasure you were talking about?" Amidst the galloping of the horses, Fang Yuan¡¯s voice resonated clearly in Yu Qiuleng¡¯s ears. Fang Yuan¡¯s question rmed Yu Qiuleng. "Given what has urred, Leiyue has nothing to hide. The treasure is said to be a piece of Yin Yang Jade!" Ignoring the cautionary cough from Yu Qiuleng who was beside her, Liu Leiyue replied immediately. "Yin Yang Jade?" Fang Yuan was slightly confused. After a moment, he remembered reading about it in a journal somewhere. His eyes brightened as he thought, "Isn¡¯t Yin Yang Jade the item stated in legends that could merge the Yin and Yang energies and elerate a martial artist¡¯s advancement in skills?" After the 8 Gates of the path of a martial artist, it was the 4 Heavenly Gates! Discounting the Earth and Heaven Gate, the Yin Gate and Yang Gate at the start precisely required the merging of the Yin and Yang energies! This Yin Yang Jade was a famous treasure of generations. It was said that the jade was a natural gem which contained yin and yang energy and could immensely improve foundations of the martial artist. It was said that it could also break through the Yin and Yang Gates. It was indeed a much sought-after treasure. A martial artist from the 4 Heavenly Gates could easily be one of the top five martial artists regardless whether he was in the Spirit Returning Sect or the Five Ghosts Sect! This exined the importance ced on this treasure and the borate actions taken by the two big sects as well as many other martial artists to try to attain it. "Obtaining this Yin Yang Jade is equivalent to reserving a spot in the ranks of highly powerful martial artists at 4 Heavenly Gates in the future..." Fang Yuan nodded and nced at Lin Leiyue. It was obvious that this operation taken by the Spirit Returning Sect to obtain this treasure was most likely for Lin Leiyue. However, Lin Leiyue was still injured which made Fang Yuan slightly unsure about who the treasure was for. He was even more incognisant if the person responsible for this was actually him. ¡¯It is easy to defeat your external enemies, but difficult to ovee your inner demons!¡¯ Being aware of Fang Yuan¡¯s gaze, appearing to be slightly embarrassed, Lin Leiyue lowered her head. She was however thinking, "To defeat my inner demons and take down my enemy¡¯s strong points, it was originally sufficient for any of the elders to defeat Brother Fang in front of me. However, Elder Han¡¯s report came all of a sudden and I was unable to adapt my n in time. Fortunately Elder Han is present, it might even be easier to aplish the mission!" Elder Yan and Elder Han were the left and right pirs of the Spirit Returning Sect. Both were top martial artists of the 4 Heavenly Gates! "The Little Frost Mountain is right here!" A junior disciple who arrived at the entrance to the mountain dismounted immediately. He summoned a messenger bird and nodded at Lin Leiyue. "Dismount and enter the mountain!" Lin Leiyue did not hesitate. Her will at this point in time was indomitable. "Move!" Yu Qiuleng took the initiative and led the way. At the same time, he shot a provoking re at Fang Yuan. After all, in the dense and old forests in this mountain, an "ident" would, after all, be quite amon urrence. Although it seemed like nothing would happen at that point in time, should they get into a fight with the people from the Sect of the Five Ghosts, some fratricide might be inevitable. However, after entering the mountain, Fang Yuan¡¯s behaviour caused Yu Qiuleng to view him in a different light. The path was filled with multiple boulders and blocked by thorny nts... In the true old forests in the deep mountains, there was not even a path to follow. Even for veteran martial artists, it was extremely difficult for them to navigate. The people brought out by the Spirit Returning Sect were all respectable martial artists who could still manage the difficulty of the path. Yu Qiuleng was trying his best to conceal his difort as he waited to ridicule any mistake made by Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan was still patient and uining. He did not seem to slow down by the natural obstacles and looked more at ease andfortable in his surroundings than Yu Qiuleng. As he moved swiftly through the obstacles, he casually enquired, "Do themunication methods used by your sect still work in an area like this? Also, are there any more instructions given by Elder Han?" "The methods of our sect are impable!" Yu Qiuleng replied grudgingly. He was shocked at Fang Yuan¡¯s bravery as well as his remarkable Lightness Skill. However, even then Yu Qiuleng convinced himself that Fang Yuan¡¯s ability was only limited to his slightly superior Lightness Skill. It must be acknowledged, that once someone has made up his mind about a certain issue, it would be extremely difficult to convince him otherwise. "Rustle rustle..." Suddenly, everyone emerged from the dense jungle into a clearing. They saw a valley ahead of them and messenger bird circling in the air, emitting ear piercing cries. "Elder Han is right in the valley, follow me to see him!" Yu Qiuleng took the lead and entered without hesitation. Fang Yuan surveyed the hills on both sides and tensed up his brows. He touched an object in his robes, took a deep breath and entered the valley. "Where is Elder Han?" After walking a few metres, Lin Leiyue surveyed the thin fog around them. She instantly asked, "Why have we not sent out a message? This area gives me a bad feeling. We cannot be careless, let¡¯s retreat from this valley!" "This....." Just as Yu Qiuleng was about to speak, the swooshing of arrows flying continuously sounded. Arrows flew from the opposite end. "Ah!" Some disciples who were hit dropped to the floor instantly. They died almost immediately after eximing and ck blood flowed from their wounds. "It¡¯s a trap!" Lin Leiyue drew her long sword and ordered, "Retreat!" Fortunately for them, they did not enter too deep into the valley and were thus not fully entrapped. After an exhausting escape, they found they had lost half of their original manpower. "The arrow tips are poisoned!" Thinking about the earlier scenes, Yu Qiuleng broke out in cold sweat. Had he continued to advance into the valley, they would have been attacked from all sides. Under the shower of that many arrows, their martial prowess did not matter as they would all be killed by the sheer number of poisoned arrows. "It¡¯s a surprise you are able to discover my location, no doubt you are a talented disciple of the Spirit Returning Sect!" A feminine looking young man, apanied by an apuding bunch of disciples from the Five Ghosts Sect, emerged arrogantly and slowly from the valley. "Caw caw!" The circling messenger bird automaticallynded on his arm obediently. This caused colour of Yu Qiuleng¡¯s face to be worse than that of a corpse. "How is this possible?" "Haha... Let me reveal to you, as long as it¡¯s not a spiritual beast, it cannot resist the influence of the Temptation Pellet!" Fang Yuan met this young man before. He was Lin Huang. At that moment, Lin Huang drew out a pink pellet and fed it to the messenger bird. He shook his head in disappointment and said, "Had you guys entered the trap fully, all of you would have been dead and I would not need to do anything. Now I muste out of the valley to ensure my job is done. Tell me... the method by which you all would like to die by?" Lin Huang visually surveyed the bodynguage of Yu Qiuleng and Lin Leiyue. Initially slightly aggressive, Lin Huang became calmer but began to verbally provoke them, "Isn¡¯t this legendary psychic who is also the beloved student of Shi Yutong? Hehe... If I capture you, wouldn¡¯t this make the Spirit Returning Sect beg?" "Dream on!" Yu Qiuleng let out a thunderous roar andunched himself at Lin Huang with the immense energy of a hawk. It was clear to him that in their unfavourable situation, the only way to turn the odds around was to bring the fight to Lin Huang himself. Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 58: Defeat Chapter 58: Defeat Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Eagle w!" Qiuleng was a calm person but was not known for being submissive. Despite being surrounded by enemies, he was still constantly thinking of ways to turn the tables on them. He recognized Lin Huang, who was the favourite disciple of Five Ghosts Sect¡¯s Sect Head, and the head of all disciples. His power and position would be equal to Lin Leiyue¡¯s. Even though he has heard of Lin Huang breaking through the 6th Gate, but when it came to experience, there was no way Lin Huang could surpass him! If he could retaliate in one move, he might even win the battle! By then, Qiuleng¡¯s Eagle w Technique was at full force, it was as if he was an eagle circling high above, and ck-coloured eagle ws came crashing down like a thunderstorm. The two disciples by Lin Huang¡¯s side let out a scream, and instantly flew backwards from the attacks. "Alright! Everyone stop!" Lin Huang burst intoughter. His right hand turned pale and flexible, as if it had no bones inside and is drained of all blood, and made the next move. "Five Yin Hand!" "Bang!" Qiuleng¡¯s Eagle w and Lin Huang¡¯s Five Yin Hand came in contact. There was a change in Qiuleng¡¯s expression, and he flew back instantaneously. Lin Huang¡¯s feet shifted at lightning speed and floated towards him like a ghost. "Leaving? How about seeking permission from my Ghost Shadow Steps first!" His footsteps became unpredictable, and suddenly he was right by Qiuleng¡¯s side, with fingers ck as ink. "Ghost w!" "St!" Lin Huang¡¯s reached out with fingernails like jade pieces emitting a hint of evil. With a twist of his hand, both of Qiuleng¡¯s hands retracted back quickly as if he got bitten by a snake. Before he knew it, there was a mark on his chest. "Puff!" Qiuleng¡¯s facial expression shifted again, as he spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted on the ground. His face slowly turned ck, and the 5 punctures on his chest spouted out blood as ck as ink. Within the mere exchange of a few moves, Spirit Returning Sect¡¯sst hope was defeated! After witnessing the difference between bothpetitors, Leiyue was lost for words, as if her heart was hanging over a cliff. "Cold Iron Eagle Yu Qiuleng? Is that all there is? How is your Eagle wpared to my Ghost w?" Lin Huang¡¯sughter was filled with disdain, and his eyes swept the room coldly. "Apart from Lin Leiyue, everyone else who is irrelevant is to be killed with no exceptions!" "This Lin Huang seems to have concealed his ws quite well..." A thought shed by Fang Yuan¡¯s mind as he saw this scene. "This martial art seems to be of higher level than what was disyed before... Being ruthless and evil, and only one step away from Shock Door, what a character. In due time, it is not impossible that he could be extraordinary, unfortunately..." Regardless of right or wrong, he could not possibly just offer up his head to someone who wanted to ¡¯kill all with no exceptions¡¯. There was also Yu Qiuleng. "Initially I was thinking of finding an opportunity to teach you all a lesson, but judging from the situation, if this drags on, this person might just die from his injuries... Save me some trouble, may peace be with you!" Even up till then, Fang Yuan still had the mood to think of irrelevant things. He took a big step forward, pushed both his hands out, and the few Five Ghosts Sect disciples who were charging towards him flew backwards. "Eh?" Lin Huang seemed a bit taken aback. "An inner force expert? You aren¡¯t from Spirit Returning Sect?" "Hmm... Not really, but it seems like you still won¡¯t let me go!" Fang Yuan shrugged his shoulders. "Where is Elder Han?" "Obviously that Old Hag Han is under the control of our sect¡¯s experts, no need to count on him to save you all!" Lin Huang looked at Fang Yuan¡¯s young face signifying his tender age, and felt a wave of anger surge through his chest. He licked his lips and said, "With your talent, you have definitely surpassed Lin Leiyue. I didn¡¯t expect Qinghe County to harbour such a young talent! What a pity that you can¡¯t live past today...". "Oh really? Unfortunately, I am always one to disappoint!" When Fang Yuan heard that, he tried his best to stifle hisughter. Leiyue looked at these two about to battle, her fists tightly clenched, and her eyes filled with worry. "Fang Yuan may be an expert in inner power martial arts, but he just advanced to his current level. Lin Huang is far more experienced than him, not to mention that he has Five Ghosts Sect¡¯s support when ites to divine power and techniques. Fang Yuan is but a meremoner, so what good techniques could he have? Even Elder Yu lost! There really isn¡¯t much hope..." She clearly knew that even if there was Lin Huang as the only opponent, based on the huge difference in their powers of Inner Force and Power, he could defeat all of them one by one. Thus, escaping was definitely not an option. A group attack? There were far more Five Ghosts Sect¡¯s disciples on the other side than there are us, with even bigger weapons like bows and arrows! Thus, their only hope would be Lin Huang being defeated and captured during a solo fight. It¡¯s just... Was that even possible? Lin Leiyue looked at Fang Yuan¡¯s back silhouette, her heart filled with mixed feelings and emotions, with a tinge of anticipation that couldn¡¯t be exined. "Young Master, just kill them on the spot. Is there really a need for you to be directly involved?" A man dressed in ck beside Lin Huang waved his hand, and more than ten Five Ghosts Sect disciples appeared with bows and arrows. A sense of danger washed through Lin Leiyue¡¯s heart. "That would be unnecessary, this is our fight, no one is to interfere!" Lin Huang shook his head, as he looked at Fang Yuan with a glimmer in his eyes. This was not his arrogance talking. It was apparent that when martial arts were beingpeted with inner force, even if they were unable to handle the archers, they could still retreat back into the woods. They could use both offensive and defensive strategies. If they started fighting like guerris, they might even be able to kill a few of them, and that would be rather troublesome. Especially if all the arrows were fired at the same time and all the low-level disciples were killed, the opponent would have less to worry about and could escape immediately, sabotaging the mission. The only chance would be using Lin Leiyue¡¯s disciples as bait, forcing Fang Yuan to engage in a battle with him. Lin Huang had confidence in his own skills, even Yu Qiuleng lost to him inbat, how much threat would a 6th Gate martial artist, that had only recently advanced, be? "Alright, you may begin!" Fang Yuan stood in the arena, his spiritual energy however was continuously focused on his surroundings. By now, the yin poison had already entered Yu Qiuleng¡¯s bones, and he had reached the point of no return. He waved his hand, inviting Lin Huang to make the first move. "You should know that I¡¯m one to bear grudges!" Initially Lin Huang was not keen on talking, and wanted to change the topic of conversation to stall for time. All it took was one look for him to know that even the gods were unable to save Yu Qiuleng now. Fang Yuan was far from ready to let this incident go, considering how Lin Huang just had ill intentions towards them. But right now, his actions and appearance indicated that he did not consider Lin Huang as a threat at all! This tant act of ¡¯disregarding¡¯ immediately angered Lin Huang. Considering himself as the best, this behavior waspletely uneptable. "You¡¯re dead meat!" Protruding veins appeared on Lin Huang¡¯s forehead, even his usually pale skin reddened due to his anger. He floated forward like a ghost and thundered, "Five Yin Hand!". "Swoosh!" Fang Yuan nced at him from aside, and flicked his right hand. "Swoosh!" Amidst the flow of air and friction, the cry of a hunting eagle was heard. Lin Leiyue closed her eyes, it was as if she saw a handsome spiritual bird, with both wings extended, gliding down gracefully with its sharp ws out! An Eagle w executed with both its shape and spirit! Compared to this Eagle w, Yu Qiuleng¡¯s version was just child¡¯s y! "Crack!" A loud bone-breaking sound was heard. With a loud cry, Fang Yuan held onto Lin Huang¡¯s right arm and twisted it into an unnatural position, and he promptly fell to the ground and passed out immediately. Defeated in just one move! Master Lin Huang, the treasured disciple of Five Ghosts Sect¡¯s master, an expert in Inner Power, the champion of Lieyang County¡¯s teenage martial artists, defeated in just one move? With such a stark difference between the two battles, both the Spirit Returning Sect and the disciples of Five Ghosts Sect were lost for words, left in disbelief. "Fang Yuan... became this powerful?" Lin Leiyue let out a sigh, and she felt as though the shadow he left in her heart had erged yet again. It was as if there was a huge storm cloud weighing her down, and it kept growing. "Young Master... lost?!" "Quick! Save Young Master!" All the Five Ghosts Sect disciples were at a loss. Seizing the opportunity, Fang Yuan lunged at the archers. Like a tiger leaping into a herd of sheep, with a few casual swings of his hand, the archers flew out one by one, and passed out on the floor. "Nice!" As much as there was bitterness in her heart, Leiyue was ted by watching how the tables had turned. "Catch them all, especially that young master!" "This isn¡¯t good, Young Master... Elder Yu... is dead!" A Spirit Returning Sect disciple was about to help Yu Qiuleng up, however upon seeing hisplexion and checking his breath, the disciple¡¯s expression changed drastically and he started screaming maniacally. "What?" Lin Leiyue¡¯s body stumbled backwards. This ambush cost them an elder, so even if they did catch Lin Huang, it was very probable that they would be punished when they got back. However, it was right then that something unexpected happened! Amongst the Five Ghosts Sect disciples, a dark shadow lunged out at lightning speed towards Fang Yuan. With a wave of his hand, several Frozen Stars appeared instantaneously. "Zip!" The concealed weapons broke through the air, and there was a huge amount of power focused onto the concealed weapons. It was obvious that an inner force expert hadunched it. There was another elder hiding among the Five Ghosts Sect disciples! Facing this kind of situations, even if the Spirit Returning Sect elders were toe forward, as long as it was not Elder Yan, Elder Han or Shi Yutong, that person was bound to lose. It was just bad luck for the other party to go against Fang Yuan! Fang Yuan¡¯s magical energy had already reached level 3¡¯, and with enough attentiveness, no one nearby would be able to conceal their actions from him! "Haha... I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time!" With a loudugh and no time to spare, he folded up his sleeves and caught the concealed weapons and tossed them out fiercely. This might sound simple, but without precise control of the body¡¯s inner force, it would be nearly impossible to execute that move. The Five Ghosts Sect elder who appeared was obviously a lot better than Lin Huang. "You should be lying on the ground too!" Fang Yuan however was indifferent. After taking away the concealed weapons, he lunged at the ck shadow with a w. Grade 7 Eagle w Iron Skin Technique, with ck Sand Palm! "Bam!" The surrounding trees were shaking, countless leaves and branches came showering down. A gush of blood spurted out, but it was not from Fang Yuan, but from the body of the Five Ghosts Sect elder who suddenly appeared! "You... broke through the Shock Door, and are at the peak of the 7th Gate!" With a trembling voice, he eximed. The dark shadow fell to the ground, exposing an elderly face, with blood flowing out of his nostrils and mouth. "What? The 7th Gate?" Lin Leiyue covered her lips, all thoughts of her fighting for power with Fang Yuan instantly flew out of the window. After all, the Shock Door could only be attempted when the martial artist¡¯s magical energy had peaked, there were no shortcuts for it. Even the most talented martial artists had to train for a few years, maybe even more than a decade! It was not rare to see people training their whole lives, but still unable to break through the gate. But Fang Yuan broke through it in such a short period of time? By now he had not even reached his 20s. With such talent, he could really be considered a demon! Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 59: Gui Wusheng Chapter 59: Gui Wusheng Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Silence! The silence was deafening! Not a single person made a sound. It was as if they were choked by a noose. What happened just now? The rising star of the Five Ghosts Sect, Lin Huang, a Martial Artist (Grade 6), was struck by Fang Yuan¡¯s Eagle w. It was uncertain if he lived. An elder of the Sect, who was more highly-skilled, was simrly struck down like a fly. "Could it be that he is the old monster in disguise?" Even Lin Leiyue was shocked and looked at Fang Yuan differently. "Yin Wujiu?!" She stepped forward and eximed again. "Yin Wujiu? Who is that?" Fang Yuan asked. Lin Leiyue looked on in horror, "He is an elder of the Five Ghosts Sect and was fellow disciples with Gui Wusheng. He had long surpassed the 7 gates but was unable to break through the Death Gate. He is extremely cruel and legend has it that he single-handedly kill all his enemies, leaving no one behind..." "Given his character and martial arts skill, I am afraid he would never be able to break through the Death Gate. It would be the correct decision not to attempt it..." Fang Yuan shook his head. The Death Gate was thest of the Three Perilous Gates. Failure to break through the gate would result in death! There was no doubt that most highly-skilled practitioners were stuck at this gate. After all, who would dare to gamble their life? "Gui Wusheng... This name sounds familiar..." Fang Yuan furrowed his brows. "Gui Wusheng is even more skilled than his junior. He was a martial artist that had broken through the Death Gate. He is the leader of the group of Five Ghosts Sect¡¯s martial artists in Qingye City and ranked top 5 in the Five Ghosts Sect!" Lin Leiyue wanted to roll her eyes. She exined. "This man¡¯s Ghostly Dark w is very powerful!" Upon hearing this, Fang Yuan remembered that the elder of the Spirit Returning Sect that he had treated was wounded by Gui Wusheng. "Luckily, it is not Gui Wusheng leading the troops, if not..." Lin Leiyue shooked her head. "Haha...cough cough..." At this time, Yin Wujiu, who was copsed on the floor,ughed and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, "My senior...would not forgive you!" "Cut the crap!" Fang Yuan use his left hand and pressed against the old man¡¯s skull, "Where is the Yin Yang Jade? What is the Five Ghosts Sect up to?" "Crack!" Yin Wujiu lost his courage as he felt the Eagle w¡¯s strength increasing. While Fang Yuan was a freence martial artist who did not belong to a particr sect, he was still rather carefree and cavalier. Furthermore, given his age, the typical hot-hotheadedness of a young man like him meant that he could kill Yin Wujiu if he were provoked into a fit of rage. Even if people attempted to avenge him, it would not bring Yin Wujiu back to life. "This matter had always been anchored by my senior. I am not too sure..." Yun Yujieughed bitterly, "All I know is that the Yin Yang Jade does exist...furthermore..." "Enough!" A loud explosion echoed in the valley. "Hmmm?" Fang Yuan lifted his head, "A highly-skilled opponent?!" A man¡¯s shadow appeared in the ravine. His beard was white and his eyes were like that of a hawk¡¯s. As he walked, the surrounding fog warped around him. "Gui...Gui Wusheng!" Lin Leiyue¡¯s face turned deathly pale. The martial arts techniques of the Five Ghosts Sect were mostly Yin in nature. Long-term practitioners often suffered negative side effects to their appearances, causing some to look like to zombies. However, looking at Gui Wusheng¡¯s robust features, it was obvious that he had ovee the restraints and reverted those negative side effects. "He had definitely broken through the Death Gate and is only one step away from the 4 Heavenly Gates!" The immense pressure caused Lin Leiyue to retreat. She looked at Fang Yuan¡¯s unyielding posture and feared for him. "Senior?!" Yin Wujiu¡¯s voice was fearful instead of grateful when he saw Gui Wuzheng. "Hmmm!" Gui Wusheng eximed, "Useless fellow! If I had note forward, would you even betray our master?" "Cough cough..." Fang Yuan coughed, "Are the two of you done?" "Unbelievable...It is truly unbelievable..." Gui Wusheng examined Fang Yuan and said, "To think that a youngd of your calibre is here in my valley! It looked like I did not make a wasted trip here!" "You overestimate me!" Fang Yuan concentrated and realized the gap in power between Gui Wusheng and him. While the Death Gate might appear to be insurmountable, it was still possible to break through it. Furthermore, his stats were increasing at a rate that Gui Wusheng could not match due to his consumption of spiritual rice every day. He also had a few tricks up his sleeves. As such, he did not fear Gui Wusheng. Gui Wusheng was even more intrigued when he saw howposed Fang Yuan was. He eximed, "Good! You are able to keep yourposure in front of me. That is hard to find. Which sect are you from? If you are not from any sect, why not join the Five Ghosts Sect? I can guarantee that you would be treated simrly to me!" He was experienced and recognized that Fang Yuan did not belong to any sect. Lin Leiyue¡¯s heart fell when she heard what Gui Wusheng said. "Enter the Five Ghosts Sect?" Fang Yuan appeared to seriously consider the offer before shaking his head, "Sorry, I am not interested. It would be kind of you if you would tell me the location of the Yin Yang Jade. I would be so grateful..." "Sigh... What a shame!" Gui Wusheng sighed with his hands ced behind his back. "Oh? Why is that so?" Having undergone 10-odd years of being nurtured by Master Wenxin, Fang Yuan had long treated him as a teacher and a father. There was no way Fang Yuan would destroy that rtionship by joining another sect. "It is a shame that you have to die today even though you are young and talented!" Gui Wusheng¡¯s face was sinister, "Die!" "Boom!" His words overflowed with power. It was as if there was the p of thunder directly beside his opponent¡¯s ears. Lin Leiyue paled. Fresh blood trickled from her ears. "What a technique! If Fang Yuan wascent, he would not live!" Lin Leiyue immediately turned her attention to the scene as soon as she regained her senses. What she saw surprised her. It was impossible to follow the fight with the naked eye. All she could see were shes of two shadows fighting each other. "The Eagle w Iron Skin Technique?" Gui Wusheng gazed at Fang Yuan¡¯s torn sleeves and cuts on the arms, his face turned dark. The technique Gui Wusheng had just used was capable of disabling a Martial Artist (7th Gate) momentarily and could ensure a swift victory by following up with a decisive strike. It was not easy even for a Martial Artist (7th Gate) to counter it. Gui Wusheng had once used this tactic to kill a Martial Artist ( 7th Gate). He was therefore shocked when he saw that Fang Yuan was unaffected by the technique and even engaged him in battle immediately. Furthermore, Fang Yuan¡¯s Iron Skin Technique was perfect. There was no way Gui Wusheng could kill him in a single strike. "Not bad! This is indeed the Iron Skin!" Fang Yuan let out a deep breath. He looked at his surroundings and realized that the disciples of the Spirit Returning Sect and the Five Ghosts Sect had not recovered. Gui Wusheng¡¯s technique was a psychological attack which tested one¡¯s magical energy! Fang Yuan was not afraid of any martial artist in this aspect. His vigorous magical energy allowed him to instantly recover from Gui Wusheng¡¯s technique. He would have been able to put Gui Wusheng at a severe disadvantage if he had learnt the methods to counter the attack on magical energy. As it was, Gui Wusheng was shocked. He looked at Fang Yuan¡¯s youthful face and could only think of 1 word: Monster. It would be best to get rid of those talented enemies as soon as possible. Gui Wusheng did not hesitate any longer. In a sh, he created multiple shadow clones and rushed forward. Throwing his palms outwards, he conjured a whole sky full of ck blood-thirsty bats. "18 ck Bats Palm!" Yin Wujiu let out a surprised gasp as he recognized that this was Gui Wusheng¡¯s trump card. He could not believe it. He would never imagine that his senior, who had broken through 8 Gates, would use such a technique and all his energy against the youth facing him. "Good move!" Fang Yuan shouted. His Iron Skin technique formed an armour-like protection beneath his skin and acted as anotheryer of protection. His arms had turned ck with the sheen of metal. His palms started to emit the poison of the Pearl Tail Snake! "Gui Wusheng had forced him to give his all with his relentless attacks!" "Eagle Air Strike!" "Whoosh!" Lin Leiyue stumbled back a few steps amidst the strong gust. She was already in a daze. From her perspective, she saw a majestic eagle charging straight into the wall of ravenous bats and took them head-on. This level of battle had greatly outstripped her capabilities as well as that of the disciples in the Spirit Returning Sect. Even those highly-skilled martial artists from the Five Ghosts Sect could be killed by the ghost bats if they were to enter the battle. As such, all they could do was to watch the two high-leveled martial artists battle as they moved deeper into the dense forest. "What should we do....without the head of the sect?" A disciple of the Spirit Returning Sect asked as he looked at the wake of destruction caused by Fang Yuan and Gui Wusheng. "We..." Lin Leiyue looked on. At the moment, Lin Huang was unconscious. With Yin Wujiu heavily wounded, the Five Ghosts Sect no longer had any skilled masters. The sect¡¯s power and influence were greatly diminished. Her side was the same with Yu Qiuleng gravely wounded. She secretly rejoiced that she brought Fang Yuan along which had prevented the downfall of her fellow disciples in the sect. "We..." Lin Leiyue walked away before suddenly turning around and drawing her sword, "Kill!" "Swoosh!" A disciple of the Five Ghosts Sect who did not manage to dodge in time had his throat slit open and he toppled over. "If we are leaving, we might as well kill Lin Huang and Yin Wujiu!" The remaining disciples of the Spirit Returning Sect and the Five Ghosts Sect plunged into battle following Lin Leiyue¡¯s outcry... Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 60: Winning Chapter 60: Winning Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions A few screams were heard along the main road. "Aahh, my face. Don¡¯t hit my face! Aahh!!" "Stop hitting, I will give you all the money!" "You are a good man so please spare me! Spare me please!" ....... These few rookies who had just integrated into the world of martial arts were bruised badly. The few of them handed over everything that they had. "Isn¡¯t this better now? This whole area belongs to me...." Wang Fugui happily showed his superiority and punched the young martial artist who talked back to him previously. He then took a gold and silver-thread pouch from him and stopped as his was satisfied with what he had gotten. He then said, "You all are considered lucky today. If you all were at my Bull¡¯s Head Mountain, you few weaklings would have lost a few of your own....Now get out of here!" He lifted his leg and kicked an unlucky one who fled the slowest. That unlucky one rolled and crawled and was wishing so badly that he should have been born without his legs. "Tut Tut....." After they fled, Wang Fugui counted how much he had gotten and was satisfied. "There are so many easy targets right here....Plus, many of them are rich. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t relocate my home to this ce...." "Hehe! I can buy myself a few drinks at the brothel again today!" Wang Fugui yed with the coin pouch and wondered, "Not really sure where Brother Fang Yuan is now...." However, when he was on his way back home, he saw a group of martial artists running towards him angrily. The ones leading the group were the few young ones he bullied just now. "That¡¯s him, the tanned one. Don¡¯t let him escape!" The few bruised young ones looked at him and their eyes were filled with anger. "Woah, time to run!" Wang Fugui immediately ran in the opposite direction and retreated into a nearby jungle under the hot pursuit of the group of martial artists. Even though their lightness skill were not that great, they were all trained in martial arts and had a great amount of physical strength. Hence, it didn¡¯t take a long time for them to catch up in the jungle. "F*ck!" Wang Fugui cursed while he escaped frantically. "If I was near the Bull¡¯s Head Mountain now, they would have lost me....and I could even request a group of men to help me. This ce here is so deserted and it is difficult to even find one who can lend a helping hand right now.... Damn....." He cursed halfway and stopped suddenly with his eyes wide open. Two people appeared right in front of him with a speed that was not easily distinguished by a naked eye. The two swiftly cleared the nearby trees to make a pathway. "This is not good!" Looking at how powerful those two were, Wang Fugui gave a weird cry and rolled clumsily out of the way. "Kill him!" "Don¡¯t let that evil thief get away!" While Wang Fugui managed to dodge out of the way, the group who were chasing him ran straight into the danger he dodged to avoid. "Whiz! Whiz!" Silhouette sped past with immense forces! A few screams were then heard. Many of the martial artists were sent flying about as they spat out blood from their pale faces. "Aahh.... Old Zhong is seriously injured!" "Even a [Martial Artist (6th Gate)] with inner power is also badly injured...." "Please spare us! Please spare us!" "Don¡¯te any further.....Aahh...." .... No matter how much they pleaded for mercy, the silhouettes ruthlessly ignored their desperate pleas and finished them off gruesomely. Their deaths were considered to be of slightly useful as it slowed down the two silhouettes. One of them was a white-haired old man who was exhausted. He stepped on one of the heads of the dead martial artists and propelled himself off the ground. The force from this pushed the head down into the chest of the dead body. "Gui Wusheng.....don¡¯t you dare to escape!" Then came the voice of a young man. A pair of arms reached out ferociously for the figure in front. It seemed as if though the pursuer was very determined to rip the person in front to shreds. "This figure.....this voice....Why do both features seem so simr to Brother Fang Yuan¡¯s?" Wang Fugui spat out the grass that went into his mouth and stared on in awe. At that moment, one of the survivors from behind eximed. "Hold on a second! Gui Wusheng! Could he be that famous elder from the Five Ghosts Sect and who was an expert in Death Gate?!" "Look at how murderous he is, who else could it be other than him? He looks like he has broken through the 4 Heavenly Gates....." "But it looked like he was at a disadvantage.....my goodness. I wonder who was the one that was chasing him?" A few of the young martial artists lost their limbs while some of them were still spitting out blood and in shock. A strong man carrying an axe came to them and mocked them. "I know the person who was chasing the old man. However, you all don¡¯t have to know as you all are going to be dead soon....." ....... "ck Sand Eagle w Palm!" "Ghostly Dark w!" In the mountains, the scenery objects on both sides were destroyed. Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes focused and he fluttered forward suddenly. Once again, he duelled with Gui Wusheng. "Bang!" It was incredibly powerful but it was not as destructive as before. Both of them were now near their limits. However, in actual fact, the opponent was an expert and he deliberately caused Fang Yuan to overexert much of his inner strength. Just that every time this happened, Fang Yuan would swallow down a bamboo fruit quickly. His essence, spirit and magic would then recover immediately. The spiritual bamboo fruit not only helped in the growth of spiritual beasts, it also helped in recovering one¡¯s essence, spirit and magic. This was one of the backup moves Fang Yuan prepared this time. "This again!" Gui Wusheng was extremely depressed to see his inner strength being exhausted and while Fang Yuan was recovering so quickly. From the start, he was suppressing the cunning Fang Yuan. However, Fang Yuan was well trained in martial arts and was difficult to deal with. Fang Yuan also had the spiritual medicine which allowed him to recover quickly. Hence the fight dragged on and on for nearly 3 days! Even though Gui Wusheng brought some pills as well, how could those pills bepared to the phoenix¡¯s bamboo fruit? The bamboo fruit was definitely way more superior. In the beginning, it was Fang Yuan who was escaping from Gui Wusheng. Now, it was the other way round. Also, if Fang Yuan managed to catch up this time, Gui Wusheng would be dead! "What a cunningd indeed. From the start, he pretended that he was not my enemy and led me into the mountains to prevent me from calling for help......Luckily there are signs of human habitation here, which suggest that the city should be nearby..." Even so, Gui Wusheng had to admit that he started to be fearful of Fang Yuan during the fight. Fang Yuan couldn¡¯t be defeated easily and could recover so quickly. If he was not a monster then what was he? Even if Gui Wusheng managed to escape today, it would be hard to say whether he would even want to take revenge on Fang Yuan in the future. "Now!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes focused. His abundant magical energy allowed him to feel a drop in Gui Wusheng¡¯s vitality. It was simr to a string breaking when stretched past its limit. At that moment, Gui Wusheng was reaching near his limit. However he still had a glimpse of hope, but it was this hopeful thought that brought about his downfall. "Die!" Fang Yuan did not hesitate and shouted. "Die!!!" His voice was so loud like thunder and it almost deafened Gui Wusheng¡¯s ears. "Aahh.....my Paralysing Scream!" Gui Wusheng was shocked and couldn¡¯t avoid what was going to happen. "Eagle w Palm!" At that moment, Fang Yuan immediately caught up with him and took a shot. Fang Yuan broke all his limbs! "Snap!" Gui Wusheng fell to the ground softly and was in shock. "Haha.....I¡¯ve finally won!" With his wisdom in martial arts, he actually managed to defeat an expert in Death Gate. Fang Yuan was very impressed with himself and was at a loss for words. He couldn¡¯t wait to cry into the air and rejoice. "How is this possible....how could you have known my secret technique?" When he was conscious again, this was the first sentence he said. "Your secret technique.....involves the disy of your magical energy isn¡¯t it? It wasn¡¯t that difficult, was it?" Fang Yuan went forward and punched his lower abdomen. Fang Yuan then gave him a few ps, causing Gui Wusheng to be injured badly in the face. The force of these blows knocked out some of his teeth into a bloody mess. There was no other way. In his dream world, things like ¡¯tearing tendons¡¯, mitting suicide¡¯, ¡¯poison in one¡¯s mouth¡¯ and many more left deep impressions on Fang Yuan. Now, Gui Wusheng¡¯s limbs were broken, his martial arts abilities stripped off and his teeth knocked out. If he could stillmit suicide in this short period of time, Fang Yuan would really be impressed by him. "Oh....I.....understand now. You.....are naturally born with stronger magical energy...." Gui Wusheng couldn¡¯t speak properly but he managed to express what he meant clearly. "This is heaven¡¯s will! Heaven¡¯s will!" "Whatever you say!" Fang Yuan then impolitely searched Gui Wusheng¡¯s body for something of value to keep. There were many bottles and cans on his body and most of them contained things like poisonous powder, medicine, mmable items and coins. Fang Yuan smelled a few medicine bottles and threw them away. Gui Wusheng didn¡¯t even poison him. Plus, Fang Yuan was highly skilled in medicine and had Yama¡¯s Order with him to remove any kind of poison. Hence, the poison made by Gui Wusheng was nothing in his eyes. However, Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered when he opened a wooden box. Inside the box was a piece of jade. The piece of jade was clear and shiny. There were faint ck and red textures inside it and the textures seemed to be moving, making it special. "Is this the Yin Yang Jade?!" Fang Yuan murmured and couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. How could he able to get hold of such treasure in a farce? Clearly, he wasn¡¯t prepared to receive anything good, was it? This was simply like a gift straight from heaven and coincidentally, itnded on him. "Something is not right. What is actually going on?" Fang Yuan, of course, couldn¡¯t believe that he would be so lucky. He immediately grabbed Gui Wusheng by his cor and questioned him. "Haha.....you really think I will tell you?" Life was slowly fading from Gui Wusheng¡¯s eyes. Fang Yuan kept silent for a while and slowly said, "You may not know yet that I am Fang Yuan and I live in the secluded valley!" Gui Wusheng¡¯s expression changed upon hearing what Fang Yuan said. No matter how ignorant he was, he heard about the famous doctor in Qingye City. "As a doctor myself, I have many ways to make people speak. I do not wish to test these methods one by one on you....Plus, you do have rtives, friends and disciples don¡¯t you?" Fang Yuan said in a deep voice. "You....are a member of the martial arts world and how could you go against the principle of not hurting one¡¯s family....." Gui Wusheng struggled and said. "Who told you that I was a member of the martial arts world?" Fang Yuan nced at him and gave a jocose look. Gui Wusheng remained silent and Fang Yuan saw through him. Gui Wusheng was pretending to be sanctimonious but he was actually indifferent from any other people. He could do anything if he forced himself to do so. After a long period of silence, he finally admitted defeat. "This Yin Yang Jade was actually a treasure of the Five Ghosts Sect...." Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 61: Emerge Chapter 61: Emerge Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "This Yin Yang Jade came from the Five Ghosts Sect?" Fang Yuan was shocked. "Is the news about the treasure fake too? Just to create chaos?" "That¡¯s right!" Gui Wusheng nodded and appeared lost. "To create confusion, you guys can even use the Yin Yang Jade as bait..." Fang Yuan took in a deep breath. To hide from the many martial artists, sacrifice would be required, and this was the sole purpose of the Yin Yang Jade. With a [Martial Artist (8th Gate)] and a well thought-out n, the Yin Yang Jade was safe. Unfortunately, they encountered Fang Yuan..... "Good! However, the focus is not on the Yin Yang Jade..." Fang Yuan threw the jade up in the air and became serious. "That what is your real motive?" "Our real motive..." Gui Wusheng became expressionless but slowly began to describe. "It is a treasure map! Or should I say, an iplete scrap... Our Sect once received a copy, but it was lost. This is the second copy!" ... Luori City. This city was at the extreme North of Lieyang County, and even further North of Shaoyang City. There was a ridge of mountains outside the city, called Xuanyan. Legend has it that there was fire everywhere and was extremely dangerous. It was noon, and farmers were ploughing on their farms, businessman working in their shops. Often kids could be seen ying by the river, and it was a lively sight to behold. "Hu..." Just before the gates to the city were closed, a person in a cloak hurriedly rushed to enter Luori City. "This ce... Is indeed different from Shaoyang City!" This cloaked person was Fang Yuan. After Gui Wusheng¡¯s tip-off, he hurriedly killed him and rushed to Luori City. Compared to Shaoyang City, which was filled with martial artists, Luori City was more lively. The vigers were carefree, and no one would have thought that under this peace was a big mystery. ¡¯Even if I said it out, no one would believe that most of the Sect masters of Five Ghosts Sect actually live here...¡¯ Even though it was quieter than Shaoyang City, Fang Yuan could feel an immense pressure as he entered Luori City. This wasn¡¯t a real feeling, but more of his imagination. It made him realise that this ce was ten times more dangerous than Shaoyang City! A hundred times! "I still cannot fight and win any Martial artist of 4 Heavenly Gates..." Fang Yuan knew his own capabilities. He could easily defeat any [Martial Artist (7th Gate)], or be on par with a [Martial Artist (8th Gate)]. If he made use of his external martial arts techniques, he might get a chance at winning. However, against the martial artists of 4 Heavenly Gates who trained and fused their Yin and Yang, he would stand no chance. Furthermore, the Sect Leader of Five Ghosts Sect was simr to Shi Yutong and had already attained Wu Zong! "At the moment, I can only hope for an internal conflict for myself to reap the benefits afterwards... Hopefully, the news that I let out would be useful!" In such a dangerous position, he could only keep reminding himself not to be too stubborn. If he seeded, that would be best, but if he did not, it was still alright, as staying alive was the most important. Even if he did not get anything, in the end, he still would have the Yin Yang Jade as a constion prize. "I am about to break through the Death Gate, and by then the Yin Yang Jade would be useful in aiding me in my journey to be a martial artist of 4 Heavenly Gates!" Fang Yuan thought for a while, walked along the streets and entered a hostel. "It seems that Spirit Returning Sect is not foolish. Elder Han was lured to Shaoyang City, Shi Yutong couldn¡¯t locate him... If they received my anonymous letter they would surelye and fight over it... I shall be the coward to watch the fight by the side!" After deciding, he booked a small room. Every day, it seemed that he was quietly practising his martial arts, but in actual fact, he was observing the movement within Luori City. After all, he had already decided not to appear. If there was no response from the Spirit Returning Sect, or if the news camete, then he could only ept it. ... "The Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master being sceptical, did not really describe the real treasure map to Gui Wusheng. He only instructed him to spread the fake news. Only a few martial artists of 4 Heavenly Gates know the truth..." Fang Yuan was practising his martial arts peacefully in the small room. White smoke rose from his head like fog, and it appeared like clouds were forming. "[Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 7)] progress is filled, and now I just need to find an opportunity to break through the Death Gate..." Breaking through the 8th Gate was extremely decisive. If breaking through failed, he would die, and there would be no second chance! Although he was confident in his own foundation, Fang Yuan wanted to condition his body to the best it could be while breaking through. "Rumble!" His ears stood up as he heard the loud rumble. "Hmm? They¡¯ve started fighting already?" Fang Yuan leapt over the wall and saw a bright crimson sh from within the city. Shoutings were heard and shadows flying around. He was happy to witness this scene. With his abilities, it was impossible to stalk the Five Ghosts Sect and ambush them, but it would be a totally different story if the Spirit Returning Sect were to do it. Without consideration, Fang Yuan jumped down and made his way towards the crimson sh. "Ping! Ping!" The nearer he approached, the louder the rumbling became, as though thunder roared ten times simultaneously. A chaos of this scale would surely attract the attention of the soldiers and martial artists. However, no one dared to take another step towards them, and the whole mess was a good opportunity for Fang Yuan. As he came closer, he realised that it wasn¡¯t a fight within the Five Ghosts Sect¡¯spound, but in a rich businessman¡¯s manor. At this moment, numerous shadows flew across the roof, and every action they took was full of strength. "From the Spirit Returning Sect? All the way here?" In the scene was a duo in ck, surrounding an olddy d in silver clothing. Although these 3 people appeared lifeless, their moves were deadly and they appeared powerful. Even Fang Yuan himself was afraid to join the fight. "Martial artists of the 4 Heavenly Gates!" Fang Yuan hid to the side and stared at the olddy, shocked. Even though all of them were martial artists of 4 Heavenly Gates, the olddy could sweep her crutch and pressure the other two. She was extremely strong. "Cha!" Out of a sudden, the olddy shrieked, and the lion head on her crutch pounced forward, breaking through the defence of one of the elders, as it touched his chest. "Senior?" The two elders retreated quickly, and the one which was touched by the olddy began to spit out blood. "Good! Good! Good!" The younger brother clenched his teeth, his eyes seeking revenge. "Elder Yan... Lady Yan! Today¡¯s score will be settled, and we the Ghost Brothers will remember it for life! Together with his brother, one was Yin and one was Yang, but against this Lady Yan, they realised that she already broke through 11 Gates, and have already fused her Yin and Yang to be an elemental energy martial artist! At this stage, the only thing she needed to do was to train and get ready to break through Heaven Gate! [Martial Artist (11th Gate)] are not to be belittled as they harnessed elemental force. It was therefore not so surprising to see her fend of two opponents by herself. "Keke..." Lady Yan kept her crutch, coughed a few times, hunched her back and lost all her craziness previously during the fight. "Cough... As I get older, my memory would fail me... Two of you, did you see me leave anything behind? Do a good deed and pass it to me, and I will offer tea, apologise and leave immediately, how does that sound?" "What thing? We didn¡¯t see anything!" The Ghost Brothers appeared shocked and denied. "Heh... I have not told you what is it, so why are you so quick to turn me down?" Lady Yan shook her head, rolled her eyes and looked at the two of them. "What a pity, Yin Shizhong, Brother Yin is not here. He should have lured Elder Han away by now, right? Two of you cannot hold me back! The Ghost Brothers looked aghast, but could not deny that she was stating the truth. At this moment, Fang Yuan was hiding in the shadows.His hair stood on its ends as he became increasingly anxious. He took a deep breath and concealed himself even more. "They cannot block you, but how about me?" Behind Lady Yan was a fearless and cold-blooded voice. It was as though every word of his could freeze one¡¯s blood. While the voice was heard, Lady Yan immediately swung her crutch backwards with immense strength. "Hong!" The lion on the crutch opened its jaws and spewed crimson fire, apanied with ck smoke. After striking, Lady Yan struck forward again, caught her footing and turned around. Where she once stood was empty, and only the remnants of the raging fire were left behind, which stunned her. "Very impressive, I¡¯ve heard about stories of Lady Yan¡¯s ¡¯ming Lion Crutch¡¯. It was designed by Carpenter Lu, sturdy and able to spew poisonous fire from the top of the crutch. It is ranked 87th in the secluded mountains unique weapon ranking, and I¡¯ve finally seen it for myself today..." The voice came from behind Lady Yan. Although it sounded normal, it was a praise. "Five... Ghosts... Sect... Master!" Lady Yan turned pale and stuttered while saying out the name she feared most. Only someone who had broken through the Heaven Gate attained Wu Zong and able to harness elemental force would be able to toy around with her! "This is... Wu Zong?" Fang Yuan shuddered and did not dare to look at the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master. After all, based on rumours, the Wu Zong martial artist is extremely sensitive and would be able to sense when someone is looking at him. He then would feel the urge to kill those within 35 yards. "Keke! Why would Sect Master find trouble with Lady Yan? If you have any vengeance, just deal with me!" At this moment, apanying bell ringing, Shi Yutong appeared and seemed weing. "I had a few suspicions when I heard about the news, but after seeing Sect Master here, I have no more doubts!" Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 62: A Mysterious Man Chapter 62: A Mysterious Man Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Shi Yutong?" Upon seeing a Wu Zong, like himself, appear, the sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect lost his interest in teasing and making fun of Lady Yan and stood still. "Sect Head!" Lady Yan immediately rushed to Shi Yutong. Now that this respected woman was around, Lady Yan dared to look at the sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect. The sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect had a small stature, almost like a dwarf. He wore an ice mask and rays of green light shone from his triangr eyes. This sight was sufficient to strike fear into anyone who looked at him. "Someone leaked the news!" At this moment, the sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect spoke in an icy tone. If it was just Lady Yan who came, it would be easy to turn her away. Anyway, it could have been because they found some inconclusive traces of a horse. However, now that Shi Yutong appeared personally, they must be very confident! Their determination seemed unflinching. The loss of control in this situation unsettled the head of the Five Ghosts Sect. The disciples of the Five Ghosts Sect nced at each other and gathered behind their sect head. Both camps red at each other as tensions soared. Anything could spark a war between the two groups. Fang Yuan who heard the conversation from his hiding spot felt something was amiss. ording to his n, the Spirit Returning Sect should have checked out and tested the situation and confirmed that everything was alright before attacking. This confrontation should not even be happening. After all, the Five Ghosts Sect and the Spirit Returning Sect were equally powerful. Should they fight each other, both would suffer greatly. Shi Yutong and the sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect were both smart people and they should have recognised this fact. If this was so, what gave Shi Yutong the confidence to barge in like that? Fang Yuan was unsure about this, but it did not seem to stop him from retreating. At the same time, upon sensing the emerging tension and the incendiary desire for battle, the sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect smirked provokingly. "Shi Yutong!" The sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect spoke haltingly, "You seem intent on opposing everything I do. Is this your deration of war against the Five Ghosts Sect?" "Hehe...How would I dare? I am just here to ask you to return our item, that¡¯s all!" Shi Yutong replied yfully in a tone which gave the impression that she was vivacious and quick-witted, which was typical of girls her age. The only problem was people who treated her like this sort of girl would definitely suffer a grotesque death. "Snap!" A sh of white light that seemed like lightning shot out of nowhere. "It has begun...What exactly is the level of elemental force of a Wu Zong?" In his retreat, Fang Yuan tried to get a glimpse of what was going on out of curiosity. This scene was different from what he saw earlier between the martial artists at the Four Heavenly Gates. In this duel between the martial artists during elemental force, apart from the sh of light at the beginning, all was quiet. "Is this...because both martial artists have perfected the art of using elemental force such that it does not manifest in other forms of energy, which exins why the effects are not visible to us?" The powers of Shi Yutong and the sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect were so powerful they seemed godly. This scared Fang Yuan. The strongest evidence of their powers was the sight of the martial artists who tried to creep forward to sabotage either of the duellists losing their power instantly, as though they were swallowed by a giant whirlpool. "They moved!" Of course, Fang Yuan was unable to catch sight of the two martial artists. However, when he saw the disciples of the Five Ghosts Sect and Lady Yan use their Lightness Skill and sped for the city gates, he could not resist following them secretly. "Eh? Is something wrong?" At this moment, from all corners of Luori City, several silhouettes emerged and rushed off, using Lightness Skill, into the distance one after another. This startled Fang Yuan. Despite knowing the two dueling were extremely powerful, as well as that the earlier unlucky few perished because they were too close to the duel, these people who still dared to follow them were definitely formidable martial artists themselves. ... "Phew phew!" Traveling at a blistering speed, they arrived at Xuanyan Mountain in no time. This ce was very different from Clear Spirit Mountain. Most of the knolls were bare, revealing the red boulders and soil of the mountain. Even from the depressions of the mountain, one could feel the blistering heat emitted from there. It was obvious that inside the depression, there was a terrifying volcanicva from the crater. As for the natives living in the mountain and the martial artists, this Xuanyan Mountain was a ce to avoid! If one were to fall into the crater, it did not matter how powerful the person was, one wouldpletely dissolve into theva. "How dare you despicable and inferior people try to finish us off while we are fighting each other? You must have a death wish!!!" All of a sudden, the Five Ghost Sect disciples and Lady Yan who were sprinting ahead halted, turned on their heels in mid-air and sped behind, all in sync with each other. One would not be able to tell that they were at each other¡¯s throats before this. "As expected, the idea of watching the Spirit Returning Sect and Five Ghosts Sect destroy each other and picking up the scraps after that is not that realistic after all. They are already starting to clear the area..." Fang Yuan silently tore off a piece of cloth from his robe and covered half his face. At this moment, despite the intimidation by Lady Yan and the Five Ghost Sect disciples, there were still people chasing after the dueling pair. Those who still dared to do so were inner power experts who were at least at the 5th Gate and above. Furthermore, the number of these people far surpassed what Fang Yuan expected. "It seems like I am not the only intelligent person around!" Upon seeing this, Fang Yuan immediately realised that of all these experts, a majority of them were not locals. Most of them moved in only recently, having the same intentions as him to strike when both sects were weak! What he did not know was how they got their information. "Everyone attack together!" A hideous voice rang out as a powerful force exploded, revealing a proud figure. This startled Lady Yan and the disciples of the Five Ghosts Sect and they eximed, "Dugu Hong?" This man was a well-known martial artist who always trained on his own. He did not belong to any particr sect and roamed about freely. The reasons behind his sudden appearance were unclear. "Since Brother Dugu made the request, we would definitely go along with you!" Dugu Hong¡¯s order was answered by three martial artists at the same time as they leapt out. They were dressed like hunters, draping their backs with wolf-skin, and the wolf heads on their shoulders bore eyes that glistened. "The Three Wild Wolf Brothers?" The disciples of the Five Ghosts Sect became more troubled. Although the three brothers were not on the same level as Dugu Hong, they were also formidable opponents who were experts at Yin energy. When the three of thembined their efforts, they could be equivalent to a martial artist at the peak of the 12th Gate. "Haha...Lady Yan and disciples of the Five Ghost Sect, get out of the way if you do not wish to die!" All these lone martial artists armed with extremely high levels of martial prowess who outnumbered Lady Yan and the disciples of the Five Ghost Sect charged forward. "Kill!" Lady Yan and the disciples of the Five Ghost Sect looked at each other, roared and stood their ground as they attempted to fight off the attackers. "Bang bang!" With the forces and energies from the various martial artists shing with each other, a messy and ferocious war erupted instantly! "All these martial artists are not familiar with each other and thus do not trust each other yet. As they fight they are constantly watching their own backs..." Fang Yuan had no intention of joining in the fight and tried to swiftly skirt around the melee. With Lady Yan and the disciples of the Five Ghost Sect fighting for their lives, and the martial artists on the other side refraining from over-exerting, the fight would definitelyst a long time. Of course, this would be exactly what Lady Yan and the disciples of the Five Ghost Sect wanted to achieve. Instead of joining in the fight, why not take advantage of this chance to skirt around them and move to the front. "Die!" Just when Fang Yuan thought of this idea, he found out he was not the only who had the same thoughts. Furthermore, the other person was hispetitor in this situation. Just as he moved around the fight and was preparing to move forward, a martial artist dressed in ck crept up next to him and threw out sessive punches with both fists. Fang Yuan felt the force from the punches and then deduced that hispetitor was also an expert at the 6th Gate at least. Judging from the power of his opponent, his fists were no less lethal than a weapon. This caused Fang Yuan to remember a famous fighting technique. "Wind and Thunder Palm? D*mn, rumour has it that this technique is immensely powerful. When it is executed by a martial artist at the 6th Gate, even a martial artist at the 7th Gate would be unable to meet this technique head on..." As Fang Yuan thought to himself, he made use of the pitch darkness and sent his fist flying menacingly towards his opponent like a pestle. "Snap!" The force from Fang Yuan¡¯s fist contacted with that of his opponent¡¯s palm. At that moment, a hint of triumph crept into his opponent¡¯s eyes. But it changed also almost instantly into excruciating pain as the bones in his arm shattered. He was sent somersaulting backwards into the air, spilling blood as he went. In just one move, this was even more powerful than a martial artist at the 7th Gate! To describe the event in words did not do the sheer speed of it justice. In reality, everything seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. After defeating his enemy in just one move, Fang Yuan did not turn back and skirted the main fighting area and headed deeper into the mountain. Upon seeing this, Gudu Hong, the Wild Wolf Brothers and the rest were even more frustrated. Furthermore, Lady Yan and the Five Ghost Sect disciples were determined and desperate to prevent the other martial artists from chasing their dueling sect heads. "To break through and arrive here...It must have been easy?" As Fang Yuan sped along the mountain road, he visually surveyed his surroundings and realised the martial artists who were simrly able to break through or skirt past the fighting were like him. They were mostly between the 6th and 7th Gate and were not as recognised. "Yeah... Lady Yan and the disciples of the Five Ghosts Sect found us too insignificant to hold us back. We are not as powerful and troublesome as Gudu Hong and the Wild Wolf Brothers. I never thought I would enjoy this ¡¯privilege¡¯ of having inferior martial prowess..." After turning around a peak, thepany saw a huge volcanic crater. Next to the crater, two people were exchanging blows at a speed so fast it looked blur to the naked eye. It was Shi Yutong duelling the head of the Five Ghosts Sect! Seeing this, Fang Yuan felt confused and suspicious. The precious treasure map had yet to appear, so why would these two respected and powerful martial artists expand all their energy fighting each other? Were they not afraid that the map might not even exist and thus create a lifelong enemy for themselves? Or was it possible that both were extremely confident that they wouldpletely defeat the other? With this thought, Fang Yuan immediately stopped advancing. His goose bumps erected as he thought, "Oh no! There might be a trap!" He immediately turned around and left without hesitation. How could a broken piece from a treasure map be more valuable than my own life? The risks at that point time were far higher than what he had predicted and had already exceeded the profits he could hope to receive. "Eh?" Upon seeing how Fang Yuan decided to not pursue further, a few of hispanions became suspicious too. "I did not think that...there would be another enlightened person? What a pity..." With a low noiseing from what looked like amon 5th Gate martial artist, the situation changedpletely at that instant. Ayer of blood surfaced on his body. The martial artists around him were astonished. At that split second, his body disintegrated, and blood flowed out rapidly. The blood cluttered at his side and formed what seemed to look like several pythons writhing about. "Blood Pythons...Attack!" He pointed a few lucky survivors. The Blood Pythons immediately locked on their targets and charged. Fang Yuan was one of the targets. "What an impressive technique! It¡¯s a spiritual knight!" Seeing this startling and terrifying sight, one of the martial artists screamed aloud. Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 63: Reveal Chapter 63: Reveal Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "This is...." Fang Yuan retreated but the Bloody Python wasing straight at him and an explosion was heard "Bang!" In this very short period of time, he could only execute the inner strength of the Iron Skin Technique to defend himself. A bright red light shed across him. "Piak!" Fang Yuan¡¯s expression changed and could only feel intense pain on both of his hands. A powerful and corrosive energy broke through his defence and was spreading across his arms. He was suffering till now as his inner strength of the [Eagle w Technique (Grade 7)] was deflected easily by that energy. This situation was simr to when a martial artist who was trained in inner power duelled with an expert in inner force. "Puff!" He rolled andnded on the ground. He was in shock and said, "Is this.....the elemental force? So the rumour of a well trained spiritual knight having the ability to leverage the power of nature is true!!" "Eh?" The explosion of the blood-coloured python caused the bodies of the martial artists who were defeated to disappear. Fang Yuan survived as he managed to escape far away from the explosion. Plus, he was only badly injured, which meant he still had a chance of survival. The mysterious man in ck was surprised after seeing this. "You are lucky. Others who have tasted my bloody elemental force in normal circumstances would not have to think about surviving." Looking at Fang Yuan who was unconscious, he moved 2 steps forward and a bloody bright light appeared on his right hand. It seemed that he wanted to end Fang Yuan¡¯s life. "Ouch!!!" At that moment, a shout was heard from the magmake and it sounded urgent. "Damn it! Can¡¯t even hold it longer, what a useless guy!" The man in ck changed his expression and abandoned Fang Yuan and galloped away. "My Bloody Python will strike in all directions!" The Bloody Python was executed along with a roar and it became more powerful and concentrated. It also gave out a noxious rotting smell. "Spiritual knight? ....No! Another spiritual disciple that has not been promoted? So he is your backup?" Shi Yutong said in a clear and loud voice which could be heard from far away. ¡¯Shi Yutong was so capable that she could make the head of the Five Ghosts Sect use his backup move on her.....but his backup move is indeed incredible....." There was a breeze and Fang Yuan who was ¡¯badly injured¡¯ got up and frowned. He focused his inner forcefully on healing his injuries. Previously, he was pretending to be unconscious actually. If the mysterious spiritual knight had decided to kill him, he would have fought for his life. Luckily for him, Shi Yutong¡¯s skill was way superior and could manage to suppress the head of the Five Ghosts Sect and distract him, allowing Fang Yuan to escape and survive. "But what about these injuries due to the elemental force....." Fang Yuan was expressionless. He looked at his arm and frowned. When he was attacked by the Bloody Python, his clothing on both of his arms was broken into pieces and this caused his exposed arm to be burnt. The wounds on his arm were so bad that he could see the bones of his arm. Even his inner force couldn¡¯t help to heal his injuries fast enough and suppress it from spreading. "This bloody elemental force acts like a poison? It is indeed powerful!" He could feel intense pain and numbness from his injuries. Fang Yuan knew that if he still didn¡¯t receive any medical attention yet, his injuries would worsen and spread. By then, he would have to amputate both of his arms and his life would also be in danger! "Since it is poison and the injuries are due to elemental force, normal pills shouldn¡¯t work....." He frowned and took out two bamboo fruits with much difficulty. He swallowed them and thought about the Yama¡¯s Order he had with him. He then drank the whole bottle of Yama¡¯s Order as well. "Hoo hoo!" The bamboo fruit was indeed a powerful spiritual object. Once the fruit entered his stomach, Fang Yuan could feel a clear stream gurgling through his arms and his arms felt less painful. "Luckily.....I have the bamboo fruit with me still. If not, with these injuries, I would really be in big trouble!" Fang Yuan bandaged his wounds and lurked towards the magmake to see what was going on. "Whooo!" The tremendous force from the one of the duelist¡¯s palm technique caused sound effects which sounded like the howling of the wind. He could see the duel between Shi Yutong and head of the Five Ghosts Sect. Their moves were very fast and fluid. There were no explosions although there were loud noises created during the duel. That mysterious disciple beside the both of them was circling 9 Bloody Pythons and murmuring incantations. This caused the Bloody Pythons to nk Shi Yutong constantly. Shi Yutong was actually fearful of such spiritual attacks and it gave the head of the Five Ghosts Sect a chance for a breather when he was almost going to be defeated. Now, he had a chance to gain the upper hand. As time passed, the three of them were fully focused on the fight andpletely unaware of their surroundings. "Haha....that is unfortunate!" Fang Yuan felt regretful when he saw what happened. Victory was about tond in on one of the party¡¯s hand. If he was an expert in 4 Heavenly Gates, he would be able to change the verdict of the duel. However, he was just a [Martial Artist (7th Gate)] and he was injured. If he was to join in the battle now, he would definitely not survived through it. "Patience! Patience!" He advised himself silently and hid somewhere even deeper. After all, he wasn¡¯t here to obtain something of value and since now he knew how powerful the spiritual knight was, it was not a good time for him to attack. "Both Wu Zong and the spiritual knight are trained in elemental force. However, both would produce different effects....." This battle was actually a good chance for him to learn and improve further. "The spiritual knight is more focused on the conversion of his elemental force into spells.....On the other hand, Wu Zong also has elemental energy but one will use it to condition his or her body. Therefore, both have different uses!" "However, ording to what Shi Yutong said, the man in ck has not been promoted to be a spiritual knight, but he is powerful enough to duel with Wu Zong....." "However, Shi Yutong is highly skilled and was scheming. How could shend herself in such a disadvantageous situation?" ...... Fang Yuan pondered over his thoughts and focused on hiding himself. "I cannot give her any more chances as she is waiting for me to be lured out of the city and there will definitely be traps.....Blood Killer!!!" The head of the Five Ghosts Sect shouted and his eyes were filled with anger. He seemed to have a secret technique and his energy surged. "Five Ghosts Soul Capturing Technique!" He stretched his fingers and visible ck smokes could be seen. It then became like a ferocious looking ghost which pounced forward. "Wu! Wu!" "Jie jie!" "Hehe!" ....... At that moment, there were many ghostly screams heard and 5 streaks of ck smokes transformed into a giant ghostly w. The w fiercely mped down like the Five Fingers Mountain. "He released his elemental force to form that?" Shi Yutong let out a surprised scream and she transformed into 9 silhouettes suddenly which darted off in all directions. "Come down now!" The head of the Five Ghosts Sect gave a ferocious look and pulled back both of his hands. His Ghostly w tore through the silhouettes and left Shi Yutong in her original spot. Shi Yutong¡¯s moves were impressive but the Ghostly w was much more superior! "What are you waiting for?!" After such a move, the sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect was already panting. He could not move to sustain his Ghostly w and could only shout in despair. "Haha! Well done!" Presented with this golden opportunity, the Blood Killer would not let it slip. He used his Ghostly w to suppress Shi Yutong and the 9 Bloody Pythons were attacking her at the same time. "9 Bloody Pythons, you shall explode!!!!!!!!!!" "Hiss!" Aspared to how the Bloody Pythons attacked Fang Yuan previously, the Bloody Pythons revealed their tongues this time and made hissing sounds. Their scales were revealed clearly and they were indeed powerful. Seeing that the Bloody Pythons were charging towards Shi Yutong, the head of the Five Ghosts Sect was ted. "Whiz whiz!" At that moment, there was a sudden change! A few emerald shes struck the pythons¡¯ heads. "Puff! Puff!" The heads of the pythons exploded one by one like explosives and blood sshed everywhere. Suddenly, there was a sound of a fluteing from far and the notes from it were incredibly lively. Fang Yuan could feel the notes invigorating him as if he was in a different setting, filled with blooming flowers in spring. "Sorry that I camete, please forgive me!" From the sound of the flute, the head of the Five Ghosts Sect retreated and spat out a mouthful of blood. His Five Ghosts Soul Capturing Technique was then lifted. A clear and spiritual female voice was heard along with the sound of the flute. After the sound, a beam of emerald green light struck right beside the Blood Killer. "Aahh...elemental blood defence!" He shouted and a pool of blood appeared on his body. However, he couldn¡¯t avoid what was about to happen as the beam of the emerald green light struck through his body, leaving a bloody hole. "A flute? A woman?!" The Blood Killer covered his chest and seemed to have recalled something scary. He immediately escaped without hesitation! Before he left, he gave a ferocious look and patted the head of the Five Ghosts Sect¡¯s back. He then ced a violet pill on the head of the Five Ghosts Sect¡¯s Yuzhen acupuncture point. "Blood Killer....you?" Seeing that his ally betrayed him, the head of the Five Ghosts Sect was in shock and wasn¡¯t ready to defend himself. The pill that was ced by the Blood Killer was especially mysterious. The pill went through his skin and he could feel its effect instantly. "Hoo! Hoo!" The head of the Five Ghosts Sect kept panting and his face was blushing. Many of his veins started hideously to pop out like worms beneath his skin. Suddenly, he shouted and pounced right at Shi Yutong like a crazy man. The Blood Killer then managed to escape with this opportunity. .... "Crazy Blood Pill?" At that moment, ady arrived at the scene. She was dressed in a green gown, wore a golden bangle on her head and had an emerald-coloured belt at her waist. She was beautiful. Seeing that the head of the Five Ghosts Sect had be crazy, she joined in the battle. Both thedy and Shi Yutong managed to suppress him. "Fortunately, you came just in time to help me. Otherwise, I would be in big trouble.....Why did you let the Blood Killer off?" Shi Yutong asked. Thedy in green then answered with augh. "You overestimate me. Even though Blood Killer had not been promoted to be the spiritual knight, but right after he had seen my secret technique, he thought I was way more superior and thus he fled...." Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 64: Resistance Chapter 64: Resistance Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Seeing how things are, it seems that both Shi Yutong and the Five Ghosts Sect have their own ideas on how to defeat each other, and both had managed to get assistance..." At the sound of the flute, the Blood Killer escaped and Fang Yuan managed to retreat as well. "The only difference is that Shi Yutong¡¯s reinforcement came from outside the city, and only arrived after Lady Yan was discovered, and therefore Shi Yutong was forced to reveal herself to lure the head of Five Ghosts Sect out of the city...." "Shi Yutong¡¯s skill was above that of the head of the Five Ghosts Sect, and her assistant could scare away the Blood Killer. She was totally in control of the situation, and they had no chance of retaliating!" "Lieyang County will be very different from this day onwards..." Fang Yuan witnessed how the Blood Killer betrayed head of the Five Ghosts Sect and used him as a bait for him to escape, and knew that the head of the Five Ghosts Sect was unlikely to walk out alive under the attack of Shi Yutong and her strong assistant. The Five Ghost Sect would crumble without their head, and other sects would take advantage of them once they were at their downfall. ... "Whoosh!" Fang Yuan flew into the woods, his eyes filled with fury. "The Blood Killer is only strong in his spiritual spells. As for his martial arts cultivation, he is only equivalent to that of a [Martial Artist (5th Gate)]... Furthermore, he was hurt by the emerald shes..." "And as for me? I¡¯ve recovered from eating the bamboo fruit, and although my external wounds look terrifying, my internal wounds have already recovered quite a bit, and I can even fight!" Fang Yuan was unwilling to risk his life for a treasure map he knew little about. But it¡¯s different about the Blood Killer! This person was a spiritual knight! ... Alright, ording to Shi Yutong he was a spiritual knight-to-be, and badly hurt too. This was attractive to Fang Yuan, who wanted to observe spiritual spells in action. With the intention to stalk the Blood Killer, the Blood Killer could not run away from Fang Yuan. Indeed, after an hour, the Blood Killer stopped near a mountain spring to take a rest. The bandage over his wound on his chest was red. He twitched and felt suspicious. "The spiritual weapon does not seem to be the widely-known Spiritual Emerald Silk! If the Spiritual Emerald Silk attacked me personally, I would never have the chance to escape... Could it be that someone is tricking me?" After thinking, he felt extremely regretful. He knew that with him and the head of the Five Ghosts Sect teaming up, they would just be able to take down Shi Yutong, but the moment her ally arrived, even if it was a young disciple, they would have won. This was the main reason why he escaped without a doubt. The only thing was that betraying the head of the Five Ghosts Sect was akin to burning a bridge, and felt that it was a pity. "Curse you! After I have officially be a spiritual knight, I will peel all your skins alive to vent out my anger and take my revenge..." Blood Killer sighed, bent down and drank the spring water. After quenching his thirst, he opened his robes, looked at the blood-red bandage, clenched his teeth and tore it apart. "Piak!" As the bandage fell apart, blood spurt out of the wound. "Mm..." He bit his teeth and was sweating profusely. His right arm was shivering as he retrieved a dark-green bottle from his pocket. He scattered some white powder onto his wound and began to bandage it. Fang Yuan came out of hiding and took a few steps forward. "Who¡¯s that?" As the Blood Killer looked up, his eyes revealed an emerald sh, as though he was an injured wolf. ¡¯I was discovered?¡¯ Fang Yuan changed his mind, stood up and acted as though he was afraid. "Don¡¯t... Don¡¯t kill me..." "Mmm?" Blood Killer noticed his rotting arm and was perplexed. "You were that martial artist, but why are you still alive? How is this possible?" He knew Fang Yuan was a [Martial Artist (6th/7th Gate)] and therefore was not on guard. Unknowingly, he took a few steps towards him as though he was a weak martial artist who was easily affected by his blood elemental force. He was suspicious as to how Fang Yuan survived his attack. "This is the moment!" Fang Yuan stood his ground and struck. "Whoosh!" He rushed forward and felt the air rush over his ws, as he made an eagle¡¯s cry. He appeared next to the Blood Killer as his ws emerged, with a ck spot on his palm; the poison from the mutated Pearl Tail Snake harnessed in his palms. "Hmm?" Even though he was injured, he remained calm as he looked at Fang Yuan attacking him, as though he was extremely confident. "Mind Calming Spell!" He bit his tongue and spit out blood towards Fang Yuan, and shouted. "Wung!" A weird vibration was felt as it travelled onto Fang Yuan¡¯s body. Fang Yuan was shocked, and at the moment his stood at where he was, maintaining his pouncing posture. "Hehe... This Mind Calming Spell is indeed useful when dealing with normal people... Cough Cough..." After two coughs, he examined Fang Yuan. "This person could survive my Bloody Python attack, it seems he is somewhat special. He would be a good ingredient for me to make a blood corpse... And while I am injured, I will need protection..." "Dementor!" He took two steps forward, and in his right hand was a dark-red pill. Mischief filled his eyes, as he eximed, "From today onwards, I am your master, and now, eat this!" Blood Killer ordered and stretched his right hand out. But at that moment, his expression changed. Fang Yuan¡¯s expressionless face changed to one of mocking. ¡¯This isn¡¯t possible, how can a normal human being who is not of Wu Zong level be able to escape my Mind Calming Spell... Could it be...¡¯ Wild thoughts ran through his mind, quick as lightning. There were very close to each other and it would be useless if any one of them tried to defend himself. This golden opportunity was one that Fang Yuan wouldn¡¯t give up. "Die!!!" He focused his inner force and his words were loud as thunder. It was something he picked up from Gui Wusheng, and the Blood Killer was stunned for the moment. His right hand struck out like lightning and formed an eagle¡¯s w. He hooked on to the throat of Blood Killer, pulled with his might and a distinct fracture sound could be heard. "Eagle w Technique! ck Sand Palm!" After the first move, Fang Yuan continuously struck at the Blood Killer like raindrops, every move aiming at the Blood Killer¡¯s vulnerable spot. After all, he was a cunning person and Fang Yuan was afraid to let him survive. Fang Yuan was fortunate to be lucky. Blood Killer¡¯s corpsended on the ground, like a doll being abused. "Phew..." Fang Yuan heaved a sigh of relieve after witnessing his death but was afraid of the trouble which mighte along. To deal with a spiritual disciple was indeed not an easy task. Even when he was injured, he could conjure up spells. If not for Fang Yuan¡¯s remarkable magic abilities, he would have been trapped and made his ve. On hindsight, it was rather scary. "However... Even though the elemental energy of the spiritual disciple is simr to that of Wu Zong, it was extremely different... Just now, it felt as though he had used up all his energy and had little strength left." Withbat experience, Fang Yuan realised a little secret of the spiritual disciple. "After all, their defence is average. Take for instance this Blood Killer. Without the help of the sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect¡¯s, he was no match for Shi Yutong... Only after attaining the level of a spiritual knight will be able to match up to a Wu Zong, or even surpass them..." After thinking, he took a few steps forward and felt satisfied. It was a good feeling to kill someone and take their treasure. A spiritual knight would be scheming and Fang Yuan had to take precautions. He picked up a tree branch, carefully peeled open Blood Killer¡¯s clothing and found a cloth bag. A few bottles within the bag were damaged from the fight, and the medicine powder was mixed together. Spiritual pills would be rendered useless by now as they were destroyed. Fang Yuan did not dare to touch any medicine or poison from the bag. Other than these, there were other misceneous objects and a few taels of silver, which made him feel like it was not worth it. "This can¡¯t be... I took such a risk to kill this spiritual disciple, and this is all I get?" Looking at the rotten corpse, Fang Yuan remained speechless and even felt like whipping the corpse. The good thing was that he wasn¡¯t such an extremist, and after rummaging through his belongings one more time, he stood up and sighed. "Ah... It seems that there is really nothing, I guess luck is not on my side!" He remained silent as he looked at Blood Killer¡¯s corpse. "You attempted to kill me first, and therefore it is only normal that you are killed by me. Just because you are a magical person, I will... dig a grave for you, so that you will not be eaten by wild beasts!" Using his inner strength, it was effortless for him to dig arge hole in a short amount of time. "Rest in peace!" Fang Yuan struck his palm out and shoved the corpse and his belongings into the hole, and was about to cover the grave up. At this moment, a jade-coloured object was revealed from the corpse, which stopped Fang Yuan in his tracks. "Wait a minute... What is this?" He grabbed a tree branch and flicked his arm out of the grave. The jade piece was clearly visible just beside the bone. "What the..." Fang Yuan spent a long time to separate the jade from the bone and appeared shocked. "This person is crazy, why would he hide this in his own body..." If he didn¡¯t strike that many palms and ws on the Blood Killer till he was disfigured, he would not have discovered this piece of jade. "What does this count as? Retribution? Since he could have hidden this piece of jadeite in his body, who is to say that there is no second piece, third piece... Even after his death, he is still asking to be tortured?" He became speechless and vexed. After a short while, he looked at the 2 looted objects that were washed and went into deep thought. Because of the discovery of the jade, he had to force himself to do a thorough search on the corpse. His unintended move unknowingly brought him rewards. Fang Yuan remained speechless as he looked at the loot. "Treasure map... broken pieces..." This treasure map was discovered in the Blood Killer¡¯s clothing, sewed in between the cloth. As for the corpse? After an intense search, Fang Yuan found nothing and proceed to bury him. What appeared in front of Fang Yuan was an iplete treasure map, simr to the one Han Shou had! "This piece is the missing part of the treasure map, justcking a corner! Who would¡¯ve known that the Five Ghosts Sect had already obtained the treasure map and passed to the Blood Killer for safekeeping..." This incredible encounter and miraculous turn of events left Fang Yuan speechless. Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 65: The Death Gate Chapter 65: The Death Gate Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Things are constantly changing in this world. Who can predict what is the next move?" Fang Yuan had caused the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master and the Blood Killer to be dead one after another. He managed to obtain pieces of the treasure map and was very happy with it. With such treasure in his hand, he was naturally happy about it. However, he had only gotten two pieces and onest piece of the map was still missing. He was worried. "No matter what, a treasure map that could cause the Five Ghosts Sect and a spiritual disciple to be so obsessed with would lead to a treasure that is extraordinary....." "Of course, the most important issue is not this....." Fang Yuan murmured and kept the pieces of the treasure map safely. His right hand touched a piece of jadeite and he kept silent. That piece of jadeite was clear and shiny. It seemed that there were streaks of gold lines circting in it, making it special. Also, the Blood Killer had the treasure map sewn on his clothes but he hid the jadeite in his body, which clearly showed that the piece of jadeite was very precious. "Just that.....I wonder what mystery this piece of jadeite holds!" He stared at the square-shaped jadeite for a long time. He couldn¡¯t find any handwritings or symbols on it. It could reflect light when ced in water under sunlight. "This is strange!" Fang Yuan shook his head and kept the jadeite safely. He then continued on his journey. During this trip outside the Qingye City, he battled in the jungle and killed Gui Wusheng and the Blood Killer. He also obtained a few treasures like the Ying Yang Jade, pieces of the treasure map and the mysterious jadeite. He even got to observe a battle between Wu Zong and the spiritual disciple. Thus, he gained quite a lot through this trip and was very satisfied. The only thing that he wanted to do now was to cut off any rtions between him and these incidents. This was fairly simple. After all, Fang Yuan didn¡¯t even reveal his face before. Even though back in Shaoyang City, someone witnessed him leaving together with Gui Wusheng, nobody knew the oue of the duel between the both of them. Fang Yuan could say that both of them were on par with each other and they fought till exhaustion. But what about Gui Wusheng? The Five Ghosts Sect was crumbling and it would be normal for him to hide now, wouldn¡¯t it? If it still looked suspicious, the rest could find the ghost of Gui Wusheng to testify. "Next, if I were to remove all the traces I left behind here, that would be sufficient!" Fang Yuan trekked through the forest and walked a big circle. He then exited the Xuanyan Mountain by another way and reached a nearby county. He then boarded a carriage and quickly went back to Qingye City. ........ Days after, back at the inn where Fang Yuan was living in. Fang Yuan, who was lying down, opened his eyes and was weed by a bright light. "Hoo....." Fang Yuan exhaled out a long breath and stretched himself. "Once I have broken through the Death Gate, I will be reborn...I have finally attained [Martial Artist (8th Gate)], which is the Death Gate!" He was not really surprised that he attained it. After all, he was already in a state which he could attain a new level anytime. In addition to the previous battles and the lessons learnt from the duel between Wu Zong and the spiritual disciple, his attainment was a matter of time. Of course, the main contribution to his attainment was his daily intake of spiritual food, which allowed his foundations to be stronger and thus able to break through the Death Gate sessfully! Ever since he felt that he was ready to break through, Fang Yuan immediately found an inn and got the best room in the inn for him to prepare to break through. This time, the breakthrough of the Death Gate was different for him as it felt as if he went for a nap. Correct! He went for a nap! If he was able to wake up from the nap, it meant that he broke through sessfully. However, if he did not wake up, it meant he was dead! Even though the concept was simple, it also had a possible scary oue! "Hmm?" Fang Yuan got up and felt that both of his hands were sticky. It felt very ufortable and he rubbed his hands. Ayer of dead skin then dropped off and it revealed a newyer of clear and bright skin. "Reborn? I am really reborn!!!" He looked at his hands happily and tore away the dead skin which was on his arm. "Piak!" It was as if a snake had changed its skin. On his arm, ayer of skin which contained traces of dirt and blood dropped off, revealing a smoothyer of new skin, perfect and without any scars on it. "The cultivation of martial arts is actually considered a tough training. With a bit of talent, one can train his elemental force when he has attained Wu Zong....." Fang Yuan gradually understood. Under normal circumstances, most people would not be able to reach the lowest gate of a spiritual knight. However, martial arts is different! From the start, there were 3 gates, namely the Initial, Rest and Life. One who did not have prior experience would be able to break through and attain them in 3 years with hard work. If one had prior experience, one could try to break through the Restriction Gate and strengthen one¡¯s inner power. After the Pain Gate, one would have gained inner force and could improve his essence and spirit naturally. After the Death Gate, one¡¯s inner force would reach its peak. Next, whether to take in both Yin and Yang or tobine them together, was part of the preparation needed to break through the Heaven Gate and train one¡¯s elemental force. "This process is one step at a time and consists of 12 steps, which is different from the process which involves the spiritual disciple breaking through to be the spiritual knight. Hence, the former process is considered to be more favourable....." At that moment, Fang Yuan did not look down on martial arts but felt full of respect for the creation of the 12 Golden Gates in martial arts. The creator had given many who did not have prior experience a straight pathway to attain the Heaven Gate! Correct, the Heaven Gate! Fang Yuan recalled that the Blood Killer looked at him with disdain and knew what kind of impression spiritual knights and sorcerers had on normal human beings. Then what about normal human beings? If one was to be able to break through all 12 Golden Gates and attained Wuzong, one would be immortal and would be able to reach the heaven! "The Yin Yang Jade can be used right after the 8th Gate!" Fang Yuan was not as petty as Gui Wusheng. Gui Wusheng was reluctant to use it for himself but Fang Yuan had decided to use it immediately to speed up his training process. Of course, before using it, he wanted to have a look again at his stats window. His stats window then appeared in front of him: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 5.0 Spirit: 4.9 Magic: 3.3 Age: 19 Cultivation: [Martial Artist (8th Gate)] Technique: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 8)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 3)]" "Eh? There is an increase in my magic, is it because of the breakthrough of the Death Gate? Or is it due to the effect of the spiritual tea which was triggered during the breakthrough? Or is it both?" His essence and spirit had increased tremendously and Fang Yuan had expected it. What surprised him was that his magic had increased by 0.3. After all, he did not have any other breakthroughs other than his previous breakthrough of the 7th Gate. "However, this is normal anyway....The prerequisite to being a spiritual knight or a sorcerer was to have a high level of magic! How could martial arts only help to improve one¡¯s body condition? It definitely had to improve one¡¯s magic as well!" "Or maybe....attaining the 4 Heavenly Gates was not only tobine the elemental force of Yin and Yang but also to improve one¡¯s magic to prepare oneself for Wu Zong...." "The 12 Golden Gates; I have broken through the 8th gate which is the Death Gate. Next up will be the 9th Gate, which is the Yin Gate, and then the 10th Gate, which is the Yang Gate, and then the 11th Gate, which is the Earth Gate andstly the 12th Gate, which is the Heaven Gate!" Fang Yuan took out the Yin Yang Jade. The piece of Jade was perfect and it had both red and ck textures in it, which made it special. This piece of jade could speed up thebination of Yin and Yang for a [Martial Artist (8th Gate)]. This was one of the secret processes of the Five Ghosts Sect. Even though the Five Ghosts Sect had wanted to use this piece of jade to attract its enemies, the jadended into Fang Yuan¡¯s hands in the end. "This jade.....seems to be used in this way!" Fang Yuan murmured and shipped his inner force onto his palms. At that moment, there was a conversion and his inner force that was actually in 7th Gate previously was now smoothly transferred to the 8th Gate. He noticed a swirl in the inner part of the Yin Yang Jade with thebination of Yin and Yang. "Go!" Fang Yuan shipped his inner force into the cirction of the Yin and Yang and his inner force went one round in the cirction and then back into his body. "Hiss..." At that moment, he felt a cold stream down his arms and then to shoulders and his chest.....and then finally to his lower abdomen. "Is this.....Yin?" Fang Yuan looked at the Yin Yang Jade and the textures on the jadeite were still clear as before. It seemed like it had not been used before. "ording to the Iron Skin Technique and the manuals from the Spirit Returning Sect, if a [Martial Artist (8th Gate)] wants to make a breakthrough, he would have to train hard daily and endlessly. As such, he should be able to get the Yin into his body in half a month or so, but now....." He looked at his stats window again. He saw his proficiency points for [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 8)] had increased by 1%. "My intake of Yin this time equals to half a month of hard work by a normal [Martial Artist (8th Gate)]?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered and said, "This Yin Yang Jade is good stuff. The Five Ghosts Sect is indeed rich with treasures....." In fact, he was being whimsical. Even though Five Ghosts Sect was rich, the Yin Yang Jade was considered one of the most precious treasures in there and was hidden well. Normal elders would not have known this piece of jade. If the purpose was not to attract the enemy, Gui Wusheng would not have brought the jade out. Even so, Gui Wusheng only had the right of safekeeping it and not the right of using it. "Gui Wusheng that stupid idiot. He was probably controlled by the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master..." Fang Yuan then came to a conclusion. "If one does not know how to appreciate the treasure, even if the treasure was a gift from heaven, the treasure would hurt one instead!" He got up and opened the windows. He breathed in deeply and looked at the Lieyang County silently. With the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master and the Blood Killer dead, the Five Ghosts Sect had no leader. In addition to the attack by the Spirit Returning Sect, the Five Ghosts Sect would definitely split and it was a golden opportunity for one to take advantage of the situation! Since the Five Ghosts Sect had a piece of Yin Yang Jade, maybe they would have a second or a third piece of the same jade or something simr in value.... Fang Yuan was too imaginative and he grew greedy. "Hold on a second, I have gained a lot from this trip and I should reflect and n my next moves, instead of finding ways to get even more such treasures." Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered and thought, "Looks like I have improved too quickly. I better return home to continue on my cultivation, along with farming and making tea....." Trantor¡¯s Thoughts JTJTY97 JTJTY97 Can¡¯t get enough of Carefree Path of Dreams? Visit https://.patreon/carefreepathofdreams for early ess to more chapters of your favourite boy dreaming his dreams! Chapter 66: Cultivation Chapter 66: Cultivation Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Chirp!" A ck dot appeared in the blue sky and apanying it, a bird¡¯s caw. "Hu!" Arge eagle with metallic wings flew down andnded in front of Fang Yuan. "I¡¯m back!" Fang Yuan walked forward and patted the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. "Keke!" ck Eagle did not appear to reject him, which pleased Fang Yuan, because he knew that they had gotten even closer than before. "Is everything alright in the secluded valley?" He took a few steps forward and reached the entrance. A white sh appeared and stopped at his legs. It was the Flower Fox Ferret. All this while, they had no spiritual tea, and the two beasts also didn¡¯t know how to start a fire. They had no choice but to return to their old ways of hunting and eating meat raw and therefore, both of them longed for his return. For instance, the Flower Fox Ferret had already caught two plump chickens and was waiting for Fang Yuan to cook them. "Greedy fellow!" Fang Yuan scolded him jokingly and entered his home. Even though there were two spiritual beasts looking after the secluded valley, Fang Yuan was still worried and went around to check on things. He arrived at the farm and firstly went to look for the Questioning Heart Tea. He couldn¡¯t contain his excitement as he noticed small leaflets sprouting from the branches of the tree. This trip made him realise the importance of having higher than average magic points. He owed it all to his magic points that he could survive the ordeal this time. "This tea should be spring tea, as the season ising soon..." Fang Yuan as extremely pleased, as he arrived at the farm and realised almost all the Vermilion Jade Rice had been harvested. However, the surroundings were not barren. Shrubs of Emerald Grass were sprouting around the farm in an orderly manner, full of life. "The Emerald Grass is growing rather well!" As it was the lowest form among spiritual nts, it only two purposes was to cultivate a plot ofnd and also be harvested as food for spiritual beasts. Fang Yuan scanned the area and could not find any nt with evolved special traits, and was a little disappointed. "Let¡¯s take a look at the spiritual bamboo!" With shocking healing abilities, the bamboo fruit could even heal wounds caused by elemental forces, and this made Fang Yuan realise the importance of it. As he approached the bridge, he was overwhelmed with joy. Beside the rock, a green bamboo stood tall and strong. Its branches were emerald-green and had no signs of rotting. "When a spiritual bamboo blooms, fruits will form. It would then rot and die after its fruits ripen, and re-sprout into a new spiritual bamboo... This is because it cannot receive enough nutrients to sustain itself... But now, what is happening?" Fang Yuan looked at his [Botany] and knew that this was one of the special traits that the spiritual bamboo evolved to have. Even though the spiritual bamboo was notpletely evolved, it already had certain traits of it being improved, and for instance this time, it did not rot. "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret pointed to a little bulge on the ground, as it tried to hint to Fang Yuan that it was something new. "Eh? Could it be..." Fang Yuan gently dug out theyer of soil above, and a purple shoot appeared. "Indeed... When springes the bamboo will flourish, what an unexpected gain!" It was different from the spiritual bamboo. Its bamboo trunk had ayer of purple and hidden within it, there was spiritual energy which emitted a pleasant fragrance. "I could locate other bamboos by following its roots, and for this root..." Fang Yuan followed then bamboo root and discovered a few more bamboo shoots. He gingerly covered the shoots with soil and was smiling from ear to ear. "Keke......Chirp Chirp..." The Flower Fox Ferret was pulling at his clothes, its paws pointing about. Fang Yuan was amused, "You want to try the bamboo shoot?" "Chirp Chirp!" After hearing this, the ck eagle at the side seemed to understand what was happening and appeared as excited as the Flower Fox Ferret. "You guys... This spiritual bamboo is a treasure, how can we kill the source of our food?" Fang Yuan continued, "There¡¯s quite a lot of spiritual bamboo within the red-eyed white king bird¡¯s nest, as well as other spiritual things... When we have a chance, I shall bring you guys along to loot the entire ce!" With his improvements in martial arts and his two spiritual beasts, Fang Yuan started to have ideas on the Green Peak once again. "Chirp Chirp!" The Iron-tailed ck Eagle had bad blood with the red-eyed white birds all along and was excited at the thought of Fang Yuan¡¯s suggestion. Even though they have decided on the n, it still wasn¡¯t easy to deal with the red-eyed white king bird. After all, the king bird was equivalent to a martial artist of the 4 Heavenly Gates and would be even more unpredictable when angered. The Iron-tailed ck Eagle was extremely lucky to have escaped the previous ordeal, and there was no way it could have escaped again given the same situation. Furthermore, Fang Yuan had just returned and he should be resting and recuperating. ... "Phew... I am finally able to rest after this hectic period!" The next day, Fang Yuan held a teacup, took a sip and was in deep rxation. "Spiritual bamboo shoots for breakfast, coupled with Meditative Questioning Heart Tea. Even the gods couldn¡¯t ask for this!" After mulling over it for the whole night, he gave in to pressure from both the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed ck Eagle, and the three of them enjoyed the bamboo shoots for breakfast. Of course, it was the three of them sharing one shoot. Fang Yuan was shocked to his wits. Regardless the crunchy texture, or the milky fragrance, or the sweet sap, they were all on a different level. Of course, he became extremely regretful after eating it. His was afraid that he would not be able to resist eating the remaining shoots, and he felt that it was such a waste to eat the shoots and therefore lose the fruit that it would bear in the future. "Both of you have gained quite a bit..." Seeing the both of them drinking the spiritual tea, eating the spiritual bamboo and strengthening themselves, Fang Yuan admired them. After all, the spiritual beasts were different from humans; there are no gates for them. As long as they eat and drink to their fill, and grow to a certain age, they would automatically attain a higher level. Comparatively, he needed to train hard, and would, therefore, feel that he had no choice but to ept the fact. As a cup of Questioning Heart Tea entered his stomach, he began to forget his worries. After a long while, he slowly ced his teacup down, and heaved a long sigh. "The higher my magic, the harder it would be to increase it... Furthermore, the effect of the Questioning Heart Tea slowly seems to be unable to satisfy me anymore..." This was normal. As time passed, the spiritual nts which were able to increase one¡¯s magic would be treasured by many, and would be called ¡¯Deity nts¡¯. Of course, being such a unique nt, the Questioning Heart Tea would definitely be beneficial to spiritual knights as well. Fang Yuan realised that even though his body was less receptive to the Questioning Heart Tea, he could drink more of it instead of focusing in finding a better quality deity nt to rece it, and that would solve the problem. "The most important thing now is to quickly break through the 4 Heavenly Gates! Fusing the Yin and Yang, to break the Earth Gate and Heaven Gate, all these should be extremely beneficial to my magic!" After sorting out his thoughts, he crossed his legs and sat on the ground, and took out his Yin Yang Jade. After ying around with the Jade, Fang Yuan knew how to use the Jade in general. Only the inner force of [Martial Artists (8th Gate)] would be able to enter the Jade, to be split it into Yin and Yang, and this would expedite the progress of cultivation by a thousand times. "After the process, I would have lost around half of my Yang..." The ck and red stripes within the Jade became milder, and Fang Yuan felt that it was a pity. Yin and Yang are the forces of the heavens, and they coexist, never alone but always together. Whenever some Yin was taken, the same amount of Yang would be lost, in order for the forces within the Yin Yang Jade to remain bnced at all times. As he had not broken the Yin Gate, he could only see the true Yang from the afternoon sun being lost, as he had no way to harness it. "Keke!" As he was sighing, a white sh appeared, and a paw came in contact with the Yin Yang Jade. It was the Flower Fox Ferret. "Eh? What are you doing?" Fang Yuan was confused, as he observed. The Flower Fox Ferret was actually harnessing the extra Yang for his own cultivation. "Can spiritual beast cultivate their skills on their own?" He felt that his view of the world was once again obsolete. The memories he had from another world made him aware that many demons would train under the moon, but this was the Yang from the sun, and it waspletely different. "Hiss!" After taking in a shred of Yang, the Flower Fox Ferret held its breath, shook, andid t on the ground, as though it was drunk. Fang Yuan had seen the Flower Fox Ferret in this state a few times before, while he was drinking the Questioning Heart Tea. "It seems that it had entered a deep level of cultivation..." Fang Yuan nodded his head, kept the Yin Yang Jade, and had a headache. Afterall, there was another being at home who would be after his own treasures. To be on guard against it would not be easy. Of course, he wasn¡¯t stingy about the Yang lost. To Fang Yuan, he would rather strengthen his spiritual pet than let it go to waste! The only thing he was afraid about was that the beast might not be aware of how to harness it properly, and might take in too much Yang. This would not only spoil the Yin Yang Jade, but also harm the beast, and that wouldn¡¯t be worth it... "Phew... If I continue to fuse my Yin every day, I should be able to achieve a breakthrough to 9th Gate in a few days time..." Seeing the experience bar slowly being filled, Fang Yuan nodded his head and started to train. To a [Martial Artist (8th Gate)], taking in Yin was the hardest of all. The fusion was much easier, and after 2 hours, Fang Yuanpleted his training for the day. He felt as though a clear river was flowing through him, and was immensely satisfied. Since he was in such a good condition, he decided to take the opportunity and took out a piece of jade. This jade was different from the Yin Yang Jade. It was squarish, and it was as though a golden coin was swirling within it. It was indeed the jade Fang Yuan obtained from the Blood Killer. He waspletely rxed and wanted to unveil the mystery of this jade. "There seems to be no carving on it, and it does not seem like a key..." Fang Yuan sighed and suddenly stuck it on his own forehead. He focused his magic on his forehead, as though he was gathering and pushing the magic upwards physically. "Rumble!" ... ... ... After a long while, nothing happened. Fang Yuan rolled his eyes, took the jade down, and felt a little disappointed. "Indeed, the memories from the other world shouldn¡¯t be taken too seriously. Using magic to understand jades, this was most likely bullshit from the author..." Even though it was as such, he felt that he understood something else. Within this jade, there must be a secret, and the only thingcking is the key to it. Chapter 67: Mystery Chapter 67: Mystery Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "I¡¯m here to see you, sir!" Zhou Wenwu bowed respectfully and was also relieved to see Fang Yuan. Previously, when Fang Yuan went out on a trip, Zhou Wenwu would feel unsafe. However, with Fang Yuan back, he felt much safer. "Hmm!" Fang Yuan crossed his knees and sat down. He then waved his hand and said, "How is everything in Lieyang County?" He had about 10 days left before he had to go back to the sect. With the daily cultivations of body and soul, Fang Yuan¡¯s [Martial Artist (8th Gate)] was much more stable than before. With the intake of the Yin, he had improved tremendously. Zhou Wenwu was affected the most by his improvement. To him, Fang Yuan was way more superior than the dead Elder Song! Upon hearing what Fang Yuan asked, he then answered immediately, "Ever since the news of the injured Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master spread, there was chaos everywhere in Lieyang County. Everyone in the Five Ghosts Sect were panicking and some of the disciples had decided to defect. Some of the elders stayed indoors while some went missing. Meanwhile, there were other forces getting ready to join in this mess....." The situation was expected. Without the suppression of the Five Ghosts Sect, the sect was already considered well organised if the sect did not split. Also, there were loyal disciples who were still there, but there was a possibility that they might change their mindset as well. "Is there any movement made from the Spirit Returning Sect?" Logically speaking, Shi Yutong did not gain anything through this expedition and wouldn¡¯t go back to the sect so easily before she gained anything. If there was the help of the mysterious spiritual knight, there would be a possibility of losing the two counties. "Under the leadership of Spirit Returning Sect Sect Master, Spirit Returning Sect controls Shaoyang City and two of the quarries in Lieyang County. After which, there is not much movement from them....." Zhou Wenwu was really telling everything that he knew about the sect. "Really? It looks like the sect is confident in its preparation for its next move!" Fang Yuan nodded his head upon hearing what Zhou Wenwu said. However, it was not an easy task for the sect take over the whole of Lieyang County. "But the sect only controls the two quarries.....but this should be sufficient for the sect to show its power. Very well!" The more chaotic Lieyang County was, the more problematic it would be for the Spirit Returning Sect. However, to Fang Yuan, it would be more advantageous. "Also, the Spirit Returning Sect incurred a big loss this time and even the Second Elder Han Yan was also injured badly and was currently recovering back in the sect. The sect was also on a lookout for any good doctors to help in the recovery and Master, please be extra careful!" "One final thing....." Zhou Wenwu hesitated for a while before he continued, "The sect secretly ordered for me to collect intelligence about you.....and it seemed like it was an order given by a series of Sect Masters!" "A series of Sect Masters....if it was Shi Yutong, she wouldn¡¯t be so secretive about it. That means a certain person is very interested in me now?" Fang Yuan stroked his chin and dismissed Zhou Wenwu. He then sighed and said, "Being too handsome is also a problem for me now...." Jokes aside, he could sort of guess that this order was initiated by Lin Leiyue but it had nothing to do with the possibility that both of them still had feelings for each other. Even if Fang Yuan had revealed a part of his ability, she would be very surprised by it and this would make her even more curious to find out more about Fang Yuan. Outsiders wouldn¡¯t know how Fang Yuan was like in the past and would only know there was someone powerful in the secluded valley. However, Lin Leiyue knew the background of Fang Yuan. Since she knew Fang Yuan was also a normal person in the past, she would then be even more surprised with the improvements Fang Yuan had in his abilities and skills. Fang Yuan had expected this to happen but didn¡¯t expect the other party to be so secretive in finding out more about himself. It seemed like Lin Leiyue was hiding a secret or something. "Never mind.....I shall think of a solution on the spot when the timees. I should get back to farming! And this....." Fang Yuan flipped his hands and an emerald green jade appeared. He looked at the golden textures on the piece of jade was mesmerised by it. ....... Spring had arrived in March. Birds were flying and chirping everywhere. Winter had passed and the flowers were blooming. Fang Yuan came to the Vermilion Jade Rice farm specially during this time. Looking at the consolidated Emerald Grass, the farm hadn¡¯t be a waste as the colour of the soil remained pure ck and it was still in good condition. "This fertiliser.....has a beneficial effect on the farm!" Fang Yuan wore a thick clothing. He carried a hoe and started to cultivate the Vermillion Jade Rice. The seeds that were nted were chosen by him and were of high quality. The condition of the seeds remained well for a long period of time. "I think there is no need for further expansion of the spiritual farm. The current size of the farm is sufficient....." Beside him, the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed ck Eagle were also helping out in the farming. After a busy morning, Fang Yuan then made a pot of tea and enjoyed the tea with the other 2 spiritual beasts beside the spiritual farm. "All the spiritual tea leaves have been picked. The bamboos are growing fast. I have also just nted the seeds for the spiritual rice and with the spiritual fertiliser added, this year¡¯s harvest should be a big one...." Fang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but think of the Red-eyed White King Bird when he thought of the spiritual fertiliser. Even though he already had ns to raid the nest once more, but with the Yin Yang Jade in his hands currently, he decided to postpone that n and prepare himself for further improvements. If he could break through the 4 Heavenly Gates, he would have no problem in dealing with the Red-eyed White King Bird. Also, with the current happenings around him, he was not thinking about expanding outwards. There were dark clouds everywhere in the afternoon and it looked like it was about to rain. It was also humid and this made it easier to fall asleep. Back in his home, Fang Yuan sat down and ordered the 2 spiritual beasts to keep a lookout outside. He looked at the emerald green jade and was mesmerised even further. There was a cool stream flowing down his fingers as he touched the piece of jade and this made him alert and not sleepy anymore. During this period of time, Fang Yuan had been searching for the secret of this piece of jade and now he had managed to learn something about this piece of jade. "The main criteria for being a spiritual knight was one¡¯s magical energy.....Hence, one should start by improving the magical energy.....This piece of jade is indestructible and inner force cannot even destroy it. However....." Fang Yuan took a copper basin and it contained a red liquid. The liquid gave off a fishy smell and it was actually blood. "This Blood Killer is so secretive in his movements. He is slightly evil and now even the things that he brought along with is also slightly evil in nature....." He came to this conclusion about the piece of jade that the Blood Killer had hidden in his body after many rounds of unsessful experiments with it. "Ploop!" He was expressionless and he dropped the piece of jade into the basin. Fang Yuan then stared at the basin. Not long after, there was a change in the basin. The golden textures on the jade seemed to be moving about and absorbing the blood as the colour of the liquid started to turn gold. Finally, the colour was back to blood red. After a period of time, the emerald green piece of jade became red and the golden textures had be blood red in colour as well, which looked like the blood vessels of a person. The jade seemed evil. "Are all spiritual knights.....that evil in nature?" Fang Yuan then picked up the bloody jade and washed it with clean water. The bloody jade was fine and glossy. The red textures in it were slightly moving and that made it a special jade. "There is not much change!" Fang Yuan ced the jade under the sun and couldn¡¯t find any handwriting or symbols. Even his inner force couldn¡¯t be shipped into the piece of jade. He experimented for quite a while and then ced it on his forehead, in between his eyebrows while biting his teeth. The position he ced the jade was called Yintang in traditional Chinese medicine. That position was also called Mind Pce in the world of inner power. This was an important acupuncture point as this was where one¡¯s essence, spirit and magic met. One who was highly skilled in medicine could decipher how strong a person is from his or her Yintang. In this world, there was also another name for it, called ¡¯Heaven¡¯s Eye¡¯! This name originated from an old anecdote. The anecdote stated that in the past, there was an immortal person who had three eyes. After generations, the Heaven¡¯s Eye closed gradually. Whether the anecdote was real or fake, Fang Yuan was not really bothered by it. However, with his magical energy being concentrated between his eyebrows, he could observe his surroundings and hide. "Pah!" The position where he ced the bloody jade gave off a cooling sensation. Fang Yuan concentrated his magical energy from the Mind Pce and started to explore the secrets of the bloody jade. "Bang!" A loud noise then came from his mind. There were no obstructions this time and his spiritual mind managed to reach into the jade. Fang Yuan felt as if he reached a chaotic space and there were numerous red handwriting appearing right in front of him. The handwritings were about a form of technique. "It¡¯s the Blood Magic Technique; Focused Magic Returning Scroll!" At the start, a few of the handwritings were big in size, which made it very visible. The handwritings brought about a tense atmosphere and this caused Fang Yuan to be in shock. He continued on looking at the handwriting and realised that the Blood Magic Technique taught one on how to concentrate one¡¯s magical energy and attained the level of a spiritual knight! However, it was not easy to attain it as the criteria required one to have magical energy that was beyond a normal human being. Furthermore, it was almost impossible for one to have such great amount of magical energy. Also, the training process was gory. One example would be the ¡¯Blood Elemental Force¡¯. One would have to concentrate 3 Yang and 7 Yin as a blood sacrifice. 10 sets of blood from 10 different people would be needed to build the foundations. The entire process was extremely cruel and the crueler the victims were treated, the higher the probability of sess. Seeing this, Fang Yuan frowned. He knew that his character was not good in nature but if he were to execute this process, it would not do any good to his morals anyway. After a long while, Fang Yuan then ced the bloody jade down and his face was pale white. He then shook his head and said, "Blood Magic Technique is way too evil and cruel. The risks are too high....." Even though this technique was very cruel, there were recordings at the back of the scroll which stated some tips used by different spiritual knights and disciples of different magical energy. The tips were also used along with other medicine and tools. The scroll also mentioned the form on how to make the Crazy Blood Pill. This caused Fang Yuan to be interested in the scroll again. Without knowing it, he had almost exhausted his magical energy and knew the hardships of a spiritual knight. With his current level, he had already exhausted his elemental energy. Under normal circumstances, normal people would not have been able to discover the secrets of this jade, not to mention about using it for training. Chapter 68: Flame Jade Chapter 68: me Jade Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Although I can¡¯t learn the Blood Magic Technique, the description of the uses of magical energy is still useful, maybe I can learn from it..." After unveiling the secrets of the jadeite, he focused his energy on understanding the Blood Magic Technique. Based on his prediction and the inscriptions on the jadeite, Fang Yuan was sure that the Blood Magic Technique was not a widely circted technique among the spiritual knightmunity; it was merely a technique for those who wanted to hastily improve their skill through other means possible. "In this Focused Magic Returning Scroll, there are only two steps. The first is to focus one¡¯s Blood Elemental Force and be a spiritual disciple. The second step would be to break through and be a spiritual knight..." Thinking of the scroll¡¯s description, Fang Yuan shook his head. Compared to the 12 Golden Gates, the cultivation method of the spiritual knights only consists of one step. If one did not have immense potential, it would be impossible. "As for the training methods of elemental force, some of it might be relevant for me..." Once a martial artist fused his Yin and Yang, and then through the Earth and Heaven, he would have formed elemental force. The Blood Magic Technique¡¯s description of harnessing the elemental force was entirely relevant and could be followed to the tee. After all, Fang Yuan had enough magic,parable to that of a spiritual disciple. The Blood Magic Technique was not something suitable for him, and if he wasn¡¯t desperate enough, he wouldn¡¯t try to learn it. "However, as for elemental force... It is something of a higher tier than inner force. It is sometimes called Heaven and Earth¡¯s spiritual force, and its potential is immense and cannot be fathomed..." Fang Yuan had witnessed a battle between Wu Zongs and a spiritual disciple and was extremely looking forward to attaining a whole new level as what he saw. "Based on my potential, it should be possible for me to start gathering my elemental force!" This was the final conclusion he ended up with after reading about the Blood Magic Technique and based on his own martial arts experience. Although he could not adopt the training methods of the spiritual disciple wholesale, he could adapt it to his own training to expedite his progress. After all, the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique could only break through 12 Gates, but to break through Wu Zong it was impossible. In addition, the Spirit Returning Heart Manual that Fang Yuan had was also iplete, and it was the important parts that were missing. He had to n for his future. "Of course, I must not neglect my Meditative Tea Ceremony... especially the cultivation of the mind." The only useful power would be power that one could control. Fang Yuan did not want to lose control of his mind, especially when getting involved with this type of magic technique. Even though he was only adapting from it, he still had to take precautions. ... The next few days were devoted to understanding the Blood Magic Technique. This technique was a spiritual knight technique which required a deep understanding of it. Even though he was only adapting from it, he had to understand the entire technique, which led to him even sacrificing his sleep and meals, which showed the extent he devoted to understanding the technique. He had no further energy to find trouble for others. "The 12 Golden Gates is merely a process to harness elemental energy. For a martial artist with average potential, he would have to take it step by step. As for the spiritual knights who have higher potential, they would ultimately end up on the same path... In theory, if I focused my elemental energy, I could instantly be Wu Zong! What a pity... The 3 Yins and 7 Yangs sacrifice as described in the Blood Magic Technique is full of implications, and other problems may surface, I cannot practice it..." As he was farming he was mulling over this problem. "As of now I have umted enough Yin, and I just need to wait for the right moment to break through into the 9th Gate and be a martial artist of the 4 Heavenly Gates..." If this news spread, the entire Qinghe County would be in shock! After all, what was the whole concept of the 4 Heavenly Gates? Within the Spirit Returning Sect or the Five Ghosts Sect, he would be top 5! It was no longer the majority of the martial artists, but the pinnacle! If Secluded Mountain Prefecture knew about it, they would take Fang Yuan as the most talented young man in the martial arts world. Lin Huang or Lin Leiyue wouldn¡¯t even be considered. Even as such, Fang Yuan didn¡¯t care much. In his mind, he had a crazy n. "What¡¯s so great about breaking through the 9th Gate? 10th Gate, the Yang Gate, and 11th Gate the Earth Gate are all actually pathways to harness the elemental force, or should I say, the seeds to elemental force! Although I have no intention to learn the Blood Magic Technique, with the assistance of the Yin Yang Jade to fuse my Yin and Yang, it would be possible to obtain elemental force and attain the next level, the Earth Gate!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes was filled with passion. To focus his elemental energy and break through Wu Zong was toorge a step. Furthermore, he had little information and fully based his assumptions on what was written on the Blood Magic Technique manual, and he wasn¡¯t convinced. It would be different at the Earth Gate! This Gate required the fusion of Yin and Yang to produce the seeds of elemental force. This would fulfil arge requirement to break through the Earth Gate. With the Yin Yang Jade, he had enough knowledge of the Yin and Yang. The most important was that he had the guidance of the Blood Magic Technique, and had no qualms about focusing his elemental force, so what considerations would he have in harnessing the seeds of the elemental force? "If the n works, I can break both the 10th Gate and the Earth Gate one after another!" "If my guess is correct, the breaking through of the Heaven Gate is actually breaking through the control of Mind Pce! One¡¯s magical energy would be surge, and when a martial artist reaches this stage, even if he loses focus he would recover in no time. He would have the chance to break through to Wu Zong and have the chance to harness elemental force... This is no problem to me!" Fang Yuan heaved a long sigh. To him, understanding the 12 Golden Gates were as simple as flipping his palm to look at his fingerprints, and he had no other doubts. "Eh?" He was stunned for a moment and looked at the farm. After a downpour, the Vermilion Jade Rice seedlings began to sprout furiously in neat rows. There was a particr patch which seemed empty, and it was as though the spiritual nts were dead. Not just the Vermilion Jade Rice, but even the Emerald Grass had signs of withering. "Could it be..." Fang Yuan wasn¡¯t disappointed; instead, he was rather excited about it as he rushed forward to examine it up close. Indeed, in the middle of the barren patch were me-like seedlings standing out, extremely eye-catching. Fang Yuan examined it further and realised that it was shorter than the average seedling. It was a deep orange, with a streak of gold in the middle. The colour was extremely vibrant, like a me. Comparing the Vermilion Jade Rice to it would be likeparing the eyeball of a fish to a pearl. They were of a totally different level. "Haha..." Fang Yuan smiled as he saw the seedlings before him, and not longter, he could no longer contain hisughter and started to burst outughing. "Indeed... It¡¯s a spiritual nt evolving a special trait! Level up!" The Vermilion Jade Rice was a spiritual nt to begin with, and what entails after evolving the second time? Fang Yuan looked forward to it. After all, this was still spiritual rice! It was different from the bamboo fruit and other spiritual medicine. This was milder in magical energy and could be produced in masses and consumed daily! This would be a priceless treasure for those big sects! "Hmm, this seedling evolved from the Vermilion Jade Rice and is even better than it, I shall name it ¡¯me Jade Rice¡¯!" After a long period of examination, Fang Yuan stood up, swept the dirt away and looked around at the withered nts, looking helpless. "After evolving, the spiritual nt would steal the elemental energy from its surroundings. Both the Vermilion Jade Rice and Emerald Grass failed to survive..." His thoughts linked to the bamboo fruit that he was holding in his hands all along. It would not grow if it was nted here. Ultimately, the me Jade Rice was just a little better than the Vermilion Jade Rice. What made Fang Yuan speechless was the fact that only one of the many evolved! How many grains would there be? And how many batches did he nt already? He might not even be able to harvest a bowl of me Jade Rice! Therefore, the priority now was for him to focus his efforts to let it grow, rent all the harvest and after a few seasons, only then would he start to consume it. "Ultimately, it would be a gain, just that the starting would be a little troublesome..." Fang Yuan bit his teeth and looked around. "Hmm... Given the surroundings of the secluded valley, it is impossible to nt the me Jade Rice inrge scales!" Unknowingly, he looked towards the mountainous ridges of the Clear Spirit Mountain. .... "I want to meditate and break through gates, I wouldn¡¯t be too worried if both you are guarding the secluded valley!" After a good meal of Vermilion Jade Rice, Fang Yuan called to the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. "There is one thing you two should take note. Do not harm the spiritual bamboo, spiritual tea, spiritual rice, and especially the me Jade Rice! Remember, if you want to have a taste of it in the future, you need to listen to me!" It was rare that he was fierce to the two spiritual beasts. The two spiritual beasts were not stupid and knew that they should not jeopardise their long-term benefits just for short-term satisfaction. Fang Yuan closed the curtains and cleared his mind. This was the state of mind that he achieved through years of cultivation under the Meditative Tea Ceremony. Within seconds, all cluttered thoughts were cleared and peace was restored in his mind. After these few months of cultivation and training, he knew that his foundation was stable. Although he felt nothing, he knew that the previous time he ate the spiritual bamboo, his elemental energy had improved. At the 8th Gate, his abdomen was filled with Yin, and this was the perfect opportunity to break through! Fang Yuan sat down as he tried to feel for the spiritual feeling. Within his body, the Yin energy swirled within him, as it began to fuse with his inner force. They were now a single entity. ... Unknowingly, it was daybreak and the sunlight peered through his curtains. "Kacha!" Fang Yuan, who was sitting down on the ground, let out a long sigh. "Whiz!" A white sh as agile as an arrow shot out, and all around him, he felt cold, which lowered the temperature in the entire room. "After fusing my Yin, would there be any changes to my stats window?" Fang Yuan mumbled to himself, stood up, and felt newfound strength within him as he nodded his head. "The 9th Gate,pleted!" Chapter 69: Elder Han Chapter 69: Elder Han Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "How far is Qingye City from here?" Along the old pathway, there were a few carriages moving. Suddenly, a pale hand stretched out and opened the curtains, which revealed a pair of eyes. The hand was so pale that it looked as if it had lost a great amount of blood. The blood vessels along the arm were also visible. The person whose hand was pale had a strange voice. His old raspy voice had a slight hint of youthful vigour in it. He was already panting after saying a few words, which clearly suggested that he was easily short of breath. "Elder Han please hold on, we will be there in a few hours time!" The person who was at the helm of the carriage was Lu Zhisen, who went to the secluded valley to seek medical attention previously. The only difference was that now he was being polite and respectful instead of his usual recklessness. "Hurhur....that¡¯s good....after all, we have Lin Leiyue with us on this trip. Once we reached back home, you should have a big reunion with Minister Lin....." Elder Han looked middle-aged. His lips were red and his teeth were white. He had a beautifully shaped pair of eyes. With his pale cheeks, his facial features were handsome in a feminine way. This effeminate side of him was entuated whenever he covered his mouth when he coughed gently. Even Lu Zhisen was disgusted by this. However, no matter how courageous he was, he wouldn¡¯t dare to do anything to Elder Han who had attained the 4 Heavenly Gates in the Spirit Returning Sect. "Elder Han, you are being too polite!" Lin Leiyue was riding on a red date coloured horse previously and galloped forward respectfully after hearing what Elder Han said. In the sect, she was the junior of both Elder Yan and Elder Han. After all, to an expert in 4 Heavenly Gates, even the direct disciple of the sect head was not on the same level unless the disciple had very exceptional abilities. "Cough....no harm.....hurhur....." Elder Han wanted to say something but his expression changed. He then started coughing and covered his mouth with a piece of white handkerchief. After which, he saw blood on the handkerchief. "Elder Han....." Lin Leiyue got anxious and said, "Have your injuries worsened?" "Hurhur....hurhur....I won¡¯t die don¡¯t worry....." Elder Han waved his hands and replied proudly. "Hehe....the vice head of the Five Ghosts Sect¡¯s Soul Searching Hand was indeed powerful. Unfortunately for him, I was still more superior and managed to kill him. If the vice sect head was slightly more powerful, I would probably not be able to survive. Even if I managed to survive, I would probably be a vegetarian from then onwards....." Even though he sounded defeated, Lin Leiyue still respected him. After all, Elder Han got hold of his position as an elder in the sect 50 years ago and definitely had a vast experience in martial arts. Even though he was older than Lady Yan, he was still able to defeat many good young martial artists. Everybody in the Qinghe County would be afraid when they heard his name. He was in such a state because he was ambushed by the Five Ghosts Sect. "Please don¡¯t worry, Elder Han. This doctor in the secluded valley is highly skilled and can cure many illnesses. He was also the one who cured Elder Zhao previously!" Lu Zhisen said, "You are highly skilled and with the help of the doctor, you should be able to recover in no time!" "Haha....thanks for your well wishes!" Elder Han smiled but his deep expression showed that he seemed to be thinking of something else. Lin Leiyue didn¡¯t seem to notice his expression and pondered over her thoughts silently. "Even though Elder Han had managed to defeat the vice sect head, one other person still managed to escape and this would mean serious trouble for the sect. Plus, with both Elder Yan and Elder Han being injured right now, the attacking power of the sect would be less.....Both elders had not recovered from their injuries and the doctors in the sect had no solutions to help them. This doctor in the secluded valley would be our final hope then....." Aspared to Elder Han¡¯s injuries, Lady Yan¡¯s injuries were worse when she was fighting against a few experts. However, Song Zhong was part of her faction previously, but he was killed by Fang Yuan..... Not to mention anything about grudges but she would mind. Even if Fang Yuan was willing to treat her, she would probably not trust Fang Yuan fully and she would think that Fang Yuan would do something harmful to her. After all, if a doctor wanted a person to die without being identified as the murderer, the doctor would have many ways to do it. In fact, Shi Yutong actually had another choice which was to seek medical attention from the alchemy master who had previously helped Lin Leiyue. However, the alchemy master was a carefree person and isted himself from the outside world. Plus the alchemy master had othermitments and why would the alchemy master ept a request made by the Spirit Returning Sect? Previously, the alchemy master owed Shi Yutong a favour which was why he agreed to help Lin Leiyue. Since now the favour had been returned, it would be harder to ask the alchemy master for help. "Elder Han, this doctor has a weird attitude and he set many rules...." The memories of him being scolded by the doctor were still vivid in his mind. Lu Zhisen touched his head and remarked. "Don¡¯t worry, I do understand. After all, I¡¯m the one that require his help now...." Elder Han smiled and looked at Lin Leiyue. "Lin Leiyue, I heard you were once engaged to this doctor and you even went to Shaoyang City?" Upon hearing this, Lin Leiyue blushed. "Yes, you are correct!" "That is unfortunate...." Elder Han closed his eyes and didn¡¯t know who should he feel unfortunate for, Lin Leiyue or Fang Yuan. ¡¯This person is mysterious. The head of the sect had instructed to keep Fang Yuan for the sect¡¯s use....at least not to let him go to the enemy¡¯s side....and also to find out the secret behind his fast advancement in his skills.....¡¯ He then returned to his previously rxed posture and gazed out at Qingye City in hopelessness. ........ Back in the secluded valley. "Hoo.....Haa....." Fang Yuan was half naked and was regting his breathing. "Chirp! Chirp!" Iron-tailed ck Eagle flew down from above. Its ws were like hooks and with its fast speed, it was indeed a powerful eagle. "Keke!" On the ground, a white light shed past very quickly. "You came just in time!" With the attacks from air andnd by the 2 spiritual beasts, a normal expert in 4 Heavenly Gates would also be confused. However, Fang Yuan couldn¡¯t wait to take action when he saw this. "Iron Skin Technique!" He breathed in and could feel the energy surging. He then stepped his right leg out and the ground beside his leg split. "Piak!" The clothing on his leg immediately broke into pieces and it revealed his muscr legs and tightened skin. He was not injured at all. "Hissss..." The Flower Fox Ferret retreated and looked as if it had incurred a big loss. "Hoo! Hoo!" Just when it had just retreated by a few steps, a strong wind came and a giant eagle¡¯s ws came pouncing down. "Haha....." Fang Yuanughed and lifted his right hand with his left hand at the bottom. This formed an eagle¡¯s w shape and he aimed it at the sky. "Chirp! Chirp!" When the giant eagle¡¯s ws came, Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered and grabbed with both his hands. "You bettere down now!" "Swish! Swish!" Fang Yuan¡¯s attack was strong and swift. Both of his hands managed to grab hold of the giant eagle¡¯s ws and he lifted the ws fiercely. "Bang!" The Iron-tailed ck Eagle then fell to the ground forcefully. With such strong impact, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle couldn¡¯t hold any longer even though it had tough bones. It let out a cry to admit defeat. "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret immediately raised both of its ws to admit defeat. "Fine, I shall stop......I was just warming up actually....." Fang Yuan stopped and saw both the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed ck Eagle were trembling. They were obviously injured by Fang Yuan¡¯s inner force. Fang Yuan then went forward and treat them. ¡¯The inner force of an expert in 4 Heavenly Gates changes and is different from a normal inner force. Such inner force can defeat a low skilled martial artist easily....Of course, no matter what changes there are, elemental force is way superiorpared to inner force and both types of forces are of different levels.....¡¯ Fang Yuan gradually understood how it felt to be a [Martial Artist (9th Gate)]. Through his tough training, his skills had surpassed the two spiritual beasts and that meant a lot to him. At least, the spiritual beasts which were previously living in the forests knew the concept of ¡¯the weak losing out to the stronger ones¡¯. They might be friends with humans but having a weakling to be their master was uneptable! The first step to tame a spiritual beast was to show one¡¯s dominance over it! Simrly, in this case, Fang Yuan felt that the way the Iron-tailed ck Eagle looked at him was different now. The Iron-tailed ck Eagle was less proud now. "With my current skills and the 2 spiritual beasts, dealing with the Red-eyed White King Bird shouldn¡¯t be a big problem for me now...." Upon reaching this conclusion, Fang Yuan was slightly hesitant instead. Even though he already had ns to take over the Green Peak, the Red-eyed White King Bird could, after all, fly. If he missed his shot and caused it to escape elsewhere, wouldn¡¯t he have to fear of iting back in future? "It is better for me to break through the 11th Gate first before moving on to take over the Green Peak!" Fang Yuan wavered and looked at his stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 5.9 Spirit: 5.8 Magic: 3.5 Age: 19 Cultivation: [Martial Artists (9th Gate)] Technique: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 9)] (with the addition of Yin¡¯s inner force) Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 3)]" "The 4 Heavenly Gates, which was after the Death Gate, did actually help to improve my magic!" Even though this was not the first time he saw his magic increase by a little, he felt happy still when he saw the increase. From his conjecture, he had realised that attaining the 12 Golden Gates was simr to bing a spiritual knight. This would allow a normal human being to be powerful. As such, the process not only helped to condition one¡¯s body and also improve one¡¯s magic. However, he didn¡¯t expect this feature to only appear when approaching the 4 Heavenly Gates. "With such big magnitude, it would still be difficult to attain the standard of a spiritual knight even if one was able to break through the Heaven Gate....." This was the reason why there were many martial artists who were of [Martial Artist (12th Gate)] but there was no one in Wu Zong. The Heaven Gate was difficult to break through! Attaining Wu Zong was even tougher! Chapter 70: Xuan Yin Chapter 70: Xuan Yin Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions After many days. Fang Yuan was seated on an emerald rock and was frowning, as though he had doubts. "After the 9th Gate, the next step is to harness the Yin to break the Yang Gate. But in order to fuse the Yin and Yang to form the elemental force while breaking through the Gate, I will need some help..." Although Fang Yuan had the spiritual knight¡¯s Blood Magic Technique, it was ultimately different from true martial arts. The highest Gate he could attain through the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique was the 12th Gate. There was no chance of him breaking through Wu Zong, and realizing the true elemental force. The only chance Fang Yuan had was through the Spirit Returning Heart Manual, which was iplete. He felt that it was such a pity. "The Spirit Returning Heart Manual is passed down by word, so must I really kidnap a Spirit Returning Sect disciple or elder to question him?" He had a wild thought but dismissed it quickly. "Chirp! Chirp!" At this moment, there was a strong gust of wind as the Iron-tailed ck Eaglended on the ground, chirping at Fang Yuan. "Oh? Is someone arriving?" Fang Yuan waved and sat down. "Gong Gong!" "ng ng!" The sound of deafening gongs was heard from a distance and it drew nearer and nearer to the secluded valley. "Another one who is giving me more experience...!" Fang Yuan took a quick nce at his experience bar, and [Medicine] was filled up to arge extent and was almost equal to that of [Botany]. Heughed, stood up and walked out of the valley. "Someone from the Spirit Returning Sect?" In the pavilion, a crowd was waiting patiently and followed the rules. The one in front was his acquaintance, Lu Zhisen. "The doctor has arrived!" The usually rash Lu Zhisen became excited and greeted Fang Yuan the moment he saw him. "Oh, it¡¯s Elder Lu. Who¡¯s injured this time?" Fang Yuan was direct, but none of the Spirit Returning Sect¡¯s disciples took it to heart. After all, a doctor who could make miracles would be rather different from other normal doctors. "Cough cough... it¡¯s me!" The disciples made way and revealed an Elder Han in a wheelchair. "I am injured and cannot properly offer you a greeting, please don¡¯t take it to heart!" Elder Han clenched his fist and greeted Fang Yuan. He appeared humble, which surprised Elder Lu and the other sect disciples. Lin Leiyue was not here. When they returned to Qingye City, she immediately returned to her home. Even though she made the excuse up, it was clear why she didn¡¯te along with the rest. "A doctor should have care like parents, why would I me you!" Fang Yuan intentionally deepened his voice and noticed Elder Han twitched his eyebrows as heughed. It seemed that he agreed with Fang Yuan, but deep down knew that he was scheming and might not be that easy to deal with. "Please!" After he brought the patient into the Straw Pavilion, he felt his pulse. "Elder Han had sustained an internal injury for quite a while now, this is hard..." At the same time, he felt emotional, for he had seen every elder, including the Sect Master of the Spirit Returning Sect. "Doctor, you are indeed impressive. This injury was from the Five Ghosts Sect assistant Sect Master! Cough Cough..." Elder Han exined, and Lu Zhisen revealed a delicate box. "I¡¯ve heard of your rule, and have no intention of breaking it. I present to you the Xuan Yin Heart Technique Manual, and hope you will ept it..." Elder Han continued. "This heart manual came from the Five Ghosts Sect and can be cultivated up till the realm of Wu Zong without any problem. Furthermore, this is aplete copy of the manual. I¡¯ve heard that you rendered assistance to Lin Leiyue at Shaoyang City, and I shall thank you for that. Please ept this manual as a form of my gratitude... Regardless if I will recover in the future, I shall send more gifts, which will surely satisfy you!" "Xuan Yin Heart Technique? The Five Ghost Sect¡¯s true magical technique?" Fang Yuan was surprised and received the box. As he opened it, he saw a ck scroll within, filled with tiny words describing the 12 Golden Gates as well as Wu Zong. Based on his current experience he could only understand the first few lines and knew that this was the real deal. "This present... is worth too much!" He closed the wooden box and had a serious tone. "Elder Han, are you sure you are willing to give this technique manual to me? Won¡¯t there be implications? Furthermore, I know that any manual with the sect¡¯s special technique that is able to break through to Wu Zong would surely be iplete, and had to be filled up by the word of mouth and cannot be written down, am I right? What was a sect¡¯s special technique? This meant that if Fang Yuan was willing, he could base solely on this technique to start his own sect! This kind of sect foundation was akin to a magical weapon, so how could one give it up so easily? "Doctor Fang is indeed wise!" Hearing how Fang Yuan understood the crux, Elder Han¡¯s eyes glittered. "This technique was stolen by myself, and since the Five Ghost Sect is almost destroyed now, you can ept this gift without any worry for no one will find trouble with you... And as for the iplete manual, I have already filled it up personally, and you can try it out to see for yourself, it would be fine..." "Filled up?" Fang Yuan frowned. "That¡¯s right... I only had to capture a few disciples of the Five Ghosts Sect to obtain the remaining information, nothing too difficult..." Elder Hanughed while Fang Yuan remained silent. After capturing these people, there was no need for torture. They would automatically sell out their sect to ensure their own safety and preserve their own life. ¡¯This came at such a good time...¡¯ After all, he was looking for a technique that could attain Wu Zong. Never would he have dreamt that someone would deliver it to him. What a blessing! Furthermore, Elder Han was an extremely suitable patient for him to test his skills on! After fusing the Yin and Yang, seeds of the elemental force would develop to break through the Earth Gate. This was Elder Han, a [Martial Artist (11th Gate)]. But now, he had no strength and had to sumb under Fang Yuan¡¯s hands; what a scene! ¡¯A martial artist of Earth Gate would have already harnessed elemental energy, and by observing this person¡¯s blood cirction and inner force, I can test my hypothesis further!¡¯ Fang Yuan felt warm, and his re made Elder Han feel ufortable for a moment. "Please leave, I will start now..." Fang Yuan retrieved his golden needles, told Lu Zhisen in a serious tone. "Oh! Very well!" Even though he wanted to watch Fang Yuan, he wasn¡¯t a fool and politely left the Straw Pavilion. He even closed the door after him, but no one really knew what he was thinking about. "I will use my Golden Needle Acupoint Piercing Technique. If you feel any pain, do not use your elemental force to counter it, just rx and let nature take its course!" Fang Yuan spun around and was uncertain. Even though Elder Han was powerful, he was powerless here. "I¡¯m afraid that in your current state, even if you wanted to move you wouldn¡¯t be able to..." "Very well!" Fang Yuan¡¯s hands worked extremely fast, and 2 golden needles made their way towards Elder Han¡¯s forehead. "Eh?!" Elder Han¡¯s face twitched, remained motionless and fainted. "Ping!" His body fell to the ground. Fang Yuan first observed his palms as he appeared light-hearted. "You may seem to trust mepletely, but you took precautions against me... Of course, it may be your habit as you roam the martial arts world for the many years, but I¡¯ll let you know that your precautions were right..." With such a good test subject in front of him, why would he not take full advantage of it? Since he decided to make use of him, keeping him awake would be troublesome, so why not just make him faint? "This is the rights of a doctor. Whatever I do is for your own good!" Fang Yuan looked at the defenceless Elder Han, and his smile grew... ... "Creak!" After a while. The door to the hut opened and revealed a somewhat exhausted Fang Yuan. "Doctor, how is Elder Han?" An anxious Lu Zhisen came over. "It was fortunate!" Fang Yuan wiped his fake sweat and smiled. "Bring him home first. After 7 days, return here for me to perform my acupoint piercing once again. Coupled with medicinal herbs, he should recover fully in half a year..." Illness and injury mighte in an instant, but recovering would take very much longer. Lu Zhisen understood that. Thinking about how the people within the sect were all helpless when facing Elder Han, Elder Lu gained even more respect for Fang Yuan. He bowed, came into the hut and saw Elder Han lying there with a weak breath. His face had more life now, and Lu Zhisen was d. "Thank you, doctor! I will return after 7 days!" He then ordered the disciples of the Spirit Returning Sect to put down all their gifts and brought Elder Han back. Fang Yuan sent them off, and only after they have disappeared from sight, Fang Yuan revealed a sinister smile. It was true that Elder Han¡¯s injury was hard to treat. If he did use his true [Medicine] skills, it would only take him half a month to save him. However, he wanted to dy his recovery so that he could use him more often as a test subject. "Furthermore... This person has his guard up against me!" What Elder Han did previously had worried Fang Yuan a little. After all, he was the Spirit Returning Sect¡¯s Elder, whomanded a high position within the sect. His attitude would be equivalent to the Spirit Returning Sect¡¯s attitude, and so Fang Yuan could guess what the sect¡¯s impression of him was. "This was reasonable though..." Fang Yuan thought about this. If he was the sect and an uncontroble factor appeared, he would be likely to react the same way as the sect. The sect only had the intention to test him for now, and might even want to have him as an ally, but as for the future, no one knew. "The good thing is that I have gained so much this time, therefore my prediction could be true!" Thinking about his own little experiment, Fang Yuan clenched his fist in excitement. Elder Han even volunteered himself as a test subject, which was of a great help to Fang Yuan. After all, he could conclude that it was indeed possible to directly harness the seeds of elemental force. This was even more so after obtaining the Xuan Yin Heart Technique; it was as though thest piece of the puzzle appeared. "Hmm, even Shi Yutong wouldn¡¯t have guessed that I only cared about how to breakthrough to Wu Zong, and not any other secret martial arts manuals. With the Blood Magic Technique as a reference, any wrongly filled up information would not be able to escape my eyes... Of course, I will have to take precautions against this Elder Han too!" After thinking, Fang Yuan returned to the secluded valley, changed to a new set of clothes, ordered the Flower Fox Ferret to look after the house, and started to chase and follow the Spirit Returning Sect party. Chapter 71: True Intentions Chapter 71: True Intentions Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions 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 copse of Zhou family, Lin Benchu and Lin Dayuan were sessful 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 ce. Back when he was a child, he visited this ce 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 nightbat 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 waste into the night, a few rooms were still lit. Fang Yuan randomly nced 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 ced 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 be 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 p in the face for the Lin family as Fang Yuan now managed to improve tremendously and be 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 aughter 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 ced 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. Aspared 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 Yuanughed 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 Hanughed 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 ording 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 andughed. "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 sessor 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 be a threat to the new sessor?¡¯ ¡¯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 sessful, maybe I can reward him and have him by my side. If I am not......hehe.....¡¯ ... Under the me, 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 Chapter 72: Love Birds Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "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 n, 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 n 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 upied 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 dyed 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 asionally would send Zhou Wenwu out to bring back news to keep himself updated of the outside world. The me Jade Rice was re-nted 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 me 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 ced 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 me 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 ck Eaglended, with its back facing Fang Yuan. "Good job!" He chuckled, climbed onto the back of the Iron-tailed ck Eagle, hugged its neck and steadied himself. "Chirp! Chirp!" Fang Yuan lifted off together with the Iron-tailed ck 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 ck silhouette shed 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 be like this! I must reach this level!" Fang Yuan tighten his grip and was determined. The Iron-tailed ck 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 arge ck shadownded just outside a city. Fang Yuan looked at therge city and felt that it was a pity. "Oh, Qinghe County... The previous time I took so much effort just toe here, but this time it was effortless to reach here on the back of the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. Uparable!" 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 n, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle yed a big part. "If we seed, 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 ck Eagle!" Fang Yuan stroked its feathers and fed it a bamboo fruit. "Wait here, and hear out for my signal!" "Chirp! Chirp!" The ck 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 ck Eagle would the eagle allow him to ride him and fly with him! Before that, the ck 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 yed a part too for him to tame this ck eagle. Firstly, he was lucky to have the Flower Fox Ferret to allow him tomunicate with the ck eagle. Otherwise, both of them could never havemunicated. Afterwards, he was lucky to have the bamboo fruit, which was exactly what the ck eagle wanted. Furthermore, with these two factors, the ck 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 theplicated arrangement of the interior. "Is it better for me to fight my way in, or would it be better to burn this entire ce 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 arge 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 ack of manpower, so they chose me as thew 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 ck 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 thew enforcer, he could take advantage of him and aid Fang Yuan in his mission. This ce was a dead corner and it would take a while before anyone woulde 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 eximed. "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 73: Arson Chapter 73: Arson Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions A dark cloud rolled across the sky and covered the light from the moon. Under the hazy starlight, a smallke could be seen. The water in theke took on a dark colour in the nighttime. In the centre of theke was a tower surrounded by water. The only way to reach that tower was via a wooden bridge that was connected to the bank of theke. "The Martial Arts Court of the Spirit Returning Sect?" Fang Yuan had yearned to be here for a very long time. However, it was heavily guarded. Even though they had previously agreed to let him peruse the manuals, they had only opened up the mostmon collection for him. "This ce is surrounded by water...It is obvious that they are afraid of a fire that might destroy the treasures found in this ce..." "It appears as if the pair of wild mandarin ducks did not lie to me, this is a crucial location for the Spirit Returning Sect..." Fang Yuan smirked. The Martial Arts Court were heavily-guarded with countless of traps. Disarming the traps would waste too much time. As his opponents were most afraid of a fire breaking out, he would achieve the intended effect by setting the ce on fire. ... "Crackle Crackle!" Not long after, a small fire was formed outside the martial art court and started to grow. Soon, the raging mes started to engulf the whole court. "Hmmm? A fire? Hurry, sound the rm and get the buckets!" "Crack!" The window shattered and a person bolted out. He bellowed and directed to a few disciples who were guarding the martial arts court to extinguish the fire. "Understood!" The few disciples replied as they scrambled for the buckets. The person looked at the growing fire, his face disying anxiety, "Damn... smoke and fire are prohibited in this ce, which of these disciples were careless?" No one had dared to attack the property of the Spirit Returning Sect first. As such, they were not vignt. "It is lucky that the fire is not too big and only a few walls are burnt. The situation is under control!" In a moment of anxiety, the person pushed away a few disciples in front of him and arrived at the side of theke. "Move!" He was surprisingly strong. With a flick of his wrist, a long and ck whip appeared. It was like a snake and wove around the buckets, linking the buckets together and submerged them into theke. "Swish!" Using the whip, he lifted the buckets into the air and emptied the content onto the fire. The fire became smaller. " "The elder is amazing!" "His skills with the whip is of another world!" A few disciples gazed in awe and loudly praised him. "Hmph!" The elder flicked the whip once again, causing the buckets to submerge in theke. He gathered his energy to put out the fire. At this moment, the surface of theke burst open, revealing a shadow which leaps forward! "Hmmm?" The elder was shocked. He did not expect to face an ambush below the surface of theke! At this moment, the whip was still connected to the bucket and he was unable to use it. He could only loosen his grip on the whip and with both palms pushing forward, generated a wall of energy with a resounding crash! He was a Martial Artist (7th Gate) and highly-skilled in inner power! While not many had heard of him, he was the guardian of the Martial Arts Court and practised his skills daily. Although he only knew a few techniques, he was cast in a new light. "Ha!" The shadow in front of him did not dodge and instead struck out with his palm, his palm appeared to be slightly caved in and had a ck sheen to it. "Bang!" As their palms shed, the guardian felt an incredibly strong inner power that chilled him to his bones. He could feel his inner power diminishing as realization dawn upon him, "You are...!" He was wounded as his inner power was countered. His face turned ck as he was struck by the poison of the Pearl Tail Snake. "Bang bang!" The shadow continuously struck the guardian and left a palm print on the guardian¡¯s head. "Boom!" The guardian toppled over with no pulse and breath! In a matter of seconds, this trump card of the Spirit Returning Sect, one of the martial artist who had broken through the Death Gate, lost his life! The disciples shrieked before tossing aside their pails and ran away. Other than running away, they had no other options. This was no longer about fighting to survive. "Ssh! Ssh!" The wooden bridge was too narrow. In their attempt to escape, they shoved each other. Some of them even jumped in theke and swam for the shore. "Bong! Bong!" The sound of the gong broke the crisp silence. "Someone had invaded the sect and set the Martial Arts Court on fire!" "Hurry! Notify all the elders and the protectors!" "Guard the ce and do not panic!" ... As the Martial Arts Courts were being engulfed by the fire, the whole Spirit Returning Sect was moving and acting fast. A group of disciples, under the leadership of Lady Yan had already surrounded theke. Lady Yan had an electrifying gaze. She waved her walking stick and charged into theke. She was highly skilled in the Lightness Skill and could even tread water! "Who dares to insult my Spirit Returning Sect?!" She looked at the Martial Arts Court that was engulfed by the mes with a pained look. She fixed her eyes on Fang Yuan and red at him, "Scoundrel!" "Whoosh!" She waved her walking stick and rushed towards Fang Yuan. At the banks, many elders and deacons were headed for the centre of theke. "Haha..." Fang Yuanughed before turning around to run, "Old woman, I can¡¯t believe you are not dead!" He kicked in the direction of the olddy. "Crack!!!" The wooden boards were lifted off the ground and caught fire. They were sent hurtling towards the olddy. "Come if you dare!" Fang Yuanughed and ran. "Get out of the way!" As Fang Yuan was escaping, his palms turned ck. At his current level, the ck Sand Palm was lethal. An ordinary elder who had broken through the 6th or 7th Gate would be heavily wounded if he was struck by the technique. Even the wind generated from it wasced with poison which caused the surrounding low-skilled disciples to copse onto the floor. He had already gone easy on them and had only used the technique at a level that wasparable to that of a martial artist that had broken through the 8th Gate. The results would be even more devastating if he had not held back. "Whoosh!" Fang Yuan did not engage in any battle and instead headed towards the outer boundaries. "Cough cough... I will never let you escape!" Even though the Lady Yan had already broken through the Earth Gate (11th Gate), she was heavily wounded and could only fight at a skill level that wasparable to that of a martial artist (9th Gate). Seeing Fang Yuan as such, she became enraged. The scoundrel would not be so presumptuous if Shi Yutong was present! "We had been too careless. To think that people would not dare toe here and cause trouble given the Sect¡¯s reputation!" Lady Yan silently cursed herself. Her hatred for Fang Yuan increased. "ck Sand Palm? The power of the 8th Gate? Do you really think that no one in the Sect could stand up to you?" Lady Yan let out a cry as she saw that Fang Yuan was escaping. How could she let him go? She leapt forward and with a shriek that resounded in the ce, said: "Elder of the Southern Pce, Elder Di, follow me!" "Roger!" These two elders were the closest to breaking through the Death Gate amongst the elders protecting the ce. With the aid of these two elders, Lady Yan was confident of taking down Fang Yuan despite not being able to utilize her full strength! "Haha....Olddy,e if you dare!" Fang Yuan taunted. They chased relentlessly and in no time, arrived outside the county. "Tsk tsk...No wonder you are from such a big sect. Wasn¡¯t that the Lightness Skill?" Fang Yuan wanted to go easy on them and allow them to catch up. However, he soon realized that no matter how fast he ran, the distance between them kept shrinking. Under the moonlight, Lady Yan and the two elders appeared to be gliding gracefully through the grass and at the same time, fast as lightning. "Scoundrel, where are you running to?" Lady Yan glided forward. With a wave of her left hand, the Lion Head walking stick flew towards Fang Yuan¡¯s back. "Hmph!" Fang Yuan slipped and missed a few steps. "Crack!" Lady Yan smiled and her arms suddenly extended. "Back Piercing Hand!" "Roar!" The lion head opened its mouth and spat out a ring of fire towards Fang Yuan¡¯s back. "Boom!" The ring of fire exploded mid-air and charred the ground. "Whoosh!" The two elders at the back stopped. "Lady Yan¡¯s Lion Head walking stick is indeed impressive!" "Careful!" Lady Yan grasped her stick, her face red. She coughed violently before saying, "The man is not dead yet!" "What?" The two elders were shocked. They suddenly felt a gust of strong wind. "Caw!" The aura of an eagle hunting its prey could be felt amidst the strong gust of wind. The Iron-tailed ck Eagle flew towards them, the ws outstretched. Bang! At this moment, the ground cracked open and Fang Yuan emerged from the crack. His hands were formed into the ws. He did not hold back the inner power of the 9th Gate. He could not be bothered anymore and struck with all his might! The two elders let out a gasp. They managed to fend off the attack of the Iron-tailed ck Eagle but Fang Yuan¡¯s eagle w managed to get past their defense and grabbed their throat. They could only let out a small sound. "Lady Yan, you are next!" Fang Yuan turned and spoke calmly. "A martial artist who is of the level of the 4 Heavenly Gate...Eagle w Iron Skin Technique...and this beast?" Lady Yan coughed, her eyes confused, "Who are you?" "Who I am is of no importance. What is important is that I hope you would be able tost longer!" Fang Yuan gazed coldly. Lady Yan was an expert who had broken through the Earth Gate. Her technique that she used previously was impressive. If Fang Yuan had not seen the technique, he would have been at a severe disadvantage. He had no intention of killing his opponent. After all, such a good test subject was hard toe by! Chapter 74: Concealment Chapter 74: Concealment Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions 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 aplish 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 exined, "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 andid on the bed. "Mm!" Fang Yuan took out his golden needle, pierced several acupoints in quick session, 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 circtory system, especially its ability to fuse and form a miniature elemental force in a Martial Artist (11th Gate)...¡¯ Fang Yuan ced his right palm on Elder Han¡¯s abdomen, focused his magical energy through his Mind Pce 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 strengthes 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...¡¯ Justst night, he lured Lady Yan out of the city, and with the help of the Iron-tailed ck 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 canpare 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 ab 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 ck Eagle, let¡¯s go!" Back to the secluded valley, Fang Yuan rode the ck 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 be influential enough, he would tidy this ce up as his second base. And as for the Iron-tailed ck 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!" Apanying the bird¡¯s chirping, the Iron-tailed ck Eaglended 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 t 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 ayer of dried grass, and surrounding it arge water vat, a few dry rations hidden under a few rocks, as though one was afraid that other animals might eat it. The entire ce 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 ce? 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 arge 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 artistst 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 ce..." "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 red 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 therge 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 ept. "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 Chapter 75: Breakthrough Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "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 thebination 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 aspared 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 tobine 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 rxed. "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 bnce 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 whichbined both Yin and Yang suddenly exploded and the Yang kept expanding andpressing. 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 topress thebined Yin and Yang into a single entity! With the strong fusion from his inner force, the exploded swirl waspressed into a small dot. The dot solidified. "Ha! Liquify thebination 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 amodate 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 thepression 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 ck 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 waspressed into a dot. Finally, after a huge amount ofpression, 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 hisbination 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 aspared to the inner force from the 9th gate, the current Miniature Elemental Force gave a different feeling! Such situation was simr to when a small river meets the ocean and be 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 smokeing 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 becameposed. "I havepleted!" 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 pped 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 nt. "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: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 5), [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 11)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 3)]" "[Eagle w 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 oue 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 imed 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 Chapter 76: Extinction Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions 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 moment.Where 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 ck Eagle followed behind closely and they were all tensed up. Even since he reached this ce, Fang Yuan had been eyeing this piece of spiritualnd for quite a while. However, there were huge Red-eyed White Birds guarding this piece ofnd and his ns on the further development of thisnd 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 ws were holding onto a giant python. It thennded smoothly on a tform. "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 ck 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 Birdter. 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 ck Eagle. Both spiritual beasts had be 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 ce suddenly felt a little smaller. "Her!" Fang Yuan breathed in hard and jumped out from a bush. He then jumped down from the cliff andnded firmly on a tform. "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 tform of the entrance of the hole, a big silhouette appeared and it was actually the Red-eyed White King Bird. It red 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 Yuane here to steal on a regr 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 ck and hard like iron. He then went forward and grabbed forcefully. "Bang!" There was a loud noise and the tform 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 asions, 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 be 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 be 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 be red in colour. It became mad! Fang Yuan triggered the Red-eyed White King Bird and caused it to be mad. "So what if you are mad?" Fang Yuan nced 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 ck Eagle were working well together. They sealed the entrance of the hole and dealt with the iing 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 therge group of the Red-eyed White Birds as well. This resulted in a big battle on the tform. Many white feathers fell onto the ground and the whole ce looked as if it had just snowed. "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret lifted it ws 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 ck 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 toe out. Seeing this, both the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed ck 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 smallke. 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 w 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 nts were precious, why would both of them be even concerned about the spiritual nts when they were fighting to the death against each other? Hence, many of the spiritual nts in the hole were destroyed during the battle. "Chirp! Chirp!" The Iron-tailed ck 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 ck 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 ck eagle at its peak. It could be 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 clearnd! 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 ck Eagle could only give up a seed of a fruit and no one knew whether this seed could still grow into a nt. "This spiritualnd 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 me Jade Rice to be relocated to the Green Peak. "I shall leave a portion of thend to try and grow the Vermillion Fruit. It should be able to grow...." Fang Yuan felt happy about the ns that he had made for the new spiritualnd. With the removal of the Red-eyed White Birds, no one would be stopping him from making good use of this piece of spiritualnd in the Green Peak. "I should continue digging further to see if I can save a few of the other spiritual nts!" After much calctions, he was in distress and started digging. ¡¯Kacha! Kacha!" At that moment, a wall which had no cracks on its surface finally copsed and crumbled into pieces of rocks. A secluded and dark tunnel was then revealed. Chapter 77: Inheritance Chapter 77: Inheritance Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "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, theyer of rocks outside is obviously a cover-up. There was too muchmotion 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 spiritualnd is not unimed. 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 me was huge and the surroundings were illuminated. "There is no air cirction, 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 me, 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 ce; 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, ovepping each other, appearing somewhat hypnotic. All of a sudden, ayer 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 spiritualnd?" Fang Yuan felt a chill down his spine. Surrounding the spiritualnd, there was a simr hypnotic force protecting thend. 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 bing heavy, and even the miniature elemental force within him feltzy, and he could not call upon it. "The mind is the owner of the body. If it is calm, it will be wiser; if it is unsettled, one will be 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 ites from and where to go, and one¡¯s thoughts do not agree with one¡¯s actions. Only by oveing 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 chirping from outside, and the Iron-tailed ck Eagle sounded rather desperate. It was too big-sized to enter the tunnel and could only make amotion outside to attract attention. "I¡¯m alright!" Fang Yuan shouted, and appeased the two spiritual beasts. He feltforted 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 simr..." 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 ced the jade on his forehead. He focused his magical energy on his Mind Pce, 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 ofpassion. "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¡¯sst 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 spiritualnd 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 ying in my mind? Is Master this powerful? This move is unprecedented... Furthermore, setting up this spiritualnd?" One of his suspicions was removed. With such a strong hypnotic force around the entire mysterious spiritualnd, how could his Meditative Tea Ceremony easily counter it? The only possibility was that he held the ¡¯key¡¯ to it! Thisnd 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 ofnd, 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 seed 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 wasplicated. 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 aplishing 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 nce at the unconscious red-eyed white king bird, went out to the cliff, rode the Iron-tailed ck Eagle, and flew over the Green Peak spiritualnd. Although this spiritualnd 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 ttened out and converted to a farm and it could be expanded by another 200,000 square yards. "Such a spiritualnd with a dream-like surrounding... Who would have known that it was made by Master from scratch..." Fang Yuan looked at the entire spiritualnd, 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 bing a dream master was impossible, only then would one consider to be a spiritual knight or an alchemy master. Furthermore, if one were to be a true high-level dream master, his dream world could be actualised, and such dream-like surroundings would be formed! Chapter 78: Dream Master Chapter 78: Dream Master Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "The spiritualnd is either formed naturally on its own or formed when a dream master dies....." The Iron-tailed ck Eaglended 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 ofnd and it became a spiritualnd.....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 nced 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 n ahead. "Iron-tailed ck Eagle, Flower Fox Ferret! Faster, you two! We will be quite busy for a period of time soon!" The main obstacle in the spiritualnd 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 ce. Of course, the main point was to find a suitable ce here to build his own secret base and relocate the important spiritual nts 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 ce. Luckily, Fang Yuan had the Iron-tailed ck 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 arge tnd of a few square miles. There was also a spiritual spring nearby and the ce here was not far from the tform leading to the nest of the Red-eyed White King Bird. Fang Yuan became a hardworking gardener. He organised this piece ofnd 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 me Jade Rice. "The soil in this spiritualnd 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 nt this spiritual nt 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 spiritualnd. "Not only the condition of the soil, the quality of the air, water and other factors were way inferior back in the secluded valley aspared 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 me Jade Rice here. Then, I can shift my focus from the secluded valley to here...." In the spiritualnd, not only the spiritual nts were thriving, Fang Yuan himself feltfortable to be in there. Also, one could live longer in the spiritualnd. A martial artist could have a higher chance of sess in making a breakthrough here. If not, why would this piece ofnd be called the blessednd? Not to mention, this piece of spiritualnd 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 spiritualnd!" The ce here in the Green Peak was quite secluded and it was difficult for others to discover this ce. 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 ck Eagle came back with a chicken and a wild rabbit. "Hmm, very good!" Fang Yuan pped his hands and said, "Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed ck 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 ck Eagle was even more shocked by Fang Yuan¡¯s request. The Iron-tailed ck 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 simrities...." 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 epted 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 ns to fully ovee this spiritual bird would fail. "Looks like.....fairytales are lies. How can you ept it when you had just killed so many people? Are you brainless or are you a moron?" "You were probably rted 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 tform outside and saw that the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed ck 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 spiritualnd is finally mine!" He looked at the sky and there was a bright orange light shining at this ce 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 ced 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 be a dream master! "A dream master! The energy from a dream master is considered to be the most powerful even though it is simr 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 spiritualnd. "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 aplish anything!" Even though such processes were illusory, Fang Yuan knew that a dream master could aplish this. Mind could affect matter and consciousness could affect reality! The spiritualnd right in front of him was the best scene to rte to the statement! A real dream master could be very powerful and scary at hister 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 rted 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鈥檚 Element Chapter 79: Heaven¡¯s Element Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions 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 poption 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 urrences, 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 entric 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 rmended to join the Main Sect, and be an honorary disciple. His reputation and influence would then beparable 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 be something greater, and therefore became theughing 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 eximed, 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 be 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 sessfully build my foundation, enter the Main Sect and be an Immortal Cultivator!" "Ha ha!" "What did I just hear?" "Did the useless person just imed that he wanted to be an Immortal Cultivator, and enter the Main Sect?" The crowd became silent, and slowly,ughter 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 loudmanding voice was heard from behind. "Good day Deacon!" Many youngdies 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 axended 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,nded another hit on the wood. He controlled his breathing and breathed in a rhythmic fashion. "Through chopping wood every day, I would train my cirction, 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 canmence by Spirit training! There are 13 tiers in Spirit training, and only afterpleting 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 wouldbine, and undergo 19 Misfortunes before entering the ¡¯Golden Pill¡¯ stage!" "Within the Golden Pill stage, I would finally beparable to the standards of an outer disciple. And as for when I¡¯ll undergo the 39 Cmities 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 be 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 be Immortal... I must be Immortal!!!" "Wait a minute... Immortal Cultivation sounds familiar... What strangenguage 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 amotion 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 woulde to save you now!" A bulky young man came forward, and as he clenched his fist popping sounds could be heard. "These few have alreadyprehended 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 rtionship 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 w!" 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. "Secr 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 andughed. 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 be 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 rted 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¡¯ rtively 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 eximed. "Ji!" "Whoosh!" A bright light shed, and both of Fang Yuan¡¯s arms dropped down cleanly. Chapter 80: Dream Disciple Chapter 80: Dream Disciple Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Haha... This Golden de Talisman is indeed a useful spiritual talisman!" Seeing the power of the talisman, the young masterughed heartily, but after a while, hisughter stopped. He stared at Fang Yuan, who was bleeding profusely, and his face turned nk. "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, andter on, he tried to increase his cultivation level directly to Tribtion Stage. Nothing happened. His n to cheat and be an immortal failed miserably. Following that, Fang Yuan tried to change the physical world. For instance, he tried to summon the 99 Wind-Fire Tribtions 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¡¯te 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 Tribtion stage would be able to wipe mepletely 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 be 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 timepared to others..." Fang Yuan heaved a sigh, brought the screaming young master to the edge of the cliff, and jumped down. ... "Rumble!" Green Peak spiritualnd. 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 ced the jade on his forehead. "The cultivation of a dream master is split into 4 steps: Entering a dream, bing self-aware, changing the dream world andstly, ruling the dream world!" Bing 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 Pce and into his body. He became refreshed, took in a deep breath, and nced 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: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle w 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 be 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 be 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 Pce 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 Pce; it was a totally different type of power from inner force. Based on its characteristics, it was more simr 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 spiritualnd. There was fencing around, and the me Jade Rice and Questioning Heart Tea were all growing well, within the fencing. "Indeed... Spiritualnd is the best for growing spiritual nts!" Fang Yuan approached the boundaries of the fence and arrived at a carefully carved out plot ofnd for ntation. Other than the two matured spiritual nts, he nted the seed of the bamboo fruit, and a few other spiritual nt¡¯s seeds which he recovered from the bird¡¯s nest. Hopefully, by harnessing the magical abilities of this spiritualnd, the spiritual nts 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 spiritualnd, 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, whichforted 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 ck Eagle hatch them? Seems like an original idea!" Fang Yuan climbed on a tform and held arge 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 n, 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 ck Eaglended on the tform, 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 be the eggs¡¯ nanny. "What happened?" He was signalled toe 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 ced all my attention to this spiritualnd, 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 coldugh and rode on the back of the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. "Let¡¯s go! We shall teach them a lesson!" "Chirp! Chirp!" The Iron-tailed ck 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 d 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 exim. Chapter 81: Vigour of Style Chapter 81: Vigour of Style Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "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 nced 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 wasing 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. ording to Elder Han, this bodyguard, Hu Yuxu, was a [Martial Artist (10th Gate)] who had thebination 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 ck 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 ck Eagle not to appear in front of anyone, both the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed ck 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 toe out?" Hu Yuxu¡¯s eyes were filled with danger and he nced 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 back.They 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 pressureing, 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 havee 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, ttering him with recognition of his good job. If he wasn¡¯t busy hiding the Iron-tailed ck 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 wasmendable! ¡¯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 imbnce between the Yin and Yang in your body from the energy of your Mind Pce.....You are onlyparable 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 rte 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 Form and it is not through evil means. Please stop using me!" "Really? How unfortunate!" Fang Yuan nced 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 unbnced, causing you much pain from their shes? How does it feel to be bipr 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 eximed 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 eximed. "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 Chapter 82: Solution Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "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 whenpared 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 cunningd 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 n to put their medical skills against each other? They could not me 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 ce?" 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 nced 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 be 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 Yuanughed and consoled Zhou Wenwu with a few words. In fact, he would likely be inferior to Old Crane if one was topare 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 somebination 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 juste in and have some tea!" Without another word, he went back into the valley. "Also, Zhou Wenwu, I amcking 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 ce 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 be the strongest influence in Qingye City. "Among these servants, there better be some farmers who have the experience of taking care of spiritual nts!" 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 nts?" 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 nt 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 nt it. It was difficult to grow them in small amounts as it could exhaust human and material resources easily. Thend used to nt the spiritual nt would have to be changed every few years as the nting of spiritual nts would make the piece ofnd infertile in a few years. How then was Fang Yuan able to grow a few acres of the Vermillion Jade Rice? ¡¯Or maybe the spiritualnd 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....thend 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 nced 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 be powerful all of a sudden and another who had a poor background but rose up to be 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 aspared 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 fertilend, 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 wascking 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 nced 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. Simrly, 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 umte 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 umtion 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 Chapter 83: Evolve Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Chirp! Chirp!" In the open sky, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle flew higher and higher, and finally became a small ck 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 Yuanforted 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 ck Eagle can deal with the rest!" Fang Yuan¡¯s battle n was simple, or even too in, 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 ck 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 ck 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 ps. "Whoosh!" A pungent smell of rot filled the air, and in the tentid 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 aplished what I set out to do!" He scavenged the tent and found even more corpse within the tent. Apanying 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 iting 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 sh marks on the neighbouring trees as well, evidence of a fight. He closed his eyes, and it was as though he could witness the scenest night. "Only one person has the ability to poison so many on such arge 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 bes 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 ck 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 shes, as though the gxy 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 ufortable, and suddenly spat out a mouth of ck blood. At this moment, a sneaky shadow pounced towards Zhang Sheng, and a wnded 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 assant 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 w 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 toe 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 rtionship 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 be 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 Shengshed 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 hisst 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 pping 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 escted to such a level. "Haha... You could have survived, but you chose death bying here!" Seeing that Fang Yuan was alone, Hu Yuxu was shocked, then startedughing maniacally. "Tell me, how would you like to die?" "Why do some people think that they are toopassionate?" Fang Yuan waved his hands and a white sh 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 Chapter 84: Some Rest At Last Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "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 beforeing 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 waspletely 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 mes 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 ck 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 de of the sword, forcing the airborne eagle tond. "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 hey 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 ck 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 hemit 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 impable character. If not for Zhang Sheng¡¯s impable character, Fang Yuan would have killed him without hesitation. "Work for you for 20 years?" Zhang Sheng was slightly puzzled. Then heughed 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 ce 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 andpliant 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 tutge 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 Yuanughed and hoisted Zhang Sheng onto the back of Iron-tailed ck 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 vignt. 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 wereing to seek revenge, they were also honourable people. Fang Yuan killed their friend or rtive so it was reasonable for them to do so. "Yes sir!" The fires of passion shone through Zhou Wenwu¡¯s eyes brightly. He had sessfully broken through the Injury Gate and achieved his dream of bing 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. Thedy 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 reumte 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 amon 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 Chapter 85: Impudence Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "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 butugh. "To think that after entering my dream this time, I could be self aware immediately!" Usually, when people entered their dream world, it was extremely difficult for them to be 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 shoutsing 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 rxed 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 ce?" 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 naturalws in working order. This was a huge improvement! ording to Master Wenxin¡¯s writing on the Jade Scroll, for an average dreamer to create a rtivelyplete 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 seed 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,plete? Why does it feel so simr 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 bepared to the prodigies?" Fang Yuan was among the Green Cloud Mountains, where the House was. The ce had an abundance of spiritual energy. After he hadpleted 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 y to him. Level 2! Level 3! Level 4! In a sh, 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 spectacr 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 shed 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 alreadypleted his Spirit Training and is very close to aplishing the Demonic Wind Technique. With his celestial body and a 397th Maind 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 perfectlyposed this time. He seemed totally uninterested. "You are Fang Yuan? I am Liu Zhou! My peers have used 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 Yuanughed. 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 thews, 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 eximed in amazement. It was entirely unexpected that their Senior Liu would use such a valuable item against amon 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 rageing. If Fang Yuan had been in the Qinghe County of the real world, he might have held back. However, at this moment, heughed out loud. "You are as lowly as an ant, and yet you dare toe 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 revtion. "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 be the Buddha of a thousand households. If I choose tomit evil, I could bring about the end of the world. This is the best ce 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 alreadypleted 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 ck 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,nding 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 Chapter 86: Immortality Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "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, disying his powers. Master Wenxin could actualise things in his dream world into reality. He could actualise spiritualnds, and even spiritual beasts andnds 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 thews, 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 thews 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 toe. "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 nimblynded 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 be an immortal. Afterpleting 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 tribtion. "Roar roar!" At this moment, Fang Yuan was chased by a great bluish-ck 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 nce, 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 simr 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 sessfully and had already reached its fullpletion. 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 de shot out. It charged towards the middle-aged man like a green sea dragon. "Zhou¡¯Er¡¯s Sky de?! 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 himunched itself with lightning speed and trapped the Sky de 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 ck 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 sh, Fang Yuan reappeared. He beganughing and apuding. 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 exined 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 contemted 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 sh, 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 andnding on Fang Yuan. "Bang!" "Bang!" By this point in time, the hill had already endured several lethal, destructive and disastrous attacks. Not only was itpletely 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 arge 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 be? Could he aplish 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 stered his face. "Bang!" A pool of blood sttered on the boulder. This expert from the demonic wind stage fell to his death. Chapter 87: Extermination Chapter 87: Extermination Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "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 shes 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 idents 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 apanied 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 ce 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 andughed. "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 be 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 shes 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 me my logical thinking skills? To create such a world that has be 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 thews 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 iing 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. "ng!" Suddenly, a giant golden de formed right above Fang Yuan, making a nging sound as itnded on his neck. The golden de broke in half as itnded. "Rumble! Rumble!" The Green Cloud Formation changed again and this time, there were mes. Fang Yuan took a deep breath and breathed in the mes. 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 mymand. Activate!" Yu Xiong was, without a doubt, an expert immortal cultivator in the Elemental Infant Stage. With just amand, 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¡¯smand, the giant green sword fell straight towards Fang Yuan like a copsing mountain. Above the sword, lightning shed and the wind howled. The surrounding 5 rows of light converged to be a remarkable spiritual technique and flowed along the de 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 ofnd was perfectly preserved, untouched. This portion ofnd stood out among the destruction. On that perfect portion ofnd, 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 eximed and retreated. "Are you an old fogey in the Tribtion 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 be 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 shed to the front. "With our help, we shall defeat this devil!" "Idiots!" Fang Yuanughed 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 nced 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 Yuanughed and gave a serious look. He went near Yu Xiong and said, "Karma is tooplicated. 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 Yuanughed and eximed. "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 Chapter 88: Death from the Roar Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "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 hisughter, 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¡¯splexion 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 prettydy 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 mes 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 Tribtions!" 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 Tribtion Stage, going through the 99 Wind-Fire Tribtions 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 Tribtion; they would gather all the magical weapons they could, just to increase their chances of making it through the Tribtion. 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 be one "Chi!" This swordlight which had the ability to divide mountains and separate riversnded on Fang Yuan, but what came off was only a little spark. Without even a frown, Fang Yuan struck his w 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 themon 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 Tribtion 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 Sectid here. "Demon!" "The ancient demon is here!" After Fang Yuan killed the elemental infant, he did not stop and continued to trespass the sacrednd of the Green Cloud Sect. Arge 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 tough hysterically. "The Green Cloud Sect had many hidden secrets. We not only have more than 10 masters who have passed the Tribtion 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 heughed, 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 mes, 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 arge number of Green Cloud Sect disciples witnessed the scene in shock. "What... What did I just see?" After a long moment, a female disciple d 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¡¯sing!" "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 arge green dragon. "They could suck the spiritual energy from a hundred miles of the entire sacrednd to form thisrge 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 Tribtion 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 nced 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 Tribtion Stage Grandmasters! Chapter 89: Tribulation Chapter 89: Tribtion Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "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 tigerbined 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 tigerbine, Yin and Yang meet.....Looking at this, this pill is of Tier 1 standard! One can use thebination 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. "Thebination of spiritual dragon and spiritual tiger in the Demonic Wind Stage is not thest in the list of the Heaven and Earth Demonic Wind but it can form a Tier 1 pill? And......there is tribtion 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 tribtions apanying 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 Tribtions! Even though this was the lowest level in the 19 Tribtions, 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 tribtions. "Why am I not as fortunate as this devil?" The Sect Head of Green Cloud Sect witnessed the phenomenoning 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 rted to the tribtions..." 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 havee from the earth. As it shook its tail, the entire physical Green Cloud Sect came crashing towards Fang Yuan. Even an expert in the Tribtion 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 simr to any other palms. Whenpared to the Green Immortal Dragon Array, it was like a grasshopper using its arms to block an oing car. Astonishingly, the next moment surprised many disciples. His right palm could actually counter such a destructive movepletely! ¡¯In reality, no matter how significant the things are in this dream world, they are just illusions....¡¯ Fang Yuan sighed and grabbed the foging 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 bodypressed 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 inplete 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 des, 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 mes 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 be 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 theynded 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 Yuanughed 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 andnded on Fang Yuan¡¯s palm like a strand of noodle. As thest 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 tribtion was here! A silhouette appeared from the sky in the midst of the scary atmosphere. The silhouette¡¯s eyes were glittering and red 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 Tribtion Stage Grandmaster who has just awaken from hibernation!" The disciples cheered and rejoiced. Indeed, so what if the devil was very powerful? Their Tribtion 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 Yuanughed 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 Tribtions?" The tribtion would destroy everyone, and could not be targeted at a specific person. The previous few Tribtion Stage Grandmasters were not able to handle the first tribtion and feigned their deaths. In the end, they had to live their lives in hiding. Now, with the appearance of this Grandmaster, another tribtion 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 Tribtion Stage, he would not want to be involved in the tribtion and get hurt by it. Especially for the tribtions that were in the Tribtion Stage, if a Tribtion Stage Grandmaster were to be involved in another tribtion, he would bepleted destroyed and vapourised! After all, by thews of the tribtions, the stronger the resistance, the more powerful it would be! "Reconcile?" Fang Yuanughed and shook his head. "You immortal cultivators made many to be ves 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 Tribtion Stage tribtion 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 tribtions and I¡¯m asking you to help me with it!" Fang Yuanughed, 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 shes of lightning that gave off a purplish light. God¡¯s eye! With the lightning formed from the 99 Tribtions, the Grandmaster was also injured badly! "Pi!" At that moment, many eyes of lightning tribtion 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!" Another lightning of the God¡¯s Eye struck down and the Green Cloud Dragon roared mournfully. It was then partly annihted andnded back on Fang Yuan¡¯s palm. "Oh? So this is the 99 Wind-Fire Tribtions?" 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 Chapter 90: Feared Name Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "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 Sectmented. Some of them even shrank back. The 99 Wind-Fire Tribtions was indeed too frightening! Some of the faint-hearted disciples started to develop doubts as they thought about having to undergo the nine Tribtions after the Tribtion 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 Tribtions 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 be 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 Maind 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 Tribtion Stage. "Even that old ghost is dead!" An olddy 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 simr to each other, stepped forward. "Our skills are more useful in dying 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,yers byyers 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 olddy 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 olddy eximed, "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 olddy 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 ck 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 olddy mumbled, "Controlling the tribtions...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 tribtions, "I am able to manipte 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 manipte 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 oveing multiple gates, his hands no longer possessed any dead skin and were instead, white and tender. The power to manipte the heavens and earth was at his fingertips. "Kacha! Kacha!" The sky turned pitch ck. 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 Tribtions, the 39 Tribtions, and the 19 Tribtions..." 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 tribtion 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 maniption, the lightning tribtion 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 Tribtions, the cycle repeated itself till all the disciples were dead. "Demon!" A change urred 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 tribtions 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 olddy who were struggling under the lightning tribtion 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 tribtions and rising to be 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 olddy¡¯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 Tribtion Stage dead. Even the next sessor 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 Chapter 91: Leveling up Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "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 ept it!" Fang Yuan took a quick nce 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: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle w 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 iste 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 ce..." 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 nced 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 bepared with the previous farmed I worked at. We are going to get a bountiful harvest soon!" They were all sweating profusely and were jubnt 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 jubnt 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 ck Eagle was waiting and stared at Fang Yuan as he approached. "Let¡¯s go! To the Green Peak spiritualnd!" Fang Yuan leapt on the back of the Iron-tailed ck Eagle and was decisive. The secluded valley was his connection to the outside world; his real base was therge Green Peak spiritualnd. "Chirp!" The Iron-tailed ck Eagle shot into the sky and disappeared... ... Green Peak spiritualnd, 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 me Jade Rice. Loosening the soil, fertilizing, watering... Every move was real. After doing everything, and looking at both spiritual nts 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 me 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 ck 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 tform which in it nted the spiritual bamboo. He noticed a few small shoots appearing from what was a t 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 justcking in opportunity for him to break through. The germination of the bamboo shoots fulfilled the criteria, like how he managed to nt the spiritual nts 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 nts, 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 nting a high-level spiritual nt!" Fang Yuan clenched his fist and had a rough n to break through his [Medicine]. "Increasing in chances of special traits evolving. Does that mean that my spiritual nts 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 nts, 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 nt could be a possibility?! Fang Yuan¡¯s thoughts ran wild. If he could nt nts 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 Chapter 92: Harvest Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions 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 monthter. "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 dyed 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! Congrattions, 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 nts as well, and therefore the secluded valley cannotpare 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 nt production! Furthermore, on such arge 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 be more developed, they will surely affect the reputation of the Spirit Returning Sect...¡¯ With spiritual nts, 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 ckmailed 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 havemon sense, then he might be able to. Elder Han looked at Zhou Wenwu, who seemed more and more like ackey 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 ident 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 spiritualnd within Spirit Returning Sect, and there were many more species of spiritual nts 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 spiritualnd. 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!" Afterpleting 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 ispleted, and I have personally witnessed them stored thest 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 andlord. "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 ck Eagle and arrived at the Green Peak spiritualnd. Other than the secluded valley, the garden here also had a supply of Vermilion Jade Rice, which he personally nted. Based on logical sense, with the help of the spiritualnd and spiritual fertilizer, it should have been matured and ready for harvest. Only because he identally attained a higher level in [Botany] did he dy it until now. As he arrived at the farm, his eyes were filled with a bright me-colour. He initially nted 5 sections of Vermilion Jade Rice here, and the initially healthy Vermilion Jade Rice was now withered and reced by the me 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 me 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 me 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 me 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 me 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 ns to eat the me 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 im that he had known all of it. The spiritual nts 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 nts 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 Chapter 93: Secluded Mountain Prefecture Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions 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 prosperouspared 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 amon type like the Emerald Grass. It was a Thousand Year Frozen Fruit and simr other nts which required a few hundred to a thousand of years for the nts to grow to produce their effects! Although such spiritual nts were considered precious, Fang Yuan would probably not have the chance to witness these nts to bear fruits. He had no choice but to ept them anyway. The amount Elder Han paid for his treatment was considerably great in terms of the spiritual nts he gave. Unfortunately, Elder Han didn¡¯t know that Fang Yuan would be satisfied with just the Vermillion Fruit as growing it sessfully would aid Fang Yuan in strengthening his [Botany]. ¡¯Of course......to reduce the time taken for the spiritual nts 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 nts 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 ck Eagle back in the Green Peak to guard these ces. On the other hand, he was carefree as he rode a green donkey to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. The trip there was rxing 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 epted 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 levelpared to the other counties. Disregarding everything else, the young people from the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City would be more well-informed aspared 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. Inparison, 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 nced 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 ce, 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 Yuanughed 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 3yers, namely the outer district, inner district, and central district. 10 thousand families live here, making it the most popted ce 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 be 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 antpared to the size of the city gate. Around the city gate and above the city walls, there were many martial artists in ck 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 Yuanughed and entered the city with the others after paying an entrance fee. "Wow!" After they entered the city, they were weed 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 aspared 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 Xinlouughed and said, "It will be the prefecture master¡¯s 300th birthday soon. There will be many guests who areing from everywhere to give their well wishes. Also, the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Business Council would be taking this chance to hold a fewrge-scaled fairs to attract every other businessman from other parts of the country toe here. You can also find foreigners here.....This ce will be 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. ¡¯ording 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 Chapter 94: Business Centre Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the central of Prefecture City, there were many treasures, talents and potentials. The city master¡¯s birthday hyped up the entire ce, making it busier than ever. People from all ces came here, and treasures from around the world made their way here too. Fang Yuan did not rush to trade for spiritual objects and nts, 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 be a ve! It was only reasonable for him to worry about a ce 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 aspensation and booked the entire building. The head of the household happily received the money and apanied 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 exined 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 thest 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 cing 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 aspared 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 hadpleted 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 widework." 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 unweing. This ce was simr to the Four Seas Court in Singhe County; they were the biggest business council in their areas, and both had strong backings. "Not many ces within the Secluded Mountain Prefecture would trade spiritual objects, but it was still the most convenient ce to do so... And I¡¯ll have to visit the ¡¯Elemental Gathering Court¡¯ one day, as it¡¯s renowned for cooking spiritual food!" "Wee, 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 nts!" Fang Yuan was direct. "The trading of spiritual nts 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 nced and saw thebels of Vermilion Jade Rice and Emerald Grass, as though they were all on sale. "Would you like to buy spiritual nts? This is the right season!" The shopkeeper¡¯s round face glowed and continued. "We have just received a new batch of spiritual nts. Although it might seem like boasting, we have theplete selection of spiritual nts in the entire Secluded Mountain Prefecture, and also many other food types for you to choose from... Of course, nting of spiritual food would be rather troublesome, and if you would like to buy arge 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 nts and let¡¯s take a look!" "Alright!" The shopkeeper chuckled and did not seem to despise him. he pped his hands and a helper carried out a red sandalwood te, and on it a jade bottle. "Come, my lord, please take a look. This Vermillion Jade Rice, the mostmonly nted in the county......There¡¯s also ck 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 nts, Fang Yuan grew irritated. "Why are all these nts themon ones? Are there no better nts?" The ck Jade Rice was asmon 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 nts?" 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 thesemon 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 circted Vermilion Jade Rice, when gone through generations of farming and storing, could be the foundation for a household, and therefore no one would want to bring it out to sell. "It must be my imagination!" Fang Yuanughed but thought for a moment. He knew that the value of his me 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 nts. "I am interested in the Sickle Grass, Serrated Flower and the previous two ck Jade and Green Striped Rice. Name me a price!" Fang Yuan knew that in these shops they would not have any real valuable spiritual nts, 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 spiritualnd. And as for the othermon spiritual nts, 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 nts 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 nts seeds, the value of an actual spiritual nt was very much higher than that of a spiritual seed. He was solemn for a moment, then took out a pair of sses and ced 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 nted 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 sses 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 nts, 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 rtions 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 nted 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 popr. ¡¯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 Chapter 95: Secret Meeting Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions 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 simr 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 augh. "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..." ...... "ording to what you said, this fruit seems to be the Icy Fire Jin. 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 abination 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 simr effect aspared 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 spiritualnd. "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 nt. 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 beautifuldy 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 youngdy 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 nt but it does not have much benefits....." Ling Yin¡¯s voice was soft and she looked at Fang Yuan yfully. Seeing him focused, she continued. "However, wisteria is one of the main ingredient used in making Continuation Spiritual Pill!" "Continuation Spiritual Pill?" The shopkeeper eximed, "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 sessfully 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 toe 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 exnation, youngdy!" Fang Yuan politely said and took out another bamboo fruit. "Please ept my small gift as a token of my appreciation for your help!" "I should thank you instead!" Ling Yinughed 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 me Ling Yin for interupting. Fang Yuan could not help himself but took another look at thisdy. "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 ept 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 ying with the jade in his fingers as he mockingly smiled. "Do you know thatdy?" "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 nts 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 ce 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. Heughed and threw the piece of jade into the air. As it glittered, itnded into the drain. Heughed 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 anothernd. 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¡¯mte 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 asional bird chirps and cicada noises. There was a Guqin hanged on the wall. The ce was separated from the outside world by a tunnel pathway and it was an entirely different world here. Shi Yutong was a regr 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 waste....." Ling Yin smiled while she exined. "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 be a spiritual servant!" Such people with such an amount of magical energy would have the potential to be 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 iming 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 aspared to Wu Zongs. In Xia Country, in order to train under these spiritual knights, arge capital is needed. Otherwise, it would be almost impossible for one to be 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 Chapter 96: Pharmacist Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "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 rified 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 copsing 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 rxed. "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 tworge 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 im 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 themotion. In the centre of the crowd, there was a small medicine stall. It had quite a number of pills and medicinal herbs disyed on the table, including a jade bottle, a wooden box, and a sticine 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 cor by a rough and burly man. His fist was about tond 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 exin 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 exin. "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 arge 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 palmnded 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 cor 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 nced 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 me 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 offeredpensation, 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 Renheughed. "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 be 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 epted him as a disciple. As he left his own home, he became increasingly poor and knew what his oue 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 andid on the table. "Based on my potential and spiritual knowledge, how can I be an alchemy master? The most I could hope for is to be 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 be 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 wascking 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 Chapter 97: Aid Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "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, hended 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 ce is....." Huang Fu Renhe asked as the walls around him looked unfamiliar. "This is a temporary ce 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 simr standard to that of a spiritual disciple. If his sess 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 sess 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 ept 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 rtionship 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 spiritualnd in the Green Peak. If he had not seen Huang Fu Renhe¡¯s strong foundations, he could easily spendrge 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 dly ept 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. Aspared 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 ces?" Fang Yuan scrutinised the ce, 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-ageddy eximed as she saw Huang Fu Renheing. "Mister Huang Fu, hurry up! Your sister is being taken away by a few bad guys!" "Lanruo! Lanruo!" After hearing what thedy 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 menughed 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 coldugh "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 be 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 coldughter 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 toote. "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 note 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 Chapter 98: Wild Wolves Gang Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "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 iing 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 vige by striking fear. "Kacha! Bang!" Seeing theming, 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 extremelyposed 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, exining 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 ady. She will ask me to source for suitable children whenever shees 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 simrities 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 amotion, 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 toe 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 eximed. "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 be 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 moreplicated!" 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 ce. 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 p 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 arts.The 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 be the leader of a gang. "This matter is indeedplicated!" 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 n!" Du Feng was surprised. He already knew that the gang leader had been nning 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 rtionship 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 oue 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 Chapter 99: A Rescue Mission Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Tsk tsk...Chief Diao is indeed introverted! At the same time, he is also straightforward and decisive!" Amidst the chatter andughter, 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 thepound 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 godforsakennd?" Diao Guangdou visually assessed Fang Yuan for a moment before bursting intoughter, "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 nced at Diao Guangdou who looked like he still wanted to beg for mercy and scoffed. "Voom!" After attaining Gui Wusheng¡¯s Paralysing Scream andbining 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. "sh!" Fang Yuan moved forward and nonchntly stretched out his right arm, baring his razor-sharp nails. The thrusting force from this move cut through the air like a knife. With thebination 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 w with extreme agility. "Who are you? Guards!!!" In a sh, Diao Guangdou retreated backwards a few metres and shouted out for help. Blood flowed from the conspicuous w 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 themotion of the shouting ofmands 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 sh 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 outughing and stepped forward. The muscles on his body swelled out piece by piece and took on a bluish-ck colour. It erged to the extent it looked as though Fang Yuan was wearing ayer 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 w 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 wnded 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 hisst 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 red at the rest of the Wild Wolves Gang. "Why? Who else has a death wish?" With this roar and his almost demonic appearancebined 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 chiefunched 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 Yuanmanded coldly. "Yes...yes sir!" Shaking in fear, the skinny man led Fang Yuan to the ce. 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 camouged 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 cirction 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 hugemotion erupted as several prisoners stuck their ck 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 theymitted 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 Chapter 100: Birthday Dinner Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "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 ming 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 asion 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 wereparable 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 congrattes 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 amotion. "Haha..... Yutong, you are too kind, please recover!" Liu Yanughed 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 Yutongughed, 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 ce now, and I am so envious of you!" At the other table across, a muscr 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 arge bowl for his wine and was extremely forthright. "Niu capital had a good reputation..." Shi Yutong downed one bowl of wine. "My disciple is yful. Even though she might have potential, how could shepare to the talents here in the Prefecture City?" "We cannotpare! 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 wepare 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 ufortable. 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 ufortable 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 aspared to a normal child, but Fang Yuan could sense her unimaginable magical energy; she was a perfect candidate to be a spiritual knight. If there could be another miracle, she might even be able to be a dream master. ¡¯This kid is not Huang Fu Renhe¡¯s blood-rted 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 ce, 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-rted family memberpletely 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 elerate 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 be a 4 Heavenly Gate Martial Artist? This piece of jade yed 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 treasurending 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 ced 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 simr 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, arge pounding was heard from the city gates, which made their expression change. In front of the 35-yard tall city wall was tworge 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 escte 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. Chapter 101: The Fight Chapter 101: The Fight Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "What are you intending to do, Prefecture Master?" Lu Renjia was gentlemanly, and there was a light fragranceing from him, which had the ability to calm the others down. His eyes were like lightning and shot right at Liu Yan, interrogating him. "Kacha! Kacha!" The sound of armour dragging across the floor could be heard from outside. Numerous Secluded Mountain Prefecture soldiers flooded the hall. Liu Yan lifted his eyebrow and smiled. "It isn¡¯t about what I want to do, but you, Master Lu. What do you intend to do?" As he spoke, he appeared stricter. "By getting closer to my prefecture¡¯s sects and Prefecture soldiers just to hastily sit in my seat? You think I can¡¯t live long? You are trying to bully me?" "Rumble!" The rage of a spiritual knight was not to be taken lightly! In the hall, Shi Yutong could feel an immense spiritual pressure which was almost suffocating. Looking at Liu Yan, he was seated in his seat, but green mes appeared and seemed to be surrounding him, and were slowly growing. "Impossible!" Lu Renjia took out a small bronze cauldron and ced it in front of himself. He was not ashamed of anything and became serious. "Old Liu... Why are you still so strong? Must be... What treasures have you consumed to lengthen your lifespan?" "That¡¯s right!" Liu Yan¡¯s voice became deeper, with a mocking tone. "Hehe... I was fated to receive a Fire Dragon Fruit. Not only does this fruitplement me perfectly, it also had the ability to lengthen my lifespan... If I¡¯ve used this to make it into the ¡¯Red Dragon Pill¡¯, it¡¯s ability would increase fivefold. However, I knew that you would be greedy, so why would I trust you to do this for me?" Shi Yutong¡¯s heart became heavy after hearing this. If not for his old age, Liu Yan would still be the number one spiritual knight in the entire Secluded Mountain Prefecture! Due to his nning, despite the fact that his enemy had improved tremendously, he was able to keep the secret and eventually trick them with the news that he was dying! ¡¯This words are not meant for Master Lu, but for the rest of us Sect Masters!¡¯ With this, Shi Yutong had a question in mind. ¡¯Even if he kneeled down to surrender, I wonder how will things end up? It seems that he still had to let out his position and live in privacy for the rest of his life!¡¯ ¡¯It seems that this is still more worth than the Sect being destroyed by the Secluded Mountain Prefecture soldiers.¡¯ The pretty Sect Master suddenly changed her expression, as though she was fighting a mental battle. The two Wu Zongs on both sides seemed to be in the same predicament. "Don¡¯t be fooled by this Old Liu!" Lu Renjia rolled his eyes and said, "Eating the Fire Dragon Fruit raw can only increase his lifespan by a century! This old fool doesn¡¯t have too many years to live..." He looked at Liu Yan with a sinister look, with no intention to conceal his motive to kill. "Furthermore... Even if you are willing to use your life to pit against us, in the end, all of us will die together!" "Even if we have to die together, I will still exterminate this bunch of you!" Liu Yan became fierce and waved his hand. A streak of green fire shot out like a dragon and aimed straight for Lu Renjia. "Fight!" Lu Renjia became extremely serious and pushed the cauldron forward. "Rumble!" An invisible ripple of energy dispersed, and the green me dragon was destroyed into embers, which flew in all directions. "Ah!" A soldier wearing a Thousand Year Chilled Metal Armour could not dodge in time and was struck by an ember, lighting his shoulder in green mes. "Hong! Hong!" In the next moment, his entire person became a green human torch. He shrieked and died in an instant. ¡¯Liu Yan¡¯s fire-type spiritual spells were even scarier than before... Even martial artists of the 4 Heavenly Gates don¡¯t stand a chance!¡¯ Witnessing this scene, Shi Yutong was shocked to her wits and nced at her lowly-skilled sect disciples, who were all shivering in fear. She was d not to have brought her own disciple along. Otherwise, she might not be able to leave this predicament. "It seems that everyone is unwilling to ept my gracious offer..." Liu Yan looked at Shi Yutong and the other Sect Masters and shook his head. Suddenly, he gave a deafening shout. "The soldiers of Secluded Mountain Prefecture, do hear this. The Spirit Returning Sect, Bone Melting Sect and the Yellow Brothers sect are now traitors. Kill every single one!" "Yes, Master!" Amotion was heard and the nging of knives and swords outside was deafening. "Haha..... Sect Master Shi, I, Old Niu, have always wanted to get closer to you, and now I finally have the chance!" The capital leader of Niu Capitalughed, wore a helmet with bullhorns and approached her. "If I had a choice, I would not want to oppose you Prefecture Master, but..." Shi Yutong was unwilling but made her choice. Since he had already done it and was found out, any hesitation would only quicken his death. The only solution he had was to carry on what he was doing. "Haha... You guys have made the right choice!" Lu Renjiaughed. "After this, I will not forget any of you. And as for the promised spiritual pills, I will deliver two times more!" "Lu Renjia!" Liu Yan turned ferocious and slowly stood up. "Hong! Hong!" Balls of green mes appeared around his body, burning brightly in mid-air. There was a continuous stream of heatwaveing from him. "Do you still think that you stand a chance?" He still feared this alchemy master. Although hisbat skills may not be good, his alchemy skills helped him developed many diplomatic ties. "You would never guess what my secret move would be! Even though you surpassed my expectations today, that is all you are going to be!" Lu Renjia became speechless. "Tiancan, Dique, bring Ling Yin away!" "Yes, master!" Two Wu Zongs suddenly stood beside Ling Yin and escorted her out. "None of you will leave this ce today! He! The elemental forces of nature, listen to me! Green Dragon Dance! Prosperity be in the world! Liu Yan recited his mantra, and spiritual imprints appeared on his spiritual gown. "Hong! Hong!" Nine balls of green me surrounded him, and suddenly evolved into ws. A green dragon formed from the balls of me and struck towards Ling Yin. "I am your opponent!" Lu Renjia frowned and threw out a few pills. "Peng!" A red pill collided with a white pill in mid-air and exploded. A grey fog appeared, which constrained the fire dragon. Liu Yan could see that the fire dragon within the fog had lost its spirituality. It stopped moving and began to slowly shrink in size. "Good! You have lived in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture for almost twenty years and it is only today that I get to see your true ability!" Liu Yan began to spew fire out of his eyes. "Hopefully you do not disappoint me!" "Hong! Hong!" In a short moment, the green mes covered the entire hall! ... "Eh?" Outside the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City. Fang Yuan, who was on the carriage, turned his head around and took a quick nce in the direction of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City. The tremor of the spiritual force was way beyond the capabilities of a spiritual disciple; it was obvious that two spiritual knights were engaged in a fight. "Master?" Yu Xinlou and Huang Fu Renhe rushed over, saw Fang Yuan staring in the direction of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City, and followed suit. "Rumble!" At that moment, It seemed as though a me started to grow in the Prefecture Master¡¯s mansion. Thick smoke rose into the sky like a chimney. "That is... the direction of the Prefecture Master¡¯s mansion!" Yu Xinlou was dumbfounded. "Today is the City Master¡¯s birthday, and yet they close the four gates to the city, and even something like that could happen within the city...¡¯ "Are these green mes from the legendary Secluded Mountain Prefecture City Master¡¯s spiritual spells? I¡¯ve heard that he is skilled in fire-type spiritual spells, and is a totally different level!" Huang Fu Renhe observed the increasingly chaotic city, and made eye contact with Yu Xinlou; he broke out in cold sweat. If not for Fang Yuan who brought them out of the city, they would be the ones trapped inside, desperate. They might even be implicated to death. "Rumble!" Another deep tremor was heard. To have travelled such a long distance, Fang Yuan understood that the two spiritual knights had used their spiritual force to strike a hard one on each other. Indeed, when he looked back, he saw something like a roof flying in mid-air, and suddenly it broke apart into mes. Screams were heard where itnded. "Oh..... This is how spiritual knights fight with each other?" Fang Yuan was shocked to see such a fight. Even though he had be a dream disciple, he could notmand his elemental force as he wished as he was not a dream master yet. Seeing how one¡¯s own elemental force could affect nature in such fearsome means, he knew what to expect in the future. "Elemental force... It¡¯s not far from me!" Fang Yuan clenched his fist, in silence. In terms of martial arts, he had already broken through the 11th Gate. What was left for him was the final Heaven Gate and Wu Zong to break through before he could finally attain Wu Zong. As for his journey as a dream disciple, he had also entered the final stages and was only a few steps away from truly being able to control his own dream world. "It¡¯s just... My skillset is specific, and the destructive power of a dream master can never be on par with that of a spiritual knight..." Fang Yuan sighed, and suddenly called Yu Xinlou and Huang Fu Renhe over. "It seems that the only one capable of going against the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master is that alchemy master, Master Lu?" "Although I have never seen him personally, I have heard that his alchemy skills are superb, and well known throughout the entire Xia Country... My previous master is no match for him!" Huang Fu Renhe looked agonized and said. He explored the ends of the world and his exposure was rather broad. "The influence of the Prefecture City is rather strong, but the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master had many connections with the outside world, and external allies might help him out!" Yu Xinlou shook his head. "Hmm... That¡¯s true. The destruction that we witnessed just now, could it be made by several spiritual knights and Wu Zongs together? Isn¡¯t it a good chance to see what we can loot amidst the chaos?" Fang Yuan made a guess after hearing him said that. ¡¯To loot from the chaos, we will still need a formidable party. Otherwise, we would be killing ourselves!¡¯ "Let¡¯s go! We need to rush!" "Fang Yuan did not hesitate and ordered them. "Yes, master!" Yu Xinlou instructed for the carriage to move on. As he looked back at the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City, he was filled with mixed emotions. Seeing his hometown being destroyed and feeling sad was secondary; it was more of a worry. The entire Secluded Mountain Prefecture would change! Chapter 102: The Peak Level Chapter 102: The Peak Level Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Elemental force......Only spiritual knights, Wu Zong, and other simr level experts can awaken the ability to use this power that of the heavens and earth..." The carriage was sparkling. Inside the carriage, Fang Yuan seemed to have closed his eyes to rest, but in fact, he was finding out the secrets behind his elemental force. "There are roughly two systems of power in this world. One is magic and the other is physique...The path of magic would be arduous at the start because it depends on one¡¯s potential. Only spiritual disciples, alchemy disciples, dream disciples or the likes can develop elemental force under the guidance of a master!" "Physique, on the other hand, is slightly different. I can be described as the supplement of magic. In the 12 Gates of martial arts, one will start from the 3 Prosperous Gates, before moving onto 2 Peaceful Gates and then the 3 Perilous Gates, andstly the 4 Heavenly Gates in this order. This order helps to build one¡¯s foundation for obtaining elemental force. However, the first 8 gates would only help to condition one¡¯s body while only the 4 Heavenly Gates would improve one¡¯s magical energy gradually. Hence, although one may have reached the peak level of the 12th Gate, one may not have reached one¡¯s full potential to be Wu Zong!" "Of course, I am different from them and I can choose to go by both paths of magic and physique. Martial arts is just a form of self-defence in the early stages, and also a way for me to build up my foundations......The 12th Gate is the final preparation for me to make ast breakthrough which ispletely dependent on my magical energy!" The trip to the Prefecture City was beneficial for Fang Yuan. Even though he could only watch the moves of a spiritual knight from afar and feel the spiritual pressure, it made him slightly more optimistic of a breakthrough. This was not because of his gifts, but rather, his umtion in experience. "It looks like when these skills have reached ater stage, they cannot be depended on proficiency points to be improved. Rather they depended on self-realisation and maybe some sort of opportunities....." Fang Yuan nced at his stats window and noticed that his Eagle w Iron Skin Technique¡¯s proficiency points had reached 99.99% in Grade 11! Along with this self-realisation, thest percentage of improvement needed was finally fulfilled! Suddenly, Fang Yuan closed both of his eyes. "Piak!" He could feel a soft sounding from the middle of his forehead. However, this sound was not real. It was the tremor from his sea of consciousness! "Hoo....." Fang Yuan exhaled gently while he held on to his forehead. From previous breakthroughs, he could feel his inner force surging around his whole body. This time, it was totally different. He could feel a slight dizziness and a swell in his head as if a brick had just been squeezed into his consciousness. "Such feeling I¡¯m getting.....must be due to my body¡¯s inability to adapt to the sudden surge in magical energy....." He looked at his stats window again and saw the changes. "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 8.0 Spirit: 7.9 Magic: 5.5 Profession: Dream Disciple Cultivation: [Martial Artist (12th Gate)] Technique: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 12)] (Limit reached) Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 4)]" Fang Yuan was surprised by the changes. "There are not much increments for my [Essence] and [Spirit], but my [Magic] has improved by 1!" Such great improvements were way more than what the Questioning Heart Tea could do. However, there were also side effects from this vast improvement and these side effects were quite scary. Hence, Fang Yuan had to clear his mind to allow his body to get used to the increase in magical energy. After a while, his energy was at its peak and he became very alert. He could feel that his thinking speed was much faster than before and he was very satisfied. "Even though I had the magical energy of an average person from the start, but with the cultivation from my master, my strong foundations, the help of the Questioning Heart Tea and the breakthroughs in martial arts, I am nowparable to the other talents!" "With my current magical energy, I should be considered gifted among all other normal spiritual disciples!" His mind was clear and Fang Yuan stretched himself. He then continued to check on other areas. "[Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 12)] -- You have mastered this technique to its peak level and the level is simr to the creator of this technique! However, due to the disadvantage of this technique, this technique cannot be further improved to condense elemental force!" The system also identified that the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique had reached its peak and there would be no further improvements. This meant that if Fang Yuan still wished to continue to make a breakthrough in his martial arts, he had to change his cultivation to either the Xuan Yin Heart Technique, the Spirit Returning Heart Manual or other simr high levelled techniques. "This system is useless....Can¡¯t it improve or optimise my techniques?" Fang Yuan murmured and stroked his chin. "No.....the system¡¯s abilities seem toe from my level ofprehension....." Where did martial arts originate from in this world? Martial arts were created by man, of course! Since one could create techniques for Wu Zong, Fang Yuan believed that he could simrly do so. A real expert would probably be able to raise his Eagle w Iron Skin Technique to Grade 13, Grade 14 or even Grade 15! Of course, with his current level ofprehension and experience, the chances of him going crazy from improving his technique was very high, since he was cultivating without any help. "Even if I enter the dream world to experiment, with my current level of cultivation as a dream disciple, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m not even able to simte inner force properly, let alone elemental force!" Death in the dream world didn¡¯t mean actual death. Therefore, he could simte many different environments to try out. If he was capable enough, he could build another Xia country in the dream world! With this convenience, high cultivation levelled dream masters often improved their techniques in martial arts beyond the original peak levels. Furthermore, they could also provide services for optimisation of martial arts for other martial artists. Of course, these services would cost a bomb. With Fang Yuan¡¯s current level of cultivation, he would not be able to simte at such a level yet. "However......this is also another type of cultivation. At least it would be much more convenient to reproduce my actual physical body in the dream world, and give it inner force....." The ability for a martial artist to understand their own body condition would be rather useful. However, if Fang Yuan had the ability to simte everything in the dream world and allowed himself to go crazy from improving the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique to Grade 13 for a few thousand times in the dream world, he would already have made a breakthrough in his cultivation of bing a dream master, thereby developing dream elemental force. Hence, the effectiveness of this method to aid his martial arts was still debatable. "However, if this method was solely for the purpose of the cultivation to be a dream master, it could still be done. I shall remember this!" He added another to-do item in his checklist silently in his mind and opened the curtains. The sunlight was blinding, causing him to squint his eyes. "How long have I been meditating? Where are we now?" Fang Yuan looked at the coachman and asked him. "Sir!" The coachman was from the White Cloud Business Council and was one Yu Xinlou¡¯s men. As such, he would not be rude to Fang Yuan and answered him politely. "You have meditated for half a day. We are currently in Qinghe County and in two days time, we should be able to reach Qingye City! "Very good, get Huang Fu Renhe and Yu Xinlou toe over here!" Fang Yuan got out of the carriage and randomly asked one of the horse riders dressed in green to get off the horse. Fang Yuan then took over, as the horse obediently allowed him to train his riding skills. "Sir!" Not long after, Yu Xinlou and Huang Fu Renhe came over. Yu Xinlou¡¯s eyebrows were furrowed and his face looked sad. "Oh? From your facial expression, it looks like you have gotten the news of the current situation in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City!" Fang Yuan¡¯ eyes then brightened up. Even though he had decided not to be involved in the happenings in the Prefecture City, he still sent a few men to find out about the current situation, and it was worth it. "One of the riders from my business council has just returned with news. The current situation in the Prefecture City is quite bad..." Mentioning this, Yu Xinlou¡¯s eyes went red. "It was the misfortune on the day of the birthday banquet. The fire spread through the entire city, costing the lives of many innocent civilians living there. Now, many civilians are trying to escape the city, and my riders have seen a few of their ex-colleagues who were also escaping. The Prefecture City is now a big battlefield!" "What?" Fang Yuan was surprised and asked, "Lu Renjia is that powerful?" "You can¡¯t imagine how many connections an alchemy master like Lu Renjia has!" Huang Fu Renhe gave a wry grin and said, "Of all the 6 counties in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, 3 of them clearly voiced out their support for Lu Renjia. Even one capital leader from the Secluded Mountain Prefecture was convinced to join Lu Renjia¡¯s side and remained undercover. When the time is ripe, the Prefecture Master¡¯s side will go down!" "Even so, I don¡¯t believe that the Prefecture Master will lose in his own territory. It doesn¡¯t matter if his men were dead. Ultimately, what would be the oue of the fight between the leaders? And what about the Wu Zongs?" Fang Yuan frowned and asked. Of course, he was only interested in Liu Yan and Lu Renjia. "Such information is rarely disclosed and no one knows the truth. There are only rumours everywhere...." Yu Xinlou shook his head and said, "I have heard that this Prefecture Master is holding back. Even though his life ising to an end, he is still holding back, with the intention to capture everyone who opposes him once and for all. However, he did not expect Lu Renjia toe up with an ultimatum..... Furthermore, both parties are recruiting reinforcements from external parties. The final oue will lead to both sides being severely weakened. However, as long as the leaders of both parties are alive, I¡¯m afraid the war willst!" As he spoke, his face gave a worried look. The war in the city had caused much sufferings and chaos. The ones suffering the most was the civilians. Escaping to Qinghe County did not mean that one would be safe from the heat of the battle. "Hmm.....The downfall of both sides.....This alchemy master is unexpectedly capable!" Liu Yan was actually the most highly skilled in the entire Secluded Mountain Prefecture. However, Lu Renjia, who was just an alchemy master, could fight against him to such a stage, shocking Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan then asked, "What about Shi Yutong?" Yu Xinlou shook his head and said, "Spirit Returning Sect is one of the 3 sects who had rebelled. However, I haven¡¯t heard any news about the whereabouts of Shi Yutong. She probably managed to escape sessfully!" Fang Yuan had expected that anyway. With the cunningness of Shi Yutong, it would be strange if she didn¡¯t manage to escape. "It looks like....this world is going to get even more chaotic!" He looked at the end of the pathway ahead and sighed. "Pass down the order to tell everyone to move faster! Otherwise, by then, it will be harder for us to return amidst the chaos if the Spirit Returning decides to gather their men to join in the fight." Chapter 103: Pill Making Chapter 103: Pill Making Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions It was eight years since the Xia Country opened up to business from other countries. Lu Renjia created chaos by betraying the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, and even recruited the help of an evil spiritual knight, and ended up badly hurt together with Liu Yan. Qinghe County, Cangshui County and Jushi County dered to pull out of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture¡¯s governance, and under Lu Renjia¡¯smand. Of course, all these didn¡¯t affect Fang Yuan. With the Zhou Family and others as the local families under him, the White Cloud Business Council had a smooth transition into Qingye City; Fang Yuan did not need to worry about the small issues. He left Huang Fu Renhe in the secluded valley and made himfortable, before riding the Iron-tailed ck Eagle and arriving at the Green Peak spiritualnd. "Phew... The air here is the best. It is so much different aspared to the air outside..." The spiritualnd was filled with spiritual energy. Fang Yuan unknowingly took a few deep breaths and appeared drunk with power. "If not for the things I have to settle in the outside world, living here for a long period of time would be like a deity living in heaven..." He sighed and clenched his fist. The chaos in the Secluded Mountains Prefecture urgently required strong martial artists as protection. In terms of martial arts, he had already reached the peak for the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique. Unless he changed his cultivation to another type of martial arts, he would have no hope in breaking through to Wu Zong. However, the Spirit Returning Heart Manual and the Xuan Yin Heart Technique were both profound. Without the hindrance of the 12 Gates, and to train to reach the level of the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique would be extremely hard. "The good thing is that I have another path to take. Based on my prediction, the creation of the 12 Golden Gates is to cover up for the shorings of normal humans... Since I have overflowing magical energy, my journey to be a dream master would be a smooth-sailing one!" If he could break through to obtain elemental force, then he would be the only one in the entire Xia Country who would be able to oppose the Spirit Returning Sect and other Sects! "What a pity... I have not sent the me Jade Rice for an appraisal!" Fang Yuan took out a handful of me-red rice grains, with regret in his eyes. After the trip to the Secluded Mountain Court, he now knew the value of the higher tiered spiritual rice. It might even be more valuable than the Questioning Heart Tea. This was because there was only one Questioning Heart Tea Tree, but on the other hand, the rice could be nted many times and be resold to earn back the money. With the valuable nts in his hands, Fang Yuan did not dare to expose what he had, especially after seeing the situation at the Prefecture; he did not want to involve the alchemy masters and spiritual knights. "The good thing was that I managed to appraise a few spiritual objects, bought a whole bunch of new spiritual seeds, and obtained two new helpers. I should be rather influential now, albeit small..." Fang Yuan went to take a look at the Questioning Heart Tea and the spiritual bamboo shoots. The Questioning Heart Tea was growing well, with the prospects of another season of tea leaves being able to be harvested. As for the bamboo shoots, the shoots remained small, which made Fang Yuan roll his eyes. Based on the maturity period of the spiritual bamboo, even if he used his spiritual fertilizer, it would be hundred yearster before it would mature. But then again, if he could harvest around ten bamboo fruits, be it changing to another type of martial arts or by harnessing brute force to break through to Wu Zong, it would be so much more helpful. "It seems that I have to be a dream master to obtain Master¡¯s next piece of inheritance..." Fang Yuan went to the red-eyed white king bird¡¯s nest to check that the nest was alright, and nced at the growing wisteria. He nodded in satisfaction. "Chirp..." Suddenly, a shriek came from the cave which broke the silence. It attracted Fang Yuan¡¯s attention to the red-eyed white king bird. Although it appeared sluggish, its eyes remained ferocious and full of stubbornness. Fang Yuan knew that unless a miracle happened, it was almost impossible to tame it. "You seem to be quite energetic. Hmm... I shall not feed you then..." Although this bird refused to eat, Fang Yuan still had other ideas. Previously, he used underhand means to subdue it but was lost for words as it did not appear any less fierce than before. He went up to the straw pavilion, poured out every spiritual seed he bought and began reading through the nting manual. "The ck Jade Rice and Green Striped Rice are nothing much, I can just directly sow them in the spiritual farm... Their effects are simr to that of the Vermilion Jade Rice, and at most I¡¯ll just have new vours to try!" "The Bone Quenching Flower can destroy one¡¯s bones and tendons, andplements the Three Star Fruit perfectly. If I nt them together, I can increase my produce by a few folds!" "The Sickle Grass and Serrated Flower are the most troublesome. Other than requiring a specific type ofnd, it still feeds on blood!" ... After a long while, Fang Yuan closed the manual, his eyebrows slightly raised. Blood-fed meant consuming the bones, flesh and blood of wild animals. If these two spiritual nts did not get the blood they require, their growth would be hindered and they might not even germinate, making the nts feel carnivorous and barbaric. Of course, these two spiritual nts were not to be eaten or made into pills; they were for protection. "They are simr to nts like the Pitcher nt and the Venus Flytrap... The only thing is that the Sickle Grass and Serrated Flowers are slightly more brutal; their prey are wild beasts or even humans!" Of course, the normal Sickle Grass had at most a serrated edge like a knife. If a normal person came into contact with it, his flesh would be cut and he would bleed profusely, causing him to die in a gruesome way. As for martial artists, especially high-levelled martial artists, they would easily dodge these nts, just as for the Serrated Flower. But Fang Yuan didn¡¯t intend for these normal spiritual nts to protect his home. He bought these seeds to produce them inrge quantities, so as to increase their chances of evolving their special traits. Hopefully, they would evolve into even more fearsome spiritual nts, and together with the hypnotizing fog around the Green Peak spiritualnd, it would be able to guard against even the strongest 4 Heavenly Gate martial artists! To producerge quantities of spiritual nts would be almost impossible to do in the small farm at the secluded valley; he could only go ahead with the n at the Green Peak spiritualnd. Everything had to be done by Fang Yuan personally. As for the farm at the secluded valley, a few farmers already raised the problem of the soil getting less and less fertile. If Fang Yuan still refused to reveal the secret of the spiritual fertilizer, the next season¡¯s Vermilion Jade Rice harvest would be much lesser, and eventually, it would lead to too many farmers at the farm. "This is not too bad... At least I can dismiss those thoughts of greed! It would be even more beneficial during times of war." Fang Yuan stroked his chin and started to worry. Fighting a war is all about resources, especially the long-standing wars. One should not execute the decisive move as the first move, otherwise, the entire war would deplete all the resources avable. To a martial artist, doctor, herbs and storage of spiritual objects, a war was a test to all of these. "What a coincidence that Qinghe County was named as one of the betrayal counties now in chaos. It is not a matter of whether it will spread, but that it will surely spread! Unless one had enough influence from the start, otherwise trying to control it would be to remove the insignificant powers!" Fang Yuan slowly understood as he looked in the direction of the county. If he guessed correctly, he would be able to face of Shi Yutong the next time round. "Based on my current stage of cultivation, it is still not enough, and I am still not there yet!" He was lost in his thoughts... ... Chaos ensued in the outside world, but it did not seem to have spread to the secluded valley yet. The grass was lush, the insects and birds were making their noise, the farmers were farming and the servants were washing clothes; the entire scene was one of tranquillity. Unknowingly, a few days went by. In the pavilion, Fang Yuan wore his normal clothing and was sitting with Huang Fu Renhe. Both of them were looking at the stove in front. "The skill of alchemy is all-epassing. The art of lighting fire is already very profound, and normal people might not even be able toprehend it in their lifetime..." Huang Fu Renhe exined, and at the same time added a few animal charcoals underneath the stove. This was a valued possession brought here personally by Zhou Wenwu. There was only a hint of burnt smell, and every piece was delicately carved into animal shapes. They were extremely valuable and were sold by the piece. However, Huang Fu Renhe treated it like garbage and didn¡¯t even blink an eye as he threw it into the fire. "Hong! Hong!" The fire grewrger, and the green mes licked the green stove. A strong fragrance filled the air. "An alchemy master would use spiritual fire to make their pills. I am useless and can only use normal fire as a recement, which is much less efficient and would make a whole lot of difference..." Huang Fu Renhe blushed, and timed it right before lifting the stove. "It¡¯s done!" White smoke rose into the sky, and as Fang Yuan channelled his energy into his eyes, he could see a puddle of liquid medicine at the bottom of the furnace. Huang Fu Renhe¡¯s faced turned red and was totally engrossed in his role. He began the extraction, purification and evaporation process - This was not how the alchemy masters would describe it, but to Fang Yuan, this was what he saw. After the filtered medicine evaporated into crystals, what appeared in front of Huang Fu Renhe was many piles of yellow, fragrant and seemingly tasty powder. "This is Spiritual Grain Powder. It can be consumed directly, and after eating it, one would not feel hungry for three days. However, it harms one¡¯s digestive system, and therefore is not considered top grade..." Huang Fu Renhe passed the medicinal powder to Fang Yuan, but his face was full of regret. "Based on my ability, I could possibly make Combat Ration Pellets in the future, but forget about Royal Valley Pill..." "Alchemy Master?" Fang Yuan thought of the Questioning Heart Tea and smiled cheekily. "Don¡¯t give up so soon, you might be able to do it in the future!" Powder, Pellet and Pills were the three types of medicine, and their medicinal powers were in increasing order. It was also how pharmacist and alchemy masters proved their own worth. Using the same ingredients to make the pills, the Spiritual Grain Powder couldst for three days but would harm the digestive system, while the Combat Ration Pill couldst for 7 days. As for Royal Valley Pill, it was amon food source for high-levelled cultivators who nned on going into closed-door cultivation for long periods. A prolonged period of consumption would strengthen one¡¯s body, which led to some highly-skilled martial artist giving up on food and eating spiritual pills instead, to strengthen their foundation. But for Huang Fu Renhe, he could only forcibly produce Combat Ration Pellets from spiritual grains; this was because he had no help from spiritual fire and therefore could not attain the level of an alchemy master. "You¡¯re talking about learning martial arts? I can¡¯t do it!" Huang Fu Renheughed. "I¡¯ve tried this path before, but I have no potential for it and I could spend my life training but will not be able to harness inner force." He was dumbfounded, clenched his teeth, and was feeling determined again. "My lord saved my life and Lanruo¡¯s, and even took us in. I have nothing to hide. In alchemy, other than controlling the fire, the most important is to understand the properties of every ingredient and be highly skilled in appraising them... I am useless and have not aplished much in this field, but I have a gift for you, master!" As he spoke, he loosened his belt and retrieved something stuck in between, and passed it to Fang Yuan. "This is... a piece of jade?!" Fang Yuan was surprised and pleased at the same time. He knew that this person had totally given his trust to him. "This is indeed a piece of jade... This is from my master... I took it from him, but it was a pity that I was unable to see its contents..." Huang Fu Renhe blushed and exined. Chapter 104: Exaction Chapter 104: Exaction Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "I had spent much energy looking for this piece of jade in the past, but who would¡¯ve guessed that it would appear so effortlessly!" Inside the room, Fang Yuan slowly put the piece of jade down, feeling relieved. "The thing that I had wanted most came to me in such a way....." He shook his head, with a slight happiness in his heart. ording to what Huang Fu Renhe said, many years ago, he was being ill-treated and was under extreme pressure; there was no way he could endure. Taking an opportunity, he escaped with this piece of jade to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. However, his magical energy was not great enough to see through the piece of jade to know its secrets. To Fang Yuan, however, it was a piece of cake. <>! This was the title of the paragraph inscribed in the piece of jade. It was the elementary book for potential alchemy masters. The book not only had recordings of the characteristics, medicinal effects and methods of handling different types of spiritual objects, it also included a special way to appraise spiritual objects, aiding alchemy masters in determining the quality of spiritual objects, if they were poisonous, etc. After all, there were many weird and strange spiritual objects present in this world and it was impossible for the inscription to cover every single one of them. "Of course, the most valuable pieces of information will be the exnation by alchemy masters themselves, as well as the methods of handling different types of spiritual ingredients.......This inscription should be considered very precious to Huang Fu Renhe!" Fang Yuan thought about it before deciding to pass on the information from the Spiritual Recordings to Huang Fu Renhe. Ultimately, this piece of jade was from him. "Unfortunately, Renhe didn¡¯t know about the preciousness of this object. If he had passed this jade to Lanruo, that girl should be able to see some of the secrets in it, and of course......that would also mean that the jade would note to me!" He felt fortunate, and at the same time, a little worried. The mysterious spiritual knight or spiritual disciple who wanted to kidnap Lanruo was also a problem. Of course, he had already exterminated the Wild Wolves Gang. It would be hard for the spiritual knight to track him down. Being such a gifted girl, Fang Yuan was not willing to give her up. "I cannot easily pass on the cultivation of a dream master. However, I still have a few other spiritual knight techniques with me....." Letting his thoughts run wild, he pondered. "It will be beneficial for me to train a few loyal subordinates. Of course, as much as possible, I shouldn¡¯t let her learn the Blood Magic Manual. Just the thought of it spooks me....." "Thinking about this, as part of the secluded valley faction, we can have anything we want. If I need people, I can get them. If I need spiritual ingredients, I can also get them. We now have a doctor, a pharmacist, a martial artist and a certain level of influence, and therefore should be considered the most powerful in Qingye City. If I was the Sect Head of the Spirit Returning Sect, even if I only knew a little about the secluded valley, I would still have to ask them for help in times of war....." Fang Yuan stroked his chin and was speechless. He was in a different position and hence, his perspective and attitude in seeing things were very different. Since he was part of the secluded valley, he wouldn¡¯t wish to see the Spirit Returning Sect having their way and bing powerful at the expense of the suffering of others. "Master! They are already here!" While Fang Yuan was in deep thoughts, Zhang Sheng called to him from outside. "Direct them to the main hall. I will be there soon!" Fang Yuan opened the door and saw Zhang Sheng carrying a broom. Under the care of Fang Yuan, and with the help of spiritual ingredients, Zhang Sheng¡¯s Dantian recovered. He had re-obtained his inner force and reinstated his status as a considerably skilled martial artist. In the main hall of the secluded valley. Zhou Wenwu, Yu Xinlou and Huang Fu Renhe were waiting in there. Huang Fu Renhe looked like he had no worries and was enjoying his tea. Yu Xinlou seemed a little worried and Zhou Wenwu was the most uneasy one. "Herees Sir!?" Seeing the arrival of Fang Yuan, the three of them got up and greeted him. "Hmm!" Fang Yuan nodded his head to acknowledge them. He then sat in his chair and waved his hand. Seeing this, Zhang Sheng closed the doors to the main hall and guarded outside. With his skills, even martial artists of the 4 Heavenly Gates could not sneak up upon them. "You may speak now. Did something happened at the Spirit Returning Sect?" Fang Yuan came straight to the point. "You are correct. The Spirit Returning Sect had given an order for all cities in Qinghe County to be on alert. Soldiers from the Spirit Returning Sect are now deployed everywhere, and every family in the county are expected to contribute and help out in any way they can!" Zhou Wenwu gave a wry grin. The way he mentioned about the Spirit Returning Sect showed that he was unhappy with the sect. "Oh? What did they ckmail the three of you for?" Seeing this, Fang Yuan became interested. "Every big household in the Qingye City will have to give 100 taels of gold and all the spiritual food they have. The households will also have to provide their most powerful martial artists to be under the directmand of the city master!" Zhou Wenwu¡¯s face was ck. Previously, things were improving back in the Zhou family. However, with this order from the sect, his family would be forced to their limits, and even he, an inner force expert, would have to be conscripted since he was the most highly skilled in his family, which exined his expression. "The situation for my family is slightly better than Brother Zhou¡¯s!" Yu Xinlou forced aughter. "I was ordered to give them some money and food supplies, and some of my business shops to the temporary city master....." "Since all of you were affected, I guess it is a matter of time the secluded valley will be ckmailed too..." Fang Yuan murmured and suddenly, he asked, "A temporary city master? What about the previous county leader?" The previous county leader was a good old man. He was kind, and it was probably due to the fact that he did not have real power and authority over the county. As long as things were not too chaotic or going out of hand, he would always be the forgiving and kind old man, which made him the favourite among the rich and powerful. However, since the situation in Qinghe County was different now, the previous system of bureaucracy was no longer relevant. Hence, the county leader, together with the name of his appointment, had to be changed. "City master?! This name sounds like a mercenary!" Fang Yuan curled his mouth and said, "Why? Why haven¡¯t they ask me to give up anything?" "This is expected!" Zhou Wenwu added. "Your influence in the Qinghe County is bigger than ours. Furthermore, you are not living in the city and have no business or tradings there. Since you can walk away from this easily, the city master would not dare to bother you much....." "Master, Little Pearl says that we have a female guest!" Zhang Sheng voice was calm and deep, frightening Zhou Wenwu a little. Even though Zhou Wenwu knew that Fang Yuan had taken in a cleaner, from his voice, it seemed that this cleaner¡¯s inner force was powerful, and might have surpassed himself. "A female guest? Who is she?" Fang Yuan nced at Zhou Wenwu and had a premonition. Zhang Sheng then went to have a few words with Little Pearl, before his deep voice came again. "She is from the Lin family. Lin Leiyue!" "It¡¯s really her!" Fang Yuan had expected her. "You three, take your leave! Bring her in!" "Yes, Master!" The three of them answered together and left. Not long after, Little Pearl brought the female guest in and quickly served her tea. After which, Little Pearl left. "Miss Lin, please have a seat!" Fang Yuan waved his hand and stayed calm. Lin Leiyue stared right at him, in shock. She could feel that he had changed too much, even exceeding her expectations for him. From the confident look Fang Yuan gave, it was a level of prestige that he could only attain from being at a high cultivation level for a long period of time and the ability to take a life without blinking his eye. Even though she had made a breakthrough in the inner force, she would still fear him. "Even though my secluded valley is a little remote, I still have some good tea for my guests to enjoy. Please!" Fang Yuan lifted his teacup and took a sip. The tea that was used to serve the guests was not spiritual tea. However, it was still good and fragrant. "Good tea!" Lin Leiyue took a sip and her eyes glittered. She then looked at Fang Yuan with a bit of disappointment and determination. "Brother Fang, I guess you already know the purpose of my visit?" "Sigh..." Fang Yuan shook his head and gave a wry grin. "It is the Spirit Returning Sect¡¯s business to take full control over the country. What has that got to do with the secluded valley?" "There is a saying that, and in a country belongs to the king, and the people living in thend are the people of the king.Even though the secluded valley is not geographically in Qingye City, it is still under our jurisdiction. Would you disagree with this point?" Lin Leiyue gave a strong rebuttal. At that moment, a thought went through her mind. ¡¯I am saying this is for your own good. If we end up fighting and causing the sect head to take action, I will not be able to answer to Master Wenxin....." Thinking about the amount of effort she had put in to persuade her Master, Shi Yutong and how Fang Yuan was not recognising her effort, she was a little pissed. "This is true..." Fang Yuan touched his nose and looked at Lin Leiyue without an expression. "And what will the Spirit Returning Sect want from me?" "The spiritual rice, of course!" Lin Leiyue bit her teeth and said, "At least 660 pounds of it. Of course, the Spirit Returning Sect will not be getting it for free. We will buy it from you at market price. Also, since you have impressive medicine skills, I will also have to ask you to relocate to the Qingye City. This is also for your own safety, in case you get injured by robbers at night. Of course, the sect will need your help to treat the injured members of the sect during the war..." "After everything is over, the sect will allow you to choose the next three generations of the city master of Qingye City. How does this sound?" After she had spoken, she looked at Fang Yuan, hopeful. The conditions that she had given him were much much betterpared to the others. "Hmm....." Inside, Fang Yuanughed silently and intentionally gave a look of hesitation. "This is such a hard decision to make, I will need some time to consider....." He had to live up to his title as the doctor who could work miracles. As long as he didn¡¯t show that he wanted to relocate to Secluded Mountain Prefecture and join the other side, Shi Yutong would not dare to pressure Fang Yuan to the limits. ¡¯He still needs to consider?¡¯ Lin Leiyue became even more unhappy. She got up and said, "You have 5 days to consider, and I have fought for this deal for you. If we don¡¯t hear from you after 5 days, it will no longer be me looking for you!" After her threatening words, she nced at the back of the hall and noticed a few people hiding behind, before giving a bow and left. "Hehe.....Lin Leiyue, this little girl...... her tone is so different now after being a junior sect leader for a few days....." Fang Yuan touched his chin and felt a toothache. "She¡¯s too fierce!" "We are useless!" At the back, the three of them came out blushing. "I cannot me you three. Zhou Wenwu, I¡¯m afraid that you were already followed as you made your way to the secluded valley...." Fang Yuan exhaled a long breath and was under no pressure. After all, even if Shi Yutong came personally, he would be able to escape even if he couldn¡¯t defeat her. He was not in a desperate situation, which was why he had nothing to worry. However, if he really lost his subordinates and his business, he could always hire more people and rebuild the business. There was nothing to be worried about. Of course, that would be the worst-case scenario. For now, it would still be best to keep his subordinates and his business. Chapter 105: Farming Chapter 105: Farming Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Elder Han!" As Lin Leiyue walked out of the secluded valley, a shadow followed her. However, it seemed that she had already predicted it, and therefore her expression did not change. "Thank you foring personally to settle this!" "Hehe..." Elder Han shook his head. He was alreadypletely recovered by now and got back the calmness a Martial Artist (11th Gate) should have. However, he knew that he could not go head-on against the secluded valley. "The secluded valley has many secrets, especially Fang Yuan himself. Within the entire Sect, I¡¯m afraid only the Sect Master can infiltrate sessfully..." "If what you said is true, then Fang Yuan¡¯s cultivation level is... 4 Heavenly Gates?" There was shock in Lin Leiyue¡¯s eyes. After being allies with Lu Renjia, the alchemy master had to bear with the pain and gave them a sizeable amount of spiritual pills in an attempt to improve their rtions; Elder Han and Lin Leiyue both benefited from it, with one being able to recover sessfully and the other able to break through the next gate. However, aspared to Fang Yuan, Fang Yuan¡¯s improvement was still more shocking. "Even I¡¯ll have to admit that Fang Yuan is gifted... I can no longer see what¡¯s going on in the secluded valley with the addition of that spiritual beast!" Elder Han shook his head in dismay. After getting rid of the strong opposition, the secluded valley could actually beparable to the Spirit Returning Sect. After shock came fear. "The Spirit Returning Sect kept a low profile, which led to the opposing powers being developed slowly... We could use this chance to teach them a lesson and get rid of them!" He did not try to hide his motive. On the battlefield, all it would take was an order and he could let martial artists die themselves, without using underhand means. Only when the opposing powers within the county be lesser would the Spirit Returning Sect have the freedom to do whatever it wants. And as for the secluded valley, it was indeed a miracle. Without much notice, it had developed so much over such a short period of time. However, it still didn¡¯t matter much. With the Sect Master in charge, using her ability as a 12th Gate Martial Artist at her peak, it would be as simple as jumping over a wall. The difference between Wu Zong and the normal martial artist was immeasurable; it was likeparing Heaven and Earth! "How would Master deal with the situation..." Lin Leiyue stopped and looked back at the secluded valley once more. Suddenly, her heartbeat became faster. She did not want to see Brother Fang reach this point of no return, but at the same time, she felt immense relief. She was resolute and walked away. Both of them were extremely quick and disappeared into the forest within moments. The serenity and tranquillity of the forest were intoxicating. After a long while, Fang Yuan appeared and looked indifferent. "They even had to send Elder Han to spy on the secluded valley, so it seems that there is no other person capable enough in the Sect already!" "Unless... Shi Yutong?" ... After Fang Yuan returned to the secluded valley, even more news came in. This rebellion went to the extremes. Not only did Qinghe County, Cangshui County and Jushi County leave the Secluded Mountain Prefecture¡¯s jurisdiction, they were led by the Spirit Returning Sect, Bone Melting Sect and Yellow Brothers Sect respectively toe together to form arge army of over 10,000 troops. Additionally, external forces joined in as well, and Lu Renjia became the undisputed alliance leader. He directly issued the challenge to Liu Yan without regard for any reputation. As for the Xia royal family, and the other two prefectures, they would have to wait and see. Even if they tried guessing, they could only send out highly-skilled martial artists in disguise and had to be cautious. Fang Yuan did not know the happenings in the other two counties, but in Qinghe County, the Spirit Returning Sect was putting in an effort to eradicate the rebels and remove those families who were loyal to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. This was all expected. There was news that three entire families were eradicated, and they plundered arge amount of resources. The other families who knew of this lived in fear, afraid of being the next family to be dealt with. From all these, Fang Yuan could predict that he did not have much time left. However, there was a piece of news which made Fang Yuan wary. "Lu Renjia could recruit the help of a mysterious spiritual knight, and this spiritual knight has blood-red light all over him; he must have the assistance of the Blood Dragon, which exined why he could suck the blood essence of 3 or 4 Heavenly Gate Martial Artists and 5 Inner Force Martial Artists at one go and that was extremely scary..." "This description... Why does it sound so much like the Blood Magic Manual, could it be that this person is rted to the Blood Killer?" Thinking of this, he ended his spections about Lu Renjia. "If I create trouble for the Spirit Returning Sect now, I would greatly hurt their battle strength. It would be hard for Shi Yutong to take control of the entire county and unite all the forces together... By sending Elder Han and her other direct disciples all around already revealed her intention, but..." If Fang Yuan really wanted to kill, then even two Elder Hans could not save their own lives. However, killing mindlessly did him no good and was therefore not what he would do. "Keeping them alive would buy me at least five days more..." To a normal martial artist, it was impossible to gather opposition support and fight against the Spirit Returning Sect in just a mere 5 days, but to Fang Yuan, it was slightly more possible. He just had to dream. ... Green Peak spiritualnd. Within the straw pavilion. Fang Yuan ced a stone basin in front of him, and in it full of clear water. There were a few red dots suspended in the water. Taking a closer look would reveal that the red dots were actually grains of me Jade Rice, swirling in the basin of water, at it seemed that there was ayer of gold that had yet toe off. "Go!" With the wave of his finger, he exerted a force and the water mixed with a me-red colour flew out,nding on a bamboo paper ced at one side. It grew upwards quickly, forming a trace of red glow. Fang Yuan took up the piece of paper and examined it. "Based on the method for identifying poisons recorded in <>, I can now confirm that this spiritual rice is not poisonous. Using the water refinement method, I can observe from the paper that there is a hint of gold in the red. Its fire-type properties are strongest, but in it, there is a hidden metallic property as well, how unexpected... At the end, the trace is 1.6 inches long, which shows that its spirituality is of the higher tier of Yellow Grade. Because it is a spiritual rice, maybe it can be ced under the Mystery Grade?" The method of appraising as described in this <> was founded by alchemy masters who realised that a vast variety of spiritual items existed. And in it, the spiritual materials were ssified into Heaven, Earth, Mystery and Yellow. Based on the description in <>, the Vermilion Jade Rice, Emerald Grass, and even the Bamboo fruit and the Icy Fire Jin were all of Yellow grade, and were just slightly above average. As for the me Jade Rice, Questioning Heart Tea and the Vermilion Fruit, they were more extraordinary and could be ssified under Mystery grade. "The me Jade Rice¡¯s effects might not be better than that of the Icy Fire Jin and were at the higher end of the Yellow Grade. However, since it could be harvested every season and stored inrge quantities, its value could go up and therefore could be ssified as Mysterious Grade... As for the Questioning Heart Tea and the Vermilion fruit, both of them are undisputedly of Mystery Grade..." As for the Questioning Heart Tea and the Vermilion fruit, both of them are undisputed..." "After appraising the grade of the me Jade Rice and knowing its qualities, I can now produce it inrge scales and start consuming it..." Fang Yuan nodded his head, picked up the shell of the me Jade Rice, went outside and fed it to the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. As the ck Eagle ate it, it wailed in happiness. "The me Jade Rice is a fire-type nt. If Liu Yan or other fire-type spiritual knights know of this nt, they would do all they can in their power to get it and consume it every day. Its benefits are countless, but to me, it would only aid me if I chose to cultivate fire-type techniques in the future..." The me Jade Rice he brought here to appraise was of a small quantity, and Fang Yuan was toozy to cook it. He gave it all to the Iron-tailed ck Eagle to enjoy. Afterwards, he went to a newly allocated spiritual farm, and grain by grain nted it in. [Botany (Level 4)] was indeed impressive. Fang Yuan¡¯s natural actions made the action of sowing seeds even more delicate. "If you want to enjoy such good rice next season, remember to properly guard this spiritual farm, and don¡¯t let anyone destroy it, understand?" Fang Yuan stroked the Iron-tailed ck Eagle¡¯s head, as though it was instructing it. After trying it out for itself, it would surely pay more attention to guard the spiritual farm. Looking up, he realised that it was noon. Fang Yuan stopped farming and cooked a full pot of Vermilion Jade Rice. He also instructed the Iron-tailed ck Eagle to catch two fresh fishes and smoked them for lunch. The water quality in the spiritualnd was rather good, and the fishes that came from it were fat and fresh. By using smoke to remove the fish¡¯s stench, the fish meat became crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. As he tore the fish, the meat and bone separated easily, and it was simply delicious. It was the perfect lunch. "Chirp! Chirp!" Fang Yuan was enjoying his lunch, while the Iron-tailed ck Eagle was pping its wings in unsatisfaction, as though it deserved more. After trying the me Jade Rice, it was used to it and eating the Vermilion Jade Rice was a torture for it. "Haha..." Seeing how human-like the ck Eagle was, Fang Yuanughed uncontrobly. After a full meal, Fang Yuan returned to the spiritual farm and started to n. "Following which, I will have to focus on the me Jade Rice! The ck Jade Rice, Green Striped Rice are just new vours, while the Bone Quenching Flower and Three Star Fruit are not as useful. Maybe I can pass some to my servants for them to start growing them as well. Of course, the most important are still the Sickle Grass and Serrated Flower!" Fang Yuan had high hopes for these two aggressive spiritual nts. He specially instructed the Iron-tailed ck Eagle to hunt for some wild animals and started to prepare the blood for these nts. "Other spiritual nts thrive with spiritual water and spiritual fertilizer, but these two spiritual nts do not have requirements as for what type of soil, instead they need to be blood-fed and fertilized with flesh and bones..." Fang Yuan specially chose a location far from the original spiritual farm and opened up a narrow but long ntation. This was not only in consideration of the original spiritual farm but also for the growth of these two spiritual nts. "After all, these spiritual nts are predators, and therefore they should have arger area to themselves so that they can experience hunting for prey by themselves. That would also save me a lot of trouble!" There were quite a number of wild animals in this spiritualnd and it was sufficient for the growth of these two spiritual nts. "Whoosh!" Fang Yuan stirred a wooden bucket and used a gourd to scoops out a serving of blood. He watered it on the gourd, and the spiritual farm became a ¡¯blood farm¡¯. After which, he slowly nted the seeds one by one. "Since I am using flesh as the fertilizer, they definitely will grow to be ferocious monsters!" He had a strong feeling that with the increased chances of the special traits evolving that came with his [Botany (Level 4)], this farm would bring him a lot of surprises. Chapter 106: The Sweep Chapter 106: The Sweep Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Fang Yuan sat cross-legged inside the meditation room, holding the jade manual passed to him by the dream master. He had a serious expression on his face. "The path to be a spiritual knight is made up of only a huge single step! However, spiritual disciples, alchemy disciples and dream disciples are onlyparable to Earth Gate martial artists, harnessing only miniature elemental force... Only by breaking through would they obtain elemental force!" Although he was a dream disciple and held just the basics of elemental force, along with the dream master¡¯s consistent and umtive training, his martial prowess had improved tremendously, considering he was not even apetent fighter at the start. Comparing with the blood killer who was at a simr level as a spiritual disciple, he originally bragged that he had already mastered blood elemental force, but it turned out that he was just trying to impress others. If he had really mastered blood elemental force, he would have killed Fang Yuan instantly within the first move. Even so, the blood killer¡¯s blood elemental force was still very powerful and lethal. The incident affected Fang Yuan tremendously. As for now, Fang Yuan was extremely determined to be a dream master to fully control and master elemental force. "To be a dream master, I have to be true to myself. I am only able to truly master elemental force when I am able to be the master of my own imaginary world!" "If I had all these powers, fighting the Spirit Returning Sect would be a piece of cake." Fang Yuan breathed in deeply and began meditating. He allowed his soul to wander into a faraway and unknown realm as he shut his eyes. ... World of Qianyuan, Maind Tianyuan. "Oh...It¡¯s still this ce again!" During the appearance earlier, Fang Yuan regained his soul and he could tell that he was in the imaginary world. "To be a dream master, I need to be inplete control of this world of my imagination. For now, I have only aplished half of it..." Fang Yuan looked at both of his hands and activated all his senses. Feeling an abundance of magical energy and a tingling sense of connection with the heaven and earth, Fang Yuan knew then that his skills had improved again. Sadly, everything that happened in this imaginary world did not reflect reality. "Disperse!" With this thought, the original immense power he felt disappeared instantly as he returned to his original self. As he recounted the internal messages from the real world, every nerve in his system and his internal strength rose within his body. The energies within him activated and created a storm within his body, momentarily creating a semnce of a miniature elemental energy formed by the merging of the yin and yang forces. After a moment, the heavenly gate opened, and Fang Yuan immediately became a full level 12 martial arts expert. "Eagle w Technique!" Fang Yuan shut his eyes and his right hand thrusted forward. "sh!" In the direction which Fang Yuan shot out his hand, trees in the pathway of his technique split from the centre. The cuts where the trees split open were as smooth as the surface of a mirror. Fang Yuan¡¯s power was greater than in the real world! However, Fang Yuan was not satisfied, "It¡¯s too unrealistic!" Thebat power of a dream master is rtively weak at the beginning. After bing a dream master, the ultimate goal was to achieve the Prominent Divine Stage! Prominent Divine Stage? One¡¯s Mind could affect matter and consciousness could affect reality! Only the dream masters who were capable of actualising objects from the dream world into the real world were worthy to rule, and they can do anything! Of course, the path to the Prominent Divine Stage was extremely difficult. It was never easy to create objects from nothing! Therefore, the first thing a dream master had to master would be thews of reality. A shortcut could be created if a dream world could be moulded to obey and mimic the real world! Nheless, at his current stage, Fang Yuan was far from being able to do such a thing. After all, he was still unfamiliar with thews of reality, and needed to umte experience. Even his body¡¯s physicalposition of meridians in his dream world was still far from his actual body¡¯sposition. "How could I even think of trying to elucidate further grades of the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique with such a weak foundation?" Fang Yuan shook his head in frustration. The inability to allow his body in the imaginary world topletely merge andbine with the one in the real world indicated a problem for Fang Yuan. It meant that whatever he could master in this world could not be brought over into the real world as it would likely cause very detrimental effects that could cause a gruesome death should he attempt to do so. "It seems like... the merging of martial arts powers from the imaginary world to the real world is still very much a work in progress! Is it possible that brute strength is the only way to achieve this?" As he was deep in thought, several immensely powerful spiritual wills swept by in terror. "It¡¯s that demon!" "The Apocalyptic Demon is here!" "Run! Hurry!" Within several kilometres of Fang Yuan, immortal cultivators were inplete chaos as panic gripped the area. It seemed as though a catastrophe was about to hit. "Am I that terrifying?" Fang Yuan caressed his face, feeling slightly troubled. All he did was topletely wipe out Green Cloud Sect. He could not believe that doing so would give him such a horrific reputation. However, from the perspectives of these immortal cultivators, Fang Yuan did not just wipe out a major sect. He even took down the most powerful immortal elders of the sect and killed them. This gave him his ferocious and brutal reputation! "All of these developed from my cluttered thoughts and will continue to evolve by itself..." Seeing this, Fang Yuan felt deeply relieved. To take control of the entire imaginary world was in fact his own personal aim. He was not willing to make anypromise to achieve this aim. He smiled himself and walked forward, paying no attention to the chaos around him. "Bang!" Suddenly, the scene in front of him changed. The original mountainous environment now became masked by a thick fog. This drastic change now seemed to contain several other small imaginary worlds. As these arrays became suppressed, Fang Yuan was also nted back at his original location. "Hmm...Just because you guys are able to find this array, do you really think it can stop me?" Fang Yuan smiled flippantly as his line of sight pierced through the array, looking at the several immortal behind it. "This time, to take you down, the Tribtion Stage grandmasters from Heaven¡¯s Element, Earth¡¯s Branches, East¡¯s Victory and South¡¯s Departure have all came together. The grandmasters from the higher realm have also spared no effort to make their way here, and brought with them the precious and rare Delicate Xuan Huang Array. This array can split the heaven and earth and is considered a rare treasure. It is blessed by the Xuan Huan energy, and can take you down regardless if you are formidable demon from other realms!" These immensely confident voices rang out continuously from outside the array. "An extremely powerful gem you say?" Fang Yuan scoffed and stepped forward suddenly. "Bang!" The array changed instantly. Huge bolts of lightning shed out on the ground and struck out in all directions. All the little imaginary worlds unexpectedly disappeared into little pockets of forces, coalescing as they sped towards Fang Yuan. Under such an array, it would be extremely difficult for even an immortal cultivator from the higher realms to survive through this! "I said...I demand light!" Fang Yuan¡¯s thunderous voice shook the imaginary world he was in. "Shoo!" Just as he shouted, a ray of light really appeared. This ray of light was not very bright, but it burned. It was like the first ray of light in a world of eternal darkness. It was unbelievably prating and sweeping. "Snap! Snap!" Wherever the light passed through, it showedplete devastation and ruin. Even though one sought topletely extinguish all the vile and pernicious forces in this world, they could only slowly melt away under this light. "Bang!" After a series of explosions, a huge hole emerged. Through it, one could barely see the blue skies and fluffy white clouds of the imaginary world. "Impossible!" The immortals from the upper realms who came to fight off Fang Yuan shouted out in shock and disbelief. "The most powerful weapon? It has no effect on me!" Fang Yuan sighed and stretched out both his arms in front of him. Instantly, all the rays of light coalesced on his arms. All the flying rubble caused by the Delicate Xuan Huang Array merged into a crystal luopan andnded on his palm. As the fog dispersed, it revealed the unfamiliar surroundings as well as the elders and from the upper realms who came to fight Fang Yuan. All of them had the look of utter disbelief and shock. "How is this possible?" "This was the most precious and powerful weapon in the world, how did it get defeated and destroyed so easily? It was indestructible!" "The gem that had suppressed by powers is lost. Could this be god¡¯s will?" ... The immortals looked on in horror and uncertainty at Fang Yuan. "Enough!" Fang Yuan shouted coldly. This brought about a deathly silence. "How dare youe down to this realm out of your own ords? Prepare to face the consequences!" Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes and red at a few elders who were obviously guilty of this crime and said, "All of you are guilty, ept your punishment!" "Heavenly Punishment?" A few immortals were taken aback. At the same time, a panel of white jade door opened above their heads. When it opened, several bolts of lightning shed out and struck them. "Is this... The tribtion to be a deity? Didn¡¯t we live through that 42,000 years ago? Why is it starting again?" One immortal pulled out his moustache in disbelief. "Do not panic, it might be an illusion to trick us into a trap!" "Snap! Snap!" These highly experienced and skilled immortals were also very tenacious. After being calming down, many began taking out their immortal weapons and starting probing. Almost immediately, a frightening sh of magical lightning struck down and hit a shiny immortal sword. With a sickening noise, the sword was cracked from the middle. Its owner who was spiritually connected to the weapon lost the colour from his face and spat out a mouthful of slightly purplish blood, saying, "Not good! It¡¯s real!" "You people could enjoy your freedom after you became immortals. Why suffer the heavenly tribtion?" Rays of lightning shed in all directions and the ground trembled. Amidst thisplete catastrophe, a few immortals were forced to desperation and executed their most powerful techniques in an attempt to resist. This was not like a virus. One could not gain immunity just by getting hit once. Just like a knife wound, it was not possible that just because a victim had a scar from a knife attack meant that he was no longer afraid of getting attacked by a knife again. Specifically talking about this heavenly tribtion, this was the most feared and horrifying punishment of all. Even the immortals feared this. "This demon...could even manipte the heavens!" "This demon is undefeatable and could even manipte the heavens...This is either a major catastrophe or an apocalypse!" Seeing the rest of the immortals suffer and perish in the chaos, the veterans from the previous disaster they suffered 42,000 years ago looked on in submission to their fate. "The immortal world is the immortal world and the normal world is the normal word. We have already put in so much effort and work and reached this level, why must we still control the events in the world we left behind?" Fang Yuan looked on as thest bolt of lightning struck down on an immortal which caused him to break into a fit of hysteria. Fang Yuan grumbled silently, disappointed that the rules of this world and the universe were the constructs of his own thinking. "Okay, now that the external people are gone, it¡¯s time to deal with the situation here!" As Fang Yuan looked at the suffering immortals, he broke into a smile. This made him look all the more menacing to them. Chapter 107: Control Chapter 107: Control Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "What do you want, demon?" An immortal cultivator in the Tribtion Stage stood out, as though he had a great sense of justice. "You¡¯re noisy!" Fang Yuan took a nce and flicked his fingers. "Snap!" The next moment shocked many grandmasters who were in the Tribtion Stage. The immortal cultivator¡¯s cultivation was slowly stripped off, from the Tribtion Stage to Magic-fusing, then Magic-melting, then Magic-splitting, then Elemental Infant Stage....and then finally, he had nothing left of his cultivation and was back to a normal person. "You....." An Immortal Cultivator who had made a breakthrough could originally extend his lifespan. However, since his cultivation was stripped off, the previously middle-aged looking immortal cultivator had transformed into a white-haired old man with full of wrinkles. He stretched his thin fingers as though they were chicken ws. Before he could say a word, he fainted and was no longer breathing. He had died of old age! "So? Does anyone have anything to say?" Fang Yuan squinted his eyes as he spoke, and no one dared to say a word. With a wealth of experience, they all knew the theory of surrendering and admitting defeat. They all knelt down and asked, "What orders you have for us, senior?" "Senior?" Fang Yuanughed and thought in his heart, "What a sudden change in tone. Is this how my consciousness is?" "Forget it!" "He waved his hands and added, "From today onwards, whatever belongs to the mortal world will remain in the mortal world, and whatever belongs to the immortal world will remain in the immortal world, this is to......separate heaven and earth!" Everything Fang Yuan said was absolute and was to be abided. Just as he had spoken finish, the heaven and earth shook, as though something was changing. "The immortal world.....has been separated!" Some of the grandmasters in the Tribtion Stage closed their eyes, while some of them took out their jades. They stared at it, speechless. They had no intention of rebelling against Fang Yuan, who was able to change the world with just his words. "From today onwards, I will be the greatest leader in the world of Qianyuan, the ruler of everyone. Those who follow me will prosper and those who go against me will perish!" Fang Yuan¡¯s voice was apathetic. He looked at the immortal cultivators who were bowing down to him, but his heart did not waver a single bit. As of this point, he was the ruler of the whole of Qianyuan. So what if he was the ruler of this world? It was just a dream and he was not capable of controlling the dream world yet. "One can only control a world when one has reached the peak of his abilities. I am still a distance away from that level!" Simrly, an emperor in the real world seemed to have the control of a country, butpare this to the entire world and it would be negligible! At least, an emperor couldn¡¯t affect nature and will be clueless about whether there would be flood, drought or famine. Fang Yuan¡¯s had more control than an emperor in the real world. He could be considered a deity, but he was still a distance away from having full control over this dream world. "What happens after the separation of heaven and earth?" He thought about it before disappeared in front of the group of grandmasters, leaving them in shock. .... Time passed like flowing water. Unknowingly, 100 years had passed. After the separation of heaven and earth, the immortal world was sealed. Grandmasters in the Tribtion Stage who had managed to survive the 9 Tribtions would no longer be able to ess the immortal world. In the beginning, the entire cultivation world was in destion. Many immortal cultivators were left in despair and walked the path of evil. 100 yearster, as the evil immortal cultivators were being ganged up upon and killed off, a new generation of immortal cultivators was born. The world started to settle down. Many grandmasters in the Tribtion Stage had tried to escape into the immortal world, but all had failed to do so. After losing faith, they decided to spend their lives discovering the secrets of longevity. An increasing number of immortal cultivators from the new generation started to believe that there were no immortals in this world to begin with and that the most powerful beings were the grandmasters in the Tribtion Stage. Without external influences from the immortal world, the isted cultivation world began to develop. Although Fang Yuan had dered himself as the greatest leader of this world, he had kept a low profile ever since, and lived in seclusion. Hence, everything from destroying the demon to separating heaven and earth slowly became a myth. "Hmm...... my current body in the dream world is very real. There are no differences, at least visually....." Fang Yuan was living within the depths of the forested mountains. He examined his Dantian, full of satisfaction. In this dream world, treasures and magical weapons were all but illusions. Martial art techniques were all just a kid¡¯s y. The only useful thing in this world was the environment of the dream world, which he could use to perfect his martial arts. At least, in this 100 years, Fang Yuan became extremely familiar with the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique. He had also read through the Spirit Returning Heart Manual and Xuan Yin Heart Technique Manual many times and was very familiar with the both of them, and might even be more well-versed than both Shi Yutong and the sect head of the Five Ghosts Sect now. Once he was back in the real world, he could beparable to a sect head. "Even though I have spent so many years, it is still only 99% simr! The onest percentage of difference would make the oue a lot different in the real world!" Fang Yuan sighed silently. With thebination of the two manuals he had read, he had a much clearer idea on how to progress on the pathway to Wu Zong with the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique. He had also made a few sessful ¡¯breakthroughs¡¯ in this dream world. However, to have a sessful breakthrough in the real world, he would still have to test it out slowly in the real world. It would still be insufficient to just think about it in the dream world. "This.....I would need a test subject....." Fang Yuan gave a cold look and suddenly lifted his head. "Hmm? Is this....." His current level in this world was at the peak. By simply staring into space, he arrived at an immortal cultivators¡¯ cave. "Haha....I have seeded! I have seeded!" An immortal cultivator in the Golden Pill Stage with messy-looking hair stared at a clumsy machine, which was spinning. His eyes then glittered."This spiritual turbine can work without the help of the Immortal Cultivators and function on crude oil. Even mortals can use it to create spiritual force. .....the vision of my ancestors is about toe true!" The number of immortal cultivators in the world of Qianyuan was still much lesser than the number of mortal people. In any world, there would always be only a small poption of immortals. Otherwise there would be insufficient resources to go around. However, with the presence of the spiritual turbine machine, the entire world had changed. "Hmm? After the separation of heaven and earth, my fruit ofbour is finally shown here. Is the world finally changing?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. Even though he had be the most powerful immortal, he still couldn¡¯t fully control the world, and instead, had some daring thoughts of his own. For instance, he could control and set this world onto a different path. After all, he was the ruler of this world! No one could say anything if he wanted to destroy the world! He had free will to do whatever he wanted to and had executed the separation of heaven and earth. Finally, he saw the prelude to the era of post-immortal cultivators. "Here we go....." He sighed and slowly waved his hands. The heavens shook and a resolute change began to form. ........ "Spiritual energy! The spiritual energy is decreasing!" "In recent years, the number of immortal cultivators has been decreasing, and it is even harder to find children who are spiritually inclined among the poption...." "Sigh, I was from the south of the cultivation world. There are already 18 small sects which are unable to find any sessors, driving them to extinction. I cannot find words to describe the situation....." "I have heard that in the mortal world, the revolution of the spiritual turbine had the potential topletely rece the immortal cultivators, by being able to create spiritual force, and power talismans and magical weapons.......It is extremely simple to operate.....Is this the trend of the future?" Even though immortal cultivators were known to be stubborn, some of them understood and realised the trend in the world and started to make discreet changes in order to continue thriving. On the other hand, there were many high-levelled immortal cultivators who had no further progress in their cultivation and were at risk of losing their cultivation level. Some even went crazy looking for the demon who destroyed their world, which was Fang Yuan. From their instincts, they guessed that the decrease in the amount of spiritual energy was linked to the demon that had separated heaven and earth. Of course, Fang Yuan was toozy to deal with them. ... History kept unfolding itself. The drainage of spiritual energy started to slow down and maintained at a steady level after many high-levelled immortal cultivators died. Not many young immortal cultivators in this world who could absorb the energy into their bodies. Those in the Golden Pill Stage and the Elemental Infant Stage were already considered the most powerful, and the Magic-melting and the Tribtion Stage had already be a myth. The only good news was that with the decrease in the lifespan of the immortal cultivators, the destruction due to karma was getting smaller and everything settled down. With this, the mortals were able to utilise the spiritual turbine machine to obtain energyparable to that once harnessed by the immortal cultivators. Slowly, they used it as their bargaining chip to make requests. The immortal cultivators, who were so used to being superior for a long time surely would not entertain to such requests. With this, an impending war broke out between the two sides. The oue was expected. The small poption of the immortal cultivators was easily overwhelmed by the bigger poption of mortals. Since then, the remaining immortal cultivators went into hiding in the woods, and the new era of mortals thus began. Many new countries were born spreading across the 4 big continents. The improved mindsets and productivity levels further pushed the modern world to greater heights. ....... The Year 389 of the New Calendar In the capital of the Star Country, Heaven¡¯s Element. The tar roads were designed in intersecting parallels. Beside the roads were a few big and tall cemented buildings. A giant screen was ying an advertisement of a middle-aged man making a speech. He was a candidate for the mayor election and he was gathering votes. "Rumble!" Many flying cars flew by, floating above the roads like blood flowing in arteries. They were emitting white smoke from their exhausts. Beside the road, there was a cafe. Fang Yuan wore spectacles and was scrolling through his smartphone. "It has already been 300 hundred years.....I cannot believe that from my subtle hints, the whole world has undergone major technological advancements. This is vaguely simr to the weird dream I had previously....." "Immortal cultivators are now a myth. Those who asionally appeared would only be regarded as fortunate ones with special abilities, and would be subjects of interests to experiment on..." "With a wave of my hand, this world is under my control!" Fang Yuanughed lightly and snapped his fingers. "Kacha!" At that moment, the whole world hade to a strange stop, as if time had stopped running. Chapter 108: Dream Master Chapter 108: Dream Master Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "The essence of a dream master is to have full control over one¡¯s dream world, and subsequently rule it!" "A dream whichsted a thousand years. I have finally attained such a level!" Fang Yuan sighed. Since he broke through Heaven Gate and increased his magical energy, he had a strong feeling that he could use this hidden ability in conjunction with his cultivation to be a dream master, and could, therefore, make tremendous progress. Indeed, by taking advantage of the Spirit Returning Sect¡¯s pressure, he was desperate and made it! "Shatter!" He breathed out lightly, and the entire dream world shook. "Kacha! Kacha!" Cracks began to form all around, like a mirror cracking. Pieces shattered and fell towards the ground, as the cracks spread throughout the world in the speed of light. "Rumble!" In the blink of an eye, the entire dream world disintegrated into powder. Even the connecting Immortal World, Hell, the mighty Yama, and the daoist grandmasters were not spared. In shock, they disintegrated together with the world. "I am the Light! I am the beginning! I am everything!" Fang Yuan stood in the middle of emptiness, full of emotions. The feeling of being a creator was one that was extremely overwhelming; it was the ultimate goal for most of the cultivators. If a dream master remains trapped in a dream world and forgot to return to the real world, his physical body in the real world would die, and this was the danger of being a dream master. "My dream world, I am the creator!" Just by thinking, an entirely new Qianyuan world began to form, and after a few upgrades, it was entirely the same as the previous world. "There is an entire world in a flower, an entire Heaven in a de of grass. s, a dream is everything!" Fang Yuan shook his head, and his surroundings changed once again. The Green Peak spiritualnd appeared, followed by Qingye City, Qinghe County, Secluded Mountain Prefecture. A world simr to reality appeared in front of him. "Brother Fang, it was all Leiyue¡¯s fault!" "Master! Ready to receive your orders!" Surrounding him was a number of femininedies. There were Lin Leiyue, Zhou Wenxin and the otherdies who were once rted to him before, albeit in some way or another. All of them looked pitiful. "Good day to you, Master!" Around 10 Wu Zongs and spiritual knights kneeled on the floor and became as lowly as dogs. "Oh?" Seeing this scene, Fang Yuan stroked his chin and found in interesting. "The details in my subconscious mind are appearing again?" Even though he had full control of his dream world, it was still fluid. A person¡¯s mind wasplex enough, not to mention one¡¯s subconscious mind. Even the calm water in a well might be waves of tsunamis the next moment. Therefore, even if one was enlightened, anything could still happen and one might lose his enlightenment. "Once control is lost, the cultivation level of the dream master would drop... In the path of cultivation, there is another huge obstacle to ovee, and that is attaining ¡¯Steadiness¡¯. To be steady and be unwavering, to be wise and not use the wisdom, have values and be independent, and from there make the dream world a stable one, so that one would not identally stray from the path of dao..." Fang Yuan shook his head, and a clear glow appeared from his body. All thedies and servants who were shone at by the clear glow disintegrated into dust, with Fang Yuan the only one standing. "Phew..." He opened his mouth and released a white sh like an arrow; it shot out a few feet. "Eagle w!" Fang Yuan¡¯s hands became ws, and move by move he practised. Regardless of technique or strength, it was simr to that of the real world already. "Chirp! Chirp!" Apanying the movement of his joints, his breathing and the movement of his fingers, a distinct and loud chirping came from his body, as though his entire physical body was arge eagle. "Good, now that the body in my dream world is 99.9% as that in the real world! Thest 0.1% is the limits we have in the real world, and unless I have a good grasp of the limits of the real world, my training would be useless..." "This level of reality has already allowed me to try out and make some predictions to my breakthrough. Thest three types of tryouts would have to be done in the real world already!" Fang Yuan shook his head as he felt the fear of a dream master. It was all about umting. In the beginning, a dream master would have insignificantbat powers but could use his abilities to assist himself and even deduce out techniques, which was the unique advantage of a dream master. "Just in old technique deduction, and is still much more efficient aspared to when I was a dream disciple... I have understood what it is to be a dream master!" Fang Yuan remained quiet. ... Reality. Green Peak spiritualnd, in the straw pavilion. Fang Yuan opened his eyes, and his face shone. "Only I will know who will awaken first... A thousand years in the dream but not even 5 days in the real world..." He chose to enter a closed-door cultivation here due to the level of safety and privacy avable, but more importantly, he had someone to protect him! He had earlier informed the Iron-tailed ck Eagle to knock at the door rapidly if he had been in confinement for too long, in case he got too engrossed in his dream and forgot about the time. "Of course... the few hundred years in the Qianyuan world is nothing... It is just a thought that developed!" Fang Yuan recalled the wonderful feeling that he once had, and thought hard about it. Everyone would mature if they had to experience a thousand years. However, he spent a hundred of those years living in seclusion, and even detached himself from the world like a god, influencing the changes in the world. Therefore he only spent a fraction of all that time experiencing the world. After all, anything could happen in the dream world. "If I were to think about the time ratio, one day would be equivalent to a few years in the dream world. Although it might be a long time, it has yet to reach its limits..." Fang Yuan shook his head and started to worry about his own evolution. There was an entirely new force within his mind pce which reced his previous miniature elemental force. It was like a dragon in hiding, albeit resting, and its aura was shocking. Elemental force! True elemental force! "Have I gainedplete control of my dream world, became the owner of the world and entered the world of a dream master?" These changes were under Fang Yuan¡¯s predictions, and he took a nce at his stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 8.0 Spirit: 7.9 Magic: 8.5 Profession: Dream Master Cultivation: [Martial Artist (12th Gate)], [Dream Master (1st Tier) (Fused Elemental Force)] Technique: [ck Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 12) (Limit)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 4)]" "My [Magic] points have increased by ¡¯3¡¯? And I don¡¯t feel ufortable about it, it seems that my body has adapted to it already..." Fang Yuan nodded his head, and looked at the description for ¡¯Dream Master¡¯: "Dream Master - You rule the dream world, you are a traveller between dream and reality, and a nightmare for all your enemies! You can control you dream world at will, and you are everything in your dream world!" "The description is rather simple... In reality, the first part of my inheritance ends at bing a dream master, and I have no idea what¡¯sing up next..." Fang Yuan touched his chin but did not feel disheartened. After all, Master Wenxin¡¯s inheritance was there to stay. Since he became a dream master, he would be entitled to one part of it. "Forget about the rest, the most important is learning the usage of dream elemental force... It would be useless if I could only use them in my dream world..." "As well as martial arts... After bing a dream master, my body feels increasingly real, and the three types of breakthrough seemed likely. With my magical energy, I can surely attain the Wu Zong level. Once I can prove that I am able to, then I will break through anytime!" As he thought about it, he opened the door. "Chirp! Chirp!" The Iron-tailed ck Eagle saw him walked out, and chirped in joy. "It¡¯s tough on you, good job!" Fang Yuan stroked its head, and eagerly headed to the cave in the middle of the mountains. "Chirp!!!" The shrivelled red-eyed white bird which was originally lying on the floor immediately lifted its head, and in anxiety, all its feathers stood on its ends. It was the same evil human who was back, but it could feel a whole lot of difference in him. It was an astonishing transformation. "Teacher!" He felt different as he entered the cave with his inheritance. The Questioning Heart Path did not have any visible effect on Fang Yuan. The dream elemental force in his Mind Pce shook, and the hypnotizing effect that once made him sleepy dissipated. He arrived at the crystal door. Previously, Fang Yuan tried all methods but could not get the door to open. However, this time, as both hands came in contact with the door, Fang Yuan felt an entirely different feeling. A gush of dream elemental force flowed from his forehead, through his hands and into the crystal door. "Whoosh!" After exerting his dream elemental force, the crystal door spun with a bright and colourful light, as though there was water flowing through it from inside. Suddenly, it was as though it melted, and the door slowly disappeared. The huge obstacle for him previously just disappeared like that! Behind the crystal door was another tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, it was a purple crystal wall, and on top of it sat a pearl the size of a dragon¡¯s eye. "The second inheritance?!" Fang Yuan was filled with emotions. He took out the piece of jade which he previously took, and ced it on the Purple Dragon Eye. "Wung! Wung!" A sh of light appeared and shot right into the emerald jade. It happened in the blink of an eye, and shortly after, the Purple Dragon Eye lost all its brightness and became an ordinary looking marble; the original piece of emerald jade now had streaks of purple in it. "This method of saving information is too eerie..." Fang Yuan sighed and used his magical energy on the jade. "Rumble!" On the back side of the original inheritance, there was a new paragraph of text; it was the method of cultivation for a dream master. After reading through it carefully, Fang Yuan became shocked. "It is indeed the path of a dream master because after umtion, my power will increase exponentially... But the only thingcking is Master¡¯s message... It seems that everything is in thest piece of inheritance?" Fang Yuan looked at the purple crystal gate and sighed a deep breath. He knew that at his level, he was unable to open the door to get thest piece of inheritance. "This piece of inheritance included the details of the cultivation process from the beginning of a dream master all the way to the Prominent Divine Stage, and is enough for my cultivation..." Fang Yuan was extremely satisfied. Only his Master, whom he lived with all his life would help him so much. If it was another person, they wouldn¡¯t teach him everything so smoothly and would make things difficult for him. Chapter 109: Into the Dream World Chapter 109: Into the Dream World Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "A dream master is the master of his own dreams! If the dream master wants to improve further, he will have to involve himself in other people¡¯s dreams.....Such an involvement is highly risky and it is easier to seed by targeting a person who is less spiritually intelligent to train with..." As he recalled the description in the inheritance, Fang Yuan became serious. The dream masters who were able to ess other people¡¯s dreams were known as ¡¯dream-essing masters¡¯. The next step would allow the dream master to alter other people¡¯s dream, and would be known as ¡¯dream-building masters¡¯! These two stages were the basic stages of a dream master. After all these, it would be cultivating to attain Prominent Divine Stage: to understand the rules of reality and assimte them into the dream, transforming things from the dream world into reality. In conclusion, the more simr the dream world was to reality, the more simr the rate of time flow would be. "Only when a dream world is simr to reality can a dream master start to actualise objects.....If I want to achieve the standard that my master has achieved, I will need a longer time to do that....." Master Wenxin achieved not just the Illusionary Divine Stage, but could also build his own world and form spiritualnd as well. Fang Yuan could not imagine theplexities of such an achievement. "The risks of essing someone else¡¯s dream is way more dangerous than entering my own....If I was to get injured or killed, it would damage my magical energy and even my body in reality....." Fang Yuan walked out, stared at the Red-eyed White King Bird, and was lost in his thoughts. ........ "Chirp!" One of the eggs broke. A chick with a few feathers and red coloured skin emerged. It opened its little eyes and was feeling hungry. With an immense amount of energy, it instinctively pecked and ate its own eggshell, while keeping a lookout at the other chicks. Some of the young birds were much stronger. Aftering out of their shells first and finish consuming their eggshells, theyid their eyes on the other chicks. In the cruel fight for survival, being blood-rted did little to deter them from fighting for their lives. The chicks quickly fed on their own eggshells and shrieked loudly. They seemed unwilling to share their portions with the rest. "Whoo! Whoo!" Just as a few chicks were squeezing and on the brink of fighting, a big gust of wind blew and a giant bird suddenly appeared above the nest. The giant bird¡¯s feathers were pure white and the bird¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. There were also a few golden feathers on the tip of its head, resembling a crown. "Pa!" After itnded on the nest, its metallic ck sharp ws opened, dropping a piece of deer meat in front of the chicks. ¡¯A deer? Why do I find it familiar?¡¯ This thought went through the mind of a chick but disappeared as it was distracted by the piece of meat. It was so fragrant! As they were hungry for food, the eyes of the young birds were all bloodshot. "Chirp! Chirp!" "Chirp! Chirp!" The chick hobbled forward with the other birds and started to feed on the blood that was dripping from the meat. "Chirp! Chirp!" The Golden Crown King Bird let out a loud chirp. Using its ws and beak, it tore the meat into smaller strips, making it easier for the young birds to consume them. Although they were beasts, they had already disyed signs of being special. Even though they were only at the stage of infancy, they had no problem digesting the raw meat. "It¡¯s great to fill full....." Another thought went through the mind of the chick. After which, the energy it had was used to digest the meat, leaving the chick tired as it dozed off..... ....... In a blink of an eye, many years had passed. In the sky above a piece of spiritualnd, the chicks had grown bigger and they were spreading their wings and flying across the big blue sky. The Golden Crown King Bird would wait till all the chicks had fully matured before bringing them to the cliff. At the cliff, the Golden Crown King Bird would push them down one by one! Those spiritual birds which had not mastered the ability to fly would fall to their deaths! Under the fear and pressure of death, many spiritual birds would awaken and be able to p their wings to bring themselves up. Once they were able to fly, they were considered mature and they could start to hunt on their own. The father of the young birds, which was the giant bird, would violently chase all the young birds out of the nest. Every day, the young bird which had just reached the adult stage would have to endure through hunger and spend a lot of effort to hunt for its own food. It would also have to build its own nest to attract female birds in future. Being pressured to survive and reproduce, the young bird quickly became the best hunter among their kind. It was able to hunt more preys than any other normal white birds and wasrger in size, only inferior to the king bird. However, there were many instances where the young white bird would still be confused. Especially when it had gotten used to flying, but still didn¡¯t know what its hands were used for. ¡¯A pair of hands.....this is a new term!¡¯ Such thoughts which appeared many times in the young bird¡¯s mind had taught it how to think. This made it more spiritual than the other birds. At this point in time, it had thoughts of challenging for the position of the king bird. Only at the highest position would it be able to enjoy the greatest amount of power in the whole poption. This was every white bird¡¯s dream! The current king bird was the Golden Crown King Bird. "Wait a minute....to overthrow the throne? Why must I do that?" The young bird was a little confused as that thought came to its mind. "Who am I, where am I from and where am I going.....Am I really a bird now? No! No! I have a name.....my name is..." In the sky, the young bird was in a trance and started to fall down quickly. "I remember!" "I remember!" I am a white bird.....no! I have seen this type of bird somewhere!" "I¡¯m not a white bird. I¡¯m Fang Yuan!!!" "I am.....in the dream of the Red-eyed White King Bird!!!" ... Many confused thoughts then went through its mind like a massive flood, and he remained helpless as he became overwhelmed. "I have actually....became a bird?!" While he was falling down from the sky, Fang Yuan didn¡¯t know tough or cry. He no longer had the ability to make his bird body fly again. "After all....this is not my dream.....and there would be a bacsh as consequence....That was close!!!" He still feared to know that he had be a bird. "Luckily, I am able to be self-aware, and this means that I have gotten the hang of it. I would be able to gain self-awareness quicker in future.....but I don¡¯t want to die in a bloodied mess now!" Fang Yuan let out a loud cry and the bird let out a loud chirp. With much effort, he managed to spread his wings and fly again. "That was close!" He exhaled a long breath and said, "This is not my own dream. If I were to get killed here, there would surely be a bacsh!" "Kacha!" Immediately after, he heaved a sigh of relief. A loud thunder rumbled from above and lightning struck down. The mid-air shattered and a fearful giant hand emerged from nowhere. The giant hand¡¯s target was very clear. It went straight at the cliff and nobody could escape from it! "Damn......if I had my cultivation....." Looking at the giant fingers, Fang Yuan felt like an ant. As his mind was whirling, his mind cked out. ....... Green peak spiritualnd. Back in the nest of the Red-eyed White King Bird. Fang Yuan took a few steps back and opened his eyes. Two streams of blood flowed down from his nostrils. "This is.....the bacsh from the dream world!" He wiped away the blood and looked at the confused Red-eyed White King Bird. He then gave a wry grin. He tried out the dream-essing method in an attempt tomunicate with the Red-eyed White King Bird, but faced with an emphatic defeat! Even though the bird was a semi-smart spiritual beast, the resistance in its dream world was powerful. Its consciousness hadbined with Fang Yuan¡¯s, making Fang Yuan incarnate into a Red-eyed White Bird and making his mysterious dream a scary one. Luckily, Fang Yuan was a dream master and was able to wake up after a few hints. Otherwise, he would have remained trapped in that dream world. Even so, after gaining self-awareness, the consciousness of the Red-eyed White King Bird immediately took countermeasures against him. "The giant hand that was covering the whole sky..... That should be the scariest thing in that dream world. It appeared in that world to deal with me specifically....." Fang Yuan touched his chin and was in deep thoughts. Even though the things in that world was fake, it was still very real in the subconscious mind. Since the Red-eyed White King Bird feared the giant hand the most, it would naturally have an impression of it in its dream. This was the strength of a dream master. In the dream world, adversaries would unknowingly reveal valuable information. "However......the risks are nheless high..." Recalling the dangerous situation that he had just experienced in the dream world, Fang Yuan was still afraid. "If not for the retaliation from the bird¡¯s subconscious mind, and that I became aware of the dream, this failure might severely harm my divine spirit. It would not be as simple as using up arge portion of my dream elemental force and experiencing a little bleeding..." "Chirp! Chirp!" The Red-eyed White King Bird stared at Fang Yuan and was a little confused. It didn¡¯t know what Fang Yuan had just experienced. Unknowingly, it had a strange feeling towards Fang Yuan. It was as though he was kind but evil at the same time, and had a phobia of him. "However.....this is the correct method. In future, I will be much more familiar with the method of execution. Compared to theplicated human beings and even moreplex dream masters, this is considered an easy task already!" Fang Yuan sat down and his dream elemental force was flowing slowly in his body. His throbbing headache slowly dissipated. "Now, the subconscious mind of the bird has regarded me as an enemy. I should not prioritise it. Instead, I should start with the Iron-tailed ck Eagle¡¯s and the Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s dreams first before trying to ess its dream again. Afterwards, it would be the mostplicated dream world if the humans....." After deciding, he walked out of the cave and took a deep breath of the air from the spiritualnd. He felt more refreshed. "I have made a breakthrough in the pathway to bing a dream master. Next up, Wu Zong!" "I have already tried the method and pathway of breaking through the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique in the dream world. There are three possible ways for me to do it, and I will need to try all of them in the real world....." Even though there was only a slight difference between the dream world and the real world, there was still a possibility of him going crazy, as it involved his own elemental force. Of course, Fang Yuan would not use his own body to try out and hence, he would have to find test subjects. "Even though elemental force originates from heaven and earth, they might appear in different forms. Take for instance, dream elemental force is more illusionary, while the martial arts¡¯ elemental force in the Mind Pce originates from the Dantian... To qualify as a test subject, a person must be at least an Earth Gate martial artist and be able to harness miniature elemental force... I have one such person in my hands, no... I might have two!" Fang Yuan looked at Qingye City and gave a scheming look. [1] We¡¯ve started using ¡¯bacsh¡¯ to rece ¡¯rebound¡¯ as it conveys the meaning of the raw better. Chapter 110: Kidnap Chapter 110: Kidnap Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Qingye City. The fortress was distinctly different. The wall was fully manned by several elite troops. An enormous crossbow was locked and loaded, pointing towards the main gate. Therge arrowhead which had an iron hook attached to it looked like it could fall any moment. During this period of war, not only was the head of this city reced, even the guards were all reced with troops from the Spirit Returning Sect. Here, the army officers were all from the Spirit Returning Sect. Even though they were not as ostentatious and well-manned as the Secluded Mountain Prefecture to have level 4 martial artists as their lowest ranking soldiers, their lowest rankings soldiers were still around level 3, strong enough to easily powermoners without a martial arts background. Ta ta! Against the red evening sun, a group of riders emerged from the horizon. They were shouting and riding aggressively at great speed. "Halt...Any unknown armed personnel who steps within the 30 metres radius of the wall will be killed without hesitation!" Soldiers from the Spirit Returning Sect instantly grew alert and nervous as they readily aimed the crossbow in the direction of the riders. "This is an Elder from the Spirit Returning Sect! We have a pass!" From the centre of the riders, a g was raised. This was characteristic of the Spirit Returning Sect. One of the riders raised an iron pass te and sprinted to the bottom of the wall, just outside the 30m radius and shouted. "Sou!" A disciple from the Spirit Returning Sect executed Lightness Skill and leapt off the wall. He took a look at the pass and returned. In no time, the gates opened, and Elder Han personally came out to invite the guests saying, "Hello Elder Bian! Sect Head informed me about this earlier, but I did not think that you would have arrived this soon!" "The leaders of Maple City are spineless cowards! All we did was to exterminate a few families to scare them into submission...Hehe, I can be quite unpredictable sometimes!" Elder Bian then chuckled flippantly, looking all the more intimidating to those around him. At 30 years of age, with his hair at both sides greying, Elder Bian looked like an extremely experienced and seasoned martial artist. His martial arts skills were also highly advanced. They wereparable to those of Elder Han¡¯s. "Come, pleasee inside Brother Bian!" As a mark of respect, Elder Han pushed his right clenched fist into his left palm and smiled as he said, "Qingye City is different from the other ces, the situation here....is slightly unique!" Bian Xie was a renowned solo martial artist in Qinghe County. The legends said that he was a tomb raider from young. When he was still young he chanced upon arge tomb and found several extremely rare martial arts manuals buried with the body. From then, he already had the cultivation of the earthly element realm and the ambitious desire to break through Wu Zong and establish his own sect. Up till now nobody knew what Shi Yutong promised him in exchange for his allegiance to the Spirit Returning Sect. Elder Han guessed that Shi Yutong intended to make Bian Xie the sessor and recement for Lady Yan who had been kidnapped for such a long time. As there was no news up till now, the chances of her returning were very low. "Hehe...Of course I know, as for this well-known healer of the secluded valley..." Bian Xie broke out in a care-freeughter and walked to the main residence of the city by the side of Elder Han. Although the newly appointed head of the of the city had some credible qualities in management, he was not proficient in martial arts. Upon seeing the arrival of the influential and powerful elders from the sect, he threw a wee banquet for them which he had prepared way in advance. After the food was served, Elder Han started to discuss official business. He waved his hand, gesturing for the servants to leave Elder Bian and him alone. "Elder Bian your arrival cannot be timelier!" Elder Han took a mouthful of wine. As his face flushed slightly with redness, he reported, "Fang Yuan is a very powerful martial artist. He has probably reached the 4 Heavenly Realms. He also has a spiritual beast. In Qingye City, I am the only one confident of doing reconnaissance beyond the secluded valley without being detected...." "It¡¯s so challenging?" Bian Xie frowned and was filled with an unspeakable sense of jealousy. He was not sure whether he was jealous of Fang Yuan being so gifted in being able to reach the 4 Heavenly Realms at such a young age, or was he jealous of Fang Yuan¡¯s great fortune at being able to have a spiritual beast as apanion, or maybe he was jealous of both aspects. Elder Han raised his wine bowl and had an awkward smile on his face and remarked, "I am not that afraid of what he might do, but I am indebted to him..." "Elder Han do not worry, let me handle this!" Bian Xie had heard about the news of Fang Yuan treating Elder Han. He was also aware of the unclear rtionship between Fang Yuan and the pet disciple of the sect head. Silently ming Elder Han for being unwilling to take action and making him the aggressor, and also his bad luck for only joining the sect recently, he had no choice but to aplish this mission regardless how nasty and unpleasant it was. ¡¯Both sect heads are almost done with signing the alliance pact and will return very shortly. When she does, it¡¯s best for her to make the decision!¡¯ Bian Xie was very troubled but he looked rxed on the outside, enthusiastically drinking with his parter. "Keke..." Out of nowhere, a high pitch noise pierced through the air, causing Bian Xie and Elder Han to jump to alertness. "Who is that who dares to make such a ruckus, are you looking for trouble?" Elder Han turned towards the source of the noise and froze in shock. A young man pushed opened the door and strode in carefreely. This was Fang Yuan. "Oh? Looks like you are having a banquet? I hope you do not mind that I turned up without invitation?" Fang Yuan entered without paying much attention to Bian Xie and spoke directly to Elder Han. "Haha...Why would we?" Elder Hanughed dryly. For some reason, his palms started perspiring. Qingye City was under the maximum security of the Spirit Returning Sect. Furthermore, this ce was the core of the city and it was supposed to be the most highly guarded and secure ce! How could Fang Yuan have evaded all those patrols and sentries and entered? Of course, Fang Yuan¡¯s intention of visiting was more important now. He looked like he was not here on peaceful terms. "This is..." Bian Xie had never met Fang Yuan before. Judging from the way Fang Yuan behaved, he thought Fang Yuan was an important official in the city and Bian Xie looked towards Elder Han. "Elder Han, let me introduce to you, the divine healer of the secluded valley, Fang Yuan..." Elder Hanughed dryly as the muscles on his face twitched uncontrobly. "So, it¡¯s you!?" Bian Xie widened his eyes. After all, he was just discussing about how to take down Fang Yuan with Elder Han. Now that the person they were discussing about had appeared in front of him, the situation was extremely tense and awkward. Most importantly, how much of their conversation did Fang Yuan hear? "I remembered the dateline we gave you was in 5 days¡¯ time. Are you here because you have made a decision?" Elder Han calmed himself down. Looking at Bian Xie by his side, he regained some of his confidence and spoke. "Yes, I have decided!" The smile on Fang Yuan¡¯s face widened as he said gleefully, "Furthermore, I am quite lucky today. I was originally nning to catch a guinea pig, I was not expecting Heaven to be so generous to also send me a..." "How dare you!" Despite not knowing what Fang Yuan meant by referring to them as an experimental object, judging by his behaviour, it was obvious he was not there in peace and was ready to start fighting. Elder Han instantly made the pre-emptive strike. With a thunderous roar he smashed the wine bowl in his hand in a thousand shards. "Smash!" As the bowl splintered into a thousand pieces as it hit the ground, the sharp noise reverberated and pierced through the silence. However, there was no response from the surroundings. There was only dead silence. Upon seeing this, the aggressive Elder Han exchanged a furtive nce with Bian Xie and realised their disadvantageous situation. Both began to break out in cold sweat. "How? Very disappointed perhaps?" Fang Yuanughed, "Were you thinking of using the smashing of the bowl as a signal for 300 troops to appear and take me down? It¡¯s useless...I have already sealed off this area. If any noise from within this area can travel out by more than 30 metres, I would be impressed!" "Lock down?" Elder Han rose up slowly. He knew a fight with Fang Yuan was inevitable. He removed his outer robe and revealed his Golden Soft Armour and clenched his fists into a weird stance as he said, "Please enlighten me, divine healer!" "Do not waste my time, I do not want to y this type of little games with you!" Fang Yuan shook his head and replied, "If you surrender, I will still give you a painless death!" "Such arrogance!" Bian Xie shouted out and stepped into a weird footwork and arrived in front of Fang Yuan in a blink of an eye. He threw out a punch and with the thunderous roar of a ferocious tiger, it flew towards Fang Yuan¡¯s face. The manual that Bian Xie took from the tomb had a total of three parts. One part had a total of 12 beastly feast techniques which were incredibly ferocious, another part was on the iron bone technique which solidified one¡¯s internal structures and thest part was on Lightness Skill, the Steps of No Return technique. With these techniquesbined, they were no less inferior than the Spirit Returning Heart Manual and the Xuan Yin Heart Technique and were incredibly famous in Qinghe County. Bian Xie attacked Fang Yuan with all his might, creating a remarkable sight. "The Bestial Fist? I have heard of your reputation..." Fang Yuan casually sent a right w flying towards Bian Xie. Fang Yuan¡¯s execution looked casual, but was in fact immensely powerful and wless. "sh!" As Fang Yuan¡¯s w contacted Bian Xie¡¯s fist, Bian Xie let out a gruesome scream and retreated extremely quickly. His right hand was locked in a weird angle behind his back. Elder Han¡¯s eyelid jumped rapidly. From his point of view, he could see blood flowing profusely on Bian Xie¡¯s entire arm. Bian Xie lost the fight in just one move! "The Heavenly Gate!" Fang Yuan stuttered. "To be able to force Bian Xie to such a condition, not only was Fang Yuan a level 12 martial artist, he was definitely the top martial artist of that level. He was probably not far from the Wu Zong!" Recounting his opponent¡¯s technique, Bian Xie¡¯s heart froze over. The w technique looked so simple, but it was so magically devastating and lethal. The executioner must have had practised it diligently for at least 30 years! Bian Xie refused to believe his opponent was so young. However, the scar and excruciating pain from his battle wound confirmed this harsh reality, causing Bian Xie to convince himself he was in a dream. "You were counting on this man?" Elder Han rolled his eyes and replied, "So it seems you are very powerful, but what use does it have? Young man, I advise you to think about the consequences of your actions and not act so rashly." "It seems I have to kill you to make you concede defeat!" Fang Yuanughed, "Just now I was rash as I was overly excited to finish him off, unless...you really thought that was everything I had?" "What?" Panic struck Elder Han. He was beginning to realise the perilous situation he was in. "Leave quickly!" Without further hesitation, he grabbed Bian Xie and sprinted in the opposite direction. They went at an incredible speed and in a blink of an eye they were by the side of the wall. Elder Han was fully confident that nobody was that powerful to neutralise the guards outside without making a noise. He just had to rally all the soldiers and he would be able to survive. However, his eyes widened instantaneously. "Whoo whoo!" Within the hall, there was some sort of force in the atmosphere that coalesced on Fang Yuan. Ayer of thick fog appeared out of nowhere and nketed the whole area. It even seemed to be alive as Elder Han felt as though there were numerous hands grabbing onto him. "Sleep! Sleep!" Elder Han suddenly felt an irresistible urge to fall asleep hit him, causing him to slow down. It did not matter how many rms bells rang off in Elder Han, his felt as though weights were attached to his eyelids. "Bang!" Just as he was intensively battling the sleep demon, he heard a dull thud next to him. It sounded as though a human body had hit the ground. At the same time, he felt a sharp pain in his neck and his vision cked out as he fell into aa. Chapter 111: Shame Chapter 111: Shame Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Spiritual spells?" Elder Han opened his eyes, but his surroundings were pitch ck. He tried to recall what happened, and subconsciously mumbled to himself. The suspicious fog and its simrity to spiritual techniques made him think of a spiritual knight. "Very good! You¡¯ve gained consciousness quicker, which means that you are stronger than Bian Xie!" Fang Yuan stood at a side, satisfied. "Why did I not guess..." Elder Hanughed. "After knowing you for so long, I still had no idea that you know spiritual techniques..." "It¡¯s only normal that you are unaware of it!" The path of a dream master was inclined towards illusions, and therefore one was hard to detect. Of course, Fang Yuan only used his elemental force for detection, or to make mental suggestions. Only when he had fully be a dream master and could harness dream elemental force did he learn a few spiritual techniques from Master Wenxin¡¯s inheritance. Take for instance, the Bewildering Fog was one of the spiritual techniques which he had learnt. Since it was summoned using dream elemental force, even martial artists in the 4 Heavenly Gates would sumb to it. "You showed me such a big secret of yours... It seems that you have no intention of letting me go alive..." Elder Han understood and epted death, as he looked at his surroundings. The ce seemed like a cave. A torch burnt brilliantly which filled the cave with the smell of rosin. In the middle of the cave were three stone tforms. Other than himself and Bian Xie, there was another person! Furthermore, this person was a familiar one. "Elder Yan... Lady Yan!!!" Elder Han¡¯s eyeball almost popped out. "You were the one that ambushed our sect!?" Thinking about how his person destroyed his sect, and yet he foolishly sent himself to him, Elder Han began to break into cold sweat. "That¡¯s me!" Fang Yuan smiled. "Why is it fair for the Sect to plot against me, but unfair for me to strike first?" "Evil thief!!!" Elder Han¡¯s heart sank. He still felt for the Sect, and therefore was raging. However, he could not move a single bit. The inner force which was initially strong was now sealed in the Dantian like a ferocious tiger in a locked cage, helpless. "Stop struggling. I have studied you and Lady Yan the longest, and if I still don¡¯t know how to seal your martial arts, then I should just give up as a doctor!" Fang Yuan calmly stated, and at the same time examined Bian Xie¡¯s joints. Aspared to Elder Yan and Elder Han, this [Martial Artist (11th Gate)] felt rather unfamiliar. He had to understand him a little more before taking any action. In fact, no one was more suitable than Elder Yan and Elder Han in being test subjects. After all, both of them were under Fang Yuan¡¯s control previously. Their circtory system and martial arts were both deeply studied by Fang Yuan. As for Bian Xie, Fang Yuan still had to perform a few tests. "What exactly do you want?" Fang Yuan appeared too mysterious, and the only conscious Elder Han could not hold back any longer and asked. "Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s a good thing! I want to help you break through to Wu Zong!" Fang Yuan answered honestly. "What?" At that moment, Elder Han thought that he had heard the biggest joke of his life, but slowly fear grew in him, and with anticipation, he asked. "What joke is this?" "The 12 Gates of Martial Arts, in reality, is a method of self-training. It continuously developed one¡¯s potential, much like the process ancient spiritual knights used to go through... Once a person¡¯s magical energy is sufficient, with external stimtion, it is not hard to obtain hints of elemental force. This is especially true to Earth Gate martial artists like you, who have already sowed the seeds of elemental force..." However, Fang Yuan deliberately missed out a point. This forceful way of breaking through gates would take up too much essence from the body. Notwithstanding the shortening of one¡¯s lifespan, one¡¯s body might not be able to take it, as the increasing magical energy could not reconcile with the elemental force. Once the external stimtion is removed, the body would die immediately! After all, martial arts was all about foundation, and such a hasty achievement would mean nothing. But to Fang Yuan, this was all he needed. With the experience to break through Wu Zong under immense pressure, he could reaffirm his predictions and use his dream elemental force to break through his own Wu Zong! "You don¡¯t seem to believe me?" Fang Yuan looked at Elder Han and grew a sinister smile on his face. "Doesn¡¯t matter, I will aid you in breaking through the Heaven Gate, and allow you to reach your peak first!" "What?" Elder Han was shocked, as he saw Fang Yuan pointing his finger towards his forehead. "Ch!" Suddenly, arge concentrated force the strength of an ocean broke through Elder Han¡¯s Mind Pce. It broke through the Heaven Gate with brute force, which left him in a state of shock, as he continued screaming. The Heaven Gate needed a martial artist to break through it by himself willingly. With Fang Yuan¡¯s limited experience with using dream elemental force, his brute force approach would lead to dire consequences for Elder Han. However, the effect was immediate. After themotion, Elder Han¡¯s eyeballs were bloodshot. He had an excruciating headache, as though someone took an axe and ploughed it through his head. The restrictive Gate finally broke, andrge amounts of magical energy rushed into his conscious mind, making him feel dizzy. "Not... right..." In his dizziness, a thought went through. "This force... elemental force!!! You are a spiritual knight!!!" Elder Han could feel the astonishing force within him, and it might even be stronger than what Shi Yutong harnessed. There was only one exnation for this, no matter how impossible it might be. This young man was not even a spiritual disciple, but a spiritual knight with full control of elemental force! Thinking about how the Spirit Returning Sect was plotting against a spiritual knight, Elder Han felt disheartened, and his conscious became blurred. "Ahh..... Breaking through the Heaven Gate with brute force would have side effects, and a shortened lifespan right?" Fang Yuan shrugged his shoulders. "Rather than dying normally, why not do something crazy before dying, something like breaking through Wu Zong!" This way of forcefully breaking through gates was possible to almost all Wu Zong spiritual knights, but the consequences would be terrible. Fang Yuan had already practised it for 10 years in his dream, and in theory, it was perfect. He had ultimate control over his dream elemental force, but after doing it, his test subject would not have long to live. However, he was satisfied with just having this test subject to confirm his prediction. "Elder Han, hold on tight. Even if you will die, you should die as a Wu Zong and die morously!" He became as serious as he ever would and struck a palm on Elder Han¡¯s dantian. At the same time, he stuffedrge quantities of spiritual medicine and the likes of the bamboo fruit into his mouth. The continuous stream of dream elemental force slowly seeped into Elder Han¡¯s dantian, and towards his miniature elemental force, as it slowly initiated the process of breaking through Wu Zong! "The proper way to attain Wu Zong is to do it without haste, step by step. However, it would still be possible if someone used their elemental force to stimte and break it through brute force... For others, they would explode while doing it, but for me, having harnessed dream elemental energy, I can still control it even by using brute force!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. In front of him, Elder Han¡¯s appearance became increasingly scary. He looked ferocious, and veins were popping up everywhere. Blood flowed all around like earthworms digging through the ground, and his entire body seemed inted like a balloon. "Con...tract!" Fang Yuan did not care andmanded the miniature elemental force to continuouslypress itself, in an attempt to transform it into elemental force. "Ping!" After a long while, a soft sound travelled from the cave, followed by Fang Yuan¡¯s sigh. "I¡¯ve failed... It seems that the first prediction is impossible, but that¡¯s ok, let¡¯s continue..." ... The disappearance of two Elders in the prefecture led the entire Qingye City into chaos. The new Qingye City Master became anxious, but could onlyfort himself that the two Elders were martial artists of the 4 Heavenly Gates, and if they join forces within the prefecture, they would still be able to guard against Wu Zongs, and therefore were likely to be on a secret mission that no one else knew about. However, five days had passed, and once Shi Yutong returned, he knew that all hope was lost. "Elder Han and Elder Bian are missing?" Shi Yutong wore a scarf over her face and appeared wealthy. By her side was Lin Leiyue, who was staring at the new City Master. "I am useless and deserve to die!" Even though this City Master was a Spirit Returning Sect disciple, he was still a lowly subject in front of Shi Yutong. "This enemy is powerful to be able to abduct two Elders without a sound. Even if you have prepared for him, it would still be futile! Return!" Shi Yutong calmly said a few words, which made Qingye City Master sigh and dismissed him. "Master..." When the others had left, Lin Leiyue appeared confused. "There is suddenly an appearance of a highly skilled person in Qingye City, so what should we do now?" "It is not likely that even a Wu Zong could take down both of them... It might be a spiritual knight!" Shi Yutong appeared serious. "I will personally take charge of this area and deliver a letter to the alliance leader for him to send help!" A spiritual disciple would beparable to a Wu Zong, but still highly depended on the nature of his spiritual technique. However, they would still lose to a Wu Zong based on their actual strength and skill. Recalling the previous fight for the treasure map, both the spiritual disciples were just assisting the Wu Zongs in thebat. If a spiritual disciple go one on one with a Wu Zong, with an iplete elemental force, how would they match Wu Zong? However,paring a spiritual knight and a Wu Zong in the same realm, Wu Zong would lose. By predicting the enemy¡¯s ability, Shi Yutong thought about the possibility of the mysterious spiritual knight and became on guard. "How¡¯s it going on in the secluded valley?" Lin Leiyue finally revealed her own intentions. "The deadline is over, but he has not given me a reply..." "Secluded valley..." Shi Yutong looked beautiful, but now had a cold look in her eyes. "Could it be that the disappearance of the two Elders is rted to the secluded valley? Otherwise, why would they only disappear now?" "Furthermore... I am also suspecting that the previous ambush on our sect is also rted to the secluded valley! Even though we have no proof, but there is just too much coincidence, and hard for anyone not to suspect!" "What?" Lin Leiyue took a few steps back and tried to imagine Fang Yuan. Realising that she might be lied to all this while and being manipted by Fang Yuan, she became frustrated. Chapter 112: Wu Zong Chapter 112: Wu Zong Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Ow!!!" Back in the Green Peak. A long wail was heard from Fang Yuan¡¯s straw cottage. The wail was so loud that it travelled up into the clouds in the sky. "Chirp! Chirp!" The Iron-tailed ck Eagle which was flying past was frightened a little by the loud wail and it almost knocked onto the cliff. "Haha....the pathway to Wu Zong isplete!!" The wooden door opened and revealed Fang Yuan. He walked out and his essence, spirit and magic were very different now. "I have spent numerous years spent on the theory of the dream world and this has be the foundation. It will bebined with the experiments conducted in the real word to form the threshold for the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique to make a breakthrough for Wu Zong!" He looked at his Dantian. The originally sky-blue miniature elemental force had slowly settled down into a liquid simr to mercury. It appeared tumultuous and dynamic, like a sleeping dragon. Its power was unthinkable. "This is the Wu Zong¡¯s elemental force!!" Fang Yuan let out a long breath and look at his stats window. "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 10 Spirit: 10 Magic: 8.5 Profession: Dream Master (Dream-essing) Cultivation: [Dream Master (1st Tier) (Fused Elemental Force)], Wu Zong Technique: [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 13) (???)], Ecstasy Spell, Shadowstep Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 4)]" "Dream Master - You are the creator of dream worlds, and a traveller between dream and reality, and a nightmare for all your enemies! You can control you dream world at will, and you are everything in your dream world!" "[Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 13) (???)] - You have achieved the impossible by fusing the ck Sand Palm, the Spirit Returning Heart Manual and Xuan Yin Heart Technique together to raise the peak level of the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique to the level of Wu Zong. Your martial arts¡¯ elemental force would be encapsted with stronger poison, stronger aura and stronger Yin!" "Bewildering spell - a spiritual technique of a dream master. Able to release a bewildering fog at will, disrupting an enemy¡¯s concentration. Currently able to have a considerable effect on a martial artist at the 4 Heavenly Gates." "Shadowstep - a physical skill of a dream master. It is illusionary and untraceable." "[Medicine (Level 3)] - You are an expert in medicine and others see you as a powerful doctor. You will be able to treat any strange andplicated diseases sessfully! (Such ability is not limited to humans)" [Botany (Level 4)] - Your hands are considered holy. With your personal cultivation of the spiritual nts, the chances of nts growing in a good condition are increased tremendously. You will have a small magical power of being awaken." It seemed like the bigs changes to his stats was due to the previous two breakthroughs. "My martial arts has improved to the realm of the elemental force!" Fang Yuan sighed softly and saw that the Iron-tailed ck Eagle was right in front of him. It was looking down and it felt close to him. Even since his previous failure, he didn¡¯t dare to take a peep at the Red-eyed White King Bird. He had shifted his target to the Iron-tailed ck Eagle and the Flower Fox Ferret who are closer to him. As expected, after a few rounds of dreams ess, he not only felt that he had grasped the essentials of bing a dream-essing master, he was much closer to the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. "It has been 5 days already. Let¡¯s go!" He went on the back of the eagle and make a soft noise. "Chirp! Chirp!" The Iron-tailed ck Eagle spread its wings and flew very quickly into the sky. It then disappeared into the thick fog..... ...... The secluded valley was very quiet in the morning. The thin fog started to fade under the bright sunlight and the mist on the leaves reflected the sunlight to form with a rainbow coloured light. The Flower Fox Ferret was patrolling the farm in a rxing mood. It was as if it was an old rich man who was looking at his own precious assets. Little Pearl had prepared a roasted fish for the Flower Fox Ferret for breakfast. At a distance away, a few old farmers came and finished up the dried food supplies. They then continued their farming. "Where has Sir gone to? The time for him to consider is already up since it has been 5 days!" Zhou Wenwu and a few others were in a different situation from the farmers. They were very uneasy now. "The sect master from the Spirit Returning Sect has reached the Qingye City and she will be here today. How do we deal with her?" Yu Xinlou¡¯s forehead was forming cold sweat as well. "Sir is very mysterious. Maybe he is caught up in some emergency matters and that¡¯s why he is not here yet...." Zhou Wenwu said with a wry grin. He took a nce at Huang Fu Renhe, who was beside Miss Lanruo and shook his head. If the situation would reach a point that it couldn¡¯t be salvaged, these siblings would be considered lucky if they could still be out there wandering around afterwards. "I hope Sir will be back soon, or else we don¡¯t know what can happen here....." He was havingplicated feelings and didn¡¯t seem like he was an outsider. Zhang Sheng was very silent and was outside sweeping. He seemed to be using a little more force than usual, which made it seemed like he was not really at peace. "The sect master of the Spirit Returning Sect has arrived. Where is Fang Yuan?" Suddenly, a clear voice was heard from the valley outside and this shook Zhou Wenwu a little. "The Spirit Returning Sect.....is here!" Zhou Wenwu gave a wry grin and look left and right. He then realised he was the most senior here and had no choice but to take the initiative. "Let¡¯s go and wee them!" Outside the valley, Lin Leiyue looked at the entrance of the valley and was doubtful. "Since master, you are feeling suspicious about him, why do you need us here?" "I will need you to find out his bottom line! I don¡¯t know whether the secluded valley is involved with the matter and we will need to investigate. It will not be good if we alert him at the initial stage!" Shi Yutong replied while sitting by a soft bridge and she was looking at her fingernails. "Yes, Master!" Lin Leiyue felt a little strange but she followed her orders anyway. Not long after, a few silhouettes appeared in the secluded valley. "Greetings, Sect Master. We are honoured to have you here but Fang Yuan is caught up with matters and is not in the valley currently....." Yu Xinlou was a hired master of the business council and therefore had the ability to wee the guests. "Zhou Wenwu!!" Lin Leiyue frowned and saw a person who was hiding. She then said, "You are from my sect but why have you left your position and chose toe here? You bettere out right now!" She was already very unhappy with Zhou Wenwu for helping others secretly from the start and had decided to question him now. "I.....this....." Zhou Wenwu had difficulty answering her. Technically speaking, even though Fang Yuan was incredible, he was slightly inferior to the Spirit Returning Sect. However, when he recalled how Fang Yuan had helped him in many ways, that didn¡¯t matter to him. "Hey brat, your name is Wenwu, right?" Shi Yutong looked at Zhou Wenwu and had a little banter with him. "If I didn¡¯t remember wrongly, I gave you your position in the sect as I pitied you when Deacon Zhou was dead. You were then able to continue your father¡¯s legacy and you are not grateful for it? Hmm?!" "Bang!!" How scary was the Spirit Returning Sect? She squinted her eyes. A huge pressure was felt everywhere, and Zhou Wenwu, who was in front, was shivering in fear. He could feel his inner forceing to a halt, as his knees were about to hit the ground uncontrobly. Shi Yutong seemed to have disyed her might on purpose. Such great pressure not only overwhelmed Zhou Wenwu, it began to spread further. Yu Xinlou, Huang Fu Renhe and a few of the others were overwhelmed by it. Just when Fang Yuan¡¯s men were overwhelmed and about to be defeated totally by Shi Yutong, a loud chirp came from the sky above. "Chirp!" With a strong gust of wind, the Iron-tailed ck Eaglended in the secluded valley and was looking very proud. "Your remarks are overboard, Sect Master Shi!" Fang Yuan got down from the Iron-tailed ck Eagle and his voice could be heard very clearly in the area. "Sir!" Seeing Fang Yuan¡¯s arrival, the people in the secluded valley then recovered from their shock. "Spiritual bird!" Lin Leiyue was surprised when she saw the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. She could feel a great pressure from the eagle and it wasparable to a 4 Heavenly Gates martial artist. With its fast flying speed, even a Wu Zong couldn¡¯t catch up with it. After all, a martial artist cannot fly! She took a deep breath and knew that Fang Yuan had relied on it. ¡¯Luckily my master is here. The presence of this spiritual bird will not affect the overall situation!¡¯ Lin Leiyue secretly bit her teeth and was surprised to see that her master was also surprised. "You are Fang Yuan?!" Shi Yutong got up slowly and gave a serious look. "Yes, I am.....What advice do you have for me, Sect Master Shi?" Fang Yuan¡¯s elemental force in his Dantian was flowing and surging in his body. He was feeling very excited. After the breakthrough, he had wanted to duel with another one who was of a simr level as him. Shi Yutong was definitely the most suitable candidate for that. "You are so young, yet you have already reached the realm of the elemental force. I feel ashamed of myself!" Shi Yutong sighed while she said. Her words felt like tornadoes as they spread across the whole area. "What? Elemental Force? Wu Zong?!" Lin Leiyue retreated a few steps and saw her master had said that with a serious face. She then realised that she had not heard wrongly and her mind was nk all of a sudden. She didn¡¯t expect that Fang Yuan had managed to reach such a level! What did Wu Zong mean? It meant that in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, one could open his or her own sect and own a county. The person would then be the leader of a powerful sect! This was a dream that many martial artists had wished for but it was very to achieve it. Even though Lin Leiyue was skilful enough and Shi Yutong had mentioned that there was hope for her to achieve Wu Zong, her probability of having a sessful breakthrough was just slightly higher than the rest. On the other hand, Fang Yuan had actually made a breakthrough with solid proof and the difference between the two of them was very big. "What? Sir, you have broken through Wu Zong?" "That¡¯s great!" Compared to Lin Leiyue¡¯s uneasiness, Zhou Wenwu, Huang Fu Renhe and the rest were very happy. They knew what Wu Zong was and they knew that they would likely be able to pass through the current situation safely. From today onwards, the secluded valley would be a stable and powerful region in Qinghe County. "Keke!" Fang Yuan seemed to be eager to have a duel with Shi Yutong. Shi Yutong thenughed and asked, "From your breath, I can see that you have only just make the breakthrough. Why? You can¡¯t wait to have a duel with me now?" "If you can give a few bits of advice or so, I will be very grateful!" Fang Yuan replied. "Very well!" Shi Yutong slowly asked, "Right here?" "Right here it is!" Fang Yuan had concealed some of his magical energy and Shi Yutong didn¡¯t manage to see his bottom line. She only thought that Fang Yuan was just a person who had just achieved Wu Zong and gave him a serious look when she asked about it. "Whooosh!" Lin Leiyue and the rest of the Spirit Returning Sect disciples retreated to a distance away and were stretching their necks to watch the duel. Both parties were feeling hopeful of this duel. It was rare to see a duel between two Wu Zongs! Chapter 113: The Challenge Chapter 113: The Challenge Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions A gentle wind blew at the entrance of the secluded valley, stirring up the sand on the ground. The entire ce was silent; a pin drop could be heard. "Brother Yu, Brother Huang Fu..." Zhou Wenwu¡¯s palms started to sweat as he focused on Fang Yuan and Shi Yutong. "Even though Master is Wu Zong, he had only just attained it, whereas the Sect Master of Spirit Returning Sect is an experienced Wu Zong..." "Which one of us can actually guess what Master is thinking?" Yu Xinlou was equally worried but appeared calm. "Maybe Master just wants to show off his Wu Zong capabilities to scare them off. After all... Master is only 20, right? Even if he loses this match who would dare to belittle him?" Huang Fu Renhe nodded his head in agreement. Even the weakest Wu Zong would be far stronger than a [Martial Artist (12th Gate)] at his peak. Taking Fang Yuan¡¯s age into consideration, people would think that he was a demon with extreme gifts! His future cannot be fathomed! Fang Yuan did not know what his followers were thinking. But if he knew that they had decided in their minds that he was not Shi Yutong¡¯s match, he would be speechless. "I cultivate as both a martial artist and a spiritual knight. Even if I concealed my cultivation as a dream master, my magic is still much higher than that of a normal Wu Zong. This is where my advantage lies. Therefore, I could take on the experienced Wu Zongs without any worry. By taking on Shi Yutong today, I can further set a name for the secluded valley!" His thoughts ran wild in his mind as he took a quick nce at Shi Yutong. "Master Fang, I am ady, so I shall have the first move!" Shi Yutong felt that he was distracted at the moment and therefore struck first! Her movements were swift. With continuous footsteps, she appeared in front of Fang Yuan like a ghost. Her delicate hands suddenly transformed into palms and struck down on Fang Yuan. At where she originally was, there was still a shadow, and her words seemed toe from there as well. "What a good timing!" Fang Yuanughed, raised both of his hands and without retreating or counter-attacking, he countered with brute force! Seeing this, Shi Yutong¡¯s beautiful eyes became suspicious, as she exerted her elemental force. Her hands seemed as though they could melt jade; the green veins were distinct and visible. "Spirit Returning Strike! White Lotus Palm?" Lin Leiyue shrieked; she knew that her master had exerted all her force in one move, and even used her secret technique! "Ping!" Arge sound was heard followed by a wave of vibration travelling in all directions. The people of the secluded valley and Spirit Returning Sect all took a few steps back, and there was rumbling in their ears. In the battlefield, the two silhouettes came into contact and immediately flew apart. Both of them gained their footing shortly. Fang Yuan appeared emotionless and looked at his own arms. "Pa!" His clothing was suddenly torn apart and flew into the air like butterflies, revealing his muscr build and smooth skin. As Shi Yutong witnessed this scene she held her hands behind her back, as she did not gain any advantage from this opening move. Her eyes were full of suspicion. "Using a rough technique to break through to Wu Zong? What technique is this? 13 Golden Bells Concealment Technique? Or the Golden Jade Bone Form? No... It doesn¡¯t seem like any of it!" Those who used rough techniques to break through Wu Zong were crazy about martial arts and would use brute force inbat with little to no weaknesses. This gave Shi Yutong a headache. "Whoosh! Whip! At the same time, Fang Yuan¡¯s body produced popping sounds, all the way from his spine every piece of bone. He stretched all five fingers out and swiped, bringing with it a strong gust of wind. "One more time!" "Chirp!" With the end of his sentence, he flew forward and the friction with the air made a high-pitched chirping sound. He stretched his hand above Shi Yutong¡¯s head, and the force which popped within his body a few moments ago hardened his body and travelled to his arms and fingers, all the way to his fingertips. His fingernails were sharp as a knife and his fingers went for her head. His hand had yet tond, but the wind from the fingertips could already stun her scalp. Shi Yutong retained herposure and with a face ofpassion, sp her hands together in front of her chest. "Compassionate Seal!" A holy light appeared on her face as her elemental energy formed a ring of protection around her; it was as though thepassionate Buddha had arrived at the mortal world. "Break... it!" Fang Yuan disregarded the protection and with his rough technique, struck down hard with his right hand, like a hammer. "Crush!" The exertion of energies was a different scene in the audience¡¯s eyes. It was as though a ruthlessrge eagle was shrieking, with its sharp talons striking towards a Buddha in white robes! After a short moment, Shi Yutong screamed and dodged away from where she stood; what was left there was Fang Yuan, who slowly stood up. "Master... is actually at the disadvantage!" Seeing their silhouettese together once again, and looking Shi Yutong¡¯s messy robes, Lin Leiyue¡¯s eyeballs almost popped out. Never would she have imagined that her god-like master would be pressured and put at a disadvantage by Fang Yuan! "Good technique!" Shi Yutong looked at Fang Yuan with suspicion in her eyes. "Eagle w Iron Skin Technique?!" After exchanging a few hands, she seemed to have understood Fang Yuan¡¯s technique but still could not believe her eyes. When did this ordinary 4 Heavenly Gate martial arts technique gain the ability to break its limits? "Indeed... What does Sect Master think about it?" Fang Yuan shrugged his neck, and hisughter struck fear. Although he had only just attained Wu Zong, Shi Yutong was fighting with him in terms of rough techniques, and by pitting her weakness against his strength, she would obviously lose. "Great! Indeed, a young warrior! I guess I¡¯ll have to deal with you like a real opponent!" Shi Yutong blushed, and once again ced her palms together. "Rumble!" A white glow appeared from her body, and in mid-air, pieces of white flower petals were floating around. These petals came together to form white lotus flowers which graduallynded on the ground. "Releasing elemental force! Forming a figure outside the body!!!" Yu Xinlou eximed. "This is a battle between pure elemental forces. Master had just attained Wu Zong, and have yet to explore the uses of magical energy, I¡¯m afraid..." "Oh? Finally the real deal?" The white lotus flowers seemed like an illusion, but in fact, every petal was extremely heavy and had the ability to explode. Fang Yuan witnessed this scene and smiled. "Great, I¡¯ve justpleted my warm-up!" Elemental force was the force that cultivators harness! Although he had only just attained Wu Zong, he had previously attained the title of a dream master, and therefore the fight between magical energies was at the same level. "The releasing of elemental force and forming a figure is merely the control of one¡¯s own elemental force... Those with a higher magical energy would therefore have an advantage!" As he thought to himself, Fang Yuan carefully transferred his elemental force from his Dantian to his arms and released it. Even though he used his magical energy to assist him in harnessing his elemental energy, the assistance that he had gotten was not to be belittled. As of now, he had fine and delicate control of his elemental force, which was better than that of many Wu Zongs! "Chirp! Chirp!" Apanying the high-pitched chirping, Fang Yuan¡¯s w struck out. Arge ck eagle w appeared in mid-air, which reflected light like the finest metal, and every slight detail of the w was distinctly visible, as the w struck out. "Pa! Pa!" Many white lotus flowers were swiped at by the eagle w and disappeared in mid-air; what was left was white dots that fell to the ground. "How is this possible?" Shi Yutong took a few steps back, and a chill went down her spine. The releasing of elemental force and the forming of figures was something only experienced Wu Zongs could do. It was obvious that Fang Yuan only just attained Wu Zong, so how did he have this ability? Needless to say, the lifelike Eagle w figure was much stronger than her figure! This shouldn¡¯t be happening! "This level of gift... Demonic!" "Rumble!" Therge eagle w struck downwards without mercy. Shi Yutong dodged it like how a willow would bend in the wind as she twisted her waist. Her breathing was rapid, and she took a nce at Lin Leiyue who was watching the fight and sighed. This disciple of hers was already rather gifted, butpared to Fang Yuan, she was nothing. In the beginning, she missed out on the opportunity and only appreciated the pearl, but gave the uncut jade a miss. It was toote as everything had already developed to this stage, and there was no turning back. "Haha! Again!" Of course, Fang Yuan did not know what Shi Yutong was thinking. Conversely, he was increasingly excited as the battle ensued. Shi Yutong was the best teacher he could have, as she selflessly gave out all her Wu Zongbat experience during this fight. Secretly, he wished for her to be able to hold on a little longer, just for the fight tost a little longer. "Chirp! Chirp!" Both his ws struck forward with his elemental force in mid-air. One w came from the left, and the other from the right, trapping Shi Yutong in the middle! "Bloom and grow!" Shi Yutong¡¯s palms pushed outwards as she exerted her elemental force, destroying the two Eagle w figures, as she shook hard. "Whoosh!" Within the fog, Fang Yuan appeared and another w came from above! The Eagle w Iron Skin Technique breaking through to Wu Zong meant that his strength was not in releasing his elemental energy, but in using his heavy and brute physical techniques. "Pa!" A piece of elemental force white flower petalnded on Fang Yuan and exploded, but he was unharmed. Fang Yuan maintained his swiftness and came in front of Shi Yutong, striking his right w out. Shi Yutong suddenly felt a cold sense of danger. It was a feeling that she had not felt in a long while. Obviously, his young Wu Zong had the ability to kill her! And he had the intention to! "Ping!" She raised her hands with much effort to block the w and subsequently retreated. Her expression changed as she spat out a mouthful of blood! "Master!" Witnessing this scene, Lin Leiyue rushed forward, but it was all toote. Fang Yuan seemed to be too engrossed in the fight and there was no way for him to calm down. He chased her and struck his ws continuously to force Shi Yutong to a certain spot. As the most critical moment, the sound of a flute was heard which, as though an armoured cavalry came to the rescue. A graceful figure appeared from the woods blowing her flute. "Indeed there is someone else!" Fang Yuanughed and took a step back. "Cough cough... Master Fang is highly skilled, and I cannot match it!" Only at this point did Shi Yutong had the breathing space to dere defeat, and her face turned pale, which showed that she had suffered from severe injuries. "You are... Ling Yin?" Before the fight even began, Fang Yuan already realised someone spying on them, and purposely fought hard to force the spy out. Only then did he realise that it was the mysterious spiritual disciple which he met at Secluded Mountain Court. "My greetings to Master Fang!" Ling Yin chuckled. "The moment we met, I knew that you were not an ordinary person, and who would¡¯ve known that you are now at the level of a Wu Zong..." Chapter 114: Split Up Chapter 114: Split Up Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Have you and Fang Yuan met before?" Shi Yutong was suspicious and continued. "You are the disciple of the great alchemy master Lu Renjia, and since he loves to nurture the younger generation, he would be overjoyed to know about the talented Fang Yuan!" Hearing this polite yet threatening words, Fang Yuan remained calm, squinted his eyes and revealed a cold look. "You only appeared at the end of the fight. I see that you have the intention to help this Sect Master secretly?" He had already witnessed the two sisters fighting side by side against the Five Ghost Sect Sect Master; he knew that he would not be so lucky and that Shi Yutong would definitely bring assistance with her. Shi Yutong could easily overpower any normal Wu Zong without any help. Even if a spiritual knight had ambushed them, the twodies could still defend themselves and escape. After all, being the favourite disciple of an alchemy master, and in troubled times like this, how could she not bring a few treasures for self-defence? Fang Yuan still did not forget how Ling Yin fought the Blood Killer with her emerald shes. ¡¯The likes of an alchemy master can harness spiritual fire for alchemy and is therefore sought after by many cultivators. Therefore, it is only normal that they are wealthy... If I strike now, I am only 30% confident to take down both of them, so it would only be wiser to take them down one by one!¡¯ "How would little sister dare?" Even if she was the disciple of an alchemy master, she still lowered her status while talking to another Wu Zong. After all, although spiritual disciples harness a miniature version of elemental force, and were able to cast a few elementary spiritual techniques, they would still be no match when against true elemental force. Ling Yin felt her hair standing on its ends as Fang Yuan stared at her. She felt insecure, and a little embarrassed. "If that is so, let¡¯s discuss the important stuff!" Fang Yuan turned his head and came straight to the point while looking at Shi Yutong. "What is the purpose of Sect Mastering here personally?" "This..." Shi Yutong froze. She intended to defeat the doctor at the secluded valley first to let him know her prowess before extorting some spiritual rice. However, the other party was now a Wu Zong! Not just a Wu Zong, but a Wu Zong that was more powerful than herself! How could she state her conditions now? "Hehe... I have received news that Leiyue¡¯s fiance is here and therefore came here specially to visit. The criteria set previously were but a joke, right?" Ling Yin took a few steps forward and tugged at Shi Yutong¡¯s sleeve, as she hinted her with her expression. "That¡¯s right! That¡¯s why I havee here!" A Wu Zong is worth establishing a good rtionship with, and especially when the Wu Zong is so strong! If she could convince him to join their alliance, losing a female disciple wouldn¡¯t matter! After weighing things out, Shi Yutong came to a conclusion and looked at Lin Leiyue. ¡¯Master...¡¯ Once Lin Leiyue understood her master¡¯s intentions, she blushed and felt agonised. Her proud personality did not resonate with the fact that she was treated like a gift or apensation. What made things worse was that Fang Yuan once rejected her! ¡¯Indeed an experienced person. A Sect Master¡¯s words are indeed heavy...¡¯ Fang Yuan noticed Lin Leiyue¡¯s minute actions. He recalled how Shi Yutong convinced Yu Qiuleng to force himself to reject the marriage previously, which was a 180-degrees change to how she was treating him now, after witnessing how highly-skilled he was. "Forget about it. Why would I still mull over the marriage incident?" Fang Yuan waved his hand. "Please take your leave, I won¡¯t send you!" Hearing his heartless words, Shi Yutong looked at Ling Yin and forced a smile. They knew that it did not matter to Fang Yuan whether they were on the same side or now. Furthermore, they could feel that he was irritated by his words. Lin Leiyue shivered. After she finally convinced herself to sacrifice her future for the Sect, Fang Yuan could reject her effortlessly. This scene became a jokepared to the fight at the beginning! Her face became flushed as she felt that everyone was mocking her. She could not control herself and her tears flowed out, as she turned around and ran away. "Keke... My disciple is so mischievous, don¡¯t take it to heart!" Shi Yutong took a step back. "Since Master Fang has no intention, then Sister Ling Yin and myself shall not disturb you any further, we shall take our leave!" As a Sect Master, her words had weight. As they took their leave, there was no chaos. With a Wu Zong and a spiritual disciple leading the way, the rest dispersed orderly. ... In the forest, Shi Yutong instructed the Sect disciples to find Lin Leiyue, and hinted to Ling Yin to take another path. Not long after, they arrived at a small cliff and looked far out. Everywhere was forest-green. "Good, we are more than 10 miles away now, we can speak here!" As the gentle breeze blew, Shi Yutong said, "Even though Fang Yuan is more skilled than me, I can still eavesdrop on him!" "Since you say so, I am assured! However, just in case..." Ling Yin smirked and took out a spiritual talisman, which burst into mes without any wind. From the crimson me, a spiritual print emerged and glowed. It imprinted itself on her forehead and glittered. "Mmm... There is no second Wu Zong nearby!" She closed her eyes for a moment and concluded. "Harnessing the ability of the spiritual talisman, you are able to increase your magical energy and increase your detection ability to be on par with that of spiritual knights. I am relieved!" Shi Yutong nodded her head in satisfaction and admired how Ling Yin could sacrifice a spiritual talisman without hesitation just for her. She did not have an alchemy master as her backer and therefore could not be as extravagant as her. "Sister, you do not want to admit that you have lost, is that right?" Ling Yin smiled cheekily. "You have painstakingly nned this, but who would¡¯ve known that there would be such a change of events! If this news spreads, the families and organisations that we have convinced might reconsider their loyalty!" "We cannot help it. After all, who would¡¯ve known that he could suddenly be a Wu Zong?" Shi Yutong was bitter. She shook her head and became resolute. "After seeing him, I am sure that Elder Han¡¯s disappearance is rted to the secluded valley! Furthermore, it might even be rted to other stronger powers..." "Is this why you did not allow me to fight just now?" Ling Yin toyed with the jade bangle on her wrist. "If we teamed up against him, we might be able to defeat him, like how we did against the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master the previous time, hehe..." She turned serious. "Before the war, such a change in Qinghe County would be against my master. Do you have the confidence to be able to convince him to be on our side?" "As of now, I¡¯m afraid not!" Shi Yutong bit her lip. "You are also aware of the marriage rejection incident. Seeing how he responded just now, you could tell that it did not matter to him anymore. If we had to me someone, it would be that disciple of mine who could not manage the situation properly..." "Then this is troubling. If he chose to strike us at a critical moment, as a Wu Zong, he would bring us a lot of trouble!" Ling Yin looked down in despair. "Sister, what do you mean?" Shi Yutong guessed. "Strike first? That¡¯s right! Making the first move is a good idea!" "Let¡¯s not dy it any further. I¡¯ll find my master and get him to send some highly skilled martial artists to help us out!" Ling Yin replied. These twodies were decisive. In a few words, they had concluded that there was no way to convince Fang Yuan to help them, and immediately thought of killing him as the solution! Unless they had enough resources, otherwise they had to get rid of those getting in the way before the war begins. "That¡¯s a good idea!" Shi Yutong wanted to say something but was interrupted by a red firework in the sky. "That is the Sect¡¯s signal. It seems that they have found Leiyue, oh..." Shi Yutong nodded her head. "She is not mature enough yet. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have used the spiritual rice and spiritual pill to aid her in breaking through the Pain Gate then..." "If you did not aid her in bing an inner force martial artist, how can she defend herself in times of war and conflict? This only showed your care and love for her..." Ling Yin smiled. "I was joking just now. You will surely reconcile with your disciple after a good talk!" "Thank you, sister, for understanding, I shall make a move first!" Hearing how understanding Ling Yin was, Shi Yutong stood up and used her Lightness Skill. After a few jumps, she disappeared into the forest. "Eh... I am so jealous of Leiyue for having such a good master!" Ling Yin knew that the master and disciple needed their private space to talk and so did not follow her. She looked in the direction where Shi Yutong went, sighed and at the same time suddenly felt worried. The cricket sounds around the forest made the forest feel even more eerily silent. A breeze blew across her face, and she shivered. She felt the feeling of danger, and her mind was empty, as though she had done something wrong. "Danger? That¡¯s impossible, I¡¯ve checked that the surroundings were clear just now! Even if I¡¯ve separated from sister, as long as I am not being followed, what should I be worried about?" Even such, Ling Yin¡¯s palm subconsciously rubbed her jade bangle as she scanned the surroundings on high alert. "You are quite alert!" A clear voice travelled from afar. It was a young voice and brought with it a sense of familiarity. "It¡¯s you!" As the fog thinned out, Ling Yin saw a figure walking out of the fog and clenched her teeth. "Fang Yuan!!! Impossible! Even if you are Wu Zong, you should not be able to hide from Shi Yutong¡¯s and I!" "Then why is it that you still cannot detect me? Do you want to make a guess?" Fang Yuan moved his feet and his entire body floated forward. It split into 10 bodies, which confused anyone who would see him. And his speed waspletely different from when he was fighting Shi Yutong previously. At the same time, a huge spiritual pressure was exerted. "Spiritual knight?" Ling Yin¡¯s face changed. Chapter 115: Hunting Down Chapter 115: Hunting Down Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Ling Yin retreated quickly and the weapons on her body were reflecting light. She didn¡¯t expect Fang Yuan to be able to conceal himself that much. His spiritual techniques and martial arts not only had been improved tremendously, he had managed to break through the threshold of the elemental force! Fang Yuan was not only a Wu Zong but also a spiritual knight. Obviously, he had managed to pass both her and Shi Yutong¡¯s checks sessfully and even heard the secret conversation between the both of them. He had also decided to attack when both of them were separated. "Sir, please listen to my exnation first!" In quick session, Ling Yin activated many spiritual talismans and equipment to defend herself. With a change in the pitch of her voice, the green bangle emitted a bright emerald glow, which then transformed into a small dagger, ready to fly out of her hands. Unfortunately, she could only achieve this step. "Ecstasy spell!" Fang Yuan executed the spell and the surrounding fog started to get denser like a tsunami. Ling Yin was overwhelmed by the fog. In the white fog, there was a sh of green light and a female voice. "Pa!" The emerald green coloured braceletnded on the ground and rolled to Fang Yuan¡¯s feet. "Disperse!" Fang Yuan snapped his fingers and the fog from the spell started to fade away. It then revealed Ling Yin who was unconscious. Even though she had so manyyers of defence, she was not immune to the spell executed by a dream master. "I am a dream master and it will be strange if I can¡¯t even handle a spiritual disciple!" Fang Yuan picked the bracelet up and shook his head. He would probably be worried if he was dealing with both Ling Yin and Shi Yutong at the same time. However, he would just be worried that he cannot use his full power in front the both of them. Since now both of them were separated, it was much easier to ambush one of them. This spiritual disciple who had managed to suppress the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master and the Blood Killer was easily defeated and there was barely any resistance. "My dream master¡¯s spiritual techniques tackle one¡¯s mind. What¡¯s the use of having so manyyers of defence?" Fang Yuan squatted down. With a sh of light, Ling Yin¡¯s defences started to fade and her defences were formed into a few charms and weapons. "Hehe.....her teacher is indeed an alchemy master. Look at all these charms and weapons....." Seeing the many spiritual charms and weapons that were on her body, Fang Yuan shamelessly took everything from her without even leaving a bottle of medicine for her. After he was done, Fang Yuan then sent out a signal. "Chirp! Chirp!" Along with the high pitched noise from an eagle and a strong gust of wind, the Iron-tailed ck Eaglended. "Bring me to Shi Yutong!" Fang Yuan got onto the back of the eagle with a serious look. He was not prepared to let her go and since he had already attacked Ling Yin, he would want to defeat the other one as well! "However....my actions have offended Lu Renjia. If I don¡¯t want to be out there and running for my life in future, I will have to be on Liu Yan¡¯s side." Fang Yuan murmured and was wavered. The Iron-tailed ck Eagle charged into the sky and disappeared into theyers of cloud. ........ "Master...." Beside a spiritual spring. Lin Leiyue tucked her arms and sat on a green rock. She looked at the flowing spring water and there were a few ck fishes swimming in the water. She then recalled the days when she was younger. Back when Master Wenxin was still alive, her father had much admiration for Master Wenxin and they visited him often. It was that spring when she first met Fang Yuan and both Lin Leiyue and Fang Yuan were still very young. Master Wenxin liked Lin Leiyue a lot and proposed a marriage between Lin Leiyue and Fang Yuan. Her father dly epted it. However, no one expected Master Wenxin to pass away so soon as he was highly skilled in medicine. Also, Lin Leiyue was valued by Master Wenxin but now everything had changed since Master Wenxin¡¯s passing. She didn¡¯t expect that Fang Yuan, who was previously alone and had no one to depend on, was able to improve tremendously in terms of his cultivation and skills in medicine on his own. His business in the secluded valley was thriving and he had even made a breakthrough for Wu Zong already! Even though she was talented and spiritual, Master Shi Yutong had only mentioned that there was a chance, and not a guarantee, for her to achieve Wu Zong! One had the potential while the other had the ability to achieve Wu Zong. The difference between the both of them was very big! Even her master was generous in her words and had sacrificed Lin Leiyue¡¯s looks to pull Fang Yuan to their side. ¡¯This world.....only respects the powerful ones. If one wants to control his or her destiny, he or she will need to have the ability to do so!¡¯ As she was looking at the shadows formed in the water, Lin Leiyue clenched her fists. Suddenly, a reflection of another person appeared on the surface of the water. "Leiyue, are you ming me?" Shi Yutong was beside Lin Leiyue and she asked with a gentle voice. "I dare not to me you!" Lin Leiyue quickly got up. "You didn¡¯t dare, but that didn¡¯t mean that you did not....." Shi Yutong shook her head and said, "However, this is human nature. I¡¯m not ming you!" "Master......for the greater good of the sect, I¡¯m willing to sacrifice!" Lin Leiyue bit her teeth and continued, "No matter how Fang Yuan humiliates me, I will seek for his understanding....." "It¡¯s good that you are willing to sacrifice for the sect!" Shi Yutong¡¯s eyes glittered. "However, you don¡¯t have to worry this matter anymore!" "What?" Lin Leiyue was very surprised. "He is a Wu Zong!" "Under normal circumstances, I can understand why you will choose to let this matter go, but now the situation is different. We have many allies and Master Lu, and won¡¯t a Wu Zong be just a small issue to us?" Shi Yutong gave a cold look and said, "Fang Yuan is too powerful and he hates me. He has be the most unstabilised factor and I will have to remove him before the big battle!" "This..." Lin Leiyue was startled and speechless. However, she was feeling relieved at the same time. "Chirp! Chirp!" Suddenly, a small green bird appeared andnded on the shoulder of the Shi Yutong. The bird was chirping anxiously. "Bad news. Ling Yin is in trouble!" Shi Yutong¡¯s expression changed and Lin Leiyue was surprised by her it as it was her first time seeing that expression from her master. "Before I got separated from Ling Yin, I had the green bird to watch over Ling Yin just in case anything happened to her. Since the bird is so anxious now, something bad must have happened to her.....In this county, the only person who can do this is Fang Yuan!" Shi Yutong brought Lin Leiyue along and they went into the forest quickly with their lightness skill. "Our secret ns must have been discovered and we are bound to get killed by Fang Yuan! There is no room for Ling Yin to escape!" Lin Leiyue was sluggish and knew that the secret ns made by Master and Ling Yin must have been discovered by Fang Yuan and Ling Yin was probably killed. Isn¡¯t this an irony when Shi Yutong had asked her not to worry about the matter just now? "Chirp! Chirp!" However, it was not a good time to care about these conflicting matters now. With the loud chirp from an eagle, a giant eagle appeared from theyers of cloud and it spread its wings. A giant ck shadow was formed. "How is this possible?" Shi Yutong¡¯s expression changedpletely. She had purposely chosen a small pathway in the forest which was concealed by the tall trees. However, that giant eagle was still able to locate her wherever she went. "Hoo! Hoo!" There was a strong gust of wind and the Iron-tailed ck Eagle took a shot. Its sharp ws had broken an old tree into half. "This is not good!" Shi Yutong pushed Lin Leiyue away and said, "Fang Yuan must have done something on us and that¡¯s why he is able to locate us. Looks like we will have to split. Leave now!" Shi Yutong let go of her hand and caused Lin Leiyue to be pushed at a distance away in another direction. "Master!" Lin Leiyue was teary and had no choice but to leave the ce. Behind her, she heard a loud voice and a loud eagle¡¯s chirp. The eagle was not giving Shi Yutong any mercy and it went straight towards her. "Fang Yuan, it¡¯s really you!¡¯ Shi Yutong¡¯s voice then came. Another clear voice was heard. "Ling Yin has been defeated. Sect Master, you have injuries and you are definitely no match for me. What are you waiting for?" "I would rather die in the name of justice than to surrender!" Shi Yutong sighed and continued, "I didn¡¯t handle this matter properly and hence Inded myself in this trouble. I admitted that I had lost but I would want to fight to the death for honour!" "Very well!" Fang Yuan¡¯s voice was projected and an explosion then came. Lin Leiyue heard what happened and her heart sank. She knew that Fang Yuan had caught up with her master and there was no chance for her to escape already. Even though she was still confident in her master, her master was previously defeated by Fang Yuan. Hence, how lucky would she be this time? "Fang Yuan!" She bit her teeth and escaped with tears in her eyes. She swore in her heart, "I...I will have my revenge one day!" ... "Very good! Your courage ismendable!" Fang Yuan praised Shi Yutong who was standing right in front of him. Fang Yuan didn¡¯t care about Lin Leiyue who had started to run away. Both of them were now not of simr grade and level. Also, Shi Yutong had brought quite a few disciples from the Spirit Returning Sect and since they were all separated, it would be very troublesome to kill every one of them. The current issue he was facing now was pressing and he would think about the restter after he had defeated Shi Yutong. "Eagle w Palm!" "Compassionate Seal!" "Bang!" Releasing their elemental force, the figures shed, and in the process broke many trees. The entire ce was in a mess. Shi Yutong was of no match for Fang Yuan as she was already injured. Currently, her messy hair and her bloody mouth made her looked like she was in a poor state. "Don¡¯t you think of escaping from me. Wherever you go, I will still be able to find you!" Fang Yuan said coldly and kept discouraging Shi Yutong with his words. "I know..." Shi Yutong took a nce at the Iron-tailed ck Eagle and gave a wicked smile. "I have a question that needs to be answered. If I don¡¯t get the answer, I will not die in peace!" "Are you wondering how I am able to track you down?" Fang Yuan shook his head and said, "You will know the answer very soon!" "What?" Shi Yutong felt a great sense of dangering towards her suddenly. She didn¡¯t think much and quickly transformed into 9 shadows. The 9 shadows then attacked from all directions. "Ecstasy spell!" Fang Yuan lifted his fingers lightly and the surrounding fog started to spread. All her shadows were engulfed in the fog. "Is this...." Shi Yutong was confused at first by the fog, but the elemental force inside her Dantian shook her and she was able to recover from the spell. She was very surprised and asked, "Is this.....a spiritual spell?" "Peng!" With her slight hesitance, she was on her way to her death since her enemy was a Wu Zong. Fang Yuan suddenly appeared behind her and grabbed! Chapter 116: Knocking On The Door Chapter 116: Knocking On The Door Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Upon removing her face mask, Fang Yuan was shocked at the amazingly gorgeous looks of Shi Yutong. Beneath her perfectly curved eyebrows were a pair of upward sloping eyes. She had a small mouth and wless porcin skin. Even though she was no longer youthful, age did not seem to have caught up with her. She looked like she was at most 30 years old, maybe with an aura of a much mature woman. Even though she was in hera, her beautiful eye brows and the slightly pained expression on her perfect was still sufficient to arouse the deepest desires of the men around her. Even though Ling Yin was also considered to be a pretty woman, in the presence of Shi Yutong she paled inparison. "Sir...sir..." Of course, Fang Yuan could casually enjoy this pleasant sight while the others beside him were in utter shock. After stuttering about for quite some time, Zhou Wenwu finally got his words out of his mouth and said, "Sir...you...you said that you went out on a hunting trip earlier..." ¡¯How did you end up bringing back these twodies with you from your hunting trip?" This was the most pressing question Zhou Wenwu had on his mind that he wanted to ask, but he could not muster the courage to do it. "Oh...While I was on my trip I coincidentally heard these twodies discussing about how to sabotage me, so I took action and brought them here!" Fang Yuan dug his ear as he tantly spoke the truth. ¡¯It seems like you already had an ulterior motive before you embarked on this hunting trip and you just ended up stalking them.¡¯ Yu Xinlou and a few others rolled their eyes at Fang Yuan¡¯s admission. Huang Fu Renhe coughed and stepped forward and asked, "Now that if have both of the sect heads of the Spirit Returning Sect, what is there to be afraid of them?" "Correct!" Zhou Wenwu¡¯s eyes brightened instantly and said, "Sir is also a Wu Zong too!" The immense prestige of the Spirit Returning Sect caused Fang Yuan¡¯s judgement to be clouded a little earlier. Now that his mind has cleared, he felt a little indignant as he thought, "Anyone with the ability could live within Qinghe County! What makes the Spirit Returning Sect the natural owners of this area!" "Keke..." Fang Yuan rolled his eyes at this far-fetched thought. Although admitted, now that the Secluded Mountain Valley had the supreme tutge of Fang Yuan, a few martial artists who have broken through the 4 Heavenly Gates and the spiritual beasts, there was no difference between the Secluded Mountain Valley and the Spirit Returning Sect or Five Ghosts Sect. However, they were a world apart in terms of rootedness. Based on Fang Yuan¡¯s calctions, it would be almost impossible for him to control Qingye City based on the little resources he had, unless all the disciples in the Spirit Returning Sect swore their allegiance to him. If he attempted to control the county, it would definitely lead to chaos and unrest. The costs outweighed the benefits. "Sorry for spouting rubbish sir!" Zhou Wenwu blushed with embarrassment. As a former disciple of the Spirit Returning Sect, Zhou Wenwu was in an awkward situation. He was very eager to demonstrate his loyalty to his new master. The best way to do was of course to denigrate his original sect as much as possible, to show that he had severed all ties with them. "However, you made one excellent point. Maybe we will not take Qinghe County, but I definitely want to take down Qingye City." Fang Yuan nodded his head and said, "Zhou Wenwu, what is the likelihood of you controlling a city if you return now?" "Erm..." Under Fang Yuan¡¯s strong influence, Zhou Wenwu responded, "If you rise to Wu Zong and the news of the capture of Shi Yutong spreads out, the likelihood is about 50 to 60 percent!" "It seems like you are still clear headed, and your judgement has not been clouded!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and said, "I¡¯ll ce Flower Fox Ferret and Zhang Shengpai under your charge. Go back and rally everyone else immediately to detain or banish the disciples of the Spirit Returning Sect!" "Yes sir!" After some internal calction, Zhou Wenwu concluded that after the removal of the Guo family, Qingye City was now up for contention amongst his own Zhou family, the Zhang family as well as Minister Lin¡¯s Lin family. The Zhang family was greatly influenced by the secluded valley and there was no problem convincing them. His only main obstacles were the Lin family and the Spirit Returning Sect. Minister Lin was a sly old fox, if he had known that Shi Yutong was defeated and captured, he might also switch allegiance or even maintain his neutrality for the sake of his family¡¯s survival. As of now, the only person left to deal with was the new head of the city and a thousand disciples of the Spirit Returning Sect. Zhou Wenwu witnessed the mighty powers of Flower Fox Ferret himself before. It wasparable to a martial artist of the 4 Heavenly Gates level. With the addition of the extremely powerful and formidable servant cleaner, there was a high chance the mission would seed. Zhou Wenwu beamed with confidence at this thought. If he could take advantage of this situation and strengthen the position of his family to be the top-ranking family in the city, the days ahead looked extremely hopeful. "But sir...why aren¡¯t you leading this mission yourself?" After Fang Yuan answered, a few doubts emerged in Zhou Wenwu¡¯s mind. He believed that if Fang Yuan led the mission himself, with his reputation as a Wu Zong, the disciples of the Spirit Returning Sect might even give up without a fight and all the other families would swear allegiance to him automatically. "I...naturally will have other more important things to tend to!" Fang Yuan lifted up the twoatose women and mounted Iron-tailed ck Eagle and ordered, "Attend to your tasks. I hope that I can have Qingye City in my control by the time I return!" "Kaw kaw!" Iron-tailed ck Eagle pped its wings and took off. With the extra weight of two extra human beings, it was a slightly burdensome load for it. Nheless it still flew off and disappeared amongst the clouds. ... "Even though I have captured these two women, I have brought more trouble for myself. Without considering Shi Yutong, Ling Yin is the disciple of Lu Renjia. If he finds out he will definitely not let this matter rest and I will have very little options avable when he does that!" Fang Yuan ordered Iron-tailed ck Eagle to fetch him to his secret hiding spots. He first dropped Shi Yutong off at the ce he detained Lady Yan and then brought Ling Yin to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City. "Since I cannot trust Lu Renjia, I can only ally myself with the head of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. I think this stepping stone and application seems rather substantial!" Fang Yuan took a nce at theatose Ling Yin cradled in his arms indifference in his eyes. Having gone through the training in his imaginary world, Fang Yuan was exposed to incredibly beautiful women. Ling Yin¡¯s aesthetic beauty could not sway him. This sort of temporary beauty could notst in the long-term. What attracted Fang Yuan¡¯s attention was the spiritual objects and other ornaments on Ling Yin. "As long as one was a spiritual knight, one would be able to use spiritual prints to create a spiritual amulet. But most of these ornaments on her seem to be extremely rare charms..." High up in mid-air, a translucent force floated up approximately 500 metres in front of Fang Yuan, blocking off the strong winds from reaching him, allowing him to sit steadily on the tform as he toyed with the green bangle in his heads. "This spiritual item...seems very interesting..." Fang Yuan¡¯s sight dug deep into the amulet. In no time, he dug out the most valuable item within the bangle. The bangle was neither gold nor jade and spiritual light gleamed from it. Several spiritual prints lined the bangle, forming a chain. "What a great spiritual item!" Fang Yuan then attempted to inject some Dream Elemental Force into it and removed Ling Yin¡¯s original presence within it. Fang Yuan then decisively left his own mark inside it. "Snap!" In a burst of light, the green bangle turned into a dagger in his hands. On it, cold light enveloped the spiritual light earlier. Just by this sight one could tell it was not a normal item. There wereplicated writings on the body of the dagger, seemingly forming the olden words for "Green Snake". "The Ancient Green Serpent Dagger?" Fang Yuan let go of his hand and the magical energy dispersed. The green dagger melted into a ray of green light flowing about on his body as though it was a part of him. "Outstanding!" After this experiment, Fang Yuan was extremely delighted. "Even though I am not an expert in using instruments or weapons, the power in this spiritual object is quite remarkable. It might even be good enough to be beneficial for a spiritual knight." It was obvious that this was a gift from Lu Renjia to Ling Yin. In reality, if Fang Yuan was a bit more aware, he would have known that Lu Renjia personally used this spiritual item before and was probably very well known for doing so amongst the higher echelons of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. By bestowing this give to Ling Yin, he sought to protect her through its reputation. Even if she ran into a spiritual knight or a Wu Zong, not many would risk offending him by attacking Ling Yin. But going by Fang Yuan¡¯s unconventional way of thinking, Lu Renjia¡¯s n not only failed, it also gave Fang Yuan an extra valuable spiritual item. "You will be mine from now on!" Even though Fang Yuan did not know much, he could judge from the response of Blood Killer and deduce that this dagger was extremely well-known. It could possible even be Lu Renjia¡¯s precious item. However, he had already done the worst thing possible to offend Lu Renjia, it did not matter to Fang Yuan that he took away his precious item. At that point, he contentedly and happily kept the item and continued looking at his other loot. "Erm, apart from a few spiritual amulets with unknown uses, the rest are justmon pills. I¡¯ll let Huang Fu Renhe identify them when I get back..." After a while, Fang Yuan rubbed his chin as though he was thinking of something. He was slightly disappointed that he did not find any special alchemy or secret spiritual knight manuals on Ling Yin, but what he got was also irreceable. "In fact, as a spiritual disciple, she is extremely valuable to me. Just by considering that fact that if I improve by one more level within the dream master realm and be a dream building master, I can extract everything that Lu Renjia taught her as long as it was not protected by magical will...." A dream master had to be make extensive preparations to seed. Even though Fang Yuan only mastered the dream elemental force, he had also received assistance on several other aspects which were sufficient for him to see many unexpected results! ... Even though the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City was very far away from Qinghe County, it was only so if one were to travel bynd. At the blistering speed Iron-tailed ck Eagle flew at, in no time, Secluded Mountain Prefecture City appeared as a ck giant in front of Fang Yuan. Inparison to the grand and magnificent sight of earlier days, the city now looked devastated and run-down. What was left of the city was stered full of burnt stains or blood stains. This was the obvious devastation of the ongoing war. At that point, the head of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, Liu Yan attempted to encircle Lu Renjia but he underestimated his opponent. Furthermore, he was slow in his execution of his strategy and had to deal with the rebellion of three strong families as well as some of the higher-ranking officers in the army. This brought about massive casualties to both sides and the entire city was ruined. The civilians were in great suffering. In the end, Lu Renjia retreated first but he annexed three counties and was still in a state of war with the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. Nheless, the Secluded Mountain Prefecture was no longer the power it once was. Chapter 117: The Meet Chapter 117: The Meet Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Who is it?" The Iron-tailed ck Eaglended and its giant body frightened the people who were living in the mansion of the prefecture master. Fang Yuan clearly knew that many arrows were now aimed at him. Such threat caused the eagle to fidget a little. It could feel that there was a very high chance of it being seriously injured or getting killed! ¡¯Correct......if the Secluded Mountain Prefecture didn¡¯t have any air defences, wouldn¡¯t the spiritual beasts which could fly be ruling the airspace?¡¯ He rode on the eagle and intruded the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City, and evennded right in front of the mansion of the Prefecture Master. This had caused lots of attention. As the alert was sounded, many Secluded Mountain Prefecture soldiers came and surrounded Fang Yuan. The leader who was leading the group of soldiers was an 8-feet tall strong man. He was wearing a bull¡¯s horn helmet and he charged straight through a crowd violently and shouted, "How dare you intrude the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. Who are you? What¡¯s your name?" The man with the bull¡¯s horn helmet was bold but cautious. He knew that such person who could ride a spiritual beast was definitely not a simple one. Also, Fang Yuan didn¡¯tnd directly inside the mansion of the Prefecture Master, which showed that he was not trying to harm anyone. The man with the bull¡¯s horn helmet then ordered his men to stay put and be alert. "Hehe.....I¡¯m Fang Yuan from the mountains. I wish to see the Prefecture Master!" Fang Yuan stood with both of his hands behind his back after he had got down from the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. He seemed to be very calm and was able to smile even though there were many soldiers surrounding him. "Wu Zong?!" The leader focused on Fang Yuan. This Wu Zong was young and a stranger to him. He was quite surprised and had to be cautious of Fang Yuan. "You want to see the Prefecture Master?" He stared at Fang Yuan and went through his mind quickly. He cannot recall anyone who was Wu Zong and was able to tame a spiritual beast. He then continued, "I will report your arrival to the city master, but it is up to the city master whether he wants to see you or not....." "Yes, I know....." Fang Yuan seemed to be quite confident that the city master would see him. In fact, in times of war and when this ce was heavily guarded, the Prefecture Master would be busy handling matters. However, with the power of Wu Zong, Liu Yan would definitely make time to see the Wu Zong even if there were no support forces backing the Wu Zong. Indeed, not long after, a soldier came running towards Fang Yuan and said, "The city master would like to invite you to the guest hall!" "Very good! But I will have to get my gift for him first!" Fang Yuan went back to the eagle and carried Ling Yin down from the back of the eagle. "What are you....." The leader couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. He wanted toment on the gift as the city master was already old and was not into young girls anymore. Plus, Fang Yuan was a Wu Zong and even brought such a gift, which disgraced him as one. When Fang Yuan tidied Ling Yin¡¯s long hair and revealed her face, the leader was even more shocked. "Ling Yin!!" He knew her as the beloved disciple of Lu Renjia and had previously seen her at the birthday banquet. He also knew that Lu Renjia even sent two Wu Zongs to escort thisdy. However, she was now beaten till unconscious and given as a gift. He couldn¡¯tprehend this big change. "What do you think of this gift?" Fang Yuan threw Ling Yin to the leader. "Uh....." The leader was feeling awkward and immediately ordered his men to bring Ling Yin to elsewhere, where his men could watch over her. He then gave a thumbs up to Fang Yuan and said, "Well brother.....what a good way!" At that point, he was not feeling suspicious of Fang Yuan already. Even though he could see that Fang Yuan was trying to make use of Ling Yin to gain the trust of the city master, the city master was not a simple person. He was the most powerful spiritual knight in the whole of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture and such assassination was just a joke to him. However, if Fang Yuan was nning something else, wasn¡¯t he treating the staffs living in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture as fools? Hence, the leader could confirm that Fang Yuan was sincere about joining the alliance with the city master. He then weed him and said, "Come.....I shall bring you to the guest hall personally! And also your spiritual beast!" The leader then ordered, "Men! Ask the chef to ughter a few of the snow cows and bring the beef to the spiritual beast!" "Thank you! However, my spiritual beast is a little different. It prefers to eat roasted meat!" Fang Yuan smiled and continued, "And if there is hard liquor as well, it will be even better!" "Haha.....you are indeed a special person. Even your spiritual beast is special. What a coincidence, the roaster meat here in this mansion is superb and I shall ask my men to bring a few bottles of wine!" The leader¡¯s eyes glittered and were wide opened. If Fang Yuan didn¡¯t have any matters on his hand to settle, the leader would probably be eating and drinking with Fang Yuan together to their hearts¡¯ content. Likely, they would swear to be brothers as well. "Please lead the way!" The Iron-tailed ck Eagle was having a feast outside while Fang Yuan followed the leader into the mansion of the Prefecture Master. The mansion looked grand and many of the structures here were newly built. There were a few big pits which had not been covered up and they looked worse than the ones outside the city gate. ¡¯Were these pits formed during the battle between the spiritual knight and Wu Zong?¡¯ Fang Yuan thought. From what he had seen from the outskirts of the city, the battle was so intense that half of the main hall was destroyed. One would not be surprised if the whole mansion here was destroyed totally. The Prefecture Master was very capable as he was able to rebuild this ce to such a state. After they went past a small garden, they reached the guest hall. "Please have some tea first. The city master will be here soon!" After they entered the guest hall, the leader invited Fang Yuan to have a seat and two beautiful servants came in and served him tea. They then left right away, which clearly showed that they didn¡¯t want to stay in the hall for long. "The tea made here in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture is the best in the whole of Xia Country. You have to taste it!" The leader lifted the teacup and took a sip of the tea delicately. He was enjoying that cup of tea. "Oh?" Fang Yuan thenughed and said, "Well, I will have to taste it for myself then!" He could smell the fragrance of the tea as he lifted his teacup. The fragrance brought him a sense of tranquillity and peace. In the translucent tea, the tea leaves slowly unfolded. This particr tea leaf was like a piece of white jade, and the veins on the leaves were distinct and connected to the stem of the leaf. As the leaves spread out, it was akin to a flower blooming slowly. "Good tea!" Fang Yuan gave a surprised look and said, "From the colour of tea, I can see that this tea is of high quality!" Of course, he knew that the leader had not much knowledge in tea and since he had enjoyed the tea so much, it was likely a spiritual tea. ¡¯This tea is inferior to my Questioning Heart Tea.¡¯ Fang Yuan¡¯s heart wavered and took another sip. A nd taste filled the mouth, bring with it a mild stimtion to the taste buds. The stimtion slowly increased in intensity and was unlike a strong sensation that would slowly die down. This was an unforgettable taste and would leave a strong impression. Of course, as the tea reached the stomach, Fang Yuan could feel the spiritual energy spreading inside his body and his Dantian was warmed by the tea. He felt that his elemental force had improved even though it was just a slight one. "How is it?" The leader stared at Fang Yuan and saw that he was also enjoying the tea as well. The leader then patted Fang Yuan¡¯s leg and said, "Good one, brother!" "Hmm?" Fang Yuan was confused by the leader¡¯s expression and actions. "Brother Fang, this tea is actually a spiritual tea and is limited in stock. This tea is only served to important guests. Spiritual knights, Wu Zongs, or anyone else who have tasted this tea for their first time will have a very different expression on their faces, which show that they really enjoy the tea. This is the first time I have not seen an expression that has changed. Very good!" "Hehe....." Fang Yuan was speechless for a moment and felt that the leader seemed like a crazy person when he agreed with someone as his actions were overly expressed. In fact, even though the tea served was good, it was not really the top-notch ones. The leader wanted Fang Yuan who was used to drinking Questioning Heart Tea to feel lost after drinking this tea? What a joke. "Herees the city master!" Just when Fang Yuan thought that the leader had wanted to swear with him as brothers, the city master was finally here. "I have seen you before, Prefecture Master!" He exhaled a long breath and got up to greet the city master after he had managed to stop the conversation with the leader. "Hehe....there is no need for such formality. Please rise!" Liu Yan held Fang Yuan with both of his hands and was smiling widely. As Fang Yuan got up, he was looking at the city master in detail. From just a look, one would think that the city master was just a skinny old man with two thick eyebrows. However, Fang Yuan was not only a Wu Zong, he was also a dream master and hence was able to detect much more. There was always a fire-type energy surrounding Liu Yan at all times. By simply using one¡¯s magical energy to observe the area, one would realise that it was no longer a person sitting in the prefecture master¡¯s chair; it was a huge fireball! This illusion meant that this person¡¯s spiritual knight cultivation had already reached the peak and was on the brink of a breakthrough, slowly approaching the next stage of cultivation. "Your name is Fang Yuan?" Seeing that Fang Yuan had joined the alliance out of his own will and even brought another powerful person as a gift, Liu Yan would definitely not put up his strong self in front of Fang Yuan. He was constantly giving a smile and was kind. He looked like one of the kind old neighbours in the city. However, his eyes looked solemn. "If I¡¯m not wrong, you are not only a Wu Zong but also somewhat a spiritual knight.....Also, you have already made a breakthrough to the heaven, haven¡¯t you?" This was not much of a secret as Fang Yuan had already expected the city master to know this when he gave Ling Yin as a gift. He had also reveal part of his magical energy on purpose and it was normal that he had been seen through. "You¡¯re correct!" Fang Yuan nodded his head conservatively. However, even if Liu Yan was 10 times more observant, he would still not be able to detect Fang Yuan¡¯s true identity as a dream master. After all, there were many branches of spiritual techniques, and dream elemental force was the most illusionary one. How would Liu Yan be able to differentiate it from the others? "You are a talented one indeed. I admire you!" Liu Yan¡¯s expression had gotten a little more serious. "What.....Brother Fang, you are a spiritual knight? Oh my..." The leader, who was beside them, was so surprised. "You really have my full respect!" "You can leave first, Leader Niu!" Liu Yan frowned and waved his hands. "I will take my leave!" Leader Niu dared not to be arrogant in front of the city master. He immediately took a bow and left, leaving just Fang Yuan and Liu Yan in the guest hall. Chapter 118: Advice Chapter 118: Advice Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Only Liu Yan and Fang Yuan were left in the guest hall after Leader Niu left. Liu Yan seized Fang Yuan up and sighed, "My friend, you have reached such a high level at such a young age. On the other hand, I have achieved nothing at my age..." "Prefecture Master, you have overestimated me!" Fang Yuan replied humbly. While Fang Yuan had previously heard about Liu Yan¡¯s character, he still felt the need to be wary of Liu Yan. "This is not overestimating you!" Liu Yan stroked his sparse goatee and said, "From what I know, there are only a few people who are able to reach the level of Wuzong or spiritual knight in Xia Country. You are the first person to simultaneously reach the two levels in Xia Country! I think even amongst the neighbouring countries, you are considered a genius that appeared once every 300 years!" While many old masters were able to alter their appearance to look young, the life energy that they exuded was different. Not even Fang Yuan¡¯s real age could be hidden from Liu Yan¡¯s spiritual eye. Fang Yuan did not expect that Liu Yan would hold him in such high esteem. After a moment of silence, Liu Yan asked, "Who is your teacher?" "I am from Qinghe County, and my teacher is Master Wenxin!" Fang Yuan used his master¡¯s alias which was the name that his master used to avoid trouble. Upon hearing that Fang Yuan was from Qinghe County, Liu Yanughed. "Good! Good! Good! A youth from my Secluded Mountain Prefecture!" He pondered for a while before asking, "Where is your master?" The master must be frightening if he was able to train his disciple to such a level. "My master is long gone!" This was no secret. Many in Qingye City knew and Fang Yuan did not make any attempt to hide the fact. "I see! No wonder..." Liu Yan nodded. He suddenly thought of something and after pondering it for a while, he made up his mind. "I want to talk to you about something but I wonder if you are willing to hear it out?" "Please speak!" Fang Yuan waved his hand. "The cultivation of martial arts or the road to being a spiritual knight requires years of effort and hardship. There is a limit to the energy of a person no matter how talented he is. This is especially true where it bes increasingly difficult to progresster on. My friend, it is advisable to only choose one path of cultivation if you do not want to end up like us. Only then will you be able to achieve sess!" Liu Yan advised. "Thank you for your input sir!" Fang Yuan felt like rolling his eyes as Liu Yan did not mention the conditions of joining the alliance and instead gave him a piece of advice regarding his cultivation. Fang Yuan knew that Liu Yan meant well. However, Fang Yuan was very different from other geniuses and as such, the advice was not applicable to him. "I would advise you to choose the path of the spiritual knight if you are to choose one path of cultivation!" Liu Yan could see that Fang Yuan did not take his advice to heart and turned strict, "Furthermore, from my years of experience. I have a revtion that there is no path after Wuzong!" "There is no path of cultivation after Wuzong?" Fang Yuan quivered as he noticed this problem. "That¡¯s correct!" Liu Yanughed bitterly, "Why did you think the 12 Golden Gates of Cultivation was set up?" "It was to help those martial artists to develop a strong foundation, especially those whocked the aptitude to reach a higher state of elemental force!" Fang Yuan answered without a moment of hesitation. He had the right to be confident for someone who had undergone the cultivation of martial arts. Based on his predictions, the path of martial arts was conceived by a spiritual knight who wanted to benefit the masses. Therefore, the step by step process through the 12 Gates was created. After all, the path of a spiritual knight started from a spiritual disciple followed by bing a spiritual knight. This was a huge single step and was extremely difficult. Martial arts divided this huge single step into 12 Gates. There was a process to be followed as a path to increase one¡¯s cultivation level. Finally, those cultivators with enough magical energy would sessfully breakthrough if they have just enough potential to be a spiritual knight or alchemy master. "That is correct!" Liu Yan nodded his head, "However, martial arts¡¯ elemental force is primitive and low-levelled. How can it bepared to a spiritual knight¡¯s elemental force? Even the techniques of the Spirit Returning Sect and the Five Ghosts Sect could only reach the realm of Wuzong with no means to progress after..." Liu Yan continued, "There are sayings that in the distant Da Qian Empire where martial arts ismon and progression in martial arts is fast where the realm after Wuzong had been clearly divided, unlike here where people are still sentimental..." "Therefore,paratively, for us spiritual knights, as long as we cultivate naturally and slowly develop our elemental force, by umting our cultivation, we would be able to achieve a breakthrough. We have also inherited a few iplete records of the way ahead, and are notpletely clueless about the future for this path of cultivation!" "This information should be given to you by your master. However, as he had passed away, I could only take matters into my own hands and tell you this." Fang Yuan listened carefully and his expression grew grave. "Loss of the path of martial arts, iplete spiritual knight cultivation techniques...I did not expect the Secluded Mountain Prefecture and even Xia Country to be a barren wastnd for cultivators!" "I wonder if the Da Qian Empire would be more interesting aspared to here." He thanked Liu Yan as his mind revolved around the thought. After all, even though Master Wenxin had given him the full inheritance describing the path to bing a dream master, Fang Yuan was still clueless about the situation in Xia Country and the recent changes in the cultivators¡¯ world. ¡¯I need no reminder to continue down my path as a dream master!¡¯ Fang Yuan now realized the value of the inheritance in his hand. Compared to the other spiritual knights who only had the badly damaged inheritance, Fang Yuan felt that he would be able to achieve much more than the other spiritual knights and would not walk into a dead-end. Fang Yuan felt that given time and effort, he would be able to surpass Liu Yan¡¯s and Lu Renjia¡¯s level. "So? What do you think?" Liu Yan looked at Fang Yuan and grimaced. "No...I was momentarily lost from too much information!" Fang Yuan shook his head, "Furthermore, I do not know the situation of the cultivation world in the Da Qian Empire." "There are rumours that path of martial arts is well developed in the faraway Da Qian Empire. They have already discovered the cultivation path after Wu Zong. This is unlike us here. Even if we have discovered the way ahead, we would selfishly keep it for ourselves..." There are also many spiritual knights who possessed frightening inheritance. It is said that a single person could take on tens or even hundreds of our people..." Liu Yan drifted off and sighed, "It¡¯s a shame that the Da Qian Empire is so far away with many dangers along the way. It is said that not even a Wu Zong or a spiritual knight would be able to reach there easily!" ¡¯Da Qian? I would go there and have a look once I be a Dream Master!¡¯ Fang Yuan silently made up his mind. Fang Yuan had heard of Da Qian Empire before. Master Wenxin was from Da Qian who travelled to Xia Country to avoid trouble. "I am really grateful for your advice!" He asked, "I just wonder why you would tell me so much?" "Haha...good question" Liu Yan¡¯s eyes appeared bright, "I gave you so much information precisely because you are a part of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture! You are much better than that outsider, Lu Renjia!" Fang Yuan did not know whether tough or cry. To think that the Prefecture Master was such a staunch supporter of this ideology. "Since you are from Qinghe County, I believe that the Spirit Returning Sect Sect Master Shi Yutong fell at your hands?" Liu Yan closed his eyes and suddenly eximed, "That Lin Yin was cunning and recently appeared in Qinghe County. I did not expect you to act so quickly and capture them in one fell swoop!" "They colluded and tried to kill me. I can only act first..." Fang Yuanughed bitterly, "That is the reason why Ie to the Prefecture Master to seek protection!" "Hmmmm?" Liu Yanughed, "Haha...good, straight to the point! I like your frank and sincere character!" Whether it was the first impression or the effect of the dream master, Liu Yan was starting to like Fang Yuan. Elder Han and Elder Bian would not be able to die peacefully if they were to hear about Liu Yan¡¯s assessment of Fang Yuan. "What do you want me to do? Send the army to Qinghe County to support you?" Liu Yan looked at Fang Yuan jokingly. "Of course not!" Fang Yuan shook his head. While Liu Yan appeared to like him, talk was cheap. If Liu Yan would readily send in troops after hearing a few words from Fang Yuan, it would be because his brain was damaged. No one so na?ve would be able to hold the position of the Prefecture Master. As such, Fang Yuan needed an object or say things that would sway Liu Yan. Ling Yin was just a small gesture. "Sending an army would waste too much time and effort. Furthermore, I was not hoping that the Prefecture Master would help me conquer the whole county..." Fang Yuan blinked his eyes, "I was wondering if you are interested to quickly end the war?" "Hmmmm? Speak!" Liu Yan straightened up when he heard this. It was obvious that he was interested. "It was only recently that I took down Shi Yutong and Ling Yin. Lu Renjia would not be able to receive such news so quickly!" Fang Yuan had already thought of what to say on his journey, "The Spirit Returning Sect is currently without a leader. In order to stabilise the alliance, he would send a powerful person, even himself, to keep the situation at hand. This makes him an easy target to ambush. Even if we are not able to kill him, we would be able to gravely injure him!" "Using a spiritual beast? He would be caught unprepared?" Liu Yan¡¯s eyes glinted. Chapter 119: Bone Melting Sect Chapter 119: Bone Melting Sect Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Wrong!" Fang Yun shook his head. "I don¡¯t want to ambush Qinghe County¡¯s support, but rather, the Bone Melting Sect¡¯s Sect Master!" The three sects, Spirit Returning, Bone Melting and Yellow Brothers Sect all had Wu Zongs at the helm controlling a cony each. Collectively, they gave strength to Lu Renjia¡¯s betrayal. Furthermore, Lu Renjia was from the Bone Melting Sect! "This way, we can remove the leader! If Prefecture Master would join us, we can cause great damage to the opposing alliance, disrupting their atmosphere!" Fang Yuan said confidently. Even though Liu Yan had three other counties under his name, these three counties were weak, especially Lieyang County. After the chaos, they could not recover and therefore could not give support. Lu Renjia was an alchemy master and was therefore influential. Not only they were evenly matched, he still had the upper hand. However, now that it was easy to take control over Qinghe County, the situation turned around. "Mmm... Lu Renjia would surely send reinforcements to Qinghe County. This is a good opportunity for us to strike!" Liu Yan nodded his head but did not say a word. "Of course... If you feel that this n is too dangerous, we can still head towards Qinghe County to deal with those who are assisting them. We can simrly gain control over the whole situation!" Fang Yuan knew Liu Yan¡¯s considerations and added a line. "No need!" Liu Yan¡¯s red eyebrows twitched, and after a short while, he came to a decision. He stood up and walked forward. "If I don¡¯t decide now, trouble will ensue! Right now, the enemy is weak while I am strong. If I don¡¯t take this opportunity, wouldn¡¯t I be letting them have the opportunity to regroup?" He knew how impressive an alchemy master¡¯sworking was. If he gave Lu Renjia any chance to regroup, he would be on the losing end. "Pass down my orders. Get all the capital leaders and spiritual knights... To the main hall!" Liu Yan eximed, as his voice travelled far. "Let¡¯s not dy, now is the best time to move!" Fang Yuan immediately agreed. After making a decision, this Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master was rather decisive and did not think twice. "Prefecture Master, Niu Dingtian, Leng Ning and Xiang Zilong reporting!" "Keke... Brother Liu, I wonder where did the spiritual bird outsidee from? It is majestic!" ... After a short while, a number of martial artists entered the hall; they all harnessed elemental force. Three of them wore the Chilled Metal Armour and had a sinister look. Every movement of theirs resembled a killer. They were all the Wu Zong capital leaders of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture armed forces. Another old man was d in white robes. Although he seemed a little crazy, he had a big build, slightlyrger than Niu Dingtian. "Spiritual knight?" Fang Yuan looked at the person with a serious look. From this old man, he felt a totally different Wood-type inner breath. He had the feeling of spring and life. "Brother Mu, don¡¯t be rude!" Liu Yan jokingly chided him and continued. "The spiritual bird outside belongs to Fang Yuan, Brother Fang. Don¡¯t you dare have any ideas on it!" He turned and faced Fang Yuan. "This is my good friend, Daoist Mu Li. He had lived in seclusion and only offered his help when I wrote him a letter... He loves spiritual birds, and once he caught a ¡¯Pure Yang Bird¡¯, which once guarded the Heaven Facing Peak for one year and one month, but sadly, he did not get anything in return..." "Liu Yan, stop exposing me!" Daoist Mu Li blew at his moustache before looking in Fang Yuan¡¯s direction. His expression changed to one of suspicion. "Wu Zong? Mmm? No, not right... Spiritual knight! Cultivating both martial arts and spiritual techniques at the same time, and still of such a young age! Monster!" "Cough cough!" Liu Yan almost choked on his saliva, and coughed repeatedly, afraid that there would be an internal conflict. "Oh, it¡¯s Sect Master Fang!" As for the other two capital leaders who heard that this young man could cultivate martial arts and spiritual techniques at the same time, and furthermore having both aspects entering the realm of elemental force, both of them became polite and greeted him. "You¡¯re wee!" Fang Yuan waved his hand. "Daoist Mu Li is interested in my spiritual bird? Unfortunately, that ck eagle of mine is rather proud and will not recognise any outsiders..." "Ah... Then there¡¯s no choice!" Daoist Mu Li sighed. "I have tried to, with much effort, catch a spiritual eagle. As I tried to tame it, it starved itself to death and did not sumb to me..... Ah..." At this point, he sounded as regretful as he could possibly be. "Young man, did you use any secret technique to tame this ck eagle? Teach it to me! I¡¯ll teach you a wood-type spiritual spell in exchange for it, what do you think?!" He looked at Fang Yuan in anticipation and almost went up to tug his sleeve to beg him. "Mu Li..." Liu Yan could not hold back. "Don¡¯t you already have a Wind Chasing Falcon? Isn¡¯t that enough?" "Little Green is good, but the more the merrier... Brother Liu, you do not know what I am wishing for. I want to form an army of spiritual birds and change my Wood Elemental Temple to Five Birds Temple!" Mu Li eximed with a straight face, which made Liu Yan almost burst into tears. "Alright, I have gathered all of you to round up our strength and collectively attack the Bone Melting Sect¡¯s Sect Master, clean up the ce and destroy Lu Renjia!" With the wave of his hand, a feeling of death spread throughout the hall. Hearing this, the seemingly joking Daoist Mu Li became serious. "... This is what happened. Based on what Brother Fang has told us, Lu Renjie must have just received news and have sent out reinforcements to assist Qinghe County. His own base is therefore weaker and is a good opportunity for us to strike. What do you guys think?" Liu Yan exined the entire happening and looked at the capital leaders. "We will follow your orders!" Niu Dingtian, Xiang Zilong and Leng Ning were all his subordinates and therefore replied while kneeling down. "Mmm... Although I want to attack the weaknesses of Lu Renjia, the earlier the war would end, the better it would be for the prefecture. I agree with what Master Fang had said, which is just to strike the Bone Melting Sect... Hehe, anyway we now have two spiritual birds at our disposal. If we use them properly, we can strike them by surprise!" Daoist Mu Li shared his own view. "I am for the same idea! Let¡¯s not dy any further, and leave now! Mu Li, call for your Wind Chasing Falcon too!" Liu Yan changed to a long robe which glittered with a spiritual glow and arrived at a school behind the hall. "Hehe... Good!" Daoist Mu Li smiled, took out a bamboo whistle and blew hard into it. A sharp whistle travelled far and wide. "Chirp!" Arge green bird shot down from the clouds like an arrow. "Chirp! Chirp!" Seeing this, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle who was originally eating roasted meat could not hold back anymore. It pped its wings and as the wind it created blew the Secluded Mountain Prefecture soldiers, it flew up and chased after the Wing Chasing Falcon. "Hu Hu!" On the schoolpound, sand and dust flew everywhere. Landed in the middle were two spiritual birds looking at each other, as though they were challenging each other. "Good spiritual bird! Good spiritual bird!" Daoist Mu Li enjoyed it very much, and he almost drooled. Fang Yuan was examining the Wing Chasing Falcon. It was aerodynamic and its feathers were a bright green. Its head was slightly smaller aspared to the Iron-tailed ck Eagle, and its breath seemed shorter too. If the Iron-tailed Eagle waspared to a 4 Heavenly Gate martial artist, then the Wing Chasing Falcon should be an expert in inner force. Even though it was as such, Fang Yuan could see a hint of unyieldingness in its eyes. It was not afraid of the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. "I, Niu Dingtian and Master Fang will be together. Xiang Zilong, Leng Ning, you two shall ride the Chasing Wing Falcon and set off immediately!" Fang Yuan leapt on to the Iron-tailed ck Eagle,forted it before allowing Liu Yan to ride it as well. He felt a sense of pride as he waved his hands. "Chirp! Chirp!" "Chirp!" Apanying two chirps from the eagle, the Chasing Wing Falcon raced the Iron-tailed ck Eagle into the sky, and both of them disappeared into the horizon. ... Cangyi County, White Bone Mountain. This was where the Bone Melting Sect was. The first generation of the Bone Melting Sect¡¯s Wu Zong stumbled upon this spiritualnd and transformed it into their base. The opening of Bone Melting Sect had been around 500 years. With such a foundation, there were many Wu Zongs from the Bone Melting Sect, which went on continuously for many years. The Sect Master of Bone Melting Sect shook the Secluded Mountain with the Bone Melting Palm Technique and was even more well known than Shi Yutong. The Bone Melting Sect now was a mess. At the foot of the mountain, there were many new soldier camps, and one could hear them shouting orders at the base camp. Since Lu Renjia¡¯s rebellion, the Bone Melting Sect was his most loyal supporter. Therefore, Lu Renjia decided to ce his rebellion alliance base camp here, as a challenge to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. However, there was peace and tranquillity in the Bone Melting Sect, as spiritual energy filled the entirepound. Lu Renjia crossed his legs and sat on a futon, and in front of him stood a cauldron as tall as a human. Charcoal mes were burning brilliantly beneath the cauldron, continuously giving off green mes which licked the base of the cauldron. While looking at the mes, Lu Renjia¡¯s expression was one of worry. "Master Lu, you are worried about your disciple?" A scribe in white entered the room. He was middle-aged and had white sideburns. He held a foldable fan in his hand and looked suave. Just by his appearance, no one would associate him with the cruel Bone Melting Sect Sect Master as heard in the legends. "That is right..." Lu Renjia did not get up. He casually pointed to a futon to wee the Bone Melting Sect Sect Master to sit down, before sighing. "Who would have predicted for such a big thing to happen to such a protected disciple of mine? I am responsible for the disappearance of Ling Yin and the chaos in Spirit Returning Sect." "Heh... Shi Yutong is a useless piece of junk. Other than having looks, her martial arts is sh*t, and can even be abducted by a junior Wu Zong. She has brought shame to all of us!" Bone Melting Sect Sect Master still did not know that Fang Yuan cultivated martial arts and spiritual techniques at the same time, and was full of dissatisfaction with Shi Yutong. Heforted Lu Renjia and said, "Master Lu, you need not worry. Did you not already sent Tiancan and Dique, the two brothers, as well as the Blood Demon to aid them in Qinghe County? With the three of them, what can a Wu Zong do?" Chapter 120: Ambush Chapter 120: Ambush Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Even if it is so, I still do not think it is safe!" Lu Renjia frowned further. He got up and paced up and down before making up his mind, ordering, "Send down my order immediately, use the spiritual messenger! Order Blood Demon and the Crippled Brothers to abandon the mission and return immediately!" "This..." The blood drained from the face of the head of the Bone Melting Sect as he stuttered, "Sir are you afraid it might be...a trap?" "Correct! If the Wu Zong who captured Shi Yutong was in cahoots with Old Liu, then they are trying to create a diversion!" Lu Renjia paced around the room in a circle a few times. His thoughts were clearer, and he said, "Since we have to go, we must rally all the veteran martial artists together on this trip! I am not only going to foil Old Liu¡¯s sneaky n, I am going to make him pay too!" "Good!" Just as the head of the Bone Melting Sect stood up, two loud shrill calls of an eagle pierced the air from the sky above. "We¡¯re under attack!!!" The deafening noise of the bell and drum reverberated through the air above the Bone Melting Sect. The junior disciples werepletely out of control and were in utter chaos. However, the guards closer to the core group stood at high points and aimed their arrows towards the sky. "Haha... I have been tolerating their nonsense for too long, it¡¯s payback time! Charge straight down, do not be frightened of the arrows!" Liu Yanughed heartily. With a stretch of his hand, six green fire dragons appeared in front of him, baring their teeth and ws as they roared threateningly. The dragons emitted blistering heat waves into their surroundings as they charged downwards at incredible speed. "Voom voom!" An archer¡¯s tower got struck by a me of green fire and burst into mes immediately. The locked and loaded 8 Oxen Bowls caught fire in no time and the archers by the side were not spared the painful death, screaming in agony as they fell from the tower. "Shoot! Shoot!" The head of the Bone Melting Sect exploded with rage and flew onto a roof. He snatched away a huge bow and pulled the string to its maximum tension. The arrow shot out with amazing force towards the two spiritual birds. Behind the head of the Bone Melting Sect, the disciples and elders of the sect who were originally in utter chaos eventually found theirposure and got a hold of the situation. At the same time, several long-range weapons shot into the sky to meet the great enemy. "Elemental force of heaven and earth, do my bidding!" Liu Yan did a finger gesture as he shouted out the incantation. Immediately, two green and red fires burst out in front of Iron-tailed ck Eagle and Wind Chasing Falcon, as though forming a shield. At the same time, a huge me exploded in mid air and rained down like a meteor shower. This was the spiritual fire. Even though it was in a small quantity, it was terrifying enough for most of the lower ranking disciples. To use it in such a big environment, it became a fire disaster in no time, lighting up all the beautifully constructed buildings. "Liu Yan! You old thief!" Seeing this, the head of the Bone Melting Sect seethed with anger as he shouted, "One of us must die today!" "Snap!" He drew back the string on the bow as he prepared his next shot, but as he exerted too much force, the bow snapped into two. "Lu Renjia...you old thief, show yourself!" As Liu Yan¡¯s passions got intensified in the fight, he shouted out for his enemy. Fang Yuan assessed the situation closely and was on his toes. With the dispersal of the powerful magical elemental force, Fang Yuanmunicated with Iron-tailed ck Eagle as they dodged the lethal arrows shooting up from below. With the shield of fire, they could move about freely in the barrage of arrows. ¡¯ording to what Liu Yan said on the way here, Lu Renjia is an alchemy master. He hired a spiritual knight who goes by the name of Blood Demon and also has two servants who are Wu Zong martial artists going by the name of the Crippled Brothers! With thebined might of these people and the heads of three sects, this was almost enough to overpower the Secluded Mountain Prefecture!¡¯ With thebination of powers of seven martial artists who had elemental force, it was more than enough to overpower the existing head of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. Before, this Liu Yan definitely had more than three generals in the secluded mountain. But after one of them rebelled, he fought another general to their deaths in the war earlier. This pattern continued which severely weakened the power of Liu Yan¡¯s forces. ¡¯If I did not arrive, the Secluded Mountain Prefecture would be wiped out even though they have two spiritual knights, three Wu Zongs and the scarily impressive power of Liu Yan! As for just now, if Liu Yan had dared to even use such that technique without Iron-tailed ck Eagle covering for him, he would definitely be encircled and trapped without a chance of survival!¡¯ "Chief Bai!" Looking at the disaster unfold in front of him, Lu Renjia shook his head and said, "We are overpowered now, we must avoid the tip of the enemy¡¯s spear and head for open ground where the spiritual fire cannot work its magic to cut our losses!" "As of now the enemy is pressing its advantage. Now that the Spirit Returning Sect is in trouble and the head of the Huang Kun Sect has rushed here, we should still not take the enemy on. All we can do now is to wait for Blood Demon and the rest to hurry back quickly!" Combining all of their powers, it would be more than sufficient to deal with Fang Yuan, Liu Yuan and their spiritual beasts. "Do not care about this sect now, head straight for the camps at the foot of the mountain to break out!" "Woo woo!" Earlier when the Bone Melting Sect was enveloped in mes, the army camps at the bottom of the mountain sprang into full alertness. Horns red anxiously, and arrows were loaded into their bows. They were definitely more disciplined and ready than the Bone Melting Sect. After all, it was the elite soldiers of the three counties who resided within the camps. They were a uniformed and legitimate force, not a bunch of rowdy disciples. "Move!" The head of the Bone Melting Sect winced and ignoring the pain in his heart,manded loudly, "Disciples of Bone Melting Sect, disperse and break out!" This was a painful decision, but it was very effective. After all, Liu Yan was just one person, even if he was more powerful, how many could he possible kill? Anyway, if the sect got burned down, it was just a matter of losing face. He could always rebuild itter. Even Liu Yan¡¯s own city got destroyed. "Chase them!" Upon seeing each other, the enemies raged further. Without much effort, Liu Yan spotted Lu Renjia behind the head of the Bone Melting Sect and shouted angrily, "Prepare to die!" "Bang! Bang!" Several huge falls of fire formed on his arms and they crashed downwards from above, like from a methrower. "Haha...you old devil you expanded everything you had, aren¡¯t you afraid that you might have went a bit too hard?" Lu Renjiaughed and as he waved his hand three alchemy balls flew out. "Voom!" The white ball exploded in mid air and the temperature fell drastically immediately. The whole ce became freezing cold and neutralised the raging fire. ¡¯Even though this person is an alchemy master, it seems that he isn¡¯t that inflexible!" Seeing this, Fang Yuan thought of an idea and silently ordered Iron-tailed ck Eagle to soar up higher. How could spiritual knights and the Wu Zong act so speedily? In no time, Lu Renjia and the head of the White Bone Sect cross the mountain and arrived at the foot of it. Within the camp, a gust of dust sped towards Lu Renjia. The leader wore a yellow robe and had a thunderous voice as he shouted, "Master Lu, I will help you!" "Be careful Chief Huang, this old devil got himself a spiritual eagle from somewhere which is even more powerful than the Wind Chasing Falcon!" Seeing the head of the Yellow Brothers sect arrive personally to help him, Lu Renjia heaved a sigh of relief and cautioned him. "Haha, do not worry Master Lu. This Liu Yan could not have possible expected me to be defenceless against his spiritual bird right?" With a wave of his hand, the cover sheets on a few carriages were removed to reveal 5 unique looking crossbows. The arrows had several unknown prints on it and the arrow head looked slightly illuminated by a dull green light. "Aim!" "Fire!" With a few shouts from the troops, the five cross bows let out a deafening roar. "Bang!" The tremendous recoil caused several carriages carrying the weapons to exploded instantly. The power of such a gigantic crossbow was naturally tremendous. "This..." High in the air, Fang Yuan immediately felt anxious and realised danger wasing his way andmanded, "Iron-tailed ck Eagle, dodge to your right!" "Shoo!" Almost instantaneously after spiritual will was activated, a ray of green light passed through the shield of fire and brushed past the wings of Iron-tailed ck Eagle, shooting down some of its iron feathers. "Bastards!" By the side, Liu Yan thrusted his five fingers outwards and ming w appeared, causing the other crossbow tobust into ash. Iron-tailed ck Eagle was lucky that Fang Yuan pre-empted it and saved its live. However, the Wind Chasing Falcon next to it was not so lucky. Along with the gasps of awe from the people, Wind Chasing Falcon increased its speed and dodged two of the arrows, but got hit by thest one in its wing. The arrow pierced into it and blood flowed out as it let out a painful shriek. "Fantastic!" Looking at the unsteady Wind Chasing Falcon fall towards the ground, Lu Renjia heaved a sigh of relief and said, "You skills are incredible Chief Huang, you have helped us a lot!" "Our sect started off constructing equipment and mechanisms and I made this crossbow myself. The most crucial parts of the crossbow are made from iron of top quality. The arrows were also further enhanced with the inscription of spiritual prints. Even if they had the protection of feathers of 4 Heavenly Gates level, the arrow could still prate through!" The head of the Huang Kun sect boasted with satisfaction. "Surround them and kill them off!" Seeing Wind Chasing Falcon fly closer to the ground, rays of frosty light shot out of Lu Renjia¡¯s eyes. "Just us? Unless the entire army surrounds them, if not..." Upon seeing the people on top of the spiritual birds, the head of the White Bone Sect lost a bit of confidence. Would the two highly skilled Wu Zong and spiritual knight even stupidly fall for the trap and allow the army to surround them? "Do not worry, even without the help of the main force, we can take them on ourselves!" Lu Renjia winced a little and then painfully drew out an item and said, "With this, it doesn¡¯t matter if our opponents double in force, we can dy them here until Blood Demon and the Crippled Brothers return! When they do, it will be time for Liu Yan to die!" "This is...the Spiritual Array Map?" The eyes of the head of Huang Kun sect lit up as he licked his lips and said, "This is such a rare and precious item you have!" "Brother Huang, you tter me!" Lu Renjia smiled grimly and said, "Spiritual Array masters are no longer in existence in this area. This Spiritual Array Map is thest of its kind and it can only be used once. To do so will be to spend half of my life¡¯s possessions..." "Sssss.... I¡¯ve long heard that it was difficult to be a Spiritual Array master. But if one were to seed, it would be extremely powerful and difficult to defeat." How much possessions did an alchemy master have? Even if it was just a fraction, it was still enough to make any sect desirous. To achieve the Spiritual Array Map at such a huge cost, its powers and effects must be devastating. To be able to see Lu Renjia be so confident of dying and holding up such formidable martial artists, it was a sight only a privileged few could enjoy! "Chase!" The heads of the Huang Kun Sect and the Bone Melting Sect made eye contact and hurriedly followed behind Lu Renjia as they moved towards the area where Wind Chasing Falcon fell. "Erm!" Fang Yuan who was still in the air caught sight of this immediately and grew suspicious, "They are extremely daring to leave the protection of the army ande out on their own!" Based on their flexibility, in order to chase up to people like themselves, the only way to do so was to leave behind the main army. But to so courageously do so when they were clearly at a disadvantage, they must have something they were relying on for support! "Hehe...Could it be that Lu Renjia thinks that just because he behaves so daringly I wouldn¡¯t dare to fight him?" Liu Yan pointed somewhere deep into the mountains and said, "Let¡¯s go there!" Deep in the mountains and the jungle was where the main army could not enter easily, which was also where they could effectively execute their techniques to the maximum extent. Chapter 121: The Battle Chapter 121: The Battle Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Wuwa, my Little Green... I will banish them to hell and wipe their existence off the face of the world!" Within the forest. Trees in an entire forest were being cut down, and on the ground, blood was flowing everywhere. "Chirp! Chirp..." Chasing Wing Falcon tried its best to lift its head up and weakly chirped. It looked like it was out of breath, which affected the Iron-tailed ck Eagle which was at one side, and it did not have the urge to joke around with it anymore. "Good!" Liu Yan twitched his eyebrows. "Instead of wasting time, why not hurry up and heal it, then bring it away from here. Otherwise, it would be toote when this ce bes a Wu Zong and spiritual knight battlefield, and any spiritual beast who is going to get injured because of the battle deserves it." "Yes of course!" Daoist Mu Li froze, and slowly became serious. "Little Green, hold on! Spring breeze rain, strike!" A green sh shot out from his palm, which transformed the fog in the air into water droplets, and itnded on the wound of the Wind Chasing Falcon. "Mm?" What happened next shocked Fang Yuan. Under the cover of the raindrops, it was as though there was ayer of cloud over the Wind Chasing Falcon¡¯s wound. The bleeding stopped immediately and recovered... After the spiritual technique was over, what was left behind was a scab. Other than the surrounding being bald with no feathers, it was no different than before. ¡¯Wood-type spiritual spells... Healing?¡¯ Seeing such a healing effect, Fang Yuan almost vomited. If there were more spiritual knights around like Daoist Mu Li, then doctors would be rendered useless already. "Brother Fang, let your Iron-tailed ck Eagle watch the battle with the Wind Chasing Falcon from afar!" Liu Yan waved his hand and briefed the rest. "Since Lu Renjia is approaching us even after knowing that we have two spiritual birds, he must have some backing or tricks up his sleeves." "Understood!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. He used his spiritual will to instruct the Iron-tailed ck Eagle to fly high. At the moment, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle shot up into the sky. Even though the Wind Chasing Falcon¡¯s wound was recovered, it opened up again after it tried to use force to p its wings, and the falcon shrieked. It used its ws to run into the forest and disappeared. "Alright. I would like to see what tricks Lu Renjia has up his sleeves?" Liu Yanughed heartily, as though he was very generous. On the other hand, Fang Yuan was less confident and frowned. With a wave of his hand, ayer of fog appeared but was not obvious since it was in the jungle. "Fog?" Liu Yan and Daoist Mu Li were both spiritual knights and knew that this was Fang Yuan¡¯s doing. However, using their spiritual will, they could not find anything special about it and both of them were surprised. "They¡¯re here!" Just when Daoist Mu Li was curious and wanted to ask about it, Liu Yan eximed. From the forest came three silhouettes. The one in front was Lu Renjia. The Bone Melting Sect Sect Master and the Yellow Brothers Sect Sect Master were on his left and right respectively, and since they were following him from behind, it was obvious that they were his subordinates. They did not bring a single martial artist who was below the realm of elemental force because they knew that in such a battle, they would not aid but only burden them. "Keke... Old fogey Lu, how dare youe to find us with only two Wu Zongs? Do you want me to grant you your death?" Liu Yan looked at Lu Renjia¡¯s expression and could tell that he was on his highest alert, but up front, he appeared as though he was mocking him. "Hmm!" Lu Renjia eximed, as he scanned across from the Secluded Mountain capital leaders, to Daoist Mu Li and ended up staring at Fang Yuan. "You are... the new Wu Zong form Qinghe County?" He was the only unfamiliar face present and was the youngest of all, and therefore Lu Renjia could not be mistaken. "That¡¯s right. I am also the one who captured your disciple, Ling Yin!" He was unsettled and took a few steps away from the group, all the while staring at Lu Renjia. "Good! Very good!" Lu Renjia unexpectedlyughed. "I have already sent Blood Demon and Tiancan Dique brothers to Qinghe County. Do you think that your servants and useless guards can still survive?" Although he had already sent the message to recall them back, he did not mind to use this piece of news to worry this young Wu Zong¡¯s mind - Since Fang Yuan had kept all his magical energy, Lu Renjia could only see him as a normal Wu Zong. Liu Yan looked at Mu Li for a while, both suspicious of what Lu Renjia said, but both did not dare to expose the truth. "Do anything you want to my subordinates..." Fang Yuan waved his hands. "But if they want to save Ling Yin, they will have to prate the defences of the Prefecture Master¡¯s Mansion!" "That¡¯s right!" Liu Yan stood out too. "Ling Yin has been captured and held in my water prison, hehe... Master Lu is a respectable person and will never know where that ce is. But that is fine, you will join her there very quickly." "Very well, it seems that all of you are against me, and deserve to die!" Lu Renjia¡¯s expression changed and seemed even more confident. "Quickly strike!" As a spiritual knight, they had the ability to feel their blood gushing and the insecurity in their mind. Liu Yan shouted and made the first move. "Six royal levels, hear mymand... Heavenly fire burn the field!" "Ch!" Six beams of light shot out from his body and became imageries of their own in mid-air. They lighted up the entire sky, and suddenly fell downwards! This power shocked Lu Renjia, and he could only retreat. "Chance!" The Wu Zongs and spiritual knights were all talents, so how could they miss this great opportunity to strike? While the opponents were busy retreating, Fang Yuan and Niu Dingtian, together with the Secluded Mountain capital leaders rushed forward. "He! The wood element of the Heaven and Earth, bless! Bind!" Even though Daoist Mu Li did not advance, both his hands each had a daoist talisman which flew forward. One of it became ayer of green sh, which blessed the few Wu Zongs in front, granting them greater powers. As for the other daoist talisman, it dug its way into the ground and disappeared. "Ping! Ping!" Beside Lu Renjia andpany were green vines with thorns appearing from the ground. These vines twisted around and circled inwards, like a cage. "Spiritual Peak Technique, crush!" With mesing from above, Wu Zongs attacking from in front, and thorny vines from the back, Lu Renjie broke into cold sweat. He took out a cauldron pill and threw it forward. "Rumble!" An image of a small cauldron appeared, which grew in size under the crimson mes. It became the cauldron which supported the Heaven and Earth, as it contained the green mes in the sky. It then transformed into many smaller mes which dispersed in all directions. The vines burst into mes aftering into contact with these smaller mes, and could no longer move. After this single move, a distinct crack appeared on the small cauldron, which broke Lu Renjia¡¯s heart. "This is likely to be a one-off magical weapon, or has a certain limit! Follow me!" Fang Yuan squinted his eyes and tilted his head, as a green me flew across his hair. Itnded on an ancient tree behind him, which burst into mes and became arge torch. "Buy some time for me!" Lu Renjia looked ferocious, took out the Spiritual Formation Image and eximed. "Alright!" Bone Melting Sect Sect Master looked at Yellow Brothers Sect Sect Master. They were experienced Wu Zongs. Although they could not take two opponents each, they could still stall time. They took a few steps forward and blocked Fang Yuan and the rest. ¡¯Now!¡¯ No one knew why Fang Yuan suddenly smiled cheekily. "Ecstasy Spell!" "Whooo!" The mild mountain fog surrounding the area thickened and covered Lu Renjia andpany. "Eh?" "This is..." In reality, the usage of this Ecstasy Spell could only at most put a 4 Heavenly Gate martial artist into a deep sleep. As for Wu Zongs and spiritual knights, they could easily awaken once their elemental force was focused. However, a fierce battle with no regard for their lives would be the biggest weakness of everyone. "Kill!" "Die!" ... Seeing how both the Bone Melting Sect Sect Master and the Yellow Brothers Sect Sect Master were in shock, Niu Dingtian and the other Wu Zongs did not hesitate to use their strongest skills. "Demonic Bull Fist!" Niu Dingtian eximed as he became muscr in an instant. As his originallyrge build increased in size once more, he appeared to be a small giant. He also broke through Wu Zong using the Rough Breathing Technique and became a crazy demon during battle. As his fists struck out, it was like tworge and heavy hammers. "Rumble!" The Bone Melting Sect Sect Master regained his consciousness in a while, but the moment he came to, he already saw Niu Dingtian¡¯s fist at his nose. "Ah! Bone Melting Palm!" He used all his elemental force in his right palm which seemed invincible. "Peng!" As the fist and palm met, both of them were left in shock. "What a strong and brute fellow!" The Bone Melting Sect Sect Master took a step back. It was obvious that he was at a disadvantage, and thought to himself. "Could it be that I was being ambushed by the fog, and you tried to hurt me?" His Bone Melting Palm was the unique counter to rough techniques and was the nemesis to Niu Dingtian. However, since he lost the advantage of taking the first move, every following move was pushing him to an even more disadvantageous situation. "Dragon Subduing Kick!" As Niu Dingtian was pushed away, Xiang Zilong followed up from above. Both his legs struck out continuously and were as sharp as a knife. It could even beparable to magical weapons! "Go and die!" The Bone Melting Sect Sect Master retreated continuously, which unknowingly made the Yellow Brothers Sect Sect Master stand out. "Condensing Frost!" Leng Ning appeared feminine yet masculine, and it was hard to tell if he was a male or a female. His opening strike was devastating. There was frost on his hands, as they struck out in an unpredictable manner. Suddenly, he leapt in front of Yellow Brothers Sect Sect Master. The Yellow Brothers Sect Sect Master was skilled in making mechanisms but was stillparatively weaker in martial arts whenpared with the Bone Melting Sect Sect Master. Since he was also left in a state of confusion after the ambush from the fog, he could only rush and dodge a sword strike towards his chest, but there was a slit on his body. "Run!" With the wound on his body and the possibility of death, he did not hesitate to make his escape. If he did not run, he would die here! As a Wu Zong, he fully trusted his spiritual sense. Unfortunately, his spiritual sense would be his biggest weakness against a dream master skilled in confusion. Leng Ning was not the only one attacking the Yellow Brothers Sect Sect Master! As the Yellow Brothers Sect Sect Master tried to escape, Fang Yuan rushed forward like a giant eagle, and wed at his weak point! Chapter 122: The Formation Chapter 122: The Formation Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Aahh!" The Yellow Brothers Sect Sect Master let out a cry. His urate martial artist intuition had caused his death! His spiritual heart had been greatly hit. He had no choice but to hit back by pounding on the Fang Yuan¡¯s chest with both of his palms. This method would cause both of them to be injured. If Fang Yuan was persistent in taking away his life, he would want Fang Yuan to be seriously injured as well! Of course, the sect master didn¡¯t want such oue to happen ultimately. ¡¯Please stop!¡¯ He made a move while having that thought in his mind. Unfortunately, God seemed to have forsaken him. Fang Yuan, who was right in front of him, gave him a wicked smile and the force from his hands was very strong. Fang Yuan seemed like he was not afraid to die. "Even Heaven wants me to die!" The sect master was sighing in his heart but was putting more force in his hands. "Let¡¯s not figure out who is better than the other and we shall perish together!" "Peng!" Just when the sect master had that idea popped up into his head, his brain was torn by Fang Yuan¡¯s hands and the content from his brain started to flow out, which made this move a fatal one! At the same time, the sect master used both of his palms that were filled with surging elemental force and make a print on Fang Yuan¡¯s chest. From the loud noise, Fang Yuan was pushed back with much force and his clothing was torn into pieces, which revealed his muscr chest and his tanned skin. Fang Yuan was not injured at all. As a person who had made a breakthrough through the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique for Wu Zong, this achievement had brought him a benefit now. Even though his body was in a good condition now, it was not the best! The Sect Head hastily retaliated without preparation, which prevented him from exerting his full strength. Furthermore, he was already killed by Fang Yuan, hence the force in his palms became even weaker...... "Hoo....." Fang Yuan exhaled a long breath and the colour of his chest turned back to its normal colour. However, he was feeling intense pain in his chest. "A Wu Zong indeed, thiseback before his death is quite powerful actually!" Fang Yuan rubbed his chest and thought about it silently. He didn¡¯t see the shocking expressions of the people that were watching them. "What? The Yellow Brothers Sect Sect Master is dead?" Bone Melting Sect Sect Master saw what happened and couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. "Oh my god.....he is also a Wu Zong and he is dead just by being torn through the head like a watermelon....." Looking at the dead sect master who was as powerful as him, the Bone Melting Sect Sect Master immediately had the intention of retreating. He was a sect master of the Bone Melting Sect and had control of one of the counties. Everyone was fearful of the Bone Melting Sect in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture and how could he easily fold here? "Is it still not done yet, Master Lu?" The Bone Melting Sect Sect Master retreated to where Lu Renjia was. "You think producing such thing is an easy task? Also, we still have to deal with Liu Yan¡¯s Fire-type spiritual spell!" Even though he was rushing to set up the spiritual array, Lu Renjia did not let go of the small cauldron that was in his hand. An illusion of a giant cauldron then appeared and it engulfed Lu Renjia in it and he was far from the confrontation with Liu Yan. Liu Yan was not to be provoked as with his Fire-type spiritual spell, Lu Renjia¡¯s cauldron would be easily broken into pieces even if there was restraint. "You shall die! 9 into 1!" With the execution of the spiritual spell, the 9 green fire dragons flying in the sky suddenly let out a long roar, beforebining to be one green giant dragon. The giant dragon then flew straight down from the sky. "Aahh....with my broken cauldron and my blood, an emerald green destruction shall ensue!" Seeing this destructive scene, Lu Renjie bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood on the cauldron. "Kacha! Kacha!" There were many crack marks on the cauldron and was expanding. In the end, the small cauldron exploded and there was a small green pill floating in mid-air. It was giving out a shocking amount of spiritual force. The pill suddenly went up into the sky and caused the surrounding to be red in colour. The green fire dragon who was in that area had started to be calm and the fire in the dragon was extinguished. "Emerald Blood Heart Pill? Lu Renjia cultivated his whole life together with this pill, and yet he was willing to sacrifice it....." Liu Yan shouted, "This person is preparing for a stronger move, we need to destroy what he has with him right now!" "Yes, Master!" Niu Dingtian, Xiang Zilong and a few others acknowledged and pounced on Lu Renjia. Unfortunately, they were toote. "Hehe....puff.....it¡¯s finallyplete!" Lu Renjia spat out a mouthful of blood and gave a joyful look as he looked at the array map he was holding. "The 4 spiritual poles shallbine together. The Grand Rock Spirit, heed mymand, form the array in all 8 directions!" With blood on his mouth, Lu Renjia chanted the curse quickly. Throwing the spiritual array map towards Liu Yan, he shouted, "Go!" "Xiu!" With a sh of a spiritual light, a blurry light started to shine from the sky and it engulfed Fang Yuan, Liu Yan and the others. "Whoosh!" The earth shook and a few giant rocks started to break through from the underground and rise to form like a giant maze. "Is this....a spiritual array?" Liu Yan¡¯s voice could be heard from far and it started to get softer till there it couldn¡¯t be heard. "We are being separated? A spiritual array is indeed powerful. I have not expected this to happen!" Fang Yuan touched the hard rock that was right in front of him and he could feel a cold texture, which meant that this spiritual array was not fake. "Eagle w Palm!" He stretched out his hand and all his fingers became like eagle¡¯s ws. He then grabbed one big piece of the giant rock and twisted it. The broken pieces became in powder form and got blown away by the wind... "The foundations are tough. It seems like it will not be easy to break this rock!" After spending much effort, he managed to break through a wall and came to a conclusion. He was not familiar with spiritual arrays, but there was one thing he was clear about: it had to either trap, kill, or confuse. "The stone array formed a maze, but it is not lethal. It is just a trap array and is not dangerous. The only worry is that we might be split and taken down one by one!" "I remembered that I was not far from the rest when the spiritual array was activated....." Fang Yuan then put his ear by a rock and listen to the surroundings. .... "This is.....the spiritual array?" Outside of the maze, the Bone Melting Sect Sect Master was staring at the stone maze and was almost speechless. "You have an uncanny workmanship indeed! I heard that a big sect in the Da Gan Empire had invited a spiritual array master to produce an array. If the Bone Melting Sect had done that as well, would there be such things happening now?" "Master Lu, are you able to make a drive to the array so that all of them will be killed?" Thinking about the losses he had incurred today, the Bone Melting Sect Sect Master felt disgusted and was looking at Lu Renjia with a hopeful look. "Dream on! This is just a trap array. Its purpose is to trap people not to kill people! I am not as powerful as the array master, hence how am I able to change the purpose of the array?" Lu Renjia¡¯s face was very pale. "Also, in order to maintain this array, I have to inject my elemental force into it. You can help me and take over for a while!" "Hmm?!" As he ced both of his hands on the array map and felt a suction sucking his elemental force away from him, the Bone Melting Sect Sect Master¡¯s face also became pale. With this suction speed, his elemental force would be exhausted in just a short period of time! Luckily, Lu Renjia was not hurting him. Lu Renjia closed his eyes to rest after swallowing a few spiritual pills. He then passed a medicine bottle to the sect master and said, "This is a bottle of Elemental Recovery Powder, and can aid in the recovery of your elemental force. You will need to hold on for at least another hour!" "Damn it..." Lu Renjia felt a little angry as he mentioned that. "If from the start, we had set up the array map and I was not injured, I would have been able to maintain this array on my own and you could have entered the array together with the Yellow Brothers Sect Sect Master and break through the array if you both don¡¯t meet Liu Yan!" "No one expected the other party to be that powerful. The teenager¡¯s spiritual spell is powerful that it has killed the Yellow Brothers Sect Sect Master..." Looking at the corpse, the Bone Melting Sect Sect Master had a lingering fear. "So long as we are able to maintain this, Blood Demon, Tiancan and Dique will reach here in the end!" Lu Renjia sighed and cursed. "Damn this Old Liu, he had managed to find a good location. If we were on a tnd, I would have called for an army of soldiers to kill them no matter how many men it would take to kill!" It was not practical for such an attack in the mountains. It was very troublesome for the army to transport the heavy equipment up the mountains like the ordinance and the armour. Even if the elite forces were sent in, they also couldn¡¯t gain the upper hand just by pushing people forward to attack. There were more disadvantages than advantages. Hence, Lu Renjia and the Bone Melting Sect Sect Master could only choose to trap them for a long period of time while waiting for their reinforcements toe. .... "The array dao is indeed profound... This stone maze seems to touch the edge of universe dao, which is actually space dao! We¡¯re lucky that Lu Renjia is not an actual spiritual array master and is unable to unleash the full potential of this array. Otherwise, we would be in a more dire predicament!" Inside the maze, Fang Yuan sighed while breaking the stone wall. In fact, he was overestimating the power of Lu Renjia and the Bone Melting Sect Sect Master. From the cultivations of the two of them, they could only maintain this array and could not control what was happening inside the array. Hence, this was quite dumb in a sense. "Who is there?" The sound from the breaking of the rock shocked everyone that was on the side. In the tunnel, a deep voice was heard. "Is it Leader Niu? I¡¯m Fang Yuan!" Fang Yuan recognised Leader Niu¡¯s voice. "Haha.....it is Brother Fang indeed!" Niu Dingtian came out quickly and said, "This ce is so deserted that it has almost suffocated me to death!" "Hmm, this is a spiritual array and is very mysterious. We better hurry and find the city master or else we would get broken through!" Fang Yuan then listened to the surroundings for any sound with his ear by the rock. "I have tried this method myself but it is useless......or else I would not be scurrying here like a fly..." Niu Dingtian said a few words and saw Fang Yuan getting up. Fang Yuan went towards a branch road confidently. ¡¯Normal people will not be able to detect such small changes. However, I am a dream master and my magical energy is much higher aspared to the other spiritual knights. Hence, I am different from the rest and able to detect these small changes!¡¯ Fang Yuan had an idea. "Even though this spiritual array is magical, the person who initiated this array is lousy. If I am able to find Liu Yan, we will probably have a chance to force our way out of this array!" Only a spiritual array master could control the array on the inside and cause endless sufferings. As for Lu Renjia and this god damn array, they were definitely inferior. "However, it ismendable that they are able to trap 3 Wu Zongs and 3 spiritual knights for such a long period of time with just an array map..." Chapter 123: Victory Chapter 123: Victory Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Master Lu, something¡¯s not right!" After a short while, outside the stone maze, the Bone Melting Sect Sect Master¡¯s expression changed. "The array map is sucking in too much of my elemental force, I can only hold on for a while more!" "How is this possible?" Lu Renjia shook his head, surprised. "Could it be that they are destroying the array from inside, forcing the spiritual array to start repairs and use up more elemental force?" Although he was not an array master, he still roughly knew about it and did not use the array blindly; it was an urate prediction. "A single Wu Zong or spiritual knight cannot have such destructive power, they arebining forces!" "What should we do?" Bone Melting Sect Sect Master shouted. "Master Lu, think of an idea!" "I am an alchemy master, not a spiritual array master, how would I know?" Lu Jiaren rolled his eyes. "Even though they might be together, it would still remain difficult to break out of this spiritual array..." "Ping!" At the end of his sentence, a loud noise came from the top of the stone array. "Heavenly fire shall burn the field!!!" Liu Yan eximed, and green mes exploded, causing manyrge rocks to fly into the sky in all directions. "Whoosh!" After therge me at the top of the array, the entire stone maze started to form web-like cracks spreading throughout the entire array. The spiritual array crumbled down with the sound of breaking wood, like a sandcastle. "Ah!" The Bone Melting Sect Sect Master screamed, and looked at the array map in his hands. At this moment, a small fire grew from the centre of the map and spreaded across the entire map. In a short while, the entire map burnt into ashes. This was not the doing of Liu Yan, but the one-off nature of the spiritual array map. After usage, it would be destroyed. "Haha... Lu Renjia, you¡¯re good!" Amidst the dust, Liu Yan stood out. "Impressive that you could find an array map. If you used it during a battle, I¡¯m afraid my brothers and I would die. Now, it seems like the Heavens want me to take care of you, and destroy you!" Although he was brimming with confidence, he unknowingly looked at the calm andposed Fang Yuan. The Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master knew that if not for Fang Yuan¡¯s ability to feel around within the array, even he himself would be trapped inside! He had no way to deal with his array. It seemed that it was heaven¡¯s will that his newest alliance member was Fang Yuan, and not any other person! "Let¡¯s go!" Seeing how Liu Yan andpany broke through the array, Lu Renjia and the Bone Melting Sect Sect Master were shocked out of their wits, and unanimously decided to run. "Follow them!" Liu Yan would not let this opportunity go, andmanded. "Iron-tailed ck Eagle!" Fang Yuan shouted into the sky. From the clouds, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle appeared andnded on the ground, allowing Fang Yuan to easily leap on its back. "What a pity that my Wind Chasing Falcon is injured, otherwise..." Taoist Mu Li mumbled to himself, but was not slower than Liu Yan as he sat on the eagle¡¯s back. Even though the Iron-tailed ck Eagle was a spiritual beast and was ratherrge in size, the addition of three humans on its back made it tired. The remaining three Wu Zongs had to use their own Lightness Skill to chase after Lu Renjia. "Haha... Lu Renjia! Where can you go?" Liu Yan stood on the ck Eagle and shouted, while on the other hand as Lu Renjia witnessed this scene, he became dested. He never would have guessed that this spiritual eagle had such a spiritual property and would hide in the clouds and onlye out once its owner was freed from the stone maze! As the spiritual beast chased after him, it was almost impossible for him to get away. "Chirp! Chirp!" In a moment, the Iron-tailed ck Eaglended in front of Lu Renjia and blocked his way. Fang Yuan and Liu Yan jumped down from the eagle¡¯s back, and chose their opponents. Using the analogy of picking the rotten oranges to squeeze, Fang Yuan was against the Bone Melting Sect Sect Master, leaving Lu Renjia to Liu Yan, his nemesis. As for Taoist Mu Li, he sat on the eagle¡¯s back, as his body gave out spiritual light, as though he was preparing some spiritual techniques. ¡¯You cunning old fogey!¡¯ Fang Yuan scolded him in his mind, looked at his opponent, and was not worried a single bit. Even though the name of Bone Melting Sect Sec Master was well heard-of in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture through the Bone Melting Palm technique used to counter rough techniques, but what more? Even if his opponent was focused, Fang Yuan was still unafraid; this was disregarding the Sect Master¡¯s injury and his depleted elemental force. He was pale and seemed like he would fall without Fang Yuan even touching him. "Do you have anyst words?" Fang Yuan shook his head and came straight to the point. "I..." Bone Melting Sect Sect Master could recognise Fang Yuan. Among the enemies that he faced today, other than Liu Yan, it was this young man Fang Yuan who left the deepest impression in him. He could disguise himself as a Wu Zong until he used his Ecstasy Spell, which revealed his identity as a spiritual knight, which showed that he had foresight. Furthermore, Yellow Brothers Sect Sect Master, who was on par with him, also died under Fang Yuan¡¯s w! Now that Fang Yuan focused on him, together with the other three Wu Zongs, and another spiritual knight from above, he had nowhere to go! He was in such a dire situation; Lu Renjia wasn¡¯t any better. "Thief Lu!" Looking at the deste Lu Renjia, Liu Yan was excited. "On the day when you betrayed me, did you ever think that this day woulde?" "Heh!" Lu Renjia chuckled. "If I cannot be the king, then beggar it shall be. I am just not resigned to fate that the Heavens want me dead!" At this point, he looked at Fang Yuan, and he seemed depressed. That was only natural. If Fang Yuan did not join the Secluded Mountain Prefecture alliance, Liu Yan would not have the guts to attack and even seed! Without this sneak attack, Lu Renjia could prepare and regroup before attacking, and could surely defeat Liu Yan and im the appointment of Prefecture Master! Unfortunately, all these had just became a dream. Of course, if Fang Yuan knew his current thoughts, he would have scoffed. He had decided his fate the moment he pulled the Spirit Returning Sect into his alliance. Furthermore, there was also Ling Yin by Shi Yutong¡¯s side to aid her, and under such circumstances, why would he not attack Lu Renjia to destroy the source of the problem? ... "Whoosh!" In such a short period of time, there was a sudden change to the entire situation." A blood sh appeared from the forest like a quick arrow being fired, and in the forest a silhouette could be seen. "Don¡¯t harm him!" After the blood sh, Tiancan and Dique rushed forward as well, panicking. While he was at his wits end, Lu Renjia¡¯s saviors had arrived! "Die!" Seeing the change to the entire situation, Fang Yuan immediately took action. As he eximed, his paralyzing scream was much stronger than before, even a few folds stronger! Using his magical energy as his foundation, together with his dream master¡¯s Ecstasy Spell, even spiritual knights would be stunned for the moment! "Kacha!" Using this opportunity, he rushed in front of the confused Bone Melting Sect Sect Master, and with his right hand bing a w, he crushed his neck without hesitation. "Ping!" As his corpsended on the ground, it was lit into mes by Liu Yan¡¯s green mes, and became ashes. Seeing Lu Renjia¡¯s reinforcements approaching, Liu Yan knew that he might have the chance to flip the entire situation around, and thus used his ultimate technique. "Let the mes burn! Let Heaven and Earth be a furnace!" mes surrounded him; arge amount of green mes rose up as he attempted to end Lu Renjia¡¯s life. However, Lu Renjia was an alchemy master and was unafraid of mes. If Liu Yan was not of higher cultivation than him, it would be hard for Liu Yan to pressure him with his mes. Lu Renjia put on a silver cloak. He fought the fire while at the same time retreated. "Ah... You force me to do this!" From the heat of the battle, a loud voice was heard, and there was a shocking spiritual pressure everywhere. It was obvious that Lu Renjia used some methods as an ultimatum against Liu Yan. He spit out a mouthful of blood, and as his silver cloak became tattered, he advanced forward, as he seemed to rejoin the Blood Demon andpany. "Bless! Restrict!" In mid-air, Taoist Mu Li¡¯s spiritual spell was alsopleted. With the flick of his wrist, numerous green shes struck down. Fang Yuan was protected by a spiritual glow and felt rather warm. He slowly regained the energy that he exhausted previously, but on the other hand, for Lu Renjia, he became visibly slower than before. "Go!" His eyes became bloodshot, and he bit on a spiritual pill which he hid in between his teeth. He seemed to be unaffected by the spiritual spell and almost arrived into the safety and protection of the blood sh. "Go!" "Whoosh!" Suddenly, an emerald sh shot like a rainbow stretching across the sky, and in front of Blood Demon, it pierced through Lu Renjia¡¯s neck! "Cough cough..." Lu Renjia fell to the ground. As the emerald sh dissipated, a weird looking de appeared, and his expression changed. Never would he know that he would die under his own weapon! "Master!" As the blood sh weakened, two shadows appeared from behind. There were Tiancan and Dique. Both of them were kneeling on the ground and were crying as they looked at Lu Renjia¡¯s corpse. "All these remaining are evil as well, do not let any one of them escape!" Liu Yan¡¯s moustache was covered in blood, andmanded the three Wu Zongs, including Niu Dingtian. "Wipe them all out!" "Yes Master!" Niu Dingtian andpany agreed, and surrounded the few who remained. ... After a few days, the news that shocked the entire Xia Country spreaded. The outside world thought that the fight within the Secluded Mountain Prefecture wouldst incredibly long, but in fact, it ended quicker than anyone could ever expect. The Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master Liu Yan took the opportunity, personally led his alliance into a dangerous territory to kill Lu Renjia, and at the same time remove the Bone Melting Sect Sect Master and the Yellow Brothers Sect Sect Master. Including the previously captured Shi Yutong, the entire opposing alliance waspletely wiped out, and the rebels were defeated. Furthermore, the two Wu Zongs Tiancan and Dique were surrounded and killed, as they apanied their master. As for Blood Demon, he had foresight and executed a mysterious Blood Escaping Technique to sessfully get away, which made him the only remaining rebel left. Liu Yan became increasingly well-known, but as the biggest contributor, Fang Yuan remained low profile and remained unknown to many. Chapter 124: Reward Chapter 124: Reward Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Back in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City. Half a month had gone by. As the war was over, civilians who had left their houses to escape the war were returning and this made the city a little more lively. Back in one of the magnificent guest rooms in the city master¡¯s mansion, Fang Yuan sat down with both of his eyes closed and had drifted into his dream world. Not long after, he opened his eyes and was reminiscing. "This pathway to be a dream master......is indeed magical and mysterious!" As he reached the stage of a dream master, he could fully control his own dream world. Even though it had been stabilised, if he were not to incur any damage mentally which could cause him to copse mentally, he would definitely be able to dominate his own world! Just then, he went back to the time when he was young and explored that world again. He even went to the dream in that time and relived his life again which was full of joyful experiences. The feeling that he had gotten couldn¡¯t be described with words. "That world.....is too real...." Also, Fang Yuan had many more guesses with regards to this dream world. "Or maybe.....this dream did really exist and I was there. Also, it didn¡¯t even know that that was my hometown and I had managed to catch up with the ¡¯crossing¡¯. The two souls from the real and dream worlds had started tobine together and caused the dream I had as a young child to appear now in my memories?" He thought through this and took another nce at his stats window. "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 10 Spirit: 10 Magic: 8.6 Profession: Dream Master (Dream essing) Cultivation: [Dream Master (1st Tier) (Fused Elemental Force)], Wu Zong Technique: [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 13) (???)], Ecstasy Spell, Shadowstep, Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 4)]" Once he entered the dream world, he would have the chance to cultivate himself. Fang Yuan was very satisfied that his magic had improved again. "My current magic is probably higher than that of Liu Yan.....I¡¯m also starting to attract a lot of attention..." He had also realised that when he had exterminated Lu Renjia, the power that he had disyed was shocking. When there was war, it was better for one¡¯s allies to be stronger. However, when the war was over, being more powerful than another would only cause jealousy. As he had expected such things would likely to happen, he had purposely been on a low profile. He showed that he had no intention of gaining any power to prevent any people from being jealous of him. Anyway, with his current skills, not many would dare to provoke him or take away his share. It was actually benefitting Fang Yuan when he kept a low profile as he would be regarded as someone powerful but had nothing against the rest of the world, like Taoist Mu Li. Indeed, Liu Yan was satisfied with Fang Yuan and Fang Yuan had enjoyed his hospitality for quite a long period of time. "Is Master Fang in there?" As he was thinking, Taoist Mu Li¡¯s voice came from the outside. Fang Yuan then shook his head and was feeling irritated. In the city master¡¯s mansion, the things used here were of top quality. There was Taoist Mu Li, who had found many reasons to visit Fang Yuan and even chatted with him about spiritual birds. He had shown great interest in the Iron-tailed ck Eagle and seemed that he was willing to give up anything in exchange for that eagle. This had caused Fang Yuan to be quite annoyed about it. If not for his skills in feeding spiritual birds as well as his powerful Wood-type spiritual spells, which allowed Fang Yuan to learn quite a lot from him, Fang Yuan would have chased him away long ago. "It¡¯s Taoist Leader Mu Li!" Hence, Fang Yuan didn¡¯t want to do anything bad to him and instead, he weed him with a smile and said, "Are you going to discuss with me about spiritual birds today?" "Not really! I have another issue to tell you today!!" His face was quite serious. "There is news from the front line of the battlefield. Leader Xiang Zilong had led his troops to remove the remaining rebellion forces. There is finally peace in the Secluded Mountains Prefecture!" "This is great news!" Fang Yuan cheered but he was not really surprised by it. The leaders and martial artists who had elemental force from the rebel forces were all killed already. The remaining rebellion forces were definitely low skilled and easy to be removed. Hence, Fang Yuan had expected a victory in the war. "Not bad, Brother Liu is probably calling all of us to go over for the rewards!" Taoist Mu Liughed and said, "Since Master Fang, you had contributed the most, I bet the city master would agree to it even if you want a county as a reward....." "Well.....this is unnecessary. I¡¯m living alone freely and separated from the rest of the world. I also don¡¯t have many close friends who need to be taken care of..." Fang Yuan shook his head and found another w from Taoist Mu Li. He was too ignorant about the politics! Or maybe, he was too naive! ¡¯This rebel was a lesson to all and how could Liu Yan allow his power to be seized by the local leaders? Also......the Spirit Returning Sect, the Bone Melting Sect and the Yellow Brothers Sect were all exterminated. The evil that was in the 3 counties was swept away. The Five Ghosts Sect from Lieyang County had disbanded and the other 2 counties were already controlled by Liu Yan. If he didn¡¯t want to rely on territories that he had to build up his name and power, then what was he waiting for? Liu Yan was likely to abandon the sects and factions to change the legiture of the counties.¡¯ ¡¯If I was to ask for my reward now, I could really get a county, but I will have to worry about being regarded as a trouble to Liu Yan in future! I would rather not ask for such reward and be free from any problems!¡¯ Of course, he knew that there was going to be a huge debate on whether to centralise or decentralise the counties. Fang Yuan wouldn¡¯t want to be involved in the debate and hence chose to sit on the fence. Too bad, he already had Qingye CIty and there was no way he could return it back. .... "We have seen you before, city master!" In the main hall, Fang Yuan and Taoist Mu Li greeted the city master. Power was man¡¯s best medicine. Liu Yan had much power in his hands right now. He was feeling veryfortable and looked energetic. "Haha! You two came here just in time!" Liu Yan waved his hand and two soldiers came up. They theny out a map of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture on the floor. "I was able to kill Lu Renjia with both of your help. Brother Fang, you had contributed the most and I should share parts of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture with you two. He said with much pride, "You two can circle the parts that you like and I will agree to it!" Taoist Mu Li then swallowed. He was a little startled to see that he could get any parts of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture from the big map which wasying in front of him. At least, he knew the limit of his capabilities. He was just a supporting role in this war and had no part in the attack. Plus, his contributions was not as much as Fang Yuan and hence he kept silent. He then looked at Fang Yuan. "Hehe.....I have only contributed a little to this war and dare not to ask for any reward! After all, I¡¯m living alone and have no intention of opening a sect or a faction of my own..." Fang Yuan waved his hands and continued, "If you allow me, I hope to just have Lu Renjia¡¯s book of alchemy master, a few pieces of advice from you regarding spiritual knight and your help to get me a few seeds of a few spiritual objects as rewards and I would be very grateful!" "The rewards you are asking are too less! Too less! How can these rewards bepared to the number of contributions you had made?" Liu Yan shook his head. However, Fang Yuan who had extraordinary magical energy was able to capture that slight happiness Liu Yan had in his heart. Fang Yuan disapproved of it in his heart but showed a very sincere look. "Please listen to me, city master. Because of Lu Renjia¡¯s actions, the whole of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture had undergone an irreversible change and the pieces ofnd here had been overly separated. The sects and the factions were having a hard time to take control of their own territories and hence we cannot separate thesends again!" "Hmm......what you said is true..." Liu Yan was happy and continued, "I have intentions of removing the sects¡¯ control in these pieces ofnd. I will order my men to control these counties and these counties will now be under my jurisdiction. How you two think about this?" Only now, Liu Yan then revealed his true intentions. "Great decision!" Fang Yuan was feeling a little annoyed but he still nodded his head in agreement. "This decision......seems not bad!" Taoist Mu Li nodded his head and seemed a little depressed. "Haha.....very well!" Liu Yanughed and was very cheerful. "Taoist Leader Mu Li, I will give you the piece ofnd that is within 100-miles radius of the Wood Elemental Temple as an asset and can be passed on to the future generation. You will not have to pay any taxes for that piece ofnd!" "As for Brother Fang, I will give you what you have asked but I still think is too little!" Liu Yan got up and walked a few steps. "You can rmend who to be the next governor of the Qinghe County. Also, there are also 10 acres of spiritualnd from the Spirit Returning Sect and you can have those as well! How is it?" "Thank you, city master for agreeing to my request!" Fang Yuan immediately gave thanks. "Haha.....I have a small gift for you as well. Brother Fang, you will understand what I mean once you are back in your room!" Liu Yanughed and said but he sounded as if he was joking. "Hmm?" Fang Yuan was a little confused. When he went back to his room, he then understood what Liu Yan had meant. He couldn¡¯t help butugh as he saw Ling Yin lying down on a couch. He was speechless. "What is going on?" "Sir!" A housekeeper who was beside himughed heartily and replied, "The city master said that since she is your prisoner, you shall decide how to handle her!" "Okay, I understand. You can leave now!" Fang Yuan was speechless and waved his hand to signal the housekeeper to leave the room. He looked at Ling Yin who was pale but pretty and couldn¡¯t help but tough. "Now I have one more issue to settle!" Logically speaking, since Fang Yuan had killed her master, it is normal for him to kill her as well. It seemed that Liu Yan had wanted Fang Yuan to kill her instead of doing it himself. ¡¯This Secluded Mountain Prefecture City Master.....one can go through hard times together with him but one cannot share the good stuff with him...¡¯ Fang Yuan closed his eyes and recalled when he first met Liu Yan. He came to a conclusion in his heart. "The desire of man is infinite. Previously, Liu Yan only was respectable and only had one mission, which was to remove the rebellion forces initiated by Lu Renjia. However, now when the war is over, he immediately wants to centralize the whole of Secluded Mountain Prefecture and have the whole ce under his control. After he has gotten the full control of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, will he be eyeing for the other two prefectures in the country and rule the whole of Xia Country?" "He should just leave! Just leave! After he has gotten what he wanted, he should just leave!" Recalling what he had just seen, Fang Yuan then made a decision. He then went forward and checked on Ling Yin. He then realised she was just unconscious and not seriously injured. She just looked weak. "Should I kill her?" Fang Yuan stroked his chin and shook his head. "I¡¯m not in a hurry to do that. Also....after Lu Renjia was killed, she would have a lot of secrets. Liu Yan may not be able to get her to spill these secrets out, but for me, I can use her as a target to practice the skill of dream essing and dream building....." As a dream master, he was an expert in getting intelligence from others. Even though Liu Yan might have thought that Ling Yin was of no use now, Fang Yuan was able to find some sort of use from her. Chapter 125: The Meet Chapter 125: The Meet Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Master Fang, please take care and remember to visit in the future..." Outside the airspace of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture and high up in the sky, Daoist Mu Li rode on Wind Chasing Falcon as he reluctantly watched Fang Yuan prepare to take his leave. The way Daoist Mu Li watched Fang Yuan caused his goosebumps to rise. However, he knew that Daoist Mu Li was not a bad person and he was even slightly adorable to some extent. Fang Yuan waved his hand and said, "You do not have to send me off further...Before I leave, I would like to tell you that even though this ce is excellent, it still cannot bepared to your home. Return to the Dao journey as soon as possible and enjoy the rest of your life!" Right after he finished his sentence, Fang Yuan nudged Iron-tailed ck Eagle into flight without caring whether Daoist Mu Li understood his parting words. In no time they became a small ck dot in the sky. "Even though this ce is excellent, it still cannot bepared to home...What a great saying!" Daoist Mu Li nudged Wind Chasing Falcon to circle around the area as he muttered these words. Then he smiled bitterly and sighed, "Haiz...you can easily leave this chaos, but I am stuck here for long!" ... "Whoo whoo!" High up in the sky in the strong winds, Fang Yuan felt extremely delighted and shouted out in jubnce. After all, whatever he took back this time was more than enough. He did not have much intention to control Qinghe County. Based on what he had, it was already slightly challenging to control Qingye town, what more a county? He was even more disinterested in setting up his own sect. This time, not only did he take control of Qingye City, he could also nominate the governor. This was already a delightful surprise. "Most spiritual knights in Xia Country, and even the neighbouring countries, are stuck at the Elemental Gathering Realm and cannot progress further... After 200 years of hard work, Liu Yan is now close to the next realm... Fusing elemental force and purifying it, the next stage would be to break through to the Elemental Opening Realm! To use one¡¯s elemental force and break through all the hidden locks in the body, one will be able to control his body like how an arm controls its fingers, unveiling the human body¡¯s true potential!" As he thought about these, Fang Yuan grew increasingly solemn as he thought, "What a pity...Spiritual knights who have reached the Elemental Opening Realm are no longer around. What is left are some information about them in the iplete inheritances and manuals!" It was very obvious that if Liu Yan really reached the Elemental Opening Realm, he was the top martial artist in the country. He was even the top spiritual knight. "Only that...is it even that easy to break through to this level?" Fang Yuan was very doubtful about this. There were few highly skilled spiritual knights like Liu Yan in each country who hadpleted consolidating their elemental force and were very close to advancing to the next stage. But it seemed like nobody had managed to break through, making it seem extremely difficult. It was obvious that with Liu Yan¡¯s advancement and desire to break through to the next level, people around were increasingly worried. It might even be possible that the unrest created this time was by some people who did not wish to have a spiritual knight who was inplete mastery of elemental force to disrupt the bnce of power in the country. As such, even though Liu Yan looked like he was firmly in control, he was definitely very troubled internally, especially with the problems he was facing emotionally which was the most critical. "But... what does all this got to do with me?" Fang Yuan broke into a smile as he thought, "Who cares what goes on outside? I will just take advantage of this peace before the storm to stay in Qingye City to grow my crops..." "Once I am able to sessfully break through to the Dream-building and Illusionary Divine stages, I can still return and reim this old piece ofnd!" After bing a dream master, with the inheritance from Master Wenxin, he would be able to cultivate smoothly all the way to the Prominent Divine stage! Of course, the dream master¡¯s Prominent Divine stage was divided further into many sub-stages. Even attaining the most elementary sub-stage would give one the power to rule an entire country! "After all, the way of the dream master is to make sufficient preparations before acting. The longer I train the more powerful I be, I might even be on par with a spiritual array master! "Generally speaking, the Dream-essing and Dream-building Stages of a dream master can bepared to the Elemental Gathering Stage of a spiritual knight. The Illusionary Divine Stage would beparable to the Elemental Opening Stage. As for the peak of the Prominent Divine Stage and even the stage of actualising an entire spiritualnd, these stages must be much higher than the Elemental Opening stage. As for how to attain it, I have no idea too..." "Dream-building, followed by Illusionary Divine stage, and subsequently the branching out of a dream master. This is the direction I should he heading towards in the future!" As he was deep in thought, Iron-tailed ck Eagle suddenly let out a loud call of jubtion. Fang Yuan was shaken out of his deep thoughts and he saw the Clear Spirit Mountain in sight as well as an extremely familiar looking city. "Qingye City?!" He patted the eagles neck and itnded. "Whoo whoo!" In the midst of the strong downwash and the sight of the intimidating and powerful Iron-tailed ck Eagle, the peace within the city crumbled momentarily into panic. "Sir is here!" Then, a group of riders rode towards Fang Yuan. Its leader was Zhou Wenwu. He bowed and said, "Hello sir!" "Erm, it looks like you¡¯re doing well as the head of this city!" Fang Yuan looked at the guards following behind Zhou Wenwu and burst out intoughter. In truth, these guards were very fortunate. When Fang Yuan ordered Zhou Wenwu to take down Qingye City, he had no intention of creating a diversion for himself. If Lu Renjia had not ordered Blood Demon andpany to retreat, these guards would probably be in great suffering. Of course, the risk that Zhou Wenwu took earlier paid off. At least, with the support of Fang Yuan and the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, Zhou Wenwu was able to consolidate his power as head of Qingye City smoothly. "Sir, all remnants of the Spirit Returning Sect have been cleared out of the city!" While walking towards the renovated and revamped official residence, Zhou Wenwu ordered the servants to leave them as Yu Xinlou and him reported thetest news in the city to Fang Yuan. Thest time Fang Yuan came to this ce he did so furtively on his kidnapping mission. Now he could stride in proudly as the owner of the ce. "They¡¯ve been cleared out? Outstanding!" Fang Yuan dropped Ling Yin and ordered Yu Xinlou to make preparations as he lifted up her forehead. He then remembered, the head of the Spirit Returning Sect in his custody was another problem for him. Upon seeing this, Zhou Wenwu spoke up again and said, "The head of the Lin family, Lin Benchu and all 72 of his family members have been locked up. We are waiting for you orders!" "Oh? Lin Benchu is also detained?" Fang Yuan was slightly surprised by this news. To Fang Yuan, he could not decide whether Lin Benchu was a sadistic person or he was just in cold-blooded. It was thus a surprise that this major obstacle was removed so quickly. "Also..." Zhou Wenwu then began to flush with awkwardness as he reported, "Lin Leiyu has also been detained. Would you like to see her?" "Erm?" Fang Yuan looked at him and asked, "You sessfully detained a martial artist with inner force? Who helped you?" "Sir, you¡¯re observant!" Zhou Wenwu thought about theplicated history between Lin Leiyue and Fang Yuan and felt incredibly uneasy. Beads of perspiration formed on his forehead as he revealed, "Lady Lin was betrayed by her own people from the Spirit Returning Sect!" "Tell me more in great detail..." Fang Yuan picked up his cup of tea, his face was expressionless. "This was what happened..." Zhou Wenwu calmed himself down and reported everything he knew in great detail. What happened was actually very simple. When he took down Minister Lin¡¯s entire family, Lin Leiyue definitely came to their rescue. When news of Liu Yan¡¯s victory arrived, the remaining fighting forces of the Spirit Returning Sect saw their moralepletely broken and gave up. A few disciples and elders who were desperate for their own safety rebelled and betrayed Lin Leiyue, turning her in in hope they would be pardoned. "Where is she?" Fang Yuan thought in silence for a while before asking. "She is currently locked up in an isted cell alone in the prison. So are Lin Yuanwai and his family!" Zhou Wenwu braced himself as he reported the decision he made for them. In fact, if Zhou Wenwu did not consider Fang Yuan¡¯s dealings with the Lin family, he would have wiped out the whole family. He did not forget how they betrayed his family and took all of his family¡¯s property during the crisis in central Song. "Let¡¯s go, after all we know each other, we still have to go over and visit them!" Fang Yuan stood up reluctantly and walked to the prison with Zhou Wenwu. The prisoners were separated within the prison ording to their statuses. For example, people of more respectable statuses were ced in the single cells as they naturally could not be treated as a normal criminal. In fact, apart from theck of freedom, the living conditions of the single cells were almost on par with those in the local inns. After opening several metal gates, Zhou Wenwu led Fang Yuan to a cell. Through the grills made of top quality metal, Fang Yuan saw the slender outline of Lin Leiyue. Lin Leiyue lost significant weight in this short period of time. Her legs were chained by iron chains made of Thousand Years Cast Iron. Even if she recovered her strength, it would be impossible for her to escape. "Brother Fang...no! Sir Fang, this is a misunderstanding!" From the other side, Lin Yuanwai stuck his chubby head out and begged, "Please take into consideration our past friendship and spare our family!" "Fang Yuan?" The sound of her father¡¯s voice caused Lin Leiyue toe out of her thoughts and back to reality. She turned around to face the man in front of her with aplicated expression on her face. She originally intended to take revenge on Fang Yuan, but she was easily defeated by his subordinate. She could not help but to admit that he had long overtaken her, to the extent the survival of her entire family now depended on him.As for himself, Fang Yuan gained several personal items from this trip. Riding on the strength of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, he acquired a bunch of precious spiritual items as well as Lu Renjia¡¯s alchemy manuals. He even received guidance from Liu Yan on how to be a spiritual knight. Instead, it was the plot of spiritual crop belonging to the Spirit Returning Sect that failed to impress Fang Yuan. "This world is mostly made up of spirituality and martial arts. Martial arts only exists because it ys a supportive role to spirituality. Although there are developments in martial arts in the Da Qian Empire, the development is however not seen here..." Fang Yuan calcted the items he benefitted such as the guidance from Liu Yan, the advice and lessons he took out from Daoist Mu Li and Lu Renjia¡¯s alchemy book. After he all he had learnt and gained, Fang Yuan was rather clear about his future after he bes a spiritual knight. "After a normal spiritual disciple promotes to be a spiritual knight, it can all be ssified as the realm for the consolidation of elemental force already!" "Based on this aspect, it didn¡¯t matter if one was an alchemy master, spiritual knight, spiritual array master or even a dream master, it was the same. The phases of entering the dream world and constructing dreams are all a part of the realm for the consolidation of elemental force. For other aspects or other terms, they do not deviate too much from the original principle that is to consolidate one¡¯s elemental force while putting in consistent hard work and effort in doing so!" Chapter 126: Stocktake Chapter 126: Stocktake Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Master... How do you want to deal with the Lin Family?" Out of the cells, Zhou Wenwu bowed and asked. "Whatever you wish to!" Fang Yuan waved his hands and gave a vague reply to Zhou Wenwu. He did not care one bit about the Lin¡¯s Family future. "Also... You don¡¯t need to worry about Qinghe County. The Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master has the intention to insert county soldiers there and send a governor there... I have the right to rmend the first governor!" As he ended his sentence, he could see the desire in Zhou Wenwu¡¯s eyes, which died out after awhile. After a while, he realised that Zhou Wenwu did not plead him to rmend him as the governor, and nodded his head. "You know your own limits, and that¡¯s good..." "I know that I can only do so much. It took me a lot of effort to take care of Qingye City already, so I know cannot take up this challenging role..." If he said that he had no desires for the role of governor, that would be lying. It was just untimely! With Zhou Wenwu¡¯s self-confidence, if he was given 20 years to develop in Qingye City, he could naturally be the next governor. "Mm... Qingye City is yours, and Yu Xinlou will be your assistant! Zhang Sheng will take care of the secluded valley..." Fang Yuan nned for his subordinate¡¯s future. "Also... The spiritual farm in Spirit Returning Sect is ours now, so hurry and send some people to take it over from the city, and Huang Fu Renhe will be in charge of this!" Without further ado, without eating the dinner which Zhou Wenwu painstakingly prepared, Fang Yuan called for the Iron-tailed ck Eagle and disappeared into the sky. ... "Everything that happened on Earth is a miracle..." High above the clouds, Fang Yuan looked down at the city and had a different feeling from before. When he came to the city for the first time, never would he know that the entire city, together with the neighbouring mountains and rivers, would be his property. He returned to the secluded valley and told the excited Huang Fu Renhe about the spiritual farm, and instructed Zhang Sheng to take care of the secluded valley. Without stopping, Fang Yuan brought the Flower Fox Ferret along and arrived at where they held Shi Yutong. In the cave, a sleeping beauty was in deep sleep and appeared shrivelled and skinnier. "Alright, enough of pretending, Sect Master Shi!" Fang Yuan scoffed. "You think you can hide it from me?" At that moment, the sleeping beauty opened her eyes and her face glowed. Even though she was in such a state, she still had an elegant vibe. "Master Fang still remembers me...." Shi Yutong sighed, and in her voice a little hint of resentment. "Why? Is the location not good enough? Or not enough staples?" Fang Yuan jokingly enquired. He used a secret dream master technique to seal up Shi Yutong¡¯s elemental force, and this seal was extremely hard to break open. As of now, she was just a normaldy, and could no longer escape the trap she once ced here herself. If she did not rely on the staples and water provided, she would have died of hunger! "I am already a prisoner, why would I dare to be presumptuous? That would be asking for more!" Shi Yutong sighed again. "There is no moonlight or sunlight in the cave, so I felt a little lonely, please don¡¯t hold it against me!" "Why not juste straight to the point. You want to hear about what happened outside?" Fang Yuan had a cheeky smile. "Firstly... I can tell you that half a month have already passed!" "Half a month?!" Shi Yutong nodded her head and forced a smile. "I¡¯m afraid that Qinghe County is now in war? Lu Renjia¡¯s disciple is captured, and his alliance member trapped. He will surely do something about it, and you have joined the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master¡¯s alliance?" "Lu Renjia is dead, and there is no more Spirit Returning Sect..." Fang Yuan sighed softly and observed Shi Yutong¡¯s expression. "Lu Renjia... Dead?" Her eyes were wide and she was in disbelief. "How is that possible? Master Lu has the protection of Tiancan and Dique and even recruited the Blood Demon. Including our three counties, he should be at the winning end!" "Liu Yan¡¯s alliance and I ambushed him and took his life while he was deploying his people all around!" Fang Yuan did not hide. "Based on logic... I thought that you would be more concern about Spirit Returning Sect..." "When the nest is flipped, how will there be any uncracked eggs?" To Fang Yuan¡¯s question, Shi Yutong shook her head. "Since Lu Renjia died in your hands, then Bone Melting Sect Sect Master and Yellow Brothers Sect Sect Master would be no better, and the addition of Spirit Returning Sect would not do much..." Even though it was as such, she was still reflective. "I cannot face the grandmasters of Spirit Returning Sect after its destruction." Her attitude shocked Fang Yuan. He thought that she would grief over the destruction of her own Sect as a Sect Master. He did not expect Shi Yutong to look defeated, but still able to hold her emotions. "What is Master Fang¡¯s intention for me?" Shi Yutong raised her head and looked at Fang Yuan. "Since you are my enemy, our feud cannot be settled just by a smile. However, I will also not be unreasonable and kill you, because that would be undeserving to a Sect Master. I can only have you stay here for a while longer. After all, a living Wu Zong would have more value..." Fang Yuan shrugged his shoulders and noticed the shuddering of Shi Yutong¡¯s delicate body. Even though this was not the cruelest way possible, but to her, it was definitely not a good thing. Especially looking at Fang Yuan¡¯s progress, if he reached the corresponding stage in his dream master cultivation, he could use her as practice. By then, she would have preferred a quick death. "I will replenish your food and water. Of course, before that..." Fang Yuan took a few steps forward and took out a few golden needles. "I will periodicallye back to strengthen the seal on your body!" "Master is indeed an amazing doctor. I can do absolutely nothing with this seal on me..." Shi Yutong forced a smile and appeared helpless. She did not resist but asked. "Other than the Main Treasures Vault in my Sect, I have another secret storage, and only I know about it. Are you interested?" "Nope!" Fang Yuan replied decisively, which almost made Shi Yutong choke. ... "Thisdy...is cunning! She is still trying to turn things around even in a dire situation!" As he approached Green Peak spiritualnd, Fang Yuan touched his chin and there was a sinister look in his eyes. "If not for the high value of a Wu Zong test subject, I would have killed her straight away, as that would be most appropriate..." "Chirp! Chirp!" The Iron-tailed ck Eagle chirped and entered the white fog, and the Green Peak appeared in front of Fang Yuan. "Flower Fox Ferret... While I was outside, you werezy huh... Did you listen to my instructions and feed them?" Fang Yuan approached the peak of the cliff and saw that the Red-eyed White Bird¡¯s nest were all empty. There were a few small bird corpse, as though they were starved to death. "Keke!" The Flower Fox Ferret tried to exin. Its paws were pointing here and there, as though it was describing that there was not enough prey to hunt. Fang Yuan could only shake his head in disappointment. He knew that asking a spiritual beast to be a nanny was a little too much, and it was only normal that this would happen. He intentionally down to take a look at the Red-eyed White King bird. Even though the king bird was skinny like a bag of bones, it still had a little breath left, and Fang Yuan smiled. "This spiritual bird has a strong will to live..." Since the most important king bird was still alive, then a few baby bird¡¯s death would mean nothing. Fang Yuan returned to his straw pavilion and started to ount for his spiritual nts. Firstly, it was the Vermilion fruit. It was still a tiny shoot and did not grow much, which made Fang Yuan speechless. The Questioning Heart Tea was filled with leaves, and had a little emerald glow around the entire tree; it was brimming with life. Of course, there was the extremely important me Jade Rice. All of them germinated and looked like tiny mes. They greedily sucked the ground of spiritual energy. If not for the nutritious ground in Green Peak spiritualnd, they might not even be able to grow here. Up to this point, Fang Yuan was rather satisfied. The Flower Fox Ferret was notpletelyzy, as it did take care of these spiritual nts. "However... it seemed that none of it evolved any special traits, I was thinking too much..." After one round around the farm, Fang Yuan looked at the condition of the Icy Fire Jin and the other single trunked spiritual nts and did not find anything special, which made him a little disappointed. "What about the Sickle Grass and the Serrated Flower?" He had high expectations for these two nts and specially nted them separately from the others to give them enough space to hunt for food. "Keke!" After a few steps, the Flower Fox Ferret seemed afraid and tried to exin that there was something scary that happened there. "Eh?" Fang Yuan became excited and walked even faster. The Sickle Grass and Serrated Flower could hunt for their own prey, but the farm was empty with an asional corpse lying around. These were the unlucky ones who were attracted here and ultimately offered their flesh as a sacrifice to be the fertilizer for these two spiritual nts. "Wow..." Seeing how the surrounding nts were greener than before, with plenty of wild fruits, Fang Yuan heaved a sigh of relief. "When did these two spiritual nts have the ability to nourish the farm?" With the numerous fruits around, wild animals would be attracted here, like how a bait attracts fishes. Furthermore, they fed the animals until there were big enough before capturing them, and Fang Yuan was shocked as to how these spiritual nts would know such a concept. "Wait for me here..." Seeing how the Flower Fox Ferret was afraid to take another step forward, Fang Yuan instructed it to stay put as he used his Lightness skill and arrived at the original farm. "Hu..." As he looked far, it was a sight to behold. Half of the hill was covered with a specific nt. This nt had a thick stem and silver leaves, and in the middle, brightly coloured flowers were blooming and from the flower there was a strong fragrance. He could see arge amount of nectar from these flowers, which made him salivate. "This is..." Fang Yuan had enough magical energy to see the horror behind the beauty! Beneath the Sickle Grass and Serrated Flower, there was arge number of flesh and bones dposing to be fertilizer for these nts! Chapter 127: Relocating Chapter 127: Relocating Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Whaty under the thick bushes of vegetation and colourful flowers were in fact heaps of skeletons! Considering that this patch of spiritual nts was just seeded not too long ago, the destruction it caused was unfathomable! "Could it be due to this reason that caused Flower Fox Ferret to catch way fewer prey than before...that led to deaths of so many nestlings?" Fang Yuan looked over the entire patch of vegetation and an idea popped up. "Caw caw!" At this instant, a small grey sparrow appeared in the sky and circled above the vegetation. It was obviously attracted to the strong scent of the nectar, but it was also wary and hence undecided on its next move. "It¡¯s you then!" A spark glistened in Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes as he picked up a small rock and flicked it at the sparrow. "Shoo!" As the rock shot through the eye, the sound of the rock breaking through the air resistance at blistering speed was deafening. There was sh of spark and the sparrow let out a painful shriek before falling to the ground. With Fang Yuan¡¯s current powers, the rock he flicked was almost as powerful as an arrow released from a bow, killing the sparrow instantly. "Shoo!" As the sparrow dropped towards the ground, the sickle grass on the ground reacted instantly. Arge and thick de of grass with a metal gloss on it swiped through the swallow, slicing it into two as blood sttered on the ground. "The speed and power of it..." Fang Yuan widened his eyes in shock and thought, "I¡¯m afraid this might even be as powerful as the swordsmen from the desert!" "Snap!" A more shocking incident happened in front of Fang Yuan again. The nts on the ground violently scrambled together. The jagged edges of the leaves and flowers were like razor-sharp teeth and half of the sparrow¡¯s carcass was swallowed into the mess of nts. "Crunch crunch!" By the side, countless rays of light bounced off the smooth and sharp des of the grass. What was left of the sparrow¡¯s corpse turned into a pool of blood spread evenly over a nearby patch of sickle grass. "Is it normal for Sickle Grass and Serrated Flowers to be this brutal?" Fang Yuan widened his eyes as he thought, "They must have evolved! Furthermore..." He spotted a few pieces of dried and dposing flowers and leaves by the side of the patch of Sickle Grass. He thought in awe, "The newly grown spiritual nts even wiped out themon nts that were here before them and are using them as fertilisers now...." This patch of spiritual nts had blood on their hands since their birth! "But, I think that it is even better if these two types of spiritual nts are more aggressive and offensive. What I do not know is whether the old way of dealing with normal Sickle Grass and Serrated Flower will work on these evolved spiritual nts." Fang Yuan thought and jumped off the tree branch. "Chomp chomp!" Just as both his feet met the ground, the ground exploded open and a piece of thick and thorny root spiralled towards him with amazing speed! "Even the roots of the nts are also weapons, this is a new capability for these two spiritual nts." Fang Yuan grabbed onto the root with his right hand and instantly felt the pain shoot through his palm. He winced slightly and thought, "If amon martial artist were to grab this like I did, his skin would be prated, and his blood would be sucked through the roots...the thorns on this root might even be poisoned..." Of course, he was not anymon martial artist. As a Wu Zong who haspletely mastered the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique, his body was incredibly tough. "Get out!" Fang Yuan broke out in a loudughter and tapped the ground lightly with his toes. He immediately flew backwards in a sh. "Pooh!" From the bed of flowers, there was a violent disturbance as Fang Yuan plucked out a Serrated Flower with its roots intact from the soil. It let out a beastly roar as Fang Yuan did so. Furthermore, the loose strands of roots brought along a few shards of Sickle Grass as the nts flew towards Fang Yuan. "Crunch crunch!" Several ck rays of light bounced off the razor-sharp des of grass. The des of Sickle Grass spun rapidly in mid-air like cutter-wheels as they flew towards Fang Yuan. "Hmm?" Fang Yuan¡¯s palm changed into a colour like that of enhanced steel. He flicked out a few rocks rapidly. Each rock avoided the sharp ends of the grass des and urately hit them in the centre. "Pah pah!" Several des of Sickle Grass were cut through the centre by the rocks flicked out by Fang Yuan. Green liquid flowed out of the cuts made by Fang Yuan¡¯s rocks. "Goo jee!" Sensing the immense threat, the Serrated Flower opened and closed itsrge mouth and squirted out a jet of nectar. The scent of the nectar was incredibly alluring and confounding. Fang Yuan dodged the nectar and itnded on the ground. The nectar instantly caused several small holes to open up in the ground and thick white smoke billowed from them. "What a surprising move!" Slightly surprised, Fang Yuan grabbed onto the roots and brought the Serrated Flower out of the plot of vegetation onto a piece of green rock. "Goo jee goo jee!" It was only here, did the spiritual nt finally quietened and calmed down. However, the roots continued to struggle and crawl about, as though it was looking for soil. "This is...so great!" This sight made it difficult for Fang Yuan to even mask his delight. In the past moment, movement and change was so rapid and sudden. There was no difference between this and a duel between two martial artists, especially with the lethal instincts of the two evolved spiritual nts. "These two are only the spiritual nts at the outermost of the plot ofnd..." As Fang Yuan gazed at the Serrated Flower which was the size of a basin, he immediately thought what it was like in the centre of the plot of the spiritual vegetation. The Serrated Flowers in the centre were definitely like grinding tes. Even if a wild bull were to charge in, it would also be dismembered and devoured! "It would be sufficient to use them to protect the spiritualnds!" He lit a lighter and walked to the front of the Sickle Grass. "Pooh!" In a sh, the ck de of grass shed the lighter into two and cut the back of Fang Yuan¡¯s hand, leaving a clear white scar. "It is not even afraid of its old nemesis...It appears it is more difficult to control it than before!" Before these two spiritual nts evolved, they had amon nemesis, which is fire! In fact, most nts weremonly afraid of fire. But what the Sickle Grass just did in the face of fire gave Fang Yuan a little surprise, which turned into worry. "The roots are mobile and can move on its own. But to move it and then use it in a new location might be troublesome!" Fang Yuan watched the nt on the rock wriggle its way out of it back onto the soil and then make its way back to its original position in awe. The spiritual nts at this moment exhibited traits of animals. This rmed Fang Yuan. If he allowed them to continue growing, they might evolve to be uncontroble and incredibly destructive. However, remembering the folk tales he heard, he remembered hearing about tree elves in the West and Flower Spirits in the East. It did not seem that surprising for nts to develop spiritual intelligence after all. "Furthermore...It is a good thing they have independent thought!" A spark glistened in Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes suddenly. The most important part of a dream master¡¯s journey was to align oneself with nature as much as possible! This was all because of the most basic ability to enter the dream world! Every item had a soul! Every grass or tree, flower or rock, or even the highest mountains were simr in having a soul and independent thought! What was different for them was it took a long time, maybe even centuries for them to formte a thought. If a dream master were to enter the dream suddenly, he would definitely work himself to death! But what happens after reaching the highest level? If one were to ess the dreams of the entire world, would the constructs and rules of the world beid out for the dream master to see? Even now, it had unique effects! "My dream-essing technique is still unable to have any effect on nts. However, the Sickle Grass and Serrated Flowers can already express rage, fear and and other emotions like wild animals... Furthermore, their minds are purer than that of wild animals, which is the best state for me to influence them..." Fang Yuan rose and looked towards the plot of spiritual nts as thoughts raced through his mind. ... "Keke!" After a period of time, Flower Fox Ferret which was on guard along the perimeter sprang into full alert and shot next to a big tree. Its eyes were filled with shock and panic. In front of it, the plot of deadly vegetation was bustling with activity. "Pooh pooh!" Several roots broke through the ground and reached outwards like human limbs. Bringing many stalks of Sickle Grass with them, it began its great migration. The whole plot of spiritual nts began shifting away. The sight was incredibly abnormal and freaky enough to freeze a person in fear. The slope which the spiritual nts once upied was not bare apart from Fang Yuan who sat cross legged on it. He was using magical energy to control the movements of the spiritual nts. "My ess into the dream world this time is more sessful than expected!" He was filled with delight as he thought, "Surprisingly, there was only one stalk of Serrated Flower which evolved. The other flowers grew from the pollen of the original stalk and are thus linked to it. I just have to control this particr flower and the rest would follow also. The sickle grass is just growing on the nutrients from the Serrated Flowers!" The dream world of nts was incredibly pure and simple. With just a few interactions, Fang Yuan felt that the nts already formed a close rtionship with him and was beginning to rely on him. He could influence their movement with just his mind. "After all they are just nts...it seems that they have yet to develop a sense of identity!" Fang Yuan looked at the bare hill and immediately demanded, ""Spring breeze rain, strike!" "Whoo whoo!" The clouds billowed and coalesced into a heavy rain cloud before falling on the hill heavily. This was a wood-type spiritual spell which was excellent at growing and maintaining the soil for nts to thrive on. He learnt this from Daoist Mu Li. However, spiritual spells were incredibly challenging, and Fang Yuan had yet to master them despite several attempts. However, when Fang Yuan entered the dream world of the Serrated Flower, he felt that his understanding of the botany world deepened immensely, which allowed him to ovee the parts of using spiritual spells he once found difficult. "This ability to aid the growth of the nts is simply..." Even though the Beneficial Downpour Technique was elementary enough for a spiritual disciple to execute, Daoist Mu Li said that he took one year to master it, and yet Fang Yuan took only a moment! This difference was unexinable! "To cultivate within a dream is to steal essence from heaven and earth, by benefitting from all three worlds... Unbelievable! Unbelievable! Fang Yuan gasped in awe repeatedly. He was now clear why dream masters were at the highest end of the pyramid in the Da Qian Empire. Even without fighting powers, dream masters were still able to consolidate extremely solid foundations with such powerful aid which was something very few others could aplish. "Let¡¯s go!" Fang Yuan rose and brought Flower Fox Ferret out of the Green Peak Spiritual Land, but he was still within the shield of the Bewildering Fog. "Sha sha!" Several stalks of Serrated Flowers and Sickle Grass shifted, and ording to his n, they rooted themselves down at selected positions and formed a newyer of protection. "It seems like if a Wu Zong tries to trespass, he would first be disconcerted by the Bewildering Fog and then attacked by spiritual nts. These are enough obstacles to hold him off. Normal martial artists who try to trespass will just be fertilisers for the spiritual nts..." Fang Yuan nodded in satisfaction. His Green Peak Spiritual Land was further secured. Chapter 128: Disciple Chapter 128: Disciple Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions After grafting the Sickle Grass and Serrated Flower, Fang Yuan realised that these two spiritual nts had a special property, which was extreme growth! He casually sowed the seeds at the beginning, only to return to a vast field of flowers and grass! These two spiritual nts were nted not long ago and were extremely hardy. If there was prey, they would consume it, but if there was no prey, they could stay in ambush and receive nutrients like normal nts, from the soil. With enough blood and flesh, the Green Peak spiritualnd¡¯s defence would bepletely set-up. "A normal martial artist would find it impossible to break through the twoyered defence of the Ecstasy Fog and the spiritual nts, and if a Wu Zong was not careful he might also get trapped... If there was good coordination, together with the ambush of these two spiritual beasts, they could severely injure a Wu Zong! This defence is sufficient for now!" On the peak of the mountain, Fang Yuan brewed a pot of Questioning Heart Tea and enjoyed it with the Iron-tailed ck Eagle and the Flower Fox Ferret. Since the demise of Lu Renjia, he returned to the Green Peak spiritualnd and lived in seclusion. Every day consisted of farming, nting and researching the ways of a dream master. asionally he would leave to settle minute stuff in the outside world, and time passed very quickly like this. In the blink of an eye, months flew by. "Good! This spiritualnd is indeed extraordinary!" In the farm which nted the me Jade Rice, Fang Yuan already began to harvest the rice grains, and his face was full of joy. "Together with the spiritual fertilizer, the period for it to mature has be even shorter..." Based on the astonishing intake of nutrients by the me Jade Rice, the consequence of nting it at the secluded valley was that thend would be barren and the rest of the spiritual nts there would wither. This consideration was thrown aside in the spiritualnd. "After this season¡¯s harvest, there would be enough for consumption. I have already begun to grow tired of the usual Vermilion Jade Rice, and it¡¯s good to change once in awhile..." With expectations, Fang Yuan rode on the Iron-tailed ck Eagle and flew out of Green Peak spiritualnd. After all, he was no longer alone. When there were issues to settle in the outside world, his subordinates did not dare to make the bigger decisions without his approval. Of course, there were not many of such decisions that needed his approval, but this time, it was rather important. "Although the governor of Qinghe County might not be as influential and powerful as the previous Spirit Returning Sect Sect Master, he must also not be an ordinary person. There are many who want to wield this power..." Since the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master wanted to appoint Fang Yuan as the governor, Fang Yuan did not want it. However, he soon realised that none of his subordinates was up for the job unless he decided to step up. "The truth is... Shi Yutong is a good choice if she bes loyal and obedient... What a pity that I can¡¯t trust her anymore!" That thought ran past his mind as he flew in the sky. The Iron-tailed ck Eagle begun to descend into Qingye City. "Master!" A few subordinates gathered in the city square, and even Huang Fu Renhe and Zhang Sheng rushed towards him as well. "Please rise!" Fang Yuan waved his hands, arrived at the main hall and sat down. "Huang Fu Renhe, how¡¯s the spiritualnd in the Spirit Returning Sect?" As he asked, Huang Fu Renhe bowed and replied. "To reply Master, I have smoothly taken over the 10 acres of spiritual farm. All have been ounted for. I have received 587 stones of spiritual grains, and as for the spiritual flowers and spiritual grass..." "Mm?" Fang Yuan twitched his eyebrows. It was not that Huang Fu Renhe did a bad job, but that it was a very smooth transition. Even with the backing of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master, Huang Fu Renhe could single-handedly under the scrutiny of many take over the entire farm, which surprised Fang Yuan. ¡¯I initially wanted to use this chance to show my power and destroy those that would disobey... It seems that the families in the county are rather smart!¡¯ Fang Yuan enquired. "Did you encounter any difficulties in the process?" "There are bound to be difficulties, but with the support of the Chen Family in the county, everything was rather smooth and I fulfilled Master¡¯s instructions!" Huang Fu Renhe replied respectfully. The young man who recruited him was now a whole lot different from him, which resulted in the change of attitude from Huang Fu Renhe. "Chen Family?" Fang Yuan did not bother about these families, but the name was rather familiar. Based on how he lived in seclusion and was still able to hear this name before, the Chen Family should be rather influential in the county. "To reply master, the Chen Family is from Qinghe County. Their family master is Chen Qing, a renowned 8th Gate martial artist in the county. There are also rumours that he is just one step away from the 4 Heavenly Gates!" Zhou Wenwu took a step forward and further exined. "When the news of the destruction of Spirit Returning Sect spread, this family was the first to switch sides and killed whoever in the family who were disciples of the Spirit Returning Sect. I¡¯ve heard that three old people died and two other direct descendants too... After handing over a bloody list of names, they passed the checks from the Secluded Mountain Prefecture and were cleared. They are now the number one influential family in Qinghe County..." "This Chen Qing is indeed cruel!" Fang Yuan smiled. Since theyid their foundations in Qinghe County, how could they not have rtions with the Spirit Returning Sect? The cleansing of the family is not as simple as just killing a few people, but the innate mindset of the family members already. Of course, the Chen Family¡¯s future is of no business with Fang Yuan. "By doing this, the Chen Family must have a favour to ask for right?" Fang Yuan looked at Huang Fu Renhe and smiled. "Master, you are indeed spot on! Chen Qing has a son called Chen Ziying, who wants to be your disciple. His son is no older than 20 years but is already an expert in inner force. He has extreme potential that I cannot match up against!" Huang Fu Renhe was convinced by Chen Ziying and therefore tried to put in a good word for him. "20 years old and already a 6th Gate martial artist, mm! Rather impressive!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. Even Lin Leiyue needed the help of a spiritual pill before breaking through the Pain Gate. The Chen Family surely did not have as many resources as the Spirit Returning Sect, which meant that Chen Ziying was indeed gifted! Of course, Fang Yuan did notpare him to himself. If he really did so, all the talents in the entire country would be ashamed when they know of Fang Yuan. "What a pity... I have no intention of having a disciple!" Fang Yuan shook his head and sighed. "However... If the Chen Family just wants a status for him, I can give him the status of being my disciple. As for what I want to pass down to him, it is entirely up to me. Bring this message to the Chen Family for them to consider!" Fang Yuan guessed that the Chen Family only wanted to scare others with his name, and therefore a disciple in-name would satisfy them. As for a real disciple? Chen Ziying was not qualified enough; even Lanruo wascking a bit. "Master is cultivating both martial arts and spiritual techniques at the same time and has already harnessed elemental force, so I guess the Chen Family would surely be willing to ept Master¡¯s offer!" Huang Fu Renhe could guess the intentions of the Chen Family and therefore replied instinctively. "Mm, then so be it!" Fang Yuan waved his hands and dismissed Hung Fu Renhe, and Yu Xinlou stood out. "Master... The White Cloud Business Council has been rebuilt, and the shops in the entire Qinghe County have been reimed. The Council is now on arger scale than before, and is under yourmand!" Yu Xinlou knew that his Business Council rode on Fang Yuan¡¯s influence in order to smoothly progress in the county, and therefore without hesitation showed loyalty to Fang Yuan. "It¡¯s a good thing that trading is smooth in the county!" Fang Yuan passed down a few instructions. He did not bother himself too much with these external power. However, it would still be a good thing if they could be developed, as he no longer had to travel vast distances to get what he wanted. ... "Huang Fu Renhe, bring Lanruo ande around to the study!" After settling the minute stuff, Fang Yuan instructed Huang Fu Renhe to follow him. "Yes, Master!" Although he didn¡¯t know the purpose of bringing Lanruo along, Huang Fu Renhe obliged politely and brought his sister to the City Master¡¯s study. This study was huge, and the racks were filled with ancient books. There was a cdon vase on a wooden shelf and in it a plum blossom flower. "Greetings, Master!" Huang Fu Renhe greeted first and tugged Lanruo to do the same. The little girl was a little afraid, bowed and her voice was filled with fear. "Greetings, Master..." Her voice was as soft as an ant. "Haha! No need for formalities!" Fang Yuan felt rather kind and amiable, as he examined Lanruo. This girl once apanied Huang Fu Renhe to scavenge for food and sleep on the streets, and therefore suffered quite a bit. After being taken care of for quite a while now, her figure became plump and there were baby fats on her cheeks, like a porcin doll, extremely lovable. Fang Yuan could not hold back and pinched her cheeks. ¡¯Not good!¡¯ Huang Fu Renhe witnessed this and was torn in between. ¡¯Could it be that Master likes Lanruo? She is still too young!¡¯ ¡¯However, there are men who have these kinds of fetish... What should I do if Master is as such?¡¯ Furthermore, thinking about how Fang Yuan was still a youth who was single, it sort of confirmed his possibility, and Huang Fu Renhe broke into cold sweat. "Huang Hu Renhe... Do you know why the Wild Wolves Faction wanted to capture Lanruo previously?" Of course, Fang Yuan didn¡¯t know what was going through Huang Fu Renhe¡¯s mind, but he could feel his uneasiness, and therefore softened his tone. "I don¡¯t know..." There was still the same conflict in his mind, and under confusion, he replied. "Because Lanruo was born naturally with an above average magical energy! She is a good candidate for a spiritual knight!" Fang Yuan smiled. "With her potential, she would be much stronger than you!" "What?" Huang Fu Renhe was shocked. Looking at Lanruo¡¯s eyes, he could not believe it. "Master, you are saying that... Lanruo can be a spiritual disciple?" "If she works hard enough, she could even be a spiritual knight!" Fang Yuan smiled and nodded his head as he looked at her. "Lanruo, are you willing to be my disciple and learn the art of alchemy?" "Quickly agree! Kneel down and greet your master!" Huang Fu Renhe immediately instructed Lanruo to do so. Only a fool would give this opportunity a miss. "Master!" The littledy was clueless but followed suit, as she kneeled down and greeted Fang Yuan. "Mm, very well. In my hands, I have the entire collection of alchemy art from Lu Renjia. If you work hard, it would be possible for you to be an alchemy master in the future!" Fang Yuan nced at Huang Fu Renhe. "Renhe, you can learn as well!" "Thank you, Sir!" Huang Fu Renhe showed extreme gratitude an even changed the way he addressed Fang Yuan. It was as though he had sold his life to Fang Yuan, and pulled their rtionship and loyalty another step closer. Chapter 129: Matured Chapter 129: Matured Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Xiu! Xiu!" The waving of the sword reflected shes of light in the garden. A teenager was holding onto a sword that was 3 feet long and he had a slender figure. He was practising his sword skills. Even though he was young, his moves were fast and his tactics used seemed to beplicated. It seemed that he was well taught by someone else. Whenever he drew his sword, there was a energy formed from the sword and he was also an expert in inner force! All of a sudden, one could only see a sh of silver light in the flower garden and one would not be able to recognise that it was a person. "Let there be breeze!" He made another move with his sword diagonally and there was smoke produced. 9 petals then started to sway and split along the veins. "Good sword skills!" Fang Yuan came out of the corridor with Lanruo and praised the teenager. "My family¡¯s martial arts is a joke to the experts!" The teenager kept the sword and took a bow. "I¡¯m Chen Ziying, Master!" "Hmm, get up!" Fang Yuan was smiling at the talented disciple who hade to Fang Yuan out of his will. "What kind of martial arts did you learn previously?" "My family¡¯s Long Spring Technique and a few sword skills!" Chen Ziying replied with much respect. "With your age, it is indeed rare to find one who could train to such a level..." Even though Chen Ziying was talented, he was not arrogant like any other normal talented ones and Fang Yuan like such character. In fact, Chen Ziying would probably have nothing to show off even if he had wanted to as Fang Yuan was young as him but was already a Wu Zong. "Thank you for your praise, Master!" Chen Ziying took another bow. "Hmm....." Fang Yuan touched his chin and said, "Since now you are my disciple, I shall teach a few moves. However, your magical energy is not that great yet. If you manage to breakthrough for Wu Zong in future, there is a chance for you to be a spiritual knight. For now, I can only teach you a few martial arts moves!" "I¡¯m honoured to be your disciple and to be able to learn from you!" Chen Ziying replied with much respect and he recalled what his father had said to him. ¡¯Even though the Chen family¡¯s strong will is disyed, but in the end, the family is too deeply involved and is not able to gain anyone¡¯s trust in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. Also, there are a few jealous ones who are trying to sabotage us. There is a saying that it is harder to make step forward than retreating. Hence, we will have to find a stronger ally who we can depend on and Master Fang is the most suitable person in the whole of Secluded Mountain Prefecture!¡¯ ¡¯At least I¡¯m now epted as a disciple. Even if I¡¯m epted as a ve instead, so be it! The main priority is to be liked by Master Fang!¡¯ ....... As he thought about that, he was listening to what Fang Yuan said attentively. "What I have learnt is notplicated. I will pass on the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique to you!" Fang Yuan touched his chin. With him pushing the peak limit in the dream world and a few adjustments he had made to his experiments for the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique, this technique was not like before. It was near to perfection and was way better. It also consisted of 13 grades and enabled one to break through the bottleneck of Wu Zong! This newly edited technique was a secret martial arts technique and it was of the same level as the Spirit Returning Heart Manual. ¡¯What a coincidence....there is so little knowledge about Wu Zong right here in the Xia Country but with the help of my dream world, I can practice and push the limit of Wu Zong. I will then be able to see for myself the state after Wu Zong.....¡¯ Fang Yuan looked at Chen Ziying with a strange look. ¡¯By teaching him the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique, not only it will help me to refresh my martial arts, I will be able to find out what is it like beyond Wu Zong.....A spiritual knight can fully master the elemental force. My martial arts should be of simr level to that in future......I shall not visit the Da Qian Empire for now as it is better for me to fumble on my own first.¡¯ "Thank you, Master!" Chen Ziying didn¡¯t know what Fang Yuan was thinking and when he heard that the skill which was going to pass on to him was a good technique, he took a bow with satisfaction. Fang Yuan silently approved Chen Ziying as he was not overboard and not easily moved by honour. "I have decided to rmend Niu Dingtian as the new county leader!" Out of the blue, Fang Yuan suddenly mentioned this. Not anyone could take up the position as the governor of the Qinghe County. If it was an outsider who took up the position, the outsider would still want the soldiers from the Secluded Mountain Prefecture to listen to his or her orders? Also, even though Liu Yan had allowed him to choose who to be the next governor, Fang Yuan would have to take into consideration of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture¡¯s presence there. Hence, Fang Yuan had chosen Niu Dingtian whom the Secluded Mountain Prefecture was familiar with. "Leader Niu is good is martial arts and is quite immersed in improving his martial arts. Hence, he will probably not have enough time to handle the county¡¯s matters. I am rmending Chen Qing from the Chen family to be his personal assistant!" After Fang Yuan said that sentence, the teenager¡¯s eyes were already filled with tears. "I will do anything in future to repay your kindness!" Chen Ziying kowtowed and knew that this rmendation would be approved by the city master as it was rmended by Fang Yuan. As such, the Chen family would have a position here in the county and hence achieving their goal. ¡¯Even.....ording to what Master had mentioned, Leader Niu is a rough martial artist. Isn¡¯t the Chen family is going to be known for handling the county¡¯s matter¡¯s as an assistant?¡¯ As he thought about this, Chen Ziying was feeling passionate as he didn¡¯t expect his new master to treat him in such a nice way. He was having the intentions of repaying this kindness till his death. "Haha......you are my disciple. If I don¡¯t consider for you, who else can I consider for?" Fang Yuan was smiling widely. It was like a benevolent teacher showing kindness to his filial disciple. However, deep down in his heart, he was thinking, ¡¯You said you would do anything to repay my kindness!¡¯ No matter what, even though it was not entirely a bad thing to be so calctive towards his own disciple, it was not really a good thing still and hence he would have to make some sacrifice first. As for Lanruo, Fang Yuan had the same concern for her. Alchemy not only required an inheritance, it needed one¡¯s talent and lots of effort had to be put in. Fang Yuan was already focusing on the pathway of Dream Master and how would he have the time to help Lanruo for Alchemy? However, Lanruo was talented and she had her brother, Huang Fu Renhe by her side to help her. Hence, the both of them could focus on Alchemy without Fang Yuan¡¯s help. If one of them could be an alchemy master in future, it would bring many benefits. ¡¯Unknowingly, my power has risen to such a level.....¡¯ As Fang Yuan thought of this, he was also shocked. ¡¯I¡¯m currently controlling a city but my power is still considered small in the Qinghe County. In future, when Lanruo and Chen Ziying have grown up and are able to make a breakthrough in the elemental force, won¡¯t I be qualified to rule the whole of Secluded Mountain Prefecture?¡¯ ....... Anyway, it was a good thing for both Chen Ziying and Lanruo to have found Fang Yuan as their master and both of them can depend on him. The news of Fang Yuan epting two disciples soon spread. Zhou Wenwu and a few of the others came and congratted him. There were other big households from the city who came to congratte him as well and even gave him gifts to show their loyalty. Previously, when the method which Zhou Wenwu used to pressure the Lin family had scared the rest a little. Since there was a chance now, they would make great efforts for Fang Yuan. However, Huang Fu Renhe soon realised that Fang Yuan had no talent in being a teacher. Whether he was teaching Lanruo or Chen Ziying, Fang Yuan taught them only the basics and it was up to the two of them toprehend the rest. Sometimes, Fang Yuan just gave them manuals for them to study on their own. Not many people could endure such ¡¯self-learning¡¯ technique for a long period of time. Luckily, both Chen Ziying and Lanruo were talented and both of them often had many discussions about their research with Huang Fu Renhe. Through this brainstorming, they were barely able to keep up with the pace that had been set by Fang Yuan. What about Qinghe County? After Niu Dingtian was appointed as the county leader, he was indeed annoyed with the county matters and made all his assistants to handle the matters. Chen Qing was hence promoted and had some power. The Chen family became rich and even wrote many letters to Chen Ziying, asking him to be a filial disciple towards Fang Yuan, in order to maintain his family¡¯s prosperity. Even though Chen Ziying had the intention to be well liked by Fang Yuan, Fang Yuan only taught a few days of lessons and was nowhere to be seen for the rest of the days. Fang Yuan was also not back in the secluded valley often and this made Chen Ziying disappointed in Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan was not showing much concern to the Chen family already. In fact, ever since he found out that the seed of the me Jade Rice had matured, Fang Yuan had shifted his focus onto the spiritual farm. Also, the Green Peak had an abundance of spiritual energy and it was good for one¡¯s cultivation. Fang Yuan couldn¡¯t bear to leave that ce even when he was having a break. "Haha...me Jade Rice has finally matured!" In the farm, there were many me-like spiritual nts grown. Hanging above were a few gigantic buds that were carrying the pill-like me Jade Rice. "Chirp! Chirp!" A few sparrows were still circling around in the sky even though some of them had been caught by the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. "I didn¡¯t expect a matured farm to be able to attract so nearby animals and birds!" Fang Yuan grabbed a rock and threw it into the sky. "Whoosh!" A few broken pieces of rock was shot into the sky like a me and among the cries, big amount of feathers then came falling down. "I¡¯m afraid I will have to nt the seeds of the Sickle Grass and the Serrated Flower so that they can guard this farm in future." Fang Yuan then leapt forward to the side of the spiritual farm. He stepped with his right foot and his foot was like an iron plough. Theyer of soil was flipped open. "Pa!" A groundhog let out a cry. Its eyes were glittering under the sun and there was spiritual energy around it. "Do you really want to continue digging?" Fang Yuan kicked it away with his leg. "Keke!" There was a sh of white light appearing in mid-air and the light revealed Flower Fox Ferret which hadnded on the ground. Its mouth was holding onto the groundhog and it started to feed on the groundhog. Even though the Flower Fox Ferret¡¯s appetite had changed, it still couldn¡¯t resist the meat from another spiritual beast. It pinched its nose and ate the piece of meat raw. "It is still too obvious to nt one acre of spiritual rice!" After he had removed the pests, Fang Yuan had decided to increase his defences of the farm in future, or else he would incur a big loss. He then started to harvest the crops with the Flower Fox Ferret. "If I have so much spiritual rice for me to eat every day, I don¡¯t mind living in the mountains here for the rest of my life." Looking at the storage that was fully filled with food supplies and the two spiritual beasts which both gave a hopeful look, Fang Yuan then pped his hands and said, "Very good, we shall eat to our hearts¡¯ content!" Chapter 130: Dream Building Chapter 130: Dream Building Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Fang Yuan was extremely experienced in cooking spiritual rice. However, he did not know what to expect from the me Jade Rice. For instance, the heat had to be brought up to cook it. If he did not prepare enough me Jade Rice, he was afraid he would undercook and waste the first pot of spiritual rice, which would be a joke! "Hu!" Once the spiritual rice became cooked, Fang Yuan lifted the pot cover, and an intense heatwave came out of the pot. "Keke!" "Chirp! Chirp!" The Flower Fox Ferret and Iron-tailed ck Eagle gathered around and stared at the cooked me Jade Rice. In the pot, grains of spiritual rice were glowing red, and were of a muchrger size than before, like a lychee. It was crystal clear, and there seemed to be a tiny me in within. "Why does this feel like I am making spiritual pills?" In spending time guiding his disciple, he slowly understood Lu Renjia¡¯s alchemy techniques and felt that cooking this pot of spiritual rice was rather simr to making spiritual pills, and the end products of the two processes were rather simr as well. ¡¯Of course... Spiritual rice is grown naturally and will, therefore, be better than a normal pill. Furthermore, it can be eaten as a staple, but for a pill, one still has to be worried if it is poisonous...¡¯ He took out two grains of spiritual rice and distributed them to the Flower Fox Ferret and Iron-tailed ck Eagle. He then took one grain for himself and stuffed it in his mouth. "Wu!" This rice was crispy and fragrant. Needless to say, its taste was wonderful. More importantly, after unshelling the rice, it was as though a burning me exploded in his mouth, through his throat and down to his stomach. His Dantian became warm, like a small fireball in it. "Wonderful spiritual property!" With such a strong replenishment of spiritual energy, it was easily many times more beneficial than the Vermilion Jade Rice, which made Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glitter. Even with his astonishing magical energy, he could still feel that the elemental force in his Dantian was being stimted, bing just a little stronger than before. "This scale... It is muchrger than the spiritual tea in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture..." Fang Yuan touched his forehead and his hand became moist. He was beginning to sweat. "If I consume this on a daily basis, it will train my fire element and cleanse my bone marrow! Furthermore..." His eyes shed and he gestured something with his hands. "Ch!" A small me appeared at his fingertips. "Fire-type spiritual spells... I¡¯ve learnt it?" Fang Yuan was extremely interested in spiritual spells. He had read up all about it in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture and took down mental notes of it. Liu Yan was a fire-type spiritual knight himself. Although he did not teach his secret spiritual spells, he did not reject Fang Yuan¡¯s plea to learn a few basic spiritual spells used by spiritual disciples. Spiritual spells were the hardest to learn, and as Fang Yuan tried to harness it, he encountered immense difficulties. However, this time, with the stimtion of the spiritual spells, he felt that he understood fire-type cultivation even more, and he could even feel the fire-type force in the Heavens and Earth. It was a different path from dream essing and harnessing wood-type spiritual spells, but the end goal was the same. All of them were equally profound. "This me Jade Rice is fire-type. If I consume it for a long period, I would be able to increase my fire-type experience..." Fang Yuan rubbed his chin and was in deep thought. "If Liu Yan knew about this, he would spend a fortune just to get his hands on these!" He was already at the peak of the Elemental Gathering Realm and was just one step from Elemental Breaking Realm. However, thisst step was arduous! In order to get assistance to have even the slightest chance to break through, he would snatch or steal this me Jade Rice if he knew of its existence. "Keke!" "Chirp! Chirp!" While Fang Yuan was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly became aware and realised that the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed ck Eagle had eaten half of the entire pot of me Jade Rice, and was a little frustrated. "Hmph... Both of you didn¡¯t leave anything for me!" He joined them in the queue to snatch for more. This me Jade Rice was extremely filling. Every grain was as big as a lychee, and he became full after eating 7 to 8 grains of it. Seeing the Flower Fox Ferret and Iron-tailed ck Eagle both slowing down to slowing chew on it, he then remembered to slowly savour the taste of it. "With my qualifications, if I focus on cultivating fire-type spiritual spells, I should be able to be on par with Liu Yan in less than 20 years!" After the meal, Fang Yuan felt that he understood more about the me Jade Rice¡¯s benefits. "Of course, by purely training as a spiritual knight would be too dumb and a waste of my gifts!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. "With so much aid from all these spiritual objects, I don¡¯t believe that I cannot break through the bottleneck of a dream master!" ... "Chirp! Chirp!" On the peak of the Green Peak spiritualnd, arge flock of Red-eyed White Birds were flying around, pping their wings and chirping. As the owners of this entirend, other than hunting, these birds were extremely free, and once in awhile would fly to the river,b their feathers and y around, as though they enjoy it very much. In this peaceful environment, a grey shadow took a shortcut and climbed up to the peak of the mountain. "This Red-eyed White King Bird is about to starve to death, and yet it is still so strong-willed! How troublesome!" This grey shadow was indeed Fang Yuan! Without a doubt, this was the dream world of the Red-eyed White Bird. It was a certain level to be able to awaken and be lucid in one¡¯s own dream world. However, he was now able to be lucid in someone else¡¯s dream, which meant that he had attained a higher level in his journey as a dream master. Furthermore, after a few reincarnations as birds and much experimenting, Fang Yuan was able to adopt a human body in the dream and therefore did not have to force himself to adapt to a bird¡¯s life anymore. Otherwise, if he did this a few more times, he was afraid that he would pick up the habits of the birds and therefore affect his own lifestyle. For instance, the feeling of having wings, or the urge to fly once he was on a cliff. "The Elemental Gathering Realm of a dream master is split into two parts. The first is dream essing, and the second is dream building!" A dream-essing master can enter the dream of anything with a spirit. Editing the dream world and creating imagery would be for a dream-building master! "When a person is dreaming, he would put his guard down. By building a simr scene to the person¡¯s dream, one would be able to steal secrets... This is the most basic use of dream building. Who could tell the difference between reality and imagery? The true essence of dream building is mashed-up memories!" Fang Yuan approached the top of the cliff. He was already familiar with the terrain, as he aimed at the tform and jumped. "Ping!" After falling for a while, hended on his feet first and did a somersault. "Chirp! Chirp!" The sound attracted the attention of the Red-eyed White Birds, and a few white birds chirped and rushed towards him. "Get lost!" Fang Yuan struck his hands as ws and aimed at the birds. "Whoosh! Whoosh!" His ambush broke the skull of the Red-eyed White Birds, which fell to the ground. Fang Yuan continued to rush towards the king bird¡¯s nest cave. Ultimately, this was the Red-eyed King Bird¡¯s dream and it was alert. Therefore, Fang Yuan¡¯s ability here was only that of a 4 Heavenly Gate martial artist. But that was enough! "The king bird is now out hunting and have yet to return. Of course, it would return shortly... This is because the eggs in its nest are about to hatch. It will need to rush back to let the chicks see it at first sight!" Fang Yuan smiled. Birds had a specific habit. The newborns will treat whoever they see first as their parents, and would be more intimate with them. "Chirp! Chirp!" Outside, there was the shriek of birds. The Golden Crown King Bird had returned and realised something which made it very angry. "Wait out there! Dream building!" At this moment, Fang Yuan felt that he had increased control over this dream world, and started to affect the cave. "Eagle w!" "Rumble!" As his w struck, the opening of the cave crumbled andrge rocks fell and covered the entrance of the cave. The Golden Crown King Bird was frustrated but could do nothing. "I want... light!" Fang Yuan mumbled a few words and suddenly, the entire cave was lighted up by a warm light. "Chh! Chh!" At this moment, in the next, a few huge eggs started to wobble, and cracks appeared on the eggshells. Small beaks protruded and slowly pecked at the shell, forming small holes. "That¡¯s right, keep it up!" Fang Yuan approached the nest and observed. "Kacha! Kacha!" Apanying the distinct cracking sounds, the eggshells cracked and revealed chicks with little to no feathers. There were still pink little chicks. Seeing the baby chicks, no one could imagine that one of them would eventually go on to be a red-eyed white king bird. "Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!" As the chicks opened their eyes, they carved an impression of Fang Yuan in their little minds. "Good chicks!" Not only that, Fang Yuan even stretched out his arm and stroked them one by one, making the chicks remember his breath. ... In the cave, Fang Yuan opened his eyes. At the same time, the Red-eyed White King Bird in front of him opened its eyes too. As it looked at Fang Yuan, it was weird. It did not have the fierce look it once had, but rather, a kind look. "Good... here, have some food!" Fang Yuan smiled and passed it a bamboo fruit and a few grains of me Jade Rice. "Chirp! Chirp!" The Red-eyed White King Bird chirped weakly and obediently opened its beak to eat the food. "It¡¯s done!" Seeing this scene, Fang Yuan was overjoyed. He knew that the Red-eyed White King Bird had fully epted him. ¡¯Who would¡¯ve known that this attempt at changing its memories would be so sessful. Luckily, I had prepared myself mentally for this...¡¯ Although the dream world was different from memories, a lie repeated a thousand times would be the truth. As long as he continuously convinced it in its dream many times, the Red-eyed White King Bird would confuse its dream world with its memories. Furthermore, this spiritual bird¡¯s mind was more innocent than that of a human, and it would be easier to work on it. The only thing the Fang Yuan didn¡¯t expect was that he would seed on the first try! "Very good... This Red-eyed White King Bird has the capabilities of a 4 Heavenly Gate martial artist, and would even be on par with a 12th Gate martial artist when it is raged! Furthermore, it is a spiritual bird and has the ability to fly, and can also control the flock of red-eyed white birds. I have another strong aide now!" Since he had tamed the Red-eyed White King Bird, Fang Yuan immediately released the chains on it and fed it withrge amounts of spiritual food for it to recover. "I have now entered the stage of a dream-building master, and justck practice on a human¡¯s dream... I still cannot be considered experienced..." Fang Yuan knew his own abilities well. Half a month after the first harvest of the me Jade Rice, his cultivation was improved quickly. Chapter 131: Pathway Chapter 131: Pathway Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 11 Spirit: 10.5 Magic: 9 Profession: Dream Master Cultivation: [Dream-Building Master (High Elemental Gathering Stage)], Wu Zong Technique: [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 13) (???)], Ecstasy Spell, Shadowstep Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 4)]" "Dream-building Master - Not only you have ess to any dream worlds, you are also an illusionary editor. You are the real dominator even when you are in other people¡¯s dream world!" ...... "As I reached the stage of a dream-building master, I have also reached the high elemental gathering stage..." As he looked at his stats window, Fang Yuan touched his chin. He realised that the stats listed were based on his knowledge andprehension. For example, after Fang Yuan knew the difference between Elemental Gathering Realm and Elemental Breaking Realm, the stats for his cultivation had a big change. "I¡¯m afraid a normal spiritual knight needs at least 10 years in order for them to reach the high elemental gathering stage? I only spend a few months to get it....." Fang Yuan realised that he was more suitable to be a dream master and his speed of breakthrough was also faster. Plus, he only spent a few months to be on par with those who had spent at least 10 to 100 years of training. Inside his mind pce, the dream elemental force was flowing in his mind like water and was very pure. If he were to improve a little more, he would probably be like Liu Yan and able to reach the threshold of the elemental breaking realm. "Of course......when bing a dream master, one will not be at the elemental breaking realm straight away. There needs to be holy training as this involves turning illusion into reality!" "However, if one wants to turn a dream world into reality, does one know that the rules ofprehension and the energy needed are scary? Hence, when training to be a dream master, one could choose different pathways to do it. To simply put it, one would not start with forming the whole dream world. One could start with a normal knife, a spiritual pill or a spiritual spell in the dream world. One could even start with just a normal rock.....If one could achieve this, one would be holy!" "Even though the process of making such world involved one to start from small objects to big ones, the time needed was very long.....Some dream masters even got stuck at this stage for their whole life..." A world, and even the smallest world in the universe did contain many scary rules? Even though one would spend their whole life trying to make such a world, not many of them could be the actual dream masters who could produce such worlds. Many of them remained stuck at the holy illusionary stage. "Also......within that stage, there are different pathways for dream masters to go and hence there will be different specialisations!" Fang Yuan recalled the content that he had inherited from Master Wenxin and his eyes started to glitter. "For example, the simplest would be the study of dream worlds. Complementing with the techniques for dream-building, it would help a dream spell master produce spiritual spells. Also, having a soldier¡¯s fundamentals would help a dream soldier master, or maybe one could y a support role as a dream alchemy master, or a dream array master who would research on the heavens and earth. The most tedious one would be the spiritual beast master who can create live animals. The most mysterious one would the dream divine master, who would be able to predict one¡¯s future and luck..." Basically, the pathway of bing a dream master covered all kinds of spiritual knights. A dream master could achieve what a spiritual knight could achieve and even if there is something a spiritual knight couldn¡¯t achieve, it would not be hard for the dream master to achieve it, if not why would they be called the dominators of their full-time career? "The difference between a dream master and both a spiritual alchemy master and spiritual array master will be that for dream masters, the raw materials that they get are produced by themselves from the dream world and hence the cost of it is very little. Their skills can be trained in the dream world and this is one of the advantages. Of course, the main point is that a dream master is able toprehend the rules of heaven and earth during battles and training for alchemy and arrays! They are constantly improving the dream worlds that they are disying!" "All dream masters only wish for one thing, which is to disy a dream world that is holy and big!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered and sighed while he shook his head. "Unfortunately......I¡¯m still quite a distance away from that stage!" A dream spells master who was at his basic level could produce a spiritual spell from the dream world and this was no different from a spiritual knight! What did this show? It meant that with one¡¯s imagination, one would be undefeatable with the confusion of illusion and reality. Anyway, if one would want to reach this stage, one would have to make a breakthrough in the holy illusionary stage first and that would also be the elemental breaking realm for a spiritual knight! Plus, it was more difficult for a dream master to make that breakthrough aspared to the spiritual knight. If one wanted to disy something from the dream world into the real world, even if it was just a small rock or a sand particle, it represented a supernatural power! Mind could affect matter and consciousness could affect reality! "However, since this is more difficult, the benefits of breaking through the holy illusionary stage are greater. One would be at the top even if one was in Da Qian Empire....." Fang Yuan sighed and waved his hand in the sky. "Chirp! Chirp!" The Red-eyed White king Birdnded and started to rub Fang Yuan¡¯s palm. Ever since he had managed to tame this bird through dream-building, the bird had be closer to Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan even made the bird forgot about the revenge it previously had. It was the expertise for a dream master to tamper with one¡¯s memories and create illusions. "Have some more!" Fang Yuan took out a big amount of me Jade Rice and Questioning Heart Tea for the bird to feed on. The Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed ck Eagle were feeling a little jealous with regards to the treatment the Red-eyed White King Bird had gotten. "Chirp! Chirp!" Even though the Red-eyed White King Bird previously did not feed on spiritual rice and spiritual tea daily, it was still joyful and it quickly ate the spiritual food. Sometimes, it also used its beak to rubbed against Fang Yuan and this made both of them even closer. ¡¯This Red-eyed White King Bird is special and its abilities is much higher than that of the Iron-tailed ck Eagle even without any prior spiritual food supplements. If now it is constantly being supplemented, there is a possibility that it can reach a higher level!¡¯ This was the reason why Fang Yuan was treating the bird so well. After all, to a spiritual knight who was in the elemental gathering realm, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle was only used as a mean of transport. The eagle would not be useful in battles but what about another bird which had the elemental force? Fang Yuan had more hope for the Red-eyed White King Bird which had the possibility of breaking through. "Keke!" "Chirp! Chirp!" That scene triggered both the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. Both of them came to Fang Yuan to show their abilities by bringing a few preys they had hunted. "Haha....you two!" Fang Yuanughed and said, "Since the bird has fully recovered, the bird will take over the role of taking care of the rest of the Red-eyed White Birds. You two will not have to hunt for prey daily to feed the young birds....." Even though through Fang Yuan¡¯s previous attacks, the Red-eyed White Birds poption had incurred quite a big loss. However, the Red-eyed White King Bird was still here. Along with the young birds and the eggs, plus Fang Yuan¡¯s spiritual objects for them, the bird poption would develop quickly. "As for you two.....you two shall follow me to the Prefecture Master¡¯s mansion!" With regards to the fight between the spiritual beasts, Fang Yuan was quite surprised by it and of course, he would not forget this two even though he now had a new pet, which was the bird. "Chirp! Chirp!" The Iron-tailed ck Eagley facing down. It spread its wings to signal Fang Yuan to get up quickly. It then gave a stare to the Red-eyed White King Bird. ¡¯What is this.....Big ck. Where has your pride of being an eagle gone to?¡¯ Fang Yuan was speechless and as he saw the unwilling look from the Red-eyed White King Bird, he couldn¡¯t help butugh. ........ "Master!" In the Prefecture Master¡¯s mansion, everything was going smoothly. The only ones that still needed coaching would be Lanruo and Chen Ziying. "Hmm, Ziying, your Eagle w is not bad now!" Fang Yuan was surprised that in just a short period of time, Chen Ziying had managed to break through the 4th Gate and could concentrate his inner power from the Eagle w. Even though Chen Ziying already had prior experience in martial arts and didn¡¯t have to pass through the initial stage, Fang Yuan didn¡¯t expect him to have practised the Eagle w Technique to such a level. "I¡¯m able to achieve this is because of your guidance and help of the spiritual rice!" Chen Ziying bowed with much sincerity. After all, even though he was the son of the Chen family, he didn¡¯t have Vermillion Jade Rice for all meals daily. In fact, it was because Fang Yuan had found a type of rice that was better than the Vermillion Jade Rice and hence he was willing to give out the Vermillion Jade Rice to his men and disciples. If Chen Ziying knew that what he had enjoyed was what Fang Yuan had abandoned, he would be shocked. "Master....." Since they had known each other for quite some time already, Lanruo was not shy when in front of Fang Yuan anymore. "I don¡¯t really understand some of the spellnguage and the techniques in the alchemy. For example, the Three Yang Fire and the Three Yin Fire, and also the Settling Jade Liquid and Rising Sun....." "For these....you will have to wait. I have some matters to settle today. I will answer all your questions tomorrow!" Fang Yuan was feeling a little ashamed but he didn¡¯t show it on his face. He waved his hand the two disciples to leave first and then he went to the prison. In the prison, there was a cell that was rather clean and he saw Ling Yin in it. "How are you, Miss Ling Yin?" Fang Yuan greeted her and smiled at her. Ling Yin was sitting down with her knees crossed and she opened her eyes slightly to take a nce at Fang Yuan. She then replied sorrowfully, "You can forget about getting any intelligence from me!" "Miss Ling Yin, why are you rejecting me straight away?" Fang Yuan unlocked the cell with a key and held onto her chin. Ling Yin¡¯s whole body was trembling but she was not resisting, as she knew that it would be of no use since Fang Yuan was powerful than her. "Since you are not willing to die, it means that you still have matters to settle. No matter what it is, whether is it with regards to revenge or repaying someone¡¯s kindness, as long as you are not willing to die, we will have room for discussion, isn¡¯t it?" Fang Yuan seemed to be very confident. "My master is already dead and you still want to know the secrets of alchemy? Dream on!" Ling Yin¡¯s expression changed. A real alchemy master couldn¡¯t be cultivated just by looking at manuals. One would need a senior¡¯s guidance as well to be an alchemy master. That was why Liu Yan was willing to give Lu Renjia¡¯s alchemy books to Fang Yuan. Liu Yan didn¡¯t believe that Fang Yuan could cultivate an alchemy master on his own. Chapter 132: Dream Stealing Chapter 132: Dream Stealing Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Dream?" Fang Yuan smiled and showed a mysterious look. This unpredictable attitude of his worried Ling Yin. "That¡¯s alright..." He smiled and was rather gentlemanly. "I initially wanted to trade with you, your knowledge in alchemy for your freedom... But since you are not willing, then..." "Pa!" Fang Yuan snapped his fingers. "Whooo! Whooo!" Ayer of Ecstasy Fog appeared and covered Ling Yin. "You..." Ling Yin stared at him and said a word before falling asleep. Even if her miniature elemental force was not sealed, she would still sumb to Fang Yuan¡¯s Ecstasy Spell, not to mention the state she was in now. "Mydy... Let¡¯s meet in your dream..." Fang Yuan ced his palm on Ling Yin¡¯s forehead and initiated the dream essing process. ... It was daytime with a slight drizzle. A thick fog was all around. In the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, within arge manor, Ling Yin stood up and yawned as she rubbed her eyes. She had the look of a 12-year-old with two hair buns. She was in a pink robe and wore silk shoes, with two yellow flowers at the side. She was like a mini sculpture, adorable. "This is... My home..." Ling Yin was confused. "Why do I feel like I have forgotten something important..." "Ling Yin!" A voice travelled from the front of the manor, and Ling Yin threw all her thoughts aside. She stuck out her little tongue and said, "Oh no, I¡¯ve woken upte today, will Master scold me?" She ran all the way and arrived at the alchemy room. In the middle of the alchemy room stood arge cauldron, and beneath it was Beast Charcoals burning. There was no smoke, only red mes, and anyone who stood near it would sweat profusely. "You¡¯ve missed the morning lesson, why are you sote today?" Lu Renjia was wearing a brown robe in front of the cauldron, looking much younger than before. "Don¡¯t be angry master... I... I was workingtest night, and slept a littleter than usual!" Ling Yin kneeled down and begged for forgiveness, and was worried that she would be beaten by the bamboo rods. "Hmm, I¡¯ll remember this... I will test you today. You will start reciting the alchemy technique and alchemy song, then I¡¯ll test your medicine identification... If there are any errors, hehe..." Lu Renjia disyed a strict master face and continued, "Let¡¯s start with the Nine Transformation Alchemy Form, then the Fire Hand Palm! Recite!" "Yes, Master!" Ling Yin obediently agreed and without hesitation started to recite. "Nine Transformation Alchemy Form starts with the elements, first with ancient fire, then with wood..." She was smart, to begin with, and now she could feel her thoughts rushing through her mind, as she grew suspicious. ¡¯How did I learnt so much of Master¡¯s alchemy techniques?¡¯ As she smelled the concoction, she could immediately identify the pill being made. It was the usual Hundred Grass Pellet, which she could make it herself too. ¡¯Wait... When did I learn the recipe for Hundred Grass Pellet?¡¯ The young Ling Yin was suspicious, then heard Lu Renjia¡¯s voice again. "Hmm, you are familiar with the techniques which means you are hardworking. However, it is not enough to just know them, you still need to understand!" Lu Renjia showed a fierce expression, and Ling Yin did not dare to think any further as she shivered. "Let me ask you, what is the difference between Three Yang Fire and Three Yin Fire?" "Their difference lies in the type of me. The Three Yang Fire is charcoal me, while the Three Yin me is..." Ling Yin answered without hesitation. "Then what is the Settling Jade Liquid and Rising Sun?" "Jade Liquid refers to pill essence. When the pill essence settles, it is a sign of the pill condensing. The Rising Sun refers to the method of extracting the pill, generally speaking..." ... Time passed quickly as the exchange went by, and the young Ling Yin became increasingly suspicious. Master¡¯s questions were obviously those that she had not learnt, but unknowingly, she would be able to answer them, as though she had ten years of experience in alchemy. ¡¯I seem to... forget something... Could it be that I¡¯ve learnt alchemy before?¡¯ Suddenly, there was an excruciating pain in her brain as she hugged her head with her hands, and squatted down in pain. "Mm, you¡¯ve done well in today¡¯s test, go and rest!" As ¡¯Lu Renjia¡¯ witnessed this scene, he had a weird expression and waved his hands. A fog emerged from a corner of the alchemy room, and slowly entered Ling Yin¡¯s body. "Yes, Master! I will take my leave!" Ling Yin heaved as the pain in her head subsided. She did not think about it anymore and left. "Whooo..." As the door closes, Lu Renjia sighed, and suddenly transformed into Fang Yuan, with pity on his face. "Even though I am in the dream building stage, I am still too inexperienced. While trying to retrieve the secrets and stimting her, I might even identally make the real Ling Yin lucid, and might be at a disadvantage!" "I have gained quite a lot today, so I¡¯ll juste back tomorrow!" He smiled and the entire dream world copsed. ... "What a good dream!" In the cell, Fang Yuan gazed at Ling Yin, who was soundly asleep and left the cell. One would be innocent if he thought that he could conceal any secrets from a dream master! Although he did not know any alchemy, this direct disciple of Lu Renjie must know, Furthermore, she was personally taught by him, which made her even more valuable. "What a pity my dream-building skill was only elementary, otherwise I could just flip through her memories while she was awake, and could even reproduce the exact scene where Lu Renjia taught her..." Fang Yuan only reached the stage where he could edit a spiritual beast¡¯s memories. To do the same to a spiritual disciple, he would need more skill. "With my new knowledge, I can still manage Lanruo!" "Furthermore, it would also be good to gain more alchemy experience. After the holy stage, I might even follow the path of a dream alchemy master..." With this to y cheat, what else could he say? On the next day, Fang Yuan called for Lanruo and answered her queries. Huang Fu Renhe was listening at one side, surprised. He thought that Fang Yuan was only skilled in martial arts, and not in alchemy. However, it seems that his Master¡¯s alchemy skills was even better than his, which made Fang Yuan even more mysterious in the eyes of Huang Fu Renhe, as his respect for him grew. ... Unknowingly, half a year went by, and the new year has begun. In Xia Country, the new year was an extremely important festival. In the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, every household was decorated with colourfulnterns and there were hustle and bustle all around. Furthermore, many people spent a lot of money after surviving the battle. Even the normal household bought many new clothes and tons of meat to celebrate life after the war, and the entire city centre became much more prosperous. In Qingye City. "Master look... This is the Blood Clotting Powder which Lanruo personally made!" Lanruo wore a leopard print coat, and her face was glowing with happiness as she showed off her achievement to Fang Yuan. "Oh?" After hearing her, Fang Yuan diverted his attention from the festivities outside to the packet of powder in Lanruo¡¯s hands. Fang Yuan grew a year older, but there wasn¡¯t any drastic change to him. He wasn¡¯t scared of the cold anymore and wore a thin clothing despite the snowfall outside, which made him special. He took the packet of powder form Lanruo¡¯s hands and sniffed it. "That¡¯s right, this is good quality Blood Clotting Powder. Good job Lanruo, you are now a qualified pharmacist!" A pharmacist is not an alchemy master; not even an alchemy disciple, but at least she was making progress. Based on theory, she only had two more steps. The first being fusing her miniature elemental force to be an alchemy disciple, and the next would be to break through to elemental force to be an alchemy master and able to harness spiritual fire! Only two steps for Lanruo to be the likes of Lu Renjia, like how in a blink of an eye, a chicken would be a duck. In reality, Fang Yuan knew that it would be almost impossible. Although it might seem that a normal person could be an alchemy master in two steps, and even looked much simpler than the 12 Golden Gates, the difficulty of it was immense. Unlike martial arts where one can advance step by step, the way of a spiritual knight is to reach for the Heavens in one single step! It was obvious that those without gifts or potential should give up. Only those with gifts, a strong foundation, and luck might have a chance. Why luck? This was a problem rted to finding a master. Take Lanruo for an example. If she did not meet Fang Yuan, she had to wait for ages before ¡¯someone worthy sees potential in her¡¯, before a spiritual knight would take her in as a disciple. The scariest possibility would be while waiting for the right master toe along, she might be abducted by the Wild Wolves Faction like the previous time, or even worse, taken in by an evil spiritual knight, who would use her a sacrifice. Fang Yuan would be satisfied if Lanruo could break through the bottleneck and be a qualified alchemy disciple before she turns 20. "Master... Is there something bothering you?" Lanruo raised her head and could sense that something was not right. "Oh?" Fang Yuan was surprised. "To detect this you must have a strong magical energy. I¡¯m d my spiritual food cultivation for you did not go to waste... You¡¯re right, Master is a little vexed." "Lanruo wants to grow up and quickly mature so that I can help out Master and Brother!" Lanruo eximed. "Haha... Just some small matters, I won¡¯t need Lanruo¡¯s help for this one!" Fang Yuanughed and pinched Lanruo¡¯s cheeks. "Master, don¡¯t" While ying a fool with her, his had forgotten his worries. "Master!" When Lanruo left, Zhou Wenwu approached Fang Yuan and greeted him. As the city master, he now had a beard and looked ratherposed. "The Chen Family brought news. The people from the royal family are here..." "Alright!" Fang Yuan looked at the heavy snow outside and waved his hands. "Such urgency... They must be here because of Liu Yan. After all, this city master of ours is rather high-profile!" Chapter 133: Princess Chapter 133: Princess Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Fang Yuan guessed that since the demise of Lu Renjia, Liu Yan¡¯s ego began to inte. At the rock bottom, the only way was up. Lu Renjia¡¯s betrayal was a hard hit on the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, but was that really the case? When the rebels had gathered together, Fang Yuan¡¯s tactic to strike the leader had helped the Secluded Mountain Prefecture alliance to remove Lu Renjia and two Sect Masters, banishing them into defeat. There were no other consequences for the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, and so there was no destruction or consequence to speak of. Needless to say, Liu Yan took the opportunity to cleanse out the rebels and destroyed the opposing Sects and powers. The split of power among the 6 counties were re-gathered and the power was concentrated in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. Therefore, this incident was a big growth to his power. At least there was no such nonsense in the other two Prefecture in Xia Country. Based on Fang Yuan¡¯s thoughts, he was removing all those that might challenge his power and concentrate his influence. Such a growth in power would undoubtedly lead to wild thoughts. Furthermore, Liu Yan was a spiritual knight at the peak of the Elemental Gathering Realm, and was just a step away from touching the Elemental Opening Realm! "Based on the report from Chen Family, Liu Yan only took a short break beforeing up with all these tricks. In this half a year, he had the intention to extend his power out of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture..... He might have even done it already!" Previously during the chaos by Lu Renjia, Fang Yuan had already guessed that external powers would get involved. With Liu Yan¡¯s standing now, he would only take revenge on them. As Fang Yuan knew that in the previous year, the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Armed Forces recruited more and more people. For this, they willingly lowered their standards in recruitment and even allowed [Martial Artists (3rd Gate)] to join. With this move, they had more than 30,000 troops! "With all these indications, it isn¡¯t hard to guess Liu Yan¡¯s intention..." Fang Yuan sighed. "Furthermore... Even the royal family is unsettled! Why did they look for me instead of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture? Trying to get me involved?" He felt depressed after thinking about it. "Let the messenger see me!" Fang Yuan arrived at the main hall and waved. As a person who cultivates both spiritual techniques and martial arts, and a talent who harnesses elemental force, especially since he was only 20 and had a bright future, he could afford to have such airs. "Yes, sir!" Zhou Wenwu did not feel that anything was wrong when Fang Yuan instructed a messenger from the royal family, bowed and made way. No long after, a fewdies entered the door and greeted Fang Yuan. "I am Xie Lingyun, please ept my greetings!" Thedy in front was tall and fair. She had a flower petal on her forehead and long ck hair. She had a simple hairpin and allowed her hair to drape over her shoulders. She had the vibes of generosity, a different vibe from Shi Yutong. "Your surname is Xie?" Fang Yuan twitched his eyebrows. "What is your rtionship with Xie Quan?" Xie Quan was the current emperor of Xia Country! s, his name was not feared enough. As a spiritual knight cum Wu Zong, Fang Yuan could call his full name without his title and no one would dare to question him. At first, this was not his attitude. However, as thisdy directly approached him as though she wanted to involve him in this, he would naturally not show any sign of respect. "That¡¯s my father!" Xie Lingyun forced a smile and looked at Fang Yuan. His eyes was filled with surprise. "Oh, you¡¯re the princess, my apologies! Don¡¯t put it to heart!" Fang Yuan casually apologised, and did not have a sense of respect. The two servants beside Xie Lingyun were fuming, and only Xie Lingyun was calm andposed. "I am only a humble citizen, how would I dare to ept the title of princess?" Her attitude impressed Fang Yuan. "May I enquire the purpose of your visit, princess?" "To eliminate the impending disaster!" Xie Lingyun maintained her straight face. "I have news that the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City Master Liu Yan has intentions to expand his control and invade Summer Sun Prefecture. Regardless of who prevailing in the invasion, the damage in the Prefecture City would be folds of that in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City, therefore I am here to make peace of the situation..." "You should be looking for the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City Master for this, why me?" Fang Yuan touched his chin, confused. "My words carry no weight, therefore I am here to ask for grandmaster¡¯s favour!" Xie Lingyun bowed. "In the previous internal conflict, grandmaster¡¯s quick thinking and actions prevented chaos in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, and is all your merit. This time, the danger is much more than before, and I hope grandmaster will help me!" Her sincere words touched Fang Yuan. "Please recover!" As he waved, he released his elemental force, and a gentle force supported Xie Lingyun up. ¡¯This force... Indeed a spiritual knight Wu Zong, incredible! And he is exactly same as in the legends, young and skilled!¡¯ Xie Lingyun looked at Fang Yuan and blushed. To establish rtions with such a talented person, why would her emperor father care about a daughter? His purpose of sending her here might just be to offer her to Fang Yuan. To give up a daughter and gain a strong ally would bemon sense to those who do business. Fang Yuan was not a lustful person, and there were many who would want to sleep with him; he did not have to choose a hard one. "If you think I have much influence over the Prefecture Master, then you are wrong! I am not the person you are looking for!" Fang Yuan shook his head and his words were direct, as though they could freeze Xie Lingyun¡¯s blood. "Furthermore, the purpose of your visit is to find out more about me. Since you harbour ill intentions, why must I help you?" He probed further and his words were like knives. Xie Lingyun was shocked. She detoured to here with this intention indeed but thought that this young Wu Zong could be easily taken advantage of. Even if she could not convince him, it was also alright to try her luck. Never would she have thought that Fang Yuan would not react normally, and did not respond how a normal person would respond. ¡¯This person has no regard for pride and honour like a young man, and only cares about physical rewards!¡¯ Xie Lingyun was sorely disappointed. She knew that she had little to no chance of achieving her goal. "All thend belongs to the emperor, and all that lives on thisnd are the emperor¡¯s citizens!" She took in a deep breath, and her attitude took a 180 degrees change. "Grandmaster Fang is also a citizen of Xia County, and yet you have no loyalty to the country? Furthermore... You have already seen me, so how can you expect others to not suspect you?" As Xie Lingyun said these words, her heart was pounding. She thought that Fang Yuan would be angered, but he froze and started pping. "Haha... Well said!" Fang Yuan praised her. "Finally princess, you are showing your true colours!" "Will grandmaster be willing to help?" Xie Lingyun¡¯s eyes glittered in anticipation. "I live in seclusion and is not willing to partake in any of these matters. I only know that there is a Secluded Mountain Prefecture above me, and as for the royal family of the Xia Country, although powerful, will have difficulties controlling those on the ground..." Fang Yuan sighed, and Xie Lingyun blushed in embarrassment. Theck of full control was always a contentious part of the royal family¡¯s power, and now Fang Yuan had to remind her of it. "Furthermore, it¡¯s really simple to bridge the gap!" Fang Yuan revealed a suspicious smile. "Think about it... If I killed you and brought your head to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City Master, do you think I can gain his trust?" "What?!" Xie Lingyun shuddered and the two servants behind her stood up, as though they were ready to fight for their lives. Even if twenty more servants came forward, they would only die in Fang Yuan¡¯s hands. "You are very lucky. Although you offended me, I am very gracious and will not kill you just because of our differences of opinion. Take your leave!" Fang Yuan waved his hands. "Go where you should go, and don¡¯t stay in Qingye City!" "That..." Xie Lingyun bit her lip and did not forget her objective. "The coboration?" Fang Yuanughed sarcastically. "I never work with people who try to dig information from me!" Hearing this reply, Xie Lingyun sighed, bowed and retreated with her servants. ... "Master Fang! Master Fang!" Not long after Xie Lingyun left, gongs were heard and Leader Niu rushed into the Prefecture City in a hurry. "Niu Dingtian?" "What are you doing here?" Fang Yuan asked while he was coaching Chen Ziying in the backyard. "After receiving news of the princess making a detour, I rushed here and tired out a horse before reaching!" Leader Niu scratched his head andughed. "I¡¯m here to remind you that thedy is trouble, don¡¯t get involved with her!" "Thank you, Brother Niu!" Hearing how he rushed here to deliver news, albeitte, Fang Yuan was still full of gratitude. "Ah..... If it wasst time, this issue would be nothing. But now, City Master¡¯s temper is getting worse. Justst month, he lectured Xiang Zilong and his brother over a small issue, causing them to lose face in front of the capital leaders..." Niu Dingtian sighed. Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes shed as he heard the news. Before the destruction of the world, something crazy would happen first; it seemed that this was applicable to Liu Yan too. ... "Princess..." In the royal carriage escort, in thergest carriage, ady servant angrilymented. "That Fang Yuan was too much, how dare he insult you!" "I don¡¯t have enough power, who can I me?" Xie Lingyun did not put that to heart but insteadughed. "Furthermore... We have gained something. At least we now know that Fang Yuan is together with Liu Yan. Isn¡¯t this a piece of valuable information?" "I was tasked with an important mission on this trip to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, so a little unjust wouldn¡¯t matter!" Looking in the direction of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, Xie Lingyun was filled with worry. She was a messenger and brought the royal¡¯s family final condition with her. If Liu Yan decided to do whatever he wanted, a war would break out! Chapter 134: The Annual Meet Chapter 134: The Annual Meet Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "The Secluded Mountain Prefecture here is so lively!" A new year had arrived and the Secluded Mountain Prefecture had sent out invitation cards to invite Fang Yuan, other Wu Zongs, spiritual knights and the rich to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture for a banquet. As they returned back to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City, the feeling was different this time. "Haha.....Brother Xiang!" Niu Dingtian and the others entered the Prefecture Master¡¯s mansion. When he saw Xiang Zilong, his eyes glittered. "I have missed you a lot!" As he spoke, Niu Dingtian went forward and gave the other a hug. "Thank you, Brother Niu, for your concern!" Xiang Zilong¡¯s face looked a bit dull and he forced out a smile. "You don¡¯t have to raise your voice in the Prefecture Master¡¯s Prefecture. The city master has punished quite a number of people recently..." If both of them were not close, Xiang Zilong would not be reminding Niu Dingtian about this. Niu DIngtian¡¯s expression changed and asked, "Why?" "The city master is disying his might....." Xiang Zilong shook his head and obviously didn¡¯t want to speak further as he saw Fang Yuan was present as well. "Greetings, Leader Xiang!" Fang Yuan was not really greeting him seriously and continued to ask, "Is the city master here?" "The city master is seeing another important guest in the study room. All guests please head to the main hall for the banquet first!" One of the three capital leaders of the Secluded Mountain who walked out thest greeted Fang Yuan. "An important guest?" Fang Yuan wavered but his expression was still the same. As he entered the main hall, he wasplimented by many other guests. After all, he was a young Wu Zong and had a bright future. So many people had wanted to establish a good rapport with him. ........ Coincidentally, Liu Yan who was seeing the guest in the study room had mentioned Fang Yuan as well. "Hehe.....Princess, I heard that you came to Qinghe County to poach one of my men?" Liu Yan was giving a cold smile as he looked at Xie Lingyun. At that moment, Xie Lingyun was standing upright with her drooping eyelids. It seemed that she didn¡¯t even dare to take in a deep breath. The feeling she had gotten from the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City Master was different from the young Wu Zong. The city master was not only serious and disying his might, he was greedy and aggressive. She didn¡¯t know what to say in such a scary atmosphere. However, she bit her teeth and continued with a tone of dissatisfaction, "The Secluded Mountain Prefecture is under Xia Country. Since there is a Wu Zong, I am here on behalf of the royal family to find out more. Is that wrong?" Liu Yan didn¡¯t know what to say. Even though the royal family of Xia Country had not much power now, after all, the royal family was still of legitimism and it was better for him not to go against them. He then gave a cold smile and continued, "It seems useless to talk about this. What is the purpose of your visit, Princess?" "I¡¯m here for the conflict.... I heard that you are using military forces against the Summer Sun Prefecture? Have you gotten that order from the royal family?" Xie Lingyun continued with a stern look. "If not, it is wrong for you to do that and there is no reason for you to do that. Don¡¯t force the royal family to form an alliance with the other two prefectures to go against you!" No matter what was the current situation like in Secluded Mountain Prefecture, when the two prefectures formed an alliance with the royal family, they would be very powerful. Hence, Liu Yan had to reconsider his actions. "Humph......The Summer Sun Prefecture Master is the one causing this conflict. He was the one behind causing the rebel which was led by Lu Renjia. Am I in the wrong to have my revenge?" Liu Yan was pissed off. "You have no evidence to prove that. How can you say so?" Xie Lingyun shook her head and continued, "If you are willing to stop whatever you are doing, the royal family can help to mediate the situation by making the Summer Sun Prefecturepensate you....." In fact, she was here to discuss the bottom line of the situation and the conditions for the mediation. She was using both the soft and the hard approaches at the same time. However, Xie Lingyun was feeling a little sad in her heart. Why had it be the case where the royal family had to be the middleman when handling rtionships between the prefectures? Even though she was feeling sad, she didn¡¯t want to see an internal conflict in Xia Country. Xie Lingyun then said with her gentle voice, "What more do you want from us in order for you to stop?" "You are asking me to set the conditions?" Liu Yanughed and continued, "I shall dly set the conditions then......3 pieces of me Jade Rock, 1 Deep-ocean Fire Coral and the length of it should not be less than 38 inches. I will also want 10 Lieyang Calming Pills and the Thousand Years Fire Grass....." "Si....." Even though she knew that Liu Yan would take this chance to ask for a lot of things, but when she heard what Liu Yan had wanted, she had to take in a deep breath. "I see that you have quite a lot of things that you want.....However, the me Jade Rock can only be found deep in the volcanoes and a Wu Zong will be needed to obtain these rocks. The Fire Coral which is more than 38 inches is considered as the royal treasure of the Xia Country. Also, the Fire Grass and the Lieyang Calming Pills are high-quality spiritual objects and spiritual pills respectively. They are also the treasure of the Summer Sun Prefecture Master..." Xie Lingyun gave a wry grin and continued, "If you want one of those, there is room for discussion. However, are you not making things hard for me when you ask for so many things at one go?" "Humph, if he doesn¡¯t give these to me, I shall take it from him on my own then!" Liu Yan let out a humph and there seemed to be a me appearing above his eyebrows. ¡¯This Liu Yan....is indeed at the peak of the Elemental Gathering Realm. He is just a step away from achieving the Elemental Opening Realm...¡¯ No one knew that Xie Lingyun had much knowledge about that. Just by hearing what Liu Yan had asked for, the spiritual objects were of high quality and were fire rted. She then knew that he was preparing for that final breakthrough and needed lots of spiritual objects to help him to achieve that. She would definitely not agree to the conditions. Or else, if she gave what he wanted and he had achieved the Elemental Opening Realm sessfully, she would be in danger in future. However, if she didn¡¯t give what he wanted, there would be chaos and war. Also, Liu Yan could then obtain those things he needed by force. There was not much difference as both oues were the same. This was a difficult decision for her to make. At this point, Xie Lingyun knew that Liu Yan was crazy. He would want to obtain those supplies needed for the breakthrough at any cost. ....... "The city master and the ambassador of the royal family have arrived!" In the main hall, as the guests heard the arrival of those two, they immediately stopped whatever they were doing and looked at the two who had just arrived. "Hehe.....A new year, a new beginning. Today is the start of the new year and with the well wishes from the royal family, all of us shall have a good drink!" Liu Yan sat in his seat and said while drinking his wine. "To the city master! To Xia Country!" The guests then toasted and drank at one go. As everyone was drinking, Fang Yuan took this chance to take a nce at Liu Yan and Xie Lingyun. Both of their faces were normal and both didn¡¯t look happy or angry. No one knew how their conversation had gone. Both of them maintained the look of a host. ¡¯She thinks she can hide from everyone but she cannot hide from me.....Thisdy seems to be troubled by certain matters.....Looks like there are a lot of things happening in Xia Country...¡¯ Fang Yuan sighed in his heart and took a quick nce at Liu Yan. He could feel that the me in Liu Yan was getting stronger. His magical energy was ming and he seemed to be merciless. ¡¯Liu Yan¡¯s cultivation had improved again. Looks like this was Lu Renjia had left behind after his death.....¡¯ Even since that alchemy master was dead, even though Fang Yuan had taken a copy of the alchemy rted books from the dead master, Liu Yan had kept the spiritual nts and spiritual pills that were made long ago for himself and didn¡¯t share any of them with Fang Yuan. It seemed that with the help of the spiritual pills, Liu Yan¡¯s cultivation was able to improve and it looked like he could make a breakthrough for the Elemental Opening Realm anytime. No wonder he was so aggressive. After all, if he managed to achieve the Elemental Opening Realm, he would be ranked number 1 among all other spiritual knights in this country and also the nearby countries! Not to mention defeating Summer Sun Prefecture, not many would be able to stop Liu Yan if he chose to exterminate the whole of Xia Country and rule it. After the banquet, a servant came to Fang Yuan and whispered to him that the city master would like to meet him. Fang Yuan was sighing silently and thought that it didn¡¯t seem like a good thing. However, he still followed her to the study room. "I¡¯m here!" Under the bright light, Liu Yan was seen standing with his hands behind his back and his back was facing Fang Yuan. He seemed to be enjoying an art piece that was hanging on the wall. "I have seen you before, city master!" As Fang Yuan got nearer to Liu Yan, he could feel a stronger pressure from Liu Yan and it felt as if Liu Yan¡¯s magical energy was about to blow up. "I see that your essence, magic and spirit have changed a lot. Looks like you have improved a lot and I¡¯m ashamed of myself. Since Fang Yuan was bing the dream building master, he had quite a big improvement in the Elemental Gathering Realm and therefore, his breath was different. If the current Liu Yan who was in the room now was the Liu Yan that had not have any improvement in his cultivation, that Liu Yan would probably not be able to detect that Fang Yuan had improved. Fang Yuan was feeling serious and replied, "I only manage to cultivate another spiritual spell.....City master, you have sharp eyes indeed!" "I see!" Liu Yan nodded his head. He didn¡¯t expect that Fang Yuan could achieve the high Elemental Gathering stage in just a short period time and Fang Yuan was now not far from his. Fang Yuan had also cultivated a few strange spiritual spells, and hence there was a change to his breath. Hence, he agreed with what Fang Yuan had told him. "What do you have for me, city master?" Fang Yuan bent his body slightly and asked. "Don¡¯t you think that after Lu Renjia is killed, both of us are not as close as before?" Liu Yan then continued with a wry grin. "Not only you, even for my men. I¡¯m now only closer to Taoist Mu Li..." As he spoke, Fang Yuan became alert but was surprised. ¡¯I didn¡¯t expect Liu Yan to trust Taoist Mu Li the most.....Hang on, he is actually an evil person on the inside but has pretended to be a good person. How many spiritual knights can I actually get along with?¡¯ Fang Yuan was a little jealous of Taoist Mu Li and started to make guesses about him. "I have the intention to attack Summer Sun, and hence I will need your help once again!" Liu Yan didn¡¯t even wait for Fang Yuan¡¯s opinion and instead, he listed his request out straight away. "I¡¯m not capable enough, I¡¯m afraid....." Fang Yuan shook his head and didn¡¯t ept Liu Yan¡¯s request. He was not that crazy enough to follow Liu Yan and go against the whole of Xia Country. If Liu Yan had already broken through the Elemental Opening Realm, he could still consider. "Hmm?" Liu Yan frowned and turned around. Fang Yuan could instantly feel a great amount of pressure going towards him. "I¡¯m living alone and prefer to be separated from the rest of the world. If you do not have anything else for me, I will take my leave first!" Fang Yuan did not show any fear. He was a spiritual knight that had reached the high Elemental Gathering stage. Even if he couldn¡¯t manage to defeat Liu Yan, he could still be able to escape away from him! His Iron-tailed ck Eagle was circling above and standing by! Since he had an escape route, he had nothing to be afraid of. "If you are willing to help me, after the war, I will let you take on the role of the Prefecture Master!" Liu Yan also knew that using his power as a city master to force Fang Yuan was the worst method, hence he brought up the conditions. "Hmm?" Fang Yuan was startled and said, "Since city master, you don¡¯t have the intention to rule the Summer Sun, why do you want to invade it still?" "There is a saying that even if there are thousands of people stopping me from doing it, I will still bravely do it!" Liu Yan¡¯s reply was decisive. Chapter 135: Fallout Chapter 135: Fallout Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Do it? Fang Yuan was taken aback. In Liu Yan¡¯s words, to ¡¯do it¡¯ should mean to enter the Elemental Breaking Realm. Since he was even willing to let our his appointment as Prefecture Master, it showed that he did not care too much about power anymore. Based on Fang Yuan¡¯s magical energy, he could easily tell that Liu Yan was speaking the truth. "Since that is so... Why not stay low, because with Prefecture Master¡¯s ability..." Fang Yuan stopped halfway and looked at Liu Yan, aghast. "You can tell!" Liu Yan shook his head in despair. "I am over 300 years old, and I am lucky to have extended my lifespan with the help of a Fire Dragon Fruit. However, through the previous few fights, I have depleted my Essence, Spirit and Magic, and have not much longer to live..." "Based on my condition, my body is starting to die of old age. It would be impossible for me to break through before I die, and I can only follow the crooked ways to break through... The good thing is that in the collection that Lu Renjia left behind, there is such a secret way. It describes how I can userge quantities of simr-type spiritual things to increase my chances of breaking through..." Liu Yan had greed written all over his face. If he could break through to the Elemental Breaking Realm, he could lengthen his lifespan, and therefore was willing to take this gamble. "Prefecture Master, why do you share such confidential information with me!" Fang Yuan sighed. Liu Yan did not have long to live! If this news spreads, imagine how much chaos would it create! Furthermore, Liu Yan¡¯s sharing was honest and desperate. "Sadly... I am not interested in this appointment as Prefecture Master, Master should look for someone else!" Fang Yuan shook his head. He was not interested in such arge scale rebellion and such a gamble for life and death. It didn¡¯t matter to him if Liu Yan as dying or not; he was at his prime time! It was not logical to get himself in all this mess for a slim chance of rewards. "Eh?" Liu Yan¡¯s fiery eyebrows twitched. He thought that he understood Fang Yuan well enough, and even helped him a lot previously. Who would¡¯ve thought that Fang Yuan would reject to help him, and this gave him a feeling that Fang Yuan had no sense of gratitude. "Hong! Hong!" As the spiritual knight raged, the surrounding air burst into mes, as though many mes were burning at once. Streaks of colours appeared in mid-air andbined to form a few fire snakes, as though there were about tobine to be a dragon. ¡¯Eh? Fight just because of differences in opinion? Could it be that fire-type spiritual knights are all fiery-tempered?¡¯ With all these suspicions, Fang Yuan found it even weirder as he looked at Liu Yan. Liu Yan seemed to have lost his mind after so much cultivation. After all, Fang Yuan cultivated both martial arts and spiritual techniques, and he would need to spend arge amount of effort to take him down. If he made everyone know that there was internal conflict within the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, would that do him any good? Might the people of Summer Sun Prefecture celebrate as well? However, Fang Yuan was not willing to sit there and wait for his death. Before the fire around Liu Yan emerged, a thinyer of fog already appeared around Fang Yuan. It was thick and had asional waves like clouds, and covered the entire room. "Hmm... A firefly¡¯s glow and you dare to challenge the moon¡¯s re? Die!" Liu Yan waved his hand and 9 streaks of crimson light shot out as though it was released from a bow, and pierced arge hole into Fang Yuan¡¯s chest. "Pu!" ¡¯Fang Yuan¡¯ was expressionless. There were ripples all over his body, and slowly it became a fog which dissipated. "Shadowstep!" Fang Yuan had split into many images of himself, rushed out of the room door and to the courtyard outside. "Chirp! Chirp!" In the air, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle circled around and chirped, as though it was prepared tond. "How dare you!" Liu Yan was fuming. He took a few steps out and waved. A green fire dragon was formed and flew around the sky, opening its jaws andshing out its ws. "Elemental energy of the Nine Heavens, hear mymand..." As he recited, the elemental energy around was disturbed; he was really fuming mad. ¡¯Liu Yan...is asking for death!¡¯ Fang Yuan squinted. "Halt!" Before the fight could begin, a ck shadow flew into the middle of the courtyard andnded; It was the Wind Chasing Falcon, separating Liu Yan and Fang Yuan. Taoist Mu Li leapt down from the bird. "Both of you are talents of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, so why spoil your rtionship over a small matter? Sect Master Fang is young and direct, so just apologise and let¡¯s all forget about this..." He had the attitude of a mediator, and apanying the gentle breeze and drizzle, Liu Yan calmed down and the fire dragon dissipated. "Taoist Mu Li is right, I offended Master. Please ept my apology and forgive me!" Seeing this scene, Fang Yuan was still suspicious, but he knew that he should take a step back, and therefore immediately bowed and apologised. "Hm... Forget it!" Liu Yan brushed him aside, and Taoist Mu Li flicked a whistle into the air. As it flew up, it made a high-pitched whistle. "Dismiss the guards!" The activated soldiers turned around and like how water would seep through sand, they disappeared in a moment. "I have other important things, I shall take my leave first!" Fang Yuan cupped his fists in politeness, leapt on the Iron-tailed ck Eagle and flew off. "Who would¡¯ve known that this boy had such potential to cultivate to such a realm... Some hard-working spiritual knights don¡¯t even get to achieve what he has now. I¡¯m afraid that I was too reckless in handling today¡¯s situation..." Only when the ck shadow disappeared did Liu Yan sighed. Only when he fought with him he realised Fang Yuan¡¯s cultivation was already at such a level! "He is more than qualified to be a Prefecture Master." Taoist Mu Li looked serious as well. "He is such a talent!" He saw Fang Yuan¡¯s abilities and knew that the Prefecture Master would not be able to stop the fight in the heat of the battle, which was why he stood out to mediate. Otherwise, if both of them really fought, Liu Yan might not be able to take Fang Yuan down, and instead, there would be amotion with dire consequences. It would be even more disadvantageous for his invasion n. "Pass the order down!" Liu Yan frowned. "If anyone spreads whatever happened today, I will kill their entire family!" "Yes Master!" Taoist Mu Li took his leave, but he appeared secretive... ... Second day in the Prefecture City. People from all over arrived here to form arge market, business was very good. Fang Yuan changed into a brown robe and entered the market. Even though they only fought a hand, Liu Yan should know his abilities. Together with the Iron-tailed ck Eagle, as long as he was not trapped, he should be able to escape! Since it was such, there was no meaning to find trouble for him; that would only make him more enemies. ¡¯It¡¯s good to be at odds, I¡¯ll have one more reason to reject him...¡¯ ¡¯Seeing Liu Yan¡¯s energy yesterday, although it still had a strong spiritual pressure, he felt a hint of evil energying from his forehead. It seemed that the secret way from Lu Renjia¡¯s collection is not any good, and it might have dire consequences...¡¯ Fang Yuan was casually strolling through the stalls and stopped by a few to take a look. At his current cultivation realm, he would noty his eye on any normal things. The few exceptions also did not pique his interest, and he felt regretful for not being able to find anything good. ¡¯Although... It would not make sense for all the good stuff toe to me, that¡¯s like a story in a novel!¡¯ Fang Yuanughed and looked at the sun. It was noon, and the warm sunlightnded on him, giving him a different feeling. As he was looking for a restaurant to fill his appetite, a in-looking horse stopped in front of him. "Grandmaster Fang, we meet again!" As the curtains flipped, it revealed an excited Xie Lingyun. "Please enter the carriage, and we can discuss things!" "Again?" Fang Yuan shook his head. Although he knew that whatever happened in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture could not be hidden from Liu Yan, and furthermore he fought with Liu Yan yesterday, he still decisively went up the carriage. "To the best restaurant!" He ordered her the moment he entered, as though Xie Lingyun was the carriage master. "Since grandmaster is interested, Xie Lingyun is willing to amodate. If grandmasteres by the capital next time, Xie Lingyun can treat you to a vegetarian meal at Clear Spring Temple, and I promise you, it will be unforgettable!" Xie Lingyun bit her lips and smiled. "My apologies, but I live on the outskirts of the city and have no interest in the capital!" Fang Yuan replied sarcastically. "Please do not take it to heart!" Xie Lingyun apologised and appeared serious. "It was Lingyun¡¯s inappropriateness the previous time, please forgive me!" "Since you are here, it seems that you are rather well-informed and know about yesterday night¡¯s fight. However, you can stop pleading for me to help you. Our Prefecture Master is extremely passionate about war, and it is not likely anyone can change his mind..." Fang Yuan shook his head. "Indeed..." Xie Lingyun shuddered and almost froze in the carriage. "Would the aplishments of the Xia Country be wasted?" "Stop!" Fang Yuan waved his hands. "Why are you so deste? Do you think that by gathering the forces around Xia Country, you cannot defeat Liu Yan?" "So what if I can defeat him? The neighbouring Yuan and Wu Country are both watching out. Once our country is in a mess, they will send in their troops and destroy us..." Xie Lingyun forced aughter. "They why not aid Liu Yan in breaking through the Elemental Breaking Realm bottleneck? If he can seed, how would the neighbouring countries dare to offend us?" Fang Yuan had some doubts but did not wait for Xie Lingyun to reply. "That¡¯s true too... How can you all trust Liu Yan? This is not a long-term solution. If he continues to be greedy, it will be catastrophic! Therefore, all you are hoping for is for the situation toe under control." The higher the authority, the stronger the hope for those at the bottom to be settled and for the hierarchy to remain stagnant forever. At this time, the ¡¯Alpha¡¯ or ¡¯Rebellions¡¯ would appear, but their resistance would not be strong. Although Liu Yan was neither of those two, he was still a factor which attracted the attention of many. Unless there was a breakthrough, the oue would still be feared. Chapter 136: Secrecy Chapter 136: Secrecy Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The journey to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture over the new year ended on a bad note. Fang Yuan returned to Qinghe Countypletely unaffected by the sudden rise in tensions in the country. To Fang Yuan, to be able to enter the dream world to practise martial arts, grow and cultivate his spiritual nts and to impart his teachings to his two disciples on a daily basis was a joyful way to live his life. Furthermore, he had several precious treasures waiting for him to master and control. He did not have the time to bother about what was going on around him. ... Within the dream world. "Bang!" The corpse of the Sect Head of the Five Ghosts Sect fell to the floor. Ling Yin chuckled dryly and said, "Congrattions on defeating such a great enemy senior. You need not live your life in worry in the future anymore!" "This person is scheming and had inserted for a spy within my county. His objectives and intentions were not to be underestimated...Thankfully we made him expose them during this operation to hide the treasure map..." Shi Yutong oozed with confidence. This was so unlike the pathetic state of her future self. This scene was from the war over the treasure map in Lieyang County! Furthermore, Fang Yuan was watching from a third person¡¯s perspective. Even though he was standing next to the twodies and observing them, they werepletely oblivious to his presence. "I have a stronger control over Ling Yin¡¯s dream world now and I can already retrieve her memories..." Even though this was in an imaginary realm, it was in fact Ling Yin¡¯s memories of what happened before. To a dream master, nothing was a secret! "The works of a dream master are simply so..." As Fang Yuan immersed himself in the scene, he was equally awestruck. As long as a dream master was determined, nobody could hide their thoughts or secrets from him. Even a person¡¯s life experiences, memories, wealth could be taken away in the dream world. "How is this called a dream-building master? It should be called a dream-stealing master...even a pig could be a Wu Zong pig if it trained for many years in a Wu Zong¡¯s dream world!" Fang Yuan guessed that as long as any dream master had the heart, he could be the top martial artist anywhere he went! "Of course, I also have to consider the issue of natural talent and amount of effort put in...a dream master must focus on his cultivating path and spend less time on other useless aspects. To invest this way over the long term, might also bring about some negative impacts...but it is also too unfathomable!" Whatever Fang Yuan was doing to Ling Yin was of another kind. He was not extracting her experience in alchemy. Instead, he was looking through her other secrets. The bright moon illuminated the dark starless sky as a crow flew south. The violentmotion from afar died down slowly. It was obvious that those martial artists realised which side had already won and did not dare to take a second look before escaping swiftly. As long as Shi Yutong and the head of the Five Ghosts Sect were not both seriously injured, there was no way for any of them to take action at all. It was the best time for them to get away while they still could. Fang Yuan stood aside and watched silently. "Treasure map?" A spark flickered in Ling Yin¡¯s eyes. As Fang Yuan was in control of her dream world, he could also sense the curiosity that popped up in Ling Yin. "Why? Junior Ling Yin, you are from a rich family and have an alchemy master, why would you be interested in my little treasure?" Shi Yutong forced a closed lip smile. A spark flickered again in Ling Yin¡¯s eyes as she pressed further, "Senior, you are making fun of me again. Tell me more about it..." "I only just learnt about this!" Shi Yutong continued, "Do you know that the ancestors of the head of the Five Ghosts Sect were not from this country?" "Hmm?" Ling Yin was taken aback and she continued to ask, "Could it be they were immigrants? But there is nothing inappropriate about this!" "It does not just end there!" Shi Yutong shook her head, "The ancestors of this person were from the Da Qian Empire!" "What?" Ling Yin shuddered. "Now do you also find that something is wrong? Da Qian is situated so far away from here and the road here is incredibly perilous. His ancestors defied all odds to reach here. They had to be incredibly strong to pass through the many mountains and rivers to reach this ce...Furthermore, these people picked a poor rural area like ours to settle down in. It is extremely suspicious!" Shi Yutong spoke on slowly. Ling Yin thought about it quickly and then replied, "But...How do you know all this? Did you also nt spies within their sect?" "I just returned the favour..." Shi Yutong waved her hand. It wasmon for big powers to nt spies in each other¡¯s sects. Even if the head of the Five Ghosts Sect did not nt the Guo family as spies in their county, she would have done the same. This was nothing to do with favours, it was most basic thing to do to a potential rival sect. "The ancestors of the head of the Five Ghosts Sect were from Da Qian, could it be that the treasure map was his?" Ling Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. "Indeed!" Shi Yutong nodded her head in admission and replied, "It was rumoured that the particr ancestor was incredible power and unpredictable. However, he did not live a long life and died soon after he reached here. Apparently, he sustained a serious injury and before he died, he left a set of treasure maps split into three sets to be looked after by three of his disciples!" "Three sets?" Ling Yin asked curiously, "Why? If he had such a precious treasure, wouldn¡¯t it be better to just hand it over to his heir?" "I am not sure about this, maybe he had a deeper intention!" Shi Yutong continued saying, "After he died, the three disciples fell out with each other which made it impossible to piece back the full treasure map. It stayed that way until now. Now, the three of them are already dead and they do not have surviving family members. However, it is the descendants of the particr ancestor himself who are now trying to reim the treasure map!" "Based on what know, he has already gotten one set. But, it was stolen away by Han Shou¡¯s disciple. The set that just has emerged is the second set! In order to find out the exact location of the treasure, we need all three sets together!" "The treasure left by the expert from Da Qian?" Ling Yin¡¯s eyes lit up and remarked, "My master might also be interested in this!" "If Master Lu could help us, it would be great!" Shi Yutong then said in a serious tone, "If that person had such a valuable treasure hidden, why didn¡¯t he leave it to his heir? There must be someplication going on that even he found difficult, how could I work alone? Please ask Master Lu... "There are no doubts that this was Shi Yutong. She was clear about her actions and knew the risks and benefits of them. Furthermore, she was not blinded by greed of the treasure...." Fang Yuan stood aside and watched on. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. "Snap!" He snapped out of the dream world. After all, this was all the memories Ling Yin had about the treasure map. He could now know every thought that went through Ling Yin¡¯s mind. Ling Yin could not hide even the smallest idea that she had from him. However, he was powerless against Shi Yutong. This was also after all just Ling Yin¡¯s dream, not Shi Yutong¡¯s! "To do this on a Wu Zong like Shi Yutong is a bit too risky based on my current skill level!" Even though Shi Yutong was held captive by him and definitely knew and experienced a lot more than Ling Yin, Fang Yuan was cautious about entering her dreams. To use such a technique was almost simr to gambling. If Fang Yuan were to be injured or killed in her dream world, his magical energy would also be damaged. Furthermore, Fang Yuan was not confident of suppressing the malicious intent in a Wu Zong¡¯s subconsciousness. "When I¡¯ve reached the peak of the Elemental Gathering Realm, after perfecting my dream-building skills, I might try it out on Shi Yutong..." Fang Yuan scratched his chin as he thought of what he just saw. The treasure map was extremely precious, and he already had two out of the three sets. What he did not expect was that the treasure belonged to an expert from Da Qian, which excited him slightly. "What a pity the head of the Five Ghosts Sect is already dead. If not, I would definitely be able to obtain the most detailed information from his dream world. Now that the sect is destroyed, their archives have probably beenpletely looted...At least there is still hope in retrieving the archives, I just have to get Zhou Wenwu and my other disciples to carry out this mission for me!" This was the benefit of being a major power. He could activate the people under him to carry out these tedious and troublesome tasks for him. He could afford to appear after they have found the relevant items. "Carry on then!" After considering his options, he stretched out his arms. "Whoo whoo!" The entire dream world changed before him. The sun rose from the east and set in the west quickly. People moved at an incredibly fast-forwarded pace and it was difficult to properly see them. Of course, this entire world was from the lens of Ling Yin. Her entire dream world was now under theplete control of Fang Yuan. "This is the terrifying part of being a dream master...I just have to work a bit harder and soon I can be in full control of her soul. Almost like Red-eyed White Bird, I can even alter her memories and swear allegiance to me..." Fang Yuan was clear about his potential abilities, yet he was grounded at the same time. "If this sort of powers were not controlled won¡¯t the world be in utter chaos?" "I wonder if there are anyws or restrictions regarding the advancements of dream masters in Da Qian..." Fang Yuan was aware of the sinister side of humans. If this sort of powerful ability developed without any form of control, Da Qian would have be a hellish abyss a long time ago. Of course,ws and regtions were merely just words written on pieces of paper. What couldw enforcement officials possibly do to deal with dream masters? "Master!" Fang Yuan got out of his thoughts and observed the next scene. Within the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, Ling Yin came to the front of Lu Renjia and respectfully bowed and reported, "The preparations have already been made. I sessfully convinced Shi Yutong to support your im to the throne!" "We have to adapt to the changing times!" Lu Renjia kept his hands behind his back as he sighed. As Fang Yuan watched from the side, he realised something was amiss and he thought, "This time should be the birthday celebration of the head of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. It is also before Lu Renjia¡¯s rebellion so why isn¡¯t he all pumped up and ready to fight? Instead he looks so solemn here. Could the rumours of external intervention be true? Such that Lu Renjia was not in control of the situation?" Ling Yin also sensed that something was not right as the expression on her master¡¯s face was one she had rarely seen. "Ling Yin!" Lu Renjia raised his head suddenly and pulled out a secret diagram and ordered, "Memorise this diagram and then destroy it once you are done!" "This is..." Looking at the map on her hand, Ling Yin was slightly puzzled. "This is the location of one of my secret mansions. It is within Lieyang County, and this secret is only between the two of us..." Lu Renjia dryly said, "If all goes well this time, everything will be alright. If things go south, and if...something bad happens to me, go to this ce. Focus your energy on training, do not be involved in the affairs around you, do not look for spiritual knights and do note out again. Most importantly, do not try to seek revenge for me!" "Master..." A strong premonition grew as Ling Yin fell to her knees crying. Chapter 137: The Reunion Chapter 137: The Reunion Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "The Secret Hole Mansion in Lieyang County?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered and went forward to take a good look at the secret map. "Hmm? Who are you?" There was someone standing beside them all along and both Lu Renjia and Ling Yin had not realised that before. Both of them were very shocked. "I should leave here as soon as possible!" As Fang Yuan saw that Ling Yin¡¯s face was getting distorted and seemed like she was about to be awakened, there was a sudden lightning and thunder. Fang Yuan, being a wise man, did not want to continue further as the odds were against him and hence decided to leave the dream world. ....... Back in the real world, in the prison in Qinghe County. "Pitifuldy..." Fang Yuan opened his eyes and saw Ling Yin, who was lying on the wooden bed and she looked as if she just had a nightmare. Fang Yuan started to pity her. He had gotten into her dream these few days to obtain secrets and this had already exhausted her mentally. If he continued to do this, there could be a confusion for her between the dream world and the real world and hence, she might be crazy afterwards! "Luckily I have almost gotten everything that I need from her already...." As he recalled the secret location Lu Renjia was at, Fang Yuan was feeling a little excited. That was the escape route that the alchemy master had prepared for himself and was definitely top secret! Unfortunately, for Lu Renjia, he didn¡¯t expect Ling Yin to be in the hands of a dream master before he was caught and now Fang Yuan knew where he was. "So he is in Lieyang County....what a coincidence. Looks like I will have a visit to there then!" Fang Yuan murmured to himself and immediately looked for Zhou Wenwu. Fang Yuan then gave him some orders. ...... When he thought of doing something, he would do it. Fang Yuan felt that he himself was more of a person who was more involved in actions. He waited for the news from the investigation made by Zhou Wenwu¡¯s men, then he would travel to the city of Lieyang County by his Iron-tailed ck Eagle. "Since the disintegration of the Five Ghosts Sect, Lieyang County has benefited from that. Even though there are a few chaotic things happening, no war has happened here before...." Fang Yuan got down from the eagle outside the city and entered the city alone. He enjoyed the scenery along the way. Because of the trade in ore, the city here was prosperous and it didn¡¯t look poor. On the street, there were many martial artists who were quite powerful. Many of them had either daggers or sword with them and they were very alert. The atmosphere was quite tense. "Looks like the rumour is true!" He recalled the report from Zhou Wenwu and gave a smile. "The Five Ghosts Sect......has be active again!" Ever since the battle for the treasure map broke out, the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master lost his life and left behind a few elders and disciples. The Five Ghosts Sect was then known to have incurred a big loss. Also, with suppression from the Spirit Returning Sect, many of the disciples had their names hidden to keep a low profile. This matter was supposed to remain like this. The disciples could either thrive somewhere else or continue to suffer here. It would take at least 10 to 100 years for the sect to be rebuilt. However, it was different now! The Spirit Returning Sect was involved in the rebel. Even Shi Yutong had been taken away by Fang Yuan and was kept in the prison ever since. The Spirit Returning Sect was being rooted from the ground and the sect would not have a firm position in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. However, Lieyang County had always been on the side of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City Master and there were rumours saying that the remaining few from the Five Ghosts Sect had put in much effort to fight against the rebel forces. Hence, there would be rewards. With the support from the new governor of the county, the disciples of the Five Ghosts Sect gathered once again to rebuild their sect! This was definitely not an easy task! Even though the Spirit Returning Sect was out of the picture now, there were others who had depended on the embezzlement of the funds of the Five Ghosts Sect and they would definitely not agree to this and there would be a conflict between the two parties. Fang Yuan thought of the worst case scenario. It was that the governor was likely to im the power of the sect when both parties were busy fighting. It was just too mainstream to im the power by force. After all, Lieyang County was different from the Qinghe County. Lieyang County didn¡¯t have a governor who was Wu Zong and the governor hence could not use force to suppress the whole county. Hence the governor could only use that approach. The two parties had also realised what the governor was trying to achieve but could only continue with the governor¡¯s n. Hence, this was the beauty of having great power. "Eh?" Suddenly, Fang Yuan saw a familiar person and followed the person immediately. "The battle of the Five Ghosts Sect, Strong me Sect and the Big River Faction is the headline here in the Lieyang County. The alliance of the brothers from the Bull¡¯s Head Mountain, the ck Wind Vige and the Eighteen Mountains will have to be pushed into the limelight as well!" It was a man who was 84 inches tall who spoke that and he was carrying a giant axe. It made people became fearful of him. "Isn¡¯t he Wang Fugui, whom I have met in Shaoyang City, the owner of the Bull¡¯s Head Mountain?" Fang Yuan simmered withughter. "Well, this fool is also here." "Eh? Are you not Brother Fang?" When Wang Fugui saw Fang Yuan, his eyes glittered and went close to Fang Yuan. He then greeted Fang Yuan loudly. "Haha......I have been missing you since thest time we separated!" "Slow down slow down!" Fang Yuan shifted Wang Fugui¡¯s big hand away using his shoulders. "What are you all doing?" "Hehe.....I shall introduce to you the brothers from the Bull¡¯s Head Mountain. I¡¯m here with them is so that I can take this chance to have a firm position here in Lieyang County and be famous!" Wang Fugui pounded his chest with much confidence and introduce a few other muscr men to Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan looked at those muscr men and thought that many people would have avoided them. He then shook his head silently. This group would definitely attract lots of attention as they walked down the street noisily. Especially now there was a normal person standing with that group, Fang Yuan could sense that many pairs of eyes were staring at them right now and couldn¡¯t take it anymore. "I wish you all the best in your future endeavours. I shall take my leave first....." Fang Yuan shook hands and couldn¡¯t wait to leave. However, Wang Fugui pulled Fang Yuan back and whispered to him, "Recently, there is a young Wu Zong in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture who has be famous. He is originally from Qinghe County and his age is not big at all. Also, he is highly skilled in medicine. Is that person you, Brother Fang?" If it was someone else who had asked Fang Yuan, he would just say it was someone else who coincidentally had the same name as him. However, Wang Fugui had previously seen how Fang Yuan defeated Gui Wusheng and that had left a deep impression on Wang Fugui. Hence, Wang Fugui would have thought that person was Fang Yuan. "Yes, that person is me....." Fang Yuan answered softly. He already knew that Wang Fugui was bold but cautious. He was not as reckless as he seemed to be, or else, Wang Fugui would have revealed Fang Yuan¡¯s identity to the public already. "Hehe....don¡¯t worry, Brother Fang. My mouth is very tight. I have not mentioned to anyone about the previous incident!" Wang Fuguiughed and knew the benefits of keeping a secret. Although Fang Yuan didn¡¯t really have to hide his real identity during this visit, he just didn¡¯t want to have unnecessary trouble. "I owe you!" Fang Yuan shook hands with him and continued, "Wang Fugui, do you know where the Five Ghosts Sect is right now? Bring me there, please!" "No problem!" Wang Fugui patted his own chest with confidence and dly epted the request. His eyes were filled with excitement. With an expert now to suppress the enemy, the group of them knew that victory would be on their side definitely. "The Five Ghosts Sect previously had a big temple in the city and also another piece of spiritualnd. However, ever since the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master was killed, the temple was imed over by the Spirit Returning Sect and the spiritualnd was separated and taken over by other great powers! Even though the remaining people from the Five Ghosts Sect had gathered together, it was hard to recover those lost assets and they had to find another ce to rebuild..." Wang Fugui was leading the way and was talking non-stop. "If Brother Fang, you didn¡¯t look for me, one would not know where they were right now....." "Hey, Wang Fugui, are we not heading to the Big River Faction to look for trouble?" Beside him, one of the men, who was confused, shouted and questioned him. "Get out!" Wang Fugui pped the man and then continued talking to Fang Yuan. "You see, this is one of the matters my brothers have wanted to settle and the matter is the biggest one in the whole of Bull¡¯s Head Mountain. It is just a small faction. I shall even out with themter!" "Why? Has the Big River Faction provoked you again?" Fang Yuan asked with a forced smile. "It¡¯s nothing....." Wang Fugui then continued loudly, "Who here is not clear of the bottom line of the Big River Faction? They are just a bunch of water pirates! Previously, we have business onnd while they have theirs on the sea. We have nothing to do with each other. However, they have stolen our business once they are back onnd. We cannot endure that any longer!" The group them were busy chatting andughing. Their noise level was quite high and passer-bys had to avoid them. Not long after, they reached a building. "Isn¡¯t this....a martial arts centre?" Fang Yuan wiped his sweat and asked, "Wang Fugui, are you sure you have brought me to the correct ce?" "It¡¯s definitely this ce. I¡¯m correct!" Wang Fugui pointed and said, "I had heard that since this ce was imed by a sect, the ce was run by a disciple....You see, which normal martial arts centre would be guarded by such skilful people?" "That¡¯s true!" Fang Yuan walked a few steps forward and looked at the two tense-looking disciples who were guarding the entrance of the centre. He used his magical energy and could feel that the disciples had energies that were simr to Xuan Yin Heart Technique in their bodies. Normal disciples would not know the mystery behind the Xuan Yin Heart Technique. However, the Five Ghosts Sect was specialised in evil techniques and it was very easy to recognise that. Fang Yuan, who had researched on Xuan Yin Heart Technique in the dream world for many years and had encapsted that technique into the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique when he had broken through Wu Zong, thus empowering his Yin and was known as the sect master of the Xuan Yin Heart Technique, definitely would not recognise that energy wrongly. "Remain where you are! Who are you? Our martial arts centre has been closed for a few months and it is now the Five Ghosts Sect¡¯s temple. What are you trying to do?" The two disciples had already seen the big noisy group and started to have muscle cramps, but they still stood out and shouted at the group. "Both of you?" Fang Yuan squinted his eyes and continued, "Are not qualified. Ask your leader toe out now!" "Bang!" He released a little amount of his energy and two disciples could instantly feel the coldness of the Yin energy. They then scurried off in shock. Chapter 138: Convince Chapter 138: Convince Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions How skilled was Fang Yuan? Notwithstanding his cultivation as a dream master, just by his Wu Zong status, he was able to start a sect on his own! Needless to say, he did the unthinkable and broke through the 13th Gate using the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique, and fused the various heart techniques into it. Xuan Yin Heart Technique was just one of it! By releasing his energy, how could the two lowly disciples of the Five Ghosts Sect take it? Their legs went numb and both of them copsed. They were shocked out of their wits. "Great one, where do youe from?" There was chaos in the martial arts centre. After a short while, numerous Five Ghosts Sect disciples escorted an old man with white hair out, as though they were meeting a strong enemy. He stared at Fang Yuan, full of curiosity. "I shall not mention my name. I am here to request a favour!" Fang Yuan eximed. "Mm?" Although the old man had a good temper, after hearing what Fang Yuan said, he almost broke out. "Who asks for favours like this? I have yet to see everything in this world!" He looked at the mysterious Fang Yuan but did not act rashly. "May I know what favour is that?" "Very simple!" Fang Yuan continued. "I want the secret records of your sect and the diary of your grandmaster. Of course... and thest secret mystery of the Xuan Yin Heart Technique!" "What?" The old man changed his expression. Although the secret records of the sect and the diary of the grandmaster were not martial arts, they still involved the privacy of the sect. How could they easily give it to a stranger? Furthermore, he still asked for the secret mystery of the Xuan Yin Heart Technique! To a sect, this action was akin to pulling out its roots! "Are you intending to force me to fight you?" The old man took two steps forward and looked extremely stern. "Grandfather Wuhun, no..." Behind him, a small girl appeared and shouted, but was held back by the other female disciples. "Oh, so you¡¯re thest surviving Five Ghosts Sect Death Gate Elder!" Fang Yuan continued mocking him. "So? Do you want to fight me?" "I have no intention to bully anyone, I am only retaliating in self-defence..." Gui Wuhun looked at the increasing number of martial artists surrounding and sighed. "Keke... Are you seeing this? My brother¡¯s robbery is so stylish!" Among the crowd, Wang Fugui patted his chest honourably. "It seems that those people are not admiring us, but looking down on us..." As he scanned the crowd, his eyes glittered. "I think I spotted a few enemies of ours!" "Mm? Where?" Wang Fugui swung his axe. "Haha... My axe is thirsty. Don¡¯t run, have a taste of my axe!" ... Gui Wuhun focused and seemed to be oblivious to the surroundings. He focused his strength in his arms and released it out, as though he had marked out territory, and engulfed the young man opposite him. ¡¯The rebirth of the Five Ghosts Sect shall begin from this fight!¡¯ The scene where all the disciples escaped after the sect was destroyed kept reying in his mind. This enraged him, making him push his strength to the limits. This nearly allowed him to break through to the 4 Heavenly Gates bottleneck! Even though his opponent was an expert in inner force, he had the confidence to end this battle swiftly. "Elder Wuhun is impressive!" Many Five Ghosts Sect disciples bowed in respect as they witnessed this scene. The anger and desteness that all of them had experience were all let out; they needed a victory to rebuild their confidence in the sect. "Good!" Fang Yuan pped his hands. It was extremely favourable to the opponent. Even if Gui Wuhun was facing off a [Martial Artist (9th Gate)], he might be able to defeat him and im victory. But Fang Yuan was different! He was never close to a [Martial Artist (9th Gate)], and would only disappoint Gui Wuhun. "What¡¯s wrong?" Gui Wuhun adopted his stance but realised that the young man did not move at all, which made him doubtful. By allowing his opponent to focus his strength, Fang Yuan was either a fool or extremely confident! Just this simple thought made Gui Wuhun feel uneasy. Even a 4 Heavenly Gate martial artist would respond! "He!" He had no means to escape! As his energy was focused to the limits, he could feel his veins almost exploding with energy. Gui Wuhun struck out his palm, forming a ghastly shadow towards Fang Yuan! "Five Yin Hand!" Gui Wuhun pushed his Xuan Yin Heart Technique to its limits, stretched his arm out and struck his w down, disrupting the Yin energy as a swirl appeared in the middle of his palm. This w focused all the strength he could have ever mustered in his entire life. The moment he struck out, he had the mentality of ¡¯this would be the strongest w I could have ever struck in my lifetime¡¯. Not just the Five Ghosts Sect disciples, but the surrounding martial artists were all in awe. Even Wang Fuhui slowed down and took a nce at the fight. "Kacha!" A shadow shed by, bringing with it wind and sand. As the fight was about to reach the climax, theyer of energy surrounding the both of them disappeared, revealing the normal ground. Fang Yuan remainedposed and stood still. Gui Wuhun maintained his stance. He struck at a small pit on the ground, and his face went pale. "Grandfather Wuhun!" The small girl shrugged away and ran into the middle of the battlefield, with tears in her eyes. "Stop fighting!" "Pu!" Seeing the small girl running towards him, Gui Wusheng spat out another mouth of blood. "Elder?" The Five Ghosts Sect disciples rushed towards him. How did the godly Gui Wusheng lose? Not just by one move, but mysteriously as well, confusing them. "No worries... Just some blood clots, I will be much better after spitting it out!" Gui Wuhun pulled the little girl towards him and became serious. Suddenly, he greeted Fang Yuan and bowed. "Are you Sect Master Fang from Qinghe County, secluded valley?" He could not think of another Wu Zong as young as him. His heart was bitter. If he knew who Fang Yuan was from the beginning, he would not have initiated the fight from the start. "Fang Yuan?" "Qinghe Doctor?" "Sect Master of two sects?" "Such a young man, making everybody else ashame of themselves!" ... A person¡¯s name was like a tree¡¯s shadow. Everyone knew of Fang Yuan¡¯s name in the entire Secluded Mountain Prefecture. But not everyone saw him in person before, which led to this fight. "That is me. Do you have anything else to say, Gui Wuhun?" Fang Yuan nodded his head." "Haha..." Among the crowd, Wang Fuguiughed hysterically, looked at Fang Yuan, and boasted quietly. "Did you see that... that is my brother! I¡¯ve seen his potential the first time we met, and we have be sworn brothers since..." "You are wise!" Suddenly, they seemed to look up to Wang Fugui. ... "Since sect master is here personally, what else can I say? The Five Ghost Sect is at your disposal!" Gui Wuhun gave in and used his strict face to stop those disciples who were still angry. He knew that if he did not make the correct decision, Fang Yuan could easily wipe out the entire Five Ghosts Sect. This was all the sect had left, so how could he let everything here be wiped out? "Very well!" Fang Yuan approached the entrance of the martial arts centre. "Give me all your secret records. I will stay here for a few days!" "We will ede to your request!" Gui Wuhun bowed. "Let out the finest room in our centre for Sect Master Fang to rest... All our disciples will have to greet Sect Master Fang from now onwards, and are to be respectful towards him!" "..." There was silence among the Five Ghosts Sect disciples. A moment ago there were angry and were not willing to give in, and now there were expected to be obedient servants. It was really a test of their minds. A few who adapted quickly already started to fawn upon Fang Yuan. "It is our Sect¡¯s honour for Sect Master Fang to see our secret collection. Please enter and enjoy some tea!" "Mm..." Fang Yuan gave Wang Fugui a ¡¯Do anything you please¡¯ look, and entered the martial arts centre. Gui Wuhun followed him closely, carrying the little girl and looking troubled. "This girl... What¡¯s her name?" Fang Yuan asked as he continued walking. "This..." Gui Wuhun hesitated for a moment, then replied. "He name is Little Xia, the daughter of my friend!" "Indeed a friend!" Fang Yuan turned around, looked at Gui Wuhun, and remained silent. The energy of this little girl reminded him of the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master. Never would he have thought that such a rough brute could have such a cute and delicate daughter. Furthermore, there seemed to be an unknown secret in the Five Ghosts Sect. The other disciples seemed to be clueless about it. ... "Master?" Outside the martial arts centre, the other martial artists have dispersed, leaving Wang Fugui andpany behind. "Why did the sect master enter and leave us here?" "Did we note here to destroy their ce? Why did it be like this?" They were all clueless and looked at one another. They all had the same thought. "Did master anger Fang Yuan?" Wang Fugui was sorrowful, and his heart was pounding. He forced himself to lookposed. "Brother... He has his own ways of doing things, what do you guys know about? Hurry up and follow me to destroy the Big River Faction!" His confusing words indeed confused them, as though he meant that ¡¯there is someone above us¡¯. All of them straightened their backs and followed Wang Fugui with much pride, as they made their way to destroy the Big River Faction. Chapter 139: The Secret Mansion Chapter 139: The Secret Mansion Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "So I see, it¡¯s the Xuan Yin Heart Technique!" Back in the temporary headquarters of the Five Ghosts Sect. Since Fang Yuan had disyed exemry martial art, all his requests were strictly eded to by Gui Wuhun. Even if Fang Yuan had wanted to know thest mystery behind the technique, Gui Wuhun didn¡¯t dare to disobey. "Previously, the Xuan Yin Heart Technique from Elder Han onlyprises of the 12 Gates and the method to break through Wu Zong. However, that was not the real version.....The secret was only made known to the oldest sect master and the inherited elder." When Fang Yuan had taken the Xuan Yin Heart Technique from Elder Han, Fang Yuan didn¡¯t trust him and even found some problems with this technique when he was practising it in the dream world. It looked like he was correct about the defect of the technique. "After the 4 Heavenly Gates, the version of the Xuan Yin Heart Technique I have with me is different from the real one. The version I have is evil in nature and......the Miniature Elemental Force I have trained will be restrained when it meets the real version. This is a secret method used by the Five Ghosts Sect to control many elders and disciples!" The real version of the technique was passed down by ear and mouth. Luckily, Gui Wuhun was the elder who had inherited it and Fang Yuan was then able to get the mystery behind this technique. "This technique should not be called the Xuan Yin Heart Technique, it should be renamed as.....Xuan Yin Body Refining Spell! A martial artist who has reached the peak of the 12th Gate can use this spell to refine his or her body to be the Xuan Yin Metal Body. The power obtained will be simr to a Wu Zong with elemental force!" Of course, the Five Ghosts Sect didn¡¯t have any martial artists who were at the peak of the 12th Gate previously. Or else, the situation would have been different if there was a Xuan Yin Metal Body cultivated by the Five Ghosts Sect. "This martial art.....is a type of spiritual spell previously. It is then changed by someone into a heart technique and the person has managed to design such a marvellous control technique. That person is indeed a talented one!" After pondering for quite a while, Fang Yuan sighed. Luckily he avoided the evil pathway even though he had read through the content regarding the Xuan Yin Body Refining Spell. He had pushed for the strengthening of his Yin from his Eagle w Iron Skin Technique and managed to avoid that dangerous stage. Currently, as he had gotten the full inherited copy of the Xuan Yin Body Refining Spell, with the exception of perfecting his Eagle w Iron Skin Technique with a few spiritual spells, there was no other use to it. However, the Five Ghost Sect Sect Master¡¯s recordings and notes which were kept by the inherited elder shocked Fang Yuan a little. "From the description, his ancestor has great magical power....." Fang Yuan read one of the pages and shook his head. Even though the recordings were recorded based on someone else¡¯s ount and there could be some mistakes here and there, most of the content should be urate. "It was said that this ancestor had such great magical powers that the techniques he had passed on were shocking. The requirements were very high and even his three greatest disciples were not able to fully inherit them. As time passed, the techniques were lost but the Xuan Yin Body Refining Spell became well known and that was what made the Five Ghosts Sect special!" "Unfortunately, there were originally 3 pieces of treasure maps. 2 of them are in the Xia Country and had been taken away by the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master. Thest one was missing and had probably ended up in a foreign country already....." Fang Yuan rubbed his forehead as he had a little headache. If thest piece was in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture or even somewhere in the Xia Country, there was still hope even though it would be very hard to find thest piece. Anyway, he wouldn¡¯t have to look for it personally as he had his men to do it. However, if thest piece really ended up in the hands of a foreign power, the consequences would be very serious. "Hoo....." As he ced thest scroll back onto the bookshelf, Fang Yuan got up and stretched himself. "Maybe I should put that matter aside first and focus on Lu Renjia¡¯s secret mansion....." He was looking forward to examine the condition of the ce that alchemy master was living in. Fang Yuan was currently in a small room with the doors shut. No light could enter the room and the only light source was from the tablemp. In the whole of the martial arts centre, this ce was guarded the heaviest. After all, thest inheritance of the Five Ghosts Sect was stored here. "Did you manage to find anything, Sir?" At that moment, when Fang Yuan walked out of the study room, he met Elder Gui Wuhun who asked him with much respect. "I did!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. "We are honoured to have been able to help you!" Gui Wuhun smiled till his eyebrows were almost joined together like an old chrysanthemum and continued, "The governor of Lieyang County know that you are here and he is here to visit you. He is waiting in the guest hall....." He looked at Fang Yuan with a look of anticipation. If Fang Yuan had followed his own intention, he would have rejected to see the governor. However, since he had just troubled Gui Wuhun to look through the secret manuals and now Gui Wuhun only needed him to show his face to the governor, this was just a small request and Fang Yuan felt that it was rude to reject. Hence, he replied, "No problem, please lead the way!" "Yes, Sir!" Gui Wuhun was overjoyed. He was old and experienced. Hence, he knew how influential the governor of Lieyang County was, but he had the intention to sow discord. Without hesitation, he wanted to help the sect to establish a good rapport with Fang Yuan. Also, Fang Yuan was already right at the doorstep. With the current position Fang Yuan had in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, Fang Yuan would not have to say a word. With him, the life of the Five Ghosts Sect in Lieyang County would be way better than before. ........ Three dayster, in the Melting Sun Peak. This ce was the most famousndmark in the Lieyang County, but the name sounded fierce! The Melting Sun Peak was filled with fire. Hence, within the 6300-yard radius, there were no nts grown there. Also, the fire gave out poisonous gas and normal human beings would die from breathing in the gas! Hence, this ce was very good for mining but not many dared to risk their lives toe here and mine. The ce was therefore kept in its original state. "Chirp! Chirp!" At that moment, a shadow of a ck eagle was hovering over the Melting Sun Peak and was letting out a high-pitched chirp. "Keep going, don¡¯t stop!" On the back of the eagle, there was a person and it was Fang Yuan, who had came here to look for the secret mansion of Lu Renjia! He rode the Iron-tailed ck Eagle and circled around the vicinity for a few times. His eyes then glittered. "This is the ce. Land there!" "Chirp!" The eagle pped its wings and a big gust of wind blew away the poisonous gas. Even if the poisonous gas was 10 times stronger, the gas would not be able to poison Fang Yuan and the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. "Lu Renjia had been travelling a lot since young and had stayed in Lieyang County for quite some time already. He even managed to build a secret mansion just in case he was in trouble....Unfortunately, it was useless!" Fang Yuan, who had managed to obtain the memory from Ling Yin, had no difficulty in locating the secret mansion. He would reach the mansion after passing by a giantvake. "ording to the map, at the edge of theke, the entrance to the mansion will be right above the wall of a cliff....." Fang Yuan found the cliff and touched it. The rock here felt different from those elsewhere. The rock here was a little warm. Also, there was the presence of vegetation here. There were vines that were red in colour and were very tough. The vines had sharp thorns and they grew over half of the wall of the cliff. It looked scary to many people. "This ce is really well hidden!" As he released some of his magical energy, he didn¡¯t manage to find anything. Fang Yuan then knew that Lu Renjia had an extra setup. He then sighed lightly. His foot tapped on the raised rocks lightly and his whole body rose like a cloud. His lightness skill was very good and he was able to jump up by a few yards to the middle section of the cliff. "3 pieces of raised rock to form a finished shape. This is the ce!" When he saw the exact symbol here, which was like the one in the secret manual, he felt happy and grabbed the wall with his fingers. "Chi! Chi!" How powerful was his Eagle w Technique? These vines were very sharp, but with his fingers ying through, the vines then broke and a small tform was revealed. The tform was very small and could only fit one person. Fang Yuan went on top and saw a red coloured moss above the cliff. It looked strange and Fang Yuan went up to have a look. However, he couldn¡¯t find anything useful and it was as if he had been obstructed. "Good stuff!" His eyes glittered and said, "Even though this moss is not really spiritual in nature, it was special still. I¡¯m not sure whether this can be relocated to somewhere else...." Such spiritual object was grown here likely because of the unique environment. Even though Fang Yuan had the intention to relocate this nt, he had no confidence in doing so. Then, there was an echo after he hit the wall of the cliff. He figured out for a while and managed to find the mechanism behind it. "Kacha!" With a loud noise, the dust from the rocks came down and the wall, which was right in front of Fang Yuan, had started to move and it revealed a tunnel. The end of the tunnel seemed to have a red light shining brightly. "Hoo! Hoo!" A light breeze came through the tunnel and the venttion of the air suggested that there were other tunnels connected as well. There was no bad air. "Interesting! This is interesting!" Fang Yuan was bold. Plus, this ce was built as a backup ce for Lu Renjia, hence it would not be built in such a way that would endanger the lives of Lu Renjia himself and his disciples. Hence, the ce was not dangerous and Fang Yuan went straight in. Not long after, he reached the end of the tunnel and there was a strange alchemy room right in front of Fang Yuan. "This is....." What he saw was a cave that was not small. Beside the cave, there was a small magmake and it was boiling hot. In the magma, there was a huge alchemy furnace and the surface of it had many lines. The material of it seemed to be gold or rock and the colour was dull. There were many red lines moving vibrating as well. "An alchemy furnace that is using the underground fire? This is indeed a good ce to practise alchemy!" Fang Yuan sighed upon seeing that. If this room was discovered by Huang Fu Renhe, he would probably not leave this room ever once he entered it. After all, when one is practising alchemy, it would be much more convenient with the help of the underground fire. Other than the alchemy furnace, there were a few cupboards beside the cave and they were metallic. The jade bottles that were ced in these cupboards would bring coldness to whoever who touched them. "If one wants to store the medicinal pills here, the pills will need to be stored in a special ce. This person is indeed rich as he is using Cold Jade Bottles to store the pills....." Fang Yuan sighed with envy and now he knew how rich this alchemy master was. He was very happy as he counted the number of things he could get this time that were of great value. Chapter 140: Level 5 Chapter 140: Level 5 Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Elemental Gaining Pill, A pill to replenish elemental force and strengthen the body..." "Calming Pill, to clear one¡¯s mind and be at peace..." "Muscle Building Pill, bones and muscles will heal wounds within seven days..." The entire shelf was filled with jade bottles, and beneath every bottle, there was abel describing the pill¡¯s name and usage, which overwhelmed Fang Yuan with information. For Lu Renjia to keep all these here, they must all be spiritual pills made from spiritual ingredients, and all had spiritual abilities. Normal martial artists would fight to their deaths just to get their hands on any one of these pills. Of course, at his level, not many spiritual pills would have an effect on him. Fang Yuan scavenged the shelves, and could only find 3 bottles which might be useful to him. "There are 10 pills in the bottle of Elemental Gaining Pill, 5 pills in the bottle of Calming Pill, and 18 pills in the Muscle Building Pill!" Fang Yuan tossed the bottle in his hand. "There are only two types of pills here which will aid my cultivation, I wonder if I will improve in my cultivation after swallowing all of it at once? Thinking about how Liu Yan took over half of Lu Renjia¡¯s assets and used them to break through to his current state of cultivation, Fang Yuan wanted to try it out as well. "The wealth of an alchemy master is ridiculous..." After ounting his pills, Fang Yuan let out a long sigh and as he admired Lu Renjia¡¯s assets. Of course, not all the pills on the shelf were spiritual pills. Half of them were normal ingredients, water and some money. When Lu Renjia was preparing this secret mansion, he had already thought of all the circumstances in which he woulde here to hide, and therefore prepared for it already. "There are about 10,000 taels of silver here. Including the valuable resources here, he can get back on his feet wherever he might run to..." Fang Yuan flipped the bottom of the shelf and dragged out tworge jade boxes. Opening one of them revealed a purple animal hide, with purple scales asrge as eyes, glittering. It would strike fear in whoeverid their eyes on it." "High-grade spiritual beast¡¯s hide?" He touched his chin and tried to feel the energy from the beast¡¯s hide. "I¡¯m afraid the animal is of Wu Zong level when it was alive!" It was not easy to tame a spiritual beast. It was even more so for a spiritual beast of Wu Zong level. Even if Lu Renjia personally tried, he could only get some valuable ingredients from it. However, it was still an extremely valuable item. Fang Yuan held the hide in his hands, pulled it and was rather satisfied with its hardness. If he directly wore it over his body like a cape, it would still be stronger than any normal armour, and might even have a considerable defence against spiritual spells. "A pity I am not an alchemy master. Otherwise, I will be able to use it as a material to make a strong armour... By keeping this, Lu Renjia should also have the same intention..." After much thought, Fang Yuan opened the second jade box. At that moment, his eyes were filled with a baby green colour. In such a big jade box, half of it was filled with crystal clear liquid, like liquid lead and mercury. There was a green glitter from the middle, as though it had a mind of its own. "Spiritual seed?" Fang Yuan carefully removed the green colour from the middle and realised that it was a green crystal. In the middle of the green crystal was a jet-ck seed that was not obvious to the naked eye. The green glitter seemed to have seeped out from the crystal. "This crystal is a form of seal, and together with the liquid, is able to preserve the life of any nt..." Fang Yuan made a guess and exined to himself. Like the jade bottles, there was a description under both jade boxes; they seemed to be have been prepared for Ling Yin. "Star-eyed Leopard hide... Who knew that such treasures exist in Xia Country, and where did Lu Renjia find this?" Lu Renjia directly described the origins of the purple hide. It was from a treasured mutated beast and was a good material for armours. It had increased defence capabilities against spiritual spells. As for the other jade box, the origins of the spiritual seed was not as clear. The only thing mentioned was that this unknown spiritual seed had a strong will to live, but a pity that it was hard for it to germinate. "Spiritual seed?" Fang Yuan sighed. "Only one such seed and it is able to disy so many traits, could it be from the Heavens?" Spiritual objects were ssified into the four grades namely Heaven Grade, Earth Grade, Mystery Grade and Yellow Grade. It was easy to obtain spiritual objects of Mystery Grade and Yellow Grade, but it all depended on luck for one to find a Heaven Grade or Earth Grade spiritual object. In the history of Xia country, these spiritual objects only appear once in a few hundred years, and are nicknamed the deity nts! Maybe spiritual nts of Heaven Grade only appeared in the Da Qian Empire. "Eh?" Suddenly Fang Yuan¡¯s expression changed! This was because the green-glowing crystal in his hands suddenly shed, and as the liquid inside it started to swirl, it appeared as though it was about to melt. "How is this possible... Why is the seal melting so quickly?" Fang Yuan frowned. He noticed the normal-looking seed within it started to glow yellow, and he could feel energy emitting from it. "This is..." He was familiar with this scene. Regardless if it was his first time nting the Vermilion Jade Rice, or the germination of the Vermilion Fruit, this yellow glow would always appear as the breakthrough for his [Botany]! "It is indeed you..." Fang Yuan brought his stats window out and noticed that the ¡¯4¡¯ behind his fully filled experience bar jumped. It broke through the bottleneck and became Level 5! [Botany (Level 5)]! "Even though it did not germinate, I could still experience a breakthrough in my [Botany] just bying in contact with its energy?" Fang Yuan looked at the seed which appeared normal once again, shocked. "This is not possible if it is an Earth Grade seed... Could it be... Heaven Grade? How did this treasure lie in Lu Renjia¡¯s hands?" It was a pity that he did not have the chance to ess Lu Renjia¡¯s dream to unveil this secret. Based on his prediction, Lu Renjia only knew that this seed was valuable, but did not know its real value! "Value!" After recovering from his shock, Fang Yuan was overjoyed. "With the breakthrough in my [Botany], even if I get nothing from this journey, it would still be worth it!" He only said this after noticing the description of his [Botany (Level 5)]: "[Botany (Level 5)] - You are a grandmaster in the world of botany! All nts that go through your hands will evolve special traits, and their maturity period will also be shortened!" This ability of his was rather god-like. After this tip, Fang Yuan immediately thought of the Vermilion Fruit back at home. With spiritual fertilizer, spiritualnd and his own abilities, it was possible to mature the Vermilion Fruit¡¯s shoot. "Great, this is great!" Fang Yuan nodded his head, and looked at his stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 11 Spirit: 11 Magic: 9.5 Profession: Dream Master Cultivation: [Dream-Building Master (High Elemental Gathering Stage)], Wu Zong Technique: [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 13) (???)], Ecstasy Spell, Shadowstep Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" Consuming the me Jade Rice, cultivating the way of a dream master and this breakthrough now all led to the big change in his stats window. "In the future, Xia Country will be in a mess. To hold my ground, I need to have real strength and ability!" Fang Yuan clenched his fist, full of anticipation. ... Summer Sun Prefecture. As Fang Yuan was visiting Lu Renjia¡¯s secret mansion, a devastating thing happened in Summer Sun Prefecture. Because ofcency, the Summer Sun Prefecture¡¯s three cities were invaded in one day as the Prefecture Master¡¯s power was at stake. The sunset was red as blood. In a faraway city, there was chaos as people were fighting. Waves of uniformed Secluded Mountain Prefecture soldiers were killing their way in but were made to halt by the arrow rain, which made them eventually retreat back embarrassingly. "Prefecture Master!" In front of the capital leaders, Xiang Zilong¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as he kneeled in front of Liu Yan. "Why not take a rest here for the night! We can surely take down Huangshi City tomorrow!" "Hmph, a bunch of useless fools!" Liu Yan was d in golden armour as he witnessed the Secluded Mountain Prefecture soldiers being pierced by the arrows, as he eximed. "I made an effort to leave the inexperienced soldiers to defend at the counties, and brought the experienced once here, and yet we still need so much effort to invade a district town!" His eyebrows were twitching, showing his anger. "A Wu Zong is now in charge of Huangshi City, and is therefore different fromst time! Furthermore... Our troops have taken down three cities already, and are all worn out... I deserve to die!" Xiang Zilong tried to exin, and as he looked at Liu Yan¡¯s eye, he shivered and apologised. "Keke... Don¡¯t worry, Prefecture Master!" Taoist Mu Li, who was at one side, chuckled. "Our army is tired, and the enemy¡¯s arrows are almost used up. Later, I shall aid our soldiers to take down this city!" "Chirp! Chirp!" After finishing his sentence, he leapt on the Wind Chasing Falcon and disappeared. Not long after, a green spiritual light appeared from the city walls, apanying a certain Wu Zong¡¯s rage. Seeing this opportunity, the Secluded Mountain Prefecture soldiers tried to attack once more and finally opened the city gates. Everyone squeezed in and brought the fight to the alleys. "Very well, since the enemy is stupid, pass the order down to burn down the entire city!" Liu Yan witnessed this scene and passed down the order. "What?" Xiang Zilong was shocked. "Prefecture Master, please reconsider. Themon people are innocent... "Hmph! This entire city¡¯s people are all rebels and are against me, and I shall treat all of them the same!" Liu Yan snickered. "If I don¡¯t do this, how do I strike fear in the enemy? I am decided, so stop trying to make me reconsider!" He not only ordered to burn the city but also personally joined in. In the city, the nine green fire dragons were flying about, and thick smoke filled the sky; the entire city became hell. "If you hate me,e fight me!" Seeing the entire city bing like hell, Liu Yan remained emotionless. He held a blood-coloured jade in his right hand. "For me to break through, this sin is nothing!" Chapter 141: Twist Chapter 141: Twist Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the beginning of the new year, Liu Yan from the Secluded Mountain Prefecture attacked Summer Sun Prefecture. In just half a month, he had managed to take down 15 cities and had caused 8 cities to be burning in fire. The casualties rate was very high and the whole of Xia Country was horrified by this! The Summer Sun Prefecture Armed Forces had lost the battle and the Prefecture master had no choice but to abandon the Prefecture City. He then went to ask for help from the Clear Spring Prefecture, the royal family of the Xia Country or anyone who had the ability to do so. On the 15th day of the 4th month, the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Armed Forces had surrounded the whole of Summer Sun Prefecture City and a big battle started. It was dawn. Above the city wall of the Summer Sun Prefecture, there were many cultivators getting up onto the city building to observe the movement of the enemy. "Zhe! Zhe!" A schr who was dressed in green then sighed and said, "Every order will be executed. The soldiers train daily and there is even a special way for them to set up the tents......They are a group of powerful soldiers indeed!" "Humph, my Summer Sun Elite Forces is not any inferior to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. That Old Liu Yan is very experienced in martial arts and there are Mu Li and Xiang Zilong assisting him!" The Summer Sun Prefecture Master who was beside the scribe was pulling a long face. The scribe, who had made thatment previously, was the Clear Spring Prefecture Master. Even though both positions were of the same level, the Clear Spring Prefecture Master didn¡¯t say anything that was hurting as he had travelled all the way here to help the Summer Sun Prefecture. "Well said!" The scribeughed and didn¡¯t refute. "Even though the strength of my armed forces has increased, I only have about 50,000 soldiers and another 20,000 soldiers as reserves. With your ability, Summer Prefecture Master, we will have a chance!" "I¡¯m not afraid of wars, but Liu Yan doesn¡¯t y this war the proper way. He is a spiritual knight and went off many times. What can we do?" The Summer Sun Prefecture Master sighed. "If that is the case, why do you still need my help?" The scribe dressed in green thenughed and continued, "Liu Yan is overboard this time!" From the way they looked, Liu Yan had actually broken the rules of the protocol between Wu Zong and spiritual knights. Nevermind if he was insatiable and felt like attacking others. He actually used his role as a spiritual knight to sabotage others and caused others to lose their faces. Hence, there would be a loss of interests. If one would provoke a spiritual knight and that spiritual knight had found ways to attack one¡¯s sovereign even though he cannot defeat that one, the actions of the spiritual knight would be considered evil. Liu Yan was the initiator of this war and hence he deserved a beating. "The royal family has stated that they fully support our Prefecture in this attack, but they haven¡¯t sent any actual help....." The Summer Sun Prefecture Master gave a coldugh and said, "Looks like after this war, we will not only have to change the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master, the royal family will also have to be...Hehe..." "Indeed....there are many movements from the royal family recently!" As the scribe heard this, his eyebrows moved as well. Even though there was chaos in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, the royal family had reached out too much and this was also a problem for those few prefectures. Also, there were a few traces left behind..... If not for the pressing issue of Liu Yan, the Clear Spring Prefecture Master would have to ask for an exnation from the royal family with another ally already. In the past, the 3 prefectures had got together to create troubles for the royal family for a few times. The final oue was that the royal family could only incur the losses without saying anything and the royal family even lost a king. Hence, the royal family was back into its original position and had to take care of the losses it had incurred. Even though the situation was different this time, the oue would still be the same. The Clear Spring Prefecture Master was very confident of this. "Chirp! Chirp!" At that moment, there was a long chirp and a ck shadow came from the enemy¡¯s side. There was a person on top and the person looked violent and tough. Who else could the person be other than Liu Yan himself? "Xiao Yunqing, Lan Xiaosheng!" Seeing that the two prefecture masters were here, Liu Yan felt even more excited and said, "You both are here? Very good! I can just remove you two at one go and there will be no need for the extra effort to remove separately!" "Old Liu, your words are aggressive!" Lan Xiaosheng focused on Liu Yan. Even though his mouth was not wide open, his voice was able to travel through the clouds. "Roar! Roar!" There was a furious roaring from the city and a giant ck shadow flew above the city wall. It spread its wings and flew into the sky. The ck shadow felt like a dragon and a tiger at the same time! It had the look of a big tiger, but it had wings and was very energetic. It is a special tiger with wings! The tiger was the White Winged Tiger! It was a tamed spiritual beast from the Clear Spring Prefecture. It not only was able to fly, its body was tough like metal and it could fight against a [Martial Artist (11th Gate)]! "Let¡¯s go!" Xia Yunqing and Lan Xiaosheng leapt lightly onto the back of the White Tiger. Lan Xiaosheng looked at the lonely Liu Yan andughed. "I¡¯m impressed that you dare to fight against us even though you are alone. Where are your 3 leaders, the spiritual knight and the young sect master?" "I alone am sufficient enough to defeat you two!" Even though the two prefecture masters right in front of Liu Yan were also great spiritual knights, Liu Yan was very confident and treated the two of them as though they were dead already! Such attitude made the two prefecture masters even more furious. "Good! Very good! Looks like you are powerful enough to defeat the two of us on your own. How can we reject this?" Xia Yunqing gave a longugh and was feeling excited. From the way he looked, it would be hard for Liu Yan to defeat the two of them on his own if he had not reached the Elemental Opening Realm! This was the best time to end the war as Liu Yan was on his own. He turned his head and saw that Lan Xiaosheng also had the same look as him. Both couldn¡¯t wait to defeat Liu Yan. Both of them looked at each other and as the White Winged Tiger gave a loud roar, it pounced in the direction of where Liu Yan was... ........ Just when the 3 prefecture masters were fighting. Back in the capital of the Xia Country. The Xia Country was split into 3 prefectures. Most of thend was controlled by the respective prefectures and there was a small portion ofnd that was still controlled by the royal family. At least it showed that the royal family still had some sort of power in this country. The capitalid at the intersection of the 3 prefectures and there were no walls built around the capital city! It was said that it was decided to be like this when the 3 prefecture masters were chosen. However, this clearly showed that the royal family of the Xia Country had to be a puppet forever and couldn¡¯t go against anyone who had great power. Since there was no wall surrounding the capital city, there were enemies in all directions and the city was prone to many threats. The royal family had also be weak. If not for the survival of the king¡¯s heritage and the restraint of the 3 Prefecture masters, the whole of Xia Country would have probably been exterminated. "So how is it, Princess?" Back in a tall building in the royal pce, tea was served to Xie Lingyun who had just returned from her trip as an ambassador. Her expression was confused and she was facing a white-haired energetic old daoist. "Even though Liu Yan is frenzied and has created trouble for the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, the matter is still rted to Xia Country. The two prefecture masters of the Summer Sun and Clear Spring are both loyal ministers and how can we let Gui Country handle this matter for us?" Plus.....I¡¯m just ady and you, the ambassador from the Gui Country has looked for the wrong person!" Xie Lingyun said confidently, "I should look for Father to discuss this matter!" "Hehe....Miss Xie, why do you have to hide from me? Miss Xie, your power is considered to be great in this country! In fact, the king from my home country is also impressed with your methods of handling the matter!" The old daoist shook his head and seemed to have known some secrets. "What are you talking about?" Xie Lingyun¡¯s expression changed. "I¡¯m not speaking nonsense. Your methods are special. In just a short period of time, you are able to rapport the support of a spiritual knight and a Wu Zong. This is incredible!" The old daoistughed and said. As he spoke, Xie Lingyun¡¯s energy was being shocked a little and she couldn¡¯t regte her energy, which caused her face¡¯s colour to be changing. "Wu Zong is here. You don¡¯t need me to point out where the spiritual knight is, do you?" The old daoist looked into Xie Lingyun¡¯s eyes intensely as if he wanted to know what she was thinking. "Just tell me, what are you going to do now?" Xie Lingyun took a deep breath and her expression changed. If Fang Yuan was here, he would be surprised by her change in expressions. Xie Lingyun was standing straight with much confidence and she looked like amander who had no miscalctions. "I have said before. The king from my home country is willing to help you. However, after everything is settled, please give a portion of the Secluded Mountains as a reward to the king.....and you two can get married. The king has been admiring you for a long time already....." The old daoist shook his head when he said that to Xie Lingyun. As she heard this, sheughed and suddenly gave a cold look. "The king of the Gui Country is indeed asking for a lot from me, I will have to reject his offer!" "You don¡¯t have to reject this offer straight away!" The old daoist continued with much confidence, "Your n of interlocking the attacks is indeed great and you even ced a mole by Liu Yan¡¯s side. However, you have overlooked something!" "Lu Renjia?!" Xie Lingyun was able to what was it on the spot and she was surprised. "I was already guessing that Lu Renjia had something to do with the foreign power. So it was you people!" "We only put a little trick there and we didn¡¯t expect to reap anything from it!" The old daoist stroked his beard and continued arrogantly, "I see that you have known quite a lot of things from Lu Renjia and that include one secret method....." "Is it regarding the method of using high-quality spiritual objects to break through the bottleneck?" Xie Lingyun interrupted him and gave him a mocking look. "So princess, you also know that. You are indeed special....." The old daoist was a little surprised but was still full of confidence. "What I want to mention is the other manual. The manual is dedicated to Blood Demon and one could use a normal person¡¯s blood to recover one¡¯s elemental force! This method is called the Blood Refining Technique. This technique could cause a lot of damage as it requires the blood of thousands of people to produce its effect. Also, one could be affected mentally if one executes this technique!" "Blood Refining? Blood Refining!" Xie Lingyun was shocked and her nails were gripping onto something unknowingly. "The Huangshi City is being burnt?" "Correct, we have sent our men to have a look and indeed, there is a possibility that many people are already the victims of this technique.....However, Liu Yan was smart and he burnt the whole city straight away to remove any traces and evidence." The old daoist gave a weird smile and continued, "I guess you will know whether is it real or fake very soon!" "Princess!" At that moment, there were a few rapid knocks on the door. Then, a servant rushed in and was looking very anxious. "Breaking news from the Summer Sun Prefecture! Liu Yan has managed to defeat the other two prefecture masters. He has killed Xia Yunqing while Lan Xiaosheng, who was seriously injured, has escaped. The Summer Sun Prefecture......has been taken down!" "What!?" Xie Lingyun¡¯s expression instantly changed. Chapter 142: Shi Yutong鈥檚 Dream Chapter 142: Shi Yutong¡¯s Dream Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions End of the fifth month. Apanying the Summer Sun Prefecture Master¡¯s death, and the escape of the Clear Spring Prefecture Master¡¯s death, the Secluded Mountain Prefecture¡¯s soldiers upied the entire Summer Sun Prefecture and seemed to be targeting the Imperial City next. In a short while, Liu Yan¡¯s influence grew exponentially and was known as the number one spiritual knight, his infamous name spreading throughout the country. "Xia Yunqing is dead? Lan Xiaosheng has escaped with injuries?" As he returned to Qinghe County, Fang Yuan received this news and was in disbelief. "Impossible! This would only be possible if Liu Yan is in the Elemental Opening Realm! If he was still in the Elemental Gathering Realm, he would be no match against two opponents the same level as him... Unless..." Fang Yuan sighed and looked at Zhou Wenwu. "Any other details?" "Reporting!" Zhou Wenwu bowed. "From our sources, the three Prefecture Masters fought with extreme intensity, especially when Liu Yan struck, the fire burnt the clouds in the sky, making the entire sky a crimson red like it was on fire..." "After that, Prefecture Master Liu took over Summer Sun Prefecture and gathered the Wu Zongs and spiritual knights within the prefecture to swear their loyalty to him. If they did not do so, they would be severely dealt with!" At this point, his looked stressed out. "Sir, what should I do?" "A cloud burnt by fire?" Fang Yuan twitched his eyebrows. "This is a little weird..." Based on his knowledge, Liu Yan¡¯s spiritual fire was green. Of course, this was a small detail. The important thing was that Liu Yan had a resounding victory. Why did he not continue and take over the Imperial City and be king, but gather the heroes and martial artists is Summer Sun Prefecture? ¡¯Could it be... that he had not entered the Elemental Opening Realm and only won because he used other improper means... By now he should have run out of energy...¡¯ Fang Yuan was deep in thought, and as he nced at his worried subordinates, he chuckled. "If anything happens, we¡¯ll react to it ordingly. Since Prefecture Master has invited me, I will go..." After all, the takeover of Summer Sun Prefecture would mean that Liu Yan had gotten his hands on their valuables and treasures. He did not know if he could forcefully achieve a breakthrough, and was rather curious about this. ¡¯Of course, before all this, I should focus on my own cultivation!¡¯ After dismissing his subordinates, Fang Yuan arrived at the meditation room, crossed his legs and sat down. With a flip of his palm, an Elemental Gaining Pill looted from Lu Renjia¡¯s secret mansion appeared. "The medicinal properties of a spiritual pill is extremely strong, and cannot bepared to spiritual rice, which can be consumed daily. However, I still can use it to increase my cultivation once in a while!" Fang Yuan mulled. "I have already tested these few bottles of spiritual pills on others, and their effects are indeed remarkable, with no side effects, and it should be safe for me to try it... Who would have thought that I will end up taking spiritual pills to aid in my cultivation?" Without hesitation, his eyes shed as he popped on Elemental Gaining Pill into his mouth. He shut his eyes as he allowed the pill to take its effect. Fang Yuan was extremely experienced in taking spiritual objects, but this was his first attempt at taking a spiritual pill. As the pill entered his stomach, it was a different feeling altogether. A strong and steady spiritual force was felt, like an awakening dragon swirling within him. His muscles expanded and he felt like his skin was being stretched. ¡¯This spiritual pill is still much stronger than spiritual rice in terms of medicinal properties!¡¯ This spiritual pill was made from the essence of spiritual objects, and therefore should not bepared to a normal spiritual nt. Based on Fang Yuan¡¯s estimation, the spiritual force from one of this pill would be akin to eating 66 pounds of spiritual rice! This was the speciality of an alchemy master. After a long while, Fang Yuan opened his eyes. "The Wu Zong elemental force within my Dantian is indeed stronger, what a pity it cannot go any further..." Feeling the progress in his cultivation, he twitched his eyebrows. "However, there is still little growth in my dream elemental force. It is still stagnant as before, and it seems that it can only be cultivated through dream essing and dream building!" As he thought to this point, he used his magical energy to scan through his entire body, and his expression changed again. "Although the spiritual pill is remarkable, there is still the fear of pill poisoning and the problem of increasing dependence on it... However, I still don¡¯t have the luxury of having one spiritual pill each day, and that a high-levelled alchemy master made used of nature to produce this spiritual pill, which means that it should not be poisonous..." ... There was no higher attainment for a Wu Zong, and therefore it did not matter how much more the elemental force was being developed. Fang Yuan stopped taking the Elemental Gaining Pill as he turned his focus on the Calming Pill. He first targeted Ling Yin. This girl was a spiritual disciple and was equivalent to a [Martial Artist (11th Gate)]. However, as of now, she was exhausted by Fang Yuan and was almost on the verge of mentally breaking down. If Fang Yuan was interested, he could change the mindset of thisdy and could make her a loyal servant. Ultimately, he was not an evil person and did not have the ill intention to change her memory drastically. He only wanted to correct the hostility towards him in her subconscious mind. For instance, he could retarget her hatred onto Liu Yan, before slowly making her loyal to himself. In the cell, within the Ecstasy Fog, Ling Yin was sleeping soundly and appeared naive. "A good dream!" After he made a slight amendment to her memory, Fang Yuan stood up and left the cell. Changing someone else¡¯s memory was a huge process. Even though it was just a minute change, the process could still take up to a day or two. However, once the process waspleted, her loyalty could be assured and she could be part of them now. "If we¡¯re talking about this..." Walking past a few other cells, Fang Yuan looked at a few familiar faces and thought to himself. "We could try this method on the Lin Family, especially Lin Leiyue and Lin Benchu, and that would save Zhou Wenwu all the trouble as well..." Regarding the Lin Family¡¯s future, although Fang Yuan had left the decision to Zhou Wenwu, it only made him more conflicted. He could not release them, but could not kill them as well, and could only hold them in the cells. The hardships that the Lin Family had gone through were enough. If they promised not to create trouble outside in the future, they could actually be released. As for Lin Leiyue, since Master Wenxin could see her potential, then she should not be as simple as having spiritual abilities? "Go!" After leaving the jail, Fang Yuan called for the Iron-tailed ck Eagle and flew to where he captured Shi Yutong. "You¡¯re here again!" Within the cave, Shi Yutong crossed her legs and was seated, emotionless. Since the moment she knew that she could not entice Fang Yuan with anything, and could not convince Fang Yuan to release her, she had been like this the whole while. However, Shi Yutong felt a sense of danger today and tensed up. ¡¯To improve my cultivation and my dream elemental force, I have to ess many dreams and build many dreams. Even a spiritual disciple cannot guard against my dream-building abilities anymore, and the next I shall try is a Wu Zong...¡¯ Fang Yuan had a look of determination and waved his hands, as a white fog appeared. "What do you want?" Shi Yutong was shocked. The unknown was the most feared. Her elemental force was already sealed by Fang Yuan, and he could do anything to her. Yet, he was still rather serious, and must, therefore, have an ulterior motive - From the looks of it, her gut feeling was correct, but there was nothing she could do. She waspletely helpless as Fang Yuan had all the control over the situation! As the Ecstasy Fog flowed, Shi Yutong fought hard but to no avail. Her eyes shut as she fainted Fang Yuan maintained his seriousness. If he failed to ess a Wu Zong¡¯s dream world, the consequences would be dire. "Hopefully, the Calming Pill would be as effective as it was described, and hopefully it would be able to clear my mind!" Fang Yuan knew that at his current stage of cultivation, it would still be insufficient to ess a Wu Zong¡¯s dream, unless he had the help of a spiritual pill. Therefore, he swallowed the spiritual pill and pointed at Shi Yutong¡¯s forehead. "Dream essing!" ... Qinghe County, Spirit Returning Sect. The doors were tall and majestic. A group of young children wore martial arts robes and queued up to enter the Spirit Returning Sect. "Listen up. Spirit Returning Sect is the number one Sect in Qinghe County. It is your honour to enter the Sect. From today onwards, you need to swear your loyalty and promise not to break any Sect rules, otherwise..." There was a martial artist coach in front lecturing the group. As he approached the end, his tone became stern. "Now, we will begin to assign you to your coaches. Pleasee up if your name is called!" The deacon¡¯s voice was heard. "Zhaohu, Wanger, Qiansun... You are under Coach Gui! Come out now!" "Master!" Three kids came to the front and kowtowed to a man in brown robes, as he called himself their master. "Mm, follow me!" The man in the brown robe looked serious and albeit unwilling, brought the three kids with him. "The next group, Zhou Luoqiu, Bao Hongyan, Yu Bicheng... You are under Coach Zhang!" Three other mischievous kids came up and greeted a middle-ageddy. Their clothing revealed that they were all rather well to do. Thedy coach seemed kind and a little more skilled than the previous coach in brown robes, and as she nodded her head she brought the children with her. "Next group..." Apanying this voice, the number of children was getting lesser and lesser, and finally, only a few of them remained. "This is weird... Why am I here?" A kid in torn clothes like a little beggar had a doubtful look on his face. It was as though an Ecstasy Fog was swirling in his head, giving him a headache. "Who... am I?" "Fang Yuan! Are you alright?" At this point, a little girl approached him and asked him nervously. "Fang Yuan? Fang Yuan! I am Fang Yuan!!" The little beggar mumbled to himself and smirked. "Thank you, little sister!" After being lucid, Fang Yuan felt his energy grow like animal instincts and scanned his surroundings. "Mm... This is indeed Spirit Returning Sect. All thanks to the spiritual pill, otherwise I would have been lost in this dream world..." At his side, the little girl stared at him, clueless. "Forget about it!" Fang Yuan was feeling rather disturbed and pinched the little girl¡¯s cheek. It felt slightly different from Lanruo, and he asked, "What is your name?" "Shi Yutong!" The little girl smiled and passed to him a white handkerchief, "Come, wipe your face!" "Mm?!" Fang Yuan shockingly received the handkerchief and was confused. Were the heavens ying tricks with him? ... Chapter 143: Blood Demon Chapter 143: Blood Demon Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "There is no difference between the real world and the dream world?" Back in the Green Peak, Fang Yuan made himself a pot of Questioning Heart Tea and he looked dazed. His expectations were exceeded when he went into the dream world this time. If the Calming Pills didn¡¯t produce its effect to keep Fang Yuan alert, he would probably not have been able to wake up on his own. Even though he managed to wake himself up in the dream world this time, Fang Yuan was still a little confused. "This is another effect of the dream world!" The fragrance of the spiritual tea went into his nose and Fang Yuan touched in between his eyebrows. "I have been rushing through my cultivation recently, hence it is inevitable that I¡¯m feeling mentally unstable!" Even though this experience was shocking and it didn¡¯t hurt him, it gave him a reminder. Ever since he had be the dream master, his cultivation level had improved tremendously, but he still thought it was not enough and decided to use spiritual pills to push himself further. Hence, there was a setback. If he hadn¡¯t realised it early and wasn¡¯t able to wake himself up to recover himself with the spiritual tea and fruit, he would probably end up lost in the dream world and it would be very difficult for him to find his way back! As he was making tea, Fang Yuan recalled Master Wenxin¡¯s Meditative Tea Ceremony. He then focused on clearing his mind to be innocent and pure. "I have managed to learn something from this experience!" Fang Yuan took a sip of the tea and looked at his stats window. "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 11.2 Spirit: 11.5 Magic: 10 Profession: Dream Master Cultivation: [Dream-Building Master (Complete)], Wu Zong Technique: [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 13) (???)], Ecstasy Spell, Shadowstep Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "Not only there is an improvement in my essence, spirit and magic, I havepleted the realm for dream-building from the previous dream ess as a Wu Zong!" In other words, when he hadpleted the realm for dream building, it was equivalent to a spiritual knight who was already at the peak of the Elemental Gathering Realm and had reached the threshold for the Elemental Breaking Realm! This was also the evidence to show that Liu Yan, Xia Yunqing and Lan Xiaosheng were capable enough to be the prefecture masters! "Of course.....even though elemental breaking is hard, the holy realm is even harder! To have something from a dream world and disy it in the real world, even if it was just a grass, a flower, a sand particle or a small rock, it is still difficult to achieve that!" The stage which involved a dream master to enter a dream world to build the dream was simr to a spiritual knight who was at the Elemental Gathering Realm. Fang Yuan guessed that the Holy Realm was equivalent to the Elemental Breaking Realm! Fang Yuan didn¡¯t know what kind of magical power a spiritual knight who was at the Elemental Breaking Realm had, but for a dream master who was at the holy realm, the dream master could convert his umtions to battle strength and this was not a trivial matter! "If I was at the Holy Realm, even if Liu Yan was at the Elemental Breaking Realm and he had brought a few more spiritual knights who were of the same level as him to fight against me, I would not be afraid! Unfortunately....." Fang Yuan shook his head and sighed. "Holy Realm only has one requirement; one has to be able to disy something from the dream world into the real world! It can be even just a sand particle and it will be sufficient!" As he thought about the requirement for this breakthrough, he gave a wry grin. One¡¯s mind could affect a matter and one¡¯s consciousness can affect the reality. How could this be so easily achieved? The Holy Realm! This was the realm that every dream master had wished to go for. One could say that most of the dream masters who had managed to break through sessfully would be stuck in that realm. The mountains, the vegetation, the rivers, thekes and all living things.....All these had to be disyed which in the end, would form a small real world. How was this easy to achieve? "Unfortunately.....Xia Country and the nearby countries like Yuan Country and Wu Country are quite ignorant. These countries don¡¯t have any inheritance of Wu Zongs and also dream masters. Or else, I will have a group of people to consult with and I will not be struggling to explore on my own....." Fang Yuan was feeling regretful. He got up and went to patrol the garden. As he had reached Level 5 for his botany skills, he could shorten the time taken for the nts to grow. Hence, Fang Yuan nted all the spiritual seeds he had. The effect was the biggest on the me Jade Rice. The crops were heading and could be harvested soon. This applied to the other spiritual seeds as well, even for the seed of the Vermillion Fruit which would take a long time to grow and there were only slight changes to the seed every day previously. This had caused Fang Yuan to be in despair previously. "It is hard to get Vermillion Fruit, but I have lots of bamboo fruits...." Fang Yuan had managed to get a good supply of bamboo fruits from the spiritual bamboo for rainy days and let out a long whistle. "Chirp! Chirp!" In the sky, the cloud was separated and a Red-eyed White King Bird came flying down. Itnded right in front of Fang Yuan and rubbed its head against him. It showed a close rtionship with Fang Yuan. "Little White, I will need your help this time!" Fang Yuan touched the feathers of the Red-eyed White King Bird and gave it a smile. This bird was definitely better than the Iron-tailed ck Eagle in terms of ability. This bird was as powerful as a [Martial Artist (12th Gate)]. Plus it could get mad and fly, and hence it could fight against a Wu Zong! Since he was heading to the Summer Sun Prefecture, it would be a dangerous trip and hence Fang Yuan would want to bring another who could fight. "Iron-tailed ck Eagle, Flower Fox Ferret, please help to take care of the spiritual medicine when I¡¯m not around!" It has already been decided and Fang Yuan couldn¡¯t care what the other two spiritual beasts had thought of it. He immediately got onto the back of the bird and flew up into the sky. ... "It was rumoured that ever since Liu Yan entered the Summer Sun Prefecture, he didn¡¯t attack Huangshi City. Instead, he ordered to have the whole city on fire and the number of people who were either injured or killed was at least 10,000. From that day onwards, whenever he met a city which had resistance, he would order the city to be burnt and the whole Summer Sun Prefecture was like a living hell....." "Hoo! Hoo!" In the sky, the wind was very strong. Fang Yuan passed by Huangshi City and saw a ck contour line along the city wall and it looked as if like a scar. He then gave a light sigh. "Even though he has killed a lot of people, I will still have to admit that his method is a good one to disy his might!" "Also, as the Summer Sun Prefecture Master is killed, the whole Summer Sun Prefecture will have to listen to Liu Yan¡¯s orders in fear and no one will dare to disobey him. Liu Yan is on his way to dominating this prefecture....." Fang Yuan was speechless with regards to Liu Yan¡¯s actions. Liu Yan had admitted that he was not going to live any longer and he would die if he didn¡¯t make a breakthrough. It was expected of him to be so frenzy right before his death. "The sky is turning dark. I should find somewhere to rest and continue tomorrow!" He looked at the head of the bird and patted it lightly. The Red-eyed White King Bird let out a long chirp and started to descend. "Eh?" However, at that moment, Fang Yuan saw a bright light from the corner of his eye. The light wasing from Huangshi City and it was flirtatious. ....... "Demon! A demon!" A troop of soldiers from the Summer Sun Prefecture cried out loud and were running in all directions. Behind them, there was a bright red light blinking and it formed a shape of a Blood Python. The python chose its target and started biting the target! In fact, it had already done that. "Ssss..." The huge python looked real and the scales on its body were very clear. Its rolled its red tongue out and one of the soldiers who ran away the slowest was being swallowed. The blood of the soldier was absorbed and it spat back out a dry corpse. It seemed like it was ying with its prey. It didn¡¯t kill the soldiers all at once and instead, it caused the soldiers to spread out and run away. Then, it would catch them one by one and drink their blood, like a legendary demon. "Jie jie.....The Yang in the blood of the soldiers is just nice and the blood tastes good. This is benefitting me!" There was a person on top of the Blood Python. The person was wearing a blood red coloured robe and was demonic. "How dare you, demon!" A lieutenant from the Summer Sun Prefecture shouted at the demon and he was also a 4 Heavenly Gates martial artist. He then projected his voice to a distance away. "Since you are also a spiritual knight, how can you not know the protocol in Xia Country? A martial artist who has elemental force cannot attack any normal people randomly! Or do you want to be wanted by the 3 prefecture masters?" "Hehe.....the 3 prefecture masters?" The person gave a demonic smile. "Sssss!" The Blood Python roared and the next moment, the lieutenant didn¡¯t have time to defend himself and was trapped by the tongue of the Blood Python like a dumpling. "Liu Yan from the Secluded Mountain Prefecture had broken the rules. He was killing people by setting the whole city on fire. Also, Summer Sun Prefecture Master Xia Yunqing was killed and the Clear Spring Prefecture Master Lan Xiaosheng had escaped with serious injuries.....Now, who else in the whole of Xia Country would dare to go against me?" That spiritual knight wasughing crazily and was feeling regretful. "Such opportunity to obtain blood openly in public was rare. Unfortunately, all the prefecture masters were taken away by Liu Yan and I pity them.....Hehe, their blood contained the grudges of tens of thousands of people. If their blood was given to me, I¡¯m afraid I would be able to reach the peak of the Elemental Gathering Realm instantly and I could try for the Elemental Breaking Realm....." "Evil thief!" A 4 Heavenly Gates martial artist could not handle a spiritual knight. That lieutenant had no choice but could only see his own blood being taken away and he would soon be a dry corpse. "You will be punished.....for your sins!" Before he died, the lieutenant¡¯s voice became hoarse and he cursed. "Jie jie......I will be punished?" The spiritual knight waved his hand and the dry corpse flew out. The corpse was split into a few portions as itnded on the ground. "I will still have to be fearful of punishments for my sins? In this country, who has the capability to punish me? Haha.....Haha....." Heughed loudly and was full of arrogance. However, theughter suddenly stopped, as if a duck had been grabbed by its neck. The remaining soldiers who had managed to survive looked up and saw a giant white shadow flying down quickly like a lightning. Within seconds, it was already at the head of the Blood Python. "Chirp! Chirp!" The white shadow moved and it revealed the Red-eyed White King Bird. It revealed its ws andnded on the Blood Python with much force. "Sssss!" The Blood Python let out a sorrowful cry and was pushed by about 35 yards away. A blood red fog started to spread and there was a foul smell. "Blood Demon, long time no see!" On the back of the bird, there was a young master whom as if was sent from heaven andughed. "Are you.....Fang Yuan?!" The Blood Demon could recognise that the person was Fang Yuan. When Lu Renjia was surrounded, he was thest to reach the battlefield and had met Fang Yuan that time. He was so frightened the previous time and hence he escaped. "I was finding a ce to rest but I didn¡¯t expect to meet my enemy. Don¡¯t even think of escaping today!" Fang Yuan looked at the dry corpses that were lying on the ground and sighed. "Humph! Stop bragging!" The Blood Demon¡¯s face got serious. He had decided on the spot to retreat that day as there was suppression from Liu Yan and he was not confident in dealing with 2 spiritual knights and 3 Wu Zongs at the same time! However, he was only dealing with one person currently! "Even if your power is doubled of a Wu Zong, you are still too arrogant!" The Blood Demon looked in all directions to make sure Fang Yuan was really alone. Then, his eyes were filled with anger. "I will dly ept your blood then!" Chapter 144: Decapitation Chapter 144: Decapitation Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "The world shall burn and drown in blood!" Facing the country¡¯s most gifted martial artist thus far, Blood Demon did not dare to hold back his abilities. His opening move was the highest level of the Blood Magic Technique. "Voom voom!" Streaks of blood appeared in a shield surrounding him, making it look like he was engulfed in mes. It was quickly expanding as Blood Demon charged towards Fang Yuan. Even though this was not the blistering Yang fire, it was the more lethal and virulent Yin fire. Once it contacts the skin, it would cause the flesh and bone to disintegrate instantly. "This is indeed the Blood Magic Technique!" Looking at this, Fang Yuan¡¯s eye lid jumped. The spiritual spell used by Blood Demon were simr to those in Fang Yuan¡¯s Blood Magic Manual. They were after all from the same source. Of course, inparison, it was evident that Blood Demon had already mastered the skills to the highest levels while Blood Killer andpany were not even worthy of being his disciples. However, to use this technique against him might seem very surprising. After all, the Blood Magic Manual was with him! "Rains of heaven!" In response, Fang Yuan steadily made a hand gesture and ayer of rain and cloud appeared. "Haha...Did you think my mes were normal fire?" Looking at this, Blood Demon broke into a mocking smirk. It was as though he was disdainful of Fang Yuan for underestimating him. However, his smirk widened into a shocked look of disbelief. This was because under Fang Yuan¡¯s maniptions, relentless drops of rain poured out of the clouds into the centre of the blood-coloured mes. "Ssh!" After a few huge loud explosions, the toxic mes that could engulf the entire world were extinguished. What was left were the white fumes that were beginning to disperse. "How is this possible?" Blood Demon was panic-stricken. Not only was Fang Yuan just a novice at spiritual spells. More significantly, he only used a simple spiritual disciple technique to sessfully counter the Blood Magic Technique. This was extremely intolerable to Blood Demon. Bead of cold sweat were beginning to form on his forehead. Based on what he felt, the drops of rain were incrediblypact and tough. Yet the rainfall was also as flexible and nimble as a fish. It went straight for the weak point of his spell andpletely caused it to fall apart. It was like hot knife cutting through butter. If he had heard of the ssic tale about the chef carving the cow¡¯s carcass, it would definitely be more surprised and shocked than he already was. This was because Fang Yuan only used a verymon technique which he had practised and mastered to perfection. Furthermore, he did not expand a significant portion of his energy and powers to do so. "This spiritual spell..." Huge beads of cold perspiration flowed from Blood Demon¡¯s forehead. He felt as though Fang Yuan had seen through him already. "You have killed many innocents for no reason andmitted several other heinous crimes. Today I will serve you the justice you deserve...Of course, these are not the main reasons. Who asked you to provoke me first!" Fang Yuan smiled, and a wavering streak of green light flew out from his palm. "Crap!" Blood Demon retreated instantly, and a dark red light appeared from his body, "Heavenly Blood Shield!" After setting up this defence, he turned on his heels and sped off without turning back. How could he fight against such an opponent? He would not dare to fight against Fang Yuan ever again in his life. After all, to fight against an opponent who could see through him was enough of a hellish experience. After experiencing it once, Blood Demon did not wish to go through it a second time. However, it was a pity as Fang Yuan was not going to let him off so easily. "Go!" With hismand, the streak of green light became extremely vibrant and flexible. It skirted along the sides of the red shield and caused it to vibrate violently. Then, the green light cut through the shield with ease. "Snap!" Blood Demon was taken aback. He saw his shield break open like an egg shell to reveal the green light. It looked like a weirdly shaped green dagger. "Ancient Green Serpent Dagger?" Of course, he was familiar with this weapon which was used by Lu Renjia formerly. "Pooh!" The Ancient Green Serpent Dagger flew towards him from extremely tight angles. Amidst all these, Blood Demon turned and bent over his waist into a painful angle as he attempted to dodge the weapon. Even so, the dagger pierced through his shoulder and sent blood sttering into the air. Fang Yuan panted violently like a hopeless beast. He was trying desperately to find a way to survive and was at the same time extremely dumbfounded by Fang Yuan¡¯s abilities. "You have already reached the peak of the Elemental Gathering Realm?" ring at Fang Yuan, these words came out of his mouth with great difficulty as he refused to acknowledge the facts. Fang Yuan breaking his spiritual spell earlier could be due to his carelessness and Fang Yuan¡¯s good fortune. However, with the dagger prating through his defences, it showed that Fang Yuan was indeed capable and there were no excuses this time. Without waiting for Fang Yuan to reply, several wounds on his body opened up and blood flowed from them. It was almost as though he was dipped into blood. "Hehe, I will remember you! Blood Escape Technique!" With this shout, Blood Demon transformed into a ray of red light and shot away with amazing speed. Previously, he also used a simr technique while escaping from Liu Yan and Taoist Mu Li. Even though Taoist Mu Li had a spiritual bird, he was also unable to catch him. "Red-eyed White Bird King! Rage!" At this point, it was evident that Blood Demon might not be that lucky again. With a shout, Fang Yuan leapt onto the Red-eyed White Bird King. The bird cawed continuously. The tips of its feathers turned into a bright red bloody colour. Its originally blistering speed increased by five times! With a sh of white light, it easily caught up with Blood Demon. "How is this possible?" Blood Demon waspletely at loss of what to do. This technique was hisst resort. Whenever he executed it, it would take up a huge portion of elemental force. It even had negative side effects such as causing him to sustain serious injuries or decreasing his powers. Of course, with such risks involved, the results were outstanding. It enabled him to travel at a speed so fast that even a normal spiritual bird could not keep up with him. Ever since Blood Demon trained and mastered the Blood Magic Technique, he had always relied on this technique as a trump card and reassurance to do whatever he wanted. However, how was it possible that the spiritual bird Fang Yuan was riding could keep up with him? Blood Demon was shocked to the core. Not only was Fang Yuan able to reach the peak of the Elemental Gathering Realm at such a young age, how was it also possible for him to get a spiritual bird as powerful and ruthless? ¡®Something is wrong, this spiritual bird is obviously arge eagle. Its speed cannot be this fast!¡¯ Blood Demon tried to spur himself on "Even though this bird might be faster than me, it might be because of some secret elemental energy. As long as I can oust it, I still might escape!" Thinking about this, he drummed up his courage and bit off the tip of his tongue. He then spat out a mouthful of vital blood. "Ssh!" Riding atop Red-eyed White Bird King, Fang Yuan saw the traces of blood on the ground grew thicker with shades of purple. Blood Demon¡¯s speed increased by 3 times. "Hehe...you are now gambling your life on this?" Calmly, he took a few bamboo fruits and fed them to Red-eyed White Bird King and ordered, "Continue to chase after him, let¡¯s see how much more blood can he afford to spit!" "Kaw kaw!" Red-eyed White Bird let out a loud shrill and the feathers on it became even redder. With the enhancements of the bamboo fruits, the duration of its rage was extended. After some time. "What the...what creature is that? It has endless energy? This is not normal!" The rays from the Blood Escaping Technique grew weaker. Blood Demon was ghostly pale, and the ck colour of his hair faded to resemble a sickly and withering tree. He was unsteadily falling to the ground. Hearing the caws from the bird behind him, he opened his mouth with much difficulty, but he no long had enough vital blood. "Haha... it seems like my proud life will have to end in such a pathetic manner. This is retribution!" Blood Demon¡¯s coarse vocal chords made hisughter sound as horrendous as a crow. His vision went ck and he fell to the ground. "Hmm?" Red-eyed White Bird Kingnded majestically as Fang Yuan leapt off. He was slightly suspicious as he wondered, "Is he dead?" As the rays of light of the Escape Technique vanished, he saw Blood Demon. Blood Demon¡¯s corpse was in state way worse than those preserved by Fang Yuan. All the vital blood in him was expanded. "He exhausted himself by continuously using the Blood Escaping Technique" Fang Yuan then looked at the utterly exhausted Red-eyed White Bird King next to him and immediately fed it a few bamboo fruits, "Eat them slowly, do not worry, I still have many more for you..." If Blood Demon came to live and saw this, he would definitely die of anger again. "Green Serpent! Go!" Looking at the breathless Blood Demon, Fang Yuan still refused to leave anything to chance. Waving his hand, a green ray of light appeared and shot towards Blood Demon, slicing off his head. Only then did Fang Yuan truly believe he was dead. "You are indeed a special fellow, even though you died such a pathetic death..." Fang Yuan then unhesitatingly stepped up to search his body. He was very interested to find what a spiritual knight had in his possessions. Sadly, Blood Demon was a poor devil. He had nothing else on him except for a jade scroll. Fang Yuan then used his magical will to look through Blood Demon¡¯s corpse. He found the lower portion of the Blood Magic Manual. It seemed like Blood Demon had some form of rtion to Blood Killer. It was a pity that the two of them were killed by Fang Yuan, but Fang Yuan could not be bothered to find out more. "These types of unscrupulous issues are not worth my time. But the Blood Escaping Technique does seem promising!" Fang Yuan was not interested in the Blood Magic Technique at all, but he was pleased to find the Blood Escaping Technique in the lower portion of the Blood Magic Manual. Undoubtedly, even though the Blood Escaping Technique used up a lot of energy, it was more of a benefit than a loss to someone who mastered it. "However, is this all a spiritual knight possessed?" Fang Yuan could not believe this. Thinking of how Blood Killer behaved, he waved his hand. The robes on Blood Demon were torn open instantly to reveal the naked corpse of Blood Demon. "Eh?" At this time, something caught the attention of Fang Yuan. A patch of skin on Blood Demon¡¯s chest looked different from the skin on the rest of his body. Evidently, something was done to it. Fang Yuan waved his hand. With a sh of green light, the piece of skin flew into Fang Yuan¡¯s palm. "What a brilliant way to hide this!" This piece of skin was treated before. It was extremely simr to human skin. As it covered Blood Demon¡¯s flesh for some time, it was not immediately obvious that it was not human skin. It was only because the way in which Blood Demon died caused his muscles to shrink, exposing the difference to Fang Yuan. "Could this be a special technique too?" In the extremely thin piece of leather, it could only store at most a sheet of paper. When Fang Yuan opened it, his eyes widened, "This is..." In his hands was a piece of old map. The lines and colours on it were extremely familiar to Fang Yuan because he already had two other simr pieces! "The third piece of the treasure map!" Chapter 145: Plot Chapter 145: Plot Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "This is heaven¡¯s will!" In front of Fang Yuan, the three damaged treasure mapsbined into one and transformed into aplete map which outlined an area with a red dot at its centre. It was only when the three maps werebined before the information was revealed. Even if an outsider possessed a copy of the map, it was worthless as the true copy was required. "The first map was a gift from Han Shou, the second map was obtained from the Five Ghosts Sect from Lieyang County...and this third map was with the Blood Demon..." Fang Yuan rubbed his eyebrows as he pondered. "Wait...ording to the findings of the Five Ghosts Sect, the third map was with the third disciple of ¡¯that master¡¯[1] who had left the country...and this Blood Demon was coincidentally a spiritual knight who travelled the 4 seas...Could he be the descendant of the third disciple?" His eyes brightened, "If that is really true, a lot of things would make sense!" From the Blood Magic Technique, the Blood Demon and the Blood Killer were somehow linked, and if the Blood Demon was the descendant of the ¡¯that master¡¯, he would surely know the secret of the treasure map. If that was the case, it was no coincidence that the Blood Killer and the Five Ghosts Sect Master knew each other and were likely to be influenced by the Blood Demon to act as a spy to locate the other 2 maps. Even the Blood Killer¡¯s action of swallowing the treasure map would make sense. Although this was just a spection, Fang Yuan felt that the guess was not far off from the truth. "I seem to have an affinity with treasures recently. I have just obtained Lu Renjia¡¯s secret mansion and another bigger treasure awaits me..." Fang Yuan carefully examined the map. There were a few mountain ranges and water bodies on the map that appeared foreign to Fang Yuan. However, he was certain that he would be able to track down the location of the treasure if hepared the map with the maps of Xia Country and the neighbouring countries. "The treasure must be really important. From the methods of ¡¯that master¡¯, there might even be risks. Now is not the time to be impatient!" Fang Yuan leapt onto the Red-eyed White Bird, "Time to go to Liu Yan¡¯s banquet...just that..." He looked at his surroundings and appeared to be perplexed, "Where is this ce?" ... Just as Fang Yuan chased too far and left the borders of the Summer Sun Prefecture, and had to hurry back. Summer Sun Prefecture City. The prefecture city had undergone many changes. After the fire, the city walls still remained. However, the original gs had now been reced by the gs of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Armed Force. There were few pedestrians on the streets and they hurried with their head down. They would asionally nce up at the gs and the soldiers, their eyes full of hatred. The Prefecture Master¡¯s Residence was bustling with activities. Ever since Liu Yan disyed his unparalleled military might, the Sects within Summer Sun Prefecture had started toe forward to surrender. Furthermore, Liu Yan had gathered the Wu Zongs and the spiritual knights and consolidated his power to with an air of unifying Xia Country. Banquets were hosted in the Prefecture Master¡¯s Residence for days and nights and the residence was extraordinarily lively. Rare and precious spiritual items, especially fire-type items were confiscated by his troops and delivered to his residence. "Adding oil to a zing inferno, what good luck!" Outside the residence, an old man who was previously secretly conversing with Xie Lingyun gazed in front of him, his eyes appeared to sh. He turned, and looked at Xie Lingyun, "Princess, are you ready?" Xie Lingyun bit her lips and appeared to be helpless, "Even you said that that man possessed good luck, why are we even fighting so hard against fate?" The Taoist Elder was not only of high cultivation level, in the spiritual knight world, he possessed all kinds of abilities. Xie Lingyun had previously experienced his powers and did not dare neglect it. "That is incorrect!" The Taoist Elder shook his head, "While Liu Yan possessed good luck, his fate is like a bonfire which requires an endless supply of firewood to keep it burning. However, his energy is starting to diminish and he does not have much time left. He had spent much of his energy in defeating the two prefecture masters previously. If we act now, he would have no chance to live." Xie Lingyun was hesitant and did not speak. "Hehe...unless you want to see him unify the prefectures and eventually enter the capital and usurp the throne?" The Elder Xuan Sheng sneered. "Of course not. It is just that your conditions are too harsh...for the two families to be inws and divide the counties. The Secluded Mountain Prefecture have 6 counties which belong to the country......our ancestors fought countless of wars to create this. How can we easily give this up?" Xie Lingyun replied slowly. "Since the passing of the King of Xia, the three Prefecture Masters have coexisted side by side. Thesends only belong to the royal family nominally..." Elder Xuan waved his hand, "Furthermore...you have already agreed to be with the king and even sign the documents. Are you trying to go back on your promise now?" "Of course not!" Xie Lingyun red at the elder, "Lingyun just wanted to remind Elder Xuan that we hope that Wu Country would abide by the agreement. While Xia Country might not be as strong, we still have an army!" "Of course!" Elder Xuan turned red, "When you are married to our king, Xia Country and Wu Country would be united. The king of Xia would be the father-inw of our king. Of course, we woulde to your aid. Once we have gotten rid of Liu Yan, Xia Country would be able to reim the Summer Sun and the Clear Spring Prefectures. That would be a cause for celebration!" "I certainly hope so!" Xie Lingyun sighed deeply, "I have already brought the Wuzong from my country. The spy within the City Master Prefecture would assist you too. When are you going to act?" "Liu Yan had already been exposed to the Elemental Opening Bottleneck. Ordinary traps would not work on him. Only by pressuring with an ambush by an army would work on him!" Xuan Shengughed,"I brought the imperial advisor of Wu Country, the Blood Demon and the elders as backup especially for today. With the Wuzong and the spy in the residence, Liu Yan has no chance of surviving." "Imperial advisor of Wu?" Xie Lingyun appeared to be afraid upon hearing the title. "Haha...if he did not offer his help, who would dare to take on Liu Yan? Now princess, do you believe in our sincerity?" Taoist Elder Xuan Shengughed loudly. He took out a string of firecrackers and tossed it into the air, causing it to explode mid-air. "Honghong!" In the deafening st, an overpowering aura could be felt. A man flew forward on a Qingye spiritual weapon and boomed, "I am Wu Wudao! Where is Liu Yan?" "Imperial Advisor of Wu?" Liu Yan and Taoist Mu Li flew out of the residence on the back of the Wind Chasing Falcon, their expressions solemn. This was especially true for Liu Yan. With just a look, he could tell that the person in front of him was no less powerful than him. They were both at the peak of the Elemental Gathering Realm and were stuck at the bottleneck. "Wu Country and Xia Country had never interfered with each other¡¯s state affair. Why is the imperial advisor here?" Liu Yan asked loudly. "The devoted took to the task when the victims begged for help!" Wu Wudao wore a golden helmet. His face looked boorish and he sported many battle scars. His cape flowed with the wind and he gave out an overbearing presence. He was a highly skilled spiritual knight. "Victims begged for help?" Liu Yan¡¯s eyebrows appeared to be smoking, "Those traitors in the capital! I should have disposed of the royal family first when I had the chance!" "It is toote to say all these. Come!" Wu Wudao beckoned. "Come!" Liu Yan¡¯s expression was grave. He spoke to Mu Li, "You go first and rally the troops and guard against any raid!" "Understood!" Mu Li retreated before his expression changed. He aimed for Liu Yan¡¯s back and struck him. "You..." Liu Yan could not react to this betrayal in time and was struck by Mu Li. His face turned red and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. "How dare you!" He ground his teeth and his surroundings were set aze. The Wind Chasing Falcon below him caught fire and turned into a massive ze in the sky. "Please forgive me! I have my reasons to do so!" Taoist Mu Li stood behind Wu Wudao and said, "I originally worked for the Xia royal family. My previous interactions with you were all a facade!" "Haha, well done!" Xuan Sheng witnessed the scene and raised his eyebrows, "I did not expect that the princess would insert a spiritual knight as a spy next to Liu Yan. This level of deception makes me feel so inferior now." "This is insignificant. Act now. I do not want the Secluded Mountain Prefecture to be given the opportunity to rise again!" Xie Lingyun¡¯s words were cold. It was time to remove the problem at its roots now that she had already acted! "Very well! With our underhand methods and the reputation of the princess, we will aplish great things within the Summer Sun Prefecture!" Taoist Elder Xuan Sheng gave the signal and not long after, the whole Summer Sun Prefecture was in a state of unrest. "Prefecture Master!" Leader Niu and his man rushed forward towards the area where the Wind Chasing Falcon fell upon seeing Liu Yan being ambushed. "Hong!" Spiritual strength spurted out and shredded the corpse of the Wind Chasing Falcon. Liu Yan walked out slowly, "I am fine!" The corner of his mouth was dripping with fresh blood that contained a tinge of green. "Master Liu, there is no need to use the Wind Chasing Falcon to instigate me..." Taoist Mu Li spoke coldly, "You are heavily wounded at your core and poisoned badly. How much more spiritual energy do you think you can harness?" "Taoist Mu Li, you would dare to do such a thing?" Leader Niu bellowed. "When two armies go to war, unscrupulous methods would naturally be utilized!" Wu Wudaoughed, "Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know this?" "Haha...good!" Liu Yan appeared to be breathing weakly. However, his eyes were bright, "There will only be one survivor in today¡¯s battle!" [1] ¡¯That master¡¯ refers to an individual that has not been unveiled as of this chapter. Chapter 146: Death Chapter 146: Death Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Hmmmm? That is..." Fang Yuan rode on the Red-eyed White Bird and soared above the nine heavens at an astonishing speed. As he reached the borders of the Summer Sun Prefecture City, his expression grew serious. Immerse spiritual pressure could be felt in the direction of the prefecture city. The city was aze and was covered in thick ck smoke. The scene looked apocalyptic. "Could it be that Liu Yan felt that burning the eight cities was not enough and wanted to burn down even the Summer Sun Prefecture?" Fang Yuan spat, his face solemn. In the prefecture city, a plot was being carried out against Liu Yan who was surrounded by assassins! "Given Liu Yan¡¯s current prowess, only those who are extremely skilled and hold high appointments in the country would be able to force him to this stage...could it be that the wheel of fate has turned? He had not even gotten the Wu Zongs and the spiritual knights in the two prefectures to swear their loyalty to him and it appears that he is going to be disposed of first..." Fang Yuan smiled. He did not know if Liu Yan would be a blessing or a bane in the future. At least now, he would not be forced to take sides. "Little White, fly higher!" Fang Yuan gave the orders to the Red-eyed White Bird after he thought through it. It would be safer for him not to take sides and instead observe when the two sides shed. .... Aspared to Fang Yuan, the countless people in the prefecture city were not as calm. "Houhou!" In the sky above the residence, 9 scarlet fire dragons with their tails intertwined together were spitting mes. This caused the whole sky to be painted crimson red. "Heavenly Fire Dragon?" Xie Lingyun¡¯s emotion was a mix of fear and regret as she witnessed this scene, "Liu Yan had truly reached the Elemental Breaking Bottleneck!" "It is precisely so that will seal his fate!" Xuan Sheng spoke without a moment¡¯s hesitation, "In the neighbouring Wu Country, Yuan Country...and even Xia Country do not have a spiritual knight who has reached the Elemental Breaking Bottleneck take on amand position. Who would wish to have a superior if they are powerful leaders themselves?" Xie Lingyunughed bitterly. She did not know why but a silhouette of a youth appeared in her mind. She knew that he was an exceptional genius who had the potential to surpass Liu Yan given enough time. "Wu Wudao! I will bring you down along with me if I die today!" Liu Yan stood on top of the fire dragon¡¯s head, his eyes fixed on the Imperial Advisor. His hair was in a mess and his chest was riddled with holes. He looked sinister and let out augh. He bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of purple-red blood. His pores opened and beads of blood started to flow out to form a figure of a man from the blood. "ming Blood Secret Technique! Scarlet Dragon Fire Pill...explode!!!" "Houhou!" The nine fire dragons let out a cry before they each spat out an illusionary pill the size of a fist. The pillsbined to be the size of a human head, raging with mes and flew towards Wu Wudao. "Chhh!" Wu Wudao did not dare to becent and hurriedly dodged the attack. However,yers andyers of the Five Elements Light appeared on his body and surrounded him. In that instant. The fire pill pursued Wu Wudao and shed with his defence. "Honglong!" The heavens and earth turned dark. The wind howled and tore at the ground. "Cough cough..." Taoist Elder Xuan Sheng looked at the sky amidst the dust, "Shit... If the Blood Demon was here, Liu Yan would have fallen into the trap with his previous technique and would be subdued by the Blood Demon!" "Why is he not here?" Xie Lingyun asked coldly. "This.....how would I know?" Xuan Sheng looked around and saw something. He immediately leapt forward, "Imperial Advisor sir, are you okay?" "Cough Cough.....I am fine!" Xie Lingyun followed closely behind and arrived at a badly damaged stone wall. She could see a person with torn clothing and badly burnt skin. His abdomen was pierced by a metal spear and he was nailed upon the wall, fresh blood trickled from his wound. Upon seeing the arrival of Xuan Sheng, his eyes brightened, "I may have been struck by Liu Yan¡¯s flying spear, but he had been struck by my God Searching Palm. Not even the deities can save him! The final victory is mine! Cough cough..." He appeared to be proud and spat out mouth after mouth of fresh blood. "Don¡¯t mind me, go and collect Liu Yan¡¯s corpse! Also, get rid of all the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Armed Forces, especially the three Wu Zongs!" Wu Wudao waved them away and grasped the metal spear. With a yank, he pulled out the spear which resulted in his blood gushing out from his body. "Understood!" Xuan Sheng respected the Imperial Advisor. He stood up and gave the orders to his people. Behind him, Xie Lingyun witnessed the scene. After this incident, the prefecture city was badly damaged. In addition to the destruction of the cities, the Summer Sun Prefecture was greatly weakened. After Liu Yan¡¯s death, Wu Country would gain the Secluded Mountain Prefecture ording to the agreement which would further enhance their power. The strong ones would be stronger while the weak ones would be even weaker. Would Xia Country be able to fend off Wu Country¡¯s conquest after tens or hundreds of years? Lingyun was afraid that not even a small vige would be left! Her view was bleak when she thought about it. ... "Cough Cough..." After Liu Yan used the ming Blood Secret Technique, he was sure that he was going to die. He was immediately surrounded after he beat Wu Wudao. He was groggy and could not remember what happened next. It was then when a small ze that went down his throat and spread through his body caused him to wake up and open his eyes. He could see that he was in a cave. The floor was wet. It was dark and silent. The moss that grew at the sides were covered in dew drops. "I...I..." He opened his mouth and realized that his voice was coarse like sandpaper. He could not help but smile bitterly. Just the act of smiling caused him to feel like his body was being torn apart. After being struck by Wu Wudao¡¯s God Searching Palm, he hadpletely lost his Elemental Force that he had painstakingly trained and was now useless. It was a miracle that he was still alive after sustaining such grave injuries. ¡¯I must have been saved by a master or unknowingly swallowed some treasure for me to be still hanging on to my life.¡¯ Liu Yan¡¯s eyes lit up with hope as he realized that there was someone there. "Master Liu, are you awake?" The voice was familiar. The other person took out a Bright Moon Pearl which lit up the whole cave. Liu Yan was astonished. "It¡¯s you! Fang Yuan!" "Of course it¡¯s me!" Fang Yuanughed and sat beside Liu Yan, "Who else would be able to save your life other than me? What happened in the Summer Sun Prefecture City?" From his question, Liu Yan was convinced that Fang Yuan was not a member of Wu Country. Liu Yan remembered his defeat and his expression grew dark, "The Imperial Advisor of Wu challenged me to a fight, Taoist Mu Li was a spy and betrayed my troops and I..." He did not have to use his brain to guess that the troops and even the three Wu Zongs in the prefecture met their ends. "Imperial Advisor of Wu?" Fang Yuan nodded his head and looked at Liu Yan, "You are gravely wounded and your magical energy is diminishing. There is no doubt that you will die! I can only prolong your life for a while longer. If you have any regrets, do say now!" "You would help me seek revenge?" Liu Yan¡¯s eyes were burning. "No..." Fang Yuan smiled, "If you request something that is not too difficult and my mood is good, I will help you. If the task is too difficult, dream on. I will just bury you and we will be even!" Liu Yan flushed. He could not speak out any more requests. After a while, he sighed, "I regret not being able to break through the Elemental Breaking stage..." "I am afraid that you would still be involved even if you wanted to stay out of it, Brother Fang!" "Oh? Why is that so?" While Fang Yuan could deduce as much, his heart sank when he heard what Liu Yan said. "Haha... why did Wu Country agree to help out this time? This is because the Xia Country Royal Family gave them sufficient incentives! Hmm! Those stupid worms, other than the state, what is there to sell? I am not sure of the other conditions, but I am sure one of them would be dividing thend in return!" "Dividing ofnd?" Fang Yuan stroked his chin, "The Secluded Mountain Prefecture would be affected by the drawing of the countries¡¯ boundaries!" "That Wu Country...cough cough..." Liu Yan coughed, his whole face red. It was obvious that his time had arrived, "...had coveted the Secluded Mountain Prefecture for a very long time. It was previously prevented by me. Now, it is up to you. Brother Fang, I still had a favour to ask of you and I hope that you would not decline!" "Speak first!" Fang Yuan¡¯s face was distorted. "I hope that you would take over the position as the Prefecture Master of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture!" Liu Yan said solemnly. "Me?" Fang Yuan pointed at himself. He was speechless. The position of Prefecture Master had always been held by the most powerful. As of now, there was no one more suitable than him. "That¡¯s right, this is my way of revenge and is definitely beneficial for you too!" Liu Yan struggled before he managed to take out a ck seal and passed to Fang Yuan. "This seal enables you to takemand of the troops in the 6 counties within the Prefecture...I still have some treasure in the residence. They are now yours! Remember that the Wu Country is very greedy and ambitious. They will not let any outsiders break through to the Elemental Breaking Realm. Theye for me this time and they will not let you go next time!" Liu Yan used his remaining energy to tightly grasp Fang Yuan¡¯s hand. Not long after, the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master who had astonished numerous countries took hisst breath and passed away. Chapter 147: To Seize Chapter 147: To Seize Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Secluded Mountains Prefecture Master?" Within the cave, Fang Yuan looked at the body of Liu Yan and the ck Secluded Mountain Seal in his hand. He pondered without speaking for half a day before he shook his head. "He has really given me a tough problem!" There was no doubt that Liu Yan was selfish and wanted Fang Yuan to avenge him before he passed away. The position to be the Prefecture Master was a bait! However, Fang Yuan had to admit that Liu Yan said was true. In the struggle for power, those spiritual knights who were close to surpassing the Elemental Opening Realm would be a thorn in the flesh of the countries. Then what about him, the genius who was just barely over 20 and had already surpassed the Elemental Force Realm in both martial arts and magical prowess? He was able to enjoy peace previously as the Secluded Mountains Prefecture already had Liu Yan who was targeted. Furthermore, they did not realise that his rate of improvement would be so frightening. If Wu Country had found out that Fang Yuan had already reached the peak of the Elemental Gathering Realm, he would suffer the same fate as Liu Yan. When he had taken over the position as the Prefecture Master, he would draw attention and trouble from all sides and would not be able to hide away from them even if he were to hide in the deep mountains! "This is the dilemma! Both sides would not be able to feel at ease with each other, especially after the death of Liu Yan..." Fang Yuan sighed, "Only when one side is destroyed, or when absolute dominance is achieved would there be peace, if not, there will be war and lives lost!" His name had already reached the ears of Wu Country. Furthermore, Liu Yan was no longer there to protect him. Once Xia Country had divided the Secluded Mountains Prefecture, he would be under the jurisdiction of Wu Country. His fate would no longer be under his own control. "It appears that I should take on this position!" He could either choose to escape far away or go against Wu Country. As he was pressured by both sides that were on the verge of war, it was naturally better for him to take on the position and consolidate his power in the Secluded Mountains Prefecture. "I will y with all of you!" Fang Yuanughed. The greatest difference between Liu Yan and him was that he was still young and had a lot of resources. If things did not go his way, he could easily escape on his eagle. There will always be another opportunity for him toe back. Only when he was willing to lose would he gain. After all, Fang Yuan was not a dead man hanging from a tree. ... He would do what he thought of. Fang Yuan¡¯s speed was unmatched due to the Red-eyed White King Bird. He reached the Secluded Mountains Prefecture City even before the news of what happened in the Summer Sun Prefecture reached. "In terms of speed, my Red-eyed White King Bird is unmatched...however, the news are not just spread by men. If Wu Country wasing, they would have mobilized their troops by now..." Fang Yuan circled the city another round before patting the Red-eyed White King Bird. Together, they descended in front of the City Master¡¯s Residence. "Who are you?" In an instant, a group of soldiers surrounded him. Upon seeing that it was Fang Yuan, they immediately shrank back. They could remember that Fang Yuan did not even give the Prefecture Master any face. What about them? They saluted Fang Yuan, "Wee Master Fang!" "Hmm, where is the City Guardian? Bring me to him!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and asked. "The City Guardian is sick and would not be entertaining any guest, we are really sorry!" An officer of the army turned pale and immediately said upon hearing Fang Yuan¡¯s request. "Oh? Sick? All the more I should pay him a visit!" Fang Yuan smiled and arrived next to him, "Have you forgotten that I am the famous doctor within the prefecture? What illness does the City Guardian have? Let me go and have a look!" "This..." It was obvious that the officer was hiding something. His eyes were shifty and just as he was about to speak, Fang Yuan grabbed him and his body went limp. "Lead the way!" Fang Yuan appeared to be smiling but his words wereced with threat. He possessed immerse martial arts and could easily act before the bystanders were able to react. "Okay..." The officer knew that he would die if he were to challenge Fang Yuan. From an outsider¡¯s point of view, Fang Yuan was amiable and was bantering with the officer. However, the officer knew better and could only lead Fang Yuan towards the residence with a bitter face. "Shula!" Upon reaching the courtyard, Fang Yuan could hear the sound of armour dragging against the floor in the surroundings. The troops of soldiers stepped forward, their swords unsheathed and their arrows aimed at Fang Yuan. A ck-faced officer raised up an emblem, "The City Guardian ordered that he would not entertain any visitors today. Please leave!" "Hmmm? What courage!" Fang Yuanughed and boomed, "Even if Liu Yan was here, he would not dare to use this tone to talk to me! Could it be that you are giving false orders and conspire against me?" The atmosphere in the prefecture city had been weird these few days. Even the vice city guardian imed to be ill and would not see any guests. A few soldiers wavered and shrank back. While the ck-faced officer was their superior and even carried the emblem, they should not be expected to fight with a person that was both a Wuzong and a spiritual knight! How many brothers-in-arm would be wounded or killed if they were to take part in the fight without the support of a martial artist who had reached the Elemental Force Realm? "Not obeying the orders would make you a traitor! Kill!" It was impossible for the ck-faced officer to back down. Hemanded, "Those who retreat will be killed!" The soldiers were well trained and upon hearing themand of their superior, they fired their arrows towards Fang Yuan without hesitation. This caused the captive in Fang Yuan¡¯s hand to cursed, "You dare hurt me?!" "Xiuxiu!" The arrows rained down. The unfortunate officer had just scolded a sentence before he was riddled with holes from the arrows, much like the hives of bees. Fang Yuan wore a smile as the arrows passed through him as if the arrows were passing through the surface of the water in theke, causing no harm except for a few ripples. "Illusion? That¡¯s not good!" The ck-faced officer immediately retreated. The spiritual talisman on his body lit up and a wall of water rose behind him. "Shadowstep!" In the blink of an eye, Fang Yuan appeared before the officer and reached out to grab him. "You want to stop me with just a spiritual talisman?" "Kacha!" Under the surprised gaze of the ck-faced officer, the wall of water shattered like an eggshell. It did not even manage to dy Fang Yuan for a while. Fang Yuan grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up. "You are a spiritual disciple and yet, you are working as an officer in the army. What a waste of talent!" He teased before looking around. Countless of soldiers did not dare look him in the eyes and instead hung their heads down. "I am an outsider and an enemy of the City Guardian. The Prefecture Master begged me to create chaos and set things right. You, bring me to the City Guardian!" He randomly pointed to a soldier at the side, "Don¡¯t dare?" "Well..." The soldier hesitated and was struck down by Fang Yuan. "This person is a traitor!" He turned to another soldier. "You, bring me there fast, if not you will meet the same fate as him!" Wu Country had already infiltrated the Secluded Mountains Prefecture Armed Forced and even controlled the City Guardian. However, Fang Yuan was sure that there were still some who were loyal. Fang Yuan was in no rush and could slowly ask one by one. After killing 3 or 4 people, a soldier could no longer bear it and knelt down to beg, "Sir, please spare us. We were forced by the officer. I will bring you to see the City Guardian immediately!" "Let¡¯s go!" As more and more soldiers and officers gathered around looking suspicious, Fang Yuan smiled and asked the soldier to lead the way. Not long after, they arrived at a small courtyard. Fang Yuan immediately kicked the door of the room open and saw a few people surrounding the bed as if to shift a patient. Upon seeing Fang Yuan breaking in, they instinctively thought to silence him. Fang Yuan was caught off-guard. "How dare you seize the City Guardian?" Fang Yuan shut his eyes and a spiritual light glowed in his hand. A green thread flew out and circled the interior of the room. The few people where inner power experts and there were 2 martial artists who had reached the 4 Heavenly Gates. However, Fang Yuan was too fast and before they understood what was happening, had turned into souls under the de of the Ancient Green Serpent Dagger. "The City Guardian was really seized?" Outside, countless of officers rushed forward and were stumped when they saw the patient on the bed, "Hei San [1], how can you do this?" "Enough, all of you get out, after everything is settled, I will let you see your City Guardian!" Fang Yuan tossed Hei San aside as if he was trash and said. Fang Yuan had already established his position amongst the soldiers. A few officers looked on in dismay before balling up their fists and left. Not long after, shouting could be heard before it turned peaceful once again. Fang Yuan came to the side of the bed and looked at the unfortunate City Guardian. The City Guardian was at the 4 Heavenly Gates before he fell into the trap set by Wu Country. His fate was no longer up to him to decide. "Poisoned? Simple!" Given his medical abilities, he had no trouble curing this man. After analyzing his conditions, Fang Yuan gave him a Yama¡¯s Order and waited. After a while, the City Guardian sat up and spat out a mouthful of ck blood. The colour returned to his face and he saluted, "Zhang Qingfeng is grateful for your aid!" "Hmmm, was this done by Wu Country?" Fang Yuan put his hands behind his back and asked. Zhang Qingfeng replied, "I have a close confidante who was bought over by them. They could not buy me over and instead poison me. I am afraid that if they did not have any use for me..." Cold sweat started to form on his forehead as he thought about what could happen. "Good, do you recognize this?" Fang Yuan nodded his head and took out the Secluded Mountains Seal. "Ahhhh? This is..." Zhang Qingfeng was momentarily shocked. After he carefully looked at it, he kowtowed, "The humble servant meets the Prefecture Master!" "Do you not question this?" Fang Yuan was surprised. "Before the Prefecture Master left, he told me that whoever holds the Secluded Mountains Seal would be the Prefecture Master!" Zhang Qingfeng teared, "Furthermore, before they suppressed me, they revealed information which I thought was fake and that it was just to confuse me. I did not know that it was true...Master, you must avenge the previous Prefecture Master!" [1] Hei San is the name of the ck-faced officer. Chapter 148: Reform Chapter 148: Reform Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions ¡¯Revenge? If not for Wu Country¡¯s ill intentions, I wouldn¡¯t get myself involved in this mess!¡¯ Fang Yuan rolled his eyes but disyed a face of sincerity. He supported Zhang Qingfeng from his bed. "Don¡¯t worry. Since I¡¯ve epted the appointment as Prefecture Master, those who plot against the old Prefecture Master will be our enemies!" "Prefecture Master!" Zhang Qingfeng continuously paid his respects. "You have saved my life, and are determined to take revenge for the old Prefecture Master. From today onwards, my life is yours, and I will obey your everymand!" "Very well!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and had the exhration of ying a video game. "It is of utmost importance to gain control of Secluded Mountain Prefecture! The Secluded Mountain Prefecture City is the core of the entire prefecture! How confident are you in controlling the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Armed Forces?" "Quite confident!" Zhang Qingfeng replied without hesitation. "Although my martial arts is not that good, I can still train soldiers out. Most of the new soldiers out there were trained personally by myself! And as for the toon leaders, there were all rmended by me as well!" This was his saving grace, to convince Fang Yuan of his usefulness. "Very well. Later on, go outside and convince the soldiers to close up the four doors. Use the group of traitors as leads to find out who are the other spies, and clean up the city!" Fang Yuan ordered decisively. "Understood!" Zhang Qingsheng replied loudly and draped an armour over himself. He was, after all, a martial artist of the 4 Heavenly Gates and had Fang Yuan¡¯s aid. He recovered quite a bit already and regained his might after equipping his armour. As he opened the door, he could hear the cheers from the Secluded Mountain Prefecture soldiers. "Good!" Fang Yuan witnessed this scene and nodded his head. He knew that the Secluded Mountain Prefecture was finally under his control. ... The Secluded Mountain Prefecture City was especially crowded today. Previously, arge white bird intruded the city, followed by the chaos in the Prefecture Master¡¯s Mansion. While the crowd was unsettled, groups of soldiers went out to the streets and sealed the four doors. They enforced their patrolling as well. Even the dullest would have guessed that something big happened. All the residents were afraid of the unknown and closed their shops and houses. They hid in underground caves and shivered in fear, afraid of the violence that would ensue. "Chirp! Chirp!" With the sealing of the 4 doors and the lookout from above by the red-eyed white kind bird, the next step was to locate the spy families based on the sources and eliminate them. It was a fearful scene to behold. Even the most influential of families were among the list of families, and the entire family had to be removed. There were a few cases of retaliation, which could not be taken down by the normal soldiers. The highly skilled martial artists within the Prefecture Master¡¯s Mansion would then personally see to it. In a short while, the entire Secluded Mountain Prefecture was covered in blood. "Who would¡¯ve known that the Wu Country did not send a spiritual knight here, not even a Wu Zong... Otherwise, I¡¯ll have to personally see it!" In the Prefecture Master¡¯s Mansion, Fang Yuan wore a new set of grand robes and wore a crown on his head. He looked much more cultured than before, and became more gentlemanly, as he shook his head in disappointment. "It is rare to find martial artists that are able to harness elemental force, even in Wu Country, and they had to take charge of the various counties. To deploy manpower in the Summer Sun Prefecture and trouble the Secluded Mountain Prefecture is not an easy thing to do!" Zhang Qingfeng reported. He held a name list in his hand, with bloodstains on it. As he went through the name list, he was utterly shocked. "If I use my soldiers against all these people, I might have to lose thirty percent of them!" "Thirty percent is good enough already!" As Fang Yuan heard him, he snickered and looked at Zhang Qingfeng. "Now that the Prefecture City is under our control, what¡¯s next?" "If your predictions are right, that the Wu Country and the Xia Country¡¯s royal family came to an agreement, their next step would be to enter the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. Now that we do not have a footing, we might be plotted against by Summer Sun, Clear Spring Prefectures and the Royal Family! The most important thing to do now is to gather the forces of all 6 counties to witness your appointment, and announce to the world that you are in charge!" Although Zhang Qingfeng had yet to break through to Wu Zong, he had the looks of it and added, "Take this opportunity tomand Qinghe, Cangshui, Lieyang, Cangyi counties... Send their leaders to congratte you, and deal with those who are absent!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. In reality, this was how politicians show off. Those who were willing to witness his appointment as Prefecture Master were those who would willingly follow him and could be treated as their own people. Those who were not willing to even show their faces would be traitors, and there would be no qualms killing them. "However, there is something to be discussed..." Zhang Qingfeng continued, "The previous Prefecture Master brought his strongest allies to war with him, and from the numerous deployments of soldiers, we only have an army of 5,000, and including all those from the other counties, it would still not exceed 10,000. Furthermore, the majority of them are new and inexperienced soldiers, and are unlikely to be able to defend against the Wu Country¡¯s attack!" "The only solution is to force conscription for all families, and to investigate within Summer Sun Prefecture..." Fang Yuan was lost in his thoughts. "10,000 of our troops were destroyed in one day. There must be a few survivors, and the few capital leaders are Wu Zongs as well. Although they might have been trapped, they might still have a chance at survival. Sending people to Summer Sun Prefecture to investigate might have its returns." "Yes, Prefecture Master!" Zhang Qingfeng dismissed himself, with excitement written all over his face. Fang Yuan remained disappointed as he shook his head. Regardless, the Secluded Mountain Prefecture was still badly damaged. Even if he immediately recruited new soldiers and was able to instil loyalty in every one of them, it would still be akin to using a praying mantises arm to block a car against an infuriated Wu Country. Since he agreed to take up this appointment as Prefecture Master, he had confidence in achieving his objective. He could not reveal this secret, not even to Zhang Qingfeng, who had only just disyed loyalty to him a few days ago. "One of you!" As he walked out, he called for one of the soldiers toe towards him. "Prefecture Master, what instructions do you have for me?" This soldier kneeled on one knee and was rather respectful. "Rush to Qinghe County, Qingye City, and pass this letter to Zhou Wenwu!" Fang Yuan passed a letter to the soldier. Calling his own subordinate here was only normal. Since he was removing the spies, there would be vacancies for him to insert his own trusted subordinates. ... Many days had gone by. News of the change ofmand among the soldiers in Summer Sun Prefecture and the death of Liu Yan only reached Secluded Mountain Prefecture now, which shocked many. With Fang Yuan in charge of the Prefecture City, everyone was calm andposed since the spies were already wiped out. He walked to the centre and made an announcement with the Secluded Mountain Seal. He ordered for all families to mourn for the old Prefecture Master for three days, before preparing for his appointment ceremony. Outside the Prefecture City. Carriages passed by, as they could see the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City, like arge ck beast. "This is unthinkable... Who would¡¯ve guessed that I coulde to the Prefecture City in this status..." Yu Xinlou peeled the curtains and mumbled to himself after seeing the city. He was plotted against by other people and had to unwillingly give up his ancestor¡¯s business here before following Fang Yuan to Qingye City. However, there were so many changes in such a short period of time. The death of the Prefecture Master, and the appointment of Fang Yuan as the next Prefecture Master, who would have the power over thirty percent of the entire Xia Country! "This is very different now!" Yu Xinlou sighed and clenched his fist. "I must help Master to gain total control over the 6 counties!" "Dada!" "Dada!" Suddenly, a group of calvaries arrived outside the city gates. The carriage became tensed up. The people from Qingye City had the escort of the soldiers from Qinghe County and therefore went up to confront the calvaries. "Who are you people?" "I am the City Guard Zhang Qingfeng. I am under orders from the Prefecture Master to wee all of you!" Zhang Qingsheng stopped his horse and examined the people in the carriage. "Sorry to have troubled you!" Yu Xinlou hurriedly returned a greeting. "Let¡¯s not waste time, shall we enter the city!" As they entered the Prefecture City, the solemn atmosphere was overwhelming. Yu Xinlou¡¯s heat was heavy as he looked at one of the guards. As they entered the main hall, he sighed in relieve on seeing Fang Yuan seeing calmly in the seat of the Prefecture Master. He greeted him without ado. "Greetings, Sir, and congrattions on being appointed as the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master!" "Congrattions Sir! Congrattions!" Behind him, other than Zhou Wenwu who had to remain in Qingye City to take charge, the rest were here. Huang Fu Renhe, Zhang Sheng, and even Lanruo and Chen Ziying, his two disciples, were here as well to congratte him. "Mm, all of you are here just in time." Fang Yuan nodded his head and started to assign them their respective roles: "Yu Xinlou, you are the Nine Gates Administrator. Your job is to manage the trading in Nine Gates Trading Market, and let it function as normal!" "Zhang Sheng, you are the Prefecture City¡¯s Secret Guards Leader!" ... These were all originally his subordinates, but now they were given extremely high-status appointments. "Yes Sir, we willy down our lives for you!" After being appointed to their ministerial roles, these subordinates paid their respects once more, knowing that their fate was all intertwined with Fang Yuan. If he prospered, they would all prosper, but if he died, they would all die. "The most important thing now is my appointment ceremony. Work together to get it nned, and don¡¯t leave out any important guests and presents!" Fang Yuan casually instructed them, but as he was doing so, an excited voice interrupted him. "Prefecture Master, good news! Good news!" "Mm? Come in!" Fang Yuan waved his hands and saw Zhang Qingsheng waving a letter, full of excitement. "Thetest news from Summer Sun Prefecture is that the general that we have sent encountered arge Secluded Mountain Prefecture army of around 9,000 soldiers, and they were led by Leder Niu and Leader Xiang!" "Mm?" Fang Yuan stood up and was rather surprised. "Is this true? Both the capital leaders are all right?" "Leader Niu is alright, but Leader Xiang has mild injuries, but only superficial!" Zhang Qingsheng was overjoyed. "Haha... Good!" Fang Yuan was suspicious about the news, but all he disyed was a face of happiness. "Send someone to assist them!" "Congrattions, Prefecture Master! This calls for a celebration!" Yu Xinlou and the rest were all filled with excitement. Just as he started out on his appointment as a Prefecture Master, such good news already came his way. Indeed, it was blessing from the heavens. Most importantly, with this additional help, he could be much more confident. Chapter 149: The Ceremony Chapter 149: The Ceremony Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions It was the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the Xia Calendar. The day was marked as an auspicious one, and was a suitable day for those who wanted to start a business or travel. The weather was pleasant and there was a gentle breeze. Within the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, families took down the white cloths that were put up to mourn for Liu Yan, and changed to red cloths, in celebration of the appointment of the new Prefecture Master. Fang Yuan chose this date to hold his appointment ceremony. A few days ago, martial artists and sect masters from all over came to the Prefecture City, making it livelier than before. As the gates of the Prefecture City opened, guests and visitors flowed in. "The Governor of Lieyang County is here!" "The Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master is here!" "The Governor of Cangyi County is here!" "The gang leader of Giant Whale Gang is here!" ... As they reported their names, those who held high appointments within the Secluded Mountain Prefecture gathered in the main hall. Yu Xinlou andpany put in a lot of effort for the entire ceremony. From the rituals to the details on weing every guest, everything was settled very well, and had the vibe of an extremely important ceremony. "Master taking over as Prefecture Master is what everyone wants!" From afar, Fang Yuan watched silently, and behind him was Zhang Qingfeng, who eximed. "That¡¯s right, what everyone wants!" Fang Yuan wore a grand silk robe and a crown. He looked like a fine gentleman and had a domineering vibe. At his appointment ceremony, everyone was congrattory; no one had any opposing intent. Firstly, it was because there were all aware of the impending invasion from the Wu Country. No matter how capable this young man would be, he would still lose. Secondly was that Fang Yuan¡¯s appointment was official. There was an agreement stating that the strongest among the Prefecture would be the Prefecture Master. Based on skill, who could match up against the martial artist cum spiritual knight Fang Yuan? In terms of influence, he already had the loyalty of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Armed Forces, and his own base at Qinghe County, Qingye City. With Niu Dingtian¡¯s and Xiang Zilong¡¯s support when they return, there was no one else who could fight with him for this appointment. He had the skill and the means and therefore was only natural for him to be the Prefecture Master. Of course, with this appointment responsibilities woulde. "The auspicious time is here!" Apanying the firecrackers, the ceremony master¡¯s voice became louder. "Let¡¯s go!" Fang Yuan took the golden cloak over and draped it over himself. With the airs of a master, he walked into the main hall. "Greetings to Prefecture Master!" Every guest greeted him with a smile as he walked past. If not for his dream master cultivation and his shocking magical energy, he would not have known the true feelings of these guests. ¡¯Suspicious... afraid... fearful... There are only a few true loyal ones!¡¯ His mind was cold but he kept his joyful appearance. His footsteps were silent as he walked up to the stage. At one side, Zhang Qiingfeng looked serious as he held a tray with a ck seal on it. It was the Secluded Mountain Seal. In reality, all the loose ends were tied up; this was just a ceremony. "Prefecture Master, will you please have the Secluded Mountain Seal!" As drum beats were heard, Zhang Qingfeng kneeled down and presented the seal. "Mmm!" Fang Yuan held the seal in his hands and walked up to the Prefecture Master¡¯s seat. He sat down and appearedposed. "As Prefecture Master takes his seat, subordinates shall pay our greetings!" As the ceremony master eximed, even the most scheming subordinate had to follow the flow, kneel down and bow three times in respect. ¡¯This is a gentleman¡¯s pleasure!¡¯ Seeing the masses kneeling before him, Fang Yuan felt that he harnessed a huge power, which could make him go over his head easily. Fang Yuan being Fang Yuan, he was able to be awakened from the trance easily after countless training from dreams. It only took a simple thought for him to regain rity. Regardless if he was taking over Qingye City or taking control of Secluded Mountain Prefecture, it was simply just dealing with others. When it was time to give up, he could do so easily with little to no attachment to the power. "Life is like a game of chess, and the other people are like the chess pieces. As a Prefecture Master, I shall engage in a good game of chess with the surrounding countries!" Within a thought, Fang Yuan felt enlightened as the cultivation of his mind became deepened. The experiences in his dream world were ultimately fake. However, they were of a great assistance as training opportunities to cultivate his mind in the real world. As he regained hisposure, a clear voice travelled through the entire hall. "Everyone, please rise... As the new Prefecture Master takes his ce, we have a lot of unfinished business to settle, and I hope everyone will cooperate!" Everyone got up to their feet and looked at each other, and saw the majestic and young Prefecture Master, as everyone flinched in their hearts. "The messenger from Wu Country is here!" At this point in time, the door outside shook, and the ceremony master¡¯s voice of hesitation was heard. "Prefecture Master?" Niu Dingtian stood out. He was a boor and disyed his loyalty to Fang Yuan after knowing of Liu Yan¡¯s ns while he was alive. Fang Yuan only used those that he trusted as his subordinates, as he gave them important roles. It was the same for Xiang Zilong, except that he was still recuperating from his injuries. Niu Dingtian felt that the messenger was hostile. "Do you want me to chase him away?" "Today is an auspicious day, and all whoe are guests. Do invite him in!" Fang Yuan shook his head and passed his order down. Not long after, a skinny man in brown robes adopting a daoist priest appearance entered as he stared at Fang Yuan intensely. "I am Xuan Sheng, and I¡¯m here to congratte Prefecture Master¡¯s appointment on behalf of the Wu Country!" Daoist Elder Xuan Sheng cupped his hands, and without much respect, continued. "Presenting a hundred taels of gold, a pair of Ruyi, and an Imperial Letter!" "Imperial Letter?" Fang Yuan sighed. "What is it written?" Xuang Sheng stroked his beard and chuckled, as though he did not care that he was in enemy¡¯s territory, brimming with confidence. "This Imperial Letter is signed by the Xia Country¡¯s advisor, stating that thend of the entire Secluded Mountain Prefecture is now under the jurisdiction of the Wu Country!" "What?" With the news, the entire hall was in shock. Even though he had heard of the news of Xia Country giving upnd to Wu Country, he did not expect them to be crazy to the extent of giving up an entire prefecture to the neighbouring country! There was amotion in the entire hall. "Silence!" Fang Yuan appeared calm as he struck his right palm out. "Weng!" Arge energy was felt throughout the entire hall, as though everyone¡¯s neck was held and themotion stopped. A few people witnessed this scene and broke out in cold sweat. The fear from this new Prefecture Master was no less intense aspared to Liu Yan, which was an unbelievable thing. "... Based on the Imperial Letter, the Secluded Mountain Prefecture is now the property of the Qu Country. Your appointment as Prefecture Master will have to be approved by our country and written in our records before it is official!" Xuan Sheng continued to bber on. "My country¡¯s king loves talents. If you prepare a huge gift for him and follow me to see my country advisor, who else could snatch this appointment from you?" He tried to incite Fang Yuan, and even Niu Dingtian could note to a decision. Xuan Sheng was waiting patiently with anticipation. ¡¯Once Fang Yuan agrees, he would be officiated and the Secluded Mountain Prefecture would fall even without an invasion... Even if he is undecided, if he is willing to join the Wu Country, he would fall into our trap, and is still a good oue!¡¯ As he was thinking of the possibilities, Xuan Sheng looked at Fang Yuan and his eyes shone brightly. ¡¯Eh? This old daoist has ill intentions, and is still trying to confuse my divine spirit?¡¯ As he came into eye contact with Xuan Sheng, he felt his consciousness copsing, as he almost unknowingly agreed. But who is he? As his dream elemental force moved, he recovered from the trance and was infuriated. "Hehe... Who cares about the Xia Country¡¯s Imperial Letter?" "What?" Xuan Sheng¡¯s expression changed. "This man is young and possesses high magical energy. How could he escape from my Six Soul Eyes... Strong adversary! If he continues to develop, he would be a big threat to the Wu Country!" Only at this moment did he realise that his neck stiffened. He could not move away from Fang Yuan¡¯s re, as though he became a puppet, unable to move. "Bacsh!" Although his Six Soul Eyes were impressive, if his target was much stronger than him, it would result in a bacsh, and this bacsh might even kill him. Fang Yuan did not give him any regard. "Wu Country is a crazy country! The Wu Country¡¯s Imperial Advisor is greedy and cruel. The previous Prefecture Master died in your hands and now you want to convince me?" "My Secluded Mountain Prefecture can survive on its own, why bother about outsiders trying to seal us up? As for the Xia Country king, losing hisnd is such a disgrace and an ungentlemanly act. I will question him personally next time!" "Ah!" As he finished his words, Elder Daoist Xuan Sheng spat out a mouthful of blood. That was not all. As he covered his eyes, he wailed. As he got up to his feet, a pair of eyeballs fell out, leaving two bloody eye sockets, striking fear in anyone who saw him. "Good... Good..." Elder Taoist Xuan Sheng was pale, as heughed. "I have no foresight, and deserved this! But, Prefecture Master, don¡¯t get too cocky... My Wu Country¡¯s Imperial Advisor has already prepared an army of 100,000 soldiers at the boundaries of your PRefecture, waiting for themand to invade. Once the go-ahead is given, your tiny prefecture will be reduced to ashes!" This was a huge threat, and many who heard it were shocked to their wits. "Prefecture Master... Who would¡¯ve known..." Inside, Niu Dingtian was shocked beyond words, and could not say a single thing as he looked at Fang Yuan. He knew that this old daoist was highly skilled, and was equivalent to the level of a spiritual knight. He was still initially worried that Fang Yuan might be at a disadvantage. But look, by just staring at him, even his eyeballs could fall off? This scary move could even be stronger than Liu Yan¡¯s spiritual spells. "Very well, then bring my work to your Imperial Advisor!" Facing a threat, Fang Yuan chuckled. "Tell him, I am waiting for him toe here and die!" Chapter 150: Preparation Chapter 150: Preparation Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The sky was dark. There was supposed to be a banquet after the ceremony. However, the Secluded Mountains Prefecture was facing an imminent crisis. Those in power were not in the mood to be frivolous. They had either left the ceremony or were waiting for Fang Yuan to give his orders. "Prefecture Master!" Fang Yuan stood majestically on a high tform. Zhang Qingfeng arrived behind him and bowed deeply before reporting, "The names of those families and sects which have left the prefecture city have been taken down!" "Very well, once I have assumed my position, I will order leader Niu to bring his troops and use those people as examples to warn the rest!" Fang Yuan stroked his chin, his eyes shed coldly. How would Wu Country react to his disy of strength? ¡¯Even Wu Country has to pay for murdering Liu Yan. I would be able to buy some time if I disy my strength and confuse them further.¡¯ ¡¯There is no time to retrain the troops. However, there is sufficient time to flush out those traitorous families and sect!¡¯ Grand Hall. The candles burned brightly and lit up the surrounding. The surrounding four bronze pirs contained blocks of ice with pipelines to emit cold air but the people in the room still felt hot and uneasy. No matter what, no one would be at ease facing Wu Country. "The Prefecture Master ascend to his throne!" Following the music, the entire hall was silent. Fang Yuan sat upon the golden Nine Dragons Throne and looked down at the masses. Below him, Leader Niu, Zhang Qingfeng, Yu Xinlou, Zhang Sheng and a few other trusted aides were present. Upon seeing his arrival, the people who were feeling uneasy appeared to have found their pir of support. They quietened down and waited for his instructions. "Zhang Qingfeng, exin the situation!" Fang Yuan waved his hand as he maintained a poker face. "Yes, sir!" Zhang Qingfeng stepped forward, bowed at Fang Yuan before facing the crowd, "ording to my reports, the troops of Wu are gathering at the borders of the country. Their numbers are no less than 10,000! Furthermore, although the Summer Sun Prefecture is in shambles, there are troops being deployed in the Clear Spring Prefecture and the Xia Country capital. We cannot discount the possibility of an attack on multiple fronts! The army that we are facing in total might be more than 20,000!" The people in the hall shivered. "What about our side?" Fang Yuan was unconcerned and probed on. "We have gathered the troops in the 6 counties. In addition to the factions in the Summer Sun Prefecture, we have around 30,000 soldiers. Furthermore....most are new soldiers who did not have sufficient training!" Zhang Qingfeng said bitterly. The Secluded Mountains Prefecture was sorelycking highly-skilled warriors in the beginning. Now, even themon military might wascking aspared to other prefectures or countries. It was no longer as simple as a defeat but rather an irrevocable loss! "Very well! In my position as the Prefecture Master, I will now give the first order!" Fang Yuan¡¯s face remained unchanged upon hearing all kinds of bad news, "Those sects and families that are loyal to the Secluded Mountains Prefecture, fortify the defenses and gather at the prefecture city!" "At the same time, Leader Niu, bring the troops and purged the prefecture of those whose names appeared in the list!" "I want to make sure no enemy would get a single grain of rice or sway a single person in mynd!" .... The faces of the masses changed when they heard those words. "Sir..." Zhang Qingfeng said, "The enemy is too powerful. This n would only buy us some time but in the end, it would not be of any use... the Secluded Mountains Prefecture would be reduced to a swamp!" "Your loyalty ismendable!" Fang Yuan said, "I have my own ns and am making preparations. You do not have to say anything more and may go now!" Zhang Qingfeng retired. He was gloomy before he had a sudden realization. This Prefecture Master was barely over 20 years old and had already achieved so much in martial and spiritual arts. Could it be that he was also a genius in other fields? He was worried as he had seen many martial arts geniuses who created a mess when they tried their hands on other things. "Yes, sir!" Leader Niu answered loudly and was full of energy. "I had long wanted to teach those people a lesson! Now, they will know the power of the whip!" It was obvious that he wanted to punish the traitorous families who betrayed those in the Summer Sun Prefecture and would not go easy on them. "As for Leader Niu, you will recuperate your wounds to prepare for the oing battle!" Fang Yuan furtherforted Xiang Zilong. The two people were the most highly-skilled martial artists he had. "I am willing to serve the Prefecture Master and avenge the previous Prefecture Master!" Xiang Zilong used his remaining arm which could move to salute, "Xiang Zilong will follow all your orders!" "Very good, with the two of you working together, what can I not achieve?" Fang Yuanughed heartily and gave another order, "Yu Xinlou, I need you to help me collect some stuff, the greater the quantity, the better. As for you, Zhang Sheng, I would need you to make a trip to Xia Country capital and the Clear Spring Prefecture to deliver 2 letters!" "Yes, Sir!" "Understood!" Yu Xinlou and Zhang Sheng carried out their orders while Xiang Zilong pondered for a while before asking, "Prefecture Master, do you mean to cut ties with Xia Country?" He butted in, which resulted in Zhang Qingfeng feeling momentarily annoyed and Yu Xinlou to re at him. "That is naturally the case. After all, the Secluded Mountains Prefecture is given to Wu Country. Liu Yan is already dead. What other reasons do they have to remain as enemies?" Fang Yuan shook his head, "Even if they send troops to help Wu Country, it will just be a front and cause the neighbouring counties to strengthen their defense. This will buy us some time and allow us to battle Wu Country to decide the victor!" "The Prefecture Master is indeed wise!" Xiang Zilong was satisfied with the exnation and retired. ... By the end of July, Niu Dingtian had purged countless traitorous families and disciples of the sects. Wu Country was unable to help those traitors. Niu Dingtian was backed by a Wu Zong and supported by arge army. No one was a match for him. Except for those who felt something was amiss and fled the prefecture long ago, the others were not so lucky. The relocation of the masses also started just like that. The two moves were unpopr with the masses and Fang Yuan received bacshes from the two moves as the newly appointed Prefecture Master. Wu Country army camp. The soldiers of Wu set up camp with their military banners flying high. Each sector was filled with trenches and was heavily guarded. Every soldier was going about doing their own things and it was not feasible to harass or poison the troops. All of them were fit and muscr. Their face looked as if they were ready to kill. The Country of Wu ced a strong emphasis on the military where the king had absolute authority over it. The army had over 20 ranks and the soldiers were rewarded heavily for their effort, be it gold, silver, women,nd and even martial arts manuals. As such, the troops took pleasure in going to war and the military might of Wu Country was far greater than that of other neighbouring countries. Only the cavalry of Yuan Country was ahead of them when battling in the grasnd. "Imperial Advisor!" In a huge tent, the floor was covered in golden fleece which was unceremoniously stepped on. Incense was lit in the four corners, emitting green smoke. Wu Wudao sat cross-legged. He suddenly opened both his eyes to look at Taoist Xuan Sheng. "Your Six Soul Eyes is considered to be the best amongst the Wu Country¡¯s 3 great miracle techniques. To think it would be destroyed?" Wu Wudao¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he looked at the gaping hole. "That new Secluded Mountains Prefecture Master is no ordinary man. He is a threat to Wu Country!" Xuan Sheng spoke coldly, "Not taking his physical cultivation into ount, his magical energy is immensely strong to the point that it is terrifying!" "I heard that he is only 20 years old? He is indeed a genius who would be able to surpass the Elemental Opening Realm!" Wu Wudao sighed, "First, it was Liu Yan. Next, it was Fang Yuan. Why are such capable heroes not born in Wu Country? Sigh...the heavens treat Wu Country so unkindly and treat Xia Country so generously!" "Nothing goodes out of not epting heaven¡¯s will!" Xuan Sheng replied, "Xia Country is weak and cannot utilize its talent. This is the cause of all its troubles. It is a good opportunity that heaven gives to Wu Country!" "Well said!" Wu Wudao pped his hands andughed. His face suddenly turned a deep shade of red. He immediately took out a pill and swallowed it. The pill was snow white and was kept in a ck jade bottle. After the pill left the bottle, the interior of the tent felt like a cold wind blew past it and the temperature dropped a few degrees. "Mystical Ice Pill? How are your wounds?" Xuan Sheng furrowed his brows. "Liu Yan¡¯s move was really strong. Even with the help of the Mystical Ice Pill, I am afraid that it will take half a month to keep the wound under control!" Wu Wudao lowered his voice, "I have sent a message to my two worthless disciples and General Fei Long toe and help!" "If that is the case, the Secluded Mountains Prefecture would not be a problem!" Xuan Sheng nodded his head and appeared to be satisfied. The Imperial Advisor was a spiritual knight who had reached the peak of the Elemental Gathering Realm. He was exceptionally good at imparting skills and had 300 disciples under him, of which two of them had broken through the Elemental Force Realm. As for General Fei Long, he was a famous expert in Wu country. He had taken part in countless battles and had won them all. He was also highly-skilled in martial arts and had once taken on and defeated 3 Wu Zongs! He was ranked number 2 in Wu Country after the Imperial Advisor! With such military might, the Secluded Mountains Prefecture who had only three people in the Elemental Force Realm was doomed without a doubt! "Furthermore..." Taoist Elder Xuan Sheng looked secretive. He took a few steps forward, "I have a n which I am quite sure to have a high chance of sess!" "Hmm? Speak!" Wu Wudao raised his eyebrows. "To tell you the truth, I had nted numerous spies within the Secluded Mountains Prefecture. While most have been rooted out, the biggest spy still remain!" Xuan Sheng continued, "ording to him, while the Prefecture Master is highly cultivated, he knows nothing about warfare and is too na?ve. He has made preparations to settle everything in one shot. Why not we beat him at his own game. Even if we win, we must make them fear us by winning clearly!" Chapter 151: Spy Chapter 151: Spy Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions At the Eighth month, The Imperial Advisor of Wu Country, Wu Wudao, led an army of 100,000 troops to invade the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, destroying everything he came across. Within 10 days, he was able to take control of two counties, as he pushed the boundaries closer and closer to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City, signalling his intention to destroy the Prefecture. As the word spread, the entire country was in shock. Cangshan City. The city was built around the mountainous areas, and its geographical location was of extreme importance, as it was right at the edge of the Prefecture City. Following a in would lead one straight to the Prefecture City, and was therefore intensely fought over by both sides. Fang Yuan led his army of 20,000 troops across the wilderness and into Cangshan City, ready to face the 100,000-men strong army form the Wu Country. "Listen up! The Wu Country¡¯s Armed Forces are invincible, and since our Imperial Advisor is generous, he has granted all of you one night¡¯s time to surrender. If you don¡¯tply, you will die without a doubt!" Suddenly from below, they were calvaries and a voice convincing them to surrender. "... Don¡¯t say words that you are not prepared to!" "Hmph!" Zhang Qingfeng was infuriated. He took a bow, pulled it all the way back and released an arrow. "Whoosh!" A deafening sound came from the release of the bow, and the arrow shot into the sky, quick as lightning. It pierced through the soldier on a horseback and pinned him to the ground, as the fletching quivered. "Good!" The soldiers on the city walls eximed, and as they saw more calvaries approaching, they kept the corpse, all the while in silence. The difference between both sides was too huge that even Zhang Qingfeng did not have much confidence in his own army. "Let¡¯s go down to the conference, then have a good night¡¯s rest before preparing for the big battle tomorrow!" Fang Yuan wore in clothes, quietly observed the scene and gestured. "Yes, Sir!" ... A group of men walked down the stairs and arrived at the main hall. Unable to hold himself back, Xiang Zilong enquired. "Prefecture Master... The opposing force has a strong army and calvaries, and are five times the size of ours. Furthermore, they have the Flying Dragon General leading them, as well as the Wu Country¡¯s Imperial Advisor and three other spiritual knights, how can we match up with them?" "Don¡¯t worry!" Yu Xinlou walked out, a little dazed and shook his head. "Our Master had made some preparations beforehand!" This confused everyone, especially Xiang Zilong, who looked at Fang Yuan. "Please say the truth! The Wu Country¡¯s Armed Forces are strong, much stronger than our army. If we sh head-on, we will surely lose!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and exined the truth. "And this is why I need everyone to defend for three days, and after three days, the situation will change!" "Three days?" Xiang Zilong looked at Niu Dingtian in disbelief, as both of them shook their heads. ... That night, a ck figure flew out of Cangshan City andnded in the Wu Country¡¯s military camp. "Three days?" Xuan Sheng took the bamboo tube from the spiritual pigeon before letting it go. He then instructed a daoist disciple by his side to read it out for him, and his was shocked as he scanned the surroundings. Even though both his eyeballs were not there anymore, he could still strike fear in those that made eye contact with him. "A change in situation after three days? Impossible!" It was Flying Dragon General. He was middle-aged and had white sideburns. His sharp eyebrows and ring gaze gave him a gentlemanly feel; he was surely a handsome youngd in his younger days. As he stared at the map, he shook his head. "Unless he can fly his troops, there is no other way of a change in the situation within three days!" "Regardless if he was just bluffing us, or if he was really confident, we don¡¯t really need to care about him!" Wu Wudao smiled. "Even if that Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master had gathered his troops in Cangshan City, we can still go head-on and take them down!" "That¡¯s right, a good strategy would be to use plots and deploy more troops to take down their small army!" Flying Dragon General nodded his head in agreement. "Regardless of what n he has, I can just break all of them by brute force!" "Since both of you think this way, then we shall invade them tomorrow!" Elder Daoist Xuan Sheng said, "Even if we cannot take down the city, at night time, I can still order for our spy to take them down from the inside!" Even though he did not mention who the spy was, the rest still nodded in agreement. Afterall, to them, the new Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master did not know what he was doing. Anyone under him could be a spy, and it seemed that it was just fate for the Secluded Mountain Prefecture to fall. ... As time flew by, it was the second day. "Orders from the general! Invade!" 100,00 men formed up and lined up in a continuous never-ending line. Apanying the order form the general, the other soldiers of the Wu Country repeatedly chanted, "Invade! Invade! Invade!!!" At the sound of the horn,dders, arrow towers and invasion vehicles were pushed in front of the formation. The archers took up their spot, looking serious and full of will to fight. Seeing this scene, the soldiers on the city walls shuddered in fear. Even though the soldiers of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Armed Forces had martial arts, they were still in fear. After all, the usual martial arts duel and fighting were different from war altogether. "Throw the rocks! Throe!" In the Wu Country Armed Forces formation, more than 10 carts were wheeled into position, and on themand of the Lieutenant,rge rocks were continually hurled towards the city walls. "Rumble!" "Rumble!" Rocks ranging from 13 pounds to 130 pounds were directed at the city walls, breaking arge hole in it and making arge rumbling sound. The rumbling was continuous, and there were even cracks forming at some ces. After a wave of rock-hurling, the rock carts seemed to be defective after much usage and were wheeled away to be serviced. Many ant-liked soldiers pushed thedders and arrow towers and braved the arrows from the city, advancing towards the city gates. "Prepare the arrows, shoot!" On the city walls, Zhang Qingfeng roared and ordered as a rain of arrows flew downwards. Many soldiers were shot down, but they did not back away. Instead, they approached the city walls and as their arrow towers covered them, they began the ascend thedder upwards. "Prepare the Golden Liquid! Pour!" "Where are the rocks? Fire away!" On the city walls, bots of boiling hot Golden Liquid were poured down the walls relentlessly. Apanying it were the giant rocks being rolled down, smashing many soldiers and burning many too. In a short while, the bottom of the city walls had a thickyer of blood. The entire scene was extremely gory. "Leader Niu, Leader Xiang!" Fang Yuan remainedposed as he continuously deployed troops, and called for both Wu Zongs. "The enemy is ferocious, so be wary of their Beheading Strategy!" "Thank you for your concern, Prefecture Master, we will be cautious!" Niu Dingtian and Xiang Zilong bowed, and Xiang Zilong added, "If we still had our experienced soldiers, they would not have the guts to attack us head-on!" What is the Beheading Strategy? It was that they might send their elemental force martial artist who would have only one objective: to take out Fang Yuan, or that they would use their soldiers to surround the opposing Lieutenant in order to win the battle without fighting. Fang Yuan used this strategy before by taking out Lu Renjia, returning peace to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. It was the easy way. However, the situation now was different. His 20,000 strong army was all in the city. Even if the enemy¡¯s spiritual knight or Wu Zong made it through the gates, they would be captured by the three of them. Without regard for the soldiers¡¯ lives, they could surely exhaust any spiritual knight or Wu Zong to death. Therefore, to both sides, this was not a fair trade. Furthermore, it was no secret that Fang Yuan possessed a spiritual bird. Even if the enemy was stupid, they would not be stupid to the extent of entering and sacrificing themselves. After a day of gruesome battle, there was a mountain of corpse below the city gates. "Retreat!" Under the scorching sun and the bloody mess around, the Wu Country¡¯s army retreated out of the massacre site. "Reporting, Prefecture Master!" Zhang Qingfeng had many wounds, and his armour was dyed blood-red. "The Wu Country¡¯s attack today was ferocious. About a thousand of our men died, and 800 of them were severely injured! Their army¡¯s casualty rate would surely be folds of ours!" As he reported, his eyebrows twitched. The opposing army was crazy, too crazy than he expected. If it was like that daily, it would only take 10 days for the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Armed Forces to crumble. "Since today has passed, it means that we have two days left. Everyone is dismissed, and rest well for the battle tomorrow!" Fang Yuan casually waved his hands. "Yes, Sir!" ... It was nighttime. Pitch-ck and there was no wind. A secret room within the city was brightly lit. A few Lieutenants of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Armed Forces were gathered, looking solemn. "We cannot continue this war!" "It only took one day for our casualty rate to be 10 percent, so how can this be sustainable?" A bearded well-built man mmed his fist on the table. "That person is Wu Zong and also a spiritual knight, and has a spiritual bird as well. If the situation bes worse, he can leave, but we would be stuck here awaiting death!" "That¡¯s right!" The other Lieutenants were deep in discussion, expression their dissatisfaction. This was partly due to Fang Yuan¡¯s inexperience in handling arge army and he was, therefore, unable to appease the army. In reality, if not for his gifts and martial arts, there might be a rebellion and the army would break free of his control. As of now, there were only holding it in. "Lieutenant Xiang, what is your n for gathering us here?" A few other Lieutenants scolded a few more times, but all shifted their attention to the person in the middle. "That¡¯s right!" A lieutenant among them allughed. "Everyone are brothers, so I shall speak the truth. There is no doubt that the Secluded Mountain Prefecture would lose. If we want to survive, or even live afortable life, the best n is to switch loyalties!" As he spoke, not one of them questioned him, which revealed that most of them had in one way or another thought about it. "Based on our abilities, to betray would be extremely difficult!" Lieutenant Qiuran sighed. "Zhang Qingfeng is extremely loyal to that person and is still a martial artist who harnesses elemental force. He even patrols the city gates personally..." "What if you included us?!" Suddenly, a shadow appeared, entering the room. "Mmm?" The Lieutenant who was discussing the secret was in shock and almost pulled out his knife. As he saw the person¡¯s face, he rxed and looked happy. "Leader!" "What a coincidence, it¡¯s my duty to patrol today. It would be easy to betray and give the city up!" The leader sighed. "I am doing this not for myself, but to avoid the impending war on the Secluded Mountain Prefecture!" "Leader, you are right!" The Lieutenants were all overjoyed. "Under the leadership of leader, what is there to be afraid of?" A few rash individuals blurted out. "This appointment of Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master should have been yours. Fang Yuna is just an outsider, what rights does he have to im this appointment?" "Very well, let¡¯s not waste time. Let¡¯s..." This person was deep in thought and suddenly he frowned. "Who¡¯s there?" "Chirp! Chirp!" A high pitched chirping travelled from outside, and a figure appeared, followed by a voice. "Niu Dingtian, have you seen for yourself and heard it for yourself?" " Chapter 152: Appearance Chapter 152: Appearance Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Brother Xiang, I didn¡¯t expect that you were such a person!" Niu Dingtian¡¯s voice was deep and was filled with shock. Xiang Zilong knew that he couldn¡¯t escape. He went to the entrance with a few other lieutenants. Illuminating the way with their fire torches, they saw Fang Yuan, Niu Dingtian, Zhang Qingfeng and a few other soldiers already surrounding the whole ce. Niu Dingtian, who was in front, was still in disbelief. "Why are you doing this, Brother Xiang?" "Hehe....The winner shall be the king, and the loser shall be the beggar. Since I¡¯ve lost, what can I say?" Xiang Zilong gave a cold smile and looked at Fang Yuan. "But, how could you have known that it¡¯s me? Enlighten me, Prefecture Master, so I can rest in peace!" "Your n was perfect, but I had already begun to suspect you from the beginning!" Fang Yuan shook his head and continued, "Summer Sun Prefecture was so dangerous, but you two Wu Zongs managed to escape, how fortunate!" In fact, this was just an excuse Fang Yuan used to exin his suspicions of Xiang Zilong. The actual reason was that he was a dream master and therefore could sense evil in Xiang Zilong. "Just because of that?" Xiang Zilong couldn¡¯t believe it. He had always been very loyal to Liu Yan and did not harbour any thoughts of betrayal while on the way to the Summer Sun Prefecture. Hence, he couldn¡¯t believe how Fang Yuan was able to see through him. "Yes, it is because of that.....Plus....." Fang Yuan chuckled and continued, "Since I¡¯m the Prefecture Master, do I need any reason to suspect you? Oh.....I will need to thank you for sharing the intelligence with the enemy. As a token of appreciation, I shall let you die faster!" "You....." Xiang Zilong broke into cold sweat. He didn¡¯t expect that Fang Yuan, a young Prefecture Master to be so profound! Fang Yuan knew that he was a spy, kept mum, pretended he didn¡¯t know anything, and even caused him to share fake intelligence with Wu Country! An ant would do everything to keep itself alive. The few other lieutenants around appeared hopeless, but Xiang Zilong was different. Scanning his surroundings quickly, he was prepared to escape this ce! After all, he was a Wu Zong and could go anywhere he wanted to go. If he could escape to the enemy¡¯s camp, he could live therefortably for the rest of his life. Why would he be willing to die here? As this thought shed through his mind, there was a sudden change! "Whoosh!" Fang Yuan shifted himself quickly like a lightning and in a blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of Xiang Zilong and grabbed him! "Chi! Chi!" The surrounding air became tense, and as Fang Yuan started to grab hold of him, the surrounding air became as though they wereyers andyers of chains, restricting Xiang Zilong. Even though he knew that this was just an illusion, it had utterly shocked Xiang Zilong. The new Prefecture Master was so powerful! "Aahh!" Xiang Zilong¡¯s face became red and his blood vessels started to explode. Between life and death, he unleashed his potential and freed himself from Fang Yuan¡¯s w to his neck. Suddenly, he retreated 10 yards backwards before leaping forward; the shadow of his legs fell like raindrops. "Dragon Subduing Kick!" Xiang Zilong was also a Wu Zong and was very experienced. He also knew that he would be dead if he chose to escape. The only way out was to defeat the other person. Hence, he chose to strike first and the first move that he executed was his strongest technique. "Crackle!" The shadow of the leg reached Fang Yuan and started to noise like how raindropsnd on leaves. However, Fang Yuan paid no attention as though his opponent¡¯s moves were like a gentle breeze. He went forward and struck another w out! "Rough technique? Your technique is scarier than Niu Dingtian¡¯s!" This thought ran through Xiang Zilong¡¯s mind. A crisp sound was heard and he fell to the ground, crying out loud. "Peng!" There was blood everywhere. Only now did the others watching realised that Xiang Zilong¡¯s leg had already been grabbed and broken by Fang Yuan, and the leg had fallen onto the ground. In just a few moves, Xiang Zilong, who was well known in the Secluded Mountains and had been a capital leader in the Secluded Mountains Mansion Armed Forces, was defeated? Not only that, but he was defeated that easily? Niu Dingtian opened his eyes widely and pped his cheeks for a few times. He couldn¡¯t believe what he had just seen. "Bring this man away and lock him up!" Fang Yuan brought out a white handkerchief to wipe off the bloodstains on his hand while he gave that order. "Prefecture Master, what about these lieutenants?" At that moment, Zhang Qingfeng were prepared to take down these lieutenants and knelt down to ask for further instructions. "These betrayers? What more can I say? Just kill them!" Niu Dingtian¡¯s eyes were filled with anger. He was disappointed in Xiang Zilong and these lieutenants. "Even though they are a bunch of useless crap, there is still some use in them!" Fang Yuan then thought, "Xiang Zilong had already wanted to betray us tonight. I should use them as baits to lure the soldiers of the Wu Country out..." "Prefecture Master! Please allow us to achieve something great for you in order topensate for the sins we have made!" When they realised that there was hope for survival for all of them, the few lieutenants immediately knelt down and kowtowed. ....... It was midnight. Outside the city gate. A troop of soldiers stealthily reached the city gate with ck masks and weapons. After they mimicked the cry of a mouse for 3 times, they heard something across the city wall and there were a few noises. A small gap opened in the city gates and a lieutenant was revealed behind the gap. "Why are you allte?" "We were making further preparations just in case!" The leader of the troop whispered, "How is the situation inside like?" "The lieutenant here guarding the gate has been taken down by us. The rest of them are on our side. Follow me!" The city gate was opened slowly and there was excitement in the eyes of the leader. He then led the troop of people into the city stealthily. As they passed through the old city wall, they were not in the city yet. They would still have to take another path, which was why this ce was also nicknamed the Urn City. "Something is not right!" Within the Urn City, someone besides the leader cried out loud. "Retreat, it is a trap!" "Close the city gate!" "Kacha! Kacha!" After a few loud noises, the city gate was fully closed and the whole ce was suddenly well lighted. Many archers were already pulling their bows and aiming at the troop and started to fire their arrows. "Hmm? There is a spiritual knight among them? Since he is here, does he think he can escape?" Most of the people in the troop were either injured or dead from the rain of arrows. Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes lighted up and as pounced forward, he ordered Niu Dingtian to follow closely. ....... "Damn it! We have fallen into a trap!" Outside the city wall, the army of the Wu Country had gathered there quietly. Taoist Elder Xuan Sheng was surprised when he heard the noises and cries from the Urn City. "The enemy have their defences up here. We should retreat!" General Fei Long looked far towards the city walls and heard a few shouts and killing noises. His face was all tensed up. "Looks like the noises are not from the sessful rebellion of Xiang Zilong, but from their revtion and downfall!" Wu Wudao was disappointed. One of the men among that troop was one of his disciples, whom he had cultivated with all his heart and soul to attain the status of a spiritual knight! However, his disciple was now trapped in the city. With this, he had the urge to lead all the most skilled men to charge through the city walls to save his beloved disciple. Unfortunately, his magical weapon, the Flying Leaf, had been destroyed and as he looked at the expressionless General Fei Long and the blind Taoist Elder Xuan Sheng, he gritted his teeth. Who would have known that this precautionary measure would lead to the death of his disciple! "This is so strange!" After the Taoist Elder Xuan Sheng had calmed down, he also had the same question in his mind. "As a spiritual knight, how could he not know that something was amiss before entering the city?" Ever since they had be enemies with the new prefecture master of the Secluded Mountain Mansion, they felt restrained constantly and did not know why or how. Such a feeling was torturous. Themanders of Wu Country didn¡¯t know that Fang Yuan was a dream master and also considered to be an expert in deception and illusions. Furthermore, he had set up these traps personally. Hence, it would be a joke if a recently promoted spiritual knight were able to see through them. "Pass the order down. We shall return back to base and attack tomorrow!" General Fei Long ordered his troops to return to base. Before he left, he looked at the city building and had a bad feeling. ....... "They didn¡¯t attack?" Above the city wall, Fang Yuan gave a coldugh as he witnessed the troops from the Wu Country returning to their base. "They are really able to endure this. However.....they are in a precarious situation!" "If we don¡¯t counterattack them tonight, it will still be the same tomorrow!" He stood at the city building, deep in thought. "Counterattack the enemy tomorrow?" Niu Dingtian and Zhang Qingfeng were behind Fang Yuan. Although they were convinced of his ability, they were still a little startled when they heard what Fang Yuan had just said. "That¡¯s right. Pass the order down to add more meat for tomorrow¡¯s breakfast. Let all our soldiers have a good meal before we prepare to attack!" Fang Yuan gave a mysterious smile. Beneath him, there were noises at the foot of the city wall..... ........ It was the second day. The scorching sun was high up in the sky. "Men, get the heads of Xiang Zilong and the spiritual knight as a sacrificial gift for the gods!" Without hesitation, Fang Yuan cut off the heads of the two elemental force experts effortlessly and threw their heads down from the city wall. Witnessing this, Wu Wudao flinched as General Fei Long gave a huge sigh. Without any reservation, General Fei Long ordered the army to attack the city with all their might. Even though they experienced setbacks a few days ago, the general still believed in his war tactics. His ability was still greater than the enemy. If he were to suppress the enemy head-on without fear for anything, Wu Country would surely win the war. "Rumble!" "Rumble!" As the trebuchets were activated, the Wu Country¡¯s soldiers were charging straight at the city wall with no fear of death. Soon, the city wall became like a meat grinder. Both sides suffered heavy losses and there were many bloody bodies piled up. The city wall had turned red because of the blood. "Reporting! The situation at the west gate is critical. The enemies have already got onto the city wall!" "Reporting! Critical situation at the east gate. There are heavy losses there and we need backup now!" ....... The reports came in like falling snow. This was the consequence of having a small army, and there were breaches everywhere along the city wall. "Prefecture Master, let me go and help them!" Niu Dingtian and Zhang Qingfeng knelt down to ask for permission to join the battle. "There is no need!" Fang Yuan waved his hand and said, "Order the troops to retreat and fight in the streets!" "What?" Everyone was shocked when they heard that order. Once the troops retreated, it would be as though they had lost the battle. Why even bother talking about a counterattack? "This is an order!" Fang Yuan red at them. Immediately, there was a loud noiseing from the east gate. Then, there were many cheers of ¡¯We¡¯ve broken through¡¯ heard. The soldiers from the Wu Country flooded into the streets of the city. "The Secluded Mountain Mansion Armed Forces are much more useless than I thought......Nevermind, it is better this way. This will be more convincing..." Fang Yuan nodded his head as he looked at the soldiers from the Wu Country, who were given multiple orders to suppress their enemiespletely. Fang Yuan gave a smile and raised his right hand. "Whoosh!" At every corner of the city walls, the ground started to break. Many flowers appeared, and light was reflected from des. Within seconds, the nearby Wu Country soldiers were at lost and were soon shed into pieces. Outside the city, General Fei Long was stunned. Slowly, he witnessed the entire Cangshan City transforming into a flower city within seconds..... Chapter 153: Counterattack Chapter 153: Counterattack Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Rumble! Rumble!" As the ground broke, thick and thorny vines extending their way up like demonic hands. On the stems, there were many thin and sharp Sickle Grass. "Ch!" As the Sickle Grass glittered from its reflection, even the most skilled soldier would die after being surrounded by these menacing nts. "Slurp! Slurp!" Brightly-coloured andrge Serrated Flowers opened theirrge mouths and without hesitation swallowed these soldiers in whole; they were immensely satisfied. As the basis of the formation, the spiritual flowers and spiritual grass covered the entire Cangshan City, gobbling up almost half of the entire We Country¡¯s army. Even the most highly skilled could only destroy one or two stems of the Serrated Flower, which did not really hinder things. The volume of nts and the fact that they could start growing the moment thennded on the floor and had the special ability to be enraged meant that these two evolved spiritual species became a life-sized human meat mincer. "Ah... This is..." Outside the city, Flying Dragon General was confused, and his eyes bloodshot. Seeing the number of casualties from his army, he was infuriated and spat out a mouthful of blood. Even though the few of them were spiritual knights, they were still no match for the entire Secluded Mountain Prefecture. This big loss not only destroyed the Wu Country¡¯s objective but also weakened their strongest army. Even the country itself might not be stable anymore! Even he the general was at loss facing such a humiliating defeat. The other leaders were angry too and tried to attack in rage. "They are rather simr to Serrated Flowers and Sickle Grass..." As Wu Wudao witnessed the scene, he frowned. "Those two are normal spiritual nts, why would they evolve to such an extent?" Notwithstanding others, just based on their size, brutality and their fire-resistant ability, they could form up a formation by themselves and coordinate an attack; no one could associate them with the two most normal spiritual nts. ... "Prefecture Master? What¡¯s this?" Niu Dingtian and Zhang Qingfeng were overjoyed. If previously they were referred to hopeless and deste, the strong defence now would mean they would be overjoyed without words. Not just that, but if they took the opportunity, they might just turn it into a victory! "This is the spiritual nt formation that I have set up! It is thanks to Yu Xinlou that I am able to set it up to such a scale..." Fang Yuan nodded his head. "This is all Sir¡¯s n, how would I dare to take credit?" Yu Xinlou hurriedly kneeled down and replied. He was rather surprised. As a businessman, he knew that there wererge quantities of spiritual nts here, but they were only normal spiritual flowers and spiritual grass. He was still confused at how they could be so scary. Fang Yuan smiled, giving them a mysterious feel. The ability of a [Botany (Level 5)], together withrge amounts of spiritual flowers and spiritual grass, as well as with the help of spiritualnd and spiritual fertilizer, and the most crucial being the unique environment of a battlefield; all these created a deadly trap! ¡¯Although the evolved Serrated Flower and Sickle Grass are ferocious, they grow extremely quickly and have little to no requirements for the type ofnd, especially since there were so much blood and flesh to feed them...¡¯ The casualty rate in Cangshan was now more than ten thousand! It was the best greenhouse for these nts. Originally being quick growers, and with the help of spiritual fertilizer and his [Botany (Level 5)], the entire underground of Cangshan City was already filled with budding spiritual grass and spiritual flowers, as they began to form their formation. Based on Fang Yuan¡¯s current Botany skills, the chance of normal spiritual nts evolving is already very high, especially with suchrge numbers of nts. He was still not satisfied and returned to the Green Peak spiritualnd to bring along the Serrated Flower King, using him as a central nervous system to control the other Serrated Flowers to listen to itsmand. Otherwise, why would these spiritual flowers and spiritual grasses be so obedient and even knew how to ambush? Why would they stay quietly underground and not create havoc outside? "The Sickle Grass and the Serrated Flower arepanions. As the Serrated Flower has the ability to move around, it can bring along the Sickle Grass, and will be scarier than any killing machine might be..." He had a tinge of coldness in his eyes. "With the help of my dream master¡¯s ability, it would be simple to deny detection from the opposing spiritual knights and Wu Zongs, and therefore able to surprise them..." The city of spiritual flowers and spiritual grasses in front of him had already be a living hell, and even bore fruits. "Zhang Qingfeng!" Fang Yuan eximed. "Yes, Sir!" Zhang Qingfeng replied, full of excitement. "Regroup the army, and prepare for the counter attack!" "Yes, Sir!" The entire Cangshan City was hard to exin. Because of his specific deployments of the soldiers, Fang Yuan¡¯s army did not suffer that much of a loss. Even the guards all the way at the city gates could run all the way into the city and were not affected by the attack. He could regroup an army of around 5,000. The Wu Country¡¯s army, however, sent all their troops to the frontline. After half a day of battle, they had many casualties, and the change in the situation made them lose their momentum. The entire army was destroyed. "Kill!" As Zhang Qingfeng entered the battlefield, his intentions were obvious. The demonic nts avoided the Secluded Mountain Prefecture soldiers, and only chose to attack the Wu Country¡¯s soldiers. Both the soldiers on the ground and the general looking from afar knew that the war was over. "Retreat!" "Quickly retreat!" The soldiers who entered the city became the fertiliser for the nts, and the soldiers behind hurriedly retreated like ducks broken away from one another. They just ran without a lead; the only thing they knew was that the further they were from the city the better. "Rumble!" The Serrated Flower King would not give up on such an opportunity! As a rumble was heard, vines popped out of the ground and blocked the path of the retreating soldiers, as it enjoyed its food. "Kill!" Zhang Qingfeng opened up a path within the spiritual flowers and gave chase. He killed like nobody¡¯s business, as though he was cutting grass. "Retreat! Retreat!" At this point in time, the Flying Dragon General finally came to his senses. He had suffered a great loss! There was no hope for anyeback with such a defeat. The only thing he could do was to retreat and reduce the casualty rate. "Good beast!" Wu Wudao and Elder Daoist Xuan Sheng, together with another spiritual knight, began to fight against the spiritual nts. As he stuck his finger out, the thorny vines crumbled as though a poisonous snake bit it. Not only that, the entire Serrated Flower shuddered and fell to the ground, and in a short moment lost all its life. "God Killing Finger!" Elder Daoist looked at Wu Wudao, as though he could see using his eye sockets. He waved his sleeves and sliced two Sickle Grass into bits. "This is troublesome..." The vibration from the destruction of these nts made him tense up. "This spiritual flower and spiritual grass are working together in an orderly manner. They are extremely ferocious and feed on blood... Every one of it resembles an inner force expert..." Elder Taoist Xuan Sheng sighed. "If we wait here and be trapped within the nts, it would be even more troublesome. If someone of our skill level were to ambush us then, it is likely we would fall for it..." "We can still deal with one or two of them, but look at the sheer number..." Wu Wudao had perfect eyesight and could detect the biggest Serrated Flower amongst all the nts. It just swallowed three soldiers and spat out flower buds, amidst all the blood. As the flower buds touched the ground, they took in blood and grew at an rming rate the human eye could detect. In a short while, it became a scary entity all by itself, ready to devour more flesh. Just a single Serrated Flower and Sickle Grass would not do much, even if it was evolved with special traits. However, if it exceeded a certain amount, the threat level would increase exponentially. "Who would¡¯ve known that the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master had this move... Control of spiritual nts?" In Wu Wudao¡¯s heart, his alertness against Fang Yuan shot up. "Let¡¯s make a move, it¡¯s time for us to leave!" As the result of the war was obvious, Fang Yuan called for Niu Dingtian. Together, they rode the Red-eyed White King Bird across the city walls. As they circled the sky, soon after, they were able to locate Wu Wudao andpany. Using their spiritual knight and Wu Zong abilities, these elemental force martial artists had to fight their way out, forming a safe route for the normal soldiers to escape. One of the spiritual knights was using fire-type spiritual spells. His spiritual fire was different from that of Liu Yan¡¯s; it was ck as ink, like ck liquid oil burning, and had the ability to dpose anything it came into contact with. Even if the Serrated Flower and Sickle Grass were fire-resistant, they were still reduced to ashes aftering into contact with the spiritual fire, which showed the strength of the spiritual fire. However, even that spiritual knight was sweating profusely. It seemed like using his spiritual spells was exhausting too. "It¡¯s you!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. Among the three elemental force martial artists, he had the lowest cultivation level. He had to find the weakest to bully. "Chirp! Chirp!" As the Red-eyed White King Bird chirped, it¡¯s feathers were dyed red as it descended, quick as lightning. "Die!" Fang Yuan used his paralyzing scream, which was hard to fend against. As the spiritual knight froze, an eagle¡¯s w struck towards him. As he awakened from the trance, it was toote. "Ah..." He had just enough cultivation to dodge the w and retreat, but there was already 5 streaks of blood across his chest. "Die!" Fang Yuan was merciless as he flew across, striking his leg out this time. Striking his w and his leg was a well-nned move which would restrict all the possible escape routes for this spiritual knight. In the next moment, he would take his life. "Don¡¯t be rude!" As his leg was diverted sideways, the spiritual knight fell back and spat out a mouthful of blood. Suddenly, there was a shadow between the both of them, blocking Fang Yuan from delivering his death kick. "Flying Dragon General?" As Fang Yuan examined the middle-aged man in front of him, he began to think of Flying Dragon General. Only such an experienced Wu Zong would be able to save the spiritual knight¡¯s life in the nick of time. Compared to him, Wu Wudao and Elder Taoist Xuan Sheng were still inferior. ¡¯What a pit I couldn¡¯t finish him off, but that is fine too... That spiritual knight is useless now, and can no longer take part in this fight!¡¯ As he nced at the half-dead spiritual knight, his mood was uplifted, and he scanned the rest of them. Chapter 154: Resounding Defeat Chapter 154: Resounding Defeat Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Prefecture Master!" With the interference from General Fei Long, Wu Wudao and Xuan Sheng recovered. They looked at Fang Yuan with intense hatred. "That¡¯s right!" Fang Yuan smiled. He did not hold them in regard. The Elemental Force Realm experts were nothing to him. The situation remained unchanged even though Fang Yuan previously had the protection of the troops. He did not fear these spiritual knights. He was the king amongst the spiritual flowers and grass! As for the few aristocrats of Wu Country in front of him? There 100,000 troops were scattered and their strength was unable to be mustered. The offensive and the defensive were reversed! ... A gust of foul-smelling wind. Not far away, the Sickle Grass and Serrated Flowers were dancing. Like a reaper, they imed the lives of many soldiers. Wu Wudao, Xuan Sheng and Fei Long felt like vomiting blood after they witnessed this scene. How can they rely on so few people to conquer Secluded Mountains Prefecture? Their army had been destroyed and any n that they had, had turned into a joke. The mastermind behind all this was the youth that wasughing in front of them. They did not realise that the reason for all his previous preparations was all for that one moment of attack! "Good!" General Fei Long praised, "I have never lost a single battle. To think that my streak would end in your hands..." "How? Unless you wish to continue?" Fang Yuan said loftily with no sign of fear. Wu Wudao was momentarily indecisive. He still had General Fei Long and Taoist Elder Xuan Sheng at his side. In terms of strength, they outmatched their opponent. However, things were not as simple. After all, the Prefecture Master was impossible to predict which caused him to worry excessively. His condition was being suppressed by the Mystical Ice Pill but there was no guarantee that his conditions would not worsen during the battle. On the opponent¡¯s side, Niu Dingtian was the weakest. However, he was trained in rough technique which was enough to harass an opponent. That spiritual beast¡¯s aura was alsoparable to a martial artist at the peak of the 12 Gates and it had the ability to fly. If it also possessed a few more talents, it would have be a force to be reckoned with... In addition, there was also the unpredictable Fang Yuan... Given the situation, defeating the opponent was not something that could be achieved in a short amount of time. Furthermore, they would not be able to stop their opponents from escaping! Looking at how the situation was developing, he definitely did not have so much time! If they were unable to swiftly bring down their opponent, they would soon be surrounded by the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Armed Forces and the spiritual flowers and grass! If that was the case, it would be their side that perished. General Fei Long was helpless and did not have a n to turn the tables around. "Zhi¡¯Er!" Wu Wudao arrived at the side of the spiritual disciple who was vomiting blood in a sh. He fed the disciple a spiritual pill and looked at Fang Yuan with hatred. It was not wise to deal with an enemy without knowing the enemy¡¯s ability. He shouldn¡¯t let emotions cloud his thinking even though one of his beloved disciples had sacrificed his life for the country and the other beloved disciple was heavily wounded. Wu Wudao looked bitterly at the Red-Eyed White King Bird and asked coldly, "Prefecture Master, what are your desires?" "You entered my territories, killed my people and still ask me what my desires are?" Fang Yuan was bemused as if he heard a joke. "It is natural that the strong feed on the weak. Given the situation in Xia Country, if Wu Country did not act, there would still be Yuan, Zhu Country...even you, are you really just a subject of the Xia Country?" Taoist Elder Xuan Sheng shook his head. "Hmm...never mind!" Fang Yuan nced back at Cangshan City which was beginning to quieten down, "I want all of you to leave the Secluded Mountain Prefecture and swear a blood oath that you would not invade us within the century!" "A century!?" General Fei Long furrowed his brows. He might have agreed readily if it was just a few decades. After all, the army of Wu Country had suffered great loss and needed time to recover. But a hundred years? That was a bit too long. "What if we do not agree? Unless you think you can threaten us with your troops?" Wu Wudao coldly asked. While they were interested in helping Wu Country preserve its strength. It was not feasible if it was a matter of life and death. "Of course not!" Fang Yuan¡¯s expression grew cold, "I will only guarantee that none of you will leave the prefecture alive!" "Haha..." Wu Wudaoughed. "Do you think you can kill us?" "I am confident of dying you till the army arrive and surround you!" Fang Yuan dusted his shoulders, "If my ns fail, at least I would be able to escape with my spiritual beast! What about you all? Care to try?" Upon hearing this, Wu Wudao¡¯s breaths slowed and he shriveled. The opponent possessed a flying spiritual beast and was shameless to the extent of escaping if he could not beat them. What the opponent said was true! If he felt that something was amiss, he could turn tail and run. Furthermore, he was young and had countless of opportunities for revenge. As for them, a wrong move would result in their deaths! If they had really miscalcted, went into battle and did not manage to defeat the spiritual knight cum Wu Zong and his spiritual beast, there was a possibility that they would be surrounded and killed. In an instant, the three of them hesitated. They did not have much time to consider as they see their troops being defeated and the spiritual nts slowly surrounding them. Especially... Wu Wudao looked at Fang Yuan and Niu Dingtian and saw that they had ill intentions for his disciple. He knew that once the battle starts, he might be able to survive but his disciple would die without a doubt! "Prefecture Master...well-yed. I concede!" Taoist Elder Xuan Sheng caved in, "I acknowledge the century agreement!" Wu Wudao felt grateful. This matter was grave and as such, either General Fei Long or he could acknowledge the agreement first. If not, there would be consequences. Xuan Sheng knew that and as such he stepped forward and gave in, knowing full well that he would take the brunt of the consequences. "If that is the case, I agree as well!" General Fei Long sighed. Wu Wudao gave his promise. "That¡¯s good, please leave. I will not be seeing you out!" Fang Yuan waved and smiled as if he was a good host. There was no sign of mutual hostility. "The Secluded Mountains Prefecture is guaranteed a century of peace..." Wu Wudao¡¯s and General Fei Long¡¯s eyes met. They sighed and silently walked away. "Prefecture Master, why not ...?" Seeing the view of the people disappearing, Niu Dingtian stepped forward and asked. "Do you have the confidence to kill the three of them? Wu Wudao is the Imperial Advisor of Wu, General Fei Long is the prodigy in Wu Country. Who knows what trump cards they are hiding?" Fang Yuan looked at him, "How many of our soldiers¡¯ lives must be sacrificed with no guarantee of victory?" Niu Dingtian could not answer and sweated cold sweat. Fang Yuan closed his eyes. He still had some stuff that he did not speak out loud. Wu Wudao and hispanions readily agreed to the agreement as Fang Yuan had given several conditions that were beneficial to them apart from their current circumstances. For example, the agreement only applied to the troops and did not govern the martial artists in the Elemental Force Realm. If he was met with any danger, there was no guarantee that these powerful individuals would note to cause trouble. They would definitelye! However, without this ¡¯loophole¡¯, how would he expect that the Wu Country would so readily withdraw? Fang Yuan was confident of his abilities. ¡¯It seems like from now on, I am another Liu Yan in the mind of Wu Country. I might even be met with more consequences...the more theye, the more I can hone my skills!¡¯ There were benefits to not dering war. For instance, Wu Wudao only knew that Fang Yuan was unpredictable and cunning. He would not expect that Fang Yuan had already reached the peak of the Elemental Gathering Realm! He could make use of the time he gained to make a breakthrough in the shortest possible time. Worldly conspiracies would be nothing if he managed to break through the Elemental Gathering Realm. ... Summer Sun Prefecture. "The king order that the Summer Sun Prefecture is part of Xia Country. Today, we speciallye forward to reassure the citizens that there would be not taxes in addition to other benefits if you all surrender. If not, you will be charged with treason and executed!" In front of a city, there was a struggle followed by the raising of a white g in the face of the army of the Xia Country capital. "Very well, this is already the third city which surrendered without a battle!" Xie Lingyun celebrated as she dispatched the troops to enter the city. "Out of the 6 counties in the Summer Sun Prefecture, 3 counties have returned to the hands of the royal family. This is a cause for celebration!" She had no intention to help Wu Country in this battle. In the eyes of the Xia Country¡¯s royal family, the previous Prefecture Master, Liu Yan, was a traitor and that the Wu Country was greedy. Being attacked by both sides and the benefits taken away by Wu Country? Only a fool would do that. After receiving the letter from Fang Yuan, Xie Lingyun ordered the troops to put on a front, while the main body of troops heads towards Summer Sun Prefecture with an intention of making the Summer Sun Prefecture the property of the royal family. She had a simr n for the Clear Spring Prefecture. "Such a shame...the Summer Sun Prefecture is in ruins..." As she thought of the devastating scene that she had witnessed on her journey here, Xie Lingyun could not help but shake her head, her face disying a sign of worry. ¡¯After Wu Country conquer the Secluded Mountains Prefecture, the next step would be to set their eyes on the remainder of Xia Country...luckily it takes time to implement changes. However, Xia Country do not have many opportunities left, especially...engagement...¡¯ To be truthful, it is natural for the royal family to be connected by marriage. However, Xie Lingyun was hesitant as that would give the other party another reason to take over Xia Country during times of unrest. "A letter from the Secluded Mountain Prefecture!" A messenger hurried forward. "Is it about the defeat of the Secluded Mountains?" Xie Lingyun could not help but sigh when she thought of the genius who was highly cultivated butcked practice. Thetest report suggested that he had staked everything in Cangshan. Defeat was imminent for him. "There was a resounding defeat. But it was not the Secluded Mountains and was Wu Country instead!" "What?" Xie Lingyun trembled and looked incredulous. Chapter 155: The Map Chapter 155: The Map Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "When the heart is focused, the foundations will strengthen..." High up in the air, a strange ck bird spread its wings and glided into the airspace of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. On its back rode a Taoist priest. Overlooking the huge Secluded Mountain City in the air inspired a sense of awe. The looming city walls, the orderly roads and the dots that moved along them...everything seemed to suggest that the city had left behind the shadows of war. The morale of the people had risen and stabilised. Most people were fine with simply being followers.Whether it was Liu Yan previously, Fang Yuan now, or even the Wu Country. They farmed when they had to farm, paid taxes when they had to pay taxes. If one could loosen his iron grip on the domain and rule with more benevolence, the people would definitely praise him to the high heavens. Currently, Fang Yuan had disyed the ability to fend off the advances of the Wu Country, and had consequently boosted his approval ratings among the masses. As the new master of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, his prestige and authority were increasing by the day. The priest let out a sigh, for he knew that his lord¡¯s schemes were likely to be futile. Besides, the other party was of a surprisingly young age and had unpredictable methods. He could not help but feel uneasy. At this moment, things on the ground began to get noisy. They had sensed the priest¡¯s arrival. *Tweet* Just as the priest was beginning to look wary, a white sh swooped out of the City Manor with arge screech and positioned itself in front of the ck bird. "What a bird!" Sitting atop the ck bird, the priest could feel the agitation of his mount, and he gave a bitterugh. "With the presence of such a bird, the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City¡¯s airspace is impregnable. My future ns will probablye to naught." "Do not worry, I am acquainted with your master, and I am not here to wage war either. You can go now!" The priest spoke to the King of the Red-eyed White Birds, and patted the crown of the ck bird. He then slowly descended under the watchful gaze of the Bird King. "Haha...a friend from faraway, what a pleasant surprise! Brother Mu Li, you haven¡¯t been honest with me!" Fang Yuan stepped out of the Prefecture Master Manor, his arms open in a wee gesture. He was adorned with a magnificent rope embroidered in dragons and on his head sat a golden crown. He was a grand sight. "You mock me, Prefecture Master! You haven¡¯t been honest with me either!" Upon seeing Fang Yuan, the priest¡¯s bitterness became more apparently. This priest was a good friend of Liu Yan, and was in fact an agent of the Xia Country royals. He was the Taoist Mu Li. "Regarding all that had happened before, we both had our difficulties, so let bygones be bygones. You are an esteemed guest. Please do enter my humble abode and make yourselffortable!" Fang Yuan waved his hand with augh. The Taoist Mu Li was partly responsible for the death of Liu Yan, Fang Yuan¡¯s predecessor. On the other hand, Fang Yuan barely knew Liu Yan, and had nothing to do with his demise. Also, Mu Li was here as an envoy of the Xia royals. Thus, Fang Yuan had sent away the people who could potentially make things ugly, like Niu Dingtian. So far, things had gone smoothly. "Then I shall not stand on ceremony!¡¯ The Taoist Mu Li bowed once more, and looked towards to Bird King with approval. "This bird has an unrivaled majesty. It will be a great help to you, Prefecture Master!" Although Mu Li was concealing his identity and was a secret agent, his admiration for the huge bird was true. It was a pity that the Wind Chasing Falcon had fallen over the Summer Sun Prefecture. With the help of the Xia royals, Mu Li had managed to find this rare ck bird, which proved to be an adequate recement. However, it was still iparable to the Wind Chasing Falcon. Now that he had seen the King of the Red-eyed White Birds, which was superior even to the Irontail ck Eagle, he was forced to ept that his mount was grossly inferior to the Bird King. "It was simply the workings of Fate!" Fang Yuan smiled and walked with the Taoist Mu Li into the hall. Two maidservants served the tea and retreated respectfully. "Sigh..." The Taoist Mu Li held the teacup in his hand and as he stared into the depths of the spiritual tea, he was ovee by a wave of mncholy. "Brother Mu Li, you must be here as a representative of the Xia family, I hereby thank you for your trouble!" Fang Yuan gave a salute by cupping his right fist with his left hand. Fang Yuan had previously struck up a correspondence with Xia, and since Xie Lingyun and Lan Xiaosheng were also unwilling to get into the mess over at the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, both parties did not take things too seriously. All was fine. To them, the Secluded Mountain Prefecture had no chance against the Wu army, and was bound to fall sooner orter. Except that the Battle of Cangshan City was a disaster for the Wu Country. Fang Yuan had used twenty thousand troops against the hundred thousand strong Wu army and defeated them decisively. Fang Yuan had gained a formidable reputation as a result, and had also drawn up the Hundred Year Agreement to secure his power. After that, the Xia Country to sent out ambassadors frequently so as to maintain good rtions with Fang Yuan. As of now, with Wu Country¡¯s defeat freshly imprinted on everyone¡¯s mind, no one would dare to offend the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. In fact,they were extremely worried that Fang Yuan would make a move on the Summer Sun and Clear Spring Prefectures, or even harm the Xia royal family. "We are all friendly, no worries!" The Taoist Mu Li became solemn as the conversation moved into serious matters. "So, what is the purpose of your visit today?" Fang Yuan asked directly. With the Wu letter of credence, even if Fang Yuan wanted to be a vassal of the Xia Country, Xue Lingyun might not ept it, for her prestige as the ruler would be irreparably damaged. Of course, seeing that the Wu Country was unable to annex the Secluded Mountain Prefecture was great news to Xie Lingyun too. "Our Lady is pleased that the Secluded Mountain Prefecture is self sufficient. Thus, even if the Prefecture intends to be independent, the Xia Country will be very supportive..." The Taoist Mu Li grinned. "Oh!" Fang Yuanughed coldly. "So you intend to push the Secluded Mountain Prefecture out into the cold such that we will be a buffer between the Xia and Wu countries? And we will have to help you spy on and fend off the Wu country?" The Taoist Mu Li¡¯s heart sank. This was precisely the intention of his Lady. To let the Secluded Mountain Prefecture confront the Wu country while the Xia country could simply provide reinforcements if needed. This would be a favourable status quo. After all, the royal family had already reimed half of the Summer Sun Prefecture, and if they were allowed to rest and recuperate, they would be strong enough to deal with the issues in the Clear Spring Prefecture. To think that this young Prefecture Master would be this sharp and point out their ulterior motives unabashedly. "The Prefecture Master is indeed straightforward. This is the n!" The Taoist Mu Li nodded. After all, he was a spiritual knight too, and seeing that Fang Yuan had done away with the pleasantries, he would too. "To celebrate your ascension, our Lady has prepared a gift. It is already on its way!" ¡¯They have no substance!¡¯ The confession of the Taoist Mu Li was most amusing to Fang Yuan. He now knew that Xie Lingyun was afraid that he would invade the Summer Sun Prefecture and undo the work she had put in to stabilise the territory. And it was not just him. The Master of Clear Spring Prefecture, Lan Xiaosheng, was probably of the same mind as well. ¡®If I chose to interfere forcefully, Xie Lingyun and Lan Xiaosheng were bound to join forces against me, and might even rope the Wu Country into the alliance. On the other hand, if Ipromise, there is a good chance that Lan Xiaosheng might fall out with the Xia royals..." These political mind games were detailed in the history books, and Fang Yuan was well read enough to be shrewd. "If that is the case, many thanks to the Lady for her best wishes...the Secluded Mountain is in a terrible state, and will not be partaking in military action anytime soon. We will have to count on you in the days toe!" "That¡¯s right! That¡¯s right!" The Taoist Mu Li was ted, but then realised that Fang Yuan had spoken of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture as being the equal of the Xia Country. The arrogance emanating from Fang Yuan was depressing to Mu Li. ___________ "The time I have left is running out..." Having gotten rid of the Taoist Mu Li, Fang Yuan half-closed his eyes in deep thought. The skirmish on the Secluded Mountain was a great victory, and had not betrayed his true capabilities. It would be enough to deter potential enemies. When the situation stabilises, the politicking and espionage will most definitely resume. The impending chaos was unpleasant to think about. Not only that, when his foes figure out that he is the second Liu Yan, they might gang up andunch assassination attempts on him. Fang Yuan did not fear these challenges, but he was tired of dealing with them. "Why shouldn¡¯t I relinquish my authority and live a carefree life beyond the city?" His position as Master of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture was a powerful one, but it also made him a prime target. He was a sitting duck. Fang Yuan nned to go into seclusion and meditate for a period of time. He preferred initiation to retaliation. But regarding whether he could bear to give up his power? Fang Yuan was not perfect, but he believed in his own abilities. In his opinion, power and influence would naturallye along if one was capable. It did not matter even if he transferred power to his subordinates. No one could take away his personal strength from him. He had the moral high ground too, and there was no one who could really threaten him. Even if he came out of his seclusion and returned to a tumultuous world, with his cultivation and prodigious botany skills, no problem would be too difficult for him to handle. To Fang Yuan, his status as the Master of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture was a dispensable title. He was prepared to walk the talk! Still, before he left, he had to make some preparations. "Master! I would like to request an audience with you!" Yu Xinlou and Huang Fu Renhe carried a big pile of scrolls and waited patiently outside. "Come in!" Fang Yuan shook his head discreetly. Ever since he had seeded to his current position, these men were bing increasingly polite to the point of obeisance. This created a distancing effect and sometimes, Fang Yuan actually felt lonely. "Master, we have followed your orders and organised the manor books. We have gathered the maps of the Xia, Wu, Zhu countries...as well as the Yuanrong Grasnds. We shall present them to you now!" "Mm!" Fang Yuan chose at scroll at random. This map was made of premium goatskin and had been sanitised to prevent rotting. Still, its borders were covered with mold stains. Although these maps were created decades ago, they should bergely urate. Fang Yuan opened the mostprehensive map, where a triangr piece ofnd was detailed. On this continent, the domains of the Xia Country were clearly marked and sat in the middle. Beside ity thends of the Wu Country. These two countries took up nearly half of the totalnd area. In the immediate surroundings were the smaller states of Zhu, Yan, Qi etcetera. Other than perhaps the Zhu Country, the tiny states were no better than the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. They were but small yers on the game board. "The great seas on the three sides of the continent were referred to as ¡®The Deep¡¯ in the historical records. They are said to be endless, with life forms few and far between." Fang Yuan¡¯s gaze traversed over the continent to the northern part of the map. It was a sprawling grasnd. "This is the Yuanrong Grasnds. Therey the Yuan Country, where the people rule over thend with their horses and bows. They live like nomads..." "To get to the Da Qian Empire, one has to journey through the grasnds. This is the only way!" Fang Yuan stared at the map, his eyes gleaming. Chapter 156: Zhu Country Chapter 156: Zhu Country Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The world was huge, even Fang Yuan at his cultivation level could notprehend the vastness of the world. As he examined the rough drawing of the map, his fingers ran through the Yuanrong Grasnds, and as excitement filled his eyes, he let out a long sigh. To reach the Da Qian Empire, he had to traverse through this grasnd, and it was still unknown what troubles or dangers he might face. Furthermore, based on his current cultivation, it was still not very safe. He was also not in a hurry to go there too. "Take your leave!" As he waved, he dismissed Yu Xinlou and Huang Fu Renhe. With the flip of his palm, the treasure map from the Five Ghosts Sect appeared in his hands. This was so secretive that he did not intend to let anyone else know about it. At this point in time, the three-pieced treasure map wasbined into one, forming an intricate drawing of mountains. There was also an obvious spot which caught his attention. "This Five Ghosts Sect ancestor from the Da Qian Empire is not simple..." While examining the treasure map, he had aplicated look on his face. After all, this treasure had so much affinity with him. Even though it was split into three pieces and circted far and wide, he could still gather them together, which made him believe that it was fate. The ¡¯master¡¯s¡¯ true identity was also very suspicious. The three of his disciples had their own aplishments. The Xuan Yin Metal Corpse Spell could develop the Five Ghosts Sect to such a stage, and as for the Blood Demon, his inheritance was of immoral ways. "An extremely strong immoral demon? That escaped here after failing in the Da Qian empire..." Fang Yuan touched his chin. "From the act of not directly passing down this treasure to his descendants, I can infer that there must be risks in this... Of course, treasures can only be obtained from risks, and if it was safe, I¡¯ll rather not try!" ... He was an extremely decisive person. Since he had decided, he delegated the internal affairs of the Prefecture down to his subordinates and split his power, and he seemed unafraid that they would go against him with their power. Afterwards, Fang Yuan rode the Red-eyed White King Bird back to Green Peak spiritualnd. He wanted to settle the minute stuff before putting down everything to look for the secret ce in the treasure map. As Fang Yuan left the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City, many carts contain valuables and gifts were delivered into the city. If Daoist Mu Li was still here, he would be speechless. Fang Yuan had already left, so what was the point of delivering all these gifts? Outside the city gates, in a restaurant¡¯s private room, there wasplete silence. There was a spread on the table, and a 15-year aged wine was opened as its fragrance filled the entire room. "The Royal Family of the Xia Country have put in quite a lot of money!" From a window opening, a pair of eyes stared at the carriages of valuables entering the city, as itughed. It was a young man in silk robes and was around 25 years of age. He had definitive facial features and would leave a strong impression on those who looked at him. As he said, there was a hint of anger on his face. "Xie Lingyun did not honour her words and caused my army to be destroyed. She deserves to die!" "Be cautious with your words, prince!" At the table, there was another person in green clothes. He had a cloth tied around his hair bun, and although his clothes were in, there seemed to be extremely clean. He appeared to be about 40 to 50 years old and was originally closing his eyes to rest. As he opened his eyes, he had a warm gaze. "Thisdy has a marriage agreement with our king. Based on the rituals, she is your unwedded sister-inw!" As he spoke, the surroundings shook as his energy spread across the room, as though his instructions were absolute. His level of cultivation was definitely in the realms of elemental force. "Hehe... My brother wanted to marry thisdy in order to facilitate his future ns and make it official... It seems that thisdy is immature and does not have a sense of gratitude. Luckily, we will not sit back and do nothing..." The internal conflict in the royal family might just kill the new bride. After all, Wu Country only needed an excuse to invade. "Even if this is so, you should restrain!" The middle-aged man shook his head. "Considering the fall of our army and the shock it brought to our country, it would be unwise to create more trouble. Even if Xie Lingyun were to dy the date of marriage, our king can only hold himself back and wait..." "Dy? Thisdy is full of pride, that might just happen..." The young prince smiled. "Compared to her, I am more interested in that young Wu Zong. Cultivating his magic and the path of martial arts at the same time, and is even able to have control over spiritual nts? Wiping out tens of thousands of soldiers?" "I have done the investigation, it is indeed true... Although there are some restraints on that prefecture, they are nheless a force to be reckoned with." The middle-aged man sighed again. He knew the value of such power. Even the Imperial Advisor, Elder Daoist Xuan Sheng and General Fei Long cautioned against Fang Yuan when they returned to their country. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be here as well. "The new Prefecture Master¡¯s tactics are mysterious, but what is his true cultivation? Based on his progress and potential, he might be at the peak of the Elemental Gathering Realm at 50 years old, and able to reach the bottleneck to the Elemental Opening Realm!" The young prince rubbed the ruby ring on his finger, appearing solemn. "This talent cannot beprehended withmon sense. However, since they have made the 100-year agreement, it would be impossible to send inrge amounts of troops to take over them. The only way is to slowly plot against the prefecture!" The middle-aged man answered in a serious tone. No matter how much these two people estimated Fang Yuan¡¯s abilities to be, they would never have guessed that he was already at the peak of the Elemental Gathering Realm, ready to break through to the Elemental Opening Realm. "Sir!" A shopkeeper entered, and in a serious and respectful tone, said, "We have news that the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master has left the Prefecture City a few days ago. The internal affairs are now handed over to Leader Niu Dingtian, Zhang Qingfeng, Yu Xinlou and a few others to settle!" "This is... weird!" The young prince hands shuddered. "There is such a person in this world? Who would give no regard to absolute power? Is he not worried that his subordinates would overthrow him?" "Maybe... Only by doing this would he have aplishments...." They were all rather impressed at Fang Yuan. However, both of them looked at each other, speechless. Since Fang Yuan was not in the Prefecture City anymore, what use did their preparations here and the spies have? ... As the news spread, Fang Yuan had already left the Green Peak Spiritual Mountain, riding on the Iron-tailed ck Eagle¡¯s back, flying freely in the sky. "Chirp! Chirp!" The ck eagle was unhappy that the Red-eyed White King Bird took over its role, and used this opportunity to showcase its ability. Its speed was indeed as quick as an arrow, and they shed across the clouds. "Now, my influence, martial arts, spiritual spells and even my prestige are at peak levels, or should I say bottlenecks!" Fang Yuan crossed his legs and sat down, staring into space. Even though the wind was strong, his clothes did not sway a single bit, which appeared weird. "Being the Prefecture Master of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture is already my limit, and I have attracted many spies as well. I would sooner orter have to reveal my true strength..." "The only solution is to keep improving myself!" He clenched his fist and his blood almost boiled. Xia Country, Wu Country, Zhu Countr and even Yuan Country all did not have obvious Elemental Opening Realm spiritual knightsing from them. If he spearheaded and entered this realm first, he could have ultimate control and a firm footing. He would not have to worry about others plotting against him anymore. "The equivalent of the Elemental Opening Realm of a dream master is the Illusionary Divine Stage. It is incredibly arduous to achieve this stage. One would be required to reproduce something from the dream world in the real world. Even if it was a grain of sand or a spiritual spell, it would still be counted as an overall sess!" The path of making visions into reality as a dream master was the hardest of all. "Based on the theory of my ¡¯past life¡¯, there is a fixed cycle in everything, but as for the Prominent Divine Stage of the dream world, it is to make ¡¯something out of nothing¡¯!" Fang Yuan bit his lip. "Maybe not really something out of nothing, but based on my current cultivation, I am unable to understand the mystery of the highest stage." The end goal of a dream master was always to turn vision into reality. But in order to make objects and beings with souls, and subsequently the world, such power could not be harnessed by ordinary dream masters. Every object had their ownw of nature to follow. To Fang Yuan, however, this exploration was too deep for him now. He could only follow the instructions from Master Wenxin to slowly enter the Illusionary Divine Stage. He would only slowly unravel the other mysteries after attaining the highest cultivation level possible. "To attain the Illusionary Divine Stage, I just need to reproduce some part of my dream world into the real world to be considered a breakthrough!" "Based on the experience of my master, it would be the hardest to reproduce living beings, followed by spiritual objects, then normal objects. The easiest would be to harness the flow of energy from spiritual spells!" Even if both were to be constructed by sand, Fang Yuan understood that a body of energy would be easier to create than a real physical body A dream spells master was verymon in the Illusionary Divine Stage. A dream spells master would create spiritual spells in dream worlds and transfer them into the real world. Since they create the spiritual spells in their dream world, the elemental energy required is far lesser; they could create any type of spiritual spells and could be conversant in all 5 elements, and were especially good in casting illusions and confusion arrays. This power would overwhelm the others in the same realm. But a dream spells master would be the easiest path for a dream master to take to enter the Holy Stage! The path of a dream master is countless, and the possibilities were endless! Only now did Fang Yuan truly understand the true meaning in Master Wenxin¡¯s inheritance. ... "Chirp! Chirp!" While Fang Yuan was deep in thought, the seated Iron-tailed ck Eagle let out a long chirp. "Mm? We have arrived at Zhu Country?" Fang Yuan looked down in anticipation. Zhu Country was a small country. It had 10 counties and were neighbouring countries with Xia Country and Wu Country. However, they were slightly weaker and in the past 10 years, there was no news of any new elemental force martial artists, as though they would be a weakening force. Inparison, it was rather simr to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture which Fang Yuan was in charge of. "The ¡¯master¡¯s¡¯ treasure map points towards the middle of the Drunken Moon Lake in Zhu Country! Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. His cultivation had already reached the peak, and any additional consumption of spiritual pills or spiritual rice would not be beneficial to his cultivation. Only by breaking through would his cultivation improve further. This treasure might do all the difference!!! Chapter 157: Drunken Moon Chapter 157: Drunken Moon Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The Descent Moon Court was a famousndmark in the Zhu Country. The court was located beside the Drunken Moon Lake. It had 7 floors and was over 30 yards tall. The construction of the court was extremely ingenious From the top floor, the view of the Drunken Moon Lake was spectacr and had a soothing effect. Inside the court, there were a few calligraphies made by famous schrs. The most poetic one was the ¡¯Immortal Drunken Moon¡¯ and was considered a treasure in the court. Not anyone would have a chance to see it. There was a thinyer of fog gliding on the surface of theke. Theke was huge and it was home to reeds and other aquatic life. The scenery was mesmerising, and theke had provided a living for many people. One of the best aquatic products that could be caught from theke was the Drunken Moon Silverfish. It was a delicacy served in the Descent Moon Court. The dish was carefully made and consists of getting the freshest sections from 49 different Drunken Moon Silverfishes. It was delicious beyondparison. It was said that tasting this dish would be akin to attaining immortality, and other types of meat would taste worthless in the next three months. Fang Yuan sat boldly in a suite room. There was a jade white wine pot in front of him and the wine in it was very fragrant. A sumptuous meal wasid out on the table, and one of the dishes was the speciality in Descent Moon Court; the 7 Treasures Sliced Drunken Fish. The slices of fish were thin and transparent. There was also an aroma of the wine from the slices of fish, making it very tasty. "Hmm.....not bad. This is good!" Fang Yuan took another slice using his chopsticks and tipped the waitress beside him. "This fish is fresh and tender. With the addition of the wine, it is aplete match and a goodbination. This taste is extraordinary....." "Master, you are an expert in food indeed!" After hearing Fang Yuan¡¯s praises, the waitress quickly kept the tips and her eyes were filled with happiness. "This is a top quality Drunken Silverfish. This fish naturally has the taste of the wine and it is rare to catch this fish in the Drunken Moon Lake!" "The Drunken Silverfish?" Fang Yuanughed and his eyes glittered a little. "So the fish knows how to drink alcohol?" "This.....I¡¯m afraid the fishes do know how. Looks like master, you are not here for the Drunken Moon Festival?" The waitress was a little startled as she asked that question. "The Drunken Moon Festival?" Fang Yuan casually enjoyed his meal. "Tell me more about it!" "Yes!" The waitress was a little surprised. Nevertheless, she still exined it in detail to Fang Yuan. There would be a few days in the Drunken Moon Lake where there would be a Lunar Corona. During this period of time, wine aroma woulde from theke intermittently, as it reflects the moon on the surface of theke. Hence, the name Drunken Moon Lake. During these few days, theke would have good stuff like the rare Drunken Silverfish and other spiritual animals! This attracted many schrs and martial artists to explore the secrets behind this. They would also trade here in the market during this period of the year and since then, this had be an annual festival. "Oh?" Fang Yuanughed and said, "So what a coincidence, I¡¯vee at the right time. Looks like I am destined to experience this festival!" "Of course. Master, you are a lucky person!" The waitress covered her mouth andugh politely. However, that was not what she thought. Not anyone could enter the Descent Moon Court. Even though was Fang Yuan was a stranger to the court, the waitresses were ordered to provide a good service to Fang Yuan and serve him good food. So how could he be just a normal person? Not to mention, Fang Yuan had an elegant temperament and was wealthy. She was guessing that Fang Yuan must be from a rich household. Fang Yuan lifted up his cup. Amidst the cooling breeze and the scenery, his mind was running wild. ¡¯I didn¡¯t expect....that the location of the treasure was a touristndmark. The person who made the map, his actions are very unexpected......However, since he could hide the map from so many people, the method of concealing the treasure might not be that simple. With the festivities around, I could dy a day before heading to theke to continue searching....." ....... Since the Drunken Moon Festival was quite famous in the Zhu Country, preparations were made a few days in advance. As the festival approached, Fang Yuan realised that more and more people arrived at theke. Martial artists were walking around with swords and daggers, looking ferocious and all tense up, causing many to subconsciously avoid them. It was nighttime. The moon was high up in the sky and above theke, there was ayer of thick fog. Thekeside was very quiet and there were a number of lone fires burning emerald green in colour, giving one the creeps. As the number of lone fires increased, horses and cows gathered around. Tents were being set up and the ce became like a market. However, to those who had no idea what was going on, it would seem like a gathering of demons. In fact, it was called the Ghost Market. Fang Yuan realised that it was just a gathering set up by the cultivation world. This gathering was made mysterious like a cult so normal people would not join in. "I should take a look at this annual ck market!" Nobody knew who was the one who organised the ck market and the people who came were all mysterious. Fang Yuan wore a hat which had covered almost half of his face. The products sold in this ck market had unknown sources. However, there were a few good stuff here. Of course, there was no guarantee to any of the products sold. One could end up getting a fake product or products that might implicate them with bad blood, and if that is so, one can only me oneself¡¯s bad luck. "Is it your first time here?" At the entrance of the ghost market, a few strong men in ck were guarding and as they saw Fang Yuan, they weed him with a smile. "Yes.....Are there any rules here when I enter this ce?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered and he was glowing, startling a few of them. "No rules....just a few agreements that we have to remind you when you enter!" The leader of the groupughed and exined. "Inside the market, you can either exchange a good with another good, or you can pay in gold or silver. However, banknotes are not epted. Once a trade has been made, you cannot ask for a refund. Of course, the most important is that you should not use force on anyone or else you will be severely dealt with." "Hmm." Fang Yuan waved his hands and entered the market. "Big Brother..." Another man in ck beside the leader noticed that Fang Yuan was rather rude. He went forward to talk to the leader. "Don¡¯t harbour any stupid ideas. Are you tired of living?" The leader¡¯s eyes were serious as he berated that man. "We were rmended by everyone to guard this ce because we are righteous! It would not pay off to do these meaningless things! Also....." As he looked in the direction which Fang Yuan had gone, he was feeling a little worried. Even though Fang Yuan¡¯s voice sounded young, the leader was unsure if Fang Yuan was an old master in disguise. No one would be able to help him if he really offended an expert who could use elemental force. ... This leader obviously didn¡¯t know that by being reserved, it saved his life. Fang Yuan was looking around in the market, surprised. "A ck market indeed. The goods here are of good quality and the prices are rather cheap. The only thing is that no one knows where these goodse from....." He went past a few stalls and bought a few rare spiritual objects, and was not interested in the rest. After all, at his current level of maturity and his status as a prefecture master, there were not many things that made him interested. "Everyone, the Drunken Moon Lake is about to open. There will be numerous spiritual objects around, and therefore is the best time to try your luck. How can you not have a Water Map with you?" A loud voice was heard from the front. Among the rather silent market, this voice attracted quite a lot of attention. Fang Yuan went forward and saw a person wearing a cloak. The person was squatting by the roadside and there was a small stall right in front of him, disying 3 maps for sale. "This is the Drunken Moon Water Adventure Map. I have spent decades crafting out this map and I will be only selling 3 copies. Each copy cost 1,000 taels of white silver or any goods that are of simr price!" He sounded greedy. "This map is crafted beautifully, but I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s real or fake.....Otherwise, 1,000 taels for this map is not at all expensive!" An onlooker came forward and took a look at the map. He shook his head and asked, "Is it possible for me to have a look at theplete version of the map?" "Not possible!" The man in cloak rejected straight away and said, "Only those who have paid can view theplete version. I am swearing right here that there will only be 3 copies of this map sold this year!" ¡¯Hmm? Indeed a smart person!¡¯ Fang Yuan went forward and realised that the maps were iplete as the map had missed out many districts. However, the map was crafted beautifully. There were measurements and legends included, which seemed that much effort had been put into when crafting this map. However, the possibility of it being fake was very high. It would be toote to regret it if he had bought it and realised that it was fake. Also, who could fully trust that person in the cloak with just a guarantee from him? After all, the person could make a few more copies and make money from it by selling them. "What a pity.....if it was just 100 taels of silver, I will take the gamble!" One of the onlookers shouted. "I, Jiang... will not lie to anyone. If I said there would be only 3 copies, there would only be 3 copies!" The man in the cloak was little angry and raised his voice. "Haha......since you put it that way, I shall support you then!" At that moment, the crowd made way and an old person dressed in ck came forward. "These are good quality Drunken Pearls. One pearl is worth 100 taels. Can I exchange 10 pearls for that map?" "Of course!" The man in the cloak kept the pearls from the old man and passed one copy of the map to him with both of his hands. "Are you two in cahoots to trick the rest of us?" Seeing the appearance of the old man, the rest of the onlookers felt even more suspicious and were even more hesitant to buy the map as they were afraid that it might be a fraud. There were all kinds of people in this Ghost Market. However, Fang Yuan had a different opinion. ¡¯These two knew each other. The man in the cloak only revealed this fact when he became angry. From the reaction of the old man who had bought the map, it seemed that is rather influential.....Even though he seems to be only at the level of the 4 Heavenly Gates...¡¯ With this thought, he had some assurance with regards to the authenticity of the map. He went forward and examined the map once more. As he looked, he was a little surprised. Some parts of the iplete version of the map seemed to coincide with the treasure map which he already had. "After all, the Drunken Moon Lake is huge. It will be too troublesome to look for it one by one and now I even manage to find clues here. Looks like I have found what I wanted!" As he thought about this, Fang Yuan went forward and grabbed a copy of that map. "Hey friend....." The man in the cloak became angry, but his hair stood on its ends as though he was facing a ferocious beast. "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m paying for it!" Fang Yuan cleared his throat and tossed him a jade bottle. "Are these....spiritual pills?" As the man in the cloak poured the contents of the bottle out, his eyes were wide opened and he let out a cry, and the onlookers were in shock. Chapter 158: Combined Assault Chapter 158: Combined Assault Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Whenever Fang Yuan went out, he would bring along arge amount of gold and silver that were befitting of his status. However, it would be easier to make trades with items in the Ghost Market. For convenience, he brought along spiritual pills and objects primarily. He took out a Muscle Building Pill. Based on the sheen that caused it to shine like a pearl in the dark, it was obvious that it was notmon, and possessed a bit of pill essence. "The pill¡¯s carvings, essence and sheen...this is a real spiritual pill!" The old man, who previously asked for money to purchase the map, croaked, his eyes fixed on Fang Yuan. "To be able to produce spiritual pills, could it be that you are a medicine master?" He guessed that the person was either a true alchemy master, although the possibility was very small, or an alchemy disciple who could only use the title of a medicine master. Fang Yuan could not be bothered to correct him! This pill is known as the Muscle Building Pill. It is able to treat injuries quickly. How about I trade this pill for your map? He looked at the person in the cloak and asked directly. "That would naturally be enough. Your pill is worth much more than that!" The cloaked man immediately bowed. Although he was usually proud and arrogant, the man could not be haughty in front of a possible alchemy disciple. "That¡¯s good!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and left. "Shu!" The martial artists who were there to see themotion parted to create a path, their eyes fiery. None of them dared to step forward and talk to him without understanding his nature. The cloaked man had already started to close his stall and did not want to continue his business. "Wait, I want to buy that map!" A martial artist boomed after racking his brains. "That¡¯s right, I will pay in silver and add another 100 taels!" Another man in ck shirt with bloodshot eyes said. They had finally understood the value of the map which was sought after by a mysterious person and an alchemy master. "I am happy with what I have obtained today, please leave!" The cloaked man held the spiritual pill tightly and disappeared into the crowd. Hindered by the rules and regtions of the Ghost Market, some of the people felt that it was a pity. However, there were others that started to gather. After all, that was a spiritual pill! ording to what that alchemy master had said, the pill would be a lifesaver at a critical moment! The inner force experts and the martial artists of the 4 Heavenly Gates were willing to pay the price and shed blood for the pill. People were willing to fight for just one spiritual pill. As such, Fang Yuan, the purported alchemy master, would face much trouble. He appeared to be unaware. After looking at a few other stalls, he shook his head and headed for the exit of the Ghost Market. "Sir, wait!" The old man who purchased the map rushed forward and said respectfully, "I am Yu Feishui, it is my fortune to meet you today!" "Oh, a lucky encounter!" Fang Yuan asked indifferently, "How may I help you?" Yu Feishui revealed his identity which was famous in this district. It was obvious that Fang Yuan was not a citizen of Zhu Country as he had not even heard of his name. He was cunning and appearedmon, "That right, I have arge number of spiritual ingredients that I would like to present to you as a gift!" "Drunken Moon Festival?" Fang Yuan asked. "You are definitely knowing!" Yu Feishui smiled, "I know the person that previously sold you the map, his name is Jiang Tianwang. He is familiar with the water and thrived in it. His ancestors made a living out of the Drunken Moon Lake. If they had not met any unforeseen circumstances, they would not be here selling maps." "What does that got to do with me?" Fang Yuan asked coldly. "Every Drunken Moon Festival, the Drunken Moon Lake would produce up to 3 times as much Drunken Fish with the possibility of spiritual fish appearing!" Yu Feishui continued, "This time, I have put in the effort and created 3 metal hull flying ship, and the maps of Jiang Tianwang. I am onlycking an alchemy disciple to be able to use the spiritual fish as an ingredient..." An alchemy master was second to none in fully utilising spiritual animals and nts. Yu Feishui understood perfectly that it would be a waste if there was no alchemy master at hand to utilize the spiritual fish even if they had a good haul. As such, he looked at Fang Yuan and gritted his teeth, "If you are willing to help, I am willing to share half of my haul with you!" He bowed deeply after speaking. Truth be told, half the portion was too much even for an alchemy disciple. However, Yu Feishui was cunning and was not thinking about the harvest but rather used it as a mean to approach the alchemy master. As such, he was willing to sacrifice everything he had. "I have heard your request clear, it is just a shame..." Fang Yuan shrugged his shoulders and mocked him, "I am no alchemy master! Goodbye!" He waved his hand and walked out of the Ghost Market in big strides. "What?" Yu Feishui¡¯s mouth dropped open. He felt like giving himself a p. He realized that Fang Yuan only took out a spiritual pill and did not confirm that he was an alchemy master. All the previous guesses were his wishful thinking. Knowing this, he still ran forward and revealed all his ns? This was not how he normally behave! ¡¯Wait a minute, when I chased after him just now, I only wanted to test him. Why did I reveal the truth and even my name to him the moment I met him?¡¯ Old Yu felt that something was off the more he thought about it. He was in cold sweat. "Haha...to think that he would be able to get to Old Yu!" At this moment, a few people appeared at his side, their looks were ominous. "He must be from another country as he did not even know your name. Rest assured, we will help you!" They chased after Fang Yuan immediately after finishing the sentence. Old Yu recognized them as the Long Hair Demons, a famous group of bandits in Zhu Country. It was rumoured that all their members had at least broken through the Death Gate, and they were all united and cunning. The seven brothers had even managed to escape from a Wu Zong together! With a strong reputation, they were unrestrained and were notorious in Zhu Country. "There are to be no fighting within the Ghost Market. However, there are no such rules outside the market..." Yu Feishui muttered as he looked in the direction that Fang Yuan went. He did not know why he was not concerned about the youth but was afraid for himself to the point that his limbs started to tremble. ... "Reckless idiots!" Fang Yuan had realized long ago that he was being followed. After all, he unted the spiritual pill in the ck market and did not disy his ability. Was it not to attract the attention of others to tempt them? Given his current power, they were nothing no matter how many of them came. He would be able to escape even if they were Wu Zongs and spiritual knights from Wu Country. Soon after, the Long Hair Demons met their doom. So what if they possessed a good technique that would allow them tobine their Elemental Force which would in turn rival that of a Wu Zong? Fang Yuan was no ordinary Wu Zong! He lifted up the second brother, shook his head and tore him apart. The second brother was well-built. Under Fang Yuan¡¯s hand, however, he tore like paper. Fresh blood and innards spilt onto the floor. "You are...a Wu Zong!" The eldest brother did not run away. Looking at his brothers¡¯ bodies, he was in utter despair. They could not beat the person standing in front of him even when the 7 of thembined their strength. Now that he was alone, how could he fight Fang Yuan? He was filled with hatred! He had already remembered the features of those experts that should not be messed with from the neighbouring countries but Fang Yuan did not meet the criteria for all of them. If not, he would not have foolishly took on Fang Yuan and be sent to his death! "Hmmm, correct guess, sadly there is no prize!" Fang Yuan used the shadowstep and arrived before the eldest brother. He touched the eldest brother¡¯s forehead. "Dream!" The eldest brother trembled, closed his eyes and when into a deep sleep. A white fog appeared and slowly swallowed everything in its path... After a while, Fang Yuan opened his eyes. With a wave of his hand, the eldest brother¡¯s head cracked open. "Long Hair Demons? What kind of stupid name is that?" He was disgusted and shook his head. After his dream-building waspleted, the martial artists and spiritual disciples who were of the Elemental Force Realm and below were unable to keep secrets from him. From the dream alone, he was able to delve into the life of the eldest brother, understand his whole family tree and even know where they hid their loot from years of evil-doing. Of course, he was able to get much more information than that. From the Long Hair Demons, he noticed the set of technique which allowed them tobine their assault. After careful examination, he made a new revtion. "Thisbined assault technique was passed down for generations. Their ancestor was amon fisherman of the Drunken Moon Lake. It was fate which resulted in him meeting a benefactor who took him in as a servant and imparted this skill to him after he had served for 3 years..." Fang Yuan stroked his chin. "Based on the timeline, it was very close to the founder of the Five Ghosts Sect. Could they be the same person?" There was no purpose to further investigate. What was important was that the technique was now in his hands. "I have no use for this technique, however, this is not a bad technique to the servants and can be used to guard the house..." Fang Yuan stroked his chin and wondered if he should impart skills to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Armed Forces. While pondering, Fang Yuan dispelled the fog and the misty Drunken Moon Lake appeared before his eyes. The moonlight lit up the waters. Fang Yuan touched his nose. The gentle breeze brought along the fragrance of alcohol. It smelled no difference from the Drunken Silver Fish. "Theke water carries the smell of alcohol, the moon and theke meets? The Drunken Moon Festival... is here!" Chapter 159: Spiritual Fish Chapter 159: Spiritual Fish Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In theke, there were many boats. Since the Drunken Moon phenomenon, there were many martial artistsing from everywhere and seemed to have gone crazy with the fishermen here, as they all gathered in at the Drunken Moon Lake. After all, themencement of the Drunken Moon Festival would mean that the volume of silver fishes would increase exponentially, just like the past years. Needless to say, among the normal silver fishes, there would be the extremely valuable Drunken Moon Silver Fish. Once they get any catch, the restaurants by theke would buy the fish in taels at a standard rate. With this enticement, everyone ranging from three-year-olds to old folks joined in the craze for fishing. Some even went to the extent of just floating around theke on a piece of wooden board, without any regard for their own life. Of course, beneath therge profits earned were lives that were lost; there were countless corpses at the bottom of theke. A cultivator would have a different taste. How would they be satisfied with normal fish? They were all interested in the spiritual fishes and spiritual objects in the depths of the Drunken Moon Lake, and the Wine Spring Source, which was described in the legends to be able to transform the entireke into wine! "Of course, the Wine Spring Source is but a myth, and is likely to be fake..." Since obtaining the whereabouts of the ¡¯master¡¯, Fang Yuan had an idea of his own. He might even be the one behind the weird phenomenon at the Drunken Moon Lake. With his god-like powers, it was scary and almost made him wanted to return home. After all, this ¡¯master¡¯ was not his own master, who would without hesitation teach him everything he knew. Conversely, the chances of him being evil were rather high, and there might be that danger. "Chirp! Chirp!" The Iron-tailed ck Eagle pped its wings, creating huge gusts of winds. As the gust blew at him, Fang Yuan¡¯s clothing remained still. "Old Fish was right. Jiang Tianwang¡¯s ancestors used to work around theke, and his water map was indeed intricately drawn..." Fang Yuan crossed his legs and sat on the eagle¡¯s back. He opened the map which he purchased andpared it with his own treasure map, as he came to a conclusion. "Chirp! Chirp!" The Iron-tailed ck Eagle chirped as it felt a little tipsy from the air full of wine fragrance. Suddenly, it descended and made waves on the surface of theke with its ws. As he ascended, it had already caught two struggling silver fishes in its ws. "Mmm?" Apanying the struggling silver fishes was a strong scent of wine fragrance, which was extremely mouth-watering. Fang Yuan looked at the treasure map in his hands, then looked at the water map, speechless. "The closer I get to the treasure, the more Drunken Moon Silver Fishes there would be. Following, I¡¯m afraid..." Indeed, at this moment, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle had already eaten both fishes. As it took aim at another school of fishes, something happened! "Ssh!" In the sshes of water, a silvery fish of 25 inches jumped out of theke, right into the ws of the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. Its scales were glittering, and its skin was like jade. Suddenly, it opened its mouth and spit out a stream of water towards the eyes of the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. "Ssh!" This stream of water came extremely quick. The Iron-tailed ck Eagle could only narrowly dodge it, and as the stream of waternded on its neck, a few feathers dropped. It took a slight turn in its flight path an almost headed into the water. Chirps of anger were heard. The silver fish was extremely slippery. As its shotnded on the eagle, it slipped into the water and with a flick of its tail, it vanished. The Iron-tailed ck Eagle could only let out a long chirp. "Nice spiritual fish!" Fang Yuan witnessed all of it on the back of the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. This silver fish had a spirituality of its own, unlike a normal silver fish. It was truly a spiritual being! If a martial artist were to eat it, he would be stronger. If an alchemy master were to obtain it, he could extract all the essence from it and turn it into a spiritual pill! Yu Feishui spent his entire fortune making three metal hull flying ships and sent out all his assistants, all for this spiritual fish. "Spiritual beings are valuable. Based on the size of thiske, there would be a lot of spiritual fishes in it... Maybe it can train up a batch of highly skilled martial artists just with these spiritual fishes?" Regardless cultivation or martial artists training, foundation and resources are the most important. Where do such resourcese from? Of course from spiritual beings! If one was gifted and had enough spiritual objects to supplement, one could follow in Fang Yuan¡¯s miraculous footsteps and break all the gates in quick session. "Of course, after the Death Gate, the Wu Zong gate would require affinity and a high magical energy. Not every spiritual object had the ability to increase one¡¯s magic." Fang Yuan located a small ind and ordered the Iron-tailed ck Eagle tond there and rest. Seeing the asional shimmer on the surface of theke, Fang Yuan was lost in his thoughts. "This spiritual fish is not bad. If it can be tamed, I might even try to carve out a pond in the Green Peak spiritualnd..." "Chirp! Chirp!" After Fang Yuan dismounted the Iron-tailed ck Eagle, it flew to theke to find trouble for the fishes. At one go, it managed to catch 10 drunken silver fishes, but none of them was spiritual. On the contrary, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle was sprayed at many times by the spiritual fishes and looked embarrassing. "Haha..." As Fang Yuan witnessed this scene, he happily joined in. "I¡¯ll take revenge for you! Let¡¯s go!" "Chirp! Chirp!" With his help, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle instantly became much more energetic. It took aim at a school of fishes and dashed towards it. "Ssh!" The school of fish hurriedly scrambled away. At the side, a ssh appeared as a spiritual fish jumped out. With a spray, a stream of water aimed straight at the Iron-tailed ck Eagle. After all, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle was a bird, and it would be disadvantageous for it to y hide-and-seek with the spiritual fishes in the water. "Trying to escape?" Fang Yuanughed, as he struck his right hand out and crushed the water stream. "Whoosh!" Not just that, his energy was gentle as silk but strong as metal. As it entered theke, it vanished. Fang Yuan closed his eyes and used his magical energy to control his energy. Suddenly, he eximed. "Up!" "Ssh!" As the water surface broke, the spiritual fish which took a shot at the eagle was yanked out of the water, and its tail continued to p. This mystical move was a testament to Fang Yuan¡¯s superior prowess in giving his elemental energy a form outside his body as well as his developing dream master¡¯s skill in probing into memories. "Ping! Ping!" With the flick of this right wrist, he swung the spiritual fish onto the ind and scanned theke for more. Together with the Iron-tailed ck Eagle, he managed to catch 5 more spiritual fishes in a short span of time. "Alright, that¡¯s enough!" After predicting the Iron-tailed ck Eagle¡¯s appetite, Fang Yuan stopped catching more fishes and came to the ind. He collected some dried twigs, started a fire and began cooking the fish. The Drunken Moon Silver Fish was a delicacy, the pride of Zhu Country. He had tried it for himself before at Descent Moon Court, and it was indeed remarkable. Seeing this spiritual fish again, he could not help himself but dig in. "By smoking the fish, I will remove the fishy stench. Since it already has wine on it, I won¡¯t need other condiments... I shall just cook it directly..." Fang Yuan quickly slit open the spiritual fish¡¯s stomach, cleaned it before smoking it over the fire. He only added a little salt to enhance its taste. After a short while, an astonishing fragrance came from the spiritual fish meat, making him drool. "Mmm..." Fang Yuan gave it arge bite and his mouth was filled with the freshness and juiciness of the fish. It was indeed delicious. "This fish meat is chewy and there is no fishy stench from it. In fact, it has a hint of sweetness in its meat, and together with the fragrance of wine, there is also a small numbing spiciness, good! Delicious!" As he shook his hands, the fish bones separated from the meat smoothly. After finishing an entire fish, Fang Yuan licked his lips and started to prepare the second one. Beside him, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle was enjoying the fish too. After a long while, both Fang Yuan and the Iron-tailed ck Eagleid on the beach, both full and satisfied. "Mmm... This spiritual force is therapeutic, with water-type properties. It has a simr effect as the me Jade Rice..." Fang Yuan closed his eyes and rubbed his tummy, as he felt the spiritual energy spreading throughout his body, bringing with it a feeling of warmth. Every pore on his skin was extremely rxed, as though he was in Heaven. "After a full meal, let¡¯s take a nap before finding the treasure!" Fang Yuan ced both his hands behind his head, satisfied andpletely rxed. All the pieces of the treasure map were with him, and there was no one else topete with him. Therefore, he felt that it was alright if he dyed it by a day or two. After a short while of resting, his eyebrows twitched as he stood up and examined the surface of theke. "Ssh! Ssh!" Three metal hull flying ships were riding the waves and appeared in front of Fang Yuan. These ships were extremely big and the appearance was very unique. It was entirely covered in metal, and there were two gigantic oars on each side of each ship. Even if they were riding against the wind, they could still sail at an astonishing speed. "Metal hull flying ships?!" Just by this, Fang Yuan could guess who the ships belonged to. Seeing a bright red g with the image of a whale at the fore of the ship, Fang Yuan said to himself in a mocking tone. "What a coincidence!" "Grandfather, there is smoke there?!" As the metal hull flying ships approached, they realised the smoke from the ind. "Mm?" On the nk of the ship, Yu Feishui stroked his beard. "There are no ships here, but there is smoke. I¡¯m afraid that someone might be stranded there. Send some small boats to take a look!" He appeared wise and seemed to have absolute control over the situation. However, shortly after, his eyeballs almost dropped out. He saw a ck bird carrying a person as itnded on the ship¡¯s nk. "This is... a spiritual bird!?" Yu Feishui was in disbelief and stopped his subordinates from wielding their weapons. Instead, he took two steps forward and greeted Fang Yuan with respect. "Junior Yu Feishui sends my greetings to you, Senior!" He knew that he could not fend against this bird, and therefore the person who tamed it must be a senior! Regardless how young he was, he must be a senior! "Mmm..." Fang Yuan chuckled inside, as Yu Feishui did not recognise him. "I¡¯ve heard what you said previously, and you are indeed kind-hearted. Good, very good!" Yu Feishui heaved a sigh of relief and looked at his grandchildren with a look of gratitude. Chapter 160: Spiritual Fish King Chapter 160: Spiritual Fish King Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "This is my granddaughter. Xiaohong,e and greet senior!" Yu Feishui was relieved as he knew he that this person was not evil. He immediately pulled her granddaughter out to greet Fang Yuan. "I¡¯m Yu Xiaohong. Greetings, senior!" Her granddaughter was about 20 years old. She had bright eyes and a natural cheerful smile. She had two braids, was tall and had a beautiful figure. Her skin was tanned as she was often under the sun. "Hmm, alright!" Fang Yuan waved his hands and came to the bow of the ship. "Did you build this ship to catch the spiritual fishes during the Drunken Moon Festival?" "You¡¯re correct!" Yu Feishui took a few steps forward and continued, "I¡¯m a water explorer. With the help of this ship, I would be satisfied if I can get some inheritance for my future generations......" Fang Yuan had noments. The spiritual energy was limited. In the entire Drunken Moon Lake, this area had the highest concentration of the spiritual energy, which exined the appearance of spiritual fishes. Fang Yuan had the spiritual bird, and Yu Feishui had the Metal Hull Flying Ship, both of which would attract attention. After a while, there might be many other martial artists would flock here like as if they were sharks who had just smelt blood. "Grandfather! It¡¯s the silver fishes!" At this moment, Yu Xiaohong stared at the silver lining on the surface of theke with her sharp eyes and shouted. "Hmm? Get the metals and the spearguns. We shall use the fishing hooks first. Order the other 2 boats to surround this area and don¡¯t let any of the fish escape!" Yu Feishui told Fang Yuan that he needed to leave to attend to his business. Even though he appeared cowardly in front of Fang Yuan, he was, in fact, smart and capable. Along with a few exmations, many sailors began to sprinklerge amounts of fish bait into theke. They also tossed a huge fishing hook into theke, with a golden red coloured earthworm on the hook as bait. "This golden earthworm is a favourite among the silverfish and the Drunken Silverfish......There might even be a slight chance to attract the spiritual fish!" Seeing that Fang Yuan was a little confused, Yu Xiaohong exined to him in detail. "Whoosh! Whoosh!" Fang Yuan came to the side of the boat and saw a silver glitter on the surface of the water. Many silver fishes hade to feed on the bait. As many of the fishes snatched to feed on the bait, there were some caught on the hook. ¡¯How could the normal fish baitpare to the golden earthworm? Of course, they would snatch for it! However, naturally, the stronger ones will win the fight! How can the silverfishes be able to snatch the earthworm from the Drunken Silverfishes? And how will the Drunken Silverfishes be able to snatch it from the spiritual fishes? The ones that will be caught on the hook will be the best fishes!¡¯ Fang Yuan looked on and agreed silently. "Hooks up!" Yu Feishui gave the order with a calm look. "Ughhh! Ughhh!" Two sailors started to the turn the winch to bring the fiss back, pulling up many silverfishes. "Hmm.....most of them are Drunken Silverfishes. We have a good catch today!" Even though his goal was to catch the spiritual fish, Yu Feishui also wanted the normal silverfishes and the Drunken SIlverfishes. He stared at the fishing line as it reeled in, nervous. "Whoosh!" At that moment, the fishing line came onto the surface of the water and there was a 37-inch long spiritual fish on the hook! Its shape stood out from the rest of the fishes and it was obvious that it was different. As the fishing line was pulled even harder, the line was rising slowly and was under tension, as it approached its breaking point. "Grandfather, it¡¯s the spiritual fish!" Yu Xiaohong shouted. "Hmph!" Yu Feishui ran to the speargun at the bow of the ship. With steadied hands, he aimed at the spiritual fish and pulled the trigger. "Peng!" The speargun at the bow of the boat was, in fact, a ballistic projectile. It was a few inches long and had a metal hook that was chained to the speargun. As it was fired, a shocking sound was heard and the whole ship vibrated slightly. "Pa!" The struggling spiritual fish knew that it was facing a threat and flicked. With a light sound, the fishing line finally broke. The spiritual fish flicked its tail and basked under the sunlight as it avoided the speargun, before dropping back into theke. "Sigh....." Yu Feishui sighed and gave another order again. "Spread the metals!" A sailor from the lower decks ran to the upper deck and started waving a g. Two other Metal Hull Flying Ships started to surround and spread their metals. As thes slowlybined together, the sailors turned the winch and hoisted the silverfishes caught in thes. "With what we have caught, we will not incur any loss. The spiritual fish is too cunning! I¡¯m afraid that that fish will not.....hmmm...." Yu Feishui was disappointed and approached Fang Yuan. As he spoke halfway, he suddenly stopped and was shocked. "Hua!" Huge waves appeared together with a long silver shadow. This fish was a few yards long and was on the surface of the water. Suddenly, it lifted its head and shot out a stream of water, like an arrow. The metals were broken. "Kacha!" As the deafening noise was heard, the water arrow struck the metals and sparks were formed. Arge hole broke open, and the silverfishes fell back into theke like a waterfall as they escaped with their lives. "What...what the hell..." Yu Feishui rubbed his eyes and said, "It¡¯s not even possible for a spiritual fish to break the metals!" "All right!" From the disruption, Fang Yuan was able to see the gigantic fish¡¯s entire body. It was twice as long as a normal spiritual fish and there was a golden line on its back. Immediately, Fang Yuan knew that this fish was a special one; it was the king of the spiritual fishes! "It¡¯s the Dragon King!" "The Dragon King is angry!" Some of the superstitious sailors immediately shouted, and some of them even knelt down and kowtowed. "Grand....grandfather....what should we do?" At that moment, Yu Xiaohong was stunned as she looked at the surface of theke. She saw a big school of silverfishes gathering around the golden line, and together with other Drunken Silverfishes and spiritual fishes, they formed a humongous school. The fins of the fishes were like tiny waves, undting. "Tens thousand fishes areing! Is the Dragon King really here?" Yu Feishui was extremely experienced, and yet this was his first time witnessing such incident. Looking at the number of fishes gathered below the surface of theke, it seemed that they didn¡¯t want to leave, but wanted to attack instead. Cold sweat started to form on his forehead. It was never easy to hunt for a spiritual beast, and one had to mentally prepare to risk one¡¯s own life in the process. "Whoosh! Whoosh!" Many fishes followed behind the spiritual king fish and circled around. Waves from theke started to rise to form a whirlpool, and it started to grow in size. "Leave now!" Yu Feishui shouted at the top of his voice and the sailors on the three Metal Hull Flying Ships shouted together. On both sides, the ships started to use oars to get out of the whirlpool. "Puff! Puff!" How could the spiritual king fish let them go easily? Beneath the surface of theke, many spiritual fishes came together, shooting water arrows at the oars in an attempt to destroy them. Some of the fishes even charged straight at the hull of the ship, producing hitting noises which shocked the sailors. If their ships weren¡¯t the Metal Hull Flying Ships and didn¡¯t have the metal boards to protect the hull, the ship would have been destroyed by those fishes and all of them would have drowned! Even so, Yu Feishui was helpless and in despair as he witnessed the Metal Hull Flying Ships being dragged into the centre of the whirlpool. It seemed that there was no way to salvage this. "Senior!" He went to Fang Yuan and took a big bow. "I¡¯m not afraid to die, but I beg of you to bring my granddaughter away with you!" Yu Feishui knew how the situation was going to end. The situation had reached a point where it couldn¡¯t be salvaged. The only way out was to sit on the Iron-tailed ck Eagle to escape! "No! Grandfather! I will not go!" Yu Xiaohong held onto her grandfather¡¯s arms and started to tear. "Hmm...Old Yu, does such a situation happen often?" Fang Yuan, however, was feeling calm. He was leaning against the railings and looked at the silver shadows beneath the whirlpool. Hundred of fishes hade to greet their king by forming a whirlpool. This spiritual king fish indeed had the style of being the king of the sea. "How is that possible?" Yu Feishui gave a wry grin. "Previously, only a few spiritual fishes gathered together to attack, breaking my wooden ships into pieces.....This was why I spent a fortune to build these Metal Hull Flying Ships. I originally thought that nothing bad would happen as long as we do not enter the Bewildering Fog, but no one has expected this.....Sigh. I guess this is how life works!" "Bewildering Fog?" Fang Yuan touched his chin and his eyes glittered. "Tell me more about it!" At that moment, there were mournful cries everywhere on the ship, as if it was the end of the world. Therefore, Fang Yuan¡¯s attitude made Yu Xiaohong furious. Many of the sailors knew that the only way out was by taking a flight on the Iron-tailed ck Eagle and they surrounded it, looking unfriendly. However, with the respect they had for Yu Feishui and Fang Yuan¡¯s mysterious background, they didn¡¯t dare to touch it. Yu Feishui felt that Fang Yuan was a courageous and powerful man. Hence he went straight to the point. "Now, it is the Drunken Moon Festival and there will be an asional fog. However, this fog is different from any other fog. Whoever sets foot in it will not be able to make it out alive! Ever since, any cultivators who would see this fog would keep a good distance from it. If one enters this fog in an attempt to catch the silverfish, one would surely die......Senior, if you want to know more, my granddaughter will tell you more in detail..." At that moment, the ship had started to list to one side. It felt as though everyone on the ship was going to die along with the destruction of the ship. "I shall fight him!" "Kill him and snatch the bird from him!" Those sailors were mentally tortured to their limits. Seeing how Fang Yuan was able to remain calm, they couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer. One of the stronger man with a long face led the other sailors, drew out his long sword and pounced towards Fang Yuan. "You all....." Yu Feishui blushed but couldn¡¯t do anything to stop them. No matter how respectable he was as the captain, his fellow sailors would still waver when it came to the decision between life and death. "Sorry senior, I shall teach them a lesson!" He still wanted her granddaughter to leave with Fang Yuan, as he went forward and stopped the group of sailors. "That will be unnecessary!" Fang Yuan waved his hand. "Little ck! Go!" "Chirp! Chirp!" Iron-tailed ck Eagle took a nce at everyone and swiped them with its wings. "Kacha!" Its feathers were hard as steel it had magical strength. Wherever it swiped, the sailors fell backwards and fractured themselves. Even metallic daggers and sword were easily broken by its wings. This scene caused the teary sailors to be stunned. Only thinking about their survival, they did not care and think much, which exined why they were now stunned. How would they expect themselves to escape on the bird if they are no match for it? Chapter 161: Spring Eye Chapter 161: Spring Eye Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "What are you doing, Zhang Feng, Li Gui? Get over here!" Yu Feishui shouted. While the Iron-tailed ck Eagle was engaging the other sailors, he ordered for his most loyal subordinates to ¡¯save him¡¯. At the same time, while looking at therge bird, Yu Feishui was lost in thoughts. He thought that he had already overestimated Fang Yuan, but never knew that even his pet would have the ability of a 4 Heavenly Gate martial artist! Even though he had slight control over the chaos on his ship, the ships were still getting pulled in by the whirlpool, and everyone on the ships was in despair. It seemed like the situation was fixed! "Let¡¯s go!" Fang Yuanughed and leapt on the eagle¡¯s back. "Chirp! Chirp!" The Iron-tailed ck Eagle took off into the skies. "Senior..." Yu Feishui felt hopeless; he thought that Fang Yuan wanted to escape by himself. But at that moment, he was utterly surprised. In the sky, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle let out a long chirp and flew as quick like a ck lightning, straight towards the centre of the whirlpool. "Ssh!" The spiritual king fish was like a real dragon. Among the hundreds of fishes, it suddenly felt a sense of danger and looked up at the mysterious person above it. "Pew! Pew!" It swam to the surface of the water and shot a stream of white glow towards the eagle. Behind it were ten over spiritual fish which shot out the water stream at the same time too, forming a web of water. "Avoid it!" Fang Yuan closed his eyes and tapped the eagle¡¯s head. Manipting his magical energy, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle seemed to have a premonition of what would happen and dodged the water stream from the spiritual king fish cleverly. As for the water stream from the other spiritual fishes? At most the cost of a few feathers, nothing more. "Beast!" The Iron-tailed ck Eagle arrived at the centre of the whirlpool, and arge voice was heard from its back. "Whoosh!" A shadow of a person appeared in mid-air, and as its right arm stretched out, arge palm appeared, pressing down on the water surface. "Ssh!" The entire surface of the water was pressed down a few inches, and the whirlpool came to a halt. In the tumbling waves, therge body of the spiritual king fish was revealed! "This..." On the metal hull flying ships, Yu Feishui andpany were lost for words. "Projecting his elemental energy, giving it a form outside his body, and suppressing theke with one palm..." Yu Feishui witnessed this scene, and excitement filled his eyes. "This is elemental force! Wu Zong!" Although he had already long guessed Fang Yuan¡¯s identity, he could only confirm it now. "Grandpa... Can this senior take down the spiritual king fish?" At one side, Yu Xiaohong held her braids and looked at Fang Yuan¡¯s back with much anticipation. "Even if he cannot take it down, he can at least chase it away!" Yu Feishui¡¯s wrinkles disappeared for a moment as he grinned from ear to ear. He was extremely confident of this martial artist who was able to harness elemental force! ... "Pew!" In the waves, the spiritual king fish appeared once more and flicked its tail. Three blue crystal pearl-shaped marbles flew in the direction of Fang Yuan, making a loud whirring noise. As the side, many other spiritual fishes joined in, strengthening their attack. "Mm? Retaliate? Not too bad!" Fang Yuan transformed his palm into a w and struck the water. "Bang! Bang!" The water marbles exploded in Fang Yuan¡¯s w, making a sound of an explosion. It made him soaking wet, but other than that, it did not have any effect on him. "Get... up!" After one move, Fang Yuan shouted, and released fine elemental force from his index fingers into theke, and he eximed once more. "Ssh!" In therge ssh, the gigantic body of the spiritual king fish was dragged out by Fang Yuan. "Go!" He rode the Iron-tailed ck Eagle and arrived at the metal ship. With the flick of his wrist, the gigantic spiritual king fishnded on the deck, flicking its tail around. A few courageous sailors approached to capture it but were shot by its water stream, causing their body to split into two parts as they died a gruesome death. "This spiritual king fish is good, I shall keep it as a pet!" A strong gust of wind blew as the Iron-tailed ck Eaglended on the deck. Fang Yuan reeled in the fishing lines and set them out again. "Ssh!" Not longter, 6 spiritual fishes were flung onto the deck. "This is a gift to you!" "Ah... How can we ept it?" Yu Feishui rubbed his hands together. One spiritual fish could elerate the progress of two martial artists. "I don¡¯t deserve this credit!" "I have my uses for you. Don¡¯t do anything to this spiritual fish and the baby fishes, I want them alive!" Fang Yuan observed that the school of fishes had no more leader, and were swimming frantically in all directions. The whirlpool was also settling down. "Senior, you want to... keep them as pets?" Yu Feishui¡¯s eyes glittered, but then shook his head and forced augh. "It¡¯s impossible... So many years of the Drunken Moon Festival and many spiritual fishes were caught, but none of them could be bred. Furthermore, the water in thiske is different from water elsewhere. Even if it could be bred, the spirituality of the fish would be slowly lost..." An important factor for the survivability of the spiritual fishes was the Drunken Moon Festival, and everyone knew that. Furthermore, everyone could guess that the secret of the Drunken Moon Lake waterid in the Ecstasy Fog. Unfortunately, the fog was too strong, and anyone who entered it would not be able toe out alive. "I only wanted to try. Where do you live? I will leave here soon, and by then, I will look for you." Fang Yuan nced at Yu Feishui. Even if he did not threaten Yu Feishui, he would still not dare to be dishonest after Fang Yuan showed off his skills. Furthermore, a spiritual king fish was not much and was not as important as his own objective. "Ah... I am the sect leader of Golden Dragon Sect. If you want to look for me, just go to the mountainous entrance of Golden Dragon Sect!" Yu Feishui was rather depressed. He had a name for himself, but as he revealed his identity, no one really cared, making him feel like he was a frog in the well. ¡¯Breeding spiritual fish?¡¯ Yu Feishui thought for a moment and continued. "If these spiritual fishes want to survive, legends have it that they cannot leave the Wine Spring. If you can locate the Wine Spring Source, you might be able to breed the spiritual king fish." "Pa!" At this moment, the spiritual king fish started to act up again, flicking its tail and hitting a few well-built sailors. As it scrambled, it arrived at the edge of the deck. "Chirp! Chirp!" Unfortunately for it, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle was already waiting there. It held it tightly to the deck with its w. This spiritual king fish wasparable to a dragon in theke and not even the Iron-tailed ck Eagle could match it. However, out of the water, it could not use its strengths and was held down. "Wine Spring Source... Rumours have it that this eye only works during the Drunken Moon Festival, and spread miles away, covering the entireke with wine fragrance. I need to see it for myself..." Fang Yuan nced at Yu Feishui, then to the spiritual king fish. "Keep it properly, and prepare a room!" ... In his dream, there were raindrops pelting on the lily pads. Like pearls, they rolled into the water. A silver fish was hiding at the root of the lily flower, ying in the water. Suddenly, an Ecstasy Fog appeared, covering the entire ce, and bringing with it a unique fragrance. The silver fish was clueless and followed the stream of the water. It did not know how far it had swum, but it arrived at an underwater cavern. There was a dim lighting from it, and the fragrance of wine was unbearable. It could not resist the temptation and went straight for it. As it swam deeper, it finally reached the end of the cavern and saw a Spring Eye... ... "Phew..." In the cabin, Fang Yuan opened his eyes and spit out a mouthful of breath. In front of him, the spiritual king fish was held captive in arge tank. It was built entirely out of metal and was extremely strong. However, it was rather narrow and was quick difficult for the fish to manoeuvre freely inside. Fang Yuan was already very satisfied. After all, this was on a ship, and he could not ask for too much. "What a spiritual fish, with suchplete memories..." Fang Yuan was very satisfied with the result of this dream essing. "Indeed, this spiritual king fish had the assistance of the Wine Spring Source for it to be as such. That underwater cavern must be a natural spiritualnd too, however... There is only one such Spring Eye, and it is within an Ecstasy Fog." Fang Yuan was not surprised at the result, but instead, he had already predicted it. Even Yu Feishui might know the secret of the Ecstasy Fog, but he was not capable enough to investigate further. Many martial artists might have attempted to find the secret of the Drunken Moon Lake, but were all met with mishaps as they entered the Ecstasy Fog; they had no chance at all. However, it was entirely different for Fang Yuan! "The Ecstasy Fog is like a wall. Humans cannot enter, but animals can... Inparison with the surroundings of the Green Peak spiritualnd, Master had also implemented the same defences, this is a dream master¡¯s tactic..." He sighed a long sigh and his eyes glittered. He was sure that the ¡¯master¡¯ who escaped from Da Qian Empire, set up the defensive fog in the Drunken Moon Lake and started the Five Ghosts Sect was a dream master too! As a dream master himself, Fang Yuan was much more interested and attracted by the Eye. "In the legend, is the Wine Spring Source formed naturally or did someone put it there?" With suspicion, Fang Yuan opened the cabin door and walked to the deck. "Senior is done with meditation?" He could see that Yu Xiaohong waited for quite a while, as she brought a bowl of fish soup over. "Please enjoy some soup." "Mmm." Fang Yuan noticed that the soup was a pure white, with an intense fragrance. Its taste was also extremely fresh and smiled. "Is this your cooking?" Yu Xiaohong blushed. "That¡¯s right, don¡¯t mind my amateur cooking skills." "Not at all! This isparable to that from Descent Moon Court!" There were no added condiments to this bowl of fish soup. Instead, it had the essence of the fresh fish and waspletely natural. Yu Feishui witnessed this scene and was extremely pleased. "If senior is satisfied, why not stay for a few more days. The Golden Dragon Sect will serve you well..." "That¡¯s alright, We all have our stuff to attend to, so why dy?" Fang Yuan shook his head. "After a few days, I will visit your sect. Goodbye!" Without further ado, he leapt on the Iron-tailed ck Eagle and soared into the sky. "Grandpa..." Yu Xiaohong looked at the eagle as it slowly became a ck dot, and remained silent. Suddenly, she asked. "Could it be that senior doesn¡¯t like me?" "Eh..." Yu Feishui looked at her granddaughter. Other than admiration, he could see a hint of selfishness in her eyes and did not know what to do. Chapter 162: The Square Chapter 162: The Square Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "As the Ecstasy Fog covers theke, humans cannot enter, but the silver fishes can freely swim through it. This is obviously a dream master¡¯s Ecstasy Fog!" As Old Yu and his granddaughter were deep in their thoughts, Fang Yuan sat on the Iron-tailed ck Eagle¡¯s back, full of anticipation. With the treasure map, water map and the spiritual king fish¡¯s memories, there was no way he could not find it. As the Iron-tailed ck Eagle pped its wings, arge Ecstasy Fog appeared in front of Fang Yuan. This was the Ecstasy Fog which the ¡¯master¡¯ had ced once a year during the Drunken Moon Festival. It was totally calm like a wall, which was rather weird for a fog. "Chirp! Chirp!" The Iron-tailed ck Eagle did not care one bit and dived straight into the fog. "Sleep! Sleep!" As he entered the Ecstasy Fog, Fang Yuan¡¯s consciousness began to waver. His eyelids became heavy, like a thousand tons of additional weight. "It is indeed a dream master¡¯s Ecstasy Fog!" This scene only reaffirmed his guess that the ancestor of the Five Ghosts Sect was a dream master who escaped from the Da Qian empire! "Meditative Ceremony!" Fang Yuan cleared his thoughts and recited Master Wenxin¡¯s Meditative Ceremony scripture. In his mind pce, dream elemental energy flowed throughout his entire body and momentarily took on a strange shape. This caused his consciousness to be extremely clear. "A fog of such strength, I¡¯m afraid that even Wu Zongs will not be able to awaken..." Fang Yuan became serious. "If not for my Meditative Tea Ceremony, or my cultivation as a dream master, I might be trapped as well!" At this point, he was fearless. Following the strong winds, the Iron-tailed ck Eagle broke through the fog wall, and an ind full of greenery appeared in front of him. "This spiritual king fish¡¯s memories point to this ce too!" Fang Yuan squinted his eyes and arrived on the ind. He jumped down from the eagle and leapt straight into the water. "Ssh!" There was the sound of water sshing and there were bubbles all around him. The world underneath theke was weird. There was a weird glow, but Fang Yuan ignored it and followed the spiritual king fish¡¯s memories as he searched for the cavern. Not longter, a pitch-ck cavern appeared in his vision. "This is where the Wine Spring Source is... The spiritual king fish was only lucky to have stumbled upon this to be what it is now!" As a Wu Zong, he had unthinkable abilities. Fang Yuan could cleverly use his elemental force to take a quick breath at the bottom of theke. He took out a Bright Moon Pearl, which illuminated the water beneath the surface. As there was nothing much, he continued swimming deeper. The wine fragrance surrounding him became stronger and stronger. As he entered the cavern, the feeling of being intoxicated became increasingly stronger. "With the spiritual king fish here, other animals would be chased away. After all, why would it let any other animal be like it?" Fang Yuan entered the cavern and arrived at the bottommost part of it. There was seaweed all over the rock walls, and the wine fragrance was getting stronger. If a normal person were to enter this ce, he would be intoxicated to death! "There is indeed a Wine Spring Source!" Fang Yuan turned his head and looked at a hole in the wall. The immense wine fragrance originated from the hole, bringing with it a hint of spiritual energy. "No wonder the spiritual king fish can grow to such a state!" Fang Yuan was not shocked at all; instead, he was pleased. "Come... out!" As he spoke, his elemental force was released like a web and it entered the hole. "Rumble! Rumble!" Large amounts of wine flowed out from the Spring Eye, as though it was free of charge. Fang Yuan¡¯s expression remained, as he strengthened his elemental force. From the spring, a burst of spiritual energy shot out. It was intense and wasparable to that at the Green Peak spiritualnd. At this moment, a grey stone rolled out of the hole. On the surface, it seemed to be covered in moss and algae, but it was still indeed the source of the spiritual energy. This stone resembled the shape of a wine pot. It was round in the middle, and the spout was thin and long. There was an unending flow of wineing from the spout. "Wine Spring Source?" As Fang Yuan observed, he was dumbfounded and had no other suspicions. He stretched his right arm and picked up the stone wine pot. His expression changed. "This is really a wine pot... spiritual treasure?" Rumour had it that among the spiritual knights, there was an equipment forging branch that could create unimaginable spiritual equipment. However, aspared to normal equipment forging masters, the talismans and magical equipment that spiritual knights made after experimenting on their own were dispensable and trash. "Bottomless wine pot? What a good spiritual treasure!" Fang Yuan eximed and exerted a force from his hand. The rock shattered into pieces and fell to the ground, revealing the actual form of the spiritual pot. The pot was neither made of gold nor jade. It had a ck exterior, and there was a fine line at the mouth, with a pot cover next to it. When the pot was opened and tipped to one side, spiritual wine began to flow out of it. "Good treasure, what a good treasure!" Fang Yuan ced the cover on the mouth of the pot, and the wine stopped flowing out. The wine fragrance slowly dissipated. "It seems like this wine pot was not deliberately ced here, but an abandoned spiritual treasure. Who would¡¯ve thought that it could have such power..." Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes grew, and his fear for that dream master grew as well. Just by possessing this spiritual treasure, this mysterious ¡¯master¡¯ might not be any less affluent than Master Wenxin. Furthermore, his traces were mysterious and he was likely to be immoral. If he wanted to forcefully take it, he could not know what would happen to him. "Ssh!" In the fog, a ssh appeared on the surface of theke. Fang Yuan¡¯s silhouette appeared, and with one leap, he arrived at the shore of the ind. He circted his elemental energy as the water on him started to evaporate. In the smoke, his clothes began to dry up, as he started to feelfortable. Fang Yuan opened the pot cover and drank a mouthful of spiritual wine. "Whoosh!" A fiery stream of wine entered through his throat and swirled in his stomach. All his acupoints were rxed and the pleasure could not be described with words. "There is more that the wine can do!" There was no need for any exnation. Its concentration was more than 10 times the normal water. It only took a mouth for Fang Yuan to enter a trance. As his elemental force shook, he was awoken. "Good wine, this is good stuff!" As he praised the wine, he looked at the ind. The ind was not a big one, but it was filled with greenery. He could feel a lot of energy signatures from the vegetation, which meant that there were not normal nts. If not for theck of spiritual energy, Fang Yuan would have guessed that this was another piece of spiritualnd. "The treasure map and the spiritual king fish¡¯s memories all point to this ce!" Fang Yuan sighed and walked into the dense vegetation with no regrets. "Ssss!" The forest was creepy as there were weird noisesing from everywhere. Fang Yuan walked through the forest and suddenly, he saw arge green snake coiled up on the ground. It was breathing in the fog, as though it had the wisdom of a human! "Get lost!" This snake wasparable to a [Martial Artist (12th Gate)], but Fang Yuan squinted his eyes and exerted his energy from his body. "Sssss!" The green snake wanted to retaliate and adopted a defensive stance. However, as it detected arge amount of energy from its adversary, it retreated, turned around and fled, as though if it was one step slower it would have been killed by the force behind it. "Mmm, you¡¯re quite smart!" Fang Yuan did not hide anymore, as his energy level shot up! Why was his cultivation level so high now? He was not just a martial artist in the Elemental Gathering Realm, but a dream master as well! By adding up both of these, it was not as simple as adding their cultivations. In a moment, a fearsome energy field spread across the entire ind. As therge spiritual beasts detected the energy spreading throughout the entire ind, they could only scramble and look for a hiding spot. Those weaker ones could only kneel down and surrender to the strong energy. "Haha... I am the master!" As heughed, he trotted through the ind. With his threat, the other beasts would not there to do anything to him. "This ind..." After close observation, Fang Yuan had a shocking discovery. "I¡¯m afraid that someone had already done something to separate this ce from the real world. Only during the Drunken Moon Festival would this ce appear and be essible. On other days, even if the whole world was searched thoroughly, this ce could never be found!" As he thought about it, the mysterious dream master became increasingly scary. Fang Yuan bit his lips and arrived in the middle of the ind. There were obvious signs of human interference here.The mountainous ridges suddenly disappeared, as though someone had chopped it off. On top of where the original mountain ridges should have been, there was a gigantic squareid out in white jade. It had an unimaginable width and there were many carved statues around. Every stroke of the statue was unbelievably real. Among all these carvings were people, birds, and animals. Their eyeballs were made out of ck precious gems, which made them look extremely real, as though they coulde alive the next moment. "Mmm?" Arriving here, Fang Yuan felt that something in his robes felt extremely hot. As he took it out, he realised that it was the treasure map of the Five Ghosts Sect! As this point in time, the treasure map was smoking, and the red marking became a brilliant red with a mild glow. "No risks, no rewards. Furthermore, it is just a piece of inheritance... Since he had already made up his mind to pass it to the future generations, he must have hoped that someone would inherit it, and therefore it should not be too dangerous!" Fang Yuan calmed himself down and followed the instructions on the treasure map as he arrived in the middle of the square. There were 49 statues carved in white jade, and on every one of them, there was some sort of energy holding them down. It was mysterious and seemed like a certain formation. Fang Yuan based on the instructions on the treasure map, triggered the mechanism and went to the middle of the square. "If there is a real treasure, it would be here!" He opened up his treasure map and stared at the shining marks on it, speechless. "Wuwu!" Outside, the many statue carvings started to make a synchronised noise. The treasure map in his hands burnt up, in what seemed to be a response to the noise. Suddenly, a glow appeared in the middle of the square, straight into Fang Yuan¡¯s forehead. He froze at his spot as his eyes were filled with colours, as he entered a weird dream. Chapter 163: Two Worlds Chapter 163: Two Worlds Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions It was early autumn, the morning breeze was chilly. Many youths were gathered on the training ground. They wore simple clothing and were well built. Their faces were flushed and they had a fiery look in their eyes. In front of them, an eagle-eyed tall instructor was in the midst of lecturing. "The Yang Family was able to have a position in the Da Qian due to our martial arts and spiritual techniques. Those from the Yang Family would need to undergo tests and train their martial arts skills since they were eight... all of you were less gifted and veered from the paths of cultivation. However, you all can still hone your martial arts! As long as you have broken through the 12 Golden Locks and rise to be a Wu Zong, there is still hope!" "Of course, being a Wu Zong is not easy. If you are sessful, you can minimally be a n elder and improve the standing of your n. You will not have anything to worry about!" The Yang Family was arge n with strict rules. The family members were treated very differently depending on their status. The youths¡¯ eyes shone and they stood up straight when they heard that such a path was open for them. The instructor looked at this scene but secretly sighed to himself. ¡¯I should at least give them some hope!¡¯ It was extremely difficult to undergo cultivation. In his eyes, only a few of the youths standing in front of him would reach the 4 Heavenly Gates. As for being the n¡¯s deacon, it was already impossible for them. ¡¯How are they able to break through the Gates without the resources?¡¯ The instructor was also a member of the Yang Family. After many years, his mind had be clear. No matter how gifted or talented one is, without the proper guidance and the resources, one would still achieve nothing. He did not understand this when he was young and had slogged away half his life without being able to break through the 9th Gate. When he was finally epted into the family of the eldest son, he received a ¡¯Limit Breaker Pill¡¯ which enabled him to concentrate his Yin energy and be the instructor of the family n. Every month, he would have spiritual food. His days were finally bing better. ¡¯My hardship today is nothing. The quality food I received can be used to give to my beloved son so that he would have a strong foundation and would not have to walk down the same path as me...¡¯ ¡¯Speaking of which, even the life of a member of the eldest son¡¯s family might not necessarily be smooth-sailing!¡¯ The instructor looked towards the side of the training ground where a thin and weak youth was standing. The youth looked envious. The instructor sighed before raising his voice, "I will be teaching you the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique today. This technique possesses a strong foundation and dense inner power. When one breaks through the Pain Gate, it will strengthen his inner power beyond ordinary levels. After breaking through to Wu Zong, he would be able to harness Giant Spiritual Strength. It is a first grade technique in Da Qian! This opportunity is hard toe by! All of you should cherish it!" "Understood!" The youths shouted. Even their voices were full of vigour. Outside the training ground, the youth witnessed the scene and clenched his fists. His name was Yang Fan. He was also a member of the eldest son¡¯s branch of Yang Family. It was a shame that he was a b*astard child. For the Yang Family n, the first wife and the concubines were treated very differently. The children of the first wife were adored and nurtured to take over the family career and lead a luxurious life. As for the children of the concubines, they had to see if their father was fond of them. If the maternal side of the family was strong and influential, they would be unfortunate as their lives would be made difficult by their maternal side of the family and at the same time, received no love from the father. It was unfortunate but Yang Fan had experienced such ill-treatment. His father was not fond of him and his mother¡¯s side of the family made things difficult for him. Even his servant dared to bully him. When he was 8 and had to take the aptitude test, he was given the wrong timing and missed the test. This caused his father to be enraged. From then on, he was not able to train his martial arts and could only study. In the Da Qian Empire, those who do well in their studies can be officials. For amoner, it was not a bad pathway. However, in the Yang Family, without the ability to protect himself, how could he fend off the outsiders? "I must be outstanding!" Yang Fan clenched his fists. ¡¯If there is no one to teach me spiritual techniques, I will train my martial arts! Every n has their own rules. I am also a member of the Yang Family and it makes no sense for me not to learn the moves. The only problem would be that I would not have the resources and the food!¡¯ Practising martial arts consumed a lot of energy. As such, the disciples of the n would receive a generous portion of money to buy meat and tonic to nourish their bodies. In addition, those who ranked the top few would be rewarded with spiritual rice every month. If they were spiritual disciples, alchemy disciples or dream disciples, they would be treated better and would be provided with spiritual food every day. It was a pity that he hardly see meat on the table. Spiritual food and wine for nourishment were out of the question. "The Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique focus on the foundation. Consume more food every day to strengthen the body and the blood! After you all go home today, eat more meat. Spiritual meat is even better! Of course, eating the spiritual pill is a must..." On the training ground, the instructor¡¯s words flowed without stopping. At this moment, even the youths on the training ground could onlyugh bitterly. They would be able to consume spiritual rice and meat every day for a while if their families be more prudent. But consuming a spiritual pill every day? Only a member of the eldest son¡¯s family would be able to have that thought. The instructor sighed as he looked on. Even if one was a genius, it would be because he had a lot of resources. The second young master of the eldest branch of the family Yang Hu was born gifted. When he was just 100 days old, he was given a ¡¯Tiger Meridian Giant Spiritual Pill¡¯ which gave him a strong foundation. There was no question that his inner power was unbelievable as a Martial Artist (8th Gate). He had once defeated 10 martial artists of the Yin and Yang Gates, and after that took on a martial artist (11th gate) without signs of fatigue. He was known as the number 1 martial artist of the younger generation of the Yang Family. However, he was not truly number 1 in ranking as there were still cultivators! The eldest young master of the eldest branch of the family and the third missy were extremely gifted. They had already broken through the spiritual disciple realm when they were 15 to 16 years old. This was especially so for the young master who was rumoured to attack a spiritual knight and was on the verge of reaching the status of a spiritual knight! ¡¯The eldest branch of the family produced many talents. Aspared to them, the fourth young master is verymon...no, insignificant....since I have chosen to be with them, I should be loyal, this Yang Fan...¡¯ The instructor nced at Yang Fan and saw that he had not left. He gave a sigh. He purposely raised his voice and exined the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique much more meticulously than before. ¡¯Hmmm? He does not have good intention!?¡¯ If he was an ordinary youth, he would think that the instructor was sincerely imparting the knowledge and would feel grateful. However, Yang Fan did not know why, but he was more sensitive to the moods of people aspared to other people and could tell that the instructor was harbouring some ill-intent. It was as if Yang Fan could hear the voice in his heart. ¡¯Practicing of martial arts require resources! If I rashly practice, I would only harm my body! Furthermore...while the n does not prohibit people from practising, my father only allowed me to study. What if he realized that I was secretly training? I am afraid that I will receive another beating!¡¯ Yang Fan turned and left the training ground after he thought about it. "Hmmm? This is strange!" The instructor lowered his voice and smirked as he saw Yang Fan left. So what if there were consequences? He just wanted to show that he was loyal! ... Yang Fan returned to his room. He looked at the bleak walls andughed bitterly. His other brothers had their own yards and servants to tend to them even though they were b*astard children as well. As for him, he even had to make his own curtains. "At least my fifth and sixth brother knew who their mother was, but me..." Yang Fan was silent. While his two younger brothers were born to a servant, the servant was promoted and became a concubine of his father. As for his own mother, she was...missing! Truth be told, it was a very odd and disgraceful matter, especially for his father who was the eldest son of the family. It was precisely because of this that he received no love from his rtives. If not for the ranking, no one would realise that the eldest branch of the family had a fourth young master. The run downed room was cold as there was nothing to block the autumn breeze. Yang Fan flipped open the book on the table and nced at it before closing it and sighed, "6 years of studying. It would be great if I can take the exams and be an official after 3 years. Maybe I would be able to achieve some glory and help with the family affairs. I would marry a virtuous wife and just like that, half my life would pass...but I am not willing!" He was angry and his eyes shed. "Why is it that we are all part of the Yang family but are treated so differently? When I was young, I was even bullied by the servants and when I grow up, I would have to beg my brothers and mother[1]. What kind of joke is this?" "I want to practice martial arts, I want to undergo cultivation. One day, I will overpower the Yang Family, question my father why I was treated like this and find out my mother¡¯s location!" In the run-downed house, the youth clench his fists with a determined look. Bang! At this moment, the door was pushed open and ady walked in. Thisdy was around 40 years old. She was elegant and wore a lot of jewellery. Next to her stood arge servant who was carrying a blue-eyed Golden Silk Cat. The material of the clothes she wore was much better than Yang Fan. "I have met Mother before!" Yang Fan¡¯s heart dropped as he bowed. Thisdy was his father¡¯s rightful wife, Lady Wang, who had given birth to 2 boys and 1 girl. Her position in the house was firm and she grasped the power to execute people. "You unfilial son, what have you done today? Do dare to not listen to your father¡¯s teaching? Hmm?" Lady Wang said with a murderous aura. Yang Fan quivered. It was as if he saw the silhouette of the instructor and could only admit, "I was walking past the training ground where I stopped for a while out of curiosity. Please forgive me, mother!" "Very well, you admit? Housekeeper, give him 10 whips as a warning to the others!" After Lady Wang gave the order, she turned around to walk out of the door. She could deal with this b*astard child with just a word. Behind her, the sound of the leather whip rang, leaving a bloody wound on Yang Fan¡¯s back. In the midst of fiery pain, his magical will started to return. ¡¯This must be avenged...wait a minute, who am I? Why am I here?¡¯ With this thought, he had a sudden realization. "I am not Yang Fan, I am Fang Yuan!" [1]He is not referring to the person that give birth to him but his father¡¯s first wife. Chapter 164: Bastard Chapter 164: Bastard Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Fourth Master, know your ce!" After the housekeeper and servants punished him, they walked away proudly. Fang Yuanid on the bed; his mind was messed up. After a long while, his true ¡¯self¡¯ finally awoken, and retained all of Yang Fan¡¯s memories. "Sss..." As he flipped around, his back was burning from the wounds, making him take in a deep breath as he almost blurted out vulgarities. "Getting spanked just after being lucid, what luck..." Fang Yuan shook his head and was rather appreciative. "If not for this spanking, I don¡¯t know when I would be lucid as well, so it may very well be good luck too..." He scanned his surroundings and gathered his consciousness. "Is this the test left behind by the Five Ghosts Sect ancestor?" "Dream Building!" To a dream master, it was a basic skill to be able to change a dream world. However, as Fang Yuan tried, he was left in shock. "What¡¯s wrong?" As he realised, he took too long to awaken from this dream world. "I cannot use my dream master abilities! Could it be because the dream master of this dream world has a higher cultivation level than me?" Fang Yuan looked around. "Then what is the difference between this dream world and the real world?" The happenings in this dream world were vastly different from the dream worlds Fang Yuan had. The most important thing was that is felt extremely real! "I am afraid that thews of this world are the same as that of reality!" He became serious, as he knew what this meant. "To transform a dream world into reality, he must be at least in the Prominent Divine Stage! Did he leave this dream world here as a test?" Fang Yuan started to think deeper. This dream world was too real. If he were to remain trapped in here, the consequences would be dire. If he wanted to leave this dream, how could he do it? "To leave a dream world, there are two ways aside from dying; to follow the flow or to oppose the flow. This is not my dream world, so death is not an option! As for ¡¯opposing the flow¡¯, it would be to forcefully take control of the whole dream world which will allow me toe and go as I please. However, my cultivation is not as strong as this dream master¡¯s, so this is not viable!" "That leaves me with the option of ¡¯going with the flow¡¯! The main idea is to be open-minded and aplish some wish of the dream¡¯s owner... From my analysis of the surroundings, it seems that it is probably something like gaining power and seeking revenge..." After lying down t for a while, and as the wounds on his back stabilised, Fang Yuan got to his feet, walked to the study table and opened a book at random. "Computing?" From his retained memories, the Da Qian empire based itself on martial arts. Even if it were literature examinations, there would not be much discussion about it. On the other hand, they were more biased to practical skills, calctions, geography, livelihood, and these were a must-test. The dream owner studied hard for the Imperial Examination, and now Fang Yuan felt that he was rather confident in passing and bing a clerk. This Imperial Examination was for the recruitment of clerks. There was no such thing as bing an official straight away. Everything had to start small! "This is the Da Qian Empire... Even their systems are much more advanced than Xia Country¡¯s......" Thinking about Xia, Zhu and the other countries, or the ns, factions or sects that fight with each other, Fang Yuan rolled his eyes. "This might be the real memory of that Five Ghosts Sect ancestor, which will help me a lot!" Fang Yuan thought about other things. He wanted to visit the Da Qian Empire. However, he had not taken over the unlucky Yang Fan¡¯s memories, and there were not many problems with the writtennguage or the spokennguage. Furthermore, the information this young man was receiving was ratherplete, which would allow him to have a more intuitive understanding of the Da Qian Empire. "Also, this real dream world shall be a role model for me to follow!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered as he observed the arrangement of the surroundings. In order for a dream master to attain the Prominent Divine Stage, they would first have to learn how to make things real. To be able to influence objects with his mind, influence reality with his consciousness, and transfer objects from the dream world into the real world, the first step was for him to adjust his personal dream world to make it as though it was a real world, where the samews were applicable. This dream world was a benchmark he could follow. "Even if there is no treasure, this is still worth it! Of course... it would be better without the other two weaknesses...." He took in a deep breath. It was extremely dangerous to explore the dream world. The death in the dream would endanger the life of the real body! Secondly, being trapped and unable to escape the dream would let the real body die of hunger! "The past few dream worlds were from my consciousness, therefore 10,000 years could pass by without much time lost. But now in this world, since it is very real, the rate of time flow is exactly same as in reality!" Fang Yuan became serious. "In reality, my body is within the Ecstasy Fog, and I am still under the protection of the square, so I should be fine. However, if I am trapped here, my real body might die of hunger... In terms of time, I only have 1 month! 30 days!" He had already broken through to the realm of elemental force and had unthinkable abilities. As his body was filled with elemental force, he would unknowingly take in nutrients from the outside world. Within 30 days, he would not die of thirst or hunger. "But this is my limit. I need to achieve the objective in 30 days, right? Most importantly is that I don¡¯t even know the objective, and have to find out by myself..." Fang Yuan pointed a middle finger towards space. "Really... This is such a weird treasure?" ... Although the whip seemed to be extremely painful from the outside, he did not sustain many internal injuries. After all, Yang Fan did not make any grave mistakes for them to use as an excuse to beat him up. In the run-down room, Fang Yuan flipped a book describing the Da Qian Empire. As he concentrated, he found a map from within, which was like a treasure to him. After a long while, he ced the book down, rubbed his eyes andughed. "This body... is too weak! He doesn¡¯t even have inner power! He is the most normal person!" Without a doubt, this difficulty level was as though he was put through hell. "To train in martial arts, I have my Eagle w Iron Skin Technique, and the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique. However, I amcking in time and even morecking in resources! In fact, theck of resources is a more pressing problem!" Fang Yuan touched his chin. "The only way is to cultivate spells!" It was not easy to learn! If he wanted to learn martial arts, Yang Fan could observe at the martial arts centre, but to learn to be a spiritual knight, it was impossible! But this was Fang Yuan, not Yang Fan! He already had two paths of spiritual knights to choose from! Why would he need to secretly observe others? "Furthermore, this is most suitable for me!" The path of a spiritual knight was straightforward. There were only two gates. After breaking through to be a spiritual disciple, the next step would be a huge one! Otherwise, if he tried to train in martial arts, could he break through 13 Gates to Wu Zong in just one month? Even Fang Yuan was not that crazy! "Furthermore, to the Yang Family, although a Wu Zong might be impressive, that¡¯s it!" Only until now did Fang Yuan realise the scale of the Da Qian Empire. Just a Yang Family, nothing much to the Da Qian Empire and yet they could produce 8 Wu Zongs in their line of heritage, with three more spiritual knights. Who knew what else they would have. Even so, there were only considered impressive in their county, but still did not have the ability to be tyrannical! "Bing Wu Zong would only mean that you had the right to speak in the Yang Family, but still could not help Yang Fan achieve what he wanted to!" Fang Yuan was rather confident that Yang Fan was likely to be the mysterious ancestor of the Five Ghosts Sect. And he had entered his real memories! "I cannot learn the Blood Demon¡¯s Technique. Let¡¯s go back to the old path of a dream master!" It only took him awhile for him to be decided on his path. After all, he was most familiar with the path of a dream master, and it ced emphasis on the ¡¯mind¡¯. This path was as mysterious as it could be, and if he had enough experience, it would be rather simple to break through. "Since Yang Fan became a Prominent Divine Stage dream master in the future, he must have the potential to be a dream master, otherwise how could he be sessful just by secretly learning martial arts? The probability of training the wrong way and harming himself would be much greater!" "Of course, the most important thing right now is to move out of this ce!" Fang Yuan bit his lip. This Yang Family was a big jail in itself! With such arge number of strong martial artists, the constant surveince from his mother, and the many loyal servants! In thiswful society, they could use many underhand means to deal with him, and he might not even be able to retaliate, otherwise, he would bebelled as an ¡¯unfilial son¡¯, making the death sentence applicable! "I have considered this before deciding not to learn martial arts. The cultivation of a dream master is the one hardest to detect. I¡¯m just afraid that there might be a high-level cultivator within the family that can detect my cultivation... Therefore, it is a must to shift out, and the best excuse would be the examinations... It¡¯sing half a monthter?" As a bastard child, he was pressured everywhere in the household and had no say. The only solution was to use the name of the Imperial Court to get out of the ce, but other than that, he had to depend on himself. "Fourth Master!" Suddenly the doors were opened and a servant entered carrying a tray of food. With much disrespect, she said. "Mother has instructed for you to be confined here and reflect about your wrongdoings. Supper is here!" She took out two dishes of vegetables and a bowl of unshelled rice. "Reflect about my wrongdoings?" Fang Yuan frowned, then smiled. "I know, I will reflect on my behaviour. Please assure my mother!" The servant was shocked. Based on her impression, this young kid would likely throw a tantrum, and by then she would have her means to deal with him. Never would she have thought that he would ept fate and not be worked up. "That¡¯s good!" The servant felt that the Fourth Master suddenly became very mysterious. Left speechless, she carried the tray and walked out. Fang Yuan rubbed his tummy and started digging in. Although it was in a dream, his body could still experience hunger, fatigue, get injured, bleed or even die! What was the difference between this dream world and reality then? Although the rice was hard and the vegetables were tasteless, Fang Yuan was satisfied and cleared the entire bowl. "I¡¯m lucky that there¡¯s vegetable this time round. Next time, they might give me leftovers..." He chuckled, made a mental note and looked at his mother¡¯s room across. "Not letting me ace the examinations by confining me? Such hatred!" Chapter 165: Yang Hu Chapter 165: Yang Hu Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Back in the cottage. Fang Yuany down and seemed to be taking a nap. In fact, threads of energetic magical energy were gathering between his eyebrows and he was absorbing more energy from the surrounding. The magical energy was just like a dragon hiding in the deep canyon, ready to soar into the sky. "Even though inner force can be removed and is temporary, the heart is always there! As long as I have the will, it will be forever!" Fang Yuan got up and felt refreshed. He already had the mindset of a dream master, and therefore it was not hard for him to ovee this huge step once more. After all, the condition of his body was extraordinary. Yang Fan was an empath since young. He could know what others were thinking as his magical energy was extraordinary, to the point where it was scary! Or maybe, since the rest knew about his abilities, they started to take notice of him and treat him badly out of fear. "As long as I can absorb the elemental energy from the heavens and earth into my body and open up the area in between my eyebrows, mind pce, and sea of consciousness to gather elemental force, I will be able to break through to be a dream disciple.....but I¡¯m not in a rush. Even though a dream disciple is an expert in concealment, there could be experts by Lady Wang¡¯s side..... I should take one step at a time." He slowly trained his sea of consciousness and his mind was very clear. He even relived his past experiences and gained many more insights. Unknowingly, he had already reached the state of peace as stated in the Meditative Tea Ceremony by Master Wenxin. Achieving peace in the soul would mean that he would be resolute in all difficulties. This was his current state. He already had the mindset of a dream master and was just a single thought away to achieving it. "This is what a dream master can do.....After all, when a dream master esses a dream, it is a gamble. No one can guarantee what will happen next, hence it is best to only follow their heart!" With this information, his mind flickered. He directed the flow of elemental energy from heaven and earth towards his back, elerating the healing of his injuries. "The imperial examinations is the pressing issue now. Looks like Lady Wang wants to lock me up forever. No, not me! Yang Fan! .....How much hatred does she have with him?" Even though the imperial examinations didn¡¯t matter to Fang Yuan, that was the only excuse he could use to get out of here. However, from the way it looked, Lady Wang wanted to lock him up forever. She wanted him to leave a normal life which he would not have any chance to be famous! It had been 7 days since he was first locked up. He had absorbed the elemental energy from heaven and earth and his injuries were almost healed. "I have achieved the requirements of a dream master. The next step for me will be to form my dream elemental force and not the dream miniature elemental force!" Fang Yuan touched his Mind Pce The area in between his eyebrows was opened up, which meant that the preparations had beenpleted and now, all he needed was the opportunity to act. "If Lady Wang wants to hurt me further, I will kill her and disappear. This seems like a good idea! However, how should I pass this dream world?" Seeing the life of Yang Fan, the essence of breaking through seems to lie in the Yang family! "Furthermore.....there is martial arts!" As he spoke, his eyes were filled with excitement. The Xia and Zhu Countries were separated from the rest of the world. Their knowledge was shallow and Wu Zong was the highest level in the world of martial arts for them. However, it was different in the Da Qian Empire! After Wu Zong, one could explore even more realms and be on par with an Elemental Opening spiritual knight! The Yang family¡¯s Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique was one of the possible techniques to do so! "Probably... Yang Fan¡¯s inheritance is the existence of this dream world!" With these new learning pointers, Fang Yuan was very happy. This might be because he was a dream master and therefore the benefits he had gotten from this dream world could exceed his expectations. "The final inheritance for a dream master will likely be the real dream world which he has gathered from his memories.....No matter what kind of techniques, treasures, experience or connections there are, all these can be passed down fully as an inheritance!" Suddenly, Fang Yuan had a thought. "Maybe.....Was one of the inheritance that Master Wenxin had left for me one of the dream worlds that he had experienced? Hold on..." He looked at this seemingly real world and realised that something was wrong. "There is no difference between the real world and the dream world......Such a seemingly real dream world filled withplex memories. If all thesee together, will theybine? This is one of the risks in a dream world." epting another set of memories might pollute him and even develop a new set of personality and character. In the previous world he lived in, he would describe it as schizophrenia, but a dream master can leverage on this to experience a whole new life! "An evil dream master might have a way to make it happen!" Fang Yuan took note of that and started to sort out the new knowledge he had about martial arts. "Even for a family that trains in martial arts, a martial arts instructor will only teach the contents of the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique for the 12 Gates. For the method on how to break through Wu Zong and the way to cultivate after Wu Zong, it is a secret and a bast*rd like Yang Fan will not know about it. Yang Hu, on the other hand, will probably know....." "I have heard from some of the martial artists of the older generations that there are Wu Zongs who are on par with spiritual knights in the Elemental Opening Realm.....That realm is named.....Meridian Opening!" His eyes were glittering. The dream world of a dream master was the greatest treasure. As Fang Yuan was attempting to fulfil the requirements of the dream world to break out of it, at the same time, he was digging out these treasures. "Talking about fulfilling the requirement, Could Yang Fan have gone to Xia Country after exterminating the Yang family? If that was true, the difficulty level would be unimaginable....." Fang Yuan shook his head. Even if he was at his peak level, he was of no match for an Elemental Breaking spiritual knight and a Meridian Opening martial artist. "Yang Fan!!" At that moment, there was a loud voice which irritated Fang Yuan¡¯ ears, as though a tiger had just roared by the side of his ears. "Kacha!" The weak wooden door broke opened and a strong teenager barged in. He had thick eyebrows and fierce-looking eyes. He had two yellow cheeks and his forehead seemed to have a few spiritual prints, which formed a character ¡¯Íõ¡¯. His moves brought about an amazing power like a tiger reincarnated into a human. "It¡¯s Second Brother!" Fang Yuan, taking on the identity of Yang Fan, greeted him with his fist. "May I know the purpose of your visit?" Lady Wang had 3 children, 2 boys and 1 girl. Fang Yuan had no business with them and dropped the formalities. However, the essence of Yang Hu surprised Fang Yuan. ¡¯He is huge and has Tiger Bones. Rumours have it that he opened a Tiger Meridian too. Indeed, he is very impressive!¡¯ At that moment, Fang Yuan could feel that Yang Hu¡¯s inner strength was beyond normal, his body seemed to contain a furnace. Next to his heart, a spiritual pill was constantly pulsating and supplied spiritual force to his whole body. "Good spiritual pill. Compared to this, Lu Renjia¡¯s pills are trash...." Fang Yuan thought, "With the help of the spiritual pill, if one was cultivating the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique which required strong foundations, one would even be able to defeat 4 Heavenly Gates martial artist even if one was just an 8th Gate martial artist!" "Hmm?" As he saw Fang Yuan, Yang Hu frowned and realised that his fourth brother was different. Immediately, he became angry and said, "I have reports from my men that you disobeyed Father¡¯s order and talked back to Mother? Is your mouth itching? Do you want to lie in bed for a month?" "This matter.....was already 7 days ago...." Fang Yuan was speechless at that point. This teenager waited till now to reprimand him about this matter? This matter was already history. He was heartless, and there might be a possibility that he bothered about this as someone might have tried to fan the mes between them. Fang Yuan squinted his eyes. He recalled from Yang Fan¡¯s memories that Yang Fan was once beaten by Yang Hu till he vomited blood, causing him to lie down on the bed for a month straight. "So, you still dare to talk back to me?" Yang Hu stared at Fang Yuan, grunted and went forward. "Yang Hu!!!" Fang Yuan took in a deep breath and shouted. "I was ordered by Mother to be locked up in solitary here. You have broken the rules since you broke in!" "Plus, you are a martial artist and you dare to bully a normal person like me. Furthermore, we are brothers as well. Do you still want your reputation?" Even though Fang Yuan spoke very fast, it was clear and impactful. Yang Hu was startled and stopped moving. He hesitated to take action on Fang Yuan. He was not afraid of anything in this world but he still considered the strict orders set by her mother. "You....." Yang Hu retreated to the entrance before starting to react. His face was flushed as he cracked the knuckles in his fingers. "Second Master!" At that moment, a person appeared and stood in the way of Yang Hu. "Fourth Master is right. Plus, you still need to go and greet Mother!" ¡¯Yang Qing!¡¯ Fang Yuan recognised the martial arts coach who talked endlessly on the training ground. He then squinted his eyes. "Hmph, I shall let you go for now. I wille back and settle this once I¡¯m done seeing Mother!" Yang Hu said angrily and turned back. "So sorry, Fourth Master!" Yang Qing smiled and apologised. He seemed like a good old man. If Fang Yuan didn¡¯t know his true colours before this, he would probably be deceived by his honest look. "Not your fault. It¡¯s just that my door...." Fang Yuan pointed at the broken door and gave an innocent look. "I will send people to fix this!" Yang Qing became pale and unsettled as he hurriedly left. ....... Inside the room, incense was burning and it gave out a spiritual aura. Lady Wang took a few sips of the spiritual soup, and her golden nails were shining brightly. As she saw Yang Huing in, she frowned. "You went to look for Fourth Brother?" "I heard that he disobeyed the house rules and so I went to look for him...." Yang Hu was like a jerk on his own, but like a tamed cat in front of his mother. "You have already matured, so why are you still being so calctive towards your brother? Don¡¯t you want your reputation?" Lady Wang¡¯s eyebrows stood up as she started to scold Yang Hu. "I was being anxious on behalf of you. Yang Fan was preparing for his imperial examinations. Should I go and break one of his arms...." "Jerk!" Lady Wang was really angry this time. "What do you take me as? Since Fourth Brother wants to prepare for his examinations, why should I be in his way? Chun Lan, please go and tell Yang Fan to study heard and prepare for his examinations. Also, send 10 taels of gold to him for his examination fees!" "Yes, Lady Wang!" One of the servants left. Yang Hu scratched his head and was confused. "Little Hu, you can leave first. Ask Yang Qing to see me!" Lady Wang stroked her golden cat and her eyes glittered. Chapter 166: Meridian Opening Chapter 166: Meridian Opening Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Fourth young master, the missus has already lifted your restraining order and have given you 10 gold taels to let you prepare for your exams!" Chun Lan was around 16 or 17 years old and wore a red dress. When she smiled, two dimples could be seen. "Help me convey my thanks to the missus!" Fang Yuan epted the gold and said indifferently. "You...hmmmm!" She stomped away angrily when she did not receive the response she expected. "How cute...even though she is angry!" Fang Yuan returned to the house and started to pack up his things. He smiled coldly. When Yang Hu came looking for trouble, He purposely dragged Lady Wang into the picture. No matter how hypocritical and evil the person was, she would maintain a kind front in front of the n. Lady Wang was not willing to bear the name as the person who purposely prevented the child from taking the imperial examinations. After all, she had other methods that were more direct and efficient. For example...generously giving him the money and wait for him to leave the Yang Family before purposely making things difficult for him or even kill him, creating a case with no lead! "I would definitely die if I was still the weak youth!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes were deep and he had an epiphany. "Maybe Yang Fan neverpleted the imperial examinations. However, I must be sessful and make a name for myself! It is a reasonable goal!" Truth be told, this was a test to see where Yang Fan¡¯s desires lie. Was it a sess or was it revenge? Was it something else? "I just do not know which rat wille." After a while, Fang Yuan carried a small bundle and walked out of the Yang Family gate under the malicious gazes. The Yang Family was located on the outskirt of the county and was half a day¡¯s journey away from the city where the imperial examinations were held. There were carts pulled by donkeys avable. However, Fang Yuan chose to walk. He walked slowly and arrived at a dense forest. "How? Isn¡¯t it time to show yourself after following me for so long?" Fang Yuan took a breath. He suddenly turned around and looked behind him. "Fourth young master can actually detect me?" A ck shadow walked out. It was Yang Qing! He had not changed his clothes. He walked out confidently in front of Fang Yuan, fists clenched. "Please forgive me, young master, I am only following orders!" "You are here to kill me?" Fang Yuan shook his head. Yang Qing smiled and his expression grew dark. "How did you know?" Fang Yuan replied, "Sigh, Lady Wang would be too kind if you are dressed as such to break my limbs. However, she is crazy and no medicine can save her!" "It appears that the people in the residence have misunderstood you!" Yang Qing nodded his head, "Fourth young master, you are as intelligent as the eldest young master and the third missy!" He slowly moved forward, his palms had already started to gather yin energy. He had already received orders from Lady Wang and must not fail his task! Yang Qing became fervent after he remembered what Lady Wang had promised him. ¡¯There is not much hope for me left. However, this is for my beloved son.¡¯ "It seems that you are sure that there is no one around to dare to act here!" Fang Yuan looked towards Yang Qing. "That¡¯s right!" Yang Qing appeared to be pleased with himself, "Even if you shout till you are hoarse, no one woulde to your help!" "Why do these words sound so familiar?" Fang Yuan was speechless, "This can already be considered overconfidence?" "Overconfidence?" Yang Qing could not understand what Fang Yuan was talking about[1]. His face showed his desire to kill. "Huff..." Fang Yuan exhaled, "Whatever happens here would not attract the attention of the Yang Family." He touched the space between his brows. In that instant, clouds started to emerge in the surroundings! Heavenly and earthly energy started to gather to form a spiritual whirlpool which enveloped him. The spiritual energy in Da Qian was denser than that in Xia Country by a huge margin which caused Fang Yuan to take on a terrifying appearance as a dream master. "Elemental Force is the force of the heavens and earth! What I have as the dream master is the Dream Elemental Force!" In his mind, threads of energy from the heaven and earth converged and mixed with the magical energy to form a Dream Elemental Force embryo which once again transformed into a ball of mercury-like Dream Elemental Force. In an instant, Fang Yuan transformed into a dream master! Yang Qing could not believe his eyes after witnessing the transformation. "Impossible!" He copsed onto the floor and soiled himself. "Even the young master had not be a spiritual knight...you, you are just amoner! Yes, you are not Yang Fan but a demon who possessed him! You are dead, once you are discovered, you will be arrested!" "Idiot!" Fang Yuan looked at him and waved his left hand. Huhu! The Bewildering Fog started to move forward. Yang Qing, who was on the ground, rolled backwards and retreated. "Oh? It appears that you were only putting on an act!" His technique was good. While it was unsightly of him to roll around on the ground, his speed was fast as lightning. If Fang Yuan had beencent and walked up to him, he would have regretted it. No matter how good Yang Qing¡¯s lightness skill was, he was unable to outrun the fog. Yang Qing gave a look of despair as the fog surrounded him before it was dispelled. Fang Yuan walked forward and looked at Yang Qing who looked empty. He lifted Yang Qing and used shadowsteps to arrive in the middle of the dense forest. "Dream!" After Fang Yuan found a cave, he took a deep breath, touched the space between Yang Qing¡¯s eyebrows and used his ability. "This is Yang Fan¡¯s true dream world. As the rules of this world is the same as the real world, it means that the living things have consciousness and dream worlds...as such, I can enter their dreams as well! A dream within a dream!" In that instant, many thoughts flowed into Fang Yuan. Inside the cave, Fang Yuan¡¯s real body was motionless as he delved into the mind of Yang Qing and looked for the information that he was interested in. "It was really that vicious Lady Wang¡¯s idea to send him here!" "Even though hemitted many crimes, he was extremely good to his only child. He only helped them so that his child could have a future..." ... Fang Yuan looked through all his memories. One memory caught his eyes: In the dream world, within a secret room, an elder spoke solemnly, "Yang Qing, you have broken through the 4 Heavenly Gates. Now it is time to impart to you the part of Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique that is relevant to the Wu Zongs. You must remember..." ... Fang Yuan went through and remembered all the memories. After a while, he opened his eyes and smiled. "It appears that after Wu Zong, there is another level, the Meridian Opening Realm! He had really achieved a lot by entering the dream this time. Experimenting with dreaming within a dream was only one of the small ideas that he had. The big idea lied with Yang Qing¡¯s martial arts knowledge as well as memorizing them so that he would be able to use them next time! "The most important stage for a Wu Zong is the Elemental Gathering Realm where they gather elemental force and give it form outside of one¡¯s body. In Xia Country and Wu Country, there are many Wu Zongs, including General Fei Long, who are stuck at this stage...In Da Qian, the spiritual knights have Elemental Opening Realm while the Wu Zongs have Meridian Opening Realm! This meridian is nomon meridian. Rather, it is spiritual meridian! Since the path to cultivating martial arts had been destroyed, they used elemental force to train their spiritual meridian for cultivation! For every meridian that is opened, the Wu Zong would gain 1 elemental power level. This ¡¯Elemental Power Level 1¡¯ was a unique notion of the Da Qian Empire. It could be seen as the full power of a newly ascended Wu Zong! "The Giant Spiritual Strength that a person gains after breaking through to Wu Zong using Yang Family¡¯s Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique is actually 1 elemental power level! Those who advanced to Wu Zong using the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique are twice as strong as a normal Wu Zong!" "That is not all, this spiritual technique can help cultivate 8 spiritual meridians. Even in the Da Qian Empire, this is quite an impressive technique! The better the technique, the more spiritual meridians that could be cultivated. In the end, you would be able to undergo ¡¯body forging¡¯! Rumours had it was a change that is simr to being reborn for martial artists. Even the elders had only heard of it and had never witnessed it with their own eyes before. There were sayings that the more spiritual meridians opened, the stronger the power of the Wu Zong. The divine body forged would also be more terrifying andparable to the bodies of the deities and the demons! "The Meridian Opening Realm for martial artists is simr to the Elemental Opening Realm for spiritual knights and the Illusionary Divine Stage of the Dream Master! No one knows what the corresponding cultivation level for Body Forging was either ..." Fang Yuan had the feeling that regardless of the pathways to cultivation, the end would be extremely frightening. "What a shame...Yang Qing¡¯s memory only had the Giant Spiritual Technique to open the spiritual meridian and did not have the portion of Cast Body!" This was natural. The higher the level of the technique, the more secrets involved. Fang Yuan predicted that thest stage of the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique was either known by the n elders collectively or was only known by the n master. "If I want to try next time, and able to procure the whole manual, the price would be terrifying..." Fang Yuan could not calcte what would happen if the manual was spread to the whole of Da Qian Empire. "Of course, the most important thing now is that I have a direction for improvement for my martial arts!" He looked at the unconscious Yang Qing and suddenly pressed him with his right hand. Yang Qing jerked on the ground and stopped breathing shortly after. "It is lucky that I left early. If not, I would miss the timing of the exams!" Fang Yuan walked out of the cave and struck it once with his palm. Hu! A small amount of spiritual light appeared on his palm and seeped into the rocks. Not long after, cracks started to appear. The entire wall crumbled and buried the cave. Although he would not admit to what he had done, it was better to have lesser troubles. Without the interference from Yang Qing, the remaining journey was smooth-sailing for Fang Yuan. He arrived at the county at noontime. The golden rays of the sun fell onto the tall building and added a golden sheen to the walls of the building. The gate opened and the passers-by bustled around. "The patrols are mostly martial artists (6th gate) with inner power?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes shone. Just this point alone showed that this city surpassed his Secluded Mountain Prefecture. [1] Fang Yuan was using a ng that was relevant to the real world and as such Yang Qing of the dream world was unable toprehend what he was talking about. Chapter 167: The Imperial Examinations Chapter 167: The Imperial Examinations Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Master, do you need a room to stay in?" After entering the city, Fang Yuan recalled his way and went to a hotel. The location of the hotel was a little remote and the sign of the hotel was a little old. However, it was very tidy on the inside and no speck of dust was found on any of the tables and chairs. The antique furniture also brought an ancient feeling to the whole atmosphere. Of course, the most important thing was that the price for a room here was rather cheap. As he entered, a humbled weed him. "Hmm, is the room upstairs avable?" "Yes, of course!" Thed was smiling brightly. Fang Yuan nodded his head and booked the room for 10 days. He paid a 3 days worth of rent as deposit. Meals were counted separately. "You can order whatever you want. If our kitchen doesn¡¯t provide, I will be more than happy to get it for you from elsewhere!" As Fang Yuan reached his room, the waiter told him. The waiter realised that even though Fang Yuan was dressed normally, his aura was a little different from others. Hence, guessed that Fang Yuan was rich and was travelling on his own, and could, therefore, get tips from him. "That will be unnecessary. What do you have in the kitchen?" "You¡¯re in luck! Our kitchen has just received two big pieces of beef and a piece of mutton. Chicken and duck are already prepared by our chefs. We also have the Green Lotus Rice, a type of spiritual rice. Anyone who eats this will have asting fragrance of the rice in their mouth. It is one of the popr dish ordered here." The waiter said everything at one go. "Hmm, I shall have a te of beef, two tes of vegetables and a bowl of the Green Lotus Rice!" He didn¡¯t expect such a small hotel to be able to provide spiritual rice. After a while, the waiter carried a tray out. The sauce from the te of beef smelled delicious. There was a te of stir-fried vegetables and a te of mushrooms with sliced meat. Then, there was a bowl of green rice which filled the air with the fragrance of a lotus. "Your dishes are all here!" "Hmm!" Fang Yuan tipped the waiter and signalled the waiter to leave. He then started with the Green Lotus Rice. This spiritual rice was fragrant and soft, but it was not sticking to his teeth. The fragrance of the lotus filled his whole mouth. Even though the spiritual force this rice provided was not as much as the me Jade Rice, it wasparable to the Vermillion Jade Rice. Since this hotel was so small, this was already considered good. "Just that.....for a dream world, this feels so real!" Fang Yuan ate another piece of beef and he was thinking about something else. "I¡¯m easily addicted to this dream world." After a long sigh, he thought about other stuff. "Now, Lady Wang would have known that something is wrong. It will be hard to guarantee that she will not take any action. I should head to the government office to register myself for the examinations first, just in case!" The government of the Da Qian empire was richer than the one in Xia Country. Legend has it that the founder of this empire was so magical and was able to suppress everyone. Even in today, many capable leaders were holding important appointments in the government of the empire. Hence, many of the factions and the rich households still abide by the rules set by the government. Previously, when Yang Fan had wanted to sign up for the examinations, he probably had the backing from the government officials to go against his family. However, Fang Yuan wanted to score well in the examinations only because he wanted to find out the method to break through this dream world. Aftering to a conclusion, he left the hotel and went to the city. The government office was located in the heart of the city. Two stone beast statues were ced at the south entrance. Their heads looked like a tiger¡¯s or a lion¡¯s, and the eyes of the statues seemed to be glowing. The statues seemed to be alive. These beasts were called the ¡¯Eye Beasts¡¯. It was said that the eyes could differentiate between good and evil. Hence, the government loved to use these beasts to maintain order in the city. As Fang Yuan passed by the beasts, he felt something different. "Magical weapon?" From the eyes of the statues, he could feel a spiritual spell being cast in them and gave a sigh. The government of Da Qian was indeed spending a lot of effort on such stuff. "To register, I will have to submit my name, ce of birth, appearance, family background and also to nominate another person for guarantee purposes in order to sit for the imperial examinations sessfully.....Of course, I¡¯m from the Yang family and there is an advantage foring from a rich family. However, I will still have to pay for the examinations!" As he entered through a small door with other schrs, Fang Yuan gave a cold look. He was already familiar with the registration process but inside, he wasining about it. "If the government collects fees for every imperial examination back in the olden days, I¡¯m afraid everyone wouldin about it..." When it was his turn, he filled up his surname, his signature and stamped his fingerprint. After making payments, he received a wooden board. On the board, basic information about him was written on it, including his facial descriptions. He was given two copies of it, and the wooden board was used as an entry proof to the examination hall. "I have heard that the rules set by the founder of the Da Qian Empire were unconventional and there are manyints about these rules!" After he left the government office, Fang Yuan rubbed the wooden board and his face was expressionless. If this had happened in the olden days, where schrs were insulted with money, some of them would be very grief-stricken and would rather die. However, this world was different! Only with strengthes power. It would be strange to see a schr overthrowing those people with the existence of powerful people like Wu Zongs and spiritual knights around. If not for the existence of cultivation in some schrs, the schrs probably would not have any power. "Sir, please stay where you are!" Just when Fang Yuan was about to leave, a schr dressed in green came over. "I¡¯m Xiao Mu. Are you also preparing for this imperial examinations?" "I¡¯m Yang Fan!" Fang Yuan greeted him but felt that the expression Xiao Mu was giving was a little strange. Previously, Fang Yuan did not realise anything strange from him. Now, he could feel a slight dream elemental force from him, and it was in a form of a print. That print meant that he was under scrutiny from some dream master, and no outsiders could meddle with it. As Fang Yuan saw the print, he became a little fearful. "He has piqued the interest of a dream master...." Fang Yuan released a little of his magical energy and thought to himself. "His potential is great. He is more than capable to be a spiritual knight or an alchemy master, but he is just a few steps away from bing a dream master. However, he does not seem like he is not looking for disciples, but rather, has an evil intent!" Spiritual knights can have spiritual servants. Simrly, a dream master can have servants, especially through the usage of this type spiritual prints. As Fang Yuan looked at Xiao Mu, Fang Yuan pitied him. Xiao Mu¡¯s face was pale. He had panda eyes and eye bags, and it seems like he had not been sleeping well. "So you are Brother Yang!" Xiao Mu greeted him and continued, "I admire your good looks and I want to be friends with you...." "Friend?" Fang Yuan chuckled and said, "My focus now is to score well for this examinations and I would prefer to study without any disturbance. If you still have the intentions to make friends, mind if I suggest to gather with a few other friends once the examinations are over!" "I¡¯m sorry!" Xiao Mu blushed and bowed apologetically. He wanted to know where Fang Yuan stayed. However, Fang Yuan gave an unhappy expression and left. "Hey Brother Fang....wait for me!" Xiao Mu tried to catch up with him but was too physically weak to do so. After passing a street, he lost sight of Fang Yuan and gave a hopeless look. Suddenly, he appeared to be in pain and started to touch his own neck. He then went to a small alley and his breathing became heavier and heavier. "Phew....Phew....." His face became distorted and veins were now visible on his face. While panting, he eximed. "No.....Stop torturing me already.....That man! You felt it for yourself, that man! He will be able to satisfy your needs. Look for him, and leave me alone!" His eyes became bloodshot. The most mysterious thing was that a green-headed ghost face appeared on what used to be his clear neck, like a tattoo! ....... "That guy is a big problem for me!" As Fang Yuan returned to the hotel, he recalled the weird feeling he had gotten from Xiao Mu and tensed up. If it was any other person, he would have beaten the person till he was unconscious and entered his dream to find out more. However, Xiao Mu had a dream master¡¯s print, and he might have the resistance against dream masters. Hence, if Fang Yuan recklessly entered Xiao Mu¡¯s dream, he might walk straight into a trap and be fighting against the dream master who was behind this. Only an idiot would look for trouble by making a new enemy. Plus, he was here for the imperial examinations, and not this. "This man is trouble and is going to be in the same examination room as me. Even if I can avoid him now, it will still be difficult for me to avoid him after the examination.....Alright, I shall entertain him after the examination!" Fang Yuan yawned and opened his book. The focus of the examinations was on real-world situations. Since he had 6 years of knowledge from Yang Fan and his own prior experience, he wasn¡¯t afraid of this examination. The only thing he had to take note of was the notes and research beyond the examples of Da Qian. For that, he would have to revise one more time. ........ Time passed quickly and it was the day of the examinations. To be an official, one had to start off as a clerk first, and there were many levels for clerks. The highest level would be the supervisor, followed by an orderly, andstly the service worker. There was a hierarchy to it. Once one scored well in the examinations, one could directly take up the role of a supervisor.If everything goes well, one would be promoted to be an official of the government. By then, one would have the backing of the government and would be considered the same level as the politicians. With this protection and backing, it was indeed good to be an official of the government. This was why many schrs hade for this imperial examinations. At the break of dawn, many schrs were already waiting outside the examination hall. Some were carryingnterns and their writing materials. The richer ones had their servants by their side. Fang Yuan easily found Xiao Mu with his sharp eyes. Xiao Mu was in the middle of a crowd and was acting suspiciously. He kept looking around and seemed like he was looking for something. ¡¯What a greedy person!¡¯ Fang Yuan gave a coldugh. At that moment, Xiao Mu saw Fang Yuan and gave a happy face. He wanted toe over and to talk to him. "Dong! Dong!" Suddenly, along with the sounding of the gong, the door to the examination hall was opened. Two rows of soldiers then came out in an orderly fashion. "It¡¯s time. All schrs please enter the hall! Prohibited items are not allowed in this hall. Whoever gets caught will be given 50 strokes of the cane and banished far away from the city!" "Whoosh!" The many schrs filled up the entire hall in just a short period of time. The seats were already allocated long ago, but these schrs still rushed into the hall as though they would lose out if they were thest to enter. Among the crowd, Xiao Mu was pushed forcefully by the crowd into the examination hall as he smiled helplessly at Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan thought to himself that whoever was friends with him would be unlucky for the rest of their life. "There will be a physical check. All reading materials or anything rted to the content of the examination is not allowed!" At the entrance, there was a proper procedure for the physical check. However, the schrs were not checked by humans. Instead, the Eye Beasts were checking them like a demonic magic mirror. All schrs were instructed to pass by them and anyone who had evil intentions would be identified easily. Those identified would suffer all types of punishments, and it would be toote to regret. "This is just a county level examinations and yet spiritual knights are deployed here to overlook the examinations?" Fang Yuan became a little frightened. Chapter 168: Ghastly Head Chapter 168: Ghastly Head Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the middle of the examination grounds, there was a tall building. There was a good view here; every student could be seen clearly. An official with a spiritual bird sewn on his shirt smiled. "We have 3112 candidates today, which is a thirty percent more than the previous year, showing the education level of our county." He was the governor of the county. The other two officials saw that the main official was in high spirits today, and were also rather happy. However, there was a Daoist carrying a feather fan, looking at the examination grounds, unsettled. "Daoist Fei Xiong, what¡¯s the matter?" As the governor noticed, he began to worry. "Could it be a problem with the spiritual array on the Eye Beasts?" The Eye Beasts were used to catch those who might cheat, but it was not without its loopholes. "Nope!" Daoist Fei Xiong returned to his position. In front of him, there was a small array set-up, with a few specimens of the Eye Beasts, as though they were alive as their eyes were glowing. "The energy in the spiritual array is normal and had already picked out 32 candidates. Please be assured, there would be no chance of any of them slipping through!" Daoist Fei Xiong promised. "Very well!" The governor sighed but did not detect the suspicion in Daoist Fei Xiong¡¯s eyes. "The weird part is that the Eye Beasts¡¯ eyes shed for a while just now, and was evident that a highly skilled person interfered with it. However, after scanning the entire examination ground, we could not find anything... Only one person is suspicious." Daoist Fei Xiong stroked his beard, and a thought ran wild in his mind. "It seems that among these candidates, there is a mysterious one!" With his spiritual techniques, his left eye shed red and was no different from that of the Eye Beasts. In front of him, a faint glow appeared andnded in front of thest registered candidate. That candidate was pale and had weak knees. Who else could it be other than Xiao Mu? ... In the examination grounds. Every candidate was separated by a wooden partition and had a wooden table in front of them. It was extremely squeezy to even move about between the partitions. Fang Yuan concentrated in his seat and snickered. "How dare you find trouble for me, I¡¯ll keep you busy!" The spiritual array in the Eye Beasts could not detect him as they were tricked into taking him as a normal person. Xiao Mu was not that lucky. Although he also hid his spiritual energy, Fang Yuan¡¯s underhand means still exposed him. As of now, he should be closely watched by the officials already. With the fun of mischief, Fang Yuan happily opened the examination script and started to read through it. Although this examinationsts only a day, there were many things being tested. The first question was about Confucian studies. It was just filling in the nks. However, they did not test the Confucian ssics. Instead, they tested astronomy, physical geography, and human geography. This not only tested the candidates¡¯ experience, it also tested them on their knowledge of words and their mindfulness. After all, the answer script was not allowed to have any cancetion or removal of markings and had high expectations for every candidate. After the simplest Confucian studies, it was on mathematics. For the Da Qian empire to recruit clerks, they had to be proficient in mathematics and be familiar with all 8 volumes of ¡¯Mathematical Studies¡¯. There were requirements to calcte area, volume andposites, making Fang Yuan think about his previous life. Fortunately, Confucian studies were the foundation of Yang Fan, and he could answer them all. As for the mathematical problems, with his high magical energy, his mental sums skills were impressive. Furthermore, he had learnt the basics ofputing sums in his previous life, and could, therefore, answer any question that came his way. After calction and ensuring that he made no careless mistakes, he wrote down the answer. Calligraphy was not Fang Yuan¡¯s forte, but with his impressive control of strength, every stroke of his was not the perfect calligraphic stroke, but it was distinct enough for one to understand. As he understood the nature of examinations, how could Fang Yuan not know the importance of it? They did not require a perfect handwriting; just a discernable one would do. Unknowingly, half a day passed and it was noon. He did not need to lift his head; the rustling sound beside him told him everything. ¡¯Most of them are in the mathematical section now, but there are some who have yet to fill in the Confucian studies?¡¯ Fang Yuan shook his head, ced his brush down to rest and drank two mouths of water. "The mathematical portion also tested one¡¯s endurance. Without enough endurance, how can onest so long? I¡¯m afraid they would vomit blood from extreme fatigue!" As he was deep in his thoughts, there was amotion East of him. Two soldiers carried out a candidate, whose clothes were stained with blood. Both students beside Fang Yuan witnessed it and were lost for words. Fang Yuan, on the other hand, did not care one bit and flipped open thest examination script. It was on policy making and was a practical topic. The question posed was in the form of a case and required the candidate to base on the ssicws to make a judgement. It was very subjective and was a trap for most candidates. If the candidate only knew to study from the books, he would be trapped in this question. Without hesitation, Fang Yuan took up his brush and started to write. Regardless of how uninformed he was on policy-making, he was still once a Prefecture Master and had the experience. However, he needed to take note of the difference and not bring itws which the Da Qian Empire did not have. As hepleted the examination, he still had two hours of time left. Of course, Fang Yuan didn¡¯t wait any longer. He called for the official and handed in his script before arriving at the holding room to drink tea. After there were enough students in the holding room, the soldiers escorted the entire batch out. "If nothing weird would happen, then I would be able to get it!" Once he exited the examination grounds, Fang Yuan was brimming with confidence. "And by then, I will know what this Yang Fan really wishes for..." "Brother Yang!" At one side, a pale candidate eximed with joy and arrived in front of Fang Yuan. "Who would¡¯ve thought that Brother Fang had alsopleted the examinations! Why not go for a drink, my treat?" "Sure!" Seeing the skinny Xiao Mu, Fang Yuan nodded his head, and unknowingly took notice of his neck. ¡¯Even though you might have the print of a dream master,ing up to me to seek your death? Or seek your death?¡¯ Of course, Xiao Mu could not detect anything unusual. Even when he was at the examination grounds and was detected by the officials, he thought that he did not cover himself up well enough. Now, he wanted Yang Fan to bear the brunt. He treated Fang Yuan like his father and pulled him to a restaurant, sat down and started to drink with him. "Where did Brother Xiaoe from? Could it be a Xiao Family in this county?" Fang Yuan held the cup of wine, his face flushed. "I¡¯m not afraid to let you know, I am indeed a member of the Xiao Family, but my ancestor was a bastard, and so now we are just a normal family..." At this point, Xiao Mu sighed and felt a little hatred in him. "Come on, this wine is good stuff, let¡¯s have a few more cups!" As he shared, he encouraged Fang Yuan to drink more wine. Fang Yuan drank a long and atst became drunk. He was then escorted back to his inn. "Come... Brother Xiao, let¡¯s drink!" Fang Yuanid on his bed, full of alcohol. He mumbled a few sentences before going into deep sleep. "Good chance!" Xiao Mu¡¯s expression changed and did not appear drunk anymore. He looked at Fang Yuan and twitched his facial muscles. Suddenly, he ripped his clothes apart, revealing a spiritual print on his neck, forming the shape of a green ghost head. "See this? This is the person who is disturbing you!" His words were filled with temptation, as though he was talking to a ghost. "Look for him! Don¡¯t disturb me! Go!" Apanying his voice, the tattoo on his neck started to glow and spin as though it had a life of its own. It was chuckling and slowed down. "Good boy, go... look for him, don¡¯t bother me!" Xiao Mu appeared crazy as he ced a hand on Fang Yuan. The tattoo slowly moved to his elbows, but soon remained stuck there. "Go... go... why are you stopping? Why do you want to bother me?" After countless attempts of encouraging it, Xiao Mu almost broke down. With a hint of sadness, he shouted. "Get lost! I have already found a scapegoat for you, so don¡¯t disturb me!" "Jie jie!" Theughter of the ghost was distinct in the quiet room. Although it could not be deciphered, Xiao Mu seemed to have understood it. "You cannot do it... now? Do you need three nights of... contamination? Stay close... don¡¯t leave?" "Pa!" He pped his hands. "Alright, I know what to do!" Looking at Fang Yuan, he seemed rather unwilling but finally became cold-blooded. "Brother Yang, don¡¯t me me! If you want to me, me it on the fact that we are the same type of people, and are harassed by this stupid thing!" Xiao Mu had decided. He rushed down and was likely to be looking for the innkeeper to book a room. On the bed, the originally drunk Fang Yuan opened his eyes. "This print... It¡¯s doesn¡¯t seem to be so simple..." He acted weak to being Xiao Mu¡¯s guard down and reveal his true intentions. However, his type of dream master print was very rarely seen. It was like a living thing, which confused Fang Yuan. "From Xiao Mu¡¯s reaction, it seemed like he suffered a lot from the print, but it does not seem to be as simple as a dream master looking for a servant, could it be..." Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. ... After a few hours. He faked to be sober and saw Xiao Mu as he arrived downstairs. "Brother Yang, you¡¯re awake! I have specially asked the kitchen to prepare soup to sober you up!" He was full of smiles, which was infectious. "After a good chat with you, I felt schooled in your knowledge of the world. How I wish I could learn from you day and night. I have shifted here to be your neighbour, and I hope you don¡¯t mind!" "Since this is an inn, everyone here is a guest! You¡¯re thinking too much!" Fang Yuan smiled. "It¡¯s a good thing I have nothing on this few days and have to wait in the city for the results of the examinations to be released. I was still wondering how I would spend my days!" "If Brother Yang doesn¡¯t mind, I¡¯m willing to treat you to a tour around the city!" Xiao Mu was pleased, as the fog in his eyes grew bigger... It was midnight and everyone was tired and resting. "Coming!" Fang Yuan extinguished his candle and crossed his legs on the bed. He noticed faint green Bewildering Foging from the room next to him and snickered. "I want to see what you are!" He concentrated and waved his hands. A white Bewildering Fog appeared, blocking the green fog. He took a little of the green fog and wrapped it around his palms, like a green snake slithering around his fingers. Chapter 169: Ranking Chapter 169: Ranking Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "There is no doubt that this is the work of a Dream Master!" The green fog appeared to be alive and twirled non-stop around Fang Yuan¡¯s finger. It tried to enter the space between his eyebrows. However, the green fog would be blocked by a ray of light, which gave off an aura like the Five Fingers Mountain, every time it came close. "That Xiao Mu should have been confused by the fog and as such, experiences nightmares every day. There could be other damages..." Fang Yuan muttered, "What does that Dream Master want?" He took a few steps forward and arrived beside the wall. He released his magical energy and broke through the green fog. A hazy guestroom appeared before his eyes. Although it was no different from this world, the room was filled with the dense green fog. On the bed, Xiao Mu¡¯s eyes were tightly shut and his eyeballs rolled about under his eyelids. He tightly gripped his nket which was torn. He appeared to be tortured. Around his neck, the green demonic tattoo became even more obvious and expanded to his chest. It looked as if it was about to leave his body. "The more painful the nightmare Xiao Mu experiences, the more powerful andrger the tattoo bes...it looks like..." Fang Yuan moved his eyes. At this moment, the void started to shack. He was stunned. He looked at both his hands, "Dream-build!" Threads of inner power appeared, they broke through the Death Gate and arrived at the 4 Heavenly Gates. "I have recovered my Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 9)?" Fang Yuan was pleased, "I have found...the gateway to Yang Fan¡¯s ideas!!!" In order to leave the dream world of others, especially that of an evil dream master, suicide was out of question. On the other hand, unless his cultivation was higher than that of the said dream master, it would be futile as well. The only way to escape was to ¡¯obey¡¯! Byplying with the subconscious mind of the original host of the dream, one would be able to exit the dream world! "My dream-building ability had returned even though it was previously sealed. Does this show that I have reached the pivotal point?" Fang Yuan looked at Xiao Mu who was still having nightmares. "That¡¯s right...Yang Fan eventually bes a Dream Master! Given his status in the family, how could he have a master to guide him? Unless it is an encounter by chance!" "Unless......could it be that his chanced encounter is here?" With this thought, Fang Yuan, who had originally wanted to interfere, hesitated. After thinking, Fang Yuan left. ... "Brother Yang, how did you sleep yesterday?" The breakfast in the guesthouse was sumptuous. There were buns, cakes, biscuits etc. Fang Yuan took a bowl of porridge and slowly ate it. Xiao Mu had dark circles under his eyes. He sat opposite and wanted to say something but hesitated. He could no longer take it and finally asked. "Ah? Me?" Fang Yuan was stunned. "Not bad, a night without dreams, why?" "Nothing!" Xiao Mu¡¯s face was contorted. Fear, sadness, jealousy...all kinds of emotions were mixed and could be seen on his face. Fang Yuan gazed at Xiao Mu who flushed and hid back in his room after bidding Fang Yuan goodbye. "Interesting! Really interesting!" Fang Yuan thought as he looked at Xiao Mu. This Dream Master¡¯s marking did not appear to be like thosemon markings. Rather, it appeared to have many secrets hidden within. It was hard to tell whether it was a blessing or a curse for an ordinary person to receive it. ... In the examination hall. More than a dozen rooms were open. Countless invigtors were looking at the scripts in front of them meticulously. As the Head Invigtor, the governor did not have much tasking. All he had to do was to supervise the evaluation of the scripts ande out with the rankings afterwards. While the first andst in ranking may appear to have done equally well in their examinations with no difference in their scores, their backgrounds mattered and could affect their scoring. This was worth fighting for. It was just that it was not so intense. The governor was a product of doing well for the examinations and as such, he knew full well that the thin scripts could determine the status of themoners and as such, dared not neglect his duty. "Governor! The rmended script from Room B!" An aide jogged forward and presented a script. "Hmm?" The governor took a look at the script and nodded his head. Without looking at the answer, the words looked nice and grand. There was just a small amount of cursive in the middle of the script that marred the neatness of the script which was a shame. However, considering the young age of the student, it was hard toe by. After reviewing the script, he was satisfied that there was no problem with the logic and the calctions in the script. The only issue was with the question that was subjective where the examiners would score him as they see fit. However, he would not receive a low score for it. He could not help but remark, "Good...He would most likely be ranked first!" He immediately ordered a person to retrieve a small knife and cut open the seal that was covering the name of the person who submitted the script. "Xiao Mu? Hmmm? He would be ranked 1st if nothing unexpected happens!" "Xiao Mu!?" Daoist Fei Xiong, who was originally sipping on his tea unhurriedly, asked, "Xiao Mu of the Xiao Family?" "That¡¯s right!"¡¯ The governor nodded his head as he saw that the interest of the spiritual knight was piqued. He remembered something. "You once heavily monitored a student in the examination hall. Could it be the same person?" "That¡¯s right...I did not notice anything strange!" Daoist Fei Xiong shook his head slowly. "This..." The governor was suspicious and took the script aside. Not discovering a problem does not mean that there was no problem. Being the top scorer would require some connections. However, his answers were too good and the governor did not want to penalize him. "Governor, the rmended script from Room A!" After a while, another aide came forward and held up a script. "The examiner of Room A was Lord Peng right? He is well-known for being old-fashioned. It is no easy feat to be rmended by him. Let me see!" The governor was very curious and opened the script. "Hmm, the words are not bad, neat and tidy, and the style is grand. However, Xiao Mu¡¯s writing is slightly better..." His first impression was that the script was not exceptional. He took a look at the script. There was nothing wrong with the first two pages, the reasoning was clear and easy to understand, with his very own style. "Hmmm, not bad? This is really not bad!" He read and read again. He could not help but praise it, "Good, an older and more experienced person might not be able to produce a better standard!" "Oh?" Daoist Fei Xiong was interested and came forward to take a look. "This essay disyed maturity and the crucial thing is that the experience is rich. This is really unbelievable!" The governor heaved a sigh and took out Xiao Mu¡¯s script. Byparing the two scripts, the governor could see the difference in style. While Xiao Mu¡¯s words were good, it wascking in character. It was just like a lone soldier who was great on his own. However, when met with a strict and impartial formation of troops who weremon at best, the lone soldier would have to retreat. "Which one do you think is better?" Daoist Fei Xiong stroked his moustache. "Based on their scripts, I can tell that they are exceptional. I am interested in the two of them!" "These talents are scouted by the imperial court, don¡¯t think about taking them in and teach them cultivation!" The governor chided. "How is it easy to find those talented in cultivation..." Daoist Fei Xiong shook his head, "They had just umted good karma, now it¡¯s time to see their nature!" A sign of curiosity shed across his eyes. He did not know who the script belonged to. However, he knew that Xiao Mu had a great aptitude. He made up his mind to find out who the script belonged to. "Haha...employing the young talents for the country is one of life¡¯s important task!" The governorughed and started to cut open the seal. The two aides and even Daoist Fei Xiong leaned in to take a closer look. ... Three days past in a sh. Fang Yuan and Xiao Mu arrived at the examination hall and found a teahouse to rest in while waiting for the news. "Brother Xiao is exceptional, you will definitelye first!" Fang Yuan smiled and said as he saw that Xiao Mu was anxious. Those that sat near them were also schrs and smiled with good intention when they heard him. "I am indebted!" Xiao Mu smiled. His smile looked worse than when he cried. He was anxious, not because of the ranking of the examination but rather, because of Fang Yuan. This was because, for the past few nights, he had intentionally tried to harm Fang Yuan to no avail. This caused him to feel suspicious and as such, he could not help but be unnatural around Fang Yuan. "The results are out!" After three sts, the examination hall opened and a few aides came out, carrying the name list. Numerous candidates surged forward and gathered at the wall. "Haha...I made it!" "It ismentable that my hair had already turned grey when I finally had a chance to improve my social status..." "I wille back after one year!" Those that made it and those who did not, happiness, sadness, regrets and other types of emotions were mixed and felt by Fang Yuan. "They are already so crazy even though this is not the true imperial examinations where those who made it will be officials. How would they react when they passed the actual imperial examinations?" He sighed and look at the name list and saw that Xiao Mu was in second ce. He immediately turned around and congratted Xiao Mu, "Xiao Mu, congrattions!" "Ah?" Xiao Mu was stumped. His eyesight was not as good as Fang Yuan and did not realise that he not only passed but got second cing when his acquaintances came forward to congratte him. He smiled and said, "I will treat all of you to tea!" "Brother Xiao appears to be enjoying himself?" Fang Yuan asked, "Why aren¡¯t you the first?" "Brother Yang must be joking. A pass is a pass, no matter how high or low the score, everybody starts at the same ce. What is the difference?" Xiao Mu forced out augh, "Who is the candidate that got number 1?" "He is right in front of you!" A candidate nearby pushed Xiao Mu¡¯s shoulders and came forward. "It is Brother Yang Fan!" "Oh? Is that so?" In his heart, he was unwilling. However, he forced himself to congratte Fang Yuan. "You are much more talented than me. It is only natural that you deserved it!" He knew that Fang Yuan was better than him. However, when he thought of the mark that followed him like a parasite but let the person in front of him go, he was no longer able to suppress his bitter resentment. ¡¯Why? Why is the person more talented than me, yet he did not have to suffer what I suffered, why are the heavens so unjust? Why is earth so unfair? Hate! Hate! Hate!¡¯ Xiao Mu looked dark and a green light shed across his eyes. Chapter 170: Green Ghost Chapter 170: Green Ghost Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the middle of the night. In the inn, there was a warm lighte from amp in Fang Yuan¡¯s room. "Brother Yang, you¡¯re not asleep?" A shadow covered his light, and his voice was sinister. "I knew you¡¯de!" Fang Yuan opened the door and invited Xiao Mu in. Xiao Mu was shocked. He saw a pot of wine on the table and two other dishes. The most crucial was the two sets of cutlery and bowls, which meant that Fang Yuan was expecting someone. "Have a seat!" Fang Yuan took a seat himself and poured a cup of wine for Xiao Mu. "Alright!" He sat down and drank the cup. A taste of spiciness filled his mouth and up to his nose, and he felt as though he was reborn, with a tinge of anger. "Do you know that I admire you?" After a long while, Xiao Mu opened his mouth, with a tone of disappointment. "Oh? Why is that?" Fang Yuan toyed around with the cup in his hands, and he didn¡¯t know whether tough or not. "You are smarter than me and luckier than me!" Xiao Mu was reduced to tears. "Why... You have everything that I admire, and yet you don¡¯t need to be disturbed by this stupid thing!" As hemented, he ripped the shirt revealing his neck. A Ghost Head tattoo appeared, as though it was smiling. It had a dark green colour on half of the ghost¡¯s face. "And because of this, you¡¯re out to kill me?" Fang Yuan asked calmly. "That¡¯s right, I¡¯m here to kill you!" Xiao Mu nodded his head. Ayer of green fog appeared and covered the entire inn. Regardless the innkeeper, or the waiters, or the other guests, they were all in deep sleep, and their faces appeared to be in fear, as though they were suffering from a nightmare. At this point in time, the tattoo climbed up to Xiao Mu¡¯s face, and slowly into his eyes, as though it was unnerving. Due to the print, his voice was also affected. "Oh..." As Fang Yuan witnessed this, he looked at Xiao Mu with pity. "Your pain and suffering, it¡¯s all about this print? If you knew it¡¯s true value, I¡¯m afraid you will be regretful!" "You know its origins? Tell me!" The other half of Xiao Mu¡¯s face appeared to be hopeful, as he stretched his hands out. Fang Yuan¡¯s eye shed and he struck his right index finger out. "Kacha!" An ear-piercing fracture was heard. Xiao Mu shrieked and fell to the floor. The bone of his right arm waspletely shattered and was bent in a heart-breaking angle. Breaking through the 9th Gate, with the evolved Eagle w Iron Skin Technique was not something a normal human being could handle, albeit not achieving its full potential. "You are... a martial artist?" Xiao Muughed cunningly. "It¡¯s useless. Although I have not learnt martial arts, I have previously sought the help of ten over martial artists, but they all died under this print!" "Jie jie!" Apanying the weirdughter, the Ghost Head tattoo grewrger as though Xiao Mu had worn a mask. As it opened its ghost eyes, it stared at Fang Yuan with curiosity. "Good boy... Kill him!" Xiao Mu pointed at Fang Yuan, and his expression changed from one of sucking up, to one of temptation, to one of rave... he was drowned in expressions. "What a pity!" Fang Yuan casuallymented after seeing this. "What did you say?" The human side of Xiao Mu¡¯s face became flushed, and his eyes were bloodshot. "I said that I pity you! You have already detected the print¡¯s objective, and yet you don¡¯t know how to control it. You only know how to follow it¡¯s instructions, feed it and be its ve!" Fang Yuan tore Xiao Mu¡¯s phobia apart mercilessly. "Not only your magical energy but even your body has rotted away. It was a chance for you, but it became your dictator, and you deserve this!" "Fear to such a stage where you do not think about yourself, but channel the hatred to others, enraging yourself, but you are just a little bug full of pity!" Every word and sentence was true, and Xiao Mu could not argue. In fact, it enraged him further. "I want you to die!!!" Suddenly, his tone changed to one of temptation andmand. "Hurry up, kill him! Kill him! Kill him! If you can do this, I will give you my entire dream world!" "Jie jie!" Suddenly, a blood-curdling event happened. A distinct sound came from the face of Xiao Mu. He stood up forcefully and shot out a red beam of light from his ghost eye as he examined Fang Yuan. "You are right. This boy is a disappointment. I still thought that if he passed the training, we could even recruit him in!" The human side of Xiao Mu became fearful. "Who are you? Why can you control my body?" "Haha... I am Qing Gui. Did you not cry and beg me to help you?" A mocking voice came out from Xiao Mu¡¯s mouth. If someone were to see this scene in the night, they would surely have nightmares. "You are it, the Ghost Head tattoo!" Xiao Mu finally understood. Unfortunately, he could only control the human side of his face. All the other parts of his body were under the green tattoo¡¯s control. "Taking over?" Fang Yuan became serious. "After being infected by my Qing Gui print, you can train whatever you want with a boost in your magical energy, and you will be initiated into the Sect. I can also adopt your human form!" The half-face of Qing Gui was full of pride. ¡¯Evil dream master?!¡¯ Fang Yuan came to a conclusion. This Qing Gui dream master was fated to have met Xiao Mu as it detected that he had an above average magical energy. However, he was still far from the standard of a dream master. Therefore, he imprinted the Qing Gui tattoo on him to test him. If he could sessfully defeat the dream demon, he could make the Qing Gui tattoo disappear. His magical energy would increase by folds and he could inherit the gift of being a dream master. However, if he failed, he would be countered by the print. The print would then consume his Essence, Spirit and Magic to grow, and finally, take over his body! ¡¯This most important thing is...... This was such an important test to him, and yet he did not tell his disciple anything!¡¯ Fang Yuan mumbled to himself. ¡¯Suchck of regard for human life, it is indeed an evil and immoral path!¡¯ "You must be wondering why I did not mention this before?" Qing Guiughed. "If I told you, then what is the true meaning of training? How can you be a dream master without tribtions?" "Dream master?!" The human half of Xiao Mu¡¯s face was in shock. He was regretful! Extremely regretful! He was being ostracized by his family and was not allowed to practice martial arts, which was why he shifted his focus to the Imperial Examinations. However, there was a dream master¡¯s inheritance right in front of him, but he did not treasure it. Rather, he allowed the inheritance to take over him! "Master! I am willing to be your disciple, and learn the ways of a dream master!" Xiao Mu eximed, but it was toote. "Heh! You are always like that, and I¡¯m sure even if I had nurtured you, you would still be the same! Just be a good boy and let me take over you!" Qing Gui started to snicker, and the dark green colour started to spread throughout his entire face. As the end, it entered his eye and transformed hisst eye into a Ghost eye. "Heavenly Ghosts Transformation Technique!" A green fog appeared, engulfing Xiao Mu. A chilly voice was heard, as though it hade from the depths of hell. As the green fog faded, a green long-haired sinister young man with long eyebrows stood in front of Fang Yuan. Every part of Xiao Mu was being transformed, and he disappeared from the face of the Earth. "Qing Gui?!" Fang Yuan took in a deep breath and looked at the green haired young man in front of him. "That¡¯s right, that¡¯s me!" Qing Gui¡¯s voice was not terrible. Rather, it was soothing and attractive. "I see that your potential is greater than that previous garbage. How? Are you interested in bing my disciple?" Qing Gui looked at him in anticipation. "Disciple?" Fang Yuan changed his expression. "Do I need to have the ghost-like tattoo as well?" "To be my disciple, that is a must!" Qing Gui was filled with pride. "Do you know how scary my Sect¡¯s true ability is?! To join it is your fortune!" "Of course, your potential is much greater than that garbage. You can straight away ept me as your master, and I shall help you get rid of your mortal ties!" "Get rid... of my mortal ties?!" Fang Yuan was lost for words. If it was not him that was here, but the young Yang Fan, would he have the ability to say no? "That¡¯s right! Since you¡¯ve joined us, you cannot have any rtionship with your family and friends. I will help you remove every one of them!" Qing Gui chuckled. "Every person who bes my disciple must pass this stage, to forget their mortal self. From then, you can focus on bing a dream master!" "Crazy fellow!" Fang Yuanmented on this person in his own mind and made a decision. Since he was not able to detect Fang Yuan¡¯s cultivation, it seemed that his cultivation was not too high. He could understand. After all, the person here was just a print taking over a human body. Since the human body itself was a disappointment, the end product would not be satisfactory. Just to be sure, he had to test. "You want to get rid of my mortal ties?" Fang Yuan showed a face of pride. "You do know that my family is the Yang Family. Can you remove all of them?" "Yang Xinglie¡¯s Yang Family? That¡¯s rather troublesome!" Qing Gui¡¯s eyes shed and he snickered. "No worries. It¡¯s just one Elemental Opening spiritual knight, two Meridian Opening Wu Zongs... When my real body arrived, it would be effortless!" Yang Hanglie was Yang Fan¡¯s biological father and the leader of the Yang Family! From Qing Gui¡¯s words, Fang Yuan had obtained valuable information. Firstly, he now knew the ability of the Yang Family. It was indeed a force to be reckoned with, with 3 Elemental Opening spiritual knights, which could easily create havoc in Xia or Wu Country. The split body of this Qing Gui was not as skilled and could not take on an opponent from the Elemental Opening Realm. Lastly, the true body of Qing Gui would have the ability to take on an opponent from the Elemental Opening Realm, even if he was just boasting! ¡¯Could the Yang Family be destroyed just like this?¡¯ Fang Yuan thought to himself, and could not guess what would happen next. ¡¯However, I came in first in the Imperial Examinations, and there seem to be no improvements in my dream building ability. It seems like this was not Yang Fan¡¯s objective, and that leaves me either revenge or finding his biological mother...¡¯ At this point, he squinted his eyes...... Chapter 171: The Big Battle Chapter 171: The Big Battle Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "None of the disciples which I have chosen has ever escaped me in history!" Qing Gui saw that Fang Yuan hesitated a little. He gave a coldugh and stretched his right hand out. Xiao Mu¡¯s arms had been broken by Fang Yuan, but Qing Gui¡¯s arm was still in a good condition. As he grabbed, the green fog started to surge, taking the form of a cage. Huge pressure overflowed from all directions. "Hmph!" Fang Yuan¡¯s Dantian exploded as his inner force flowed around his whole body. His skin colour became metallic. Instead of retreating, he pounced on Qing Gui. "With just your 9th Gate cultivation level, do you think you can defeat my print?" Qing Gui gave a cold smile and waved his fingers, and green fog came together and formed a giant python. The python wrapped around Fang Yuan and trapped him. Immediately, Qing Gui¡¯s face turned serious. An emerald green coloured scar appeared between his eyebrows. Like a small snake, it was moving around and without warning split into two. "Woo....." Qing Gui gave a deep sigh. Splitting the print was clearly not an easy task for him. "Hehe....d, how will any normal person have such fate? Don¡¯t miss this chance!" A small amount of spiritual lightnded on his palm. Like a fog, the spiritual light remained unsettled. Qing Gui took a step forward and grew a suspicious look. "While I was in hibernation, I felt a resistance from you against my print. Whatever mysteries you are hiding, show them all to me now!" "Heavenly ghost print transfiguration,e and go!" Qing Gui gave a cold smile as he trapped all of Fang Yuan¡¯s limbs. He then chanted a curse. From his deep voice, the spiritual light from his hand fused together. A few enchantment writings appeared to form a chain. Slowly, they connected together, and after a while, a small green print was finally formed. Qing Gui stretched his arm out to ce the print on Fang Yuan¡¯s forehead. Qing Gui was already attacking without any reservations. "You have walked into a trap!" Just when Qing Gui was about to ce the print onto Fang Yuan¡¯s forehead, Fang Yuan gave a smile and eximed. "Go!" "Whoosh!" A white-coloured Bewildering fog started to gather in the surroundings and the fog fused to form the shape of an arrow. Flying forward, it aimed straight for the spiritual print. "Pa!" The only use of the print was to control one¡¯s mind, and therefore had limited power itself. Coming into contact with the fog arrow, the print exploded. ¡¯Aahh....." Qing Gui held his forehead and cried out loud. "You....you are a dream master!!!" His heart was filled with regret and hatred. If the print was not hibernation and had been activated earlier, he would have realised that Fang Yuan was special! "You¡¯re right, but sadly there is no prize for getting the correct answer!" In between Fang Yuan¡¯s eyebrows, his dream elemental force was surging. His limbs shook and the green fog started to fade away. "Shadowstep!" He tapped his foot lightly. Immediately, thousands of illusionary images of him appeared.These illusions were quick and in no time, Fang Yuan reached Qing Gui and struck his finger towards his forehead, with the intent to kill. "You want to extinguish my divine spirit? Dream on!" The spiritual property on his forehead was the only weakness Qing Gui had. He didn¡¯t expect that it would be easily seen through by Fang Yuan. In shock, he quickly bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood. "Whoosh!" The blood formed a blood arrow and it went head-on with Fang Yuan¡¯s finger. On contact, it vanished. Fang Yuan¡¯s action was dyed for a moment as he uncontrobly hesitated. Using this opportunity, Qing Gui tried to avoid Fang Yuan¡¯s finger. Instead, his chest was hurt by Fang Yuan. "Po!" There was an explosion on his chest and a bloody hole appeared. Emerald-green coloured liquid was sshing everywhere. "Aahh....Sen Luo Hell! Ten thousand Buddhas, Kill!" Qing Gui let out a powerful shout. A Bewildering fog surrounded him and transfigured into numerous ghostly shadows. A few evil ghosts appeared with green faces and sharp teeth hungry for flesh. However, the other half of the spirits took on the form of Buddha and Arhat. All of them looked fierce and were staring right at Fang Yuan. "Are they real or fake? Or both?" The entire hotel seemed to have be a ghost city, and Fang Yuan let out a coldughter. "What is fake will be fake! What is real will be real! Your cultivation level is not very high and yet you dare confuse me between the two? Let me....break it!" Even though Qing Gui was at the Illusionary Divine Stage or higher, but being distracted, he could only beparable to the Elemental Gathering Realm at most! Along with Fang Yuan¡¯s exmation, the whole area shook. The white fog started to get denser. Many of the ghosts died, and the Buddhas disappeared, revealing Qing Gui in the middle. "Do you think that my Sen Luo Hell is only an illusion?" At that moment, with a cunning smile, he pointed his fingers. "Kacha! Kacha!" As illusion was destroyed, the guest room appearedrger than usual. Unknowingly, the four corners of a room had runes sparkling with spiritual light. These runes became an array and started to pressure Fang Yuan. "You have a hidden spell in the illusion?" Fang Yuan gave a pale face. He knew that even though Qing Gui was at the Elemental Gathering Stage, he was still highly experienced inbat. He already had a backup n, and his attacks were continuous. "Rise, Giant Wood Array!" Qing Gui eximed, and the wooden nks from the room started to break. Vines started to spread, forming thick logs which flew towards Fang Yuan. "Bang! Bang!" "Bang! Bang!" Fang Yuan quickly struck his w out and broke many of the thick logs. With every grab, an eagle¡¯s cry apanied it. "It¡¯s useless. Even though my wood-type spiritual spells are weak, but when used together with my Giant Wood Array... After all, you are just a 9th Gate martial artist....." Qing Gui mocked Fang Yuan as he saw what he was doing. However, in the next moment, he was in shock and was speechless. "Heavenly Eagle w!" Along with Fang Yuan¡¯s shout, there was a glowing from his ws as it became deadly. "Chirp!" With a high-pitched chirp, arge ck eagle suddenly appeared. Its eyes scanned quickly and its feathers were as tough as a metal. Using its sharp ws to strike, many of the logs from the array were broken with ease and fell straight down. "Release of elemental force! Giving it an eagle¡¯s form!!!" Qing Gui was very surprised. "You are a Wu Zong!!!" Thoughts were rushing through his mind. At such a young age, Yang Fan was able to cultivate both martial arts and spiritual techniques, and on both ends, he was able to cultivate and obtain elemental force. Such talent was rare in Da Qian Empire and he must have inherited skills from somewhere. Qing Gui realised that he had acted too rashly but it was toote. "Kill!" The giant eagle chirped and broke through the array. Fang Yuan then became a shadow and jumped to the side. ¡¯My dream building ability has improved again!¡¯ ¡¯Looks like arge part of the breakthrough of the dream is from the Yang family. A small part is here!¡¯ Deep down in his heart, Fang Yuan had predicted that Yang Fan would probably have been a disciple of Qing Gui and suffered a lot under him. At this moment, Fang Yuan counter-attacked Qing Gui. By aplishing a small part of the breakthrough of the dream, he had gained even more control of this world and his real Wu Zong power was recovered! "Qing Gui w!" Qing Gui retreated but both of his hands became emerald green in colour. Both of his hands became ghosts ws as he struck out. "Martial arts? No! It¡¯s a spiritual technique. He is using a spiritual technique as a form of martial arts!" Fang Yuan let out a bigugh and said, "How can his ghostly wspare against my legitimate martial arts technique! Watch out for my Eagle w!" "Whoosh!" Without avoiding the ghostly w, he too struck his w out. The air in between them shook. The wind produced by both ws were powerful and pulsated in all directions, destroying the guest room in the process. Amidst the explosions, Qing Gui eximed and blood exploded out from his body. Transforming into a green sh of light, he escaped from the window. "Don¡¯t even think of escaping from me!" Fang Yuan would not let him go easily and started to go after him. "Aahh......Who is this demon, how dare you harming others in the city with your spells? What are you taking the government as?" Right in front, Fang Yuan heard a deafening voice. "Hmm?" With a few leaps, Fang Yuan arrived at a field. In front, he saw Qing Gui being stopped by a daoist, who appeared mad. The daoist had a gentle demeanour, but became violent and powerful when he attacked. Most importantly, surrounding the daoist were a few Eye Beasts¡¯, and their eyes were glowing red as they were able to see through Qing Gui¡¯s illusion. "Little daoist, you are asking for trouble!" Qing Gui was filled with hatred as he was stopped from escaping. Even though he was an incarnation, if not for injuries he had and he the rush he was in to escape, how could he be easily stopped by the daoist? "Hey, that daoist priest over there, don¡¯t let that person escape!" Fang Yuan seemed very rxed and slowly walked over. "This person is frenzied. He has destroyed the whole hotel and even killed a schr!" "Eh? How dare you?" Daoist Fei Xiong was furious. A schr who had passed the imperial examinations but hadn¡¯t taken up the role of an official was still considered a member of the government. How could there be no severe punishments for such murder? Plus, he was escaping under Daoist Fei Xiong¡¯s nose, implicating him. "Eye Beasts!" Daoist Fei Xiong shouted, and the Eye Beasts lined up in a formation. Their eyes let out a red glow. "Destroy the evil! Destroy the evil!" "Bast*rd!" Seeing Fang Yuaning for him and with the suppression from others, Qing Gui knew that he would not be able to escape and showed a gloomy face. "You want to kill me? You two shall die together with me!" Breaking his own arm and his wounds glowed an emerald green, and not one drop of blood flowed from his wounds. At this moment, he used his other arm to execute a technique. "Sen Luo me, burn this ce into hell!" "Rumble! Rumble!" Emerald green mes started to engulf his body. As the red glow from the Eye Beastsnded on the mes, the mes flickered for a while before the red glow faded away. Slowly, the fire had begun to spread and some of the mes had caught onto the Eye Beasts. Some of the statues became emerald green fire torches and were reduced to ashes. "This is....." Daoist Fei Xiong was surprised and retreated. Such me was not only evil in nature, it reminded him of someone who was extremely powerful but evil. "Sen Luo me?!.....Now I remember. You are Qing Gui, the Venerable Qing Gui!" Daoist Fei Xiong was filled with regrets. If he knew the person was Qing Gui, he would not have driven him to his wit¡¯s end and ended up provoking him. After all, from the energy Qing Gui was giving out, he could guess that it was just an incarnation of him. "You all....shall die!" Qing Gui had be a person on fire and started to run towards Fang Yuan and Daoist Fei Xiong. "Rise!" Fang Yuan knew that that move was hisst resort and he would not be able tost. Even though the fire was intense, it was less intensepared to before after some of it had spread to the Eye Beasts. Fang Yuan struck both of his hands into the ground, where all the elemental force was. The whole ground started to break and arge portion of it rose like an iron wall before Fang Yuan threw it at Qing Gui. Chapter 172: Eagle Chapter 172: Eagle Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Whoosh!" The emerald fire from Qing Gui burnt everything in its way, its intensity unparalleled. The soil wall burst into mesing in contact with the me. "Very well! Come again!" Fang Yuan¡¯s breathing intensified and as he ran, he created clouds of dust behind him.He then pounced on Qing Gui. "Rumble! Rumble!" The fire was getting stronger, and Venerable Qing Gui began shouting fiercely. "Come out!!!" The fiery Qing Gui started to simmer down on its own after a while, and at the heart of the me, the me lost its brilliance slowly. "Let¡¯s go!" Seeing this, Fang Yuan didn¡¯t continue to attack Qing Gui. Instead, he grabbed Daoist Fei Xiong and escaped with his Shadowstep. "Pi!" In a sh. Qing Gui, who was on fire, suddenly transformed into an arrow and flew towards where Fang Yuan and Fei Xiong were previously at, engulfing the ce in a sea of fire. "I.... will not let you two go!" Amidst the fiery emerald me, Qing Gui chanted the curse as his voice got softer and softer. "He is going to die for real this time!" Fang Yuan slowlymented as he noticed the dissipating mes and the rmed residents and constables nearby. "Hmm.....Unfortunately, that was just his incarnation. We have provoked the evil Qing Gui and there would be consequences....." Daoist Fei Xiong looked at Fang Yuan with a gloomy face. "Are you....Yang Fan, the top scorer for the imperial examinations? The members of Yang family are indeed special!" Fang Yuanughed in his heart. Daoist Fei Xiong knew his background and attributed his ability to harness elemental force in both martial arts and spiritual techniques to his family. This might have been the Yang family¡¯s secret. However, Fang Yuan would not reveal this and he gave a confused look, "You are....." "I¡¯m a spiritual knight that enforce thew for this county, and my Daoist name is Fei Xiong! Since you are also a spiritual knight, let¡¯s just skip the formalities between us, otherwise in a few hundred yearster, there might be a confusion in our seniority for future generations?" "Brother Fei Xiong!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. "That¡¯s right!" Daoist Fei Xiong gave a happy face and he felt more connected to Fang Yuan. "Brother Yang, the martial arts you are cultivating has a lot hidden potential. It isparable to the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique and I¡¯m guessing that you have attained the Second Elemental Force? Otherwise, you couldn¡¯t have extinguished the me from Qing Gui that easily....." The First Elemental Force was the full power of a martial artist who had just make a breakthrough to obtain elemental force. By saying that Fang Yuan had the Second Elemental Force, it meant that he was as powerful as 2 Wu Zongs or spiritual knights! ¡¯My Eagle w Iron Skin Technique is slightly inferior to the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique. However, with the help of my dream elemental force which is at the peak of the Elemental Gathering Realm, it is no doubtparable to 2 Wu Zongs!¡¯ Fang Yuan thought for a while and smiled without saying anything. This demeanour increased Daoist Fei Xiong¡¯s curiosity. ¡¯I only know two talents from the Yang family, Yang Long and Yang Ling. Both of them are disciples of a spiritual knight and they have a bright future ahead. However, both of them are still spiritual disciples.....¡¯ Daoist Fei Xiong¡¯s eyes were glittering and he suddenly asked, "Brother Fang, do you know who is Yang Long and Yang Ling? Legend has it that these two are the youngest and the most powerful martial artists in the Yang family. However, whenpared to you, there is a lot of difference....." In between his sentences, there were many sighs. "I shall tell you, I¡¯m somewhat rted to the two of them....." Fang Yuan gave a vague reply and this made Daoist Fei Xiong sighed even more. "The Yang family is indeed full of talents. Yang Hanglie is indeed a lucky man....." As he heard that, Fang Yuan was startled. "Who are you guys?" At that moment, many soldiers surrounded them and a few Wu Zongs were leading the group of them. If one would say that the battle between Fang Yuan and Qing Gui had some restraints previously, the fight afterwards including the Daoist would be one without consideration. The whole street was now in a mess and the battle had affected the innocent ones. Many of them were either dead or severely injured. "It¡¯s me!" Daoist Fei Xiong shouted and stood out. The 3 Wu Zongs hastily greeted him immediately. "Sir Fei Xiong!" "An incarnation of Qing Gui has caused all this mess. Brother Yang Fan was here coincidently and assisted in stopping Qing Gui¡¯s evil doings. I can be the witness for that....." Daoist Fei Xiong stroked his moustache and said, "Also......the person who has scored the second highest in the imperial examinations, Xiao Mu from the Xiao family, has unfortunately died in the hands of Qing Gui. Please report this piece of news as well!" "Yes, Sir!" The few Wu Zongs looked at each other. They then took a bow and left. "Thank you!" Fang Yuan thanked Daoist Fei Xiong. He knew that this was Daoist Fei Xiong¡¯s attempt to establish a good rtionship with his family. "No problem! Brother Yang, you are so gifted, and yet chose to render your service to the government. We are lucky to have you in this county!" Daoist Fei Xiong gave a wide smile and continued, "Even though you are the top scorer for the imperial examinations, you can only start as a service worker, but it feels like undeserving for you to take on that job. How about letting me nominate myself as a guarantor for you to be an official through the martial artspetition?" A few pieces of information suddenly appeared in Fang Yuan¡¯s memories. Even though Da Qian Empire was a powerful empire, the empire still wants to maintain good rtions with martial artists at the level of Elemental Gathering Realm and above. Whoever had the backing of an Elemental Gathering Realm martial artist would immediately be able given the appointment as an 8th Grade Eagle Lieutenant! After all, this was an extraordinary world! Even the strong and powerful Da Qian Empire would still humbly establish good rtions with powerful martial artists. "The martial artspetition....it¡¯s not happening now, is it?" Fang Yuan¡¯s face looked a little strange as he scoffed at the idea. This world was just a dream and it was not real. What was the use of getting such a high position? "I might ept the offer if I was given the position to be the king of the Da Qian Empire, allowing me to read the martial arts books in the library. However, who would know if the martial arts library even exists!" This dream world was built based on the experience of Yang Fan, who would go on to be a dream master in the future. It was not an issue to obtain the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique from Yang Qing. After all, Yang Fan was from the Yang family and it was likely that in the future, he would be able to sessfully fuse his spiritual meridians and achieve the Divine Body. However, no one knew how much treasures were hidden in the dream world version of the Da Qian martial arts library. ¡¯This might be because of the limited knowledge Yang Fan has...However, there is a chance that I may stumble upon the full picture of it....After all, the pathway of a dream master is magical and mysterious. It is entirely normal for anything to happen.¡¯ "What do you think?" Daoist Fei Xiong gave a hopeful look to Fang Yuan. He didn¡¯t know the outrageous thoughts that ran through Fang Yuan¡¯s mind. "This is what I want, I shall not ask for more!" Fang Yuan epted the offer and said with a gloomy face, "After all, I have already provoked Qing Gui....." "Hmm!" Daoist Fei Xiong suddenly changed his facial expression and said, "You are right....Venerable Qing Gui is a descendant of a heritage of evil dream masters. His methods are brutal and it is rumoured that he has achieved an extremely high level in the Illusionary Divine Stage. Normal Elemental Opening Realm spiritual knights and Meridian Opening Realm Wu Zongs are no match for him. The Yang family cannot defend you from him, but the government can!" He concluded with much pride, making Qing Gui sound like an ant which could be dealt with easily; which in fact is true! If the government did send its most powerful men to take him down, defeating Qing Gui was just a piece of cake. Fei Xiong felt that the way how Yang Fan avoided the situation was well thought out. "Great! Great! Great!" Pulling a young talent to work for the government, Daoist Fei Xiong would be credited for it. His expression became gentle. "Since Lieutenant Yang, you have joined the government, you are one of us now. I shall bring you to see the governorter to confer to you your official seal!" "Thank you, please guide me along!" Fang Yuan was familiar with the formalities of the Imperial Court. By appearing humble, he became better liked by Daoist Fei Xiong. When there were benefits, Fang Yuan was able to adapt and willing to eat humble pie, to an extent no one could expect! Since Fang Yuan was now one of them, there was nothing else to talk about. Immediately, Fang Yuan followed Daoist Fei Xiong to visit the governor. The governor was a kind man. He was shocked to hear that Yang Fan was not only the top scorer for the imperial examinations, but was also a Wu Zong and a spiritual knight. The governor happily went on to process his official seal and settled the administrative issues for him. From then onwards, Yang Fan was an 8th Grade Eagle Lieutenant. He had the protection of the government and gained much convenience when handling issues in the county. Without any reservation, Fang Yuan took advantage of his role to gather as many martial arts rted and spiritual techniques rted books to read. For this, he had agreed to all the conditions set for him, regardless of what they were, except selling himself away. "You two don¡¯t have to send me off. I will be going back to my hometown!" The deadline of a month was about to end and Fang Yuan bid farewell to Daoist Fei Xiong. Above the county city wall, Daoist Fei Xiong seemed to have some thoughts as he saw Fang Yuan leaving. "Why? Are you worried that he might betray us? Or will he repay our kindness?" The governor appeared behind Daoist Fei Xiong and asked, not knowing if he should smile or not. "Will he evene back?" Daoist Fei Xiong replied without facing the governor. " He is already an official of the government and his name is registered in the system. Who can change it? Even if the previous documents about him was fake, everything else should be real now! Unless he prefers to be wanted by the government!" "You are right!" As the governor listened, he nodded his head in agreement. "Plus, I have gathered some intelligence about Yang Fan and it is quite interesting to know!" Daoist Fei Xiong suddenly gave a mysterious look. "From the way I look, Yang Fan is not going back to share the good news and bask in the glory. He is going back to taking revenge!" "What?" The governor was shocked and shook his head. "Why?" The governor felt that anyone who was talented, regardless of his family background, had to be brought up well. "I believe it is because of his background. His mother, hehe....." Daoist Fei Xiong stopped halfway, as though there were inappropriate parts to it. The governor replied with a serious tone, full of anticipation. "Even if there is hatred, how is it wise to go now? No matter how weak the Yang family is, they still have a spiritual knight in the Elemental Opening Realm and two Wu Zongs in the Meridian Opening Realm. Plus, their family¡¯s Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique is quite impressive!" "This of course....." Daoist Fei Xiong seemed confident and gave a cunning look. "That¡¯s why I have sent a request to the Eagle Commander Headquarters to send someone to follow him secretly and lend a helping hand if needed. This is to make sure that he is unharmed! No matter what the oue of his revenge is, Yang Fan will have nowhere to go and can only work for the government with all his heart!" Chapter 173: Revenge Chapter 173: Revenge Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Yang Family. In the First Wife¡¯s room, two highly skilled martial artists were guarding the door respectfully like statues. "We have found Yang Qing¡¯s corpse. It was covered in a secluded cave in the mountains, and his limbs were torn apart. There are no clues as to how that happened..." Lady Wang was seated and she stroked the white cat with her right hand, appearing graceful. At this point, she squinted her eyes. "I remember... Yang Fan does not know martial arts and did not cultivate spiritual techniques. How could he kill Yang Qing?" The two martial artists broke into cold sweat. "This..... We have no idea!" "You have no clue about anything, and even took so long to investigate. What use do I have for you?" Lady Wang frowned and was infuriated. Half a month had passed, and more and more news came back. There was news of Yang Fan getting the top spot for the Imperial Examinations as well! Of course, the news of Yang Fan being conferred as the Eagle Lieutenant was made an official secret by Taoist Fei Xiong, and therefore Lady Wang was still not aware. Even so, she was already raging inside. The people she sent to kill the little bastard were all killed instead, and the little bastard went on to get the top spot in the Examinations. Even though he was just a clerk and was still insignificant to the Yang Family, it was still a sore eye. Most importantly, Lady Wang felt that she could no longer control the household! That was the most infuriating of all! "It¡¯s a good thing that that bastard had gotten the top spot, but he has yet to return? Could it be that he hates me?" She lowered her volume and mumbled to herself. "Lady..... The little bastard should have just died. You were the one who pitied him and let him survive. However, he was not at all grateful and even killed someone. If he returns, you can use the housews to take his life!" One of the investigators softly replied. He was one of Lady Wang¡¯s servants and married into the Yang Family. However, he still treated the First Wife as his Lady and addressed Yang Fan as the ¡¯little bastard¡¯ with no regard for anything. "You¡¯re right..." Lady Wang massaged her forehead and closed her eyes. "Even if Yang Qing was in the wrong, Yang Fan could still change his family or request for Father or my help to uphold justice for him. What could he gain from killing him?" Although there was no evidence, she had already named Fang Yuan as the killer. "Da Wang, Er Wang, both of you hurry to the county city to bring Yang Fan back. Even if he had already be a clerk, it doesn¡¯t matter, just bring him back! Our Yang Family is still influential enough to do that on the court!" Lady Wang squinted her eyes once more. "He thinks that he can disregard the Yang Family after getting the top spot, gosh!" "Yes Lady!" Da Wang and Er Wang bowed. They both knew that First Wife had already decided to kill him after bringing him back here! "Wang Yiai,e out!" At the point of time, an explosion was heard as though there was thunder rumbling beneath the ground, making everyone dazed. All the servants were confused at what was going on, but Da Wang and Er Wang looked at each other. Both of them knew that this was the Lady¡¯s full name. Whoever dared to shout her full name was tired of living! At this moment, they felt as though they were in a dream. "Ping!" "You bastard child!" Lady Wang became cold. With the flick of her right wrist, an expensive porcin vase shattered on the ground. She could tell who the person was, which made her tremble, and her voice was much more sinister than before. "Da Wang and Er Wang! Go out and bring me that bastard! Disrespectful bastard! Does he have any regard for me, the Yang Family and its ancestors?" Lady Wang¡¯s voice was sharp and high pitched. "This is... crazy!" Da Wang and Er Wang were at loss. They walked out of the door and saw the person who was shouting and were shocked. "It¡¯s you! Yang Fan!" "That¡¯s right!" Fang Yuan was d in white robes and appeared gentlemanly. As he walked, his loud voice filled the entire residence. "Wang Yiai, Lady Wang! You abused your authorities as a Lady to pressurise me into listening to you three times. When I was eight, you made me miss my aptitude test for martial arts and forbid me from training martial arts. When I was twelve, you allowed your children to bully me, like what Yang Hu did... I will be patient to take my revenge. I will settle this score with you!" "What audacity!" This voice shocked the First Wife and attracted the attention of those in the other rooms. "Yang Fan!!!" Suddenly a shadow appeared and pounced towards Fang Yuan like arge worm. It was Yang Hu. He was enraged. "Good! Good! Very good! What audacity to wrong mother. Do you want to be beaten to death by the Family? I will grant your wish!" As her son, hearing Fang Yuan verbally abuse his mother made Yang Hu infuriated. "What a joke...Any kindness she gives me, I will repay in folds! However, Wang Yiai tried to harm me in every way possible, so where¡¯s the kindness? I will never acknowledge her as stepmother!" In front of the Yang Family, Fang Yuan tore their rtionship apart. He knew that once he said that, the entire Yang Family would not let him off, not just Wang Yiai. But so what? Breaking through this mental barrier made him feel a lot better, as though he had quenched his 3-day thirst with icy cold water. Every pore of his skin rxed, making him feel cooling. ¡¯Yang Fan was holding on to two things. The first was Qing Gui, and the second should be this Lady Wang! Although he held on to other things like finding his biological mother, afterpleting this, I should be able to escape from the dream world unscathed!¡¯ Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. "Wang Yiai,e out and die!!!" With this, he was just one step from death! Fang Yuan was clear about this. However, he knew that his one-month deadline was about to be over as well. His real body in the outside world could not hold on any longer, and he just had to deal with whatever dangers associated with this! "Rumble! A loud sound was heard. While the others were still in shock, Yang Hu had already struck. He concentrated his inner strength. Although he was only at Death Gate, his inner force was very well developed and wasparable to that of a 4 Heavenly Gate martial artist! Furthermore, there was a faint shadow of arge tiger behind him, ferociously growling as its right paw struck. "Tiger Growling Fist! If Yang Fan was that ordinary boy before, he would be flesh and bones under this strike, with no doubts of death! He could tell that the enraged Yang Hu had a real motive to kill! "Very good!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered as he struck his right fist out. "Rumble!" An intense amount of energy exploded from his body like a demonic gori! In front of the demon, the majestic tiger immediately became a small pitiful kitten. "Kacha!" There was a loud sound in mid-air. Yang Hu flew backwards like a cannonball, and his entire arm was fractured and bleeding. "Yang Hu, how dare you touch me! Do you know who I am? I am from the Imperial Court! You have offended someone of higher rank, do you want to rebel?" Fang Yuan¡¯s voice was full of energy. This plot twist shocked the entire Yang Family. When did this Fourth Master, who did not know martial arts and spiritual techniques and could only study, suddenly be so powerful? Fang Yuan did not care a single bit. He took a few steps forward. "Of course, you have been unkind to me, but I cannot do that to do. I have broken your bones as a warning to you, for you to realise that there is aw for us to follow. If you owe, then you will have to pay back!" "You... pui!" Yang Hu still appeared strong at first, but after hearing what Fang Yuan had to say, his eyes widened and he almost spat out a mouthful of blood before fainting. "Lady!" Da Wang and Er Wang came forward to rescue him, but their expressions changed. "Young master¡¯s bones... are destroyed!" "What?" Lady Wang shrieked. "You two useless servants. What are you waiting for, hurry and capture the little bastard! A small clerk, and yet he dares to use the Imperial Court¡¯s name, is he not afraid of mockery!" Even though it was as such, news of Yang Fan topping the cohort spread out. The other wives were afraid of the Imperial Court, and also did not want to get involved in the First Wife¡¯s affairs and therefore did not react. "Yes Lady!" Da Wang looked at Er Wang. They held their hands together andbined their miniature elemental force into one elemental force. They then released it to form a physical shape, which adopted the shape of a two-headed snake, as it bit towards Fang Yuan. "Two 12th Gate martial artists, indeed a match against Wu Zong! Such ability, but resigned as a house servant. What a pity!" Fang Yuan squinted his eyes and a shadow of a ck Eagle appeared behind him. "Furthermore... I had already thought him a lesson. Who would¡¯ve thought that you two would not learn, and even dare to attack an Imperial Court¡¯s Official in public! You to deserve to die!" As he said the word ¡¯die¡¯, the entire house felt hotter. "Chirp! Chirp!" The chirping of the ck eagle was apanied by the striking of its w, splitting the two-headed snake into two. It continued to strike towards Da Wang and Er Wang, as the w struck from above! "Rumble!" Arge hole appeared on the ground, and in the middle was the remains of Da Wang and Second Wang. "I¡¯ve said it, the previous time was just a warning!" Fang Yuan smiled. Their deaths made the entire ce silent. After a long while, a voice of disbelief was heard. "Wu Zong?!" An old man stood forward, his face filled with suspicion. "How old are you?" "Potential does not depend on age. Third Elder, you are under the Third Wife, so don¡¯t get involved in the First Wife¡¯s issues!" Fang Yuan took out a seal. "I am Eagle Lieutenant of the Da Qian Empire. These two servants tried to attack me, so they deserved it!" "Indeed an Imperial Court Official!" Third Elder nodded his head and confirmed Fang Yuan¡¯s identity. "Yang Fan, you are ultimately part of the Yang Family, so don¡¯t overdo things! If there are any issues, you can seek help from the court!" He had nothing to say regarding the deaths of Da Wang and Er Wang. After all, they were just two servants, and they indeed tried to harm an Imperial Court Official. Furthermore, regardless of what happened, Yang Fan was still a member of the Yang Family. Kinship was still important, and he was scarily gifted! Unknowingly, the highly skilled martial artists had a different impression of Yang Fan. Lady Wang was in destion after witnessing everything. Chapter 174: Clear Moon Chapter 174: Clear Moon Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "This is the First Wife¡¯s matter, we should not interfere!" "Brother Fan, we all know how you are doing recently....." "The Patriarchal Hall? Isn¡¯t it controlled by the first wife?" ..... The crowd was raging. In a big household, nothing was fair and there were bound to be conflicts. These conflicts were often covered up in the name of the patriarchal and the household. At this moment, whenever there was a conflict of interests, there would be a tendency for violence to break out. Nobody would dare to stand out and help regardless of the time spent together and the bond they shared. Some chose to sit and do nothing, and some even tried to push others to stand out. As Lady Wang saw this, her face became pale white. Underneath the name in the household and the Patriarchal Hall, she was just ady with ill intentions. "Wang Yiai, are you guilty of your sins?" Grasping this perfect opportunity, Fang Yuan took a step forward. "Rumble!" The entire world shook and all the servants beside Lady Wang fainted. Only Lady Wang was left, giving a stern look. Ruggedly, she insisted, "Father will not forgive you!" At that moment, if it wasn¡¯t for her pride, she would have knelt down as well. As she said that, the whole atmosphere became very tense. Everyone from the Yang family had an image of a person in their minds. Yang Hanglie! This person was not only the birth father of Yang Fan, he was also the head of the Yang family. He was extremely cunning and the way he did things was unique. Of course, the most important thing was that he was the only Elemental Opening spiritual knight in the whole family! Other than the two ancestors who were at the Meridian Opening Realm, Yang Hanglie was the sole reason for the power and existence of the Yang Family. "Correct!" A deep voice was heard. The pressure Fang Yuan exerted on Lady Wang was suddenly gone. A middle-aged man entered from the main hall. His sideburns were white and his nose bridge was high. He appeared well-built and every move he made, made him seem like a god. "Old Master!" Lady Wang eximed in surprise. Hurriedly, she used her handkerchief to wipe off her tears of joy. "An incarnation?!" Fang Yuan and the other Wu Zongs were able to see through it. "I am now at the Heavenly Wind Canyon, more than a thousand miles away from home, to look for a spiritual knight for both Yang Long and Yang Ling. I felt something amiss at home and therefore used my backup n!" Yang Hanglie walked in big steps and his eyes were very fierce. He took a nce around quickly and no one dared to go against him. All of them were lowering their heads, looking obedient. "Naughty boy, kneel down!" The presence of Fang Yuan was highlighted among the silence of everyone in the house. Yang Hanglie¡¯s face was flushed as he shouted at Fang Yuan. In front of his father, the head of the household, revenge, righteousness and any other thing became meaningless. "Bast*rd!" Seeing that Fang Yuan was unwilling to kneel down to ask for forgiveness, Yang Hanglie became even more furious. "Bast*rd! What are you waiting for?" As he waved his hand, the energy from the 5 elements of the earth shed and transformed into a giant wheel which fell on Fang Yuan. Yang Hanglie was a spiritual knight specialised in the 5 elements! He was able to make use of the 5 elements to produce something. Even though this was just an incarnation of him, he was still an Elemental Gathering Realm spiritual knight and had the Fifth Elemental Force. His power was simr to thebination of the powers from 5 spiritual knights! "What happened?" "Hanglie, why are you so angry? Did someone intrude our house?" Just as the light from the 5 elements was shing, two powerful spiritual auras were activated in the hall. One could sense that these two spiritual auras were filled with fury. "I have caused much disturbance to you two ancestors. I will apologise personallyter on!" Yang Hanglie¡¯s body was glowing with the light from the 5 elements and he looked like a god that descended from heaven. "Yang Fan! You have sinned once more by disturbing our two ancestors. You better start kneeling down for your punishment!" "Get out!" Fang Yuan gave a wickedugh. With his Shadowsteps, he charged right at Lady Wang. "A spiritual knight?" Yang Hanglie was a little surprised and shook his head. "That is useless!" He waved his hand again and the light of the 5 elements dissipated, before bing a dirty yellow colour and was as huge as a mountain. With immense force, it fell towards Fang Yuan. "Puff! Puff!" The illusionary image of Fang Yuan exploded, revealing the real Fang Yuan. The 5 Elements Wheel had already reached his forehead. Seeing this, Fang Yuan bit his teeth and gave a smile, before attempting to knock the wheel with his head. Such action was suicide and Yang Hanglie found it strange. Even though he wavered a little, the wheel was still falling down on Fang Yuan¡¯s head, which clearly showed his intent to kill Fang Yuan. "Ugh!" Time suddenly stopped at that moment. Amidst a sigh, 2 spiritual knights who had been hiding in mid-air appeared. Both were dressed in ck spiritual feathers robe. As they swiped their hands across, many ck feathers came falling down and interfered with the light of the 5 elements. Even though Yang Hanglie had the Fifth Elemental Force, he hesitated when he saw the ck feathers. "Eagle Leader?" "Greetings, Master Yang. We are ck Owl and Crazy Night!" The two leaders bowed and continued, "This person is a lieutenant from the Eagle Army, will you spare him?" Inside Yang Hanglie¡¯s heart, he was shocked. Yang Fan already knew that those two leaders were present long ago but didn¡¯t mention anything about it. Instead, he forced both of them to take action to defend him, as he knew that they were not willing to let Yang Fan get killed! Many people were shocked at how scheming Fang Yuan was, and his hatred for Yang Hanglie. "Thank you, both of you. Haha....." At that moment, there was a change to the situation. As the two Eagle Leaders were talking to Yang Hanglie, Fang Yuanughed and blood started to flow out from his pores all over his body. Instantly, he became a bloodied man. "Kill!" He became a streak of bloody light and in a sh, he arrived next to Lady Wang. He struck his finger out towards her Mind Pce, in an attempt to kill her! Lady Wang became pale and slowly fell to the ground. She had lost her breath and no one could save her. The streak of bloody light wavered. Within seconds, it disappeared without leaving any traces behind. Quick! Quick! Quick! All these happened within seconds and some didn¡¯t have the time to react. Fang Yuan had already killed Lady Wang and escaped long ago. "That seems like....." Crazy Night was startled. "Is that the Blood Escaping Technique from the evil dream masters? How did Yang Fan get implicated with these people?" ck Owl gave a serious look. "He is able to kill someone in a single strike and traverse a long distance in a short time. If he kills one person in every ten steps, the consequence would be unthinkable after travelling a thousand miles without traces! Good! That¡¯s good! Just that I¡¯m not sure is it a good thing or a bad thing to have him in working for the government....." Fang Yuan was not bothered by what these people had thought of him. The moment when he killed Lady Wang, the dream world shook and an unknown change arose. "I have gotten back all my dream building powers! I can return now!" With that thought in his mind, a blood-red meteor zipped across the sky and disappeared. Numerous spiritual knights and Wu Zongs in every corner of Da Qian Empire were stunned when they witnessed the meteor. Some dream masters even seemed to fear for it... .... "Crack!" It sounded as if a ss mirror had broken. Fang Yuan¡¯s whole body was shaking and he woke up from the dream world. "How....how long have I been asleep?" He felt very weak throughout his whole body, to the extent that it was difficult for him to even lift his fingers. What he saw in front of him was the big square. Many of the stone statues had started to disintegrate together with the square, as though a lot of time had passed. "Judging by my condition, I have entered the dream world for nearly a month....." Fang Yuan trembled as he got up, giving aplicated look. "If I were to bete by a few days, I¡¯m afraid my body would have been dead. I would either end up stuck in the dream world or be a lonely ghost....." A dream world of an evil dream master was this dangerous. Furthermore, Fang Yuan could mildly sense that there was a possibility of him being taken as a servant, just like what Qing Gui did to Xiao Mu. However, he was not a normal dream master. He managed to break through and finally had the answers to the mystery behind Yang Fan¡¯s dream world. "Roar! Roar!" "Ssss! Ssss!" Unknowingly, many strange beasts gathered around the square, looking at Fang Yuan with their fierce-looking eyes. "This square contained a form of energy to chase away these ferocious beasts.....However, as I broke through the dream world, the energy is getting weaker, and the threat towards these beasts is getting weaker as well!" Fang Yuan shook his head and felt that this small ind was extremely dangerous. If it was the descendants of Yang Fan who hade to find this treasure after gathering the 3 pieces of the treasure map, they would probably get killed by their own ancestor! He walked and arrived in front of a stone statue. It was a 3-eyed monkey. It had 6 arms and it looked as if it was about to pounce on something. Fang Yuan blew lightly on it. "Sa! Sa!" The whole statue disintegrated into a pile of sand. "The energy that had held on to the statue had faded, which exins why the statue disintegrated easily with just a light breath of air!" Fang Yuan shook his head. "Whoosh!" With the disintegration of that one statue, a domino effect was created. The other statues in the square also started to disintegrate one by one. Finally, the disintegration of the stone statues affected the condition of the square as well. As the white jades lost their colour, an explosion, revealed the foundations of the ground. After which, a distinct glow appeared from the foundations in front of Fang Yuan. The glow rose and appeared as though it was the moon. "Roar! Roar!" "Ssss! Ssss!" Seeing the destruction of the square and the revtion of the treasure, the beasts which gathered around the square started to get crazy and charged towards Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan was weak and this was surely a dangerous situation for him! Only the strongest will survive! "Haha!" Instead, Fang Yuanughed and was very happy. "Yang Fan, Yang Fan.....you have been extremely thoughtful but you have missed out something. Even though I have gone through your inheritance and have no energy to fight now, I still have......it!" "Chirp! Chirp!" The Iron-tailed ck Eagle flew through the clouds and descend like a flying arrow. "Get me that!" Fang Yuan used up thest bit of his elemental force to obtain the clear moon before he was lifted up into the air by his Iron-tailed ck Eagle! "Roar! Roar!" All the beasts could only roar in destion as they saw what had happened. "Haha!" It was indeed a happy asion to reap the rewards of his goal. Fang Yuan opened the cap of the wine pot and drank the spiritual wine to his heart¡¯s content. He then took another good look at the treasure. Chapter 175: Poison King Chapter 175: Poison King Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions ¡®A pearl?¡¯ Fang Yuan looked at the enormous pearl in his hands with curiosity. The bright rays of light faded away to reveal the pearl in Fang Yuan¡¯s hand. It had the size of an infant¡¯s fist. The surface of the pearl was wlessly smooth. It was even glowing slightly. Just by looking at it, one could straightway tell that it was not amon item. ¡®This is the treasure that Yang Fan left behind?¡¯ Fang Yuan sighed in disappointment. He would have preferred if Yang Fan kept the true dream world for him to explore on his own. After all, Fang Yuan reaped immense benefits from that dream world. It was as if he had gone to Da Qian Empire on his own. ¡®What is so special about this pearl...¡¯ As Fang Yuan muttered, some of his elemental force shot into the pearl as he tried to figure out the gem. The pearl vibrated for a moment and came to a still. The elemental force that entered it was useless. ¡®It seems like the equipment for dream masters can only be used by them!¡¯ After using elemental force to test out the pearl, Fang Yuan had a rough idea about how to deal with it. Next, he used dream elemental force. "Voom Voom!" After Fang Yuan projected his dream elemental force into the pearl, it vibrated again. This time, the pearl shot out rays of bright light. Immediately, Fang Yuan felt there was some form of connection between his magical will and what seemed like another universe. This ¡®universe¡¯ was a huge area of space way beyond one¡¯s imagination and the door to this universe was in Fang Yuan¡¯s hands. "A spiritual spatial container?" As Fang Yuan wondered under his breath, he flicked out a silver coin onto his palm. In a sh, the coin vanished. At the same time, the glittery silver coin appeared in a corner of the spatial container. This sent Fang Yuan into deep thought. ¡®There is almost an entire universe inside this pearl, this must be the Mountain River Pearl!¡¯ He then used his magical will to search about and finally found his answer. ¡®The spiritual treasure, Mountain River Pearl?¡¯ Fang Yuan scratched his chin. This pearl was a storage device. The space inside it was incredibly vast. It could even fit entire mountains and rivers. The only limitation it had was that it could not fit living organisms into it. ¡®It almost seems like this space inside is almost like an iplete replica of this world...¡¯ Fang Yuan seemed to have understood a little. In Fang Yuan¡¯s opinion, the Mountain River Pearl was the original version of the Green Peak spiritualnd, except that it was an inferior version of the current one. However, the advantage was that he could take it with him anywhere and everywhere. It would be incredibly convenient if he could fit the pearl onto a ring and wear it. ¡®What a pity...Yang Fan is such a stingy fellow to not leave anything for me inside...¡¯ Fang Yuan shook his head and sighed. The true dream world was evidently not in the Mountain River Pearl, but on the White Jade Square. Sadly, Fang Yuan only had one chance. ... After the Drunken Moon Festival, the thick fog gradually dispersed. The Wine Lake and the spiritual fish also gradually disappeared. As the treacherous waves and currents calmed, several fishermen began to return with a plentiful haul. Smiles of joy and satisfaction were stered over their faces. asionally, there were a few martial artists who miraculously reeled in spiritual fish. These people were harassed constantly by offers almost everywhere they went. Of course, there were also many who were secretly envious and some who dueled either to get to fish or to find out the benefits one could enjoy from having it. The entire Drunken Moon Lake bustled with activity in no time. It was a pity that all these people who were enjoying themselves immensely had no idea that the Drunken Moon Festival that year was thest one they would be having. Golden Dragon Sect. There was a smallke behind the temple which had some fishes. There was a queer development in theke. There was the movement of a figure that took the shape of a dragon which transformed into a bright silvery light. It sprang up forcefully like a dragon. It was the Spiritual King Fish. As it swam, it constantly shot out jets of water, as though it was expressing its unhappiness with its tiny living quarters. Behind it, several other spiritual fishes and even more Drunken Fishes and Silverfishes followed loyally. ¡®Haiz...¡¯ Yu Xiaohong stood by the side of theke. She had her hair tied up into two long braids which extended beyond her waist. As her energetic eyes scanned the surface of theke, a pained expression appeared on her face. ¡®The movements of the Spiritual King Fish are really toorge. Even if our sect takes every precaution possible, this news would still leak out!¡¯ As she yed with her braids, she nced towards the great hall and sighed helplessly, "With Granddad¡¯s abilities, we might not be able to fully control even those few spiritual fishes. What more the Spiritual King Fish? If the elder had not appeared, others might have already used force to rob this ce! But, that elder is now nowhere to be seen..." Even though Yu Feishui tried his best to y up Fang Yuan¡¯s abilities, there were no limits to one¡¯s greed. It might have been effective had Yu Feishui not overdone it. Now, the aplishments of the Wu Zong that many people had in mind were all the lies painted by him! Especially...after finding a strong support, he had be morecent. "Old Yu!!" The atmosphere in the great hall was instantly spiritless. Yu Feishui sat on the throne and looked at everyone else expressionlessly. "A word of advice, you will not be able to keep the Spiritual King Fish!" Then, a one-eyed martial artist barked out threateningly, "We are only politely discussing this exchange with you because we see you as an established veteran sect in Zhu country. Aren¡¯t you willing to return us this favour?" "Brother Chu, you overestimate me!" Yu Feishui broke into a painful smile and replied, "I have no say in where the Spiritual King Fish should be!" This one-eyed martial artist was Chu Jie. He was the leader of 18 Chain Wall, the biggest gang of bandits in Zhu country. The martial arts he had were already at the 12th Gate. Apart from him, there was another gentler and more civilised looking man in white. He was Deadly Bookworm: a well known sinister martial artist who operated alone. Thest person was a beautiful woman who looked around 30 years of age. Her face was like a cherry blossom and she had a charming smile. Yu Feishui did not dare to underestimate her. After all, Lady Miao Hua was a spiritual disciple! Her Intoxicating Hibiscus spiritual spell was formidable. She even sessfully annihted 3 martial artists at the 4 Heavenly Gates in a row! These three did not have a great reputation and were obviously trying to bully him. Apart from them, there were several other legitimate sects and even people representing government officials hiding behind the scenes. There were also many forms of threats and bribes given by them. After all, the temptation of the Spiritual King Fish was too huge to resist. "We have already waited for so long, why isn¡¯t that skilled person here?" Deadly Bookworm chuckled and asked, "Could it be that you are intent on humiliating us despite our utmost sincerity?" "Old Yu, please have a look at our terms and conditions in this exchange. They will definitely not disappoint you!" Simrly, Lady Miao Hua forced a smile and added, "I am offering a bottle of ¡®Hundred Thousand Flowers Pill¡¯, Deadly Bookworm has offered the secret manual for the powerful technique ¡®Thousand Hearts Sword Technique¡¯ and Brother Chu is offering 500,000 taels of gold! We are asking to exchange all these items for just the Spiritual King Fish. The other spiritual fishes will still be yours! Apart from these, each of us will owe you a favour. Any time you require our help, we will definitely extend it without hesitation! What do you think?" Her eyes glistened alluringly as she spoke. It almost had a hypnotic effect. "You..." Old Yu sunk into a deep contemtion. To be honest, although the items offered were still not worth as much as the Spiritual King Fish, they were immensely valuable enough to prove their sincerity. However, Yu Feishui had to consider whether Fang Yuan would take it out on him when he returned to find out that he sealed this deal. "Please return!" Yu Feishui made up his mind and hardened his stance, "Although we are a small sect, we will not be easily bullied by anyone! Not only does the Spiritual King Fish belong to someone else, I will also not make this deal with you based on your reputations! Guards!" With hisstmand, there was a huge movement outside as several disciples of the Golden Dragon Sect entered the hall armed with Soft Fish Scale Armour, fiss, iron oars and other equipment. Even a powerful dragon cannot defeat a snake in its natural habitat! It did not matter how powerful the visitors were, they were greatly outnumbered. When the number of ants grewrge enough, it would still be enough to kill an elephant. "Sigh..." When Deadly Bookworm saw this, he didn¡¯t say much and just sighed: "Since you¡¯re such a stubborn old fogey, we¡¯ll have to invite an expert toe out! Even if you don¡¯t give us any face, you¡¯ll have to consider wisely before doing the same for this elder." "Rumble!" The moment hisst word was uttered, an overbearing aura exploded from the outside. "Sect head, someone is barging..." A disciple of the Golden Dragon Sect came rushing in with a shocked expression on his face. Before he could finish his sentence, his face turned beet red and he spat out blood furiously, finally falling to the ground. "Hiss hiss!" The ground where his bloodnded gave offrge plumes of white smoke. "This is......poison?" Yu Feishui¡¯s expression turned sour as he thought of which famous expert had arrived. "You guys......Your backer is..." With a shivering voice, he spoke, "Poison King Jie Wuming?" "He he" A man slowly entered the hall amidst the coldughter. Around him,rge numbers of Golden Dragon Sect disciples fell, clutching their necks in agony. This short and unassuming man wore a robe interspersed with blood red and emerald green colours, which made one feel dizzy and extremely ufortable just by looking at it. "Yu Feishui? At least you¡¯re still somewhat knowledgeable!" Jie Wuming¡¯s voice was like an owl¡¯s, raspy with the power to send a chill running down one¡¯s spine. "Elder Jie!" Chu Jie, Deadly Bookworm, Lady Miao Hua respectfully stood behind Jie Wuming. After all, this man was a Wu Zong who was adept at using poison! Since Zhu Country was small, this Jie Wuming was rumored to be the number 1 expert in the country due to his evil and underhanded means that others greatly feared. "Elder Jie!" Yu Feishui could only stand up with a disturbed expression on his face: "You¡¯re an established person, so why have youe to put me in a spot as well?" "He he..." Chuckling, Jie Wuming replied, "I¡¯ve been researching a sort of mixed poison and I heard that the Spirit King Fish had some excellent materials for it. This made me instruct these three useless fellows to make a move..." As he spoke about this, a chilling gaze shot out from his eyes: "However......Could it be that I¡¯ve been out of the martial arts world for too long, to the point that my name is no longer recognised and even you don¡¯t want to give me any face?" "What kind of statement is this?" In his heart, Yu Feishui cried, but when he thought of the divine technique that Fang Yuan disyed previously, he gritted his teeth and responded: "But this Spiritual King Fish is really the item which that elder safe kept with the Golden Dragon Sect. I can¡¯t make the decision on his behalf!" "Hmph!" Jie Wuming snorted, walking forward as though as his figure was swaying. In response, Yu Feishui backed away swiftly, but a figure suddenly appeared in front of him. The arms he used to shield himself shuddered violently while he left 7 to 8 footprints in the ground. He could smell a flowery fragrance in that instant, then a spurt of blood came bursting out of his mouth. Chapter 176: Justice Chapter 176: Justice Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Grandfather!" Yu Xiaohong heard themotion and scrambled to the main hall, only seeing Yu Feishui¡¯s silhouette lying on the floor, spitting out blood. He eyes swelled up with tears. "Yu Feishui... Do you think you can brush me off easily?" Jie Wuming flicked his fingernails and chuckled. "Since you don¡¯t want to cooperate with me, you will regret it!" Chu Jie and Deadly Bookworm ran up, both with sinister looks in their eyes. "Go and get the spiritual king fish and the other spiritual fishes at the back, and... since this Golden Dragon Sect is opposing me, destroy it as well!" Jie Wuming ced his hands on his back and had the appearance of a person of high status; every word from his mouth was bone-chilling. "Eh... Sister¡¯s youth and future, but she chose to oppose us. How unwise?" Lady Miao Hua walked up with a red handkerchief, revealing spiritual light. "Sister can¡¯t save you too, but I can lessen your pain before you die..." Her delicate voice confused Yu Xiaohong. "Senior will not let you off!" She still had a thought of rity as she struggled to reply. She was imagining in her head the image of therge eagle. "Keke... with Elder Jie here, why do I have to be scared?" Lady Miao Hua smiled brighter than the sun andplimented Jie Wuming again. "That¡¯s right! Who would be afraid of such a senior who does not dare to show up?" Jie Wuming squinted his eyes, as though he enjoyed thepliments. "Elder Jie is the most highly skilled in Zhu Country!" Chu Jie and Deadly Bookworm continued to praise him after hearing Lady Miao Hua, for praise is free. This Old Yu seemed to really have a backing. Although Wu Jieming seemed to be unafraid of his backing, the rest were not as highly skilled and had to use his name in their favour to make themselves feel better. "Even if a Wu Zong arrives now, it would just be a minor annoyance!" Deadly Bookworm and the rest started to boast more and more, Jie Wuming was narcissistic, which made him enjoy the moment very much. To him, since that Wu Zong did not appear for many days, he must be too afraid to make an appearance!" If that is so, what else do all of them have to be afraid of? It was a pity that today was their unlucky day. "What?" A deep voice was heard in the main hall. "Who¡¯s that?" Chu Jie, Deadly Bookworm and the rest jumped up. Jie Wuming became worried. "Voice from a hundred miles? A Wu Zong indeed!" "Chirp! Chirp!" As the voice ended a high pitched eagle chirp was heard. There was a huge gust of wind and argemotion outside. A majesticrge eaglended outside the residence, and a person calmly dismounted the eagle. He was wearing white and appeared mysterious. Who else could this be other than Fang Yuan? "Senior!" Yu Feishui and Yu Xiaohong eximed in joy. Deadly Bookworm andpany were left in fear. "Such a young Wu Zong?" As for Chu Jie, since he was a leader of arge gang, he had the most exposure to the happenings of the world. Seeing Fang Yuan and therge eagle... He thought of something, as his heart sank. He involuntarily retreated to the sides of the hall. "Mm, you two have worked hard, I will take over the rest from here!" Fang Yuan gave Yu Feishui and Yu Xiaohong and apologetic smile. Back in the secluded valley, he ate spiritual rice as staple every day. Eventually, when he became the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master, his taste increased. Never would he know that a spiritual king fish with several other spiritual fishes would create such chaos in Zhu Country, and could even attract a Wu Zong. Of course, everything that happened was somewhat rted to him. After all, after getting Yang Fan¡¯s treasure, he became very weak and had to rest, which led to him arrivingte at Yu Feishui¡¯s residence. These people thought that since Fang Yuan did not appear, Yu Feishui was bluffing them and trying to make them believe in an imaginary backing that he had, exining their ruthless and reckless behaviour. "You are..." Jie Wuming looked at Fang Yuan, appearing serious. Compared to Lady Miao Hua and the rest, he knew that this person in front of him was not easy to deal with. "I am Fang Yuan!" Fang Yuan answered him truthfully. "Fang Yuan!?" No matter how ill-informed Jie Wuming was, he had still heard of the war in the neighbouring country. "You are the one who was under thirty years old, and yet able to cultivate martial arts and spiritual techniques together, entering the Elemental Gathering Realm, and even able to fight and win the war at Cangshui City as the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master?" "Even though that is a little exaggerated, that¡¯s right!" Fang Yuan smiled. After admitting his identity, Lady Miao Hua¡¯s and Deadly Bookworm¡¯s legs went jelly. Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master! Spiritual knight Wu Zong! This status was like a huge mountain to them! Even though the Secluded Mountain Prefecture was smaller than the Zhu Country by a little, but based on his ability, if he wanted to invade them, the power-scattered Zhu Country would not be able to defend! Furthermore, he was a spiritual knight! He was the rare talent that would only appear once in hundred years! Just based on his solo fighting skills, all those in the Elemental Gathering Realm in Zhu Country would have to fear him. His own ability was already so powerful, and with additional assistance, Fang Yuan would be a person capable of taking over anything he wanted! Facing him, even Jie Wuming had to think twice. As for Deadly Bookworm and Lady Miao Hua? If they have yet to kneel down and beg for leniency, they would be considered mentally strong already. "Good! Good!" Jie Wuming was emotionless. He was ashamed, furious, afraid, unsettled and was experiencing all sorts of emotions. Finally, he forced a smile. "Since this spiritual king fish is Brother Fang¡¯s property, then we shall not have it, please ept my apology..." Yu Xiaohong was dumbfounded. Previously, a fierce Wu Zong came and injured her grandfather as she felt that the entire world was about to crumble. However, now, Jie Wuming was smiling sheepishly, and Lady Miao Hua was shivering in fear... All these made her feel like her dream was fake. A fierce Wu Zong would be scared just by the name of a person? What kind of person is this senior? "Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master... Fang Yuan?" As for Yu Feishui, after regting his breath, he was surprised. "Indeed... I should have thought of it!" All the focus was on Fang Yuan, but there was only a softughter. Hisughter became increasingly loud, and it became hysterical. "What are youughing at?" Even though Fang Yuan had not spoken a word, his attitude of not wanted to settle this peacefully was already understood by Jie Wuming. "You forcefully enter my people¡¯s house, snatch their things, hurt my people and now, you think a simple apology will do?" Fang Yuan chuckled. "Could it be that my reputation does not worth anything at all in your eyes!" Fang Yuan already wanted to avenge Old Yu, who was still spitting blood. Furthermore, base on his current high standing in the society, he could not let of Jie Wuming so easily. Otherwise, there would be no doubt that he would use his own reputation topare against Fang Yuan¡¯s.Fang Yuan would allow it to happen only if he was a fool. "Not good!" The first one to react was not Jie Wuming, but Chu Jie. At the beginning, he had already hid at the walls of the hall. When he heard Fang Yuan saying all these, he screamed and ran for the exit. "Bast*rd!" Jie Wuming noticed and was furious. This action of Chu Jie would show others that Jie Wuming was useless, that he would lose terribly in the hands of Fang Yuan. Even though that was the fact, his reputation would still be affected. "Can you run?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes were full of pity. He was a little street smart butcked wisdom. He knew that if he let off Jie Wuming today, the first person Jie Wuming would find trouble for is him. Even if he was just like an ant, he did not feel happy to let him escape. Fang Yuan bit his lips and gently blew. "Whoooo!" A white arrow shot out of his mouth. Everyone in the hall saw a white sh hit the running Chu Jie before his head fell to the ground. "Pa!" After his headnded, his body continued to run forward a few more steps before falling down and started to bleed profusely. Mouth spitting Flying Sword! Killing one person in ten steps! Just based on this single move, Fang Yuan could be a deity in the ancient days, gaining the respect and prayers from the masses. "Hmph!" Jie Wuming sighed. "I injured your person, and you killed mine. Consider it as interest paid... I¡¯ll be taking my leave!" Deadly Bookworm and Lady Miao Hua were in utter shock. It was obvious that Jie Wuming was afraid! Facing off the mysterious Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master, even if only one subordinate was killed, he still left in a jiffy without caring about his other subordinates. Without a doubt, if Fang Yuan wanted to continue setting the score, they would be the scapegoats! "Not enough!" Indeed, at the next moment, Fang Yuan shook his head and looked at Deadly Bookworm and Lady Miao Hua. Jie Wuming was at loss. He did not know if it was worth it to save these twockeys and pit himself against the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master. Fang Yuan¡¯s next sentence shocked him. "Aspared to killing the chickens for the monkey, I would prefer to kill the monkey for the chickens!" Without hesitation, Fang Yuan continued. "You have hurt Yu Feishui, and if I hurt you, we¡¯ll be even!" "Little boy!" Jie Wuming was enraged. His blood boiled and his beard was covered in blood. He looked up and shouted, "Do you really think you can take advantage of me?" "Sssss!" Immediately after, arge amount of elemental force was concentrated, forming a dark green python sticking out its tongue, slithering around the hall. This gigantic python was seemingly real and had a musky fragrance, enticing people to take a few more deep breaths. "However, Deadly Bookworm and Lady Miao Hua turned pale and retreated. The tried to focus, as though they were dodging something. "Poison technique?" Fang Yuan pinched his nose. "Since you know my name is Fang Yuan, then you should know that I have a nickname before I became the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master. How dare you use poison against me? Are you nuts?" With that, a white rainbow appeared, and a few medicinal pills exploded as he rushed towards the python. "Ch!" The python was majestic at first, but after being struck by the palm which scattered the medicinal pills, it was as though it was being squeezed at the neck. Finally, it shrank and an opening tore through the middle of the python, as it started to disappear. Only at this point did Jie Wuming realise that before he became a prefecture master, he was the famous miracle doctor of Xia Country! Chapter 177: Approximation Chapter 177: Approximation Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Jie Wuming turned deathly pale after Fang Yuan dispelled his poisonous technique. He looked at Fang Yuan, his voice hoarse, "You would not stop until you are dead?" "Jie Wuming, remember this, you are in no position to bargain with me, much less threaten me!" Fang Yuan¡¯s expression was cold. He arrived beside Jie Wuming, his right hand took on the shape of ws and he struck down! "P!" He used the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique to reach the level of Wu Zong which was a majestic and ferocious skill. He now possessed the Second Elemental Force and was on par with a Wu Zong who had trained with the Yang Family¡¯s Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique. He now had enormous strength and as such, the technique was hard to block. Jie Wuming¡¯s skills were originally lower than his and dependedpletely on his poison technique. However, his poison technique was dispelled and he was in dire condition. "You..." He barely finished saying a word before a gust from the w struck him which severed his right arm. Jie Wuming was shocked as he met Fang Yuan¡¯s cold gaze. "I am only using my prowess as a Wu Zong. If you are not even able to counter this, you might as well die here!" Fang Yuan¡¯s hands moved like the wind and created many illusions of his ws. "This..." Yu Xiaohong and Yu Feishui looked on in a daze. A Wu Zong! Zhu Country¡¯s top fighter! A renowned king of poison! He was being pressured to such an extent? Duo Mingshu and Lady Miao Hua trembled in their shoes but dared not leave, their hearts beating wildly. "Xiuxiu!" The gale was fierce. Fang Yuan became happier as he fought. With the experience from his dream, his Eagle w Iron Skin Technique had reached the level of a master! On this maind, where martial arts were beginning to be extinct, there was nothing after the Elemental Gathering Realm! However, Yang Fan was from the Da Qian Empire where martial arts wasmonce, he knew that there was still the Elemental Opening Realm after the Elemental Gathering Realm! Gathering the spiritual meridian, with every one increasing the elemental force, would allow one to obtain the Divine Body in martial arts! "I have deduced the method of opening the meridian using the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique. As the Eagle Lieutenant, he had gathered experience by reading extensively the collection in the county and strengthened his foundation. The next step would be to open the spiritual meridian while using my Eagle w Iron Skin Technique and enter the Meridian Opening Realm!" In Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes, Jie Wuming had be a good target. "Xiuxiu!" The sound became more intense. The countless illusions transformed as the wild wind howled and whipped around. Suddenly, the illusions disappeared and revealed the figure of Jie Wuming. The old man was drenched in sweat. His face turned pale and he copsed! If Fang Yuan did not hold back, he might die of exhaustion! "Bring him away!" Fang Yuan stood straight and looked at Jie Wuming. In his mind, Jie Wuming was an excellent subject for his experiment. From the previous fight, he had a rough sensing of the next stage of the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique. If he was able to use Wu Zong as the base to continue his experimentation, he would be able to deduce the method to open his spiritual meridian. ¡¯Such a shame...these techniques originated from the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique. If my experiment is sessful, I would be able to change the name of the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique...¡¯ Truth be told, that was nothing much. After all, the Eagle w Technique was the most basic of the skills with many variations such as the Giant Strength Eagle w Technique and the Poison w. The skill ispatible with other moves. As such even if there was a Giant Spiritual Eagle w, it would not be a problem. ¡¯Of course...I must be cautious in this step! I would need to figure it out in my dreams and then practice it in real life...as this is from the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique, its impact would be great. I am just afraid that I would be unable to break through the limit and fail toplete the technique!¡¯ Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes were serene. He knew that he had yet another reason to visit the Da Qian Empire. "Un...understood!" Yu Xiaohong was in a daze and unconsciously agreed to it. Soon after, she came around, her face flushed like an apple, and vigorously shook her head. "Since this is the request of Prefecture Master Fang, I would aplish it at all cost. It is just that if we want to wait until Jie Wuming wakes up...cough cough..." Yu Feishui mbered up and struggled to speak. "Rest assured, I will not leave during this time!" Fang Yuan stood up straight and smiled. "The scenery here is enchanting. I want to stay here for a while and am not sure if the both of you will agree to it?" "Of course! Definitely!" Yu Feishui and Yu Xiaohong nodded their head as if they were chicks feeding on grains. "Oh, and the two of you..." Fang Yuan turned around and looked at Duo Mingshu and Lady Miao Hua. "The two of you...if you require anypensation, discuss it with Yu Feishui!" Fang Yuan waved his hand. "Thank you, sir, for your generosity!" The two of them expressed their gratitude and repeatedly kowtowed as if they had been given a pardon. ... With a Wu Zong in town, the threat from the Golden Dragon Sect became a joke. When Fang Yuan¡¯s identity was leaked out, those that were looking at him with ill intentions retreated and some even came forward with gifts as apologies. Half a monthter. Golden Dragon Sect Mountain. "Jiujiu!" The eagle¡¯s cry rang out and pierced the clouds, the sound travelled for miles. The Iron-tailed ck Eagle was trimming its feathers as it looked gravely at the figures in the fog. "The gathering of the elemental force is for the opening of the meridian! The Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique was a top-notch technique to open the spiritual meridians. It is able to open 8 spiritual meridians, gaining elemental power level 8, and eventually achieving the Divine Body. By then, the martial artist would be very formidable and difficult to defend against!" Fang Yuan walked on and every now and then, waved a w. The action caused the clouds and fog to split and the elemental force caused waves to be formed in theke as it was channelled outwards. The spiritual king fish knew what was happening and hid at the bottom of theke withouting out. "The technique to open the meridian for my Eagle w Iron Skin Technique should not be second to this...of course, the most crucial would still be the Meridian Opening. Even if only one spiritual meridian is gathered, I would still be able to enter the Meridian Opening Realm!" Although Fang Yuan was simultaneously cultivating his martial arts and magical energy, he was still at the Elemental Gathering Realm. Even though Fang Yuan had reached the peak of the Elemental Gathering Realm on his path as a Dream Master, he was not confident to break through the Holy Illusionary as it was too difficult. It did not matter as it would be sufficient to suppress this maind if he managed to enter the Meridian Opening Realm in the path of martial arts. "Benefactor, please have the soup!" A bubbly figure carried a food container forward. It was Yu Xiaohong. As he opened the container, the rich smell of the fish soup reached his nose. It had spiritual properties. This is a spiritual fish soup and was made with the Drunken Moon Lake spiritual fish as the main ingredient. It tasted fresh and replenished the spiritual energy. "Thank you!" Fang Yuan reached for the soup and gulped it down. Yu Xiaohong ced both her hands under her chin and watched on silently. It was as if small stars appeared in her eyes. ¡¯Thanks to Jie Wuming¡¯s selfless contribution, I have nearly figured out the method to gather the first spiritual meridian with the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique...¡¯ After drinking the spiritual soup, Fang Yuan waved Yu Xiaohong away without caring about her feelings and looked at his own stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 11.5 Spirit: 11.5 Magic: 9.9 Profession: Dream Master Cultivation: [Dream Master (Peak of Elemental Gathering Realm)], Wu Zong Technique: [Eagle w Iron Skin Technique (Grade 13) (11%)], Ecstasy Spell, Shadowstep Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "There are increases in 3 of my stats, of course, the most important would be the proficiency points, and it can finally be increased!" Fang Yuan almost teared. After he reached Wu Zong, the proficiency point of the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique had stagnant as he had no way to further improve. Now, with a direction for him to improve, the proficiency points for the Grade 13 Eagle w Iron Skin Technique had finally been released. As long as he continuously practicing, he would be able to reach the proficiency point of 99%. After that, all he needed would be an opportunity to break through the Meridian Opening Realm. "With the nourishment from the spiritual things, there would definitely be no bottleneck once I reach the peak of the 13th grade. When that timees, my cultivation as a Dream Master and a Wu Zong would be at the peak of the Elemental Gathering Realm. There would be no one here that would be a match for me unless I was ganged upon!" After all, Elemental Gathering and Elemental Breaking were two notions. It would be difficult to take on many opponents at once. Faced with the threat of Wu Country, Fang Yuan could only be patient. "It won¡¯t be long..." He looked gravely in the direction of Wu Country. ... Capital, Xia Country "I would like the princess to reconsider, my country might be forgiving but we definitely would not tolerate it if we keep getting bullied! My 200,000 strong army would not ept it as well!" The young prince who previously appeared in the Secluded Mountains Prefecture City threatened. "200,000?" Xie Lingyunughed and brushed aside her hair, "Why did I receive news that you all met with trouble in Cangshan and were defeated in the ins previously? A few thousands of them were lost in the battle, 200,000 strong army? Is there even 10,000 soldiers left?" "How dare you!" The prince was enraged. He looked at Taoist Mu Li who stood behind Xie Lingyun. His mouth moved but did not say anything. He turned around and stomped off. When he reached the guesthouse, he flew into a rage and smashed a cup. "She dares to humiliate me?" His eyes were bloodshot and he breathed heavily. "Your Highness, you are too superficial. Every time a big event had a peaceful air..." The middle-aged scribe shook his head. "Wu Country is still strong, Yuan Country was just a small obstacle, the more important one is still Cangshan City..." The prince raged once more, "That Fang Yuan!" Looking at the prince¡¯s enraged expression, the middle-aged scribe hesitated before saying, "There is news about the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master." "Speak!" "He was at the Drunken Moon Lake in Zhu Country and took part in the Drunken Moon Festival. I heard that he caught a spiritual king fish and even shed with the Zhu Country¡¯s King of Poison, Jie Wuming. Jie Wuming was defeated!" The middle-aged scribe fanned himself. "Jie Wuming..." The prince¡¯s eyes shifted, "If it was you, how would youpare?" The middle-aged scribe was shocked and replied, "It would be easy to chase him away, and killing him would be hard! Capturing him would be even harder!" "But the Prefecture Master did it! The rate at which his powers are increasing is a cause for worry..." The prince¡¯s eyes shifted and he suddenly smiled coldly, "He is going to bring about his own destruction!" At that moment, Xie Lingyun received a report from Fang Yuan and was at a loss for words. Chapter 178: The Conference Chapter 178: The Conference Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions At the Green Peak spiritualnd. The fog scudded and separated, revealing a giant eagle. "Chirp!" At the cliff, a silhouette of the Red-eyed White King Bird appeared. Behind it, there were numerous small white birds following behind. As they saw someone approaching, they all became excited. "Whoosh!" A streak of white light shed past; it was the Flower Fox Ferret. "I¡¯m back!" Fang Yuan, who was riding on the eagle¡¯s back, was emotional as he saw his spiritual beasts. His Iron-tailed ck Eagle was not only transporting him, it was carrying a huge metallic box with its w and in the box was the spiritual king fish. As for the other types of fishes like the spiritual fish and Drunken Fish, they were not as lucky as all of them had either been mashed up or dried up and stored in the Mountain River Pearl. The treasure left behind by Yang Fan may seem useless on the outside, but when it came to storing things, it had brought much convenience to Fang Yuan and it would make things easy for him if he had to travel in the future. "No ce canpare to my ownfortable home!" Fang Yuan ordered his Iron-tailed ck Eagle tond and eximed as he went to look for the Red-eyed White King Bird and the Flower Fox Ferret. Of course, if the location of his secret house was made known to others, the royal family of the Xia and Wu Countries would be eyeing for it as well. To him, his appointment as the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master was incidental. How could that be more important than the spiritualnd at the Green Peak? "ng! ng!" There were loud nging noisesing from the metallic box continuously. "You still have so much energy even though you have been locked up inside for such a long period!" Fang Yuan touched his chin and said, "Alright......there is a small pond below this cliff. It shall be yours once it has been expanded!" Since he was already into farming, how could he not be having fishes as well? The pond below the cliff was a suitable location to rear the fish there. No matter how strong the spiritual king fish was, without the freedom it used to have in the big river and ocean, it would slowly be less fierce. "I guess I am considered rich now....." After he returned to the spiritualnd, Fang Yuan started to stocktake the assets he had. The spiritual medicine garden was the most important, but the me Jade Rice was not to be neglected as well. The Green Peak spiritualnd now had the protection of the Bewildering Fog, Sickle Grass and Serrated Flower surrounding the Green Peak. Internally, the farm was patrolled by the Flower Fox Ferret and the Red-eyed White King Bird, making it extremely peaceful. The crops in the farm and the nts in the spiritual medicine garden were thriving. Fang Yuan was able to harvest a season¡¯s worth of tea leaves, and even the seed of the Vermillion Fruit was growing pretty fast and had grown into a strong and small tree. "I had revealed my abilities a little while I was in Zhu Country and it had likely gathered some attention. I had better remove the suspicion on me!" After he returned to the straw cottage, Fang Yuan sat down with his knees crossed and let out a long sigh. The mistakes and experience of the previous Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master Liu Yan was a timely reminder for Fang Yuan. Liu Yan was only having a slight possibility of breaking through the bottleneck of the Elemental Opening Realm and had already encountered so many problems. What would the even more talented Fang Yuan face? As a precautionary measure, he would have to remain mysterious and not appear too many times in front of others as they might target him. "Hit and run, hmm... When did I be a guerri fighter?" As Fang Yuan thought about this, he chuckled and gave a cold look. "IT seems.....I have to destroy their hopes!" To do that, he could either stay where he was or he could progress and breakthrough to the Elemental Opening Realm! "In this pathway of a dream master, I have reached the peak level of the Elemental Gathering Realm. This breakthrough will be very difficult. My mind can affect the physical matter, to actualise an object from the dream world..... How is it an easy task?" "For this, I can only wait for an opportunity. Next up is to focus on the pathway in martial arts!" "Since I have attracted much attention from the Zhu Country, I should stay in the Green Peak for a period of time to self-cultivate....." Fang Yuan looked at his stats window and seemed to have a thought. Thanks to the unlucky King of Poison, Jie Wuming, Fang Yuan hade up with not just the idea of his new technique and had progress ining up with the general movement of the technique. ... Half a month had passed. Fang Yuan was full from his meal and he took a sip of the spiritual tea. He then came to the courtyard. Breathe in.....and out... With just the simple act of breathing, there was a stream of air flowing around the courtyard. The spiritual energy had gathered to form a whirlpool. All of these made it seem like there was a huge beast inside his body. "The Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique from the Yang family is built upon one¡¯s foundations! The breathing technique focuses on strengthening the digestive system, and can be further improved with an intake ofrge amounts of spiritual objects.....I have plenty of spiritual rice, spiritual tea, spiritual flowers and spiritual fruits!" Those who learnt this technique from the Yang family might not be able to enjoy the luxury of these resources, and therefore, Fang Yuan can elerate his progress on the cultivation of this martial art technique much more than usual. "With strong foundationses a strong elemental force, which will be above that of the average human. At the stage of Wu Zong, one would have giant spiritual strength....My Eagle w Iron Skin Technique is based on the rough breathing technique and it helps to strengthen my Eagle w. Therefore, thispensates for theck of internal cultivation in this technique!" Originally, there had always been a limit for the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique and the highest one could achieve was the peak of the 12th Gate. Fang Yuan was then able to break through the limit of the peak in the dream world, of which no one in the past had been able to do so. The limit was pushed to the 13th Gate for him to be able to attain Wu Zong. Hence, his version had already varied quite a bit from the original one. After encapsting the essence of the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique into it, the difference became appalling. "With the experiments, I have made in the dream world and theplement of being a Wu Zong in the real world, opening the first spiritual meridian and the concentration of the spiritual meridian to breakthrough to Grade 14 shouldn¡¯t be a big problem. This sublime version of the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique will no longer be the original one. I shall name this new technique the Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique!" With this thought in his mind, the letters of the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique in his stats window started to be blurred and the entire name changed. "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 12 Spirit: 12 Magic: 9.9 Profession: Dream Master Cultivation: [Dream Master (Peak of Elemental Gathering Realm)], Wu Zong Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 1) (99%)], Bewildering Spell, Shadowstep Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique - It is a unique technique which is formed from thebination of the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique and the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique. This technique is initiated from elemental force and strengthened with giant spiritual strength. Defence is strengthened. Poison capabilities are strengthened. Energy is strengthened. Yin properties are strengthened. Current progress is 99% for the first spiritual meridian!" All these were written based on the proficiency points but there was a bottleneck for thest step. "If I am able to concentrate the first spiritual meridian sessfully, I will be a Meridian Opening Realm martial artist and I will be powerful enough to suppress anyone in thisnd....." Fang Yuan¡¯s muscles tensed up like a giant spiritual god¡¯s. His skin was as tough as iron but on the surface, it looked like any other person¡¯s skin. These were the changes after he had encapsted the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique into the Eagle w Iron Skin Technique. "Now my breathing is deep and my strength is superb! This is indeed one of the top techniques in the Da Qian Empire!" Fang Yuan slowly explored the features of this new technique. Suddenly, a streak of spiritual light appeared on his body, like a small snake. The streak of light was moving about and it looked illusionary. This was the first spiritual meridian he had concentrated. However, since it was not yet stabilized, therefore, it appeared illusionary. "I have already reached the bottleneck for martial arts as a dream master. After this, I can no longer improve by cultivation and hard work alone....." Fang Yuan murmured to himself and called out for the Red-eyed White King Bird. "It¡¯s time to go and manage the matters in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture and look for opportunities to improve!" ........ In the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City. Inside the Prefecture Master¡¯s mansion, people were squeezing about. Zhou Wenwu, Yu Xinlou and the others now had stable spiritual auras. They had matured quite a bit and were handling the matters of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture together with Zhang Qingfeng. "Chirp! Chirp!" Suddenly, a series of chirps was heard and their faces were filled with joy. "This chirp.....The Prefecture Master is back!" They immediately went out to the courtyard and indeed, a strong gust of wind apanied the descent of Fang Yuan and the Red-eyed White King Bird. "Greetings, Prefecture Master!" All of them cleared any thoughts that they had in their minds as they greeted Fang Yuan. "There is no need for the formality. Gather everyone for a meeting in the main hall!" Fang Yuan waved his hand. "Yes, Master!" No one dared to disobey his order. After a while, the main hall was filled and Fang Yuan went to his seat. Niu Dingtian, Zhang Qingfeng and a few newly appointed capital officials, Zhou Wenwu, Yu Xinlou, Huang Fu Renhe and......familiar and new faces were all present here. Oh, and the two disciples, Chen Ziying and Lanruo, together with a middle-aged man who had a long moustache. This man was the father of Chen Ziying, Chen Qing. Together, they bowed and greeted Fang Yuan, "Long live the Prefecture Master!" "Please rise!" Fang Yuan lifted his right hand and everyone rose against their own will. Even Niu Dingtian rose as well and felt a little frightened. ¡¯The person with the greatest power!¡¯ With such ability, even if he distributed his power among his men, it was only a matter of an order before effortlessly consolidating his power back again. Of course, Fang Yuan would not trouble himself and was just trying to demonstrate his capabilities. "I have been focusing on my cultivation. Did anything big happen here?" He skipped the introductory speech and went straight to the point. "After some reorganisation, we now have 30,000 soldiers and there are no enemies. It has been quite peaceful!" Niu Dingtian was the first to report. "Regarding the people, prices ofmodities are stable. The sufferings caused by the previous war is slowly disappearing. Even though the citizens did not mention that they are living a good life, they are still able to survive. My next step will be to gather all the refugees to move to the barrennd!" Zhou Wenwu reported calmly in a clear and logical way. However, Yu Xinlou hesitated a little in his report. "There is another matter. Princess Xie Lingyun from the Xia royal family has brought the letter of credence, and had requested to see you! Since you were not here, I have arranged for her to stay in the guest hall." "Xie Lingyun?!" Fang Yuan frowned. He felt that she was only here because of something. "Why is she here?" "She has written the purpose of her visit on the letter of credence. It¡¯s about the Yuan Wu Conference!" Zhou Wenwu replied. "The Yuan Wu Conference?" Fang Yuan was a little shocked. He felt a sense of familiarity with that term and recalled that he had seen it in a book before. With the exnation of that term from one of his subordinates, he then fully understood it. This conference was simr to a conference between countries. Logically speaking, disbanding of old countries and forming of new countries would only be formally recognised by every other country if the issue was highlighted and approval obtained during the conference. Previously, Yuan Country¡¯s influence was at its peak. However, among all the other countries, Wu Country was the strongest. Hence, this conference was formed as these two countries had taken turns to host it, and it had since be a tradition. This was why it was called the Yuan Wu Conference. "This conference is, in fact, a tform for every country to disy their armed forces!" Zhou Wenwu looked a little worried as he mentioned that. "If we are unqualified to enter the conference, we will not be able to avoid war, and this has been proven many times in history!" ¡¯Isn¡¯t this a tform for nomads and farmers to disy their strengths?¡¯ Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered and came to a conclusion. Chapter 179: Yuan Country Chapter 179: Yuan Country Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "The Secluded Mountain and Xia Country are of the same ancestry and cannot do without each other. For this Yuan Wu Conference, we must stand together to prevent anyone who might try to act against us!" Xie Lingyun¡¯s voice was soothing and gentle, and in front of Fang Yuan, she expressed her intentions with grief. "This time... If you, as the prefecture master would like to start a country on your own, the Xia Country would give our fullest support!" "Has the situation reached such a stage?" Fang Yuan was troubled. To start a country... Who would have thought that a small issue at the beginning would escte to such a stage? And at the next moment, he saw through the weakness of the Xia royal family. Even with the protection of Daoist Mu Li and another Wu Zong, the Xia Country was still extremely weak. After all, the Secluded Mountain Prefecture was forcefully separated from the Xia Country, and the Summer Sun Prefecture was left war-torn. It was a matter of months before the country could recover fully from all these setbacks. "Other than official affairs, I have a personal issue..." Xie Lingyun looked at Fang Yuan¡¯s disciples and asked him, "I¡¯ve heard that you have taken in two disciples? Are you interested in taking in another one?" "Oh?" Fang Yuanughed. "Is this the royal family¡¯s decision?" Never would he have thought that in this situation, the Xia Country would still be willing to trust him. After all, his progress would be a hindrance to Yuan, Wu and the other countries. "I have thought through it carefully. In this tumultuous times, if the Xia Country wants to progress, the only way is to take this gamble!" Xie Lingyun bowed respectfully. "Lingyun is useless. May I invite Prefecture Master Fang to take up the appointment as the Xia Country Advisor! Please ept the future fate of this country as payment. From now on, we will stick together till death! As a gift, we will ede to anything that you might request from the Xia Country¡¯s treasury and the royal family¡¯s private collection!" ¡¯Is this them showing their utmost sincerity to me?¡¯ Fang Yuan¡¯s heart wavered. "Finally, the princess¡¯s true colours!" After pondering for a while, he continued. "I¡¯ll agree to take in another disciple. Where is he?" "Right here!" Xie Lingyun smiled cheekily. "What do you think of me, prefecture master? Do I have the potential?" ... The leaves were rustling in the breeze. On the ins, a group of cavalry were cheering as they chased after a prey. Among the group, the leader was a 20-year-old young man, who was wearing a golden crown but had a brute appearance. Two bodyguards on their horses apanied him by his side, and they appeared majestic. At this moment, they had spotted a yellow goat. Stretching his bow, the young man then released an arrow. "Whoosh!" The arrow was like a meteor, gliding through mid-air. It went straight into its left eye and came out from its right eye, without touching any of its furs. "Wonderful! Eighth Prince, your archery skill is amazing!" The surrounding troops cheered heartily. Seeing the opportunity, they react quickly and carried the prey before showing it off to everyone in the vicinity. "During the autumn season, before these animals enter their hibernation, they will stuff themselves with food. This is the best opportunity to hunt!" The Eighth Prince smiled and tossed his bow on the ground. "What¡¯s so great about a yellow goat? Why not catch a wolf or leopard, that¡¯ll be more interesting..." This Eighth Prince was the youngest son of the Yuan King. Since the independence of Yuan country, there was aw that the youngest son would take over his position. This was because in the past, out in the ins, the mortality rate was high. After the father and a few older brothers had died in the war, the youngest child who would¡¯ve just matured would take over the household, and this was amon practice. Although the current king had been in his position for many years, he was still very used to having a lot of power. Thus, many would view the Eight Prince as the heir to the throne, which gained him a lot of admiration. "The fun has ended for today..." After galloping for a while, the Eighth Prince pulled the halter and gazed towards the South. "Who would know when would horses be able to gallop up the Southern Mountain! By then, we will be able to hunt anywhere we want! This is what men should be doing!" Everyone¡¯s eyes glittered. In the history of the Yuan Wu Conference, countries would have slight conflicts with one another, especially between the Yuan and Wu Countries. Before this year¡¯s conference, the Wu Country had a small setback, which made the Yuan Country have thoughts on how to take advantage of them. "What a pity... The previous time Wu Country was defeated, it was Second Brother who was leading the troops..." The Eighth Prince shook his head and sighed. "Father was happy and rewarded Second Brother with many gifts. He even added more troops and calvaries to his original battalion....." This was one of his reasons for nning to attack the South. The Eighth Prince knew that even though the traditionalw gave him the advantage of being the rightful heir to be king, it still could not guarantee him the throne. Needless to say, his father, the king, was at his prime age. The Eighth Prince¡¯s few younger brothers were growing up incredibly quick and were about to reach the age of maturity. By then, his position would be very awkward. In order to protect and assure himself to be the king, the Eighth Prince had to have some form of aplishments to back himself up, in order for the entire Yuan Country to be willing to ept him as king. What else canpare to taking over the entire Southern Mountain? "The uing Yuan Wu Conference would be my chance! Among the southern people, the Wu Country is the strongest. Judging from the size of their military, they can no longerpare to us. Next up would be to see whose side is stronger!" The Eighth Prince waved his hand and ordered for a person whom he could trust. "In the uing Yuan Wu Conference, all the country¡¯s kings, newly promoted spiritual knights and Wu Zongs would alle together. In this period of time, were there any noticeable ones?" This person was dressed in ck robes. He had a spiritual drum tied around his waist. His appearance was blood-red and felt like he had a bloodied vibe. The handle of the drum appeared pale, as though it was made from a real bone. He was a spiritual knight from the ins, but the Yuan country preferred to call him a shaman. "The countries in the south are all in chaos. Recently in the past six months, there was an uprising in a strong country, the Xia Country! They went through a separation, and an entire prefecture was separated out from the country!" This shaman¡¯s voice was high pitched, as though a piece of metal was scratching against another. "The new Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master is called Fang Yuan. He is highly skilled in a shaman¡¯s spell techniques, and is a strong warrior!" "Rumour has it... His spiritual techniques allow him to control spiritual nts, which gives him the ability to transform an entire city into a demonic nt hell. With this, his nts swallowed tens of thousands of the Wu Country¡¯s soldiers!" "Furthermore, he is extremely skilled in martial arts, and is on par with the strongest warrior we have in Yuan Country!" ... It was obvious that this shaman had his spies in the south. Even though he was always in the ins, he could still continuously report his findings of Fang Yuan. "Fang Yuan?" The Eighth Prince froze, before continuing. "Who would have thought that there would be such an outstanding person from the people of the South. He is our greatest enemy! We must observe him at the uing conference." "Not just that... I¡¯ve heard from the Wu Country that they want to get rid of this person as well. We might be able to work with them! If there¡¯s a need, their country advisors Wu Wudao and General Fei Long might be able to help us secretly!" If Fang Yuan had heard this conversation, he would have been speechless. Wu Country and Yuan Country were bitter enemies and had once fought aggressively on the ins. However, they might form an alliance just to deal with him. "Haha... Let¡¯s work with them! Why not?" Eighth Princeughed. "This is how the people from the South are! Even at their demise, they are still against each other, killing amongst themselves! Wasn¡¯t Xie Daoling like that too?" "That¡¯s true!" The shaman, who was at one side, was nodding his head. "The people from the South like to fight among their own people. If they coulde together and unite, only then would we feel threatened and need to hide in the depths of the ins. But now, this is our best chance! This time, the king has the intention to allow Eighth Prince to represent Yuan Country, and this is the best opportunity for us to observe the other countries!" "That¡¯s right! That¡¯s right!" Eighth Prince nodded his head. "Report!" At this moment, a ck dot appeared on the horizon. It was speeding towards them on horses. "Your Highness!" A huge number of calvaries and troops rushed and approached, before stopping in front of him. The chaotic scene turned into silence. A soldier leapt down from his horse and bowed. "The First Prince has attacked the Sunset Division and returned victorious!" "Big brother is back!" Eighth Prince sighed as he felt a little depressed. They had already sorted out the issue of who should be the rightful heir. However, the return of the First Prince meant that he also knew the importance of the Yuan Wu Conference! "Could he be thinking of recing my rights of representing our country?" Eighth Prince squinted his eyes and red. "Also... the First Prince had presented a female saint to the king, the pearl of the ins - Purple Dream Princess! I¡¯ve heard that when she arrived, the entire pce was smitten. The king was ted and rewarded him handsomely..." "This big brother of mine..." The Eighth Prince was speechless. He had yet another worry in his mind. In fighting to be the crown prince, he could not take a step back. After all, there were too many people who ced their hopes and their reputation on him. ... Wu Country. "Soldiers, let¡¯s move out!" As themand was given, ten thousand soldiers formed a rectangr formation, and it was impressive. Even though the Wu Country had suffered a defeat before, their confidence and strength were still there. These ten thousand soldiers were the best of the best, the elites. Every single one of them was at least a toonmander. Needless to say, among these ten thousand elite soldiers, there were another thousand calvaries! "Good! Looking sharp, appearing strong!" General Fei Long patrolled around and noticed the calvaries. He nodded his head in satisfaction. "With such strong soldiers, we can escort the king safely if anything were to happen!" He was clear that they only had the chance if his own calvaries were on par with Yuan Country¡¯s calvaries. "Congrattions on General¡¯s return!" Wu Wudao was smiling at one side. "Our country governor trust you enough to pick you for this conference!" "A general who loses his war, what more can I say?" General Fei Long slowly looked around and to the direction of Xia Country. "This time, we might be able to see the Xia royal family and that Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master at the conference." "Fang Yuan!" At the mention of his name, Wu Wudao¡¯s face became pale, and he was filled with hatred. "Since we want to deal with him, we need a foolproof n. Contacting Yuan Country is only part of the n. We still need to obtain information about him. As the saying goes, know yourself well, and know the enemy well..." "This of course!" General Fei Long nodded his head. "I have sent people to investigate on that person¡¯s spiritual flower and spiritual grass array. It is indeed powerful! However, it has a major weakness. It is extremely strong in defence, but it cannot be used in attack! It will be rendered useless at the uing conference!" A spiritual knight¡¯s ability was mysterious and could appear in many forms. They had obviously taken Fang Yuan¡¯s skill in botany as a specific spiritual knight spiritual technique. "That¡¯s good news!" Wu Wudao squinted his eyes. "In this conference, either we do nothing, or we strike hard! We cannot give them any more chances!" Chapter 180: Breakthrough Chapter 180: Breakthrough Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "The vast wilderness, and the grazing sheep..." Looking at the vast ins, Fang Yuan sighed. Autumn was the season for the ins to flourish. It was extremely rxing to speed through here on a horseback. Behind him was a 1,000-men strong army marching slowly, and the atmosphere was solemn. Among these soldiers were different armour and gs, and it was obvious that they were not from the same army. "Is this your first time here, Prefecture Master Fang?" A horse emerged from the troops and arrived by the side of Fang Yuan; it was Clear Spring Prefecture Master Lan Xiaosheng. Although he appeared to be close to Xia Country, he was in fact not. He felt uncertain about the conference. Looking at how Secluded Mountain Prefecture and the Xia Royal Family became closer, he immediately tried to show his affectionate side. The Yuan Wu conference was an opportunity for all of them to unite together. He was rather interested in Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan had to admit that his respectfulness made him hard to be disliked - if only he was not a fence-sitter, unwilling to be loyal to any side. He could be sure that Lan Xiaosheng would record down anything that he had said, but only until the day that Fang Yuan would be defeated, he would not outrightly oppose him! There was nothing about loyalty here, he only cared about his own survival. "Indeed, it¡¯s my first!" Fang Yuan sighed. "I¡¯ve heard that the ins are extremely vast. Even Yuan Country could take over only the most fertilends and a few big cities but not the entire ins, and they even had to face the defiance from the small divisions in the area, is that right?" "That¡¯s right!" Lan Xiaosheng was familiar with the ce. "The ins actually belonged to the different divisions, and even Yuan Country was formed by the biggest and strongest Golden Division. Even so, they could only take over the piece of smallnd near our territory... From another angle, we can actually say that they have protected us from the threats of the ins." "The depths of the ins..." Looking far, Fang Yuan felt excited. "I¡¯ve heard that after that piece ofnd is the ancient path to the Da Qian empire..." Although he had explored the empire in a dream world, he was still curious about the real Da Qian Empire. ... At night. Many tents were erected on the ins, and in the middle of the campsite was a firece, and food was cooking on it. Soldiers were consuming their dried rations, holding on to their wooden bowls and waiting for a portion of soup to be scooped for them. The higher ranking officers had meat and soup, and dessert such as ginger biscuits. "If we do not prepare, we would be out in danger!" At a small distance away from the campsite was a small hill, and Fang Yuanid therezily. Under him was a patch of soft grass, and by his ear was the asional chirping of crickets. The grassy smell filled his nose and without even looking up, he could see the stars, the full moon and the milky way... Everything was in sight. "We are but a tiny dustpared to the universe, iparable to the wonders of nature, but we have the most potential!" Fang Yuan opened his wine pot and gulped down arge mouthful of wine. The spiritual wine was extremely fragrant and a warm stream trickled down his throat into his belly. It was a warm and fuzzy feeling, and it gave out hints of spiritual energy, rejuvenating his body. "This wine pot has its mystery in it, and the fact that I can drink such good wine every day makes itparable to the Mountain River Pearl!" With the shimmer of a spiritual glow on Fang Yuan¡¯s hand, the wine pot disappeared. Ever since he started his training in his Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique, his appetite had grown, and the spiritual wine was but a small supplement for him. If not for the Mountain River Pearl which stored heaps of spiritual rice and spiritual fruits, he could not sustain his diet for the entire journey. As he looked at the campsite with the flicker of the fire, heughed silently. "Looking at my age, potential and the fact that I¡¯m not part of the royal family of Yuan Country and Wu Country, I would be a threat to them! Am I sacrificing myself by going to the Yuan Wu Conference?" Slowly, he stood up and closed his eyes. A spiritual meridian appeared on his body, and as it slithered around, it appeared illusionary. "Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique!" Aspared to the cultivation of a dream master, the bottleneck for martial arts was much easier to break through. Every time when Fang Yuan had time, he would focus on forming the spiritual meridian. Even if it would not increase his proficiency points, it would still deepen his understanding of the technique. "The path of humans... The path of the Universe... Spiritual meridian! Using external energy toplement what the human body iscking in..." However, there was a little difference in his cultivation today. Looking at the starry night sky, his mind clicked. Coupled with the strong foundations in his body, a mysterious change started to appear on Fang Yuan¡¯s body. "Kacha!" Suddenly, a soft explosion was heard in his body. The spiritual energy around him swirled and was slowly absorbed by his body. At that moment, Fang Yuan felt an elerated absorption of elemental energy from Heaven and Earth! He was shocked and appeared a little dazed. "This is... spiritual meridian!" There was no path after Wu Zong. However, the Wu Zongs in Da Qian Empire gathered and with their collective effort, they had managed to find a way. Since Wu Zong was the extreme of the human body, it meant that it was necessary to take in energy from outside after obtaining elemental force. By taking in energy from outside, a spiritual meridian could be formed, which would increase the threshold of energy in the body! This stage was known as the Meridian Opening Realm! It wasparable to the Elemental Opening Realm of the spiritual knights. "Because I am assimting the spiritual meridian into my body, being a natural process, for every meridian formed I would increase my potential as a martial artist! Who can even imagine the power of the divine body after forming the maximum amount of spiritual meridians possible..." Fang Yuan rubbed his chin and felt as though he could not ept the fact that there were changes to his own body. "I knew that the Yuan Wu Conference was dangerous, and initially wanted to use it to pressurize myself into making the breakthrough!" "Who would¡¯ve thought that all it took was a moment to result in such a change. There is no need for me to risk it just for the breakthrough anymore!" "Whoosh whoosh!" Suddenly, a shadow leapt out of the campsite. Swiftly, it arrived on the hill and had an uneasy look. "Prefecture Master Fang, that was..." "Oh, just a mere achievement in my cultivation of martial arts!" Fang Yuan smiled reservedly. "I see, you¡¯re indeed a talent!" Lan Xiaosheng was generous with his praises. "Prefecture Master¡¯s talent is putting me to shame!" He would not be able to understand the Meridian Opening Realm, and had thought that Fang Yuan had a small improvement in the Elemental Gathering Realm instead... If he could not understand, how could he tell the difference? He was still full of admiration for Fang Yuan¡¯s talent. "Prefecture Master Fang, your spiritual aura..." He could still tell that his spiritual aura has changed, and looked suspicious. "Oh, I¡¯ve learnt a new spiritual technique. Was it the change in my spiritual aura that you have detected?" Fang Yuan lied through his teeth. "Oh, I see! With Prefecture Master Fang, we will be able to achieve what we want in this Yuan Wu Conference!" Seeing the expressionless Fang Yuan, Lan Xiaosheng forced a helpless and awkwardughter, and he looked away, lost. ... The Yuan Wu Conference was a conference which involved the many countries in the maind. Of course, with the uprising of Yuan Country, their attitude had worsened. They have chosen the boundary of the ins as the location for the conference, next to ake. As the countries started to arrive for the conference, more and more tents were being set up, and many different gs were flying. In the centre of all, there was a tall elevated tform being built. Zhu, Qi, Kun, Hong and many other small countries have arrived. Putting their ceremonial contingent on disy, the entire ce looked rather majestic. Fang Yuan was riding on arge horse and with much interest, he was learning to recognise the different gs under the coaching of Xie Lingyun. Aspared the countries who were geographically smaller than the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, Fang Yuan felt that his status was rather high. Even Zhu Country could be considered a big country. "Where¡¯s Wu Country and Yuan Country?" As they walked to thekeside, their army started to pitch their tents. Fang Yuan looked at a distance and enquired. "Obviously, they will be thest to arrive!" Xie Lingyun was riding a white horse and was next to Fang Yuan. Wearing a veil, she concealed her face. Suddenly, she stared at Fang Yuan. "Master, it seems that you have achieved a breakthrough? Even your aura feels different..." Fang Yuanughed but did not answer her. "Disciple, go have a look at your king." This was the conference among the kings, and the king of Xia Country was here as well. However, Fang Yuan felt pitiful after seeing him. He was a pale looking middle-aged man gued with illnesses. He could not even speak properly and was exactly like a puppet. It was obvious that this puppet king in Xia Country was of no use. All the country¡¯s affairs were single-handedly handled by the beautiful disciple of his. "In this conference, Wu Country would surely force me into a corner. Master, you must help me!" Xie Lingyun gave a pitiful look. "Hehe... Even if they forget about you, they would also find trouble for me!" Fang Yuan squinted his eyes. "This is good... We can settle this once and for all!" "Wooo! Wooo!" The bugle of the armies was sounded. From afar, at the horizon, there was a thin ck line. Arge troop was formed up and making their way forward. "Wu Country¡¯s soldiers!?" Xie Lingyun softened her voice. "The country governor of Wu Country is here!" Fang Yuan remained silent. The 10,000-men strong army approaching in their formation struck fear in all of the smaller countries. As the formation reached thekeside, the drumbeat halted. The soldiers in the formation split up respectfully, revealing a pathway. A man in golden armour galloped on his horse and arrived in front. "This country governor of Wu Country seems to be a valiant warrior, and I¡¯ve heard that he is not even 40 yet! Not bad indeed..." Fang Yuan nodded his head, and at the same time, his spiritual sense could detect that he was being looked at by two enemies. "Mm, one of them is Wu Wudao, and the other is General Fei Long. No strangers!" He looked over and smiled. However, as for Wu Wudao and General Fei Long, both of them acted as though they had met a strong adversary. They approached the golden-armoured warrior and started mumbling to him. As the golden-armoured warrior removed his helmet, a face with distinct features was revealed. As he looked over, he had the vibe of a great warrior who had the ability to take over anything he wanted. Although he was not Wu Zong, as the leader of the country, together with his army formation, Xie Lingyun was equally pressured by him, as she was by Wu Wudao! "Mm, both Wu and Yuan Country are here!" Xie Lingyun felt a little breathless and gently patted herself to awaken her mind. Looking in the direction of North, there was a fine ck line rushing towards them from the horizon, and it was a shocking scene to behold! Chapter 181: All Ready Chapter 181: All Ready Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the north. Rumbling noises were heard. Sand was drifting in the wind as the ground shook. There were rows of cavalries. Like dark clouds, they were as strong as a hurricane and as terrifying as a tsunami. Nothing could stand in their way. At the Crescent Moon Lakeside, the soldiers from the small country were panicking. No matter how much themanders were reprimanding them, the situation was not improving and they all felt as though something bad was about to happen. Even the much stronger soldiers of Wu Country appeared a little panicky, moments before the impending arrival of the soldiers from the Yuan Country. This frightened Fang Yuan a little. In front of the Yuan Country¡¯s soldiers, even if the soldiers of the Wu Country was strong, they were ultimately still inferior to them. The horses were galloping at full speed, and there were more than ten thousands soldiers approaching. As they reached thekeside, the soldiers stopped in their tracks and started to set up their tents. In the centre of the tents, a giant golden tent was the first to be erected. The ground wasid with top quality sheep¡¯s wool. On the outside, it was decorated with gold foils, jewellery and jades. That tent looked like a pce and it repressed many other countries. "That is the g of the King of Yuan!" Xie Lingyun looked at the g that was disyed at the golden tent and was furious. "He is just a prince, and he thinks he can represent the whole country? What an arrogant guy!" "They are stronger than us. What can we do about it?" Fang Yuan was not bothered by that. "Since the ones in charge are here, we should go too!" In fact, if the rest of the countries were to team up, Yuan Country would not be able to defeat the rest. However, the rest of the countries already had conflicts with each other, so how would they work together to defeat the enemy? "Not to mention, Yuan Country has always wanted to attack the powerful countries like Xia and Wu Countries. The other kings will definitely stand aside to watch the show!" With this understanding, Fang Yuan felt that the conference was rather useless. After a short while, there was a procession. The kings appeared one by one and went to their seats. Xie Lingyun however, bit her lip and went to Fang Yuan. "Master......if something bad happens today, please do take care of your own safety!" "I know!" Fang Yuan knew very clearly that ever since he had the possibility of breaking through the Elemental Opening Realm, Xia Country was dependent on him. This was why Fang Yuan¡¯s safety was their top priority. However, he couldn¡¯t say that to her and therefore just nodded his head slightly to acknowledge. The princess couldn¡¯t do anything about it. The only thing she could do was to introduce the guests to Fang Yuan. "That is the king of Qi Country. Qi Country is rich in salt and this is their advantage. Even though the citizens there are rich, not many good spiritual knights or Wu Zong are being cultivated from there....." Xie Lingyun introduced them one by one in detail to Fang Yuan. "Also, that man with the red face is the king of Kun Country. Even though the citizens living in the Kun Country are poorer, there is a stronger culture of martial arts there. Their citizens were brave enough to fight against soldiers from the Wu Country. In the previous battle of the Yellow Pool, under the leadership of General Fei Long, Wu Country took almost 5 years but barely defeated Kun Country. After the war, Wu Country had overspent their resources and from then, they had given up the idea of taking over Kun Country....." Fang Yuan nced at the king of Kun Country with an interesting look and realised that he was very capable. The king was a cultivator and was at the peak of the 12th Gate. He was an outstanding one among all other kings. At that moment, a fat king sitting on the opposite saw Fang Yuan and greeted him humbly. "Who is that?" There was a saying that one should not go against another who is smiling at one. Fang Yuan looked at the g that was behind the king and asked. "That is the king of Zhu Country. He is a good old man. He has been well respected by his people and is simr to the previous kings in Xia Country!" Xie Lingyun said that with a sarcastic tone. Fang Yuan knew what she meant as he heard that. The king was a puppet as well, put in ce to maintain peace in the country. It seemed that the king of Zhu Country was simr to the king from Xia Country. However, Fang Yuan had created a mess in Zhu Country and even caught the King of Poison, Jie Wuming. Hence, Fang Yuan was considered murderous and ferocious, and that was why the king was being respectful and fearful of Fang Yuan. There was a specific etiquette in the Yuan Wu Conference. At the tform, only kings could sit down. Others who were apanying would have to stand by the side. There was a year when the three Prefecture Masters of the Xia Country could only ¡¯escort¡¯ the king of the Xia Country to the conference and could only protect him from behind. Now, Fang Yuan and Xie Lingyun were also standing behind the king of Xia Country but this time, their positions were allocated slightly to the front. ¡¯So is this the position that the Xia Country has managed to get from the previous conference?¡¯ Fang Yuan knew that if he was to announce the Secluded Mountain Prefecture as a country on its own in this meet, he would be able to have his own position. Of course, he would have to achieve that on his own and would have to deal with other countries first. ¡¯I¡¯m not sure what Yuan and Wu Country have prepared for us. I¡¯m looking forward to it!¡¯ Fang Yuan saw many of the kings sitting down and the musicians who were around them started to y some pieces to wee them. Even though it sounded very ancient, Fang Yuan still enjoyed the music. Such ceremony was a rare one. Among the noises from the drums, the king of the Wu Country and the prince of the Yuan Country got down from their horses. "It is rumoured that Wu Qiankun, the king of the Wu Country, is brilliant and good in martial arts. He is, therefore, a remarkable king who is determined to reform the country, making it stronger day by day....Of course, ever since that defeat, his reputation was affected. Recently, there was also the trouble from Yuan Country...." As Xie Lingyun said this, her voice became inaudible. After all, if everything had gone smoothly, he might have been his husband. However, no one could control the things that were happening. What had happened had already happened. "Not too bad!" Fang Yuan looked at Wu Wudao, who was standing behind Wu Qiankun and shook his head. He then looked at the group of people from the Yuan Country and asked. "What about that youngd over there?" "He is the eighth son of King Yuan from the Yuan Country. His name is Ge Ritu, which meant brightness! Since he is young and has a strong family backing him, he is a suitable candidate for the next person to take over the throne." Xie Lingyun raised her eyebrows. When the eighth prince came, she looked very uncertain and realised that she kept looking at the prince, before feeling shy and angry at herself. "You have sharp eyes indeed!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and shook his head. "Yuan Country has already been established but they still haven¡¯t been able to remove the original tribal habits. There will be conflicts and I¡¯m afraid there will be a big trouble!" Among all other countries, everyone believed that the eldest son in the family who be the one taking over the throne in future. Under the influence of the other countries, Yuan Country also paid attention to such matter. Plus, with the shamans and the advanced medical skills, the lifespan of the people in Yuan Country had been extended. If this continued on, it would mean trouble in future. It might even lead to a rivalry between siblings in the future. Ge Ritu¡¯s eyes scanned across the kings from the south and noticed many pale, friendly and fearful faces. ¡¯Indeed.....it is true that people from the south are weak and they love internal conflicts. I will be able to rule this whole piece ofnd in future and this piece ofnd will be basking in brightness!¡¯ Suddenly, he noticed ady. Her white dress was swaying and she looked graceful. She looked royal even with her emotionless look on her face and he was wavered by that. ¡¯Since big brother has offered the princess from the Sunset Division to Father, which appeased him, I should not lose out too.¡¯ He then stopped and asked with a southern ent. "You are....." "Eighth Prince, she is the daughter of the king of Xia Country, Princess Lingyun!" An official who was beside him replied. "You¡¯re not bad! Very good!" Ge Rituughed, making Fang Yuan a little displeased. "Who are you then?" Ge Ritu turned and noticed Fang Yuan. "Eighth Prince!" Wu Wudao then introduced with his malicious voice. "This is the top warrior from the South. He is the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master from Xia Country and his name is Fang Yuan! He is only 20 years old!" "You are Fang Yuan!" The Eighth Prince focused on Fang Yuan and said, "How does he fare against my top warrior in the Yuan Country? Zhuo Li Getu!" The Eighth Prince scoffed and an angry-looking man came forward. The man was 8 feet tall and he looked brute. His narrow eyes were glittering and he had a high nose bridge, which made him looked like a wolf and an eagle at the same time. He was wearing a ins robe but he revealed his chest and there was a green wolf head tattoo on it. His name, Zhuo Li Getu, meant that he was fearless in thenguage of the ins. The man had an immense amount of energy. From the way Fang Yuan judged him, he was a powerful Wu Zong and was superior to General Fei Long from Wu Country. "I will bet with 100 battle horses and 10 gold coins that your warrior is inferior to mine!" The Eighth Prince went forward and red at the king from Xia Country. "How does this sound?" "Cough..." The king of Xia Country gave a cough and his face became even much paler. Xie Lingyun couldn¡¯t bear the sight of this. She stood out and said, "Please show some respect, Eighth Prince! The conference hasn¡¯t even started and you are already breaking our agreement?" Ge Ritu was startled when he heard this. He then realised that he was just a prince and not a king. Plus, his position as the heir wasn¡¯t stable as well. King Yuan had entrusted him to represent his country for this meet. If he were to cause any trouble just because he was too reckless, his brothers would definitely not let go of this golden opportunity to put him down. He then gave a cold smile and walked away as he returned to his seat. The official heaved a sigh of relief and shouted with a deep voice. "All kings can start to inspect their soldiers!" The Yuan Wu Conference was a tform for everyone to showcase their strength and to choose the leader of the conference! Previously, this opportunity was only given to Yuan and Wu Countries. If Wu Country was chosen, the ins would be peaceful and it would take advantage of its position as the leader of the conference to take overnd as their territory. If Yuan Country was chosen, knowing that the southern countries were weaker would make them send off a wave of nomads to the South to plunder from the people living there. ¡¯No matter what...... this would not involve the people! No! These would not even involve the smaller countries....¡¯ Fang Yuan took a nce the kings of the smaller countries and pitied them. "When a country¡¯s government is prosperous, the citizens will suffer. When there is war, the citizens will also suffer! Fortunately, this is an extraordinary world and cultivators like us can still survive!" "Woo! Woo!" The bugle was sounded, and it was the signal for the elite forces of every country toe out of their camps. Carefully, they lined up in a formation. Following the order that they were given, they marched past the elevated tform smartly. Within minutes, there were hundreds and thousands of soldiers below the tform. Their armour were nging and the swords were glittering in the sunlight, making the whole ce much more lively. ¡¯Hmm, most of the elite soldiers are 4th Gate martial artists who have obtained inner power. The average body condition of these soldiers is very high.....¡¯ Fang Yuan looked at the formation for a while and understood what was going on. Chapter 182: Sudden Change Chapter 182: Sudden Change Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Kill!" Beneath the stage, nearly 10,000 Wu soldiers shouted in unison, bringing their morale to a peak. Shortly after, another 5,000 cavalrymen from Yuan Country rode past, demonstrating the skill of horseback archery. Each of them was well built, and while the formation was a little messy, it was filled with a barbaric aura. That sort of sharpness that only those who had undergone many bloody battles could exude made the leaders of various countries¡¯ expressions change. "My king has an order!" Eighth Prince Ge Ri acted as though as there was no one around and carried on. "For today¡¯s conference, the leader will be my country! Otherwise..." Although he didn¡¯t explicitly say it out, all of the countries had some idea of what he meant. It was time for the south to react to this provocation! "He he!" Upon hearing this, the King of Wu Country did not move, but Wu Wudaoughed coldly, "If the Eighth Prince is willing to pledge that after bing allies, you won¡¯t invade the southerners¡¯nds, what¡¯s stopping us from recognising you as the alliance leader?" Naturally, this condition was not something he could agree to. If he did, it would just show his enemies that he was weak, which would, in turn, allow Yuan Country to understand what the actual situation was and they would just force their way down south with more fervour. In reality, people of the Yuan Country were very ambitious. Hence no matter what they obtained from the conference, it wouldn¡¯t be enough to satisfy them, and they would just continue piging their way southwards. This was themon understanding of all countries. At this point, all of them could only rely on the alliance to suppress these mes of arrogance and force the Yuan Country to know their ce. "The contingent inspection is over. Let the martial arts contest begin!" As expected, the Eighth Prince did not make such a foolish pledge. Instead, he coldly snorted before changing the topic of conversation to something else. If the contingent inspection was a representation of the strength of one¡¯s army¡¯s foundation, then the martial arts contest was a disy of one¡¯s army¡¯s top-tier strength. Especially if there were any disagreements between countries, they could be resolved through a contest. However, at this point in time, the greatest problem on everyone¡¯s mind was the threat of Yuan Country¡¯s cavalrymen! As a result, all of the kings were just gazing at each other in silence. Under this shroud of noiselessness, it was the Xia Country¡¯s King that stood up first. This man was not young, with a rather pale face but a very energetic voice. "I have few virtues and meager abilities, and since I ascended the throne, there have been countless natural disasters. Hence, I will at least help to secure the position of a virtuous man. Secluded Mountain Prefecture¡¯s Head, Fang Yuan, is here today. He is a man with great morals and the Secluded Mountain Prefecture belongs to him. I am willing to give himnd to set up..." "Wait!" Wu Country¡¯s King interrupted loudly. "Does Xia Country¡¯s King mean that he wants to give somend to Prefecture Head Fang and make him a king? Where would hisnd be?" "Naturally it will be the Secluded Mountain Prefecture!" Xie Lingyin rebutted. "He he..." Shaking his head, Wu Qiankun responded, "Unless my eyes are failing me, on the current maps, your country has already ceded the area of Secluded Mountain Prefecture to my country. The only way you can give himnd to make him king is to take other people¡¯snd." Once these words left his mouth, not only was Xie Lingyin enraged, but even Lan Xiaosheng felt a little anxious. "You¡¯re right!" A crisp voice echoed out, causing many people to look in that direction in disbelief. It was Fang Yuan! "This Secluded Mountain Prefecture originally belonged to Xia Country! Only muchter was it given to Wu Country!" Fang Yuan spoke with great gusto, as though as he was very confident. " I then took it back from the hands of Wu Country after a great battle. Moreover, I also established a pact with Wu Country that they would not vite our borders for a hundred years, and there¡¯s a contract as proof. Since the ancient times, this has been the proper way to obtain a country!" This so-called ¡¯proper way to obtain a country¡¯ was essentially just one point: wielding absolute power! When this was mentioned, a few members of the Wu Country were infuriated. This was especially so for General Feilong and Wu Wudao. Their previous defeat could be said to be the greatest disgrace of their lives. ¡¯This person must be insane. Does he not know that he has be a thorn in my side? This conference will where he dies!¡¯ Wu Wudao plotted in his heart as he looked towards Eighth Prince. Eighth Prince also looked over at the same time, and it was like he understood Wudao¡¯s intentions as he said, "You men of the south are so wishy-washy. Fornd, it naturally belongs to whoever upies it, and if you want to reason at this conference, then do so through the martial arts contest!" ¡¯In in, doesn¡¯t it mean a fight to the death?¡¯ Upon hearing this, Fang Yuan rolled his eyes secretly. The only person representing the Secluded Mountain Prefecture was him, hence he had to fight. When that time came, any means necessary could be used. Regardless how devastating the Yuan Country was, they could only mount a single campaign towards the south. Eventually, they would have to return to the ins, and it would be the lower ss families that would be broken up due to the battles. However, if a spiritual knight of the Elemental Opening Realm appeared, all countries would be easily bullied by that individual. The implications of which were very clear to those who knew of this possible situation. If Fang Yuan hadn¡¯t broken through to the Meridian Opening Stage, he wouldn¡¯t have dared to enter this tiger¡¯s den with such confidence. "Yes!" Wu Qiankun was the first to agree. The cause for his loss earlier wasrgely Fang Yuan, hence there was naturally more animosity towards him. Even though they had a non-aggression pact with the Secluded Mountain Prefecture for 100 years, it didn¡¯t mean that he couldn¡¯t act against Fang Yuan himself. "Master?" Xie Lingyin appeared a little pale and crept closer to Fang Yuan. "Wu Country has many capable men. You can¡¯t go against them, so why don¡¯t you wait for an opportunity in the future!" "There¡¯s no need for that!" Fang Yuan waved her off. Wasn¡¯t all the waiting he did just for this opportunity to give everyone a shock? A person with the potential to advance to Elemental Opening Stage was a genius and had to be killed off early. However, for someone that had already advanced to that stage, he would be miles ahead of others, and they would have to bow down to him. "You guys, who¡¯reing to meet his or her death?" Entering the arena, Fang Yuan stared down the people all around with a fierce aura emanating from him. When General Feilong¡¯s and Wu Wudao¡¯s eyes met his, they could feel a chill run down their spine, as though as they had done something wrong. The might of a person could suppress multiple generals! The next strongest person in Yuan Country after Ge Ritu, Zhuoli Getu, licked his lips, and his blood seemed to start boiling. "Since it¡¯s a matter of the secluded mountain, naturally the Wu Country will send someone!" Just as Wu Qiankun was about to suggest General Feilong, he saw an expression of shock on Feilong¡¯s face, and he didn¡¯t feel very good inside while he said, "I¡¯ll have to trouble our Imperial Advisor!" "Good!" With a wave of his white sleeves, Wu Wudao entered the arena. There was a death grudge between him and Fang Yuan as an Elemental Gathering Stage disciple of his was killed by Fang Yuan. If he wasn¡¯t injured back then, he would have fought Fang Yuan to the death much earlier. "Greetings, I am Wu Wudao!" Wu Wudao took a step forward, and his aura was as grand as a tall mountain, "Secluded Mountain Prefecture Head, you killed my beloved disciple and upied my country¡¯snd. I have to bring this to a conclusion today!" "Exactly what I was thinking!" Fang Yuan chucked, but inside he was contemting whether to go all out from the start and use his martial arts to kill this old fogey in a few blows. ¡¯One punch? That¡¯s a little too shocking right?¡¯ ¡¯Two punches then, but it¡¯s still very shocking, three punches seem fine...¡¯ ¡¯Heck it, why am I thinking so much, it¡¯s still better to kill him with one punch!¡¯ If Wu Wudao could hear Fang Yuan¡¯s thoughts, he would probably have spat out a mouthful of blood there and then. "Wooo woooo!!!" However, just as Ge Litu was very excited to watch the fight, a deep horn sounded out from afar. It came gradually closer, bringing with it a smoke signal. "What? It¡¯s the Grey Wolf Horn?" Everyone was puzzled, and their mysterious gazes fell onto Ge Litu. In that moment, Ge Litu felt as though as he had fallen into a pack of wolves. "Let¡¯s go! Zhuoli Getu, go to escort the messenger. I¡¯ll coordinate the men!" The Yuan Country had a system: whenever the Grey Wolf Horn was sounded, it meant that a sudden change had urred in the country! With this scene unfolding before them, even the Eighth Prince didn¡¯t have the mood to sit around, so he stood up and got ready to leave immediately. "Wait! The ceremony isn¡¯t over yet..." While Wu Qiankun put on a front, he secretly ordered General Feilong to mobilise the army, but still with a sheepish smile on his face. "Since Eighth Prince is here on behalf of your father, how could you leave in advance?" "I¡¯m not one of you! So why do I have to care about the rules of you southerners?" The problems in his country were very pressing, almost as though as his eyebrows were on fire, hence Ge Ritu shouted rudely as such before striding off the stage. Many elite sharpshooters followed closely behind, guarding him. "Sigh......It seems like there¡¯s really something important happening in Yuan Country!" The King of Xia Country gazed upon the figures of the young prince and his entourage that faded away on the horizon, and suddenly suggested, "Why don¡¯t we postpone the conference for now?" "But of course!" "I support this move!" The other kings were moved by this suggestion. All of them couldn¡¯t wait to leave, consolidate their men, and inquire about what had happened. ¡¯What a pity... to let this kid escape!¡¯ No matter how unwilling Wu Wudao was, he could only back down, returning to Wu Qiankin¡¯s side. "However... " Wu Qiankun nodded his head, "Fellow kings, please do not be in such a hurry to leave. This sudden change in the ins could be a good thing for us!" "What a pity..." No one knew that Fang yuan had the same idea as Wu Wudao, and at the same time, he was shocked by the recent developments. What kind of catastrophe could have happened in the Yuan Country such that it caused the Eighth Prince to be so flustered? ... That night, Fang Yuan and those in the higher echelons obtained a detailed report. "Copse of the country..." After hearing this news, Xie Lingyin remained the calmest in the room, "Could it be that the old king¡¯s body was in a critical condition? That¡¯s why it was the Eighth Prince that came for the conference?" "Impossible!" In a moment, this thought was eliminated from her mind. "If this was the case, then how could there have been thisrge amotion. From the way that the Eighth Prince rushed back with his army, he was obviously not aware of what had happened. He was caught with his pants down!" "Naturally!" Fang Yuan agreed, "All princes of Yuan Country have their own subordinates and armies. Even if they were deemed to be backup kings, it would be a very dangerous time for them, not to mention if they were outside..." "At this point, since the elite forces of our countries are here, if we muster a decisive blow, it could disrupt the leadership of the enemy..." Lan Xiaosheng grabbed her fan, even breathing a little more roughly than before. "That¡¯s not possible!" This proposal might have been very tempting, but as quickly as Xie Lingyin¡¯s eyes lit up, they fizzled out as she looked outside the encampment. All of the countries¡¯ armies were not only very far away, but also on guard. Obviously, their motives were not aligned. "Even......Even if all of our countries go into battle and wipe out the Yuan Country, there would still be other families in the ins that will rise up......Once their forces are ready, they would still continue to head southwards." Fang Yuan shook his head in frustration. This was the inevitable sh between the farming culture and nomad culture. Farmers wanted to upy the ins, and throughout history, unless there were industrial revolutions, they would either fail or be culturally assimted without any other possible options avable. "Now I wonder what Wu Qiankun¡¯s reaction will be?" Xie Lingyin¡¯s eyes lit up again, turning to face the encampment of the Wu Country. Chapter 183: Forced Chapter 183: Forced Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the Wu Country¡¯s tents, the candles were burning brightly. As one of the stronger country in the area, Wu Qiankun¡¯s news was undoubtedly more detailed than that of Xia Country¡¯s. "The First Prince has invaded Sunset Division and presented Purple Dream Princess to the king. ted as he was, he invited her into his tent before dying abruptly. Purple Dream Princess is nowhere to be found... is this a revenge plot for the fallen soldiers?" Wu Qiankun clenched the piece of message and he was in disbelief. "Their king has spent half of his life fighting wars and has fought a name for himself. In the end, his life was ended by a woman, who would have guessed..." "He deserved it!" "This old thief, he¡¯s finally dead!" As the king, he had to be mindful of his words and expression. However, Wu Wudao and General Fei Long had no considerations, and both of them appeared ted. The Yuan King was a cruel man. He had attempted to invade the South many times and had no restraint in anything that he did. His hands were sshed with blood from countless people, and even the Wu Country had once suffered an invasion which involved 18 cities being taken down by the Yuan Country, and the casualty rate was extremely high. Most importantly, this person was extremely cunning and was suspicious of everyone. He was like a poisonous snake! Such an easy death made Wu Qiankun feel as though he was dreaming. "If not for Ge Ritu, who led his army back to resolve this issue using military force, I would have thought that this might be their n to confuse us..." Looking at the ministers below, he smiled bitterly. "My king! This is a good opportunity! And a rare one too!" General Fei Long¡¯s eyes burned with passion. "There is internal conflict among the foreigners. If we gather our infantry and create trouble for them in the Dragon City... Even if we cannot destroy Yuan countrypletely, we can at least cripple them..." As he spoke, his voice became increasingly soft. "Hehe... With all the other countries outside, why should we be the first one to strike?" Wu Wudao smiled coldly. "I have understood it now. On this piece ofnd, every country is in defence. Whoever who strikes first will die! Furthermore... what do we stand to gain by destroying Yuan Country? Do you think we can convert the grass ins into farms, and subsequently reward the soldiers with it? If they decide the capital to be at the garrison, then we would need to spend huge amounts of money and effort before being able to take them down. There might even be an impending doom for us in the future, and this has all happened in history before!" "So do we wait and do nothing?" General Fei Long replied, unconvinced. "Of course not!" Wu Wudao held his fists and bowed at Wu Qiankun. "King! The chaos in Yuan Country and the fact that they have no leader now means that you can contest the appointment as the alliance leader! Thereafter, you can gather all the countries toe together to take down Dragon City and support the First Prince in bing their new king!" "This..." Wu Qiankun¡¯s eyes glittered. The alliance leader would be the leader in name to lead and bring soldiers into alliance! It was unbelievable to be able to pressure the Dragon City and choose the next king of the Yuan Country! "That¡¯s right!" General Fei Long answered loudly. "We stand to gain a lot from this! Firstly, we can pressure the many countries to stand on our side. Gathering our influence, we will be a force to be reckoned with! After gathering our influence, the princes who would want to be the crown prince would have to establish rtions with us! Our country can benefit from both sides!" "And this is only the first advantage!" Wu Wudao twirled his moustache. "Based on the power we can gather, the truth is that we still cannotpletely exterminate Yuan Country. Supporting the First Prince is in preparation of the future." "Wise words, Imperial Advisor!" Wu Qiankun felt that there was much to be explored. In getting involved with the Yuan Country¡¯s internal affairs, the future for Wu Country would be more or less decided. The grass ins would no longer be prone to invasion. The only thing to do would be to train up a deputy. If well performed, generations of alliance leaders from the Wu Country would be the king of the ins, and the ins would be well protected! Not just that, everyone would be used to the oue in time toe! Once Yuan Country had been taken overpletely, and with the current power of the Wu Country, their collective power would be increased by folds! Wu Country would be the strongest in the region, and would be one step closer to bing the alliance leader! Of course, all these had to be done slowly, and might even take more than a generation¡¯s time. However, if they were to persevere, they would ultimately be an unmatched power! The most important was that their ns were all gradual and would likely not be met with a lot of resistance. "This is... a n to unify the whole region!" Wu Qiankun became increasingly excited. "Even if it takes my life, I mustplete the first step, as a foundation for generations toe!" "We will put our lives on the line for Wu Country!" Wu Wudao and General Fei Long kneeled down, bowed and both of them were burning with passion and loyalty for the country. ... The second day. "What? Is the conference re-opening? So quickly?" In the campsite of the Xia Country, Fang Yuan andpany received the news. It was a messenger from the Wu Country, and his face was gleaning with happiness. "Regarding the Yuan Country¡¯s affairs, my king as already received news, and is intending to discuss with every country over the conference." After the messenger took his leave, Xie Lingyun and the rest were lost in thoughts. "The chaos in Yuan Country is natural. It seems that Wu Country wants to take action now!" Lan Xiaosheng folded his foldable fan and rhythmically pped in his other palm. "Princess and Fang Yuan, what are your ns?" "We¡¯ll react to whatever happens. Let¡¯s go take a look!" Fang Yuan looked in the direction of Dragon City, the capital city of Yuan Country. He could feel a tinge of uneasiness. He thought of the Eighth Prince from Yuan Country, and his formidable influence and power. Even with so much power, he still became flustered the moment he received the smoke signal. The Wu Country had an ulterior motive for this conference. Would Fang Yuan let them have their way? A row of people walked up to an elevated tform. Subconsciously, Xie Lingyun and Lan Xiaosheng¡¯s eyelids twitched. There were many gs being positioned around the tform, and Wu Qiankun was wearing a crown. He was dressed in a dragon¡¯s robe and sat in the leader¡¯s seat. Many servants surrounded him, and the entire scene was majestic beyond words. "This is the alliance leader¡¯s seat!" Xie Lingyun shook her head. "Wu Country did not wait for the voting from the other countries, and imed the appointment for themselves?" "Don¡¯t say that, Lady Xie!" Wu Wudao walked out from the side andughed. "Yuan Country¡¯s king has just died. My country king is not appointed as the alliance leader with the rmendation from Qi, Zhu and Kun Country. How is this unfair?" "When was this?" "Last night!" Wu Wudao smiled and felt that the depression that was in him for the past few days had all been let out. "King of Xia Country, you¡¯rete. Hurry up and ask the alliance leader for forgiveness!" One of the small country governors came out, only to put Xia Country on a spot. They were clear about the fact that the chaos in Yuan Country would lead to the inevitable uprising of Wu Country. The only way was to establish good rtions with them and stand on their side. "I... I..." The king of Xia Country was only a puppet. He could not evenplete a proper sentence now. Xie Lingyun quickly showed a hand sign. Immediately, two servants supported the king of Xia Country to pay respects to Wu Qiankun. "Greetings, alliance leader!" "No need for formalities!" Wu Qiankun waved his hand. "After being rmended by many countries to be the alliance leader, I am fearful. I will do my best and will not let everyone down!" Suddenly, he stood up and looked in the direction of Dragon City in Yuan Country. "Yuan Country is also part of the alliance. However, they are in a state of chaos now because of the death of their king. After this conference, I shall bring every country in this alliance together to head towards Dragon City to bring peacekeeping efforts to them and to protect the royal family, ensuring the survival of thete king¡¯s descendants!" It was always important to sound noble. As Wu Qiankun shared his noble objective, many country governors agreed in unison. "Alliance leader, you arepassionate!" "This is what needs to be done!" In reality, everyone knew what would happen if troops were to enter Yuan Country. "Good!" Wu Qiankun was flushed. "Today we shall drink blood and swear to make our alliance official. We will look out for each other and enjoy good times together. Those who betray us, we will deal with them together!" With the wave of his head, an official carried a bull¡¯s head and walked up the tform. As the alliance leader, Wu Qiankun would not personally kill an animal. He only had to demonstrate the action of killing it. Not long after, cups of blood wine were distributed to the several country governors. Fang Yuan was observing from the sidelines. The country governors from Zhu, Kun and Qi Country were all pale, but all of them did not hesitate to gulp the cup of blood. They were all fearful of what Wu Qiankun could do to them. ¡¯Everything is now official!¡¯ Fang Yuan looked down and stared coldly. "Next up... They will surely kill one person as a form of warning and sacrifice, right?" Indeed, at the next moment, Wu Qiankun¡¯s swept the crowd with a sinister look. "Alliance leader!" At that moment, the Qi Country Governor leapt out. "The essence of an alliance is trust. Today, in the conference, we have a country who is untrustworthy! Xia Country Governor, since you¡¯ve agreed on a marriage with Wu Country, why did you go back on your words? Also, regarding the rebellion in the Secluded Mountains Prefecture, why did you cover up for the mastermind? What are your intentions?" "This..." Against such a huge pressure from everyone, even Xie Lingyun found it hard to deal with. "This is Xia Country¡¯s internal affairs! As an outsider, what right do you have to interfere?" Fang Yuan stood out from the row. Disregarding the stares from everyone around, he calmly continued. "Especially all of you country governors! Today, Wu Country can abruptly interfere in Yuan Country¡¯s internal affairs, and tomorrow all of you would do the same. Even if all of you do the same one by one, it would be equally detrimental! Remember what happened to Yuan Country today! Your country could end up like Yuan Country or Xia Country one day!" "What audacity!!!" Wu Qiankun was fuming mad. "You dare to be disrespectful in front of me?!" In reality, this was just an excuse. The main point was that Fang Yuan had managed to exin everything that he had done and everything that he had nned to do. "Alliance leader, Fang Yuan was the one who opposed our soldiers. He should have been given the death sentence! Today, he was disrespectful in front of you, and is another offence! Please execute him!" Wu Wudao stood out and said coldly. "That¡¯s right. In front of all the armies, discipline and order are of utmost priority. Please execute him!" General Fei Long knelt down and pleaded Wu Qiankun as well. ¡¯Righteousness would be the best excuse to kill someone! If we were all normal people, and if I were to encounter this situation, I would surely die!¡¯ Fang Yuan solemnly thought to himself. He finally knew how it felt like that if everyone were to decide that he was guilty, he would be guilty! Every country¡¯s representative was here. With so many people using him at the same time, it was indeed something to be feared. Of course, the most important was the oing soldiers that were slowly making their way to surround him, together with the leaders, General Fei Long and Wu Wudao. "Alliance leader has his orders. This is not a drill. Be mindful that this person is extremely powerful, and all are instructed to protect your respective country governors..." Wu Wudao¡¯s face was flushed with excitement. He had the thrill as though he was about to take his revenge. "How dare you! What do you intend to do to my imperial advisor?" Xie Lingyun stood up with a serious look on her face. As for Lan Xiaosheng? He kept on retreating and was already nowhere to be seen. "Haha... Lingyun, you and your country have made the right decision!" Fang Yuan stood in the middle, scanned his surroundings and suddenly broke out intoughter. Chapter 184: The Power of Wu Chapter 184: The Power of Wu Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions On the elevated tform at the conference. Fang Yuan stood out and looked around. Among the many who were using him, Wu Wudao and General Fei Long were smiling cunningly, as they slowly approached him. The other country governors were either looking coldly at the scene or were looking with anticipation. After all, this was a gifted 20-year-old boy who had obtained elemental force! His future was too uncertain, and he could likely attain the Elemental Opening Realm in the future! Of course, they were not willing to see a person with such power; it would be a threat to the region. At this point in time, Wu Zongs and spiritual knights of the different countries were guarding their country governors closely. A few of them arrived at the scene with menacing looks on their faces, as though they were instructed to join in. The scene had escted to a point of no return! "Kill this person, and bring his head back as a sacrifice!" Wu Qiankun bit his teeth and eximed. Hismanding voice was like an order, and suddenly both sides roared into action. "Die!" General Fei Long was taking the lead in front. An energy field taking up the shape of a dragon wrapped around his body, and out of a sudden, he struck 18 palms outward, releasing his elemental force. The energy field spread and the soldiers were forced to retreat. As a wine cupnded on the floor, the entire elevated tform was wrecked. "God Searching Palm!" Simultaneously, Wu Wudao struck at the same time. He was extremely fearful of Fang Yuan and therefore used his killer move as the first move. "Whoosh!" Apanying his hand movements were the glitter of spiritual light. A translucent palm print appeared and then vanished into thin air. This God Searching Palm was the counter to Zu Qiao ad Divine Spirits. It was known to be untraceable and extremely deadly. Previously, the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master Liu Yan was struck by this palm which led to the destruction of his Zu Qiao. Even Fang Yuan might sumb to his palm. "Kill! It was not just the both of them attacking; the Wu Zongs and spiritual knights from the other smaller countries were helping out as well. Many variations of spiritual techniques and martial arts techniques were all targeted in the centre. "Rumble!" "Woof! Woof!" In the mid-air, a few spiritual beasts pounced upwards, guarding the space above. There was a vague silhouette of a person above as well. There was no way out! Facing such an all-around attack, the Fang Yuan who once cultivated in both martial arts and spiritual techniques would still not stand a chance. Even if he were to cultivate and reach the peak of the Elemental Gathering Stage, even with the help of his spiritual beasts, he would still have no way of escaping! But he was no longer the unskilled Fang Yuan he once was! Both General Fei Long and the God Searching Palm wereing for him, and a few other Wu Zongs and spiritual knights were attacking from behind as well. However, all Fang Yuan did was to take in a deep breath. "Phew!" As his energy level surged, a rugged and highly visible spiritual meridian appeared on his body! The second stage of Wu Zong, the Meridian Opening Realm! "God Searching Palm!?" He appeared calm. As he stretched out his right hand, he used two fingers to press his forehead. "Kacha!" In mid-air, a palm print appeared as though it was about to strike Fang Yuan. However, it cleanlynded into Fang Yuan¡¯s trap, and a distinct cracking sound was heard. Within seconds, it was destroyed like a soap bubble. "Peng! Peng!" General Fei Long¡¯s eyes widened. Taking this opportunity, he crazily struck numerous palms around Fang Yuan. "18 Palms of Fei Long!!" "Rumble!" After the loud sound, Fang Yuan¡¯s clothing was torn, revealing his muscr build and the distinct veins on him. Mockingly, he grabbed General Fei Long by his wrist. "How¡¯s that? Enough?" "Impossible!" General Fei Long and Wu Wudao¡¯s eyeballs almost dropped out. Even if Fang Yuan used a rough technique to break through to Wu Zong, giving him a hardy body, but General Fei Long was also a Wu Zong! Furthermore, General Fei Long had ster results in many wars. Using his killer move, even if he was targeting a metal statue, he would still be able to beat it into a piece of metal chunk! But what happened to Fang Yuan? Was he leftpletely unharmed? General Fei Long was shocked beyond words. As Fang Yuan grabbed onto his wrist, he felt as though Fang Yuan¡¯s palm was made out of iron. As his expression changed, he wailed. "Imperial Advisor, save me..." "Kacha!" As he ended his sentence, his entire arm was crushed under Fang Yuan¡¯s grip. Treating him like rubbish, Fang Yuan threw General Fei Long away. "Get... Lost!" As Fang Yuan shouted, the spiritual meridian on him glowed, and suddenly the glow was transferred to his right hand, as he struck his fist out once again. "Rumble!" The elevated tform shook and a few pieces of supporting wood broke, as though it might crumble anytime. The surrounding Wu Zongs and spiritual knights all spat out blood and flew backwards. Wu Wudao, who was in front, was punched squarely in the chest and crashed into the tform. There was a gaping hole in his chest, and his internal organs were visible. Who would have thought that a single punch could be this powerful! "Impossible!" The table flipped in just a matter of seconds. Even Xie Lingyun was in a daze. "This... this is not a spiritual technique! But... pure martial arts..." General Fei Long spat out three mouthfuls of blood before struggling to ask. "What is this technique? Could you have... broken through!" In order to defeat so many Wu Zongs and spiritual knights at once, there was only one possibility. He must have achieved the Elemental Opening Realm! "Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique!" Since breaking through, this was the first time Fang Yuan had used all this power, and it felt different from before. "After the Opening Meridian Stage, my elemental force will surge, but more importantly, I have the resistance to spiritual spells!" Looking at the few spiritual knights who were spitting out blood, he mulled. Just now, the spiritual techniques and curses were targeted at him. However, with the spiritual meridian protecting his body, a simple tremor would destroy all spiritual techniques and curses, and could even result in a bacsh to whoever summoned it! ¡¯This is such a contradiction. The higher the level of Wu Zong, the greater the number of spiritual meridians, and the greater the resistance to stronger spiritual spells...¡¯ ¡¯If there was a presence of an Elemental Opening Realm spiritual knight secretly helping them, then I would not be able to withstand their collective power. However, all these useless people are just here to sacrifice their lives!¡¯ Amidst the silence, Fang Yuan stood on the elevated tform and looked around. Not one country governor dared to look at him in the eye. Even Wu Qiankun was rooted to his chair, his facepletely pale. "Never would I have thought that I would arrive at this day!" Fang Yuan clenched his fist tightly. This was power great enough to suppress the entire region! At this point, Fang Yuan unknowingly looked at his stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 18 Spirit: 18 Magic: 9.9 Profession: Dream Master Cultivation: [Dream Master (Peak of Elemental Gathering Realm)], Wu Zong (First Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 2) (1%)], Ecstasy Spell, Shadowstep Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (First Meridian) - Combining the essence of Eagle w Iron Skin and the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique, this is a unique creation. It is mainly powered by elemental force and is supplemented with the Giant Spiritual Strength. Defence is strengthened, poison is strengthened, breath is strengthened and Yin properties are strengthened! Currently formed one spiritual meridian, and now gained one elemental power! Now with resistance to spiritual spells!" Fang Yuan thought to himself. "As of now, I¡¯m at the third elemental force. It seems that if normal Wu Zongs were to break through, they might be able to achieve 5 or 6?" The third elemental force was equivalent to thebat power of three Wu Zongsbined! Furthermore,bat power could not be simply added up just like that. "Have you broken through the Elemental Opening Realm?" General Fei Long stood up straight like a pole stuck in the ground. His eyes were full of passion. Fang Yuan could tell that this was a sincere question from a martial artist to inquire about his own martial arts cultivation. "Is there really still a path after Wu Zong?" General Fei Long appeared solemn. He approached Fang Yuan and gave him a respectful bow, and it seemed as though he wanted to die a gentleman. "That¡¯s right. Spiritual knights have the Elemental Opening Realm, and Wu Zongs have the Opening Meridian Realm!" His thirst for knowledge even on the brink of death made Fang Yuan¡¯s heart waver, as he returned a bow. "Haha... I¡¯ve started learning martial arts since I was 8, reached the 12th Gate when I was 30, and broke through to Wu Zong after another 20 years. I initially thought that I have reached a dead end, and therefore switched to be a general of the army. Ultimately, martial arts did not fail me!" General Fei Long became even more serious and signalled with his hand. "Please! To die under a Meridian Opening martial artist is my honour!" "General, don¡¯t!" Wu Qiankun¡¯s expression changed. Wu Wudao could not be saved, and he didn¡¯t want to lose another top-notch Wu Zong. However, General Fei Long had already brushed aside all thoughts of riches and fame. He had the pure mind as a martial artist and was begging Fang Yuan to kill him. "Please!" Fang Yuan was solemn. He channelled his energy to his right hand. "Ha! Dragon God Searching Palm!" General Fei Long suddenly became a shadow and rushed swiftly in front of Fang Yuan. As he concentrated his energy on his left hand, he slowly formed a dragon¡¯s w with it. "Third Elemental Force!" Without using any techniques, Fang Yuan struck an ordinary fist out. "Kacha!" An immense amount of energy countered General Fei Long¡¯s force, and as if flowed through his arm into his body, it destroyed everything in its way. "Pa!" General Fei Long flew backwards, and his blood spurted out. "Cough cough..." Landing on a table, he crashed right into it, and he was coughing out blood. "Meridian Opening! Is that the path of a Wu Zong? What a pity... I won¡¯t be able to see that again..." After finishing his sentence, he shut his eyes and stopped breathing! "Imperial advisor! General!" Wu Qiankun was in a daze, and his mind was lost. Just moments ago he was suppressing every other country, and was the rightful alliance leader with best schrs and martial artists! But now, both his trusty aides were killed instantly! Anyone who would experience such a change in events would feel like dying. Looking around, he realised that the many countries which previously sworn their alliance were flustered as well. A few of them started to look at Xia Country, with the intention of establishing good rtions with them. None of them dared to look at him in the eye, but he was helpless. In this world, power was absolute! If Fang Yuan was still in the Elemental Gathering Realm, then they would do whatever it takes to kill him. However, he has already broken through. The only logical thing to do was to be his ally. Who would even care about the alliance leader? Since the alliance leader was rmended by the masses, then he could also be impeached by the masses! "I suddenly feel that, due to our divide in choosing the previous alliance leader, we should do the voting once more!" The country governor of Kun Country spoke in a serious tone. "Cough cough..." The king of Zhu Country coughed and almost choked because this was also what he was about to say. Looking at the country governor of Kun Country with annoyance, he added. "That¡¯s true. I shall rmend the country governor of Xia Country. Does anyone have any opinions?" "Of course not! Prefecture Master Fang is a gifted individual. Since he is the leader of the Secluded Mountain, he should start another country, and be the country advisor of the Secluded Country! He is the most appropriate candidate to be appointed as the alliance leader!" Another country governor from a small country stood out, but all he got were stares from the other country governors. "Haha... Haha..." Witnessing this scene, Wu Qiankun cracked a smile and startedugh hysterically. "Good! Good! Good! We are all good alliance members!" He knew that even with all his bodyguards, his fateid solely in Fang Yuan¡¯s hands! Chapter 185: Secluded Country Chapter 185: Secluded Country Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions ¡¯King, how could you die here?¡¯ Although there were many bodyguards around, none of them could give Wu Qiankun a sense of security. As he looked at the approaching Fang Yuan, even with his bodyguards by his side, he could feel the chills. He could vividly remember the time where he held back for the sake of the First Prince, the excitement he had from getting the appointment of alliance leader, and the ns he had in his mind in taking over the region. ¡¯I still need to take over the region, how can this happen... how...¡¯ His lips were chapped as though they were about to crack. "Grandmaster Fang, I would not mind to take up the role as your imperial advisor..." "Peng!" Without finishing his sentence, Fang Yuan had alreadye before him, striking his palm out forcefully. "Pa!" A distinct sound was heard. Wu Qiankun rolled on the ground and spit out a mouth of blood and some broken teeth. Hastily, he tried to stop his bodyguards from retaliating. He was a clever man. Even though Fang Yuan could kill him with one finger, he had chosen to p him without killing him. It was obvious that this was just a warning. "I have been disrespectful. May grandmaster forgive me!" What type of man was Wu Qiankun? As a respectable country governor, he had to power to determine anyone¡¯s fate. Even though he was being ridiculed by Fang Yuan, he had no choice but to suck it up. "Mmm, you¡¯re still sincere!" Fang Yuan was very observant. After all that Wu Qiankun had gone through, if he could still act as though nothing had happened, Fang Yuan would immediately kill him. Everyone¡¯s face was pale with fear. This was truly terrorizing! Those at the Elemental Gathering Realm still had to be reserved. However, reaching the Elemental Opening Realm meant that one could do anything he wished! More importantly, Fang Yuan had a new achievement in the realm of martial arts! If this news were to spread, martial artists and Wu Zongs from all corners of the region would attempt to establish good rtions with the most powerful influence of the region. The numbers of Wu Zongs would increase! Needless to say, no one was powerful enough to plot against and kill a martial artist in the Meridian Opening Realm. This was why Fang Yuan dared to kill in front of so many people, and even dared to p Wu Qiankun! Wu Qiankun could do nothing but suck it up. "I am incapable of being appointed as the alliance leader. Since Grandmaster Fang is the leader of the Secluded Mountains Prefecture, you are the rightful country governor of the Secluded Country. Please ept the appointment as alliance leader!" Wu Qiankun gritted his teeth and forced his unhappiness within himself, as he smiled and offered Fang Yuan the appointment. "I am a free person, and I don¡¯t want to be involved in the worldly affairs! I will not take up this appointment. However, I will rmend the King of Xia Country. She has a good character and will be the best candidate! Fang Yuan shook his head as he walked towards the campsite of Xia Country. He then carefully escorted the white-haired King of Xia Country to the seat of the alliance leader. "Cough cough..." Xie Lingyun contained her excitement and followed behind the King of Xia Country, as she mumbled something to herself. "The alliance leader is here. Pay your respects!" Fang Yuan scanned his surroundings and spoke with a threatening tone. On the elevated tform, he could kill whoever he wished. "Greetings, alliance leader!" It was only natural to pay respects to those of a higher status. The Zhu Country Governor was the first one to greet, followed by the Kun Country, Hong Country... Wu Qiankun was in a daze. Unknowingly, he followed the crowd and paid his respects as well. "Please rise!" King of Xia Country raised both of his hands. "Since we are all allies, the first thing is to decide on the boundaries. The Secluded Mountain Prefecture will now be a country in itself. This is a blessing we haven¡¯t had in many years! Bring the map here!" A servant immediately brought arge map over and rolled it open. "Please!" King of Xia Country took the brush but handed it over to Fang Yuan. "Mmm!" Fang Yuan did not hesitate. He marked out arge area around the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, including his initial territory and almost half of the neighbouring Wu Country. As Wu Qiankun saw this, his eyes turned red. This meant that his country¡¯s foundation would be ripped apart! However, he was now the meat as to Fang Yuan was the knife. He could only suck it up. If only Fang Yuan was born in the royal family of the Wu Country! "Wu Qiankun, do you have any objections to this arrangement?" To be able to snatch such arge portion ofnd from Wu Country, the entire Xia Country was ted. "Nope!" Wu Qiankun forcefully replied. "That¡¯s great!" Xie Lingyun continued. "Let us not forget to acknowledge the documents for the new country! To go through the Land-Defining Ceremony, let us all celebrate for Secluded Mountain... Secluded Country!" There was a proper procedure to start a country. The most important was to go through the Land-Defining Ceremony. This would be initiated when the King of Xia Country and Wu Qiankun both allocate a piece and to Fang Yuan as a representation of breakingnd apart before defining it as a new territory. Afterwards, every country had to use their country seals to acknowledge the territorial boundaries of the new country. Thest one to do so was Wu Qiankun. His eyes were sore. This was a first in Wu Country¡¯s history to give upnd even before a war! However, he had no other choice! After all, if he didn¡¯t agree to this, the Wu Country¡¯s royal family might be exterminated! After all the administrative work waspleted, the Secluded Mountain Prefecture not only expanded in size in the direction of Wu Country but was also transformed into ¡¯Secluded Country¡¯! It might be the holy ground for martial arts in the region! Even though King of Xia Country might be a puppet, the procedures made him worn out. Mustering his energy, he announced, "Done! Everyone is to abide by the new territorial boundaries, and no one is to get involved in his country¡¯s internal affairs! No disputes, but if you insist, you shall face the attack of every other country in the alliance!" However, he could not step down yet. After Fang Yuan had shown his intention, he continued. As soon as he spoke, the many kings heaved a sigh of relieved and looked happy. Even Wu Qiankun became more rxed. The Land-Defining Ceremony had utterly embarrassed Wu Qiankun, but it was not without benefits for him. After all, after what had happened, the Meridian Opening Realm Wu Zong, leader of Secluded Country, was now on their side. He has also signed the agreement not to invade other territories, which was an assurance of peace in the immediate future. There was no more worry that this powerful leader might destroy other countries. "Since this is settled, is the conference dismissed?" Wu Qiankun smiled and asked earnestly. "Dismissed? Why?" Fang Yuan let out a casualughter and argued back. "Actually, you make sense. Since Yuan Country is a part of the alliance, how can they be absent?" "Right now, their country is gued with internal conflicts. We should proceed there to restore peace!" This was Wu Wudao¡¯s initial n, and Fang Yuan copied it entirely. Since the alliance leader has been changed, no matter what Wu Qiankun¡¯s intentions were, he could only follow orders now. "That¡¯s right! Imperial advisor¡¯s... No, King Fang¡¯s intention is also my intention!" The King of Xia Country hurriedly agreed. "Since the order has been given, everyone should be clear on what to do. What else is there to buck-pass? Servants, serve the blood wine! After drinking the blood wine and swearing allegiance to the alliance, everyone is to return to their military camps to bring their troops into Yuan Country!" Fang Yuan felt into the mood of being the alliance leader as he gave themand. The king of Xia Country immediately nodded his head continuously, like a chick pecking the ground. Seeing this scene, all the country governors rolled their eyes discreetly, but on the outside, everyone agreed without hesitation. ... Back in their military camp, Lan Xiaosheng was the first to receive them "Greetings, king!" He appeared humble, but inside he felt regretful. If he had known that Fang Yuan was this powerful, he should not have left them. "Forget about it!" Fang Yuan paid no attention to him. "Wait at the gates of the camp. If there are any visiting Wu Zongs, record their names down and wee them into the tents." As he spoke, he arrived at the main tent together with Xie Lingyun. "Phew..." Xie Lingyun heaved a long sigh beforeposing herself. As she examined Fang Yuan, she felt like she was facing a monster. "Master... When did you achieve your breakthrough to the Meridian Opening Realm?" "I have had the feeling all along, and broke through when I felt iting!" Aspared to themotion Liu Yan had when he achieved his breakthrough, Fang Yuan¡¯s breakthrough was the ssic example of a silent one, and shocked everyone only at the crucial moment! Thinking about the fact that her master had broken through to the Meridian Opening Realm, and the fact that the pressure on Xia Country has been lifted, Xie Lingyun became ecstatic and extremely emotional. Her eyes were glittering as she looked at Fang Yuan, and her face appeared flushed. "Hehe... I have had the honour of receiving a Wu Zong¡¯s inheritance, and in it was the description on the path after the Elemental Gathering Realm..." Fang Yuan coughed a few times, but still had no choice but to exin it to her. "Indeed!" Xie Lingyun was not shocked; it was obvious that she had predicted this all along. After all, no matter how talented Fang Yuan was, he could not discover the path after Wu Zong all by himself. Wouldn¡¯t this render the teachings of martial arts in this region a joke? Therefore, he must have stumbled upon a treasure left behind by someone from the maind in order for Fang Yuan to have such an aplishment! "Alright, apany Mu Li and the rest to prepare the troops and calvaries! It is no longer difficult to settle Yuan Country and start a prosperous dynasty on the maind in the future!" Fang Yuan waved his hand and dismissed Xie Lingyun. There were 30,000 troops gathered here. There were the best of the best from every country, and almost 10,000 of them were elite infantry soldiers. If there was no proper nning and allocation, there might be a breakdown inmunication. In reality, if the Xia Country¡¯s troops were not the secondrgest here excluding the Wu Country¡¯s, and without Fang Yuan¡¯s power, how would the many countries be so obedient to follow instructions? "King!" After Xie Lingyun had left, Lan Xiaosheng was waiting outside for a moment before reporting to Fang Yuan. He had a face of shock. "Tell me! How many came?" Fang Yuan casually asked. "King, you have only tasked me to count in the Wu Zongs. As of now, there are three outside waiting. There are Zhang Xia, Liu Shanchuang and Li Hanghu!" The other Wu Zongs had their reservations and would not boldly approach Fang Yuan. Therefore, those who came were either working along, or had minimal rtions with their countries, and all were onlymitted to exploring the path of martial arts. These Wu Zongs were the perfect people to establish rtions with. "Invite them in!" Fang Yuan waved his hand, and a few martial artists with unique energy types entered therge tent. Fang Yuan had heard the names of this Wu Zongs before. Liu Shanchuang was famous for his Judo Technique, and Li Hanghu¡¯s Multiple Technique was not to be belittled. As for Zhang Xia, disregarding everything else, the fact that she, ady, could attain Wu Zong meant that her foundations were strong. However, as the three Wu Zongs met Fang Yuan, they knelt down without hesitation. "Greetings, king. Please teach us the way to breakthrough!" Chapter 186: The Plains Chapter 186: The ins Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "I know the way to achieve the breakthrough for the Meridian Opening Realm!" Fang Yuan nced at the 3 Wu Zongs in front of him. "But I cannot teach you for free! We are no longer affected by worldly affairs, so I shall be straightforward. Work for me for 10 years, and I shall show you the way to the Meridian Opening Realm!" In the Da Qian empire, although the techniques in the Meridian Opening Realm were rare, they were still not worth this much. Needless to say, Fang Yuan was baiting them. After the Meridian Opening Realm, what about tips for forming the spiritual meridian? What about the technique to condense the Divine Body? Basically, if they were to agree to his terms, they would have agreed to be part of Fang Yuan¡¯s team. However, these 3 Wu Zongs were already mentally prepared. They only hesitated a while before eximing. "10 years is too little!" To those who were in destion at the fact that being a Wu Zong was a dead end, they would be willing to do anything to find the path after Wu Zong. Forget about the 10-year agreement. Even if they were made to be ves for a hundred years, they might even agree. "Alright!" Fang Yuan let out an expression of joy before going up to help them up. "From now on, all 3 of you will swear your loyalty to the Secluded Country. We are all one family now, so let¡¯s do away with the formalities!" He could be direct and straightforward towards other people, but since he was facing his own capable subordinates, there was no need to. By treating them with respect and dignity, the three Wu Zongs were inspired, and the initial unwillingness and resistance to the agreement became lessened. Compared to the joyous happenings in the Xia Country¡¯s tent, the Wu Country¡¯s tent was filled with an atmosphere of sorrow. Looking at the two stretchers draped in white clothes stained with blood, Wu Qiankun¡¯s face was flushed. Forcefully, he drew his sword and sliced a wooden pir next to him. "Xia Country! Fang Yuan! Bullies! I will take my revenge one day!" It was indeed a humiliation for both his trustful aides to be killed. It was further humiliation for him to give up his piece ofnd and be demoted from the appointment of alliance leader. However, the most infuriating for Wu Qiankun was the fact that his life was determined by someone else. In the history of Wu Country, there were records of ¡¯Wu People causing political revolt¡¯ and ¡¯illegal usage of spiritual spells¡¯, which served as warnings to the younger generation. However, these would surely not leave as deep an impression as what had happened this time. After releasing his anger, Wu Qiankun calmed down and took in a deep breath. "Pass the order down... For our entire army to temporarily... listen to the orders of Xia Country!" After finishing his sentence, he seemed to have lost all his strength and was on the brink of copsing onto the floor. "Get lost!" The bodyguards and servants around were longing to leave all along. With hismand, they were secretly in joy as they hurriedly made their way out, and even so, they were still hoping to run faster. "Phew phew..." Wu Qiankun was breathing heavily. After half a day, he finally looked at a corner. There was a man in ck there. Nobody knew when he had arrived, and he looked as if he was waiting for someone. He was well camouged and could not be easily spotted. "ck Ice!" Wu Qiankun stood up with a look of determination. "Based on our capabilities, would it be possible to kill Fang Yuan by setting up traps?" "That will be difficult!" ck Ice¡¯s voice was hoarse like an owl. "We only have limited recordings regarding Elemental Opening Realm spiritual knights in the royal family¡¯s secret collection. Furthermore, these recordings are about spiritual knights, not Wu Zongs..." "How did our ancestors deal with the Elemental Opening Realm spiritual knights in the past? Wu Qiankun¡¯s eyes glittered. "They either establish good rtions with them or hide from them... Only a small handful of talented people would be able to achieve a breakthrough to the Elemental Opening Realm. To them, this ce is only a small pond. They would rather head towards the Da Qian empire to search for the path ahead..." ck Ice sounded confident as if he had seen all of these himself. "Then the only way is to tolerate them!" Wu Qiankun bit his lip, revealing some blood. As he thought about Fang Yuan¡¯s age, he felt hopeless. If Fang Yuan decided to stay in the region forever, then even his own grandsons might not be able to live long enough to oust Fang Yuan. "Based on how he managed to achieve a breakthrough in the Elemental Opening Realm at 20 proves that his potential is limitless! However, the more worrying part would be the fact that he had managed to discover the path after Wu Zong!" ck Ice¡¯s exnation was straightforward. "How many people in the world train in martial arts? I¡¯m afraid the number of people pursuing spiritual techniques is less than a thousandth of it! Imagine if the sheer number of martial artists woulde together andbine forces..." "Meridian Opening..." Wu Qiankun mumbled on these two words, which had the potential to drive the entire maind crazy. With a helpless smile, he thought of General Fei Long. "That¡¯s right... All highly skilled martial artist would not be able to resist this temptation." ... On the second day, 30,000 troops were formed up as they marched towards the Dragon City, the capital of Yuan Country. The continuous reports wereing in, making Fang Yuan able to understand much more. "Eh?" As he sat in a carriage with Xie Lingyun serving him at one side, he casually took a piece of a report to read, and his eyebrow began to twitch. "Purple Dream Princess?" "Thisdy is the prettiest of all in the ins, the princess of Sunset Division! Master, are you interested in her?" Xie Lingyun teased him, but in her tone was a hint of jealousy. "Haha... I am only interested in her as she is the key person involved in the death of the Yuan King... A vige of prettydies would be the downfall of any hero. This saying is very true, hehe! He didn¡¯t die in vain!" Fang Yuan casually threw the report aside and scoffed. Suddenly, he thought of thete King of the ins, Temujin. His death was unexined, and this sent a chill down Fang Yuan¡¯s spine. Whoever who seeded would always pay less attention to themselves. They would die in the most uneventful way. Even the most prestigious emperor was not spared. As long as he was human, any natural disasters or idents could still kill him and wipe out the aplishments he had in his life! ¡¯Since I am no longer mortal, I will not make their mistakes. However, I still need to be cautious!¡¯ In order to sessfully explore the world and embark on the journey towards eternal life, one had to have a clear mind. Fang Yuan was jolted and woke up, and he reminded himself that he must not be proud of his achievement in taking over the entire maind, or that would lead to his downfall. "The question is... Where did Purple Dream Princess end up afterwards?!" He posed a question. "She might have been diced into pieces by the Golden Wolves Guards!" Xie Lingyun bit her lip. It was obvious that she was not optimistic about Purple Dream Princesses¡¯ survival. "If that is true, they would publicly announce it. Looking at the situation in Yuan Country, where the First Prince is gathering his military power as he readies himself to pit against the other princes, they would surely announce the oue of Purple Dream Princess if that really happened!" Fang Yuan rubbed his chin. "Master, what you mean is..." Xie Lingyun blinked her eyes as though she was in a daze. ¡¯The expressions revealed subconsciously are always the most moving!¡¯ Fang Yuan sighed in his heart and continued. "That Purple Dream... She is not simple! She might still be alive! After all, if it was a n for revenge, even though the King is dead, the few princes are still alive!" "Then what should we do?" Xie Lingyun appeared serious. "Should we support one of the princes?" "Haha, there is only one spot for king! How is this worth it!" Fang Yuanughed and appeared unpredictable. .... Outside the Dragon City, there was blood everywhere. Two troops of soldiers were fighting, and the horses were neighing loudly. Arrows flew around and the entire ins were covered in a hue of blood. After the day has ended, both sides retreated. The Eighth Prince, Ge Ritu appeared vexed as he listened to his subordinate¡¯s report. "Damn! Why is the casualty rate so high?" "The First Prince Ba Tu has taken over Dragon City. Second Prince A Guda took the opportunity to bribe and take over the King¡¯s personal soldiers. The other princes have the support of their own divisions. If we stayed in Dragon City, Ba Tu would never have the chance to take it over!" Zhuo Li Getu reported in a serious tone. The sudden changes in the city were too quick for Eighth Prince to react. He was caught off guard. When he returned, it was already toote. Not just that, but by being the youngest prince, the other princes were jealous of him, and the situation was not desirable. "Damn! Since Father is now dead, we should follow the rules and gather the leaders of our people to rmend the heir!" Ge Ritu eximed helplessly. Thete king was an aplished one, and his children were all remarkable. First Prince Ba Tu was valiant and skilled in war. Second Prince A Guda was a highly skilled strategist. As the youngest among all the princes, Ge Ritu was the most average, and could only rely on the tradition to fight for the throne. "Report!" A calvary sped towards Ge Ritu and a soldier dismounted from the horse before kneeling down. "News from those behind has it that the people of the South have ended the conference. They have decided on a new alliance leader!" "Hmph!" Ge Ritu scoffed and knew that this was not the right time to be calctive about this. "Who did they rmend? The Country Governor of Wu Country?" "No! It¡¯s the king of Xia Country! As of now, the countries have not returned. Instead, they havee together and are now in the ins. 30,000 soldiers are nowing our way towards the Dragon City!" "What audacity!" Ge Ritu¡¯s hands became pale, as he gripped on to the horse whip. "If you give me 30,000, no! 20,000 soldiers, I can wipe out their army of 30,000 in the ins! When did the weak people of the South have the guts to invade his piece ofnd which the heavens have given to us?" "Eighth Prince, you need to calm down!" At this point, Zhuo Li Getu stood out. His status was different. Not only was he the strongest warrior of Yuan Country, he was the mentor assigned by the king to guide Ge Ritu. Hearing him speak, Ge Ritu immediately quietened. "With unityes strength. Right now, we only have 10,000 troops. Taking into ount the relentless invasions and disturbance from the other princes, this is not the time to start a war with the people from the South!" Zhuo Li Getu calmly reasoned. "Your intention is to... negotiate peace?" Ge Ritu looked at his own mentor with a cold look. "The people from the South are like a herd of sheep. Even with a lion as a leader, they are still weak. As long as we have some time, we can invade towards the South in the future! A temporary agreement will not mean much!" Zhuo Li Getu casuallymented, as though the agreement would worth nothing. Chapter 187: White Robes Chapter 187: White Robes Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Since the first inhabitants of Yuan Country from the grass ins, they were sceptical. They settled down in areas with vegetation and water sources, and there were only a fewrge cities in the entire region. As Fang Yuan led the countries towards Dragon City, they did not encounter many locals on their way, and therefore there was little resistance. Of course, as he got closer to Dragon City, there were obstacles in his way. In front of Fang Yuan were rows and rows of calvaries. Although they appeared disorganised, they still seemed powerful. Every one of them looked fierce, and the horses were all strong ones with red eyes and an asional puff of visible air from their mouths. A row of white teeth was revealed as the horses snarled. "Master, I have the details!" As the soldiers were waiting for theirmand, Xie Lingyun rushed over to Fang Yuan¡¯s side on a horse. "What we see in front of us is the Golden Sheep Division and Louqie Division. There are the armies of the Third and Fourth Prince! Should we send someone to talk to them?" "That won¡¯t be necessary. Send all the country governors here!" Fang Yuan was considered to have unofficial control over the country governors. He, as a single person, was able to decide their life and death. Therefore, when themand was given, no one dared to disobey. No longter, Wu Qiankun andpany arrived before him. "The huge grass ins of Yuan Country is a big problem for us. I am useless, yet I want to solve this problem!" Fang Yuanmanded. "Order all the calvaries to gather and follow me as we break their formation!" "Hold on, should we hold talks with them?" Wu Qiankun appeared to be confused. On one hand, he hoped that Fang Yuan would die from rushing into their formation. On the other hand, seeing the internal conflict in Yuan Country made him feel that he was so close to sess, and therefore felt a little regretful. In the end, the thought of letting Fang Yuan fall into their trap won over his head. "There¡¯s no need! They are not afraid of us! If we do not defeat them, there will be no ground for negotiations!" Without wearing an armour, Fang Yuan immediately gathered his 5,000 strong calvary troops and began to charge. "No one can match us!" Draped in white robes, Fang Yuan rode a white horse and came to the front of the formation with much elegance. A white horse was not auspicious! This was because, in the ancient times, many horses were brown or ck, and riding a white horse would attract too much attention. Furthermore, it could be easily picked up by firepower. Needless to say, Fang Yuan did not care about all these. "Charge!" "Kill!" "Kill!" "Kill!" Even though the attack was nned in a rush, Fang Yuan¡¯s spirit and passion were infectious, and all of them felt the vigour to fight. "Calvaries from the people of the South?" On the opposite camp, both princes were enraged as the people of the South did not hold their line of defence even after seeing their own troops. "Destroy them!" "Charge!" The cavalry units on the grass ins were shouting as they made their horses sprint. Their battle horses were much taller than the horses from the South and were also ferocious. Rumour had it that on the grass ins of the Yuan territory, there was a Heavenly Horse. It came from the Nine Heavens and was the leader of all spiritual beasts. The Heavenly Horse would not live with the normal horses, and would only be found in perilous areas. Every time when shepherds had managed to track the whereabouts of the Heavenly Horse, they would let out the most obedient and beautiful female horse into the mountains and valleys. Among 10 of these female horses, there would be at least one that came back pregnant, carrying the descendant of the Heavenly Horse. After many generations of mating, this became the standard for battle horses on the grass ins. Even though they only had a hint of the Heavenly Horse¡¯s genes, they were still very much stronger than normal horses. If martial artists with inner force were to form a human wall, these horses would still be able to break through it easily. The two lines of calvaries became spearheads as they approached each other. "Bang!" "Bang bang!" Finally, after a few collisions, a few soldiers were flung at each other, bing a pile of bloodied corpses. "Fire!" The people of the Yuan Country grew up on horsebacks. Their archery skills weremendable and could even shoot at full power from close range. "Whoosh whoosh!" Arrows fell like rain andnded on Fang Yuan. However, they could not even prate the energy field around him as they were deflected to the ground. "Die!" His eyes shed with anger. As he waved his hands, the heads from two horses rolled onto the ground. ¡¯Their too weak! Even after my discreet hypnosis, they can only produce such standards!¡¯ Fang Yuan looked behind him. Many cavalry units were shing their spears around as they were engaged in fierce fights with the cavalry units from the grass ins. It was a pity that it was an ugly sight to behold, for most in most of the fights, two soldiers were required to fend off one soldier from the Yuan Country. They were useless beyond hope. ¡¯After all, they are not professionals. Furthermore, we have only justbined forces, and the soldiers do not know their Thousand-trooped Commanders well as the Thousand-trooped Commanders know their soldiers. Therefore, I should not fault them!¡¯ ¡¯Luckily, my n did not require any dependency on them!¡¯ Looking at a direction, Fang Yuan leapt off his horse¡¯s back. "Whoosh!" His Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique was used to the maximum, and the raining arrows could do nothing to slow him down. From the naked eye, he had transformed into a white shadow. After a few leaps, he had already arrived in front of the Yuan Country¡¯s Thousand-trooped Commander who was giving orders. "Kill!" This person¡¯s skin was like metal as it was extremely reflective. Seeing Fang Yuan approaching him, he revealed a cunning smile and leapt backwards, in the meantime returning a few shes from his broad knife. "Protect the Thousand-trooped Commander!" From the surroundings, many cavalry units rushed towards Fang Yuan. All of them were martial artists in the 4 Heavenly Gates, and this Thousand-trooped Commander was even stronger, with a cultivation at the peak of the 12th Gate. His retreat and the narrowing of the circle around Fang Yuan happened within seconds. However, they all seemed to be well versed in the tactic, as though they had practised it for a thousand times before. It was obvious that this was a tactic they had prepared for this type of war. After all, in this world, there was the existence of Wu Zongs and spiritual knights! War had to adapt to this fact. "Useless!" Fang Yuan eximed as his speed suddenly increased. He managed to escape the circle and came in front of the Thousand-trooped Commander. With his finger, he folded and broke the knife, and at the same time struck his forehead. "Peng!" The Thousand-trooped Commander¡¯s head exploded like a watermelon, and his corpse fell to the ground. The 8 soldiers, who made up the circle, froze. At that moment, their eyes turned red with fury. "Die!!!" Yuan Country was strict in training their soldiers. If their Thousand-trooped Commander were to die, all of them had to die as well, including their family members. At this point, there were already dead in the eyes of their country. The only way for them to have a chance at survival was to kill Fang Yuan in order to use merit to redeem themselves. Therefore, all of them rushed towards Fang Yuan without any regard for their lives. "Using a grasshopper¡¯s arm to block an oing car!" Fang Yuan stretched his arm out. As the swords came in contact with his arm, they immediately became scrap metal and flew backwards quickly. "Ping! Ping!" On the spot, these 8 soldiers became like a ho¡¯s nest; their bodies had an uncountable number of wounds as blood oozed out from every single wound. All of this happened in a matter of seconds; the death of the Thousand-trooped Commander and the death of the 8 soldiers. The remaining thousands of soldiers under his charge began to panic. In the armed forces of the Yuan Country, a Ten-trooped Commander would be in charge of 10 men. A Hundred-trooped Commander would have to lead 100 men. Therefore, a Thousand-trooped Commander was the leader of a thousand soldiers! He was indeed a high ranking leader, and his death meant that themand post was figuratively crippled. Fang Yuan did not slow down. Snatching another horse, he rushed towards the 20,000-men strong troop. "Kill him!" Kill him!" The people of Yuan Country were in a mess. Among the 1,000 soldiers and 10,000 horses, a white dot was rushing through, as Fang Yuan continued to kill a few other Thousand-trooped Commanders. There was no one who could stop him. "Generals, don¡¯t hide, otherwise your troops will not dare to face the white robes! Haha..." On the opposite, Wu Qiankun looked at the white shadow as it pounced around within the Yuan Country soldiers. Hearing the cheers from the sidelines, he was dumbfounded together with the other country governors. "This is the time to strike. What are you all waiting for?" Xie Lingyun looked at the one-man army as it caused disruption to the enemy, and her eyes glittered. "Gather all our troops and attack! Attack!" "Sound the drums and attack!" The king of Xia Country gave themand. Wu Qiankun had initially hoped that Fang Yuan would fall into the trap of the enemy. However, he had lost all hope as he witnessed the scene in front of him. He had decided to be more respectful to Fang Yuan. "Attack!" As the 20,000-men strong army eximed, their voices were rumbling. Behind the inspired calvaries, they started to invade as well. ... "Pu!" Blood sttered as another Thousand-trooped Commander fell to the floor, with disbelief on his face. "This should be the seventh!" Fang Yuan casually tossed the corpse away. The path in front of him was now clear, and he could see two men dressed in bright robes running away. "You cannot run!" As he took in a deep breath, the glow of the spiritual meridian appeared and surrounded his body. "Protect the prince!" A few shamans leapt out as they chanted numerous evil incantations on him. A few Wu Zongs appeared as well as they attempted to corner him. "Do you think you can stop me?" As the few evil incantationsnded on his body, the flicker of the glow of the spiritual meridian immediately caused them to dissipate into thin air. As he focused his strength on his ws, Fang Yuan struck them out. "Giant Eagle w!" "Whoosh!" As his elemental force gathered, they seemed physically real to the touch as Fang Yuan used it to press the few Wu Zongs; they were pressed into a bloody mess! This was the violent power of suppression from someone with the Third Elemental Force! "You... You are not human, but Qiutege! Qiutege!!!" Seeing their bodyguards being minced effortlessly by Fang Yuan, they quickened their pace and ran even faster than a horse! Once they were caught, they were already frightened to the point that their pants were wet. One of them was older and looked like Ge Ritu; he was the one who pointed at Fang Yuan and screamed. Qiutege meant an evil demon in thenguage of Yuan Country. Even though they knew the existence of cultivation, they still treated such a powerful and unreasonable person as an evil demon! "Both of you are useless! Wait, I could use both of you!" Fang Yuan grabbed the both of them and snatched a spiritual horse over for himself. Using both of them as a shield, how would their own soldiers dare to fire their arrows? With this, he was able to rush back to his own troops. "Pa! Pa!" Casually, he flung the weak princes to Xie Lingyun. "These two are high-status ves. Let them have a taste of the cavalries from the grass ins! If that is not possible, we can still initiate a trade with the other princes. Let¡¯s see how much they will be willing to pay for the both of them!" "Master..." Xie Lingyun¡¯s mouth was wide open, but not a word came out. The other Wu Zongs looked at him in fear and were all dripping sweat. To capture their leaders among thousands of soldiers! They didn¡¯t dare to think that such a thing would happen. Once they were surrounded by equally skilled martial artists, and with thebined attack from the enemy, they would surely be captured. However, Fang Yuan had made history today! Witnessing this, Wu Qiankun felt even more hopeless. Facing such an opponent, even if he had thousands of soldiers, a great strategy, it would still be useless! Fang Yuan was a person who would not waste time, and would charge straight into the formation to take down the general, and finally the leader! It was a simple n which made use of brute force, but it was extremely effective! From then on, a man dressed in white robes on a white horse would forever be a nightmare to the soldiers on the grass ins. Chapter 188: Dragon City Chapter 188: Dragon City Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions On the vast ins, from a distance, there was a majestic view of a city. That was the capital of Yuan Country, Dragon City. As one of the few buildings and being thergest city of Yuan Country, it was the country¡¯s headquarters, and it was the ce people put their trust in and faith in. At this point in time, an army of the people from the South had finally arrived at the weakness of Yuan Country. "Queen, we hope that you would convince him to be allies with our princes. It¡¯s a win-win situation!" Within the tent, a Yuan Country representative was smiling as he was being dismissed. "This is... the third one for today right?" Xie Lingyun rubbed her forehead. As much as she felt tired, she also felt pleased. From the destruction of the two princes armies and Fang Yuan having the nickname of Qiutege in the grass ins, to the peaceful journey from then onwards, the other princes had learnt from Third and Fourth Prince¡¯s mistakes and had sent out messengers to show their good intentions. "Not just Second Prince A Guda and Eighth Prince Ge Ritu, but even the First Prince Ba Tu hade forth. All of them were humble, and we have finally gotten back at them on behalf of the other small countries. Master, what you have said is indeed true! Even if we want to negotiate, we have to defeat and force them into submission first!" The previous victory was the crucial event that enabled them to choose in peace which prince they want to support! "Master, who would you want to support?" Xie Lingyun looked at Fang Yuan¡¯s tent, perplexed. ... However, Fang Yuan was no longer in his tent. "The Dragon City is indeed different from the other cities. It has a different vibe to it!" With his skills and guts, he had managed to secretly infiltrate the capital of Yuan Country. The city walls and the guards who were on continuous patrol were all a joke to him. "I¡¯m guessing that the current owner of Dragon City is Ba Tu?" As he walked towards the city square, his eyes were filled with curiosity. "To resort to such a means to get to the throne! He must be doing all that he can, what a pity!" Even with the possession of Dragon City, Ba Tu had the weakest foundation among all the princes. "I¡¯ve heard that since Ba Tu has the reputation of the son that led to the death of his father, many of his own people dislike him. What a poor thing..." Looking at the empty streets, Fang Yuan let out a gentle sigh. Around him, many guards were patrolling. However, they were like blind men and ignored Fang Yuan¡¯s existence. The first part of the cultivation to be a dream master was to be ¡¯illusionary¡¯. Even if these warriors had obtained inner force, they would still not be able to see or hear Fang Yuan. ¡¯With the cultivation of a dream master, I wouldn¡¯t have to be afraid of peoplebining forces and attacking me. Opening meridians after Wu Zong would allow me to take out the leader among thousands of soldiers! With both of these together, I am invincible! In this region, whoever I want to kill will die, even if it¡¯s the king of Yuan Country or the governor of Xia Country!¡¯ As he thought to himself, he arrived at the pce of Yuan Country. This pce was majestic. However, it wascking in a certain vibe. Without saying anything, ayer of bewildering fog covered himself as he entered the pce. In the Royal Study. "Jerk! Why are Yehe Division and Nayan Division not listening to my orders? I want to send troops over and destroy them!" In a moment, everyone could feel the wrath of Ba Tu. As the eldest son of the king, his facial features were rather simr to thete king. He had a brute appearance and was the ssic example of a boy who grew up in the grass ins. After letting out his anger, he began to slowly calm down. All that was left in his heart was a sense of helplessness. "The woman... Have we found her?" Ba Tu was filled with regret. He recalled the first time he set eyes on that woman¡¯s beauty. He had to control his own urges and ovee his greed before he could make the decision to give her to his father. This was purely his act of loyalty, and he had no evil intentions. "Who would¡¯ve known that that woman would... that woman would... She isn¡¯t human! She¡¯s a devil, with the heart of a fox, the eyes of a snake, the teeth of a wolf and the poison of a scorpion..." Thinking about it, Ba Tu felt a little fortunate. If the woman were to throw herself to him, then he would be the one dead. ¡¯No one... no one can resist that smile of hers!¡¯ Thinking about her sweet smile, Ba Tu quickly shook his head vigorously as though he wanted to erase all these memories of her. "That woman... We have no clue about her whereabouts since that day!" In front of Ba Tu was a shaman who knelt down as he reported. He sounded helpless. "She must still be around, in the Dragon City, within the pce walls!" Although Ba Tu was a valiant warrior, he was just a frantic person with no rity of thought. His eyes were bloodshot, and he paced up and down as his heart was filled with uneasiness. "Don¡¯t worry prince. With my protection, that evil woman will note in. Not just her, but anyone else before. Nobody cane in here without me noticing!" The shaman replied, brimming with confidence. "Before? Does that mean that there is such a person able to do that now? Is it the demonic person from the South?" Ba Tu mumbled. "That Fang Yuan is indeed a threat to the grass ins. However, there is nothing to be worried about, my prince. All of us will swear to protect the royal family with our lives!" "My two brothers might have agreed to Fang Yuan¡¯s conditions, and I have no idea what they are! Hmph..." Ba Tu was not the average person. He had strong foundations, and slowly, he began to calm down. "I¡¯ll send a messenger. This is to establish good rtions with the people from the South. Before this internal conflict is over, it is not wise to have another enemy. Since they have not replied us, you shall look for them in a while. Tell them that if they are willing to work for me, they will get honour and everything else!" "Yes, sir! You are the eagle, flying high in the sky, and we are your hunting dogs!" The shaman replied respectfully. "Don¡¯t foolishly think that that is my intention. But if I don¡¯t do this, how can we concentrate our forces and defeat A Guda and Ge Ritu?" A cunning look shed on Ba Tu¡¯s face, like a wolf. "After I have taken over the entire grass ins, we will head South to plunder from them. Otherwise, how would we be able to withstand the extreme cold weather?" "Prince, that is a wonderful n!" The shaman praised Ba Tu, but suddenly, his expression changed as he looked out of the window. "Who¡¯s there? Who¡¯s there?" "Me!" Fang Yuan revealed himself as he walked in with big steps. With a mocking tone, he asked, "You¡¯re Ba Tu? I¡¯m here now! You cany out your conditions!" "What audacity!" Seeing a stranger walk in out of a sudden, Ba Tu subconsciously grabbed the knife on his waist, and his expression changed. "This is not right... You¡¯re..." There was only one such person who had the ability to traverse within the boundaries of the pce undetected. The white-robed Qiutege - Fang Yuan! "You¡¯re smart!" Ba Tu quicklyposed himself, and Fang Yuan nodded his head. With such aposure, Ba Tu was not the average reckless person. "I have already sealed this ce up. No matter how loudly you may shout, no one would be able to hear you!" Fang Yuan slowly walked towards him. "Fang Yuan, what is your motive foring here?" Just thinking about this made Ba Tu anxious. "I¡¯m only here to warn you that I have the ability to destroy everything!" Fang Yuan replied without any reservations, and suddenly his silhouette flickered. "Not good!" The shaman was in shock. With a wave of the spiritual drum in his hand, a blood-red glow slowly spread across the room. "You¡¯re a mere firefly, and yet you dare to fight with the moon¡¯s glow?!" Facing him, Fang Yuan smiled. The spiritual meridian on his body appeared as a huge force disabled the shaman¡¯s spiritual spell. The Elemental Gathering Realm shaman eximed as a hole broke through one side of the spiritual drum. He was grieving beyond words. "Rumble!" As the blood-red glow dissipated, Fang Yuan came to Ba Tu. Using his fingers, he flicked his knife away and grabbed him by his neck like he was carrying a helpless chick. "I¡¯m here to warn you that if I decide to take your life, you cannot escape from me!" Fang Yuan moved closer to him. "I¡¯m prepared to sign the alliance agreement with you. If you ever try to break the agreement, think about this moment!" "I... understand!" Ba Tu¡¯s face became purple as he struggled to reply. The pressure of suffocation and death started to distort his consciousness. "That¡¯s good!" Fang Yuan released his grip, and Ba Tu quickly used his hands to support his own neck. With much desperation, he greedily gulped in breaths of fresh air, and his tears almost flowed out. Never had he thought that being able to breathe normally was such a privilege. Seeing how Ba Tu suffered, he knew that he had set a deep impression in him. With aughter, Fang Yuan asked. "About that Purple Dream Princess... where did shee from? Does she have anything with her? Bring me to her!" "You... go!" Ba Tu waved his hand. The shaman was in shock, and he bowed respectfully to Fang Yuan. "Our honourable guest from the South, follow me!" As Fang Yuan¡¯s silhouette slowly disappeared, Ba Tu¡¯s face turned green... ... "To think about it, if the dream-building technique was not thatplicated, I wouldn¡¯t need to put in so much effort?" Fang Yuan followed the shaman and smoothly walked through the pce, with a tinge of regret. The final stage of the dream-building technique would allow the dream master to alter old memories and confuse illusions with reality. The effects would be unthinkable. But the human mind and memories are tooplicated! To alter them would be too troublesome, and it was almost impossible to perform it on such a leader - it would take up too much time. Furthermore, even though they might not be cultivators themselves, these leaders would still have highly-skilled bodyguards. They could detect abnormalities and react ordingly. They could even be reced if anything happened to them! Therefore, to Fang Yuan, it would be a waste of time trying to ess the dreams of these servants and bodyguards! Even for tactics which target to take down the leader, the main point would be only to induce fear. If he had to reach this stage, Fang Yuan had to be mentally prepared to be enemies with the whole world. "We¡¯re here. This was where Purple Dream Princess once stayed..." Through a garden, past a few corridors, the shaman brought Fang Yuan to a majestic tent. "The tents and equipment are directly brought over from the Sunset Division!" "Mmm!" Fang Yuan was not afraid that the shaman might have anything up his sleeves, and walked right in. The decor of the interior of the tent was normal. The only thing which caught his attention was a crystal mirror which was glittering. Using his magical energy, he detected a familiar type of spiritual aura. Chapter 189: Purple Dream Chapter 189: Purple Dream Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The pce of Yuan Country was majestic. With the mixtures of courts and tents, the kings from the other country would be at a lost if they saw all of these. At this point in time, Fang Yuan was in one of the tents. Using his magical energy, he could sense everything in the tent. His nose picked up a hint of mild fragrance as he imagined an image of a stunningdy. Even though her face was covered, Fang Yuan could still figure out her looks. "A beauty indeed, but..." There was a suspicious look on his face. "This spiritual aura... dream master? No! Just simr!" "Ha!" Fang Yuan had a serious look on his face. Suddenly, his hands moved and rays of spiritual glow seeped out of the tent. The shaman was standing respectfully at one side. He knew that this sorcerer from the South was trying to trace the spiritual aura of the murderer, and shook his head silently. Looking at Yuan Country¡¯s capabilities, how many shamans would they have serving them? The death of the king and the disappearance of Purple Dream led many toe here and loot their valuables. However, be it fierce hunters or those skilled in spiritual techniques, none of them had their way. Even the many spiritual knights who came from the South had no way of dealing with the shamans here. This Qiutege from the South was rumoured to have discovered the path after Wu Zong, and was known by many as the gifted one. However, who knew if he even possessed any spiritual techniques? The next moment left him in shock. Ayer of fog appeared within the tent, and a hint of purple glow was visible in it. As the colours mixed, the fog moved towards the crystal mirror, and the purple hue thickened. ¡¯Indeed a tactic of a dream master, but why does it not convince me...¡¯ With the wave of his sleeves, the purple glow dissipated and Fang Yuan remained silent. "Sir?" The shaman had waited for quite a while before going up to him. "Take your leave, there¡¯s no need to follow me!" "Whoosh!" Only a shadow of Fang Yuan was left, and his words travelled from afar. It was evident that he had left a long time ago. Seeing this, the shaman turned pale. ... On the streets. Looking at the purple fog floating in front of him, Fang Yuan followed closely as it seemed to be heading in a certain direction. "Heh... This method of stalking her spiritual aura is actually quite useful!" He had learnt this spiritual technique while he was the Eagle Lieutenant in Yang Fan¡¯s dream. Back then, he used his status to read up on spiritual techniques like such from the government building. This technique was once frequently used by thieves and pirates in the past. Executing it made him realise that it was rather powerful. The Purple Dream Princess which left many shamans and warriors from the Yuan Country helpless immediately revealed her tracks. "It takes a lot of courage for her to still remain in Dragon City!" Following the spiritual sign, Fang Yuan arrived atrge household. After walking one round around it, he smiled to himself before barging in. "How dare you! Don¡¯t you know that this is Ye Lu Buhua¡¯s household?" A person who seemed to be the housekeeper walked out with a whip in his hand. As he saw Fang Yuan, he was shocked. "A person from the South?" "Get lost!" Without looking, Fang Yuan waved his sleeves and this person rolled on the floor. "Are you trying to kill me?" "How dare you!" After a few shouts, a few others rushed out with their bows and they looked fierce. After themotion, the soldiers on patrol in the streets hurried here and surrounded the house. "All of you are not her!" Fang Yuan scanned his surroundings. With the ball of purple fog in his hand, he barged into the backyard. "Whoosh whoosh!" The arrows fell like raindrops, but none of them managed to even touch Fang Yuan. Under the shock of many, Fang Yuan lightly leapt up and flipped over the wall to arrive at the backyard. This created chaos and manydies began to scream. Many wives screamed as they ran away, but they all seemed normal. Fang Yuan shook his head in disappointment. "All of you are still not her!" He looked around and identified a suspicious spot. "Come out!" With the strike of his palm, the wooden window broke into pieces and flew everywhere. "How dare you! Who are you? How dare you intrude my house?" A general walked out of the room. His eyes were ferocious, and behind him was a 20-year old gracious lookingdy. "Purple Dream Princess, stop hiding!" Chuckling, Fang Yuan released the ball of purple fog. It exploded and transfigured into many small snakes, which caused thedy to scream. "Hiss hiss!" The small snakes swerved, but instead, they rushed towards the general. "Eh..." The general let out a gentle sigh, but this time, his voice was different. It was charming and sweet, but when matched with his appearance, it was creepy. "This is a good ce to hide. Why do you want to reveal my identity?" Ady¡¯s voice came out of the general¡¯s mouth, like a scene straight out from a nightmare. Thedy next to Fang Yuan had mixed feelings of embarrassment and anger before she fainted on the spot. "You¡¯re not from Yuan Country!" The general, who seemed to have taken over the identity of Ye Lu Buhua, examined Fang Yuan before concluding with much confidence. "Purple Dream Princess!" Fang Yuan¡¯s hair stood on its ends. After all, a seven feet tall male suddenly took on the delicate actions of ady, and just the sight of it would give anyone goosebumps. "Impressive Transfiguration Technique! Do I have the honour of seeing your real appearance?" "You want to take a look at my real appearance?" ¡¯Ye Lu Buhua¡¯ shook his head. With a clear and gentle voice, he replied. "This is simple! But why do you have toe now and disrupt my ns for revenge?" It was obvious that this ¡¯general¡¯ was an important figure in Dragon City, and should have a certain degree of influence. At the crucial time for the princes to fight for the throne, creating trouble would hit all of them the hardest. "Ah!" "General?" "No, he¡¯s not the general, but a demonic woman!" ... The soldiers who were witnessing the scene finally realised what was happening, and they were all creeped out. Had their general been swapped out? This was something that would only happen in their dreams! "This Transfiguration Technique is nothing..." Purple Dream Princess let out a soft sigh. "The difficult part was learning his expression, habits and actions! All thanks to you, my effort is now wasted! How do you intend topensate me?" "If this is your true attitude, then I might consider surrendering, but now..." Fang Yuan snickered. "Hehe... I know that you have other thoughts in your mind. You won¡¯t let me off without seeing my face!" Purple Dream Princess smiled, and suddenly she peeled her skin off. A white glow shed past! An unusual thing happened. She peeled off the entire face of Ye Lu Buhua, including his neck, chest, legs and shirt... After the entirety of it was peeled off, it seemed as though she was simply wearing a Ye Lu Buhua robe. After the robe had been peeled off, it glowed and became a piece of thin white paper; on it was an image of Ye Lu Buhua¡¯s. The paper floated to the ground. A beautifuldy with glittering eyes and a mesmerising smile stood at the same spot. She was the ultimate beauty! "I¡¯ve heard of the beauty from the North. When you look at the soldiers, they will forget about their duties, if you look at the king, he will forget about the country... Purple Dream, oh Purple Dream! Indeed a true beauty, you are as mesmerizing as a dream!" Fang Yuan pped his hands and sighed. Even Fang Yuan was dazed for a moment. The soldiers around were all at lost. "You¡¯re the first one to be able to awaken from my mesmerizing looks!" Purple Dream¡¯s stunning eyebrows frowned. "You give me a different vibe aspared to other men, I don¡¯t want to..." While she was in the skin of Ye Lu Buhua, it was disgusting to see her graceful actions. But now, every action she made reaffirmed her as an alluring beauty. Her natural beauty was her best weapon! "What do you not want to do?" Fang Yuan was a little distracted by her and took a step forward. "Don¡¯t want to ... Kill you just like that!" As she spoke, her voice was so sweet that it felt as though she wanted to bring him into a sweet dream. "Whoosh!" At the same time, her body whizzed and within a split second, she appeared in front of Fang Yuan! She stretched her 5 fingers towards him. Her fingers were long, white, smooth andparable to white jade. However, they became deadly ws and her nails sliced through the air. Even if Fang Yuan was a new Wu Zong, he would still be pierced by the deadly ws of hers! But Fang Yuan was no longer a new Wu Zong. How could hepare to what he was before? "Why would such a beauty like you want to be a thief!" Suddenly, Purple Dream Princess¡¯s expression changed as she felt her wrist being locked up by what felt like metal cuffs; she could not move a single bit. "You... Let me go!" She blushed, albeit in anger, but anyone who saw her would likely listen to her. "Indeed an illusionary spell!" Fang Yuan smiled with confidence. "Stop trying so hard. These illusions are useless to me! Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t kill you, and I won¡¯t hand you over to Yuan Country as well. I am only curious about you!" "You... You are..." However, Purple Dream¡¯s expression became weird all of a sudden. It was as though she was experiencing fear, shock and curiosity all at once... Everything shed through in her eyes, but suddenly her eyes had a determined look. "Go!" "Weng!" Spiritual inscriptions began to appear all over her body like purple flowers blooming. All of a sudden, there was an explosion. "This is... a spiritual array? No! You are..." Fang Yuan was astonished and readily released his grip on her before retreating out. "Rumble!" Only after leaving the entire household did he turn his head around. All he saw was a purple streak of light shooting up towards the sky, sucking in the entire household of Ye Lu Buhua. "Array?!" He shook his head. "No... The most important is still her identity! Who would¡¯ve guessed that she was a..." Fang Yuan mumbled a few words. Looking at the increasingly chaotic Dragon City and the troops that were approaching, he quickly left. He had a strong feeling that he would meet Purple Dream Princess again in the future. Chapter 190: Splitting of Land Chapter 190: Splitting of Land Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Ye Lu Buha¡¯s death was merely the beginning of the chaos in Dragon City. It was nothingpared to what happened afterwards. In a short span of a day, Fang Yuan had ¡¯visited¡¯ the First Prince Ba Tu, Second Prince A Guda, Eighth Prince Geritu in session. He also used the name of alliance leader to pressure them into joining the alliance. Of course, if it was before all of this had happened, the people of the Yuan Country would not care about this, but in order to cooperate with the powerful Fang Yuan, even the fiercest lion would be an obedient cat. Even the most delinquent Eighth Prince had to follow after the strongest warrior of Yuan Country, Zhuo Li Getu had lost to Fang Yuan after three moves. Without much say, they had to partake in the conference held by the king of Xia Country. Outside the Dragon City. Troops of soldiers from Yuan Country were moving, and Ba Tu was in the middle. There were a few warriors and shamans around him. "Why not organise the conference within the city?" He scoffed in dissatisfaction, but there was a hint of fear in his eyes. Ba Tu was not afraid of Fang Yuan. If Fang Yuan wanted to kill him, there was nowhere he could hide! He was fearful of his few brothers. "Don¡¯t worry prince. The conference is held within the camp of the people from the South. I¡¯ll use my reputation as the strongest warrior in the world to ensure our safety!" By his side was a shaman with a nose piercing. "With that master around, A Guda and Ge Ritu would not take the risk to try to kill you! Furthermore... If the conference was held in the Dragon City, your brothers might not be agreeable to it!" Ba Tu smiled helplessly. He knew that if that happened, he might just set a trap to capture both A Guda and Ge Ritu, for it would be a rare opportunity to capture them. "These people from the South cannot fight wars, but I¡¯ll have to admit that their architecture skills are not too bad! If there¡¯s a chance for us to go to the South in the future, remember to capture a few carpenters and architects to be our ves!" As the arrived at the campsite, there were a few tall tforms built on towers, and Ba Tu though silently to himself. "Lu lu!" At a short distance away, there were two trails of sand dust approaching. "It¡¯s the bugle of A Guda and Ge Ritu!" With one look, Ba Tu appeared solemn. As they came closer and closer, the atmosphere became increasingly tense. The people from the South had already expected this to happen. With the opening of the campsite¡¯s gates, a few thousand troops flowed out. Under themand of Zhang Xia, Li Hanghu and Liu Shanchuang, they managed the situation to restore order. "Hmph!" Ge Retu leapt down from his horse, and Zhu Li Getu followed. This ¡¯strongest¡¯ warrior of Yuan Country seemed to be a little pale as he coughed a few times. It was obvious that he was not in his best condition, and could only follow weakly behind Ge Ritu. "Ba Tu! What a demon you are! You have been cursed by the heavens and you are now guilty of murdering your own father. How dare youe here?" Ge Ritu squinted his eyes and gave a cold look, as he softly called out, "Zhuo Li Getu..." "Eighth Prince, I understand your intent..." Zhuo Li Getu coughed before continuing. "From this distance, ignoring the fact that I might die, I can indeed kill Ba Tu. However, the people from the South would surely not let us off. This would only benefit your brother, A Guda!" "I know, and that¡¯s why we have to exercise restraint!" Ge Ritu gave a serious look as he walked up the tform. His expression changed once more. He had expected to see the various kings sitting ording to their allocated positions, but there were two unexpected people here! "It¡¯s Third and Fourth Prince!" Zhu Li Getu replied. "It seems that the news is true. With the 20,000-men strong army, both of them surrendered to the people from the South!" "What humiliation! I will never forget this day!" Ge Ritu clenched his fist. As the three princes arrived, they made eye contact with the two princes who were already there and exchanged fierce looks with one another. "Yuan Country and Wu Country have always been the pir of strength in the conferences!" As soon as everyone arrived, the king of Xia Country gave his speech which he had prepared. "... The death of the king of Yuan Country is a regret, but Yuan Country cannot be without a leader..." "Hmph! Does the alliance leader have the intention to get involved in our internal affairs?" Although he was the youngest, Ge Ritu was the first one unable to control himself and rebutted. "All of you are heroes. How can I casually make the decision? However, the chaos in Yuan Country is ultimately not a good thing! Do I have the authority to make such a decision?" Xie Lingyun stood up and smiled. "Although we only have 30,000 soldiers here, we have already sent out the signal. Soon enough, we would have a 100,000 more joining us from the boundaries of the grass ins!" Hering this, Ba Tu and A Guda looked at each other, feeling troubled. If they manage to gather their troops, it would not be an easy fight. However, Fang Yuan was clear that this was Xie Lingyun¡¯s over exaggeration. Even though he had the ability to manipte every country governer and king, he would be fortunate enough if he had managed to gather 100,000 troops. The sheer number was enough to strike fear in them. Immediately, a few people from Yuan Country were at lost. "What do you all want to do?" "We have said it before. To have peace in the grass ins, we need toe up with a n that everyone is agreeable to!" Fang Yuan remarked. Although he was only wearing the robes of a country governor, his position was the highest without a doubt. Therefore, had the most right to talk. Ba Tu and A Guda were lost for words. Finally, it was still Ge Ritu who stood out. "What do you all intend to do? Say it now!" "Very well!" The king of Xia Country pped his hands. "All of you princes are heroes, and I dare not make the decision. What if everyone gets to be king to lead their own country? How does that sound?" "What?" This suggestion shocked everyone. Ge Ritu was enraged and shocked at the same time. His words were stuck in this throat, and he could not say anything. This was because he could see interest in the eyes of Ba Tu, A Guda and even the Third and Fourth Prince, and therefore was in destion. Since he used to be the crown prince of Yuan Country, he had looked at the problem from the king¡¯s perspective. Of course, he would find this arrangement uneptable. However, it was good news for the other princes. Indeed, instead of trying to fight for a slim chance at being king, it was easier and more tempting to take the rewards now. The reward was the most tempting to the princes with little hope of being king. "That¡¯s right!" Fang Yuan¡¯s voice spread. "This grass ins is huge! It is even possible to split thisnd up into 80 pieces if you like! By splitting it into 8 pieces, every prince can be their own king and start their own country!" At this stage, his ns started to unfold. Regardless of which prince would be the ultimate king of Yuan Country, they would still target the South! Even if he destroyed Yuan Country, he would only get a few years of peace before a new country would rise again. Therefore, the only solution would be to let the people of Yuan Country have internal conflicts and waste their time on each other. "There are too many divisions in the grass ins, and it would be impractical to wipe them all out. We need your expertise, and therefore we will support this n!" He thought to himself silently. Splitting up the huge Yuan Country and allowing the princes to fight among each other; helping the weak and taking down the strong; all of these are just there to let them waste time. Splitting them up would not give them the chance to gather their strength together. This was a delicate operation and required the cooperation of the countries neighbouring the grass ins to support the n, but Fang Yuan was willing to try it out. Even if it were to fail, it would cost him nothing. What was there to fear about? "How do we split thend, people, soldiers and horses?" Ge Ritu asked. "This is simple. Every matured prince would get 10,000 citizens, allocated based on the divisions in thend. As for the grass ins, I have split it up into 8 parts,e and decide for yourself who to get which!" Fang Yuan ordered for a map to be brought up. On the map was the area of Yuan Country. Although the grass ins were closer to the South, it was vast and fertile. But now, it was casually split into 8 portions, and on all of the portions, there was abel. Ba Tu, A Guda and Ge Ritu looked at one another. It seemed that the people from the South had already prepared for them to split up their country. However, no one dared to make a decision and be the one guilty of splitting the country up, plus... How would they be convinced to settle for this without even trying to fight for the throne? "Thank you for your kind intentions. Both of us will sign the alliance agreements!" Third and Fourth prince, both who were already taken over, leapt out. They had a slim chance to fight for the throne, to begin with. Now that their armies were defeated by Fang Yuan, they had huge losses. It would be a blessing in disguise for them to take this constion prize. ¡¯Disgusting... Both of you are the thieves among us!¡¯ Witnessing this scene, Ge Ritu gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in anger. "We will... ept this n!" Even so, it was only logical to agree to the agreement. Tears rolled down his cheeks as soon as he had agreed to the n. ... "Congrattions, master! You have made history!" Seeing the princes take their leave, Xie Lingyun could no longer hold in her excitement as she eximed. Wu Qiankun bit his lip but remained silent. Even he had to acknowledge that the n of splitting them up, if realised, would neutralise the Yuan Country¡¯s threat. He felt regretful for not being able to aplish this noble n under his leadership. ¡¯If everything in the grass ins is settled, and if this person directs his attention to Wu Country, what should I do?¡¯ Thinking about this, Wu Qiankun was in fear. While he was in fear, Fang Yuan coincidently turned his head around and looked at him, which made him lost for words. "It¡¯s still early to talk about this!" Fang Yuan looked at Dragon City and was lost in his own thoughts. "Pass the order down for all soldiers to be on alert, to prepare for any sneak attacks from the Yuan Country!" "What?" Xie Lingyun was shocked. "Although they are disappointed, they have not lost all hope yet. Without a defeat, how would they listen to us?" Fang Yuan snickered, as though he had seen through all of them. ... At midnight, the Second Prince A Guda and Eighth Prince Ge Ritu came together to prepare to attack the camp. However, they met with an ambush and were squarely defeated. Zhuo Li Getu was killed. On the second day, First Prince Ba Tu presented Dragon City and surrendered. He was made the king, and the other princes were made their own kings as well. The conflicts which would go on tost a hundred years between the princes on the grass ins have finally begun...... Chapter 191: Dream People Chapter 191: Dream People Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions After the 8 princes were made kings, there was peace in the grass ins. The Yuan Wu Conference came to an end; or perhaps, it should be changed to the Xia Secluded Conference. Every country led their soldiers back to their countries. Although the process was a perilous one, with the appearance of someone more superior than him, Wu Qiankun was lucky to have witnessed the splitting up of Yuan Country¡¯s power. Without the threat from them invading the South, he left the conference with mixed feelings. His loss was the greatest. Not only had he lost both Wu Wudao and General Fei Long, even some parts of his territory had to be given up. It would be interesting to see how he could maintain his rule over his people. But of course, all these were none of Fang Yuan¡¯s business. After the conference, he bade farewell to the king of Xia Country and Xie Lingyun, and left for the ins on a red horse. "Whoooo!" A strong gust of wind blew across the ins. The grass was all lying on the ground, dried up and hardened. There was a feeling as though the world hade to an end in the coldness of the ins. "Winter is here!" Fang Yuan took in a deep breath. "The people of Yuan Country living in the ins are going to suffer this winter!" As the 8 kings fought against each other, and without the chance to invade South, this winter would lead to many freezing to their deaths. The only way out was for them to recklessly plunder from the people in the North, but this would lead to dire consequences. But again, all these did not matter to him. "There is a bigke another 20 miles ahead, and the Sunset Division used to be here. However, they are now wiped out under themand of Ba Tu..." As he moved forward, he could smell a strong rotting stench, coupled with the smell of blood. Many vultures and crows were already circling the sky, ready to enjoy a feast. "I¡¯ve heard that the Sunset Division is one of the more well-known divisions in the North of Yuan Country, with over a thousand well-built men. If they really want to wipe them out, they¡¯ll have to prepare a holerge enough to bury 10,000 people!" Fang Yuan galloped forward on his horse and arrived at a battlefield. Although it had already been cleaned up, remnants of the battle including broken bones were scattered around, attracting thepany of wild wolves and dogs. After the war, what was left of the original yurt was a skeleton in its ce, and the ground was charred. It was as though the ce was being burnt down. Hell! Hell! Hell! This ce which resembled hell made Fang Yuan sigh. After remaining silent for a while, he closed his eyes and started his cultivation. A purple fog appeared in front of him once again. "Whooo! Whooo!" The purple fog took on the shape of a snake and slithered around. Finally, it became an arrowhead and seemed to be pointing in a certain direction. Without hesitation, Fang Yuan followed the purple fog. After theke, the terrain was undting and Fang Yuan arrived at a rift valley. Fang Yuan dismounted his horse and followed the purple fog in, as he ventured into the depths of the rift valley. After a day¡¯s journey, the sky slowly darkened. The sun set in the west as the moon slowly rose from the east, illuminating the entire ce with moonlight. There was a smallke within the rift valley, and in it was a perfect reflection of the full moon, and it appeared illusionary like it was a dream. Beside theke, there was a green rock, and on the green rockid a beautiful woman which seemed to havee from a dreamscape - it was Purple Dream. "You¡¯re here?" She looked up and gazed innocently at Fang Yuan, as though she had already predicted that he woulde. "You¡¯re not human!" Fang Yuan took in a deep breath and replied in a deep voice. "How am I not human?" Purple Dream smiled and raised her palm. Under the moonlight, her palm was like an exquisite piece of white jade. "I have flesh and blood, I have emotions, and I have everything a woman has. How am I not human? Dream Master Fang?" "You knew..." Fang Yuan sighed once more. From the first time he interacted with this woman, he could sense a familiar spiritual aura from her, and his findings had confirmed his suspicions. Thisdy, Purple Dream, was not an original human of the Da Qian world, but the creation of a dream master! A dream master could be skilled to the extent of creating an entire world! Of course, they could create animals with life! However, from an object to a spiritual object, to a living thing, to animals with wisdom and finally, to humans, every one of these stages possesses a huge amount of difficulty. If the dream master who created Purple Dream was still alive, his cultivation might be even higher than that of Master Wenxin! "I have only heard of the existence of ¡¯dream people¡¯ in the Da Qian Empire. I never thought that I would meet one here!" Fang Yuan sighed. "Where¡¯s your owner?" "Owner?" Purple Dream smiled innocently. "I would rather use the term ¡¯Almighty Father¡¯!" Fang Yuan silently agreed. A dream master who had the ability to create worlds and humans was worthy of this title. "What a pity... He doesn¡¯t know!" There was a pitiful look on her mesmerizing face. "Almighty Father is no longer here... Besides, I have no idea why I¡¯m here. I only remembered that there was a crack in the heavens and on the earth before I came to this world. I was abandoned here and wandered off into the ins. It was only after a while before the Sunset Division found me, and they worshipped me..." "Previously, Ba Tu came here and mindlessly killed everyone from the Sunset Division. I wanted to take revenge for them. The old king is dead, and Ba Tu is next!" She remained expressionless, even as she was describing the act of killing. She appeared calm. "Are you here to stop me?" "Although they might already have ns and killing him might work out in the short term, but his son would simply ascend to the throne... There¡¯s not much difference!" Fang Yuan shrugged his shoulders. "As a form of trade, since you¡¯ve owed me a favour, I will need you to return the favour!" "Return the favour?" Purple Dream smiled. "Dream master, do you know that to us, the dream people, you dream masters are our owners? Don¡¯t you... want to ce your imprint on me and make me your ve?" Fang Yuan let out a long sigh. He had to admit that this woman in front of him was an exquisite being. However, he could only see sorrow in her beautiful eyes. The wisdom of humans came from the ability of humans to think. However, this might not be a good thing entirely. For example, humans might asionally doubt themselves. This was especially true of the dream people. If dream masters had absolute control over them, would their existence in the world be a reality or just an illusion? If they don¡¯t even have a conscious ¡¯self¡¯, how pitiful would that be? Without reason, Fang Yuan¡¯s soul had a sudden realization. "To survive and have descendants are the two main desires of living things. However, these two desires can be summarised as ¡¯existence!¡¯ Prove to the world and yourself that you are in existence!" The concept of eternity and evesting were just a continuation of ¡¯existence¡¯. "To this world, as long as you exist, there is nothing more to it! Since you are living and breathing now, you are proof of existence. Why bother about what others think of you?" Purple Dream shuddered in shock as she heard Fang Yuan. After a long while, she smiled and replied. "You¡¯re so contradicting. In the beginning, you lectured me on how I was not human, but now you¡¯re consoling me... I have to admit that what you said make sense. It seems that I should not stay in the ins, but should travel South and read your books and immerse myself in your culture. There are so many new concepts and ideas to be learnt..." "You are on Ba Tu¡¯s side, and since I¡¯ve killed him, I¡¯ve indeed owed you a favour. What do you want?" After much consideration, she asked. Fang Yuan began to realise that this dream person, Purple Dream, had a mind purer than most humans. ¡¯Is this the design of the dream master who created her, or is this just a natural w?¡¯ Fang Yuan stumbled for a while. "I don¡¯t need much. It¡¯s enough I can get information on how to pass through the ins and head towards Da Qian Empire!" "Are you intending to go to Da Qian Empire?" Purple Dream looked at Fang Yuan with curiosity. She began nodding her head but quickly shook her head. "The ins is a perilous ce, and it¡¯s nothing like how you imagine it to be. I almost died there, but fortunately, the Sunset Division saved me. As for you, you might be able to make the journey..." "Oh? What are the dangers of the ins?" Fang Yuan became more and more interested. "I only know a little..." Purple Dream¡¯s voice became a little muffled. "At the extreme North of the Yuan boundary, there are strong and intense cold winds blowing at almost every moment. It is a living hell, and I was abandoned there the moment I arrived in this world. Although it was only at the boundary, it was enough to injure me severely. Furthermore... you won¡¯t be alone there. Ferocious animals lurk in that area..." "Rumour has it... the path towards Da Qian Empire passes through that ce. If you want to make your way there, you will first have to pass through the Northern-most boundary of Yuan Country. Other than the natural threats, the people and divisions there are extremely unweing. Together with the existence of shamans and warriors, even the Yuan Country could not deal with them." After hearing the information, Fang Yuan tried to remember it and nodded his head continuously. "Don¡¯t you worry! Before losing all hope of going there, I wouldn¡¯t recklessly make my way there." He knew that it was no simple task to journey from the maind to Da Qian Empire. This was also why the evil dream master Yang Fan and his own master, Master Wenxin, had decided to hide in the maind. "That you for your advice,dy. We owe each other nothing now!" After obtaining what he wanted, Fang Yuan cupped his fists and thanked her before taking his leave without hesitation. This made Purple Dream very curious. ¡¯The living things actualised from dream worlds are weird, and behind her existence is an extremely skilled dream master. Even though it seems that he might have met with an ident, I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯s really dead. It isn¡¯t a good idea for me to get involved in this.¡¯ Outside the rift valley, Fang Yuan flipped on his horse, his eyes glittering with excitement. He had his takeaways from this journey to the ins. From breaking through to the Meridian Opening Stage, to sessfully defeating both Yuan and Wu Country, and finally the information and tips from Purple Dream, it was all a delight for him. "Next up would be to return to Green Peak spiritualnd to continue my cultivation..." After letting out a long breath, his eyes were filled with determination. Master Wenxin¡¯s regret and whatever he was pursuing could not be satisfied if he stayed in the maind. Da Qian Empire was his stage to perform! Of course, he would not attempt the journey blindly without preparation. Firstly, he had to ustom himself to every corner of the maind and take advantage of all the resources it could provide to him. Only when he had achieved the peak in his cultivation would he try out the journey to Da Qian! Chapter 192: Three Years Chapter 192: Three Years Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Three yearster, at Green Peak spiritualnd. Half of the hill was covered in red; it was nted with the me Jade Rice, and therge rice stalks bent downwards, giving it the feeling of a bountiful harvest. In the sky, many red-eyed white birds were circling, flying through the bewildering fog; they were hunting for prey in the mountains. At the bottom of the cliff, the originally small pond was expanded, taking up the shape of a naturalke. The spiritual king fish was swimming about casually, and following it was a school of small spiritual fish. As they were enjoying their time swimming, they asionally spit out water from theke. "As long as my heart is there, I can achieve the state of peace!" In front of the straw cottage, Fang Yuan ced a teapot filled with tea. As he slowly sipped his tea, he appeared to be deep in thought. Even though quite some time had passed, his appearance remained the same from the time he had broken through the Elemental Gathering Stage. "What a pity... I still cannot achieve a breakthrough to reach the Illusionary Divine stage. The Questioning Heart Tea and other spiritual objects have no effect on me now!" In the past three years, Secluded Country and Xia Country ruled the maind, and Fang Yuan was able to obtain a continuous supply of spiritual nts. Level 5 Botany was not to be belittled. This skill of his allowed him to experience many nts evolving special traits, but he was not lucky at all. It was either the special trait evolved was useless, or it was simr to the me Jade Rice. There was nothing special which would catch his attention. "Up until now, even the me Jade Rice can no longer satisfy my needs. However, it¡¯s still a good source of food for the Red-eyed White Birds and the spiritual fish..." Fang Yuan rubbed his chin. The Yang Family¡¯s Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique required him to have a scarily huge intake of food. His Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique was mainlyposed of this Giant Spiritual Technique, and therefore they had simr requirements. With therge amounts of spiritual objects and the me Jade Rice, his cultivation was exceedingly quick at the beginning. However, as time passed, the spiritual objects slowly lost their effectiveness and could only be used to replenish his energy. Fang Yuan guessed that it was his way of consuming spiritual food as staples which resulted in them losing their medicinal properties. There was an easy solution to this. It was to look for even rarer and higher-tiered spiritual objects. However, on the maind, it was almost impossible to find a spiritual object that had an effect on Fang Yuan. There was another solution; to do alchemy and make spiritual pills. In fact, Fang Yuan was already using this method. After wasting much spiritual medicine, he felt a huge improvement in his alchemy technique. He was already extremely well-versed with the Fire Hand Palm, and there was no doubt that he could go out and convince others that he was an alchemy master. However, even though he had a lot of spiritual objects in his hand and had an extensive collection of them, there were only a few spiritual pills that were beneficial to him. Even if Fang Yuan were to snatch over those useful spiritual pill forms, he would slowly consume them till they had no effect on him. Moreover, he generously fed the me Jade Rice and other spiritual objects to the birds and fish, and this must have given him something in return. It might be due to the spiritualnd or due to the spiritual objects that the original poption of the Red-eyed White Birds slowly recovered. Even for theke beneath the cliff, Fang Yuan had painstakingly caught a few silverfish and kept them in theke before they became more active. "With the help of the spiritual pills and spiritual objects, I have finally formed half a spiritual meridian. It will be up to today to see if I can form the remaining! With anticipation in his eyes, he stood up and walked to the spiritual medicine garden. This ce was expanded and was very much different from the past. It housed many valuable and rare spiritual nts, as well as many nts which have evolved their special trait. If any alchemy master from the maind were to stumble upon this spiritual medicine farm, he would probably go crazy over it, but this ce was nothing special in Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes. As he came to the spiritual medicine garden, he noticed a small tree with a bark that was jet-ck in colour. It was as though the small tree was smelted by metal. On the branches of the tree, red and round fruits were hanging, and there was a clear fragranceing from it. The fruit had a unique shape. It had the appearance of a red date but it was muchrger. There was a hint of green on the otherwise red fruit. "Chirp chirp!" "Keke!" The Red-eyed White King Bird, Iron-tailed ck Eagle and the Flower Fox Ferret were squatting at one side, looking in anticipation. "The Vermilion Fruit tree... It¡¯s finally maturing, what a long wait!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes welled up. The maturity period of this fruit tree was too long; even he himself almost lost confidence in it. The good thing was that there was another of it by its side for him topare and monitor the growth of the tree, and he had finally arrived at this moment. "Whooo!" At noontime, something miraculous happened. The green colour of the Vermilion Fruit slowly disappeared and the fragrance of the fruit became stronger by about 10 times! The flock of Red-eyed White Birds became frenzied, and even the Spiritual King Fish in theke was whipping its tail on the surface of theke, showing its dissatisfaction. "The Vermilion Fruit, it¡¯s ripe!" Fang Yuan was excited and reached his hand out to pluck one of the Vermilion Fruit, before stuffing it in his mouth. "Kacha!" It was as crunchy as a ripe apple, and the bitten Vermilion Fruit had a crescent moon mouth shape on it. The fruit was filled with juice. "Gulu!" As Fang Yuan swallowed, a gush of warm energy flowed down into his belly, transforming into a pure spiritual energy! The Vermilion Fruit was ssified as a Mystery Grade spiritual nt, and consuming it directly would be beneficial. Without wasting the opportunity, Fang Yuan closed his eyes and harnessed the huge amount of energy in him. "Rumble!" A strong force exploded in Fang Yuan¡¯s body, and amidst the gushing wind, a spiritual meridian formed on his chest and it was extremely distinct. "Ch!" Following, another spiritual meridian appeared on his back and glowed brightly. Furthermore, another faint spiritual meridian started to appear on his right arm, albeit only about a tenth of an actual spiritual meridian. In his stats window, the original [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 3 (51%))] jumped and became (Grade 3 (55%))! "Such an improvement? Unbelievable!" Fang Yuanughed heartily and picked up the Vermilion Fruit, stuffing the rest of it in his mouth. "Hmph..." As he continued to improve in his cultivation, the spiritual meridian on his right arm became increasingly bright, as it started to form. As the number jumped erratically, the proficiency points of Grade 3 suddenly exploded and became 70%! "Ah! Not enough! Barely enough!" As his eyes opening wide, the veins on his forehead popped out. He could feel that the spiritual energy in his body had stabilized. Forcefully, he grabbed another Vermilion Fruit and stuffed it into his mouth. "Rumble!" Spiritual energy resembling a tsunami was released and a huge pressure made Fang Yuan a little dizzy at the moment. With the assistance from such a spiritual force, the third spiritual meridian formed and disappeared within his body. "The third meridian of Wu Zong, I¡¯ve done it!" He looked at his stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 30 Spirit: 30 Magic: 9.9 Profession: Dream Master Cultivation: [Dream-building Master (Peak of Elemental Gathering Realm)], Wu Zong (Third Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 4) (1%)], Ecstasy Spell, Shadowstep Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "The third spiritual meridian! Together with my initial Second Elemental Force, I am at the Fifth Elemental Force!" The Illusionary Divine Stage of a dream master was a huge step. Even though he might be stuck in his cultivation as a dream master, he was far ahead of everyone else in terms of martial arts. The world was an interesting ce. With so many coincidences happening on him, even Fang Yuan would be lost for words. As he looked at the sparse Vermilion Fruit tree and the few spiritual beasts beside him who were all in shock, he smiled helplessly. "The remaining fruits would not be enough for me to form the fourth spiritual meridian... Furthermore, I have a feeling that the resources in the maind are slowly bing useless to me!" To a highly skilled person in the Elemental Gathering Realm, the maind was not a ce which would aid in their cultivation. Spiritual nts were at most of Mystery or Yellow Grade and had limited properties. The spiritual pills produced were also not the ideal pills everyone would want their hands on. He had the strong urge of disregarding everything and embark on his journey to Da Qian Empire. "To think about it, the Questioning Heart Tea has lost its effect on me, and same goes to the me Jade Rice. If the Vermilion Fruit end up the same as well, I don¡¯t really have a choice..." Fang Yuan did his research on this phenomenon. After reading many ancient records and through his detailed predictions, his understanding of the maind was slowly deepened. "This maind is desert to spiritual energy. It is scarce in natural elemental energy, and there are only a few who trained from a normal human to be something extraordinary!" The scarcity of elemental energy would lead to a decrease in the existence of spiritual nts, which would cause spiritual knights of the Elemental Gathering Realm to be unable to achieve their breakthrough, and this was a vicious cycle. To break out of this, he either had to change the entirendscape or escape this mudpit. Of course, Fang Yuan did not have the ability to change the entire ce, and therefore he could only choose to escape and find opportunities elsewhere. But before leaving, he had a few things on hand to settle. "Regarding spiritual objects, the spiritual objects here are almost useless to me. Furthermore, I have the Mountain River Pearl and have already stored loads of it..." Things that were stored in the Mountain River Pearl would not rot, and therefore there was nothing to be worried about. "As for the Secluded Country, Xia Country and the group of disciples and subordinates, it would be like firing a shopkeeper... The most important is still master¡¯s inheritance!" Master Wenxin had left behind three portions of inheritance, and Fang Yuan had only inherited two of them. Being stuck before the Illusionary Divine Stage led him to try out different ways to achieve the breakthrough but to no avail. "But now, I have a new breakthrough in my martial arts. Based on what I¡¯ve practised before, I can try my luck!" After thinking, he immediately went to try it out. Fang Yuan came to the Red-eyed White King Bird¡¯s nest in the cave, which was where Master Wenxin had left his inheritance. In front of the purple crystal door. Fang Yuan stretched his hands out, and his dream elemental force surged. However, the door stood still and nothing moved. It seemed that his efforts were put to waste. "The Illusionary Divine Stage is too difficult... Not only does it require talent and hard work, more importantly, it requires an opportunity... thest gate that master had put in ce must be rted to my abilities!" Fang Yuan took in a deep breath and utilized his Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique. Three spiritual meridians appeared on his body before disappearing again. "Ha! Purify Essence into Spirit! Purify Spirit into Magic! Change in type of elemental force!" As he eximed, his martial art elemental force flowed through his spiritual meridian and undergone a miraculous change as it flowed to his forehead between his eyebrows. "Rumble!" As his Zu Qiao shook, something changed. His brute martial art elemental force, through his intentional regtion, had turned into the iprehensible dream elemental force. Like a huge river, the dream elemental force flowed into the purple crystal door. 15 minutes! 30 minutes! After 45 minutes, the door finally moved! Chapter 193: Yuan Sect Chapter 193: Yuan Sect Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Buzz! Buzz!" The originally stiff purple crystal door started to glow, and the glow started to swirl. As the door was pushed open, there was only a stone wall behind; the entire ce was barren. Fang Yuan licked his lips and took out the jade. "Whoosh!" Suddenly, many gold words appeared on the stone wall. Like tadpoles, they became a glow of light and entered the jade. "Fang Yuan, my disciple..." At the same time, a faint light appeared, forming the shape of an old man wearing a crown. "Master!" Even though he knew that that was not the real master, he still respectfully bowed. "If you can reach this stage, it means that you have achieved a breakthrough to the Elemental Gathering Realm, very good!" Wenxin, no! Master Heartless stroked his beard and looked down. He was filled with emotion, and it did not seem like a simple imagery. "I will teach you everything that I¡¯ve learnt! After achieving a breakthrough to the Elemental Gathering Realm, you should be the strongest in the maind. I¡¯m sure you¡¯d harbour thoughts of going to the Da Qian Empire, am I right? If that is so, I can trust you to handle some of my unsettled business..." After hearing Master Heartless¡¯ exnation, Fang Yuan became increasingly stressed. "Remember, before you are skilled enough, don¡¯t avenge... me!" Slowly, the light dimmed and Master Heartless¡¯s voice became increasingly soft. Finally, there was silence and thest glow of light fell to the ground and vanished. "I will follow your orders, Master!" Fang Yuan remained solemn. His master was already considered highly skilled among the dream masters; quite ahead of the Illusionary Divine Stage. To think about it, if he were to face his master¡¯s enemy now, he would only be an ant; or to be more urate, an ant with a big head, but still an ant! "I might need to wait until I¡¯ve broken through to the Illusionary Divine Stage and reach the peak of it, or I couldplete the Meridian Opening Stage and form the martial artist Divine Body before I have the rights to think about revenge!" Fang Yuan kept the jade properly, and there was a fire burning in his eyes. "The Illusionary Divine stage is too hard to break through, and for martial arts wise, I¡¯m slowly approaching a dead end once again..." This was his sentiment after forming his third spiritual meridian. After all, most parts of his Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique was discovered by himself. The only reference he had was the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique and the parts on Meridian Opening. Other than that, the various books he had read through in the governor¡¯s office were not detailed and did not have much value for him to take reference. He didn¡¯t even get his hands on the book which described forming the martial artist Divine Body. This resulted in him not being able to swiftly advance in his cultivation, and every step he took was an arduous one. "In Meridian Opening, the first three meridians can be grouped together and are bottlenecks to be broken through before one can form them. However, the difficulty of forming the fourth spiritual meridian is much higher than the first three, and it would be too scary to imagine how I would break through to form the 7th spiritual meridian. But if I manage to do it, I would be a respected even in Da Qian Empire..." Fang Yuan looked at his stats window and was deep in thought. He was stuck regardless if it was his martial arts cultivation, his dream master cultivation, or even his skills. His entire cultivation seemed to have arrived at a ¡¯huge bottleneck¡¯. The ce he lived in was small and there was not enough elemental energy. This had already caused him some problems in advancing further. "I am only Level 3 in Medicine. Even though I¡¯ve saved countless lives in the past three years, it is still the same. As for Botany, the spiritual nts I have are of low grades and are no longer able to help me in breaking through..." Fang Yuan sighed and left the cave. He returned to a specific spot at the boundary of the spiritual garden. Over here, thend was barren. There was a thickyer of silver shavings forming the shape of a wreath. That was all. There were no signs of any nt life. "This is the only chance I have at breaking through my Botany skill, but it¡¯s a pity..." As his eyes glittered, Fang Yuan raised his right hands and grabbed the soil. "Whoosh!" The ground beneath split, revealing a jet-ck seed that was underwhelming, and the seednded in his hands. This was one of the treasures he had obtained from Lu Renjia¡¯s secret mansion. Lu Renjia was indeed a famous alchemy master. His assets were extremely valuable and all his spiritual pills aided Fang Yuan in his breakthroughs. The hide of the Star-eyed Leopard was slowly made into a piece of armour in the past three years, and Fang Yuan wore it inside him ever since. This seed was very mysterious. Fang Yuan guessed that it might be of Earth Grade or even Heaven Grade since even the energy from it could help Fang Yuan break through his Botany bottleneck. If it could germinate, it would surely aid Fang Yuan in breaking through once more. In the past three years, Fang Yuan had resorted to all means, but the seed remained as such, which was disappointing news. "They might have a way to make it germinate in Da Qian Empire!" With this thought, Fang Yuan¡¯s hand glowed and the seed was kept safely in the Mountain River Pearl. "These Vermilion Fruits are now useless to me, split it among yourselves!" After finishing up, Fang Yuan came out and saw the three spiritual beasts waiting outside. "I¡¯ll be leaving for quite some time. Take care and guard this piece of spiritualnd for me!" "Keke!" Thinking about this, the Flower Fox Ferret became anxious. He rushed towards Fang Yuan and nibbled on his robe. The Red-Eyed White King Bird and the Iron-tailed ck Eagle disyed their reluctance as well. "Alright, be good!" These three spiritual beasts already had the cultivation levelparable to a 12th Gate martial artist. However, they have yet to break through to reach Wu Zong. After all, the gate to unlocking elemental force was not easy to begin with. How could they easily achieve it? "I¡¯ll miss the three of you, but it will be troublesome to bring the three of you along..." Fang Yuan sighed. It was much convenient if he could ride on the birds and fly. However, this journey of his would require him to go through the extreme North of the ins where strong gusts of winds would be constantly blowing, making it extremely arduous to fly. Furthermore, in Da Qian Empire, spiritual beasts which have not attained Wu Zong were of not much use. He would rather leave them at home to practise by themselves. Who knows, since Green Peak spiritualnd was mystical, together with the spiritual nts, he mighte home to a surprise. Of course, he had to settle tons of other stuff before he could go. "Let¡¯s go!" He leapt onto the Red-Eyed White King Bird andmanded it to fly. In an instant, the Red-Eyed White King Bird spread its wings and flew into the clouds. .... Secluded Mountain Prefecture City. After going through an expansion, this ce was now the capital city of Secluded Country. The city spread out like a spider web and pathways stretched across the city. There were many people and the entire ce was prosperous, much more prosperous than before. "Chirp chirp!" The Red-Eyed White King Bird was rather familiar with this ce as it flew above the city walls towards the pce. "It¡¯s country governor, sir!" On the city walls, the soldiers on patrol started to kneel down and paid their respects in the direction of the white bird. "Greetings, sir!" Before the pce, Niu Dingtian, Zhang Qingfeng and the others had gotten news of Fang Yuan¡¯s arrival and made their way to receive him. This included Zhou Wenwu, Chen Qing, Yu Xinlou and the other ministers. "Forget about all these useless greetings!" Fang Yuan came down from the bird¡¯s back and waved his hands casually. "How¡¯s the country?" "With your reputation and the close partnership with Xia Country, everything is fine. Justst month, we have received gifts from Wu Country!" Niu Dingtian reported respectfully. "As for the internal affairs, we have taken in the refugees, allocated barrennd for farming and set up another caravan. Trade has been blooming too ever since the previous war. Now that we have another new piece of territory from the Wu Country, the people have started to move there. 10 years is all we need to be the strongest country on the maind!" As he spoke, Zhou Wenwu¡¯s eyes were filled with excitement. "Mmm, pass the order that I have something important to announce during tonight¡¯s banquet!" Fang Yuan lowered his head and walked into the pce. This was where the original Prefecture Master¡¯s mansion was. After undergoing renovation, everything was simple since he was not a person who likes to show off. As he was living in Green Peak spiritualnd, there was no use in decorating the pce with gold and silver. "King!" As the servants and concubine saw him, all of them paid their respects. Especially for the concubines, they were all local and selected by the ministers. They had the perfect body shape and all of them looked at him in anticipation. They all wanted to be Queen. After all, it was weird for Fang Yuan to be King. Although he was the King, he had no wife, no children. This raised a lot of suspicion and the women who were selected to be his concubines got into conflicts, and some of them even died fighting. All of these made Fang Yuan speechless, and he had no choice but to order his subordinates to keep them in check. Only then there was peace. Although he had no restrictions, he was still unwilling to start a family even though he was not religious. After all, he was prepared to go to the Da Qian Empire. If he left his wife and children behind, wouldn¡¯t he be leaving them at risk of harm? Therefore, to avoid this, he decided not to start a family. "To the royal study!" He ordered a servant directly. "Yes, sir!" This servant had a pleasant look, which reminded him of someone. One year after the Lin Family was locked up, Fang Yuan remembered them and ordered Zhou Wenwu to release them. Using his dream master¡¯s technique, he erased Lin Leiyue¡¯s memory, and from there cut all ties with them. As for the alchemy disciple Ling Yin, she was being made a test subject by Fang Yuan. After a few times of altering her memories, she almost became senile. However, she was now loyal to Fang Yuan and was brought to the pce to be a minister. The royal study. After dismissing the servant, Fang Yuan walked in and waited for a while. "Sect Master... we¡¯re here!" A few delicate voices were heard. "Come in!" As the door slowly opened a few people walked in. They had a strong spiritual aura; all of them were Wu Zongs. Among them were twodies. "Greetings, sect master!" As soon as these few people saw Fang Yuan, they bowed and greeted him respectfully. There was ady. In her eyes were mixed emotions of sorrow and resentment, but it was unsettled. Thisdy was Shi Yutong! "Please rise!" Fang Yuan waved his hands. "All of you are elders of Yuan Sect, please disregard the formalities!" Three years ago, not only did Fang Yuan start the Secluded Country, but he had also started a sect of his own. He had created thergest organisation of martial artists in the maind, and it was called Yuan Sect! Members had to contribute to obtain and share martial arts technique, and among them, there were even people achieving the Meridian Opening Stage. The recruitment did not restrict them based on their family background, and therefore many martial artists started to join. It was not the strongest sect in the maind, and from then on, the Secluded Country became the holy ground for all martial artists. Chapter 194: Heart Attack Chapter 194: Heart Attack Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Fang Yuan, who had advanced into the Meridian Opening Stage, was no doubt the strongest martial artist in the maind. With his reputation and the allure of his techniques, coupled with the fact that the requirements to enter his sect were low, it was only natural for Yuan Sect to grow and be stronger. In fact, Fang Yuan believed that Yuan Sect, with all the happenings, had more potential than Secluded Country. Or should I say, a martial artists¡¯ organisation acting like a sect? No one could forever be king of a country, but for these type of organisations, if managed properly, could live up to a thousand years! "We now have a system to receive contributions, and it was well received by the various counties!" "Regarding the search in the archaeological site, it is in progress now. A few martial artists have already reported the location of several secret treasures, including the inheritance which has the details on how to attain the Elemental Gathering Stage!" "Wu Country and Zhu Country have already found out about our bounty. I think we won¡¯t have to wait long before they will offer us a contribution!" ... In front of Fang Yuan, even Wu Zongs had to be on their toes as they reported their findings to him. "Very good!" After hearing the reports, he nodded his head in satisfaction. "I want to initiate a council made up of 9 elders to lead Yuan Sect. When I¡¯m not around, the 9 of you will vote to make decisions, and decide based on the majority!" "Yes, Sir!" These 9 Wu Zongs bowed. In reality, it was alreadymon for Fang Yuan to be absent most of the time. The few elders were already used to handling problems on their own. This was just officialising what they were normally doing. "Are there any updates regarding the secret treasure? I don¡¯t want normal news. I want those that even Wu Zongs find it hard to obtain!" This was Fang Yuan¡¯s n. After putting together the maind¡¯s resources, he wanted to dig up the inheritance. Since Master Wenxin and Yang Fan could escape to the maind, there must be a third person! Or a fourth! Those who were able to make the journey from Da Qian Empire to the maind had to be highly skilled, and had to be at least in the Elemental Opening Stage! If he could discover their inheritance, it would be a huge boost to Fang Yuan. "There¡¯s one in the middle of Yan Country!" Shi Yutong looked up, took a step forward and reported. "Yan Country?" Fang Yuan rubbed his chin and unintentionally noticed her beautiful figure. A smart person will know the right choice in difficult times. After being held captive for many years by Fang Yuan, Shi Yutong finally revealed the secret treasure of Spirit Returning Sect and becamepletely loyal to Fang Yuan. Of course, Fang Yuan wouldn¡¯t admit that his dream-essing technique yed a huge part in converting Shi Yutong. At least, it lessened her hostile intent. Otherwise, it would be a difficult task to convince her. "Yan Country?" Fang Yuan sighed and asked. "Does it have any special characteristics?" "For normal inheritance, like the ones left behind by Wu Zongs, a martial artist at the 12th Gate might not be able to obtain the inheritance, but at least he would be able to make it out alive..." Shi Yutong¡¯s voice was clear like spring water. "But for the one at Yan Country, we have sent 5 12th Gate martial artists, but none of them was able to make it out alive. It¡¯s extremely dangerous!" "Oh?" Hearing what she said, Fang Yuan became interested. A Wu Zong¡¯s inheritance was useless to him. He wanted unique inheritance that even Wu Zongs would have trouble obtaining! Only from there would he have a chance to get what he needed. "I¡¯ll follow you tomorrow!" After a while, Fang Yuan was determined. Quickly, he dismissed the people of Yuan Sect and walked to the main court of the pce. The main court was luxurious and the pirs were decorated with dragons and phoenixes. In the middle was a throne decorated with 9 golden dragons on it. As Fang Yuan arrived, many people were already waiting in the main court. "Greetings, King!" He was wearing in clothes as he casually sat on the dragon throne. Everyone still greeted him respectfully and were on their toes. "Mm, my dear people, do away with the formalities!" Fang Yuan raised his right hand and gave off the vibe of a king. "I am always in meditation and is unable to see to all the country¡¯s affairs timely. Therefore, I am going to initiate a system to select 7 ministers to make decisions on behalf of myself. They will vote to decide on matters..." In reality, it was simr to what he had done in Yuan Sect. By splitting up power for them to manage the sect and country, he would avoid the problem of one person having too much power. Or put in other terms, he could ensure that the power would remain split for a period of time. As such, Fang Yuan would be able to settle issues easily if he everes back one day. Of course, this was all he could do, and the rest was up to fate. If there would be a day where Secluded Country would fall, it would just be a mere pity to Fang Yuan. He scanned across all his ministers. Zhou Wenwu, Yu Xinlou, Zhang Qingfeng, Niu Dingtian... of course, and his two disciples. He would hand this country over to them temporarily. "Master..." Chen Ziying and Lanruo both felt that there was something amiss. After the meeting, both of them stayed behind and waited for Fang Yuan. Lanruo¡¯s eyes were already welled up, as though both of them knew that something was wrong. "Haha... Don¡¯t worry, I am just preparing to meditate for a very very long time..." Fang Yuan rubbed Lanruo¡¯s head. He was not prepared to say the truth. "Master, you cannot abandon me!" Even though Lanruo was already a few years older, she was still like a child. She stretched out her hands and stuck out a little finger. "Promise me!" "Yes!" Fang Yuan promised her as they hooked their fingers together. ... The next day, early in the morning, in sight of many, the Red-Eyed White King Bird flew up into the sky and disappeared into the clouds. "Whooo! Whooo!" The strong wind was gushing by Fang Yuan¡¯s ears. From up above, the entire city and the people looked like miniature toys. "To Yan Country!" Fang Yuan tapped the bird¡¯s head and used his spiritual will to direct it to a certain direction. Afterwards, he took a quick look at the beauty beside him. "Sect Head!" Shi Yutong appeared pale. However, as a Wu Zong, she was still able to handle the intensity of flying. As she saw Fang Yuan looking over at her, she blushed and nodded her head. "For the journey to Yan Country, I have prepared to take a detour to Wu Country first to settle some other matters!" Fang Yuan went straight to the point. "Wu Country?" Shi Yutong asked. "You¡¯re a clever person!" Fang Yuan rattled on. "I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve guessed what I¡¯m about to do, am I right?" Shi Yutong turned pale and replied. "You¡¯re a deep person, Sect Head. How would I dare to guess your intentions?" "I won¡¯t hide it from you. The country governor of Wu Country is trouble, and I¡¯m preparing to kill him!" Fang Yuan continued. "Everything that I¡¯ve established originated from my martial arts, and I¡¯m sure you are aware of this. Therefore, I want you to take good care of Yuan Sect and Secluded Country while I¡¯m gone..." "Yes, Sir!" Shi Yutong replied respectfully. After his repeated hints, she had mixed feelings of love and hatred for Fang Yuan, but could not do anything as she was weaker than him. Before bing confident of taking down Fang Yuan, she would not dare to do anything. "Chirp! Chirp!" At this moment, the Red-Eyed White King Bird let out a long chirp. As Fang Yuan looked down, he realised that they had flown into Wu Country¡¯s airspace. The three mountains in front were surrounding a mountainous city. "We are now in the capital of Wu Country..." Seeing this, Fang Yuan smiled. ... In the pce of Wu Country. Wu Qiankun was reading a book. Suddenly, he had an uneasy feeling as though something bad was about to happen. He paced about in his pce and tossed his ancient book on his red sandalwood table. "Pa!" As the booknded, the surrounding servants shivered in fear and did not dare to breathe a word. They were afraid of being picked on by Wu Qiankun to let out his anger. The situation had been like that since the independence of Secluded Country three years ago. ¡¯Why am I feeling so uneasy today? Did I miss out anything recently?¡¯ Wu Qiankun used to be a valiant warrior and was middle-aged, but not old. However, now, he started to have white hair growing from his sideburns. "All of you, get out! Without any instructions, don¡¯te in!" He frowned as he casually dismissed them. "Yes, Sir!" Hering this, the few servants heaved a sigh of relief. Hurriedly, they left. Wu Qiankun circled a few rounds. Suddenly, he approached his bookshelf and activated a certain mechanism. "Kacha!" A small drawer popped out. Inside were a few spy documents. These were all secretly obtained by ck Ice, and in it were thetest news about Secluded Country. "There shouldn¡¯t be any problem. I¡¯ve treated Secluded Country with respect and even gifted them precious valuables this time. He should be satisfied..." As he mumbled to himself, a fog started to appear in front of him. To him, the existence of such a person was a headache. The good thing was that all of these would soon be history. "Based on ck Ice¡¯s report, from his actions, he doesn¡¯t want to enjoy the riches of his country, nor the 3,000 concubines in his pce. He is just a dumb martial artist with no brains! Soon, we would not be able to satisfy him, and he would surely make his way to Da Qian Empire... Once that happens, it will be my chance!" He clenched his fist and his face became flushed with excitement. "Eh..." Suddenly, he could hear someone breathing in his room. "Who¡¯s that?" Wu Qiankun was left in shock as he threw his teacup on the floor. Swiftly, he held on to a jade piece that was hanging from his chest, and it was glowing red. "Let¡¯s not waste time! Since I have arrived, I would naturally have sealed this ce from the outside world. Normal people will not be able to notice anything!" Two shadows emerged from the darkness. They were Fang Yuan and Shi Yutong. "Oh, its the king of Secluded Country. May I know why you would y such a prank on me?" Although Wu Qiankun was asking calmly, his voice was hoarse like a dead man. "You would know..." Fang Yuan shook his head. "It¡¯s always your enemies that will know you best... Not many of my ministers and subordinates have guessed that I¡¯m about to leave, but you have guessed correctly! Well done! However... I don¡¯t want to keep you alive. You would only cause trouble!" ¡¯This is not good!¡¯ Long before Fang Yuan¡¯s appearance, Wu Qiankun was already slowly retreating. Hearing his words, he sprinted towards the chair behind his table. There was a secret mechanism there which would bring him through a secret tunnel, and would keep him safe by dropping a thousand-pound heavy stone! If the stone were to drop, even Wu Zongs could not escape it. But he was unfortunate because this was Fang Yuan! Even before Wu Qiankun would react, the shadow of Fang Yuan flickered and the next moment, he could feel a stinging pain in his chest. All his spiritual talismans were useless, and soon after, he slowlynded on the ground, his face a hue of purple. After seeing Fang Yuan slowly disappearing, a few momentster, a few servants entered and they were all panicking. "The King has a heart attack!" "Get the Imperial Doctor!" ... The chaos ensued but became softer and softer. After taking in onest breath, he entered darkness for eternity... Chapter 195: Poisonous Dragon Chapter 195: Poisonous Dragon Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Yan Country, in the Poisonous Dragon Lake. This was a famous location in Yan Country and was located in the deep mountains. It was covered in a green poisonous fog, and there were even reports of people seeing a dragon here! The fog was extremely poisonous and there were no signs of life within a 10-mile radius from theke. There was a peak not far from here. A few martial artists dressed in their attire were waiting with anticipation. A man in ck with a scar on his face was looking at the poisonous fog. Grabbing a golden pheasant, he threw it into the poisonous fog. "Ke Ke!" The golden pheasant rapidly pped its wings, fanning the poisonous fog. As it shrieked, it struck fear in the martial artists¡¯ heart. "Pa!" It fell to the ground and was no longer moving. "Whoooo! Whoo!" As the wind blew, spotted feathers were flying everywhere and quickly disappeared. The corpse of the golden pheasant was now just a pool of blood, flowing on the ground. "Oh sh*t, this is indeed a perilous ce!" Scarred Face swallowed his saliva. "Lady Hu San, is it true that there¡¯s an inheritance hiding here?" "Of course!" Ady by his side answered. She was middle-aged and was wearing a leather robe. She had a belt made from cow¡¯s hide and on the belt were 10 flying knives hanging from it. The knives were all extremely sharp and were extremely reflective. "If not for the fact that the poisonous fog was in this 10-mile radius and that it doesn¡¯t spread out, I wouldn¡¯t have dared toe here!" Lady Hu San looked at the green fog and spoke in fear. Her ancestors had received insider information about the inheritance a hundred years ago. No one was able to approach the fog even after many generations of attempts at trying. In fact, this had distracted her family from their jobs and poverty struck them. Therefore, after the uprising of Yuan Sect, thisdy boldly sacrificed herself to the sect. "However... aplishing this would allow me to obtain the thousand-contribution jade, and I can use that to request a good martial art technique from the sect!" Scarred Face licked his lips in envy. "Even the Five Elders of the Li River couldn¡¯t make it back alive. I just hope that the sect¡¯s envoy would not me me!" Lady Hu San smiled helplessly. "Chirp! Chirp!" Suddenly, a ck dot appeared on the horizon. The ck dot was flying swiftly in the sky. As he approached closer, they could tell that it was a huge spiritual bird. It was white-feathered and its eyes were bloodshot, and it appeared proud. The most shocking was the fact that it had the spiritual aura of a 12th Gate martial artist! "Ah! This spiritual bird might just be stronger than the Five Elders of the Li River!" Scarred Face turned pale. "Why would it appear here?" Although the few of them were considered skilled, all of them still suspected that if the bird was to go crazy, it could take all of them out! To be unable to take on a bird after 10 over years of martial arts training? "You¡¯re Lady Hu San?" The giant birdnded and did not move. A voice was heard from the top of the bird. "Greetings, senior!" Lady Hu San walked up and bowed respectfully. Immediately, she saw a man and a woman walking over, as though they were from a painting. "I am Lady Hu San. May I know who you are?" She had already guessed who they were, and her face was flushed. "We are from Yuan Sect. Kudos to your hard work!" Fang Yuan remained silent. Shi Yutong walked up and replied calmly before taking out a piece of Emerald Green Jade. "This is a thousand-contribution jade. You can exchange it for what you want at any branch of the Yuan Sect!" "Thank you, sister!" Lady Hu San received the thousand-contribution jade respectfully and kept it properly. Looking at the jealous looks of those around her, she subconsciously touched her flying knives. She had no doubts that if not for the presence of the two Wu Zongs, these ¡¯old friends¡¯ of hers would risk their lives to get such a treasure on their hands. "Tell me about what happened here!" Seeing Lady Hu San keep the thousand-contribution jade, he continued. "Don¡¯t leave out any details!" "Yes, Sir!" Although he kept mum most of the time, the moment he opened his mouth, Shi Yutong retreated respectfully by his side with her hands behind her back. Immediately, Lady Hu San could tell who the real master was, and a chill went down her spine. "Reporting!" Since she did not know Fang Yuan¡¯s true identity, Lady Hu San decided to give her utmost respect. "The inheritance in Poisonous Dragon Lake was first discovered by my ancestor Hu Ying from an old diary. This led to my ancestorsing over to settle down in Green Dragon Country in order to obtain the inheritance. However, due to the fact that the poisonous fog is extremely dangerous, none of us could walk in long enough, even with the help of a spiritual pill as an antidote. Only those martial artist above the Earth Gate could sustain for awhile based on their own ability..." "I had reported to Yuan Sect previously. The sect had deployed the Five Elders of the Li River to investigate. All of them had taken the Life and Death Concoction. In the Concoction were two types of worms, the male and female Concoction Worm. If one of the worms died, the other will not survive... After entering the poisonous fog, everything went smoothly at the beginning. However, after half an hour, all the 5 Concoction Worms outside died, and this meant that all five of them died as well... Forgive us!" Lady Hu San reported, and slowly felt fearful. After all, it was not easy to find five 12th Gate martial artists. "Mm. Bring me the diary!" Fang Yuan waved his hands. Although unwilling, Lady Hu San pulled out an ancient book from her robes and presented it to Fang Yuan. His expression remained unchanged as he slowly read the book. After a while, Fang Yuan lifted his head up and casually waves his hands. "Alright, I am now clear of the danger here. From now on, this is none of your business, take your leave!" Fang Yuan approached the poisonous fog and started to gather his energy. "Buzz! Buzz!" As he gave his elemental energy a form outside his body, he formed a bubble that wrapped around him. Taking arge step, he walked into the poisonous fog. "Chi! Chi!" The thick poisonous fog came to live and stuck itself on the bubble of elemental energy, trying to work its way in. This caused Fang Yuan¡¯s elemental energy to slowly deteriorate. However,pared to his true amount of energy, this was nothing. "Let¡¯s go!" As he called out, Shi Yutong walked forward and waved her hands. A green elemental energy bubble appeared and she walked next to Fang Yuan. Slowly, they disappeared into the poisonous fog. "Projecting elemental energy?!" On the outside, Lady Hu San, Scarred Face and the rest were stunned. When the Five Elders of the Li River came previously, they had to spend almost half a day preparing, swallowing antidotes and spiritual pills. It was not this simple. Furthermore, after all that preparation, they still fell short. "Wu Zong!" Lady Hu San remained in a trance for a while before sighing. "Both of them are Wu Zongs! Indeed, only such a person would be able to tame such a spiritual bird! The only thing is that... the appearance of this senior, and the spiritual bird..." As her eyes widened, she had already thought of a certain possibility. Scarred Face and the rest changed their expressions as well. Looking towards the Poisonous Dragon Lake, their eyes were filled with respect as they mumbled to themselves. "Did Sect Master personally arrive?" ... "Sa! Sa!" In the green poisonous fog, there was silence. The only exception was the shuffling of their feet, and it was weird to hear it in such a silence. After walking 30 metres, the poisonous fog became increasingly concentrated and the stress on the elemental energy bubble was much stronger. Fang Yuan was coping well, but Shi Yutong was struggling beside him as her elemental energy bubble started to glow. "The closer we get, the more concentrated the poisonous fog would be!" Fang Yuan lifted his leg up. There was already a pile of mud on the ground. It was as though the earth here had sumbed to the poison and had started to rot. If not for the fact that Fang Yuan had covered his shoes in elemental energy, they might rot as well. "Although it¡¯s called Poisonous Dragon Lake, in reality, it is just a marsh! Furthermore..." Fang Yuan grabbed forward. "Whoosh!" After a sh, his hands were already filled with green worms. These worms were half an inch long and were glowing in the green light. They also had two pairs of translucent wings and a pattern on its abdomen. It resembled a human in pain ad it was extremely gruesome. "This thing is poisonous and it seems to have the ability to decay your elemental energy. Be careful..." With the flick of his finger, a green mark appeared on the ground. White smoke started to emerge and the ground decayed, revealing a hole. Shi Yutong was shocked beyond words as her expression changed. Although she was also Wu Zong,pared to Fang Yuan, there was still a stark difference. If these green worms ambushed and attacked her, she might not have been able to defend herself. "It seems that the ancestors of Lady Hu San did not record about these worms..." Fang Yuan smiled, took a few steps forward and struck on the ground with his right foot. "Kacha!" As the ground split open, mud flew everywhere, revealing some scattered bones. From the appearance of it and the extent of its decay, it was as though it had died for many years. "The Five Elders of the Li River?" Shi Yutong noticed an iron ring and eximed in shock. "Mmm. They¡¯re incapable and boastful, and no one would¡¯ve guessed that they would die here!" Fang Yuan shook his head and continued forward. "Bloop! Bloop!" The deeper they ventured, the softer the ground. There were scattered pools of green water in the mud, and they were bubbling. As the bubbles burst, a smell of sulphur filled the air. If a normal person or a 12th Gate martial artist were to be here, they might identally fall into the marsh and be swallowed alive. Fortunately, Fang Yuan and Shi Yutong were extraordinary people. Every step they took, they appeared extremely stable. After a while, a greenke appeared in front of both of them. "Chi! Chi!" At this ce, the green fog became less concentrated and visibility was improved. However, Shi Yutong¡¯s elemental energy bubble let out a screeching sound. The original shape that it used to be, the bubble became extremely deformed at this point in time. "The further you¡¯ll go, the more you¡¯ll get!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. "This is the furthest you can go. Wait for me here!" Without waiting for Shi Yutong¡¯s reply, he had already arrived at the surface of theke. "Ssh!" As his right feetnded firmly on the surface of theke, ayer of wave spread outwards. However, it did not sumb to his weight. Walking on water! Even Wu Zongs would find it hard to do this. Needless to say, this Poisonous Dragon Lake was notposed of normalke water. Fang Yuan appeared calm and arrived at the centre of theke. Releasing his magical energy, his face appeared as though he had understood something. "Hiss!" Suddenly, an extremely long but curved silhouette like a bow appeared under the surface of theke! Chapter 196: Water Dragons Pearl Chapter 196: Water Dragon¡¯s Pearl Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Crash!" With a hiss, a giant wave formed in theke which was originally calm. A huge shadow suddenly leapt out from the beneath the water surface and created a mace-like pir of water which was aimed at Fang Yuan. "Hmmm? What a beast, you still dare to attack me?" Fang Yuan chided. 3 spiritual meridians suddenly surfaced in his body. "You..e out!" "Rumble!" He originally possessed an elemental power level of 2. With the addition of 3 levels, his [Essence] reached 30 points! With it being released all at once, the power was sufficient to topple mountains and overturn the seas [1]! "Bang!" Two gigantic hands made of elemental force appeared. With a strike of the w, the pir of water was dispersed. At the same time, the other hand grasped the tail of the shadow and gave it a yank! "Sou!" Amidst the water droplets, a giant snake was tossed from the bottom of theke onto the bank, creating a small tremor in the earth. "This is..." Shi Yutong¡¯s footwork was light and she retreated rapidly. Her face was full of shock as she look at the monstrous snake. The snake was as thick as a water barrel and was covered in emerald green scales. It was more than 30 metres long. More importantly, it had a set of small ws and it had a lump on its forehead. The snake was no ordinary snake. "Dragons and snakes exist deep within the mountains... ancient snakes possess spiritual energy and can transform into a water dragon in 500 years!" Shi Yutong¡¯s expression changed. "This is...this is a water dragon!" Given the water dragon¡¯s spiritual aura, it was a stretch to ssify it as a dragon. "Its horn is not yet fully grown and cannot even be considered a young dragon. It is a snake monster at most!" Fang Yuan rode a wave forward even though he appeared uninterested. "Hiss!" The giant snake[2] raised its body and held its head high, its pupils full of suspicion as it looked at its enemy. It hissed menacingly once again. What made Shi Yutong bbergasted was the fact that while the snake was extremely vicious, it appeared timid in front of Fang Yuan. "It seems that you have achieved spiritual awareness. I do not want to kill as well. Be good and hand over that person¡¯s inheritance...and I will spare your life, how about that?" Fang Yuan slowly moved forward as he tried to strike a deal with the snake. "Hiss!" The water dragon was enraged. It opened its jaws. "Whoosh!" An emerald green fog appeared and float towards Fang Yuan. Wherever the fog passed, the ground made a hissing sound and white smoke emerged. In a sh, the ground where the fog passed dissolved. It was apparent that the poison was unmatched. The inheritance was important to the snake and it would go to great lengths to protect it! "What a poisonous creature!" Fang Yuan¡¯s expression remained unchanged. He heaved a sigh and shook his head. "It seems that this Poisonous Dragon Lake was created by you?" The spiritual meridians on his body shed and formed a multi-coloured armour which surrounded his entire body. The poisonous fog was unable to prate it and Fang Yuan dashed through the poisonous fog, appearing before the giant snake. "Hiss!" The snake hissed as it used its tail like a giant mace and struck down on Fang Yuan. "Giant Eagle w!" Fang Yuan¡¯s left hand formed the shape of a w as he struck viciously. Compared to the giant snake that was over 30 metres in length, Fang Yuan¡¯s small frame appeared to be like an ant¡¯s. However, with a strike from his w, his elemental force ripped through the air, creating a tremor. The snake¡¯s tail was struck open and arge number of scales, stained with the snake¡¯s poisonous blood, crashed and shattered against the ground. "Sect head..." Shi Yutong saw the sh between the snake and Fang Yuan from the side and realized that although she was a Wu Zong, she was unable to help. The prowess of the two of them was far beyond what she had imagined! "This piece ofnd has many dangers. If the master is not here, the snake would not budge even if a few Wu Zongs were here..." She swept the entire area with her eyes as suspicions clouded her beautiful facial features." It is just...where is the inheritance?" The surroundings were filled with nothing but highly toxic marshes with a smallke. "Unless it is at the bottom of theke..." A horrific thought appeared in Shi Yutong¡¯s mind. If that was truly the case, one would have to dive into the poisonouske water to search for the inheritance and at the same time, dodge the attacks of the snake. Even a Wu Zong would be heavily wounded or killed if he was not careful. "Whoosh!" Unknowingly, the surrounding was filled with white fog. It was thick and advanced and retreated, like amon fog in the mountains. However, Shi Yutong knew the real danger of the fog and had experienced it before. She hastily retreated. ¡¯This Bewildering Fog was the spiritual technique of the Sect Head...it is able to confound the senses of even a Wu Zong and ....¡¯ Shi Yutong hastily fixed her eyes on the snake monster. The fog surrounded Fang Yuan and the snake as they battled, and seeped into the scales of the snake. However, Shi Yutong was astounded as the movement of the snake did not appear to be affected by the Bewildering Fog. "Hmmm?¡¯ Fang Yuan also noticed that the fog had no effect on the snake as well. A blinding sh of light shed in the lump on the snake¡¯s head. The monstrous snake¡¯s resistance against the Bewildering Fog momentarily increased exponentially. "ording to the norm, while the snake is stronger than an ordinary Wu Zong, it is a spiritual beast and as such, its mind is simple. It should be easily affected by the fog..." Fang Yuan looked on, deep in thought. "Unless it possesses a treasure that protects it!" "Hiss!" As the light on its head started to flicker, the snake covered its entire body with the poisonous fog that it spat out. With a vicious flick of its tail, it tried to escape towards theke. Its preferred battlefield was still the bottom of the poisonouske! "Do you think that I only have these few tricks up my sleeves?" Fang Yuanughed, both hands making a grab for the snake. "Come back!" "Whoosh!" The surrounding fog condensed into chains and trapped the snake. The snake possessed immerse strength and as it struggled, many chains broke one by one. However, the broken chains started to rbine and restrict the movement of the snake. "Ha!" Fang Yuan muttered the incantation and a huge amount of white fog gathered before him, forming a wall of white fog. "Go!" An immense pressure nketed the entire area. He looked at the monstrous snake before sending the wall of white fog towards the snake. In an instant, it arrived before the snake. "Hiss!" The snake¡¯s scales were raised. It was restricted by the chains and was a huge target. There was no chance that it would be able to escape. In that crucial moment, the lump on its head released a blinding light and cascaded over its body like a screen of water, protecting it. "Crash!" The next instant, the wall of white fog was shattered and there was ayer of fog covering the earth. The st from the impact was channelled outwards and even dispelled the poisonous fog that was nearby. Shi Yutong¡¯s martial arts were raised to her limits. Her ears were ringing and she lost her orientation. It was only after a while before she became aware of the situation. All she saw two long marks on the ground. She was only affected by the aftershock and her defense almost crumbled. She was flung back over 30 metres and almost sustain serious injuries! "What happens to that giant snake?" She lifted her gaze and saw that there was arge crater where the snake originally was. Theke water flooded into the crater and at the bottom of the crater was the giant snake. Its scales were shattered and a w was broken. It looked very pitiful. Fang Yuan stood before the snake and looked like a deity. "There is no need to pretend. This small injury is nothing!" He arrived before the snake and looked on mockingly. He had barely finished his sentence when the snake red at him with vicious intent and used its remaining w to strike him. "Crash!¡¯ The earth shook and a w print appeared on the ground. "Sou!" Fang Yuan transformed into a shadow and evaded the attack before arriving at the lump on the giant snake¡¯s head. "The snake is strange mostly because of this lump!" He was suspicious. 3 spiritual meridians appeared on his body and the sheen of his armour intensified. "Hiss!" The giant snake started to il wildly as it tried to fling Fang Yuan from its head in order to protect the lump. "Hehe..." Fang Yuan remained rooted, his left hand transforming into a de. His face looked indifferent as he brought the de down. "Pop!" The de shed. Amidst the shrieks of the monstrous snake, the lump on its forehead split open, its poisonous blood sttered onto Fang Yuan. "Chh chh!" Its poisonous properties were much more fearsome. Even though the defences were formed using the power of the spiritual meridians, the elemental force was dissipating at an rming rate with a "chh" sound. "Giant Eagle w!" Fang Yuan took a deep breath before channelling his elemental force onto his left arm. He plunged his hand straight into the lump, towards the source of the light and closed his hand on a spherical object. "Hiss!" Beneath him, the giant snake started to thrash about and even m its head on the ground. "Come out!" That spherical object appeared to be connected to multiple blood vessels like an old tree where its branches are intertwined. Fang Yuanughed and using his elemental power level 5, severed the meridians and yanked out the object! "Chhh!" A jet of blood spurted out as the giant snake gave a pitiful cry before falling limply to the ground as if all the bones in its body were removed. "This is..." Shi Yutong stepped forward and confirmed that the snake was gravely injured from its weak spiritual aura. She then looked at Fang Yuan who was gracefully floating down. In his hand was a blue pearl which had some blood stains and threads of remnants on it. "If my guess is correct, this pearl is a rare treasure. The snake might have possessed magical properties. However, it was only after being exposed to the pearl that the snake started to disy signs of transformation..." Fang Yuan wiped away the bloodstains to reveal the original look of the rare treasure. It was the size of a fist and was blue. Flickering golden threads could be seen within the pearl. "Dragon Pearl?" Shi Yutong pondered before speaking the name of a rumoured legendary treasure before correcting herself. "No..." "It is not a dragon pearl but a water dragon pearl. However, I suppose you can call it....." Fang Yuan shook his head before turning to leave. "Hmmmm?" Shi Yutong was startled. "Sect Head, What about the inheritance?¡¯ She did not forget what Fang Yuan set out to get. "It¡¯s here!" Fang Yuan looked at the pearl in his hand and smiled. The predecessor disyed originality by hiding the inheritance within the pearl. If Fang Yuan¡¯s magical energy was not extraordinary, he would not have realized it. As for the snake, without the pearl, even if it was able to survive, its prowess would be greatly diminished and it would not be of much use. [1] A Chinese idiom suggesting that the something, in this case, power was enormous. [2] snake monster, snake and water dragon are used interchangeably to describe the water dragon based on the original text of the author. Chapter 197: Golden Body Chapter 197: Golden Body Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Deep in the night. The room was bright like day as the lights filled the entire room with radiance. This was the maximum potential of the Bright Moon Pearl. However, when the Bright Moon Pearl waspared to the object in Fang Yuan¡¯s hand, it paled inparison. It was like passing of fish eyes for pearls. "Dragon pearl, dragon pearl...in this world, there might indeed be dragons...if those exist, then water dragons and the likes exist as well!" The world was vast. The maind that Fang Yuan was living in was just a small, remote and deste corner of the world. Because of its location, the elemental energy of the heavens and earth was low, resulting in it bing a forgotten ce unworthy in the eyes of those in power. However, things were different in the centre of the world, for example, where the Da Qian Empire was located. Fang Yuan stared at the pearl in his hand. A blue light constantly swirled around and epassed the pearl with a brilliance that was able to captivate onlookers. "This does not just contain the water dragon¡¯s energy, it is very much like the jade and contains a spiritual will as well!" Fang Yuan closed his eyes and channeled his immense spiritual will into the pearl. "Roar!" Within the pearl, there was chaos. Suddenly, a dragon¡¯s shadow appeared. It had a snake¡¯s body and a fish tail, with a single horn on its head. The dragon had 4 limbs with 3 ws each. It was a standard green water dragon! It witnessed Fang Yuan¡¯s spiritual will and was momentarily enraged. With a roar, it pounced on Fang Yuan. "Hmmmph! You dare to be mischievous with such a small water dragon aura?" Fang Yuan¡¯s spiritual will rumbled like a passing storm. "Boom!" Multiple giant streaks of lightning appeared and struck the water dragon. The green water dragon gave a pitiful cry before it dissolved into purple energy which was dispelled. "Reveal yourself!" Fang Yuan¡¯s spiritual will continued to probe and amidst the chaos, a string of golden words appeared. ¡¯My name is Nie Kuang, from the central province of Da Qian. I used the Hundred Poison Golden Body to cause chaos in the world. The future generations must continue to spread my name and let the world know that my way is neverending...¡¯ The words were clustered together and the beginning was an autobiography. "Nie Kuang?" After a while, Fang Yuan opened his eyes and kept the pearl. "This Hundred Poison Golden Body is really so powerful?" The inheritance within the pearl was a martial arts manual. Fang Yuan was disappointed as the technique was not like the Da Qian Giant Spiritual Technique which talked about opening meridians and achieving the Divine Body. At his peak, Nie Kuang was just an ordinary Wu Zong who had not opened his spiritual meridians. However, he had the blood of a spiritual knight in the Elemental Opening Realm in his hands! It was because of this that Nie Kuang had no choice but to travel far away to a secluded area to escape from trouble. "An ordinary Wu Zong who managed to kill a spiritual knight in the Elemental Opening Realm?" To Fang Yuan, that was like an ant biting an elephant to its death! "If the Hundred Poison Golden Body was like what he described, I suppose that there is still a possibility!" ording to what Nie Kuang described, he came from a small martial arts sect and possessed an inheritance of his own. He had an ancestor who was able to breakthrough to be a Wu Zong, but due to the shorings of his technique, was unable to reach the Meridian Opening Realm. The ancestor was unhappy andter on, made a vow to create a technique able to rival that of a meridian opening technique. This ancestor¡¯s martial arts prowess was not up to mark. However, his skills lie in medicine and poison. After toiling for his entire life, he finally developed a technique that became the Hundred Poison Golden Bodyter on. This technique used all types of objects with poisonous properties andbined it with the flesh of the martial artist, bringing out their hidden potential and increase the strength of the body. While the martial artist would not be able to enter the next realm, his strength would beparable to that of a Wu Zong who had entered the Meridian Opening Realm. Truth be told, this was a technique that was only focused on strengthening the body. Although the objects used were very rare, this method was viable. ording to Nie Kuang, although he had never managed to open his spiritual meridians, his body was so strong that at his peak, he had an elemental power level of 7, unable to be wounded by swords and spears. His body was imprable by fire and water and even the spiritual spells of a spiritual knight in the Elemental Opening Realm was nothing to him! That was something really impressive! "The Giant Spiritual Technique of the Yang Family can only increase the elemental power level by 1 and it is considered impressive. This Hundred Poison Golden Body is able to increase the elemental power by 6 levels?" Fang Yuan stroked his chin. "This is not bad indeed. It is just that..." If this technique had no shorings, everyone in the Da Qian Empire would be practising this technique. How is it possible that not even the descendants know about this technique? With a look at the prescription required, Fang Yuan was able to guess the reason. "Jade Bone Dark Flower? Heavenly Fragrant Bone Burning Grass..." Fang Yuan had never heard of these poisonous nts before. There was one ingredient that he had heard of, Nine Festival Jade Sweet g, which was an earth grade spiritual nt! "This technique requires too many resources and the results are not directly proportional to the resources used!" Fang Yuan shook his head as he figured out the shoring of this technique. While the technique was indeed strong, it required a terrifying amount of resources. The resources used to nurture Nie Kuang was sufficient to train up a few spiritual knights in the Elemental Opening Realm and Wu Zongs in the Meridian Opening Realm! Furthermore, a Wu Zong in the Meridian Opening Realm need not be afraid of this technique. After opening the spiritual meridians and attaining the Divine Body, the physical body would simrly be strengthened and be more powerful than using the Hundred Poison Golden Body. With thisparison, those sects that still trained the disciples with the Hundred Poison Golden Body technique could be considered foolish. "Based on how this person spoke and acted, this is a technique spread and used by an evil sect...to swindle and forcefully take what belongs to others to benefit themselves..." Fang Yuan was able torgely guess Nie Kuang¡¯s history based on this technique. "It would be hard to gather the ingredients and undergo the 1st Refining Stage here!" Fang Yuan stroked his chin. "However, this might be possible for me...!" This technique did not require the opening of the spiritual meridians and instead focused on the training of the physical body. To an ordinary Wu Zong, this technique was of no use. However, Fang Yuan had incredible botanical skills and as such, he did not give up. He knew the advantages of strengthening his physical body as he had used rough techniques to breakthrough to be a Wu Zong. "The Hundred Poison Golden Body is split into the 1st, 10th and the 100th Refining stage. Every stage requires the use of poisonous objects...after the 1st Refining Stage, the physical body will gain an increase in 1 level of elemental power. The body will then be impervious to hundreds of poisons. Nie Kuang was in the Tenth Refining Stage. As a result, his body was tough as steel and resistant to Elemental Opening spiritual spells and his elemental power level increased by another 5 levels!" "As for the Hundredth Refining Stage, it is just a conjecture. Not even Nie Kuang¡¯s ancestor was able to achieve it. It was not because he was unable to learn the technique but rather, the resources needed was too much!" Fang Yuan clenched his teeth and made up his mind. "I do not need to rely on the Tenth or the Hundredth Refining Stage. However, it would be good to have another set of technique for self-defense on my road to Da Qian. I will practice this technique before making my way there!" To him, it was a bonus for him to obtain this Hundred Poison Golden Body technique. ... As Fang Yuan was the emperor in this area, people would tend to whatever he needed. When he returned to the capital of Secluded Country, the whole country was abuzz with activities when they received the news of what Fang Yuan required. All sorts ofmon, umon poisonous objects from across the world and even from the ins were sent to the pce. "The 1st Refining Stage is the easiest stage of this technique!" Within the pce, ayer of green fog lingered, taking on the shape of a dragon and a snake. The green fog was trapped by the spiritual inscriptions at the side. Fang Yuan stared at the multiple cauldrons in front of him, each holding medicinal liquids which gave out fragrances that were able to captivate onlookers. However, they were all poisonous! There were snow mountain spiders, green bamboo five-paced vipers, 3-eyed peacock guts and spirit-chasing scorpions... In addition, there were also Cruel Sky Flower, Earth-rotting grass and Intoxicated Orchids... There were all sorts of known and unknown poisonous objects that were first refined multiple times before being ced in the cauldron and the process continued. An ordinary person would surely die when hees into contact with the poison! Even a Wu Zong might be poisoned to death! "Furthermore, the required ingredients were not considered too precious and substitutes could be found as well..." Fang Yuan was a famous doctor and after practicing, he was able to carry out the process easily. "Rumble! Rumble!¡¯" After an hour, the fragrance of the medicine started to vanish and Fang Yuan extinguished the mes. The liquid in the furnace had be congruent and be a ck paste. Fang Yuan nodded his head as his smile expressed his joy. Without hesitation, he walked forward and applied the poisonous paste onto his body. "Oh..." When the paste came into contact with his skin, there was a sensation of pain and numbing itch which slowly seeped into his bones. It was as if there were thousands of ants climbing all over his body and biting him. Fang Yuan had experienced this sensation multiple times before. He furrowed his brows and bore with the pain. His body absorbed the poisonous properties and stimted his potential. The technique to attain the Hundred Poison Golden Body was crude and easily managed. "Of course, the most important element of this technique happened to be the Water Dragon Pearl!" After a while, the medicinal properties were slowly absorbed and Fang Yuan¡¯s skin took on a bronze hue. The court was made mostly of rocks and in the middle, arge hole was carved out and filled with boiled medicine. In the middle, the Water Dragon Pearl bobbled up and down, giving off threads of blue light. "This is a true inheritance, with a technique and an apanying treasure to train with! What a pity this is only the First Refining Stage!" Without hesitation and fear, Fang Yuan removed his clothing and jumped straight into the pool. "Whoosh!" The poisonous liquid,bined with the boiling temperature made Fang Yuan feel like he was stabbed a thousand times over. "Good!" Fang Yuan gritted his teeth as he felt his elemental force surging forward towards a barrier. "Bang!" After a while, there was a roar of a dragon and the Water Dragon Pearl in the pool burst open, transformed into a fine powder and entered Fang Yuan¡¯s body. "Roar!" Fang Yuan¡¯s nose trembled, emitting a roar simr to a dragon¡¯s. He suddenly leapt out of the pool and looked at his hands, his expression jubnt. "I have sessfully attained the First Refining Stage!" Chapter 198: The Journey Chapter 198: The Journey Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Are there any changes to my stats window?" After sessfully breaking through the 1st Refining Stage, Fang Yuan looked at his stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 36 Spirit: 30 Magic: 9.9 Profession: Dream Master Cultivation: [Dream-building Master (Peak of Elemental Gathering Realm)], Wu Zong (Third Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 4) (1%)], Bewildering Spell, Shadowstep, Hundred Poison Golden Body (1st Refining) Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "Hundred Poison Golden Body - A secret form of martial art, and is based on using extreme poison to trigger the body¡¯s potential, increasing physical strength. Currently at the 1st Refining Stage, and gained one elemental power level. The physical condition of the body is strengthened, and body is now resistant to all types of poison!" "Resistant to all types of poison..." Fang Yuan rubbed his chin. "I¡¯m afraid the ¡¯all types¡¯ of poison only include themon types of poison. If I encounter spiritual poison or deadly poison... I might still sumb to it, even if I¡¯m at the 10th Refining Stage or 100th Refining Stage!" He looked at his own body. After sessfully breaking through the refining stage, his became slightly taller and his muscles were more defined. His skin was tight and had a bronze hue. With any movement, his joints crackled, releasing an immense amount of energy. "It seems that I will no longer need to use my elemental force and just use my physical body to be still able to defeat a Wu Zong!" Fang Yuan clenched his fists tightly, and there was satisfaction in his eyes. "I can leave the affairs of the country and the sect to the ministers and elders..." He walked out of the pce and passed down a message to the ministers and elders, reminding them to behave in his absence. After which, he called for the Red-Eyed White King Bird and flew back to Qingye City. This was where he started all of it, and therefore felt different from other ces. The secluded valley gave him the most memorable memories. He slowly walked to the opening of the valley. "Who¡¯s that? Eh? King!?" A few martial artists carrying long swords came out. As they saw Fang Yuan, they were all in shock and quickly knelt down. "Rumble!" As the news of Fang Yuan¡¯s arrival spread, the entire secluded valley was in chaos. From housekeepers to the servants, everyone paid their respects to Fang Yuan. "So much time has passed since I was here!" The secluded valley appeared the same as before but had its differences now. Fang Yuan shook his head. He turned around and left. The old secluded valley would forever be a memory and would nevere back. "Those that are stuck in the past will never have a future!" Fang Yuan rubbed the Red-Eyed White King Bird¡¯s head. "Old White, I¡¯ll see you!" The secluded valley, secluded country and the entire maind, was but a small part of his life¡¯s journey. He had to start on his new journey. "In my life, I must live spectacrly and find the path to eternity, as well as... the path to the past!" He was still longing for the world he once lived in his past life. "Chirp! Chirp!" The bird seemingly understood Fang Yuan¡¯s determination. As it flew up, it circled the sky and let out a sorrowful chirp... ... The ins in Yuan territory. Since three years ago when Fang Yuan split up the 8 kings, Yuan Country was left in internal conflict and turmoil from that day onwards. The countries from the South worked together to sow discord among the 8 of them and constantly kept each of their influence in check. Although there might be instances of idents, like the death of the 1st Prince Ba Tu, generally speaking, everything was rather stable. The people living in the North finally enjoyed a period of peace. Thend and sky were vast. Fang Yuan quietly came to the North without picking up too much attention. He bought a white horse and galloped straight through Yuan Country, arriving at the Northern Territories. He came to the rift valley near the Sunset Division. As he walked in, he lit up a purple incense. A mild fragrance of sandalwood filled the air. There was a hint of spirituality which slowly dissipated. This was a present he had received from Purple Dream. She had told him that if he ever lit this incense, she would be able to detect it and would appear to meet him. "Where did she go in the past 3 years..." Fang Yuan tied the horse and started to pitch his tent. As he prepared dinner, he thought of Purple Dream¡¯s face and let out a smile. "Her seductiveness would bring trouble to whichever city she may visit..." With the Mountain River Pearl, travelling had be much more convenient for him. Since he had decided to go on a long journey, he had to prepare enough food. Slowly, he started to retrieve charcoal, a metal wok and a structure as he started to cook rice. He was using premium me Jade Rice and the rice grains were huge. As he cooked, the fragrance of the rice filled the air. His horse started to sniff the air and stared at Fang Yuan, as it started to salivate. Although it was only a normal horse, it knew that if it could eat spiritual food, it would be beneficial to it, and it might even give it spiritual awareness. "What a clever beast!" Fang Yuan jokingly chided. No matter how wasteful and luxurious he was, he would not feed an average horse with spiritual food. If this was the Heavenly Horse from the ins, he might consider. Not long after, the spiritual rice was cooked and the smell was invigorating. As the rice glowed a beautiful red, the sunset on the ins was a calming orange, and the entire scene gave Fang Yuan a different feel. He took out his chopsticks and started to eat his dinner heartily. Originally, he should have tried his hands on catching a wild goat to eat, but he was too pampered already. Unless it was a spiritual goat, he would not even bother to try it. "Da da!" "Da da!" As his ears twitched, Fang Yuan looked towards the horizon, where the sky and the ins met. Not long after, a few ck dots appeared on the horizon. In a matter of minutes, they came closer and Fang Yuan could identify two waves of horses, all of which had a person riding on them. There were lesser people in the first wave in front, as though they were running for their lives. The wave of horses behind seemed to be giving chase as they shot a few arrows in an attempt to kill. "War between countries? Personal feud?" Fang Yuan did not care. Everything was fair in this world. He was a person who wouldn¡¯t care much, to begin with. Therefore, he didn¡¯t have any thoughts on helping them this time. After all, the weak might not be kind people deserving of help. However, this time, he was not the one looking for trouble. Instead, trouble was looking for him. The ck smoke, fire and tent were too obvious to be disregarded. Those people who were escaping were subconsciously running towards the direction of Fang Yuan. "Get hold of them!" "Don¡¯t let them run!" The people behind shouted as though Fang Yuan was already on their side. Or rather, they did not care much and shot a few more arrows. "This bunch..." Speechless, Fang Yuan grabbed a handful of rocks and exerted a force on in his right hand. "Kacha!" There was a huge crack on the rocks. As they exploded, they became many pebbles. "Get... lost!" He waved his right hand. "Chi! Chi!" The pebbles flew extremely quickly towards the horses. In mid-air, they rubbed against each other, producing sparks and a screeching sound. It was as though they were as strong as arrows. "Whoosh! Whooosh!" Blood was flying everywhere as the pebbles hit the people on the horses. Regardless if they were running or chasing, all of them ended up the same. Furthermore, even the huge horses started to bleed as they were hit by the pebbles. Both parties were in chaos. As they heard Fang Yuan¡¯s loud andmanding voice, they started to scramble in all directions and did not dare to remain near him. "Mmm! Not too bad!" After chasing away the flies, Fang Yuan dusted his hands with satisfaction. He did not even use his elemental force this time. It was purely his physical strength. Compared to elemental force, he had much more control of it, and he couldst longer. As for the people of the Yuan Country, Fang Yuan¡¯s demonic actions would have left a deep impression on them. ... "Little Prince! That¡¯s not a person! It¡¯s a monster, a demon!" Among the people who escaped, a middle-aged cavalry general reported to a young man. "Stay away from him! As far as possible!" "I..." His young man was dressed like royalty. His face was pale, as though he could not recover after witnessing hell. After awakening from his trance, he held his horse. "No! I want to look for him! This is for revenge, for our people! Even if he has the power of a demon, I still hope we can..." This cavalry general had a lot of experience and guessed that the person was the rumoured legendary warrior from the South. However, the fact that the person would kill so easily worried him. After much thought, he said, "Little Prince, you have royal blood and are our only hope. How can we risk it? We have heard that that demon is ruthless! If you trust me, then let A Yeqi and myself be your messenger to talk to him!" Even though this Little Prince reaffirmed that he was not afraid, he was actually fearful deep inside. After much hesitation, he agreed to the cavalry general¡¯s request. Little did that know that Fang Yuan was there waiting for a person. Afterwards, he would head North, and would nevere back. ... "Purple Dream, you¡¯re here!" After chasing away those people, Fang Yuan waited for a while. At the corner of his eye, he could see a shadow and he smiled. "I¡¯veete, but I¡¯ve managed to see a show!" Purple Dream looked exactly the same as she was 3 years ago. It was as though the heavens were bias towards her, and left her with no signs of ageing. She looked at Fang Yuan with her mesmerizing eyes and sighed. "Is your heart made of steel?" "I am just focused on what I need to do!" Fang Yuan shrugged his shoulders. "On the ins, divisions and tribese and go. If I have to care about every single detail, I¡¯d have to forget about my own cultivation! As for now, I¡¯ve not missed the time, right?" "Nope. This is the time where the chilly winds are the weakest!" Purple Dream nodded her head and started to whistle. A pure white spiritual beast with a little horn on its head started to run towards them. It was like a unicorn, and it looked at Fang Yuan, as though it was guarding against him. "Mm? This horse is not too bad!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and kicked his own horse. Although he had carefully handpicked his horse, it could neverpare against a spiritual beast! As his own horse became triggered by the spiritual aura around, it became fearful. Chapter 199: Icy Gorge Chapter 199: Icy Gorge Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Whooo! Whooo!" As the North wind blew, the elements were harsh. Only a white scene could be seen. Water froze into ice and the flying snow was sharp like a knife. It was like a blizzard hell! This is the chilly winds? Who would¡¯ve thought that this would be how the extreme North of the ins look like!" Fang Yuan wasying on the unihorned beastzily with Purple Dream. As he inhaled, he could smell the mild fragrance from Purple Dream, and a few strips from her robe caressed his face yfully. What happened to the white horse? It was already frozen to death a few hours in the chilly winds. Normal beasts could not handle the harsh elements here. Even Purple Dream¡¯s Unihorn Beast was releasing a white glow from its horn, and the glow covered its body. Not just that, the hairs on its hooves stood on its ends, resembling a huge vacuum. Only then could it traverse on the snow without obstruction. ¡¯To be able to do this meant that it could also walk on water. There was a rumour in Xia Country that there was once an outstanding general with a pet that was able to walk on water. On many asions, it rescued the general from danger, and was known as a lucky animal...¡¯ Ultimately, it felt different travelling with a beauty. Fang Yuan felt a little different in his heart. Purple Dream wasn¡¯t asleep yet. Suddenly, she turned around and in a clear voice, eximed. "This is only the outer boundary of the chilly winds. In order to reach Da Qian Empire, we need to go through the heart of the extreme North. I have already led you around the blizzard. However, you will be by yourself in the depths of the ins, against the wild animals." "You... Are you not going to Da Qian to look for your master?" Fang Yuan could hear Purple Dream¡¯s intention from her voice and asked. "Master... Are you talking about my Almighty Father?" Purple Dreamughed pitifully. "You will never be able to aplish what he had done. I pray for Him and tell Him about all my worries. He has always been with me!" Fang Yuan remained silent. He felt that thisdy in front of him had disyed the signs of bing a mad follower of a cult. ¡¯Will a dream master end up a God?¡¯ He felt that something was not right. It could be because that dream master had passed on, which led to Purple Dream having these thoughts. "Whooo! Whooo!" The Northern winds were extremely strong. A shadow appeared in front. It slowly became bigger and bigger, and finally, it took on the shape of a huge gorge. No! This was not a normal gorge; it was the gate to the Heavens! Two icy cliffs stood on each side, and they were tall as they blocked out more than half of the sky. He could not see the end. "You must be careful. In the icy gorge, there are a lot of dangers. I should put it this way. It is a whole new world altogether..." Purple Dream dismounted from the horse and took a step back. "I can only bring you thus far!" "Many thanks!" Fang Yuan rubbed his nose. If Purple Dream did not help him, he might have wasted too much effort trying to circumvent the blizzard and to locate this ce. "I hope that you can find what you are looking for!" Purple Dream smiled, turned around and leapt on her horse. In an instant, she disappeared into the snow. "The dream people... they¡¯re interesting!" Fang Yuan looked in the direction that she went, smiled, and turned around to face the icy gorge. "Whooo! Whoo!" As the chilly winds blew, the coldness within the gorge was extreme due to the fact that it was paved with two icy cliffs on each side. Fang Yuan almost lost his footing to the wind. Fortunately, he was prepared and he exerted a force on his legs, as they held onto the ground like roots. Suddenly, a ck shadow whizzed past him, as though it was fired from a bow pulled back all the way. "Mm?" With his right hand, he caught the object. Immediately, there was a ¡¯kacha¡¯ sound and ice crystals were fragmented. All that was left on his hand was snow. At the entrance of the gorge, the extreme wind could even blow icicles as though they were arrows. This was scarier than any other type of traps! "Icicles?! As this stage, even martial artists of 4 Heavenly Gates would not be able to escape!" Fang Yuan looked at this hand and let out a cold breath. His reaction time, defence, and the speed of his hand was already at a stage which Wu Zongs could only dream of. This was only one icicle. If there were many flying at the same time, even Wu Zongs would be troubled by it, and might even be pierced to death! At this ce, any wounds sustained would lead to the loss of one¡¯s martial arts, and even the blood flowing from the wound would freeze! "I was fortunate to have strengthened my body before I came here. Reaching the stage of 1st Refining Stage is already many many times stronger than a normal Wu Zong!" There was a white sh! Suddenly, in Fang Yuan¡¯s hands were many metal chains. At the tip of the chains were long nails that were thick. The entire thing was heavy and it reflected a silvery ck. All of this was made from Hundred Casted Iron. In the normal world, it could be made into magical weapons, but to Fang Yuan, it was just a tool. "Ha! Go!" As he raised his right hand, he exerted an immense amount of force. The chain, which was a few hundred pounds heavy, spun into a ck ray of light. As he flung it straight ahead, it broke through the icy surface and struck on the stone wall, stuck. "Go!" As he looked at the entrance of the gorge, he walked ahead without hesitation. "Whoosh! Whoosh!" The freezing cold wind was stinging! Furthermore, there were thousands of icicles flying through the wind this time! Nearer to the entrance, the icicles were more concentrated, and it flew at an astonishing speed! "Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!" Fang Yuan retrieved a gigantic metal shield from the Mountain River Pearl and shielded himself. In an instant, he could hear the icicles pelting on his shield, like how raindrops wouldnd on a banana leaf. As the icicles hit his shield, they shattered and soon after, a thickyer of ice formed on this shield. The bone-piercing chill of the ice slowly spread through the metal shield. Even Wu Zongs might freeze to death in such an intense cold! "My physical body is slowly bing unable to withstand the cold!" As he focused, three spiritual meridians appeared on his body. They transformed into ayer of armour and covered his body. "Weng!" With the glow, the previous cold that he felt was mitigated. Not just that, his palms became burning hot like a furnace. As the shield conducted the heat from his palms, there was visible steaming from the front of the shield as the ice started to melt and evaporate. "Again!" Fang Yuan walked to the marking which he had ced earlier on, pulled out the metal nail and swung the chain once more. "Whoosh!" The ck glow was like a ck dragon, and once again, the metal chain was stuck firmly to the stone wall. "At this stage... Even Meridian Opening Wu Zongs might not be able to pass through this ce safely!" At the entrance of the icy gorge where the wind came from, the air current was extremely strong and the air was chilly. Fang Yuan bit his teeth. "This is only the first stage to ovee on my way to Da Qian Empire. I now know why many died here. Firstly, there is no one around here to help. Secondly, not anyone can sessfully pass through the perilous obstacles!" His master and Yang Fan were both dream masters at the Illusionary Divine stage and were both extremely capable. Even Nie Kuang did the impossible. With his 10th Refining Stage of his Hundred Poison Golden Body, he could use brute force to force his way through. Other than these three people, normal Meridian Opening Wu Zongs, or even Elemental Opening spiritual knights would retreat in fear when faced with this natural threat. "Rumble! Rumble!" Another cold and extreme wind came. With the extreme pressure on the metal shield, there was a crack appearing! "What in the world!" Fang Yuan focused. As he released and recovered the metal chain in quick session, he rushed his way through. Even a metal shield casted from Hundred Casted Iron could not withstand against this. Even if he had confidence in his own body, he should have guessed that he would not be able to hold any longer. "Ping!" After walking a few yards forward, there was a huge mess of icicles, icy rocks and icy boulders falling straight down at him. "Dang!" Fang Yuan raised his metal shield, knocking one of the icy boulders away. His arm was left in pain, and he quickly used his elemental force to recover his arm. "Run!" As his eyes glittered, he started to use his Lightness skill and Shadowstep. Avoiding the icy boulders, it was an arduous task to traverse within the icy gorge. asionally, he would encounter boulders which cannot be avoided, and he would use the metal shield to block it with brute force. As for the flying icicles, he could no longer care about them and could only use his physical body to endure. Fortunately for him, he was well built. His Iron Skin Technique together with his First Refining Stage body was indeed an effectivebination. If it was a normal Wu Zong who came, his body would have already been pierced a few bloody holes. "Not just defence wise, but a normal Wu Zong¡¯s elemental force would not be enough as well!" Fang Yuan sighed. Suddenly, his hair stood on its ends. He could feel danger approaching, and suddenly he was ambushed, causing his Mind Pce to shake. "Rumble!" At the peak of the cliff, a huge icy mountain started to crumble. The base of it started to crack up, and like a pir, it smashed its way down, covering the entire sky in the process. "What the... f*ck!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes opened wide. Seeing the shadow engulfing him in, he quickly threw the shield away and ran for his life. ¡¯If I were to be smashed by the icy mountain, I would have zero chance of staying alive!¡¯ As his hands held on to the metal chain, he quickly advanced. He started to harness all the rough breathing techniques he could as he could not care less about the icicles hitting him. Under his elemental force¡¯s protection, most of the icicles were shattered in an instant. "Whooo!" "Whooo!" As the shadow grew bigger, the air current which was initially there was starting to be obstructed as well. "What a joke! I don¡¯t want to end up as a popsicle! Shadowstep!" With all his strength, Fang Yuan swung the metal chain and advanced a few yards at once. His face was flushed and his eyes were bloodshot. "Kacha!" As he leapt out, it was as though he had escaped into another territory. The intense winds were now much milder than before. "Since the middle of the gorge is much wider than the entrance of the gorge, the strength of the wind would naturally be reduced!" It was the perfect opportunity! Without hesitation, Fang Yuan used his Shadowstep, and on everyyer of ice, he left a deep footprint. "Rumble!" The icy mountain crashed into the ground without any reservation, causing a mini earthquake in the vicinity. Shattered pieces of ice and rocks started to fly in all directions. "Whoosh!" A shadow flew past. Fang Yuan¡¯s body escaped the area which the icy mountain crashed into. However, he was still hit by many shattered pieces of ice, and as the elemental force protecting him weakened, many shrapnels of ice struck his back. "Ah!" He let out an exmation. However, he continued to move forward and used the force from the flying shrapnel to further propel him forward. Finally, he reached a safe area. "Phew!" After crossing a crack on the ground, Fang Yuan looked at the pile of mess behind him and felt regretful. "This... Is this the inside of the icy gorge?" After entering the icy gorgepletely, there was apletely new world in front of him. Although the surroundings and the ground were still covered in ice and snow and were extremely tough, this was a whole new world. The intense winds were much milder, and not far from him he could feel the spiritual aura of a living thing. "There is indeed a new world after going through hell!" Fang Yuan let out a satisfactory sigh and his eyes glittered. "Da Qian Empire... I¡¯ming!" Chapter 200: Giant Tiger Chapter 200: Giant Tiger Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions It was a whole new world within the icy gorge. Fang Yuan sprinted 10 miles ahead until he could no longer see the walls of the icy gorge. Only then did he raised his head up and looked at the bright sun. The surroundings were a scenic ice world. The chilly winds were no longer there. There was no more thickyer of snow on the ground, nor there was unbreakable ice. Instead, it was a white coloured kind of soil. There were scattered moss and wild grasses around. Although they appeared small and weak, they were, in fact, the only things with life here. "What a world this is in the middle of the icy gorge..." Fang Yuan sighed. He was extremely clear now. Although it was not visible from where he was, if he were to walk by the sides of the gorge, he could see the cliff walls which extended into the clouds! This enormous icy gorge was like a wine pot. The ends were small, but the middle was extremely wide. Because of this, a unique ecosystem was formed inside of it. "I must pass through this icy gorge in order to reach the Da Qian Empire. If I walk around and make a detour outside of the icy gorge, I would not only waste too much energy, but the chilly winds could tire out even the strongest Elemental Opening spiritual knight!" The icy gorge was too deep. Fang Yuan trotted ahead for quite a distance. The day seemed long. Finally, the sun set and nightfall arrived, but it was unbelievably short. After going deeper and deeper, there seemed to be more forms of life. There were a few groups of trees and the appearance of a translucent white ant. "Such are the miracles of life!" Fang Yuan squatted down and examined the ants; he was filled with emotions. With the flick of this fingers, a stream of energy was released. The ground broke and as a hole appeared, a scorpion the size of a palm crawled out. This scorpion¡¯s body was like jade. It was glistering and raised both of its pincers. It was also wavering its tail as it looked at Fang Yuan. "Icy Jade Scorpion?" Fang Yuan smiled as he identified it. In order to train his Hundred Poison Golden Body, he needed these types of poison. Without any reservations, he flicked his finger once more, this time hitting the back of the scorpion. Although this poison was potent, the scorpion was still useless in front of Fang Yuan. Immediately, it crippled onto the ground and was no longer moving. As a white glow shed, the Mountain River Pearl took in the poisonous creature within it, as though it was not afraid of the poison spreading within it. This spiritual tool that was able to store things brought extreme convenience to Fang Yuan. He could travel anytime he wanted. Seeing the sky slowly darken, he took out his tent and cooking equipment and started to cook his spiritual rice to replenish a day¡¯s worth of energy. ... The icy gorge was huge, it was enormous! Fang Yuan¡¯s endurance was already greater than a thousand-mile horse. However, he had already walked for seven days in a row, without the end in sight. Furthermore, there were asions where he got lost due to his inexperience. "Even the sun¡¯s position is wrong?" Fang Yuan raised his head up in disappointment. He started to suspect if this sun was the same sun as the one in the outside world. At this point in time, he had walked into a forest. The trees here were not very tall, and on the outside, they were coated with a pure white. There were evenyers of frost on some of the leaves. However, there was no spiritual energy around, which meant that these nts were normal nts which evolved special traits. "Whoosh!" In the grass patch, a dark shadow was startled as it flew forward like an arrow. Fang Yuan threw some rocks from his hand. "Whoosh!" As the rock sparked aftering in contact with the air, it flew straight like a bullet and hit the shadow. "Chi!" A gush of blood spurted out as the ck shadow fell onto the ground. It was a snow rabbit. "Chi! Chi!" Fang Yuan was delighted. "Not too bad! We¡¯ll have roasted rabbit meat for dinner!" This snow rabbit was native to the icy gorge. There was a hint of spiritual energy from it and it was not a normal species. It would leave no traces behind as it moved, and its meat was delicious. How did he know all these? He had once encountered a snow rabbit before. "The deeper I go, the more concentrated the vegetation, and therger the size of the animals would be..." Fang Yuan rubbed his nose and started to think. "Could it be because I have traversed through the pole? And that after bing extreme, the life forms would revert? This ce resembles the poles of Earth. Is this proof? No... I don¡¯t even know if the world is a sphere or not... This might just be a natural phenomenon!" His knowledge of Geography was not in-depth enough in his past life, and he was toozy to mull over this problem. Without thinking much, he pitched his tent and roasted the rabbit meat. Since he brought along salt and seasoning with him, the roasted rabbit was extremely fragrant, and anyone who could smell it would salivate. After roasting it, Fang Yuan pulled out its leg. His nose was filled with the roasted fragrance of the rabbit, and all of its oil and essence was fully absorbed into the meat. The skin was perfectly roasted and the meat inside was tender. Together with the fact that the snow rabbit¡¯s meat was naturally good, this was an unforgettable feast. "Munch! Munch!" Fang Yuan had a huge appetite as he started devouring half of the roasted rabbit. Just as he finished savouring the first half and was eyeing on the other half, there was a roar of a tigering from the forest. This was the natural order of the world; there must be a predator within the woods! Apanying the roar of the tiger, a strong gust of wind blew as the grass and trees swayed. Naturally, it was a threatening feel. "This is..." Fang Yuan scanned around and noticed the culprit behind all these; it was a huge tiger. However, this tiger had a pure white fur. Its skin was glowing and appeared to berger than the average tiger by two or three times. There were ck stripes on its white skin and it was extremely beautiful. Of course, its most defining feature was its two sharp fangs resembling sharp icicles. It protruded out of the tiger¡¯s mouth and was clearly visible from outside. "Sword toothed Tiger? No! Frost Sword Toothed Tiger!" Fang Yuan started to give it names. "What a spiritual beast! Looking at it, it seems that it is almost about to achieve a breakthrough to Wu Zong! If it was on the maind, the red-eyed white king bird might not be able to take it down!" The bloodshot eyes of the white tiger stared at the half-rabbit in Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes as it started to salivate. Obviously, it was attracted by the roasted rabbit. "Seriously..." Fang Yuan started tough. Looking at the size of the huge tiger, he suddenly rubbed his chin. "Alright! I was still troubled by the fact that I don¡¯t have a ride, and here youe!" "Roar!" The white tiger did not understand what Fang Yuan was saying, but since it was spiritual, it could tell his intentions from his expression. Seeing Fang Yuan¡¯s mocking face, it was infuriated and it pounced towards Fang Yuan! "Rumble!" The paws of the tiger met with the ws of Fang Yuan, but there was only one result. "Roar!" Its body swung as its tail was like a chain. "Chi!" In mid-air, there was a shadow flying once again. "Haha... I believe this is all you¡¯ve got!" Amidst theughter, The shadows flew about in mid-air. As Fang Yuan¡¯s body was revealed, his right hand grabbed in the mid-air, catching the tiger¡¯s tail. "Up you go!" Fang Yuan only had the capability of a Wu Zong in his physical body. After eximing, the white tiger rolled n the floor and it was thoroughly embarrassed. "Roar! Roar!" With the flick of its tail, it flipped itself upright. It was triggered and became more ferocious than before. As it exhaled a cold breath, its paws struck forward with the intent to kill. "I¡¯m not even afraid of the storm at the entrance of the icy gorge. What makes you think I¡¯m going to be afraid of your frost?" Fang Yuan had a taunting look in his eyes as he reached out both of his hands. "Kacha!" As the frostnded on his body, the energy around him deflected it, leaving no trace of it behind. The iing paws were firmly grasped by him in his hands. As the white tiger shook, there was a hint of fear in its eyes. Although the human in front of it was small, it had the strength of a reckless and brute beast! "Lie down!" Fang Yuan started to be yful and executed a perfect swing from the back. As his wrist flicked, he flipped the white tiger above his head and itnded squarely on the ground. "Rumble!" There was a giant hole in the ground and soil flew in all directions. It was a shocking scene to behold. A small human could actually yfully take down the king of the forest! What strength and power! "Mmmmmm!" The white tiger flipped itself upright and ran into the forest after letting out a grunt. It was afraid and had chosen to escape! How would Fang Yuan let his ride escape so easily? "You¡¯re not going anywhere!" As he eximed, he leapt andnded on the back of the tiger. His hands became ws as he struck deep into the tiger¡¯s skin. "Chi! Chi!" "Roar! Roar! The white tiger was frenzied. It started to sprint and roll on the floor in an attempt to fling the person on its back away. However, it was as though Fang Yuan was training a horse. He sat firmly on its back. Hearing the wind fly past him, he knew that the beast was carrying him forward. After tumbling for half a day, the white tiger was exhausted as it started to pant. "Does this mean that it¡¯s tamed?" Fang Yuan patted its head, resulting in it turning its head back. It opened its jaws wide, and its eyes were fierce. "Oh, I knew it..." He sighed and started to be serious. As he pointed his finger out, a bewildering fog appeared, engulfing the white tiger. The white tiger was already exhausted beyond means. As it was affected by the bewildering fog, itid on the floor and entered a deep sleep. From an outsiders view, Fang Yuan executed his dream master¡¯s technique and entered the giant tiger¡¯s dream, as he managed to catch a glimpse of its life. From a weak tiger cub being fed by its mother to the sorrow it experienced as it was chased out from the cave to the hardships it endured trying to hunt on its own... Finally, the happiness it gained from ruling the forest and bing king... "Wait a moment!" Fang Yuan picked up something different in the dream. "There¡¯s a human! This white tiger has seen a human before! There are signs of human life in this icy gorge!" ... He had an excited look in his eyes as he opened them. Purple Dream only knew everything up to the icy gorge. To journey towards Da Qian Empire, Fang Yuan had to explore the remaining journey on his own. Therefore, the appearance of a human was a great help to him. "Wuuuuu!" At this point in time, the white tiger beneath him slowly opened its eyes. Looking it Fang Yuan, it no longer had the ferocious look it once had. In fact, it was trying to please Fang Yuan. "Let¡¯s go! Towards the direction where the human has gone to!" Fang Yuanmanded it without reservations. "As long as we reach there, I will roast any type of meat for you to enjoy!" With this assurance, the white tiger was extremely excited. With a roar, it sprinted into the forest... Chapter 201: Traces of Life Chapter 201: Traces of Life Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Brother, we cannot proceed further!" Somewhere not far from the icy ins, two small figures were trotting along. Therger figure was a boy wearing an animal¡¯s hide as a coat. He was carrying a bamboo basket and his shoes were already torn. His face was full of determination. "If we don¡¯t enter the icy gorge, how can we obtain enough herbs to cure father¡¯s illness? Don¡¯t forget that we have to give our contribution to the city master as well!" "It¡¯s too dangerous out there. It¡¯s uncharted territories filled with poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, and they¡¯re all out to kill you!" A little girl was pulling on his arm, and her big eyes welled up with tears. "LEt go!" The young boy was decided as he licked his lips. "I¡¯m not letting go!" The little girl persisted. As the girl pestered her for a while longer, the young boy could no longer hold it in. As he waved his arm away, the little girl fell to the ground. "Of course I know about the dangers in the icy gorge. But if we don¡¯t hand in our contribution, how will our family be allowed to continue living in the vige?!" The young boy continued. "Without the protection from the array in the vige, we will all die!" "Boohoo..." The little girl knew this fact as well. She sat on the floor and started to wail. "Ah Xian, don¡¯t worry. I have a rather good understanding of the Death ins. Furthermore, I know a little martial arts, and I am rather confident about it!" The young boyforted the little girl. As his expression changed, he was prepared to journey into the unknown. However, at this moment, he stopped in his tracks. He could see a huge ck shadow slowly emerging from the woods. It was a white giant tiger from the mountains, and the ck stripes on it resembled chains, giving it a mysterious feel. "Roar! Roar!" As it leapt, it looked around in its vicinity. The young boy and little girl froze in their positions; they were too fearful to do anything. ¡¯It¡¯s... It¡¯s too powerful...¡¯ The young boy¡¯s legs turned jelly, and he heard a voice from inside of him. "This is only the boundary and there is already such an animal that I am unable to do anything about. How scary is the icy ins? No wonder the vige forbade us to leave our houses after sunset and made us give up a portion of contribution every year to maintain the array..." "Ta! Ta! Ta! Ta!" As the giant tiger approached, the young boy started to sweat profusely. He clenched his teeth and was unable to speak a single word. "Kekekeke!" Although he could still stand, the little girl beside him was chattering her teeth, and there was a foul smell of urine from her legs. At this point in time, the demonic white tiger bent over, revealing a person¡¯s silhouette. It opened its mouth and bbered a few weird words. Although no one could understand it, soon after it spoke, the tense atmosphere was no more. It was as though the seasons had changed from winter to spring. The fearful thought of a ferocious tiger was long gone. "Lord!" Anyone who was able to tame such a ferocious beast had to be a highly skilled martial artist. With that, the young boy quickly greeted him respectfully. "Eh? Who are you people?" Hearing the young boy speak, Fang Yuan¡¯s eyebrows twitched. This was not thenguage they used on the maind. Instead, it sounded simr to themonnguage spoken in Da Qian Empire! Why could he speak the Da Qiannguage? He had already practised it before in Yang Fan¡¯s dream world. However, even if he did not learn it before, it was still alright. To a dream master, it was only a matter of one dream-essing opportunity to learn a foreignnguage quickly. "I am a viger from the nearby Rock Vige, and my name is Yu Jian. This is my younger sister, Ah Xian!" Yu Jian hurriedly took a bow and stuttered. "Rock Vige?" The lord on the back of the tiger became curious. "Are there many people here? Where are they?" Yu Jian started to be nervous and stutter even more. After his exnation, Fang Yuan finally understood. ¡¯There are people living nearby, and they are split into many different viges. At the heart of all the viges is the Descending Star City!¡¯ ¡¯Furthermore, the way he speaks and his mannerism are alike to the people in Da Qian Empire. Could these people have migrated from there?¡¯ Below, the young boy Yu Jian was secretly examining this lord. ¡¯He is so well-dressed! He must be an important person from the city!¡¯ From the young boy¡¯s experience, he only had the chance to interact with the people in his vige. Descending Star City was the centre of the entire world to him. He would never know how huge the outside world would be. "Bring me to your vige!" Fang Yuan thought for a moment before directly requesting him. Seeing the young boy hesitate for a while, he continued. "Were you preparing to pluck herbs with the bamboo basket and the hoe? I shall hire you as my guide, and this is your remuneration!" As he said, he waved his hand. A special flower with pure white petals and a red hue in the centre of it appeared and slowly drifted to the ground. "Snow Petal Red Pistil Flower?" Yu Jian was shocked. He quickly but carefully picked up the flower with both his hands and was left speechless. Although this was something Fang Yuan had casually plucked, it was hope for his entire family! "Yes, lord! I¡¯ll bring you there right away!" He rubbed his tears from his eyes, kept the flower properly and pulled his sister together to bow and pay their respects to Fang Yuan. The little girl was lost for a moment. However, she was sure that her brother no longer needed to risk his life. She let out a long sigh and her eyes examined the giant tiger with curiosity. "Sorry to trouble you, you can go now!" Fang Yuan took out a piece of roasted meat and shoved it in the Frost Sword Toothed Tiger¡¯s mouth before chasing it away. To Fang Yuan, a spiritual beast who had not broken through the Elemental Gathering Stage could at most be a form of transportation for him. Furthermore, this beast would attract too much attention. Since he had already arrived at a ce with people, it was better to let it go. "Wuuuuu!" As the Frost Sword Toothed Tiger swallowed the roasted meat, it reluctantly rubbed its head in Fang Yuan¡¯s palms. Finally, under Fang Yuan¡¯s hypnotisation, it grunted before returning to the icy ins and disappeared after a while. "Lord, is that your spiritual beast?" Yu Jian witnessed the scene and was full of envy. "Spiritual beast? If you say so, but I did not raise it up. I only picked it up along the way..." Fang Yuan smiled and shook his head as he looked at the young boy wearing the beast hide. This boy was too inexperienced, but he already had the cultivation of a 5th Gate martial artist, and it was not too bad. "Please lead the way!" At this point, he had no more reservations. He started a casual conversation with the young boy and tried to learn the way he spoke. After all, his boy did not owe him anything, and it would be too much for Fang Yuan to read his mind and memories for no good reason. Furthermore, this young boy was inexperienced and he might not know much. Yu Jian was leading the way in front. Not long after, a simple vige appeared in front of him. It was really simple! Fang Yuan was speechless. The vige which they spoke about was just a piece of tnd and a few round structures built together. It appeared sturdy, and almost half of it was underground. This type of construction would shield them from the unforgiving coldness, and the sturdiness allowed it to withstand normal threats. Of course, aesthetic wise, they could not ask for too much. In fact, it was normal to most vigers to be constantly putting their lives at risks. Why would they care how pleasing the structure would look? Fang Yuan noticed something different in the surroundings of the vige. "Spiritual inscriptions? No... This is... a spiritual array! Although simple, this is indeed a spiritual array! Who would¡¯ve thought that there would be a spiritual array master here!" "Lord?" It could be because Fang Yuan was staring for too long. Yu Jian anxiously asked Fang Yuan. "This is the protective array of our vige. Is there any problem with it?" "Who ced this array here?" Fang Yuan asked directly. "Of course it¡¯s the spiritual array master from Descending Star City!" Although it felt a little weird, Yu Jian answered him honestly. "Every year, we have to contribute huge amounts of staples, spiritual medicine and beasts¡¯ hides to Descending Star City, in exchange for the spiritual array masters¡¯ arrival to maintain this Rock Array. With it, we can repel wild and fierce beasts at night, and it can even shield us from the cold as well. If we do not contribute enough, the entire vige would be exterminated..." As he said thest few words, he clenched his fists with determination in his eyes. "I must be part of the city so that I can bring sister and Father along with me to enjoy a good life there!" "Descending Star City?" Fang Yuan rubbed his chin. "I must pay a visit to that ce!" The vigers of Rock Vige had started to notice them. After amotion, a weak and old man carried a smoking pot and walked out. "Yu Jian, go home! Be careful not to catch the disease die in the icy ins!" The old man appeared kind. Seeing that Yu Jian was safe and sound, he heaved a sigh of relief and started to advise him. "It¡¯s just a poison! There must be a cure. Don¡¯t worry about this year¡¯s contribution. If we gather all that we have together, I¡¯m sure it will be enough!" "Vige head..." Yu Jian¡¯s eyes welled up with tears. Hurriedly, he retrieved the Snow Petal Red Pistil Flower from his basket. "This is a gift from this lord. I have fulfilled my family¡¯s contribution this year..." "Keke!" The old vige head looked at it and was shocked. "To find a flower of such maturity, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s only possible in the icy ins! Only a petal of this flower would be enough to treat your father¡¯s poison!" He clenched his smoking pot and gave Fang Yuan a bow. "Thank you for saving our lives. I am Shi Ying, the vige head of this small vige. Lord, did youe from Descending Star City?" "Descending Star City? No..." Fang Yuan shook his head. He was now clear that Descending Star City was like the capital of this region. The viges in the vicinity had to depend on it for their survival. Of course, in the process, they were being taken advantage of. With the protection from the city, the centre of the city would be the safest ce. Therefore, it was the ultimate lifetime goal for every viger to make it there. Seeing the suspicious look on the old vige head¡¯s face, Fang Yuanughed, before casuallying up with a story in which he followed his master from young, and had lived his life on the icy ins like a nomad. "Lord, are you intending to go to Descending Star Country?" Hearing Fang Yuan¡¯s request, Vige Head Shi let down his guard as heughed heartily. "This is nothing much... What a coincidence! Tomorrow, our vige would be forming a caravan to head towards Descending Star Country. It¡¯ll be on the way!" In reality, he had nned it extremely well. Since Fang Yuan was hard to predict, and even he himself could not tell how highly skilled Fang Yuan was, then he must be really highly skilled. These vigers only had to show him the way, and they could get free protection from him. It was a win-win situation and a profitable agreement! Chapter 202: Ghosts Chapter 202: Ghosts Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions On the tnd, a small caravan was trotting along an arduous journey. Based on what Yu Jian had said, the environment around the region here was harsh. asionally, there might be ice storms, and temperatures would drop drastically at night. Wild beasts native to the icy ins might even appear, and without the protection from the spiritual array, it would be a daunting task for them to even survive. The vige would form the caravan on a regr basis and head towards Descending Star Country. Usingrge amounts of low-quality staples, they were able to trade for top quality salt, weapon, and necessities they need for their survival. Of course, thergest caravan would be the one escorting the contribution to the spiritual array master in Descending Star Country for him to continue to maintain the array. It was a pity that the most experienced and respectable person in the vige was Vige Head Shi. In reality, he was also rather inexperienced and could only boast about his travels and experiences in Descending Star Country when he was younger. To Fang Yuan, this was considered nothing worthy. "Descending Star Country is just ahead. We will reach there after 8 nightfalls!" Among the caravan, Yu Jian was extremely excited. The caravan consisted of many people, and there were many full sacks on the cart. The animal pulling the cart along was a huge ck boar. It had a hump on its back and it was covered in blubber. Based on what Yu Jian had said, the ¡¯ck Peak Boar¡¯ was extremelymon here. It was the most widely used ride and its thick blubber allowed it to withstand the cold. It could evenst a few days without food due to its fatty reserves. Furthermore, it ate anything that was given to him. Most importantly, it was a delicacy. As he described, the young boy swallowed his saliva; his mind was filled with the fragrant taste of roasted meat. Fang Yuan had a cart to himself. He was one of the few who did not have to walk on his feet. Looking at the ck Peak Boar, he was speechless. To serve its whole life, and to end up at a delicacy, it was a selfless animal. "Eh? This caravan is too quiet!" The well-built guard who was leading the vigers was Li Hu. He was 7-feet tall and was a proud man. He draped a tiger¡¯s hide around him and held a Hundred Casted Knife. After walking around, hemented. The region around Descending Star Country was not a safe ce to be. As long as it was beyond theke which surrounded the city, anything could happen here and the soldiers of the city would not care. Furthermore, the harsh environment produced many hardy beasts native to the region. These were the best type of animals for the caravan to hunt. Previously, in the many times they had escorted the goods, even with the apany of vigers from other viges, there were always being ambushed, which caused them to lose their goods. However, this journey was a peaceful one; there was not even an animal in sight. ¡¯This is the power of a skilled martial artist!¡¯ Li Hu looked at Fang Yuan and his eyes were filled with admiration. ¡¯It¡¯s a pity that I¡¯m too old. There is no hope for me in learning martial arts. Also, this lord has not expressed his interest in any of the girls in our vige...¡¯ He sighed inside. Suddenly, he saw Yu Jian walking forward to talk to Fang Yuan, and gave a hopeful look. Perhaps, the entire vige¡¯s hope wasid on this young boy. ... "Beasts native to the icy ins? Compared to normal beasts, these beasts have a little spiritual property!" As his magical will shook, Fang Yuan detected an icy snakeying in ambush nearby. Slowly, Fang Yuan gave off a hint of spiritual aura. The snake had killed many animals on its way here and was filled with a murderous vibe. However, just a little spiritual aura from Fang Yuan was able to strike fear in the snake, and it escaped. Along the way, if not for Fang Yuan who was secretly helping them, this small caravan would have encountered dangers everywhere, and it would be a miracle if anyone here could survive. "This region is indeed harsh!" Fang Yuan grabbed a handful of ck rice and thought to himself. This was the main produce of Rock Vige. It had an average taste and it felt like grains of sand; dry and tasteless. The only good thing about this rice was that it grew at an exceptional rate and was resistant to cold weather. This was enough for survival in this region. Furthermore, there were only a few pieces ofnd near Rock Vige which could support the growth of this rice. It needed constant care and protection, or it would be eaten by wild animals, which would result in a reduced harvest. In this caravan was almost half of the entire vige¡¯s stock of ck rice. "Everyone, stay alert!" Li Hu eximed. "We are reaching Red Leaf Vige ahead. We have good rtions with their vige head, and we can request him to let us stay over in their vige for the night!" "It was a peaceful journey this time. If we can make it to the city, we can surely trade for a lot of top quality salt, and over 13 pounds of scrap metal..." Yu Jian followed the vige ountant along the way and slowly learned how to calcte. His eyes were filled with joy. In the Descending Star Region, every child had to contribute their part to the vige. In the face of survival, everyone was equal and there were no priorities given. "Red Leaf Vige?" Fang Yuan sighed deeply and called for Yu Jian. "You have good rtions with their vige head?" "That¡¯s right... Red leaf Vige is close to Descending Star Vige. They have a huge t and fertilend nearby and their protective array is much stronger than that of Rock Vige..." Yu Jian¡¯s eyes were filled with envy. "Our vige head had once saved the life of the vige head of Red Leaf Vige, whichid the foundation for their rtionship!" After these few days, Fang Yuan had a rough understanding of the happenings in this region. In the Descending Star Region, thend nearer to Descending Star City would be more fertile, and the viges who could upy thesends were stronger. Yu Jian¡¯s vige was only at the fringe of the region and was considered the poorer viges. On the other hand, Red Leaf Vige was considered average. However, there were still in a simr situation whereby they were still taken advantage of by Descending Star City. Red Leaf Vige had gotten its name from the red maple leaf that it produces. This maple leaf was valuable as it was an ingredient to many medical concoctions. Since there was a demand for this leaf in Descending Star City, the vigers would harvest some leaves while they hunt, which helped them be slightly wealthier. Although they only stayed here for a while, Yu Jian was already full of admiration for Red Leaf Vige. "Lord, look over there! That¡¯s the Red Leaf Forest!" After walking for a distance, Yu Jian pointed to a red forest not far from them and eximed with envy. As Fang Yuan looked over, his expression was weird. "Wait a moment!" Li Hu¡¯s face started to appear serious as well. "We¡¯ll stop here temporarily. Follow me, and we¡¯ll check it out!" "What happened?" Yu Jian let out a curious look on his face. "I¡¯m afraid Red Leaf Vige has run into some trouble..." Fang Yuan shook his head. "Look... There¡¯s no one attending to the surrounding farms and this Red Leaf Forest... Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s too peaceful? "You¡¯re right!" Yu Jian nodded his head and was stunned. "What... what about the vigers? Where have they gone to?" "Let¡¯s take a look for ourselves and we¡¯ll know the answer!" Fang Yuan walked up and looked at Li Hu. "Let¡¯s go!" "Alright!" Li Hu nodded his head and was excited. Although it was mysterious and felt ominous, the fact that this mysterious and highly skilled lord was willing to go with him reassured him. He called for to other vigers, both of which were martial artists who had obtained inner force, and ordered them to follow Fang Yuan as they walked towards Red Leaf Vige. "Lord, wait for me!" Yu Jian clenched his teeth and followed them as well. ... "This is..." As they approached Red Leaf Vige, Li Hu gave an unpleasant look. Red Leaf Vige was originally filled with energy and life, but now, all they could see was blood! There were huge patches of blood everywhere! A rotting stench filled the air and Yu Jian immediately became pale and turned over; he did not dare to look at the mess. "Human blood?" Lu Hu bent over and smeared some blood on his finger. There was fear in his voice. This scene was too horrendous. "Furthermore... This would mean that there are a lot of people who died. Where are their corpses? Where did their corpses go?" Quickly, he arrived at the boundary of the vige. The stone walls were covered in moss and there were a few spiritual inscriptions glowing; it was obvious that it had been here for over a year. There was nothing wrong with the protective array. However, there was no one behind the vige! "I¡¯m Li Hu from Rock Vige! Is the vige head here?" Looking at the vige which was partially covered with a thinyer of fog, Li Hu clenched his teeth and eximed forcefully, but there was no response. Seeing this, he remained silent. Clenching his teeth, he turned around and left. "Let¡¯s go, don¡¯t look back!" He instructed Yu Jian and the other two vigers as he headed back to where they came from. "Let¡¯s continue our journey without any more breaks!" As he returned to the caravan, Li Hu quickly chased the ck Peak Boar as though it was a crazy dog and they journeyed on. "What happened?" Fang Yuan only caught a glimpse of the vige and was unsure of many things. The most crucial thing was that there were no signs or clues of murder. Li Hu¡¯s face stoned. After a long while, he finally spoke, and his voice was hoarse. "Death without a corpse, and coupled with the fact that the protective array is still intact, I¡¯m afraid that they have encountered ghosts!" "Ghosts?!" Fang Yuan was astonished. Even though his cultivation had already reached an extreme level, and that he had seen many things before, it was the first time he had heard of the existence of ghosts. "Lord, you¡¯re unaware?" Li Hu was utterly shocked. "The ce which youe from! Are there are no ghosts? That¡¯s not possible... Almost every year, there would be a vige that would experience such a thing..." "I¡¯ve heard of it before but I¡¯m not too sure about it. Tell me more..." Fang Yuan rubbed his nose and his eyes were filled with curiosity. "Oh!" Li Hu was confused and did not bother to press Fang Yuan any further. Instead, he obediently exined it to Fang Yuan. "Ghosts leave no trace as theye and go, and they do not have a physical body. There is a type of... curse!" "We don¡¯t know where ites from, or where it wants to go. We only know that every time it appears, many people would disappear and it would leave behind many weird things..." "No matter how strong the martial artists were, or even spiritual array masters, everyone was defenceless against it. However, the weird thing is that it had never happened to Descending Star City before. That is the only ce we can take shelter..." Chapter 203: Spiritual Array Chapter 203: Spiritual Array Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Ghosts... curse?" Fang Yuan revealed a mysterious smile. "Interesting! This is really interesting!" Ghosts were once described in Master Heartless¡¯s inheritance and Yang Fan¡¯s dream world, but none of them was described like that. "If it wasn¡¯t an extremely strong evil spirit which wiped out Red Leaf Vige, then it must be..." Fang Yuan was deep in thought. Suddenly, he looked at Li Hu and ordered. "We must be on our way to Descending Star City!" "Yes Lord!" Even theziest person would be extremely alert after such a thing happened. After all, everyone would take their lives seriously. For their own safety, it was better to keep a distance from Red Leaf Vige. Due to their continuous journeying, they did not rest much. Instead, they arrived at Descending Star City a day earlier than nned. "Indeed a spiritual city!" Looking ahead, he could see theke surrounding the city. Although this city, with walls of only 20 feet tall, could notpare with the many huge cities that Fang Yuan had seen before, it was still rather lively. There were even spiritual inscriptions glowing on the city walls! As it swirled around, it gave the impression of a huge array. "For sturdiness, defence and prosperity..." Even Fang Yuan could only understand little about the true potential of the entire array around the city. ¡¯It seems that the spiritual array master here had learnt quite a bit from Da Qian Empire, and is quite impressive!¡¯ "Hold it there! Pay the entrance fees!" As they arrived at the city gates, a row of soldiers stopped the caravan. The leader of the soldiers wore an armour made of an unknown hide, and this was already considered rather luxurious. "We¡¯ll count the people and the goods separately. Are you from Rock Vige? You should know the rules, right?" As the leader looked at Fang Yuan, he continued. "A day¡¯s worth of tax can only allow you to stay in the city for a day! If you are caught by the soldiers at midnight, it would not be as simple as paying a fine." "No worries, we know the rules!" Li Hu smiled and shoved a piece of ck ore in the leader¡¯s hands. "Please let us pass!" "I knew it! Everyone from Rock City is beggars..." The leader frowned as though he was unsatisfied. However, he still kept the ck ore and kicked Li Hu harshly. "Hold on to the license and get lost!" Facing a person of such authority, not just Li Hu, but even Yu Jian shrugged his head, afraid to speak a word. Since they were submissive, Fang Yuan did not want to attract too much attention as well. He followed their lead and became an obedient viger as they paid their tax to enter the city. "This is our license. It allows us to stay in the city for a day. Lord, please keep it well. There are soldiers patrolling in the city at every moment. If we do not find a ce to stay by midnight, we would be captured and sent to the quarries, with no chance ofing out..." "Oh?" Fang Yuan received the license and realised that it was a y b. It was made of a normal material, but there was a small spiritual inscription on it. The spiritual inscription appeared useless and was only a form of marking. Based on the energy level, it would disappear in a few hours and could notst till the next day. Descending Star City used this method to maintain order among the people living in the city. However, to Fang Yuan, it was a useless method. He looked around and noticed a small market. Vigers that came from everywhere were following the lead of their leaders, and their eyes were filled with curiosity. They began to start trading at the market and were engaging in barter trade. "My intention is to explore Descending Star City!" Fang Yuan went up to Li Hu, who appeared pale. Without hesitation, Fang Yuan said, "Goodbye, I¡¯ll see you next time!" He did not owe them anything. Instead, he provided protection to the entire caravan, and therefore he could leave without worries. Li Hu was left dumbfounded and remained silent. "Lord..." Yu Jian clenched his teeth. "Bring me along! I want to be your servant! I am willing to do anything, and I eat very little..." "Haha... Thanks, but I don¡¯t need a servant!" Fang Yuan rubbed Yu Jian¡¯s head. "Little fellow, you should not take the risk now. Rather, you should continue to work hard on your martial arts and get a strong foundation, and take care of your family and your sister..." This young boy had fate with Fang Yuan, but it was not enough to change his mind. After saying his piece, Fang Yuan waved goodbye and disappeared into the crowd in style. "Lord..." Yu Jian was stunned. He thought that based on his rtionship with Fang Yuan, even if Fang Yuan would reject him as a disciple, he could still gain something from him. Never would he have thought that Fang Yuan would leave just like that, destroying all hope that he initially had! "How would it be so easy to get such a good deal... This is only reality!" Although Li Hu was not willing, he still went forward andforted Yu Jian. "Don¡¯t think about it anymore. At least you have left an impression of yourself in his mind. If you were to meet him in the future, you will have an advantage over others!" Thinking about those people who boasted that they had found highly skilled masters in Descending Star City, he realised that all of them were gifted, and their family had enough wealth to support their dream. Some of the families even went bankrupt just to support their children! If they didn¡¯t do this, how would they escape the cycle of poverty and bring hope to their family? Young people nowadays were too weak! ... "Indeed, even the words are in Da Qiannguage... The ancestor of Descending Star City must have migrated from Da Qian..." Fang Yuan walked down a few streets and were looking at their signs. The bestsellers in the market were still weapons and food! Other than Hundred Casted Steel, there were weapons made out of beasts native to the icy ins and spiritual beasts. Their asking price was even higher than normal weapons, but the demand there. Of course, these were still considered low-quality trades. The top quality products would not be easily found on the streets, but in the majestic courts. "Spiritual Array Court?" Fang Yuan arrived at the centre of Descending Star City and noticed a towering building. The signboard was filled with words that were written with energy, but the most important was still an octogonal spiritual tablet. It was glittering on its surface and the spiritual inscriptions on it were glowing. This meant that a spiritual array master was in charge of this ce. "We sell all types of protective array tes, array maps, and the services of a spiritual array master..." Fang Yuan rubbed his chin as he read off the introduction. He became increasingly excited. To survive in a ce with such harsh environments, they could rely on arrays! Regardless if it was the brutal cold or the icy storm, the harsh natural weather conditions or the beasts native to the icy ins, all types of unknown dangers could wipe out an entire vige. Without the protection from a strong protective array, any prosperous vige would still copse after 3 days. "It seems that the immigrants from Da Qian have obtained the inheritance to the array techniques in the Da Qian Empire..." Fang Yuan walked into Spiritual Array Court and had a mysterious look on his face. He had interest in knowing more about spiritual arrays. If he was a normal spiritual knight, he had to worry that it might not be applicable to him. However, on his path as a dream master, there were different paths to take after the Illusionary Divine Stage for him to specialise. There was no harm in understanding another path, and instead, it might even benefit him. "Eh?" As he entered the court, he could feel that something was different. "The concentration of Heaven and Earth elemental energy? It¡¯s going up and is many times that of the outside... It has simr effects to a spiritualnd!" As he took another step forward, the surroundings suddenly expanded, revealing a huge hall. The decor was luxurious and did not feel normal at all. "A new scene with every step? Indeed an array!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and arrived at the counter. "Wee, guest!" The person at the counter was a middle-aged man smiling. He was wearing a silk robe and appeared wealthy. Furthermore, he appeared happy and a little chubbier than the rest. Fang Yuan could tell that his living conditions must be much better than the vigers living in Rock Vige. "What do you need, guest?" He had a professional smile on his face. "We sell an ¡¯immovable array¡¯, and it is uniquely designed for defence. It consists of three array tes and eight array gs. If you follow the design on the spiritual array map, you will be able to achieve at least 80% of the original array¡¯s power! This is the top choice for many who are looking to protect their homes!" "Of course, if you are not satisfied with it, you can leave a feedback. I will contact the spiritual array master, and he will personally help you arrange the array..." "Immovable array?" Looking at the sealed up wall behind the counter, together with the array tes that were glowing with spiritual light, he shook his head. "The area covered for this array is too small. What if I want to protect an entire vige?" "That will be a giant array!" The person at the counter shook his head. "We only sell it at the heart of this court. To add on, you will need to receive approval from the City Lord Manor. If the city master does not approve of it, then we would not dare to bear this responsibility..." A giant protective array would be protection for an entire vige! The city master of Descending Star City was the source of this spiritual array. This way, he managed to obtainnd and control over the viges and therefore would want ultimate control over the distribution of this giant array. "I see!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. He could tell that in Spiritual Array Court, of all the many counters, every counter had a corresponding spiritual array master which was at the level of a disciple. The giant array of all the viges required a spiritual array master at the Elemental Gathering Stage to personally construct, and therefore people had to pay a premium for it. To add on, there were also many restrictions. ¡¯It seems that the city master has the sole ess to the spiritual array master¡¯s inheritance...¡¯ Fang Yuan shook his head. "I need to put myself against the city master just for a spiritual array master¡¯s inheritance? This doesn¡¯t seem... like it¡¯s worth it..." Spiritual knights had all sorts of techniques up their sleeves. If enough time was given to a spiritual array master, he could surelye up with a shocking array capable of killing many. Fang Yuan did not want to test that theory out. ¡¯The Descending Star City is their nest. A spiritual array master would have ced an array here that wouldst for eternity...¡¯ Thinking about this, Fang Yuan was confused. "It¡¯s alright. This seems not too bad, I¡¯ll have it!" Just as the person at the counter thought that the trade was about to fall apart, Fang Yuan suddenly eximed, leaving him dazed. "Alright. What would you use for payment?" He rubbed his hands together as though he was extremely excited. After all, it was not frequent that he would get a sale, and hismision would be quite a huge percentage. "How¡¯s this?" Fang Yuan smiled and took out a jade bottle. Chapter 204: Kongming Chapter 204: Kongming Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "This is..." The plump person at the counter broke the seal of the bottle and poured out a glowing pill. On the surface of the pill, there were spiritual inscriptions, and he froze. "Spiritual pill?" His face twitched, and he swiftly kept the pill, acting all suspicious like a thief. After looking around, he bowed towards Fang Yuan. "You have spiritual pills? Please take a seat, and we¡¯ll serve you tea!" "Mm!" Fang Yuan looked down and acted mysteriously. In fact, the value of these spiritual pills was beyond his expectations. ¡¯That¡¯s true... After all, Descending Star City is on its own, and I don¡¯t see any alchemy masters passing down their skills. They are also scarce in resources...¡¯ Looking at the attentive person at the counter, Fang Yuan came to a conclusion. "The value of these spiritual pills are more than what I¡¯ve guessed." "Keke..." The person led Fang Yuan to a beautiful room and personally served him tea. Afterwards, he began to introduce himself. "My name is Hai Fu. I am the representative of array master Zhang Kongfan, who has learnt from Kongming the Godly Monk. Master Zhang is extraordinary and his Immovable Array is indeed remarkable..." Hai Fu had a glib tongue and could almost describe the elementary version of the Immovable Array into a gigantic array cast by a spiritual array master. "Keke..." Fang Yuan smiled and did not say a single word. He sipped his tea gracefully and looked at Hai Fu. As he stared at Hai Fu, Hai Fu started to sweat profusely. He clenched his teeth. "If you have 4 bottles of this spiritual pill, I¡¯ll make the decision to sell you this array, and let¡¯s take this as an opportunity to make friends!" Looking at Hai Fu¡¯s face muscles twitch, it was as though Fang Yuan was taking advantage of him. However, Fang Yuan knew that if the deal would go through, Hai Fu would be able to profit a lot from it. After all, no one should trust anything a businessman would say. Amidst the silence, Hai Fu started to sweat even more and started to bargain. "3 Bottles. That¡¯s the minimum I can go. Just the array te of this Immovable Array would already require rubies, Hepu Stones and Mysterious Ice Essences..." "I am alright with 3 bottles of spiritual pills!" Under Hai Fu¡¯s worrying eyes, Fang Yuan finally opened his mouth. "But I have a condition!" In reality, these spiritual pills were made by Lanruo and himself and were far more inferior than the ones Lu Renjia made. However, it would already be considered a treasure here in Descending Star City. "Please state your condition!" Spiritual pills were in high demand, and there was always a price for it on the market, but no one would sell it. The moment he heard that there was a chance that the deal might go through, Hai Fu¡¯s eyes glittered. "I want to meet the maker of this array te, Zhang Kongfan, Master Zhang! Of course, it would be even better if I could see Kongming the Godly Monk!" Fang Yuan asked in a deep voice. "You are a big customer. Of course, there¡¯s no problem in letting you see Master Kongfan... But as for Kongming the Godly Monk..." Hai Fu let out an uneasy look and pushed the bottles back. "If you insist, then we have to break the deal." "Forget about it!" Fang Yuan smiled. He knew that he had crossed the line. "Zhang Kongfan would be alright. Send him here!" ¡¯What an attitude...¡¯ Hai Fu kept the spiritual pills, passed him the array tes and felt a little suspicious about the whole thing. However, seeing how Fang Yuan could easily take out so many bottles of spiritual pills made him wonder if he was an alchemy master. In that instant, all his unhappiness and suspicions were gone. "Please wait out here!" He took a bow and walked out of the room swiftly. "Eh?" Fang Yuan sat down for a while. Suddenly, he frowned and looked at a certain corner of the room. Just a few moments ago, he realised that an array with the properties of hypnotisation was activated. Hai Fu was testing his skills. ¡¯How dare he!¡¯ Fang Yuan was infuriated and gave a cold look. "I¡¯m sorry for the wait, Master Zhang is here!" Indeed, not long after, Hai Fu pushed the door open and appeared extremely humble. Following which, a man in his thirties walked in with a proud look on his face. "You have requested to look for me?" He had an impatient look on his face. "What¡¯s the matter? If you are requesting for me to cast an array, we¡¯ll have to settle the payment separately. If you are looking at rectifying the protective array over the viges, I¡¯ll need the city master¡¯s approval..." "It¡¯s not about all these..." Fang Yuan scoffed. "It¡¯s just that I have never seen an array master before, which was why I called you out... What a pity... You¡¯re such a disappointment, hehe..." "What?" Zhang Kongfan was enraged. As a prestigious array master - albeit just a disciple for now, they were proud people wherever they went. Never had they experienced such humiliation! "You... what audacity!" His body shook, and he stared fiercely at Hai Fu. "Forgive me, master!" Hai Fu was scared to his wits and started to kneel down. Never would he have known that the normal -looking Fang Yuan would be a fraud! "I was initially intending to talk over some terms with you. It¡¯s a pity you have an evil mind. By using your array to spy on me, you have vited my rules..." Fang Yuan calmly spoke. "You..." Zhang Kongfan almost choked. Every room in Spiritual Array Court was protected with spiritual arrays. This was done in consideration for the spiritual array master¡¯s safety. After all, since he was rather weak, wasn¡¯t it normal for him to check on the other party before agreeing to meet him? How would it be viting Fang Yuan¡¯s rules? Although he really had an evil intent, he had not disyed it yet. "Hai Fu, capture him, give him a good beating and take all his valuables..." Zhang Kongfan became very serious. From what he had obtained from the array, he detected that this person was only a normal martial artist. Even though he might have status or a strong backing, he had to get back at him! This was a matter of an array master¡¯s pride! "Yes, master!" Hai Fu stood up like a loyal dog, as though he was ready to pounce on Fang Yuan anytime. "Hehe, you¡¯re just a spiritual disciple, and yet you don¡¯t know where you should stand!" Fang Yuan shook his head and squinted his eyes. Hai Fu froze and fell to the ground, with his eyes staring up. "E? You¡¯re not a normal person!" Zhang Kongfan realised something was wrong. "How could you hide from the spying of my spiritual array?" "That¡¯s because you¡¯re too weak!" Fang Yuan remained seated without moving. Suddenly, he struck his right hand out. "Whoosh!" As the air circted around the room, it was as though there was an invisible hand as it lifted Zhang Kongfan up, pulling him towards the position where Fang Yuan was seated. "Four levels of Heaven and Earth, Protect!" Zhang Kongfan retreated and crushed a certain spiritual talisman. A protective glow of light appeared. Not just that, the array over the entire court seemed to be moving. A huge force was felt, but it was unknown where it came from. "It¡¯s useless!" Fang Yuan lightly blew. "Whoooo!" Suddenly, there were strong gusts of wind. Zhang Kongfan went pale. He felt as though the person sitting in front of him was not a human, but a mountain! A heavenly mountain! A shocking amount of energy exploded from Fang Yuan, which isted him from his array. "Although I might only have limited control over the array, the fact that you can disrupt my control over the array, it means that you are... Wu Zong..." Zhang Kongfan clenched his teeth and forcefully remarked. Never would he have thought that this rude young man in front of him had already broken through the Elemental Gathering Realm! Even with his potential and the help of his master, he was only a spiritual disciple! "Have you finally realised what¡¯s happening?" Fang Yuan smiled. Ayer of bewildering fog covered the entire room, and suddenly it engulfed Zhang Kongfan! ... "Namo Amituofo!" With his control over the array disrupted, and the fact that there was so muchmotion, the entire Spiritual Array Court had already known what was happening. Just as Fang Yuan was about to execute his dream-essing technique on Zhang Kongfan, a Buddhist bell was heard as apassionate-looking old monk entered the room. "My disciple is reckless. May you bepassionate and let him go this time!" This old monk was tall and his eyebrows were extremely long. His eyes were small and it was as though his vision was not that good. "Hehe, Master, since he¡¯s your disciple, why would I cause trouble for him?" Fang Yuan let go of his hand and eximed forcefully. "I¡¯m just reprimanding him for his mistakes!" This old monk was Zhang Kongfan¡¯s master - Kongming the Godly Monk! He was different from his disciple; he was a true spiritual array master! "He is indeed alright, and has merely passed out" Kongming the Godly Monk walked up and checked on Zhang Kongfan and Hai Fu. Afterwards, he ced his hands together in front of his chest. "Thank you for your benevolence!" Little did he knew that Fang Yuan was alreadyughing inside of him. No one could tell from the outside that he had executed his dream-essing technique, as Zhang Kongfan seemed perfectly normal. Even Kongming the Godly Monk would have no idea that in just a short period, Fang Yuan had already learnt all these spiritual array techniques through Zhang Kongfan. ¡¯It seems that a group of spiritual array masters came together to rule the city undercover. They are indeed from Da Qian Empire and only came here because of the disaster...¡¯ Fang Yuan quickly scanned through Zhang Kongfan¡¯s memories and sieved out the important information. The physical bodies of the spiritual array masters were too weak to traverse through the hell-like icy gorges. Therefore, years ago, the group of spiritual array masters were conflicted if they should go through the icy gorges. Finally, they decided not to and settled down here, forming the Descending Star City. ¡¯It should be Star Ghost who is in charge of Descending Star City now! Of course, Kongming the Godly Monk is also at the level of Elemental Gathering Realm, and it the second most powerful spiritual array master in Descending Star City!¡¯ Although these two people were not Elemental Opening Realm spiritual knights, they had already settled down in Descending Star City for quite a while. If enraged, even normal Elemental Opening Realm spiritual knights might not be able to fight against them. After all, they had the geographical advantage. "This master..." Kongming the Godly Monk looked at Fang Yuan with shock. "Why do I find you unfamiliar... I have long known all the highly skilled martial artists in the entire Descending Star City..." "Unless..." With his small eyes, he could still assess the situation calmly. "You are not from this city!" Chapter 205: 4 Elements Chapter 205: 4 Elements Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Where do you think Ie from?" Truth be told, if Fang Yuan were to tell a lie about his background, it might be sufficient to fool those low-leveledckeys of the Rock Vige. However, he would most certainly be unable to fool a person of Kongming the Godly Monk¡¯s calibre. Afterall, Descending Star City was too small. There was no way that it would suddenly produce an unknown Wu Zong. "You must be from Da Qian!" The old monk said confidently. Fang Yuan felt slightly ashamed. Great! Due to his exposure to Yang Fan¡¯s dream world, he was able to speak the dialect fluently which caused Kongming to be mistaken. "Could it be that the Da Qian is very close to here? Or that there are no other people gathered around here? Fang Yuan asked. "Oh?" Kongming the Godly Monk was shocked and twirled his beads faster. "You are not from Da Qian? Then you must be from Vast Deserts? Hell of Thousand Ghosts? Death Corridor?" ¡¯All these ces arendmarks behind the Descending Star City?¡¯ Fang Yuan muttered as he considered overpowering the monk and using his Dream Entering abilities. "Or...from the South? Impossible!" The monk racked his brains, "No one is able to break through the Ghost Gate in the icy gorge!" Seeing how certain the monk¡¯s tone was, Fang Yuan recalled that if he had not already broken through the Meridian Opening Realm and had the opportunity to strengthen his physical body, it would indeed be difficult to pass it. From the way that the old monk reacted to the danger, Fang Yuan knew that there were few who managed to break through the Ghost Gate and reach the Yuan Wu Kingdom. "Enough! What is the use of investigating where Ie from?" Fang Yuan smiled and asked directly. "Not bad, I am just asking!" Kongming the Godly Monk acted as though he had attained enlightenment and bowed at Fang Yuan again. "May I know what brings you here?" While the Descending Star City was isted, those with authority were in contact with their counterparts from other areas. It was just that news travelled slowly and as such, he was unable to discern Fang Yuan¡¯s identity. "I have no ns. I am just travelling!" Fang Yuan appeared to be disinterested and said, "I heard that the Way of Array in the Descending Star City is second to none. As such, I specially came here to have a look..." "Hehe...this is nothing more than lies which are perpetrated to deceive themoners!" Kongming shook his head. However, Fang Yuan was able to see the pride in Kongming¡¯s eyes. "I came across something strange on my journey and I would like to pay a visit to the city master. Would it be convenient to pay him a visit?" Fang Yuan stared at Kongming the Godly Monk and asked suddenly. "Although the city master is busy running the daily affairs, if he knows that someone of your calibre is here, he would definitelye and personally wee you!" Kongming put his hands together, "You said that you witnessed something strange, may I know what happen?" "I passed by a vige known as Red Leaf Vige! All the vigers were ughtered and the vige was in a miserable state... I could hardly bear to look at it." Fang Yuan said slowly and saw that Kongming¡¯s actions quickened, "Tales of ghosts and monsters cannot be trusted. However, I am interested in this curse and would like to help!" "Amituofo, you are so kind. You will definitely enjoy karmic reward in the future!" Kongming nodded his head. "I will pass on this information to the city master. However, how the city master responds would be beyond my control..." "Ohh...." At this time, there was a cry of rm. Zhang Kongfan clutched his head and slowly got up. He saw Fang Yuan and his face was full of fear. "You...what have you done to me?" "Cough cough..." Kongming the Godly Monk coughed, causing Zhang Kongfan to turn around and bow. "Master!" "Hmmm, this master over here is more senior than you and highly skilled. Why would he purposely make things difficult for you?" Kongming chided before he spoke to Fang Yuan. "My disciple is stubborn and have not been inducted into the Way of Brahma. He is just a disciple. Please forgive him for all the mistakes he makes! Kongfan! Apologise to this master immediately!" "Yes, Master!" A master¡¯s order should never be disobeyed. Furthermore, Zhang Kongfan had no confidence after seeing how his master was respectful towards Fang Yuan. He immediately turned to Fang Yuan and bowed, "Please forgive me for my mistakes!" The fat shopkeeper, Hai Fu, who was standing by the side nearly fainted upon witnessing this scene. Since when did the high and mighty spiritual array master have to treat a person with caution? "It¡¯s okay!" Fang Yuan waved his hand. He was not interested in dealing with theckey. Furthermore, Zhang Kongfan was considered unlucky. Hispensation was more than sufficient and Fang Yuan waszy to pursue the matter. "Thank you, Master!" Kongming the Godly Monk was pleased. Zhang Kongfan, who was by his side, had no choice but to follow suit and bow. Hai Fu was still feeling dizzy. Everyone could see his condition but no one took notice of it. "Do you have any ce to stay in the Descending Star City?" Kongming continued, "If you have not decided on a ce to stay, I can offer you a ce at the sambhogakaya monastery. It is quite peaceful..." "Hmmmm, then I shall dly ept it. Thank you!" Fang Yuan rose and walked out of the shop with the old monk. Zhang Kongfan followed behind like a servant. He was sullen but had no avenue to vent his feeling. All he could do was re vehemently at Hai Fu before walking out. Hai Fu wanted to cry but no tears came as he witnessed this scene... ... Fang Yuan and Kongming the Godly Monk walked side by side on the path. The soldiers at the sides immediately bowed and parted when they saw the both of them. It was clear that Kongming held a high position in the city. Afterall, he was a spiritual array master in the Elemental Gathering Realm. "What do you think of the arrays in this city?" Kongming the Godly Monk asked absentmindedly. "Excellent...if I am not wrong, this array consists of 4 elements as its foundations. The 4 elements are Green Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion and ck Tortoise which guarded the four gates rigorously.....however, the array of the Vermillion in the South appears different from the conventional 4 Elements Spiritual Array. It appears to be a variant of the conventional spiritual array!" While Fang Yuan may not be a spiritual array master, He was knowledgeable and not many couldpare to him. His offhanded remark surprised Kongming, "You are so sharp and yet, you only dabbled in the Way of Arrays?" Zhang Kongfan, who was standing behind, was shocked and felt ashamed. Fang Yuan was proficient in the Way of Arrays and spying on him with his arrays was simr to provoking him openly. As such, it was no wonder that Kongfan would lose out. "The Way of Arrays is mysterious and full of potential. How can I say that I dabbled in it? I merely tried it out as an eye-opener to this path..." Fang Yuan smiled. Truth be told, with Zhang Kongfan¡¯s experience and his foundation in arrays, his skills wereparable to that of a spiritual array disciple. He was onlycking in terms of practice. "I see!" Kongming the Godly Monkughed but he did not believe Fang Yuan. Afterall, the Way of Arrays required much effort. His intuition told him that Fang Yuan was gifted as he was able to attain Wu Zong even though he was still young. What would the older generation and he be if Fang Yuan was able to reach his prowess in spiritual prowess so easily? "This is due to the fact that the South faces the icy gorge and ins which possess hidden dangers. Amongst the arrays protecting the Descending Star City, the Vermillion Fiery Array had been adapted and is the strongest of the 4 arrays..." However, the old monk did not delve deeper into the exnation and introduced it simply to Fang Yuan with a gentle smile. "Furthermore, there is still ayer of change hidden within the array!" "Oh! What change?" Fang Yuan asked while staring at the sky. "It appears that you have figured out a thing or two, not bad. The answer to this lies in the history of the Descending Star City! The reason behind why the city can stand till today!" Kongming said with a hint of pride. "Please teach me!" Fang Yuan put on a humble front. Suddenly, his gaze changed as he looked towards the city fair. There, indistinct sounds of quarrelling could be heard. The noise came from a delegation of Rock Vige. "What?" Kongming the Godly Monk stopped walking. "Are you interested in what is happening there?" "Yes, I have met a few of them before!" Fang Yuan said calmly. "If that is the case, we should go there and have a look!" Kongming the Godly Monk put his arms together and with the air of an important person, turned and walked towards the city fair. ... "This is too much!" Yu Jian¡¯s face was red with anger. He pointed towards a businessman, "This is good quality ck Rice and beast hide! You agreed to trade green salt and casted steel for my goods and now, you dare to use inferior salt and rough steel to appease us?" "Hehe..." The businessman stroked his rat-like beard, his eyes shrewd, "Who says that your goods are of good quality? It is already not bad that you are receiving these as a trade for your rubbish! What? Still want to cause trouble?" The businessman had backing, and as such, he was able to do business at the fair. Furthermore, he was a resident of the Descending Star City and as such, he was not afraid to call upon the soldiers. It was not easy to determine who would have thestugh. "Yu Jian, don¡¯t be rash!" Just as Yu Jian was about to leap forward and fight with the businessman, Li Hu grabbed onto his right shoulder and pinned him. "Whatever! This deal is off! Return my goods to me!" Li Hu coldly stared at the businessman with a killing intent. "Okay!" The crafty businessman smiled, "However, you only gave me 1500 kg of inferior ck rice and 200 sheets of torn hide. These are not worth much..." "You..." Li Hu was fuming. He remembered that the opposite party was frantically loading the goods. It was obvious that he had nned to scam them. At this moment, even though he was well-tempered, he wanted to kill the businessman and his hand reached for the hilt of his sword. "Soldier! Soldier!" The businessman immediately shouted as he leapt away. "What¡¯s wrong?" A group of soldiers who were patrolling came forward. The leader had a high spiritual aura and was a martial artist of the 4 Heavenly Gates. "Sir...these vigers from outside the city banded together to bully us citizens!" The sly businessman was brazen in his usations as he had backing. His uncle was a leader in the patrol. If he did not have the connections, he would not have dared to do such a thing. "I see!" The leader of the patrol was familiar with the businessman as well. Without a second look, he signalled to his troops with a wave of his hand. "Capture all of them!" Chapter 206: City Master Chapter 206: City Master Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "What?" Yu Jian was only a young boy; this was the first time he had experienced the dark side of society. These cunning businessman cheated them of their goods and even wanted to send them to jail! "Foreigners, how dare all of you. It seems that there will be quite a few new additions to the cells!" The leader of the patrolling guards eximed. In his heart, he was thinking. ¡¯Rock Vige has no strong backing. Even if we kill them, no one would stand up for them...¡¯ There was no doubt which side justice would favour. "Sir, we are willing to give up our good. Please let us go!" Li Hu was pale. He had no more intention to go against them and started to plead. "Hehe... This is the consequence of getting on my nerves!" The cunning businessman wasughing at one side. "All of you... go and reflect on your actions in the quarry! Guards, please!" "Hold up!" Zhang Kongfan, who was now a messenger, appeared. "You are..." The leader of the patrolling guards was shocked. As he noticed Zhong Kongfan¡¯s luxurious clothing and a logo he had on him, he appeared stern and took a bow. "Sir!" As a spiritual array master, even if he was just a spiritual disciple, everyone in the city would show their utmost respect to them as they were the ones running the city. "Mm, these people..." Zhang Kongfan stared at Li Hu intently and clenched his teeth. "They are my friends... What¡¯s happening?" "Ah... Nothing much!" The leader of the patrolling guards was stunned. Between the businessman and the spiritual array master, he quickly took a stand. Turning around, he stared at the businessman with justice. "Businessman Min, you have wrongly used of these foreigners. Follow us to the government court. We¡¯ll also need you to seal up your storeroom, and we¡¯ll check it!" "This... This..." The cunning businessman was stunned. His backing was only the uncle of the leader. If they wanted to do things ¡¯by the book¡¯, he would have no grounds to resist. Furthermore, as Businessman Min looked at Zhang Kongfan, his legs turned jelly. Never would he have thought that these foreigners had a spiritual array master as their backing! How was this possible? How would a person of such a high status get involved with these lowly people? Businessman Min¡¯s heart was filled with regret. However, he knew that there was nothing more that he could say. Everything was reasonable. After all, he was a smart person, and without hesitation, he admitted. "I admit to my wrongdoings! I shouldn¡¯t have listened to rumours and caused trouble to these people!" Looking at Li Hu and Yu Jian, he was now smiling. "I¡¯ll return you your goods, andpensate you guys another 10 rocks of green salt, 130 pounds of top-quality metal. Please ept!" Li Hu and Yu Jian rolled their eyes. In reality, both of them had no clue as to what was happening, and how did the situation change. The originally fierce looking businessman suddenly became an obedient one, to the extent that he was afraid they might not ept his gifts. "All of this had be as such, and we owe it to the appearance of this Sir!" Li Hu looked at Zhang Kongfan and could guess that this person had a high social standing. Quickly, he knelt down. "Thank you for saving our lives, Rock Vige will never forget you!" "No worries, I have been tasked by someone else to do this!" Zhang Kongfan had an unnatural look on his face. Turning around, he did not ept the gratitude from these people. After all, if not for his Master¡¯s instructions, he wouldn¡¯t care less about their survival. "Since this is so..." Li Hu knew the limit. Even though Zhang Kongfan was a strong backing, he did not want to force it on him, which might result in a bacsh. "Then we shall keep things as such!" He took a bow towards the leader of the patrolling guards. "Thank you for upholding justice!" "Mm, you¡¯re wee!" The leader smiled. He knew that they were thankful for his help. "I am Luo Fan. If you do visit Descending Star City in the future, you can look for me!" "I¡¯ve settled this, and I shall take my leave!" Zhang Kongfan looked down and left. He did not care less about how they were going to settle the issue. "Eh? That is..." Yu Jian looked towards the direction where Zhang Kongfan headed towards. Rubbing his eyes, he thought that he had seen a familiar silhouette. After blinking a few times, they were all gone, and it was like an illusion. "That should be Lord!" Li Hu walked towards him and eximed with confidence. They only had rtions with one such powerful person. "Who would¡¯ve known that he could manipte a spiritual array master..." In his voice, there was a hint of regret. Although they already knew that Fang Yuan was extraordinary, they now could tell that his status was very much higher than what they could have imagined. ... Just as they were all excited, Fang Yuan arrived at Kongming the Goldy Monk¡¯s monastery. "Sambhogakaya Monastery?" Looking at the huge signboard, he smiled. "I¡¯ve heard that in Brahma, there are three types of bodies. They are Sambhogakaya, Dhammakaya and Nirmanakaya. Every single type of these bodies have immense capabilities and are all unpredictable. How many of these bodies have you cultivated, Master?" "Oh? You know about the teachings of Brahma?" Kongming the Godly Monk was shocked, but afterwards, he shook his head and sighed. "My ancestor was a Buddhist from Da Qian Empire. There were rumours that he had already cultivated his Sambhogakaya. However, his descendants were all weak and they were unable to escape Da Qian. Therefore, we have lost almost half of all our scriptures. How could there be any teachings left for us to cultivate? I am useless, and have only understood and discovered a few illusionary theories on spiritual arrays for me to advance to be a spiritual array master..." He was in a daze, as though he had started to recall his younger days. "I see!" Fang Yuan was interested in the recordings about spiritual arrays. However, he knew that he could not show his interest right away. Otherwise, it would be as though he was dering war on them. ¡¯Why do all the authors of martial arts manual dislike recording down their teachings properly?¡¯ He thought to himself silently as he walked into the monastery. The monastery appearedvish on the outside, but the interior decor was simple. There was a tall Banyan tree in the middle of the courtyard and it was flourishing. Every pavilion was nicely decorated and the presence of the monastery bells and gongs gave this ce a sense of serenity. "Peace within chaos. This is a good ce!" Seeing this ce, Fang Yuan let out a sigh. "I¡¯m d you like it!" Kongming the Godly Monk was weing. "If you like this ce, you can stay here for as long as you like!" "Thank you!" Although the courtyard was a good ce, the Banyan tree, statue of Buddha and the arrangement of everything in the monastery gave Fang Yuan a strong feeling that he was within an array. "Did I walk into a trap knowingly? Kongming the Godly Monk must be d now, right?" He wasughing at his own stupidity inside. Following Kongming the Godly Monk, he arrived at a room and settled down. "Please have your meal!" The meditation room was in and simple. Inside, there was a fragrance incense burning, and none of the decors here appeared luxurious. After meditating for a while, Fang Yuan heard a courteous knock on his door. Following his acknowledgement, a small monk entered. "Grandmaster had informed us that you are our valued guest and you have no dietary restrictions like us. Just let us know what you¡¯d like to have for your meal, and we will buy it back for you!" "Mm, thank you!" Fang Yuan took the tray of dishes over and realised that it was a vegetarian meal. There was a stack of fragrance stir-fried mushrooms. This was an interesting dish that made used of the mostmon ingredients. The few other vegetarian dishes were all very interesting in their own ways and were fragrant. The rice prepared was a type of spiritual rice known as ¡¯Little Lightning¡¯. Every grain of it was pointy and in each grain were tiny shes of light. Long periods of consumption would allow one to be immune to electrocution. When eating it, one¡¯s tongue would feel as though it was being electrocuted, and it was indeed a memorable dish. This vegetarian meal wasparable to food for royalties, even though it did not include any meat dishes. "If not for the things that I have to attend to, this would be a good ce for me to settle down for the rest of my life..." After finishing the meal, he dismissed the young monk, he thought to himself. If not for the quirky things in this city, it would be even better!" "Hehe... Master Fang Yuan!" Without letting Fang Yuan rest, Kongming the Godly Monk personally came to visit him. "You have a good reputation indeed. When the city master heard of your arrival, he rescheduled his important matters tonight, and is now rushing down to pay you a visit..." "This is not about my reputation. I¡¯m sure the city master is concerned for the vigers and is only anxious after hearing about the tragedy in Red Leaf Vige!" Fang Yuan casually replied Kongming the Godly Monk, which stunned him for a while. He could not saying anything else and smiled at Fang Yuan. ... Sambhogakaya Monastery was rather huge. In the backyard, there was a spacious garden, and in the middle of the garden was a small octagonal pavilion. At this point in time, under the pavilion, there was a person patiently waiting. He had sharp eyes and a majestic vibe. Although he had the appearance of a middle-aged man, his skin was glowing white. He was wearing a crown and did not appear old at all. Instead, he appeared full of life. "Is this my young friend, Fang Yuan?" He raised his head at looked at the approaching Fang Yuan. As he smiled, his eyes were filled with curiosity. "I¡¯m Fang Yuan from the wilderness. Greetings, city master!" Fang Yuan paid his respects and entered the pavilion without any hesitation. "You¡¯vee from afar, and as the host of this city, I have failed to wee you. Please forgive me!" He had a deep an attractive voice and gave off a masculine feel. Indeed, he was very weing. However, for unknown reasons, looking at the perfect and masculine face of the city master, Fang Yuan¡¯s face twitched and he had the urge to go up and give him a punch. He could no longer hold it back. "I shall not hide my intentions. I am intending to go to Da Qian Empire. However, I am lost, and I hope that you can provide me with a map..." "Oh?" The city master of Descending Star City frowned, expressing his curiosity. Slowly, he nodded his head. "This is a small matter. Don¡¯t keep it to your heart! I will send someone to bring a map over shortly..." Looking at Fang Yuan, his eyes were filled with suspicion. "Could you have... came from the South of the icy gorge?" That icy hell was a huge obstacle that came from the heavens. It had blocked the path of many, and therefore, the appearance of Fang Yuan meant a lot to him. Chapter 207: The Revelation Chapter 207: The Revtion Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Regardless if it was Descending Star City, the Vast Deserts, or the Death Corridor... all these ces were not meant for humans to survive. They were forced to have so many viges. All the vige ancestors were people who have been defeated during fights in Da Qian, and had no choice but to emigrate. The path here from Da Qian was only possible with the sacrifice from many ancestors before them. However, the fact was that the ancestor of Descending Star City was also like the rest; stuck and denied entry by the chilly winds and icy gorge! ¡¯This is not right...¡¯ Fang Yuan looked at the city master of Descending Star City and suddenly thought of something else. ¡¯It seems that everything has been set in stone. After all, no matter how much the citizens or vigers are suffering, those at the top are already leading afortable life. Therefore, they had no motivation to risk their lives and head South... Rather than gambling their lives away to risk it through the icy gorge, why not head back to Da Qian Empire!; Even Yuan and Wu Country of the maind were considered slums whenpared to Da Qian Empire. With Yang Fan¡¯s memories, Fang Yuan was extremely clear about this. This could be described as how the people from poorer countries might risk their lives to immigrate to a more prosperous country, and rarely would you see people going the other way round. ¡¯This is true... Who knows if he was the nth generation of city masters. Since the enemies they made in Da Qian Empire did not track them all the way here, it must mean that they must have given up. If they change their names and secretly return to Da Qian, they might have a good chance of living their entire lives there... However, they would surely prefer to be king and rule over the city here...¡¯ Fang Yuan thought of something else. He felt that he now had a deeper understanding of the people who gave up their initial ns of migrating to the South. With a smile, he continued. "Does it matter if Ie from the South?" "That¡¯s true..." The city master of Descending Star City stroked his beard without another word. It was obvious that he would not take the risk to explore the maind South of the icy gorge. "City master, are you here to discuss what happened at Red Leaf Vige?" Fang Yuan changed the topic. "Everyone in the vige disappeared without a word, and the vige was soaked in their blood. There were no corpses lying around, and this phenomenon is mysterious!" "You might not know about all these since you are not from our region. However, this is amon sight..." The city master sighed. "It has been an annual affair for these mysterious things to happen. If it¡¯s a small scale event, it would affect 10 people. If it¡¯s of a bigger scale, it might affect te to hundreds of people, or even the entire vige! Even so, we would not find it unusual at all..." "Where do you think this curse hade from, city master?" Fang Yuan looked down to avoid eye contact. "Based on my predictions... Ites from a higher being!" The city master appeared serious. "Our existence is miraculous. The only exnation which might sound illogical is the existence of a higher being..." "Even if the higher being was to be destroyed, a simple thought of hatred and anger from it would linger around for eternity. If it meets a storm, it would transfigure into a poisonous dragon!" "Their souls would never die..." Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. "City master, you are guessing that there is a vengeful soul lingering around?" "Does it matter if there is or there isn¡¯t?" The city masterughed. "With the Four Elements Spiritual Array, be in a vengeful soul or a curse, nothing cane near us!" What about the viges? The vigers were lowly. Would he even care? "Indeed..." Fang Yuan gave out a long sigh. In this world where power means authority, it would be too naive to ce hopes on the powerful. "Then what is the purpose of your visit, city master?" "I have heard of the arrival of a Wu Zong and found it to be interesting, which is why I paid a visit!" The city master examined Fang Yuan with much interest. "Do you want to contribute to Descending Star City? If you agree, I will treat you as well as how I treat Kongming the Godly Monk!" ""Master Kongming is a spiritual array master!" Fang Yuan was shocked. "City master, why do you think that a small Wu Zong can bepared to a powerful spiritual array master?" "I have my own ns!" The city master smiled, brimming with confidence. "What do you think?" "I¡¯m sorry!" Fang Yuan rejected him without hesitation. "My dreams lie in Da Qian....." "What a pity..." The city master did not feel dejected. Instead, he cautioned him out of goodwill. "The Vasts Deserts, Hell of Thousand Ghosts and the Death Corridor are ces that are not easy to traverse through. Only patches of areas in these ces are suited for survival, and the rest of the region is filled with dangers. If you regret at any point in time, feel free to return here. The doors of Descending Star City will always remain open for you..." "Thank you!" Fang Yuan thanked him and ended their short meetup. ¡¯This city master is too helpful. I¡¯m sure that he has an ulterior motive!¡¯ It was suspicious that he offered Fang Yuan a high position despite the fact that Fang Yuan contributed nothing to them! Human nature was the same everywhere. The next day, the city master had ordered a servant to deliver a piece of map carved on an animal¡¯s hide. Although the lines drawn on the map were thick and not detailed, it could urately depict the general shape of Descending Star City, the Vast Deserts, Death Corridor and more. It was indeed a sincere act on the part of the city master. "Please thank the city master on my behalf!" After getting the map, Fang Yuan wasted no time. He bade farewell to Kongming the Godly Monk and walked out of Sambhogakaya Monastery. "Master?" Kongming the Godly Master personally guided Fang Yuan out for a few miles. He held a string of meditation beads in his hand and continuously chanted his mantra. One of his disciples could no longer hold himself back. "Why not..." "It is fate to start and end, fate to rise and fall. All of these are sins!" Kongming the Godly Monk sighed. Without exnation, he waved his sleeves. "We will return to our monastery. All of you, remember! If there is nothing important, don¡¯t leave the monastery..." ... Walking on the streets of Descending Star City once again, Fang Yuan gained the admiration of many vigers and felt that this was a little interesting. Unknowingly, he had walked to the vicinity of the East Gate. "If he were to do anything, he would do it here..." Fang Yuan let out a sigh. "Whoosh!" Indeed, at the next moment, his surroundings spun around and vibrated like waves. As heposed himself, he realized that the surrounding people, streets, the noisy market and the tall walls were all gone. The only thing left was a big square, and Fang Yuan stood by himself in the centre of the square. "Spiritual array? Changing of the array?" Fang Yuan looked around and gave a respectable look. "This is indeed impressive!" "This is the Soaring Green Dragon Technique originating from the Four Elements Spiritual Array. It¡¯s my honour that you admire this array!" In the empty square, a loud voice was heard. A shadow slowly approached him. It was the city master of Descending Star City! "It¡¯s you indeed!" Fang Yuan sighed once again. "I have unintentionally seen your secrets, but I am already on my way to leave the city. Why do you want to force me into a corner?" "This is... indeed my fault!" The city master remained silent for long. Suddenly, he sighed and continued. "As a form ofpensation, I shall exin to you all that has happened from the beginning!" "Even if you don¡¯t exin to me, I can roughly guess... Red Leaf Vige and all the other past events were caused by you, am I right?" Fang Yuan shook his head and sighed. "Your intention... is to either use them as a sacrifice or to trade their lives, in order for you to obtain your power!" "That¡¯s right. In order to maintain the Four Elements Spiritual Array till now, how much resources do you think I would need? Even if we were to bury the nucleus of a star at the heart of the array, it still would not be enough! I will have to maintain it regrly..." "This is almost simr to how I¡¯ve imagined it to be..." Fang Yuan nodded his head. "Then why look for me?" "In order to withstand the brutally cold weather these few years, the Four Elements Spiritual Array was damaged. Although I am in the midst of repairing it, I amcking in a crucial ingredient. After thinking for long, I have thought of making use of a Wu Zongs¡¯ blood essence and a few other ingredients which I already have, so that I can rece this method of regrly sacrificing so many people..." "In this city, all the Wu Zongs are your own people, except me, of which I have foolishly walked into your trap..." Fang Yuan sighed. "That¡¯s right!" The city master took a respectful bow. "Please rest in peace. The entire Descending Star City will be eternally grateful for your contribution..." As he finished his sentence, his body was surrounded by a sense of ¡¯justice¡¯! Through his expression, Fang Yuan knew that the city master felt that everything he had done was the correct decision and that under his orders, he felt that even Fang Yuan, who was a Wu Zong, must obediently sacrifice himself to contribute to the foundations of the Four Elements Spiritual Array! "This mindset of yours... it¡¯s rather irritating!" Fang Yuan shook his head without any intent to hide his intentions of killing. "Do you think you can escape?" The city master of Descending Star City sounded extremely confident and appeared rxed. It was totally understandable for him to feel such a way. After all, Fang Yuan was in the centre of his Four Elements Spiritual Array. Generations of spiritual array masters hadpletely transformed thisnd into a trap that no one would be able to escape! As he pped his hands, two Wu Zongs appeared. They revealed a cunning smile and slowly approached Fang Yuan. With so many advantages for the city master, a normal Wu Zong had to obediently listen to him. ¡¯Really...¡¯ After Fang Yuan figured out the reason behind the deaths of all the people in Red Leaf Vige, he did not know whether tough or to cry. He gave a cold look. "I don¡¯t want to trouble you, and yet you don¡¯t want to let me go?" Even so, the transformation ability of the Four Elements Spiritual Array did give Fang Yuan a shock, as it was something he had never seen before. "Forget about it. I¡¯ll let you know that this is a terrible mistake of yours!" Fang Yuan took in a deep breath as the spiritual aura around him changed. "Something¡¯s not right!" At this point in time, the city master was left gaping. "I just had news that this person¡¯s energy consumption is 10 times more than a normal Wu Zong! He is not a normal Wu Zong, but a Meridian Opening Stage Wu Zong!" "That¡¯s right! I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s toote!" Fang Yuanughed heartily as three spiritual meridians appeared on his body, forming a spiritual armour. Without holding back, he struck a punch towards the city master! Chapter 208: Vermilion Bird Chapter 208: Vermilion Bird Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Fang Yuan originally had the Fifth Elemental Force. With the 1st Refining Stage of his Hundred Poison Golden Body, he had gained 1 elemental power. In total, he had achieved the Sixth Elemental Force! What was the implication of this? Nie Kuang, who had managed to form a divine body and forced his way through the icy gorge, was able to defeat many Elemental Opening realm spiritual knights at his peak! He had the Seventh Elemental Force then! Fang Yuan was not far from him. By leveraging the element of surprise, his power was multiplied by many folds. "Rumble!" The entire square shook. Before the other two Wu Zong coulde to their senses, Fang Yuan¡¯s fists had already reached them. He was quick! Quick beyond imagination! "Ah! Dragon Tiger Protective Seal!" "Star Spiritual Aura!" Both Wu Zongs were caught off guard. Before their minds could even react, their muscle memory had already taken defensive action. One of the Wu Zongs cast a seal, and silhouettes of a dragon and a tiger appeared around him, forming a huge seal. The other Wu Zong released elemental force from every single pore on its body continuously, forming a protective energy shield around him. The martial arts from Da Qian were still far more superior than that of the Yuan and Wu Countries in the maind. Even these two Wu Zong migrants skills were rather impressive. They had the Second Elemental Force! They would be among the best of the best if ced together with the Wu Zongs in the maind! However, Fang Yuan didn¡¯t care much. Exerting more force, he struck his fists out! What a fist! The silhouette of the dragon and tiger disappeared upon touch, and the defensive shield made up of elemental force was broken! This kind of power was enough to be considered destructive! "Ah!" "You..." "Bang! Bang!" Both Wu Zongs turned pale and spat out a mouthful of blood. Being struck by the fists, there were countless sounds of fracturesing from their body. Like a dead snake, they fell to the ground! "Die!" Fang Yuan swiftly approached the city master of Descending Star City and struck his w out. "Ah!" His expression changed as he quickly retreated. He was filled with regret! Never would he have thought that the weak Wu Zong in front of him that he was about to capture would suddenly transform into a powerful demon! "Soaring Green Dragon, change!" The good thing was that the death of the other two Wu Zongs bought him some time. This city master was also a spiritual knight himself. As he recited his spiritual mantra, he altered the array. Previously, he caught Fang Yuan by surprised and altered the array based on the map. However, now that Fang Yuan was on guard, it would be much more troublesome to alter it once more. Therefore, he decided to cast the array on himself instead of Fang Yuan! "Whoosh!" After a sh, he disappeared and managed to dodge from Fang Yuan¡¯s ws. He appeared at the edge of the square. "You are dead! No one can save you in my Four Elements Spiritual Array!" He appeared serious and cast a technique once again. "Split!" "Weng!" As the air shook, Fang Yuan could feel that the natural elemental energy was slowly segregated from him, until there was none of it left. "Pressure!" The city master pointed at Fang Yuan, and following which, a huge pressure akin to a mountain started to fall on him. This resulting in a creaking sound on his spiritual armour followed by an ufortable screech. "Is this the power of an array?" As he felt the huge pressure piling up on him, he felt as though the entire world was against him. With that thought, heughed to himself heartily. Previously, he had only seen an array designed to trap. Furthermore, it was only an array map and was simr to the Immovable Array which was sold to him. How could itpare to the huge protective array cast over Descending Star City that was maintained by countless spiritual array masters? "City master! You have only used the altering technique in the array and even sent out Wu Zongs to capture me. This only means one thing. You are not willing to move this array too much. Could it be due to the fact that the damage on this array has yet to be repaired?" "Plus... Although the map you gave me was urate, you had hidden a spiritual tracer inside to locate me, is that right?" He spoke with confidence. With the experience gained from essing Zhang Kongfan¡¯s memories and his previous experience with spiritual arrays, he could quickly identify the problems. As he threw the map on his hands away, the city master¡¯s expression changed. If he knew that this would have happened, he should have sacrificed one of his men. At least, the situation wouldn¡¯t escte to what it was now. Not only did he lose two Wu Zongs, he had made a new enemy! Since Fang Yuan was now his enemy, he had no other choice but to risk it all and destroy him here. Withstanding the huge pressure, Fang Yuan ced his hands behind his back and stood up straight. "The purpose of this array is to protect against people from outside. By altering the array and putting me in the centre, you are not using it to its fullest potential. Are you not worried that the damage would be more severe... and that the spiritual array would be destroyed in the end?" "You think too much of yourself!" The city master showed a ck face. "Considering the foundations of my protective spiritual array, do you think that you, as a weak Meridian Opening Wu Zong, can destroy the whole array?" "White Tiger Killer Technique! Seven Death Ultimatum, go!" "Roar! Roar!" Amidst the roaring, white fog from the surroundings came together to form the shape of a huge tiger. It snared its fangs and appeared ferocious. Following its tiger instincts, it pounced forward and swiped its ws at Fang Yuan. It was already majestic to begin with. With support from the array, it was even more powerful! "Good!" Fang Yuanughed out loud. As he mustered his Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique, his physical body appeared normal but the energy level within him was surging. Quickly, he mimicked a huge eagle as he let out a long chirp. "Giant Eagle w!" "Chirp! Chirp!" As the eagle¡¯s w met with the tiger¡¯s w, the eagle¡¯s w disappeared. The white tiger was left shocked and was dazed for a moment. As its body glowed, it swiped another w towards Fang Yuan. "The animal is part of the array... it is still not as instinctive as a real beast!" Fang Yuan rushed forward and the pressure on his body was no more. Quickly, he arrived at the head of the white tiger. "I¡¯ll... destroy!!!" "Rumble!" Amidst a huge roar, he struck a fist on the tiger¡¯s head. The tiger was stunned and its ws froze in mid-air. In a daze, it copsed. "Whoosh!" The entire Descending Star City shook, and cracks resembling spider webs were formed on the city walls. "You..." The city master was in despair. "You even know about arrays?" He could tell from the weird steps that Fang Yuan took that he had already identified the weakness in the array. Following which, he timed it nicely to end of the tiger and the array in one punch. Otherwise, how would such a ferocious beast sumb to a single punch? Furthermore, this had led to the cracks on a part of the city walls! The city master¡¯s face turned green. "Soaring Green Dragon, ck Tortoise Groundbreaking Technique, White Tiger Killer Technique... All three techniques, go!" "Roar!" The dragon and tiger¡¯s roar could be heard, and the ground shook as a ck tortoise appeared. Three silhouettes appeared once more as they surrounding Fang Yuan. This was the power of arrays! Without destroying the foundation of the array, all these attacks would be continuous. Even though it was temporarily damaged, it could be repaired quickly. "How can you foolishly think you can go against the power of Heaven and Earth?" The city master¡¯s voice was heard. "Since you are a Meridian Opening Wu Zong, I now believe that youe from the South... Give up and let me restrain you. I might spare your life!" From all that has happened, he felt that his own skill in casting arrays had dramatically improved. If the array was perfect, there would not be any weaknesses for Fang Yuan to exploit. However, with the weaknesses in ce, and the continuous techniques that he had to execute, it was as though he was training himself. Therefore, it would be normal for his skill in casting arrays to improve drastically. "Whoosh!" Suddenly, Fang Yuan was all over the ce. He was using his Shadowstep and once again arrived at the array beast¡¯s head. "You have missed out on something. You¡¯re too careless, city master! Giant Eagle w!" "Chirp! Chirp!" As the figure of an eagle formed behind him, his energy was shocking, and it was as though he was like a ball of fire. Rushing into the array of beasts, the wings of the eagle swiped at the white tiger, the ws of the eagle striking the green dragon and the beak of the eagle pecked at the ck tortoise. With a shriek, the ck tortoise disappeared. "Rumble!" The entire Descending Star City shook as though there was a mini earthquake. Many buildings were tilted as the ground cracked open. This had never happened before, and this made many of them feel as though the end of the world wasing. "This is impossible..." "How can the protective array fail?" In Sambhogakaya Monastery. Kongming the Godly Monk opened his eyes in curiosity. "How is this possible?" The instability of the array must be due to the fact that the city master was drawing energy from the energy source of the array, coupled with the fact that the array had suffered damage! Based on what he knew, the city master had spent quite a lot of effort in plotting against Fang Yuan. He had even called for the help of two Wu Zongs, and therefore was rather confident that nothing would go wrong! "If the protective array were to be destroyed, the entire city will crumble and there will no longer be any signs of life..." Unknowingly, an image of a young boy appeared in front of Kongming the Godly Monk. "All of you wait here. I have to go out and take a look!" With a look of determination, he stood up, bowed and disappeared swiftly. ... "Three of them..." The city master was in destion. With a heartless look, he continued. "You forced me to do this! Vermilion Bird from the South! Come out!" In order to gain resistance from the chilly winds and cold weather, the city master was well-versed in fire-type techniques. However, the damaged portion of the array was from the Vermilion Bird. Therefore, if there was no need, it was not advisable to activate it. However, against Fang Yuan, he had to reveal his final move! "Chirp! Chirp!" As a fiery glow shed past, a giant inferno bird appeared. As the mes burned continuously on its wings, the bird let out a distinct chirp. "Vermilion Bird from the South?" Fang Yuan froze. The power of this spiritual beast was much greater than the three illusionary beasts that he had fought previously. "Weng! Weng!" Not just that, but there was also a brightly-glowing diamond on the head of this Vermilion Bird. This was the energy source! The energy source of the entire Four Elements Spiritual Array! Chapter 209: Compassion Chapter 209: Compassion Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Descending Star City! This city was a piece of barrennd in the past. There were no traces of human life, and it was a disaster-stricken ce. One day, a group of people arrived here. There were migrants from Da Qian Empire. Because of their own reasons, they had to leave the empire to start afresh in rural ces in hopes of survival. They were the ancestors of the city master of Descending Star City and Kongming the Godly Monk! They wanted to traverse through the icy gorges but were afraid of being trapped in there. Therefore, they had no choice but to settle down and faced the continuous threat from the cold and brutal weather, and the beasts native to the icy ins. Finally, there came a day. A piece of asteroidnded on the ins.! All it took was one night for the entire barren piece ofnd to change. Thend became much more fertile and they could now nt all types of nts. Furthermore, at the position where the asteroidnded, there was a huge surge in energy. The array masters among the migrants could feel it, and from there designed a South Vermilion Fiery Array to separate themselves from the cold. They were the ones who started everything. Soon after, from the contributions of their descendants, a few array techniques were added to the initial array, forming the Four Elements Spiritual Array. Furthermore, they bug ake on the position where the asteroidnded in remembrance of the miracle the asteroid brought to them. This was why the city was named Descending Star City! Therefore, the Vermilion Bird from the South was the core of the entire Four Elements Spiritual Array. It had the energy of the asteroid! This was the myth behind the name of Descending Star City. And now, the myth has turned into reality! The simplest of all arrays; the Vermilion Fiery Array, and the energy source are now in front of Fang Yuan! "Rumble!" The shocking tongues of me and the heat from it were making Fang Yuan dizzy. The eyes of the Vermilion Bird were filled with life, and the three dead animals which appeared previously was nothingpared to it. "Good! Good! Good!" Fang Yuan appeared serious andplimented. "This Vermilion Fiery Array is the only real array. You descendants don¡¯t know the true power of it and added three extra animals making the Four Elements Spiritual Array. However, all of you are not highly skilled enough, and therefore are just making useless additions to the array!" "You..." As the city master heard him, his pulled a long face - he was one of those who made the useless additions! "Small boy, what do you know... If we didn¡¯t form the Four Elements Spiritual Array, how would we be able to protect such a huge area ofnd like the Descending Star City... But why do I have to exin all these to you? You are about to be burnt alive by the Vermilion Bird!" He had a ferocious look as he eximed. "So it¡¯s your greed!" Fang Yuan sighed softly. "There are no problems with the Vermilion Fiery Array. The problem is with your insatiable greed!" As he replied, he rushed forward and his hands formed ws. "Giant Eagle w!" "Chirp! Chirp!" Apanying a high-pitched chirp, a giant w appeared as it struck down towards the city master. "Rumble!" As the Vermilion Bird witnessed the w, it swiped its wings. A circle of mes appeared, forming a wall around the city master. "Haha... It¡¯s useless! I am still under the protection of the Four Elements Spiritual Array. Your opponent is the Vermilion Bird!" The city masterughed heartily as he altered the array once again. "Chirp! Chirp!" The Vermilion Bird let out a long chirp. As the energy source on its head glowed, it spread its wings and spread a wave of mes towards Fang Yuan. "Weng! Weng!" As the asteroid shook, it became dimmer. "Rumble!" The Descending Star City shook once more. Cracks continued to form on the city walls, and the spiritual inscriptions started to disappear. "Roar! Roar!" "Hiss! Hiss!" "Chirp! Chirp!" ... Suddenly, there was a roar from the storm outside. In the icy ins, there were a few huge shadows appearing. It was a huge beast from the icy ins. It had a huge body and bloodshot eyes that let out a ferocious glow. "Chatter!" "Chatter!" ... On the city walls, the guards were chattering their teach in fear, and could not even hold their weapons properly. "Icy... Icy beasts attacking the city?" "How is this possible? We have the protective array, and they cannote close..." From a long time ago, the im that Descending Star City was impregnable was the emotional support for many of the people living in the city. "How could this happen?" Amidst the chaotic crowd, Yu Jian held on to Li Hu¡¯s hands tightly. "Isn¡¯t Descending Star City the safest ce?" "I have no idea. It might be due to the fact that the protective array is having some problems. I¡¯m sure the people in the city will resolve it..." Li Hu¡¯s face was pale. He didn¡¯t even believe what he had just said, and his right hand started to grip tightly onto his knife. "How did all of this happen?" In the walls, a high-ranking general looked at the beast but was thinking all about what was happening inside the city. "City master... You have miscalcted this time!" "Chirp! Chirp!" In the centre of the centre, there was a sudden distinct chirp. A pir of fire suddenly appeared and rose up into the sky as it pierced through the clouds and headed towards the sun. This was not a cause for celebration! As the fiery ball of fire rose up, the spiritual inscriptions on the city walls became increasingly dimmer. Finally, a huge icy gori, which was 3 storeys high, leapt onto the walls and started to pound on its chest! "Rumble!" It was destruction everywhere! One portion of the city walls crumbled and fell down, revealing the streets and houses of the city! "Keke!" As the icy gori saw it, it stroked its arms, grabbed onto a soldier and started to feast on it. "Ah... Save me, I don¡¯t want to die!" Although the soldier had broken limbs, he was still alive and was wailing for help. However, no one could react to what was happening. There were still caught in a daze from the tremors. "Amituofo!" At this crucial point in time, a white silhouette shed past. The icy gori stopped whatever it was doing. Looking at its hands, the food that it was feasting on was long gone. "That you for saving me, Godly Monk!" On the city walls, Kongming the Godly monk slowly ced the soldier down. Looking at the icy gori, he was enraged. "Aw! Aw!" The icy gori did not care much. Instead, it pounded its fists on its chest once again and rushed towards Kongming the Godly Monk. "The hidden King Kong, immovable like a mountain!" Kongming the Godly Monk sps his hand together before pushing it outwards. A faint golden glow appeared in his palms. "Weng! Weng!" As the golden glow in his palm intensified, it finally formed a swastika symbol. With that, he exerted the pressure out. "Roar! Roar!" The icy gori eximed in pity and retreated backwards as though it was being held down by a mountain. Soon after, there were golden mes appearing on its body, and it was a matter of seconds before it was engulfed in mes. "Chirp! Chirp!" An icy phoenix with three ice crystals on its tail appeared. Quickly, it flew by the icy gori. "Whoosh!" As the golden mes died out, the icy goriid on the ground and sighed weakly. Together with its burnt fur, it was aical scene to behold. However, Kongming the Godly Monk could notugh. "Icy beasts with the cultivation level at the Elemental Gathering Stage? And not just one! Where did all of theme from?" He was feeling unsure. With the meditation beads in hand, he walked to the crumbled wall and chanted six words: "Weng! Ma! Ni! Bei! Mi! Hong!" "Rumble!" Rows of golden runes appeared on the two broken walls at the side. Slowly, they extended out and met in the centre, forming chains of Sanskrit covering where the broken wall once stood. "Weng! Weng!" Not just that, but golden runes appeared on every wall. They represented strength and eternal blessing. "Thank you for saving our lives!" A few Lieutenants rushed forward and thanked him. "Amituofo!" Kongming the Godly Monk shook his head. "I have only activated the restrictive power within the walls, which were ced there long ago by our ancestors. It can merely withstand the altering of the array and hold off the beasts outside for about an hour!" He could not cast a new protective array over the entire city just by himself. However, it was different at the walls. With the ¡¯secret ingredient¡¯ added by their ancestors years ago, it was an inheritance left for the descendants in case of an emergency. This way, they could still take the geographical advantage. Even as such, without the most important energy source, the array would not be able tost long. ¡¯This ce is barren and cannot bepared to Da Qian Empire. To maintain the array, we need to either use the energy source or... we have to use blood sacrifice...¡¯ Kongming the Godly Monk held his meditation beads in one hand and fiddled with it. "Sins! All these sins!" ... "It seems to be chaotic outside!" Within the Vermilion Fiery Array, Fang Yuan looked embarrassed. His expression was one of disappointment. Suddenly, heughed. "I knew it... You are crazy and don¡¯t even care about your city. How could you use energy from the entire city against me! Are you not afraid that your disciples and your rtives might be attacked by icy beasts?" "That will not happen just yet. Our ancestors have left something within our walls to buy us some time in an event of an emergency..." The city master looked serious. "Furthermore... This is all the time I need to kill you! Vermilion Bird!" "Chirp! Chirp!" In front of Fang Yuan, the Vermilion Bird agreed to the city master and was extremely human-like. Facing Fang Yuan, it opened its beak. "Rumble!" "Rumble!" As red mes burned, the extreme temperatures caused the ground to melt, forming puddles of gooey liquid. "You are indeed crazy, and there¡¯s nothing I can do to help you..." As the me burnt through Fang Yuan¡¯s silhouette, it failed to burn Fang Yuan. His real body appeared on the other side as he shook his head and sighed. "City master, you are known to be noble. Are you going to continue to be lost in your own personal greed?" "Of course... it is useless to tell you all these. This is because I have one reason to fight against you!" In the array, ayer of bewildering fog appeared and spread out. "And that reason is... The fact that you wanted to take advantage of me! That means you deserve to die!" As his imagery appeared everywhere, Fang Yuan¡¯s real body appeared in front of the city master. In the face of death, even the Vermilion Bird was in a daze! Chapter 210: Takeover Chapter 210: Takeover Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Everything would have a soul! There would be a mountain god in the mountains, a water spirit in the rivers! Even on pieces ofnds, vast oceans, or evens of worlds, each and every one of these entities would have their own spirits. Even so, the minds of these spirits move extremely slow and might take up to a thousand years for a single thought! But they exist! Since they have souls, we can interact with them and ess their dreams! This would be the origin of the cultivation of dream masters! This also means that in the array lies an array spirit! Of course, in small arrays, the spirit would be too weak, or it might have even have been developed yet. However, on first sight, as Fang Yuan looked at the Vermilion Bird, he could confirm that the Vermilion Fiery Array had a living spirit in it! If the spirit were to be the likes of those in huge mountains or in dead arrays, Fang Yuan would not be able to ess their dreams as his ability was still limited. However, this strong-spirited array was the perfect opportunity for Fang Yuan to strike! This was simr to the fact that he could not ess the dreams of normal nts, but managed to ess the dreams of the Sickle Grass and Serrated Flower! "Weng! Weng!" In an instant, the fiery Vermilion Bird fell into a daze, and the entire array came to a halt! In the next moment, following the tremor of the asteroid, energy flowed back into the Vermilion Bird as it snapped out of its trance. This was the moment Fang Yuan was waiting for! This Vermilion Fiery Array had its weakness from the beginning. It was burdened by the other three elements, and after fighting with Fang Yuan for an extended period, Fang Yuan had already figured out the rules that the array would abide by, and the mysteries of the array. This was the opportunity for Fang Yuan! "Go!" Fang Yuan executed his Shadowstep. After leaping on a few weak points on the array, he leapt over the fiery wall and arrived in front of the city master. "You..." The city master¡¯s expression was one of fury and shock. Just as he spoke a word, Fang Yuan eximed. "Die!" It was a tremendous shout; akin to a tsunami! In this shout, Fang Yuan not only used his secret technique but also infused in it the dream master¡¯s bewildering fog! Facing this, even the city master, who was a spiritual knight, was dazed. "Whoosh!" This was the golden opportunity! A Wu Zong was already extremely fast; a Meridian Opening Wu Zong was even more so! In a few moments, he had already arrived in front of the city master as he struck his fist out. "Bloop!" A water bubble appeared as it spun in the air with spiritual inscriptions. It had a weird indentation as it blocked the punch for the city master. "A time-sensitive spiritual treasure?" Fang Yuanughed cunningly. "Even this can¡¯t save you! Let the strength of 3 spiritual meridians strike!" "Kacha! Kacha!" Three spiritual meridians appeared on his body and disappeared quickly. At the same time, there were popping soundsing from his back. Like dominos, the popping sounds travelled down and finally reached his fists, bringing with it an immense amount of force. "No!" Finally, the city master was aware of what was happening. Quickly, he ordered the Vermilion Bird toe to his rescue. But it was toote. "Whoosh!" A distinct sound was heard as the bubble popped, allowing Fang Yuan¡¯s fist to go through,nding on the city master¡¯s body. After all, he was an array master! Not a Wu Zong! The oue was determined from the moment he had allowed a Meridian Opening Wu Zong toe close to him! Even though the city master was wearing an inner armour and hung a talisman which glowed in spiritual light, all of it was no use! With an angry grunt, Fang Yuan exploded in strength. In a matter of seconds, he had pushed his own limits. This fists broke through the city master¡¯s robes andnded on his inner armour, forming a huge indentation. At the same time, an intense tremor was felt through the inner armour and exploded within the city master¡¯s body. "Mmm..." The crown on the city master¡¯s head exploded. His hair was blown and his eyes, nose and ears were bleeding. As he opened his mouth, pieces of his internal organs came out. There was no way of faking such a death; he was dead beyond hope. "Eh?" Fang Yuan could detect a hint of elemental force on the corpse of the city master. "His soul? His mind? Or his regrets?" He smiled as his spiritual aura exploded like a burning sun, "Chi! Chi!" Suddenly, ck smoke started toe out from the corpse, and with it was an intense screeching sound. Finally, the city master¡¯s face of resentment exploded. "The utter destruction of your body and soul would mean that you are truly dead. If you cane back to life, I¡¯ll respect you!" Fang Yuan sighed and looked at the Vermilion Fiery Array. Although the city master had died, the Vermilion Bird was still a huge trouble for him. "Chirp! Chirp!" With the loss of its owner, the Vermilion Bird seemed to have calmed down and was no longer aggressive like before. Instead, itzily walked about and asionally pecked its own feathers. All of its actions made it look like a real living bird, and no one would associate it with a dead array. "Array techniques are trule impressive!" Fang Yuanplimented as he walked ahead, trying to stroke its feathers. "Chirp! Chirp!" A pir of mes appeared and started to burn the elemental force on Fang Yuan¡¯s hand. Fang Yuan leapt away and waved his hands as a spiritual meridian appeared. Quickly, he extinguished the fire and repaired his armour. Seeing that there was no more threat, its feathers stood down as it became a carefree bird. "Without a person controlling the array, the fiery array is already impressive enough. It will bnce itself out and defend itself from external threats!" Fang Yuan was lost in his thoughts. Based on his understanding of arrays, together with the experience he had just gained, he came to an unlikely solution. "Dream essing!" Facing the spiritual array, he executed his dream-essing technique once again. The bewildering fog was the foundation for all dream masters. It would not cause harm to the subjects, and instead, had a soothing effect on them. The Vermilion Bird did not react. However, based on its spirituality, it became dizzy but quicklyposed itself as its own mind dispelled the resistance. "Another time!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered as he attempted his techniques once more. An extremely short dream soon appeared, and as he took on the role of the Vermilion Bird, he witnessed the forming of Descending Star City and the efforts of the ancestors... "Chirp! Chirp!" Time passed. The Vermilion Bird spread its wings andfortably fell into a deep sleep... Fang Yuan walked up and lightly plucked at the asteroid. "Whoosh!" The asteroid, which was the energy source, was on Fang Yuan¡¯s hand. "Hmm..." The first thought that Fang Yuan had was that the piece of asteroid was heavy! Extremely heavy! After it stopped glowing, the asteroid was only asrge as a fist, but it weighed a few thousand pounds! If not for the fact that Fang Yuan¡¯s physical body was strengthened, he might not be able to lift it! "All of the essence lies in this asteroid. It has an immense amount of energy, but after generations of failed leaders, most of its energy has been used up... This was also why the city master had to continuously supply blood to keep it going..." Fang Yuan looked at the asteroid on his hand. On the glittering side of it, there was a blood imprint, which appeared sinister. "This object... has been made into a magical weapon..." Fang Yuan was curious. "Furthermore... this object has no owner now. Through the Four Elements Spiritual Array, I might be able to take possession of it!" It was obvious that the previous owner of the asteroid must be the city master of Descending Star City! The death of him would mean that the asteroid now had no owner. More importantly, through dream essing, Fang Yuan had gained a deeper understanding of the Four Elements Spiritual Array, to the extent that he might be the person who has the deepest understanding of it in the entire city! Furthermore, the amount of elemental force he had was folds of normal Wu Zongs and spiritual knights. With a simple release of energy, the asteroid had no resistance as his spiritual will marked an imprint on it. "So... Do I haveplete control over the Four Elements Spiritual Array now?" Fang Yuan looked at the asteroid, not knowing if he shouldugh or cry. "Chirp! Chirp!" The Vermilion Bird woke up and looked at him calmly. "Return! Remove the restriction on the city, and continue protecting it!" Fang Yuan used his spiritual will tomand the Vermilion Bird. "Chirp! Chirp!" The Vermilion Bird let out a long chirp as it transformed into an inferno. Soon, it disappeared into the ground. "Whoosh!" In the square, the restriction was not lifted, and construction of the walls could be seen. "City master, how could you recklessly use the energy from the asteroid? Don¡¯t you know that this would lead to... Cough..." As the restriction was lifted, a bald man barged in impatiently and nagged. Seeing Fang Yuan, he was in shock as his expression was one of disbelief. "It¡¯s you?!" "That¡¯s right, It¡¯s me! Are you disappointed?" Fang Yuan mocked him as he tossed the asteroid into the air. Looking at him toying with the asteroid, Kongming the Godly Monk turned pale. Suddenly, he appeared fearful, greedy,passion... all sorts of expression shed across his face. "I¡¯m Kongming, greetings to you, city master!" After changing his expression countless times, he clenched his teeth and reluctantly knelt down. "City master?" Fang Yuan didn¡¯t know if he shouldugh or not. "Regardless of who it is, whoever has possession over the asteroid and control over the protective array shall be the rightful owner of Descending Star City!" Kongming replied without hesitation. He was a smart monk. Seeing that Fang Yuan had taken possession of the asteroid, he knew that the lives of everyone in the city were in his hands. Afraid that Fang Yuan would run away after taking the asteroid, he quickly gave him the appointment as city master, in hopes that with the power and responsibility, he could convince this highly skilled person to stay. Why not forcefully take it back? Even the mighty city master with control over the Four Elements Spiritual Array and other resources couldn¡¯tst against him. How would he even dare to try? "You¡¯re a smart person!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. "However... what about the fact that you lied to me..." "I was useless and could not tell that you were highly skilled. I¡¯ll make myself blind!" With a face of determination, Kongming smashed his eyes, and dark-red blood started to ooze out. To pay the price of lying to Fang Yuan, hepleted blinded himself. "Very well!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. With another toss, the asteroid became a sh of light and burrowed underground. On the city walls, there were glows of lights chasing away the icy beasts. With that came the cheering from inside of the city walls. "Thank you, city master!" Kongming the Godly Monk ced his hands together and disyed a face of serenity. Chapter 211: The Aftermath Chapter 211: The Aftermath Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Finally... It¡¯s over?" Within the rubble, Yu Jian crawled out. He was left stunned as he witnessed the burning inferno and the blood everywhere. "Yup... It¡¯s over!" Li Hu finally let go of his knife. Looking at the glowing walls, his let out an expression of disbelief. "Who would¡¯ve known that even Descending Star City would experience such a thing!" "I¡¯ve heard from Lord that..." Yu Jian¡¯s eyes glittered. The strength of a country is not determined by its geographical location, but by the heart of the people!" "Heart of the people?" Li Hu looked at the mess and was deep in his own thoughts. "That¡¯s right. I want to go back!" Li Hu clenched his fist. "I want to transform our vige to be the strongest, to the extent that even beasts native to the icy ins wouldn¡¯t dare to attack us! I want to make it be the second Descending Star Country!" This young men, for unknown reasons, had given up on the n to move to Descending Star City and had set a new goal for himself. "Mm... That¡¯s good! But before that..." Li Hu didn¡¯t feel normal at all. "Should we treat our own injuries before meeting up with our fellow vigers?" "Eh?" At this point in time, Yu Jian realised that he had an open wound on his leg; so deep that even his bone could be seen. With a cry, heid on the floor helplessly... ... "So this is the city master¡¯s mansion?" At the same time, Fang Yuan ced his hands behind his back like the owner as he looked at therge plot ofnd that was under construction. "That¡¯s right..." By his side, the blind Kongming was guiding him respectfully like a servant. "Based on what I know, this is the location of all the treasure vaults of the past city masters!" "Oh? So their all mine now!" Fang Yuanughed jokingly. "What do you think I should so as to take over the old city master¡¯s influence as soon as possible?" Kongming the Godly Monk gave it a deep thought. "The old city master had two Wu Zongs as his sidekicks. However, both of them are dead now. Array masters wise, other than him, I¡¯m the only one left, and I can convince the other spiritual disciples for you... Therefore, the only thing you have to do is to call for the high ranking officials of the city and show them your skills. Soon you will be able to rule them with fear!" "I see!" Fang Yuan looked around. There were already many nervous soldiers surrounding him. "However, I think a direct method would be better!" With the wave of his hands, the entire city master¡¯s mansion shook. "Roar! Roar!" "Aw! Aw!" The green dragon, white tiger and ck tortoise all appeared, taking three corners of the mansion. Although they worth nothing in Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes, they were akin to the Gods to the people of the city. They were the proof of power! "What¡¯s happening?" "Is this... the Three Elements Spiritual Array?" "Didn¡¯t the city master went off to deal with the Wu Zong? Why would he be surrounding the mansion?" ... There was too muchmotion and many martial artists filled the mansion. All of them were at the peak of the 12th Gate and were all spiritual disciples of array masters. Seeing that Fang Yuan was the one manipting the array, their expression changed. "Why is it you? Where¡¯s city master?" "City master?" Fang Yuan smiled. "From today onwards, I am the city master! Those who follow me shall live, and those who are against me shall die! Kneel before me!" "Crazy!" "You¡¯re a madman!" "This person is possessed!" "But why is Kongming the Godly Monk following him... sh*t, we have to really kneel!" ... As the high ranking officials looked at each other, none of them had a good feeling about this. The few unimportant people at the sides were shocked and excused themselves. "Roar!" As the green dragon swung its tail, a 12th Gate Martial Artist was flung to the wall and became a pile of bloody mess. "Roar! Roar!" On the other end of the mansion, the white tiger roared and as its wsnded, it sliced through a martial artist which was attempting to run away. "Don¡¯t kill me, don¡¯t kill me!" A female martial artist knelt down. "I am willing to follow you!" With the first, many others followed suit as they bowed down. ... After a moment. In the study, Kongming the Godly Monk let out a soft sigh. "What¡¯s the matter? Do you think I overdid it?" Fang Yuan was flipping through a martial arts manual. In it were the recordings of ¡¯Dragon Tiger Protective Seal¡¯. He looked up and smiled. "The way you did it was direct and struck fear in all of them. Of course, it¡¯s effective! However, it might be a little extreme and therefore it would be hard for you to win over their hearts for you to rule of the city properly in the future..." Kongming the Godly Monk reminded him, as though he was truly thinking for Fang Yuan¡¯s sake. "I understand the difference in use hard and soft tactics..." Fang Yuan opened the windows and looked at the world outside. If he were to stretch out his hand, the entire city would be at his disposal. But how could this citypare to Secluded Country? He couldn¡¯t even care less about Secluded Country. Why would he give up his dreams and ambitions for the sake of this small city? "How would the normal understand the ambitions of the noble..." He shook his head and continued. "We¡¯ll check out the treasure vaultter!" "Yes, Sir!" Kongming the Godly Monk bit on his lips and was dismissed, much to his reluctance. Leaving Fang Yuan to the entire study, a glow appeared on his hands and a few ancient books disappeared. "Mm... There are a few good martial arts manuals in this study, not forgetting the scrolls which detailed the techniques of casting spiritual arrays. From all of these, I can train up a spiritual array master myself... Of course, the most important would be these maps. They would allow me to figure out the rest of the path to Da Qian Empire..." After reaping from the study, Fang Yuan arrived at the city master¡¯s treasure vault. This was almost half of all the treasures the city master once had. However, it was a pity that Fang Yuan were not appreciative of most of the treasure. "Eh?" At one corner, he discovered a small surprise. "Is this.... an Elemental Crystal? It was the size of his thumb and was translucent, and the discovery brought much joy to Fang Yuan. This was amonly used treasure in the martial arts world of Da Qian Empire. It had the ability to quickly replenish a Wu Zong or spiritual knights elemental energy, and could also be the energy source for arrays or spiritual weapons. Therefore, it was highly sought after. "Although its quality seems average and it can only be considered a low-grade elemental crystal, the good thing is that there is a lot of it. These few thousands of it is worth quite a fortune if I remember correctly in Yang Fan¡¯s memories... let¡¯s move it all out!" With the Mountain River Pearl in hand, Fang Yuan kept everything that was there. "Even if it was rubbish, it would have its value. Anyway, I have an infinite storage space in the Mountain River Pearl, and I¡¯ll just put in everything that I can..." When Kongming the Godly Monk returned, he was stunned. Even a beggar would cry if he entered the treasure vault now. "City master, you..." Although he was blind, he had a strong spiritual will and knew what had happened. "You don¡¯t have to do this even if you had a spiritual treasure that could store items, right?" "Alright!" Fang Yuan was satisfied. With a mischievous look, he continued. "By using my authority as the city master of Descending Star City, I will now give my first order!" "Yes, Sir!" Kongming suddenly became serious as he bowed. "Mm, I shall appoint you as the city master. When I¡¯m not around, you shall handle everything in Descending Star City!" With the wave of his hand, a glow appeared from the ground. The asteroid appeared, and it became imprinted with Kongming¡¯s spiritual aura as well. In reality, this was giving him the authority to manipte the Four Elements Spiritual Array. "What? You¡¯re leaving?" Kongming had already guessed it from the beginning and could confirm it now. Fang Yuan did not care about the state of the city as he was about to leave! However, he did not keep the asteroid with him, and this was a sign that he had given the city dwellers a chance to live on. "Of course... Descending Star City cannot satisfy my ambitions!" Fang Yuan waved his hands and left without hesitation. "Eh..." Kongming¡¯s eye socket looked at Fang Yuan as he left, and he sighed. It was envious to see how Fang Yuan could be unmoved by external enticements. It was a pity that he was a monk and therefore could never reach the stage that Fang Yuan was at. If hell was not empty, he would not be a god peacefully! This was not only an oath, it was also his way of living! ... Outside Descending Star City. Fang Yuan opened up a piece of map. This was from the personal collection of the old city master and was much more detailed than the one he gave to Fang Yuan previously. "To reach Da Qian, I will have to traverse through 13 Dangers. Among these 13 Dangers, only three are suitable for people to live in. These ces have their own citykes and are the Vast Desert, the Death Corridor, and the Hell of Thousand Ghosts..." Fang Yuan shook his head. The ancestors of the old city master and Kongming the Godly Monk were the group of migrants who settled down the furthest from Da Qian Empire. They were only an icy gorge away from the maind in the South but were thousands of miles away from Da Qian. "As long as I know the direction to head towards, it¡¯s alright!" Fang Yuan was extremely confident about this. He had made it through the most arduous icy gorge. If the ancestors of Descending Star City could make it through the 13 Dangers, he should not have much problem doing the same. "Let¡¯s go!" Taking onest look at Descending Star City, Fang Yuan turned his back and left. At the gates. Yu Jian and Li Hu were escorting goods out of the city. With a look of grief, they too slowly left the city. Although they had received help from an anonymous benefactor which helped them sell their goods and even receive a huge amount ofpensation, a few vigers still died gruesomely from the disaster which struck the city. In response, a group of vigers could only keep their corpse properly. No one was in the mood to talk about revenge, and the entire caravan back was solemn. "Ah... this is all fate!" Li Hu sighed. "Let¡¯s go! Even though some of our vigers have died, we will still split the profits and earnings with their families!" "Naturally!" The other vigers would also hope for their families to receive their share if they were the ones to be met with unfortunate incidents. Therefore, all of them agreed and gave an appreciative look towards Li Hu. As the leader, Li Hu seemed matured. Looking at Yu Jian, hemented. "Let¡¯s go, stop reading your book..." "Oh, alright!" From the incidents, Yu Jian had also matured. Closing the book, his hands were still shivering. "I¡¯ming!" In his heart, he was utterly shocked. ¡¯Martial arts manual! This is much more impressive than the ones in the vige! Indeed, treasures are only found in dangers...¡¯ Looking at Descending Star City for the final time, he had mixed emotions. ¡¯Descending Star City... I will be back!¡¯ Chapter 212: Desert City Chapter 212: Desert City Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the Vast Deserts. Compared to the brutal cold and unforgiving winter in Descending Star City, this ce was scorching hot; it was the exact opposite of the previous icy world. The desert stretched beyond the horizon. Together with the harsh environments, it was a ce almost uninhabitable for life. Unless one would ride the desert native ¡¯Fire Resistant Camel¡¯, it would be nearly impossible to go through the desert. "Ring! Ring!" Apanying the bells on the camels, a caravan appeared in the heatwave. All of them wore a scarf as a precaution against sandstorms. Everyone was solemn and it was like a row of zombies walking - they were trying to reduce their energy consumption and were avoiding all unnecessary action. The Fire Resistant Camel was almost twice the size of a normal camel and had three humps on its back. Its fur was a fiery red and it would shimmer under the bright sunlight. As the sunlight and heat reflected off the camel¡¯s fur, it was absorbed the next moment, making its fur even brighter. Although these Fire Resistant Camels were not spiritual animals, they had a mind on their own and their fur was highly sought after on the market. The caravan consisting of tens of these fire resistance camels were already considered a fortune among the desert dwellers. There were only a few organisations in the desert with such a fortune. A white camel was on the g of the caravan, and it was majestic looking. White Camel Caravan! This was one of the top caravans in the Vast Deserts and was famous in the vicinity. "Father... look!" It was noon and the sun was hanging in the sky. The scorching heat waves were creating refractions in mid-air, and their visions were distorted. A camel rider was looking around and suddenly opened his mouth wide as he looked at a distance. "Hmm?" His father was an experienced warrior. With his sharp eyesight, he was stoned as well as he looked into the depths of the desert. In the middle of the desert, there was ayer of white and it appeared a little translucent, as though it was melting under the hot sun. This was the White Desert; the ce of extremes. Even the Fire Resistant Camel could not walk out of it alive. However, at this point in time, a ck silhouette walked out of the White Desert. "This is not an illusion!" The entire caravan was shocked. Some of the businessmen flipped down from their camels and bowed in respect towards the ck figure. "To conquer the White Desert... If he is not a god, then he must be a devil!" The warriors mumbled to themselves as they held onto their scimitars. Slowly, they became increasingly anxious. "Whoooo!" As the scorching wind blew, the ck figure slowly approached and revealed itself to be a man. He was wearing a white robe with red flowers sewn on it, and a bamboo hat on his head. Although he was slow, with every step, he would seemingly float forward like how a deity would move. "Phew... It¡¯s a person?" As the person arrived in front of the caravan, he removed his hat, revealing a young face. It was Fang Yuan! "This is great! Finally, it is possible to walk out of this d*mned desert!" He nodded his head and revealed his excitement. Thinking about the journey he had embarked on, he was filled with emotions. From the time he had left Descending Star City, months had already flown by! With his martial arts and his skills, together with the map from the old city master of Descending Star City, he rushed his way and traversed through ten over dangers. Compared to the danger in the icy gorge, this was nothing. However, the long journey slowly made Fang Yuan tired. Furthermore, he had several weird encounters on his journey here. For instance, in the Hell of Thousand Ghosts, he had met with a ferocious ghost which was a few hundred feet tall. If not for the fact that the ghost was not interested in the puny him, he might have to wait it out there. Other than the ferocious ghost, he had also encountered three tribes which were made up of weird people, as well as fierce beasts from the legends... With his abilities and a little bit of luck, he managed to pass every obstacle safely and did not die in there. Now, he had arrived at the Vast Deserts. Due to the fact that he was tired of rushing, he had chosen the shortest path; to cut across the White Desert. It was also in the White Desert where he met the rumoured Golden Giants Tribe and was almost forced to death. Only by using his dream master¡¯s Shadowstep and the teachings of spiritual arrays did he sessfully escape from there. Now that he finally could see the existence of normal people, he was extremely excited. "Since there are people here, Desert City must be close by..." Fang Yuan recalled the map of the city master of Descending Star City. "After crossing Desert City and the Three World Mountain, I will be able to reach Da Qian..." After dividing the mountain into three portions, the mountain was nicknamed ¡¯Three World Mountain¡¯! Not only was the ce the boundary of Da Qian, it was rumoured to have isted a separate world filled with perilous dangers within. To put it in other words, an unknown world would be the most feared! "The fact that many migrants have sessfully traversed through the Three World Mountain meant that if I could find the correct way, the dangers of Three World Mountain would be negligiblepared to the icy gorge, but I still cannot neglect it... Furthermore, looking at the current state that I¡¯m in, I must clean myself and take a rest first!" "Desert City is a favourable ce!" After Fang Yuan snapped out of his thoughts, all he could see was the weird looking group of Fire Resistant Camels. On the camel¡¯s backs were many huge boxes that appeared heavy. It was obvious that this was a caravan, and on the g which was on the box, there was the figure of a white camel. Half of the caravan were sincere and bowed down towards him, while the other half were being threatened as they wielded their scimitars, with a look of fear in their eyes as they were on full alert. This was especially so for a young man. His legs were bent and as they shivered, his hand was on his scimitar. He was at lost as to what he should do and appearedical. "All of you... are all of you guarding against me?" Fang Yuan smiled and released some energy as he asked. "Whooo!" The wind picked up. As soon as he finished his sentence, a sandstorm started to brew. The hot air stirred up the sand, and the camels retreated. "Sandstorm?" A young rider went pale and fainted. "He is a god who is capable of controlling the weather! We cannot go against him!" The few who were already kneeling down were superstitious and started to nag at the rest. "Good martial arts cultivation!" A few of them in the caravan were smart. One of them was the father of the young man. He was the leader of the escorts, and his beard was braided. He ced his weapon down and greeted Fang Yuan respectfully. "Sir... We are from the White Camel Caravan. If you have any requests, we will try to ede to it!" He was clear about one thing. The person in front of him was not a god, but an extremely powerful Wu Zong! He was much stronger than himself, and if he were to be infuriated, the entire caravan might not be able to survive! Therefore, in order to survive, he would not hold back to do anything for Fang Yuan. "Mm. I need a guide, a local guide!" Fang Yuan replied. "I, A Xiuda, am willing to serve you, the highly skilled warrior who is able to traverse the White Desert!" As soon as he heard his request, the man with the braided beard quickly knelt before him and humbly replied. "Very well!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and remained silent. ... "Ah!" Amidst themotion, one of A Xiuda¡¯s sons screamed as he woke up from his slumber. Looking around and seeing that everyone was looking at him, his face turned red. He realised that the caravan had already continued to make its way. One of the riders by his side smiled and tossed over a bag of wine. "Are you frightened? A sip of strong wine will help!" "Thank you!" He took the bag of wine, opened the cap and drank it heartily. At that moment, he could feel as though mes were burning from his throat down to his stomach. After bing a little drunk, the fear he had was gone. Only now did he realise and he started to ask. "Is that... the devil who walked out of the White Desert?" "Pa!" As soon as he said those words, a knife cheek was pped across his face. "Father... why did you hit me?" Seeing that it was A Xiuda who hit him, the young man¡¯s tantrum was gone, and he could only hold his head and ask. "J*rk! That is not a devil, but the honourable Fang Yuan Sir!" A Xiuda had a serious look on his face and in his eyes. The young man turned around and saw that in the middle of the caravan, all the good were cleared off the camel¡¯s back. In ce of the goods was a small table and wine, and a person was riding on the camel with luxury. It was the devil! No, rather, he was Fang Yuan Sir. He was very young and seemed to be of the same age as himself. It was unbelievable that he was able to traverse the White Desert and its harsh environmental conditions! At this point in time, it seemed that the person had already noticed someone looking at him. He moved his eyes to meet his own, and he smiled. The young man shivered in fear. With the smile of the devil, his hands started to shiver. A Xiuda sighed as he saw this. Phobia and fear was the best weapon to destroy a person! When he was younger, he once had apanion that was like that as well. Hispanion was able to kill lions and tigers while he was younger. However, once, hispanion and another friend encountered a scary incident and all the guards were killed, only leaving hispanion and his friend. From that day onwards, his friend had a phobia and lost his sanity. Although hispanion was still sane, he had a fear for the desert, and even the act of lifting a weapon would make his hands shake in fear - as an escort, he was useless now. He could only dwell in the Vast Deserts and provide re-supplies and reinforcements for people entering the Vast Deserts. He got married and had a few children, and soon after had a happy life. ¡¯My Da Daer... you can surely walk out of this phobia!¡¯ Looking at his own sun, he had a worrying look, but he did not dare to do anything to Fang Yuan; he could only pray in silence. As the caravan walked for half a day, the vast desert with no ends was no more as the caravan was greeted with a sea of green. A huge greenke was seen. It was the intersection of many rivers, and from there a beautifulke was formed. On the edge of theke, a huge city with walls built from bricks appeared. Although it did not seem attractive from afar, it was still a miracle, taking into ount the fact that this was a desert. "Whoo! Whoo..." "Aw! Aw..." Several guys cheered. Their caravan had travelled long and they had finally reached home. Chapter 213: Three Worlds Chapter 213: Three Worlds Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Standing tall on thend of green was Desert City. Under the brilliance of the sunlight, the city was coated in gold. It was like apassionate mother; with open arms, it was as though it was weing the tired traveller. The buildings in Desert City were mostly one storey high. They were built of wood and the windows were small. Most of the people on the streets were escorts wearing their martial artist suit. Of course, there were also caravans from all around, and dancingdies who were dressed beautifully. "Sir! This is the headquarters of the White Camel Caravan." As the caravan trotted ahead, they arrived at an octagonal-shaped building which appeared luxurious. A Xiuda ran into the building. Not long after, an old man with treasures in his hands slowly walked out under the escort of 8 servants. In front of him, several child servants in white wereying out a golden-coloured wool carpet. "Wee, our guest from afar!" The old man with a white beard weed Fang Yuan with open hands, as though he had heard of him before. "I am the leader of White Camel Business Council, Bai Santong. Greetings, Fang Yuan Sir!" "Oh?" Fang Yuan felt weird. "You are... a migrant from Da Qian?" "My ancestors are indeed from Da Qian Empire!" Bai Santongughed. "In fact, most of the dwellers in Desert City have made it through the Three World. However, most of them have started a family with people of different backgrounds, resulting in our unique culture..." "I see!" Fang Yuan nodded his head without saying more. Bai Santong, on the other hand, did not dare to let his guard down. Since he was able to traverse through the White Desert, he must be a highly skilled Wu Zong! Furthermore, he was here to continue his journey through the hellish environments after the White Desert. He must be someone powerful! "May I know if you need any help? If we can help, we will surely do so!" Bai Santong ced his fists together and enquired respectfully. "Very simple... I want information regarding the Three World Mountain! Of course, I will reward you!" Fang Yuan waved his hands. A jade bottle flew across andnded on Bai Santong¡¯s hands. "This is... spiritual pill?" Bai Santong took out a pill and was left stunned. Fang Yuan was secretlyughing inside. Alchemy masters and spiritual array masters were notmon, and even more so for rural areas like these. With their limited resources, the price of spiritual pills would soar. This would worth more than even gold outside. "Don¡¯t worry, Sir!" Bai Santong kept the spiritual pills properly. With added respect, he continued. "I will gather all information regarding Three World Mountain and present it to you!" I was already worth it for him to risk his life for the spiritual pills! Gathering information was an easy task, and one would be stupid to not do it for the pills. If not for the fact that he was a respectable person here, Fang Yuan wouldn¡¯t have let him have such a good deal. ¡¯I only have to... gather information regarding the Three World Mountain...¡¯ Bai Santong dismissed himself and invited Fang Yuan to join his business council, and his mind was filled with curiosity. "To gather information regarding Three World Mountain. Could this person have the intention to entire Da Qian Empire? Seriously..." He did not know what to say. They escaped out of Da Qian and were fugitives. As long as their enemies were inside Da Qian Empire, they would not dare to return. Needless to say, to enter Three World Mountain from the other way would be much harder than any normal human could do. Because of these two reasons, even though they were the closest city, no one in Desert City would have such a crazy thought. But now, there was such a person! ¡¯Regardless, as long as I keep him happy and keep the spiritual pillsing, that is enough...¡¯ As Bai Santong thought to himself, there was a look of determination in his eyes. ... Three dayster. In the headquarters of White Camel Business Council, within a luxurious room. The floor was covered in golden wool carpet. A concubine was dancing on the carpet barefooted. Fang Yuan leaned against the silk clothzily. In front of him were a few concubines revealing their white arms. They were fighting for the chance to serve him wine and other delicacies. "Wine made from grapes served in a wine ss! This life... it¡¯s not too bad!" Fang Yuan gulp down a cup of red wine as his face began to flush. Within the grapes, there was a mixture of spiritual fruits. The taste was refreshing and most importantly, he could enjoy being a little tipsy. "Sir!" As the door opened, A Xiuda walked in humbly. He presented a few documents to him. "This is the relevant information regarding Three World Mountain..." "Mm. All of you, take your leave!" Fang Yuan waved his hands. The concubines and musician bowed in respect as they took their leave. "Three World Mountain!" Fang Yuan knew what his priorities were. As his eyes glittered, he looked through the information. "Three World Mountain! This is the area connecting this ce to Da Qian Empire. It is divided into three portions, and two of it are the Da Qian World and Man Huang World. The other portion is the Illusionary World!" "Rumour has it that... the Illusionary World is and actualised by a highly skilled dream master on his deathbed... but the catch is... that ce is not a spiritualnd, but a perilousnd!" When highly skilled dream masters die, they would be able to actualise their dream world to pass in on to their descendants. Take for instance, Master Heartless, who had left behind Green Peak spiritualnd and an inheritance for Fang Yuan. However, there were exceptions. For those that would be seeking revenge, they would surely not leave behind a spiritualnd, but a perilousnd that would kill any life! That dream master was not only highly skilled but was also affected by an unknown factor before his death. This resulted in the perilousnd which was actualised to evolve andbine with the two other worlds. Therefore, it was left in an unusual state of coexistence with the other worlds, illusionary and fleeting. If someone were to travel from Da Qian World to Man Huang World, they might have a slight chance of entering the perilousnd, but the risks were not high. But if someone were to go in the opposite direction, they would surely encounter the perilousnd. Not only was it dangerous, but unpredictable too! Normal Wu Zongs, spiritual knights or even dream masters might not make it out of there alive! Soon, no one in Desert City ever had the thoughts of going back anymore. "Thend left there by a dream master would appear randomly and it would bring danger with it..." Fang Yuan touched his chin and revealed a smile. "I must take a look for myself!" ... At the same time, within Desert City, in a secret room. "Young master, young mistress, thetest secret news!" An escort with a strong spiritual aura passed through manyyers of security checks and entered a room. He took out a letter. "Secret letter? The seal of chicken feather and blood arrow? Is this from Da Qian?" Both the young master and mistress had weird expressions. "It must be a serious incident for our family to use this method of delivering the letter!" The mistress appeared older andmanded, "Brother Yun, open it!" There was a unique seal on the letter. Without opening it with the correct method, the letter would self-destruct. "Alright!" Qin Yun took out a small knife, cut his thumb, and dripped his blood over the seal of a chicken feather. "Keke!" At that moment, a red light shed. A proud looking cockerel appeared and cawed loudly before pecking the seal. "Chi!" The seal was broken. Only a certain blood type could open the seal on the letter. The young Qin Yun took the letter out, but it was a in sheet of paper. "It is indeed in. Give it to me!" As the young mistress saw the letter, she was excited. "It must be someone close to us who delivered this letter!" Qin Yunid the letter on the table. The young mistress took out an emerald ring from her finger and poured out a ck powder. Mixing it with water, a ck paste was formed and they applied it to the surface of the letter. Afterwards, they ced it in the furnace. As the letter dried up, red words began to appear on the letter. "This..." As he scratched his head, there was a look of excitement on his face. "Qin Fengyu... is dead?" This was the legitimate son and grandson of the Qin Family and was favoured by many. He was about to take over the establishments of the Qin Family. The two of them were merely b*stards. The Qin Family had a huge establishment and were also in control of a county. Naturally, there would bepetition among the children to be the rightful heir to the family¡¯s inheritance. Although both of them were b*stards, their bloods were extremely pure. Therefore, they were considered a sore eye to many and were therefore involved in the fight. For their survival, they had to escape the Qin Family and even out of Da Qian. But now, it was a moment of joy for them. The family had suffered an attack and the main family was killed. Not just Qin Fengyu, but the other legitimate children all died or were handicapped. Instead, the two of them were the most appropriate of all the children to be heirs now. Therefore, their family had sent them this letter to recall them back. "Sister... Are we going back?" Qin Yun was excited and anxious. "We must!" The young mistress clenched her teeth. "Have you forgotten what Mother has instructed us with at her deathbed?" "Of course I didn¡¯t forget, but Aunt is there..." Qing Yun stumbled on his words. "Why are you calling that evil woman Aunt?" The young mistress frowned. "I¡¯m too used to it..." Qin Yun shrugged his shoulders. This aunt was the legitimate first wife of their father and had the greatest power. It was her who chased both of them out of Da Qian Empire. If they were to return, the greatest threat would still be from this woman! "No! Not just her! We have to go past the Three World Mountain as well!" The young mistress clenched her teeth and called for a person. "Uncle Zhou, do you have any method to go through the Three World Mountain safely?" Uncle Zhou had a tall build and a cold look. He had big bones and his skin was extremely tanned. "Young mistress, young master... It is easy toe out of the Three World Mountain, but hard to enter. If you are travelling from Da Qian to where we are now, it would be quite safe. But if you are going against the flow and entering Da Qian, you will be met with the perilousnd! I am only a 12th Gate martial artist and cannot protect you there! We need to seek help!" "I know!" The young mistress clenched her teeth. "For revenge, we will pay any price!" Chapter 214: Chapter 214 The Dead Knight Chapter 214: Chapter 214 The Dead Knight Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "We are Qin Qing and Qin Yun. May wee in?" In the White Camel Business Council headquarters, Fang Yuan looked at the message in his hands. "Who are these people?" "They have escaped Da Qian recently and are from the Qin Family..." A Xiuda held his scimitar and added. "They have protection from their loyal servants. Their leader, ¡¯Elder Zhou¡¯, is at the peak of the 12th Gate, and is skilled in a secret technique. He once held his front and defended 10 strikes from a Wu Zong before admitting defeat!" There were still differences among the martial artists who were below the Elemental Gathering Stage. This Elder Zhou must be the top among them. Of course, his power was small like an ant to Fang Yuan! "However... since I have nothing up, why not? Let them in!" Fang Yuan waved his hands. Not long after, A Xiuda led three people in. The first was a young mistress. She seemed to be in her twenties and her skin was white and smooth. Her legs were long, and she appeared very lively. This was especially so for her petit lips. She gave off a vibe of determination and it was obvious that she was the leader among the three. This was thedy from Qin Family, Qin Qing. As for Qin Yun, who was standing at one side, he was pleasant looking at had obtained inner force in his martial arts cultivation. He was therefore notpletely useless, but appeared a little weaker and therefore did not stand out as much. ¡¯With such an outspoken sister, even a genius would seem weak and would ultimately appear like the average person...¡¯ Seeing the three of them, Fang Yuan thought to himself. ¡¯Eaglets cannot hide behind their mums forever. They must face tribtions before they can grow!¡¯ Of course, this was none of his business, and therefore he did notment. He turned his attention to Elder Zhou and was a little more interested. Without taking into ount his martial arts cultivation, Fang Yuan felt a sense of familiarity as he sensed the spiritual aura of his secret technique. As he tried to recall, he realised that he had known it from Yang Fan¡¯s dream world, among the collection of secret techniques. "Mountain Fog?" He softlymented these two words. "What?" As Elder Zhou heard this name, he was stunned! The name of the secret technique he had cultivated was called Mountain Fog. It could increase his defensive capabilities and could be as immovable as the mountains. This was how he could withstand the 10 strikes from the Wu Zong. The Wu Zong in front of him gave him not only a sense of danger but could also see through the foundations of his secret technique. This was shocking! "Sir, you¡¯re spot on!" Elder Zhou forced out augh. In front of a Wu Zong who knew about secret techniques, he did not have the confidence that he couldst if they were to fight. "Alright, let¡¯s not be distracted. You¡¯re Qin Qing, right? Why are both of you looking for me?" Fang Yuan waved his sleeves and asked directly. "I¡¯ve heard that you, Sir, are gathering information regarding the Three World Mountain. We are here to present to you more information!" Qin Qingughed, and Qing Yun knelt down. With two hands, he passed a secret script over. "Eh?" Fang Yuan looked through the script and was drawn into it. He already had quite a lot of information regarding Three World Mountain. However, the details in this script were much more than the ones the White Camel Business Council had provided. ¡¯How could they even calcte the timing and probability of the appearance of the Illusionary World... How many people are being sacrificed for them to do such an in-depth research?¡¯ Looking at the young siblings, he shook his head. ¡¯It¡¯s not them! It should have been their fate for them to inherit this from their ancestors. Or could it be the discovery of the Qin Family?¡¯ "This is indeed good!" The entire room was silent, and only the flipping sound of Fang Yuan reading the script could be heard. Qin Qing was extremely anxious. Although she appeared calm andposed, her heart was already pounding. She finally felt relieved after hearing Fang Yuan¡¯sment. "I shall keep this. What do you guys want in return? Riches? Spiritual pills? Or martial arts manuals?" Fang Yuan casually asked. "None of these!" Qin Qing clenched her teeth. "I¡¯ve heard that you are intending to cross the Three World Mountain against its natural flow. May we request you to bring along both of us? We are both trained in martial arts and will not be a burden to you!" "Impossible!" Although he confirmed his prediction, Fang Yuan outrightly rejected them. What a joke! The dangers of the Three World Mountain already struck fear in his heart, so why should he bring along two burdens with him? Was he hoping to die faster? Qin Yun shuddered and turned pale; he was utterly disappointed. "I cannot guess the methods that you might be using to cross the Three World Mountains, but you must be cautious..." Qin Qing did not give up and continued. "You will surely have more resources than us, and more highly skilled as well. You might be more prepared than us, but you arecking in something!" "Oh? What is it?" "A sacrificial warrior!" Qin Qing replied without hesitation. "Do you know how dangerous the Three World Mountain is? You are stillcking people who would test out the road ahead for you. These people must be volunteers and have a certain level of self-defence!" As she spoke, A Xiuda¡¯s expression changed. She was right! In the Three World Mountain, dangers were everywhere. If he were to risk himself for every danger, he would not be able to walk out alive even if he had nine lives. All he needed was someone who would test the dangers for him. However, what use would it be if these people were unwilling, have thoughts about running away, or even have thoughts about tricking him? If he were to use a lot of money to buy himself explorers to test the dangers, they might not be skilled enough, and it was hard to find people who were willing and able to do so. He could only use sacrificial knights! Loyal sacrificial knights! However, these sacrificial knights were not trained. How could they help? Qin Qing was extremely confident as she looked at Fang Yuan. "Sir, you just have to let us tag along. As a reward, I can provide a group of 18 sacrificial knights. The weakest of them will have the cultivation level of at least an inner force martial artist. I think this would be enough for us to sacrifice in Three World Mountain!" "You make sense..." Fang Yuan smiled. This woman was extremely thoughtful, but she had missed out something. How could sheprehend his god-like abilities? With his dream-essing techniques and his alchemy skills, if he was willing to stay in Desert City for a period of time, he could train out arge group of sacrificial knights. Of course, this method would expend a lot of time and effort and would be rather inhumane to force the people to be his ves. If he allowed the Qin Family to help him on his, he did not have to do the dirty work and that could save him a lot of trouble. He red at Qin Qing. "How can you assure the quality and loyalty of your sacrificial knights?" "Although we have lost the fight to be the heir within the Qin Family previously, we didn¡¯t gain nothing. On the contrary, all of these people were once a threat to the legitimate sons. Otherwise, why would they be chased out of Da Qian Empire?" As she mentioned her family feud, there was a sense of hatred in her eyes. "The 18 ck Feathers Cavalry came from our family. They had once recited a blood oath to remain loyal to the two of us. They would even hesitate if they were to have any suicidal thoughts!" "Is this the same for this martial artist by your side?" Fang Yuan casually asked. "Naturally..." Qin Qing¡¯s face turned a little pale. "Not just that, Elder Zhou is also the leader of the 18 ck Feathers Cavalry! All of them have their secret techniques which are unique in their own ways, and ifbined, they might even be able to take down three Wu Zongs!" ¡¯What an emphasis on their skills. Is she afraid of me testing them out?¡¯ Fang Yuan looked at Qin Qing and revealed a mysterious smile. ¡¯Thisdy is too immature, but this is due to her age... However, if she can really sacrifice her subordinates without blinking an eye, then I must be wary of her...¡¯ Although he was considering her trustworthiness, he quickly ordered, "Alright, ask them to take their own lives!" "What?" This was the worst oue she had predicted. Qin Qing face became even paler, and Qin Yun, who was beside her, almost jumped in fear. "If you cannot convince these sacrificial knights, it means that you cannot prove their worthiness. Therefore, why should I bring you two burdens along?" Fang Yuanmented without blinking an eye. "Miss!?" Elder Zhou had a look of determination as he looked at Qin Qing. "You... You..." Qin Qing clenched her teeth. She looked away and controlled her tears. "Take your own life!" "Yes Miss!" Elder Zhou agreed as he plucked out his scimitar. "Chi!" The room shed from the reflection of the scimitar. "Splurt!" Blood spurted onto the ground, dyeing it red. "Uncle Zhou..." Qin Yun was left dumbfounded and tears welled up in his eyes. "What are you crying for?" Fang Yuan waved his hand impatiently. "He is not dead yet!" "Mm?" Qin Qing was stunned. She could see a knife scar on his neck, and the scimitar almost took his life. However, in that instant, a hand grabbed and held on to the scimitar, stopping it from going in further. His life was on the line! ¡¯My ability to harness a precise amount of force is already at such a stage, this is good! Good!¡¯ Fang Yuan looked at him and nodded his head in satisfaction. Others would have thought that he had godlike powers before he cracked this joke. However, in reality, only he himself knew that whatever happened just now was just his own experiment. After all, if his ability was stillcking, he wouldn¡¯t be the one dying! If Qin Qing were to hear Fang Yuan¡¯s inner thoughts, she would surely break out in cold sweat and shiver in fear. "Whoosh!" With the flick of his finger, the knife was flicked away. He quickly took out a few golden needles and started acupuncture on Elder Zhou to stop the blood flow. His actions were extremely smooth as though he was well-versed with what to do. "Alright, he has only sustained an external injury. I¡¯ve given him spiritual medicine. After a night¡¯s rest, he would recover, and it will not dy our journey to the Three World Mountain..." After settling his wound, Fang Yuan stood up and dusted his hands. "It would be a pity if such a skilled man like him were to die here..." "Sir, what do you mean?" Qin Qing was extremely excited and confirmed with Fang Yuan on his intentions. "That¡¯s right, the bunch of you are useful in the uing expedition to Three World Mountain!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. "However, you must agree to listen to mymands and never to disobey me before I shall agree to bring you two along!" "Thank you, Sir!" Qin Qing was ecstatic. Hurriedly, she pulled Qin Yun and bowed towards Fang Yuan. ¡¯This pair of siblings are willing to risk so much to go to Da Qian. It seems that they might have a great calling, and I might have a use for them!¡¯ Looking at them, Fang Yuan thought to himself silently. Chapter 215: Chapter 215 Spiritual Monkey Chapter 215: Chapter 215 Spiritual Monkey Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions From the outside, the Three World Mountain did not seem that tall. However, it was continuous and the end of the mountain was not in sight. Surrounding the mountains wereyers of fog, and the scene was therapeutic. No one could imagine that this was the mountain that was divided into three, separating Da Qian, Man Huang and the perilous Illusionary World. "Phew... I¡¯m finally out..." At a path leading from the mountain, a young man crawled out, with his nose bleeding. Looking at the ins and desert in sight, his face was filled with excitement. Quickly, his expression turned into one of determination and hatred. "The Murong Family, just you wait. I will take revenge for what you did today!" He had sworn that he would recuperate here before returning to Da Qian to take revenge on the family that had left him in such a state. "Tata! Tata!" Not far from here, there were galloping sounds heard. A ck line appeared and it began to draw nearer. On closer look, they were 21 cavalries. "Sir, it seems that that is someone who has just escaped from Da Qian Empire!" A middle-aged man examined him before shaking his head. "He is only a 12th Gate martial artist with severe injuries. He has no value to us!" "Mm?" Another young man rode his horse forward as the 2 cavalries on both sides made way for him. It was obvious that he had the higher status among all of them. "Tell me... Did you see the Illusionary World white you were on the Three World Mountain?" The young man asked directly and his voice was filled with energy as it vibrated the air around. "No!" The martial artist was in a daze and mumbled a reply. "Indeed..." Fang Yuan sighed and released the martial artist. "If they came from Da Qian, they would have a lower chance of encountering the Illusionary World at around 10 percent! But if we go against the natural flow, we would surely encounter it! This useless person... He was left in such a state by the mere dangers of the mountain. If he had really encountered the Illusionary World, I¡¯m afraid he wouldn¡¯t even know where his body would be rotting at... Let¡¯s go!" As he finished his sentence, he gave up and turned around. "Yes, Sir!" The other 20 cavalries obeyed, and there seemed to be a female voice among them. "Ughh!" The martial artist rolled on the floor as he felt the spiritual aura around him. Quickly, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. "Isn¡¯t the Man Huang rumoured to haveck of martial artists and resources, and that even martial artists of the 4 Heavenly Gates would enjoy riches and power? Why is it like that?" At that moment, the martial artists¡¯ heart fell as he started to ept the fact that the world was an evil ce... ... "Based on the collective maps and the information, we need to find the shortest route once we enter the mountains..." Fang Yuan was leading Qin Qing, her brother and the 18 ck Feathers Cavalry and stopped on a mountainous track. The shape of the mountain was extremely weird. There were two peaks, and the peak at the eastern side was higher, while the peak at the western side was lower. The peaks were sticking out and the entire mountain resembled a two-headed snake. "Although it is rather dangerous that we need to cut through the habitat of the spiritual monkeys to take the shortest route, the longer we stay in the Three World Mountain, the higher the chance of encountering the Illusionary World..." Qin Qing mumbled and was agreeable to Fang Yuan¡¯s decision. She was not aware of the fact that Fang Yuan was not only a Wu Zong, but also a dream master, and that he was rather interested in the Illusionary World. With her current cultivation level, all she was hoping for was to minimise the troubles they would face on their journey. ¡¯Of course... This is the best possible oue. If we do encounter the Illusionary World, we¡¯ll just have to react ordingly...¡¯ Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes were glittering, as though he could see through the fog and the secret within the Three World Mountain. "Everyone, get into formation!" Elder Zhou covered his mouth with a cloth which made his voice hoarse. However, with amand, the other 17 riders immediately obeyed and dismounted and spread the warning. Fang Yuan was rather impressed with the 18 ck Feathers Cavalry. If not for them, he would not have brought along the two burdens as well. "Let¡¯s be clear. Although I¡¯ve agreed to allow you two to follow me, I will only protect you two to a certain extent. If we encounter any real danger, every man will be for himself!" Fang Yuan stared at Qin Qing in the eye. "If any of you would like to back out, it¡¯s not toote!" "Don¡¯t worry, Sir!" Qin Qing licked her lips as her face was filled with determination. "If that really happens, it would mean that we are not fated to make it through!" She was wearing an inner armour and there were spiritual inscriptions all around Qin Yun and herself. They were covered in all sorts of protection. Hearing this, Fang Yuan did notment. With the wave of his hand, he continued. "Since that is so, let¡¯s be on our way!" ... As the sunlight peered through the leaves of the trees and the fog, there were dim spotted shadows on the ground. As the 18 ck Feathers Cavalry spread out, the three of them were surrounded in the middle. With much caution, they made their way into the mountain. The forest was tranquil, peaceful, and the flowers were beautiful. It was as though there was no danger at all. At this point in time, Qin Yun appeared excited. Seeing a huge flower, he unwittingly walked up and stepped on a dried branch, making a kacha sound! "Hiss! Hiss!" At the moment where the cavalries were less alert, the ¡¯dried branch¡¯ suddenly moved and revealed sharp fangs. It bit towards Qin Yun¡¯s foot! "Ah..." As everything happened, Qin Yun¡¯s mind was nk and he could not move a single bit. He could only detect a golden sh from the corner of his eye! "Whoosh!" A golden needle appeared and at the speed of light, it struck at the head of the dried branch and disappeared into the ground. "Hiss... Hiss..." The dried branch started to curl up and wailed in pain. Elder Zhou quickly rushed towards Qin Yun and sliced the dried branch into many pieces, and green blood started to flow out. "Dried Skin Snake?" Elder Zhou bent down and revealed a horrible look. "This snake is best at absorbing one¡¯s energy. With its appearance simr to a dried branch, its camouge is perfect! Even I was tricked!" Qin Qing¡¯s face turned pale as she quickly went up tofort Qin Yun. The Dried Skin Snake was an extremely cunning animal. It would camouge as a tree branch to attract its prey. Its venom was extremely lethal and if not for Fang Yuan¡¯s help, even with the spiritual inscriptions protection him, Qin Yun might still not be able to survive the Dried Skin Snake¡¯s venom, and the oue would be terrible. "Thank you, Sir, for your help!" As she stood up, she brought Qin Yun along to thank Fang Yuan. Even if they were not here for the Illusionary World, they had still benefited much from journeying with Fang Yuan. "It¡¯s nothing. If we meet a real danger, it¡¯s best for you to not depend on me!" Fang Yuan spoke the truth, and the Qin siblings rolled their eyes in their minds. This was especially so for Qin Yun, whose face was flushed. He had a little gratitude for Fang Yuan previously, but now it was all gone. After themotion, they continued to make their way. Half a day had passed and the vegetation became increasingly denser. The skies were covered in dark clouds, covering the entire sun. "We must be careful. The habitat of the spiritual monkeys is just in front!" Elder Zhou tightened his grip on his scimitar and spoke in a serious tone. Fang Yuan recalled the information regarding the spiritual monkeys. Within the Three World Mountain, there was a weird species of spiritual monkeys. Their arms were long to the extent they would reach for their knees, and their bones were extremely hardy. Knives and swords would not be able to hurt them, and they were immune to the elements as well. When matured, they would beparable to an inner force martial artist! If they were slightly stronger, they would have the cultivation of a 4 Heavenly Gates martial artist! The leader of their pack would be at the Elemental Gathering Realm! This was not the worst part. The worst would be the intellectual monkeys with spiritual eyes. These monkeys would have the same level of intellect as humans and could execute a special ability from their Mind Pces. It would be wise for even a Wu Zong to avoid them as well. This time, Fang Yuan andpany were intending to cut through the biggest habitat of these spiritual monkeys. There were stories of lucky Wu Zongs who were able to see for themselves the gathering of more than a hundred spiritual monkeys. There must be a monkey king at the Elemental Gathering Realm among them, and a probability that there might be spiritual monkeys who have evolved special traits! At that point of time, that particr Wu Zong was scared to the point that he ran away. He only recorded the details of the encounter in his diary after he had escaped. However, Fang Yuan andpany were intending to make their way through with brute force, and the difficulty level was unimaginable. "Let¡¯s take a rest first. Afterwards, while we are refreshed, we can try to rush through during the night!" Fang Yuan squinted his eyes. Although the forest was slightly illuminated, his senses told him that it was almost nightfall in the outside world. No matter how scary the spiritual monkeys might be, they were still animals after all and would have a regr activity pattern. If they could deduce that pattern, they would save a lot of trouble. "Yes, Sir!" As hemanded, Elder Zhou and the rest could only obey. The group of them found arge empty spot, pitched their tents and started to eat their dried rations. One of the ck Feathers Cavalry¡¯s nose twitched and revealed a look of excitement. "There¡¯s a source of water East of here! I¡¯ll take some water back!" "Every one of them in the 18 ck Feathers Cavalry has a unique ability. Number 13th has a keen sense of smell and hearing, and can detect water sources from miles away..." Elder Zhou exined proudly. After an hour, Number 13 was not back yet, and Elder Zhou¡¯s expression changed. "It seems that he might have encountered trouble. Let¡¯s go and look for him!" Fang Yuan, who was sitting with his legs crossed,mented. As the other 17 of them started to search, they only took a short while before located Number 13 next to ake. He was frozen in a posture of retrieving water, but the bottle in his hands was on the ground. His body was frozen like an ice statue! "What a mysterious chillyke!" Looking at the emerald spring water, he mumbled to himself. "This seems like..." With the glitter in his eyes, he released his elemental energy, forming a huge hand which hauled theke water up. "Rumble!" From the extreme force, the calmke started to gush and a geyser appeared. Looking at this, Qin Yun was stunned. Although he knew that Wu Zong was powerful, it was a rare sight to see the scary scene of a Wu Zong exerting all its strength. "Come out!" As the water on both sides made way, Fang Yuan¡¯s struck his w out. The huge hand formed out of elemental force hauled a sky blue pearl out and brought it to the ground. This pearl was glowing inside and appeared normal. Weird enough, it was not cold, and on the contrary, it felt a little warm to the touch and was extremely mysterious. Chapter 216: Chapter 216 Monkey King Chapter 216: Chapter 216 Monkey King Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Freezing Pearl!? Indeed the same as how it was recorded!" Fang Yuan was filled with excitement but became serious. "But we¡¯ll still have to test its effects!" Casually, he pointed at one of the cavalries. "You, go! Pick up the pearl!" "Follow instructions!" Number 17th¡¯s expression changed. As Qin Qing took in a deep breath, shemanded him. "Yes, Sir!" As he clenched his teeth, he wore a leather glove. He then walked up calmly and picked up the Freezing Pearl, and nothing happened. "Mm. Take out your gloves and try again!" Fang Yuan nodded his head andmanded him once more. "Ah!" Number 17th obeyed. As his finger touched the pearl, he screamed. "Whoosh!" A blue sh of light exploded from the pearl, covering him. As the glow dimmed, there was only an icy statue left in his ce. Number 17th, who was frozen in the ice, had stopped breathing! "To freeze on touch. It can freeze anything as long as it¡¯s not elemental force, flowing water or anything simr. It is indeed a freezing pearl!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. With the wave of his hands, the blue pearlnded in a jade box, which was subsequently taken in by the Mountain River Pearl. Qin Qing and Qin Yun, both who witnessed this scene, remained silent. "Indeed... I need these sacrificial knights!" Fang Yuan heaved a sigh inside. If he had prepared a bunch of sacrificial knights for his previous journeys, he wouldn¡¯t have encountered so many dangers himself! "Mistress, master, let¡¯s go!" Elder Zhou sighed. "Number 13 and 17 are both dead. Let¡¯s not make their death for nothing. As long as we remember them and pay respects to them once we are back in our family, and not forgetting topensate their descendants..." "That¡¯s right!" Qin Qing licked her lips and stood up with determination. "We not only have to pay our respects to them, we must also bring them into the Qin Family¡¯s ancestry! As long as our Qin Family exist, we must let them live on!" With that, she pulled Qin Yun over. "Sister... I know..." Qin Yun¡¯s eyes were red. He knew that if he were to fail in being the heir of the family, then these two sacrificial knights would have died for nothing. "Let¡¯s go!" He gritted his teeth and followed on. "Very good!" Fang Yuan walked on. As he felt the Qin siblings catching up, he nodded his head. He felt that after the death of the two sacrificial knights, both Qin Yun and Qin Qing had the magnanimity of a heir. They had matured extremely quick in such a harsh environment. "Phew..." Fang Yuan sighed. "Let¡¯s take this opportunity and cover as much ground as we can!" Everyone remained silent as they started to rush. "It¡¯s around midnight now, and the group of spiritual monkeys should be sleeping and not wandering outside..." It was pitch ck everywhere and in the fog, the visibility was at its worst. It was a good thing that everyone was a martial artist with a considerable cultivation level. Everyone had a keen sense of sight and hearing and could rely on the dim moonlight to continue their journey. The mountainous road was rugged. Coupled with the fact that they were making their way in the dark, Qin Yun had fallen down a couple of times and his hands were bloodied. Elder though looked around and whispered. "Only if we¡¯re extremely unlucky, would we encounter the mysterious species here..." "Wuuu! Wuuuu!" As he spoke, a voice full of energy was heard. "Is that the sound of the monkeys?!" Qin Yun eximed. In the dark, a pair of eyes glowed and stared at Qin Yun. "Flick!" Fang Yuan shook his head and casually flicked his fingers. "Whoosh!" He shot out a concentrated beam of elemental force. Like an arrow, it flew in the air and glowed. Qin Yun¡¯s pupils contracted. With the illumination from the streak of elemental force, he could see the appearance of the spiritual monkey. It was extremely big in size and was taller than himself. The muscles on its arms were bulging and it was even thicker than his own legs. As its hands stretched past its knees, its face was fiery red, and there was a mysterious glowing from its mind pce. The unique thing was that this spiritual monkey appeared to be extremely old, and the fur on it was turning white. There was a sense of spirituality in its eyes, giving off the vibe that it was a cunning monkey! Without a doubt, the spirituality of this monkey was shocking. If it was given more time, it might develop its spiritual eye and awaken itself! However, all of its hopes and dreams would end here! "Chi!" The streak of elemental force struck through its mind pce, breaking a bloodied hole in the process. Its brain fluid exploded out and the entire scene was a mess. "Let¡¯s go!" Fang Yuan sighed. "After killing this old monkey, the rest will soone along. We need to move quickly!" "Quickly!" Qin Qing¡¯s expression changed. Without hesitation, they were on their way again. Without consideration for any ambush that might be present, everyone used their lightness skill. Their speed of advanced increased and after a short while, they had already passed a mountain stream. The silhouettes on both sides were retreating quickly as they advanced. "Wuuu! Wuuu!" At that point in time, there were many sounds from the monkeys in the surroundings. It was continuous and spread far and wide, striking fear in those who heard it. "Whoosh! Whoosh!" Many pairs of eyes appeared and surrounded them like candles. "This is... Monkey... monkey tribe!" Qin Qing lost her voice. "It seems that we are toote. We¡¯re surrounded!" Fang Yuan shook his head. "There¡¯s no use in us hiding. They have the geographical advantage, and the fact that everywhere is pitch ck makes it even harder for us! Get me the Bright Moon Pearl!" "Weng! Weng!" A bright glow filled the darkness and the surrounding paths, vines, trees... Everything was illuminated. Qin Yun took in a cold breath as he looked at the tribe of monkeys. The monkey tribe was full of ferocious monkeys. With more than a hundred of them, they surrounded Fang Yuan andpany. Staring fiercely at them, it was as though they wanted to eat them up alive. At the same time, more monkeys were arriving. "Wuu... Wuuuu..." There was a sharp sound heard. Loud and full of elemental energy, the sound almost led to Qin Yun spitting out a mouthful of blood. "Let¡¯s go!" Fang Yuan eximed. With a huge hand formed from elemental force, he bashed his way forward. A few spiritual monkeys were swiped away and broke a few bones as they wailed in pain. There was now a hole broken apart among the surrounding monkeys and a group of people rushed out. "We can¡¯t withstand this for long!" Fang Yuan led the way. Looking at the spiritual monkeys who were giving chase, hemanded. "Three of you, carry the light source and distract the monkeys away!" "Yes, Sir!" Three sacrificial knights appeared solemn. Holding on to the Bright Moon Pearl, they turned towards a separate direction. "Wuu! Wuuuuu!" "Wuu! Wuuuuu!" The monkeys shrieked. Fang Yuan andpany took cover and hid within a small gorge. As they felt the monkey tribe rushing by them, the Qin siblings¡¯ hearts were pounding. They were clear that the sacrificial knights who were picked out as bait were as good as dead. The only thing they could do was to prolong the time before their death. Even for them, if they were discovered, they would also have to face death. "Most of the monkeys have given chase to the three of them. Next up, we have to... bash our way through this gorge!" Elder Zhou gritted his teeth and led the way. Fang Yuan had a look of empathy in his eyes but did not say much as he followed silently behind. "Sister..." Qin Yun took a few steps forward and twitched his nose in curiosity. "What is this... why is this so fragrant?" "This is... wine!" Elder Zhou was sure of that. How could he not know the smell of such fragrant wine? "Why would there be the fragrance of wine deep in the forest?" Qin Qing¡¯s face was flushed, as though she was a little tipsy. "Keke!" Elder Zhou was stunned as though he had thought of something. His teeth started to chatter in fear. "This wine had the fragrance of berries and is fermented from a hundred different fruits. It is the Monkey¡¯s Wine!" "Monkey¡¯s Wine, fermented by monkeys. How interesting..." Qin Yun continued, as his expression changed. "Why would the fragrance... be here?" "This is because... we are in the monkey¡¯s nest!" Fang Yuan replied without batting an eyelid. "Monkey¡¯s nest?" Qin Yun rounded a corner and arrived at a tnd. On the side of the cliff were golden-coloured vines, and many female monkeys were hanging by the vines and carrying their babies. Some of them were in deep sleep, while others were awakened by themotion and looked around nervously. In the middle of the ce was a rock cavern and the fragrance of the wine seemed to have originated from there. "It¡¯s... it¡¯s really the monkey¡¯s nest!" Qin Qing turned pale. If not for the fact that Fang Yuan was with them, she would have thought that Fang Yuan had intentionally led them here. "The most dangerous ce is always the safest ce. Don¡¯t you think this ce is a good ce to stay?" Fang Yuan smiled. "All the strong monkeys have left to chase them, and left this ce defenceless. The monkeys would never think that we would ambush their nest!" "Furthermore... if we don¡¯te here, how can we defeat the monkey king?" "Monkey king?" Qin Yun almost fainted. "Of course, the monkey king!" Fang Yuan continued with a serious tone. "I am obviously no match for all of the spiritual monkeys. But if we take down their leader, it would strike enough fear in them for us to leave this ce safely!" "Sir... You are looking to fight with the monkey king?" Elder Zhou shuddered as he recalled the practices of the monkeys. Wild animals would respect the strong. If anyone could defeat the monkey king one on one, they would gain the respect of the spiritual monkeys, and could safely leave the mountain. "How did you guess that the monkey king would be here?" "If the monkey king is here, we shall defeat it. If it is not here, we shall rest here and take their wine with us. Any problems with that?" Fang Yuan turned around with a surprised look. "I see!" Elder Zhou gritted his teeth. "This is indeed a possible n. However... Don¡¯t worry Sir, we will guard the outside and will not let any spiritual monkeys interfere with your fight against the monkey king!" "Very good!" Fang Yuan shifted his attention to the rock cavern in the middle. From there, he could already feel a strong spiritual aura from a spiritual soul¡¯s presence. "Monkey king?" Heughed heartily with no intention of hiding. The energy level in him surged to peak levels. "Wuuu Wuuuuuuuu...." Many baby monkeys started to scream and hugged their mothers as they retreated, and some of them even fainted. "Wuu! Wuuu!" From the rock cavern, a tall monkey¡¯s silhouette appeared. It was a few feet tall and was covered in golden fur. As it stood up, the eye on its mind pce opened, revealing a mysterious glow. There was a silvery sh from its eyes, and as soon as it saw Fang Yuan, it rushed out. This was the spiritual monkey king, which had evolved a special trait! Reacting to Fang Yuan¡¯s challenge, it eximed furiously and in the process, the surroundings shook. Chapter 217: Chapter 217 Black Shadow Chapter 217: Chapter 217 ck Shadow Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Wuuu! Wuuuuu!" The Golden-furred monkey king eximed. Its gigantic body started to make a run towards Fang Yuan. The Qin siblings turned pale! Facing this ferocious animal, they froze in their tracks! They could not even dodge and was awaiting their deaths. Not just them, even Elder Zhou and the few ck Feather Cavalries were biting their lips till they bled. There was no question! If the Qin siblings were to face this monkey king alone, there was no doubt that they would die, and there was not even a slight chance of survival for them. "Good!" Fang Yuan looked at the monkey w which was about tond and started tough. With his right fist, he flew upwards. "Rumble!" The ground shook! If the previous scene was described as the sky falling down, then Fang Yuan would be the pir breaking through the skies. "Bang!" As the w and fist met, the ground in the vicinity cracked as though there was a mini earthquake. The Golden-furred monkey king took two steps back and stared at the small ant in front of him curiously. The energy it had in it was immense. "Chi Chi!" "Wuuu! Wuuuu!" Themotion attracted a lot of strong monkeys. Seeing that a human was fighting with their king, they calmed down and formed a circle as they witnessed the fight without attempting to go forward to help. "Phew..." Elder Zhou and the rest retreated. "Everything seems good... It seems that the monkey king is indeed respectable. If Sir can defeat it, they would surely not dare to attack us!" "Can Sir defeat the monkey king?" Qin Yun looked at the surrounding spiritual monkeys and stumbled on his words. "This..." Elder Zhou sounded depressed. "This monkey king is at the Elemental Gathering Stage and had opened its spiritual eye. With its powers, normal Wu Zongs would not be its match... But looking at how daring Sir is, it seems that he has something to depend on!" "Bang!" As soon as he finished, they witnessed Fang Yuan mming the spiritual monkey king into a rock wall, leaving a huge indentation in the wall as the rocks around it crumbled. "What a monkey king! It seems like I have to show you my true powers!" There was a mild golden glow emitting form Fang Yuan¡¯s skin. This was the extreme stage of thebination of the Hundred Poison Golden Body and the Giant Eagle Metal Body. Not just that, there were three snake-like glows on his back. The three spiritual meridians disappeared into his body, taking up the shape of an armour. "Rumble!" Following the surge of energy, the air around was vibrating. The monkey tribe shuddered and took a few steps back. "This is... Meridian Opening!" Qin Qing eximed in delight. "Sir is a Meridian Opening Wu Zong!" "No wonder he could think of traversing the Three World Mountain by himself." Elder Zhou came to a realisation. "Wuu! Wuuuuu!" Following an exmation, the spiritual monkey king climbed out from the dent in the wall. It was infuriated and the third eye from its mind pce started to glow, shooting a beam of light at Fang Yuan. "Whoosh!" A streak of golden lightnded on Fang Yuan. "This is..." Fang Yuan felt an immense difficulty in raising his right hand, and his joints were cracking. In despair, he eximed. "Is this your godly powers? Gravitational Technique?" His body felt extremely heavy and the pressure he was experiencing was simr to the Four Elements Spiritual Array. The difference was the fact that the city master of Descending Star City had to painstakingly develop and perfect the array, but the Golden-furred monkey king could use it anytime it wanted to with the flick of its spiritual will! "Wuu! Wuuuuuu!" The Golden-furred monkey king roared and appeared enraged. It arrived in front of Fang Yuan and raised its w. "Heh, however... This binding strength is still not enough to put me down! Giant Eagle w!" Without fear, he struck out his w. "Chi! Chi!" The ws met in mid-air. The illusionary giant eagle w was explosive as it gave off a fearful screech in mid-air. "Bang! Bang!" The Golden-furred monkey king took a few steps back and had a look of confusion in its eyes. Never would it have thought that someone who was trapped by its Gravitational Technique would be able to move without much restriction. "Mm... It seems that this is all you¡¯ve got!" Fang Yuan swung his neck as though he was not being affected by the binding technique at all. He could previously break through the array, so why would he put the Golden-furred monkey king¡¯s Gravitational Technique on his mind? "I¡¯m wondering if I can dig out your third eye to smelt it into a magical weapon!" "Chi! Chi!" In a moment, the Golden-furred monkey king¡¯s fur stood on its ends, as it shrieked. "You can feel my spiritual aura... this is not right!" Fang Yuan looked around and realised that several other spiritual monkeys were screaming as well. They started to escape and gave up watching the fight, as though they could feel an impending disaster. "Wuu! Wuuuuu!" The monkey king felt the same as well. Without caring about the fight or his wine, he climbed up the cliff and ran away. "Sir... Did you scare the monkey tribe away?!" Qin Yun stared in disbelief. "Idi*t!" Fang Yuan looked into the dark skies and appeared solemn. "The spiritual monkeys own this ce. They have only escaped because they have sensed a familiar impending disaster..." "Disaster?" Qin Qing shook and made a guess. "Illusionary World?" "I¡¯ve heard that this world is illusionary and will only asionally appear in Three World Mountain. Whoever who would encounter it would not likely be able to survive!" Elder Zhou revealed a look of determination. "Compared to it, the danger from the monkey tribe is nothing... To think about it, we were even willing to run through the monkey¡¯s area to avoid the Illusionary World, but in the end, it had still arrived..." The sky became darker. As the monkey tribe ran for their lives, there was not a single life form left. The mountain breeze blew and with it was a rustling sound. Everywhere was extremely silentpared to the initialmotion, and it was an eerie silence. "Keke! Keke!" Qin Yun was chattering his teeth in fear as he looked at his sister. "What should we do?" "Sir?!" Qin Qing took two steps forward and looked at Fang Yuan. She knew that it all depended on him for all of them to escape alive. "We¡¯ll not run!" Fang Yuan shook his head as though he had just snapped out from a trance. There was a look of shock on his face. "We are now... Already in the Illusionary World..." "What?" The Qin siblings went pale. "How is this possible?" "The Illusionary World does not belong to our world from the beginning. Like how two pieces of paper would stack together, it would only appear where two points meet, where the two other worlds coincide. This is the real Three World Mountain!" Hearing the silence in the air, Fang Yuan shook his head. "Then what will happen to us..." Qin Qing was about to add on but was distracted by the sounds of a tribe of monkeys. "Chi! Chi!" In the darkness, many pairs of red eyes appeared as they approached them. "This is... the spiritual monkeys from before! No... that¡¯s not right..." Elder Zhou looked. The spirituality in the monkey¡¯s eyes was now gone, and their eyes were bloodshot. Their movement was zombie-like and their fur was a pitch ck. Like shadows, they stood up and approached them. "One of you, go and test their ability!" Fang Yuan ordered. "Die!" A ck Feather Cavalry rushed forward. He had the cultivation of an 8th Gate martial artist, and he struck his scimitar towards the head of one of the spiritual monkeys. "Ch!" As the scimitar glittered, it went straight into the head of the ck monkey. An eerie scene soon unfolded. There was no blood, no screaming. The ck monkey appeared normal, and the scimitar on its head started to disappear, as though the shadow of it was swallowing it in. Not just that, the scimitar seemed to be able to attract and pull the ck Feather Cavalry towards it. "No..." The ck Feather Cavalry wanted to let go, but the ck monkey stretched out its hands and held him tightly. "Ah..." He started to wail but was slowly taken in by the shadow of the ck monkey. Soon, he was left with his upper body, then his shocked face, then his arm. Finally, as the ck monkey pressed him in, the ck Feather Cavalry disappeared and was swallowedpletely. Without changing its expression, its bloodshot eyes became even redder as it stared at Fang Yuan and the rest. "How can such a normal spiritual monkey evolve such a powerful trait?" Fang Yuan appeared serious. "Are all of you possessed? Let¡¯s go!" Looking around, he had no intention of breaking out of the surrounding monkeys. He made a dash towards the monkey king¡¯s rock cavern. "Follow!" Elder Zhou pushed the Qin siblings along and ordered another two sacrificial knights to distract them. Together, they hid in the rock cavern. The rock cavern was rather spacious, and it was extremely dry inside. Itid in the centre and was a favourable hiding spot. With the strong fragrance of wine, everyone in the rock cavern became tipsy. There were two exmations behind followed by footsteps. It was evident that the ck monkeys had caught up to them. "If there are no other escape routes, we would die here!" Fang Yuan took a quick look at a corner and his eyes glittered. "However, we are surrounded now. We can only defend this ce with our lives!" "In history, the Illusionary World would only appear for a while. We just have tost longer than it!" "Furthermore... My goal is not to simplyst for a period of time!" ... As his eyes glittered, he could see a ck monkey walking towards them. "Giant Eagle w!" "Rumble!" The ck monkey few backwards and there were three deep w marks on its chest. "It seems that attacking them with elemental force is rather effective! Although it took up some of my energy, it is still effective!" As he struck the monkey, he quickly retreated. A few ck monkeys started to surround them once again. "Down!" As he aimed at a rock wall, he released his elemental energy, causing rocks to crumbled and seal the cavern. "Whoosh!" Long before he had sealed the cavern, he had released a streak of elemental energy. Like a sharp knife, it sliced the head of a ck monkey. In mid-air, he grabbed the monkey¡¯s head and brought it into the cavern. "This way..." He had already used his spiritual will and realised that there were escape paths in the cavern. Before hiding in the cavern, he had already nned for the way ahead. He started to do a headcount for all the people with him, now that they had retreated deep into the mountains. He realised that after all thatmotion, the only ones left were the Qin Siblings, Elder Zhou, and three other ck Feather Cavalries. Chapter 218: Chapter 218 Spiritual Seed Chapter 218: Chapter 218 Spiritual Seed Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Wuu! Wuuuu!" Within the cavern, the Bight Moon Pearl illuminated the entire ce with a green glow. They all had a creepy look as the green glownded on their faces. This was especially so for the spiritual monkey¡¯s head in Fang Yuan¡¯s hands. Even though the head was already severed off, it still had the vitality in it. Shrieking loudly, it opened its fangs as though it wanted to cause trouble. "What is this... weird creature..." Both Qin Yun and Qin Qing gave a disgusted look. "Indeed a weird creature!" Fang Yuan walked up and examined the ck mist that was spurting out from the spiritual monkey¡¯s severed head. "Hiss... Hiss..." The ck mist was thick and started to slither up Fang Yuan¡¯s fingers like a hand full of life. "Ha!" As his eyes glittered, he exerted his elemental force. "Ch!" White smoke emerged. His elemental force was against the dark force and it had resulted in a stalemate. "This is a strong dark force..." After a while, Fang Yuan opened his eyes and let out a long sigh. "Although it¡¯s his evil in nature, its power is alreadyparable to elemental force..." "Chichi!" As he spoke, the monkey¡¯s head in his hands disappeared into a puddle of ck blood. Most of the dark force disappeared together with it without leaving any traces of it behind. "Does the dark force take cover in the Illusionary World?" Fang Yuan could detect the power of the shadows. As he looked around, he felt depressed. "This means that... Not just spiritual monkeys, but humans might be possessed by it too!" Themotion outside slowly settled down. Through a crack in the rock wall, a ck mist slowly slithered its way in like a hand dancing. "What is this... damned thing?!" A ck Feathers Cavalry sliced his sword at it, but the sword went straight through it and into a rock, resulting in sparks. Not just that, the ck hand slithered its way up the sword and spread to his palm, arm and finally to his chest. "Number Four!" Elder Zhou eximed and rushed over as he used his finger to press on Number Four¡¯s acupuncture point, but to no avail. To make things worse, the ck hand continued its way on his fingers. "Ghost!" Elder Zhou¡¯s expression changed. As he swung his scimitar, two of his fingers dropped onto the floor. "Boss?" Two other ck Feathers Cavalry were in shock. Only now did they realise that their fellow brother stood up. His face was shrouded in ck mist and his eyes were bloodshot. As he let out a beastly roar, he pounced towards them with his hands shaped into ws. Opening his mouth wide, he bit on their necks. "Get lost!" Fang Yuan looked at the helpless Qin Siblings and waved his right hand. "Bang!" As the dark-forced Number Four screamed, he was smashed into the rock wall. "How does this dark force spread so quickly?" Fang Yuan came to Number Four. His limbs were broken and should not be able to move. However, he raised his neck and the ferocious look it gave made it seemed like he was no longer human. "What a parasite..." With focus, Fang Yuan grabbed his pulse and transferred his elemental force. "Weng! Weng!" There was a white glow that originated from the back of his hand as it slowly spread to his wrist, arms, chest and face. "Chi!" As the dark force was cleansed out of him, an unconscious and pale-looking middle-aged man was all that was left. "He should be... fine now......." Fang Yuan calmlymented before keeping silent once more. ¡¯This dark force and elemental force counter each other. My guess is right... It is extremely afraid of dream elemental force. This must be left behind by an evil dream master, right?¡¯ Elder Zhou witnessed the scene before him and looked at the two fingers on the floor with a helpless look. He was extremely regretful. If he knew that Fang Yuan was able to save Number Four, he wouldn¡¯t have needed to sacrifice his fingers! His determination to save a life seemed like a foolish joke now. "Godly doctor..." Qin Qing could not stand it anymore and asked. "I can chase the dark force away and heal fractured bones, but this..." Fang Yuan shook his head. "If these two fingers were still on him, I can still transfer my elemental energy to chase the dark force away, but now... I am more curious about their thinking..." "Why do you want to do that, even though I am beside you and you have seen for yourself what happened to the monkey¡¯s head?" He nced at Elder Zhou with a serious look. "This..." Elder Zhou appeared confused, before revealing a shocked look. "Young Mistress, Young Master, beware! This dark force seems to be able to affect your thinking!" He was affected by the dark force, which exined his reckless and extreme actions. "How? Are you still able to walk?" Fang Yuan stood up and turned towards the widest tunnel. "No... No problem!" Elder Zhou clenched his teeth and used his clothing to cover up his wounds. Looking at his unconscious subordinate, he gritted his teeth. "If we meet any more dangers, I hope that Sir, you will be able to bring Young Mistress and Young Master to safety. The few of us can sacrifice anytime!" "Mm, this was my n all along!" Fang Yuan replied without batting an eyelid. Elder Zhou was speechless. ... At this point in time, at the sealed wall by the crumbled rocks, the ck mist started to spread in. Fang Yuan followed the fragrance of the wine and the tracks left behind by the monkey king as he continued deeper into the cavern, finally locating the nest of the monkey. "This is..." Qin Qing was speechless when she witnessed what was before her. In front of her was a huge underground cave like a square. In the middle of the square, there were countless tree roots and stumps. In the middle of it all was a huge tree, and around it was many tree stumps. This tree was thest of its kind. In the huge tree, there was a huge hole. It was filled with a green-coloured wine. The fragrance of the fruit wine filled the entire square. It was intense and the smell of it was 10 times more than before! 100 times! Qin Qing was already too tipsy to begin with. As she came to the square, she could not withstand it any longer. As he face became flushed, she became drunk and fell to the ground. At the side, Qin Yun started to wail and mumbled to himself. "I want revenge!" "Sister... Mother! I feel terrible and drained..." Slowly, he went into a deep slumber. "What in the world!" Seeing what just happened, Fang Yuan was speechless. Of course, the spiritual monkey¡¯s wine was not poisonous. In fact, it had nutritious value and was able to supplement the body. However, they were not able to hold their liquor and this was therefore no different from drugs. Unfortunately, the Qin siblings were both not ustomed to drinking and the protection they had all over their bodies were useless, which was why both of them sumbed. "Look after the two of them..." After casually instructed them, he used his lightness skill and leapt on the tree stumps. "Monkey wine? Monkeys are well known to gather fruits to ferment, producing wine. Who knew how long the wine was here. There might even be spiritual fruits in it..." Fang Yuan took out his Mountain River Pearl and prepared to take out a few empty gourds. However, suddenly, his expression changed. With the flip of his hands, a seed appeared. The seed appeared ck and unattractive, but it slowly released an emerald glow and a slight hint of a thought of its own, as though it was trying to convince its thirst to exist. "It..." Fang Yuan could recognise that this seed was a treasure he had found from Lu Renjia¡¯s secret stash. It was the seed of a spiritual nt which he suspected as a Heaven Grade. The spiritual seed was extraordinary. Previously, just the spiritual aura of it was already enough to help Fang Yuan achieve a breakthrough in Botany. Putting all hopes on it, Fang Yuan nted it in Green Peak Spiritual Mountain, but nothing happened since, which made him a little disappointed. However, there were changes to the seed once again. It exerted its own will to exist, but it was directed to the pool of monkey wine. "Mm..." Fang Yuan looked at the tree stump followed by the monkey wine and was confused. "Is this happening because of the spiritual tree or the spiritual wine? No, the spiritual wine had absorbed all the essence from the tree while it was fermented. I¡¯m afraid it has already taken all the spiritual property from the spiritual tree..." Thinking about it, he finally decided not to use his own means, but follow the wishes of the seed and submerged it into the wine. Although the spiritual wine as good, Fang Yuan already had aparable bottomless wine pot. Together with his huge collection of spiritual items, it was hard for him to convince himself to take this spiritual wine, of which the contents of the wine was still unknown to him. "Bloop! Bloop!" Once the spiritual seed was submerged into the pool, it started to glow as it released a huge bubble. Following which, a swirl started to appear in the middle of the pool of wine. It slowly grew and became bigger, but the amount of wine started to decrease. Finally, a dried wooden tform was revealed and in the middle of it was the spiritual seed. At this point in time, the ck skin was shed, revealing an emerald green colour. The signs of life within the seed started to grow. "I¡¯ve seen many people drinking wine... But it¡¯s my first time seeing a spiritual seed drinking wine!" Fang Yuan smirked. Slowly, he felt thest hint of spiritual property in the tree stump he was standing on being sucked away, and it started to dry up. "Weng! Weng!" With the wave of his hands, the spiritual seednded on his palm. "Indeed... It¡¯s different!" If the seed¡¯s previous appearance was described as an uncut rock, the spiritual seed would be considered a beautiful gem. "If I can locate a spiritualnd, this spiritual seed should be able to germinate now, right?" With a sh, the spiritual seed was once again absorbed into the Mountain River Pearl. The wine fragrance which initially filled the entire ce was slowly dissipating, and the Qin siblings slowly came to after being made to drink water. "All it takes for it to shed its skin was an entire pool of spiritual wine and the spiritual property of this spiritual tree?" Fang Yuan leapt down from the stump, speechless. "Is this a good thing or a bad thing..." "This is..." Elder Zhou looked at the roots left behind by the old tree and was shocked. "This was the nest of the spiritual monkey king and this was his treasure!" Fang Yuan rubbed his nose. "Of course, let¡¯s hope that it will not be enraged aftering back here!" "Bang!" In the next moment, following a loud sound, there were footsteps approaching. Elder Zhou forcefully turned his neck over and saw a huge silhouette rushing into the cave. The monkey king appeared very different from what it used to be. All of its golden fur had be ck and its eyes were bloodshot. Seeing the empty tree stump, its ferocious look turned into one of confusion as it let out a blood-curdling cry. "It¡¯s the spiritual monkey king! It is being possessed!" Elder Zhou and the rest appeared deste. Chapter 219: Chapter 219 Breakthrough Chapter 219: Chapter 219 Breakthrough Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Who would¡¯ve thought that the spiritual monkey king would also sumb to the dark force..." Sensing the increasingly scary spiritual aura of the spiritual monkey king, Fang Yuan shook his head and gave a serious look. He had confidence that he could defeat the previous spiritual monkey king, but now, the current spiritual monkey king gave him a feeling of danger. "Elder Zhou..." He was back facing Elder Zhou and was signalling for them to find their way out. "Sir... take care!" Elder Zou protected the Qin siblings and ran towards the wall to hide. In the next moment, a powerful spiritual aura filled the entire ce. "Wuu! Wuuuuuu!" The enraged monkey shrieked, and countless dark force hands were dancing around, almost covering the entire cavern. "Whooo!" A ck shadow rushed forward and struck a w out at Fang Yuan. "Ha!" The spiritual armour on Fang Yuan¡¯s body started to glitter. Channelling strength to his right hand, he struck his fist out. "Bang!" As the fist and w met, Fang Yuan¡¯s expression changed. He flew backwards and cracks appeared on his spiritual armour. Within seconds, it shattered and disintegrated into sparks. "Wuu! Wuuuuu!" The ck enraged monkey was much more fierce than before. With its weird shriek, its third eye between its eyebrows opened, and a huge forcended on Fang Yuan. "Whoosh!" Not just that, but a dark streak of light shot out from its third eye, and it quicklynded on Fang Yuan. ¡¯What the hell! How does it being possessed allow it to be stronger?¡¯ Fang Yuan¡¯s expression changed and tried his best to break free from the force. "Whoosh!" The dark streak of light flew past its shoulders, destroying his elemental force armour. His clothing started to disintegrate, and even his golden body was not able to withstand it. A small part of his muscle started to dissolve, revealing an open wound. "This power..." "Whoosh!" With a sh, Fang Yuan used his Shadowstep and escaped into a random tunnel, disappearing. "What a powerful monkey. It was different from what it used to be..." Without turning his head, he quickly ran. "It seems to have the Seventh Elemental Force,parable to when Nie Kuang was at his peak! Not just that, his third eye has two unique abilities. One of them is the Gravitational Technique, and the other would be that dark streak of light!" Thinking about the ambush from the monkey king, even Fang Yuan started to shudder in fear. The intensity of that attack was enough to kill him! "What a strong dark force... Furthermore, I could feel the evil intent of it..." He rubbed the area between his eyebrows. While they were fighting, his dream elemental force from his Zu Qiao could detect the evil intent from the monkey king. "Hatred, pain... It seems like abination of negative feelings?" Fang Yuan thought to himself. "Only a fool would pit himself against the unknown, not to mention that it was such a powerful adversary!" Not far from him, there was a cry. He was unclear if it was the Qin siblings who had encountered the monkey king, or sacrificial knights trying their best to distract the monkey king. Taking this rare opportunity, Fang Yuan continued to explore his way and took a huge detour, finally reaching the deepest part of the cavern. "I don¡¯t know how deep this cavern this. I can randomly pick a ce and defend, and that should be no problem... Of course, the best would be for me to find an exit and escape from either the entrance where we came from or another exit!" In the midst of rushing his way, Fang Yuan released his spiritual will in an attempt to find an exit. "The tunnel ahead is a dead end!" "The tunnel on the left has no air cirction, and from therees the asional roar. It will be likely to meet the spiritual monkey king there..." "There¡¯s wind noises and water sshing from the hole in the right. There might be a hidden river or exposed exit!" ... As he gathered all the information with his spiritual will, he quickly assessed each of them. Using his Shadowstep, he rushed into the tunnel on the right. "Whoooo! Whoo!" As a gentle breeze was felt, a hidden river was revealed underneath. "Bloop! Bloop!" The water from the river was not clear. Instead, it was a green liquid. It was bubbling continuously and was continuously eroding the river banks on both sides. "Wuu! Wuuuuuu!" The monkey king was heard, and Fang Yuan could vaguely see a huge silhouette chasing from behind. "Chi chi..." Fang Yuan bent down and stretched his right hand into the river. "Chichi!" The corrosive river water was resisted by the elemental force and golden glow from his hand. "... Never would I have thought that I would be forced to such an extent. Are the novels reliable? They always let the protagonist encounter a miracle after jumping into rivers, right?" Fang Yuan¡¯s thoughts ran wild. With a ssh, he leapt into the green river, discing a huge amount of water. As the green river waternded on the walls and the ground, it started to corrode holes, and from the holes came a white smoke. "Ssh!!!" An even greater ssh of water was heard. It was the spiritual monkey king. Seeing Fang Yuan attempting to escape by jumping in, it couldn¡¯t care less and followed suit. The river water started to corrode its fur, but the monkey king was protected by the dark force. With an exmation, it tried to search for Fang Yuan. ... Outside the mountain. "Whoosh!" As the ground exploded, an underground tunnel was revealed and Fang Yuan leapt out, looking at the sky. The fog had dissipated long ago, and the clear was clear with a bright moon. However, the moon had a red hue, as though it was signalling that something bad was about to happen. "Has the Illusionary Worldpletelybined with the real world?" Fang Yuanid on the ground and stared into the sky, looking depressed. "Indeed... the miracles that all the protagonists would encounter after jumping into rivers are all lies!" He appeared extremely worn-out. After being soaked in the corrosive river water, his clothing became tattered, even though it was protected by his elemental force. He now appeared like a beggar, and his golden skin was revealed. "Bloop! Bloop!" There was a rumbling sound from beneath, followed by a tremor as though there was an impending earthquake. It was as though Fang Yuan could hear the exmation from the monkey king. "Why is it always following me!" With a sigh, he looked for a direction and disappeared with his Shadowstep. "Bang!" Behind him, the cavern exploded, revealing the possessed monkey king¡¯s body. It screamed as it started to give chase. The wind was rumbling! As he was running, Fang Yuan started to notice changes in the area around him. "This ce looks weird... It seems that with the arrival of the Illusionary World, the rules of reality would change as well..." "Or should I say, with the constant spread of dark force, this region is slowly transforming into a dream world... It¡¯s a pity that my dream building skills are still not strong enough in a highly-skilled dream master¡¯s dream world. Otherwise, I would be able to control all these!" Fang Yuan took a quick nce at the spiritual monkey king, who was not giving up, and gritted his teeth, "Wait a moment. Dream building!" Suddenly, Fang Yuan¡¯s expression changed. With the flick of his fingers, the cliff ahead of him started to rumble andnd appeared between both cliffs. "My powers..." Looking at his own hands, he was shocked. "I can use them? Could it be that this dream master is weaker than Yang Fan? No! This is not right..." Fang Yuan came to another conclusion. "Could this be the peculiar property in Three World Mountains that would leave every dream master with they dream building powers? After all, this is not aplete dream world and there must be loopholes within the rules for us to exploit..." "Wuu! Wuuuuu!" On the t ground which was once a cliff, Fang Yuan stopped running. Behind him was the aggressive spiritual monkey king giving chase. Turning around, he was eager to test his powers. "Although I have proven that I have my dream building abilities, I am still unsure of how much I can do. I¡¯ll need to do an experiment!" "Puff! Puff!" Seeing the arrival of the monkey king, he casually snapped his fingers. Suddenly, vines appeared from the ground; they were metallic and were full of thorns like snakes. Within seconds, it trapped the monkey king. The thorns from it started to break through the dark force¡¯s defence and went into its skin. "Aw! Aww!" The spiritual monkey king gave out a weird scream and pulled on the vines, breaking them. "Still not strong enough..." Fang Yuan looked at the scene and shook his head. "I cannot weaken him. Can I try strengthening myself..." Although he only obtained an insignificant ability to alter the world, it was enough for Fang Yuan. The monkey king was no match for him. Seeing the monkey king pouncing at him, he shrugged his shoulders. The ground beneath gave way, and the cliffs appeared once more. The monkey king lost its footing and fell all the way down. Not willing to give up, it struck its ws on the cliff walls. "Get down!" Fang Yuan stomped his foot on the ground. With a rumbling sound, a crack appeared and half of the cliff crumbled into rocks, which started to fall towards the monkey king. With the threat of nature, even the monkey king could do nothing but grunt. It released its grip and fell into the abyss. "This Illusionary World..." Fang Yuan had already forgotten about the monkey king. Looking at everything around him, he had a look of disbelief and excitement. "It is real and illusory at the same time! Mind could affect matter and consciousness could affect reality, and this is exactly what it meant!" His dream master cultivation was put to a halt as he was unable to actualise things from his dream. This was a chance for him! This Illusionary Worldbined the real world with dreams. Just like a dream master, it was guiding Fang Yuan on how to do it, giving him inspiration to achieve a breakthrough. "What is a dream? What is not a dream?" The moon with a red hue was covered by a faint glow in the sky. As the sun began to rise from the East, its golden rays spread far and wide, but it remained hidden within the clouds. "Only I will know, who is the true master of this dream..." Fang Yuan mumbled something to himself, closed his eyes and entered a mysterious state of nirvana. Just as the sun was about to rise, banishing the Illusionary World and separating it from the real world, he held on to this opportunity and started toprehend the process of actualising his dreams in reality. "Whoooo! Whooo!" The mountain breeze caressed his face. An unexpected thing happened. An unknown energy brought along the dark force in the air, transforming it into a ck snake which circled Fang Yuan. Suddenly, it pounced on him, engulfing him in within. Fang Yuan was not conscious yet, and it was as though he had be a ck hole, swallowing all the dark force around him... From this, a mysterious force was born, which started to slowly push his cultivation as a dream master towards greater heights, attempting for a breakthrough! Chapter 220: Chapter 220 Illusionary Divine Chapter 220: Chapter 220 Illusionary Divine Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Fang Yuan felt as though he had slipped into a fairytale dream. For dream masters to break through the Elemental Gathering Realm, they had to achieve the Illusionary Diving Stage. This could only be done by having aplete understanding of the rules of reality and releasing a huge amount of dream elemental force. As forprehending the rules of reality, he had already gathered enough experience in the past three years. Together with Yang Fan¡¯s dream world, he had enough understanding of the rules. However, he still did not have the endurance to achieve a breakthrough. This was still true, even though he possessed an entire spiritualnd! But now, a continuous force seeped out from his limbs, getting ready to break through! ¡¯I only wanted to... Understand the rules in this Illusionary World... what is happening now? Am I using the strength here to achieve a breakthrough?¡¯ Fang Yuan was helpless as he looked at his Zu Qiao changing. Within his mind pce, his dream elemental force gathered continuously as he prepared for the breakthrough. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t let go of this perfect opportunity. Concentrating, he made full use of the chance that was given to him! With much focus, Fang Yuan could vaguely see a huge door which covered the skies and was as tall as a mountain. That was the gate of the Illusionary Divine, and the difficulty level of breaking through this gatepared to the Opening Meridian stage of Wu Zong was unimaginable. His dream elemental force rumbled and like a tsunami, it crashed onto the door. "Whoosh!" It was intense! As the huge door shook, it remained closed. Without thinking much, Fang Yuan quickly gathered his dream elemental force and tried once more. "Whoosh! Whoosh!" Under the continuous crashing of waves, even the strongest door would crack. From the cracks, there was a colourful glow, and the glow intensified as more and more cracks appeared, as though it was about to explode. That was the line which separates the real world and the dream world, the ability for the mind to affect matter! ... sh! There were countless white shes! At the moment where the door crumbled, white light flowed into Fang Yuan¡¯s Zu Qiao, into his mind pce and his consciousness. "Whoosh!" A void was forced into his consciousness; this void was the link between illusory and reality. "Whoosh! Whoosh!" As the white sh sparked, it became weaker....... It started to spread far and wide, and finally, it became a small space with a radius of a few feet, and the height of about 8 inches. "This is... my dream world! Actualising my dream world!" In the middle of the space, there was a small person the size of a figurine, which had the looks of Fang Yuan. This was his consciousness. "My dream world! A dream master¡¯s actualised dream world is where the Illusionary Divine lies! Where my nest lie... it is the most crucial, and is the fort that allows me to defend from other dream masters!" Since Fang Yuan had the inheritance from Master Heartless, he had an understanding of his actualised dream world. "This dream world seems real and illusory at the same time, and is the foundation to everything else that I can actualise..." "In my dream world, I can do anything!" Fang Yuan looked at his feet. There was ayer of sand and nothing else in mid-air. He shook his head helplessly. It was already not bad considering it was the first time for Fang Yuan to actualise his dream world. "I want to know what is that force which assisted me in my breakthrough!" Fang Yuan had a confused look. Suddenly, he waved his hands, and his clear voice was heard throughout the mountain "I am the master of my dream world, the king of this world!!!" In his loud voice, he started to use his dream building skills. A sh appeared, which then transformed into a talisman. It was as though there were 9 Fire Dragons dancing around. ... Three World Mountain. On the peak of one of the mountains. Fang Yuan who was deep in meditation suddenly opened his eyes. "Actualise!" He exerted his dream elemental force. Connecting himself with his actualised dream world, a fiery-red talisman appeared in front of him, and the dragons were roaring and appearing mighty. His spiritual technique was impressive, and it was no weaker than that of the previous Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master, Liu Yan. He could dream of thousands of spiritual techniques in a single dream! A dream spells master! "Is this... the power to actualise?" Looking at the talisman in front of him, Fang Yuan remained speechless. ¡¯I have only seen him cast this spell once, and I can cast it myself now just by using dream elemental energy...¡¯ To actualise spiritual spells, he only needed to exert energy. However, to actualise other objects, especially physical objects, it would be much harder. Therefore, most dream masters would specialise as a dream spells master after achieving a breakthrough to the Illusionary Divine Stage. "Then... What about a dream soldier master?" Fang Yuan thought to himself. Within his actualised dream world, a huge amount of dream elemental force condensed, forming the shape of a ck dagger. The actual world. After a sh, a long metal piecended in Fang Yuan¡¯s hands. This metal was unpolished and was average in hardness; it barely resembled a dagger. "This is real!" After recovering from his shock, he frowned. "I¡¯ve spent too much effort doing this. For such a piece of normal metal, the amount of dream elemental energy I have to spend is much morepared to the spiritual technique which I cast previously... Furthermore, it seems like a low-quality dagger. Could this be due to the fact that I am not used to actualising objects? It seems that I am far from actualising magical weapons from my dreams..." "I have not yet decided which path I am going to specialise into, but what I am sure of is that this dream elemental force is extremely important! I cannot waste it, and I¡¯ll have to use it wisely!" Initially, Fang Yuan¡¯s dream elemental force was only used for him to cast his bewildering fog and Shadowstep, and there was a surplus of it all the time. But now, he realised that he was going to run into a deficit of dream elemental force. The power of actualising in the Illusionary Divine stage was extremely strong. To actualise an object, a lot of dream elemental force would have to be used up. Needless to say, it was not worth it for him to actualise valuable treasures as the consumption of dream elemental force would be more than the value of these treasures. Notwithstanding the fact that he was not at that level of cultivation yet, even if he were to be there, it would still not be worth it to exchange that amount of dream elemental force for the treasures. Only those at the peak of the Illusionary Divine Stage could consider doing something as ambitious as this. Thinking about this, Fang Yuan looked at his own stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 36 Spirit: 30 Magic: 20 Profession: Dream Master Cultivation: [Illusionary Divine (???)], Wu Zong (Third Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 4) (1%)], Bewildering Spell, Shadowstep, Hundred Poison Golden Body (First Refining) Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "Illusionary Divine - You are not only the master of your dream world but also the divine person of the Illusionary World! Mind could affect matter and consciousness could affect reality, and being a divine person, you have the ability to alter reality!" "What a breakthrough in my magical energy! A huge leap indeed!" Fang Yuan rubbed the area between his eyebrows. Previously, when his magical energy rose by a point or two, he would feel a stinging pain in his head. But now, with such an increment to his magical energy, everything was absorbed by his actualised dream world, and he did not flinch a single bit. "However... Magical energy is still not directly rted to the consumption of my dream elemental force... If there is something more direct that I can use to measure my consumption, that would be good!" In that instant, Fang Yuan thought of something. Immediately, he was left dumbfounded as his stats window became blurred. Behind his magical energy, there was another blue bar! That¡¯s right! It was simr to the red bar he had which disyed his proficiency points, and it could urately reflect each level. It was not full; the blue bar was only about 80%-90% filled. It was the dream elemental force which he used up just now. ¡¯Mm... If I would consume 1% of my dream elemental force everytime I cast my bewildering spell, then the actualising of a spiritual technique would take up 5% or even a little more...¡¯ Looking at the blue bar, Fang Yuanmented confidently. Although he knew that the stats window only disyed what he already knew, this breakthrough and the new additions to the window still surprised him. "Illusionary Divine is a huge stage, and the path to actualising objects is a long one..." Fang Yuan clenched his fists and was brimming with self-confidence. Yang Fan or his own master only reached the peak of the Illusionary Divine stage. Even so, they were still respectable and highly skilled people in Da Qian empire already. An Illusionary Divine dream master! If Fang Yuan had such a cultivation level in Yang Fan¡¯s dream world previously, he would not settle for a mere Eagle Lieutenant appointment. "Wuu! Wuuuuu!" Apanying the growl, a huge shadow leapt from the walls of the cliffs, making its way up. It was the spiritual monkey king. It was filled with rage and energy like a burning inferno, and its bloodshot eyes were fierce. However, as it looked at Fang Yuan, it hesitated. "Why would you hesitate?" Fang Yuan thought about it. "Can you feel something different about me?" He smiled and heaved a breath. "Roar! Roar!" A red talisman which was floating around him exploded, revealing 9 red fiery dragons. These dragons started to roar ferociously and rushed towards the monkey king. "Rumble! Rumble!" As the dragons spit fire, the entire ce became a burning inferno. It was as though a fiery pill was burning in the centre of the inferno. "Chi! Chi!" The spiritual monkey king was burnt throughout as it wailed in pain. The dark force from its body started to rise up. After all, it was time for the separation of the Illusionary World, and the force from the dark force would slowly weaken. "What a good beast!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. Another green talisman was tossed out form his actualised dream world. "Elemental energy of the Nine Heavens, hear mymand, strike!" "Whooo! Whoooo!" Suddenly, another 9 green dragons shed and appeared next to Fang Yuan. Quickly, they became tornados and swirled themselves at the monkey king. The fire was growing in the wind! As the wind blew, the fire grew even stronger, and the power of the dragons were many folds of what it wasst time! As the inferno on the monkey king¡¯s body raged, it let out an ear-piercing shriek. "Roar! Roar!" In the wind and fire, the red dragons and the green dragonsbined and fused together. Their power multiplied and the entire mountain was set on fire. ... Quite some time passed, and Fang Yuan arrived at a scorched piece ofnd. Hints of dark mists gathered, fused andnded on his palm. He remained expressionless. Seeing the dark force making its own way into his palm, the originally consumed dream elemental force was replenished. "Indeed, I must have had the help from this dark force to achieve the breakthrough to Illusionary Divine Stage." Fang Yuan let out a sigh and nced at a distance. Chapter 221: Ten Extremes Chapter 221: Ten Extremes Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Once the Illusionary Divine stage was attained, it would be extremely powerful. The spiritual monkey king, which once struck fear in Fang Yuan¡¯s heart, could not even withstand him now. Regardless, Fang Yuan appeared calm. In his actualised dream world, heposed himself and waved his hands. "Dream elemental force!!!" "Whoosh!" His dream elemental force surged out like waves crashing, engulfing his actualised dream world in a thinyer of bewildering fog. As the mercury-like dream elemental force was being consumed, the bottom was slowly revealed and everything seemed normal. "Something¡¯s not right!" Fang Yuan waved his hands, gathering a hint of dream elemental force. As the dream elemental force rose into the air, it glittered in the sunlight. "Condense!" As he concentrated, the dream elemental force fused in front of him, taking up the shape of a silvery mirror as it slowly expanded. Following which, on the reflective mirror surface, a dim red hue shed across like a tiny snake slithering about, bringing with it a sinister feel. "Damn... the dark force!" In the real world, Fang Yuan appeared depressed. He had no more doubt that the dark force aided him in achieving a breakthrough to the Illusionary Divine stage! "Like the spiritual monkey king, I am affected by the dark force too... This might just be the highest level of being possessed!" Fang Yuan gritted his teeth. "I need to find a way to get rid of it! And before that, I should leave the Three World Mountain as soon as possible!" He did not want to end up like the spiritual monkey king and be a monster. Although he was still clueless if his breakthrough was by ident or caused by the dark force, he wanted to leave Three World Mountain regardless, and the further the better. At this point in time. A purple glow rose from the east as the sun began to rise, pouring its golden rays across the vast mountains. Fang Yuan could sense that the Illusionary World was already separating from the Three World Mountain. Under the sunlight, the shadows slowly disappeared, and even the possessed spiritual monkeys started to faint. ck fogs were starting to rise from their heads. "If not for the fact that this experience was extremely real, I would have mistaken it for a bad nightmare myself!" Fang Yuan shook his head and returned to the spiritual monkey king¡¯s nest. Many well-built monkeys were lying on the floor and all of them appeared to have suffered heavy injuries. Fortunately, all of them were still alive. With his current Illusionary Divine power, it would be a snap of his fingers for him to deal with the monkeys if they decide to surround and attack him together. With confidence, he slowly walked into the cavern and began his search for survivors. "Bang!" A wall of shattered rocks broke open. Seeing the disfigured corpse of Elder Zhou, Fang Yuan remain speechless. Till hisst breath, this person was still holding on tightly to his scimitar with a ferocious look, like a loyal guard. "Rest in peace!" Fang Yuan helped Elder Zhou to close his eyes before looking around. However, he could not locate the Qin siblings. "Elder Zhou and the few ck Feathers Cavalry are dead... could the Qin siblings have a hope of survival?" Turning around a corner, he found a pool of blood and a few misceneous items and shattered weapons. They seemed to be the belongings of one of the ck Feathers Cavalry. The reason why these people were willing to die and be sacrificed was to fight for the survival of the Qin siblings. "Based on where the spiritual monkey king has gone to, the amount of time that passed and the power of the other spiritual monkeys..." Fang Yuan turned around and walked into the underground cavern. The thick tree stump appeared destroyed, and the pool of wine within it was now empty. Its roots were now shrivelled and it looked extremely pitiful. "It¡¯s not here?" Using his magical will to sense the surroundings, Fang Yuan frowned. With the wave of his hands, a spiritual spell appeared. "That¡¯s alright... Let¡¯s test this spiritual searching spell out!" This was the power he had after achieving the Illusionary Divine stage! As long as he had enough dream elemental force, he could reproduce any spiritual spell which he hade across before. After drawing it out in his actualised dream world, he would be able to actualise it in the real world! With this ability alone, he would be able to defeat most spiritual knights from the Elemental Opening Realm. "Weng!" As his spiritual spell exploded, a white sh was seen. With the wave of his sleeves, two spiritual auras appeared before dissolving in the white sh. It was important not to let one¡¯s guard down! These two spiritual auras were secretly obtained from the Qin siblings, and he had done so to prevent them from secretly attacking him. However, from the looks of the situation, it seemed that these two spiritual auras were needed to initiate the spiritual searching spell. "Whoosh!" The white sh condensed into a ball of light, which then casually floated. Suddenly, it floated above the empty wine pool, circled it before it stopped moving. "Eh?" Fang Yuan was surprised. As he leapt into the dry pool, he remained speechless looking at the moist walls and smelling the wine fragrance. In the middle of the wine pool, the ordinary looking base of the pool felt soft, as though there was a warm body underneath it. Feeling the base with his right hand, he quickly grabbed on to something before pulling it up. A bright sh appeared and suddenly, there were two other people underneath; they were the pale-looking Qin siblings. Their eyes were shut and they were shivering as though they were in a nightmare. Most of their protective talismans were already destroyed and they appeared extremely weak. "This concealment cloak..." As Fang Yuan examined the silvery concealment cloak in his hands, his eyes glittered. The concealment cloak was reflective and it was as though there were waves flowing on it. It appeared mysterious and glittery. "A treasure that canpletely conceal one¡¯s spiritual aura? Even my spiritual will can¡¯t detect them..." Fang Yuan mumbled to himself. "Although it is still unable to hide from the spiritual searching spell, it is already impressive enough..." As he examined the cloth, he slowly kept it without giving a thought. After it was folded, it was only the size of a fist, and as thin as an insect¡¯s wings, which made it extremely mysterious. "However, since I¡¯ve found you two..." Looking at the both of them hugging each other tightly, heughed. "It¡¯s your luck!" ... In the dream, there were swords shing around, and the grunting from the monkeys. It was as though the scene of Elder Zhou¡¯s fierce look and the unrelenting ck Feathers Cavalry appeared in front of his eyes. "Young master... leave!" The bloodied faces of the 18 ck Feathers Cavalry appeared and approached him. "Ah!" Qin Yun screamed and opened his eyes. "This is... water!" Wiping off the sweat from his face, he looked around at his surroundings. It was a dense forest, and there was a small stream flowing. There was a thinyer of fog as well. "Brother Yun, since you¡¯re awake, get on your feet!" Following, Qin Yun was kicked. "We¡¯ll have to leave Three World Mountain,test by tonight!" "It¡¯s Master Fang Yuan!" Qin Yun stood up, looked at his sister and blushed. She was standing up and dripping wet, and her figure could be seen. "Did you save us from the spiritual monkey king¡¯s cavern?" He was still thinking about the scene which they yed dead in the wine pool. It goes without saying that Qin Qing was the one who came up with the idea, hoping to get a chance at survival by ying dead. They were fortunate that Fang Yuan really returned to rescue them, otherwise, both of them would have died inside. "Mm, it¡¯s me. Let¡¯s go!" Looking at both of them shivering, Fang Yuan did not feel any pity for them at all as hemanded them to move. "Elder Zhou..." Qin Qing mumbled something subconsciously before remaining silent. Their loyal servant and 17 other brothers were left dead in the mountains. "Let¡¯s go, brother!" Qin Qing walked up, held on to her brother¡¯s shoulder and disyed maturity and strength that someone her age would not have. "We¡¯ll reach Da Qian Empire soon. Don¡¯t you want to take revenge for them?" "I want to... take revenge!" Qin Yun clenched his teeth. "I will take over the Qin Family and be a powerful person!" ... It was a vast desert in after the Three World Mountain. At the horizon, a continuous mountainous vein formed a defensive line, and there was another obstacle for them to go through, which was known as the Ten Extremes! The Ten Extremes were heavily guarded by the generals of Da Qian Empire, and they would send out patrolling guards to patrol the defensive line. Anyone who would attempt to escape Da Qian would be a fugitive and be given the death sentence! Of course, if the fugitives had traveled through the desert ins and the Three World Mountain before deciding toe back to Da Qian Empire, they would have to go through the dangers in the Ten Extremes. Nightfall. As a fire burnt, a snake was being roasted on it and the air was filled with its roasted fragrance. "It¡¯s done!" Fang Yuan took a piece of snake meat at looked at the Qin siblings. "Since we have reached the border of Da Qian, our agreement hase to an end..." "We are eternally grateful for Master¡¯s aid in protecting us all the way to here!" Qin Qing took a bow. After dressing up, her actions revealed her beautiful figure, with a hint of seduction. She was a smart person. After the death of Elder Zhou and the 18 ck Feathers Cavalry, she could only rely on Fang Yuan now. Furthermore, it was no small feat for Fang Yuan to be able to bring them out safely from Three World Mountain; he would be considered rather skilled even among those in Da Qian Empire. "However... it will be hard for us to go through the Ten Extremes!" Qin Qing took another bow and her face was filled with sincerity. "Master, please bring both of us along through the Ten Extremes! To be honest, we are members of the Qin Family. Brother Yun is the next heir to take control of the family! If you would help us, we would be extremely grateful and will repay your kindness after we¡¯ve taken control of the family!" As Fang Yuan heard her offer, he was lost for words. Most of the time, these would be empty promises. Furthermore, most of the protective treasures and talismans were already used up while they were travelling through the Illusionary World. The only thing they could offer was themselves. Although Qin Qing was pleading him, she was not extremely desperate to the extent of giving up a city or country for him. "Alright!" Looking at the Qin siblings, whose faces were illuminated by the fire, he smiled. "Since we¡¯ve journeyed to this point, shouldn¡¯t you introduce me to the Qin Family?" Fang Yuan did not have any concrete ns for his trip to Da Qian Empire. Although Qin Family was powerful, it was not the most powerful family. Therefore, it could be a good ce for him to stay in Da Qian Empire. Although he had learnt the Da Qian Language and literature in Yang Fan¡¯s dream world and even got appointed as the Eagle Lieutenant, it was considered a long time ago and there would be changes now. He needed stability topletely integrate into Da Qian Empire. Wouldn¡¯t it be a good idea to start from the Qin Family? Chapter 222: Taking Action Chapter 222: Taking Action Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "The Da Qian Empire stretches thousands of miles. There are 99 regions in the whole empire and 587 counties. The capital of the empire is Jade City!" "The Qin Family is based in the desert region Northwest of the capital, in Dongyi County. Our ancestors wanted to start our own country and fought battles in the desert. After a hundred wars, we have finally won. From then, the next heir would be the sons of the previous master of the family..." ... The mes were flickering. As night came, Qin Qing sat next to the fire and was speechless. As she slowly described, a powerful family, many times more powerful than Yang Fan¡¯s family, appeared in Fang Yuan¡¯s mind. "If what you say is true, then the Qin Family must be the most influential family in Dongyi County! The family master would automatically pass down his power to the next generation, and they would have 500 soldiers each at their disposal... Because of this, the few most powerful people in the family would be the elders, who would be either Meridian Opening Wu Zongs or Elemental Opening spiritual knights." "And your main enemy is the First Wife, Lady Xu? She is the eldest daughter in the Xu Family and has a strong influence. Is it true that one of her ancestors is a spiritual array master at the Elemental Opening Stage?" Fang Yuan asked casually without any respect. Once a dream master achieves the Illusionary Divine Stage, his power would multiply by many folds, and he would give no regard to normal spiritual knights in the Elemental Opening Realm or Wu Zongs in the Meridian Opening Stage. Spiritual array masters would still give him a little trouble but that was all. "Look at Da Qian Empire! Even a small county like Dongyi County would have so many spiritual knights in the Elemental Opening Realm! Of course... any county in Da Qian Empire would be asrge as a country in the maind, like Yuan Country or Wu Country..." Fang Yuan shook his head and took in a deep breath. This was still the desert between Three World Mountain and the Ten Extremes, and hardly and life was seen here. However, he could already feel the elemental energy building up in the surroundings. It was impossible to breed a dragon in a tiny pond! Although this was only the boundary of Da Qian Empire, it was already filled with elemental energy, which was enough to convince Fang Yuan to stay. "This is only the desert ins. If this was Da Qian Empire, I¡¯m sure the spiritual energy and elemental energy would be many folds of what I have at Green Peak spiritualnd!" Fang Yuan sighed in his heart. After thinking to himself, he saw Qin Yun gobbling the snake which they just cooked, which made himugh to himself. ... The moon and the stars were bright in the night sky. Fang Yuan crossed his legs and appeared to be sleeping. As he linked his consciousness to his actualised dream world, the Fang Yuan figurine appeared serious. One of his hands was pointed up to the sky while the other was pressing against the ground. His dream elemental force was surging as it pushed outwards on the limits of the actualised dream world. "The cultivation of Illusionary Divine is to find out one¡¯s true power and embark on the process to slowly advance to the peak..." Fang Yuan focused as his dream elemental force began to condense. Although it was hidden, he could detect a hint of red-coloured dark force among his dream elemental force; it was like a leech, impossible to get rid of. "It seems like I¡¯m really possessed..." Controlling his dream elemental force, he continuously tried to use up all of it to wash the dark force out, but to no avail. "Fortunately, I was able to walk out safely from the Three World Mountain. This must be an ident... Regardless, it is still not a good thing for the dark force to linger about in my body!" He could feel that he had brought trouble to himself. Suddenly, there was a tremor. In the real world, on the desert ins, the crossed-legged Fang Yuan opened his eyes as they glittered. "Get up!" The Qin siblings clumsily got to their feet. Their sleepy faces turned into a serious one. "Are these... cavalry units?" "Don¡¯t worry. The Xu Family and Lady Xu, both of them do not have such influence to make the guards of the Ten Extremes work for them. Those killers who would go after you two would only be found in Dongyi County." Fang Yuan looked ahead. "This should be their routine patrols to catch fugitives!" Qin Qing and Qin Yun both shuddered. This was a message from the Da Qian Imperial Family! Any citizens from Da Qian Empire who escape would be a fugitive and would be killed on sight! Not just that, but the guards of the Ten Extremes were the best guards of Da Qian Empire. They would go on patrols often and would actively attack those they deem guilty. If they were toe across both of them, they would surely not let them go. "No! We can¡¯t let them spot us!" Qin Qing clenched her teeth. No one would know that they had escaped. As long as they could go through the guards of the Ten Extremes undetected, no one would know that they were fugitives! They wouldn¡¯t send people to Desert City to check on their background. The crux was this; they could not let the guards hold any evidence to prove that they were seen in the desert ins! Therefore, the first reaction of Qin Qing when she saw the iing cavalries was to run. "I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s toote!" Fang Yuan shook his head. "Furthermore, there¡¯s another way for them to not know of your existence here. We can kill all of these guards! Isn¡¯t that a solution too?" "What did you just say?" Qin Qing and Qin Yun were stunned. Slowly, they realised that the master which they have ced all their hopes on was a madman. ... "Hurry up! Catch them!" Under the moonlight, a group of people was escaping. All of them had strong spiritual auras and the leader among them was an old man, who was a Wu Zong. He was guarding a few young men. "The heavens are not fair! It was obvious that Nishui Sect was the one colluding with the governor, wrongly using us, the Nine Suns Sect as traitors, causing our sect master to be locked up in jail and tortured to death. We have already tried our best to appeal, but the officials and the governor would surely protect each other, which ultimately forced us out of Da Qian Empire..." The old Wu Zong eximed as tears welled up in his eyes. "Kill!" Behind him were heavily-armoured cavalries and all of them appeared ferocious. The leader had a little mustache at the side of his mouth and had the appearance of a bully. With a cunningughter, he continued. "We have nothing to do with these internal disputes! I only know of the order that whoever trespasses the guards of the Ten Extremes would bebeled as fugitives, and we would be credited with killing you people!" "Right now, all of you have escaped Da Qian on your own ord. Therefore, all of you are fugitives! Face your death!" "Whoosh!" As he spoke, he pulled his metal bowed released an arrow upwards, and the arrow fell down like a raindrop. A disciple of the Nine Suns Sect was shot in the chest, and blood spurted everywhere as he fell to the ground. "These are the talents of our Nine Suns Sect!" The old Wu Zong¡¯s face was flushed as he spat out a mouthful of blood. Quickly, he pushed a young man away. "Bring young master away. I¡¯ll hold them up! Spiral Qigong!" "Whoosh! Whoosh!" Two energy auras appeared, which subsequently transformed into spirals. The surging energy held the cavalries back. "Lu!" As the dust was stirred, a young man held the reins to the horse. The metal bow on his hands was already broken, and he appeared solemn. "You old fogey, since you want death so much, I, Lin Quannan, shall give it to you!" As he waved his hands, a figure of elemental force appeared. This young man was also a Wu Zong. Simr to Fang Yuan¡¯s experience in Yang Fan¡¯s dream world, he was enlisted in the army as the Eagle Lieutenant! Furthermore, his first move was a killer move and had the vibes of a powerfulmander. In no time, he had subdued the old Wu Zong. "Iron Blood Fighting Energy! Ten Bloodied Styles!" The young man, Lin Quannan eximed. From his four limbs, a dark red elemental force seeped out, bring with it a strong iron smell. The elemental forcebined to be his armour and the design on the armour was extremely intricate. However, what was more interesting was his Ten Bloodied Styles. Every move of his was extremely simple but effective. It gave off the vibe of amander and the feel that even if he were to die on the battlefield, he would bring the enemy with him. Without reservations, he pressured the old Wu Zong to his limits. This young man, Lin Quannan, might even be one step away from Meridian Opening Stage and could breakthrough anytime! "Pu!" On the horizon of the desert ins, there were silhouettes of people fighting. The old Wu Zong could not withstand his opponent¡¯s moves. He had endured a palm on his chest, before another w. His hand flew away as blood spurted out. "Elder Han..." The people of Nine Suns Sect were in chaos. The young master was full of tears but was held back by a few loyal disciples as they retreated towards Three World Mountain. Due to the mysterious nature of the ce, even spiritual knights of the Elemental Opening Realm or Wu Zongs would not dare to enter into the depths of the mountain, not to mention chasing all the way to Desert City. Therefore, it was a victory for those escaping Da Qian Empire to make it to Three World Mountain. However, for the people of Nine Suns Sect, the distance to the mountain was akin to a step to Heaven. "ck Tiger Guards, listen to mymand. 1st group and 2nd group are to surround them. Don¡¯t let a single one of them escape!" Lin Quannan returned to his horse and gave a confident look. "3rd group, patrol around the area. 4th group..." He pointed towards the direction of the campsite which Fang Yuan had set up. "It seems like there was the flicker of fire in that direction. Check it out, and if you see any fugitives, kill on sight! You don¡¯t need to ask me for permission!" "Yes, Sir!" The guards split into groups behind him and they were all extremely ordered. "Ah!" "What is this?" "A vine monster? Be careful, this is a spiritual knight¡¯s spiritual spell!" ... Suddenly, there was amotion in the direction which the 4th group had set of towards. "Hisss! Hiss!" With the hissing sound, there was a wave of grass growing. The originally barren piece ofnd started to have life, and the roots of the vegetation started to grow rapidly like dancing ghosts and quickly, the horses¡¯ feet were tangled up. "Wood-type spiritual spell?" Lin Quannan slit his wrists and poured warm blood over the roots. "Sizzle!" As his blood was poured over the grass, white steam appeared and the grass started to shrivel up and rot as though they had met their nemesis. "A Wu Zong¡¯s blood is Yang in nature. Although I cannot counter spiritual spells using spiritual meridians like those Wu Zongs of Meridian Opening Stage, my blood can counter the most basic spiritual spells!" Lin Quannan let out a longughter. "Which cowardly being dares to ambush me?" In reality, it was not because of the fact that his blood was magical and was able to break the spiritual spell. Rather, it was because he had learnt a secret spell and was purely harnessing it. Otherwise, a normal Wu Zong¡¯s blood would not be able to threaten Fang Yuan¡¯s spiritual spell. "He has only countered one of my spiritual spells. How dare he be so full of himself..." A soft sound was heard from all directions and the people of Nine Suns Sect were filled with happiness, as though they had met their saviour. "Sha! Sha!" As the soft sound came to an end, waves of grasses started to rumble from all directions, and the scale of it this time was many foldsrger than before. "How is this possible? Could this be a spiritual array, casting so many spiritual spells at once?" Lin Quannan¡¯s face was filled with disbelief as he struggled toment. Chapter 223: Boss Wan Chapter 223: Boss Wan Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions This spiritual spell was extremely powerful and the person who cast it must not be an ordinary spiritual knight. Furthermore, it was unaffected even after being countered by the blood from Lin Quannan, and the subsequent waves were even more powerful. All of these traits led Lin Quannan to believe that he was facing a spiritual array! Only a spiritual array could have such a continuous effect of casting spiritual spells! "No... It¡¯s not right! Although a spiritual array is powerful, it requires a lot of effort in casting it. How would he know that I would be here? Could the enemy be a master predictor?" As he was lost in his thoughts, the vines danced wildly and were like whips, trapping his beloved horse. "Get down your horses and gather at where I am!" Lin Quannan wielded his knife. After a few slices, the vines around him flew about, revealing an empty plot ofnd. The remaining guards gathered towards him, but a few unfortunate ones were being blinded by the vines as their shrieked. The vines cut through their skin and sucked their blood dry. In a matter of seconds, they were breathless and had be a dried corpse. "Demonic!" Lin Quannan cut his palm once more, dripping his blood everywhere. With his fellow guards, who were all afraid, his face was flushed. "What a demon! How dare you ambush against government officials! You are dead! No one from the heavens would be able to save you!" "Chi! Chi!" As he spoke, countless vines slithered towards him like a bunch of snakes. As they leapt into the circle, they were countered by the blood and sizzled. "Keke... You are facing your death now and you still dare to be so full of yourself!" The soft voice travelled once more. Following, there was a red glow in the depths of the grass ins. The red glow slowly grew and finally, it became a burning inferno! "Rumble!" In the inferno, there were 9 red dragons slithering in mid-air. They were all chasing a bright-red dragon pearl. A secret spell - Heavenly Fiery Dragons! Amidst the roaring, the ming inferno scorched the grass ins, surrounding Lin Quannan and his guards. "A Double-typed spiritual knight?" Lin Quannan held his nose and retrieved a token from his waist. The token was an alloy of bronze and pure gold, and there was an image of an eagle soaring carved on it. On the back of the token, there were small inscriptions. At this point in time, an array was activated. It was a defensive array and as it was activated, a streak of light shot upwards, and it was shocking to behold. "Sir, be careful. This is an imperial token. They have already informed the Ten Extremes. We must destroy them before their reinforcements arrive!" As the Nine Suns Sect Wu Zong witnessed this, he shouted loudly. He had no idea that Fang Yuan already knew about it. Seeing a translucent shield breaking his fiery glow, Fang Yuan quickly called for the winds in his actualised dream world. Without hesitation, another green-coloured wind spiritual spell was cast. "Whoosh!" In the real world, a tornado was brewing and numerous green dragons appeared. Slowly, they fused together with the fiery dragons, which quickly increased the power and effect of the spiritual spell! "Even a Triple-typed spiritual knight would not be able to cast such powerful spells in such a short period of time!" Seeing his protective shield cave inwards as though it was about to give way, Lin Quannan¡¯s face was filled with shock. "You¡¯re not a spiritual knight... but... dream spells..." "Rumble!" In the next moment, under the wing of the green dragons, the protective shield crumbled. Smoke and fire filled the entire ce. ... "I am Han Yangkun of the Nine Suns Sect. Together with me is the young master, Dong Fanglie. We thank you, Sir, for saving our lives!" After a while, Han Yangkun could finally see his benefactors. They were two men and ady, and all three of them were covered with a shawl over their faces. After all, Fang Yuan wanted to enter Da Qian Empire and it would not do him any good to reveal his real appearance. This was especially so since they have gotten themselves involved in a murder case. Han Yangkun could understand this point and directly bowed towards Fang Yuan, who appeared to be the leader among the three of them. "You people from the Nine Suns Sect must have a spy among the Ten Extremes in order for all of you toe out safely, right? If you want to show your gratitude, bring him to me!" Fang Yuan was direct and to the point. Although the Qin Family had their own connections, the current situation would make their own connections less trustworthy. "No problem!" Han Yangkun replied without hesitation. "It is my honour to serve you, Sir! However... how should we deal with him?" He looked at the burnt ce where the fiery dragons struck. The only thing left was the charred guards. As for Lin Quannan, although he had suffered many burns and was unconscious, he was still breathing. He was indeed a gifted Wu Zong. Lin Quannan was well-known among the Ten Extremes and was gifted in martial arts. He started at the age of 8 and achieved a breakthrough to Wu Zong at 20. Naturally, with his skills came all the honour and recognition he deserved. But now, he was just a pile of bloodied mess. A dead talent would be of no use. No one could predict what would happen next, and everything coulde to an end in an instant. "How do we deal with him? Of course to kill him!" Fang Yuan smiled coldly, which made Han Yangkun shudder. Although he had already guessed Fang Yuan¡¯s intentions, he was still shocked. "Furthermore, either you or your young master will have to be the one to kill him!" Fang Yuanid out another condition. "Since all of you are escaping, are you afraid that the officials from Da Qian Empire woulde after you?" Han Yangkun went pale and looked towards Dong Fanglie. The young master bit on his lips. He knew that if he were to do it, they would no longer be able to return to Da Qian Empire. ¡¯But if we don¡¯t do it, I¡¯m afraid the entire sect will die here! Since he was asking about the way to bypass the Ten Extremes, it¡¯s obvious that he wants to secretly make his way back in. He will not be able to give us trouble in the future...¡¯ Thoughts were running wild in Han Yangkun¡¯s head, but all he showed was a wide smile. "Sir, you¡¯re right... The Three World Mountain is mysterious. It is alright for us lowly beings to enter. The higher the cultivation of a person, the greater the chance to encounter the Illusionary World. This is a natural obstacle. Therefore, what do we have to fear?" Taking two steps forward, his remaining hand struck down forcefully. "Chi!" Blood spurted everywhere. This heavily injured young gifted Wu Zong, the Eagle Lieutenant of Da Qian, had be a subject for testing. "Very well. You are trustworthy enough!" As the mysterious spiritual knight chuckled, it was like the murmuring ghosts in the ears of the young master of the Nine Suns Sect. ... Although the Ten Extremes were heavily militarised, there were stillmoners living there. In the desert ins, which was between the Three World Mountain and the defensive line of the Ten Extremes, there were a few special resources, like an extremely valuable quarry and a few species of special and unique medicinal herbs. This was why themoners of the Ten Extremes or even the businessmen and soldiers were reliant on these resources for their survival, forming a perfect model for business to thrive. Of course, as these resources were being transported, there would be smugglers. For instance, by paying lower taxes, they would profit more. There were many who would risk their lives for elemental crystals. Han Yangkun had presented to Fang Yuan a way ofmunication between the smugglers. At the mysterious point where three rivers met, Qin Qing lit up some smoke. After a long while, they could see around 10 horses galloping their way towards them. Although they were nowhere as well-equipped as the guards from Da Qian, they were all still well-built and had murderous vibes, as though killing was their second nature. "Where is Han Yangkun? Why is he not dead yet?" The cavalries in front gave way, revealing an old man dressed in tattered clothing. He was extremely skinny and his eyes were darting around like a mouse. "Boss Wan!" Fang Yuan walked out from the shadows and waved his hands. All the riders were 4 Heavenly Gate martial artists. However, the most crucial point was that Boss Wan, although unappealing, was a spiritual knight! Without such a strong backing, how would these cavalries dare to travel thus far to trade? "You are..." Boss Wan had a suspicious look in his eyes. From Fang Yuan, he could sense danger. It was a secret spiritual knight technique of his own, of which he had used multiple times to escape from danger. There was no way he could be wrong about Fang Yuan. "That¡¯s not important. The most important is the fact that you are a businessman of integrity, and that you would recognise this, right?" Fang Yuanughed and threw out a ck dagger de. "You are indeed the person that Elder Han rmended!" Boss Wan took out a dagger¡¯s handle and pieced it together with the de. It was a perfect match, and he nodded his head. "The few of you, are you all looking for a way in?" "That¡¯s right! Please assist us, Boss Wan!" Fang Yuan pped his hands and Qin Yun brought arge sack over to Boss Wan. "Elemental crystals? These are low-quality ones!" Boss Wan nodded his head and one of the riders went forward to take a look at the contents of the sack. "A thousand elemental crystals for each person! I¡¯m sure the price is still the same, right?" Fang Yuan enquired directly. "Of course not..." Boss Wan rolled his eyes about as his mind went through a list of fugitives who had just escaped Da Qian. Slowly, he shook his head. He could not think of any fugitives who would want to risk their lives by entering Da Qian from the desert ins. No one in Da Qian knew about the issue in Qin Family yet, and no outside would be able to see their motives. Needless to say, there were no records of Fang Yuan in Da Qian. "I have something to rify!" Boss Wan smiled. "I have a path which links into Da Qian, and this path is able to bring you into the Ten Extremes. However, those without an identity imprint will not be allowed to enter the final gate into Da Qian. Spiritual talismans are used to ensure security over there. Previously, Elder Han could go through the gate smoothly as he was escaping Da Qian, but it is different for the three of you..." "Identity imprint? Can we take a look at it?" Fang Yuan thought for a while before asking. "Of course!" Boss Wan nodded his head, and the previous rider came forward and revealed his left arm. On his arm, there was a tattoo-like imprint. It was engraved deep into his arm and into his veins, and on it, there was a little spiritual glow. "It is a miniature spiritual array and is bound to our circtory system, which makes it non-transferrable!¡¯ Fang Yuan nodded his head and eximed. "We just want to enter the Ten Extremes. Please show us the way, Boss Wan!" "No problem!" Elder Wan nodded his head in confusion. The guards of the Ten Extremes had the equipment to check for the identity imprints. If they did not have it, they would bebelled as fugitives and would be killed. Why would these three people dare to enter? Were they thinking of hiding inside the Ten Extremes? This would be impossible! Could they have people in the Ten Extremes waiting for them? After a series of exchanges, Boss Wan felt that the three of them were extremely mysterious. Chapter 224: Passing Through the Gates Chapter 224: Passing Through the Gates Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Along the streets in the Ten Extremes, there was the vibe of Da Qian empire everywhere, ranging from the architecture to the clothing. The Qin Siblings stared into space and felt as though everything was a dream Although it was pricey to engage Boss Wan¡¯s services, it was worth it. He managed to bring them around the most dangerous parts of the Ten Extremes and sessfully brought them into the Ten Extremes. Of course, as soon as they arrived at a safe location, Boss Wan immediately left the three of them alone. It was obvious that he did not want to be associated with the three of them, as they had no identity imprints. "This is Da Qian?" Fang Yuan took a deep breath. Although he had once experienced life in Da Qian Empire through Yang Fan¡¯s dream world, it was still a different feeling to personally be here. "Let¡¯s find a ce to stay for the night before nning ahead!" With his spiritual will, he could detect that danger was lurking everywhere in the city. There were guards patrolling at every moment, along the streets with lowly-built buildings. "We¡¯ll listen to you, Sir!" The Qin Siblings knew that they were still not yet out of danger and therefore agreed without hesitation. An hourter, they were in a restaurant. And the ground floor, it was bustling and the entire ce was filled with the fragrance of wine and meat, making them salivate. It was hard to find a hostel within the Ten Extremes. After a long while, the Qin Siblings found a restaurant which offered lodging. As for the lodging? They had to show their identity imprints! "It¡¯s not too bad now. During night time, the Ten Extremes would undergo a lockdown and the guards would increase the frequency of their patrols. If you have an identity imprint, you would be warned on your first offence, fined on your second and made a ve on your third offence! For those without identity imprints like us, we would be killed on sight!" Qin Qing had a worried look on her face. Although there was a sumptuous meal on the table, she had no appetite. "To us, although we have already passed through the most dangerous borders of the Ten Extremes, there are still a few gates to pass through if we want to reach Da Qian, and all of these gates would require us to show our identity imprints..." Qin Yun was worried. "Should we inform those in our family that are on our side? Judging by our influence, we should be able to make a few fake identities, right?" "That is not possible!" Qin Qing shook her head in disagreement. "We cannot let any outsiders know that we have left Da Qian!" If the firstdy in their family, Lady Xu, were to find out that they had escaped the empire, she would insist that they were fugitives and they would no longer have the hope of taking over the family. "Identity imprints? I have them!" Fang Yuan reached into his robes, but in reality, in his actualised dream world, three identity imprints appeared. ¡¯How is this possible... How did you get them?" Qin Qing¡¯s eyes glittered. "Don¡¯t worry about how I got them. You only need to know that it is likely to pass through the most basic equipment when checked..." As for the more sophisticated methods of checking the authenticity of the imprints, for instance, a check by spiritual array masters, Fang Yuan knew that these toys wouldn¡¯t be able to deceive their way through. "These two identity imprints do not have owners. In order to activate the spiritual array on it, it will require your spiritual auras!" Fang Yuan reached his hand out. "Whoosh!" As the energy flowed in, Qin Yun felt as though he had lost something as he looked in confusion. As he received his own identity imprint, he could see the miniature spiritual array being activated on it as it revealed a spiritual glow. "Very good! It seems that it¡¯s working!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. Looking out to the streets, he could see a group of guards approaching. "Go and test the effectiveness of this identity imprint!" He bit his lips and ordered Qin Yun in a strict tone. "What?" Qin Yun turned pale in shock. He knew that this was a fake and the act of challenging the guards with a fake identity imprint gave him the chills. After all, he was still a young boy. "If we must test it out, then I will..." Qin Qing bit her lips and stood up. "No!" Fang Yuan stopped her with his palm and looked at Qin Yun. "You do know that you are back here to take control of your family, right? If you are unwilling to take such a small risk, how would I be able to trust you and depend on your family?" Qin Yun gritted his teeth. Suddenly, he thought of Elder Zhou and the 18 ck Feathers Cavalry and promptly stood up. "I¡¯ll go!" ¡¯Indeed, it is easy to control this youngd!¡¯ Fang Yuan smiled and nodded his head. Slowly, he nced and Qin Qing. "I¡¯ll have to control this girl..." ... "Hold up, what are you doing?" Needless to say, Qin Yun was not prepared for this. He did not do anything but only gave a suspicious look as he stood on the streets, which attracted the attention of a guard. A group of guards came over and examined him. "You don¡¯t look like you¡¯re from here..." "Cough cough... I am... I am..." Qin Yun was too nervous to say anything. Facing arge group of guards, he was intimidated and started to stutter. "Haha... Look at this foolish boy. He looks so well-to-do, but he is just an uneducated bloke!" The leader among them started tough but gave off a suspicious feeling. With the wave of his hand, a guard took out a bronze mirror and aimed it at Qin Yun. "Weng! Weng!" A yellow glow was emitted from the mirror andnded on Qin Yun. Qin Yun shuddered and felt that his breathing had stopped. His limbs were paralysed and he was unable to move a muscle. On his shoulder where the identity imprint was, a sound was heard. "Weng! Weng!" The bronze mirror glittered and finally turned into a hue of green. "There¡¯s no problem with his identity imprint. He should be a businessman from elsewhere who came here to trade. Hehe... Boy, the Ten Extremes is very dangerous. It¡¯s not a ce for people like you!" The leader of the guards revealed his yellow teeth and gently patted Qin Yun¡¯s cheek with the de of his knife. Casually, he continued asking. "What¡¯s your identity number? "Woooo! Woooo!" At this point in time, a bugle was heard across the entire Ten Extremes. "Tata! Tata!" A group of cavalries galloped past the gate and along the streets. "Riding a horse along the streets? What has happened that could be so serious?" As the leader¡¯s expression changed, he diverted his attention away from the cowardly Qin Yun and gave his order. "Retreat, back to base! I¡¯m afraid something big has happened!" ... Looking at his silhouette from behind, Qin Yun finally came to his sense and started to breathe heavily. "Not bad!" Fang Yuan approached him at encouraged him with a calm voice. "Since you managed to fool them, we can now try to go through the gate... Let¡¯s not waste time and be on our way now!" "Wuuu!" Qin Qing walked at the back. As she turned around, she could still see the chaos in the entire Ten Extremes and felt a little confused. ¡¯Could it be... They have found out what happened in the desert ins?¡¯ ... Fang Yuan andpany made it through the gate. The fire was still burning and a few square miles of the desert was charred. Hundred of cavalries remained silent as they formed a circle. "It¡¯s here! Officer Lin¡¯sst hint of spiritual aura was here!" A soldier dressed in white eximed as he searched the area with a spiritual light. "How would they dare to kill an officer of the Ten Extremes! When did the people of Nine Suns Sect have this ability?" From the side, a general in ck armour stood out. He was tall, had eyes like a monkey and sideburns like a tiger. His face was squarish and he hadrge ears. With every step of his, it felt as though there was a mini earthquake. "Bang!" As the ck-armoured general approached the center, he clenched his fist and punched the ground. Soil and mud flew everywhere and everything that was left was a huge hole with the smell of a rotting corpse. Fang Yuan was not that helpful and made sure that the Nine Suns Sect were the ones who would be responsible for his own doing. All of their efforts to conceal the corpse were futile and it was discovered. "Whoosh!" Within the hole, a few shattered pieces of stone started to gather together under the influence of an invisible force and finallynded in the ck-armoured general¡¯s hands, forming the shape of a bronze token. "Lin Quannan¡¯s token is here. It seems like he has met with an unfortunate event..." The general closed his eyes. "What a strong spiritual spell! Its foundations are wood-type and it is furtherplemented by wind and fire-types! When did the Nine Suns Sect have such a strong alliance?" "Reporting!" At this point in time, following the arrival of an eagle, a soldier knelt on one knee and reported loudly. "We have news that Nine Suns Sect have already traversed through the desert and have entered Three World Mountain. Should we continue to chase them?" "There¡¯s no need to!" The ck-armoured general waved his hands. "Do you want to relived what they have experienced?" The Illusionary World was too mysterious, and there were instances of even spiritual knights in the Elemental Opening Realm dying there! Even the Ten Extremes would not be willing to risk, and from that day onwards, the Three World Mountain became a forbidden ground. "Something feels... out of ce!" As the soldier in the white feather robe bent over, his face was filled with curiosity. "Although all signs point to the Nine Suns Sect as the culprit, these soldiers did not die at the hands of the Nine Suns Sect..." "Could it be..." The ck-armoured general froze before slowly dusting his hands. "It is the bad luck of Officer Lin to have encountered a highly skilled person. This person could havee from the desert beyond the Three World Mountain! This is not good!" His eyes glittered. Suddenly, he leapt onto his horse. "Immediately inform the city to keep their guards up. A fugitive might be making his way back to Da Qian!" "And also, order all the cavalries to patrol the smaller routes!" It was evident that this ck-armoured general had enough experience. As he passed down his orders, he slowly set up a giant to capture the fugitives. Little did he know that Fang Yuan andpany had already left the Ten Extremes and even bypassed the final gate. They had already entered Da Qian Empire! Sand Region. This was one of the regions among the 99 in Da Qian Empire and was situated at the North-west of the empire. The people here were brute. The region consisted of 6 counties, and Dongyi County was one of them. In the county, there were many people. Within a sedan, the Qin Siblings looked out with tears welling up in their eyes. "Finally... we¡¯re back!" Qin Qing clenched her teeth as her eyes were filled with tears. "I will... take my revenge!" Chapter 225: An Encounter Chapter 225: An Encounter Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In Dongyi County, within the Qin Family Mansion. Lady Xu had a gentle look and was d in jade jewelry. She was a totally different womanpared to Lady Wang, the stepmother of Yang Fan. However, in terms of their power and standing in the family, both of them were equally powerful and influential. Lady Xu closed her eyes as she recited a mantra. The servants and housekeepers around her remained silent and were all afraid to let out a sound. Since the death of her son, Lady Xu had cried many times. From then on, she was devastated and all she did every day was to recite her mantra and pray for the soul of herte son. No one else outside the family knew what happened. However, in reality, only the few servants closer to Lady Xu would know that she was aware of the movement of every other wife in the family. After an hour, the entire was recited topletion. Lady Xu stood up. Her face was filled with sorrow andpassion, which was an expression only possible after finishing the mantra. "Master has been eating lesser and lesser these days and has started to sleepter andter. The Frog Roe and Lotus Chicken are ready in the kitchen. Qinghe! Serve it to Master!" "Yes My Lady!" A servant acknowledged and dismissed herself. "Also... Take care of the few young master and mistress under me. Send someone to check on them every day and replenish anything that they might need..." "Yes, My Lady! My Lady, you are indeed caring!" A housekeeper bowed and left. As he walked out of the door, the housekeeper stroked his beard. "The death of old master and her few sons meant that she had to decide on an heir. Since she is not willing to let Qin Yun and her sister be the heir, she could only choose among the children from the other wives and establish good rtions with them!" "Whoosh!" At this point in time, a man in ck shed past, bringing with him a gush of wind, which made the housekeeper shudder. ¡¯This person...¡¯ As he shuddered, he recalled that Lady Xu had many untold secrets. With this, he kept his head low and acted as though he didn¡¯t see anything. "Greetings, My Lady!" As the man in ck saw Lady Xu, he knelt down on one knee and appeared solemn. Thepassionate-looking Lady Xu slowly put her mantra scroll down and waved to the servants, dismissing them. "How are my master and mistress?" Keeping her head down, she spoke. There was a chill vibe from her gentle voice. "Qin Qing and Qin Yun are untraceable. We are suspecting that they have already passed Three World Mountain, but our spies in the Ten Extremes have yet to receive any news about them..." The spy was from the Qin Family too. He seemed to be helping the Qin Siblings but in reality, he was the killer move arranged by Lady Xu. If the siblings were to contact him, he would immediately betray them and activate the guards in the Ten Extremes to take them down as fugitives. This move would wipe them out once and for all. But now, how could there be no news? "One Elder Zhou would not be enough to protect them from the dangers in Three World Mountain. All of them could have died... or perhaps, the Qin Siblings have already settled down in the ins and are no longer interested in returning to Da Qian..." The man in ck too a guess. "That¡¯s not alright. I am still not sure about this!" Lady Xu shook her head as she toyed around with her meditation beads. "The 15th of this month would be the gathering of the Qin Family. I intend to let Qin Lei be the heir... By then, as long as we get the approval from Old Master, we¡¯ll record it down in the family books. There should be no issue about this. Even if Qin Yun and his sister were toe by then, they would not be able to do anything!" "That is a good move, My Lady! Do you have any instructions for me?" The man in ck asked, still kneeling down. "Return home and invite Grandmaster Xu!" Lady Xu gritted her teeth and her face was filled with determination. "It is unfilial of me to have to trouble Grandmaster Xu. However, after this, when I have control over the family, I would reward you greatly!" Grandmaster Xu was a spiritual array master and was highly skilled in his profession. "Yes My Lady!" The man in ck had a bad feeling about this. "Very well. By then, I will need you to do this..." Lady Xu lowered her voice and whispered. "Yes My Lady!" The man in ck shuddered and his eyes were filled with a burning passion. This was an ultimatum. ... "The 15th of this month would be the gathering of the Qin Family. Every time an heir is chosen, if the records would have to be re-written, they must be a ceremony. Members of the family would get to rmend the next heir, at least officially..." In a secluded inn in Dongyi County, Qin Qing lowered the window shades as she described to Qin Yun and Fang Yuan. "Brother Qin Yun ranks in front and has the purest blood of them all! His appearance would be able to change everything!" Qin Qing eximed with confidence. "Purity of blood?!" Fang Yuan was skeptical. "You are intending to change everything just because his blood is purer?" He couldn¡¯t feel any power or influence from Qin Yun. "Wait up. Come here!" As he called Qin Yun over, Fang Yuan used his nails to scratch in Qin Yun¡¯s arm, opening a red wound. As the blood flowed out, it condensed into a bubble in mid-air. "Whoosh!" As Fang Yuan executed his technique, a silver mirror appeared. The bubble of blood slowly crept up the mirror before exploding. The thick red blood swirled about, and in it, there were hints of gold. "Eh? There¡¯s a little power in here... However, the power in his blood is not from your family!" Fang Yuan was shocked. "It seems that Sir, you are aware of it!" Qin Qing chuckled. "The power of the people in Qin Family is not from our own people! To think about it, it is more closely rted to dream masters!" At this point, she raised her chest like a proud cockerel. "Oh? Tell me more!" Fang Yuan forced a look of interest. "Sir, you may be unaware, but there are many valuable and mysterious beasts in Da Qian Empire. They do not originate from our world, and the beasts native to Da Qian are incapable of harnessing the power from blood." Qin Qing continued. "However, a dream master is able tomunicate with other worlds and create objects out of nothing. They can create a whole new species!" "The Yang Xuan blood in our Qin Family originates from a dream master and has been passed down from a long time ago. Although little, this blood would give us fire-resistant properties and would also elerate our cultivation if it is fire-type." "Dream master..." As soon as Fang Yuan heard it, his eyes glittered. "The Qin Family is rted to dream masters?" "I am not sure about this." Qin Qing shook her head. "Dream masters live for a long time, and this is especially so for those who are able to gather energy from heaven and earth and absorb essence from living things. They can live for a very long period of time and it would even be possible for them to be surviving until today. However, I am unsure of his rtionship with the Qin Family." ¡¯It seems that the status of dream masters in Da Qian is beyond my expectations...¡¯ As he thought about it himself, Fang Yuan changed the topic. "It is not enough for Qin Yun to be heir just because his blood is purer. The crucial thing will be the Xu Family¡¯s involvement in this, and the few stubborn elders in the Qin Family. I can help you ¡¯convince¡¯ them, but what can you offer me?" "Everything!" Qin Qing clenched her teeth and pulled Qin Yun along to kneel down. "Since you are a spiritual knight, you must have some technique to take ownership of other people¡¯s soul. As long as we seed, after Qin Yun has be the rightful heir, I would be willing to sacrifice my soul to you and be your ve for eternity. Other than that, the Qin Family would be willing to ede to any of your requests!" "Sister..." Qin Yun was shocked at the conditions sheid out. His eyes popped out and he did not dare to say another word. "That¡¯s not enough!" Fang Yuan shook his head. "If you throw in your brother¡¯s soul for me to control, then only we have room for discussion." "Impossible!" Qin Qing suddenly rejected him. "My brother is about to be the master of the Qin Family. If anything weird happens to him, don¡¯t you think the elders in the family would find out?" "That is why I don¡¯t want his soul. I only want something that would allow me to control him." Fang Yuan replied with a straight face. "Alright, I¡¯ll agree!" Qin Yun bit his teeth and agreed. "What are you doing?" Qin Qing was infuriated. "I am the master of the family, and I¡¯ll have the final say!" Qin Yun had an expression of determination never seen before."Sister, you have always been the one sacrificing for us. Now, it is my turn to do so." ¡¯I am only offering to help them take revenge. Why does it sound like I am taking their lives!¡¯ Fang Yuan was unable to stand their squabbling and left the room. He started to roam the streets casually. As the capital of the county, the county city was extremely lively. It was much more prosperous than his own Secluded Country. ¡¯To think about it, I am still unfamiliar with the powerful people in Da Qian Empire and even more so for the information regarding dream masters...¡¯ Fang Yuan subconsciously recalled Qing Gui, the dream master which appeared the previous time he essed Yang Fan¡¯s dream. He seemed like the leader among the evil dream masters, and it was as though he had a huge sect under him. Of course, in reality, Fang Yuan did not be a dream master. He destroyed one of Qing Gui¡¯s incarnations. On the contrary, Yang Fan was likely to have been taken in by Qing Gui as his disciple. He could have even cut all ties with his family and destroyed the entire Yang Family. Afterward, Yang Fan became highly skilled, but no one knew if he had taken in disciples. "The qualifications to be a dream master is too high. I¡¯m afraid that it is a rare profession even in Da Qian Empire and is notmon..." Fang Yuan entered a tea house and ordered a few snacks. Not long after, the dishes were served and the fragrance filled the entire room. The tea was spiritual tea and the snacks were creatively made from spiritual ingredients. "Eh?" At this point in time, a caravan slowly entered the city. Among the caravan was a horse carriage. As a pair of white hands peeled open the curtains, a glittery pair of eyes were revealed as it scanned around. As their eyes met, both of them were in shock. "This feeling... Dream master!" Fang Yuan sipped a mouthful of spiritual tea. "What a coincidence? Could this dream master be arriving for the Qin Family gathering? If that is so, it seems like they indeed have rtions with the dream masters in Da Qian..." ... "Young mistress?" In front of the carriage, an old man enquired, confused. He had big hands that were extremely steady, and he was a Wu Zong. However, he was treating thisdy as though she was a god. "Nothing much. Let¡¯s go!" A gentle voice was heard from the carriage. As the carriage continued along its way, the person in the carriage was confused as well. "Dream master? Could he be an ally of the Qin Family? Who would¡¯ve thought that such a boring mission would have such an unexpected finding!" Chapter 226: Ambush Chapter 226: Ambush Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In Dongyi County, on a secluded mountain path, a caravan continued its way. The caravan was luxurious. All the riders were riding white horses and were d in white robes. They were all looking energetic. If this was in the wild, such a luxurious caravan would be a prime target for all the mountain thieves and robbers. However, their journey was peaceful. They owed the peace to the little g above the carriage. The g had the print of three small clouds. Any thieves with exposure would know that this was the g for the Xu Family, the symbol of power! Although the Xu Family was not the top three families in Dongyi County, it had to surely be in the top ten. The family was led by a spiritual array master who had many connections. Of course, the most important fact was that the eldest daughter of the Xu Family was married to the Qin Family, and was the firstdy of the Qin Family! Because of this, even the families who rank in front of the Xu Family would still have to respect them. "Haha... I thought that the journey would be dangerous. Now, it looks like a harmless field trip..." On a white horse, a young man d in silk robes smiled with pride. His face was pale and his eye sockets were deep. He had eye circles, and it was evident that he had abused alcohol and had frequented brothels, which harmed his body. "Eh... Third Brother, this is an emergency! Otherwise, Aunt would surely not have to trouble our Grandmaster to help out!" A young man beside him who was slightly older continued. "However, as long as our Grandmaster is personally seeing to this, those people will not be able to cause trouble! The Qin Family is ultimately ours!" "You¡¯re right, First Master!" The others agreed. Under the wings of protection from the spiritual array master, the Xu Family have never encountered any true danger. This proud and self-entitled mindset of theirs was not something that could be changed overnight. Looking at one of the carriages, Third Brother felt relieved. In the Xu Family, the Grandmaster has always been the pir of support. "Since our Grandmaster, the Xu Family have already taken control of a district within 10 years. We are among the top ten families in the county. If we are sessful in taking over the Qin Family, we can be the most powerful family in Dongyi County. Even the Sand Region can no longer have any control over us!" As he looked into the setting sun, his heart was filled with pride. Suddenly, as the Third Brother squinted his eyes, he could see a ck dot on the peak of the mountain east of them. The ck dot soon disappeared from the peak of the mountain as though it had jumped down. Quickly, it rushed towards them and became a silhouette. In a moment, mes broke out. "It¡¯s an ambush!" Against the 9 fiery dragons, the Third Master could only shout. In an instant, he was in mes. "Roar!" As the fiery dragons roared, they spit out burning mes which swept across the entire caravan before leaping towards the carriage in the middle. "Hmph! What audacity!" Within the carriage, a weak voice was heard and with it the feeling of helplessness. "Mountains, rise!" In the carriage, spiritual inscriptions glittered and quickly exploded, transforming into a small array. The array covered the disciples of the Xu Family and protected them. "A spiritual array from the carriage? Haha... Wind Dragon,e out!" The ck figureughed, and another 9 green dragons appeared, which slowlybined with the fiery dragons. The mes would be stronger in the wind! In a moment, the spiritual array which was cast abruptly was destroyed. Many disciples and elders of the Xu Family... were dead before they knew it. They became dried corpses or even worse, left without a corpse. "Whoosh!" The carriage broke apart, revealing an old figure with grey hair. The old person appeared lost. "Whoosh!" Amidst the wind and fiery dragons, a figure of a person appeared as though a god had descended onto earth. As he leapt out, he struck a fist. "Rumble!" Behind him, three spiritual meridians condensed and the fistnded on the old person at full strength. "Chi!" A spiritual inscription on the old person¡¯s clothing glittered, forming a translucent armour which was extremely strong. However, the old person still shook after receiving the punch, and his face turned red. He spat out a small mouthful of blood and quickly retreated. "You are... A Wu Zong at the Meridian Opening Stage! Why would such a highly skilled person like you ambush without a sound and assassinate an old man like me?" "You have blocked the way of too many people!" It was Fang Yuan. After convincing the Qin Siblings to put some form of control over them, he had to help them to the best of his abilities to push them to the position of power. Although the decision of who would be the heir would only be made at the Qin Family gathering, he would not wait until then to take down his enemy. It would only be logical to take down those that would oppose you before the decision-making day! Elder Xu was the biggest threat to him. Firstly, he was the strongest supporter of Lady Xu and would surely stick by her no matter what. Secondly, if a spiritual array master was given time to prepare, he would be able to capture everyone who would go for the Qin Family gathering! Even Fang Yuan would not want to pit himself against a spiritual array master within his meticulously-nned array. Therefore, this was the best chance! It was a golden opportunity for a spiritual array master to walk out of his highly protected nest. Right now, without time given for him to prepare, he could only use the magical weapons which he brought along to defend himself. This was the best chance for the Meridian Opening Wu Zong to strike! "Giant Eagle Metal Body!" "First Refining Stage Golden Body!" As Fang Yuan eximed, a golden glow appeared around his body. With the Sixth Elemental Strength, he was like a destructive dragon to the survivors of the Xu Family. "Don¡¯t harm our Grandmaster!" Seeing how he could tear apart the Grandmaster¡¯s defence like cotton, one of the members of the Xu Family eximed and rushed to the back of Fang Yuan, striking him with his fists. "Weng!" As the fistnded on Fang Yuan¡¯s back, a loud sound akin to a gong was heard. "Ants, scram and get lost!" As he casually flicked his hands, the Wu Zong behind him was in shock and flew back uncontrobly. He suffered many fractures in his ribs and his blood spurted across the air as he flew. His internal organs and bones became a bloodied mess. "Are you... sent by the Qin Siblings?" Seeing Fang Yuan unharmed with the protection of the spiritual armour, Elder Xu retreated continuously as though he was truly afraid. If he was given time to prepare, he would not be afraid of even a Wu Zong in the Elemental Opening Realm. However, the only thing he wascking now was time! He was quickly ovee in a matter of seconds! In front of a Wu Zong who ambushed him, his weakness was revealed! "I can give you 2 times of what they offered! No... Three times!" With another fist, Elder Xu spat out another mouthful of blood. As hisst defensive equipment was destroyed, he crawled on the floor with embarrassment. With all his strength, he continued to exim. "I help others cast spiritual arrays and I have loads of wealth and connections. Let me go and you will gain my friendship and valuable treasures. Compared to all I have, what can the Qin Siblings offer you?" "You can never match up to what they can offer me..." Fang Yuan went up and sighed. "They can give me the entire Qin Family. Can you?" "The entire Qin Family? You..." As his pupils contracted, Elder Xu could see a white finger approaching him. This finger was white and long, as though it was carved from the finest white jade. It was perfect-looking, but now, it was reaching towards his forehead! "Chi!" As Elder Xu¡¯s head exploded, his Zu Qiao was shattered as he fell straight to the ground without a breath. This influential and powerful spiritual array master could do nothing to defend himself under an ambush and had now be a corpse. "Eh? He didn¡¯t even resist!" As his spiritual will trembled, Fang Yuan took a few steps backwards and casually picked up a disciple of the Xu Family and threw him forward. "Ah!" The disciple let out a cry and was struck by a dark glow which emitted from Elder Xu. The skin on his forehead was peeled off, revealing a ck coloured ghost face which seemed to have a life of its own. Sweeping him with his spiritual will, the ck ghost recorded everything from his mind and appeared enraged. "Chi!" It was extremely quick. In a matter of seconds, it disappearedpletely, and it took a while before Fang Yuan knew what had just happened. "The imprint of death? This should be the doing of an even stronger spiritual knight. This spiritual knight must have made is such that the print would be activated upon the death of Elder Xu and it would target the closest living person..." If he were to be imprinted with the imprint, it would be an enemy that wouldn¡¯t rest until his death. Fortunately, Fang Yuan was a Wu Zong and also a dream master. He was adept with distractions and illusionary spells. In that instant, he could detect that something was wrong and could quickly find a scapegoat to take his ce. With a little spiritual technique, he had resulted in the imprintnding on the Xu Family¡¯s own disciple. "Kacha!" After confirming, Fang Yuan casually broke the unfortunate scapegoat¡¯s neck and started to sweep the area to kill off any survivors and loot from them. The most important was, of course, Elder Xu, since he was wealthy. The next would be the hidden Wu Zong in the Xu Family. ¡¯However... that ck ghost face seems familiar...¡¯ After thinking for a while, the image of Qing Gui¡¯s face appeared in Fang Yuan¡¯s mind. ¡¯Venerable Qing Gui? No! It doesn¡¯t seem so, but it seems likely that these two ghosts are rted. Could both of these originate from evil dream masters?¡¯ After looting all of them, Fang Yuan burnt down the entire area. "The Xu Family¡¯s reinforcements are settled. Next up would be to clean up the Qin Family!" ... The 13th day and the weather in Dongyi County was cooling. The atmosphere in the Qin Family¡¯s mansion was a weird one. Everyone was rushing here and there to finish the final preparations for the gathering. In the backyard, the atmosphere was tense. "It has been a while and Grandmaster is not here yet. I am worried!" Lady Xu held the meditation beads in her hands and looked down. "Xu Fu, wait at the city gates. If they are not here by noon, follow the path which they would take and find them!" "Yes My Lady!" Xu Fu was the man the ck. This time, he had no more hesitation and agreed loudly. "Reporting! My Lady, bad news!" At this point in time, a housekeeper ran over frantically. He clumsily tripped over the doorstep and broke his front tooth as his mouth started to bleed. It was a funny sight to behold, but his message seemed extremely important. "There are traces of a fight between spiritual knights outside the city. After an investigation, it is confirmed to be the Xu Family¡¯s caravan! I¡¯m afraid... it¡¯s a bad thing!" "What?" Lady Xu stood up and her mind went ck, as she struggled to maintain her bnce. Chapter 227: Meng Lian Chapter 227: Meng Lian Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions It was nightfall. Fang Yuan dressed in ck and snuck into Qin Family¡¯s mansion. As the most powerful family in Dongyi County, the defence of the Qin Family¡¯s mansion was rather strong. In fact, they even had a protective array over their mansion. It was rumoured that the array was part of Heaven¡¯s Five Element Array and even spiritual knights in the Elemental Opening Realm would be trapped for a moment. Unfortunately for them, they could guard against outsiders but not their own people. Although this miniature Heaven¡¯s Five Element Array was not cast by Elder Xu, the Qin Family and once invited him to repair and maintain the array. And for unknown reasons, Elder Xu had left a loophole in the array and had remembered it in his mind. Therefore, the capture of the Xu Family had benefited Fang Yuan. "Who would guess that the Qin Family would have something like this..." After entering the Qin Family, the thing which Fang Yuan feared most was the danger that he could sense from the main hall. "Not lone people, but a whole group of them! Are these their private soldiers?" Every heir would have control over 500 of these soldiers. From the looks of it, these private soldiers were not normal troops, but spiritual troops! Dao troops! Ifbined into a military formation, it could beparable to a spiritual knight in the Elemental Opening Realm! "Needless to say, these type of families would pass down secret techniques. As long as one of them would be chosen to be the heir, they would sacrifice everything that they have got to train a newbie into a Wu Zong or spiritual knight!" Fang Yuan took in a deep breath and felt a little fearful. In Da Qian Empire, every family in every county would have such strong foundations and resources. Even when Lady Xu wanted to take over Qin Family, she had to do it subtly, for even she herself had to fear the power in the family. "No wonder they had topare the purity of their blood..." Fang Yuan looked at the patriarchal hall and turned around. His target was not the people of high status in the family. The First Lady¡¯s of the Qin Family. Outside a luxurious hall, the atmosphere was sorrowful and there were crying sounds heard. As soon as they had received the bad news, Lady Xu had copsed and then everyone was on their toes. Fang Yuan¡¯s motive foring here was not to console her, but to kill her! "I myself am enough to plot against the Qin Family!" He gracefully leapt into the garden in the backyard of the mansion and revealed a mysterious look. "No matter what this Lady Xu had nned, as long as she is dead, who would be against Qin Yun in bing the heir?" "Bewildering fog!" Although there were a few strong spiritual auras around the Qin Family mansion, Fang Yuan did not care less. With big steps, he walked into the mansion as his bewildering fog spread. "ng!" Within the room, the sound of porcin cups breaking was distinct. "My Lady! I can give up my life, but you must take care of your body!" Xu Fu looked at the spiritual medicine which was spilt all over the floor and was expressionless. Blood trickled down his head but he did not flinch a single bit as he eximed. "Eh..." The gentle voice of Lady Xu was heard, as she choked on her own words. "My poor Grandmaster, as well as my father and brothers..." She had already cried her fair share. Wiping her tears, she revealed a look of determination. "Do you know who is the killer?" "We have no idea. It should be someone they encountered on the way, and that person is at the Meridian Opening Stage!" Outsiders would have no idea, but how would the both of them no know? A spiritual array master with the protection of a hidden Wu Zong! For an ambush to be sessful, the person had to at least be of Meridian Opening Stage, or must have had help from other spiritual knights! "The Qin Siblings!" Lady Xu remarked with hatred. She had always been an amiable person and would not have stepped on the toes of others. It was rather obvious if she carefully thought of the people who would be against the Xu Family. Although it was unbelievable, it had to be the truth! "Who would¡¯ve thought that those two bast*rds would be able to turn things around and get such a strong reinforcement!" Lady Xu continued angrily. "Tomorrow, I will look for Old Master and the few elders! I¡¯ll let them make the decision!" After the downfall of Xu Family, this women knew who she had to rely on! After all, she was the eldest daughter-inw of the Qin Family. As long as she made herself look pitiful in front of the few elders to make them angry, she would be able to convince the Qin Family to send people out to take down the mysterious highly skilled person. After all, she had spent quite a lot of effort in trying to appease the few elders for the past 10 years. Even if the Qin Siblings were to return, she had confidence that it would still go her way! "Not bad! Not bad indeed!" As the door opened, Fang Yuan walked in. As the bewildering fog dissipated, the servants and housekeepers fell, unconscious. "Who¡¯s there?" Xu Fu stood up, all tensed up. "The one who is here to kill you!" With a casual palm, his spiritual meridian slithered around. All Xu Fu could feel was an immense pressure on his chest. As he shrieked, blood started to flow from his mouth and nose, and the bones in his body shattered into a million pieces. However, there was not too much sound and he fell down like a snake without bones. "Cough cough..." On the bed, an old Lady Xu coughed a few times as soon as she saw Fang Yuan. "Wu Zong at the level of Meridian Opening Stage.... and this spiritual technique..." Her eyes were quickly filled with hatred. "Did you ambush the Xu Family carriage?" "That¡¯s right! Not just that, but I am going to kill you tonight as well!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and admitted to his doings. "What did the Qin Siblings offer you?" Lady Xu asked, her voice filled with hatred. "You don¡¯t have to know this, because... you are already a dead person!" Fang Yuan slowly walked towards her and raised his right hand. "You... cough cough... cough cough..." As Lady Xu coughed continuously, her chest turned red and the hatred in her eyes slowly increased in intensity. As Fang Yuan¡¯s finger was about to reach Lady Xu¡¯s forehead, he suddenly stopped and looked towards the door. "It¡¯s you!" "It¡¯s me! Hehe..... We have affinity! Who would¡¯ve thought that we would meet again today!" At the side of the room, a servant who was unconscious suddenly stood up andughed. Previously, the servant looked decent but was not the most beautiful. However, now, no one would be able to associate her with the servant which she disguised as. In Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes, suddenly, a prettydy appeared. Her eyes were beautiful and she had a solemn look. It was as though she had descended from the heavens and gave off the feeling like a lotus flower blooming in the mud. Even Lady Xu would feel ashamed whenpared to her. "It¡¯s you,dy!" Fang Yuan could recognise that thisdy was the dream master which he had met that day. To be unaffected by the bewildering fog, she must have gone through a dream master¡¯s training. However, it was exceptional that she could deceive Fang Yuan and camouge among the servants. "I still do not know your name!" Seeing an actual dream master from Da Qian Empire, Fang Yuan felt excited. "I am Meng Lian!" Meng Lian bit her lips. "What about you?" Although there was danger everywhere in the Qin Family¡¯s mansion, thedy appeared calm as though she was the owner of the mansion. "I am Fang Yuan! Meng Lian, are you here for Lady Xu? If that is so, I¡¯ll dly give her to you!" Fang Yuan shrugged his shoulders. To him, it was not the most important priority for him to take over Qin Family. Since thisdy was a dream master, she must have had a master. She could have strong backing, and it was unwise to make enemies. "... Lady, save me!" It was as though Lady Xu was holding on to her lifeline. Climbing down from the bed, she tugged at Meng Lian¡¯s dress. "Lady, if you save me, I will reward you with everything that I have and I will obey your every order..." "Bang!" Suddenly, she appeared helpless and fell to the ground. "Hehe... This is just a mission. How can it bepared to you, young master?" Meng Lian smiled cunningly. "Let this woman be my gift to you, how does that sound?" Fang Yuan continued smiling but was shocked inside. Although Meng Lian was talking to him cheerfully, her actions reflected how lightly she would take a human life. Or in other words, in her eyes, only dream masters were ¡¯human¡¯ like her! ¡¯Such confidence...¡¯ Fang Yuan sighed in his mind. A dream master in the Illusionary Divine stage was indeed powerful. At higher stages, these dream masters would be able to make objects or even an entire heritage of humans. Needless to say, there would be many paths of Illusionary Divine Stage and every path was extremely strong, to the point that these dream masters would rarely have any friends. With all these powers, it was only natural for them to feel confident. To see oneself as a god and creator, it would only be normal to see normal humans as ants. Even ady like this had such a power. What would be the power of all the evil dream masters in the entire Da Qian Empire? After thinking to himself, Fang Yuan asked directly. "You must have a request since you are offering a gift! What would you need to help you with?" "Great! Master Fang, you¡¯re straight to the point!" Meng Lian revealed a joyful look. "You look unfamiliar and must be a new dream master. Have you joined the ¡¯Dream Realm¡¯?" "Dream Realm?" Fang Yuan¡¯s heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged. "Nope!" "Would you allow me to bring you then... to be honest, I would contribute much more by bringing a new member backpared to these small missions!" Meng Lian was jubnt as she eximed. Both of them were dream masters and could feel each other¡¯s intent. After a while, they became more direct. "Contribution?" Fang Yuan asked, curious. "Have you not heard of dream realm? Oh my, have your master not told you anything about it?" This time, it was Meng Lian who covered her mouth in disbelief. "This... To be honest, I was fortunate enough to encounter a dream master¡¯s inheritance, that¡¯s all!" Fang Yuan rubbed his nose. He was speaking the truth, but he did not reveal where the inheritance was. Therefore, this was not considered lying and Meng Lian would not be able to see though Fang Yuan. Chapter 228: Dream Realm Chapter 228: Dream Realm Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Ah, I see!" Meng Lian examined Fang Yuan as her eyes glittered. "What a gifted person to be able to find your own way to be a dream master!" "Perhaps!" Fang Yuan¡¯s expression did not change, but inside, he wasughing. Even though Meng Lian was a dream master like himself, she should be stuck at the dream-building stage,parable to a spiritual knight at the peak of elemental gathering realm. Since she had not achieved a breakthrough to the elemental opening realm, she was unaware of her own hidden potential. After realising this, his interest towards Meng Lian and the Dream Realm grew. "Who¡¯s that?" "What audacity! How dare you trespass the Qin Family¡¯s mansion!" With such a hugemotion in the room and the fact that both Fang Yuan and Meng Lian did not bother to hide, they were quickly discovered. He could detect the fury in all of them. As they found out the death of Lady Xu, they were even more infuriated. "Kill!" Around the patriarchal hall, people started to appear. They were well-built and started to surround them. All of them were d in armour, and they were wielding bows with spiritual inscriptions on them. It was illegal in Da Qian Empire to own more than three pieces of armour for each family, except for officials and those under special circumstances. Otherwise, they would be treated as rebels! As for the bows with spiritual inscriptions, needless to say, it was the death sentence to just own one of them! However, with the power and influence of the Qin Family, they could have a 500-soldier strong private army, which made everything they did seem legal. "What an array!" "Whoosh!" As their shadows shed, Fang Yuan and Meng Lian leapt onto the roof as they witnessed the scene in silence. "All these soldiers have cultivated a special technique for them to fuse their inner force together. Furthermore, this formation seems to have its uniqueness..." Seeing the soldiers forming up in their array and detecting their spiritual auras, Fang Yuanplimented them, as all of themplemented the formation perfectly. "This is the Qin Family¡¯s ¡¯Fiery Feathers Array¡¯! These 500-odd soldiers have the blood of the Qin Family too! Using the array¡¯s power, they might even be able to summon the rumoured Fiery Bird¡¯s incarnation!" Meng Lian rolled her eyes at Fang Yuan before exining. "Who¡¯s that? Who dares toe to my family to kill?" A thunderous roar was heard and a few extremely strong spiritual auras were detected approaching the room. A few old people with white hair appeared. They were the elders of the Qin Family. The elder in front turned red like a burning volcano. "It¡¯s me!" Meng Lian chuckled. "I don¡¯t like her, therefore I killed her. What can you do about it?" "You..." The few elders of the Qin Family were enraged, but the elder in front remained calm. Looking at Meng Lian, he was rather confused. "You are..." "Good foresight, old man!" Meng Lian smiled and took out a token. Fang Yuan took a quick nce at the token. It seemed to be made of both gold and jade and there were wooden carvings on it. In the middle, there was a blooming white lotus. "You are a... Divine Lady!!!" The elder heaved a huge sigh and the rest of them changed their expressions. "So... Do you want to capture me?" Meng Lian smiled innocently and walked out of the mansion. All of the elders of the Qin Family clenched their teeth. Even though they were all powerful and had spiritual troops and spiritual arrays to help them, they did not dare toy a single finger on her. They could only look at her take her leave, but none of them knew the significance of the white lotus and how it managed to strike fear in all of them. With all that she had done, Fang Yuan remained silent and followed behind Meng Lian, feeling proud of what she had done. ... "Is she really... that Divine Lady?" Only when Meng Lian and Fang Yuan were out of sight did an elder enquired, his voice full of fear. "If it¡¯s not her, then who would it be?" The master elder smiled sheepishly. "Although we are the strongest family in Dongyi County, we are nothingpared to that. Why would that Divine Lady find trouble with the First Wife?" After a long silence, everyone began to think about the fight for the heir. However, even the master elder, who was closest to Lady Xu, had nothing to say. "Eh... Since the death of Qin Jie and Qin Fengyu, the Qin Family had been a mess..." The master elder sighed loudly. "We should quickly decide on the next family head to stabilise the Qin Family. Otherwise, if we always have toe out to settle disputes, we would die earlier... Where is our grandson Qin Yun?" He had no other intentions as he spoke, but the few other elders already knew his ns. ¡¯He... should be able to arrive before the ceremony!¡¯ One of the elders was pleased. Finally, his efforts had not gone to waste, and he was beginning to reap the rewards. ¡¯However... Is a dream master really that powerful, to the extent that a simple thought from them would be able to change brother¡¯s intentions?¡¯ The other elders were skeptical. "... could it be to push him to be family head so that they can scrutinise him?" The Qin Siblings were the ones most suspicious to be responsible for everything that happened today. By supporting Qin Yun to be the family head, they would establish good rtions with him and can also test him out. If Fang Yuan were to find out about their thoughts, he would die ofughter... ... "Where is the Dream Realm?" Fang Yuan followed Meng Lian as they arrived at the outskirts of Dongyi County. He had a confused look on his face. "What is the impression of the Dream Realm in your mind, Fang Yuan? What is our world?" Looking at the surroundings, it was a piece of wilderness with no life in sight. Meng Lian suddenly asked Fang Yuan. "The reality is an illusion, and illusionary things are real! Our dream worlds are like a bubble that can be destroyed and rebuilt in an instant. This is also true for your world..." Fang Yuan replied in a serious tone. "Why would you have such a deep impression of dream worlds and our world?" Meng Lian felt a little suspicious and continued exining. "Where do you think... the Dream Realm would be? Of course, in our dreams!" "Dreams? Entering the dream of another dream master?" Fang Yuan suddenly felt inspired. "That¡¯s right! By dream-essing, every dream master would be brought to amon dream world, the Dream Realm. The Dream Realm is arge-scale public trading ce!" From Meng Lian¡¯s description, Fang Yuan¡¯s expression changed. "Dream masters from all over the world can connect together in an instant through dream essing and even do trading... It¡¯s unbelievable!" In his past life, this would be known as the inte which connects the world. However, dream masters were able to actualise it out and even use it for trading purposes. ¡¯All dream masters would specialise in different professions, but all of them cane together in the Dream Realm...¡¯ Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered; he could not wait to experience it for himself. "Master, have you finally realised that I am not out to harm you?" Meng Lian smiled cheekily. "What is this Dream Realm built on?" As he frowned, he thought of a question. "Have you heard of a wild animal called ¡¯Kun¡¯?" "Kun!?" Thinking about it, Fang Yuan eximed. "Is it the one in the legends? The thousand-year-long dream of the beast which is illusionary? The one that normal people are unaware of?" "That¡¯s right! This wild animal ¡¯Kun¡¯ is a mutant. Our ancestors, the dream masters in Da Qian, have put in a lot of effort to catch one of it, keeping it in captivity and using it as the foundation of the dream world!" Meng Lian took out a glittering scale the size of a palm. "This object has the spiritual aura of the Kun. As long as you are a dream master, you can use your dream-essing technique to enter that dream world!" "Many thanks!" Fang Yuan received the scale over. Indeed, he could feel an illusionary spiritual aura from it. "Let¡¯s go... Since this is your first time, I will have to verify your identity. Once you have been there before, you would not need this piece of scale and can ess the dream world anytime and anywhere!" Meng Lian brought him to a cave in the mountains, hugged her knees and fell asleep next to a piece of green rock. She had entered her dream. "Dream essing!" Scanning the surroundings to ensure that it was safe, Fang Yuan closed his eyes as well. Of course, he would still guard against thisdy. However, ever since he had achieved a breakthrough to Illusionary Divine Stage, his magic proficiency points gained an exponential increase, which led to a new technique. This new technique allowed him to keep a tinge of consciousness in his body even after dream essing. Therefore, if there was any danger, he could immediately wake up. Since Meng Lian invited him, he would not decline and therefore executed his dream-essing technique as well. ¡¯Roar roar!¡¯ As he traced the spiritual aura on the scale, his consciousness rosed and he could see a river of colourful bubbles. Suddenly, a loud roar was heard and the bubbles burst. As he focused, he drove away all the fog, revealing a big animal. It was the size of an ind and was sky-green in colour. Its body was covered in scales and had 8 legs, 6 eyes, 4 ears, and its limbs resembled a spider. It was t on its back and felt mysterious and unnatural at the same time. "The ancient wild animal - Kun!" Fang Yuan focused. He realised that although the gigantic animal¡¯s spiritual aura was scary, it was like a pool of still water and had no intention of fighting. It was covered in seals all around its body, and there was a dream world within it. Although the dream world was huge, it was easy to infiltrate. Any dream master would be able to enter it at will. ¡¯Indeed a public ce!¡¯ At the side, a few streaks of light broke the surface of the dream world and prated through. Seeing this, Fang Yuan began to rush straight into the dream world without any more hesitation. "Pu!" At the corner of the street, a shadow shed by and Fang Yuan¡¯s body appeared. "You¡¯re here?" At the side, Meng Lian¡¯s voice was heard. "I have been waiting for quite a while..." Turning around, Fang Yuan could see Meng Lian smiling cheekily there. He was shocked. "How can your body be so real..." Half of her body was covered in ayer of fog, and in the fog, there were white lotuses blooming. Everything was fleeting. Fang Yuan was stunned. Quickly, a thinyer of white fog appeared around him too. "You learn fast!" Meng Lian praised him. "Firstly, wee to the Dream Realm. As a new member, you are entitled to an identity inscription te. You will have to use it to ept missions and rewards!" Fang Yuan nodded his head, and a jade inscription te appeared in front of him. "It¡¯s done!" Meng Lian pped her hands and smiled. "The mission to bring in a new member isplete! Realm Spirit, my reward!" "Whoosh!" On her hands appeared a jade inscription te which was simr to Fang Yuan¡¯s. However, there were a few golden words written on it, which made it look mysterious. Chapter 229: Explore Chapter 229: Explore Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "What is the Realm Spirit?" "It used to be the consciousness of the Kun, but it has since been altered by dream masters to be the manager of the Dream Realm. It is neutral!" Meng Lian cheekily answered. It was evident that she was happy as she had just given a huge contribution. ¡¯Semi-automated manager?¡¯ Fang Yuan rolled his eyes. "What kind of world is this?¡¯ "Contribution points are the currency of the Dream Realm. You can use it to buy stuff, techniques, information or even hire highly-skilled dream masters to help you do stuff. Every contribution point is hard-earned. Therefore, you must value it as much as how you value your own eyes!" Meng Lian reminded him. "Thank you for the reminder!" Fang Yuan held his fists together. "At the end of this street is the marketce for missions. All dream masters would put up missions that they need help with and you can take a look there." "Also, in the Dream Realm, the powerful would set up their own bases and have a certain amount of authority. You are a clever man and surely would know the consequence of angering them, right?" Meng Lian blinked. "Although the Dream Realm is a peaceful ce, Da Qian is not. If you do not want to be taken advantage of as a neer, it is best to work with someone powerful... The organisation I am working for is quite influential. If you are considering, please remember to tell me." "Of course!" Fang Yuan smiled. He could feel that other than the contribution points that she could earn, this was the true purpose of Meng Lian bringing him here. Getting new blood for the organisation was important. Needless to say, he was rather skilled as a dream master. Furthermore, an identity token from her was already enough to strike fear in the Qin Family. Therefore, he could deduce the influence of the dream master she was working for. Of course, Fang Yuan did not want to get himself into trouble and therefore casually replied her. He even rejected Meng Lian¡¯s invitation and continued his way on the streets. ¡¯This person...¡¯ Looking at Fang Yuan¡¯s disappearing silhouette, her eyes glittered. ¡¯He is very wary of me, but this is normal. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to survive till now... My is supposed to affect his mind, but it had no effect on him! He is not a normal person, and it is such a pity that the Dream Realm forbids us to use dream spells here. Otherwise, I would try nting a lotus print on him!¡¯ "Great technique!" Along the streets, Fang Yuan could see only a few people, but he did not let his guard down. Everyone here was a worthy dream master. Looking at the numbers, all the dream masters of Da Qian should be here. Thinking about Meng Lian¡¯s actions, Fang Yuan shuddered. ¡¯That temptation and influence from her was not the simple bewildering spell anymore. It was from her passion and her nature. It is different from the evil spells and therefore I will be unable to guard against it! Thatdy has an ulterior motive!¡¯ ¡¯Although the Dream Realm is great, I would not be so foolish as to be tempted by it and stay here...¡¯ As he smiled, he chose to leave. "Peng!" A white fog exploded and a full-grown man suddenly disappeared from the streets. However, the surrounding dream masters were not shocked by it as though they were already used to such urrences. ... In the real world. As the water from the stream trickled outside, the surroundings were peaceful. Next to a green rock, a beautifuldy was hugging her knees and her eyes were closed. It was as though she had just fallen asleep. "Wow! It seems like the time flow in the Dream Realm and the real world is roughly the same! It seems like not much time has passed..." Fang Yuan nodded his head and smiled as he looked at Meng Lian, who was still in the Dream Realm. As a Wu Zong, his spiritual aura was stronger and therefore, he would be more responsive and could awaken faster. However, the fact that she dared to sleep out in the open meant that she must have some sort of protection in the form of magical equipment. "Whoosh!" As his ears twitched, Fang Yuan could detect the sound of wind. It seemed like a few highly skilled martial artists were on their way here. ¡¯Forget it...¡¯ He gave a mysterious look as he looked at Meng Lian. ¡¯Although you had other motives, you did introduce me to the Dream Realm. I¡¯ll let you off this time!¡¯ "Rumble!" Three spiritual meridians appeared on his body, forming a spiritual armour. The few martial artists immediately knew that they were being discovered. From then, they came out of hiding and rushed towards the cave using their elemental force. Fang Yuan could detect that the person in front was Meng Lian¡¯s coachman the other day. Based on his current abilities, it was possible for Fang Yuan to capture all of them. However, Meng Lian might have a treasure on her from a powerful dream master and therefore, it was not worth it to risk offending the powerful dream master. With that, Fang Yuan sighed and tapped his feet lightly on the ground. Quickly, he leapt onto a tree branch and soon disappeared. "Mistress!" As the few Wu Zongs arrived at the river, they all heaved a sigh a relief seeing that Meng Lian was unharmed. Quickly, they guarded the surroundings. After a while, Meng Lian¡¯s eyebrows twitched as she opened her eyes. "Where is he?" "We are useless. He has gotten away!" The person in front knelt down and asked for forgiveness. "The few of you together can defeat a Wu Zong in the Meridian Opening Stage! How could you let him get away? And it¡¯s remarkable how he can recover from the dream world so quickly..." Meng Lian blinked her eyes. "Indeed, talentse from everywhere!" She did not think about the fact that if she did not harbour evil thoughts against Fang Yuan, he might not have been so alert. "That person is highly skilled in martial arts and is in the Meridian Opening Stage. Please be careful, Divine Lady!" As her subordinate reported, Meng Lian¡¯s expression changed. "Got it... Fang Yuan, hmm?" Looking in the direction which Fang Yuan left in, her eyes were filled with curiosity. How could someone reach such a cultivation level in both martial arts and spiritual knight cultivation? Who is this Fang Yuan? ... On the 15th day, the Qin Family gathering was held. As the Qin Siblings appeared, they were weed. Qin Yun was unanimously rmended to be the heir and the next family head and everything went smoothly like it was a dream. As for the First Wife Lady Xu, news spread that she had died of illness. Of course, the Qin Siblings knew the real cause of her death and from then on, they had more respect and fear for Fang Yuan. "The seeds have finally germinated. Next would be to wait for them to mature for harvest!" Fang Yuan was constantly monitoring the movement of the Qin Family from the shadows. Once Qin Yun took over as family head, he no longer appeared and seemed to have left. "Alright, now is the time to explore the Dream Realm!" In an underground cave, Fang Yuan appeared solemn. Shutting his eyes, hemenced his dream essing technique. Countless dream worlds appeared and were represented by bubbles. Suddenly, all of them exploded. A familiar spiritual aura was felt, and he walked straight into it without reservations. The defence of the Dream Realm was almost nonexistent. "Whoosh!" As a glow shed, the familiar corner of the street appeared. "If I join any organisation, I would appear in their bases. But now, I am a lone cultivator, and can only depend on fate to see where I will appear?" Fang Yuan snapped his fingers as ayer of fog shrouded over him. Every dream master who came here would use such a technique to conceal their identity, making everything in the Dream Realm mysterious. As he walked along the street, he started to examine everything. "Spiritual objects? Techniques?" Fang Yuan was already speechless as he arrived at a random spiritual nt shop. On the counter,rge amounts of spiritual nts were ced casually. Most of the spiritual nts were of Yellow Grade, and there were nts of Mysterious Grade as well. All of these were sold by weight and only the Earth Grade spiritual nts and above were given shelves of their own. "These are... real objects! They are not created by dream masters!" As someone who was in the Illusionary Divine Stage, he could recognise the difference the moment he picked up a purple Three Petalled Flower. It was not an object actualised by dream masters. "It¡¯s real?" He subconsciously muttered it out. "Hey, are you new here?" Behind the counter, a dream master wearing a ghost maskughed. "If the Dream Realm could only trade information, what would be so useful about it? If you are a normal dream master, we can deliver it to any county within Da Qian Empire as long as you pay enough elemental crystals. Of course, if you are an Illusionary Divine dream master, you can ept it directly into your actualised dream world. Do you understand what I am talking about?" epting it into the actualised dream world would mean that it could be immediately actualised and the dream elemental force used would not be Fang Yuan¡¯s own one. He knew this, but under the sceptical eyes of the shopkeeper, he quickly left. "Wouldn¡¯t it be an immediate delivery to deliver it directly to the actualised dream world?" Walking along the streets and looking at the lively scene on both sides of the street, Fang Yuan was stunned. "Can the actualised dream world ept real items? How does it work for the object to be actualised out?" It was a sudden realisation that Fang Yuan knew too little about his profession as a dream master. On the streets, there were many different stalls ranging from weapons stalls to spiritual pills and medicine. There were also spiritual arrays and everything was here. However, the cheapest would already cost an elemental crystal. For more expensive goods, contribution points were required. Although he had collected quite a lot of spiritual treasures and had an entire spiritualnd to himself, he still could not be considered wealthy. At the end of the street, he arrived at an empty square. "Whoosh!" A hot stream of air gushed into his face, bringing him to another world. Many dream masters were walking about in the square. Some of them were covered in ayer of fog, some ever wearing a hat and some bared it all. asionally, they would notice the middle of the square, and everyone was talking at the top of their voices. It was extremely lively. "This is..." In the middle of the square, there was a huge rock tablet. It was squarish in nature and was a pure ck. On the surface of the rock tablet, Da Qian words were carved in it and they were glowing with spiritual light. It was shimmering and attracted the attention of many. "Buy for me a Three Eyed Grass, and I will pay you 5 contribution points!" "Looking for a spiritual array master. Interested parties, please contact me!" "Master Danfeng has a mission - forming a party! Require help to explore a secret world, requesting help from dream masters Illusionary Divine Stage and above. Must obey instructions and be agreeable to the splitting of loot..." "Selling Limb Regeneration Pills. One pill for 20 contribution points! Made from a revered alchemy master, and the quality is guaranteed!" ... Many messages appeared which confused Fang Yuan for a bit. As he was reading the messages, he could see dream masters taking the initiative to walk up. They would ce their own jade inscription tes on the rock tablet and leave hurriedly. From there, he could roughly guess how everything worked. Chapter 230: Fengxin Chapter 230: Fengxin Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions After a period of observation, Fang Yuan went forward and simrly took out his jade inscription te and ced it on the rock tablet. "Rumble!" At that moment, there was an information overload in front of his eyes. It was as though this rock tablet was a huge ocean and tons of information were like fishes swimming around in front of him. All he had to do was to ¡¯fish¡¯ out any information which interests him. ¡¯My foundations are still the weakest!¡¯ Fang Yuan was extremely clear about his weakness. ¡¯This is especially so for my cultivation as a dream master. I would be the most inexperienced because I have no master and no other dream masters to discuss my cultivation. Even though I am in the Illusionary Divine Stage, nothing would work out if I do not get my basics right!" "I want information relevant to the basics of being a dream master!" As his thought flowed out, it was like a bait, attracting many fishes to him. ", will require 5 contribution points!" ", written by Shi Huzi. Will require 20 contribution points!!" ", written by Venerable Tian Lan. Will require 50 contribution points!" ", written by anonymous and is iplete. Will require 10 contribution points!!" ... At that moment, all types of information regarding the cultivation of a dream master, records of experience and frequently asked questions appeared. It was indeed an overload of information. Fang Yuan was enticed by all the recordings but as he looked at his in-looking jade inscription te, he was disappointed. "Ah... I have nothing. One word, poor!" He realised that he wascking in contribution points! Lacking a lot! "The dream masters in Da Qian Empire have a vast experience of the outside world. Their foundations would surely be stronger than mine. If I want to catch up, I¡¯ll have to put in more effort!" The good thing was that there were a lot of interactions among the dream masters in Da Qian Empire. Just by spending contribution points, it should be easy to obtain themon things. "It is extremely hard to gain contribution points. They don¡¯t even ept elemental crystals in exchange for contribution points... It seems that Meng Lian had gained quite a lot of contribution points by rmending me to the Dream Realm..." At that moment, Fang Yuan felt like he was cheated by Meng Lian. Since he could not exchange for contribution points, he could only go about selling things orpleting missions. "My fortune..." Missions were dangerous and unpractical, and Fang Yuan immediately thought of selling things. With a spiritualnd and a Botany skill in hand, he could make something out of it. "Looking for missions - Selling spiritual nts!" In his mind, everything shed past. Once his message flew out, the original fishes disappeared and new fishes came by. "Looking for a Phoenix Tail Flower, price negotiable!" "Need a Thousand Year ck Bamboo that is longer than 3 inches, willing to pay 100 contribution points!" "Collecting all types of evolved spiritual flowers and nts. Price negotiable after meet up!" ... Numerous pieces of information shed by Fang Yuan and it was extremely convenient for him to sieve out what he was looking for. As he slowly picked, he chose the message which was about collecting evolved spiritual flowers and nts. "Whoosh!" As his spiritual will shook, that specific piece of information flew out and a more detailed message appeared - "Collecting spiritual nts on a long-term basis, the rarer the better! Will offer a good price!" On the window for contact information, there was a name ¡¯Feng Xinzi¡¯ on it and a logo of a wind chime. "This seems to be how I can contact him!" Fang Yuan tried to touch it using his mind. Within seconds, an angry thought returned. "Who¡¯s that? Don¡¯t disturb me while I am doing alchemy!?" ¡¯Illusionary Divine! A dream alchemy master? It seems that his magical energy is extremely strong! He is surely stronger than me!¡¯ As his heart shook, he maintained hisposure. "I¡¯ve heard that you need spiritual flowers and nts? I happen to have some stock with me, and these spiritual nts that I have cannot be found in Da Qian." "Oh, such confidence!" Feng Xinzi stopped what he was doing and reported a meeting point. "Wait for me at the square. If I find out that you are lying to me, hehe! You will not want to know what I would do to you." "I am only afraid that you do not have enough contribution points!" Fang Yuan was filled with confidence. He cut off themunication and came to a spot in the square. Not long after, a man in green robes approached him. There was pill essence all over him which formed the shape of a Lingzhi. Just a sniff of it was enough for Fang Yuan to know that he was a high-tiered dream alchemy master. Thinking about it, even Lu Renjia might not be fitting to help this person wear his shoes. "I am Feng Xinzi. Were you the one who left the message? I hope that whatever you have to offer me is worth my time away from my cauldron, otherwise..." Feng Xinzi nced at Fang Yuan and turned around. "Follow me!" ¡¯Why are all these famous and powerful people so quirky?¡¯ Fang Yuan shrugged his shoulders and followed behind. Both of them arrived at a tea house. It was evident that Feng Xinzi was extremely familiar with this ce. Without hesitation, he had booked a private room and crossed his legs as he sat down. "Alright... With the assurance of the Realm Spirit, whatever we discuss here will not leak out. Even if you take out spiritual nts of Heaven Grade, I will still have the ability to buy it!" "I¡¯m afraid to disappoint you. All my spiritual nts are only of either Mysterious Grade or Yellow Grade. However, they are unique and I¡¯m sure this would be the first time you are seeing them!" Fang Yuan smiled. Suddenly, in his actualised dream world, a few spiritual nts appeared. Quickly, he actualised them into the Dream Realm. "This is..." Feng Xinzi scanned the nts quickly and his casual expression became a solemn one. "Interesting, wonderful..." He fiddled with the me Jade Rice in his hands as he was in disbelief. "Indeed... I have not seen such a spiritual nt before! Where did you get it from?" Fang Yuan smiled but remained silent. Firstly, Da Qian was already extremely separated from the maind and Yuan and Wu Country. Communication was difficult between these regions and therefore it was normal for there to be differences in the spiritual nts. Furthermore, how would Feng Xinzie across this spiritual nt which was evolved specially by Fang Yuan? "The effect of this spiritual rice ranks it at a Yellow Grade. It is fire-type with a hint of metallic properties. The most crucial thing about this nt is that it cannot be found anywhere in Da Qian. It can be nted inrge scales and therefore from all these unique properties, it can be ssified as a Mystery Grade!" Feng Xinzi closed his eyes for a while before quoting a price. "If you don¡¯t mind selling it, I am willing to offer you 30 contribution points!" "That¡¯s nice!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. He knew that for a Mystery Grade spiritual nt, it was a rather good price. This was because firstly, this rice could be nted inrge scales, which would benefit a lot of people. Secondly, Feng Xinzi had a generous personality, which was why he quoted a high price. ¡¯This is the difference between the people from the maind and Da Qian...¡¯ Feng Xinzi kept the me Jade Rice properly. As he took out his inscription te, Fang Yuan¡¯s own jade inscription te had some changes. There was a faint golden ¡¯30¡¯ appearing on the te. In the maind, the me Jade Rice would be a killer weapon which had the ability to support an entire sect. However, in Da Qian, many families would already have spiritual rice of Mystery Grade or even Earth Grade. If not for the fact that it was a new type of rice, it might not even be worth half the price that Feng Xinzi offered. "I am extremely satisfied with your offer. Would you be interested to look at some other spiritual nts that I have with me?" Seeing that Feng Xinzi had the intention to leave, Fang Yuan smiled and took out another few spiritual nts. "Eh?" As Feng Xinzi eximed, he examined the other few new spiritual nts. Immediately, he looked at Fang Yuan with a weird expression. "All of these are not seen in Da Qian before! Are you from the outer regions or from the other small worlds?" ¡¯Outer regions? Other small worlds?¡¯ Fang Yuan was shocked inside. ¡¯Have the dream masters in Da Qian began to explore outside of Da Qian?¡¯ After receiving this crucial piece of information, he remained expressionless and signalled Feng Xinzi to look at this spiritual nts. After a long while, Feng Xinzi was a little disappointed as Fang Yuan avoided his question. Slowly, he began to look at Fang Yuan¡¯s spiritual nts once again. All of these spiritual nts had special traits evolved all these years while Fang Yuan was training. Most of them were of Mystery Grade and Yellow Grade. Their effects were weird but unique in their own ways, but none of them had an important usage. "Mm... Not bad indeed!" Although Feng Xinzi was shrouded in his own pill essence and his face was covered, there was joy in his voice. "I have never heard or seen all these spiritual nts. May I offer you 50 contribution points for all of them?" "Of course!" Fang Yuan immediately agreed and started to pack it up for him. With aughter, Feng Xinzi kept the spiritual nts properly. "If you have any other spiritual nts next time, remember to look for me! My offer will surely be better than what others can offer!" With that, the symbol of a wind chime floated up andnded in Fang Yuan¡¯s hands. "Of course!" Fang Yuan kept the symbol and imprinted it on his jade inscription te. It wasparable to exchanging numbers with Feng Xinzi if this was his previous life. "Goodbye!" "I¡¯ll see you!" As they ced their fists together, Fang Xinzi¡¯s silhouette disappeared. In a corner of Da Qian Empire. Within an underground alchemy room. Feng Xinzi opened his eyes. There was a glitter in his eyes. "Actualise!" On the table in front of him, a spiritual light glittered and the me Jade Rice and other spiritual nts appeared. "Great... I won¡¯t be wrong about this!" Although they were low-grade spiritual nts, Feng Xinzi was still extremely excited. "Evolved spiritual nts! I can¡¯t go wrong! With them, by Ten-thousand Pill Cauldron will be improved! Haha... Haha..." ... The Dream Realm. ¡¯Feng Xinzi is an alchemy master. The purpose of him buying all my spiritual nts should be to do further research and produce new spiritual pills, I believe?¡¯ Fang Yuan returned to the square, still deep in his own thoughts. ¡¯The actualised dream world brings so much convenience to dream masters!¡¯ Every dream masters¡¯ own actualised dream world was their own tiny private space. They could use dream elemental force to produce objects of all kinds and actualise them into the real world. The consumption of dream elemental force would vary from person to person and from object to object. However, if done in reverse, for instance cing a real object into the actualised dream world, the object could be traded with another dream master. From then, they would only require a small amount of dream elemental force to transfer and be retrieved out by another dream master. This would be an extremely convenient way of trading. However, the disadvantage would be that the requirement for doing this was extremely high. Dream masters had to be either at the Illusionary Divine stage and above. ¡¯Why do I feel like a delivery man?¡¯ As he approached the center of the square, his eyes glittered. "Search - Buying the Basics of dream masters!!" Chapter 231: Dream Soldier Master Chapter 231: Dream Soldier Master Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the dream world, purchasing information took little time. As long as the payment in terms of contribution points was made, the purchased information would appear immediately in the form of jade scroll guarded by a realm spirit which proved its authenticity. "Dream Master¡¯s Basic Introduction, purchase!" "Dream Master¡¯s 10 Questions, Shi Huzi requested 20 contribution points for it! Purchased!" "Dream Creek Records, bought!" "The Path of Illusion, the Tian People requested 50 contribution points! Buy...oh, I do not have sufficient contribution points again!" Fang Yuan looked at his reduced contribution points on his inscription te and the 3 manuals in his hand. He could not help but feel dumbfounded. "Selling manuals containing insights in cultivation is daylight robbery...if one more dream master were to purchase this information, they would gain another portion of contribution points." However, he knew clearly that unless one was talented or famous, it would be wishful thinking for a dream master to be prosperous with just the manuals alone. Fang Yuan left the Square and arrived in the alleys. He took out the ¡¯Dream Master¡¯s 10 Questions¡¯ and flipped through it. The pages of this ancient manual were yellow and its cover was hard. It appeared glossy and no matter how one looked at it, it looked like a treasure. As Fang Yuan¡¯s hand descended onto the manual, there was a sh of light which engraved itself onto Fang Yuan¡¯s forehead. "Oh..." Fang Yuan grew dizzy and in his sea of consciousness, a wall of text appeared. "Dream Masters make use of heaven and earth to be the master of all living things! In the beginning, dream masters were prosperous and were aware of the 10 questions..." The 10 questions were simple and philosophical. Fang Yuan could tell that the author had reached the pinnacle of being a dream master just by reading the text. After finishing the book, he turned his attention to the ¡¯Dream Master¡¯s Basic Introduction¡¯. While the book exined difficult concepts in simple terms, it provided Fang Yuan with a solid foundation and clearly recorded the path after the Illusionary Divine Stage. As such, Fang Yuan was able to have a better understanding of his strengths and weaknesses. However, what caused Fang Yuan to be astonished was the ¡¯Dream Creek Records¡¯ which appeared to be handwritten! The manual was in tatters and was full of colloquial speech. However, it managed to portray the problems that the dream masters faced. "After bing a dream master and travelling through the Da Qian Empire, I have discussed swords with the sword masters,pared knives with the knife enthusiasts, ruled the beasts, remained undefeated and studied the different pathways under the heavens. This resulted in me feeling deeply that the path of a dream master is to use the blessings of heavens and earth and might not even be of this world!" "When one is born, and by the time he reaches adulthood, he would have to ponder upon where he came from and where to go from there. Where do we, as dream masters,e from? Dream elemental force, the ability to actualize objects pique my interest!" "...After thousands ofparison, I dare conclude that every pathway of cultivation requires the use of heavens and earth¡¯s power for one to be extraordinary. Why do dream masters require so many resources? There can only be one reason! The difference between dream masters and Wu Zongs or spiritual knights! The dream elemental force that we require does not originate from this world! It is from another higher dimension which is able to support the dream master¡¯s ability to actualize objects...we can even say that the Illusionary Divine Stage is entirely based on upon the unknown source of power!" "The final oue of any pathway to cultivation is to return to one¡¯s roots, to search for the source of the power... I dare predict, that in order for a dream master to surpass himself, he needs to find his roots, the origin of everything!" ... The records only contained a few pages but it was enough to shock Fang Yuan. "It appears that the dream masters already knew the existence of another world and have even started exploring it!" "It seems that the ability to actualize objects in the Illusionary Divine Stage is not just purely dependent on one¡¯s intense training, it requires the source of the dream masters¡¯ power..." Fang Yuan had long sensed it. If he had gone about doing things his previous way, in order for a dream master to actualize an object, he would need to thoroughly analyse thews of the world which was impossible for anyone to aplish. However, throughout history, there were many dream masters who have reached the Illusionary Divine Stage. The only possibility was the addition of an external source of power which greatly simplified the process of reaching the Illusionary Divine Stage. Fang Yuan¡¯s mind wandered, and he imagined that when he broke through to the Illusionary Divine Stage, a ray of white light bestowed upon him the ability to create an actualized dream world and the ability to actualize objects as the giant door shattered! "Dream Master World!" "This is the name that the author give to the world where dream masters originated from! Ever since this writing was published, all the dream masters desired to find this world. However, no one was able to seed till today..." Just a small leakage from the Dream Master World was sufficient to supplement a dream master¡¯s power and allow him to actualize an object. If one is able to find the Dream Master World, wouldn¡¯t he be extraordinary and divine, forever having nothing to worry about? It was precisely because of this conjecture that spurred theter generations of dream masters to search for leads regarding the Dream Master World. "There are talents in every generation...there has been rapid progression in the changes in the Da Qian dream master¡¯s world in the few short years that my master lived in seclusion." Fang Yuan nodded his head and felt excited. "However... I like this atmosphere!" Fang Yuan had previously chased after longevity and eternity, but it had always been smoke and mirrors. Now, he suddenly saw a possibility of sess. The excitement felt was simr to the feelings that a traveler, who had been travelling for a long time in the dark and had suddenly seen the light, would feel. "Of course...the Dream Master World and the likes are still too far ahead of me. I should be considering the path to take after reaching the Illusionary Divine Stage!" Fang Yuan grew serious. After reaching the Illusionary Divine Stage, there were different pathways to take, the simplest being the dream spell master, followed by the dream soldier master, dream alchemy master, dream array master, dream beast master and the mysterious dream prophet master. There were all kinds of abilities and different pathways even though the end goal was to create an actualized dream world. The pathways taken were different and as such, each pathway had its own unique features. "This is due to the fact that creating a whole dream world is too difficult and as such, the dream masters start with a portion of thews and expand from there. As such, their abilities are different as well!" Fang Yuan thought of his own master¡¯s inheritance. Master Heartless took the path to be a dream soldier master after reaching the Illusionary Divine Stage. A dream soldier master created magical soldiers in his own dream world by first giving the magical soldiers form. With the condensed dream elemental force, the troop¡¯s prowess increase and their thoughts can be a reality. They will be able to topple mountains and overturn the seas [1]. They are able to adapt and react to all types of situations. In the end, a dream soldier master would be able to use this pathway to have a better understanding of the world! As for a dream spell master, he would be able to develop thousands of spells with a single thought. A dream array master would be to form an array in his dreams in an instant. If the elder of Xu Family was a dream array master and was able to call upon his arrays from his dream world, he would not havee to such a sorry end. "A dream beast master create their paths using summoning spells. He uses dream elemental energy to actualize all sorts of wild beasts and summon arge army of beasts. Of course, there is a branch in this pathway which specializes in transforming one¡¯s own body to be ancient beasts etc, inheriting their abilities and at the same time retaining the dream master¡¯s intellect. It is difficult to master..." The introduction to the basics of dream master was enough to dazzle Fang Yuan. "Furthermore...all the pathways are not mutually exclusive and are able toplement each other. It is just that the time taken would be multiplied. There is also the issue with aptitude of the cultivator and as such, the cons outweigh the benefits..." Given his current abilities, he was only able to use a few dream spell master¡¯s techniques. Even other types of dream masters would not reject the use of dream elemental force to create dream spells in order to aid themselves in their chosen pathways. However, they pale inparison to a true dream spell master who is able to cast thousands of dream spells with a single thought. Only with single-hearted devotion can one achieve results. Regardless of which pathway, the oue was still the same. All the routes lead to the same destination and as such, it was a waste of effort to walk multiple paths. "Where does my path lies?" Fang Yuan sighed. Truth be told, he did not have many options. While a dream soldier master might not be the strongest amongst the dream masters, there was no doubt that the inheritance in his hand was the mostplete. "Firstly, I do not have enough contribution points to search for the techniques of the other pathways. Secondly, these techniques might not be able topare to what my master gave me...Afterall, my master¡¯s dream soldier master inheritance is a secret inheritance and contain other mysteries. Furthermore, it is extremelypatible with me..." Fang Yuan shook his head and made up his mind. Fang Yuan had achieved much in the pathway of martial arts and was not willing to give it up. Choosing the pathway of a dream soldier master would undoubtedly maximize his potential in martial arts. "Master¡¯s dream soldier master pathway is a secret inheritance called the ¡¯Eight Gates Sword Array¡¯ which possessed some characteristics of a spiritual array. 8 magical soldiers are created in the dream world to form an array and when required, they can be summoned to assassinate opponents or act as protection for the user! Itplements my martial arts!" The 8 Gates Sword Array used the 8 trigrams [2] as its foundation which epassed all the living things in the heavens and earth. The fine changes within were limitless. "While the 8 Gates Sword Array is effective, it does have a downside to it. Its characteristics are obvious and as such, if the enemies of my master see it, I will be in deep trouble..." "Furthermore, my martial arts is another limiting factor!" Fang Yuan¡¯s Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique was developed by himself and was currently in the beginning stage of forming the 4th spiritual meridian. However, he was unable to proceed further. In order to achieve a breakthrough, he only had 2 options. The first option was to obtain the entire manual of Yang Family¡¯s technique, the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique andbine it to fill up the gaps in the Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique. The second option was to use his contribution points and request the help of a more skillful dream master to perfect his technique! Due to their actualized dream world, dream masters were able to deduce martial arts techniques. Fang Yuan faced difficulties and was unable to further improve his Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique. However, that did not mean that other dream masters were unable to do so! If that was the case, it would be difficult to keep the technique a secret and as such, Fang Yuan was unwilling to seek the help of other dream masters. "Maybe...I should put up posters requesting to buy the entire volume of the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique manual? Fang Yuan muttered to himself. The Yang Family was exterminated by Qing Gui. As such, it was likely that the in-house technique was spread to the outsiders. Afterall, there were so many dream masters in Da Qian with treasures and information as long as one was able to pay the price! [1] A Chinese saying which means that they possess immerse power. [2] The 8 trigrams eight symbols used in Taoist cosmology to represent the fundamental principles of reality, seen as a range of eight interrted concepts. Chapter 232: Inform Chapter 232: Inform Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Qin Manor. In the main library of the manor, Qin Yun was draped in robes of dark gold. He wore a silver circlet on his crown, and a pencil mustache above his lips. It seemed as though he had calmed down. Incense of premium quality burned on in the room. The rich scent of ambergris permeated the air. All was silent, except for the steady rattle of an abacus. Qin Qing was present too, and his skillful hands danced on the abacus as if he was ying a musical instrument. Before himy a huge pile of ount books. As the figurehead of the Qin n, Qin Yun had not managed to find any reliable underlings. Other than his own sister, there was no one that he trusted. After a while, the cking sounds of the abacus beads ceased. Qin Qing scribbled some notes on paper before settling himself down on a chair. He let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead vigorously. "What is the situation?" Qin Yun served up a cup of spiritual tea and asked his question casually. "Last year...the various holdings of our n, including the group at Soul Mountain, raked in a total of 108,500 elemental crystals. Of course, they are of poor quality...less the amount distributed to the different branches of the family, there would be 50,000 elemental crystals left over!" Qin Qing disyed no hint of happiness but gave off vibes of depression. "But other than the usual expenses, we have to manage the Vast Sea Army as well. This year, we are projected to spend at least 20,000 elemental crystals, and we¡¯ll have to pay a tribute of 40,000 of elemental crystals to the Elders¡¯ Hall. We still have to pander to the various requests of the elders and source for valuable spiritual herbs and spices. All of these require arge amount of time and effort..." *Hiss* Qin Yun sucked in a breath of cold air. "So, this means that the Qin n is barely making ends meet?" "Having looked through the ounts, this seems to be the case. In the past few years, Lady Xu has been tapping on the Qin n¡¯s reserves...regardless of how much wealth our predecessors had hoarded, we¡¯ll go broke if we continue to spend at this rate, unless...we cut down on other overheads!" Qin Qing shook his head. "The running costs of the Qin n are already as lean as they can be. They can be reduced no further. The only things we can potentially cut down on are the tributes to the Elders¡¯ Hall and the Vast Sea Army... and yet, these are untouchable!" Qin Yun shook his head vigorously in reply. The Vast Sea Army was the personal guard of the Vast Sea Viscount. After assuming his title, he came into possession of the magicalmanding weapon of the Vast Sea Army. He now had the loyalty of 500 men at his immediate disposal. There was no reason for him to restrain his own power. The tribute to the Elders¡¯ Hall was arge one, but there was no other choice. If the tribute waspromised in any way, the elders could penalise him under the familyws, or even cast him out of the n! "If we cannot stem these numerous outflows, we will have to create additional sources of ie..." As Qin Yun spoke, a peculiar change came over his facial expression, and he rubbed the back of his neck. The imprint of a ck datura had appeared on his skin, and the flower petals were spreading as if they were alive. "Our lord is summoning us..." Qin Yun murmured. With regards to His Lordship, Qin Yun was both in awe and grateful. What was the Xu n to them? Even with the backing of a Spiritual Array Master, they suffered great losses anyway and had already dropped out from the list of Dongyi County elite families. The remnants of their n continue to be on the run from their enemies and were leading wretched lives. The Qin siblings had yed a part in damning the Xu nsmen and considered it their revenge. Also, with Fang Yuan¡¯s help, the Qin n was nowrger than the Xu n in size, had gotten rid of Lady Xu, and Qin Yun was even raised to the position of n leader. How powerful was he exactly? Thus, Qin Yun had nothing but respect and gratitude for Fang Yuan. "This method...actually managed to fool the n elders, we should quickly go pay our respects!" Qin Qing nodded his head, passed down some instructions, and followed Qin Yun out of the manor. _________________ There was a famous ce in Dongyi County called Sha Zhou Leng, and it was always crowded with people. At this point, a horse carriage parked in the shadows discreetly, with the Qin siblings seated cross-legged within. Both of them had looks of unease on their faces. "Why isn¡¯t His Lordship here yet? Did something serious crop up?" "Or perhaps...we¡¯ve been tailed?" Qin Qing, with her ice-cold intelligence, knew that being the head of the Qin n did note withplete control over the n. At the very least, behind the n leader, the Elders¡¯ Hall loomed and was influential in every management aspect of the Qin n. Qin Yun, even as the n leader, continued to face severe limitations in his work. "Will His Lordship...be afraid of the Qin Elders¡¯ Hall?" As Qin Qing shook her head, a wave of fatigue swept over her without warning. She suddenly felt drowsy and her eyelids were getting heavier by the second. She then fell asleep, head leaning against the carriage walls. "Ehh? Sister!" Qin Yun eximed in surprise and began to channel his elemental force for self defence. Qin Yun had already reached the Wu Zong level of martial arts cultivation, having broken through the 12 Gates! However, following the infiltration of a stream of gas into the carriage, Qin Yun fell unconscious to the floor anyway. __________ "Where...what is this ce?" Qin Yun experienced a strong feeling of weightlessness, and he sprang to his feet forcefully, only to find that he was in the middle of a foggy wastnd. A wispy figure in the vicinity caught his eye. "Yun?" "Sister!" Qin Yun ran forward and grasped the cold palm of Qin Qing. "Where are we?" "If I¡¯m not wrong, we are in our dream world!" Qin Qing was certain of it. "Good! Clearly intelligent. It¡¯s a good thing that I have promoted you two!" The mists converged into the figure of a youth wearing white robes. It was Fang Yuan. "Oh, I see that His Lordship is a Dream Master. It¡¯s our fault for not realising it earlier!" Qin Qing pulled Qin Yun along and hurriedly bowed to Fang Yuan respectfully. Her heart, however, was pounding hard in rm. His Lordship had previously proved himself to be a Wu Zong and well versed in spiritual spells. The Qin siblings understood that he was a master of both martial arts and magic, and that was that. They had no idea that he was a Dream Master too! In the Da Quan world, the status of a Dream Master was much higher than that of a spiritual knight. To put it brusquely, even the lowest leveled Dream Master could be on an equal footing as Qin Yun, Lord of the Qin n and Vast Sea Viscount! "You may rise! Qin Yun, you have done well to assume the leadership of the Qin n...you¡¯ve even be a Wu Zong? Fang Yuan exuded indifference as he spoke. The changes within Qin Yun¡¯s body was obvious to Fang Yuan. Besides, this was a low levelled Wu Zong. He had killed too many of them to care. "His Lordship has astounding eyesight!" Although he had entered the realm of elemental force himself, in front of Fang Yuan, Qin Yuan spoke as though he was a cowering youth. Even his voice was quivering. Qin Yun finally understood why the Elders were unable to detect Fang Yuan¡¯s Restriction. The ways of a Dream Master were indeed unpredictable. Of course, Fang Yuan had the intention to conceal too. Otherwise, if the truth was out, the Elders would not have agreed to let a Restricted individual assume leadership of the n. Qin Yun¡¯s eyes darted about quickly, and his thoughts ran wild. Fang Yuan¡¯s disy of power must have been meant to intimidate the Qin siblings and to remind them that having received his help, they were bound to him. Thus, Qin Yun eximed, "His Lordship has aided us in our revenge, and we will forever be grateful to you. From now on, the Qin siblings are at your service!" "Hey, you are too serious!" Fang Yuan waved his hand, and the Qin siblings got to their feet quickly. "Now...all I need you two to do is to find out two things for me. First, the rise and fall of a certain n, and everything else about it. Second, I want the map of the Da Qian empire, pceyouts, n territories, the various factions and how they are organised. Give me everything you can find out!" "You have been careless today, and people are watching. From now on, we shallmunicate in the dream world..." "What?" The Qin siblings were stunned, and as they looked at each other, they thought of the Elders¡¯ Hall. "Yes my Lord!" "Very well, you two may go!" As Fang Yuan nodded, the dream world dissipated. _____ In the horse carriage, Qin Yun awoke with a start and looked at Qin Qing. As they made eye contact, they understood that everything that had happened was real. "Let¡¯s go back!" Qin Qing pressed Qin Yun¡¯s palm knowingly. "I understand!" Qin Yun nodded vigorously. Fan Yuan was the most powerful person in the equation and had to be obeyed. Also, Qin Qing seemed to have the intention of challenging the Elders¡¯ Hall with Fang Yuan¡¯s backing. Although the Qin siblings knew that they were ying with fire, they had no choice because they were Restricted. "But anyway...these people dared to tail me, they must be wiped out!" Qin Yun pulled the curtains aside and noticed a few shadows darting out of his view. A cold determination settled over him. At this point, falling out with the Elders¡¯ Hall was unwise. But he had to send them a message. As the newly appointed leader of the Qin n, how could he not demonstrate his power? _______ A short distance away, Fang Yuan wore a farmer¡¯s hat and blended in with the tourists, looking as though he was enjoying the sights of Sha Zhou Leng. His lips curled up into a slight smile. ¡¯The ways of a Dream Master are mysterious and profound. Only a casual usage of the relevant skills yielded such great effects!¡¯ So what if someone was tailing us? Even if he had been giving instructions to the Qin siblings right in front of them, they would be powerless to do anything. Only another Dream Master could challenge a Dream Master! "Now I believe that the Dream Master is definitely not a native role of the Da Qian world. It is much moreplex than the other techniques and defies logic..." The more Fang Yuan practised, the more he believed the contents of the journals within the ¡¯Dream Creek Records¡¯ to be true. "Absolute martial force would give absolute power and influence!" He stared at the desert in front of him with a serious look on his face. "A Dream Master not only wields great power, he also provides vital resources. He is totally self sufficient and can even supply the outside world...with these abilities, is it possible to not crave for power?" Fang Yuan knew the answer. There was no way he could resist. "Although I have no idea how the Da Qian royalty continues to stand to this day, it must be a precarious bnce. Perhaps, all it will take is just a little push to break them, and when that happens..." He sniffed and seemed to catch the smell of blood and fire. This was the smell of the war toe! Chapter 233: Sword Array Chapter 233: Sword Array Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Actualised Dream World. As the foundation of an Illusionary Divine Stage dream master, Fang Yuan¡¯s dream world was very small. It was no taller than 2.6 metres and its circumference was no longer than 3.2m. "The cultivation of the Illusionary Divine Stage is the cultivation of the actualised dream world. One day, this will be a true world!" In the centre of the heavens and earth, Fang Yuan¡¯s true consciousness appeared, one hand pointed at the sky and the other hand pressing against the earth. "Crash!" Dream elemental force surged forth and flushed the borders of the actualised dream world. With every wave, the chaos of the outside world was washed away. The actualised dream world started expanding at a slow rate. "The journey of a dream master in the Illusionary Divine Stage is a long and arduous one. Who knows how much effort is needed to reach the Prominent Divine Stage!" Fang Yuan sighed. Every day after hepleted his work, he would go out and arrive at an open field. "Dream soldier master, in the beginning, his primary focus is to actualize soldiers and uses martial arts as a supplement. In the end, he will walk the path of training his soldiers to have a better understanding of the world...Truth be told, it is to start withws regarding weapons and the likes before moving on to grasping thews of the world! Any pathway of a dream master will ultimately reach to the same end-goal!" "My Master¡¯s secret teachings, known as the 8 Gates Sword Array incorporate the essences of arrays and martial arts. Its prowess is unparalleled. It uses the 8 trigrams as its foundation, and is able to transform and adapt to suit the situation!" Fang Yuan have read through Master Heartless¡¯s inheritance many times. At this time, verses of chants shed across the bottom of his heart, and he understood all the versespletely. He sat cross-legged and his spiritual will prated the emptiness. He started to gather his previously-expended dream elemental force. When his essence, energy and magic had recovered to their peak levels, Fang Yuan stood up, and suddenly shouted, "8 Gates Sword Array, rise!" "Whoosh!" Sword radiance shed! All kinds of blue, red and golden coloured swords converged, with multiple colours shing. The sharpness of the des was threatening. Suddenly, the swords fell to the ground and in the centre of the actualised dream world, 8 hazy sword shadows appeared. Once the array appeared, the whole atmosphere within the space changed. It was as if sharp wills started to gather. "Only the path is set at the start. Not a single divine soldier gather...this is merely beginning!" Fang Yuan looked at the flickering sword shadows and shook his head, "At the peak of my master¡¯s cultivation, hepleted the 8 Gates Sword Array. At my current level, it is very difficult to actualize 1 divine soldier. The good thing about this array is that it does not require the 8 divine soldiers to converge. The array can be used even if it was just 1, 2 or 3 divine soldiers [1]!" He turned his gaze towards the South with a solemn expression. Over there, under a red cloud, a scarlet sword essence appeared to be holding up the heavens like a giant pir. Within it, the sword¡¯s shadow was hazy. "The true South gifts mes! This is for the fire-type sword! The easiest to gather amongst the 8 Gates Sword Array! It is the best ce for me to start!" Fang Yuan consumed me Jade Rice daily and as such, his fire-type energy was the most abundant. Naturally, it would aid him in his cultivation of the fire sword. "South-leaving Fire, listen to mymand, fire-type sword, gather!" A beam of light shot from his eyes and onto the red sword pir. "Crash!" Dream elemental force as vast as the sea surged forth and entered the fire-type pir. The fire-type sword momentarily appeared as it started to actualize. The sword was around 1 metre long and the de was scarlet in colour with simple and mysterious markings engraved upon it. The hilt of the sword was in the shape of a fiery dragon. The whole sword appeared to be a raging me and yet, there was a hint of green will. The sword shadow, which was originally an illusion started to be real. "10%?" After a long time, with his dream elemental force depleted, Fang Yuan looked at the shadow and was pleased. It was no easy feat to actualize a magical soldier. What he had done so far was to create a form. He still had to slowly train. Afterall, even if he had gathered the 8 spiritual swords andplete the array. It was a huge task to separate the array from the actualised dream world and actualise it in the real world. The path to reach the Prominent Divine Stage was indeed long and difficult! Every actualised sword and the dream soldier master¡¯s cultivation would bring about enormous changes. When the 8 swords are gathered, it would be enough to shock the heavens and earth, make demons and deities afraid. The array would clear the path before him. "This 8 Gates Sword Array is split into levels ording to the number of magical soldiers actualised. The most basic is the 1 sword, followed by 2 swords, when atst the 8 swords form the array, it can affect the heavens and earth, one step at a time, clearing the way forward!" Fang Yuan stroked his chin, "It feels like this is simr to the spiritual meridians of the Wu Zongs!" For a Wu Zong in the Meridian Opening Realm, the spiritual meridians were gathered and split into different levels. In each level, the battle prowess of the Wu Zong was different. "I hear that after a spiritual knight reaches the Elemental Opening Realm, the next step in his cultivation would be to link his spiritual points!" "Other dream master pathways are roughly simr and can be split into 8 or 9 realms..." After remembering the recently-purchased information, Fang Yuan no longer had any confusion regarding the cultivation in the Elemental Opening Realm. For an ordinary cultivator, the main focus of cultivation was to attain the elemental force! It was only after breaking through the Elemental Gathering Realm could a cultivator be considered extraordinary and considered to be on a path of cultivation. This step was known as cultivation to be a Wu Zong, spiritual knight or dream master. The second step was to reach the opening of spiritual meridians of the Wu Zongs and elemental opening points for the spiritual knights. The dream masters were different depending on the pathways taken but they all had around 9 gates to be broken through. "The third step, which is also thest step, is to return to their roots and seek the real meaning and source of the elemental force. In the pathway of martial arts, it would be toplete the opening of the spiritual meridians and the formation of the Divine Body. Thest step is not known for the spiritual knights and as for the dream master, it would be to reach the Prominent Divine Stage! There are vast differences in power between the levels in the 9 gates of elemental opening. Furthermore, bing a dream master is much more advantageouspared to the other 2 pathways..." Fang Yuan looked at his stat board and realized that there were changes to it after he made the realization: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 36 Spirit: 30 Magic: 21 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine Stage, Wu Zong (3 Meridians) Technique: Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique [Grade 4(1%)], Hundred Poison Golden Body [1st Refining Stage], 8 Gates Sword Array [1 sword (10%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "If I calcted correctly, I am currently at the power level of a Wu Zong in the 4th level and a dream master in the first level of the Illusionary Divine Stage? Fang Yuan was stumped, "It is just that this is not reflected in my actual battle power..." At least, with his current cultivation at the Illusionary Divine Stage, he would be able to overpower Wu Zongs who opened 3 or 4 spiritual meridians. The Wu Zong would not even be able to escape. "The main focus of my cultivation now is to firstly, perfect my Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique and secondly, gather the fire sword..." Truth be told, this Leaving Fire Sword was the interpretation of the fire-type pathways in the world. In other words, this was the gathering of thews of fire in Fang Yuan¡¯s actualised dream world. "Other than slowly grinding using the dream elemental force, it is only in the dream world can one find a treasure which aid in his cultivation..." Fang Yuan nodded before shaking his head. "Whoosh!" Suddenly, the 8 Gates Sword Array shook and the scarlet sword essence exploded, causing Fang Yuan to be surprised. He looked up and saw that the Leaving Fire Sword pir, which had started to actualise a few percentage point, supporting the heavens and earth had raised the dream world by another 20 centimeters. That was not all. Countless of Leaving Fire Sword essence appeared and eliminated the chaos surrounding the dream world, causing his actualised to expand at a rate multiple times faster than when he used his dream elemental force to grind his dream world. "This is the true way to cultivate the dream world!" Fang Yuan sighed as he made that realization. At that moment, he was considered to have just started his cultivation in the Illusionary Divine Stage. "With the 8 Gates Sword Array in ce, my dream world would continue to expand and actualise even without my management!" Fang Yuan nodded in gratification as he deeply felt the formidability of being a dream soldier master. In the real world. In a secluded valley where the vegetation was lush and the area deserted. Within a cave, Fang Yuan sat cross-legged as he absorbed the surrounding essence to his limit. He suddenly opened both his eyes. "Fire Sword!" With a wave of his hand, a scarlet sword essence measuring a few centimetres appeared and fell down swiftly! "Chi" On the ground, a scorched mark which extended in a straight line for a few metres could be seen. "Although the Fire Sword has not beenpletely formed, its sword essence can be adjusted and its power is no less than an ordinary divine soldier. The most crucial point is that it can be perfectlymanded like how an arm is able moves the finger [2] ... in the future, I will be able to use the sword essence to fend off an enemy or maybeplement it with my martial arts. How does ¡¯8 Meridians Divine Sword¡¯ sounds?" Fang Yuan stoked his chin and drew out a thread of his dream elemental force. After several bouts of changes, Fang Yuan started to worry as he saw the thread of dark red amidst the chaos. "It would be better to get rid of the hidden dangers left behind in the Three World Mountain. His spiritual will shifted and in an instant, he entered a dream and arrived at the dream world. "Gather information ¨C Three World Mountain, dream master!" Before the 4 rock tablets, Fang Yuan retrieved his emerald order te and started searching. Due to the fact that what he needed was scattered information, the information was not too expensive but his inheritance waspletely cleared. "Three World Mountain divides 3 worlds and hence, its name. 900 years ago, Tian Xiezi, a dream master from the Evil Divine Sect fell here, causing the dream world to transform into an illusionary world, in between reality and illusion. It is a natural stronghold, and all travelers, regardless of whether they go with the flow or against the flow, met their downfall. Dream masters dare not approach for fear of meeting misfortune..." Fang Yuan¡¯s expression changed after reading the contents of the report. "Nothing...there is no information regarding this type of dark force. It seems that the only lead is Tian Xiezi of the Evil Divine Sect?" Fang Yuan had heard of, and was very familiar with, the name. However, it was not from his, but Fang Yan¡¯s dream world! "After bing the Eagle Lieutenant, I have investigated and finally realized that Qing Gui was a dream master of the Evil Divine Sect!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes looked serene: "Looks like...my affinity with him is not so easily broken." With this type of force mixed into his dream elemental force, Fang Yuan might suffer in the future even if the consequences were not obvious yet! Given Fang Yuan¡¯s character, he would definitely not allow this ticking time-bomb to remain on his body. As such, it was imperative that he made a trip to Evil Divine Sect and seek out the source of the dark force! "This trip is still too difficult given my current standard..." Fang Yuan shook his head, "Perhaps...I can try asking for assistance to search for a method to get rid of foreign force within my dream elemental force...contribution points, the most important is still the contribution points!" After multiple searches, he had used up all his contribution points. "I need to quickly raise a huge sum of contribution points!" He looked towards the stone tablets, his gaze solemn. [1] The technique handed down by Master Wenxin is unique, as such, the soldiers are swords. [2] A chinese idiom which means that the sword is able to be perfectlymanded like an extension of one¡¯s own body. Chapter 234: Organisations Chapter 234: Organisations Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the Dream Realm. "Look at my spiritual nts! They are full of spirituality and the price is worth it!" Fang Yuan covered himself in a fog as he looked at a trader in front of him. "10 contribution points! I can¡¯t go any lower!" "Fine! Since these are new spiritual nts!" In front of him was a huge golden glow. The dream master concealed inside must be plump-sized. Now that they hade to an agreement, he took over a huge number of spiritual nts. "Eh..." After a while, as Fang Yuan looked at his bare looking inscription te, he shook his head in disappointment. "It¡¯s too slow! Too slow... If I continue at this speed, who knows when I would save up enough contribution points..." He did not bring the entire Green Peak spiritualnd with him and could only spend all that he brought along with him. Furthermore, the spiritual nts nted in his spiritualnd were of low grade and the only selling point for them was the fact that they were a novelty in Da Qian. "After doing a stocktake, there are a few that I cannot sell, like the mysterious spiritual seed..." Fang Yuan thought about it. If he really did want to sell it, he was confident that he could get a good offer from Feng Xinzi. That dream alchemy master was really generous. Unfortunately, he was only interested in new types of spiritual nts and he would only buy small quantities of them. After a few transactions with him, Fang Yuan could only continue to sell his spiritual nts to other people. "It seems that the only way to get more contribution points is to do missions..." Fang Yuan took in a deep breath and at that moment, he felt as though he had gone through a bottleneck. At this point in time where he still could not rely solely on his skill in Botany to make a living, the only way he could get more contribution points was to do missions. The good thing was that he would be rewarded heavily by the rock tablet regardless if he were to take up the mission to be a helper, assassin or explorer. "Fang Yuan, are you there?" Just as Fang Yuan was deep in his thoughts, his jade inscription te glittered. The symbol of a wind chime appeared and from there was the voice of Feng Xinzi. "I am in the Dream Realm!" Fang Yuan was respectful towards this loyal customer of him. "That¡¯s good! Come to the tea house, I have something to tell you!" Feng Xinzi sounded serious. "You... need contribution points right? I have a mission here, and you might be interested in it...... " "Oh? I¡¯ll be there right away!" Fang Yuan was decided as he came to the tea house which they first met. As usual, Feng Xinzi booked a private room and sat inside. The pill essence wrapped around him in the shape of a Lingzhi, making him look like a deity. "Brother Feng!" Fang Yuan greeted him and came straight to the point. "Why would you think of me?" "This is because I have done business with you a few times and feel that you are a trustworthy person!" Feng Xinzi looked down. As dream masters, they had a keen sense of feel. The first impression was paramount for them to decide if the person was good or bad. "Furthermore, you have the ability since you are in the Illusionary Divine stage! I amcking in one more person, and therefore I thought of you!" Feng Xinzi spoke the truth. "Ah... I am honoured!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. "May I know what type of mission it is?" "Exploration! Exploring a newly discovered small world!" Feng Xinzi replied. ¡¯An exploration mission?¡¯ Fang Yuan raised his cup as he hid his fears. ¡¯I knew that dream masters were able tomunicate through worlds. I never thought that I would start my first mission exploring a new world.¡¯ "Can I first take a look at the information regarding the mission?" He asked as he remained expressionless. "Only after epting the mission can I tell you the information about the mission. However, I can tell you a little about it. This new world has not been discovered by other dream masters, and the difficulty level is not that high. The rules of this world¡¯s reality are simr to that of ours..." Feng Xinzi appeared extremely confident and sounded like he was tempting Fang Yuan to join. "This... I will need a few days to consider. Also, if I am decided, I would like to ept the mission and receive the reward through the Realm Spirit!" The Realm Spirit was originally the consciousness of the Kun. After alteration, it became more like a programmed manager of the Dream Realm. Under the scrutiny of all the dream masters, it would be absolutely partial. With the Realm Spirit as the middleman, it would be a form of assurance. Unless Feng Xinzi and the other dream masters decide to leave the Dream Realm for good and risk being wanted by other dream masters, everything would be fine. Fang Yuan knew that if it was him instead, he would not be important enough to be ced on the wanted list. "This of course. However, you only have one day to consider! Our set- up in that small world is about to take effect..." Feng Xinzi continued. "Don¡¯t miss this chance!" ... "Exploring a new world!" After parting with Feng Xinzi, Fang Yuan came to the rock tablet as he browsed through the glistering missions on it. As his spiritual will shook, 10 contributions were used up and information started to flood into his mind. In the vast universe, although Da Qian was huge and strong, it was not the only world to exist. Within worlds, due to different reasons, there would be secret realms as well. These secret realms or spiritualnds were only partially developed. In other words, they were new worlds that have yet to mature. Outside Da Qian, there was a whole new world. Dream masters have predicted that the formation of worlds was from the actualised dream worlds of powerful dream masters! A new;y developed world might be covered with dangers. After braving the risks, explorers would be rewarded heavily. However, the new world might also be a desert with no findings, or it might even be a trap, set up to trap visitors. In conclusion, the risks and rewards would be there. It was all up to the dream master¡¯s own confidence. In history, there were stories of normal dream masters bing sect masters after exploring one new world. "There are two ways for dream masters to explore new worlds. The first would be to dream-traverse through 3,000 worlds. Through the temptation of the new worlds, they would cast arrays on it, opening a slit to the new world and allow their soul to enter. This would be the mostmon way of essing new worlds. The other way is to bring their actual body into the new world. The requirements are too much and I¡¯m afraid that even Feng Xinzi and hispany would not be able to do it yet..." After reading through a few recordings, Fang Yuan came to a conclusion. It was worth it to take the risk this time! It was secondary to earn the contribution points. More importantly, he could gain experience. After all, if he used the dream-traversing method, even if he died in the new world, it would only be a failed exploration mission and he would at most hurt his spiritual will. He could undergo cultivation and train again! ... After a day, in the Dream Realm, in a void space. "This is a space which I have rented from the Realm Spirit using contribution points. It ispletely safe and the chances of sess by dream-traversing here would be high!" Feng Xinzi could seemingly see through Fang Yuan¡¯s confusion and added a few more words. "Also... let¡¯s wee our new member! Remember to look for a safe ce to hold your physical body. After all, even though we have researched on the rate of time flow in both worlds, idents might still happen!" "Don¡¯t worry, Brother Feng!" Fang Yuan followed behind Feng Xinzi. "Since I¡¯ve decided to join, I would already make the necessary preparations." "Very well, I¡¯ll now introduce to you a few group members!" Feng Xinzi looked at the centre of the space. At there, there were two other dream masters waiting. Seeing Fang Yuan, their voices were skeptical. "Feng Xinzi, is this the new member which you have found?" Covered in mes, a man¡¯s voice was heard. "He doesn¡¯t seem hardy enough!" "That¡¯s right! It is no easy task to explore a new world!" The other voice was from ady, which was shrouded in illusionary flower petals. "This is..." Fang Yuan looked at thedy as his eyebrows twitched. "White Lotus?!" "Friends, Brother Fang Yuan is handpicked by me! There is no doubt about his ability and personality!" Feng Xinzi walked in front of the other two dream masters as he calmly spoke. Following which, he exined to Fang Yuan. "Come, I¡¯ll introduce them to you. This is Venerable Fiery Dragon, and this is Deity Clear Lotus! Are you suspecting that she is rted to the Divine Lotus Cult because of her appearance? Keke... This is a misunderstanding! Although Deity Clear Lotus¡¯s Nine Lotus Heart Technique looks simr to the techniques of the Divine Lotus Cult, they have their difference!" "That is true!" As Fang Yuan took a closer look, he quickly apologised. "I apologise for my reckless opinion. Please forgive me, Deity!" "That¡¯s alright!" From the lotus petal, there was a clear voice. "I am already used to it. Every stranger I meet would suspect as well..." Fang Yuan let out a softughter. He was indeed afraid of her because of Meng Lian. After getting rid of her, he did an in-depth investigation on her, which shocked him. She was part of one of the two evil dream master sects in Da Qian - the Divine Lotus Cult! Dream masters were good at instilling feelings in other people. By forming a cult, their influence would grow by many folds. Even in Da Qian Empire, their cult was banned. It was rumoured that the ways they adopted spread their teachings were mysterious and they were able to unknowingly affect Wu Zongs, spiritual knights or even dream masters to work for them. The Divine Lotus Cult and the Evil Divine Sect were the two evil sects among the dream masters. The small sects which originated from these tworger organisations were countless, and they could be described as the source of evil dream masters in Da Qian. Although Qing Gui¡¯s evil name was well-known, he was only a small figure in his sect and was far from being the leader. "In reality, we are all part of the Realm Alliance!" After some thought, Feng Xinzi took the initiative to dissipate his own pill essence, revealing his true appearance. He was a middle-aged man. "Realm Alliance?" "Mm, most of the members are dream masters who do not belong to any sect. By relying on the Dream Realm, these members came together to form an alliance, and even dream masters with sects would be allowed to join. Therefore, the alliance is extremely powerful and there are almost no restrictions to it..." Feng Xinzi continued. "Other than that, there are good dream master sects like Baize Mountain. This is the main pir for all dream masters in Da Qian. Finally, there is also a Source Seeking Sect. That sect is mainly made up of a bunch of foolish people who would do anything to search for the source of power for dream masters. Just stay away from them!" "Of course, dream masters in these 5 organisations don¡¯t just stick to one organisation. They can move around!" Fang Yuan looked down. He knew that if not for his quick thinking, he would be likely taken in by Meng Lian to join the Divine Lotus Sect. Among these five organisations, the only good one was Baize Mountain. The Realm Alliance was a neutral organisation, and the remaining three were either evil or crazy people. These people would be the ones causing trouble for the entire world. Chapter 235: Offerings Chapter 235: Offerings Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Brother Feng, didn¡¯t you mention that there would be five of us?" Fang Yuan looked around. "Mmm. Thest one is not here yet. The technique that she is cultivating is a little special..." Feng Xinzi was ambiguous. "Feng Xinzi, don¡¯t lie about me in front of our new member!" As he finished his sentence, a gentle voice was heard, which made Feng Xinziughed. "It¡¯s just a joke, don¡¯t take it to heart!" Quickly, he turned around and exined to Fang Yuan. "Our fifth member is Yu Tiao. Her cultivation is in dream spells and the Mastery of Curses..." "I see!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. The Mastery of Curses was a cultivation rted to karma. The techniques would be activated as soon as the curse was spoken, and it was a rare form of cultivation among the dream masters. Therefore, after seeing apassionate looking olddy supporting herself with a walking stick, Fang Yuan immediately became serious. In the Dream Realm, if dream masters were to reveal their true self, they would either be fools or they were confident of their own stills. It seemed like Yu Tiao belonged to thetter. Not just him, but even Venerable Fiery Dragon and Deity Clear Lotus shuddered. "Keke..... Feng Xinzi, how is your Ten-thousand Pill Cauldron? Are you still trying to produce a pill spirit? It¡¯s not that I want to put you down, but to create life in a cauldron... Difficult! It is extremely difficult!!!" Yu Tiao looked at Feng Xingzi and shook her head. The path to Prominent Divine stage was tough all along. Although this method is extremely difficult, it is my only hope!" Feng Xinzi¡¯s face was one of determination and seemed that he was not afraid of death. "I am already almost there, how can I just give up?" "Creating life?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered as he heard him. Although the Illusionary Divine stage allowed them to create many things, there was a huge difference between normal objects and spiritual objects, from normal metal to divine troops. All of these were small breakthroughs to be achieved in itself. However, the jump from producing non-living things to a lifeform was a paramount difference. It was a huge step within the Illusionary Divine stage. Who would¡¯ve thought that Feng Xinzi was already at this stage? Fang Yuan was stunned. ¡¯Of course... After being able to form living things, he would be able to form spiritual beasts and birds, followed by humans with intellectual minds! A dream master at this stage can be known as a ¡¯creator¡¯. This is no longer the elementary Illusionary Divine stage, but the Prominent Divine stage!¡¯ How arduous would it be to cross this stage? Based on Fang Yuan¡¯s predictions, Feng Xinzi was already stuck at this stage for long and had no progress. ¡¯Although I don¡¯t know this dream alchemy master¡¯sbat skills, his cultivation is alreadyparable to a dream soldier master forming the Fourth Sword!¡¯ "Keke... Say anything you want, and I hope that your evil mouth loses its life one day!" Yu Tiaoughed. "I did note here today to reminisce about the past. The new world is dangerous. If we lose this chance, we might need to wait for other fools to find another one for is. Feng Xingzi, have you prepared everything?" "Of course!" Without hesitation, he eximed. "Realm Spirit, I want to seal up my void space!" "Rumble!" In the Dream Realm, Fang Yuan felt as though the void space which all of them were in was separated, as though they were travelling through the fabric of spacetime. With the assurance of the Realm Spirit, there was nowhere safer than where they were right now. Feng Xinzi quickly took out many spiritual equipment, talismans and blobs of spiritual blood as he started to piece together an array. Although Fang Yuan was familiar with spiritual arrays, he was still confused at the sight of this particr array. As for Feng Xinzi, Venerable Fiery Dragon and Deity Clear Lotus, all three of them seemed to have a deep understanding of this array. Together, they quicklypleted the formation of the array. ¡¯Dream masters are indeed talented in many aspects. The longer they live, the more skilled they would be...; Fang Yuan took in a deep breath after seeing them cast the array. If the three of them were to disguise themselves as spiritual array masters, they would never be seen through. "It¡¯s done!" As the finishing touches werepleted, Feng Xinzi wiped the sweat off his forehead. Looking at the array which was red, gold and green, he let out an expression of joy. "It is indeed easier to locate the other worlds in the Dream Realm. Next up, we¡¯ll have to send out the signal and wait..." "Cough cough... let me be the one to send out the signal!" Without consideration for others, Yu Tiao stood out at took a quick nce at Fang Yuan. "It will be up to you guys toe up with the energy needed tomunicate with the other world!" "This of course!" Fang Yuan knew that he was here to make up the numbers and therefore could not avoid doing the manualbour. "Very well. With the five of us, we should have enough dream elemental force!" Feng Xinzi was ecstatic as he quickly arranged everyone in their positions. The four of us will position ourselves at the corners and try to activate the array inscription. At the beginning, 10 percent of your strength would be enough. Wait for mymand!" "Alright!" Fang Yuan stood at the position of the White Tiger. As he waved his hands, waves of dream elemental force flowed into the array. In front of him, talismans started to glow, and the inscriptions on the array started to glitter as the array continued to take in energy. "Buzz! Buzz!" At the four corners, each Illusionary Divine stage dream master exerted their dream elemental force. The array inscription started to expand and the three-coloured glow slowly intensified. Suddenly, it shot into the air and started to link up with another world. "This is it... This is it..." Yu Tiao stood in the centre of the array. With her focus, she hardly looked like she was her age. "The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, execute the divine searching technique! Go!" As she executed her curse, physical forms of her spoken word appeared and were glowing. ¡¯This is using her spiritual will to locate the worlds. To be able to do this, a dream master must have an exceptional amount of magical energy to link up our Dream Realm to the other world... The curse by Yu Tiao would increase the chances of sess...¡¯ Fang Yuan continued to put in his effort as he slowly recalled the information Feng Xinzi provided to him the moment he agreed to join them. "That located new world is nicknamed ¡¯Hui¡¯ by Feng Xinzi! The Hui Realm!" "This world is newly discovered and ording to Feng Xinzi, the rules of reality which govern that world is simr to the ones which govern Da Qian Empire..." "The array is only acting as a bait. We will still need to offer sacrifice to the natives in that world... Previously, Feng Xinzi had already disguised himself as an evil spirit to deliver sacrifices to them. Just like fishing, as soon as they be greedy, we can execute our dream-traversing technique at the right time and location. In the future, it would be much more convenient to revisit the world to conduct further explorations..." "Buzz!" At this moment, on the array, there was a red glow. "We have a response! They have initiated the sacrifice!" Yu Tiao and Feng Xinzi were beaming. "Start to locate their world! Let¡¯s begin!" In a few seconds, all of them were excited. ... Hui Realm. There were two suns in the sky. One was ring while the other one was dim. Both of them were hanging in the sky, stationary. At night time, both suns would be dimmer. Therefore, the moon in Hui Realm was always a full moon. Thend in the realm was divided into many regions. In the middleid the Heliocentric Region. It was a vast and scorching desert and there were no signs of life. At the outer extremesid the Corona Region. The nights were extremely long and it was rare to even have a little sunlight in that region. There were almost no forms of life there as well. Of course, the natives would call these two regions the ¡¯Death Zones¡¯! In the middle, where the sunlight was sufficient, a small country was formed and there were finally signs of life. Within a deserted mansion in Lie Country. "Are all the sacrifices ready for Deity Feng?" A wealthy looking middle-aged man asked his subordinates. His forehead was sticking out and his nose was pointed. His face was flushed and he wore luxurious clothing. At this moment, he continuously rubbed the ring in his fingers as he was deep in his thoughts. The ring looked normal and therefore felt a little out of ce aspared to this man¡¯s clothing. However, to him, it seemed as though all the treasures in the world were iparable to this ring! Around him, ten over capable subordinates were working hard as they mixed gold and silver ingots together with jade shavings. With all of these, they arranged a huge array on the floor. Another ten odd-looking objects were ced in the centre of the array. Everything felt weird and out of ce, which made many of them confused. There was aw in Lie Country which states that anyone performing ck magic would be killed! If anyone were to see them and report it to the authorities, everyone there would be killed and their family members would be implicated as well! However, this middle-aged man remained focused, as though he at an utmost confidence for Deity Feng. The famous ¡¯Su Guo¡¯ was in a daze as he was deep in his thoughts. Twenty years ago, he was just a small businessman. With some affinity, he managed to obtain a ring. From then on, he became a priest who preached for Deity Feng. Although he did not know the true purpose of being a priest, this did not stop him from reaping the rewards after a few rounds of sacrifices. It was because of this that his wealth grew. ¡¯Based on what Deity Feng had told me, the few previous instances were only small offerings. This time is the true sacrifice offering! Whatever I will gain will be 10 times more than before! Also, I will gain the technique to extend my lifespan!¡¯ Su Guo¡¯s eyes were red. In terms of wealth, he was already rich enough to start a country. However, the unknown potential of having more power and the path to a longer lifespan was what he was really hoping for. "Sir, the offerings are here!" In the middle of a stone tform, a few weird objects of different spiritual auras were ced. In the centre of all the offerings, there was a green-coloured wood. It was the trunk of a Thousand Year Dragon Tree. In order to obtain it, Su Guo¡¯s caravan suffered deaths of 187 people on the journey there, not to mention the money he had to spend as well. A red jewel beside the wood was an Aqua Rainbow Coral Jade. It was obtained after the sinking of 30rge vessels and many more divers who died attempting to get it. ... To put it in another way, only Su Guo who had such wealth was able to collect all these treasures. "Buzz!" As the offerings were position in ce, the array started to glow. Su Guo took two steps forward and took in a deep breath. His wish was about toe true! Chapter 236: Possession Chapter 236: Possession Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "The mighty Deity Feng... Please descend into our world and realize my dream!" Dark clouds formed in the sky as lightning ripped across. It was as though aliens were about to enter the Hui Realm as everything shook. Within the abandoned mansion, Su Guo felt uneasy. As he looked at the glowing array, his face was flushed. Subconsciously, he took a few steps forward. Within the array, the few offerings in the middle were slowly consumed by a brightening glow, forming a bright ball of light. "Buzz!" As the ball expanded, it slowly formed the shape of a door and shook. "Rumble!" At that moment, there was a huge explosion. As the winds blew, Su Guo flew along with it, defenceless. He rolled along the floor and in the process fractured many of his bones. Slowly, the abandoned mansion could not withstand the destructive force as well. Amidst the explosion, it copsed, forming a pile of rubble. "Rumble! Rumble!" At that moment, the dark clouds rumbled and streaks of lightning struck down. It was as though the heavens were enraged as thunder roared continuously. However, there was something weird. As the lightning was about to strike the abandoned mansion, it would swerve and strike something else. Amidst the storm, there were multiple light streaks on the roof of the mansion. Slowly, from the light streaks, a dark-coloured door was formed. In an instant, the door opened! It was as though the gods above were enraged! As over ten streaks of lightningbined, an extremely thick and huge streak of lightning collectively struck at the top of the ck-coloured door! Su Guo and his subordinates were all unconscious. It was not known if they were still alive or not. It might be a good thing that they were unconscious. This was because every form of life in a 100-mile radius was shuddering with fear and sweating profusely as though a disaster was about to happen! ... The lighting came and went. Soon after the huge lightning struck, the dark clouds quickly disappeared and the two suns slowly appeared again in the sky. Under the warm glow of the suns, a few white clouds appeared on the horizon. It was a peaceful sight to behold and it was as though the storm was just a dream. "The bacsh did notst too long in this world... d*mn, my leg!" After a long while, amidst the rubble, a middle-aged man mumbled to himself. "Fortunately, I¡¯ve bought some spiritual inscriptions to reduce the bacsh from traversing through worlds and added them into the array. Otherwise, the consequences would surely be much more serious..." Although he was wearing a servant¡¯s attire, the way he spoke and acted was much different. If someone who knew him was to see him like this, they would give him the title of being ¡¯possessed¡¯. "This is the... Hui Realm?" Fang Yuan raised his head and looked at the two suns in the sky, before looking at his own two hands. The skin of his hands was tight and appeared young. His fingers were full of calluses, which was a sign that he frequently did manualbour. "It seems like I have possessed a young servants¡¯ body. Did he survive the storm because he was too lowly to be near the epicentre of the lightning strike?" At the moment when the array waspleted, the five dream masters in the Dream Realm worked together to bring their soul through space to arrive at the Hui Realm. However, there was already such a destruction even by simply transporting their souls. Therefore, they had to choose to possess the body¡¯s of the natives here and it was up to their luck to see who they possessed. Compared to the unlucky Feng Xinzi who possessed a person with broken legs, Fang Yuan felt that he was rather fortunate. "Alright, where are the other three?" With Fang Yuan¡¯s help, Feng Xinzi finally pulled his legs out from the rubble and looked around. "The time of arrival is very short, so they shouldn¡¯t be too far from us!" "We are here!" As he finished his sentence, he could see the silhouette of two people supporting each other as they walked out from the rubble. Looking at their appearance, it was a male and a female. "Venerable Fiery Dragon, Deity Clear Lotus!" Feng Xinzi looked at the man. He was 7 feet tall and was wearing a martial artists¡¯ attire. He had a knife around his waist and appeared well-built. He appeared well-skilled in martial arts and gave off a manly vibe. With a tinge of jealousy, Feng Xinziplimented. "Brother Fiery Dragon, what fortune!" "Yeah, sure!" Thedy by the side started to nag. "I am Venerable Fiery Dragon!" "This..." Fang Yuan and Feng Xinzi were stunned. This was the problem of possession. Although their own bodies were extremely strong, there might be a deviation in the traversing of worlds, which might result in such an ending. Fang Yuan looked at the body which Venerable Fiery Dragon possessed. It was ady in her mid-twenties. Her eyes were big and beautiful and her lips were puckered. There was a mole at the corner of her lips and her skin was as smooth as milk. He was a beauty. Of course, this beauty was now brute and her tone did not match her appearance. "This is..." Fang Yuan looked at Feng Xinzi with confusion, and both of them looked at the well-built man in ck robes. "I am Clear Lotus. Greetings to you, my friends!" The well-built man blushed and bowed. His girly actions were gentle and graceful and it seemed like he was a gracefuldy. However, since it was a male who was doing it, Fang Yuan and Feng Xinzi both started to have goosebumps. This was especially so for Feng Xinzi. Previously, he was stillining about his leg. However, now, he did not feel like it was a big issue already. "We cannot change the bodies which we are possessing. If not for the protection of the array, as soon as our souls were to leave these bodies, we would be exposed to the elements..." Feng Xinzi continued with a serious tone. "You two will have to make do with it. The good thing is that the time we will spend in Hui Realm is... Eh? Did anybody see Elder Lao?" "I¡¯m here!" In front, a young and gentle voice was heard. A young girl about the age of 16 walked over with a proud face. "I cannot find anyone suitable around here, and therefore have to make do with this young girl..." With such a weirdbination of appearance and personality, Venerable Fiery Dragon, Deity Clear Lotus and even Fang Yuan felt a little uneasy. The good thing was that all five of them were dream masters of the Illusionary Divine Stage and all of them had seen enough weird happenings in their lifetimes. Previously, they were only joking. In a short moment, all of them regrouped and started to discuss the important details. "This realm is ultimately a new realm. Although we have understood some of the dangers of this realm through Su Guo, we are still uncertain of the exact details. Everybody, please be careful!" Feng Xinzi reminded everyone. Even normal dream masters would feel half as powerful if they were to be thrown into a new realm. Only dream masters of the Illusionary Divine stage would have enough evolved dream elemental force to alter reality and remain calm. Therefore, the minimum requirement for explorers of new worlds was to be at least a dream master of the Illusionary Divine stage! "This goes without saying!" Yu Tiao rolled her eyes. "Your useless friend is still here. Do you want to save him? After all, he is a native and will be of use to us." "There¡¯s no need!" Feng Xinzi thought to himself for a while beforeing to a decision. "He has already broken thew. Even if we save him, he will have bad luck for his whole life and he will be likely to be captured!" As the person who brought them in, Su Guo was a criminal and his sins were already too much. He would not be able to right his wrongdoings for a few lifetimes toe. "Although it might seem convenient at first to follow him, we will still have to suffer the consequences of his wrongdoings in time toe and this would implicate us. It is better for us to explore on our own! After our first attempt at possession, we have already integrated with their realm. Unless the bodies which we are possessing dies, revealing our soul, nobody in this realm would realise what had happened!" Feng Xinzi looked at Fang Yuan and reminded him once more. "Even if our souls are left here, it is not death for us. However, we would still be severely drained on our original bodies. Furthermore, if we are captured or killed too many times, we might integratepletely with this realm and experience its bacsh. Therefore... take care and be careful! Most importantly, if met with danger, we can lose the body and even let it die, but we cannot let our souls get captured!" "I know this!" Fang Yuan was appreciative of Feng Xinzi¡¯s friendly reminder and nodded his head to show his agreement. "Alright! Every array can only transport 5 souls through. Now, we have time to explore the Hui Realm!" Venerable Fiery Dragon and Deity Clear Lotus looked at each other. "Let¡¯s split up and explore. After three months, we¡¯ll meet up and discuss our findings together. How does that sound?" Seeing their confidence, Fang Yuan could guess that the few of them had already obtained information from Su Guo regarding the realm and roughly knew what they wanted to do. "Mm... I¡¯m fine with this n. Furthermore, I have some other private issues to settle. What are your thoughts on this, Elder Lao?" Feng Xinzi looked at Yu Tiao. "To search base on our own affinity. This is fair!" Yu Tiao nodded her head. However, her voice was deep, which made Fang Yuan nce at her with confusion. Seeing that Yu Tiao had realised that he was ncing at her, Fang Yuan rubbed his nose. "I am not seeking for anything to gain. I only intend to walk around and understand the happenings in this world!" "Mm. Regardless, just remember to meet after three months!" Feng Xinzi nodded his head and looked at the surroundings. "We cannot stay long here. Let¡¯s take our leave. Remember to prioritise safety and make sure not to be captured by the powerful people in this realm!" Such amotion at the abandoned mansion would surely attract a lot of attention. Fang Yuan knew that Su Guo¡¯s life was over. Without thinking too much about him, Fang Yuan picked a direction to walk in and was on his way. "Mm... This physical body is not cultivated. It seems that I must slowly train it. Although I have the experience to achieve breakthroughs, it is still extremely troublesome to train up this body, regardless if I am able to use my power of Illusionary Divine!" In a short moment, he had turned into a small path. After a while, Fang Yuan stopped at looked behind. "Elder Lao, why are you following me?" "Hehe!" As a shadow shed by, Yu Tiao appeared. She had two ponytails on her head and she twirled it around in her fingers. "Feng Xinzi and the rest have decided on what to do and abandoned you by yourself. Young man, do you want to work with Elder Lao?" "It¡¯s alright!" Fang Yuan¡¯s objective was to gather more experience and explore on his own. After all, he still had to contribute his findings after three months and was not interested in gaining anything else. Therefore, he outrightly rejected her. Chapter 237: Fixed Stats Chapter 237: Fixed Stats Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Is that so... What a pity! I know of a good ce and wanted to bring you there to give you more experience. It seems you are unappreciative!" The young girl which Yu Tiao had possessed shook her head and turned around. Although she was possessing a normal person, there was fog all around her. In a sh, she disappeared. ¡¯Using dream elemental force to strengthen your body?¡¯ Witnessing this scene, Fang Yuan mumbled to himself but did not put it to heart. "Bring me along to give me more experience? I¡¯m afraid you just want to kill me, right?" He scanned his surroundings with his spiritual will. After assuring himself that no one was following him, he executed his lightness skill and quickly disappeared. Just as the five of them took their leave, a group of people rode horses and arrived at the scene of destruction. They sealed the entire ce and the region was in a chaos... ... "Whoosh!" The river was flowing. Fang Yuan stood at the river bank and looked at his own reflection. He was a pale looking young man with long eyebrows, and there was a hint of strength in his eyes. "I¡¯m rather lucky. At least I am stronger than the three of them..." Fang Yuan nodded his head and waved his hands. "Buzz!" Dream elemental force appeared on his palms. "Dream masters in the Illusionary Divine stage have the ability to alter reality. Although it is still effective in this world, the consumption of dream elemental force is much higher than before. I¡¯ll have to use it carefully." After a few rounds of experimentation, Fang Yuan finally understood. The physical body which he possessed was a normal young man which was average. Furthermore, his soul was average as well. Without the strength from his Mind Pce, he was using up the stored dream elemental force in his actualised dream world, and there was no way to replenish it. "I must quickly strengthen this body!" Aftering to a conclusion, Fang Yuan began to try out something new. He picked up a green-coloured rock. This rock was from the river bank and was from the river bank. It even had ayer of moss on it. In a moment, a bewildering glow glittered from his hands. Around the rock, the air started to vibrate and finally, the rock exploded. "Whoosh!" The green rock became a powdery mess and was blown by the wind. In his actualised dream world, the 8 Gates Sword Array shook and the Fire Sword shimmered, but nothing else happened. "I failed... is this due to the fact that the realms are separated?" Just previously, Fang Yuan had attempted to transfer an object from the Hui Realm into his actualised dream world. If it was possible, he would have discovered a new way to store things as well as transfer objects from the Hui Realm to Da Qian. However, his n had failed from the start. "In Da Qian Empire, dream masters in the Illusionary Divine stage can link themselves to the Dream Realm through their actualised dream world and only consume a little dream elemental force, transferring objects from one ce to another in an instant. However, this is not possible here..." Fang Yuan thought about it. He realised that even though he could stillmunicate with his actualised dream world, it felt distant and separated from him. "After all, we are separated by an entire realm. It is possible to transfer energy but not objects. However, this might be possible if my actual physical body is here!" He shook his head as he concluded that his n to transfer treasures from Hui Realm to Da Qian was down the drain. "Something¡¯s not right!" Fang Yuan was a smart person and could quickly pick out the discrepancy. "If there was nothing to be gained, Feng Xinzi and the rest would not want toe here! Or... what they are nning to get their hands on is not something with a physical form and is able to be transported through their souls?" As he thought down this train of thoughts, he felt that everything was much more logical. He knocked his head and could roughly guess the ns of these few dream masters. "They can get what they want, I¡¯ll just care for myself..." Looking at his powerless hands, he gave off a bitterugh. "Give me my stats!" "Whoosh!" In front of him, a window appeared. Information flooded the window, which surprised him. "I was only testing! Who would know that this would work!" Fang Yuan smiled. "It seems that this trait is something that is tied to my soul!" As he changed a physical body, there were extreme changes to his stats as well: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 0.9 (36) Spirit: 0.8 (30) Magic: 1.1 (21) Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: [Illusionary Divine (???)], Wu Zong (???) Technique: [8 Gates Sword Array (First Sword) (10%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" Looking at his own stats, Fang Yuan was speechless. This body which he was in was the same as his own stats before he had started to train in martial arts while he was in the secluded valley. Most of his techniques were wiped off. Only the 8 Gates Sword Array, which was rted to his actualised dream world, remained. As for his skills, he was surprised to see that they were perfectly preserved, even the levels of the skills. "The bodies possessed by other dream masters should be simr to mine. However, they have the advantage of retaining their techniques in their actualised dream world, which means they would have a head start to strengthen their bodies!" Based on his predictions, the other 4 of them would now be in hiding and attempting to train up their body, or they might even use evil spells to strengthen their body¡¯s strength. If they did not recover at least half of what they use to have, they could do little. After all, how could there be no highly skilled people in such a big world? If they could die even in hiding then it would be a big joke. "What do this original stats mean?" Fang Yuan looked at the numbers in the brackets and stroked his chin. As his mind focused on the numbers in the brackets, a mysterious piece of information was revealed, which allowed him to understand everything. "Fixed stats? This would mean that... regardless of which body I am in, I would retain the maximum skill of what I have? This would be true even for reincarnation..." "If this is true, then I would not have the problem of being stuck at bottlenecks anymore, but..." Fang Yuan took in a deep breath and started to execute his Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique. "Whoooo!" The winds blew. The muscles on his body started to vibrate and the shriek of an eagle was heard. In his stats window, the originally absent Giant Eagle Metal Body technique started to reappear. "Crack!" Popping sounds were heard from his body as his joints cracked. "The rules of reality which govern this world is simr to that of Da Qian. Therefore, the basics of training in martial arts should be simr as well. I just need to adapt a little..." Fang Yuan closed his eyes and stuck his five fingers out in the shape of an eagle w. Slowly, he experienced the little differences in this realm as he executed the technique. "The 12 Golden Gates - Initial Gate, Rest Gate, Life Gate, Restriction Gate, View Gate, Pain Gate, Shock Gate, Death Gate... Open!!!" At that moment, 8 loud sounds were heard. The energy in his body fused and started to form inner power. Slowly, the inner power came together to form a wire-like inner force. "The Hui Realm is a little different from Da Qian. There are no Yin, Yang, Earth and Heaven Gates in the 4 Heavenly Gates. Instead, there are only two steps to form and obtain elemental force!" "Chirp! Chirp!" Behind Fang Yuan, a giant metallic eagle silhouette appeared. "The realm of elemental force... breakthrough!" Fang Yuan was decisive. In a moment, he took in elemental energy from Heaven and Earth into his Dantian, forming the martial artists¡¯ elemental force. Finally, the Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique in his stats window started to settle down. "This speed..." Seeing that his Essence was already half of what he used to have and looking at his hands, Fang Yuan was in disbelief. "How can I so simply recover my cultivation as a Wu Zong? Does this mean that I only need a day¡¯s work to get back my full potential?" Fang Yuan finally understood. If normal people training in martial arts waspared to a tortoise crawling, then the method which he just used would be akin to cheating and running at full speed! Even if the dream masters were to lose their ability, they could harness the ability to actualise in their souls to cheat and give themselves a headstart to recover their abilities. What a headstart for him! "Fixed stats! This means that no matter how many times I change my physical body, if given time, I would be able to recover my abilities to its fullest potential!" Fang Yuan clenched his fists and his eyes glittered. This ability was aforting one to him. After all, the highest level of mission in the Dream Realm would be exploration missions! Even dream masters in the Illusionary Divine stage still would not have the ability to transport their physical body to the new worlds, and therefore it would bemon to perform possession on the natives in the world to be explored. Other dream masters would need one to two months to recover all their strength. However, with the help of fixed stats, Fang Yuan could achieve it in a moment. What a difference! "The difference in our abilities would mean that I have more time to explore the secrets of this world and reap more benefits from it!" Fang Yuan nced at his own stats window and realised a big change: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 12 (36) Spirit: 12 (30) Magic: 8 (21) Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: [Illusionary Divine (???)], Wu Zong Technique: [8 Gates Sword Array (First Sword) (10%)], Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "My stats window has retained the peak of my abilities. Regardless of any changes, I would be able to recover those abilities extremely quickly..." Fang Yuan clenched his fists. "Alright, let¡¯s recover everything then!" At this point, his expression changed. As he looked behind, his face appeared serious. Amidst the ruffling of robes, ck shadows appeared in the forest and appeared to be surrounding him. "That¡¯s quick... Wait, how did they find me?" Fang Yuan was deste. "The only possibility is that one of them betrayed me. Or should I say, use me as a bait to distract these people away from them to get more time to escape..." Using his spiritual will to scan, he found something amiss. Underneath his clothing, there were a few strands of hair. There were so light that he did not even feel them there. "Keke..." Fang Yuan shook his head and picked up the strands of hair. "With the loss of my cultivation as a Wu Zong, I even failed to keep my guard up and detect this..." If the chasing soldiers were to arrive a moment earlier, they would surely give him a lot of trouble, which would make him use up a lot of his remaining dream elemental force to take all of them down. This would slow his progress in recovering his abilities. But now? Looking at the soldiers approaching, he appeared mysterious. "Very well... I was still worrying about how I should go about to deepen my understanding of this world, and here all of youe!" Chapter 238: Zodiac Chapter 238: Zodiac Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "The demon who did ck magic is in front!" In the forest, a group of soldiers were chasing Fang Yuan and their expressions appeared solemn. They were wearing uniforms and it appeared that they were from a single organisation. At this point in time, a small-eyed man next to the leader twitched his nose. "Whoosh!" As a yellow glow emerged, his nose started to change. Facial hair started to grow on both sides of his face, which appeared a little yellowish. After a deep breath, he came to a decision. "Very well, let¡¯s split!" The leader of all of them was a young man wearing a bamboo-woven crown. He was wearing long silk robes with an image of a cockerel sewn on it and a pair of cloth shoes. Although he appeared young, his actions seemed matured and he seemed to have a lot of influence. "Yes, sir!" Behind him, a few groups started to split and approached the river. While they were splitting up, behind every leader of each group was a dim glow which took the shape of a tiger or leopard. With this, their speed in the forest increased. "Great! With Shinto, I¡¯m afraid he won¡¯t be able to escape!" Everyone looked jubnt. "Hmph! We cannot find any evidence at the site where Su Guo had cast his ck magic. This time, with the help of the mountain gods, we might be able to get some leads!" The young man let out augh. "Sir... We cannot control the gods. Please mind your words!" The few of them beside him twitched a little. The presence of the gods in the mountains must be rted to the supernatural event. This young man was the envoy of the capital of Lie Country. He was not afraid of anything. After all, he had to lead the country in the presence of the gods above him. How would he dare to be disrespectful? "Heh..." The young man was extremely quick, but a little impatient. "We have already investigated that Su Guo must have used illegal means to build his wealth. We wanted to capture him as soon as he was rich enough. Who would know that Deity Feng... Hehe, that deity is most likely an evil one!" "With such a thing happening, someone must be held responsible and ountable for this. This is my chance to perform!" Nheless, he would not put all his resources here just to capture Su Guo. "We see him!" As the soldiers spoke, they continued making their way through the forest. As the arrived at the river, a silhouette of a young man was seen. The young man was wearing a servant¡¯s uniform and appeared to be one of Su Guo¡¯s subordinates. He was standing in the middle as the soldiers started to surround him. "I am Qin Yi, the Silver Badged Envoy of the Six Gates of Lie Country. Surrender!" Qin Yi leapt towards the young man an eximed. It was a sight to behold. After all, he was on the good side and the young man was the bad guy! It was only logical for him to take the young man down! After all, the bad people would naturally be a little more cowardly and wouldn¡¯t dare to go against a government¡¯s official, right? With such a pressure from Qin Yi, the young man would surely be unable to even use half of his original power. Therefore, he was at an advantage. "Whoooo!" As his ws struck towards the young man, a white glow appeared behind which quickly transfigured into the shape of a huge tiger. With such a ferocious strike, the atmosphere was tense. "Hmmm... is this how energy is being used in the Hui Realm? Interesting!" Fang Yuan smiled as he looked at Qin Yi. Although there was martial arts and spiritual spells in the Hui Realm, it was notmon. In this realm, the popr practice was through Shintobined with royal energy to form a unique rtionship. Those in a position of power would be designated the mountain gods and water gods. They would have spirits protecting them wherever they go. Even lowly officials and citizens were allowed to absorb spiritual objects and harness their abilities based on their zodiacs. Take for instance, Qin Yi. He was born with the attributes of a white tiger, with his zodiac being the tiger. With his cultivation in a Hundred Year Spiritual Tiger Palm and strength from the royal energy, he was able to form the shape of a tiger. It was impressive and evenparable to a 4 Heavenly Gates martial artist! In contrast, the poor and lowly people had to train hard and cultivate in martial arts and spiritual spells. They would take a very long time to reach a certain cultivation level. Qin Yi was only 20. Born with a silver spoon and a high status in the government, he wasparable to a 12th Gate martial artist at his peak. He would still be considered a talent in Da Qian. With his tiger w, the people around witnessing it were all doubtful that Fang Yuan could escape from it. Afterwards, it would be the routine capturing and questioning. "The spirit of a tiger? Spiritual technique? Martial arts? Interesting! Really interesting!" Fang Yuan raised his right fist and countered his w. "Bang!" His fist was ordinary-looking and there was no white tiger behind him. It was iparable to Qin Yi¡¯s tiger w. However, after a loud bang, Qin Yi eximed as his right arm shattered. He flew backwards. "Aw! Aw!" Behind him, the spirit of the white tiger was making noises as though it wanted to protect its owner. "What the hell is this?" Fang Yuan looked at all of them as though they were not worth his time. "Get... lost!" "Rumble!" As the energy in him surged, his temperature rose and his blood gushed around in his veins. From him, there was the sound of a huge river gushing its way downstream and he was like a human furnace. As he shouted, the white tiger eximed and exploded into sparkles. "What... what the hell!" The soldiers around were stunned." A punch and a shout were all it needed to defeat the envoy from the Six Gates, the reincarnation of the white tiger, Qin Yi? And the person who defeated him was a small servant? Illusion! It must be an illusion! "This is impossible..." Qin Yiid on the floor and shouted with embarrassment. "You are using... martial arts?! How is this possible?" In this realm, it was a hard and tedious process to cultivate in martial arts. Therefore, it was always being belittled. Even though there were a few people who were at the cultivation level of sect masters, Qin Yi did not put a single one of them to heart. This was until he met Fang Yuan! After a punch, he was sure that he did not harness the strength of his zodiac! If he did, they could suppress his zodiac¡¯s strength with the help of the Mountain God. A simple fist without drawing strength from external sources gave him a new understanding. Even the simplest martial arts could be so powerful! Unfortunately, Fang Yuan could not understand a single word he was saying. By looking at his expression, Fang Yuan could still understand what was going through in his mind. "Ah... I knew it. It is troublesome to bridge thenguage barrier. Fortunately..... I have you guys!" Fang Yuan looked around and smiled. "Get up!" Seeing their envoy on the ground, the soldiers were a little afraid. However, they still obeyed and got to their feet. Not just that, the array which they formed was glowing. It was able to harness strength from the heavens and earth, which resembled elemental force a little. "No... Rather than describing it as elemental force, I should call it miniature elemental force! This is because they can only draw strength from this forest!!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. The difference between elemental force and miniature elemental force was the difference between an 11th Gate martial artist and a Wu Zong! Therefore, after gathering his elemental force, he struck another punch out. "Rumble!" As the air exploded, a wave of heat spread. The trees and grass fell. Even ayer of the ground was shaved off as dust flew about. As everything settled down, there was a pile of unconscious soldiers lying about. "What did you do? Don¡¯te over..." Seeing Fang Yuan approaching him, Qin Yi slowly crawled backwards and appeared flustered. "I knew it... you are not human! You are being possessed by that evil Deity Feng!" "What I pity! I don¡¯t understand a single word you are saying!" With a face of regret, Fang Yuan shook his head. Swiftly, he struck Qin Yi, making him unconscious. With his right index finger, he pointed in between Qin Yi¡¯s eyebrows. "Dream essing!" The dreamsted for 10,000 years. Within moments, Fang Yuan witnessed Qin Yi¡¯s life from a 3rd person¡¯s perspective. From his innocent days while he was a child to his discovery of his zodiac sign, then to his smooth career in the government¡¯s office into the Six Gates. Finally, vices consumed him as his personality changed. Fang Yuan¡¯s motive was to learn thenguage of the Hui Realm. Along the way, he learnt about the zodiacs, gods and royal energy. "The zodiac of a white tiger would allow him to train a Spiritual Tiger Palm?" In the Hui Realm, Fang Yuan opened his eyes and looked at Qin Yi¡¯s ws. Indeed, the bones in his arms were thicker than normal. "Unfortunately... the path of the zodiacs is too reliant on external strength!" Fang Yuan shook his head. Looking at Qin Yi¡¯s personality, even a martial artist of 4 Heavenly Gates from Da Qian would be able to defeat him easily. "Regardless, it is still a quick way to cultivate such power. Compared to martial arts which would require patience and a lot of hard work, this path would surely be more attractive, especially for the people of higher status with ess to the royal energy!" It was best to be able to control one¡¯s own strength and power independently. The cultivation on the path of zodiac would require a lot of resources and the approval from the royal family. Additionally, through Shinto, cultivation on the path of zodiac was the preferred choice over cultivating in martial arts and spiritual spells. "Zodiacs are the heart of how energy is transferred in the Hui Realm. It is through thebination of the royal energy. Without these sources of energy, one would lose their strength. This would be a good way to have control over the cultivators." "Qin Yi was young and was even a Silver Badge Constable. His status is still considered low and therefore the help he had was limited! He should be around the same status as a 7th Grade official... If it was a 1st Grade official in the Lie Country, with thebination of their zodiacs, he would surely be able to obtain elemental force or even achieve the Elemental Opening Realm!" "Other than self-cultivation, there is another path of cultivation in Hui Realm! That is Shinto! To be epted by the gods, the person would have to submit himself to the royal family. Otherwise, it would be ssified under the worship of evil gods and he would be captured!" ... As his thoughts whirred in his mind, Fang Yuan scanned the peaceful forest and scoffed. "You stalked me before and now you help them secretly. Do you think you can hide from me? Mountain God,e out! Do you want to force me to burn down this ce?" "Aww!" Within seconds, there was a change in the forest. Eyes appeared amidst the vegetation. It was a pack of wolves. With the appearance of the wolves, other animals began to appear as well. All of them remained silent and appeared in an orderly fashion, which makes the entire scene creepy. "Oh?" Seeing the animals, Fang Yuan shook his head. "It seems that there is a huge difference in power between the good and evil. Are you only capable of this, Mountain God?" Chapter 239: Realm Energy Chapter 239: Realm Energy Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The strength of Shinto would gradually grow and they would control a certain area. Fang Yuan was clear of this. Take for instance the Mountain God. If it were to pay attention, it would be able to know everything that happened within the Zhuobie Mountain. It could even transfer its strength and assist government officials who were within Zhuobie Mountain. This was seen in the increased strength of the array formed by the soldiers previously. If the Mountain God did not help in the dark, the array would not have been so strong as to harness miniature elemental force. Furthermore, it would know about all the treasures in the mountain. All animals would have to listen to its orders and its power was limitless. However, it was still weak. After all, it was considered a Yin Spirit. It would be difficult for it to be exposed in the realm for long. Of course, as a god, it could still temporarily break these constraints. Wouldn¡¯t it be giving itself away by revealing itself in front of Fang Yuan? Therefore, it could only y a supporting role and incite the animals within the mountains without showing itself. "Not just that... for such a god to continue existing, it would require approval from the royal family. With the high casualty rate of government officials every year and theck of government positions, it would be hard to strike a bnce between this two. Therefore, in Shinto, thepetition is tough... This is seen between the Mountain God in Zhuobie Mountain and Chenghuang God." Fang Yuan had freshly obtained these pieces of information from Qin Yi¡¯s memories through dream essing. "The Mountain God of Zhuobie Mountain was a 1st official in its past life and had led a respectable life. Furthermore, his disciples were all capable. This was why it had gained approval from the royal family... Interestingly, this had happened hundreds of years ago..." Seeing an army formed by the animals, Fang Yuan fiddled with a blood-red sword essence and sighed. "What a pity... I don¡¯t want to live such a life!" "Whoosh!" In his actualised dream world, the vague imagery of the 8 Gates Sword Array shook, and the fire sword glowed brilliantly. "Whoosh!" In a moment, a red sword essence exploded around Fang Yuan like raindrops. "Chi! Chi!" As blood sttered around, shrieks from the animals were heard amidst a fiery glow! Even though Fang Yuan had yet to actualise theplete fire-type divine troops, just the sword essence was enough to hurt an adversary as strong as a Wu Zong! As the illusionary swords flew out, animals and vegetation alike were caught in a burning inferno. This fire was not normal fire but spiritual fire. There were sparkles within the blood-red sword essence. As the essence spread, mes broke out everywhere. In the burning inferno, there was a weak cry. Within moments, it was no longer heard. "Is it really so weak?" Although he knew that Shinto was weak, he was a little confused after personally experiencing itself. There was an illusionary red sword in his hands. Dragons were carved on the sword¡¯s handle and there was a greenish hue to it. It was translucent and extremely simr to the one he had in his actualised dream world. "I was saving this sword for the god. Who knew that it would be so useless..." Fang Yuan shook his head, turned around and disappeared into the horizon. After half a day, government officials finally rushed their way here. All of them were left speechless. ... "It is impossible for Feng Xinzi andpany to take any treasures from the Hui Realm..." Leaving Zhuobie Mountain, he quickly regained his strength as he started to think to himself. "Even the unique techniques here can only be studied upon but not brought back as the two worlds are ultimately different... Unless a specific treasure can be made illusionary and taken into their souls to be brought back... If that is so, there is only one such thing! Realm energy!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. To dream masters, anything physical would be a burden. Only treasures which were illusionary were worth keeping! Realm energy would fulfil this criterion! "Based on the description of Hui Realm, there is realm energy between Heaven and Earth. It is the source of everything. In a country, there is a country¡¯s realm energy. In the wilderness, there are spiritual realm energies and earth realm energies! A country would depend on its country¡¯s realm energy in order to transfer energy to government officials to strengthen them. However, Huangchengs Gods, Mountain Gods and River Gods would need to rely on realm energies to survive..." "Most importantly, if the realm energy can be absorbed, then it can be brought along with the soul!" If Feng Xinzi and the rest didn¡¯t have any other motives, this would be the most probable conclusion. With this guess, Fang Yuan knew what he had to do. After two days. On a green rock, energy surged around Fang Yuan. Three spiritual meridians formed on his body. He had recovered all the cultivation he had in Da Qian. "Indeed... my unique ability would allow me to quickly recover my cultivation regardless of the physical body I am in." He stood up and looked at his stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 36 Spirit: 30 Magic: 21 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (1st Tier), Wu Zong (3rd Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 4) (1%)], Hundred Poison Golden Body (1st Refining), [8 Gates Sword Array (1st Sword) (10%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" As he fidgeted, the joints in his body started to crack loudly. "Finally, I¡¯ve recovered all my abilities. It¡¯s suffocating to feel bound for so long!" Fang Yuan had a premonition that this unique ability of his would bring him far in the future! "Considering their affluence, Fang Xinzi andpany would surely not go after the small realm energies!" "This would leave them with the bigger mountains and rivers with concentrated earth realm energies. If they can absorb those realm energies into their soul, they would be able to bring it back to Da Qian as a form of... resource for cultivation?" Fang Yuan started to think deeper. "If I had known, I shouldn¡¯t have killed the Mountain God, but captured it and do some research on it!" Based on his cultivation, he was qualified enough to seal the Mountain God¡¯s realm energy butcked the technique to go about doing it. After all, this was the first time that Feng Xinzi had asked him toe along. Why would he share his knowledge without reservations? "Luckily, three months is a long time. I have all the opportunities to try!" Fang Yuan gazed into the sky and appeared deep in thought. ... Golden Dragon Lake. This was the biggestke in Lie Country and stretched across a few counties. By leveraging on transport over theke, people had a good chance of survival by settling around theke. Of course, the most famous thing about theke was the Water God, Golden Dragon God! This God was famous since a long time ago. It was approved by the previous royal family and had a lot of experience. By harnessing the realm energy from the hugeke, it survived the previous wars which led to the uprising of Lie Country. In the growing years of the country, the country had sent envoys to check on theke. The Golden Dragon God was still powerful and could reveal itself even in broad daylight. Therefore, it was still approved but in fact, it was the country¡¯s attempt to establish good rtions with it. "This god is one of the elders in Shinto!" It seemed to Fang Yuan that by riding to the country¡¯s realm energy, the king of Lie Country had resorted to killing the low-levelled gods like Huangcheng God. However, ancient gods such as the Golden Dragons God, who harnessed middle-tier realm energy, could defend itself. Therefore, it was not worth the effort of the country to kill it. Therefore, the Golden Dragon God was a strong god among the Shintos in Lie Country. It was not only an elder but was the leader of a group of Water Gods and was rather influential. With a target, Fang Yuan executed his lightness skill and rushed his way through a road which was less popted by the natives. As he neared the boundaries of Golden Dragon Lake, he slowed down. After three days, he crossed a mountain peak and arrived at a pier. "Storm Pier?" Looking at an old-fashioned wooden sign, he walked towards a jetty. "Is this Changliu River? I want to hire a boat to bring me to Golden Dragon Lake!" He was speaking the officialnguage of Lie Country, thenguage which Qin Yi spoke. He even had their ent. The fishermen around looked at him. "Young man, do you want to go to Golden Dragon Lake? It is a two-day journey and will cost you 20 coins!" The coins in Lie Country were shaped like tiny knives, and there was a tiny hole at the end of the knives, to provide convenience by allowing it to be strung together. Fang Yuan took out 20 knife-looking coins. These were contributions from the soldiers he had killed and were new and shiny looking. "Young man, you are indeed from the capital! What generosity!" The new coins were limited in production and were worth two old coins. As the fishermen looked at the coins, their eyes glittered. As they exchanged nces, an old fisherman walked out. "If you don¡¯t mind, take my boat!" "Oh, you are..." Fang Yuan examined him. The fisherman was in his 40s. However, due to the fact that he was physically strained, his hair was white and he looked older than his age. His fingers were rough and seemed strong, giving him the appearance of a good coxswain. "What is your name? Call me Yu Da!" Old Yu chuckled to himself as he brought Fang Yuan to an old-looking boat which looked sturdy. He weighed the anchor, opened the sails and sailed out of the harbour. He seemed extremely familiar with what he was doing. "Eh? Have you awaken your zodiac?" As Fang Yuan squinted his eyes, he could see that there was a shroud of water-type energy around Yu Da¡¯s body, making him look like a ck fish. "You are right! My zodiac is a ck carp and I was fortunate enough to absorb a ck carp¡¯s scale in my younger days. It didn¡¯t help me much except to allow me to swim better and feel the water better..." Yu Daughed to himself. Considering the fact that he was not gifted and had no backing, it was already rather impressive for him to reach such a stage. Even so, without assistance from the government, it would be extremely hard for him to achieve a breakthrough. He was only a tad bit stronger than the average human. The boat sailed in the direction of the stream which made it rather fast. Fang Yuan casually engaged in a conversation with Yu Da. "Why are you going to Golden Dragon Lake?" "To pray to the gods!" "I see!" Yu Da pushed his chest out proudly. "Our Golden Dragon God is the most responsive! That is..." As he continued, his face started to appear solemn and remained speechless as he stared at the surface of the water. ¡¯The gods under him often bring trouble to the people...¡¯ Fang Yuan thought to himself. ¡¯This is already nearing the region of Golden Dragon Lake. Of course you wouldn¡¯t dare to speak your mind...¡¯ Chapter 240: Uncle River Chapter 240: Uncle River Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions There were monkey shrieks from both sides of the river bank, as the boat sailed through the mountains. It took only a day before the surroundings around the boat started to change drastically. The mountainous ridge became shorter and shorter and finally, it became a t ground. Changliu River became wider and wider and could no longer be called a river, for it resembled something more like a channel. "Where is this?" Looking at the scenery on both sides, Fang Yuan enquired. "This is Golden Sun City, and the river we are on is called the Golden Dragon River. We are not far from Golden Dragon Lake now..." Yu Da chuckled. "This area doesn¡¯t seem to be very peaceful..." Fang Yuan pointed to the riverbank. "That is..." As Yu Da looked over, his expression changed. There was a group of people crowding around the riverbank. They seemed to be praying and there were asional crying sounds. A youngdy who was dressed up was being sent into the river on a wooden raft. The raft was not sturdy. If it were to reach the centre of the river, under the pressure from the surging river, it would surely break apart. By then, the young girl on the raft would likely be a meal for the fishes. Of course, if her soul was captured in the process, it would be worse. "Praying to Uncle River?" Yu Da was pale. "What a sin... If I knew that something like this would happen, I wouldn¡¯t have sailed on this boat. What if we anger the Dragon King?" He whispered the words ¡¯sin¡¯. If not for Fang Yuan¡¯s strong hearing ability, he would have missed out as well. "Praying to Uncle River?" Fang Yuan made a shock expression. "Isn¡¯t Uncle River a god? Why do they need to offer him sacrifices? To make matters worse, the worst form of sacrifice, a human being?" "This practice of Uncle River¡¯s Marriage dated back to a long time ago. However, this year¡¯s ceremony is already over. It seems like something bad had happened on the river, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t resort to this..." Yu Da sighed. Helplessly, their boat drifted close to the river bank, allowing them to witness everything clearly. On the shore, incense were lighted and paper offerings were drifting about in the sky. A few sorceresses were performing a ritual. As the moment arrived, the youngdy was wailing as the raft she was on was being pushed out to the river. "Let¡¯s wait it out. If we continue our journey now, it is disrespectful to Uncle River!" Witnessing this scene, Yu Da refused to budge. Not just that, he also started to kowtow on his boat. "Dragon King, we have no ill intentions, please forgive us! Please forgive us!" "Really..." Fang Yuan shook his head and was speechless. Looking at the river surface, he could clearly see the silhouette of thedy on the rafts. She was around 18. Even with makeup on, she had a childish look on her face. Although she was not crying, her eyes were filled with tears as she looked over to a couple in despair. "Kacha! Kacha!" The raft was already built to break down under pressure. Now that it had arrived in the middle of the river, it started to break apart. A dark shadow was formed directly under the river. It was mysterious-looking which made the youngdy shudder in fear. "Is this offering ceremony an annual thing?" Witnessing this scene, Fang Yuan gave a look of displeasure. "Once a year would be the minimum. If there were any natural disasters, they would perform it again... What are you doing?" Yu Da was exining casually about the ritual. However, as soon as he saw Fang Yuan leaping into the water, he was stunned. "What am I doing?" Fang Yuan smiled. Fang Yuan¡¯s legs were firmly nted onto the water surface and remained unmoved as the waves swept across. "To save someone, naturally!" Although he nned to find trouble for the Golden Dragon God, it was still a good thing to save someone. "Save... save... someone!" From the moment Yu Da saw Fang Yuan standing on the water surface, he knew that he was someone special. As he was holding in his shock, he stuttered. He was filled with regret! Just because he wanted to earn some money, he infuriated the Water Gods! How could he ever think of working here next time? If the heavens would give him another chance, he would surely not do business with Fang Yuan/ Unfortunately, there was no such thing as a second chance. As Yu Da looked across the water, he could see Fang Yuan strutting towards the raft. "Youngdy... what is your name?" "I..." The youngdy was stunned. "I¡¯m Ling¡¯er!" As a final wave crashed into the raft, it shattered into many pieces. "Come! Grab hold of my hand!" Fang Yuan stretched out his hand. "Do you want to be fed to the fishes?" "Whoosh!" At this moment, another wave struck. Amidst the screaming of the youngdy, Fang Yuan could feel an icy cold hand grabbing on to his own arm. "Very well, it seems that you still want to live!" Fang Yuan did not bring the girl back to the river bank. After all, from their stupidity, even if the youngdy were to return, she would surely be sent out as sacrifice again. Furthermore, by saving the youngdy, Fang Yuan angered the spirits in the water. "Whoosh!" Seeing that their offering was being snatched away in front of their eyes, the shadows under the water were enraged. They started to send tsunamis on the water surface. Suddenly, there was a whirlpool in the middle of the river which slowly grew in size, drawing Fang Yuan in. "You are as insignificant as a grain of rice, and yet you dare to glitter like a pearl?" Fang Yuan snickered and flicked his finger. "Whoosh!" A red-coloured sword essence appeared in struck the bottom of the river. Although his fire-type sword essence was being restrained by the water, it was still nheless destructive. "Bloop! Bloop!" The shadow beneath them shook. Slowly, bubbles began to emerge from below, followed by a huge ck fish that was 8 inches long. With its belly facing the sky, there was a huge hole in it where blood was flowing out from. "Indeed a spirit... However, based on the perspective of the people in this realm, it should be a spiritual animal, right?!" Fang Yuan took a quick nce at Yu Da. If he did not lie, then his cultivation could begin from the moment he took in the scale from a ck carp. Indeed, after seeing this huge fish, Yu Da appeared uneasy. By the looks of it, he would be considered mentally strong if he did not faint after seeing the dead fish. "It... is dead? Is this... Uncle River?" Ling¡¯er was stuttering but could still be understood. "Uncle River? Lady... you think too much! It is just an animal!" Fang Yuan rolled his eyes and waved his hand. "Chi!" On the river surface, it was as though another sun appeared. The continuously burning fire-type sword essence was like an arrow as it shot down into the water. Blood spread everywhere on the surface of the river as many fishes and crustaceans alike floated about. All of them were dead. "Oww..." Seeing all the dead fishes, Ling¡¯er turned pale and felt nauseous. On the riverbank, the few people who were performing the ritual were dumbfounded. There could not believe what they had just seen. Uncle River, who had pressured them for many years, making them sacrifice so many youngdies, just died like that? "He is dead! Uncle River would not let him off!" The sorceresses were spouting nonsense as they started to curse Fang Yuan. "Whoosh!" In the next moment, a huge spiritual aura appeared from the river. "Who was it?" "Who dares to undermine the power of Uncle River of the Golden Dragon River?" "Who was it?" "Who dares to kill my crustaceans army?" ... As a strong energy surged through the surroundings, a whirlpool exploded, revealing a golden glow which slowly formed the shape of a human in golden armour. "Human, are you going against the agreement between Lie Country and my people?" This person¡¯s form was illusionary and it was wearing gold armour. There were golden scales on its face and two long beards. All of these gave it a vibe of royalty. As it waved its hands, a strong pressure was felt. The pressure exertedbined with a mysterious force which seemed to being from inside of it, striking fear in all lifeforms in the vicinity. "You are Uncle River of this river? You are the Dragon King in the legends...?" Fang Yuan looked at the person in front of him with curiosity. "That¡¯s right!" The golden-armoured Uncle River remarked in a proud voice. "You have disturbed my auspicious event and killed my crustacean army. I will skin you and use you as oil to be burnt for three years!" "Keke..." Fang Yuanughed. Looking at the golden-armoured Uncle River, he had coldness in his eyes. "It seems that the Golden Dragon Lake has given you too much protection. How dare you even appear before me?" "What do you mean?" Uncle River felt that something was not right. With the wave of his hands, the river surged and thousands of water arrows were flying towards Fang Yuan. Not just that, there was a defensive wall in front of him made from water crystals. This level of water-type spiritual spells wasparable to an elementary spiritual knight. But to Fang Yuan, in response to the water arrows, he waved his right hand. An illusionary red sword appeared in his hands as it swayed in the air. "Whoosh!" The water arrows exploded in mid-air. Under the illumination of a red glow, the water fell downwards like rain. It was as though all of what had happened was just hallucination. A sword to counter everything! Although Fang Yuan¡¯s swordsmanship was only elementary, he could strengthen it with dream elemental force. With divine troops, sword essence and his own martial arts, it wasparable to the highest level of swordsmanship in the legends. "The previous Mountain God of Zhuobie Mountain was not as daring as you to reveal himself to me!" Aftermenting, he struck his sword out. "Whoosh!" There was a red glow. A red glow struck through the defensive wall of water crystals and into the chest of the golden-armoured man. "How dare you..." The golden-armoured man looked down in disbelief. "My father will take revenge for me..." "Idi*t!" Without reservation, Fang Yuan pulled his sword back out. Soon after, the image of the golden-armoured man vanished as it became a golden carp. The carp was only three inches long but all of its scales were golden in colour. More significantly, there were two long whiskers on its mouth, making in extraordinary. Fang Yuan did not care about all these. At Uncle River¡¯s moment of death, he released his spiritual will and covered the golden carp in dream elemental force. "Where is the source of the realm energy?" Chapter 241: Dragon Realm Energy Chapter 241: Dragon Realm Energy Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Although the Uncle River the golden carp was not the Golden Dragon God, it was still a Water God and had the attributes of a dragon. Or to put it in another word, it had the blood of the Golden Dragon God. With such a status and the fact that it took ownership of a region, it would surely have the protection of the Dragon God. Therefore, Fang Yuan quickly isted its corpse and used his dream elemental force to attempt to keep it within his own actualised dream world. Of course, a physical object like the corpse was impossible to be contained within the actualised dream world. As the air around it vibrated, the corpse exploded and a loud bang was heard. At the same time, Fang Yuan¡¯s expression changed. He did gain something in his actualised dream world. Before the carp exploded, a small white hint of realm energy appeared and quickly dissipated. The small tail of the carp was caught and thrown into the actualised dream world. "Condense!" Within the actualised dream world, Fang Yuan¡¯s true self appeared. He stretched out his right hand. The air trembled and white streaks condensed on his palm, forming half the portion of realm energy. It was a pure white and was wriggling like an earthworm. "If not for my ability to control my own actualised dream world, I might just let it disappear. Would the realm energy disappear the moment it is released? Could this be... natural realm energy?" Fang Yuan sighed. What was left in his hands was less than half the amount of realm energy from Uncle River. He was already quick to capture the realm energy, but most of it had dissipated before he could keep it. The amount of realm energy which Uncle River had was given to him by the Golden Dragon God, and might not even be 1% of what the Golden Dragon God had. "What can I do with 0.5% of realm energy?" After a long sigh, he opened his hands and released the realm energy. Feng Xinzi and the few others were likely to being for this energy, so there must be some use for it. If realm energy was released, it would dissipate quickly and disappear. "Are there no changes?" Fang Yuan looked at the size and height of his actualised dream world and shook his head. Suddenly, he nced at his stats window: "[8 Gates Sword Array (First Sword) (11%)]" "There is an increase of 1% for the Leaving Fire Sword?" Fang Yuan rubbed his chin and looked at his Leaving Fire Sword, which seemed to have not changed. If not for the proficiency bar in his stats window, he would not even be aware of such a minor change. "I¡¯ve gained 1% from such a small amount of realm energy. What should I expect after getting the realm energy from Golden Dragon Lake?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. "The difficulty level for the other swords should be different from the Leaving Fire Sword, but it should allow me to actualise a true Leaving Fire Divine Soldier and begin on my next step for the next sword, right?" "Although I don¡¯t know the reason why Feng Xinzi and the rest are after the realm energy, to me, it is enough to know that I can increase my cultivation through it!" "I am justcking in a technique to seal the realm energy!" If he used brute force, even if he could painstakingly kill the Golden Dragon God, he would lose more than half of its realm energy. How could he bear to let it go to waste? Therefore, he had to obtain the technique to seal realm energy! Since Feng Xinzi and the rest had already nned for the exploration mission in this realm a long time ago, they must be prepared. Fang Yuan closed his eyes and returned to reality. The river was surging. Although he had manyplicated thoughts in his dream world, it was only a blink of an eye in the reality. Regardless if it was Ling¡¯er who was beside him or Yu Da who was frightened to his wits, or even the crowd at the riverbank, none of them could react to what had just happened. Uncle River was killed! Since the ession of Golden Dragon God, nothing like that had ever happened! "Let¡¯s go!" Fang Yuan was not interested in themotion at the riverbank and directlymanded Ling¡¯er. Her eyes were filled with dismay, but she did not resist Fang Yuan. After all, she knew that regardless of how things would turn out, it would not be appropriate for her to return... ... After three days, at Golden Dragon Lake. Theke was extremely vast and deep. On the surface of theke, there was a thinyer of fog. Many small inds were within theke, housing many ind dwellers who would only worship the Golden Dragon God. They were like their own country and even Lie Country could do nothing about it. Along the sides of theke, in a restaurant, Fang Yuan ordered a pot of wine, a few dishes and enjoyed himself there. As for Ling¡¯er, he had given her some money and let her off. After all, he only wanted to help her for the sake of helping her, and it was a small issue. As for the Golden Dragon Lake, there was peace after the death of Uncle River, the golden carp. This surprised Fang Yuan. "He must be extremely nervous inside, right? I¡¯m sure he is preparing for my arrival?" Fang Yuan finished hisst cup of wine and stood up, preparing to pay for the bill. At this moment, he twitched a little before slowly sitting down again, smiling. "Deng! Deng!" As footsteps were heard, two people walked down from the wooden staircase from the upper floors. Seeing Fang Yuan, their expression remained unchanged as they walked over. "Brother Fang!" It was a man and a woman. The man looked like a martial artist while the woman was a beautifuldy. It was Venerable Fiery Dragon and Deity Clear Lotus. Of course, even though they had already gotten used to their bodies, they flinched in uneasiness as they met someone familiar. After greeting each other, they promptly joined him at the table. As the brute looking martial artist which Deity Clear Lotus was possessing waved his hands, ayer of mist appeared. From outside, people could only see three friends happily chatting. "Alright, we can speak without a worry now!" Deity Clear Lotus looked at Fang Yuan. "It has been a few days and Brother Fang has already aplished something big!" "Hmph..." Venerable Fiery Dragon scoffed. "You killed Uncle River, the golden carp! Do you know how much trouble that would bring to our n?" "I have no idea!" Fang Yuan shrugged his shoulders and gave an innocent look. "Didn¡¯t we agree to split up and do whatever we want? How would I know who your target would be?" Venerable Fiery Dragon was stunned. In fact, he had already discussed this with Deity Clear Lotus that the main objective would be to take down Golden Dragon God. This was why they came straight to Golden Dragon Lake. After hearing the news of Uncle River being killed, they quickly came out from hiding without a regard for anything. Little did they know that Fang Yuan was new to this ce. Furthermore, since they did not discuss the ¡¯big n¡¯ with him, it was only normal that something like that would happen. "As for you guys..." Fang Yuan was infuriated. "Both of you know that realm energy is extremely beneficial. Why did you hide this fact from me?" As he raged, the air around shook as though there was a strong source of energy. Deity Clear Lotus looked at Venerable Fiery Dragon and were shocked. "Your cultivation level... How much have you recovered?" "About 30% to 40%?" Fang Yuan lied through his teeth. "Keke... We have only heard about realm energy from Su Guo. Before confirming it, we did not dare to do anything reckless..." Deity Clear Lotus tried to salvage the situation, but Fang Yuan did not believe anything that she said. "If this is so, then Feng Xinzi and Yu Tiao would also target this ce, right? Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered as he asked. "No, Feng Xinzi is much more greedier... As for Yu Tiao, she is rather mysterious and no one would ever know what she is up to..." Venerable Fiery Dragon looked at Fang Yuan and felt that he was too mysterious to be understood. "Brother!" As for Deity Clear Lotus, she waved her hands weingly. "It is fate that we are able to meet Brother Fang. Let¡¯s count him in, shall we? After all, it¡¯s good to have another person helping out! Looking at the situation at Golden Dragon Lake, I¡¯m afraid just the two of us won¡¯t be able to handle it!" "That¡¯s true!" After a long silence, Venerable Fiery Dragon nodded his head. "Oh, thank you for your generosity!" Fang Yuan ced his fists together and acted like he was appreciative. In a short while, after their exchanges and lies, it was weird that they could still get along. "That¡¯s right... Brother Fang, your guess is correct. Both of us are here for the Golden Dragon God, or should I say... the realm energy within the 800-mile radius of the Golden Dragon Lake!" Deity Clear Lotus nodded her head. "After my research, I found out that the realm energy would not only aid us in our cultivation in the Illusionary Divine Stage, it would also have miraculous effects in smelting weapons and doing alchemy!" "The only problem is that it is hard to obtain and hard to contain..." Fang Yuan shook his head and sighed. "Looking at how things are, I¡¯m guessing that you have lost more than half of the realm energy from killing Uncle River, right?" Deity Clear Lotus bit her lips and smiled. "I can teach you a technique to contain the realm energy. Let this be a sign of my sincerity for working with us!" "Hmph... The golden carp, Uncle River, is the third child of Golden Dragon God and has his love. If we were the ones to contain the realm energy, we would surely be able to contain 90% of it!" Venerable Fiery Dragon spoke in a regretful tone. "Haha... Forgive me for my recklessness!" Fang Yuan smiled. "Since Deity Clear Lotus have expressed her sincerity and both of you are going after the Golden Dragon God, I¡¯ll listen to all of yourmands!" "That¡¯s great!" Deity Clear Lotus was jubnt. "With the addition of Brother Fang, I am extremely confident we¡¯ll make it work this time!" Fang Yuan was rather confused that Venerable Fiery Dragon did not rebut Deity Clear Lotus¡¯sment. It seems that the power of Golden Dragon God was much more than he had imagined. Indeed, Deity Clear Lotus started to describe Golden Dragon God¡¯s abilities. "Under this god, there is Uncle River, Patrolling Ghost and others. Most importantly, we have to contain the realm energy of Golden Dragon Lake. It is as powerful as 3 or 4 dream masters in the Illusionary Divine stagebined, and even Feng Xinzi is afraid of facing the Golden Dragon God alone... However, it is most troublesome when these beings are within their territories, as they would be strengthened by their realm energies. For instance, The king of Lie Country would be strengthened by the country¡¯s realm energy, which makes him invincible against many spiritual spells. Even Yu Tiao could do nothing to him..." "I see!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. "In fact, the realm energy in Hui Realm has appeared in Da Qian before, but in a different form!" Venerable Fiery Dragon added on. "For instance, if the royal family of Da Qian did not have protection from the heavens and the control of the dragon energy, it would already be overrun by the crazy people from the Evil Divine Sect and the Divine Lotus Cult." "Protection from the heavens, control of the dragon energy?" Fang Yuan started to think about it and slowly began to understand the backing of the royal family of Da Qian. "Mmm, the king of Lie Country is equivalent to a small Da Qian Emperor... With the realm energy of the country, we cannot go near him. However, if we are able to take his realm energy...." There was a hint of temptation in Deity Clear Lotus¡¯s voice. Chapter 242: Bait and Kill Chapter 242: Bait and Kill Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Dragon God Ind. The ind was situated in the depths of Golden Dragon Lake. On it, there was thergest temple, built to worship the Golden Dragon God. It was under the protection of many strong believers who lived nearby. These ind dwellers live among the inds in theke and depend on the Golden Dragon God for survival. Their establishments on theke were shocking and even the king of Lie Country could do nothing about it. "Just on Dragon God Ind itself, there are already about 10,000 people living on it, and a standing army!" Fang Yuan and the two other dream masters approached the ind, and their eyes were glittering. One month had already passed since the three of them had met. With they own secret techniques, Venerable Fiery Dragon and Deity Clear Lotus went all out and recovered more than half of what they originally had. To recover even more of their abilities, they were met with all sorts of restrictions. Compared to Fang Yuan¡¯s unique ability, the difference was obvious. At some point, he even felt that he could take the both of them down. Of course, that only remained as a thought. Through the past month, they had collected quite a lot of information regarding Golden Dragon Lake. Finally, the three of them could not hold it back any longer and started to n their attack. "Within theke and especially at the Dragon God Ind, the Golden Dragon God would be able to use its full strength, and he would be further strengthened by the realm energy..." Fang Yuan shook his head. "We should not fight him here." "Of course we wouldn¡¯t!" Venerable Fiery Dragon gazed at Dragon God Ind with a serious look and raised his hands. "Chirp! Chirp!" A few red sparrowsnded on his arms and chirped cheerfully. However, Venerable Fiery Dragon remained with his serious look, as though he had received new information. "How¡¯s it?" Deity Clear Lotus asked. "The defence on Dragon God Ind is tight. Even my secret technique to spy on them was discovered! We cannot go in by brute force!" Venerable Fiery Dragon continued to look solemn and shook his head. "If that is so, then the only way is to attract him out of his nest!" Both of them looked at Fang Yuan. Seeing their reactions, Fang Yuan rolled his eyes. "Shouldn¡¯t you keep your promises?" "Alright!" Venerable Fiery Dragon patted his own chest. "I will transfer you 100 contribution points when we get back!" "I¡¯ll give you the technique to seal the realm energy now!" Deity Qinghe passed her white-coloured inscription te over. "Alright!" Fang Yuan took the inscription te and ced it on his forehead. Immediately, he received a huge transcript of the technique. "I¡¯ll verify it on my own. If there are no problems with it, we can carry on with our n three dayster!" "That¡¯s good!" Venerable Fiery Dragon exchanged mysterious nces with Deity Clear Lotus. ... Three dayster, on Dragon God Ind. "Roar! Roar!" In the temple, a figure with the head of a dragon and the body of a human let out a terrifying roar. It was simr to that of a tiger or leopard¡¯s roar, with the vibe of a God. On Dragon God Ind, people and animals alike would kneel down and pay their respects to the Golden Dragon God. "Dragon God is here!" In the temple, a priest was wearing a colourful but scaly hide. There were even scales on his face. He was in meditation, as though he was listening out for something. Quickly, he turned around and announced: "The mighty Golden Dragon God had passed down a decree! The person who killed his son, the golden carp, is here at Golden Dragon Lake... Find him and kill him! Bring his head back as an offering!" "Wuuu! Wuuu!" Many ind dwellers shouted in fury as they started to paddle their boats and took their leave from the ind. ... At the border of Golden Dragon Lake. "Shing!" Fang Yuan pointed his finger out like a sword and struck at random. In front of him, there was a huge tortoise. As the sword essence struck through its shell, green blood started to flow out. "Five ces and Ten Earths, Seal!!!" He struck his left palm on the shell of the tortoise. "Buzz!" A glow appeared and a small amount of realm energy was visible. As it struggled to escape, it was contained by the runes around. Slowly, the space around it shrunk and finally, it became like an earthworm, which was subsequently thrown into Fang Yuan¡¯s actualised dream world. "This technique is really simple..." The n which Deity Clear Lotus and Venerable Fiery Dragon came up with was to use Fang Yuan¡¯s identity as a bait. He would enter the Golden Dragon Lake and attract the ind dwellers out before killing them. As long as the damage they could create was huge enough without disying any real threat to the Golden Dragon God, he would surely appear to stop them! What if he would decide to be a cowardly tortoise? They would kill their way in until the Golden Dragon God wouldn¡¯t be able to take it!" Previously when Fang Yuan killed the golden carp, he sealed his own spiritual aura, which made him undetectable. With his sudden revtion, he attracted thisrge tortoise and the other crustacean army. ¡¯This is not right... you¡¯re overdoing it!" Beside him, a red sparrow was chirping. "You need to fight and run at the same time, convincing the Golden Dragon God that he has the ability to take you down. The best would be to injure yourself and force him toe out of hiding, making himself vulnerable!" "I know..." Fang Yuan waved his hands in annoyance but he was panicky inside. If Venerable Fiery Dragon were to be a trickster, he would be rather sessful. "And also... The realm energy..." The red sparrow stared at Fang Yuan as though it was begging for an earthworm to eat. "Whoever killed it shall have it!" Fang Yuan rejected him without hesitation, turned around and took his leave. "Whoosh!" At the small river near them, a ssh appeared and a huge green prawn crawled up the shore. With its two huge ws, it started to snap at Fang Yuan. "Another one who is looking for death!" Fang Yuan looked across theke and saw the silhouette of a wooden boat. He smiled. "Chirp! Chirp!" This time, the red bird leapt on his shoulders and chirped into his ears. "Alright, I¡¯ve got it, fight and run at the same time!" Fang Yuan swung his sword out, forming a red moon in the air. Within seconds, he had already chopped off the head of the prawn and started to drag the prawn along with him by its tail. "It¡¯s such a rare sight to see a freshwater prawn this huge! We¡¯re having a good meal tonight." As soon as he walked into a forest, there was a trail of blood behind him. ... Not long after, the news of a person wreaking havoc at Golden Dragon Lake spread. The fishermen could haul up fishes of over ten inches long and huge turtle shells. Of course, they also found remnants of broken boats from the ind dwellers. Many fishermen reported that they had seen the devil before and that it was only a young man. At the same time, the casualty rate on Dragon God Ind steadily crept up. Finally, it was the seventh day. "Roar! Roar!" As a dragon¡¯s roar was heard, the ground gave way. A golden sh of light shot out from the temple and towards the South. South of Golden Dragon Lake. "My God will never let you off!" An ind dweller, who was a Wu Zong, spat out blood. He was highly skilled in martial arts and was at the level of a Wu Zong. With the assistance from other spiritual objects, he wasparable to a Wu Zong in the Meridian Opening Realm. But now, he wasying on the ground like a dead dog. Not long after, he lost his breath and died. "I¡¯ll wait for him!" Fang Yuan breathed heavily, and his body condition had deteriorated. This ind dweller was indeed highly skilled and posed a formidable opponent. This resulted in Fang Yuan having multiple injuries and he was bleeding everywhere, soaking in clothes wet in blood. Of course, this didn¡¯t matter. If he continued to head South and through a mountain, he would be out of the territory of Golden Dragon Lake. If the Golden Dragon King wanted to strike, it would strike now. Fang Yuan revealed a worn-out look and started to close his eyes and meditate. Around him, there were many corpses of the ind dwellers. It was like a massacre and huge volumes of blood filled the ground. It had turned ck and was a nauseous sight to behold. In the hell-like surroundings, Fang Yuan sat in the middle peacefully, which felt confusing. After a short while, Fang Yuan stood up and was prepared to leave. "Rumble!" At this moment, a golden glow appeared and a strong surge of energy exploded! At a small river beside where Fang Yuan was, there was a ck shadow within. It was long like a gigantic snake. "Roar! Roar!" After the roars were heard, there was a huge ssh and a gigantic water dragon appeared. This water dragon had the body of a snake and had four ws. It was green in colour with hints of golden streaks on its back. With its ferocious eyes, he nced at Fang Yuan. "Mortal, was it you who killed my son and destroyed my crustacean army?" "Why do all Gods like such an entry?" Fang Yuan dug his ears. "Regardless... You are still a water dragon, not a dragon!" Fang Yuan was certain that this was the Golden Dragon God. Even though it had the support from the royal family and had been existing for a few hundred years already, it still had insufficient cultivation to be a true dragon. On the contrary, from the water dragon¡¯s eyes, he could only feel that he was evil and cruel. "It seems that the gods in this realm are problematic. If you continue to rule with fear and control your followers, how can you think about achieving something big in the future?" Fang Yuan shook his head and looked at the red sparrow. "Alright, you can make the first move. Deity Clear Lotus and I will make the necessary arrangements to block his path!" Fang Yuan could hear Venerable Fiery Dragon¡¯s voice in his mind. "What audacity!" Without a doubt, Fang Yuan¡¯s indifferent attitude had infuriated the Golden Dragon God. With a water dragon¡¯s roar, the Golden Dragon God grew in size and struck a huge w above Fang Yuan. "Rumble!" Fang Yuan quickly dodged the w. At where he once stood, there was a huge w mark on the ground. "You indeed have the assistance from the realm energy from the Golden Dragon Lake..." Fang Yuan widened his eyes. "Your physical body, energy and blood have already reached its peak! Watch out for my sword!" As heplimented the Golden Dragon God, there was a glow on his right hand. The illusionary shadow of a red spiritual sword appeared in his hands. "Leaving Fire Sword, strike!" "Whoosh!" A fiery glow struck mid-air andnded on the water dragon, knocking its scales off and revealing a wound. "Rumble!" Not just that, a small fire started to burn on the water dragon. "Ah... How dare you..." As the Golden Dragon God eximed, he harnessed his water-type techniques in an attempt to put out the fire. Previously, Fang Yuan was concealing his true ability but now, as he used his full strength, he gave off a different feel. "Who are you exactly?" Golden Dragon God transfigured into a middle-aged man wearing robes and started to float in mid-air. He appeared solemn. "I am the person who is responsible to kill you! Watch out!" Fang Yuan eximed. "Rumble!" As the blood in the ground came together, spiritual inscriptions were formed, creating a huge array and trapping Golden Dragon God in it! Chapter 243: Killing in the Array Chapter 243: Killing in the Array Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "What is... this?" In the blood array, Golden Dragon God was glowing as he was fighting against the binding array. His expression was changing. "Save me, king!" Amidst a blood fog, many illusionary shadows appeared. The first of them was an animal with the feathers of a crane and the shell of a tortoise. It looked fierce but the shadow of it was iplete. Its eyes were bloodshot. "King... I¡¯m in pain!" "Dragon God! Dragon God!" Behind him, many spirits were rushing and they were all covered in a ck mist. "God, please protect the ind dwellers!" Most of the ind dwellers had fractured bones and they were like grieving souls surrounding the Golden Dragon King. "What this about..." Witnessing this scene, Fang Yuan¡¯s expression changed. "Hehe... how¡¯s my Thousand Soul Bloodied Array?" Beside him, Venerable Fiery Dragon and Deity Clear Lotus appeared. "I created this blood array. As for the grieving souls, it was Deity Clear Lotus¡¯s Karma Technique. It is normal for this god to experience all these karma, for he had a good deal ofing to an agreement to coexist with the mortals!" "I¡¯ve learnt!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. "Normal spiritual array masters would only know how do cast an array and the most they could do would be to rely on the geographical features of where the array would be cast. However, both of you are able to do it naturally after taking into ount the background of the Golden Dragon God and cast it naturally! Kudos!" All these grieving spirits and ind dwellers were not only killed by Fang Yuan but had to be a tool after death to go against the Golden Dragon King. They were pitiful as they were being manipted while they were alive, and even after death. Even the arranging of the array to trap the Golden Dragon King was an impressive one. "The two of them... they are not simple! But to train and achieve the Illusionary Divine Stage, how could they not have had any help?" Fang Yuan thought to himself silently and looked at the array. ... "King..." "Princess..." "Save all of us!" In the blood array, every grieving soul was pestering the Golden Dragon God. "How dare all of you! Do you want to disobey my orders?" Golden Dragon King took two steps back and revealed a face of determination. "Do all of you want to be destroyed and vanish from this world?" "Rumble!" As he spoke, a concentrated bubble of realm energy appeared from his body and rose up slowly like a cloud, bing a sight to see 800 miles around the Golden Dragon Lake. "Chi! Chi!" The souls which approached him dissipated and melted as though they were snowmen under the sun. "Rumble! Rumble!" Surges of energies continuously struck the array like waves. "What a strong force from his realm energy!" Outside, Venerable Fiery Dragon and Deity Clear Lotus were frantic. "The most realm energy we have ever seen was from Uncle River. Who would have thought that this Golden Dragon God would have so much realm energy!" "We cannot allow him to break out of the array, or he will escape through the water." Deity Clear Lotus roared and ced her both her hands on the array. "Chi! Chi!" Within seconds, her strong arms quickly withered and became skin and bones. It was as though life was being sucked out of her arms. "He will not escape. He will simply use the realm energy from the Golden Dragon Lake to destroy uspletely!" Venerable Fiery Dragon nced into the cold-looking eyes of the Golden Dragon God. Together with Deity Clear Lotus, he ced his feminine hands onto the array. After taking in life from the both of them, the blood array started to stabilise. Although it looked precarious, it was still able to contain the Golden Dragon God¡¯s relentless attacks. However, both of them were extremely pale as though they were dead. "Both of us have sacrificed 20 years of our lives in an attempt to contain the Golden Dragon God¡¯s realm energy for a while longer. Fang Yuan, quickly enter the array and kill him, or we will all lose our lives!" Their voices were heard in Fang Yuan¡¯s mind, which made him roll his eyes. However, he also understood the teachings of arrays and could tell them both of them had already exerted their strength. If he were to ask them to fight against the Golden Dragon God, it would be extremely tough for them. Furthermore, as time passed, both of their life essences would be lost. Their hair even turned white, which was evident that they had already lost many years of their lives. "Without assistance from the realm energy, the dragon king is only a spiritual knight in the Elemental Opening Realm and a Wu Zong!" Fang Yuan shook his head and took a step into the array. "Rumble!" In the next moment, everything changed! It was bloodied all around and there was pressure felt everywhere. In the centre, the Golden Dragon God¡¯s body glittered as it repelled the blood fog which was within the array. There was a streak of realm energy on his head which was sealed by the glow of blood from the array. "Thief, it¡¯s you again!" Seeing Fang Yuan, the Golden Dragon God¡¯s expression changed once more. If not for him, how would he so carelessly leave theke and be captured? He wanted to kill Fang Yuan so badly and drink his blood! However, it was an experienced god. "We are only on opposite ends because of the death of Uncle River. I have 8 other sons just like him, and countless crustacean army! Why not stop fighting... With all my wealth, I canpensate you anything you want!" "Oh? You¡¯re bing smarter!" With a mysterious look, Fang Yuan shook his head. "What a pity... We don¡¯t want your treasures, but the realm energy in this 800-mile radiuske!" "That is the source of my energy!" The Golden Dragon King looked deste. "It seems like... We have to fight each other to our deaths!" As soon as he finished his sentence, he rushed forward and transfigured into a water dragon. With the swerve of his tail, he swiped at Fang Yuan. "Pa!" Fang Yuan was struck by the tail and fell above the array. He stood up as though he was uninjured and dusted his chest. "Indeed... Without assistance from the realm energy, you are not such a formidable opponent after all!" "You!" The water dragon in the blood array widened his eyes. "How can you remain uninjured?" "Why not?" Fang Yuan rubbed his chest. As he rubbed, his clothing disintegrated and flew with the wind like butterflies, revealing his golden body. This was the strength of Giant Eagle Metal Body coupled with the defensive Hundred Poison Golden Body! "There is no such person like you in Lie Country who does not need to rely on the powers of the zodiac... What kind of God are you?" The water dragon asked as he sounded confused. "You are already a dead dragon. Why do you need to know so much?" Fang Yuan let out augh and pointed his right hand out. "Thousand arrows, strike together!" "Whoosh! Whoosh!" In his actualised dream world, the 8 Gates Sword Array shook. Countless red-coloured sword essence filled the blood array, and in the array came an exmation filled with fury and pain. "Chi! Chi!" "Rumble!" In the blood array, the water dragon dodged the sword essences as they slowly inched towards the boundary of theke. Every time the array shook, Venerable Fiery Dragon and Deity Clear Lotus would spit out a mouthful of blood. Within minutes, their hair becamepletely white. "This dragon is more powerful than we have expected!" There was blood on Deity Clear Lotus¡¯s mouth. "If not for fate for us to meet Fang Yuan, we might end up dead if we were to strike recklessly!" "That¡¯s true!" Venerable Fiery Dragon had an awful look on his face. "I am worried about our friend not being able to take down the dragon in such a short time. If he takes a little longer, we would die and return to our realm. Yu Tiao would surelyugh at us!" "Kacha!" At this point in time, a stronger force struck the array and cracks started to appear on its side. In the array, Fang Yuan swung his sword essence around and slowly started to form a sword,nding it on the water dragon¡¯s body. As the water dragon flew out, blood spurted everywhere and it crashed into the walls of the array. As everything shook, countless water dragon scales and water dragon blood scattered on the ground like rain. "Kacha!" In the blood array, the blood glow which contained realm energy shook and started to crack under immense pressure. The realm energy within it was trying to break free as though it could emerge anytime. "We can¡¯t hold any longer. We need to kill the dragon now!" Through his spiritual will, Fang Yuan could sense that the both of them were about to use up all their energy. "If we let it escape, even I would probably die and it would hurt our own physical bodies! It would not be worth it then! Use your final strength!" As the Golden Dragon King sensed that the realm energy was about to escape, it had a joyful look and became moreposed. "Rumble!" In front of him, three spiritual meridians appeared on Fang Yuan¡¯s body forming a spiritual armour and covering his body. "Whoosh!" At the same time, a translucent fire sword was shimmering in Fang Yuan¡¯s hands. It had a dragon carving on its handle and was a Leaving Fire Sword. "Sixth Elemental Force and the Leaving Fire Sword, kill!" Bing a shadow, Fang Yuan approached the Golden Dragon King swiftly. As the spiritual armour glowed, it blocked off most of the attacks. With the look of determination in his eyes, Fang Yuan danced around the water dragon and wielded the sword with all his life. Avoiding all his other wounds, he came to the water dragon¡¯s neck and lunged forward! "Roar! Roar!" As the water dragon roared, it appeared as though it could not hold on further. With the scales on its neck falling, Fang Yuan continued to strike the water dragon¡¯s body, allowing the sword¡¯s essence to explode within the body "Growl!" After a dull voice was heard, the water dragon¡¯s stomach expanded as though it had swallowed a small burning sun. The stomach continued to grow and finally, it could not hold any longer and exploded. As blood sttered across the sky, two halves of a water dragon¡¯s corpse fell from the sky and as it hit the ground, dust was stirred up. "Finally... it had ended!" Fang Yuan waved his hands, retrieving the scale from its neck. It was an inverse scale and was different from the rest. It seemed to be of pure gold and different from the scales from other parts of its body, which stunned Fang Yuan. "Kacha!" In the next moment, the blood array crumbled. "Phew... It¡¯s finally dead!" "This d*mned dragon is really fierce... Wait, quickly contain the realm energy!" Deity Clear Lotus and Venerable Fiery Dragon were stumbling about but held on and executed the technique to contain the realm energy in mid-air. "Good!" Without reservations, Fang Yuan helped out and the three of them worked together to execute the technique. "Roar! Roar!" Amidst the runes, a white streak of energy slithered like a dragon and on its way, it struck the seal. "What a fellow!" Fang Yuan gritted his teeth. "Such power! Indeed the realm energy from 800-mile radius of the Golden Dragon Lake!" Chapter 244: Dragon Palace Chapter 244: Dragon Pce Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Compared to Uncle River¡¯s realm energy, the process of sealing Golden Dragon God¡¯s realm energy was much harder. Even though the three of them were working together, he could feel an energetic dragon forcing its way out. "Haha... great!" However, Venerable Fiery Dragon and Deity Clear Lotus were pleased. The more difficult it was to contain the realm energy, the bigger their reward. "Buzz!" As the realm energy surged, dark clouds began to form above the entire Golden Dragon Lake. In the sky, lightning struck everywhere. Even though the three Illusionary Divine dream masters came together, the huge realm energy was extremely hard to contain, even without the Golden Dragon God controlling it. "Five ces and Ten Earths, Seal!" Finally, before the lightning could strike them, colourful runes were covered all over the realm energy and as it glowed, the realm energy was contained. "Split!" As the three of them worked together, ording to their agreement, the dragon-shaped realm energy split. "Kacha!" In the explosion, the original realm energy became three smaller streaks of energy. As their power was reduced, they could no longer attempt to break out. "The Golden Dragon God¡¯s realm energy is plentiful. If we carry it around us, we would attract too much attention and trouble for us. The best way to keep it is to keep it directly into our actualised dream world." Without hesitation, Deity Clear Lotus and Venerable Fiery Dragon transferred their realm energy into their dream worlds. Fang Yuan did the same thing. The amount of realm energy was huge. With it, the Golden Dragon God could manage 800 miles ofnd and even go against the royal family. If all these realm energies were tond on a small god¡¯s hands or on a cultivator¡¯s hands, they would surely achieve a breakthrough immediately and therefore gain the power which the Golden Dragon God once had. After all, it would be more favourable for the realm energy to end up with the nativespared to Fang Yuan andpany. At least, that would be the choice of the heavens. "Although we are concealed in the bodies of the natives, the more we do, the more we are revealing ourselves..." The three of them stood together and looked at the dissipating dark clouds. "The heavens would surely find some way to deal with us. They might even create some Energy Souls!" "Energy Souls?" Fang Yuan immediately thought of the protagonists in the novels which he had read about. These protagonists would be equipped with magical weapons and beautifuldies would automaticallye to them. With this thought, he shuddered. "That¡¯s right. These Energy Souls are rather troublesome and cannot be killed. Therefore, they can be strong very quickly..." Venerable Fiery Dragon gave an unpleasant look. "If we go after these Energy Souls, we might even encounter the even more powerful Fate Souls. I¡¯m sure you do not want to have the feeling of going against the entire world..." "What we¡¯ve done is still considered a smallmotion in this world, right?" Deity Clear Lotus¡¯s expression changed. "This is only a Dragon King is a small ce and the heavens might let us go. As For Feng Xinzi¡¯s big n..." Venerable Fiery Dragon shook his head. "It¡¯s not that simple. It would only be normal if the heavens would interfere. Regardless, in the next two months, we¡¯ll prepare to live in seclusion and handle the realm energy. What about you, Brother Fang?" "Me?" Fang Yuan rubbed his nose. "I would explore this world and gain more exposure. Don¡¯t you want to follow me to explore the dragon¡¯s nest?" "... These treasures are useless to us..." Deity Clear Lotus continued. "What is rarer than the corpse of a water dragon?" Looking at the water dragon corpse on the ground, shemented. "To us, it can only be made into a one-time usage magical weapon to be disposed of in this world..." Although pessimistic, they carried on to split the corpse of the water dragon. They were friendly to each other since they knew that this was something they could not bring out of this world. Afterwards, the three of them worked together once again as they prepared to explore Dragon God Ind. Other than an empty temple and the many escaping ind dwellers, they still could not find the dragon¡¯s nest. "Since he calls himself the Golden Dragon God, he might have built a Dragon Pce underwater!" Deity Clear Lotus and Venerable Fiery Dragon immediately backed out. "In this 800-mile hugeke, even though we are dream masters in the Illusionary Divine stage, it is still impossible for us to slowly search for it. Instead of wasting time here, why not find a ce for us to slowly recover our cultivation and make a few magical weapons in preparation for the final n!" Facing such a rejection, Fang Yuan could onlyugh. He had already restored all of his cultivation. Furthermore, he was not well-versed in smelting magical weapons. He could only show a face of regret as a response to their rejection and continue on with his n. "Although Deity Clear Lotus is right, I have nothing else to do. I have restored everything that I need to restore, so it will be alright for me to continue searching. I might even find something useful!" After a few days, at night. As the sun set, the moon started to spread its glow over the surface of the world. On theke, the moonlight was shimmery but there was peace everywhere. "A full moon above the ocean, and people and the ends of the world can enjoy the same moon. For lovers would resent the long night and think of each other..." Looking at the moon, Fang Yuan slowly recited a poem. Although there were two suns in this realm, there was no changing moon, which disappointed him a little. "This ce... it is still not my original world!" Lying on a small boat, he drifted along with the current. Looking at the moon above him, he took out a piece of scale. This scale had sharp edges like a sword and was golden. It had a hint of dragon property and was not a normal scale; it was the inverse scale of the Golden Dragon God. Because all three of them were friendly towards each other, or it could be the fact that they didn¡¯t mind, Venerable Fiery Dragon and Deity Clear Lotus did not say anything about him keeping the scale. Under the moonlight, on the surface of theke, the golden glow on the inverse scale intensified and inscriptions full of spiritual property started to appear on the scale. As he dipped the inverse scale into theke, there was a surge of energy which spread from the scale. "It¡¯s the Dragon God!" "Dragon God!" Not long after, a ck shadow appeared beneath theke. "Golden Dragon God is already dead. How can I still detect his spiritual aura? Could it be a broken scale? If I swallow it, I will have the blood of the dragons and might even be able to be a dragon in the future!" "Mortal, hand over the piece of scale!" "Ssh!" As water sshed around, a huge ck shadow emerged from theke. It was a ck snake¡¯s head the size of a water pot. Its ferocious eyes were like torches. As it spoke humannguage, its tongue slithered in an out of its mouth, making it seem evil. If a normal person were to see this, they would be shocked and stunned. "Who would¡¯ve guessed that there is still such a monster in the Golden Dragon Lake!" Without caring what the snake had said, Fang Yuan kept the piece of scale. "I have a question. If you cannot answer, you will end up like the three previous ind dwellers. They are now reflecting on their own actions in my stomach... Where is the Dragon Pce? Hmmm?" As he asked, a huge pressure was felt in the vicinity and on the ck snake. "Ah... You¡¯re the human who killed Golden Dragon God!" As the ck snake eximed, it turned around and tried to escape. How would Fang Yuan let it escape? With the casual flick of his finger, red-coloured sword essences appeared in mid-air and as it pierced through the ck snake, there were many charred wounds appearing. Its red blood started to seep into theke, dying it red. "If you still want to escape, the next sword would be through your head!" Snakes were extremely good at surviving. Although it had many wounds on its body, none of them was severe. As it froze in mid-air, many figures of red swords were pointing towards its skull. Such a threat almost made the snake cry. It was extremely unlucky! It was only attracted by the blood smell of the Golden Dragon God but ended up facing the person who killed the God. If he had known, he wouldn¡¯t havee to risk its own life. "I¡¯ll say, Sir!" The ck snake lowered its head, showing its respect. "There is a huge array outside the Dragon Pce. Normal ind dwellers would not know its location, but the few Uncle Rivers and us demons would know. I¡¯ll bring you there now!" "Very well!" Fang Yuan leapt onto the snake¡¯s head. With all his experience in dealing with animals, he knew that the snake was speaking the truth. With the confusion array outside the Golden Dragon God¡¯s pce, normal ind dwellers would unknowingly bypass it. However, this ck snake was not normal. With its status, it surely knew the location of the pce. "Let¡¯s go!" With Fang Yuan¡¯smand, the ck snake leapt into the water. ¡¯Humans cannot survive in the water. When we reach the bottom, i¡¯ll...¡¯ As a cunning look shed in the ck snake¡¯s eyes, it quickly noticed ayer of spiritual armour surrounding the human, repelling the water around him. A long red sword was held to its head, which made it helpless and had no choice but to obediently show him the way. As they swam across a group of colourful corals, an underwater pce appeared in front of Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes. The pce appeared extremely luxurious and it was covered by arge hemisphere outside. Within it, corals were used as decoration and pearls covered the floor. It was a luxurious sight to behold. "Sir... This is the location of the pce. Although I can trespass the protective array outside, without the permission of the Dragon God, I cannot decide on my own ord!" The ck snake humblymented. "Mmm, at least you¡¯re aware!" Fang Yuan approached the membrane of the hemisphere. Something within his robes started to heat up. It was the piece of dragon scale! "Verification of spiritual aura?" Fang Yuan tilted his head to think, before pressing on the inverse scale. "Buzz!" A red glow with streaks of gold appeared as itnded on the membrane. "Whoosh!" As the membrane shook, an opening was revealed which was onlyrge enough for one person to enter. "Indeed!" Fang Yuan smiled, kept the scale and walked it without hesitation. As the opening gradually closed, the ck snake waited for half a day before leaving quietly. "This is not what I have expected. Although, the pce is luxurious, there are no servants here. On the contrary, it seems more like a secret hideout for a cultivator?" Fang Yuan circled the pce a few times and noticed that the pce was not huge. As the membrane repelled the water, there was no water pressure within the pce. Instead, there was fresh air within. He stumbled upon an alchemy room, a study and a meditation room. He was ecstatic, especially with the whole room of books. Most of the books were about cultivation. Even though there were differences in their realms, it could still greatly improve his foundation. Therefore, he decided to stay here for a month to take in all the knowledge he could. Chapter 245: Self Destruction Chapter 245: Self Destruction Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The Dragon Pce was bathed in golden rays. Walking along the pavement, one could see many Bright Moon Pearls radiating a brilliant glow. Apart from that, there was also the Water Evading Pearl, Dust Evading Pearl and many other treasures conveniently ced in each and every corner. Any of these pearls would be highly sought after in the mortal world, but they were relegated to mere decorations in this fancy pce. "There should be other deities in the dragon pce..." Fang Yuan squatted in front of a pile of ashes and was deep in thought "The Golden Dragon God¡¯s realm energy was split into 3. Could they have fled the pce knowing that they have lost their pir of support? But what about the water folks? Could it be that the Golden Dragon God was a very cautious person and would only let his subordinate the Yin Spirit stay in the pce and tend to him?" This appeared rather curious to Fang Yuan. But he too had no one even though he was of a talented and courageous person. On the flip side, if there was a tribe of dragon descendants and water folks, it would be a hassle to kill them all. He arrived at the study and casually flipped open a book. The Golden Dragon God had a vast collection. Some of the martial arts manuals were even inscribed onto bone or shell tes, then bound together. Every book could be considered a work of art. "Rain Cloud Evoking form?" Fang Yuan teased out the gist out the form. "Only a person with dragon properties could cultivate this technique... Specifically meant for demons... This book has indeed broadened my horizons." He browsed through the manual and ced it down, picking up a roll of inscribed steel leaves. This unknown leaf was wide and had a glossy surface. Inscribed on it was a tightly packed cluster of small words. Every stroke seemed to be filled with a rich history. "Green Spiritual Sword Form? Finally a martial arts technique for humans." Fang Yuan nced through it. The energy cirction techniques were crude and focused on rough sensations of the energy flow. Thest few sword techniques were fairly unique and slightly interesting. "After all, even Zodiac or Shinto cultivators¡¯ strength boils down to the strength of one¡¯s realm energy as well as the absorption of realm energy. One could achieve everything even without obtaining a high status in the society. As such, techniques of Hui Realm were biased towards utility." "Mmm, such an interesting train of thought." He firmly remembered the teachings of the Green Spiritual Sword Form. These insights would aid him inpleting his techniques or think on his toes in future situations. In the blink of an eye, half a day has passed and Fang Yuan returned to the treasure vault of the Dragon Pce. The vault was well hidden and it took Fang Yuan some effort to finally locate it. In front of the broad and sturdy gate, stood statues of two spiritual beasts. They had ck jewels as eyes and were very lifelike. "Pi Xiu? [1]" Fang Yuan stared at the spiritual beast and muttered to himself. The statues had the form of a lion, a head of a dragon, a body of a horse, legs of a unicorn, and a pair of wings sprouted from its back. It had a very fierce expression and looked simr to a Pi Xiu. "ROAR" He stepped forward to touch the door handle when the two Pi Xiu roared to life. "Hmph, trying to stop me with a simple static array?!" The corners of Fang Yuan¡¯s eye curled, and the Leaving Fire Sword appeared in his hands. Roar! In that instant, there was a warmth radiating from his clothes. The Inverse Scale of the Golden Dragon God appeared with a pure gold hue and was pulsating with life, roars of a dragon could even be heard. "WuWu!" The two Pi Xiu bowed their heads in submission and returned to their original positions, turning back into stone statues. "So you sensed the blood and spiritual aura of the Golden Dragon God?" Fang Yuan kept the scale "This scale turned out to be the key to the array guarding this Dragon Pce. No wonder my journey in the Dragon Pce was so smooth sailing." His ced both hands on the door. The door was smelted from pure crimson copper, it was thick and tall, had 99 round studs and wasplete with door knockers in the mouths of a beast. Its design was simple yet grand. With a light push, the heavy doors swung apart effortlessly, revealing an entire vault filled with shimmering treasures. Gold, tinum, pearls, jade, corals.... Therge amounts treasures piled on the floor and formed a small mountain. Fang Yuan paid no attention to them and walked deeper into the treasure vault. In here, several pirs of rainbow corals were converted to shelves, on them were pieces of treasure, each of them was radiating energy in splendid brilliance. "The Life Shortening Sword?" He walked forward and read thebel on the coral "Concocted from a 300-year-old coral¡¯s gold, mixed with 9 Bends Spiritual Wood, smelted with Venerable mes for 49 days. On thest day, the sword must be used kill a tiger demon,pleting the concocted process. The edge would be unimaginably sharp. The sound of the sword cutting through the air struck fear into the souls of others, hence the name, Life Shortening Sword. Beside itid the handles of several spiritual weapons, all of good stats. A unique piece was the Crystal Spiritual Armor, it was said to be forged from the shell of a 10,000 years old Mystic Turtle and possessed exceptional defensive capabilities. Fang Yuan was thrilled and put it on immediately. Even though he could not bring it back to his original world, it would still be of good use in his time here in the Hui Realm. "But... It was still right for Venerable Fiery Dragon andpany to note here." He sat on the pile of gold and looked at the many treasures thaty in front of him, shaking his head. "There aren¡¯t many items that are of use to us, besides, they could not be brought out of this world. To dy one¡¯s recovery for these was not worth it. But...." He walked to the depths of the vaults, shifted the corals away and lifted the Life Shortening Sword, and stabbed the wall furiously several times. He shamelessly used the misused the spiritual sword as a shovel and dug a small hole in the walls, revealing a small hidden switch. "Hahaha, hidden mechanisms designed by mortals would not fool me!" He flicked the switch and opened the hidden safe, in itid a tiny box. The surface of the box was a deep ck, covered with various spiritual inscriptions. It sat still without releasing any forms of energy, this was indeed a unique treasure. "Tsk Tsk.... A self-destruction array?" Fang Yuan deduced that from just the surface of the box and burst out inughter, "There must be something very valuable hidden in it. It was a pity that I knew nothing of the unlocking techniques." Despite that, he made a wild guess and ced the inverse scale onto the ck box. "If this scale cannot open the box, I would have no other options than to use brute force. I should be able to fish the item out before the box self-destructs." He thought nonchntly. After all, there were not many treasures that could be brought back to their world like the realm energy. Even a legendary treasure would be of little use. Roar! Upon cing the scale on the box, a dragon cry was heard and a small water dragon emerged, as if it was a miniature golden dragon god, it was bathed in blood. "An opportunity?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eye twitched, the water dragon leapt onto the box and shimmered with spiritual light, his expression changed, "Oh no, it is initiating the self-destruction spiritual inscriptions!" He had a horrified look on his face as his mind raced. The Golden Dragon God had it designed this way on purpose. The scale was the key of the array, but when it came to thisst treasure box, it became amand for self-destruction. A smart alec would think that it would unlock the box, but in reality, he had chosen to destroy it! "This must be an item of great importance!" Fang Yuan pointed his finger, the Fleeting Fire Sword appeared and split the box open forcefully. At this point, luck dictated if his method would enable him to retrieve the treasure in its entirety. He was a decisive man, and he acted upon his instincts immediately. "Go!" The Fleeting fire sword was condensed to its peak. It split into 2 before exploding. "Come back" Fang Yuan tried to fish out the treasure, then retreated quickly. Boom!!! A frightening explosion resulted, blowing the treasure vault into rubber. Fang Yuan retreated to the entrance and looked at the horrid state the vault was in, speechless. He opened his fists. In his palm, there was a small segment of roots remaining, of the length of a pinky. The rest of it was long gone. "Is it some sort of spiritual nt?" Fang Yuan could not appraise the grade of the spiritual nt just from the roots, but he was sure it was of extraordinary value. "No...This is right and wrong..." Fang Yuan sniffed the nt and felt something was different. He then used his spiritual will to look at White Whiskers in detail and sawrge volumes of spiritual inscriptions on it. It was a pity most of it was destroyed. "Such a pity... Even if I had the entire nt, it would be useless to me. Unless I could keep it in my actualized dream world and bring it away." He looked at the roots and shook his head, "I still have some time on my hands, and why not try to salvage this nt?" After all, Fang Yuan had the help of the Stats board, even though he started with nothing, he still retained his botany skills. "These roots have water properties, the dragon pce would be an ideal location for it, and it was far superior to any spiritualnds." Fang Yuan looked at his surroundings and obtained some information from the roots, he stroke his chin, and his eyes were brimming with joy. He nned to spend his remaining time reading the manuals in the dragon pce study and to concentrate on cultivation. While doing so, he would be waiting for the nt to grow. He was curious why the golden dragon god would go to such great lengths to destroy this object. He got it doing it immediately. Fang Yuan was a man of action, after careful considerations, he realized that the main hall of the dragon ce had the best water energy. He tore it down and made it into a flower bed. This flower bed was unlike others, it was surrounded by spiritual earth, in the middle, he made a small indentation that resembled a pond. Above the dragon pce, the spiritual waterfall flowed down into the pond, it was milky and fragrant, filling up the pond. The white whiskersid in the centre of it all. Fang Yuan was fairly confident about reviving this spiritual nt. It all stemmed from his level 5 botany skills. "Botany [Level 5] ----- You¡¯re now a master in the Botany Realm! Any nts nted by you would not only awaken but also develop special traits, the maturity period would also shorten based on the conditions!" "Even though I cannot restore it to its original condition, to be able to awaken it or develop special traits would be good too..." To him, sessfully reviving the nt was going to be a bonus, a failure would just be remembered as a funny memory. With that in mind, Fang Yuan took his mind off the pond, went into a side chamber and sunk into a deep state of cultivation [1] Qi Xiu is beast from Chinese mythology. It is a ferocious beast and it said to have a voracious appetite for gold, silver and jewels. Chapter 246: Miraculous Fruit Chapter 246: Miraculous Fruit Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Within the actualised dream world. "Rumble!" The dragon cried faintly. After the spiritual seal was broken and the restrictions liftedpletely, the white realm energy flew into the sky, transformed into a cloud dragon and thrashed around in the tiny space. "It seems that you have not suffered enough!" Fang Yuan shook his head as he witnessed the situation, "8 Gates Sword Array! Rise!" "Swoosh!" In the centre of the space, the cloud dragon did not dare approach the array. The 8 sword radiance flickered as they supported the heavens and earth, forming a sword array. The fire-type sword essence was especially threatening as it appeared to overpower the other 7 sword essences. Suddenly, the sword radiance shot out, surrounded the cloud dragon like a whirlpool and constantly inflicted cuts upon it. The sharp radiance reduced the realm energy into the purest form of energy and scattered it. "Crash!" With the aid of the energy, the whole actualised dream world started to expand and the fire-type sword within the 8 Gates Sword Array started to form. Finally, after a period of time, apanied by the humming of the sword, the Leaving Fire Sword roared, the red glow shook the world as the scarlet dragon danced in the sky. In that instant, multiple fire sword essences surged forth and stimted the entire dream world, causing it to expand multiple folds. "Roar!" The cloud dragon let out a cry, but it was unable to go against the insurmountable sword essence. It waspletely destroyed and turned into pure elemental energy. The Leaving Fire Sword glowed and the scarlet dragon on the hilt appeared toe to life as it let out a roar. "The fire-type sword is finally formedpletely!" To Fang Yuan, it was better to be content with what he had than to risk losing everything by doing too greedy. Even though the realm energy would be more useful in Da Qian, it would be better for him to increase his power before taking part in Feng Xingzi¡¯s grand n. Fang Yuan would use the realm energy to aid in his own cultivation regardless of how Venerable Fiery Dragon and the others think. At this point in time, the Leaving Fire Sword was finally formed! "The Leaving Fire Sword is located at the true South. Next, it will be the water-type sword located at the true North!" Fang Yuan waved his hand and the Leaving Fire Sword fell onto his palm. Every inscription on the sword was real and appeared simple. "Fire and water have no mercy. As of now, I am just a dream soldier master who has cultivated 1 sword. If I am able to sessfully form the water-type sword, I would be able to summon it into the actual world to form the Water-Fire Dual Sword Array! This is also where the secret teachings of the 8 Gates Sword Array truly be formidable!" Given Fang Yuan¡¯s current standard, he was able to summon a Leaving Fire Sword and was no different from an ordinary dream soldier master. However, once he would be able to form more swords, he would be able tobine the 3 talents [1], 4 divisions[2] and the 5 elements sword array ...the possibilities were endless and he would be able to change the world with his sword array! "Using fire to stimte water, go!" He tossed out his fire-type sword and in an instant, at the North of the sword array, a prating chill, blue and slender long sword momentarily appeared. The water on it swirled around and started to gather. "What a shame, this realm energy is only one-third of the Golden Dragon Lake! It was almost not enough to form the fire-type sword. I was only able to seed due to the hard work that I put in the past 2 months!" Fang Yuan shook his head. "If I am able to obtain the realm energy of the Golden Dragon God, it would be sufficient to form half the water-type sword..." It would be increasingly difficult to form the swords of the 8 Gates Sword Array. Of course, those cultivating other pathways of dream masters would experience the same difficulty. ... In the real world, Fang Yuan opened his eyes, "Stats window!" In an instant, a screen which only he was able to see appeared before him: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 36 Spirit: 30 Magic: 30 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine Stage (1st tier), Wu Zong (3 Meridians) Technique: Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique [Grade 4(1%)], Hundred Poison Golden Body [1st Refining Stage], 8 Gates Sword Array [2 swords (1%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "The cultivation of a sword is able to raise the magical energy by 10?" Fang Yuan was deep in thought. "Towards the end, the disparity would be even greater! It is no wonder that there are such great disparities between a high-levelled Illusionary Divine Stage dream master and an ordinary dream master..." He stood up and shook his sleeves. He could not help but feel satisfied when he saw his collection of manuals that filled his entire house. "After close to 2 months of training, I havepletely refined the realm energy and reached another level in my cultivation. Not only that, I have memorized everything in the Dragon Pce records. This gain is sufficient...Furthermore, there is yet another surprise." Fang Yuan arrived at the Dragon Pce Main Hall. He had already torn down the ce and converted it into a small flowerbed. In the middle, there was a pond and within the pond, the White Whiskers had germinated, grew...and transformed into pure white flower and nt. Its leaves were sparkly and translucent and grew atop a white stalk. However, its veins were golden in colour. If one were to observe carefully, one would be able to notice arge number of runes within the golden veins. It was truly a sight to behold. At that moment, there was a white flower bud the size of a small bowl at the top of the spiritual nt. "What an exotic spiritual nt, I have never heard of it before!" Fang Yuan sat cross-legged and silently waited for the flower to bloom, "Who knows what type of fruits it will bear and what properties does the fruit have...." After half a day, above the Dragon Pce, spiritual water cascaded endlessly. Within the pond, the white flower bud quivered and started to blossom slowly. "It¡¯s here!" Fang Yuan opened both eyes and stared intently at the pond. "Rumble!" At this time, a faint sound heard from the outside world caused his expression to change. "This pressure...a heavenly threat?" He looked at the spiritual flower in the middle of the pond in astonishment as he did not expect that the blossoming of this flower was predestined! Above the Golden Dragon Lake. Dense clouds loomed as lightning shed. It was as if the heavens were furious. The overwhelming pressure caused many spirits to cower and remain hidden in their dens, not daring to even reveal themselves. This was a heavenly threat! Within the Dragon Pce, the moment the first petal of the exotic flower blossomed..."Crack!" Amidst the loud sound, the sky appeared to be ripped open and a streak of purple lightning suddenly descended, its target, the water body within the Dragon Pce. "Crash!" The surface of theke rippled and many spiritual fish floated up with their bellies facing upwards. It was truly a disaster for the fishes in the pond. "This Dragon Pce was built at the bottom of theke with the intention of preventing lightning strike!" Fang Yuan was not really shocked after witnessing this scene. The Golden Dragon Lake was the first line of defence. The Coral Array outside was the second line of defence and the defensive array of the Dragon Pce was the third line of defence! He was still in an advantageous position. Even if he was of no match, he would still be able to make his escape! "The more you incur the jealousy of the heavens, the more I want to find out what kind of thing you are?" Fang Yuan released the red light in his hand and a scarlet sword appeared. It was the Leaving Fire Sword! However,pared to the shadowy sword essence previously, the current Leaving Fire Sword was the real deal! Even if Fang Yuan was dead, the sword could still remain within the real world and unleash its potential. It could even be an inheritance of a small family n! "Rumble!" Outside, the lightning shed endlessly. Some streaks of lightning even managed to reach the Dragon Pce. "It is able to destroy the Coral Array outside so quickly even with theke weakening it?" Fang Yuan fixed his eyes on the pond. Within the pond, the white flower had blossomed halfway and a small amount of golden light was trickling out. "Crack!" A streak of lightning appeared and struck the top of the Dragon Pce heavily. The whole membrane shook and was shattered shortly after with a loud crash. Water flooded in and the structures were overwhelmed. Large portions of the structures copsed in a short duration. "Stabilise!" Fang Yuan¡¯s expression remained unchanged as a Leaving Fire Sword appeared. The Leaving Fire Sword circled the spiritual pond and channelled the water outwards. "Crash!" Within the spiritual pond, the flower finally bloomedpletely and gave out a unique fragrance. A ray of golden light descended from above. At this time, a streak of purple lightning shed, the specks of lightningbining as if it was a tiny snake and flew towards the golden light. "Hey!" Fang Yuan was expecting this. In the instant the purple lightning appeared, he had already drawn out the Leaving Fire Sword. "You dare intercept me? You did not ask for my permission!" "Swoosh!" An extremely concentrated line of fire shed and struck the purple lightning snake. Fang Yuan¡¯s arms trembled and he moved back a few steps. Using the time that he had, he reached out and grabbed the golden light. Soon after, the white flower withered and turned to dust after it had served its purpose. "Boom!" Lightning danced crazily in the sky! One could feel the wrath of the heavens even at the bottom of theke. "This is not fate, but rather...not stopping, not giving up unless the target is achieved!" Fang Yuan¡¯s expression grew solemn. Even though he was a dream master in the Illusionary Divine Stage, he would not be able to hold up against heaven¡¯s will. Even if he remained hidden in the Golden Dragon Lake and refused to leave, he would definitely be no match for heaven¡¯s trial! "It looks like...this object is crucial!" He looked at his palm and saw that the white exotic flower had borne a fruit which looked like a golden ball. There were runes which flickered and formed a ring of light around the surface of the fruit, causing onlookers to be dazzled. "Crack! Crack!" Another few streaks of lightning struck down, which caused Fang Yuan¡¯s spiritual armour to crack as he tried to flee. "I cannot take it any longer!" His face grew solemn as he started experimenting with transferring the golden fruit into the actualised dream world. Even though he knew that doing so might destroy this mystical treasure, he still took a gamble and did it after weighing the pros and cons! "Whoosh!" Fang Yuan did not expect the process to take ce without a hitch as the golden ball disappeared and reappeared in his actualised dream world. After losing its target, the raging lightning turned peaceful. The dark clouds in the sky dispersed, revealing the scorching sun. The brilliant sunlight lit up the ground and formed a rainbow. "Whooo..." Fang Yuan¡¯s sorry shadow appeared beside the shore as he heaved another sigh. "It¡¯s so dangerous!" If he was not able to form the first sword, he might not have the ability to keep the golden fruit safe from the lightning. Furthermore, if he was not able to sessfully transfer the golden fruit into the actualised dream world, Fang Yuan would have to give it up under the neverending heavenly lightning. He might even be implicated if he was inattentive! However, there was no problem now. His actualised dream world and the real world could be considered two different worlds. As such, the heaven¡¯s trial of the real world could not reach him in his actualised dream world. "It is just...what is that?" Fang Yuan looked at the golden fruit within the actualised dream world. He was unable to discern the sand-like spiritual runes on the surface of the fruit which caused him to enter a deep thought. "What is this extraordinary object and who knows how the Golden Dragon God attain it in the first ce..." [1] The 3 talents refer to heavens, earth and man [2] The four divisions refer to the four divisions of the 28 constetions Chapter 247: Plan Chapter 247: n Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In his actualised dream world, a golden fruit was floating in mid-air, and it was covered in the glow from the countless runes on it. "This... doesn¡¯t seem like a spiritual fruit!" Fang Yuan thought to himself. The white flower could only be considered as ¡¯half spiritual¡¯. Leveraging on the way nts grow, it mimicked it to enter the world. The most direct way to prove this theory was the fact that his own botany skill did not improve. "Based onmon sense, a spiritual nt which was able to attract the heaven¡¯s attention should be enough for me to achieve a breakthrough in my Botany, right? But now, it seems like there are no changes..." Fang Yuan looked at his own stats window. "The only exnation is that the stats window does not consider it to be a spiritual nt?" Fang Yuan examined the golden fruit closely. It was concentrated with runes on its surface like stars in the night sky. The runes were arranged in a specific manner, but it was unknown as to what message it was trying to convey. Furthermore, just by looking at it would make his eyes dazzle. "It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll look up on information on it when I return to Da Qian. From there, I might get some information..." Fang Yuan looked up to the skies which were clearing up and turned around to leave. "Our three months are up. Since he had asked me for help here, I will have to return to meet up with Feng Xinzi to hear about his n..." ... After living in seclusion for two months before returning to civilization, Fang Yuan realised that Lie Country had ended up in a turmoil. Fires were burning everywhere and there were fights among the soldiers. Even the peacefulke was pushed into unrest as the dwellers made preparations to leave anytime. "What happened?" As he arrived at a city, he took out his knife-shaped coins and randomly asked a person on the streets who appeared educated. "Oh..." The schr was around his 40s and had a goatee. He was wearing a pale green robe and it seemed like he was drinking to drown his sorrows. With a long sigh, he replied. "The country is unfortunate with a series of disasters... Two months ago, the Golden Dragon God was killed and there was unrest at the Golden Dragon Lake. The Lie Country continued to pressure and the two brothers of the king of Lie Country, Lord Chunhe and Lord Huixing gathered their troops to rebel. There were rumours that they had obtained the dragon¡¯s realm energy and took over ten cities, killing the imperial soldiers and are now starting to take over the capital!" "Such a thing could happen?" With The Qin Yi¡¯s memories, Fang Yuan was rather familiar with the happenings in Lie Country. The lords here had their own pieces ofnd and their own private army. However, if they were not of the royal family, they would not be approved of power and status. Lord Chunhe and Lord Huixing were strong contenders with influence and troops under them. With a sense of justice, they could cause trouble for the country if they led the rebellion. "This feels weird..." Fang Yuan took out a string of coins and chased the schr away. There was a look of suspicion on his face. "Although both of them will benefit in the short term, the people under them would lose their homes and would hate them. Could they be frenzied? Wait a moment..." There was a glow in his eyes. "Could it be that... Feng Xinzi and Yu Tiao were behind all these? That¡¯s right. With this exnation, everything would make sense! His big n would be to..." At this point in time, Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. He quickly rushed towards Lie Country¡¯s capital. ... The capital of Lie Countryid on a piece of nd. The city walls were tall and surrounding the city was endless plots of farms. But now, there were fires everywhere and smoke filled the air. There was a campsite set up just outside the city walls and the soldiers were sleeping with their weapons. War could happen anytime. Not just that, in the daytime, soldiers would go out and harvest from the farms. It was evident that they wanted to cut off their food supply and had the intention to trap them for a long period of time. On the city walls, as the king of Lie Country looked across, he was a little dizzy. "Why did this happen! Oh, why did this happen?" He was in his 40s and his face was a healthy red. His skin was smooth and appeared young. He had considerable experience in politics but had not fought a war before. Therefore, he was lost at what to do facing such a situation, which put him at a disadvantage. As the king of Lie Country, he had the protection of the dragon¡¯s realm energy, the assistance from his zodiac and strength from Shinto. However, he still did not dare to retaliate. As for the threats from martial artists, he had his personal guards to take care of them. However, what would be the use if he was thest one standing and the whole country was destroyed? "Have you investigated?" After a long sigh, the king of Lie Country gritted his teeth with a face of determination. Why are my two brothers rebelling?" "Reporting!" An official in ck took a bow. He was in charge of reporting information. "Based on information from our spies, the Lords are being controlled by demons!" "Demons?" The king frowned. "Since a long time ago, they were not reliant on the king, which meant that they would not have the assistance from the realm energies! However, the two demons both of mysterious spells which are able to hypnotise both Lords, by are able to strengthen them too, which ultimately resulted in the unrest today!" The official in ck lowered his head and kowtowed, and his forehead started to bleed. "I have not done my job, I deserve to die!" "I am being blessed by the heavens! With the protection of the country¡¯s realm energy, how could demons possibly create unrest?" With this news, the king was relieved. "Regardless of anything that might happen, my capital is heavily guarded. As long as we can defend until the few masters arrive, by then, they would be able to destroy the demons!" "Wise words, king!" Hundreds of officials echoed at the same time. He had no choice but to go with this n. Although it should not be considered a n, it was nheless effective. Most importantly, no one could shoulder the responsibility of losing a war within the city. Even so, since it was something that everyone supported, even though cowardly, everyone would still rejoice over it. Witnessing this scene, the king of Lie Country could guess what his subordinates were thinking, and his eyes became blurry. ... Outside the city, on a teau. "Brother Feng Xinzi, Sister Yu Tiao, we meet again!" Fang Yuan, Venerable Fiery Dragon and Deity Clear Lotus arrived here and indeed, they managed to meet Feng Xinzi and Yu Tiao. "It has only been a few days and you could do such a big thing! I was surprised!" Deity Clear Lotus bit her lips and smiled. With the appearance of a brute man, everyone had goosebumps. "Cough cough..." Feng Xinzi twitched his face and looked towards Fang Yuan and Venerable Fiery Dragon. "What do you think about my army?" "A messy bunch!" Fang Yuan looked towards the campsite and shook his head. "The king of Lie Country didn¡¯t get his throne through the correct means. With his two brothersing together to rebel against him, they could have the same power aspared to the power of Lie Country. With the split amongst the generals, they could only rob themoners and attack the city, losing the heart to defend the country. Even though they might benefit in the short run, they would fall in the long term..." "You¡¯re good! Good!" Feng Xinzi pped his hands andughed. "I never knew that you would be familiar with the happenings in the world. I¡¯ve underestimated you..." "Isn¡¯t it more effective to wipe out the officials who are helping the king?" Fang Yuan frowned. "When the masters arrive, the split generals would be easily defeated. What are your purposes in doing this?" "Hehe... our purpose? Have you not guessed it yet?" Yu Tiao chuckled. "Why didn¡¯t the three of you inform me of the good deed that you guys were doing at Golden Dragon Lake? Don¡¯t you want to share the rewards with me? Hmmm?" "Keke..." Venerable Fiery Dragon exchanged nces with Deity Clear Lotus and appeared embarrassed. "How could the realm energy at Golden Dragon Lakepare with the realm energy of the country? I¡¯m sure that the two of you have gained something by training the Lords and their soldiers, right?" "Of course we¡¯ve gained. However, we¡¯ve ced them in Chunhe and Huixing. Otherwise, how would these two id*ots survive until now?" Feng Xinzi¡¯s eyes glittered. "Our big n is to take the country¡¯s realm energy!" ¡¯Indeed!¡¯ Fang Yuan nodded his head silently in his mind. Although the Golden Dragon Lake was only 800-mile radius wide, there was already such a concentrated realm energy in for the Golden Dragon God to have such power. However, it was still under the control of the country, which made it obvious as to how powerful the country¡¯s realm energy was. He was not shocked that this was the thing which attracted Feng Xinzi. "It¡¯s a perfect opportunity to strike when the king is at lost!" Deity Clear Lotus lowered her head and was confused. "I¡¯m sure we all know that the two Lords are useless and cannotplete their task... If the masters to gather, then it is a matter of them that their death would be imminent!" "Therefore, it is up to us!" Feng Xinzi looked at the capital of Lie Country with a burning look in his eyes. "Combining the power of five dream masters in the Illusionary Divine Stage, I¡¯m sure we can break through a city gate!" "Phew..." Venerable Fiery Dragon took in a cold breath. "We can surely break through the city wall! But have you thought about the consequences? With the protection from the heavens, we are revealing ourselves to disasters from the heavens if wee out and take things into our own hands! We would then be gued with endless troubles!" "No risk, no rewards!" Yu Tiao nced at Venerable Fiery Dragon. "Even with 20% of the country¡¯s realm energy, we can surely achieve a breakthrough in our own cultivation! Furthermore... Feng Xinzi had already prepared an array to cover us from the disasters in preparation for this trip... Didn¡¯t the few of you see it while we were dream-traversing?" "If you think that is not enough, I have a secret technique with me to harness the realm energy and conceal our spiritual auras!" Yu Tiao looked at Fang Yuan andpany beforeughing. "Didn¡¯t the three of you get the realm energy from Golden Dragon Lake? Take it out now and after everything is done, you guys will get your fair share!" "This..." Venerable Fiery Dragon exchanged nces with Deity Clear Lotus and both of them were hesitating. Although the realm energy from the Golden Dragon Lake was valuable, they would surely agree if they could exchange it for the country¡¯s realm energy. Although there were risks involved, they still had a chance of sess. After all, Feng Xinzi had already nned for quite a while and was confident of sess. "If the both of you are willing to give us our fair share of the country¡¯s realm energy, both of us would be willing to give our realm energy up." Deity Clear Lotus nodded her head. "What about you, Brother Fang?" Feng Xinzi looked at Fang Yuan with a look of anticipation. "This..." Fang Yuan scratched his head and replied with embarrassment. "I have already used up all my realm energy..." Chapter 248: The Pen and The Sword Chapter 248: The Pen and The Sword Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Used up?" Fang Yuan realised that not just Feng Xinzi, but even Venerable Fiery Dragon and Deity Clear Lotus were looking at him with disappointment. "Do you know how valuable realm energy is?" Deity Clear Lotus¡¯s finger shook. "If brought back to Da Qian, it can be exchanged for at least a thousand contribution points. Some high-tier dream masters might evene up with their own offers to buy or even owe you a favour... Even if you are keeping it for yourself for self-cultivation, you canbine it with spiritual objects to improve its effect. Why would you do this... you¡¯re wasting it!" "Eh... it¡¯s actually our fault for not exining it to him..." There was a look of pity on Venerable Fiery Dragon¡¯s face. As for Feng Xinzi and Yu Tiao, both of them had a look of suspicion on their faces. They were suspecting if Fang Yuan had told them the truth. To Fang Yuan, it was extremely worth it to use a third of the realm energy from the Golden Dragon Lake to achieve a breakthrough in his own cultivation as a dream master. It was not a waste. No matter how good the prospects were, practical gains were the most important. Fang Yuan remained speechless as he nced at Venerable Fiery Dragon and Deity Clear Lotus giving up their realm energies to lend them out. "Hehe... Brother Fang, you seem to be very nonchnt about everything here!" Noticing him, Yu Tiao chirped. "It¡¯s not that... I am only thinking. Throughout the years, Lie Country must have some sort of backing or source of power to remain in power. Are the five of us enough to take down the king..." "Keke... Don¡¯t worry, my friend!" Feng Xinzi waved his hands. "I am already familiar with every person in Lie Country. No one is stronger than Golden Dragon God... except for the king of Lie Country. He has the protection of the realm energy, which makes it a little troublesome..." "When do we strike?" "Let¡¯s not dy things further. A dayter would mean an additional day for the masters to prepare. Let¡¯s get ourselves ready and strike now!" Feng Xinzi was decisive. ... "Kill!" Both lords, Chunhe and Huixing were Feng Xinzi¡¯s puppets. Just as Fang Yuan andpany were making theirst preparations, themotion of chaos was heard as they prepare to invade the city. "Bang!" A huge catapult hurled a hundred-pound rock at the city wall. As the rock crumbled into smaller pieces, it smashed into a few people, making blood spurt everywhere. Those rocks which were slightly more urate were flung just above the city walls, smashing everything in their way and resulting in a bloodied mess. "Release the arrows!" On the walls, soldiers were frantically trying to defend as they shot their arrows at the enemies. As the enemies approached the walls, there were logs and rocks being rolled down, smashing everything in its way. "Haha... the heavens are blessing the king!" At the city gate, a general with a ck face wasughing. "They have yet topose themselves but are already attempting to attack the city! They are seeking death!" Although they didn¡¯t know the reason behind the haphazard enemy attack, he knew that if they continued to attack, they would slowly be weakened! They were disorganised to begin with and could only survive by piging the vigers. Now that they were attacking without organisation, they would not be able to withstand once the casualty rate rises. They might even crumble in the next moment. ¡¯By then, I would get the credit for everything... should I counter attack them outside the city? If I can capture any one of the lords, I might be heavily rewarded!!!¡¯ Just as his eyes were glittering with greed, he could see 5 shadows rushing towards the city gate at an astonishing speed. "Who are those? Kill them!" Although he knew that these 5 people were highly skilled, he did not panic. After all, in his many years of experience in Lie Country, he was already familiar with the different ambushes from enemies. Therefore, he could naturally react to the situation. The only thing he was unaware was that the 5 of them had abilities he could never have imagined. The next moment. "Rumble!" There was a huge explosion and the city walls shook. The general almost lost his footing. His ears were buzzing and bleeding, and he felt a little dizzy. "What happened?" As he struggled to crawl onto the city walls, he was dumbfounded. Where the city gate once was it was no more. Instead, there was a huge hole, and 5 silhouettes were standing by it. "What are you guys waiting for? Attack! Attack!" The guards outside the city were shocked as well. As they slowly came out of their daze, their eyes were bloodshot. "Those who enter the city will get riches and concubines... your pick!" "Kill!" Seeing that their strongest defence was destroyed, the attack soldiers were inspired. Attracted by the rewards, they shouted as they rushed into the city. Compared to them, the guards within the city were stunned and unable to react. Seeing the city gate being destroyed, their confidence was shaken. Since their enemy had assistance from the gods, the only thing they could do was to run and escape! "De... Demons!" Looking at the five Illusionary Divine stage dream masters at the city gate, his face was flushed as he spat out a mouthful of blood. "Even if it costs my life, I would fight all of you to my death!" "Kill!" "Kill them!" His eyes were bloodshot. Enraged, he killed an escaping soldier and gathered his own soldiers, mustering their courage. However, his fighting spirit was only a small wave in the ocean of enemy soldiers. Within seconds, he disappeared. "Kacha!" In the sky, dark clouds started to form as lightning danced in the sky. It was as though the involvement of the 5 dream masters had angered the heavens, resulting in the natural disaster. ... "What a defeat..." At the city gate, the five dream masters in the Illusionary Divine stage were witnessing the war, and Fang Yuan sighed. Even though the five of them were just standing there, the surrounding troops were still afraid toe near them and proactively gave them a small empty space. "This is the downfall of the capital of Lie Country...." Feng Xinzi lowered his head. "Do not hold back and release everything that we¡¯ve got! Double Dragons, create chaos!" Two streaks of realm energy appeared on his hands. Fang Yuan could recognise that they were from the Golden Dragon Lake. In Feng Xinzi¡¯s hands, the two streaks of realm energy roared and transfigured into two white serpents. Rushing up into the sky, it formed an array and released 5 streaks of white glow, covering Fang Yuan and the rest of the dream masters. "Oh... this is..." Looking at the glow on his own hands, Fang Yuan no longer felt that there was an impending cmity. ¡¯Feng Xinzi is an experienced dream master indeed. He can shield us from the heavens with a simple array!¡¯ Fang Yuan silentlyplimented him in his heart. Following, he could hear Feng Xinzi¡¯s voice. "This array can only cover us for about 4 hours. In return, we have to use up all the realm energy from the Golden Dragon Lake... we need to make full use of this opportunity!" "Go!" As the five of them looked at each other, they rushed into the royal pce. "King! Bad news! The city has been invaded!" In the royal pce, the king who has just returned to the pce turned pale. He almost tripped down a flight of stairs. "How can they enter so quickly?" "It¡¯s 5 demonsbining forces to break the city gate!" "Such a thing could happen?" The king got to his feet and cried. "Does the heavens want me dead?" Ultimately, he was not the average person. Before the servants could console him, he had already wiped his tears. "I can die but the country must live on! Letting my brothers inherit the throne would still be better than letting the 5 demons take control! Where¡¯s the First Officer and First Lieutenant? "We¡¯re here!" As both of them arrived, they bowed with a face of determination. "As king, I now announce that both of you are the imperial advisors. Quickly be on your way to kill the demons!" The king of Lie Country clenched his teeth. After wiping out the demons, even though the country would be in shambles, he could still ensure his family¡¯s ce on the throne. If the demons were to be sessful, his heritage would be no more and the consequences would be unimaginable. "Chi! Chi!" Since he was the king, following hismands were dragon roars. Behind the king, a huge streak of realm energy appeared. It stretched from the skies to the ground and a majestic power which the realm energy at the Golden Dragon Lakecked. "Whooo! Whooo!" Two spiritual auras broke from the country¡¯s realm energy andnded on the First Officer and First Lieutenant, strengthening them. "Chirp! Chirp!" "Aww! Aww!" Behind the both of them, there was a Vermilion Bird and a White Tiger respectively. Absorbing the realm energies, they started to achieve breakthroughs and arrived at a level no one had attained before. "I can only die serving you to repay your kindness, king!" In a bright glow, both of them flew upwards and out of the royal pce. "King!" The king was dizzy and almost fell to the ground. As he looked at the shocked faces of his servants around, he rubbed his nose, and blood came out. "In history, we do not make people imperial advisors unless necessary. Now, I understand why..." ¡¯Appointing imperial advisors would suck out life from me, which would ultimately lead to my death...¡¯ Finally, he understood. ¡¯With such a minor injury, it must be the heavens siding me!¡¯ ... "Be careful! The enemy is highly skilled and they are most probably the First Officer and First Lieutenant. They harness power from the zodiacs of a White Tiger and a Vermilion Bird respectively, are are the epitome of ¡¯the pen and the sword¡¯!" Feng Xinzi could see two strong spiritual auras emerging from the royal pce, transfiguring into a White Tiger and a Vermilion Bird. "Killing them would render the king useless!" "White Tiger, to counter their enemies?" Fang Yuan stared at one of them with interest. Above that person¡¯s head was a bright white glow forming the shape of a huge tiger. Just by the looks of it, it already seemed more superior to Qin Yi¡¯s white tiger. Needless to say, there were glitters of stars on the white tiger, which made it look more ferocious and determined. "Is this the zodiac which the country¡¯s realm energy support?" Venerable Fiery Dragon appeared solemn. "With such power, I¡¯m afraid they might be stronger than the Golden Dragon God!" "Demon! Die!" On the other side, there was a red glow and a Vermilion Birdnded, revealing an old man with a gentlemanly look and a crown on his head. As he pointed at the 5 of them, a burning inferno started to grow. Chapter 249: The Battle Chapter 249: The Battle Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The old First Officer was still an advisor of Lie Country. As his zodiac strengthened him, he transformed into a Fiery Vermilion Bird as his power was used to its maximum capacity. "Roar! Roar!" As he struck, the other First Lieutenant was alsoing towards them strong. With the roar of his white tiger, he swung a w at the 5 of them. The tiger¡¯s roar could be heard a thousand miles away and in it, there was a burning spiritual aura. As the power of the Alkaid Starnded, it was simr to the power of a Wu Zong in the Meridian Opening Realm; both were perfect counters to spiritual spells. With thebination of the pen and the sword, theirbined strength was more than just two Golden Dragon Gods! "Ah..." At one side, there were criesing from the soldiers. They were set aze by the fire from the Vermilion Bird and were quickly burnt to death. Even the cultivators among them could not escape! They were only watching from the sidelines but could already experience its intense power. This would mean that Fang Yuan andpany would experience pressure from the bird a hundred, or even a thousand times more! "You¡¯re good!" Spiritual meridians appeared on Fang Yuan¡¯s back which formed a spiritual armour, and a fire-type spiritual sword was actualised on his hands as well. Fang Yuan let out a gentle sigh as he entered his strongest state, ready for battle. "If I had yet to achieve a breakthrough, I might find it troublesome to deal with this thing!" As the spiritual armour on his body glowed, it repelled the fire. Fang Yuan quickly nced around. Around Deity Clear Lotus, petals of lotuses appeared around her and let out a warm glow, separating her from the burning inferno outside. With an exmation, a red fiery dragon appeared around Venerable Fiery Dragon.Its scales were shimmering as it appeared extremely real. With another shout, the mes in the vicinity disappeared as the dragon started to swallow it up. "Thank you Venerable!" A pill¡¯s essence surrounded Feng Xinzi as he smiled at Venerable Fiery Dragon. "Hehe... do you really want to use your child¡¯s y against me..." Yu Tiao looked at the Alkaid Star White Tiger zodiac andughed. "Pain!" "Aw! Aw!" The tiger w suddenly stopped in mid-air and the entire tiger started to flicker. Within the tiger, the old First Lieutenant went pale as he clenched his teeth, almost shrieking in pain. "How¡¯s it, old lieutenant?" Seeing this, First Officer stopped and instructed the Vermilion Bird to spread its wings, covering both of them inside. "Be careful of that woman! Her witchcraft do harm by merely speaking a few words!" First Lieutenant wiped the blood stains on his mouth. Slowly, his eyes turned bloodshot. "Is this a curse technique?" Fang Yuan looked at Yu Tiao with confusion. "Indeed mysterious!" In the next moment, the Alkaid Star White Tiger stabilized once again and pounced out with bloodshot eyes. "Burn!" With a smile, she continued her Mastery of Curses. "Aw! Aw!" But this time, the Alkaid Star White Tiger was prepared as it roared loudly. "Rumble!" A glow shot down from the Alkaid Star and transfigured into a long spear striking down. "Pu!!!" Yu Tiao¡¯s expression changed as she spat out a mouthful of blood. Quickly, she retreated. "What are you all waiting for? Do you want to see me die?" From her tone, Fang Yuan could here a rare hint of anxiety. He looked up towards the sky. From there, he could see a bright Alkaid Star! ¡¯It seems that there are limitations to the Mastery of Curses. For instance, if she were to curse something with a much higher cultivation, she would experience a bacsh! The first Lieutenant is rather smart to link up himself with the Alkaid Star. This way, if Yu Tiao wanted to curse him, she would have to curse the entire Big Dipper or face bacsh!¡¯ Looking around, he realised that Feng Xinzi was a dream alchemy master while Deity Clear Lotus and Venerable Fiery Dragon were dream spells masters. With a sigh, he swung his fire-type spiritual sword out. "Whoosh!" Thepletely formed fire-type sword essence formed a streak of fire as it shot towards the Alkaid Star White Tiger. "Aw! Aw!" The white tiger was fearless as it continued to swipe at the sword essence. "Whoosh!" After a sound was heard, the white tiger¡¯s w was severed and fell to the ground. "Whoosh!" Fang Yuan became a ck shadow as he rushed into the figure of the white tiger. With another strike of his sword, the sword essence exploded as the First Lieutenant¡¯ expression changed. "What an impressive magical weapon!" He had the premonition that even with the blessings of the country¡¯s realm energy, he would still sumb to Fang Yuan¡¯s red sword! "Oh, so Brother Fang is a dream soldier master!" Venerable Fiery Dragonplimented him as he waved his hands, mustering the fiery dragon to fight with the white tiger. "First Officer, we are your opponents!" Seeing Fang Yuan making the first move and Venerable Fiery Dragon blocking the path of the First Lieutenant¡¯s white tiger, Feng Xinzi and Deity Clear Lotus stood in front of the First Officer. Pill essence and lotus petals filled the air and even the Vermilion Bird could not break through. "Feng Xinzi?" The First Officer¡¯s eyes glittered. "I¡¯ve heard that the two lords are being incited by a man named ¡¯Feng Xinzi¡¯. Is that you?" "Naturally!" Feng Xinzi was not a cowardly man as he quickly admitted. "This would mean that you are the man behind all these. You are a criminal and deserves to die!" The First Officer appeared solemn. "Die!" "Chirp! Chirp!" Behind him, the Vermilion Bird gave out a long chirp as its mes grew bigger. It flew towards Feng Xinzi. "A sacrificial move?" Feng Xinzi shook his head and his body started to glow. Quickly, he transformed into the shape of a cauldron. The cauldron was red and had three legs and two handles by its side. It was as though it was carved from a huge red piece of jade. Suddenly, the top of the cauldron opened up and fire began to spit out of it. "Fire Consuming Cauldron?" Deity Clear Lotus could recognise that this was Feng Xinzi¡¯s signature move. However, a Vermilion Bird¡¯s sacrificial move would create a much scarier inferno than anyone could ever imagine! Even an alchemy master¡¯s cauldron was not enough to consume the mes in entirety. As the golden mes spread, Deity Clear Lotus and Feng Xinzi were forced to retreat in embarrassment. "Nothing happened?" After a wave of mes, the First Officer shook his head as he realised that both of them were unharmed. As he mustered his energy, a streak of light emerged from his head as it searched for a random star in the sky tobine its energy. "Rumble!" As the glow from the stars scattered, a Vermilion Bird burning in mes appeared and once again went after Feng Xinzi and Deity Clear Lotus. Inspiration in writing transforming into a Vermilion Bird! The rebirth of the bird! The First Officer was filled with a schrly vibe and in the destruction of his zodiac, pure tongues of mes swept across, and it was a terrifying sight to behold! "Yu Tiao!" Even Feng Xinzi could not cope with the continuous waves of mes as he called for help. "Extinguish!" As Yu Tiao nced over, she did not dare to curse the First Officer anymore. Instead, she targeted the Vermilion Bird directly. "Chirp! Chirp!" The newly reborn Vermilion Bird¡¯s mes weakened in a moment. Seeing this, the First Officer sighed and continued to release his schrly vibes as fuel for the Vermilion Bird to recover and strike back once again. "Hey old man, although you¡¯re the First Officer, don¡¯t you still want to keep your life? Why are you going all out?" Feng Xinzi had always been very gentlemanly but this time, he could not hold back. "Since you want to die, we¡¯ll grant you your wish! Continue to hold up against him, he won¡¯t be able to hold on for long!" "Everyone would die someday!" The First Officer smiled calmly and looked at the First Lieutenant. "Aw! Aw!" The white tiger started to roar. The First Lieutenant was at a disadvantaged situation. As the sword radiance glittered, there was another charred scar on his shoulder. Fang Yuan was one of the rare dream masters with highly skilled martial arts. Not just that, his fully actualised magical soldiers were extremely sharp and hardy. With thebination of skill and weapon, he had reached the peak potential of a dream soldier master! Furthermore, there was Venerable Fiery Dragon who was also helping out with his spiritual spells. "Bind!" As Venerable Fiery Dragon pointed to the ground, vines started to appear and bind the white tiger. "This is the time! Fiery dragon - explode!" With a heartless look, he eximed. "Rumble!" The fiery dragon roared and exploded and within seconds, the white tiger was covered in red mes. "You..." The First Lieutenant¡¯s face was flushed and there were burnt marks all over his body. With the explosion, he flew backwards. Fang Yuan would not let such a golden opportunity slip by. At the moment of explosion, he risked the mes and rushed towards the First Lieutenant, striking his right hand out. "Whooosh!" The mes flickered. The fire-type sword went straight through the First Lieutenant but there was no blood, as the wound was charred! With such an injury, any mortal, even if he was an imperial advisor, would die without a doubt! "Cough cough..." The First Lieutenant¡¯s expression changed as he spat out a few mouthfuls of blood. With a smile, he eximed. "Brother, I¡¯ll take my leave first!" Behind him, the Alkaid Star White Tiger wailed and condensed. "Let¡¯s go!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyebrow twitched as he retreated quickly with Venerable Fiery Dragon. "Haha... either way, I¡¯ll die! Why not die for the country?" As the First Officer cringed, he appeared as though he had aged another 10 years. "With my green blood, dye the skies green! Green Skies Green Blood, the Vermilion Bird shall burn!!!" "Pu!" With his knife, he sliced his chest. "Whoosh!" Green blood started to flow out as it seeped into the Vermilion Bird. Shortly after, the First Officer appeared weakened and seemed like he could not live much longer. However, with the Green Skies Green Blood chant, the undead Vermilion Bird let out a long chirp and spread its wings. Its spiritual aura started to grow by a thousand folds! "Two crazy old men!" The five dream masters quickly retreated as they witnessed two mushroom-shaped clouds floating up in the air. "They are only a temporary nuisance!" Feng Xinzi wiped the blood from his mouth and eximed. "This is not good!" "Kacha!" "Kacha!" 5 consecutive distinct sounds were heard as the white glow on Fang Yuan andpany exploded! "Whoooo!" The winds blew and dark clouds started to spread across the sky! In the skies, lightning started to strike everywhere and in the thunder, there was a familiar feeling of impending threat. The self-destruction of the two old men, together with the realm energy had destroyed the protection on their bodies! Their demonic and evil spiritual auras were revealed in the realm. "Rumble!" Thunder roared and it was as though the heavens were taking things into their own hands! A tribtion from the heavens has arrived! Chapter 250: Wrapping Things Up Chapter 250: Wrapping Things Up Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Kacha!" Amidst the dark clouds, lightning struck everywhere and 5 streaks of purple lightning descended from the heavens! This was a tribtion from the heavens, a bacsh from the entire realm! "We have to give it our all!" The five dream masters looked at each other and eximed. "Fire Consuming Cauldron!" "Fiery dragon explosion!" "Funeral Flowers Chant!" "Seal!" The 4 dream masters all revealed their signature moves to counter the purple lightning. Even Fang Yuan was solemn. His Sixth Elemental Force exploded and together with his fire-type spiritual sword, he sliced towards the purple lightning. "Rumble!" As the lightning met with his sword, his hand shook and he retreated, his face looking deste. "What on earth..." Looking at the Leaving Fire Sword, he noticed the spiritual light from it bing dimmer. It was evident that the sword was damaged, and he let out a soft sigh. He had restored his full power and could only do so much to counter the tribtion from the heavens. The 4 other dream masters would surely have it worse. "The power of the tribtion increases as we continue to fight against it." Looking at the dark clouds in the sky, Fang Yuanughed coldly. "If we lose our physical bodies, our souls would be exposed to the elements. Even though we are at the Illusionary Divine stage, our souls would still be captured and it would not be as simple as damaging our original bodies." "This is not good..." Feng Xinzi¡¯s robes flew with the wind and his chest started to turn red. Suddenly, he shouted. "We cannot guess the heaven¡¯s intention and it is unwise to go against it. The only way out is to kill the king of Lie Country and obtain the country¡¯s realm energy before making our way back!" Even though they were possessing the bodies of the natives, the heavens could already identify them and the tribtions would only continue. They could only have a chance of survival if they had the power of the entire world, but how was that possible? With that, Fang Yuan started tough to himself as he heard what Feng Xinzi said. "Alright!" However, he was not standing in their shoes as he had already reaped the benefits and would not be without his gains if he returned. Venerable Fiery Dragon and Deity Clear Lotus, on the other hand, would feel the pain as they would have lost everything. Thus, they quickly rushed towards the royal pce. On the top floors of the royal pce. "Demons! Demons indeed!" The king of Lie Country shuddered as he witnessed these five silhouettes killing the First Officer and First Lieutenant, as well as countering the tribtions from the heavens. With that, his legs turned to jelly. "Protect the king!" In the royal pce, there were other highly skilled people other than the First Officer and First Lieutenant. Many servants and generals rushed towards the five of them like grasshoppers trying to block a car. "Seeking death!" Against the few desperate dream masters, they all turned into a bloodied mess. A few unlucky ones even had to undergo the tribtions from the heavens and were struck by lightning. "King... The capital and royal pce have been invaded. You are no longer the king. Cooperate with us and give us the realm energy, and we might just let your soul free!" Feng Xinzi struck his palm and a few armoured guards flew away. Originally, his n was to gather both Chunhe and Huixin to rebel and force the king to give up his throne and strike while they hand over the dragon¡¯s realm energy. But now, since the heavens had already detected them, the n was being messed up. "Rumble!" The dark clouds covered the entire country and darkness filled every corner of the pce. Within minutes, it had turned into night time. As the purple lightning struck, the vicinity would be lighted up for a second, illuminating a chaotic capital city and the pale face of the king of Lie Country. "Quickly hide, king! These demons are undergoing tribtions from the heavens and cannotst long!" At one side, a servant advised the king. "It¡¯s toote!" The kingughed. "I am already dead! Even if I were to die, I will not let these demons get what they want!" As he spoke, blood began to flow out of his mouth. "King..." The servants beside him cried. Without another word, all of them surrounded the king as they attempted to let the king survive a little longer. "The King of Lie Country dictates that the Country¡¯s realm energy will return to the heavens. Heavens, please decide on how you would deal with these demons!" As the king struggled, he used his blood to write out a few sentences. Within seconds, his face started to bleed as he lost his breath. As the 5 dream masters rushed upstairs, they were shocked. A pitiful roar of a dragon was heard and the illusionary shadow of a water dragon fell. Following, a streak of realm energy as thick as a pir separated from the water dragon and shot straight into the sky before disappearing. Everything happened within seconds but Feng Xinzi quickly understood what was happening. "Despicable!" "How can the king be so extreme? To destroy his own country?" Witnessing the scene, Fang Yuan was confused as well. Originally, even if the king were to kill himself, the dragon¡¯s realm energy would be split among the few potential heirs of the throne, with Chunhe and Huixing being the likely recipients. If that had happened, then everything would have gone ording to Feng Xinzi¡¯s n. But now, by returning the country¡¯s realm energy to the heavens, it was destroying all their hopes. "Ah! Even though you¡¯re dead, I will kill all your descendants and burn your soul!!!" Venerable Fiery Dragon was enraged. Both Deity Clear Lotus and himself had invested their realm energies and thought that they could gain from it. But now, everything was lost and he was going crazy. "Rumble!" As for the heavens, after receiving the realm energy from the king, the lightning and thunders rumbled with much more power than before. Countless purple lightning formed the shape of an eye. The eye of the heavens! Suddenly, the dream masters felt as though they were being seen through. "Let¡¯s go!" Fang Yuan was decisive. Although he could defend himself from the previous few rounds of tribtions, the heavens were truly awakened this time. They had no chance against it and he quickly executed his dream-traversing technique to abandon his body as he travelled back to his own realm. "Buzz!" As that moment, he vaguely heard the exmations from Feng Xinzi and the rest and a red lightning striking his possessed body, burning it. ... Da Qian Empire, Sand Region, Dongyi County. Fang Yuan shook as he opened his eyes. "Phew!" After shaking his limbs, he only felt a little weaker than before. It was a good thing that he had instructed his body to continuously take in elemental force before leaving it, and therefore everything was fine. However, he still felt a little fear at the moment he left the Hui Realm. The red lightning was stronger than the previous tribtion by 10 times! 100 times! At his current level of cultivation, if he were to be struck, he would die in the realm and even affect his own real body! "The good thing is that... I have still gained from this trip!" Looking at his stats winder, he smiled. "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 36 Spirit: 30 Magic: 30 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (1st Tier), Wu Zong (3rd Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 4) (1%)], Hundred Poison Golden Body (1st Refining), [8 Gates Sword Array (2nd Sword) (10%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "The realm energy from the Golden Dragon Lake is enough for the 8 Gates Sword Array to achieve a breakthrough, and that is enough..." Fang Yuan¡¯s consciousness entered his actualised dream world. Looking at the centre of the 8 Gates Sword Array, he noticed that the Leaving Fire Sword was dimmer than usual. This was due to the damage that it had sustained from countering the tribtion. However, it didn¡¯t matter as he could slowly use his dream elemental energy to repair it. Other than that, there was also a golden fruit floating in mid-air as it floated around with his dream elemental force. There was a circle of golden glow around it and it was covered in runes. "Let me find out more about this in the Dream Realm... and also take a look at Feng Xinzi and the rest of them... they still owe me a ton of contribution points!" Fang Yuan closed his eyes and entered the Dream Realm. The streets were busy as usual. As soon as Fang Yuan entered the Dream Realm, his jade inscription te started to glow. "Feng Xinzi?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyebrows twitched. "It¡¯s me... Brother, let¡¯s meet at the usual ce!" Feng Xinzi sounded weak. "Alright!" Fang Yuan was deep in his own thoughts as he arrived at the tea building. Indeed, Feng Xinzi was already waiting for him in a private room. Inside, a beautifuldy with a familiar spiritual aura greeting Fang Yuan. "Its Deity Clear Lotus!" He smiled and recognised her. "I wonder where Venerable Fiery Dragon and Yu Tiao are?" "Yu Tiao and yourself were quick to react and left before the lightning struck. As for Feng Xinzi and myself, we were a little slower and were slightly affected and our souls were heavily wounded. As for Brother Fiery Dragon..." Deity Clear Lotus revealed a sad look. "We still have no news of him. I have already contacted the people of his sect but there is still no news of him. I¡¯m afraid... he is unfortunate!" Fang Yuan bit his lip. No one would expect that a simple exploration mission would escte into such a situation. "In that realm, normal deaths would lead to damage to the soul. However, for us, we have crossed the line..." Feng Xinzi let out a bitterugh. "Before I came here, I have researched about the red lightning. It seems that the lightning is from the natural source in that realm! Dream masters who would attract such a lightning would usually not end up well!" "Natural source?" Fang Yuan was deep in his thoughts. "That¡¯s right... the natural source of energy of Hui Realm is from their realm energy, and especially from the country¡¯s dragon realm energy. The heavens were enraged to the point that they would not mind consuming their natural source of energy to destroy us..." There was fear in Feng Xinzi¡¯s voice. In fact, he was prepared for the journey to Hui Realm. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have gotten the array which was able to shield them from the tribtions. Never would they have thought that an enraged world would be so scary, and this was a huge blow to him. "Oh... I¡¯m afraid that Brother Fiery Dragon¡¯s soul is either severely injured or he might have died, and I am at fault..." Feng Xinzi sighed, took out his inscription te and waved his hands. On Fang Yuan¡¯s inscription te, there was an additional string of contribution points. "This is the promised contribution points!" "And from me!" Deity Clear Lotus was honourable and quickly transferred contribution points to Fang Yuan as well. "Thank you!" This was what they had agreed on, and Fang Yuan epted the contribution points without hesitation. They continued to talk for a while. Feng Xinzi and Deity Clear Lotus were both injured. Not long after, they parted as they returned to healing their injuries. Chapter 251: Hire Chapter 251: Hire Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Fang Yuan originally had no more contribution points left. But now, he had another few hundred contribution points and he hesitated no more as he arrived at the rock tablet. "Based on the number of contribution points I have, I¡¯m sure I will have enough to hire a high-tiered dream master to discover the path ahead for my Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique. However, I can only make breakthroughs for a few more grades, and might as well buy the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique!" After thinking about it, he released his interest in buying the entire recordings of the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique and ced emphasis on the entire recordings. This meant that he expected the recordings to include the process of condensing the Divine Body. Fang Yuan was speechless when he realised that he had to pay a contribution point just by releasing his request. "Next up... to find out information rting to dream-traversing the different realms!" He quickly browsed through the information on the rock tablet as the relevant ones were sieved out. There would be a short synopsis of the information to allow the reader to understand what the information was about before the reader would decide to buy the information so that he could continue reading the information. Suddenly, Fang Yuan shuddered. He focused on a piece of information regarding how to urately dream-traverse to a specific location and there was a picture as well, which piqued his interest. The information was recorded by a famous dream master known as Venerable Dream Traverser. He also realised that his recordings were rather popr as many had bought from him. He immediately bought it without hesitation when he realised that he would have to fork out 100 contribution points for the recording. "Rumble!" A glow emerged and huge chunks of information appeared. "The realm would be unaware that you are from a foreign realm... There are two ways in which dream masters can explore worlds. Either by exploring the worlds in their true physical body or through dream-traversing... I will first exin how to dream-traverse to a specific location... The techniques include ¡¯Three Elemental Technique¡¯, ¡¯Offering Technique¡¯ and ¡¯Realm Breaking Technique¡¯... regardless, they are all inferior to obtaining a Realm Evidence!" "Realm Evidence is something which obeys the rules of reality in that realm and is universally epted everywhere in the realm. A person with Realm Evidence would automatically integrate with the realm and will have a high tolerance within the realm. It is something everyone would hope for but not everyone would get!" Behind the description, there was a picture depicting how Realm Evidence would look like. There were talismans, swords or even an ordinary looking rock. The only simrity between these objects was the fact that there would be many runes within it, which would inscribe the coordinates of the realm they were from. "This..." Reading this, Fang Yuan was speechless. To him, Realm Evidence was the entry pass to everything and it would not matter how it physically looked like. "From the appearance of the runes around it, it¡¯s likely that the golden fruit has the coordinate of a realm!" His eyes glittered. "No wonder it looked so confusing! I will need to express it in the form of a talisman in order to sieve out the coordinates of the realm and eptance to the realm..." Since he had just returned from dream-traversing, he would not immediately attempt it again. Furthermore, he still needed to learn how to activate the coordinates and it was not something that he could achieve in a short period of time. Therefore, he left the Dream Realm promptly and arrived at the Qin Family¡¯s mansion, requested for a quiet ce and started to execute his dream-essing technique. Although the Qin Family¡¯s mansion was protected by a protective array and had the protection of a few elders, Fang Yuan could still sneak in without anyone knowing that the Qin Siblings were his moles. Very quickly, Qin Yun, who was doing some manualbour, felt sleepy and waved his hands. "I¡¯m a little tired. I¡¯ll take a quick nap first, don¡¯t disturb me!" "Yes, Sir!" The servants were promptly dismissed as Qin Yun arrived at a reclining chair. With a yawn, he entered into a deep slumber. In a bewildering fog, his body appeared and he noticed a young man in front. "Greetings, Sir!" "Mm, please rise!" Fang Yuan waved his hands. A stone table and two stone chairs suddenly rose, and there was a tea set on the table with brewed tea in it. "Here!" He quickly called Qin Yun to join him and poured a cup of tea for him. After all, he was a family head and he had to treat him like one. "How¡¯s the investigation?" Qin Yun took a small sip and was mesmerised by the fragrance of the tea. He knew the prowess of a dream master and therefore was respectful. "I¡¯ve got news regarding the Yang Family. They were originally the most influential family in their county but unknowingly, they were wiped out by Venerable Qing Gui!" ¡¯Indeed, it happened!¡¯ Fang Yuan nodded his head before continuing to probe further. "Did the imperial court investigate what happened?" "Venerable Qing Gui was a dream master in the Illusionary Divine stage and was not easy to take control of him... Furthermore, he was from the Evil Divine Sect! Of course, it was necessary to go by the books and conduct the investigation, but as to how the investigations were being conducted... Hmmm..." Qin Yun shook his head and Fang Yuan was once again reminded of the power of dream masters in Da Qian Empire. "As for the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique... The technique was the Yang Family¡¯s signature martial arts technique and would allow a martial artist to form 8 spiritual meridians and condense the Divine Body. It is considered rather powerful and after cirction, most families would have parts of the recordings regarding the technique. However, most parts only record up to forming the 8 meridians. As for the entire recordings, after my investigations, they should be in the hands of the Ruan Family!". "Ruan Family?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyebrows twitched. Never would he have guessed that the Qin Family would be so efficient in their investigations. "That¡¯s right! The Ruan Family is rted to the Yang Family through marriage. On the day of the downfall of the Yang Family, one of the elders was severely injured but managed to escape. He was rescued by the Ruan Family but unfortunately, could not be treated. With that, he passed on and the entire recordings of the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique now lie in the hands of the Ruan Family!" Qin Yun continued. "Ruan Family is situated in Victorious East Region, Yiwu County. It is two regions away from Sand Region. Sir, do you need directions there?" The Da Qian Empire was vast and many timesrger than Yuan and Wu Country. "No need!" Fang Yuan waved his hands. He started to miss the flying beasts he had back at home. "Wait a moment..." His expression changed. "There seems to be a hiring service in the Dream Realm. I can directly hire a spiritual bird to bring me to Victorious East Region, and this idea seems possible..." However, there was also such a service provided in Sand Region. The only difference was that the type of birds used was weaker, slower and easily tracked down. Without another word, he left. In the Qin Family¡¯s mansion, Qin Yun slowly woke up and was deep in his thoughts. ... With a target in mind, Fang Yuan quickly put up a mission request in the Dream Realm. There was no difficulty in this mission. It only required the person to ferry him. Therefore, he only offered 10 contribution points. Even so, there were quite a lot of people interested in taking up the mission. After browsing through a number of interested dream masters, he chose a dream master¡¯s symbol of which he deemed that the dream master was not too powerful. This person which he had chosen was respectful and mentioned that he had a spiritual birdparable to a Wu Zong and could fly undetected. Most importantly, he was geographically near this dream master! After a few words, they had agreed to meet up. After 2 hours, on a peak in Dongyi County, a giant spiritual birdnded amidst the gushing wind. This spiritual bird resembled an eagle and had golden feathers and two heads. It was a Golden Double-headed Eagle and was ferocious in nature. It was rumoured that this bird would be able to obtain elemental force at maturity and even have wind and fire abilities. The strongest among these birds would beparable to a spiritual knight in the Elemental Opening realm or a Wu Zong in the Meridian Opening realm. "Greetings, senior Fang!" As the double-headed eaglended, a young man walked down from the back of the eagle and greeted Fang Yuan. "Mmm, you¡¯re Huo Qing?" Fang Yuan nodded his head. "Based on the agreement, I¡¯ll pay you half of the amount, and after ferrying me to Yiwu County in Victorious East Region, I¡¯ll pay you the remaining half. Is that right?" "That¡¯s right!" Hua Qing invited Fang Yuan up the back of the eagle. Within seconds, the double-headed eagle had flown into the clouds. "Chirp!" The double-headed eagle let out a long chirp, forming a green sphere which covered its body, blocking the wind. "Senior, please enjoy!" On the spacious back of the eagle, Huo Qing had prepared tea and snacks. "We¡¯ll arrive there in a day¡¯s time after crossing two regions, please be patient!" "You are meticulous..." Fang Yuan looked into Huo Qing¡¯s eyes and realised that he was an elementary dream master in the realm of dream-essing. Of course, considering his age, he was already a talent. The only thing was that there was a big gap between his cultivation and Fang Yuan¡¯s, which was why it was still appropriate for him to address Fang yuan as a senior. "This double-headed eagle is rather good. If it was me, I think I would be unable to tame such a quick spiritual bird..." After a while, Fang Yuanplimented him. "You¡¯re right, senior!" Huo Qing was careful with his words. "There are lots of dangers within these two regions that we are crossing. Even though we¡¯re high up in the sky, we still have to be careful... Furthermore, we will be flying across county cities, district towns and even some influential and powerful families. Therefore we have to avoid them... I am useless and can only rely on this to make a living..." Hearing his exnation, Fang Yuan was shocked. He never knew that Da Qian Empire would be so advanced to the point of even protecting their own airspaces. If he were to capture any random spiritual bird and flew across, he would invite trouble for himself. Of course, from this, he could also understand why Huo Qing was doing this. Huo Qing had painstakingly tamed a Golden Double-headed Eagle, remembered the air routes and made a living from ferrying people to ces. From offering such services for hire, he would be able to earn contribution points to exchange for resources in the Dream Realm. If Fang Yuan was a native from the Da Qian Empire without any special skills, after bing a dream master, he would probably take the same route and depend on a skill to save up in order to achieve a breakthrough in the future. "Not bad... not bad at all!" The journey was a smooth one and thend below started to turn green with vegetation. As the mountainous regions approached, Fang Yuan knew that they had entered Victorious East Region. Suddenly, he enquired. "With such an ability, have you thought of expanding? For instance, establishing an association and offering your services to everybody?" "Keke..." Huo Qingughed. "I am a dream master! How can I serve mortals? Furthermore... they cannot afford to hire me!" Fang Yuan remained silent. Even elementary dream masters would have the pride of dream masters in Da Qian Empire. Remaining silent, they quickly arrived at Yiwu County. On a teau, Huo Qing ordered the double-headed eagle tond, and Fang Yuan dismounted. "Senior, are you here for your private affairs and that you don¡¯t want anybody to know about it?" Huo Qing stroked the double-headed eagle¡¯s feathers and fed it a spiritual fruit. "If you want to return, you can look for me! Little Golden and I are capable of evading the spiritual air soldiers! As he spoke, there was a sense of prideing from him. Chapter 252: Kidnap Chapter 252: Kidnap Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions ¡¯There are air soldiers patrolling the air in Da Qian?¡¯ Fang Yuan had picked out a different meaning from Huo Qing¡¯s words and became more alert. After all, to have control over the vast area and be blessed by the heavens, the Imperial Court would surely have this ability! Even though he was the Eagle Lieutenant in Yang Fan¡¯s dream world, he still did not know everything. At this point in time, he could slowly understand the power of Da Qian. "Only dream masters would be able to fight against dream masters... I¡¯m afraid that as Feng Xinzi described the 5 most powerful organisations in Da Qian, he left out the Imperial Court!" Fang Yuan waved goodbye to Huo Qing and entered Yiwu County. ... In Yiwu County, the Ruan Family was considered one of the influential families. In history, after receiving the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique from the Yang Family, everyone in the Ruan Family, be it elders or disciples, received a boost in their martial arts skills. From there, they had produced two elders in the Meridian Opening Realm, which secured their standing in the county. Of course, there were rumours that the reason why the Ruan Family could be so powerful in such a short time was not only due to the fact that they had the Yang Family¡¯s martial arts, but they also had a secret vault! This made the Ruan Family, without a doubt, one of the most powerful families in the region. However, by now, after many years, the rumour had started to go away. After all, which family could climb up and rise in influence without killing and sacrificing others? How many innocent people were harmed along the way? Since they were being suspected of wrongdoings, they would not harp on it. Slowly, the people in the county would forget about their deeds and would take them for a kind and pure family. To others outside the county, they would appear to be a legitimate strong family. In the Ruan Family¡¯s mansion study. The current family head of Ruan Family was Ruan Ming. He was in his fifties and was a Wu Zong. He knew how to take care of his body well and therefore only appeared to be in his thirties. He closed his eyes as he listened intently to his subordinates report the ounts. "In the East City, we have earned 2,000 elemental crystals. They have been kept in the main vault!" "The business in the few shops within the city are stabilising. Every month, they would bring 500 elemental crystals. ording to your wishes, we have already sent them to Young Master Junxian!" ... The few housekeepers knew the family head¡¯s temper and were all respectful. In the process, they casually mentioned a young master¡¯s name. "Mmm, Junxian is gifted and is the hope of our family... we cannot stop supporting him!" As he mentioned his son, he slowly opened his eyes, revealing a look of joy. He had 3 sons and 5 daughters. Most of them were average but Ruan Junxian was gifted in martial arts. He started at the age of 3 and achieved a breakthrough to the Pain Gate at the age of 8, obtaining inner force. Now, he was 16 and was already at the peak of the 12th Gate. He had entered ¡¯Thousand Year Mountain¡¯, a big sect in Victorious East Region. There were rumours that he was the most gifted there and was treated especially well. However, Ruan Ming knew that establishing good rtions was extremely important. Even though he was inside a big sect, he still needed a continuous supply of resources. As a family head, Ruan Ming was restricted in many ways and could only help him within his boundaries. "Family Head, we have good news!" At this point in time, a guard came in and knelt down on one knee with a joyous look on his face. "Young Master Junxian has written back! He will be leaving the sect with his master, ¡¯ck Tiger Taisui¡¯ and will be around Yiwu County in the next few days toe!" "Haha... Good news indeed!" Ruan Ming stood up. "Pass down the instructions to make preparations... ck Tiger Taisui is not only a Wu Zong in the Meridian Opening stage but also Junxian¡¯s master. We cannot show him any disrespect!" This He Shantong, the ck Tiger Taisui, was a person of high status in Thousand Year Mountain and legend has it that he had already formed 5 spiritual meridians and the Sixth Elemental Force! In the Tiger Ranks, he was ranked 87th in the whole of Victorious East Region! Victorious East Region was a region filled with martial artists and therefore had a ranking system of the Tiger Ranks and Dragon Ranks. To be ranked, one had to be younger than 40 years of age and be at least a Wu Zong. To be highly ranked, one had to at least be in the Meridian Opening stage. As for the Dragon Ranks, it was mostly unchanged. Only people who had formed all the spiritual meridians and condensed the Divine Body would be able to enter. For He Shantong to be in the Tiger Ranks meant that he was indeed highly skilled. Although the Ruan Family had three elders in the Meridian Opening stage, none of them was in the ranks. ... Outside the Ruan Family, Fang Yuan casually picked up a guard and flung him away, getting what he wanted. "The Ruan Family is simr to the Yang Family. They pass down their martial arts based on the status of the family members. I¡¯m afraid only the family head and the three elders know about the entire recordings..." At this point in time, Fang Yuan was still not skilled enough to just barge in a powerful family like the Ruan Family. More importantly, after getting what he came for, it would be hard for him to escape the surrounding guards. Furthermore, there might be countless arrays protecting the family¡¯s mansion or secret weapons. After all, this was not Yuan or Wu Country. Any wrong step would lead to him being captured. "In order for the n to work, I¡¯ll have to lure the snake out... That¡¯ll be the beloved son of the Ruan Family, Ruan Junxian, right?" Fang Yuan rubbed his chin as his eyes glittered. He never thought of the possibility of a trade. How would such a powerful and influential family easily give up their secret martial arts technique? Even if they were agreeable to a trade, Fang Yuan could most possibly be unable to afford it, or rather, unwilling to pay for it. "Ranked 87th in the Tiger Ranks, He Shantong, the ck Tiger Taisui... Keke..." As he looked towards a random direction in the city, he chuckled. ... In the forest, the surroundings were peaceful. Along a path, a carriage was slowly advancing. The carriage did not appear luxurious, but in fact, it was made from Thousand Year Bronze Wood and was less bumpy. There was a mild fragrance within the carriage. The person who was riding the horse pulling the carriage was around 15 years old. "Junxian, there¡¯s no need to rush. Yiwu County is just ahead." As the curtains were drawn, He Shantong, the ck Tiger Taisui was chuckling. "When we return home, I¡¯ll give you the best reception, master!" Ruan Junxian was smart. As hemented, He Shantong started tough happily. Afterughing, his face turned serious. "Do you know the task given to us by the sect?" "I know, to destroy the Li Family! Leave no stones unturned!" Ruan Junxian was young. As he mentioned this, he felt a little bad. "To be honest, the Li Family are not evil. However, of all people, they had to offend us. If we do not teach them a lesson, other families would think that they can climb all over our heads, and it will be hard for us to do what we need to do in the future..." He Shantong started to share his own experience. "Master... I¡¯ve learnt!" Ruan Junxian clenched his teeth. "The strong will kill the weak, and this has been true since the beginning of mankind... Even our Ruan Family could only grow at the expense of other families!" "Very good! You¡¯re rather smart for someone who had been doing martial arts for your lifetime!" He Shantong praised him. He had never said such words to other disciples before, but now, he had said it to Ruan Junxian. From the first time he saw Ruan Junxian, he was already beginning to feel bias towards him, and even he could not believe himself. "Based on our sect rules, since this is your first mission, I am only allowed to supervise you, of course... if you can get external help, that will not be flouting the rules..." As he changed the topic, he started to give tips to Ruan Junxian. Ruan Junxian was listening intently when suddenly, the horse came to a halt. "What happened?" The young man tumbled down from the horseback and quickly looked in front. All he could see was a man in white blocking the path of the carriage. The two horses pulling the carriage were frightened and refused to budge. "Stay behind me!" He Shantong appeared serious as he pulled Ruan Junxian to one side. "I am He Shantong from the Thousand Year Mountain. May I know who you are?" Looking at the young man in front, he could only feel a fleeting feeling as though he was connected to the heavens and earth, making his heart shudder. Based on his many years of experience, it was extremely rare to meet a cultivator with such a spiritual aura. "ck Tiger Taisui?" Fang Yuan examined the martial artist who was ranked in the Tiger Ranks. He was a skinny person with a tanned face and a pair of burning eyes. With a smile, he continued. "You¡¯re just like that?" "It seems that you are here for revenge?" He Shantong slowly walked out of the carriage, with a strong and pressurising spiritual aura. He did not ask Fang Yuan the reason why he was here, for he knew that he had countless enemies. Furthermore, other than enemies, there could be other people looking for trouble as well. "That¡¯s true... and false at the same time!" Fang Yuan went straight to the point. "If you are willing to lend me Yuan Junxian for a few days, we can avoid the fight. Wouldn¡¯t it be a win-win situation?" "Without considering the fact that he is my disciple, but the fact that he is a disciple of the Thousand Year Mountain would mean that I would lose my face if I were to let you take him away from me!" He Shantong smiled and took in a deep breath. "Whooo!" Suddenly, the muscles in his body bulged and he became taller. Within seconds, he had transformed from a bony person to a tall and well-built man. Not just that, his skin had turned ck like metal and two sharp fangs grew out from his mouth, as though a tiger had possessed him. ck Tiger Taisui was indeed powerful! "Master¡¯s Seven Star ck Tiger Transfiguration?!" Ruan Junxian turned pale. Never would he have thought that his master would use his most powerful move in the opening! "OH? Not too bad! Let me test you out!" Fang Yuan slowly walked out and casually struck out a punch. "Whooo!" A gust of wind blew and the sand was drifting. "First Star! Second Star! Third Star! Open!" He Shantong eximed as three spiritual meridians formed behind his back, forming the shape of constetions. With that, he pounced towards Fang Yuan. "Rumble!" As their fists met, both of them were forced a few steps backwards. "Fourth Elemental Force? Not bad!" Fang Yuan shook his numb arm. "You¡¯re stronger than me before I open my spiritual meridians!" With his Wu Zong cultivation, Giant Eagle Metal Body and Hundred Poison Golden Body, he was still weaker than his adversary. "Before opening your spiritual meridians? Meridian Opening Wu Zong?" Ruan Junxian covered his gaping mouth. In the next moment, he could see three thick spiritual meridians forming behind Fang Yuan¡¯s back, forming a spiritual armour. He also grew a pair of eagle wings and ws. "Giant Eagle w!" "Fourth Star! Fifth Star! Open!" "Bang!" In a loud bang, five constetions appeared behind He Shantong¡¯s back. With that, he pitted his Sixth Elemental Force against the eagle¡¯s w. In a red sh, he flew back with a sword wound on his chest. In a single move, He Shantong, the ck Tiger Taisui who was ranked 87th in the Tiger Ranks, was defeated! Chapter 253: Facade Chapter 253: Facade Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the Ruan Family. The servants were all busy setting up tables full of delicacies in preparation for the dinner. Ruan Ming was in the living room. As he paced around, there was a worried look on his face. "Why are they not here yet? Look for them!" "Yes, Sir!" A few housekeepers agreed and were promptly dismissed. Not long after, the head housekeeper frantically ran into the mansion. As he did, he clumsily tripped over a step and knocked his forehead into the ground, grazing it. "Family Head, someone delivered a letter together with Young Master¡¯s jade!" Ruan Ming¡¯s heart skipped a beat as heposed himself and took the letter. "What audacity..." There were only a few words in the letter. After reading it, his right hand started to shiver. "This person has kidnapped Junxian and want us to bring the Yang Family¡¯s Green Blooded Qilin!" The few housekeepers remained silent. The Green Blooded Qilin was a treasure of the Ruan Family. It was a jade figure which had extraordinary properties of strengthening bones, enhancing elemental force and was an antidote to many types of poison. "Who could it be? Guo Family? Li Family?" Ruan Ming paced around. "This is an emergency. If the enemy could get hold of Junxian, this must mean that he had defeated He Shantong, the ck Tiger Taosui. When did the Ruan Family get ourselves such a strong enemy?" He wouldn¡¯t believe that people would go after their family merely for the riches. "It¡¯s alright, let me consult the few elders!" He was a decisive person and went straight to the patriarchal hall. As the few housekeepers exchanged nces, they all knew that the family head was decided. He would surely save Young Master Junxian. After all, he was not only his biological son but also the entire hop of the family¡¯s future. In the patriarchal hall of the Ruan Family. It was peaceful and surrounded by a few plots of spiritual farms filled with unique flowers and nts. At the boundary of the spiritual farm, there were a few straw huts. Three old men who looked like farmers were sitting within as they smoked and drank tea. "Greetings elders, I am the unfilial grandson, Ruan Ming!" As soon as Ruan Ming arrived, he immediately knelt down and exined what had happened. "We have seen Junxian before. He would surely be a Wu Zong in the Meridian Opening realm in the future and is the pir of our family with potential to be stronger..." As an elder emptied his smoke pot on a rock, he continued with a hoarse voice. "However, this time, our enemy is extremely strong. Even I myself don¡¯t have the confidence to defeat ck Tiger Taisui! It seems that we have topromise... A human life is always more important. After all, it is just a mere Green Blooded Qilin!" As they came to an agreement, the issue was settled. "Mmm, we¡¯ll agree to this!" The two elders by the sides nodded their heads in unison. "Just remember that you¡¯re responsible for this!" "Of course!" Ruan Ming replied respectfully. If not for the fact that the elder head and he shared the same heritage, he could not have resolved this easily. "This is no big issue..." The other two elders agreed to the arrangement. "You¡¯ll go by yourself and we will follow behind you secretly, hehe... I¡¯ll want to see what kind of god is he?" "I¡¯m afraid that the enemy will be prepared. Just in case, we should immediately inform Thousand Year Mountain!" Ruan Ming quipped. Thousand Year Mountain was an influential organisation in the Victorious East Region, and was led by a highly skilled martial artist ranked in the Dragon Ranks! "That¡¯s true... After all, ck Tiger Taisui and Junxian are both from Thousand Year Mountain!" In terms of influence, Thousand Year Mountain would be much strongerpared to the tiny Ruan Family, which was why the three elders agreed to it. "Although help might note in time, it is still better than nothing!" ... After half a day on Bull¡¯s Head Mountain. Based on Fang Yuan¡¯s requirement, Ruan Ming had to personally deliver the goods. In reality, this was all a facade. The Green Blooded Qilin was randomly mentioned. With such a short time given, the Ruan Family had to personallye and could not n for anything. This was Fang Yuan¡¯s motive. On a teau, he could see three people walking towards him. The one in front was Ruan Ming. Behind him were two old-looking elders with powerful spiritual auras. Both of them were Wu Zongs in the Meridian Opening realm. As for the elder head? He was guarding at home. After all, it could be a trick to lure all of them out. The mansion was important and they had to guard it. "Father..." Ruan Junxian followed behind Fang Yuan with a deste face. His martial arts were sealed but he was not severely injured. He was carrying an unconscious He Shantong. As he saw Ruan Ming arrive, he called out to him but subsequently felt ashamed. "Junxian, how are you and your master?" Seeing this, Ruan Ming could only sigh. "I¡¯m alright and master is only slightly injured.... This person is a 3rd Meridian Wu Zong, be careful, Father!" Ruan Junxian looked at Fang Yuan and eximed. Who knew that Fang Yuan wouldpletely ignore him? Fang Yuan looked at the family head of the Ruan Family. "You are Ruan Ming? Very well! Have you brought what I have asked for?" "I¡¯ve brought it!" Ruan Ming opened his cloth bag. Inside, there was a green and red-coloured figure of a Qilin and it was glittering. "Wait up!" Seeing Fang Yuan approach him, Ruan Ming took a step back and raised the Green Blooded Qilin high up in the air. "I¡¯ll pass you the goods, but you¡¯ll pass me the person! If you dare to try anything funny, I¡¯ll destroy this treasure and the Ruan Family will forever be against you!" "Hmmm... Whatever!" Fang Yuan sighed and pushed Ruan Junxian forward. As they approached each other, the two elders behind Ruan Ming started to muster their elemental force, making the situation rather tense. In the vicinity, everyone was extremely tensed up. Just as Ruan Junxian was halfway from reaching his father, something happened! With a snicker, Fang Yuan executed his shadowstep and came in front of Ruan Ming, striking a w out! "What a thief!" Ruan Ming nced at him and mustered his elemental force as he was about to destroy the Green Blooded Qilin. Beside him, the two elders eximed and struck the force of their spiritual meridians out. All of this was nned before. If Fang Yuan wanted to snatch the Green Blooded Qilin, he would have to endure the strike from both Meridian Opening Wu Zongs! It was the perfect n! With a sinister smile, Fang Yuan dodged them. "Bang!" Unable to do anything, the Green Blooded Qilin was shattered to pieces as Ruan Ming was left stunned. "Haha... Do you really think I¡¯m after this thing?" With augh, he pointed his right index finger out and a red sword essence appeared. A sword¡¯s essence would strike as far as 30,000 miles, and a sword¡¯s radiance would blind 19 regions! "Ah!" The fight between highly skilled martial artists would mean that any mistakes would lead to the oue of the fight. As the two Wu Zongs had predicted Fang Yuan¡¯s intentions wrongly, they had to dodge the sword essence with much embarrassment. They were inferior to Fang Yuan from the beginning and now, they were panicking. "Stay down!" Behind Fang Yuan, his spiritual meridians formed and transfigured into a spiritual armour covering his whole body. As he came closer, he struck a w out at Ruan Ming. Under the attack of Sixth Elemental Force, being a normal Wu Zong, Ruan Ming could only do so much. Even after the Second Elemental Force exploded from his Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique, it was not enough. His neck was gripped on and his mind went nk. "Father!" Within seconds, Fang Yuan had already forced the two Meridian Opening Wu Zongs back and had captured Ruan Ming. Ruan Junxian¡¯s expression changed as his eyes became bloodshot. He finally understood that Fang Yuan had only revealed his Meridian Opening cultivation to him for him to trick his few elders and immediately felt regretful. He never knew that this young man would be so dangerous! "Mmm... It¡¯s just another two Meridian Opening Wu Zongs. Why not take both of them with me as an assurance!" After capturing Ruan Ming, Fang Yuan red at the other two elders, and they could sense danger in his eyes. It was an unnned surprise for him to be able to capture so many members of the Ruan Family. "Thief!" At this moment, there were soundsing from the foot of the mountain, and a group of people were arriving. The person leading the pack was an old man with white hair. Behind the old man, there were 6 spiritual meridians forming, making him appear like a giant. "Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique? This must be the elder head to have reached such a level of cultivation! He should be in the Tiger Ranks!" Fang Yuan was mildly shocked. As he looked at the group of people behind, he noticed that someone was pointing at him. As vibrations from their voices spread, Fang Yuan became aware of what was happening. Outside his actualised dream world, a grey fog was attempting to enter. "Buzz!" In the next moment, the 8 Gates Sword Array shook and the red sword essence shed around, reducing the grey fog to nothing. "A curse master?! Or a dream master?" Fang Yuan smiled. With the protection of the soul in his actualised dream world, it was an extremely effective defence against attacks from spiritual wills. This was especially so for fights among dream masters, as the main battleground would be in their actualised dream worlds. As he looked down, he realised that most of them were spitting out blood. "They have indeed called for reinforcements. These should be the highly skilled people in Yiwu County... forget it!" He did not want to continue fighting and promptly left. After all, he had already gotten what he wanted. Furthermore, although there were only a few highly skilled people in Yiwu county, they would still give him trouble if theybined forces. "Go!" Before he left, he flicked his finger out. Suddenly, there appeared another sun in the sky. The sword essence from the red sword was like the brilliance from the sun. As it shone down, it seeped through the vegetation and rocks and blocked the group of people who were giving chase. Everyone was shocked at slowed down as they witnessed Fang Yuan escaping into the woods. "Brother!" As the two elders saw the elder head, they were embarrassed. "Who would¡¯ve guessed that that crazy person was after Ruan Ming!" The elder head gave a cold look. "Although I had already rushed here, it seems like I was a littlete!" Without caring about Ruan Junxian, he looked at the people behind. "How is Brother Qing Yun?" "That person cultivates in both spiritual techniques and martial arts and has an extremely powerful spiritual will. Brother Qing Yun initially wanted to cast a spell to confuse him, but little did he know that he would experience bacsh!" A middle-aged woman shook her head. "When did your Ruan Family anger such a strong enemy? If I knew he would be so strong, I wouldn¡¯t have agreed to help out!" "We¡¯re sorry about this!" The elder head of Ruan Family gave a bitter smile. "I am also confused about this. However, rest assured that I will not get any of you implicated in this. After this, we¡¯ll deliver gifts as a form ofpensation!" With this, the few highly skilled martial artists who had arrived to help out became a little more amiable, but in the elder head¡¯s mind, he had already vomited blood countless times. Chapter 254: Lin Qianye Chapter 254: Lin Qianye Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the dense forest, Fang Yuan reached the depths of the mountains. As he released the sword essence, he carved out a cave and a stone bed before throwing Ruan Ming onto it. "Dream essing!" As he spoke, his right index finger touched the area in between Ruan Ming¡¯s eyebrows. It was a facade when Fang Yuan had requested for the Green Blooded Qilin. His real objective was to retrieve everything about the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique from this family head! If he had requested this from the beginning, he would have given them time to prepare against him. After all, there were many dream masters in Da Qian and they could seal his memories. Taking him by surprise would mean that although he would have some techniques to defend his own spiritual will, there was nothing that Fang Yuan had to fear. Many years ago, he could already ess the dream of a Wu Zong. Being a dream master in the Illusionary Divine stage, he could easily ess Ruan Ming¡¯s dream, even if he was met with resistance. "Mmm? There is indeed a seal in his memories. After all, as family head, he would know too many secrets and they had to take precautions..." As Fang Yuan entered Ruan Ming¡¯s consciousness, he arrived at a golden lock which sealed up a bunch of secrets. "The good thing was that he is unaware of my motive and therefore did not strengthen the defence. I can still break this with some time!" With the wave of his hands, a fog appeared and it seeped into the limbs of Ruan Ming. Dream masters were skilled in manipting spiritual wills and souls. At his current level of cultivation, it was not easy, but neither was it too hard to break through the seal. Fang Yuan had the confidence that he could do so. ... Yiwu County. "It is a revenge I must take against the person who captured my father!" Ruan Junxian and ck Tiger Taisui had both recovered. There was hatred in Ruan Junxian¡¯s young eyes. "I want to search for that evil person and save father!" "Don¡¯t spout nonsense!" The Elder head was his great great grandfather. As he lectured him, he pped him squarely in the face. It was a distinct "Pa"! "The only reason why your father would want to save you is that you are the future of our family!" The Elder head appeared solemn. "If anything were to happen to him, you can still inherit his ce and be family head. If you go and anything bad were to happen to you, who would take over the family?" In the family, the fight to be family head was a fierce one. If Ruan Junxian was around, he would only need a few years of training to officially be the family head and the other grandsons could not win the fight. If he were to die while searching for his father, there would be no more heir and the First family would crumble. "That person cultivates in both spiritual techniques and martial arts, he might be a dream master!" With a pale face, He Shantong the ck Tiger Taisuimented. With this, the elder head of Ruan Family started to have goosebumps but forced a smile. "Daoist Qing Yun has also investigated and it seems that this is true... Unknowingly, our family has angered a strong enemy. We have done nothing but cmities keeping to us..." "Dream masters are mysterious and we¡¯ll have to slowly investigate. Elder head, please be assured that the Thousand Year Mountain will not be bullied. If he is not from the five strongest organisations, what do we have to fear?" He Shantong rubbed his chest. "That¡¯s right!" A strong voice was heard, but it was as though it hade from a distance. "Vice Sect Head?" He Shantong quickly bowed and greeted, and Ruan Junxian did the same. Although He Shantong was of a rather high status in Thousand Year Mountain, he knew that the most highly skilled person would be the sect head who was ranked in the Tiger Ranks. The second would be the Vice Sect Head, Lin Qianye. He has already formed 8 spiritual meridians and it one step away from condensing the Divine Body! He was ranked 5th in the Tiger Ranks! "I am using the Thousand Mile Voice Technique to speak to all of you... That person is reckless and has infringed upon us, the Thousand Year Mountain... I will personally take over. If he has a backing, we will let him off with a small punishment, otherwise... It¡¯s not like I have not killed dream masters before!" As they heard the cold voice, everyone in Ruan Family had joy all over their faces. ... Within the cave. Fang Yuan closed his eyes. The advanced techniques of Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique to condense a Divine Body was already in his consciousness. "At the Wu Zong level, the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique can increase one¡¯s spiritual strength. From there, one can form 8 spiritual meridians and obtain the Tenth Elemental Force as they achieve the Giant Spiritual Divine Body. This isparable to the Divine Body in martial arts. From there, one can cleanse their bones, purge their blood and transform from a mortal body to a new Divine Body. This is known as body forging! At this stage, martial artists would be strengthened in all aspects and martial arts would be an instinct to them. They would beparable to spiritual knights and are known as True Divines!" At this point, Fang Yuan had no doubts about the martial arts path in Da Qian. From the beginning, there was the 12 Golden Gates. As one reaches Wu Zong, they would be able to obtain elemental force and continue on to Meridian Opening Stage, simr to spiritual knights in the Elemental Opening Stage. In the end, the body would be forged into a True Divine! This level of cultivation would beparable to a high-tiered Illusionary Divine stage and considered highly skilled in Da Qian and be ranked on the Dragon Ranks in Victorious East Region! Spiritual knights in the Elemental Opening Realm would cultivate in spiritual points. As they improve in their cultivation, they would arrive at a True Elemental Realm which wasparable to the True Divine! After all, Ruan Ming was the head of a big family and was a strong cultivator himself. Therefore, he knew quite a lot and in turn benefited Fang Yuan. "A spiritual knight at the True Elemental Realm and a martial artist at True Divine would be rare highly skilled people in Da Qian. If they were ced somewhere else, they would be a true grandmaster!" "With theplete recordings of Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique, there shouldn¡¯t be any problem for me to explore and discover the Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique to form the 8th meridian!" There was a look of excitement on Fang Yuan¡¯s face. Spiritual knights would train in their spiritual points while Wu Zongs would open their meridians. Although the end stage would be simr, the number of spiritual meridians or spiritual points formed would determine one¡¯s potential. If there were loopholes in the techniques and the maximum spiritual meridians that could be attained was 6, then it would be impossible to enter the next stage. For instance, the Seven Star ck Tiger Transfiguration performed by ck Tiger Taisui could only form a maximum of 7 spiritual meridians. Even if he were to condense the Divine Body, he could never match a Giant Spiritual Divine Body. Comparatively, the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique could form 8 spiritual meridians. This was considered a rtively good technique in Da Qian. "A true top-notch technique, regardless of forming spiritual points of spiritual meridians, would be able to form 9! 9 is the extreme number! If such a technique is used to achieve the True Elemental Realm or True Divine, it would be the most powerful!" Fang Yuan was determined. "I cannot allow my Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique to stop at the 8th meridian. It must be able to break through thest meridian to be perfect!" He would either do it to perfection or forget about it. After all, he was a perfectionist. ncing at the rock bed, he could see a pale Ruan Ming. It was evident that he was injured, but it was not life-threatening. After all, Fang Yuan was only here for the technique and not to wipe them out. "Initially, I wanted topensate you. However, since you have snatched this technique from the Yang Family, It is only karma that I am snatching this back. If you are not happy, I can¡¯t do anything about it..." After reading through Ruan Ming¡¯s memories, Fang Yuan now knew that the uprising of Ruan Family was at the expense of Yang Family. Even the elder from Yan Family who hade to look for them for help was captured and tortured to reveal the technique and the secret vault of the Yang Family. From this, since he had Yang Fan¡¯s memories, it was justified if he were to destroy the Ruan Family. Of course, Yang Fan did not help him to the extent that Fang Yuan would feelpelled to help him take revenge and wipe out the Ruan Family. As Fang Yuan looked back, he quickly felt a sense of fear all around. "They¡¯re already here?" "And a highly skilled one too!" As he walked out of the save, he saw a man in ck. The man was sitting on the branch of a pine tree and with the swaying of the branches, it appeared as though the man was as light as a feather, but his spiritual aura was extremely pressurizing, which could easily confuse others. "Are you the officials or part of the family? How did you find me?" Looking at the person, Fang Yuan was shocked. Ultimately, Da Qian was very different from the maind, where he could do anything he wanted. Now, after being reckless, people would be on his tail. "I am Lin Qianye, the Vice Sect Head of Thousand Year Mountain! As for how I tracked you down, I¡¯ll let you know after you die!" The man in ck let out a sinister smile. He had a handsome face and an ivory white skin. As he smiled, he gave off the vibes of a poisonous snake. "Whoosh!" In his actualised dream world, the fire-type spiritual sword flickered and released its sword essence! "Not good!" With such a reaction from his instincts, Fang Yuan quickly retreated as a red sword sliced in front of his chest. "Peng!" A humongous force was felt. Even though he had the Sixth Elemental Force, he could not block the iing forcepletely. With a sigh, the force struck his chest as he flew back. Lin Qianye kept his fist. "A dream master indeed! Furthermore... You¡¯re in the Illusionary Divine stage!" "8th meridian?" As Fang Yuan flew backwards, a spiritual light glowed around him as he looked at the sword in his hands. This fire-type divine soldier was able to counter even tribtions from the heavens and was therefore undamaged. However, his arm felt a little numb and if he countered with all his force, it would not end up favourable for him. In front of him was a Wu Zong who had opened up 8 meridians! Not just that, his spiritual meridians did not appear on his back but was all around his body forming a weird pattern. With such a humongous force, he already had half the power of what a Divine Body would have! "Only with an extreme technique would you be able to achieve extreme cultivations?" Martial arts in the extreme should not be belittled! Of course, the power of dream masters was way beyond Wu Zongs. However, Fang Yuan¡¯s cultivation as a dream master was still too low. Fang Yuan was able to be on par with Lin Qianye just by forming the Water Sword to form the Water-Fire Dual Sword Array. He did not even have to form all 8 swords. Without another word, Fang Yuan quickly took his leave. On him, as the Mountain River Pearl glittered, a pearl was being absorbed into his actualised dream world. It was the Freezing Pearl which he had obtained by luck in the Three World Mountain. The Freezing Pearl was a water-type spiritual treasure with a hint of coldness. As the 8 Gates Sword Array shook, there was a blue glow creeping up on the water-type sword as it was slowly formed. "You cannot run!" Lin Qianye would not let Fang Yuan go. With a leap, he rushed forward and gave chase. "Let the heavenly fire burn the ground!" Fang Yuan wielded the red sword and as the sword essence exploded, mes broke out everywhere, creating a burning inferno. "Ruan Ming is in the cave. If you want him dead, then continue to chase after me!" Chapter 255: The Escape Chapter 255: The Escape Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Cliff Region. This region was beside the Victorious East Region. The terrain was undting and resembled a desert. Because of the harsh environmental conditions, the people here were slightly more uncivilised and brave. Therefore, a culture of ¡¯swordsman¡¯ was born, which was a different culture from the Dragon and Tiger Ranks in the Victorious East Region. At this point in time, in the desert, two swordsmen were fighting. As they were swordsmen, they wore bamboo hats and wielded swords. Their swordsmanship was superb and every strike was a deadly one. "Long Xuanfeng, give up the treasured sword and I¡¯ll let you survive!" A swordsman d in white robes looked fierce with a long scar on his face. He was being surrounded by 10 other swordsmen. Hearing the calls for him the surrender, he smiled as something glittered by his waist. "ng ng!" As the swords sliced against each other, there was a distinct sound. Under the moonlight, many swords were broken into half, revealing the swordsmen¡¯s shocked faces. Within seconds, there was a slit on each and every one of their necks as blood spurted out. Killing 12 people in a single stroke! After executing the secret technique, Long Xuanfeng took in a deep breath and looked at his treasured sword with joy. "Haha... with the help of Cold Moon, I can perfect the extreme sword technique and be the most powerful in Cliff Region!" "Whoooo!" As a strong wind blew across, there were two ck dots on the horizon. The ck dots were extremely quick and slowly, they became the silhouettes of two people. "Mmm? Who¡¯s seeking death?" As he was lost in his thoughts, Long Xuanfeng looked in the direction of the two silhouettes. "Get lost, and don¡¯t be in the way!" There was an impatient voice as a humongous force was felt. Without control, Long Xuanfeng fell backwards and the Cold Moon slipped out of his hands. "Ahh... My treasured sword!" As he eximed, he crawled to where the sword was. However, as he saw the Cold Moon stuck into the ground, there were 5 holes on it, allowing him to see through it. ... "Lin Qianye, you¡¯re really persistent!" Such a small distraction was unable to pique Fang Yuan¡¯s interest. As he looked at Lin Qianye who was giving chase, there was a look of fear on his face. Previously, he had used Ruan Ming¡¯s life to threaten Lin Qianye for while. After 2 hours, Lin Qianye began to catch up to him again. Fortunately for him, he had cultivated in both spiritual technique and martial arts. Although he could not match up against Lin Qianye, he could still defend himself. Along the way, he had tried escaping and fighting back, and they had now entered the Cliff Region. By now, he had figured out how Lin Qianye could track him down. "He should be tracking me down based on my spiritual aura... Is this his increased sensitivity since he is about to condense the Divine Body?" He had tried to lose him multiple times but Lin Qianye had managed to catch up every single time. There was a menacing look in Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes. In his actualised dream world, the Freezing Pearl had been fully absorbed and the Water Sword was halfway formed. There were also changes in his stats: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 36 Spirit: 30 Magic: 33 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (1st Tier), Wu Zong (3rd Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 4) (1%)], [Hundred Poison Golden Body (1st Refining)], [8 Gates Sword Array (2nd Sword) (30%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" ¡¯I can try using the water-type sword essence now!¡¯ Fang Yuan seemed determined. "You have vited the rules of our sect. We will hunt you down no matter where you go! Do you think you can be smug just because you¡¯re a dream master? I have killed dream masters before!" The cold voice of Lin Qian Ye was heard. To him, it was a surprise that this dream master had such a strong endurance. The stronger his opponent was, the more determined he was to kill him! This person had no backing and was not from the 5 powerful organisations. However, he was still strong and if left to survive, would bring them trouble in the future! "Whoosh!" As they continued the chase, son after, they could hear the sound of water gushing through a river. Just across a cliff, there was a huge river which was connected to the ocean. "We¡¯re here!" Fang Yuan approached the cliff and leapt forward. "Don¡¯t think of running away! Thousand Leaves Palm!" Behind, Lin Qianye gave chase as multiple shadows of his palms appeared and covered the sky. As Fang Yuan struck his palm downwards, water sshed out from the river and rained down like raindrops. "Watch out!" As the water evaporated, a blue sword appeared and struck towards Lin Qianye. "Eh?" Lin Qianye had been fighting against the fire sword for quite a while. Now that the cold water-type sword appeared, there was ayer of frost on his hands and he panicked a little. Of course, this was only because he was caught by surprise. As the spiritual inscriptions on his body glowed, the frost melted. "Fire Sword!" Fang Yuan could not let this opportunity slip by. He had chosen this ce to strike in order to make use of the water from the river to strengthen his Water Sword. Quickly, he struck his Fire Sword out as well. As the red swordbined with the blue sword, there was the force of an explosion. "Water-Fire Dual Sword Array! Explode!" Of course, this was not theplete array. This was because the Water Sword had not beenpletely formed and was extremely unstable. However, Fang Yuan was leveraging on the instability of the Water Sword to result in the strongest possible explosion. "Rumble!" In mid-air, Lin Qianye could not dodge the sword and hand to counter it with his brute force. "Whoosh!" After the explosion, the red and blue sword essence dissipated, leaving the cliff with many holes. In the mess, Lin Qianye got up to his feet and appeared extremely pale. As he clutched on to his chest, two open wounds started to bleed profusely. "The spiritual aura is broken..." As he took in a deep breath and nced at the flowing river, there was a reverse in the flow of energy in his body as he spat out a mouthful of blood. ... "Thousand Year Mountain... Lin Qianye?" After three days, Fang Yuan had swum down the river and emerged from an underwater ice block. With an explosion, his body was revealed. "I will take this revenge for I¡¯m a gentleman!" Looking in the upstream direction, he snickered and left. With such a distance between the spiritual auras, Lin Qianye could no longer locate him. At this point in time, his array was still iplete. If he wanted to go against him head to head, he would still lose. Therefore, it would be wiser to take his revengeter. "Now that the Thousand Year Mountain is investigating me, I should not return to Sand Region to bring trouble to the Qin Siblings..." "Fortunately that is just one person, we¡¯ll see as the time goes..." As he looked around, he realised that the ce was very foreign. After a long escape and swim through the river, he no longer knew the ce. "I should look for a ce to settle down for the night before trying to train my martial arts and strengthened my sword array..." Looking at the sun, he chose a direction and started to make his way. "Fortunately, I can ess the Dream Realm anywhere in Da Qian, so it wouldn¡¯t make a difference wherever I go!" Since he knew that he was still being chased after by Thousand Year Mountain and might have even caught the attention of the Imperial Court, he quickly changed his appearance and died his hair, adopting the look of a middle-aged man. Following the direction of the river, he arrived at a small town. After casually looking for an inn to stay and finding out where this ce was, he realised that the town was called Fengxiang, under the jurisdiction of the Ming Region. Fang Yuan¡¯s fortune was all in the Mountain River Pearl. After another half a month¡¯s journey, he found a town and used his elemental crystals to purchase a small mansion. Da Qian had quite a lot of control over the happenings in the whole empire. Regardless if it was buying a mansion or doing other stuff, if one did not have an identity, they would be noticed. However, Fang Yuan¡¯s method was simple. He looked for an average family and used his dream-essing technique to alter their memories, allowing him to be recognised as a long-distance rtive. Using elemental crystals and his rtions with the people, he would be able to do anything and since he had no criminal records, the officials would not care that much as well. The middle-aged man which Fang Yuan had transformed into had no criminal records and could therefore sessfully purchase the mansion for him to take cover. "Da Qian is different from other ces. As long as I have elemental crystals, I can buy spiritual rice, spiritual vegetables and even spiritual water. They would even deliver it to my doorstep..." After taking a look at the kitchen, Fang Yuan was extremely satisfied. He would have hired a few servants, but he had too many secrets. Since this ce was only a temporary holding ce for him, he saw it as unnecessary trouble. "To think about it... I have seen in the Dream Realm that the most suitable rice for dream masters would be Yellow Grain Rice, as in ¡¯Yellow Grain in every dream¡¯. Unfortunately, this type of spiritual rice would surely be at least a Mystery Grade and is rather rare. If I have a plot of spiritualnd in the future, I could buy some from the Dream Realm to nt?!" In the small town, the highest grade of rice that they would sell would only be of Yellow Grade, which was still sufficient for him to replenish his energy. After a full meal, Fang Yuan entered the Dream Realm. On the streets, there was a sh and Fang Yuan appeared. "Victorious East Region, Thousand Year Mountain!" As he arrived at the rock tablet, he paid a few contribution points and obtained some basic information. "Thousand Year Mountain is an influential sect in the Victorious East Region. The sect head is Venerable Longhu who had cultivated in the ¡¯Dragon Tiger Hell Guarding Form¡¯. It has the potential to open up to 8 spiritual meridians and form the Dragon Tiger Divine Body. That is its True Divine, and he is ranked 13th in the Dragon Ranks!" "The Vice Sect Head is Lin Qianye and has a cultivation level of an 8th Meridian Wu Zong. He is trained in the Kurong Mysterious Technique and the Thousand Leaves Palm... he is ranked 5th in the Tiger Ranks!" ... "With a True Divine leading the sect, it is indeed rather troublesome... If I were to hire a dream master ofparable capabilities, I might not be able to afford it." As he thought about it, he contacted Feng Xinzi and briefly described the situation. "Oh? Brother, you have angered the Thousand Year Mountain?" This was a reaction he had expected. Feng Xinzi sounded calm, as though it was not a big deal. After all, Da Qian was too huge and dream masters were able to travel everywhere. Who would be able to control the dream masters? Needless to say, Feng Xinzi¡¯s backing was much strongerpared to Thousand Year Mountain. "In fact, the Thousand Year Mountain is nothing much, except for Venerable Longhu. After all, he is a True Divine... Only 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream masters would be able to deal with him!" Feng Xinzi sighed. The 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine was simr to the 7th spiritual meridian of Wu Zong and the 7th spiritual point of spiritual knights. However, the power of a 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master was much greater than the rest. Fang Yuan was stunned. Even Feng Xinzi himself was only around the 3rd to 4th Tier in the Illusionary Divine stage. After all, doing alchemy to produce a spiritual pill was different from creating a conscious mind. Spiritual pills were just a physical entity like a spiritual sword, unique in nature. However, a lifeform would be able to reproduce by itself and the difference between these two concepts was immeasurable. Chapter 256: Reincarnation Chapter 256: Reincarnation Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "However, I have an idea to ensure your safety!" On his jade inscription te, Feng Xinzi¡¯s spiritual will was brimming with confidence. "Oh? I¡¯m willing to hear more about it!" Fang Yuan smiled and could already guess what Feng Xinzi wanted to offer. After all, he had yet to achieve a breakthrough in alchemy and therefore could not have the ability to protect him. Therefore, it was likely that he was going to rmend Fang Yuan to whoever his backing was. Indeed, Feng Xinzi continued. "The Thousand Year Mountain only dared to attack you because of the fact that you have no backing. The Realm Alliance is one of the five strongest organisations among the dream masters. If you are willing to join, looking at your potential and strength, you would surely be valued. What can the Thousand Year Mountain do to you?" "My potential and strength?" Fang Yuan was stunned as he slowly recalled His performance was not striking in the Hui Realm, but at least it wasparable to the other experienced dream masters. Therefore, people would assume that he was hiding his true skill before the exploration mission. ¡¯In fact, it was because they were limited by the difference in realms and could only restore half of their abilities while I was at my peak...¡¯ Feng Xinzi was a 3rd to 4th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master and had only half of his abilities in the Hui Realm. On the other hand, he had used his full potential, and it was indeed simr. However, in reality, only Fang Yuan knew for himself the extent of his abilities. ¡¯Unknowingly, I have now be a talent?¡¯ As he smiled, he replied. "This is a big thing... Let me consider!" "Of course. Know that the Realm Alliance has the least restrictions on dream masters. Furthermore, I will personally bring you through the alliance and therefore the path up will be much easier..." Feng Xinzi mumbled on before cutting off. "Most importantly... Although my potential is not bad, I have still yet to reach the stage of being an ultimate talent..." Fang Yuan shook his head and let out a bitterugh. Feng Xinzi must have assumed that he was a talent. "It is possible to be trained to such a level, but my cultivation now is still too low to think about it... I¡¯m afraid that if I were to enter the Realm Alliance, I would lose self-control..." "I need to train up!" Fang Yuan walked out of the rock tablet square and arrived at a corner. "Realm Spirit, I want to apply for a void space to carry out the locating of another realm!" "Ding! I have received your request and will deduct 100 contribution points!" A cold and mechanical voice was heard. In the next moment, Fang Yuan found himself in an empty space with the surroundings sealed. Based on the ability of the Realm Spirit, the void space which it had created would be strong enough to withstand the attacks of True Elemental spiritual knights and True Divine martial artists. "Based on the description by Venerable Dream Traverser, the first step would be to have an empty space as a base. Of course, it is possible to do it in my actualised dream world as well but that would be putting my life at risk. It would be safer to do it in the Dream Realm!" With the flip of his hand, a golden fruit was revealed. Around the fruit, there were chunks of golden runes around it, which made it look mysterious. However, he knew that this was not a real fruit but the coordinates for another realm, and it was merely taking up the physical shape of something else. "Dream-traversing to other worlds would still be the fastest way to train up!" Fang Yuan¡¯s previous rewards made him wanted to try again. Furthermore, he could tell that the entire Da Qian was heavily monitored. Without a certain level of ability, his reckless actions would only attract the attention of the powerful and lead to his death. Compared to this, dream-traversing to other realms was less troublesome. If he was lucky, he would reap a lot of rewards and it was worth a try! "I am not hoping that I would find the source of dream masters. I am only hoping that I will arrive at a realm simr to the Hui Realm so that I can gain some realm energy and form a few more swords and I¡¯ll be satisfied..." Looking around at the surroundings, Fang Yuan hesitated no more. He followed Venerable Dream Traverser¡¯s description and started to poke at the golden fruit. "Rumble!" As the golden fruit shook, golden mes started to burn it. The runes slowly came together and circled the fruit like a river. Suddenly, it exploded and formed a door frame. With a force simr to a ck hole, Fang Yuan¡¯s body was sucked towards it. "Eh?" Fang Yuan wanted to slowly experience the feeling. However, he quickly became dizzy and a huge force which prated the realms was felt.His mind almost stopped. After a long while, he opened his eyes and a new worldid before him. ... This was a world full of water. There were rivers and streams,kes and oceans covering the whole world. There was very littlend as they were all submerged under all the water in the realm. In mid-air, it was concentrated with natural elemental energy. Of course, in his own world, it would be known as spiritual energy. On the 3rd day of the 7th month, there was a slight drizzle. As the mist dissipated, there were huge water droplets which condensed on the lotus leaves. As the water droplets trickled down and into theke, small waves were created "Whoosh!" A mild wind blew across and as the lotus leaves swayed in the wind, a bluish-green ocean stretched to the horizon,bining seamlessly with the sky. There was a ssh as a ck carp leapt out of the water. "Mmm... it seems that this is not just arge pond, but ake!" In the ck carp, Fang Yuan¡¯s released his spiritual will, not knowing if he shouldugh or cry. "Who would¡¯ve guessed... In this world, animals are the ones ruling it and therefore, I have be an animal as well!" To him, this was nothing much. After all, he had such experiences in previous dream-essing moments. Quickly, he adapted to having no hands and legs as he trained by swimming in the water just by using his body. After exploring, he was clear about where he was. He was in a bigke which stretched across arge area and he was possessing a ck carp not longer than a foot. If he were to be caught, he could make the perfect meal. There was a saying among the animals in Da Qian. "Carps have hard fins, teeth, whiskers and are not the ideal meal!" With ck scales, this was about how Fang Yuan appeared now. Furthermore, this water realm seemed to have more dangers than he could imagine. All around there were ferocious fishes and water beasts. Even in the vicinity of the lotus flowers, it was not any safer. To think about it, even for such a small fish, it could have its own spirituality. This might be attributed to the concentrated natural elemental energy in the environment. "Since I¡¯m a fish, I am the ruler of the waters! Let¡¯s get to the task at hand, which is to train up!" Fang Yuan came to the lotus leaves and concealed himself in the shadows of the leaves. "Big fishes will eat small fishes, small fishes will eat shrimps and shrimps will eat dirt! I am rather small and should try eating shrimps to fill my belly..." Fang Yuanforted himself for the fact that he did not possess a shrimp and therefore did not have to eat dirt. Furthermore, the shrimps in the river were fat and delicious and it would be alright to eat them raw. As he came to a spot, he quickly swallowed a few shrimps, controlled his energy and attempted to eat another two small fishes which were smaller than the size of the baby finger. With a mouthful, he slowly digested them. After a satisfactory burp, he came to a slit in a rock to rest and started to explore his body. "Stats!" With just a thought, a window appeared: "Name: Fang Yuan Race: [ck Carp (10 Years)] Essence: 0.3 Spirit: 0.3 Magic: 3.3 Profession: ??? Cultivation: ??? Technique: ??? Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" ... "Alright, since I¡¯m a fish, I should be fortunate to preserve 10% of my initial magic proficiency points..." After looking at his stats board, Fang Yuan was speechless. With the unique ability to fix his stats, he could quickly restore his abilities. However, how could a fish train? This was a worthy question. "Since I have the most magic points, I am most suitable to be a dream master and train techniques which would require my essence and magic!" The good thing was that he was experienced. Regarding his predicament, he could quicklye to a conclusion. "Furthermore, it is unsuitable for me to train like a human and therefore I cannot restore my old techniques. However, I did discover a few techniques in the Golden Dragon God¡¯s pce the other time. Although this realm is different from that, the differences are minute and I should be able to train them!" "Of course, based on my current situation, I should hide. Otherwise, it would be wasteful if a big fish were toe along and swallow me up..." Fang Yuan was determined. At this moment, a strong current was felt as the river tumbled into an ocean, disrupting everything beneath the water. "What is this?" A strong force was felt underwater. This was the demonstration of power from the strong to the weak, as though the powerful beings were calling the weaker ones to gather. Beneath the lotus flower, back ck carps, red carps, grass fishes, water snakes, shrimps and crabs and a few other entirely new species appeared, forming up a line. On theke, there was a golden wave. A few ten thousand carps had formed a line and became a wave which shimmered on the surface of theke. "The Water God is calling for us!" In the water current, a green-faced water guardian appeared with huge ms under its feet and a double-headed spear in his hands. With big eyes, a wide mouth and a toad¡¯s face, it grabbed onto a few huge fishes and poked them. The poked fishes tumbled and started to grow hands and legs, somewhat resembling a human. The only thing was that they had a weird appearance and scaly skin. "Transformation?" With a strong spiritual will, Fang Yuan was still in control of his body as he hid in the slit of the rock. As he witnessed the scene before him, he started tough. This transformation method was used by demons to strengthen their subordinates and servants. Their methods were ruthless and imperfect. The animals which they transfigured would appear ferocious-looking and would lose a part of their spirituality! They would have to be a servant for life. ¡¯If the river gods were the ones transfiguring, I could still consider, but you are just a water guard...¡¯ As he thought to himself, he hid deeper into the slit. "I, the Qi Lake Water God, havepleted my cultivation. As to who will now own Qi Lake, it is up to fate..." After a long while, a loud and powerful voice was heard. "Qi Lake Water God? It seems that he is the God of this ce. Completed his cultivation? Is he going to the heavens after this?" As Fang Yuan made wild guesses, he noticed the golden glow dissipating and the water creatures started to swim away. He decided to be a cowardly tortoise. With his current abilities, even if he were to gain rewards, it would be almost impossible for him to take it. Instead, he might even lose his life. Rather than risking his life, he would rather quietly hide and train. Chapter 257: 9 Transformations Chapter 257: 9 Transformations Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Qi Lake, within the Lotus Region. All the fishes were feasting as autumn arrived in order to stock up food for the winter. The lotus leaf rustled as a ferocious ck shadow appeared. It revealed its sharp fangs as it swiftly bit a water snake into two and devoured it. Blood flowed as the ferocious aura caused the surrounding aquatic animals to flee. This ck shadow ate quickly, ferociously and greedily. It had just finished devouring the water snake before it set its eyes on the surrounding fishes and shrimps. With a wave of its tail, it gave chase, causing droplets of water to ssh everywhere and startling a flock of seagulls. "Eat! Eat again! My newly improved ¡¯Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Form¡¯ is most suitable for the water dwellers to cultivate. The first phase is to increase the appetite and increase the digestive abilities. This is to umte spiritual energy through constantly eating!" This ck carp was naturally Fang Yuan. At this moment, he took another look at his stats: "Name: Fang Yuan Race: [ck Carp (20 years)] Essence: 3.6 Spirit: 3.6 Magic: 4 Profession:??? Cultivation:??? Technique: [Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Form (1st Transformation)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" This type of stats was considered not bad within the small Lotus Region. Coupled with the previous few months of stuffing himself with food, his body had grown to 3 feet long which was around 1 metre. He could now be considered a fish monster. Of course, in this realm where all sorts of monsters and demons existed, his type of monstrosity could not make it to the list. "20 years? It seems that the years at the back does not represent age but rather power?" Fang Yuan had a realization. The stat window was fixed. If he was reborn as a person, he would be able to return to his peak if he managed to regain his skills! Furthermore, as a unique beast, before he reached the peak of his stats, he would not experience a bottleneck and as such, could raise his power crazily the whole way. "This Nine steps of Dragon Transformation Technique is a technique which I obtained from the Golden Dragon God¡¯s Pce and is most suitable for ck carps. There are a total of nine steps and the first 3 transformations are carp transformations followed by the ck snake transformation, the python transformation, the giant venomous snake transformation, the horned dragon transformation, the water dragon transformation and finally, the true dragon transformation! Legend has it that as long as the 9 steps of transformation arepleted, regardless of the original race, one can transform into a true dragon!" "It¡¯s a shame that one can only reach the water dragon transformation with the Golden Dragon God¡¯s technique. I have also made changes to the first 3 transformation technique to make it more suitable for the body of a carp and this realm as well." "Given my fixed stats, I would not experience any bottleneck before I reached the true dragon transformation!" Fang Yuan¡¯s gaze was solemn as he continued to feast as the ck carp. Regardless of whether it was a fish, worm, snake, or bird, Fang Yuan quickly bit it to its death in one bite and devoured it, transforming it into vital elemental energy. Of course, he would not stupidly provoke foes that were stronger than him. Even if the fish was one head length shorter than him, he would let the fish go. He was king of those water dwellers within 1 square centimetre in length and he specifically chooses fish or water dwellers that were less than a foot long, using arge quantity of fish or water dwellers as a supplement to his cultivation. After an unknown period of time, he felt the hot sensation that was in his fish abdomen broke through a certain gate and flowed through his entire body. A small whirlpool was generated within the water region as the ck carp, which was originally 3 feet in length expanded and in an instant, became 6 feet long, which was close to 2 metres. "2nd transformation!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes shone as he looked at his own stats: "Name: Fang Yuan Race: [ck Carp (33 years)] Essence: 6 Spirit: 6 Magic: 6 Profession: ??? Cultivation: ??? Technique: [Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Technique (2nd Transformation)], [Water Controlling Technique] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "Water Controlling Technique?" The increase in his stats was expected. However, he was shocked when he saw the technique. He was thinking when a few writings appeared within his sea of knowledge as if it were logic brought about by the heavens and earth. However, his current abilities were very weak and he could only control the water flow to increase his speed. "The ability to control water? That is not bad at all!" If he was an ordinary fish-type spirit, he would only be able to control the water flow. However, Fang Yuan was not ordinary. After considering for a while, he suddenly leapt out of the water and shot a water arrow from his fish mouth. "Pff!" The strength of the water arrow was considerably huge. A white water bird, which was originally resting, was unable to dodge the arrow. It was struck by the water arrow and fell into theke. Fang Yuan immediately pounced on it and devoured it. "The ability to control water should increase as the spirit¡¯s cultivation increases, as of now, I am able toprehend the minor techniques of increasing speed and forming water arrows, water gun and using water protect myself. In the future, my power will continue to increase..." Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes shed as he realized the benefits of this dream realm. "Even though the cultivation here is not transferable to other realms, myprehension of water-type techniques are valuable...even if I achieved nothing in this dream-traverse, I will be able to condense the water-type sword 5 times faster when I go back. That is more valuablepared to anything else!" After the 2nd transformation, Fang Yuan¡¯s capabilities increased with the Water Controlling Technique. Now, he dared to strike those fishes that were of his size. After all, those type of fish could be counted as spirits. Their spirit and blood were thick and one of them was equivalent to tens or hundreds of normal fish! His hunting area had expanded from a small corner to the whole of the Lotus Region as well. "Water gun!" Fang Yuan flicked his tail as he fixed his eyes on a big green fish. The fish might not be as big as he was. However, it was still around 5 feet long with shiny scales. It was also a predator in this region. He was naturally unafraid as he swam forward and condense a stream of water gun. This was a water-type move which spiralled and as such, it was most suitable for an underwater attack. The big green fish was startled at first when it saw the ck carp approaching. After oveing its shock, it swam forward fiercely and was struck by the water gun. In an instant, arge hole appeared on its body as the scales flew in all directions. Fang Yuan did not wait and instead, rushed forward and severed its nerves in one clean bite, sending the fish to its death. Soon after, he started to devour the fish. "Good! There is no doubt that this is spirit grade. This spirit and blood are umon and of importance to me!" Fang Yuan felt that his vital elemental energy was supplemented way beyond what was normal as he ate the meat of the fish. It seemed that the big green fish could be considered a spirit. It was a pity that some of its spiritual knowledge was not yet attained and as such, it was muddleheaded and could only act based on its instinct. Fang Yuan felt that his vital elemental energy increased quickly with the consumption of food. Unknowingly, his body grew by another foot which was a cause for celebration. "The first 3 transformations of the Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Form focus on the storing of the vital elemental energy. I do not experience any bottlenecks and as such, I can quickly achieve my cultivation!" He quickly devoured the big green fish till only the bones were left. After which, he used his spiritual will to scan the surroundings and discovered that something was amiss. "Who is there?" "Ahhh...no...don¡¯t eat me!" A scallop the size of a millstone appeared from below the silt. It seemed as though it wanted to escape by sprouting water. "Stay!" Fang Yuanughed coldly. This level of ability to control water was nowhere near his level of water control. With his maniption of the water current, he swam to the scallop as if he was looking for an area to strike. "Ohhh....Please don¡¯t eat me, I am not tasty!" A wave of spiritual will transmitted from within the scallop as a Yin spirit appeared. It took on a shape of a beautiful young girl. "My flesh is very smelly, very smelly..." "Haha.....rest assured, since you have already achieved spiritual awareness and is able to give your divine spirit form, I will not eat you!" Fang Yuan revealed his Yin spirit which took on the shape of a youth in ck clothing as he used his spiritual will tomunicate. In his heart, he felt pleasantly surprised. The demonic strength of the scallop in front of him was obviously lesser than the big green fish. However, it was able to attain spiritual awareness and even project its Yin spirit, which was hard to achieve. Compared to the scallop, the green fish was a simple being. Even amongst the demon race, they were not of the same level. "You really won¡¯t eat me?" It was obvious that the little girl had little experience. She was frightened till she teared. "I really won¡¯t eat you!" Fang Yuan had to hold back hisughter. The spiritual energy in this realm was thick. One would be able to project their Yin spirit if they managed to achieve their divine spirit. The Yin spirits in this realm were very innocent. For example, the little girl in front of him revealed herself without much thought. If he had any ill intentions, he would be able to destroy its soul. "That¡¯s good!" The little girl patted her chest as the scallop opened and closed its mouth, revealing the snow-white flesh and the pearl within. "Idiot!" Fang Yuan¡¯s spiritual will moved forward and pped her forehead. "Don¡¯t trust what strangers say so easily. Furthermore, don¡¯t anyhow reveal the light of your pearl or it will cause you much trouble!" "Roger!" The young girl cradled her head as she cried softly in pain. She looked at the condensed spiritual will which revealed a far superior Fang Yuan. She wanted to cry but no tears came. "That¡¯s enough, how did you project your form?" Fang Yuan swam at her side and asked randomly. "I face the moon and absorb the energy every night. After a while, I manage to do this!" The little girl could feel Fang Yuan¡¯s kindness which drew her closer. "Do you face the moon and absorb the Emperor Flow Serum or the Chilling Night Essence?" Fang Yuan looked at the innocent girl and adored her in his heart. He touched her forehead. "I show pass you a technique. Next time, you will be able to cultivate faster as you face the moon and cultivate! Also, since you do not have a name, I shall call you Luo Zhu!" At this point, he touched Luo Zhu¡¯s forehead with a finger. Luo Zhu swooned and attained much knowledge. She smiled sweetly. "Thank you, brother[1]!" Her brows furrowed as she asked sadly, "Why do you eat so many fishes?" "That is because I am cultivating!" Fang Yuan looked into the horizon. "It is just that our dao is different!" "Rumble!" At this moment, above the water surface, a streak of white lightning shed as the dark storm clouds loomed overhead, bringing with it an immense pressure. "It¡¯s here again!" Luo Zhu was so frightened her divine spirit immediately hid in the scallop and dared note out. This was a heavenly tribtion. She was frightened even though it was far off and there was a water body between them. "Hmmm, recently, there is a lot of lightning in Qi Lake!" Fang Yuan¡¯s divine spirit was unafraid of the thunder. His eyes were solemn as he remembered the voice of the water god. His feeling that time was running out increased. "It is considered fate if I am still able to visit the beach after I achieve a breakthrough in my cultivation!" The water god rewarded his allies generously and yet, there were 3 tribtions outside- heaven, earth and people! Previously, he distributed his wealth in order to gain some karma. However, the tribtion outside was vast. Could it be ovee easily? This was a good opportunity for the other water dwellers and those who covet his position. [1] A term of endearment to an older person. Chapter 258: Transforming Into A Dragon Chapter 258: Transforming Into A Dragon Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Ever since he had met Luo Zhu, Fang Yuan started to explore further and began to make friends with a few spirits. To bebelled as a spirit, they had to have a hardy physical body and had to be spiritually aware. Fang Yuan would not eat these creatures. Instead, he would befriend them and gather information from them. He still preferred the big green fish with strong energy but spiritually unaware of what was happening. After his eating spree, he had grown to as long as 3 metres and as he swam, waves swept above him. He was a bully in the region. If this ce was a smallke or river, he could create chaos and might even be respected as a Water Dragon King. Of course, there were many powerful creatures in Qi Lake and the little cultivation of his was only average. "Another one!" As he swam in theke, his body glowed ck. He would no longer pay attention to smaller fishes. "My body is surging with elemental force. If I swallow another spirit, I can surely achieve the 3rd Transformation!" Normal fishes would not be able to train up so quickly. "Do I really need to attack those spirits? If I do, I¡¯ll have to kill them in one bite must hide from others, otherwise, trouble woulde looking for me..." It was alright for Fang Yuan to eat the other normal fishes to cultivate himself. However, it was considered overboard if he were to eat the creatures with spiritual awareness. Considering his ability now, he still did not have the power to go against the unspoken rule of not attacking creatures with spiritual awareness. As he swam and looked out for potential targets, he unknowingly arrived at where Luo Zhu was. With his spiritual will, he scanned the surroundings and suddenly became enraged. With the flick of his tail, he rushed over. "You indecent thing, hand the pearl over!" In front, Luo Zhu refused to open her m, and there was a soft crying voice of a little girl. Outside, there was a ferocious sawtooth fish bigger than Fang Yuan¡¯s current size. He had a slim body and a swordlike mouth filled with teeth as sharp as a saw. There were spikes on its tail as well and a Yin Spirit the shape of a middle-aged man was above it. "Hand it over! If you do not, I¡¯ll break your shell open and destroy you!" He was extremely quick and as he swam behind Luo Zhu, he aimed before charging at her with full speed. "Bang!" After a huge tremor, there was a big hole in her shell and Luo Zhu was wailing loudly. "How dare you!" Although it was only normal for the strong to eat the weak, Fang Yuan was Luo Zhu¡¯s friend and he had to help her. Seeing the sawtooth fish attempting to charge at her again, Fang Yuan rushed out and rammed into his stomach, biting it with his sharp teeth. "Kacha!" He had cultivated his sharp teeth. For the purpose of biting and digestion, he had strengthened it, and it was as hard as metal. Immediately, there was an open wound in the sawtooth fish¡¯s stomach, as Fang Yuan bit a piece of flesh from him. "Ah... How dare you!" As the middle-aged man screamed, his Yin Spirit returned to his body, and the sawtooth fish appeared more ferocious than ever. "Water spear!" As his spiritual will shook, two swirling water spears appeared and prated through the sawtooth¡¯s wound, destroying his insides. "This is impossible..." A wave of thought came from the eyes of the sawtooth fish. Although they were about the same size, the sawtooth fish was a natural predator and would have the advantage over normal fishes like carps. Never would he have thought that this ck carp was a mutated fish! With a feeling of unjust, the sawtooth fish continued to rush forward instead of retreating and was ready to fight for his life with Fang Yuan. "Haha, do you think I¡¯ll be afraid of you?!" Fang Yuan knew his strengths and was aware that he was the strongest among all creatures in the local region. He wouldn¡¯t be afraid of even the biggest creatures. With the flick of his tail, he smacked the sawtooth fish and followed up with a bite, pulling of flesh with every mouth. "Brother, please spare me! Spare me!" After their exchange, the sawtooth fish was at a disadvantage and was under Fang Yuan¡¯s total control. There was nothing he could do to release himself and could only reveal himself as a Yin Spirit to beg for his life. "Hmph, since you intend to harm my friend, I cannot let you go!" Fang Yuan eximed as he rolled his eyes. Finally, he bit onto the head of the sawtooth fish. "Ah..." The middle-aged man eximed as his spirit attempted to escape. Although he had lost his physical body and that the Yin Spirit would slowly die with it, he would still have a slight chance of survival if fate allows. Of course, Fang Yuan would not let him survive. Quickly, he released his Yin Spirit as well and fired a water arrow at him, destroying his Yin Spirit. "This is god given!" Looking at the huge sawtooth fish corpse, Fang Yuan quickly gobbled him up in happiness. He was only halfway done but he could feel a warm surge of energy breaking through something in his body. On his stats window, the figures changed: "Name: Fang Yuan Race: [ck Carp (66 Years)] Essence: 12 Spirit: 12 Magic: 12 Profession: ??? Cultivation: ??? Technique: [Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Form (3rd Transformation)], [Water Controlling Technique (Grade 2)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "Indeed, I¡¯m at the 3rd Transformation! Could the 66 Years refer to my cultivation level? That my abilities areparable to a water spirit that has cultivated for 66 years?" Fang Yuan was deep in his thoughts as he looked at his stats window. "Brother!" As the m opened, Luo Zuo invited Fang Yuan over. "Didn¡¯t I tell you not to let anyone see that pearl of yours? Look at what happened!" Fang Yuan was in a good mood as he stroked the little girl¡¯s forehead. "I¡¯ve learnt!" Luo Zhu tugged at Fang Yuan¡¯s sleeves as she examined him with curiosity. "Eh? Brother, when did you change your appearance? You have a beard as well!" "This is a transformation. With enough spiritual energy, I would be able to start the next stage of condensing!" Fang Yuan¡¯s Yin Spirit examined his own body as well. His body was originallyrger but now, it had be shortened. This was due to the fact that the energy in his body had been purified. Even so, his glittering scales and longer whiskers made him looked more experienced and powerful. More importantly, his water-type skills had improved. "In the Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Form, the first three transformations would be to form the basics. It would be difficult to achieve a breakthrough to the 4th Transformation!" Looking at his ck carp body, he was lost in his thoughts. In the Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Form, there was a difficulty in the 4th Transformation. It was called ¡¯Carp Leaping Over the Dragon¡¯s Gate¡¯. This would involve his physical body changing, which was a huge thing. After all, with the body of a carp, he could at most be a demon in a river. Only by leaping over the Dragon¡¯s Gate and gaining the properties of a dragon could there be a future for him. "To think about it, I was fortunate enough to possess this ck carp, since it is rted to dragons. That way, I would have the affinity to be a dragon! If I were to possess a crab or shrimp, I would really cry." "Kacha!" At this moment, there was the sound of an explosion on the surface of the river. Purple lightning struck down like pirs of heaven. This was a different threat from before, and Fang Yuan was stunned. "This is..." Without caring about Luo Zhu, Fang Yuan quickly floated to the surface of theke. As he arrived on top, he witnessed dark clouds covering the sun and moon. Lightning shed down towards the centre of theke. ¡¯This is the power of the heavens!¡¯ No matter how many times he had seen this before, it would strike fear into him every single time. "The Water God is finally going to experience the tribtion!" As a wave of water spread across the surface of theke, many spirits floated up as well and were all shocked as they witnessed the lightning. No matter how many creatures there were, all of them could only hide like Fang Yuan. There were only a few who were able to release their Yin Spirit, and even Luo Zhu could not do it. There was an old creature with a white beard sighing. Beside him, there was a well-built man with a ck face and brute spiritual aura. "Brother Gui, Brother Zhu!" Fang Yuan greeted them. Both of them quickly returned a greeting. "Congrattions, Brother Fang, on your improvements in cultivation!" Fang Yuan knew the both of them. They were the spirits nearby. Before he had made the breakthrough, he had even thought about eating them. The white-bearded creature was Gui Zhong, a green-haired tortoise. He was the oldest among all of them and was around a thousand years old. Brother Zhu, on the other hand, was a crocodile and was simr to Fang Yuan in a sense where he also trained up by eating other animals. At this point in time, as the three of them looked at the lightning crackle down, they appeared extremely solemn. "Water God¡¯s tribtion?" Fang Yuan acted as though he was confused. "Please exin." "Ah..." Gui Zhong sighed. "The Water God of Qi Lake was originally a green python. Although he had the properties of a dragon and had once ruled over an area, he was ultimately not a dragon!" "After a hundred years, a snake would transform into a python, and after another five hundred years, the python would finally transform into a dragon... Ah, the Water God has painstakingly trained for five hundred years and has good karma. However, to be a dragon, it still has to undergo a lightning tribtion! Not just that, he will have to undergo a human tribtion as well, and I¡¯m not sure if the Water God will be able to make it through..." Fang Yuan remained silent. The few hundred mile radii of the Qi Lake and the presence of the Water God would surely attract a lot of attention from everywhere. "Previously, the Water God had made used of his good karma to dy his tribtion. Who knows if he had cleared his human tribtion as well... He can no longer dy it and with the lightning, he had to face it squarely..." As soon as Gui Zhong finished his sentence, a purple streak of lightning crackled across the sky, engulfing the entire sky in a white glow like a pir from the heavens. In the middle of the lightning, there was a ck shadow roaring. "Roar!" Suddenly, there was a powerful dragon¡¯s roar. All the spiritual energy in the vicinity of Qi Lake quickly gathered around the ck shadow. "Good!" Witnessing this, Gui Zhong was jubnt. "With his good karma and the help from the spiritual energy around theke, he is likely to make it!" Just as he ended, a few streaks of ck smoke rushed towards the Water God with much hostility. It was evident that some of the ck streaks of smoke were from the powerful demons in Qi Lake as they rushed up to disrupt the transference of spiritual energy to the Water God. "Rumble!" As the final lightning struck down, the silhouette of a dragon was struck and a pitiful dragon¡¯s roar was heard in the minds of every creature living in theke. "Water God..." Gui Zhong was stunned. Seeing a water dragon falling down and breaking into two parts as ck smoke surrounded it, he was speechless. "Hehe... hehe..." At the side, the crocodile gave a snicker with a hint of worry. After all, he also had properties of a dragon and he could end up like the Water God! Chapter 259: Good and Bad Fortune Chapter 259: Good and Bad Fortune Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Stter!" After the lightning tribtion, as the clouds disappeared,rge raindrops began to pelter on the surface of theke. A red streak of light shot up into the sky, illuminating the entireke. It gave off a tempting vibe as the creatures around the lotus flowers were beginning to get attracted to it, especially the crocodile. "Ah... It seems that the Water God has passed on. This is the dragon¡¯s blood spilling into theke!" Even though the Water God of Qi Lake had not be a real dragon, it already had its blood. Although it was still far from being a dragon, his destruction meant that it would be extremely hard for anyone to attempt to transform into a dragon. "Whoosh!" It was as though a gunshot went off as fishes swam frantically to the centre of theke. "This object... Please don¡¯t snatch it from me, the two of you!" The crocodile snarled and disappeared into the water in a glow of light. Tthe crocodile appeared once more, but this time covered in a thick scaly armour as it made its way clumsily into the centre of theke. "Brother Gui, why are you not after it?" Fang Yuan looked at Gui Zhong and smiled. "Thepetition is intense and there are a few powerful demons among them. I am but a bag of bones, what can I do? Furthermore... I am too slow... Why are you not trying, brother?" Gui Zhong replied as he nced at Fang Yuan with curiosity. "The current is too strong there, and I¡¯m afraid I would be lost!" Fang Yuan smiled. In reality, both the carp and the tortoise were rted to dragons and would naturally have the properties of the dragon. Therefore, they did not have to obtain it from external sources. Therefore, he could swim around calmly with Gui Zhong. Fang Yuan initially had the thought of reaping the rewards from the Water God, but after seeing the tribtion and the intensepetition among the demons, he gave up on the thought. Based on his current cultivation, it would be suicide if he were to try to snatch the dragon¡¯s essence in the middle of theke. The crocodile, although spiritually aware, was attracted to the centre by his instincts. It was unknown if its instinct was a good thing or a bad thing. "If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll carry on with my cultivation!" After finishing his piece, Fang Yuan returned his Yin Spirit into his body and flicked his tail. Bidding goodbye to Luo Zhu, he promptly disappeared into the depths. Gui Zhong remained speechless. "He is humble andposed, and can even resist against such a strong temptation. This ck fish is mysterious..." Looking at the centre of theke, he snickered. "Dragon¡¯s blood? Hehe... Do they really think that the Water God¡¯s blood is dragon¡¯s blood? How could one possibly obtain dragon properties so easily?" Beneath him, a huge shadow appeared. It was a huge green-haired tortoise with streaks of gold on its shell. "With the death of the Water God, the Qi Lake will return to its usual chaos. Why should I get involved in all these? I¡¯ll take a rest! And we¡¯ll see what to do after a hundred-year-long dream..." With a sh, his Yin Spirit returned to his body and disappeared. "Bloop! Bloop!" Bubbles were released as the green tortoise started to sink downwards like a heavy rock. ... "How could they think that it would be so easy to get dragon properties?" After calming Luo Zhu down, Fang Yuan swam away as his Yin Spirit chuckled. Although there was a chance for his carp body to activate its dragon properties, the chances were extremely low. If he were to obtain real dragon¡¯s blood, he would be able to transform entirely and his future would be limitless. "However, a normal water dragon¡¯s blood would be poisonous. It would be extremely difficult to try and get the drop of real dragon¡¯s blood amidst all thepetition!" As he swam gracefully, he swallowed another small fish. "I shall watch the show from afar..." In the blink of an eye, 7 days had passed. Indeed, the crocodile did not return. A few mutated fish returned instead. Although they did not get the dragon properties, they were still fortunate enough not to be poisoned by the water dragon¡¯s blood. All of them were fat looking and filled with elemental force. Seeing this, Fang Yuan was jubnt. He had decided that from that day onwards, he would target these mutated fish. "Whoosh!" Underwater, two streams of water swirled into water spears which pierced through a white fish. This white fish was a few feet long and was muchrger than Fang Yuan. More importantly, the scale on it was golden, which made it unusual. Fang Yuan had relied on his strong stats and Water Controlling Technique to kill the other fish. "Although these fish did not get the water dragon¡¯s true blood to gain their dragon properties, they had taken in the water dragon¡¯s spiritual aura and benefitted from it... By slowly eating them, I will slowly consume the water dragon¡¯s spiritual aura and increase the possibility of me leaping through the Dragon¡¯s Gate..." He looked at his own body. He was originally 8 inches but now, he was only 3 inches long. His scales were glittering with a dull gold hue, and his whiskers were long. Every inch of his body was perfection. "Am I finally at this stage?" Fang Yuan felt that he was at his limits, and took a quick look at his stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Race: [ck Carp (99 Years)] Essence: 17 Spirit: 17 Magic: 17 Profession: ??? Cultivation: ??? Technique: [Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Technique (3rd Transformation)], [Water Controlling Technique (Grade 2)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" ... "No matter how concentrated the spiritual energy is in this realm, the limit for carps is 100 years. I am already at this stage... I either go all out and leap through the Dragon¡¯s Gate, or I be nothing!" "Of course, what are the things I can take from this realm that would benefit me? Or should I say, what can I take from this realm..." Fang Yuan had already tested the theory out. The rules which govern this realm was much stricter than the rules of reality in Hui Realm. The connection between him and his actualised dream world was limited and it was arduous for him to even harness the sword¡¯s essence. It was even more difficult for him to transfer anything into the actualised dream world. "Dragon¡¯s pearl, dragon¡¯s properties... Or the natural spiritual meridians... and the position of Water God. Everything is a mystery..." After giving it much thought, these were the few things which he could attempt to transfer to his actualised dream world. However, as he had learnt before, he still needed to restore his abilities. Without abilities, he could not even defend himself! As he was thinking to himself, there was a sudden stream of current ahead as many creatures started to rush towards the lotus flowers. "Brother, save me!" The one in front was Zhu Tong, the crocodile. His body was covered in wounds as he dyed the water red. Seeing Fang Yuan, his eyes widened as he quickly rushed towards him. "You deserve to die!" Fang Yuan¡¯s spiritual will was enraged. "Zhu Tong! How dare you bring trouble to me!" "Water spears!" Within seconds, 6 to 7 water spears were fired at the crocodile. With the strength of his spiritual will and his Water Controlling Technique, the water spears he had fired wereparable to arrows or even cannons from ships! "Pu! Pu!" Even the scales of the crocodile could not deflect the water spears. As the water spears pierced through, blood exploded from him. Zhu Tong¡¯s Yin Spirit appeared and smiled. "Who would¡¯ve thought that... I would die at the hands of my own brother..." Since his physical body had died, his soul would not be able to sustain for long. The figure of the well-built man slowly disappeared. In a sigh, a golden glow shot out of the crocodile andnded on Fang Yuan¡¯s head. "This is..." With his spiritual will on guard, Fang Yuan could control the glow if it were to harm him. However, after examination, he realised that it was a map. "That ... ck fish, hand over the map of Water God¡¯s secret mansion, or I¡¯ll eat you up!" As fishes behind gave chase, the water guardian standing on ms appeared once again, looking ferocious. It was the same one which Fang Yuan had seen before. "Water God¡¯s secret mansion?" Fang Yuan remained speechless as he looked at the crocodile corpse. It seems that the crocodile was rather lucky to have obtained the map. However, he was no longer alive to enjoy the reward. Of course, by passing on the treasure map to Fang Yuan, he wanted to bring trouble to Fang Yuan! Seeing the face of the water guardian, Fang Yuan knew that even if he were to hand it over, he would still be killed. After all, anyone who encountered the treasure map would remember it in their spiritual wills. "Go!" With the pressure from the water guardian and the assistance he had from the other water spirits, Fang Yuan was pressurized to make a decision. Seeing this, he quickly flicked his tail and swam away. "Hey! Where are you going!" These water spirits were naive. Only after Fang Yuan had swum for a distance did they realise what was happening. They were fuming mad. "Stay!" Blue streaks of light were shot towards Fang Yuan and spread out underwater. There was a golden glitter on Fang Yuan¡¯s body. With the flick of his tail, numerous water spears exploded behind him as he quickly made his escape. He could no longer stay in the region of the lotus flowers. "This ck carp..." The water guardian was stunned. After a while, there was a glitter in his eyes. "This fish does not seem normal. Catch it!" "Also, investigate its background. How can our elder demon¡¯s treasure lie in the hands of others? I want him to be trapped in the Qi Lake!" ... "What luck! I didn¡¯t ask for trouble, but trouble came looking for me!" He did not do anything to deserve the trouble. As he swam away, he felt a little depressed. He was already at the 3rd transformation of the Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation and had restored half of his stats. Under chase, he was obviously quicker than the normal fishes and spiritual fishes. After all, even the water guardian might be no match for him. "This will not end here..." Fang Yuan had a premonition that everything was not over. He would surely be tracked down and chased after. After all, that was the oue for the crocodile, and he was no different. "I need to leave this ce!" He had made up his mind. "Furthermore... Since they are so anxious about the treasure map, let me take a look at it. I might even be lucky and surprised!" The heavens did not give it to him, but it ended up with him ultimately! Although the crocodile wanted to harm Fang Yuan by giving him the map, he was strong enough to escape and make use of it, turning it into his fortune. Good things can turn bad, and bad things can be good! Chapter 260: Secret Mansions Chapter 260: Secret Mansions Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Beneath Qi Lake, there was a water pce. It was where the Water God once stayed and was filled with spiritual energy. It was glittering gold from the inside, and there was a huge protective array on the outside. In the main hall, pearls and jade pieces covered the floor, reflecting the image of many ms and shellfish dancing about. On the tables, there were spiritual fruits and spiritual wine; a dinner was ongoing. But this time, the owner of the ce was no longer the Water God of Qi Lake. "Brother Bai! Please!" The three demons were the stars of the night. One of them who was covered in a flowery pattern offered wine to a young man in white. "Wishing you a speedy cultivation to be the next Water God!" Brother Bai was Bai Guan, a python. The other two were a water buffalo and an alligator snapping turtle, but both of them were suitable and had dragon properties as well. They had already decided since the attack on Water God. Bai Guan did the most and would receive the imperial order and the water pce. The remaining corpse and dragon properties from the Water God would be divided equally among the other two. "Thank you for your blessings!" Bai Guan smiled. Inside him, the imperial order, in the form of a talisman, floated mysteriously. "The previous Water God is of the same race as me. If not for the fact that my tribtion is about to arrive and I require the imperial order, I wouldn¡¯t have attacked him..." "We still need to clean up what he did while he was alive!" The alligator snapping turtle revealed his Yin Spirit, a well-built man. The man started to gobble down an entire pig and cow before gulping down bowls of wine. After a satisfactory burp, he continued. "The previous god trusts no one and therefore there might be a trap or two in this pce!" "I know..." Bai Guan continued. "With the imperial order from the Water God, I can detect that the few generations before him have put in ce several secret mansions. I¡¯m guessing that they are preparing to have aeback!" "Comeback?" The buffalo shrieked. "We cannot let that happen!" If they did notbine forces, none of them was strong enough on their own to take down the Water God. "Your objection is useless. These are the rules of this world. If you have heavenly karma, you can have a chance of aeback!" Bai Guan stroked the beard above his mouth. "Of course, I will still have to depend on fate to see if I can cultivate and transform into a dragon. Furthermore, I already have the position of Water God and there¡¯s nothing else I can do." With the appointment of the Water God, he had ess to a 500-mile radius area of spiritual energy around theke. This was assistance from the heavens and earth on a single person. If the Water God were to revive, he could be equally powerful without the imperial order and would regain his power after his reincarnation. "Even so, we still have to get rid of the trouble!" The few demons exchanged nces with a murderous look. "Water God, the water guardian Ha Haer is requesting to see you!" After the dinner, a water guardian entered and knelt down respectfully. He was the one who chased after the crocodile. "What¡¯s the matter?" Strictly speaking, Bai Guan had yet to reach the cultivation level to be the Water God, but his actions were already demonstrating his power. Ha Haer started to describe everything from chasing the crocodile to the encounter with Fang Yuan. "A ck carp? You let him snatch the treasure map and escape?" Bai Guan frowned. "You useless thing!" "Water God, spare me! Spare me!" Ha Haer started to kowtow. "From the chaos, the crocodile had obtained a map of the secret mansion. Although it is not the map of the most important one, we still need to be wary!" After lecturing, Bai Guan appeared solemn. "After receiving the imperial order and undergoing cultivation, I already have half of what it takes to be the Water God. Although I cannot exactly pinpoint the locations of the secret mansions, I can roughly detect them! The scattered secret mansions are all small issues. Most importantly, we need to destroy the one within the dragon pce!" The white python was extremely decisive and quickly made a decision. ... At the same time, Fang Yuan followed the directions on the map and arrived in a new area. Qi Lake was extremelyrge and this area was a secluded one. More importantly, there was little spiritual energy around here and schools of fishes would note here. Furthermore, the current was strong and it was a dangerous ce. "This should be the ce on the map!" After swimming past a coral tree and through a few underwater currents, he arrived at a trench in theke. "The Water God¡¯s secret mansion? What can I find inside?" The trench was deep but Fang Yuan was unafraid and dived right down. Beneath, it was pitch ck and Fang Yuan started to feel fear of the unknown. "Bloop! Bloop!" After a while, bubbles emerged from the side andntern-like eyes appeared. "Hmmm?" As Fang Yuan dodged, he released his spiritual will and realised that his attacker was an eel. "Water-type shield!" As his spiritual will shook, a translucent shield covered him with a current of water. "Peng! Peng!" As soon as the shield was formed, there came a continuous fierce knocking. Ferocious res from many eyes appeared, surrounding Fang Yuan like a pack of wolves. "Is this... an eel¡¯s nest?" With a bitter smile, Fang Yuan released water arrows in all directions. "Whizz!" The water arrows pierced through many eels, sinking many. The others started to escape in fear. "Heh... I just have to kill one to scare the rest away!" With the flick of his tail, he released his spiritual will once more and followed the directions on the map, eventually arriving at a water cave. "This is the ce..." Clenching his teeth, he dived in. "Buzz!" In the next moment, there was a sh and the surroundings started to change. As soon as he entered the hole, he could see what was truly inside. What had appeared in front of Fang Yuan was a huge array formed from a fog. In continuously consumed spiritual energy from the water around and remained active. "Is this an array?" There was a look of interest in his eyes. The array was only average but it was already considered strong to theke dwellers. However, to Fang Yuan who has knowledge about arrays, it was nothing. "Destroy the array!" With the flick of his tail, he started to work on it. ... Beneath the Water God¡¯s pce. Bai Guan, the water buffalo and the alligator snapping turtle stood before an array and took in a cold breath. "Impressive! Impressive indeed!" The water buffalo stared at the array. "Who would¡¯ve thought that that green python would be so well-versed in arrays." "This ce is considered the heart of the pce. Without it, I can only activate the buildings outside. I¡¯m afraid my abilities are still limited, even with the imperial order..." Bai Guan let out a sigh and looked at the 12 tall pirs in front of him and the fog surrounding it. "This is a powerful restriction. I¡¯m afraid we will have to slowly undergo cultivation to break through it in the future." These three demons were totally clueless about arrays and could only think about breaking through it using brute force. Within seconds, three streaks of ck fog appeared and shot up into the sky. ... "This restriction looks simple on the outside but isplicated on the inside!" On the head of the ck fish, Fang Yuan¡¯s Yin Spirit appeared. He was examining the colourful restriction in front of him. After breaking through the fog array outside, he arrived here. He could see the vague silhouette of jade treasures beyond the restriction. "Water God is indeed a God. A random secret mansion is already so luxurious! What about the pce?" Fang Yuan¡¯s Yin Spirit shimmered as he entered the restriction. "Whooo!" The colourful restriction started to spin from a green, to red, then to ck. "Fortunately, this is only a variation of the Five Elements Array!" After investigating it, there was a look of joy on his face. Fang Yuan already had the elementary knowledge of arrays. In an attempt to form the 8 Gates Sword Array, he ced more emphasis on learning about arrays. Although he was still not an expert in it, he could still easily break through a simple restriction like this. "Restriction, transfer?" After mulling over it, Fang Yuan sighed. "Is this restriction is linked to another array elsewhere? That after breaking it, it would affect something elsewhere? Fortunately, after transferring, I can reverse the changes!" Looking at the imagery of a pce appearing and disappearing, his expression changed. "Kacha! Kacha!" At this moment, on the restriction, there was a distinct sound, and Fang Yuan¡¯s expression changed once more. "This is not good! Is the other restriction from elsewhere activated as well?" Without hesitation, he mmed his fish body forward. "Rumble!" In the next moment, something happened! Aftering to his senses, Fang yuan found himself in an enormous pce carved in white jade. There was a flowery array beneath him. Not just that, outside him, there was amotion and three thick streaks of ck fogs started to rise upwards. "Is that... the Demon King!?" Fang Yuan stared. At the same time, outside, Bai Guan and the other two demons stared at the ck carp which appeared in the pce. They had painstakingly made their way through the array and were left with the final steps. Who would¡¯ve known that a ck carp would appear? "D*mn it!" Fang Yuan shivered in fear. "It seems that in all the secret mansions of the Water God, there would be the same array linking everywhere together, and even linking the secret mansion which the demons are after?" As he clenched his teeth, he nced at the array before rushing towards the main hall. "I am the Water God. What are your intentions, ck carp?" Seeing this, Bai Guan was enraged. Frenzied, the other two demons joined him in rushing into the array. "Sumb to me and I will let you be the general to lead all the water troops. You will only be under me but above everybody else!! A gentleman like me never lie!" "Get lost!" Fang Yuan rolled his eyes as he swam into the main hall. "Rumble!" As soon as he entered, there was a shocking surge of energy. In the golden-ted stairs, there was a corpse of a green dragon. "This... this is a real dragon!" Its scales were green with a hint of gold. It had two antlers and four ws and was majestic looking. In a moment, Fang Yuan could already recognise it. Quickly, he noticed a golden pearl glittering on the dragon¡¯s head, and knew that the energy he felt was from the pearl. "Dragon Pearl!" He swam across and bit it in his mouth. "Whoosh!" The process of taking the pearl was shockingly smooth. Following, the corpse of the dragon disintegrated into ash. Chapter 261: Breakthrough Chapter 261: Breakthrough Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Is this... what¡¯s left behind of a dead dragon? A Dragon Pearl?" After obtaining the Dragon Pearl, the green dragon, and even the pce started to disintegrate. Outside, as the three demons witnessed the scene unfolding, their eyeballs were bulging. "Little ck fish, you won¡¯t be able to handle it! Give it to me!" "I¡¯m not stupid!" As he looked at the other treasures around, he felt a sense of pity. Regardless, he rushed to the centre of the pce where he hade from through the array. "Oh no, does this ck fish understand how to manipte arrays?" As Bai Guan eximed, a huge white python emerged from behind, hissing loudly. "Crumble!" Finally, the array could not hold on any longer as it shattered. "Don¡¯t think of leaving!" The three demons started to chase after Fang Yuan. "I¡¯m sorry, but it¡¯s toote!" With a smile, he disappeared among the glow. "Rumble!" In the next moment, an astonishing surge of energy swept across the entire pce, turning everything into rubble. "Ahh! That d*rned ck fish!" Bai Guan shrieked. "Don¡¯t let me catch you, otherwise I will make you regret being born!!!" Behind him, the water buffalo and alligator snapping turtle looked at each other. Being the more powerful demons of Qi Lake, it was a disgrace for them to be outsmarted by a small fish. Needless to say, it was a huge loss. Everywhere was glittering. ... In the secret mansion within the trench. Fang Yuan fired a water arrow and destroyed the restriction, heaving a sigh of relief. "Phew!" If he were a littlete, he would be captured by the three demons and had to give up on this world. Only until now he could finally examine the Dragon Pearl in peace. The golden pearl was only as big as a thumb. There was a mild golden glowing from within and it gave off the vibe of a dragon. If not for the fact that Fang Yuan was from another world and had strong magical energy, he might not even be able to take it away. "In this Dragon Pearl, it contains dragon element. In other words, the essence of a dragon. Because all of the element is within the pearl, the pearl is extremely strong. If I were to swallow it, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to digest it..." As he looked at the pearl, he still swallowed it without holding back. "Whatever, I¡¯ll just take it as though I¡¯m swallowing a rock. After all, I don¡¯t have pockets to store things, right?" There was a benefit for swallowing the pearl. The vibe of the dragon was now isted in his stomach and could no longer be tracked. If there was a need to, Fang Yuan could also release it to scare other predators. Fang Yuan felt satisfied. "I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to wait till I¡¯m at least at the 6th Transformation before I can digest it. However, it should still be able to activate the dragon properties I have in me, right?" Clumsily, he swam out of the trench, aimed at a certain direction and swam quickly. He had to swim quickly! He now had the treasure map and even the pearl! Since he had taken the pearl in front of the three demons, they would surely hunt him down. Could the entire Qi Lake be hunting for a ck carp now? "I cannot stay in Qi Lake anymore. The only way is to run..." Qi Lake stretched across 500 miles, but it was not a standaloneke. On the contrary, it was connected to a lot of other rivers and streams. Without hesitation, Fang Yuan chose the closest An River and swam towards it. No matter how powerful the Water God might be, he could only exert his power within Qi Lake. If Fang Yuan were to escape theke, the three demons could do nothing. "It¡¯s a pity that I¡¯ll have to leave the Lotus Flowers! As thoughts ran through his mind, he continued to rush along his way. At the size of 3 feet and 3 inches, there were many other ck carps like him. Many carps were caught just because they looked like him. "I¡¯m about to reach there!" As soon as Fang Yuan realised that a search was going on in Qi Lake, he paid more attention to concealing himself. As he looked in a certain direction, there was a look of joy on his face. He was not far from the river mouth of An River. Underwater, Fang Yuan could feel a current of water, bringing with it sand and nutrients from an unknown water source. As soon as he reaches An River, he could go to otherkes and from then on would be a free fish. With the flick of his tail, he increased his speed. He knew that the longer he took, the higher the chances of him being caught by the three demons. Based on his current level of cultivation, he might not even be able to escape from them once spotted. "Whooo!" Underwater, the strong current was like a thousand hands as it pushed Fang Yuan outwards. The good thing was that he was strong enough to swim against it. Against the current, Fang Yuan continued to swim towards An River. "The crucial thing about a carp leaping through the Dragon¡¯s Gate is the part about leaping! I will need energy and courage!" Suddenly, Fang Yuan realised something. At that moment, it was as though he was right beneath the Dragon¡¯s Gate, ready to leap! "Haha... You cannot run!" At this moment, a glow appeared. "Destroy!" With the flick of a tail, Fang Yuan saw the water guardian in front of him. He opened his mouth wide and gave a joyful expression. "The God has ordered us to guard the exits. Who would know that you would fall for it! Haha... It is only fair that you end up in my hands. Let¡¯s see how I¡¯m going to deal with you!" The water guardian had a high level of cultivation. As he swung his spear, a wave appeared on the surface of theke. "This time... you cannot run!" Looking at the ck carp, he was overjoyed. He stretched his hand over. "Water arrow!" "Water spear!" Fang Yuan executed his techniques in quick session. However, their cultivation levels were too different and the water guardian was cunning as well. He wore a spiritual armour and therefore, Fang Yuan¡¯s attacks were not effective. Ha Haer grabbed the water in front of him. At that moment, Fang Yuan could feel as though the water had stopped, trapping him in something like a cage. "We need to end this quick. Otherwise, if the other water guardians or demons arrive, I would be in real trouble..." "Destroy!" With the flick of his tail, an enormous force exploded, destroying the water cage. Free, he continued to rush towards An River. "Eh? You¡¯re quite good!" Ha Haer revealed his true form, a toad. As he opened his mouth, he aimed it at Fang Yuan. "Whooo!" The water underneath started to swirl on Fang Yuan as the water was sucked into Ha Haer¡¯s mouth. Fang Yuan felt an immense pressure. "Hmph, you could have survived, but you chose death... Kill!" A murderous look shed across Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes. Suddenly, he stopped resisting and rushed straight towards Ha Haer¡¯s mouth. Seeing this, Ha Haer did not close his mouth. Instead, he started to swallow in more water. "Now!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered as he opened his mouth as well. "Roar! Roar!" In the next moment, a loud roar was heard. The roar sounded ancient and powerful, as though people would fear it just by hearing it. As soon as the roar was heard, there was the vibe of a dragon in the vicinity. It was as though time had stopped. Ha Haer was a water dweller. Against the vibe of a dragon, he could not resist as he stumbled onto the ground. "Die!" Swimming towards him, Fang Yuan fired multiple arrows at Ha Haer¡¯s weak points. "Pu!" As soon as a water arrow dissipated, another one would being at him. Because it was continuous, it appeared like a white streak. "You..." There was blood at the throat of Ha Haer. With a face of unwillingness, he fell to the ground, crushing a seashell in his hands. "Rumble!" In the next moment, there was a ck sh and the vibe of anger all aiming at Fang Yuan. "Pu!" His body was flung out, and some of his scales dropped. "A one-time use talisman?" Looking at the breathless Ha Haer and the powdery substance on his hands, he looked away and continued rushing towards An River. "Pu!" A 3 feet fish leapt out of the surface of the water and over the obstacle which Ha Haer had built,nding into a foreign river. "Phew..." Although his body appeared hammered, Fang Yuan heaved a sigh of relief as soon as he entered the waters of An River. The thought of being chased and killed soon disappeared in his mind as he came to terms with the fact that he had escaped out of Qi Lake. However, he had a price to pay..." "Is that strike from the demon king?" Looking at his own body, he was stunned. The feeling of power, much stronger than he was, was felt as the water guardian attacked him. "This is not alright. If it goes on, I think I will die..." Fang Yuan was expressionless. Suddenly, he felt his stats window shaking. On the original ck Carp (99 Years), he became blurred and turned into (100 Years)! "The time of breakthrough has arrived, what a time..." For fishes, it would be extremely strenuous for them to heal their injuries or leap over the Dragon¡¯s Gate. Needless to say, Fang Yuan was now severely injured and had consumed more than half of his elemental energy. This made in untimely for a breakthrough. "To heal and breakthrough at the same time? I have it... the Dragon Stinging Technique!" The good thing was that Fang Yuan was not the average fish. He had learnt a specific technique for use in such a situation from the Golden Dragon God¡¯s study. "I need to heal my injury, and I need to achieve my breakthrough as well... Since I cannot provide elemental energy now, I can retrieve energy from my body!" Fang Yuan executed the technique in silence. A miracle happened. The ck carp was originally 3 feet long, but now, it was shrinking and finally, it became 1 feet long. Of course, the injury also reduced in size and disappeared. "The Dragon Stinging Technique would allow me to shrink in size, heal my injury and gather my elemental energy. Of course, there are side effects as well... In the following few days, I would be at my weakest and therefore, I would remain the size I once was like the other ck carps..." Chapter 262: Marketplace Chapter 262: Marketce Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions It was extremely dangerous for a carp to leap through the Dragon¡¯s Gate even though it was not rted to transforming into a dragon. It was especially dangerous for Fang Yuan as he was already seriously injured. Hence, Fang Yuan had no choice but to use the Dragon Stinging Technique to preserve his life after breaking through. It was called the Dragon Stinging Technique as it granted the user a second chance at life. It preserved the life force and energy of the user, and in an instant, it used up all his elemental energy, turning him into a foot long ck carp. On the upside, all his injuries were reduced by more than half. "Because I am too heavily injured this time, I will need to maintain the Dragon Stinging Technique for quite a long period of time. Once it finally ends, I can smoothly breakthrough to the 4th transformation..." He appeared greyish, as if his stats window got sealed up, and murmured to himself under his gills. Any other demon would likely be dead if they experienced this right after breaking through. Even if they were lucky enough to escape death, they would be left in a state where they would lose all hope, went crazy, or transformed into all sorts of different creatures. It was thanks to his vast knowledge and his high stats that he managed to survive the ordeal and keep his sanity. "Even though I managed to tide through this dangerous ordeal.... This prolonged state of weakness would be the death of me!" When Fang Yuan saw a crocodile swim past, he flicked his tail and quickly swam away from it. If this was before he was weakened, the crocodile would have been eaten up by him, but he really could not afford to fight it now. It would have been all for naught if he survived taunting the Water God, killed Ha Haer, jumped through the dragon gates, only to be killed by a normal crocodile. The current of An River was very fast and was vastly different from the calmke of QI. Luckily Fang Yuan managed to adapt quickly. Additionally, there were certain advantages to maintaining the Dragon Stinging Technique. The water god filed an arrest warrant for a 3-foot ck carp that had enormous strength and possessed the abilities to manipte water. This waspletely different from his current state. The Dragon Stinging Technique would allow him to be unnoticed by even the powerful demons, there would be no threat to his identity being revealed. "Mmm, I should use this chance to gain my footing in the An River. After that, I can follow the river to its source and seek out the Golden Court Lake!" Fang Yuan was prepared to stay on the run. At least he knew how the Golden Court Lake was connected to the An River. Whenparing size, the Golden Court Lake was much bigger than the Qi Lake, it could be considered as an ind ocean! Of course, it was a vast distance away, it was as if he was travelling from the northernnds to the southern skies! "I should take a few days to recover before going on my way again." Fang Yuan looked at his surroundings, he immediately flicked his tailed and hid in a bush of seaweed. ..... Half a monthter. "The effects of the Dragon Stinger Technique will be wearing off soon. I should take advantage of my current state and be on my way!" There were of hidden dangers all around him. In addition, there were constant patrols by the water spirits. Fang Yuan had heard that the Qi Lake Water God had issued an arrest warrant for a 3-foot ck carp and sought help from the demon of An River. He felt uneasy and decided to leave his current hiding spot for somewhere even further. Based on his current appearance and his abilities to conceal his spiritual aura, he would not raise any suspicion even if he was swept by a spiritual will. "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.... F*CK, the swimming speed of a normal carp is just too slow!!!" Fang Yuan was absolutely exhausted when he finally reached the main tributary of the An River. It was a huge ne of slow-moving water. "Mmm, there is someone." The river was very broad. There was bait being thrown into the river from both shores, it was apparent that someone was fishing. "Could it be..... Have I finally met the humans of this word? I almost thought this world was only dominated by spirits and demons!" Fang Yuan felt really yful, he weaved between the fish hooks and would sometimes stop to eat the fish bait before yfully tugging on the fish hooks. "Mmm, I am full now, I should continue on my journey." He burped and was prepared to leave. All of a sudden, he was startled. A 10 foot long carp was in the middle of foraging for food when he saw Fang Yuan and charged towards Fang Yuan. "If this was before, I would have killed you with a single water arrow!" Fang Yuan cried out, before escaping. In his weakened state, he was merely a normal ck carp, with average swimming speed. He was almost caught a few times by the carp, before finally taking cover in the seaweeds. He was met by dangers after dangers. He saw a hidden current up ahead and was very happy "F*ck you!" He focused and shot across the hidden current as soon as he saw a break in its flow. The carp who was following right behind him was caught in the current and swept to god knows where. "An idiot like you wanted to eat me?! Go eat yourself ass*ole!" Whilst in the middle of his celebration, a huge was cast in his direction. "Mmm?" Before Fang Yuan could react, he was caught in the and pulled out of the water. Hua!! Only him, some seaweed, some crustacean were left in the after the water was drained. "Is this a fishing boat?" Fang Yuan heart sank "I celebrated too soon" "Ahh... such a bad haul again!" A well-built fisherman pulled the onto the deck, threw the seaweed away, and picked up Fang Yuan "This carp is all we have, we can either sell it or cook some fish stew...." Fang Yuan was not unlike any other ordinary fish, he flopped for a while, before foaming at the mouth. There was really nothing he could do. After all, not only was he a third of his original size, he was literally a fish out of the water. It was likened to a dragon trashing in the shallows or a tiger in the open savanna. Hua La! He was thrown into a basket of fishes. The fisherman hauled a few mores and threw all the bigger fishes into the basket with him. They were transferred into a water-filled basin. "Hmm... It looks like fishes in this basin are for sale, he would not kill us for now. What luck?" Fang Yuan was deep in thought "I am going to get eaten either way, be it roasted or steamed, such a depressing situation to be in...." He looked at the other fishes around him and red at them "What are you looking at? SCRAM!" "I am going to be eaten... I am going to be eaten....." There was a green fish with a slight bit of spiritual awareness, but that was about it. He looked slightly retarded and was swimming in circles furiously. "Mmm?" This basin was rather small, it only contained Fang Yuan, the green fish and 2 other spotted fishes with no spiritual awareness. Thest fish was an interesting one. "Hey you, where are you from?" Fang Yuan wrestled through the crowd and said hi to a fish of his type. In from of him, was another carp. The carp was much shorter than Fang Yuan, he was only about half a foot, did not have much meat. He looked beautiful, had scales of a golden and reddish hue and long flowing whiskers. The carp looked simr to Fang Yuan when he was still of the 3rd transformation. The carp was either gifted with such good looks, or he had cultivated. "...." The Golden Red Carp looked at Fang Yuan and blew bubbles innocently. "F*ck! Don¡¯t you dare y dumb with me.... Hey hey, we are caught and are about to be made into soup, if you have any tricks, this is the time to use it!" Fang Yuan rammed into the carp. The golden red carp merely stared at him, motionless. "Could he really be a retard?" Fang Yuan was out of options when he knew that this method could not work. Not long after, the boat docked. With a jerk, the basin was lifted and brought into the pier. "Fishes for sale!" "Fishes for sale!" ..... The pier was not very big, but there was still high human traffic and was quite crowded. Fisherman filled the sides of the pier, selling fish. "Ladies and gentleman,e take a look at my fishes! Freshly caught and still full of life!" Although the fisherman spoke slightly differently, Fang Yuan could still make out what he was saying. The fisherman picked up the green fish. The green fish was flopping about furiously. If It was himself, he would have feigned death to prevent himself from being sold and cooked. "My love, you must be tired after your long journey. These fishes looks good, how about I buy one for you to regain some strength?" A couple walked to the stall. Fang Yuan evaluated the couple. The man was in his early 20s, wore a green shirt and had a piece of jade hung around his waist, it was of good quality too. His pupils were of a deep ck, he could feel the authority of an officer from his eyes. Following behind was a student, beside him was a sweet lookingdy. She had difficulties moving and had a small belly and looked to be pregnant. "My love! My love, this fisherman¡¯s fishes are the best!" The fisherman saw the young man, and his eye sparkled "Look at how fresh these fishes are! Especially this golden red carp, that¡¯s a rare catch! A stew made with him would be very nutritious for thedy! " "Oh, let me take a look!" The officer wearing green shirt stopped and looked at the fishes. Fang Yuan looked on coldly, but he caught the gaze of the fisherman. The fisherman was eyeing the jade piece on the officer and looked at thedy with a perverted gaze. "They are indeed good, I have read somewhere that golden red carps possessed spiritual energy and would be great for mydy!" He looked at his wife "My dear... What do you think?" "Me?" She hung her head low, she did not want her husband to spend so much on her and could not make a decision. She looked at the carp and was shocked "It...It seems to be crying!" "Mmm?" The officer saw it too "Wow, it is spiritually aware!" "How could we kill something that was spiritually aware? My dear, how about we buy it and set it free?" She looked at her husband, her eyes were filled with a loving gaze "Let¡¯s take it as we are earning good karma for me and our children." "Al... Alright!" He would not have normally agreed to that, but the officer was feeling generous "We are getting this carp!" "I really could not tell, he was the acting type!" He looked at the teary eyes golden red carp and was speechless, "You really are good, but I not really not thick-skinned enough!" "That would be one silver, it is a golden carp after all!" The fisherman was all smiles and decided to rip the couple off. "That is very expensive, but for the sake of my wife and children, I will take it!" The officer took out the money and paid him. After paying, he pointed to fang yuan and the green fish, "Release the golden carp, but give me these 2 fishes, stew one, and steam one!" "F*CK!!!!" Chapter 263: Transformation Chapter 263: Transformation Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions After he was bought, Fang Yuan managed to obtain the identity of the couple from the information he gathered along the way. The green-robed official¡¯s surname was Xu and his name was Ren. He was a schr of the Qinghe District and was a child prodigy. At the age of 12, he was chosen for and passed the imperial examinations to be an official. After being selected to be an official, he took a few servants with him and took up the position. Thedy, Wan¡¯er, was his wife and was 5 months pregnant. The rides in the carriages of the ancient times were bumpy and were not suitable for a pregnantdy. Furthermore, the drainage system of this realm was developed. As such, Xu Ren chose to take the boat. At the quay, he rented a small boat and travelled downstream in it. As for Fang Yuan and the other 2 fishes, they were naturally brought to the kitchen. It was noteworthy to mention that the golden carp was still there. It seemed that Xu Ren was either going to find another location to release it or consume it. Afterall, it could be considered a semi-spiritual object which would bring about benefits to the unborn child. The sky outside grew dark and the kitchen started to be busy. The reddish-gold fish looked at Fang Yuan and the other fish with an expression of ridicule. "Die die die..." The big green fish was scared senseless and could only repeat these few words. "Really...When I rely on the mountain, the mountain topples and when I rely on the water, the water dries up [1]. In the end, I still have to rely on myself!" Fang Yuan silently concentrated and was motionless. The effects of his Dragon Stinging Form were almost gone. As such, he was able to remain fearless in the face of death. Otherwise, if he was able to ovee his predicament just by crying, there was an 80% chance that he would do so even if he said that he was unwilling. "A dragon can change its size, is able to soar or hide. When it is big, it is able to swallow clouds and blow out fog. When it is small, it is able to stay hidden. It is able to soar between universes and hide within the great waves..." This Dragon Stinging Form was a miraculous technique of the dragon race and was necessary to save his life. Fang Yuan silently chanted the form and felt threads of elemental energy moving rapidly within a dried up area within his body. "It does not just take one step for a carp to transform into a dragon. Instead, it is the stimtion of the dragon properties within the body and creating an opportunity to transform into a dragon!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes lit up with understanding as he thought of the content of the Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Form. "How? Are we doing it?" At this moment, a man¡¯s lofty voice was heard. "That young master of the rich family is loaded. Did you see the amount of money he had when he was buying the fish? There must be dozens of silver taels. Furthermore, the jade hanging from his waist is nomon grade item!" This voice sounded very familiar. Fang Yuan realized that it was the fisherman from before. At the moment, the person who was doing odd jobs and the person tending to the fire started to gather. There was a total of 6 or 7 people, which caused Fang Yuan to sigh. Xu Ren was blind to choose a ck boat! Those who lived in the mountains lived off the mountains while those who lived in the sea lived off the seas.While these fishermen led difficult lives, they were skilful for their livelihood. When they were halfway through the journey, they halted the boat and asked the official if he would like to eat homemade noodles or wonton noodles. They were vigers of the mountains by day and pirates by night. This fisherman had no time for civilities as well. "Wait a minute, I feel that thisdy¡¯s background is not so simple. I am afraid that she might have connections!" "Old Jia, you are always afraid to die. Don¡¯t forget the previous time, we killed a 7th-grade official and toss his seal into the waters, who would be able to find it?" "Bai Lng, don¡¯t think that I do not know what you are thinking. You incite all of us as you have taken a liking for thedy?" ... The group of professional pirates discussed passionately. In the end, Bai Lng¡¯s proposition was favoured as those greedy pirates hooted. "Let¡¯s do it! We do not see this type of fat goats[2] often!" "Steal his gold and seize his wife!" ... "Guys, I do not want the gold and silver this time around. I only want his beautiful wife and I hope that you guys would not fight over her with me..." The fisherman who captured Fang Yuan, Bai Lng, cupped his hands, his face full of smiles. "Since you have said so, we shall let you have thedy. The amount of gold and silver the fat goat has on his body is enough aspensation...haha...we can go to the brothel and find a few that are on par with thedy!" "I want his jade!" "Good, then it is decided. We should not drag this on any longer. We should strike now and drink the fish soup when we return to celebrate!" Bai Lng spoke in exultation. It was hard to me him as he had a n. The boat was now in the centre of the river which was a prime danger area. Even if the information leaked out, what could the couple do? "My master and his wife are waiting to eat the fish. What are you all standing around for?" At this time, a servant walked into the kitchen, he was babbling when he witnessed the scene, which caused him to be stumped and confused. "Pffft!" In that instant, Bai Lng lunged forward, drew out a dagger and stabbed him viciously. The servant¡¯s eyes were zed as he toppled over. "Eat fish? Haha...go and drink soup in hell!" Bai Lngughed out loud as he licked the blood from the corner of his mouth. He instructed the other pirates and they rushed out of the kitchen. Faint, indistinct cries echoed within the silent kitchen. "Haha...this is retribution!" Fang Yuan looked at the reddish-gold carp who was starting to panic and rejoiced. "That pirate do not care if you have spiritual energy. You are definitely bing a soup for them!" The reddish-gold carp red at him but did not speak. "Die, die, die!" At the side, the green fish turned in circles, causing Fang Yuan to be dizzy. "This is boring!" In his heart, he shook his head. A shiny ck sheen appeared on his body. In the ck light, Fang Yuan¡¯s body became elongated. His whiskers disappeared as he transformed into a 3 feet long ck snake. At this time, his stat window appeared and disyed his new stats: "Name: Fang Yuan Race: [ck Snake (10 years)] Essence: 18 Spirit: 18 Magic: 18 Profession: ??? Cultivation: ??? Technique: [Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Form (4th Transformation)], [Water Controlling Technique (Grade 3)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" Fang Yuan silently remembered and adapted to his new body. "Crash!" He deftly turned his body and slithered out of the basin onto the ground. "The 4th transformation in the Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Form is known as the ck Snake Transformation. The dragon properties are stimted and one is no longer limited to just the water!" A flesh of a simple creature born in the water would turn into rock once it reached the shore. However, after reaching the ck Snake Transformation, the situation was different. ck was the colour of the water element [3], the ck snake was also a water snake. As such, it was able to swim in the water and slither onnd. If amon carp was able to reach this cultivation level, his path of Dao would have broadened. "Die, die, die..." The green fish was scared senseless after witnessing the transformation of the ck fish into a ck snake. It looked as if it was almost scared to death when it saw Fang Yuan spit out the seed[4]. Even the golden carp was dazed, its big eyes revealing its shock and fear. "Stimting the properties of a dragon, transforming into a ck snake, other than the Water Controlling Technique, there must be other...however, I need to find this out myself!" Fang Yuanzily crawled beside the basin, lifted the big green fish and tossed it out of the window. "Ssh!" The river was outside the window. With a dull thud, the green fish was tossed into the water and swam away speedily. Onboard the boat, indistinct cries could be heard. Amidst the massacre, there was no one to notice the empty kitchen and the direction in which a fish escaped in. "Good, he escaped. Time for me to escape as well!" Fang Yuan spoke loudly on purpose and started to climb towards the door. "My fellow dao cultivator, wait!" Indeed, the reddish-gold carp could stand it no longer and speak on its own ord. Her voice was soft and silky. It was a girl...no, female. "It seems like you know how to speak..." Fang Yuan did not leave and instead,y down beside the basin and gazed on. "I am starting to think that you are a mute!" "..." The reddish-gold carp was speechless. However, Fang Yuan predicted that she had already made up her mind. "I did what I did previously as I had my difficulties. I am carrying a huge burden...please forgive me and save me!" The reddish-gold carp started to beg. She was well aware of the situation. If it was still the youngdy Wan¡¯er deciding, she had a big chance of surviving. If it was Xu Ren making the decision, there was a 50% chance she might be cooked. Now, it was the group of pirates making the decision. There was no way she could survive. As such, she could not care less and sought help from the mysterious ck snake. "You did not reveal your name even as you seek help. No sincerity!" Fang Yuan spat out the seed. "I am...Li Luan..." "What did you do? Why did you end up here?" Fang Yuan probed but the carp refused to reply. "Nevermind.....I will help you since we are both water dwellers!" Fang Yuan lifted the reddish-gold carp and prepared to toss her out of the window. Afterall, he had regained half his stats. Although he looked like a ck snake that was just 1 metre long, he was able to take on a Wu Zong in a fight. "Wait!" The reddish-gold carp continued to speak. "I...I am a criminal in the An River. I am afraid I cannot reveal myself in the river! Furthermore...I am in debt to the couple..." "That is your debt...Xu Ren wanted to boil me!" Fang Yuan rolled his eyes. The reddish-gold carp roughly understood Fang Yuan¡¯s character and spoke immediately. "If you were to help me, I am willing to give you some benefits!" "Make yourself clear first!" At this moment, the shouting onboard had started to die out. It was obvious that the situation was critical. Li Luan had no choice and could only reveal what she had in mind. "I know of a water mansion with 20 pearls, 30 pieces of beautiful jade, and a bottle of spiritual pills which is greatly beneficial to our types!" "Hehe...you are no ordinary carp to know about all these!" Fang Yuanughed coldly but pursue the matter no further. Instead, he turned into a streak of ck lightning as he headed towards the deck. "Although I do not owe Xu Ren a favour, I have a grudge against Bai Lng and I must have my revenge!" On the floor, there was bloodstain everywhere as the maids and servantsy in the pool of blood. In the master bedroom, shelves were toppled and voices could be heard. "You...how dare you, I am an official of the imperial court!" Xu Ren¡¯s voice could be heard. There was also cries of shock from thedy. "Hehe! So what if you are an official. It is not like I have not killed an official before..." Bai Lngughed nastily. He yearned for the beautifuldy and could not wait to kill Xu Ren and seize his wife. [1] The author means that Fang Yuan had no one to rely upon as they were unreliable. [2] fat goat is used to refer to those who are extremely rich. [3] Traditionally, the 5 elements are assigned a colour each and the water element was assigned the colour ck. [4] seed of a hyacinth nt Chapter 264: The Route by Land Chapter 264: The Route by Land Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Xu Ren wielded a long sword and protected his wife. Looking at the approaching robbers, sweat started to drip from his forehead. He had little training in martial arts but could not be considered as a martial artist. Although his chances were slim against the robbers, he had no other choice but to protect his wife with all his life. "Thud! Thud!" Unknowingly, the two robbers behind fell to the ground, unconscious. Shock, one of the robbers went forward and tried to feel for their breaths. "Boss, their dead!" "Hisss!" As a hissing sound was heard, another one of them fell to the ground after a ck sh. "Snake! There¡¯s a snake!" The murderer slithered on the ground and all of them could see it clearly. "Isn¡¯t it just a snake?" Bai Lng was the bravest. Unknowingly, he was fearful at the beginning but now, he was full of courage. "Look at me kill it!" With that, he struck his knife. "ng!" As the de of the knife sliced across the scales of the snake, sparks were formed as the de was deflected away. "How is this possible?" Bai Lng was shocked. "Demon... Demon!" The fishermen around all screamed and escaped in all directions. "Whoosh! Whooosh!" This time, the ck snake arched its body and shot out at the fishermen one by one. As blood spurted everywhere, wounds opened up in every fishermen¡¯s chest. All of them fell to the ground. "Ghost..... Ah!!! Ghost!" Bai Lng was utterly shocked. He legs turned to jelly and he started to pee in his pants. "This body is indeed useful!" After testing out his new body, Fang Yuan was satisfied with it. After all, it was much stronger than the ck carp. Seeing Bai Lng getting on his knees to beg him, he snickered. "It¡¯s alright if you harm others, but how dare you harm me? You should go to hell!" With that, he slithered forward and ended Bai Lng life. "Ah... Is this snake the one that saved us?" Wan¡¯er had not recovered from her previous shock. As she got to her feet, she was in disbelief as she looked at the ck snake, with its scales glistering under the candlelight. "It¡¯s me!" Fang Yuan spoke in the humannguage as soon as he opened his mouth. "Demon... Demon!" Wan¡¯er turned pale and almost fainted. "Wan¡¯er, don¡¯t be afraid. There are good people and bad people. Since this snake saved our lives, it must be a good demon!" Xu Ren tidied his robes before bowing to the snake. "I am Xu Ren. Thank you for saving our lives! We are grateful for your help and will repay your kindness..." "Forget it!" The snake looked down. A ck smoke rose from the snake¡¯s head, revealing Fang Yuan¡¯s Yin Spirit. "I am Fang Yuan. It is only a little fate that I am here to rescue you. However, I have something that I need you to do!" "As long as it is legal and moral, I will do it!" Seeing Fang Yuan reveal his Yin Spirit, Xu Ren was even more certain that he was a powerful demon and started to sound more respectful. "Mm, it¡¯s nothing much. The Golden Red Carp needs to make use of your human karma to protect it for its journey ahead!" Fang Yuan came straight to the point. In reality, he was considering for himself. After all, the three demons from Qi Lake were chasing after him. Although he had already changed his appearance, it was still troublesome for him to journey through the river. Therefore, he had thought of journey together with the humans to conceal himself and have a smooth journey ahead. No matter how creative the demons were, they would never be able to think of such a method of transport. Xu Ren wanted to go to Golden Lake Prefecture and it was on the shore of the Golden Court Lake, so it was along the way. "For protection? I only know little martial arts and have little human karma..." Xu Ren was confused and felt as though he was about to get in a lot of trouble. However, he knew he could not bear the consequences if they were to get into a fight. "If I say you¡¯re qualified, it means you are!" Fang Yuan snickered. "Unless... you are an ungrateful brat?" As he was a demon, he realised his demonic vibes. Xu Ren¡¯s hand went numb as his sword fell to the ground. ¡¯He has the upper hand now, so I should obey him... Who would¡¯ve thought that I have just left danger but now, I¡¯m back to danger...¡¯ Xu Ren sighed in his mind and bowed respectfully. "Why would I dare to disobey?" "Haha, very well!" Fang Yuan¡¯s Yin Spirit returned as he slithered up the bed. "Bring the boat alongside and settle the minor stuff... Also, bring the Golden Red Carp to me!" "Yes, sir!" Xu Ren promptly obeyed. As he walked into the rooms, he saw his subordinates lying in pools of blood and felt sorrowful. His wife was in shock after seeing all the dead bodies and was on the verge of a miscarriage. After consoling her for a long while, she finally calmed down. Not long after, Xu Ren indeed shifted Li Luan to the bedroom and dismissed himself. As for how to alongside the boat and inform the officials, he had to figure it out on his own. ... After the corpses were shifted out, the rooms became much more spacious. Xu Ren and her wife didn¡¯t dare to fall asleep. They had let out their room as a form of respect to the ck snake. As waterpped on the hull of the boat, there was a dim candlelight in one of the rooms. "Why are you still hiding?" Fang Yuan released his Yin spirit and stared at the bowl with Li Luan in it. The Golden Red Carp had no other choice and started to close its eyes. In a bright sh, a beautifuldy which resembled a deity appeared in the room. Around her, there were streaks of water which made her look magical and immortal. "You Yin Spirit... is injured! If it was daytime, I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t even release your Yin Spirit!" Seeing this, Fang Yuan shook his head. The cultivation of one¡¯s Yin Spirit was, in essence, creating something from nothing. The more real it appears, the higher the cultivation. Take for instance the young man Fang Yuan was now. He had flesh and blood and appeared like a real person. Comparatively, thedy¡¯s Yin Spirit was extremely flickering and people would think that she was a ghost. However, Fang Yuan could tell that her Yin Spirit was as such due to her injury and not theck of cultivation. "I cannot maintain my spirit long, I¡¯ll apologise for that first!" Li Luan bowed and her face was flushed. As she apologised, she transformed into a fog and returned to her physical body. "Mmm. Who did you anger?" Seeing her, Fang Yuan became interested and casually asked. "... It¡¯s the An River Dragon God!" Li Luan replied honestly and sighed. After all, the demon before her was extremely smart and could roughly guess her predicament even if she tried to hide. Therefore, it was useless to hide and the fact that she was wanted throughout the entire river was something that she could not hide for long. "Good! I like your style!" Fang Yuan smiled. After all, he only angered a few demons and uing Water God but was already in such a state. Thisss had much more personality to anger a Dragon God! To be called a dragon god, he had to have a dragon body and an imperial order. Even the powerful demons in Qi Lake would not dare to make him angry. "How did you piss him off?" There was a hint of curiosity in his eyes. "This is a secret and I cannot say it!" Li Luan was adamant. "It¡¯s no use... in fact, if you know about it, it will bring you trouble!" What do you intend to do not?" Fang Yuan could tell that regardless of how powerful Li Luan was previously, she was helpless now. Her Yin Spirit was but a flickering figure which was unable to seduce any mortals. "Since you have already made the arrangements, why ask me?" Li Luan countered and replied. "To travel by the methods of humans to reach another region is indeed a good idea!" "Hey, did you ask me before joining me on my journey? Be careful, I might just throw you overboard!" Fang Yuan rolled his eyes. "Didn¡¯t you tell Xu Ren that I wanted to ride on their human karma to avoid trouble?" Li Luan gave a pitiful look. Seeing Fang Yuan¡¯s expressionless face, she could only surrender. "What do you want? I know of a few ces with treasure and a few recordings of the ssics and some techniques..." ¡¯Thisss is not simple... What a pity she¡¯s not experienced enough and would easily be taken advantage of...¡¯ Fang Yuan gave a look of submission. "Alright! I¡¯ll help you today, and we¡¯ll slowly discuss my rewardster!" Although he was not a person who would risk it all, after all, he would not really die in this realm. Therefore, it was only logical to take the biggest risks to reap the biggest rewards. ... Xu Ren seemed smart. After a short while of figuring things out, he finally learnt how to control the ship and brought it safely alongside. Following which, he quickly found some farmers and tasked them to report to the district court. It was a big thing for a ship to have so many corpses. In a short moment, many constables arrived on the ship. If it was a normal businessman on the ship, he would be pinned a murderer. However, with his name and his status, the treatment he received was different. He quickly reported that Bai Lng andpany were the murderers, and spent some money to do a proper burial for his subordinates. Everything was smooth-going and three dayster, they had slipped off and were on their way again. To Fang Yuan and Li Luan, all these didn¡¯t matter. In fact, being far from underwater meant that they could avoid a lot of stalking, which was a good thing to them. "This district town is rather lively..." In a carriage, there was a fish tank. In it, a Golden Red Carp swam about freely, and it was a weird sight to behold. What was more intriguing was the fact that there was a dull sounding from beside Xu Ren. A snake head popped out from his cor as the snake peeked around with curiosity. "Benefactor, you¡¯re right! The people managing this district are doing a good job!" Xu Ren was pale. Anyone who had a poisonous and deadly killer snake slithering around their bodies would not look lively. This was Fang Yuan¡¯s way of controlling him. Otherwise, Fang Yuan would be afraid that he might go back on his words and hire monks or Daoists to deal with him. Humans would have the instinct to survive. If Xu Ren were to anger Fang Yuan, he might be killed on the way there. Therefore, he had to obey. It seemed that Fang Yuan¡¯s method was working. Xu Ren put in his best effort and did not dare to do anything else out of the ordinary. After all, he wouldn¡¯t want to risk his own life! "There are quite a number of temples and monasteries along the way... It seems that demons and ghosts rule this realm..." Seeing this, Fang Yuan shook his head. Chapter 265: Prediction Chapter 265: Prediction Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions With the help of the educated Xu Ren, Fang Yuan started to understand the people of this realm. Based on Xu Ren¡¯s description, they were in a country called ¡¯Da Chu¡¯. North of Da Chu were countries like ¡¯Da Qi¡¯, ¡¯Da Liang¡¯ and others, and these three countries were coexisting together while having tension at the same time. Since history, Da Chu had been here for 10 centuries and had slowly be weaker over the years. With their geographical disadvantage, it was getting harder and harder for the Imperial Court to exert their control over the country. Of course, to those who were aware of the situation, they would know that Da Chu still had about 10 over years to go. However, there were still a few unavoidable small conflicts within the country. "The Golden Lake Prefecture is on the shore of the Golden Court Lake. People do live here, but there are two big threats. Firstly, there were pirates. Secondly, demons would create chaos here. Out of these two, demons had posed the bigger problem!" Xu Ren looked at Fang Yuan and let out a long sigh. He had felt depressed for long and had no one to confide to. However, after spending so many days together, he spilt the beans. "Oh? Why is that so?" Fang Yuan became interested and probed further. It seemed that the ce was filled with spiritual energy. With that, demons and spirits would be attracted there, especially so since the waterways were extremely connected. If it were the Water Gods or Dragon Gods which came, it would be alright as they were already being prayed to in temples. Powerful demons would have their temples and offerings would be considered as a protection fee. Therefore, these demons and spirits would not easily attack humans. However, for the rest of them, they were cruel in nature and only wanted to eat humans. They were not given any offerings and had to survive like insects, which meant that they could do anything they wanted. Further probing from Fang Yuan made him realise that a demon as powerful as him would be worthy of a temple and offerings, and this made him speechless. The power and influence of demons in this world was unbelievable. After exining further, he appeared sorrowful. "If I was the official for this ce, I would clear the evil demon, spirits and pirates and maintain peace in the area!" As he spoke, Xu Ren slowly became affected by Fang Yuan. His face flushed as he eximed. "Eh... What did the people do to deserve the demon¡¯s pestering? When can we restore peace?" "Husband!" Wan¡¯er tugged at Xu Ren¡¯s sleeves. As he became alert, he realised that two demons were blocking their way with a cunning look on their faces. "Haha... I¡¯ll settle them!" Fang Yuan released his Yin Spirit and revealed a normal looking man in ck. With a smile, he waved his hands. "My friend and I do not feed on blood. However, in this world, it is the survival of the fittest. If the people Dao want to move up, they should not depend on demons, but strengthen themselves! The world will still revolve and the people Dao will have to adapt! If they can understand this, they will develop!" "Survival of the fittest? The world will still revolve, and the people will have to adapt?" Xu Ren¡¯s eyes glittered as though he had understood something. Suddenly, he got up, tidied his robes and bowed towards Fang Yuan, full of sincerity. "Benefactor, you are a genius! Although the books have not recorded anything like this before, it seems like something I can resonate with! We have to adapt to develop... Although I was still at lost at what I should do with regards to the Golden Lake Prefecture, I am clear of what I need to do now." "Bloop! Bloop!" In the fish tank, the Golden Red Carp spoke as bubbles floated up. "Brother, what you said is true. However, why are you helping the humans? Are you trying to be one of them? Although Xu Ren might understand it, I don¡¯t think he can put these words into action!" "What nonsense are you spouting?" Fang Yuan rolled his eyes. His Yin Spirit was in the form of a human and he only spoke what he thought was logical. However, the Golden Red Carp could even talk about him trying to be one of them, making him speechless. "You should know that the dragon energy in humans is different from the dragon properties in us demons. Furthermore, I am only a weak demon. How would I dare to think of such absurd things? Am I not afraid of tribtions from the heavens?" With the existence of the imperial order, people and demons in this realm believed in fate. However, to Fang Yuan, it was all bullsh*t. What was fate? It would be a mere experience for the physical body! Even demons would be able to cultivate and be a water dragon. Naturally, they would be strengthened by the violet energy and therefore, they would not care about fate. As for the practice among humans to provide offerings in temples, he couldn¡¯t care less about it. After all, this practice would get them involved too much and would make them rely too much on the demons and in turn, they would be easily controlled by the demons and therefore had to consider many things. Instead, there would be much more freedom to cultivating as a demon. "Everyone would have the ability to decide their own futures!" As he silently sighed, he closed his eyes and continued his cultivation. In the past few days, he had also ordered Xu Ren to go to the riverbank and retrieve the treasures which Li Luan had described the location of. Indeed, there were gold ingots, silver ingots, jade and a few spiritual pills. With those, Fang Yuan swallowed them and continued his cultivation. As he closed his eyes, a golden pearl vibrated in his stomach and released a warm glow. Ever since he had attempted to leap the Dragon¡¯s Gate and obtaining a hint of dragon property, he became ever more connected with the Dragon Pearl. Although he still could not absorb it, he could harness its glow to slowly change his own snake body. ¡¯A rope can cut a tree and drops of water can cut through a rock with time. If I use my dragon property to try digesting the Dragon Pearl every day, I¡¯m sure I will benefit from it and it will surely give me an advantage in transforming into a dragon in the future!¡¯ In the Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Form, there would be a huge breakthrough required after every 3 transformations. From a carp to a snake, it was called Carp Leaping over the Dragon¡¯s Gate. After sess, he would gain some dragon properties and would no longer be restricted to the water. At the 6 transformations, from the giant venomous snake transformation to the horned dragon transformation, it was another huge breakthrough, called Dragon Transformation Stage. There would be tribtion from the heavens at this stage! Fang Yuan guessed that the tribtions were a form of returning the favour! After all, after taking in spiritual energy for cultivation, they have to be some form of retribution. "Cultivation can be split into internal cultivation and external cultivation. With the Dragon Pearl, I should be able to fulfil the internal cultivation of the Dragon Transformation Stage... However, there is still a tribtion that awaits!" Fang Yuan was lost in his thoughts. "Based on the rules of reality which governs this realm, with karma, one would be able to reduce the intensity of the tribtion... of course, it would only reduce the intensity but not remove itpletely. It is still up to the individual to survive the tribtion..." Suddenly, he opened his eyes as though he had thought of something. "Heavenly karma can be used to reduce the intensity of the tribtions. People karma, on the other hand, can be used to reduce the intensity of people tribtions... Previously, the Water God of Qi Lake had inadequate powers. Although he had enough heavenly karma and was able to dy the day of the heavenly tribtion, he did not have sufficient people karma. With the powerful people tribtion and the fact that his body was weak, he could only go down... However, since he had enough heavenly karma, he would be given a chance to try again... Wait a minute, I seemed to have be the people tribtion of the Water God, as I have taken his backup Dragon Pearl with me... This Water God is really unlucky!" "However... People! Do they refer to humans as people or demons as people?" Fang Yuan was stunned. This was the question as to who would rule the world and how the world would revolve. If understood, he would benefit from it. Initially, the power and influence of demons would make them the people of the realm. However, the Water God of Qi Lake had offered protection to many fishes and creatures living in theke and even distributed his wealth before undergoing his tribtion. If demons were the people, then he should have quite a lot of people karma instead. "Therefore... there is only one exnation. The god had identified the people wrongly?" Fang Yuan was utterly shocked. "Although the demons are powerful, humans would be thest ones standing?" It was unclear, to begin with. As he slowly understood everything, he realised the truth of the world. Even a strong demon like the Water God of the Qi Lake couldn¡¯t break through. This was because it was too early for him to know. With the demons having everything their way, how would the other species dare to fight against them? However, since Fang Yuan was from another realm, he had a different point of view and could instantly see through the confusion. "The demons would fall and the humans would prosper; this would be the trend in this world!" "The fact that everybody¡¯s Yin Spirit was in the form of a human was an exnation for the trend of the world, and not for convenience and standardization sake!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. "Rumble!" At this time, there was an explosion heard. Normal people would be shocked but Fang Yuan felt fear. "Eh? Something¡¯s not right?" Xu Ren pulled the curtains. Sunlight filled the carriage and a gentle breeze caressed his face. "Why would there be a lightning strike out of nowhere?" He was a mortal, and so was his wife. Both of them shivered in fear. As for Li Luan, she froze in the fish tank as though she could feel the power from the heavens. "To detect something even before it happened..." Fang Yuan acted as though he was shocked, but smiled inside. "It seems that my prediction is correct... There must be a few unique people in this realm who are able to see this fact. Some of them would create trouble while others would remain in hiding, waiting for the perfect opportunity to gather all the tribtions and make use of it to form the Killer Tribtion!" This was Fang Yuan¡¯s chance. Even though he had the realm evidence and hade from another world, he was still a demon. If he were to do something out of the ordinary, he had to make sure that it was 10 times more extreme than the usual! A 100 times! With the Killer Tribtion in ce, everyone¡¯s fate would be intertwined and it was his time to perform. "It seems that... I¡¯ll still have to support the people!" Fang Yuan snickered, but this time, he looked at Xu Ren with a different expression. Fang Yuan originally wanted to make use of him and abandon him after he had reached the Golden Court Lake. However, it seems that he would have to continue to use him even after reaching the Golden Court Lake. "Just now... what happened?" Li Luan hid in the fish tank and curled up into a ball. As the thunder roared, she could feel the power of the heaven tribtion. In front of a powerful thunder like that, even the strongest version of her would crumble into powder! "Did someone anger the heavens? If that is so, why are the tribtions not happening?" After a long while, nothing happened in the vicinity. Li Luan mustered her strength andposed herself as she looked at Fang Yuan with a weird expression. This demon was extremely powerful and could even transform from a carp to a snake. This was something never heard of. Furthermore, after spending many days with him, Li Luan could feel that the power and energy within him was not something a simple poisonous snake could harness. These were signs of an increase in dragon properties. The speed at which he was gaining his dragon properties was shocking. It was possible for someone to believe that Fang Yuan was the one who angered the heavens. However, the snake was upright and looking upwards into the sky with a shock expression, but was unharmed. With that, Li Luan became confused. Chapter 266: River God Chapter 266: River God Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The Golden Lake Prefectureid on the boundary of the Golden Court Lake. In the prefecture, there were 10,000 families and 55,000 people living here. Although there were no majestic mountains and little farms, they relied on the Golden Court Lake to survive. They were living the average life; although not well-to-do, they were not poor as well. In the prefecture, there were 5 districts and these districts were famous for their rice and silk. Of course, the people here liked to pray and give offerings as well. Many different types of spirits would roam about and eat humans. The humans could live off harvesting different resources from the Golden Court Lake. As long as they were willing to work hard, they would be rewarded and their family would be able to survive. As for the unlucky 0.1% who would end up in the demon¡¯s stomach, they could only me it on their bad luck. Comparatively, the people living here had quite a high quality of life. Therefore, more and more people would shift here. Schrs would exim that ¡¯the harsh government is fiercer than the demons around¡¯! Regardless, after 10 over years, nothing had changed. Xu Ren was tasked to one of the five districts here; to be the district minister of ck Lake District. In the hierarchy of Da Chu Country, in every district, there would be a district leader, a person who was in control of a 100-mile radius of the district. The district leader would be a 7th Grade official. Additionally, there would be an 8th Grade official assigned as the district minister. In reality, the district minister was only a backup and was only required to learn from the district leader and do nothing else. In the district town, there would be a district lieutenant, main assistant and the Six Division Ministers. All of them would have their own roles to y. It was simr to an erged sparrow; all of its organs have their own roles to y for the sparrow to survive, and this was simr in the prefecture governing system, and even the Imperial Court. As Xu Ren arrived at ck Lake District, he first paid his greetings to the district leader before taking over from the previous district minister. Afterwards, he consulted his colleagues on an auspicious day for him to formally take up the appointment. All of the minute stuff made everything much moreplicated. Even Wan¡¯er had to carry her unborn baby around and help out. However, all of these were none of Fang Yuan and Li Luan¡¯s business. Looking at how they were right now, they would instead scare people off. In the backyard of the Xu Family Mansion, in a small pond, Fang Yuanid within some seaweed andzily looked up. As nightfall drew closer, the front yard was brightly lighted up, and there were the sounds of a bamboo flute. It was Xu Ren inviting his colleagues to spend the night in his house. "The fate energy of the people Dao is indeed interesting!" Fang Yuan mustered up his demonic strength, opened his spiritual eye and noticed the changes happening in the front yard. In his view, there was a bright glow shooting straight up into the sky, as though it was a warning for others not to get too close. "This is especially so for Xu Ren. Previously, I¡¯ve not felt much from him. However, after he became district minister, his fate energy has increased exponentially... Of course, I can still kill him if I want to, but the tribtions that would follow would be worrying..." "When humans of the people Dao gather, they would strengthen their fate energy. However, this is because the people are gathered around him and is temporary. They are different from us. If our fate energy were to be increased, it would be buried deep in our bones. As long as we are alive, out fate energy would remain!" In the pond, a Golden Red Carp poked her head out as Li Luan¡¯s voice was heard. "That¡¯s true!" Fang Yuan knew the difference between humans and demons and nodded his head. "Li Luan, are you deciding to stay here?" He looked at the Golden Red Carp and asked curiously. "Hmm... There¡¯s an auspicious aura in this mansion and is suitable for me to rest and recuperate here!" Li Luan sounded determined. However, in reality, she wanted to take advantage of the protection that came with Xu Ren¡¯s strong fate energy. Fang Yuan already knew her intentions but did not expose her. As he smiled, he slithered out of the mansion. In was nightfall. With his ck body and enormous strength, he moved like the wind and was undetectable. Using this chance, he explored the district town. The first impression he had was that there were too many people around, and the second impression was that there were too many temples! Too many of them! There were Water God temples, General Temples, Lake God Temples and many more, confusing him. Taking a closer look, he realised that there were many types of demons. Although there were righteous gods who only offered protection, the majority were evil demons often feasting on blood offerings. "It has reached such a stage where the demons use fear to rule over their followers!" Fang Yuan sighed. "Even the officials can¡¯t handle the demons. They can only resort to allowing them to stay and rewarding them in exchange for peace. This is pitiful..." Of course, karma was real and for everything that the demons had done today, they would have to pay back another day. These demons and gods were now enjoying the offerings from humans. However, in the event of a Killer Tribtion, they might not even dare to step out and admit their doings. However, it was reasonable considering that this was the prevailing trend in the area. At least, Fang Yuan could guess that since many people were using their people Dao karma to reduce the intensity of their tribtions, their tribtions would be much easier. This would make the good gods stronger and they might be able to change the demons in the future. Regardless of how evil-looking a god might appear, as long as the god had enough followers, the impression of him would change and be more eptable to the public. This was the idea of using followers to be eptable and approved by the public. "The god dao could be approved at the prefecture level. Most of the time, the district leader would send the letter of approval and the prefecture would usually approve it... Xu Ren, did you mention about building a temple to worship me? How about ¡¯ck Dragon General¡¯s Temple¡¯?" As his thoughts ran wild, he leapt into a small river. "Ssh!" As soon as he entered the water, he felt extremelyfortable. Although he had transformed into a snake, he still retained many qualities of a carp. This was akin to giving a fish its water. "Great!" Fang Yuan slowly executed his techniques and could feel a huge amount of water-type spiritual energy rushing towards him at an unbelievable speed. He was overjoyed. "It seems that I have developed a lot after leaping through the Dragon¡¯s Gate! With such a speed of absorbing spiritual energy and the fact that the Dragon Pearl is within me, I don¡¯t have to feed on others every day!" Toplete the Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Form, he would require a lot of resources. Previously, Fang Yuan had no choice but to kill and eat fishes to absorb their elemental energy. With his newly-acquired dragon properties, he could now absorb the spiritual energy from nature. With the assistance of the Dragon Pearl, there was no need for him to kill and eat fishes at the rate which he was doing previously. ¡¯Does this mean I havepleted the elementary stages of absorbing energy from blood and flesh?¡¯ A weird thought popped up in Fang Yuan¡¯s head. "From now onwards, I would disguise myself. Although I am now different from the rest, our innate ability is to be a thief! To steal from the heavens! To steal from the Dao!" Regardless of how improved his methods of absorbing energy were, he still could not run away from the fact that he was stealing energy from something else, be it animals or the air. In the teaching of Dao, there were 5 types of thieves. Anyone who could realise these five would have a smooth sailing future!!! Beneath the water, he was extremely fast. Like a ck arrow, he quickly darted through the river and arrived at arger river. Following the flow of current, he reached the Golden Court Lake. "Rumble!" The moment he entered theke, Fang Yuan could feel the concentrated spiritual energy rushing towards him, making him intoxicated. "Very good! Such a normalke can have such concentrated spiritual energy! If I am able to find a spiritual underwater mountain range, I could build a mansion there!" Fang Yuan¡¯s cultivation had changed from eating other smaller creatures to absorbing elemental energy from nature. Therefore, he no longer chose the ce with fishes as his cultivation point. Rather, he now preferred ces with concentrated spiritual energy. "Even though I have already understood this realm and the trend of it, without power, how can I follow the trend?" He swam around before settling down and concealing his spiritual aura. After searching for a few underwater spiritual mountain ranges, he was speechless. "The better spiritual mountain ranges are already taken up by a few stronger spirits. Why would they leave the good ones lying around untouched?" It was possible to snatch, but he had to consider the consequences carefully. After all, he was a visitor and if he were to anger them, they might surround him and attack him together. "Fortunately, I have already reached the ck snake transformation. If I was still in the body of a ck carp, I would be high profile and everyone in thiske might juste after me the next day!" Thinking about it, Fang Yuan held back, turned around and headed back for ck Lake District Town. "Greetings, benefactor!" Xu Ren had just ended his dinner and smelled of alcohol. However, just by seeing Fang Yuan in ck, he quickly sobered up, bowed and appeared humble. "The Golden Court Lake seems good, and I feel like staying here for long!" As soon as Fang Yuan opened his mouth, Xu Ren felt relieved. He was afraid that this snake might pester his family for his entire life. "However... you owe me a temple. How do you intend to resolve this?" Fang Yuan asked. "This... after going through the relevant authorities, I still need some time. It is especially hard to find a good plot ofnd these days!" There was a look of uneasiness on Xu Ren¡¯s face, but he had spoken the truth. He had to go through the district leader for this, submit an official application to the prefecture and therefore, the process would already take up a few days. Of course, most importantly, getting a plot ofnd was not the issue. There were already many temples and demons in the city. How would there be space for one more? "Haha... This is easy. Let me ask you. Are there any cruel gods and demons around that like to feed on humans? If so, how about capturing them to boost your profile?" Fang Yuanughed. "If that is so, thank you, benefactor!" As Xu Ren heard Fang Yuan, there was a look of joy on his face. ... Half a monthter, in Heizi River. "Water God requires sacrifice from a young boy and a young girl. Quickly send them over!" By the side of the river, a sorcerer was mumbling. Her face was painted as she shouted at the vigers, threatening them. "Didn¡¯t we give our offerings twice this year already..." "Eh, it¡¯s greedy and we have no choice..." "What a pity, Yang Wa and Yu Wa..." ... As the vigers sighed, they wanted to resist but didn¡¯t have the courage to. Even their leader could only sigh. "The time is up!" As the sorcerer looked at them, her face was gleaning. With the thought that she would be able to trick the vigers of more money throughout the year, she quickly put in more effort in convincing them. "Please deliver your offerings to the river!" "Wait up!" At this point in time, there was a voice heard. A few constables opened up a path. Xu Ren wore an official¡¯s robes and appeared majestic. With a sense of justice, he continued. "Don¡¯t move!" "It¡¯s the district minister! Greetings, district minister!" The vige leader quickly greeted him. Although the district minister was only an assistant to the district leader, he was still an 8th Grade official of the Imperial Court. The vige leader was in no position to disrespect him. As he greeted Xu Ren, the rest followed suit. "It¡¯s the district minister?" The sorcerer let out a cackle. "The Water God in Heizi River is approved by the Imperial Court as well. Are you stopping the Water God from enjoying his offerings? If he bes infuriated, it¡¯s none of my business!" "It¡¯s not that!" Seeing such a demon, a hint of anger shed in Xu Ren¡¯s eyes. Quicky, his expression changed to a gentle one, and he smiled. "The young boy and girl are too skinny and are imperfect. Sorcerer, please enter the river and tell the Water God that I¡¯ll search for a better sacrifice for him to enjoy!" With this, he continued to prompt her. "Come on, please enter the river!" Chapter 267: Evil Dragon Chapter 267: Evil Dragon Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Yes, Sir!" The constables following Xu Ren were rewarded heavily by him. With a ferocious stance, they went up, grabbed the sorcerer and tossed her into the water. The sorcerer struggled but s, she was only a skinny only woman being thrown into a deep river. After a few shrieks, she sank into the water and was no longer seen. "This..." The people who were giving their offerings were shocked. Although they had seen unreasonable tortures by the officials before, most of these tortures were only executed on the weak and poor people. None of them would dare to go against a god. But now, did the newly appointed district minister just sacrificed the sorcerer to the Water God? Within seconds, the timid ones among them started to feel the jitters. "Oh? The sorcerer is not back. Could she have forgotten about us? How about someone go down and take a look?" After saving the two children from bing sacrifices, Xu Ren smirked. No one dared to look at him in the eye. "Bloop! Bloop!" At this moment, the calm water began to bubble. A ck shadow emerged and bubbles floated up, together with blood and a few drapes of cloth. It was a horrific scene to behold. "Wa! Wa!" A child¡¯s cry was heard, and it was ear piercing. "It¡¯s the Water God! The Water God is enraged!" The vigers were panicking. Some of them looked at Xu Ren with hatred. ¡¯Hmph! If not for my low rank, I would¡¯ve wiped out all of such evil offering practices!¡¯ Xu Ren wasposed and his thoughts were clear. Since he had brought people with him to interrupt the offering practice, he would have been prepared. At this point in time, at the opposite side of the river, a ck shadow shed as Fang Yuan leapt into the water. He was extremely quick and went straight to the River God. At that moment, he could see how the River God looked like. It was about 10 feet long,pletely ck with a t head and 4 legs. It was an andrias, a variation of a smander. "Wa! Wa!" The andrias had eaten the sorcerer and wanted to send a wave of water to flood the people ashore. As soon as it saw Fang Yuan, it was stunned and let out a crying sound of a baby. "It¡¯s horrible!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. "Water spear technique!" "Whoosh!" His control over water was delicate and powerful now, and the water spear that he conjured was a sky blue and was much more hardy than before. "Wa! Wa!" The andrias knew that the water spear was powerful. With a shriek, many white pearls were spat out of its mouth. As the pearl glittered, the imagery of the spirits of a young boy and girl appeared. However, the two children had bloodshot eyes, sharp teeth and ws and were protecting the andrias. "Are these servant spirits?" Fang Yuan was stunned. There was a saying from a long time ago which goes ¡¯Being a servant for the Tiger¡¯. This saying meant that the powerful spirits would eat people and capture their souls, turning them into their own servants. This was the case for the andrias. Furthermore, seeing all the pearls in front of him, the number of killings the andrias had done was shocking. Seeing this, Fang Yuan was shocked. "Demon, you¡¯ve sinned. Even if the heavens would let you off, I wouldn¡¯t!" In reality, after understanding that the trend of the realm was the downfall of the demons and the uprising of the humans, all of Fang Yuan¡¯s actions were pro-humans. Since the andrias had killed numerous humans, its fate energy would be weakened and it would surely meet its downfall. Therefore, there would not be furtherplications after killing this andrias, and there was no need to worry about any backing that it might have. This was taking actions ording to heaven¡¯s will, which would make things simpler. If one were to go against heaven¡¯s will, it would not be just doubly hard, but one would have to be prepared to face tribtions from the heavens as well. "Shake!" As he mustered his demonic strength, a ripple emerged from the tip of the water spear. The spirits of the young boy and girl were stunned and froze at their spots. "Ah!" As the spirits were destroyed, the water spear continued on and struck on the body of the andrias, prating through. It continuously shrieked in pain, and its Yin Spirit emerged. "You cannot kill me! I am the official Heizi River God, appointed by the Imperial Court!" "Go f*ck yourself!" Fang Yuan¡¯s Yin spirit emerged and struck its w out, crushing the andrias¡¯s Yin Spirit within his hands. "Bloop! Bloop!" As soon as the Yin Spirit was dead, the andrias lost its breath and started to sink down. The many spirits among the pearls floated around. If left untouched, they would be a group of water spirits and would trouble people. "Sigh..." Fang Yuan released a water current and collected all the pearls together. "It seems that these pearls are made from the bones of people. In every pearl, there is a sealed spirit in it. It must have used a demonic fire to smelt these pearls and transform them into powerful servant spirits..." As he thought about the techniques he had browsed through before, he released his spiritual will and fiddled with the bone pearls. "Crackle!" After an explosion, the demonic energy of the andrias was wiped off the bone pearls, and the spirits in the 49 pearls were released. "Contain!" Although the technique was different, Fang Yuan could still attempt the general technique of containing spirits. Quickly, he pointed his finger at the many spirits. "Wa! Wa!" Most of the powerful spirits were unwilling to be contained, but s, they were too weak to fight back. Since all of them had marks from the first time they were smelted into the pearls, they did not have the strength to resist. Soon, all of them were contained in their pearls, and the pearls were strung together to form ace. "Although this is cruel, it will be rather useful..." Fang Yuan shook his head, sighed and looked into the water. He could see a few red runes glowing, and it was as though they formed a talisman. "The Imperial Order? And the many years of cultivation of the andrias?" Thinking about it, he did not directly take the Imperial Order over. Instead, he used his technique on it and the talisman hardened, forming a block of jade whichnded in his hands. "It doesn¡¯t seem powerful... Could it be due to the fact that it is only a title of Da Chu Country?" Comparing it to the Water God of the Qi Lake, Fang Yuan could tell the difference. "A real god has to be appointed by the heavens as well for it to be authentic! If it was like this Water God, it is only a fake and can only be appointed by the heavens based on its luck. If the andrias could harness all the spiritual energy in Heizi River today, I would not be able to defeat it so easily..." "However, since the trend of the realm is towards the people dao, it would be extremely easy to gain the appointment from the heavens if I were to protect humans!" This was the trend of the realm. To allow a few righteous gods to be strong and powerful so that they could support the human Dao! One would have to experience it for oneself in order to know the slow but influential power of the heavens! It would be all these umtive events that would lead to the trend actualising. "In the next 10 years, there would be many heroes and Energy Souls among the humans! Also, the demons would experience internal conflicts among themselves and will go down... This is fate!" Fang Yuan¡¯s thoughts ran wild. If he could go with the flow of the trend, he would benefit from it. Of course, firstly, he had to upy the andrias¡¯s underwater mansion. The underwater mansion was a huge cave with a few strong currents of water outside to protect it. "Hmm... It is a rather good mountain range and the spiritual energy is rather concentrated here. It is a good ce for me to stay for a while! The only thing about this ce is that the protective currents are a little weak. I¡¯ll improve the protection of this ceter!" A ck snake was a water snake, and therefore, it was extremely versatile underwater. After examining the ce, Fang Yuan decided to clear the corpse and bones from the mansion before returning to the surface of the river. "Benefactor?" Xu Ren had already chased the vigers away and instructed for the constables to stand guard from afar. He was waiting all by himself by the riverbank. Seeing Fang Yuan emerging from the river, he gave off an anxious look. "How¡¯s the Water God?" "I¡¯ve killed it! It has sinned too much and deserved it!" Fang Yuan continued. "I¡¯ll prepare to stay here for the time being. Continue on with the n and have me take over this Water God!" "Mmm, I know what to do!" Xu Ren nodded his head. He had no objections to removing an evil god and recing it with Fang Yuan. At least, Fang Yuan would not demand offerings. This point was enough to convince him that Fang Yuan was better than then andrias. Even if people were to question his actions, he could exin himself. To Fang Yuan, it was beneficial for him to make use of the officials to cover up for the fact that he wanted to snatch the underwater mansion for himself. "When you return, know your duties. Take good care of the carp in the backyard pond... She owes me something. If I return and she is no longer there, I can only go after you for what she had owed me..." Fang Yuanughed and ignored the pale Xu Ren. Turning around, he leapt into the water and disappeared in a ssh. ... In the Golden Court Lake. Beneath theke, there was a Dragon Pce. The dragon pce was extremely big like a giant¡¯s country. On the jade square in the centre of the pce, there was a ck water dragon! The water dragon had a horn, 4 limbs and 3 ws on each limb. Its eyes were bloodshot and it had the vibes of a dragon. It was not just a ck water dragon, but an evil dragon! It was the Golden Court Dragon God! A powerful demon from the heavens! The king of demons! Even the An River Dragon God or the Water God of Qi Lake would have to pay their respects to him. "Greetings, Dragon God!" Outside the dragon pce, there was a sh and a tortoise guard escorted a demon in. The demon stood on its legs and was hairy, with golden fiery eyes and a ferocious look. However, as soon as it saw the evil dragon, it paid its respects. "Mmm, it¡¯s you, monkey!" The ck water dragon opened his eyes, and the monkey demon could feel an immense pressure on him. "What are you here for, Monkey God?" "Hehe... I am only here because the An River Dragon God had tasked me to send a letter of a wanted fugitive!" The monkey demon plucked a strand of its hair and blew it, and an image appeared in mid-air. The image of a beautifuldy appeared. If Fang Yuan was here, he would have found her extremely familiar. "The An River Dragon God must capture thisdy!" The monkey demon chuckled. "Mm, I will inform those under me about it..." The ck water dragon flicked his ws as though he was asking the monkey to be dismissed. "Dragon God!" The monkey demon refused to be dismissed. "I have something else to say!" "Please carry on!" "The demons onnd feel that you are a little overboard to allow humans to fish in the Golden Court Lake! Although the humans give you plenty of offerings for many years toe, do you feel anything different in recent years?" The monkey demons appeared solemn. "The scarcity of resources and energy from the heavens have led to conflicts among us demons... but instead, the humans are thriving and if this continues, I¡¯m afraid..." "Hmm, I understand!" However, the Golden Court Dragon God shook his head, as though he felt that the monkey demon was worrying too much. After the monkey demon had left, he sighed. "Nobody would know the heaven¡¯s intentions..." Chapter 268: Secret Technique Chapter 268: Secret Technique Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Long Live the Heizi River God!" "Please bless us, thepassionate Heizi River God..." ... Unknowingly, 3 years had passed by in a sh. At the riverbank of Heizi River, there was a small altar with incense, fruits, flowers, pig¡¯s head and goat¡¯s head as offerings. After the practice wasplete, they would throw it into the river. After Xu Ren had changed the way of offerings from live offerings to the three basic forms, the Water God surprisingly did not attack humans. Instead, its requests became lesser and lesser, and the vigers felt thankful. At the same time, the reputation of Xu Ren slowly improved and he was now known for beingpassionate. Under the river, within a spiritual cave in the underwater mountain ridge. A huge snake appeared to be in hibernation and there were mes floating around it, glittering as the mes flickered, which made the snake looked immortal. "Hmm?" Fang Yuan woke up and was astonished. "Did I just hibernate for an entire year?" Looking at his own body, he was shocked to find out that he had grown from 3 feet to 6 feet long. His scales were now glistering and he looked menacing: "Name: Fang Yuan Race: ck Snake Essence: 21 Spirit: 21 Magic: 21 Profession: ??? Cultivation: ??? Technique: [Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Technique (4th Transformation)], [Water Controlling Technique (Grade 3)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "With the spiritual energy around and the assistance from the Dragon Pearl, my cultivation has indeed shot up. I believe that it¡¯s not long before I will be a python!" A python was a giant snake! From the ck Snake Transformation to the Python Transformation, it was not hard. However, since a python would be huge, there would be differences. For instance, a snake would prefer cold while a python would prefer warm and would be naturally strong. If his transformation would be sessful, the limitations of a snake would be removed as well. "And all of these as well..." Fang Yuan fidgeted and noticed the small mes surrounding him. Although he remained quiet in his hibernation, after all, he was the Water God of the underwater mansion. The offerings in Heizi River would go to him. Furthermore, he did not kill or harm anybody, which earned him gratitude from the vigers. With their sincere offerings, Fang Yuan was humoured. "Hmm, this colourful glow is from the incense. It is best if I don¡¯t touch it!" Fang Yuan opened his spiritual eye and examined before telling them apart. "The outermostyer of golden glow is my people Dao karma, which will allow me to reduce the intensity of people tribtions..." Thinking about it, he opened his mouth and stretched out his tongue. The colourful glow did not move. Instead, the outer golden glow was pulled towards him by an invisible force and it condensed into a small golden flower whichnded in front of him. "Go!" As his spiritual will shook, an unknown world was revealed. As a tremor was felt, the flower of people Dao karma was transferred into his actualised dream world. "It is indeed possible!" Seeing this, there was excitement in his eyes. The rules of reality which governed this realm were too strict and different from his own realm, and there was not much energy he could muster from his actualised dream world. However, the flower of karma was from the heavens and had no physical shape and content. Therefore, it could be transferred into the actualised dream world for him to take away. "However... I don¡¯t know what the flower could be used for in my own world?" Fang Yuan sighed. "Based on the rules of reality which governs this realm, with karmaes fortune and good fate. I could just walk out and find a magical weapon lying on the floor, and I can even use it to reduce the intensity of tribtions... However, does the Da Qian world recognise karma from this realm?" In a thought, he felt that everything did not make sense. "I should quickly use it up!" As his spiritual will shook, the golden flower exploded and dissipated within the actualised dream world. After a golden sh, there seemed to be no changes in the actualised dream world. "It doesn¡¯t seem that useful..." Fang Yuan was speechless. As he slowly experienced it for himself, he could finally detect it. "It feels as though my actualised dream world is now more responsive? Also... it seems that it is more connected with this realm. If I use up more people Dao karma, I might be able to use my 8 Gates Sword Array here!" "Could the effect of the people Dao karma allow me to integrate into this world?" He made a wild guess in his mind. "To test if this is true, I will need to obtain more people Dao karma. In this realm, I¡¯m sure I¡¯m able to!" He waited until nightfall before leaving and arriving at the ck Lake District government office. "I can sense the official¡¯s energy bing stronger... It feels much more concentrated here!" Fang Yuan quicklymented before swiftly entering the government office. The fate energy in the government office was too weak to restrict him. In the study at the back of the government office. Xu Ren now had a moustache and appeared more mature, He was reading some bookste at night and he frowned, as though he was troubled. "Sir! Your wife has cooked some bird¡¯s nest porridge. Please enjoy and rest early!" Outside, a beautiful servant served the porridge, which filled the room with its fragrance. "It¡¯s hard on you, Sir!" Xu Ren was pleased with his wife. After all, she was respectful and even gave birth to a son for him. He took a spoon and started to eat the porridge. "I have just taken over the district government office and will be quite busy, unlike before. Please return and send my regards to my wife, and remind her to rest! Don¡¯t wait for me!" The previous ck Lake district leader had reached the end of his 3-year tenure and had already risen up the ranks to be part of the prefecture. Therefore, Xu Ren had taken up his appointment. After all, it was only normal for people to be promoted and move a step up. Of course, this was also due to Xu Ren¡¯s hard work. However, only after taking over the district and control the 100-mile radiusnd did he realise the difficulty of it. "There are two main threats in ck Lake District. Firstly, it would be the evil gods and secondly, pirates. As the in-charge of this district, I need to get rid of these in order to live up to my appointment!" After finishing the porridge, he dismissed the servant and started to reminisce about his younger days and started to clench his fist. "The pirates are hiding on the Golden Court Lake and their movements are mysterious. They woulde together and strike at the same ce before retreating back into theke. Therefore, they are extremely hard to find and I suspect that they have a powerful backing. The previous district leader could only send his soldiers to protect the district¡¯s people, but he was unable to wipe out the piratespletely!" "As for the threat from evil gods, it is harder to deal with. Even I myself can only try my best to support the righteous gods for them to go against the evil gods..." At this point, he nced at the pond at the backyard and there was a mysterious look in his eyes. He had previously made use of the ck snake to get rid of the previous threat from the Heizi River Water God. From then, there were no troubles for the next three years and there was no need for live sacrifices, which was an example which he hoped to emte. The golden red carp in his mansion had slowly recovered and could finally be put to use. Previously, he was a little anxious about the fact that there was a demon living in his backyard. However, in the past 3 years, the golden red carp did not do anything to threaten them. Instead, it had helped them in the dark and helped them resolve many issues, slowly gaining the family¡¯s trust, to the extent that they would trust the golden red carp more than Fang Yuan. "District leader, an old friend is here to visit!" With a golden sh, a beautifuldy appeared in his study. It was Li Luan. "Lady Li, an old friend? Who is it?" Xu Ren was shocked. It must be somebody powerful for Li Luan to release her Yin Spirit. "It¡¯s me!" As a ck fog spread into the room, a young man in ck robes entered. "It¡¯s indeed you, my friend!" Li Luan took a bow. "It has been 3 years, and I congratte you for your improvement in cultivation!" "It¡¯s benefactor!" Xu Ren stood up and bowed. "How can Ipare to you, Lady Li? After all, you are cultivating in the government¡¯s office! After 3 years of cultivation, I have reached a bottleneck and I have toe here!" Fang Yuan sat down and looked at Xu Ren. "Sir Xu, would your ambitions 3 years ago count today?" "Of course!" Xu Ren knew that Fang Yuan wouldn¡¯t visit him without a purpose. As soon as he heard him, he promptly agreed. "Alright! If that is so, I will help you in aplishing something good for the country!" Fang Yuan looked down. "If that is so, I¡¯ll send in a letter of approval to rmend you as the god of the district town!" Xu Ren was overjoyed as he eximed. "Keke... We can discuss thister!" With a sh, Fang Yuan disappeared. Li Luan quickly followed him. Within seconds, only Xu Ren was left behind in the study, and all that had happened felt like a dream. ... "What are you intending to do?" In a garden at the back of the government office, Fang Yuan sat next to a pond as is tail flicked around on the surface of the water. A golden red carp swam towards him, Li Luan¡¯s voice was heard. "What do I want to do?" Fang Yuanughed as he looked in another direction. It was as though he could see through walls as his eyes were fixed in the master bedroom. In the bedroom, Wan¡¯er looked like a housewife as she coaxed her son to sleep. The child was only 3 years old and was extremely cute. However, it appeared different from a normal human. It had fate energy of normal levels, but it felt as though it might explode any time, which gave Fang Yuan a sense of familiarity. With the Dragon Pearl in his body, he could detect that the child was not normal, as though he would be the cause of a people tribtion "You are asking me what I am intending to do. However, I want to ask you. Xu Ren is a normal human. Previously, you can still lie about staying here to recuperate. What excuse do you have now?" Looking at Li Luan, he continued. "I didn¡¯t think that you would have detected the trend in this realm as well and even invested in it... Let me think. What did you do to the child? Hmm... I¡¯ve received news that the An River Dragon God is looking for a demon fugitive, and it seems that that demon had stolen a treasure from his dragon pce. Could it be the water dragon¡¯s Dragon Pearl?" "You..." There was a look of shock on Li Luan¡¯s face. Never would she have thought that her discreet actions would be discovered by Fang Yuan so easily. Fang Yuan chuckled inside. He had a Dragon Pearl of his own and was of higher quality than the water dragon¡¯s Dragon Pearl, which made it extremely easy for him to detect. "However, the water dragon¡¯s Dragon Pearl is a treasure for a demon¡¯s cultivation. What use does it have on a human?" Looking at Li Luan, Fang Yuan interrogated her. Seeing this, Li Luan could only take in a deep breath and reveal everything. "That day, I was heavily injured. Therefore, I had to make use of the protection from the Xu Family. However, after seeing the birth of their child and detecting that he was special, I decided to do it!" "That water dragon¡¯s Dragon Pearl is not something that the An River Dragon God would require to survive. Instead, it was a treasure passed on by the previous generations of dragon gods. It is filled with karma and fate energy, and not much dragon properties in it. Through my secret technique, I have nted it into Xu Ting¡¯s heart and covered it up..." Chapter 269: Clear Wind Chapter 269: Clear Wind Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "You¡¯re really ambitious!" Fang Yuan rubbed his hands together. "This treasure would be able to contain his fate energy. When Xu Ting grows up and bes aplished, you want a share of his fate energy and karma? To increase your cultivation?" "That¡¯s right! I must take revenge!" Li Luan had a determined look on her face, and her Yin Spirit emerged. "Please help me, brother. After all of this is over, I am willing to be your ve to repay your kindness!" "Forget it..." Fang Yuan waved his sleeves. "Don¡¯t look for me for such a troublesome thing! However, since we have simr goals, we can work together!" Thisdy¡¯s enemy must be at the same level of the An River Dragon God and Fang Yuan did not want to find trouble for himself. However, he had to admit that the execution of his n would be much smoother with her help. "Of course..." Li Luan stood up, confused. The water dragon¡¯s Dragon Pearl is an extremely valuable treasure! Although she had already dered that the pearl had minimal dragon properties in it and that it could not assist Fang Yuan in transforming from a python to a dragon, it could contain fate energy and the benefits were immense. At the moment where Fang Yuan had exposed her, she had already made ns for the worse. However, she could not believe it that Fang Yuan had no greed. However, it was also a good thing that she did not have to fight with her benefactor. As she heaved a sigh of relief, she continued. "Brother, please swear to the heavens as proof!" In this realm, the heavens were almighty. Although there might be no response at the moment of swearing, all of it would be umted in the tribtion toe and even the Dragon God would have to consider twice before swearing. "I swear to the heavens that I have no greed over the water dragon¡¯s Dragon Pearl. If I break my promise, the heavens can deal with me in any way they like!" Fang Yuan rolled his eyes and looked at Li Luan. "Is this enough for you to keep your thunder pill?" "I¡¯m sorry!" Li Luan blushed and quickly kept the thunder pill before apologising once more. "I am too cautious..." "Alright, now can you exin to me where are you from?" Fang Yuan stared at the golden red carp. "I am... the daughter of the Water God of Qi Lake!" Li Luan clenched her teeth but finally revealed her identity. "What?" Fang Yuan was in shock at the coincidence in the world. "Alright, you don¡¯t have to say anything more..." He could guess thisdy¡¯s predicament. Her father had died and she had sworn to take revenge for him. Therefore, she had infiltrated the pce to steal the treasures. As for how a water dragon could give birth to a carp? A water dragon was flirtatious in nature and there was no exnation needed. However, no matter how good her n was, she was unlucky. Although the water dragon¡¯s Dragon Pearl was a treasure in itself, it was unable to help her transform into a dragon. Following, she was then chased by soldiers and was fortunate enough to be rescued by the Xu Family. After seeing the birth of Xu Ting, only then did she think of harnessing his fate energy for her own cultivation. "I believe thisdy is unaware of my identity..." Fang Yuan looked at Li Luan. "Could she have suspected anything after seeing my ck carp body? That should be a small issue. Against the demons in Qi Lake, we are natural allies!" ... "Eh? This is..." At the East of ck Lake District, there was a Dao temple called Clear Wind. The owner of Clear Wind Temple was rumoured to be a powerful person who worked hard to destroy evil demons and earned a reputation for himself. He was nicknamed ¡¯The Godly Sword of the Sun and Moon¡¯. As he aged, he retired here. He was spot-on in fortune telling and deciphering dreams, which gave him a good business. Of course, Venerable Clear Wind had good progress in his cultivation in recent years and no longer got himself involved in the happenings around. He had left the work of managing the temple to his few direct disciples while he would cultivate in peace by himself. "Master!" At this point in time, within Clear Wind Temple, a young Daoist came to the backyard and was shocked. His master had unknowingly started to meditate in istion. As his master looked out towards the district, his face was solemn. "Is this Tong Ming? You should have mastered your Energy Viewing Technique, soe take a look!" Venerable Clear Wind was around 80 years old but appeared like a middle-aged man. His face was full of vitality and his ck sideburns stretched downwards, giving him the appearance of a respectable Daoist As he looked towards the government office, his eyes glittered. "Yes, Master!" Tong Ming opened his spiritual eye and executed his Energy Viewing Technique towards the government¡¯s office. "A red streak of energy is originating from the office like the glow of a fire... The district leader has plenty of people Dao fate energy! Also, there is a colourful scroll within the red streak of energy. This is the schrly energy! Sir Xu is a schr and will be able to ensure peace in the district! It is good fortune for the people!" "Eh?" After looking for a while longer, his expression changed. "There seems to be a faint ck glowing from the back of the government office. This is the energy of aggressive soldiers. Could the district leader intend to use his soldiers?" "And then?" Venerable Clear Wind¡¯s expression remained unchanged and continued asking. "I¡¯m useless and this is all I can see..." Daoist Tong Ming was sweating profusely. "You have already mastered half of the Energy Viewing Technique since you were able to see all that you had described...." Venerable Clear Wind sighed. "Amidst the energy of the aggressive soldiers, there is the energy of demons! I¡¯m afraid that demons now control the government office and have already disguised themselves to get close to his family members..." "Demons?" Daoist Tong Ming shuddered and did not know what to do. "What should we do?" "Exterminate it, of course!" Venerable Clear Wing revealed a murderous look. "Bring my sword to me!" "Yes, Master!" Daoist Tong Ming returned to the temple and within seconds, he had retrieved a sword out. The sword appeared normal and Venerable Clear Wind started to recite his sword form and exert strength on the handle of the sword. "Whoosh!" With the roar of a dragon, a peak of three feet erupted from the ground. As he nced at the peak, Daoist Tong Ming started to feel his eyes hurting and could look no more. He knew that his master had used this magical sword to kill countless demons. With all the spiritual energy in it, it could already be the sword¡¯s spirit! Normal people would not be able to wield it and handle that much energy. Only his master would be able to recite his sword form and use it at will. Humans and demons alike would be no match for this sword. "When can I ever get the moon... Oh, Sun Moon Sword, I never thought that I would have to use you again..." Venerable Clear Wind¡¯s face wasposed, but his mind was filled with many thoughts: ¡¯It is the only fate for the uprising of humans. We cultivate the authentic way and we are pure humans. Our grandmasters were fortunate to have the opportunity to allow us to enter the realm and help the people Dao...¡¯ ¡¯I have disguised myself as a vignte for over 30 years before realising that something impending would happen, and ck Lake District was one of these ces which would be happening. Therefore, I have decided to live in seclusion here and take in a few disciples...¡¯ ¡¯Who would¡¯ve guessed that demons would be involved in this tribtion! Do you demons really think you can share a piece of our fate energy and karma and develop your own Dragon Court? Hehe...¡¯ Although they were after the same thing, he could not allow this to happen. Even though whatever the demons were doing might be beneficial to the people Dao, only humans should do it. If demons were to aplish it, they would have a hope of survival! They would also take a share of our karma. Taking away one¡¯s fortune was akin to killing one¡¯s parents. Taking away one¡¯s karma and fate energy would reconcile the demons and humans forever! ¡¯Regardless of how the demon knew the trend of the realm or the fact that it might be coincidence, I cannot let it happen and cannot let them have our fate energy!¡¯ Venerable Clear Wind had a cold look on his face. ... ck Water General¡¯s Temple. The ck Water General was simr to the previous Heizi River God and would frequently demand live sacrifice and would sometimes even go up ashore to feed on humans. The moon was high up in the night sky. Suddenly, there was an explosioning from the temple and the ground shook. "What happened?" The awoken temple master draped on his robes and quickly entered the temple. He was left dumbfounded. "Bang!" In a loud crash, there was a crack on the neck of the statue of the ck Water General and soon, it broke apart and rolled onto the floor, spinning. Many offerings were smashed. "General... general!" Although it was just a statue, it meant that there was an impending disaster for the temple. "Rumble!" Suddenly, another loud sound was heard. As the ground exploded, a ck fog emerged. Within the ck fog, there was a small creature which stretched out its 4 legs. It attempted to run towards the river. "Don¡¯t think about escaping!" Behind, there was another ck glow. A huge ck snake appeared and it swiftly blocked the creature¡¯s path. With the second glow, the temple master could no longer take it and fainted. "Aw! Aw!" As the giant turtle¡¯s path was blocked, it stopped and stretched its head out. With a menacing roar, it shouted. "We are both demons! Why are you troubling me?" "Just shut up!" Fang Yuan was toozy to continue the conversation. With the flick of his tail, several water spears flew out. "Chi! Chi!" Not just that, the water spears froze in mid-air, forming icicles and making it stronger. Ice, made from water but colder than water! After transforming into a ck snake, Fang Yuan¡¯s Water Controlling Technique had improved once more and he even learnt to form ice on his own without any master¡¯s guidance. As he executed it, the temperature in the surroundings dipped. "Bang!" In front of the old turtle, the ground cracked and a wall made of soil emerged. However, within seconds, the entire soil wall started to freeze up and crumbled in the next instant. The following icicles struck through the shell and into the turtle¡¯s flesh. "Whoosh!" The old turtle quickly retracted its 4 limbs and head into its shell. As the icicles struck it, it slowly stretched its limbs and head out once more but this time, blood was oozing out. "Impressive ice-type technique!" Another sh appeared and Li Luan¡¯s Yin Spirit appeared. She appeared shocked. "The chill in the icicles froze any chance of survival for the old tortoise. It is just right, and the control over the chill is impressive!" "This old turtle is also weak and you have already researched on him. He had few followers, therefore, there would be fewer implications if we were to kill him..." Fang Yuan slithered up and struck his tail into the shell. "Chi! Chi!" Red streaks of light emerged from the shell and crept up Fang Yuan¡¯s scales. After a while, the flesh of the old turtle disappeared, leaving a shell behind. Although Fang Yuan was over the phase of eating normal flesh and meat, the demon¡¯s flesh was still filled with essence in it. After swallowing the turtle¡¯s flesh, he grew a little longer and his scales had a dull red pattern now. Chapter 270: Imperial Sword Chapter 270: Imperial Sword Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions As the bright moon shone, the river gushed downstream. After the death of the old turtle, its essence was being absorbed by Fang Yuan and all that was left was a turtle shell and a faint glow around it. "Do you mind?" Fang Yuan casually nced at Li Luan. "Do you have the interest to join god dao? If that is so, by all means, take over him. After all, it wouldn¡¯t be hard to be appointed by the human dao..." However, it all boiled down to her own luck if she could be given a title by the heavens as well. "Talking about following god dao, you have already controlled Heizi River for three years. Why are there no improvements in your cultivation?" Li Luan bit her lip and smiled. "We have different goals so there¡¯s no meaning in this conversation!" "That¡¯s true..." Fang Yuan nodded his head but was secretly shocked. He knew that if he were to benefit from Xu Ting by taking in his karma, he might get himself involved in the impending tribtion. This was why he chose to live in seclusion and only took control over the spiritual mountain range underwater. Since Li Luan was clueless about the impending tribtion, her actions of trying to make use of Xu Ting to help the people Dao was only reasonable. ¡¯There could be a possibility that this woman might be involved in the impending tribtion!¡¯ Fang Yuan examined Li Luan. Based on his definition of ¡¯involved¡¯, he meant that she would be the epicentre of the tribtion. After all, his actions were already affected by her... "The moon..." Li Luan looked up andmented softly. At that moment, Fang Yuan¡¯s Yin Spirit became tensed up. Under the moonlight, he could feel a sense of danger. "Quickly retreat!" Within seconds, he quickly arched his back and leapt into the river as quick as lightning. Within seconds, he could see a shimmer in his eyes. The silhouette of a swordnded under the moonlight. This sword was glittering as though it was as bright as the moon. It struck down with a murderous vibe. The sword hesitated for a moment as it detected Fang Yuan escaping the vicinity. In a split second, it decided to change its target and went for Li Luan instead. "This is a flying sword technique! A flying sword controlled by someone!" The flying sword became a streak of light as it struck down and suddenly, Fang Yuan recalled a sentence from a poem - ¡¯As beautiful as the moon, the enchantress takes her leave!¡¯ "If I don¡¯t help her, she¡¯ll be dead!" His spiritual will shook as 3 ice pirs emerged from the ground, shielding her. "Whoosh!" The sword essence exploded, destroying the 3 pirs of ice and shattering it. It was this extra split second which gave Li Luan the opportunity to use her lifeline. "Thunder Pill, explode!!!" A green streak of electricity ruptured and struck onto the sword essence. "A thunder-type technique indeed!" As the power of the thunder pill was revealed, Fang Yuan could feel his scales standing on its ends. The God of Thunder was considered one of the strongest gods. Therefore, thunder-type techniques were one of the more powerful techniques. Although this thunder was not a tribtion, the destruction that it had caused was only a little lesser than a natural tribtion! "ng!" After a ng, the sword essence disintegrated, revealing an ancient-looking sword. It was three feet long and there was a string of cherries on the handle, drifting through the wind. "Ah... thunder technique!" A spiritual will emerged from the sword. Within seconds, the flying sword turned around and flew off quickly, shaking in the wind. "Brother, are you alright?" Fang Yuan slithered back ashore and checked on her. "Thanks for your assistance! Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t even have the chance to activate the thunder pill!" Li Luan held her chest, worried. She had the feeling ofing back from the dead! If her Yin Spirit was killed, she would have ended up as a vegetable even though she still had her physical body. "This person is powerful! He should be a warrior among the people!" Fang Yuan nced at Li Luan. "Have you not realised anything after staying at the Xu Family? I¡¯m surprised that you haven¡¯t been killed!" Li Luan rolled her eyes. "I was panicky throughout my stay in their mansion and have kept my demonic energy for the past three years. Do you think I¡¯m like you? You don¡¯t even conceal yourself when walking out in the streets! It must be your actions and negligence which attracted this highly skilled warrior!" Fang Yuan was taken aback. His intention in killing the evil gods was to let Xu Ren submit an official appeal to the prefecture to get rid of the evil gods. Although the officials could not absorb and harness spiritual energy around them, they could gather the fate energy of the people Dao which would be troublesome for Fang Yuan. However, the officials from the prefecture could render the fate energy of the evil gods useless. Never would he have thought that such an ordinary action taken by Xu Ren would attract so much attention. "Forget it... I want to see who this powerful human is!" Fang Yuan revealed a courageous look. "I¡¯m going to look for that human! Do you want to follow me?" "This... I wouldn¡¯t dare to disobey!" Li Luan clenched her teeth. Looking at the direction which the sword flew towards, there was a vengeful look on her face. After all, she was a demon! It was already rare that she, as a demon, did not take advantage of the humans! How could she allow another human to take advantage of her? ... Within Clear Wind Temple. Venerable Clear Wind crossed his legs and sat on a tform. As he recited his mantra, his body remained still. Beside him, there were a few loyal disciples protecting him. "Buzz!" A streak of sword-reflected light entered from outside andnded in front of Venerable Clear Wind. On the sword, a small Yin Spirit emerged. It had the looks of Venerable Clear Wind and hurriedly, it leapt into Venerable Clear Wind¡¯s physical body. "Buzz! Buzz!" In a glow, the physical body of Venerable Clear Wind stood up. As he opened his eyes, his face became flushed and he hastily spat out a mouthful of blood. "Master?!" The surrounding disciples were in a shock. They knew that their master¡¯s flying sword technique would require his Yin Spirit to possess the sword and this would allow the sword to be able to fly 10 over miles and strike whenever and wherever he wanted! Since the Yin Spirit would have the protection of the spiritual sword, it was extremely safe. However, it seemed that their attempt at assassination had failed and even the Yin Spirit had experienced bacsh! "Cough! Cough! The two demons are extremely powerful! Quickly bring me my Heavenly King Revival Pill!" Venerable Clear Wind spat out a few more mouthfuls of fresh blood and his face was extremely pale. He was struggling to instruct his fellow disciples. One of his disciples had already prepared the spiritual pills and served them to Venerable Clear Wind. After a while, he seemed to have recovered a little. "Tong Feng, Tong Huo, quickly set up the array... A strong enemy ising!" Looking at the disciples he had in the temple, running away would not be a good choice as they would surely be hunted down. By then, all of them would die. The only thing he could do was to take advantage of their geographical location and defend with all their lives. "Yes, Master!" Two of his disciples quickly rushed around the temple. Within minutes, there was a stream of air circting around the temple, protecting it. Above the temple, there was ayer of fog rising up, concealing the entire temple. After a short while, two streaks of fognded next to the temple. It was Fang Yuan and Li Luan. "They¡¯re feeling guilty! This only goes to show that they were the ones who attacked us!" Fang Yuan nced at Li Luan. Li Luan blushed. She was still doubting his tracking abilities but now, she was proven otherwise. "We should be fighting now right? Hold on, we have to announce our arrival..." Fang Yuan slowly slithered forward and shouted with amanding voice. "Listen up you brats! Since you dare to attack us, you must be prepared for our revenge. I¡¯ll give you all how long it takes for an incense topletely burn for all of you toe out and surrender. If not, I shall burn this temple and leave nothing behind!" "How dare you!" They could no longer hold it in. A voice travelled from inside the temple. "You evil demons live among us humans and are even forcing the district leader to take your orders! We¡¯re helping the heavens by killing the both of you!" ¡¯You must be powerful to have the guts to rebut... You can even convince me that your ambush on us is reasonable! Seriously?¡¯ Fang Yuan rolled his eyes and prepared to break the array. "Master... That demon is preparing to enter the array!" Within the array, a few disciples were extremely nervous. "Rx! How would such a stupid animal understand the philosophies of the array?" Venerable Clear Wind appeared contented. "It would take an extremely powerful demon to break this array using brute force... what is this!!!!" He was originallyposed but now, his hands were shivering. His eyes were wide opened and his mouth was gaping as he was trying toprehend what was happening before him. In front of him, the ck snake had entered the array. It was slithering to the east, followed by the west. It was looking for all the weak points in the array and using its own technique to destroy them. "Rumble!" As the array was destroyed, what was left behind was Venerable Clear Wind and his few disciples. "How is this possible? This is a secret array passed down to us by our ancestors!" Venerable Clear Wind was dumbfounded. He wielded his sword and walked up. "Demon, how did you break this array?" ¡¯Eh... I¡¯m not going to waste my time talking to you!¡¯ Fang Yuan kept mum and observed Venerable Clear Wind¡¯s fate energy. Because of Venerable Clear Wind¡¯s cultivation, he was able to conceal his own fate energy. However, Fang Yuan¡¯s cultivation was stronger and therefore, he could still see through Venerable Clear Wind¡¯s concealment. "His martial arts are rather good. Of course, the interesting part is the additional energy surrounding him, which is the fate energy passed down to him from his ancestors... Furthermore, looking at the situation, it seems that he has gained protection from the heavens... It¡¯s a pity that he is too stubborn... We are all helping the people Dao, so why does he want to fight with me?" Looking at the cold look in Venerable Clear Wind¡¯s eyes, Fang Yuan knew that he was a stubborn person. Therefore, he quickly came to a decision. "I¡¯ll kill him! Who cares if he has the protection of the heavens? I couldn¡¯t possibly let him kill me if he wanted to, right? As for going against the trend of the world, there will surely be some tribtions afterwards. Even if I cannot use my karma to reduce the intensity of the tribtions, I must still kill him today!" He transformed into a sharp arrow and flung himself forward. "Watch out for my sword!" Although Venerable Clear Wind¡¯s Yin Spirit was injured and was unable to wield his sword, his true self could still do it. With his first strike, he could perfectly defend his physical body at the same time. "What a good strike!" Fang Yuan flicked his tail, avoided the sword and struck on the de of the sword. "Ah!" Venerable Clear Wind retreated. There was fear in his voice. How could a snake know martial arts? Chapter 271: Slaying Evil Chapter 271: ying Evil Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions There was no room for error in a fight among the highly-skilled! With just a simple oversight, Venerable Clear Wind was disarmed of his long sword as a ck sh shot through his chest. "Pu!" His physical body crumbled as though the essence of his body was being sucked out. Instantly, he had be a dried corpse which fell to the ground and shattered. "Ah... You¡¯re too extreme!" A ck fog rose from the head of the corpse as a Yin Spirit appeared. This was the spirit of Venerable Clear Wind. If it were to escape, it could find other suitable bodies and live on, or it could reincarnate into a new body. The possibilities were endless. As it nced fiercely at Fang Yuan, the Yin Spirit waved its hands in an attempt to enter the sword and escape. "Don¡¯t think about running!" Li Luan walked up and stretched her hands out. Immediately, a big red appeared which contained the spiritual sword within. Considering her abilities and cultivation, it was theoretically impossible for her to contain the spiritual sword. However, the sword was previously damaged by the thunder and lighting which she had summoned and had yet to bebined with Venerable Clear Wind¡¯s spirit. With the advantage, she made full use of it. Although the sword was trying its best to prate its way through, but to no avail. "This is your fate!" A huge hand made out of ck fog appeared above Fang Yuan¡¯s head, which quickly struck towards the spirit of Venerable Clear Wind. The spirit of Venerable Clear Wind was attempting to resist but as the ck fog hand thickened, it became dizzy and restrained. "Master..." Only now did Venerable Clear Wind¡¯s disciples became aware of the entire situation. With a look of shock on their faces, a few of them attempted to rescue their master but the rest were at loss and were thinking about how to escape. "You cannot kill me... I am the disciple of Xuan Zhen Sect, an authentic sect in the world! If you kill me, you will be in trouble!" Venerable Clear Wind¡¯s spirit was struggling. "It was my fault that I had attacked you. Isn¡¯t it enough that you have destroyed my physical body?" "... You are aiding the district leader and therefore are a good demon. If you don¡¯t mind, we can join forces and no one in ck Lake District can be our match!" This person had a glib tongue. As he spoke, even Li Luan couldn¡¯t help but started to think about his offer. After all, he made sense. Regardless if he was from a sect, or in terms of karma or even justying out the pros and cons, it was not worth it to kill this person. "Die!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered as his ck hand crushed the spirit. With a shriek, the spirit disintegrated. This was the real destruction of the spirit that was irreversible. "Ah... Master?" A few Daoists were in shock. "How dare you kill master?" "Who cares about what he was trying to say! The fact was that he had attempted to kill me and even guarded against me. How can I be fooled by him?" Fang Yuan snickered. Although Venerable Clear Wind¡¯s offer seemed like a win-win, it might bring trouble for Fang Yuan. The most important thing was that Venerable Clear Wind had a backing and could always call for help. On the other hand, Fang Yuan was alone. Therefore, he had fewer rights to speak up for himself and this would only spell trouble. This was why he had to destroy himpletely! "Pu! Pu!" After a few ck shes, every Daoist in the vicinity held their chests and fell to the ground as blood seeped out of their wounds. "Brother... why are you so extreme?" Seeing this, Li Luan gave a look of difort. "This is not my choice. The moment that sword tried to harm us, there was no turning back..." Fang Yuan revealed his Yin Spirit and looked depressed. Looking at his own fate energy, Fang Yuan chuckled. He could see the little mes around him as usual. In fact, he had restored his people Dao karma. Instead of being reduced, it had increased! ¡¯Humans will rise and the demons will fall. After killing this person, I would be against the trend of this realm. How could this not be detected? This would only mean one thing. The heavens are confusing me! Although my karma seems normal, they are preparing for an extreme tribtion for me! If I do not be on my guard at all times, I would get myself into trouble!¡¯ The Energy Viewing Technique and the likes of it seemed to have originated from his realm. Therefore, this realm could manipte such energy-viewing rted techniques and make it seem normal! Although people might see that he was full of auspicious energy, his enemies would see him as extremely troubled and would strike after seeing it! "Since I¡¯ve killed him, I might as well kill the rest!" Indeed, Li Luan felt nothing about killing the other Daoist After all, she was not human to begin with. Seeing the death of the many daoist was akin to the death of ants. After a sigh, she quickly got over it. "This person belongs to a sect. Therefore, it is a good idea to wipe all of them outpletely to no one would be able to report what had happened here!" There were thinking about how to clear the mess that they had made. After an intensive clearing session in the temple, they managed to find some loots. "Keke... These daoist are rich indeed!" In the small courtyard, they could already find a few treasures. There was gold, silver, pearls and their total worth seemed to be a few thousand taels. All of these were the contributions from the district people. Other than these, they also had countless bottles. These were the spiritual pills made personally by Venerable Clear Wind, of which Li Luan had looted quite a number of them. It was a fact that in terms of alchemy and casting arrays, the demons were less-developed in these areaspared to humans. They were even more iparable in other tedious processes. "Keke..." Seeing this, Fang Yuan smiled. "You can have the spiritual pills if you want. Just leave me the herbs!" He walked up calmly and with the strength of his Yin Spirit, he picked up the Sun Moon Sword. Although it had been damaged by the lighting and thunder and had lost its owner, it remained sharp and lethal. "It¡¯s a good sword!" He heaved a sigh. "I¡¯m afraid all the spiritual pills and treasures cannotpare to this sword!" It was not an easy feat to smelt a spiritual sword like this. Just the materials required to smelt the sword would require gold, silver, jade shavings and iron forged from the stars. After smelting it, it would require a cultivator to use spiritual force to refine and polish it for many years. Furthermore, the sword would require cleansing periodically using lotus essence and ginseng soup to maintain its spiritual property, and the consumption of the sword was insane. There was a saying among the people in this realm. The poor would study and be schrs while the rich would learn martial arts and make a name for themselves through cultivation. It was extremely true. "Since history, treasured swords should always go with heroes. This sword fits you to a tee, Brother Fang!" Li Luan knew that she did had did less than Fang Yuan in taking down Venerable Clear Wind and therefore did not fight with him for the prize. "Sounds good!" Fang Yuan looked up. "Let¡¯s shift all these away and burn the entire temple down! Remember, don¡¯t let anyone know what happened here today, not even Xu Ren! We were only killing an evil god today and none of this is rted to us!" "I know what to do!" Although she did not know why Fang Yuan wouldn¡¯t let her ask Xu Ren for help in clearing up the ce, Li Luan still agreed. ... Within a spiritual cave in Heizi River. Fang Yuan sat within and released his Yin Spirit. As he opened his spiritual eye, he snickered. "The tribtion ising! I need to strengthen myself!" If he could see signs the impending arrival of a tribtion in his fate energy, he would be less worried. After all, he could use his karma to reduce the intensity of the tribtion. However, there were no traces or signs of anything happening. This was the most dangerous as the tribtion might strike anytime to take his life and he would not have any time to prepare! "Although the heavens are hiding the signs of tribtion from me, I can still roughly guess. The weakening of my fate energy would mean that a tribtion ising. However, I am rather powerful now. If the heavens want to take my life, they can only do it in two ways..." Fang Yuan was deep in thought. If he was a human, say an official, he would be likely to plead guilty and be stripped of his appointment before a punishment would be meted out. However, he was a demon and all these were useless on him. Therefore, there were only a few methods in which the tribtion could strike him. "Only a direct Killer Tribtion can deal with me. As of now, there are two ways it cane. Firstly, it cane from the Xuan Zhen Sect, the sect which Venerable Clear Wind came from! Although I have killed everybody there and cleared all traces, the cultivators might be able to guess and calcte the happenings. If they are powerful enough, they might just find out something!" Secondly, the tribtion cane in the form of a more powerful demon god! After all, I have been destroying temples in ck Lake District and my traces are obvious. How could there be no bacsh against me?" After analysing all the possible oues, Fang Yuan chuckled. There was nothing he could do to survive the tribtion but strengthen himself! As he sighed, he spat out a long sword which appeared translucent. It was the Sun Moon Sword. "When can I ever get the moon?" Reading the inscription on the sword, he sighed once more. "For me to use it, I have to smelt it again!" He was already mentally prepared from the moment he had decided to take the sword. "Go!" As his spiritual will shook, 49 bone pearls shot out. This was the property of the evil god, the andrias. The spirits of the vengeful souls were freed, but the hatred and aggressiveness of the spirits remained in the pearls. "Bang! Bang!" As the bone pearls exploded, a white powdernded on the Sun Moon Sword and a ck mist seeped into the sword at the same time. "With this spiritual material, I can smelt the sword again and therefore remove traces of Venerable Clear Wind from the sword. Although the sword would no longer be able to fly, I can still make use of its sharpness!" Fang Yuan was inexperienced in smelting swords. However, he was only doing a touch up on the Sun Moon Sword. Furthermore, he had experience in dealing with his very own 8 Gates Sword Array and could still do it. With a shriek, an immense amount of demonic force was released and wrapped the sword within. As the bone pearls exploded and fused together with the sword, the original spiritual sword was now a pale bone-white and appeared sinister... In a sh, 7 days had gone by. "Come back!" As Fang Yuan retracted the demonic force, a snow-white sword was revealed! The sword released vibes that made it both good and evil as though it was smelted from bones. As it released a demonic glow from the de, a ck mist was spinning around the sword. "White Bone Evil ying Sword! This is abination of the spiritual sword that killed many evil demons and the vengeance of 49 young spirits. It will be extremely effective against demons and ghosts!" Fang Yuan released his Yin Spirit and imprinted his own spiritual will on the sword. After another round of smelting, the original resistance which was felt from the Sun Moon Sword had disappeared. In a mouth, Fang Yuan had swallowed the entire sword. "Alright, it¡¯s time to test it out!" There was a look of determination in his eyes. "Go!" "Whoosh!" Within his body, the White Bone Evil ying Sword shot out a sh which struck on the Dragon Pearl in his body. "Wuuu..." Fang Yuan¡¯s body shook as though he has sustained internal injuries. Within seconds, there was a bright golden glow. In his spiritual will, the Dragon Pearl shook as well. A silhouette of a green dragon appeared as bits of gold fell from the sky. "Smelt!" Although it was only something insignificant, Fang Yuan¡¯s body started to expand as though he had eaten too much. He quickly closed his eyes and started to enter a state of deep cultivation. Chapter 272: Human Tribulation Chapter 272: Human Tribtion Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the district city, in front of the ck Water General¡¯s Temple. "This is an order from the District Leader. Since this god required live sacrifice, it is an evil one. The destruction of its own statue is a sign from the heavens that it is being punished. Don¡¯t be rmed by this!" Two government servants raised gongs and shouted at the top of their lungs as they exined what had happened in the temple to the residents. After a seal was pasted on the doors of the temple, a print of the district leader was imprinted, forming a seal. In reality, such a weak seal would do nothing to trap the original ck Water Old Turtle. But now, it was enough to trap its weak spirit. "This is creepy. In just one night, so many Water Gods have been killed..." "Not just that, even the Clear Wind Temple has been reduced to ashes. Could there be a powerful demon passing by our district, hence causing all these?" "Since Venerable Clear Wind is well-known for killing demons, he might be the one who had exterminated all these evil Water Gods and might be injured himself as well..." He sighed. "Shhh, don¡¯t talk so much. Do you still want to live?" After sighing, he was being pulled by the people behind as they covered his mouth. "Jerk!" The government servant who was making the announcement became angry. With a whip, he whipped the ground with a loud crackle. "The Clear Wind Temple has not been maintained well and therefore was a fire hazard. Don¡¯t spout nonsense!" There were lives involved! If they were to admit that it was a murder case and they could not investigate and find out who the murderer was, it would look bad on the district leader. Furthermore, Xu Ren had also suspected that it might be Fang Yuan¡¯s ¡¯mishandling¡¯. Since there was no one who had hatred towards the temple, they could just let things settle as such. In the government office, it was always good to avoid trouble. Therefore, the government servant red at the person who made thement. "Don¡¯t put it to heart! My brother is retarded..." The few of them quickly pulled the person out and left. It might be a casualment, but there might be seriousplications thate with it. "Venerable Clear Wind?" A skinny person among the crowd was curious and decided to take a look at the temple. However, everything was reduced to ashes and around the temple, there were a few incense and crying sounds. This scene had left him in shock. "Could it be really the doings of a demon and that Venerable was being killed by a demon like how he killed demons?" As he left the city, he arrived in the wilderness. There was a yellow glow on his body as his actual physical body was revealed. It was a huge horse monkey wearing clothes. The horse monkey revealed his teeth which resembled that of a dog. With a murderous look, he picked up an incense and prayed respectfully. "Grandmaster, I have investigated. It is indeed true that there are a series of demons being killed. As of now, 7 of them had died and the other remaining are fearful... Furthermore, Clear Wind Temple within the city has been burnt downpletely and everybody in the temple, from the temple owner to the Daoist children, died..." He knew that Venerable Clear Wind had an extremely high cultivation and it was a joke that he would be burnt alive in the temple. "This is fishy. Should I continue my investigation?" "There¡¯s no need! In a fog, a human appeared. It was the monkey demon which had visited the dragon pce before. "I already have news that it is the doing of a ck snake demon who had snatched a cave from the previous Heizi River God 3 years ago. Quickly go and kill it!" "This..." The horse monkey scratched his ears, conflicted. "The Water Gods in Golden Lake Prefecture are officially under the jurisdiction of the Golden Court Dragon God. If I do this, it seems rather inappropriate... Furthermore, if that ck snake demon is able to kill 7 gods, it must be rather powerful. I¡¯m afraid I am not skilled enough to kill him..." "Hmph, the old Dragon God is already an old fogey and does not seem to care about this. If he doesn¡¯t take any action, as the monkey god, leader of demons on thend, we should help him do his job. As for the ck snake demon, it has been assisting the humans but is bing crazy. Come over here. I will give you three strands of hair. You can use them to kill that demon!" The imagery of the monkey god plucked out three hairs from itself and blew at them. In a sh, the three strands of hair went through and arrived at the chest of the horse monkey. "I will ede to your order!" The horse monkey smiled, figured out the direction to Heizi river and walked towards it. ... "River God, please bless us with a bountiful harvest!" "We, your followers, pray for good weather!" ... Next to Heizi River, there was already a small temple built there. This was built out of gratitude from the vigers as Fang Yuan had given them less pressure since his arrival. They had offered him the appointment of ¡¯ck Dragon General¡¯. Never would he have thought that Xu Ren could receive an approval for a title for Fang Yuan, which made him speechless. "Who would¡¯ve guessed that such a small river would attract so many offerings! The prosperity of the human race is much more than the monkeys of our race living in the mountains..." As the horse monkey witnessed the offerings, he felt a little jealous. With a chuckle, he rolled on the floor and revealed his true body. It was an aggressive monkey covered in ck fur. The aggressive monkey raised its fist and smashed the altar in the temple. "Rumble!" Amidst the tremor, the altar crumbled and a few people who were unable to run away in time were injured and started to bleed. They were crying for help. "De... Demon!" "The demon that eats humans are here!" The vigers rushed out and wished that they had another pair of legs to help them run faster. "Eh, what happened?" The aggressive monkey looked at his own fists and was confused. This was too simple! Don¡¯t these gods prioritise these offerings? Why would they allow him to destroy them effortlessly? "Are you finally here?" In the river within the mud, a pair of eyes appeared. Fang Yuan did not believe in incense and offerings to begin with. He had left the temple there to act as a bait and an element of confusion. Suddenly, a water reflective technique appeared, which revealed the monkey. "A monkey demon? I should be able to deal with it with my current cultivation..." After smelting the spiritual sword, Fang Yuan had left his cave and had hidden beneath the water just to wait for this day! "I cannot hide from the tribtions from heavens. If I avoid it this time, a stronger one woulde next time. I need to go through it... After this tribtion, I should continue helping the people Dao and follow the trend of this realm so I won¡¯t get myself into any more trouble!" Fang Yuan waited quietly. He witnessed the monkey destroying his temple, bing enraged and finally, the monkey started to eat humans... After ensuring that there was no other ambush in the surroundings, he revealed himself. "This demon is aggressive and has a strong demonic strength. Also, the three golden furs behind its head seem insignificant but it might be his secret weapon! I cannot let my guard down!" At this point in time, he started to swim towards the shore. The waves from the Haizi River crashed onto the riverbank and became dark in colour. "I¡¯ve caught you!" As the monkey eximed, he rushed mindlessly towards the riverbank. Covered by mist, a huge array formed and sealed the monkey within four walls. "Eh? Is this... an array?" The monkey was shocked as he regained hisposure. However, a ck fog emerged from the mist; it was extremely thick and appeared strong. "Bang!" The monkey wailed as he was being hit by the ck fog. Dumbfounded, he nced at the ck shadow in front of him, which was about 30 feet in height. In front of his enemy, his height of 10 feet seemed like a joke. Indeed, a silhouette of a snake appeared. However, the snake appeared extraordinary and was as long as 30 feet! It was as thick as a water bucket and its head was as huge as a water vat. Under its cold stare, the monkey demon could feel a sense of cruelty. ¡¯How is this a ck snake? It is a ck python!¡¯ Feeling that his enemy was as strong as himself, the aggressive monkey became depressed. In front of him was a ck python who had achieved the 5th Transformation with the help of the Dragon Pearl! "Name: Fang Yuan Race: Python Essence: 24 Spirit: 24 Magic: 24 Profession: ??? Cultivation: ??? Technique: [Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Technique (5th Transformation)], [Water Controlling Technique (Grade 4)], [Natural Magical Strength (Grade 1)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" ... Against such a powerful Fang Yuan, the aggressive monkey felt a chill in his spine, as though he was against a godly demon. This was due to the increment in Fang Yuan¡¯s dragon properties. He was not any normal python, but a dragon python! "Python Wrapping Technique, Kill!" As the ck silhouette shook, Fang Yuan¡¯s tail curled and trapped the aggressive monkey, constricting him. This was the killer move of a python and was indeed scary when Fang Yuan executed it. No matter how strong the aggressive monkey was, with the constriction, there were cracking sounds from its body. It shrieked continuously but as it was restrained, it could not move a single bit. The only thing it could do was to wait for its impending death. "Grandmaster, save me!" As he was about to die, he suddenly thought of his grandmaster and screamed for help. "Whoosh!" From the back of his head, one golden hair started to glow and heat him, creating an immense force which repelled the python. "Chi!" Another hair transformed into a long golden sword and flew towards Fang Yuan. "No one can save you today!" Fang Yuan opened his snake mouth and a white glow shot out. It was the White Bone Evil ying Sword! "ng!" Both swords shed with each other in mid-air and the golden sword broke in half. Without hesitation, the white bone sword continued to strike towards the monkey. "No..." As the monkey screamed, the third hair exploded. However, nothing happened. Instead, a streak of light shot up into the sky. "Trap!" Fang Yuan focused and activated the array. "Chi!" However, the streak of light was extremely quick and even the clouds were repelled. In a moment, the trap array was broken apart as the streak of light disappeared into the sky. "Who would¡¯ve thought that my array would be... unable to contain it. Two strands of hair were able to defend from two of my strikes! This is indeed a powerful demon!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyebrows twitched. As the swordnded down, it ended the monkey¡¯s life. "We have already be enemies. How can I not kill him?" As he shook his head, he shivered. He could feel that something was wrong and quickly opened his spiritual eye to check on his own body. All of his fate energy waspletely gone. There was an intense golden glow which transformed into 7 small golden flowers arranged nicely and floating in space. "Is the tribtion over?" Fang Yuan was sceptical. As he looked around, he could see a streak of ck fog flying around him. However, it did not seem hostile. Fang Yuan was confused. "I have worked hard to kill evil gods and have stood firm on the side of the humans. Although there is a bacsh from killing Venerable Clear Wind, I have tided over the tribtion and I am ultimately still protected by the people Dao..." "Following which, even if there are implications toe, they would be harmless! However, this is not what I want!" Chapter 273: Giant Venomous Snake Chapter 273: Giant Venomous Snake Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Canger Mountain. It was a huge mountain within the Golden Lake Prefecture, and there were many dangers lurking within. However, at the centre of the mountain, there was a scene of serenity. Spiritual water flowed everywhere and flowers were blooming. A group of monkey demons were ying around and as they ran into the forest, they were catching fleas from each other. In the middle, there was a ck peak. It was barren and extended straight up towards the sky. There was a circle of dark clouds surrounding the peak, which struck fear in those who set eyes on the peak. As a golden streak of light flew into the mountain, there was an exmation from the peak of the mountain. "What audacity, python demon! How dare you kill my grandson! I will peel your skin alive to let out my hatred for you!" On the peak, within a cave, the monkey god¡¯s golden eyes were ming. The other female monkeys in the cave could not avoid as they scrambled. "How dare you! How dare you! I¡¯ll kill you!" As he stood up, the entire mountain shook. "Monkey King, wait up!" Another streak of light entered the cave, which then transfigured into a tortoise guard. "My god invites you to gather at the Golden Court Lake for a discussion about the demons!" "The dragon god invited me?" The monkey god froze andposed himself. ¡¯I must be in my physical body to meet the dragon god. Otherwise, it would be extremely disrespectful! Indeed, a small monkey is nothingpared to the demons. However... I cannot contain my anger!¡¯ As he struck his fist out, there was a golden glow and a secret path revealed itself within the cave. A golden-haired monkey walked out with a serious look. "Although the python is powerful, I believe my incarnation will be able to kill it!" The monkey god smashed towards his forehead. Immediately, a ck fog appeared which entered the golden-haired monkey¡¯s body. The golden-haired monkey became ferocious in an instant as it walked towards the opening of the cave. "Tortoise guard, I¡¯m sorry for the wait. Let¡¯s meet the Dragon God now!" As the monkey god turned around, he cheerfully eximed. "That¡¯s good!" ... At the same time, within the government¡¯s office. Due to the fact that his physical body was extremely obvious, Fang Yuan could only send his Yin Spirit to look for Xu Ren. Otherwise, he would have destroyed the entire office if he were toe in person. After attaining the 5th Transformation, this magical energy increased exponentially and the Yin Spirit which he formed would be able to walk under normal daylight, had flesh and was no different from a normal human. "Greetings, god!" In the small study, there was only Xu Ren and Li Luan. Li Luan looked at Fang Yuan with an expression of shock. It was only a matter of days, but Fang Yuan¡¯s spiritual aura had strengthened by folds. To her, Fang Yuan was bing increasingly mysterious and her sense of insecurity intensified. "There was a powerful demon which intruded out district, but I have killed it!" Fang Yuan ignored Li Luan¡¯s thoughts and spoke his mind. "What? A powerful demon?" Xu Ren shuddered. Although he had cultivated for many years, he still turned pale. "Mmm. Our district has been actively clearing the evil gods and our movements are too obvious. This is only normal... After all, I¡¯ve killed it... We can just take our leave anytime, but what can you do, district leader?" Fang Yuan was determined but as he spoke, he remained expressionless. "Since this is the case, I shall face whatever thates!" Xu Ren gritted his teeth and bowed towards both Li Luan and Fang Yuan. "Please take good care of my wife and my child if anything happens to me!" "Things have not escted to such a stage yet!" Fang Yuan shook his head. "Do you know why the popr righteous gods like Goddess Xiang Fei and Golden Dragon General are alright with our doings?" These were righteous gods. Although they were once demons, they had already lost the evil side in them and would no longer request for live sacrifices. "Rumble!" As soon as he spoke, dark clouds formed above and thunder roared. "This is because the demons have split! Those clever ones would choose to be righteous gods! However, the majority of them would be tempted by the offerings from humans and had already taken the offerings for. This is especially so for those demons which only exist in spirit form. They cannot resist anything!" Fang Yuan rattled out the trend of the realm without much consideration. "Kacha!" As soon as he finished his sentence, a streak of lightning struck across and Li Luan became pale. She fell to the ground as though she could not take it any longer. ¡¯Indeed enraged, but useless!¡¯ Fang Yuan smiled to himself as his spirit remained resolute and unafraid. After all, he was in the government office, a creation of the people Dao. He was also standing next to Xu Ren, who was an official and therefore would have the protection from him. Additionally, there was another important factor in the government office: Xu Ting! Lightning could never strike here! "The demons have split? Some of the demons are helping the humans?" After hearing this, Xu Ren shuddered. "What do you mean?" "You can directly request from the prefecture to get the authority to clear all the evil gods before obtaining approval to officially help the righteous gods...." Fang Yuan smiled. This was forcing the demons to take a side! Those who would support the humans would be protected given assistance to deal with the evil demons! ¡¯Let me be the one to cause the chaos in this world!¡¯ A thought appeared in his mind. No risks, no rewards! To gain the most out of this realm, he had to take risks! "I understand now... No wonder the both of you are willing to help me! It seems that you two are the brave ones among the demons!" There was a glitter in Xu Ren¡¯s eyes as his face became flushed with excitement. "Could there really be an uprising among the humans?" "Brother, why do you want to do this?" Suddenly, there was a voice at Fang Yuan¡¯s ears; it was Li Luan. She gave aplicated expression as she red at Fang Yuan. "Why do we want to betray the demons? This is merely following the trend of the heavens... Furthermore, don¡¯t you think your actions in the Xu Mansion are more overboard than mine?" Fang Yuan replied her using the same technique. Li Luan was stunned. As she thought about how she inserted the water dragon¡¯s Dragon Pearl into Xu Ting, she started to break into cold sweat. "Don¡¯t worry. Although we would have started the Killer Tribtion, we will still be involved in in the future. However, there are many advantages to make the first move... Perhaps, you can ride the wave and take your revenge before everything is destroyed!" As heforted Li Luan, he gave Xu Ren a few pieces of advice for him to be prepared. However, in reality, he was just convincing Xu Ren to ensure his own son¡¯s survival. As Fang Yuan¡¯s Yin Spirit left the government office, he smiled to himself as he looked at the clear skies. ¡¯Everything would boil down to this!¡¯ His Yin Spirit quickly returned to his physical body. Slowly, he opened his spiritual eye and waited. On his head, there were 7 golden flowers arranged nicely, spinning about in mid-air. As they spun, they released a warm golden glow. "Rumble!" At this moment, his forehead shook. He knew that was undergoing some sort of transformation. A green glow descended from the heavens andnded on the golden flowers. "The heavens are showing their appreciation! I¡¯m sure of it!" Seeing this, Fang Yuan felt relieved and overjoyed at the same time. "Is this heavenly karma?" If one helped the people Dao, they would gain people Dao karma. If one followed the trend of the heaven, they would gain heavenly karma! Although this was the first time he had witnessed it with his own eyes, he was sure of it. "People Dao karma is gold in colour and can bring fortune and reduce the intensity of people tribtion! How about heavenly karma?" He opened up his actualised dream world and absorbed the green energy. At the moment where the green energy was leaving the realm and entering the actualised dream world, something happened! The original green colour returned to the world and a pure form of energy more powerful than realm energy entered. It felt as though it was the product of the heavens and the feeling felt simr to the realm energy in Hui Realm. As soon as the actualised dream world received the energy, the Water Sword was formed at an extraordinary rate. "It seems that I can trade heavenly karma for energy from the heavens. I¡¯m sure that the righteous gods have used their heavenly karma to gain approval from the heavens and from there start absorbing the spiritual energy in their vicinity!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. The reason he was helping Xu Ren was for this! "However... If I can gain all these fate energies just by revealing the heavenly tribtions, why didn¡¯t the earlier people do it?" Fang Yuan was confused. After much thought, he smiled to himself. At the same time as the heavens showed their appreciation, a greyish-ck forcended and surrounded him, which appeared sinister. "If I gain some, I must lose some. Since I have revealed the ns of the heavens, there will be a tribtion that I must go through. This tribtion should be something that I cannot survive through at my current stage... I¡¯m afraid the earlier people would have died if they revealed the heaven¡¯s intentions!" As his heart shook, he quickly released all the heavenly karma that he had. In his actualised dream world, the Rough Water Sword in the North quickly formed. Suddenly, the entire array shook. The water-type sword flew upwards. As the water and fire glittered in the array, the actualised dream world expanded. "Water sword and people Dao karma, go!" Fang Yuan¡¯s spiritual will shook and a golden flower flew out. The blue water-type sword essence and the red fire-type sword essence appeared in front of him. "This is not enough! With this, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m too weak to survive the impending tribtion!" He had a bad feeling about this. Without thinking much, he spat out a Dragon Pearl. "Water-Fire Dual Sword, White Bone Evil ying, three swords, break!" The powerful sword essence struck on the Dragon Pearl and a golden fluid, dragon¡¯s essence, began to flow out. At the same time, remnants of heavenly karma were transformed into pure elemental energy whichnded on the ck python. As the ck python looked up and roared, four stumps appeared beneath its body. The stumps quickly grew and in an explosion, they had be four legs. This was the 6th Transformation of the Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Form! The Giant Venomous Snake Transformation! The Venomous Snake was considered a young dragon to some, and a poisonous snake to others. It was a mixture of both and had an abundance of dragon properties. Fang Yuan examined himself. He had a snake¡¯s head, four legs and dragon¡¯s tail. "A Venomous Snake is merely a four-legged snake or a giant lizard. The snake properties have been transformed into dragon properties. However, to be a dragon, I still have to go through a Dragon Transformation Stage! I need to change my entire physical body to do so!" Even so, the Venomous Snake would be king among the snakes! Looking at his stats, he noticed some changes: "Name: Fang Yuan Race: Giant Venomous Snake Essence: 30 Spirit: 30 Magic: 30 Profession: ??? Cultivation: ??? Technique: [Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Technique (6th Transformation)], [Water Controlling Technique (Grade 5)], [Natural Magical Strength (Grade 2)], [8 Gates Sword Array (3rd Sword (1%))] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "Great!" As he nted his four legs firmly on the ground, Fang Yuan roared like a prehistoric crocodile. At this point in time, a golden-haired monkey had realised his powerful demonic vibe! It was shocking! Chapter 274: Betrayal Chapter 274: Betrayal Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Demon King?" Detecting the energy from the golden-haired monkey, Fang Yuan smiled. This golden-haired monkey¡¯s spiritual aura was much stronger than the previous monkey which attacked him. If Fang Yuan was still at the 5th Transformation, there was no chance that he could escape alive. But now, at the 6th Transformation, there was a tremendous difference! After achieving the Giant Venomous Snake Transformation and strengthening the connection of this dream world to this realm, he could now harness the sword essences of both the fire and water swords. He had confidence against the monkey king! "What a snake demon!" Detecting the demonic energy from the giant venomous snake, the golden-haired monkey became shocked. "I am the leader of Canger Mountain, the monkey god! Anything that walks onnd is under my jurisdiction. Why do you want to help the humans and cause trouble to the demons?" If this wasst time, the monkey king would have gone straight into the fight without much talk. Giving Fang Yuan a chance to exin himself was after taking into consideration the fact that he was his own kind, therefore pitying him. "A demon should be able to do whatever it likes! I¡¯ll help whoever I wish! Why do you care so much?" Fang Yuanughed. "Do whatever you like!" There was a murderous look on the golden-haired monkey¡¯s face. Suddenly, he revealed his true physical body. It was a monkey as tall as a small hill, wielding a metal pole and a mask. "Let me do whatever I like and kill you today!" "Rumble!" The ground shook and dust flew everywhere. "The Golden Monkey wipes out all the evil demons!" Fang Yuan mumbled out a sentence from a poem. This demon felt more powerful than the previous monkey and was highly skilled in martial arts as well. Therefore, it had the ability to be the king of demons. Even the three demons from Qi Lake could notpare to it! "Water-Fire Dual Array, Go!" Due to the fact that Fang Yuan had linked his actualised dream world to the current realm using his people Dao karma, although he was still unable to actualise the swords, he could harness the sword essences form both swords. Immediately, two streaks of glows appeared on his body; red and blue. It was as though two dragons had emerged from the ocean andbined forces. "ng! ng!" The sword essences rained on the iron pole like raindrops hitting a leaf. The force from the Water-Fire Dual Array was continuous. "Eh? Spiritual sword?" The golden-haired monkey retreated and realised that the iron pole in his hands was now filled with holes. There was a look of worry on his face. "There are signs of an array as well! Where did youe from?" "You¡¯re about to die soon, so you don¡¯t have to know that much!" Fang Yuan roared, rushed forward and flicked his tail! "Bang!" The golden-haired monkey flew backwards andnded on a hill, shaking the entire ce. "Rumble!" Fang Yuan did not stop. Instead, he opened his mouth wide and started to swallow the monkey. As he sucked the monkey into his mouth, there was a white glowing from his mouth. It was the White Bone Evil ying Sword. Flying out, it sliced through the iron pole and struck itself into the golden-haired monkey¡¯s body. "... The incarnation which I¡¯ve painstakingly cultivated......?" The golden-haired monkey looked down at his wound and started to have a mysterious look on his face. "Impressive... looks like you¡¯ve earned the right to fight with my true self!" ... At the same time, in the Golden Court Lake, Dragon Pce. In arge square, a huge ck water dragon curled up and opened his eyeszily. In front of him was a huge jade table with all sorts of delicacies on the tabletop. "It is my honour to be invited by you, Dragon God..." As soon as the Monkey God spoke, his expression changed. ¡¯What¡¯s happening? How did that snake demon transform into a giant venomous snake? Even my incarnation is being defeated...¡¯ He stood up hurriedly, as though he was about to make his way out. In the next moment, the entire pce shook. Water-type spiritual energy slowly but forcefully held the Monkey God back into his ce. "Monkey God, since you¡¯re here, you must try my Hundred-Fruit Wine!" The ck dragon slowly spoke as he flicked a bowl of green fruit wine towards the Monkey God. "This... Alright!" The Monkey God raised the bowl and drank heartily. ... "Oh, you are just an incarnation. What a pity your incarnation is injured. How do you think it would affect your true body?" On the battlefield, Fang Yuan heard the threat from the golden-haired monkey and started to taunt. "Haha... How would such a small demon like you understand the powers of the monkey king? Even if you kill my incarnation, it will not affect my true body at all..." The golden-haired monkeys started tough heartily. This statement was, however, admitting that his incarnation was no match for Fang Yuan. To a demon king, this was unbelievable. ¡¯Where did such a weirdoe from? His physical body is strong, his demonic techniques are powerful and he has such abilities!¡¯ The monkey king felt a little depressed. His incarnation was no match to Fang Yuan in terms of demonic techniques, magical abilities or even his physical body. How could the fight go on? "Water and Fire sword essence, explode!" Suddenly, a streak of red and blue sword essence exploded in front of the monkey king, slicing the iron pole in half. "Go!" Seeing this, the Monkey God knew that he had to escape! After all, he had trained this incarnation¡¯s physical body for many years and he was not willing to abandon it just like that. "You can¡¯t escape!" In a ck glow, Fang Yuan¡¯s tail curled up and trapped the monkey. "Did you ask me for my permission?" He still had properties of a python. Seeing that the monkey was trapped, Fang Yuan quickly opened his mouth and engulfed him as though his mouth was like a ck hole. Of course, Fang Yuan would have taken precautions. Before swallowing him, a white-coloured sword flew out of his mouth and through the heart of the monkey. The next scene was a shocking one. A monkey as tall as a small hill was being swallowed by a snake with 4 legs, as though a snake was swallowing an elephant. As Fang Yuan was digesting the incarnation¡¯s flesh with his sword essence, he was ripping apart the monkey¡¯s soul as well, exploring the secrets within. ... "What audacity!" In the Dragon Pce, the bowl of wine in the Monkey God¡¯s hand shattered into pieces. "How dare he... How dare he..." Not only did his incarnation lose to Fang Yuan, it was also swallowed whole. He could feel the entire process of being swallowed by the snake as well, which made him infuriated. "Ah... How dare you eat my incarnation! I will skin you alive and eat you for a hundred days!" The Monkey God stood up and the entire pce shook. "Monkey God, wait up!" The ck dragon looked over and smiled. "Why are you stopping me, old dragon?" The Monkey God¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as he red at the ck water dragon. "You invited me here, but it seems like you are helping him. Could the snake be your child?" "Nope!" The water dragon opened his mouth andughed. "I am just following the trend of the world!" "What do you mean?" The Monkey Godposed himself. At the same time, the imagery of a monkey with 3 heads and 6 limbs appeared behind him. "The demons will fall and the humans will rise. This is the intention of the heavens!" The ck dragon revealed the truth and the red in his eyes were gone; instead, they appeared wiser. "Alright! You¡¯ve finally said it!" The Monkey God was enraged. "You are the king of demons in the Golden Court Lake! Do you know what you¡¯re saying? Do you want to betray the demons?" "Demons?" The ck-coloured Dragon God let out augh. "I¡¯m no longer a demon..." "Buzz!" As bubbled covered the dragon, within seconds, it had disappeared. Where it once curled up was a human wearing robes, with the horns of a dragon on his head. He had a serious expression and spoke with aposed voice. "Since the Thousand-Year tribtion, my dragon body had been destroyed by the tribtion. My soul was unwilling to reincarnate into a dragon and I can only rely on the people Dao to continue living on..." "I didn¡¯t know that after losing my physical body, my soul would be weakened. After recovering from a deep slumber, I had found myself in the body of a human reliant on the people Dao. How can I give it up and dig my own grave?" "No wonder..." The Monkey God nodded his head. "Since the Thousand-Year tribtion, you have been living in seclusion and even opened up the Golden Court Lake to humans. I finally know the reason. You are no longer the Dragon King of the demons, but the Golden Court Dragon God of the people!" "If someone like you could also give up on the demons, it is no wonder the giant venomous snake could do the same... Could it really be destined for the humans to rise?" There was a look of unwillingness in the Monkey God¡¯s eyes. "I can¡¯t believe it! We demons have been ruling for so long, why would the humans stand a chance against us?" "Rumble!" As he eximed, the 3 heads and 6 limbs entered his body. Within seconds, he had transformed into a 100-feet tall monkey. "Old Dragon, I am only below you because I had always believed that you were the dragon and therefore more superior. Now that your dragon body is destroyed, let¡¯s see what you have against me! Watch out for my pole!" "Ah... Monkey God... You¡¯re still as rash as before!" The human-form Golden Court Dragon God seemed like an ant in front of the humongous monkey. However, he shook his head in disappointment as though it did not care about the iing pole. Indeed, in the next moment, the monkey¡¯s expression changed. His pole was being held firmly by the Golden Court Dragon God. It was a shocking scene to behold. It was like an ant carrying an elephant! "Although I am on the path of god dao, I have the faith of a few thousand followers. I have already formed my indestructible body. As the officially-appointed Dragon God, I can absorb and harness all the spiritual energy within theke! It is a fact that the demons will fall and the humans will rise! I am only just following the trend!" The Golden Court Dragon God continued. "I have every advantage against you. Do you think you can overthrow me, monkey?" "I¡¯m not convinced!" Although he knew that he was nothingpared to the Dragon God, his 3 heads started to shriek and his 6 limbs swung around. "You¡¯re dumb!" The Golden Court Dragon God sighed. "If you¡¯re looking for trouble, then die!" "Rumble!" There was a huge explosion in the Dragon Pce as the pirs fell. After the destruction, a storm grew above theke and in the Dragon Pce, the Monkey God was nowhere to be seen. Chapter 275: Return Chapter 275: Return Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Within the mountains and forests where the vegetation was ttened, the beasts started to retreat. A 30 feet long giant venomous snake slowly approached the centre. Its stomach was bloated and disproportionate to the rest of its body. Fang Yuan had used his body¡¯s ability to melt objects, and the water and fire sword essence to devour the Golden-furred Monkey King. His Yin Spirit had also suppressed the Monkey King¡¯s magical clones. He had also used the thread-like spiritual will to carefully tease out those useful memories. Consuming people dao karma could reinforce the actualised dream world and allowed him to regain a small portion of his dream master¡¯s capabilities. It was now second nature for Fang Yuan to devour others to achieve what he wanted. "I found it...The Three Corpse Seven Murderous Magic Splitting Technique!" Suddenly, Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes lit up as he found a magical form. Upon closer look, he eximed, "Wonderful! This is wonderful beyond words!" Even though the monkey king sealed up a portion of his memories, Fang Yuan was still able to rake up some information. Firstly, the Monkey King was the Monkey God and master of the surrounding mountains and forests of the Golden Court Lake! He cultivated in 2 ancient divine techniques, the first being the Three Heads Six Arms Technique and the second being the Three Corpse Seven Murderous Magic Splitting Technique! The Three Heads Six Arms technique was a powerful divine technique that was not found within the magical clone. However, the magical clone possessed the magic-splitting technique. "This magical technique is cultivated by the ancient demons to cleanse their 3 Corpses! Only by cleansing their thoughts will they be sessful..." Fang Yuan was enlightened when he read the string of demonic words. ording to the instructions of the manual, the 3 Corpses referred to the never-ending development of all kinds of dark and gloomy thoughts. Beheading the 3 Corpses was, in reality, a technique to remove all the dark desires and thoughts, leaving behind only the pure divine spirit. As such, this was essentially a technique which cultivated the divine spirit. Of course, the beheaded evil thoughts were useful as well. One would be able to use the 7 Murderous Technique to cultivate an elemental clone. This was known as the Three Corpse Seven Murderous Elemental Clone, which was controlled by the primary elemental clone. As it was created by discarded thoughts, it does not cause weakness upon leaving the body and had no implications on the body if it was destroyed. As such, this was a superior magical clone technique. "Hmmmm, not bad, this type of technique is valuable even among the dream masters!" Fang Yuan rejoiced and immediately noted it down carefully. "It is just that...this demon is still at the dragon pce. If he suddenly appears and start killing in a rage..." Fang Yuan was able to defeat this magical clone easily. However, when faced with the actual Monkey God who was able to use Three Heads Six Arms Technique, Fang Yuan reckoned that he only had a 50-50 chance of emerging victorious. "Perhaps I should leave first after achieving such a huge haul?" Fang Yuan opened both eyes and mulled. However, at this moment, his whole body shivered as he immediately detected that something was amiss. Threads of green and gold karma rained down from above, forming a golden flower around the size of a bowl. The golden flower was surrounded by a ring of brilliant green flowers. The brilliance from the flower melted away the lingering dark energy from the surroundings and his body akin to how the spring sun melts away snow. This caused Fang Yuan to be shocked. "Increase in karma and dispersing the tribtion aura. The tribtion is already over? How is that possible? The monkey god could still bear it even though I have devoured one of his magical clone? Unless he is dead, there is no doubt that he will be looking for more trouble with me!" "However, this karma is definitely not fake. I do not care so much. If the heavens dare to give it to me, I will dare to ept!" Fang Yuan could not care less. He immediately opened his actualised dream world and stored his karma within it. He momentarily achieved a peace of mind. "Worth it! It will all be totally worth it even if a lightning strikes me down now!" Fang Yuan arrived beside the river and dived into the water before entering the dark hole in the river. ... 7 days passed. Under the Heizi River, Fang Yuan upied a river current and was deep in thought. "It is indeed peaceful. Furthermore, Xu Ren had received the support of the prefecture. The whole Golden Lake Prefecture had started to purge the evil gods... the Monkey God had not appeared. The demon monkey race of Canger Mountain is in a mess. That means... it is really dead or trapped?" This indicated that there was interference from another power that was stronger than his. As such, Fang Yuan was momentarily afraid. "Truth be told, it is enough. The tribtion had started. However, in order for it to be strong, we still have to slowly wait ten years plus for Xu Ren¡¯s son, Xu Ting to finally grow up!" "It is time for me to go back!" Although the flow of time between the two realms was different, he could tell that it was almost time as he had received a warning from the Realm Spirit. "Of course... before I leave, I should preserve this body well. I do not want to start all over again the next time Ie back!" Within his sea of consciousness, Fang Yuan¡¯s divine spirit released a brilliant light, expelling a small amount of greyish-ck colour whichbined with the killing aura of the White Bone Evil ying Sword to form another small grey ring of light. This was the result of his seven days of cultivation. A magical clone created using the Three Corpse Seven Murderous Magic Splitting Technique. As for controlling this type of spiritual will, he was naturally skilled at it as he was a dream master. Needless to say, this was originally a technique from this realm and as such, there was no problem using this technique in the realm. This magical clone contained the memories and emotions that he left behind andpletely followed orders of the original body. Even if it was destroyed, the magical clone was created from unwanted desires and would not affect the original body. As such, it was extremely useful. "After I leave, you are to remain in this body and focus on survival. You must preserve your strength and wait for me to return!" The primary elemental clone engraved a spiritual will onto the magical clone. It could be said that after it passed on the instructions, it momentarily separated itself. "Hiss..." The giant venomous snake opened its eyes and looked at him. "The newly created Three Corpse Seven Murderous Elemental clone is still extremely weak and unable to be in control of the actual body. However, it does not matter. With the nourishment from the strong body and the previously devoured golden-furred monkey king, the body and spirit willbine and be inseparable!" Fang Yuan thought. Fang Yuan¡¯s Yin spirit was still in the form of the ck-clothed youth. When he saw the giant venomous snakezily rolled over and crawled about as if it understood him, Fang Yuan started to move. ¡¯The magical clone possesses sufficient intellect. In this phase where it is weak, there would be no problem if it hides itself deep within the mountains and forests......¡¯ After seeing the demon leave the dark riverbed and disappeared into the dense forest, Fang Yuan smiled. With a wave of his hand, a door made of light appeared. The heavens and earth shuddered. However, no dark clouds formed. He looked at the heavens and earth and smiled as he disappeared into the door. ... Da Qian Empire, Ming Region. Within the district town, in the basement of a residence, Fang Yuan shuddered as he opened his eyes. The floor was covered in ayer of dust as the area had not been swept for a long time. As for his body, there were not many changes as he was a Wu Zong. He frowned as he arrived at the yard. He drew some water from the well to wash up before he went into the kitchen, cooked some spiritual porridge and slowly consumed it. "At least 10 days have passed since I shut myself out. If I had any servants, they would have felt that something was amiss and made a big ruckus." He shook his head and started to adjust his energy with his eyes closed. After cultivating for a period of time which wasparable to the time a normal person slept for, he entered the dream world. "The application is now close!" The cold and clear voice of the Realm Spirit rang as soon as he appeared. Fang Yuan was unconcerned as he carefully checked the records before realizing. "It seems more than 1 month has passed? That means more than 3 years have passed in the water realm as 10 days here is equivalent to 1 year there? The flow of time is indeed scary..." Using the dream world as the intermediate stop, one could not only seek protection, but also received warnings from the Realm Spirit for the primary elemental clone to return to the body when the body could no longer sustain the dream-traversing. This was another advantage of using the dream world as the intermediate stop. At least, the body would not starve to death. This benefit came with some contribution of course. "Furthermore... after travelling once, there will be a coordinate left behind. Next time, I would be able to go back to the same ce using Venerable Dream Traverser¡¯s method and could even bring a few friends along..." The actions in the water realm could be considered an opening act. The tribtions had just started and had not reached its full potential. It would be time for harvesting in the next dream-traverse! "The gains this time is significant as well!" Fang Yuan was pleased as he looked at his stat window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 36 Spirit: 30 Magic: 40 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (2nd Tier), Wu Zong (3rd Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 4) (1%)], Hundred Poison Golden Body (1st Refining), [8 Gates Sword Array (3rd sword)(1%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" His Illusionary Divine Stage had jumped another tier even though it had barely been a month of dream-traversing. This rate of breakthrough was simply unbelievable. Fang Yuan understood the reason why so many dream masters liked to traverse across the realms. The gains were shocking even though it was extremely dangerous. "That¡¯s not all!" He looked at his actualised dream world and saw that 2 out of the 8 swords in the array had been formed. The sword auras of the Fire and Water-type swords was splendid and endlessly destroy the borders of the dream world, causing the dream world to expand. In the East, the hilt of a purple sword had started to form. Traces of sparks could be seen surrounding it and it brought about a frightening presence. "The East trembles! The third spiritual sword is the Sundering Thunder Sword!" The Lord of Thunder destroys! As such, the Thunder Sword¡¯s radiance was extremely threatening and even outstripped the Fire Sword. It was especially effective in destroying demons. Fang Yuan believed that, should the Thunder Sword actualise, the great demons of the water realm could do nothing but flee! In the centre of the 8 Gates Sword Array, there was a green source of heavenly energy. "I traded the Heavenly Karma, which I obtained from killing the Monkey God¡¯s magical clone, for this heavenly energy. What is the original source of this heavenly energy? If it is simr to the realm energy, it would greatly aid my cultivation as a dream master!" Fang Yuan was not in a hurry as he looked outside the sword array. Outside, there were 7 golden flowers, 1 big and 6 small flowers clustered together and emitted a bright light. Fang Yuan did not know the use of these flower. "The Heavenly Karma can be used to exchange for heavenly energy. However, people dao Karma can only be used in the water realm. Maybe I should try selling it..." All these were left behind in preparation for the next dream-traverse. The people dao Karma could at least be used for him to quickly regain his dream master¡¯s abilities in the water realm. Of course, it would be better if the dream masters know the other uses for the karma. Fang Yuan arrived at the stone tablets. He checked for relevant information regarding the uses of the karma before putting up an offer to sell the golden flowers after deliberation. Chapter 276: A Fortunate Accident Chapter 276: A Fortunate ident Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "How¡¯s that?" "I¡¯m sorry, we do not have any Mystery Grade spiritual rice in stock. There might be stock in the bigger shops..." Fang Yuan walked out of the rice shop and the shopkeeper followed. "You can pre-order with us! Just leave your address with us and I can help you check on the stock from other shops..." "Forget it, I¡¯m only ordering a few pounds of it..." Fang Yuan shook his head and walked away. He had asked around and realised that he was in a ce called Yu Ming District Town in Ming Region. Although it was a secluded town, it was well-equipped with amenities. There was also strict control from the government here and anything out of the ordinary would catch their attention. "The sale of Mystery Grade spiritual rice is under the jurisdiction of the government. If I buy it inrge quantities or engage in trade with its seeds, they will check my background... and I can¡¯t let them check mine! There are even restrictions when buying rice for personal consumption, so I shouldn¡¯t even think about the Yellow Grain Rice..." Fang Yuan sighed and turned into an alley. Once he walked out of the alley, he had transformed into another person. As he approached his own mansion, he used his spiritual will to ensure that no one was following him before he entered the mansion. Behind the master bedroom, there was a small courtyard surrounded by four walls and a ceiling; it was airtight. As he walked in, an energy field started to surge around him and there was a faint eagle¡¯s caw. "I now know theplete Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique. Although it only has a maximum potential of forming 8 spiritual meridians, I can use it as a foundation to experiment and push my Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique to the 6th meridian. Once that is achieved, I would havepleted my foundation to achieve all 9 meridians..." Although he could also condense the Divine Body with 8 meridians with the above-average Giant Spiritual Divine Body, Fang Yuan was a perfectionist and would only settle for the best. "Chirp! Chirp!" At this point in time, he struck his ws out and as the energy surged through his body, he took up the form of a majestic giant. A few hours passed. Fang Yuan kept his ws, controlled his breathing and breathed out a streak of white breath. He wiped his sweat off andmented. "By adapting from the Giant Spiritual Technique, I have made adjustments to the first 3 spiritual meridians. Finally, I can start to train and form the 4th and 5th..." Finally, he had cleared the huge obstacle on his path of martial arts progression. "If I have the assistance from spiritual objects and the proficiency points bar, my progress in martial arts might even be quicker than my cultivation as a dream master!" Fang Yuan gulped down a bowl of spiritual porridge and frowned. "What a pity... These spiritual grains are too low-quality. Do I really have to... get a piece of spiritualnd in Da Qian Empire?" The spiritual porridge was only of Yellow Grade. Fang Yuan felt disgusted after eating it and quickly finished up before going to the meditation room. As he closed his eyes, he entered the Dream Realm. "Ding! Ding!" "Ding! Ding!" As soon as he entered, the jade inscription te around his waist was ringing continuously, which gave Fang Yuan a shock. "Is that golden flower really that popr?" Although he did not manage to gather any information regarding people dao karma, he still pinned up an announcement to sell the golden flower and did not guess that the response would be so good. "It seems like... this is really something!" Fang Yuan rubbed his chin as the notifications popped up. "How much are you selling this golden flower for?" "I¡¯m willing to pay 50 contribution points!" "The highest I can go is 100 contribution points!" ... Ten over messages flooded the inscription te and most of them were people naming their prices and showing their interest in buying the golden flower. Some of them even tried to fish out information from Fang Yuan as to where he had obtained these flowers. Seeing all of these, Fang Yuan smiled to himself. He only paid attention to two messages out of the many. The first was from Feng Xinzi. It seemed as though he was too bored from recuperating, which was why he had left a message for Fang Yuan. "Good move, Brother Fang! However, this object is extremely precious and mysterious. You won¡¯t be able to find any information regarding it in the Dream Realm. Let¡¯s meet up and discuss about it..." The other one had a symbol of a white lotus. A clear voice came out of the symbol. "It seems that you, brother, have found a Karma World for yourself and are trying to sell its coordinates! The Divine Lotus Cult will not disappoint you, my brother!" "How direct! This spiritual will seems familiar..." As Fang Yuan pressed on the white lotus symbol, the white lotus brightened up and its petals unfolded. Not long after, a clear voice was heard. "Are you the brother that is selling the karma flower?" "I am!" As soon as Fang Yuan replied, he could hear a sharp voice of ady. "It¡¯s you! Fang Yuan? I can recognise your spiritual will and your voice!" "Are you Meng Lian?" Fang Yuan recalled the divinedy from the Divine Lotus Cult and smiled. Initially, thisdy had pulled him into the Dream Realm and had earned quite a bit from it. However, since she had opened up an ocean of possibilities for him, they were even. After a long while of silence, Meng Lian¡¯s voice rung again. "Who would¡¯ve thought that... You would have reached such a stage! However, Let me warn you. Although the rewards from these worlds are big, you cannot explore them alone as they are too dangerous. If you hand over the coordinates to this world, I can assure you the position of an Outer Deacon in the Divine Lotus Cult!" "And after that?" After hearing her, Fang Yuan snickered. Thisdy knew that he had no backing and therefore was more direct and bold with her words. Only a fool would hand over a gold mine in exchange for a title! "After that? What else do you want? Do you know how popr the Divine Lotus Sect is?" "Say no more!" Fang Yuan was speechless. He cut the line and ignored her. ... In the real world. "You..." In a secret hideout, there was a pond full of white lotuses. In the middle, there was ady dressed in white and she had a smooth skin. However, she was agitated as she clenched her teeth. "Very well... you have rejected me once and now you rejected my offer yet again. Do you even respect the Divine Lotus Cult?" She knew that Fang Yuan had no backing. Shouldn¡¯t he be thankful to have such an appointment in the cult? Who did he think he was to touch such a precious world? He should obediently give it up! "This person is progressing too fast and is lucky in everything he does. This is indeed mysterious..." Meng Lianposed herself but revealed a sly look on her face. "However... I am the one who introduced you to the Dream Realm. No matter how neutral the Realm Spirit might be, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s something I can do..." ... In the Dream Realm. In a tea house, Fang Yuan ordered a pot of spiritual tea. He had used contribution points to buy this pot of spiritual tea. It was sweet and fragrant and the best part was that his spirit could drink it directly. "Brother Fang!" Not long after, Feng Xinzi entered and appeared anxious. "Have you sold the golden flower?" "Haha... Why are you so anxious?" Fang Yuan calmly poured a cup of tea and waved his hands. "Please take a seat! You have always been the one footing the bill so let me y host this time!" "Anything!" Feng Xinzi knew that he had lost hisposure. He sat down and took in a deep breathe before raising his teacup. "Please forgive me for my anxiety. I¡¯ll drink this cup of tea as an apology!" "That¡¯s alright!" Fang Yuan sipped the spiritual tea and felt a cooling sensation. "Should we... discuss about the karma flower?" "So you do know that that is a karma flower..." Feng Xinziughed. "I was dumb to think that I could take advantage of you and thought that you had obtained the flower by luck. It seems that your luck and cultivation is indeed shocking to be able to explore such a world." "Is such a world rare?" Fang Yuan was shocked. He recalled Hui Realm and Da Qian Empire. Although there were involvements of karma in these worlds, they were not as obvious and direct as they were in the Water Realm. Furthermore, the karma in the Water Realm could directly affect his luck and power. "Not just rare, but super rare!" Feng Xinzi shook his head and gave off an expression of ¡¯you-lucky-brat¡¯. "Furthermore, although us dream masters rule thousands of worlds, we have yet to discover a world more powerful than Da Qian. These type of Karma Worlds are the hardest to infiltrate due to their tribtions. Any wrong step would lead to a lightning tribtion in these worlds..." "What is the most valuable thing in these worlds?" Fang Yuan could guess that no one would share their experience in dream-traversing to other worlds. Even if he were to join any organisation, he guessed that he would need to be someone of status before he would even be allowed to look at information regarding the Karma Worlds. "Brother, you¡¯re greedy. Since you¡¯ve gone there, you should know..." Feng Xinzi continued. "The most valuable treasure in a Karma World is firstly, the spiritual treasures which you can make illusionary and this depends on your luck. Secondly, imperial orders from the heavens. Although you will not be able to be a god, you can use it for other purposes. Lastly, the karma in that world. Both heavenly karma and people dao karma are rare!" ¡¯Rare?¡¯ Fang Yuan was confused but in a short while, he understood. Aplete Karma World would have an organisation structure for the god dao and people would guard over the world forming a tightly-knitted system in the world. Anything out of the ordinary would be noticed by the deities and any unknown but powerful beings would immediately experience a heavenly tribtion. Therefore, foreigners like them would find it hard to survive in such a world. Fang Yuan was lucky to have understood the trend of the Water Realm and therefore could follow the trend, making his stay effortless. "Indeed..." Thoughts raced through his mind and Fang Yuan appeared fearful. "I have put in so much effort and yet only obtained 3 karma flowers. After using 2 of them, I was even chased by powerful demons and almost died." "You have gained quite a lot considering that it¡¯s your first time!" Feng Xinziplimented him. "Alright, other than allowing us to integrate easier into that realm, what other purposes would this karma flower have? There are really a lot of interested buyers..." Fang Yuan raised his ever-blinking inscription te and deleted the notifications. The greedy Realm Spirit charged him for such a simple service, which made him roll his eyes. Chapter 277: Dream Future Master Chapter 277: Dream Future Master Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "This karma flower... this karma flower..." Feng Xinziughed. He knew that Fang Yuan was clueless about the karma flower. "Firstly, it can be used to allow us to integrate into the world faster. We will also be able to call for help from outside the world! Also... it can be used in some rare alchemy and equipment-smelting techniques." "If this is so, shouldn¡¯t it be not heavily sought after?" Fang Yuan raised his eyebrows. "Of course, some people believe that... If one has enough of these karma, they can directly create the Realm Evidence to that realm, or predict the coordinates of that realm from the karma that came from there!" Feng Xinzi revealed the truth but ced emphasis that it was only a probability. "It is only a possibility and has yet to be proven..." "I see!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and believed what Feng Xinzi had said. He knew the importance and value of Realm Evidence. It could be possible for the Realm Evidence to be exchanged using a huge amount of heavenly karma but would require an impossibly huge amount of people dao karma. "If this is so, I have no qualms to sell it to you... Considering the demand for it and the fact that even the Divine Lotus Cult is also after it, please offer me a high price!" He looked at the anxious Feng Xinzi andmented. "I¡¯ll be honest with you, brother... You¡¯re right. My alchemy progress has reached a bottleneck. I am intending to produce a pill¡¯s spirit in order to achieve a breakthrough..." Feng Xinzi let out a bitter smile. "Through preparations, I have 50 percent confidence in achieving the breakthrough. With the karma flowers, I might add another 5 percent! Therefore, the price that I will offer you will surely be the highest. I might not have enough contribution points but I canpensate that with spiritual pills! As for the Divine Lotus Cult... stay away from them, brother!" "Oh? Why should I? The price that they are offering seems to be the highest as of now!" Fang Yuan purposely probed to find out more. "Not just that, I¡¯m sure they are very interested in the coordinates of the world, right?" Feng Xinzi shook his head. "I don¡¯t know much about them. I only know that the dream masters of the Divine Lotus Cult seem to be able to retain most of their power in these worlds. It was rumoured that the ancestors of the cult had gained a lot from these Karma Worlds and therefore, since then, they would put in a lot of effort to locate such worlds... A few dream masters who once worked with them by eding to their requests didn¡¯t end up well!" Fang Yuan was shocked as soon as he heard the description from Feng Xinzi. "Forget it... Let¡¯s see the deal through! How many contribution points do you have left?" Fang Yuan nced at Feng Xinzi as though he wanted to take advantage of him. ... "You¡¯re indeed an alchemy master! Look at your wealth!" After a short while, Fang Yuan walked out of the tea house with a smile on his face. Although Feng Xinzi had already spent a fortune trying to form the pill spirit, his savings were already enough to satisfy Fang Yuan. "As for what he said about the Divine Lotus Cult, I really need to be careful!" Fang Yuan came to the rock tablet, spent some contribution points and started to look for information. There was a change of expression on his face: "A guide - The experienced dream masters in the Dream Realm have the responsibility to bring in new dream masters. With every new member, the dream master who introduced the new member would be rewarded with 500 contribution points... Furthermore, this dream master will be the official guide of the new member. By using 1,000 contribution points, the dream master will be able to get updates about the new member and will be able to locate the new member. However, in order to protect the privacy of the new member, the location services will only be urate to the region!" After reading the description, Fang Yuan chuckled. "No wonder she¡¯s so good to me! It was her n all along! Considering that she¡¯s an evil woman, this is no surprise!" It was fortunate that the location services could only locate him by the region. Da Qian Empire was huge and it was almost impossible to find a dream master within a region. "It¡¯s too easy for new members to be cheated..." Fang Yuan eximed. "Realm Spirit! I want to remove the association with my guide!" "Di! I¡¯ve checked that your guide, Bai Lian [1], has not fulfilled her responsibility. Your request has been approved!" There was an almost-immediate reaction from the Realm Spirit. Fang Yuan heaved a sigh of relief. It was a small thing, but it was a matter if Meng Lian had realised it. Now that he had removed all associations with her, they were nowpletely unrted. "Divine Lotus Cult... I¡¯ll take note!" Fang Yuan gave a cold look beforeing offline. ... In the Dream Realm, there was a void space decorated with white lotuses; it was the area used by the Divine Lotus Cult. There was a cold look in Meng Lian¡¯s eyes. "Realm Spirit, I want to exercise my rights as a guide to pay 1,000 contribution points in exchange for Fang Yuan¡¯s location!" In reality, there was not much use in determining the region in which Fang Yuan was in. However, the location could be refined with the help of the Divine Lotus Cult. Previously, Fang Yuan had no value to her, but now, Bai Lian hade to a decision. "This service will cost you 1,000 contribution points. Deducted!" The robotic voice of the Realm Spirit was heard and a long silence followed. "Di! The other person has removed his association with you. Location services have failed!" "Respectable dream master, due to the fact that you did not fulfil your responsibility as a guide, the Realm Spirit will now deduct the initial 500 contribution points!" The Realm Spirit¡¯s voice was heard once more, which shocked Bai Lian. "What?" The title of a guide was as fragile as paper. If their rtionship was severed, then it would have no purpose. Otherwise, it could be used to manipte the dream master under the guide. There were instances of dream masters that have been disadvantaged due to this rule. "D*mn it!" The knuckles in Meng Lian¡¯s fingers cracked and there was a ferocious look on her beautiful face. "Fang Yuan, you cannot run!!!" Although she could no longer use the location services provided by the Realm Spirit, there were many more things that she could do. Thinking about it, she left the Dream Realm and arrived at her secret hideout. It was a temple. In it, there was no god. Rather, there was a lotus flower carved from white jade with a tablet in front. There were no words on the tablet but rather, there was a row of mysterious-looking runes which shed a golden glow. "I am follower Meng Lian, and as I pray with sincerity, I invite Grandmaster to appear!" Meng Lian appeared serious as she lighted the incense and prayed. "Buzz! Buzz!" Green smoke emerged and the petals on the white lotus on the altar started to open. A blurred figure emerged and there was a glow everywhere. "Greetings, Grandmaster!" Bai Lian paid her greetings respectfully. "Forget it!" A voice was heard on the altar; it sounded neither male or female. "You are a reserved Divine Lady. In front of a true Divine Lady, you can only make one request. Think carefully!" "I have thought through carefully!" Meng Lian gritted her teeth and a white lotus appeared on her forehead. In it, there was the image of a young man; it was Fang Yuan. "This person has the coordinates of a Karma World. Grandmaster, please help me in locating him!" "Mm, it is indeed fate for you to discover such a lead!" The voice from the altar appeared shocked. With the wave of its hand, the white lotus from Meng Lian¡¯s forehead flew towards it. Meng Lian remained still and had utmost confidence in the person before her. This Grandmaster was a highly-skilled dream master and a dream future master. The Grandmaster could let the happenings take ce in its dream world and take into consideration the trend of the world to foretell the future. The Grandmaster was spot-on every single time it made a prediction. Of course, the Grandmaster had its limitations. Every time it proceeds with a prediction, it would consume a lot of elemental energy. If the person being investigated on had too high a cultivation level, the information the Grandmaster would receive would be fewer. Furthermore, there was the possibility of bacsh as well. If the Grandmaster were to predict the opposite of what would happen, the Grandmaster would be likely to die. "Although the information you provided is limited to his looks and his name, I am powerful enough to predict the future of that small dream master!" Meng Lian quickly gathered her thoughts. If not for the fact that she shared the same heritage with the Grandmaster, as a reserved Divine Lady, she might not even have the rights to get help. It was a great favour from the Grandmaster to agree to help her. "If I can obtain the coordinates of that Karma World, everything will be worth it!" Her eyes glistened as thoughts ran wild in her mind. "Hmm... This person¡¯s future is blurred and it is extremely hard to predict his future. However, since you only require his location, that is simple..." After a short while, the figure on the altar spoke again. A small slip of paper appeared in mid-air and glided down. On the piece of paper, a few names of ces were written down. Seeing this, Meng Lian was overjoyed. "After this, we are even. Take care of yourself!" With a sh, the figure disappeared. What was left behind was the lotus on the altar as how it was before. Hearing the words from the Grandmaster, Meng Lian felt a little lost. ... "Hmm? Why do I feel a little worried..." In the small district town, Fang Yuan was practising his martial arts. Suddenly, he felt a chill down his spine. "I only have enemies from Thousand Year Mountain and Divine Lotus Cult. The Thousand Year Mountain might be able to trace me until here but even Lin Qianye will not be able to make me feel as such. Only the presence of Venerable Longhu would make me feel like this..." Fang Yuan appeared solemn. "Could this mean... The Divine Lotus Cult? Meng Lian is indeed scheming..." To survive this, he could only rely on himself. He took a quick nce at this stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 36 Spirit: 30 Magic: 40 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (2nd Tier), Wu Zong (3rd Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 4) (5%)], [Hundred Poison Golden Body (1st Refining)], [8 Gates Sword Array (3rd Sword) (2%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "Although my spiritual techniques and my martial arts are improving, they are taking too long. The only thing I can make use of will be the heavenly energy from the Water Realm..." Fang Yuan¡¯s consciousness entered his actualised dream world. Looking at the green ball floating in his 8 Gates Word Array, he remained silent. The force that he could exchange from heavenly karma was extremely simr to the realm energy from the Hui Realm. Both of them could directly increase a dream master¡¯s cultivation level and were extremely rare. Based on his guess, this would be the purest form of heavenly energy. Or rather, the source of energy of the world. It was amon form of energy across all worlds as they woulde from the same source. "If I can obtain huge amounts of heavenly energy from the worlds, it would only be a matter of time before I achieve consecutive breakthroughs..." Looking at the ball of heavenly energy in front of him, he sighed. "This is too little..." As more and more swords were formed in the 8 Gates Sword Array, the resources needed to form the next sword would increase exponentially. This ball of energy was not enough! [1]: Bai Lian is Meng Lian¡¯s actual name. Chapter 278: Breakthrough Chapter 278: Breakthrough Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions As a dream master reaches the higher levels of cultivation, it would be exponentially difficult to achieve a breakthrough. Fang Xinzi, a dream alchemy master, had alreadynded himself into bankruptcy in order to achieve the breakthrough. Fang Yuan had encountered the same problem as well. To form the Thunder Sword topletion, all that he gained from the Water Realm was not sufficient. "Fortunately... I still have my martial arts. Although I am at the 4 Grade of Qian Kun Spiritual Technique, the resources required is much lesser than what I will need to form the 3rd sword in the 8 Gates Sword Array. Therefore, there is still a chance for me to achieve a breakthrough!" As he focused, the green-coloured ball of energy flowed out from his actualised dream world into his body and immediately, he could feel a warm fuzzy feeling. "Mmmm!" Fang Yuan let out a sound of satisfaction. It was as though he was soaking in a hot spring and there were thousands of ants crawling on his limbs and biting him. "This is due to the fact that my progress is too quick and a normal human¡¯s body would not be able to take it... Fortunately for me, I have the Hundred Poison Golden Body!" As Fang Yuan slowly felt the expansion of his elemental force like an enraged dragon, he was overjoyed. If not for his Hundred Poison Golden Body and the fact that his physical body was incredibly strong, he would likely have exploded like a bomb and be a pile of bloodied mess. But now, streaks of gold glistened on his skin. He forcefully contained the intense elemental force into his body and guided it to breakthrough towards the 4th Grade of Giant Eagle Metal Body. "5% - 10% - 50%!!!" On the stats window, the progress behind the Giant Eagle Metal Body rose quickly. "Chirp! Chirp!" Behind Fang Yuan, the 3 spiritual meridians subconsciously appeared. Another one was slowly being formed, albeit illusionary. As it glowed, it slowly became permanent. The 4 spiritual meridians worked together to reveal the image of a person, half-human and half-eagle. The person was facing the sky, chirping. The energy around the person surged and the sand beneath his feet was stirred. "60% - 70% - 90%!!!" As the heavenly energy was being consumed, his progression shot up and arrived at 99%! "Bang! Bang!" Although Fang Yuan had an extremely hardy physical body, his pores had started to bleed and his skin started to stretch. It was as though he had be a human balloon. "Break... through!" Fang Yuan eximed and his strong spiritual will remained steadfast. In an instant, he had broken through. "100%" On the stats window, the number behind the Giant Eagle Metal Body became blurred. "Phew..." Fang Yuanposed his breathing. It felt as though the elemental force in his body had found an opening to escape. At the same time, there were a few changes to his physical body. Beneath his skin, ayer of green glow appeared. As it fused with his original golden body, the oue was a dim golden glow. "Finally, I¡¯ve broken through!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered as he nced at his stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 42 Spirit: 36 Magic: 40 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (2nd Tier), Wu Zong (4th Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 5) (1%)], [Hundred Poison Golden Body (1st Refining)], [8 Gates Sword Array (3rd Sword) (2%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "I¡¯ve formed a new spiritual meridian!" Fang Yuan tested out his techniques. The 5th Grade of Giant Eagle Metal Body was indeed different. Elemental force flowed around like a huge river. Through his 4 spiritual meridians, there was a blurred figure behind him. "This is the illusionary shadow of the Divine Body. Of course... It is only a shadow! To condense the Divine Body, there¡¯s still a lot more to be done..." Fang Yuan felt his own forearm. After the improvement he had made in his martial arts, he felt that his physical body was strengthened and that his sense of sight and hearing were improved as well. Of course,pared to Lin Qianye, who had a nose more sensitive than that of a dog¡¯s, his cultivation was still far from him. But now, with the twitch of his ear, he could hear amotion outside his mansion. After hearing a few sentences, he let out a bitter smile. "Did I really attract so much attention from my breakthrough? Nevermind... I wasn¡¯t nning to stay here for long anyway!" He picked up his clothing and left in a blurred shadow as he leapt across the wall. "Hold up! I am the Eagle Lieutenant of Da Qian! Who are you?" From the direction of the government office, a group of martial artists were rushing towards Fang Yuan. The one leading the pack was a Wu Zong and as he saw Fang Yuan taking his leave, he eximed. "I would be a fool to wait here!" Fang Yuan gently leapt and spread his arms like how an eagle would spread its wings. After leaping through a few yards, he turned into a small alley and disappeared. With the experience from Yang Fan¡¯s dream world and through his own investigations, he knew that although the walls of the district town were not tall, there were trapsid there, like talismans or bows. If he were to cross the walls, he might be ambushed. Since the district town was ratherrge, he could look for a ce to hide before trying to escape at night. "Sir?!" A few soldiers were dressed in martial artists¡¯ robes. "How should we settle this?" Fang Yuan was cunning and it would be practically impossible to find him in therge district town. "Wait up!" The Eagle Lieutenant was a well-built man with sharp eyes and a menacing look. He quickly waved his hands and after a few moments, a constable arrived with an official document. "Sir, we¡¯ve checked his background!" "Hmm? Fang Yun? He doesn¡¯t have a history at all! He¡¯s a phoney!" After reading a few lines of the document, he could deduce what had happened. "The few of you are toox!" "Sir, please forgive us!" The constable shivered and broke out in cold sweat. He knew the unspoken rule. The higher up had to do this not because of money, but because they were forced to. After all, these people with fake identities would generally have martial arts. They might even be a Wu Zong or a spiritual knight! If they be angry, no one could handle them! "Forget it..." The Eagle Lieutenant could guess what had happened and did not continue to probe further. Instead, he started to look around at the surroundings. After a while, he gave a gentle expression. "We¡¯re fortunate that he is just a new Wu Zong and has no evil intentions... But he really has the guts to breakthrough in the middle of the city, hehe... does he really think that no one is in charge of this ce?" The others felt a little depressed after hearing it. It was indeed surprising that he did not attempt his breakthrough in the forest or wilderness, but right in the centre of the bustling city!" "Since he has left on his own ord, it means that he has no evil intentions. However, we will still have to file a report for this and do the necessary investigations..." The lieutenant mulled for a while beforeing to a decision. "Search carefully and tighten security during your patrols!" This was just trying to ensure peace in the district town. "Smart move, Sir!" The few soldiers bowed and heaved a sigh of relief. Since Fang Yuan did notmit any heinous crime, no one would be willing to risk their lives fighting a Wu Zong. After all, among all of them, only the lieutenant had broken through to the realm of elemental force. All of them were unnecessary and a burden if they were to engage Fang Yuan. Seeing this, the lieutenant shook his head and sighed. If it was in his younger days, he would want to serve the country with all his might. But now, as he grew older, he had to consider for his family before acting rashly. This was only normal as he was a human. ... It was nightfall. The moon was extremely beautiful. In the government office, a few constables fainted. The lieutenant was enraged. "What audacity! How dare you enter the government office without permission and use your demonic techniques? Are you not afraid that you will be captured by our soldiers?" The Eagle Lieutenant was furious. Looking at the few people in white around him, there was a look of fear and anger on his face. Although his district might not be able to handle these people, it would be a big case and the Imperial Court would surely bring them to justice! Even the normal evil highly-skilled martial artists or cults had to be wary! By then, soldiers from the county and region would gather. These people were just ants and were extremely easy to kill. "Hehe... I¡¯m really scared!" With a gentleughter, a girl in white robes descended. She had a fragrance and her eyes were beautiful. "But... How will your Da Qian Imperial Court deal with my Divine Lotus Cult?" "Ah... you¡¯re a demon from the Divine Lotus Cult!" The Eagle Lieutenant shrieked, turned around and started to run! Normal spiritual knights, sects and powerful families might fear the Imperial Court, but this would not include the 5 alliances of the dream masters! This was especially so for the Divine Lotus Cult! Previously, they were involved in an assassination of an official of a region. The Imperial Court was infuriated and sent out highly skilled martial artists to deal with the cult. For 10 years, both sides had suffered losses and in the end, there was no conclusion. Compared to an official of a region, he was only a small Eagle Lieutenant! What could he do? Therefore, he turned around and ran away without hesitation. "Hehe... I like smart people!" "Stop!" The Eagle Lieutenant was extremely quick. As he leapt, he managed to emerge out and was about to jump across the walls. Suddenly, there was a voice. His nose picked up an intoxicating fragrance and it was as though a person was next to him, whispering into his eats. "8 Forms of Magical Dragon, to the ends of the world!" The well-built man bit his tongue and snapped out of his trance. Suddenly, there was an illusionary shadow of a blood dragon appearing on his legs. At the same time, there were many white flower petals raining down in the vicinity. As the white petalsnded on him, they entered his body. "I cannot sleep! I cannot sleep!" The lieutenant was shouting to himself, but even the sharp pain on his tongue was not enough to wake him up. As his eyes slowly shut, he could vaguely see the people in white approaching him. Finally, he could no longer resist and fainted. "Dream essing!" Meng Lian walked up. With an innocent look, she ced a smooth and white finger on the forehead of the lieutenant. After a while, she opened her eyes with a look of shock. "It is Fang Yuan indeed. He has escaped! Quickly search for him!" "Yes!" The people in white bowed and vanished in a second. Chapter 279: Intent to Kill Chapter 279: Intent to Kill Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Protect the district leader!" "Quickly use your spiritual spells to request backup from the county!" "Where is the Eagle Lieutenant?" ... Although it was midnight, such amotion shook the entire government office. In the small courtyard with the presence of the district leader and district minister, there was a small array. Spiritual inscriptions glittered. Of course, against the demons from the Divine Lotus Sect, it could only give them a small sense of protection. Themotion in the government office ensued as constables gathered in front of the office with their bows ready. s, all of these were for show. All of them knew that the enemy was where the Eagle Lieutenant was but none of them dared to offer their assistance. "The demon from Divine Lotus Cult!" The district leader wore simple clothes. Seeing this scene, he clenched his fists so hard that his fingernails went into his flesh, and bit his lips till they were bleeding. "This country is not like a country anymore! For the people, I must destroy this demon one day!" "Please mind your words, Sir!" Beside him, there was an old housekeeper. "The previous region leader said the exact same words. Afterwards, he was assassinated by the people of the Divine Lotus Cult, which was a huge insult to the Da Qian Imperial Court... Afterwards, both sides engaged in many more killings and many innocent people were harmed in the process. The civil war destroyed 17 cities and killed as many as a few thousand, and the royal family of Da Qian knew that it was no longer sustainable..." If they continued to fight, havoc would ensue everywhere. After all, the Divine Lotus Cult did not need to care about the lives of others but it was different for the Imperial Court; at least on the surface, they had to care. If Da Qian were to carry on with the losing war, they would bring themselves to their self-destruction. Therefore, they had to give in. Li Zhun knew who was behind it and felt depressed. "Dream masters... They are an evil tumour of this world! We need to eradicate them to obtain peace!" ... "Did the district leader study too much and be foolish?" Hearing what Li Zhun had just said, he almost spat out blood. If it was another dream master who heard this, District Leader Li would probably not live to see the next day. "... However, this is also true for other regions with exceptional martial arts and powerful organisations!" "Furthermore, dream masters are much more powerful than the average person, Wu Zongs and spiritual knights. They can even create things from nothing and actualise spiritualnds, resources and even tribes, which is unbearable." "If we have a new king fortunate enough to eradicate the dream masters, the next would be to wipe out the spiritual knights. After that, it would be to ban all martial arts and there would be peace everywhere." Strictly speaking, the power of dream masters had caused them to receive the most hatred from people. Although they had a high status due to their power, it was not a good thing. Thinking about it, Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glistened. Of course, it was none of his business as to what the dream masters or the Imperial Court would do. Looking towards the direction of themotion, he gave off a cold look. "Meng Lian... She¡¯s looking for trouble! Does she really think that I am weak? Look at how many people she brought along with her!" All of these were just distractions. He had created the illusion that he was about to escape so that he could remain in hiding and see what he would do next. He was extremely clear what he had to do. The Divine Lotus Cult was persistent and he did not know what Meng Lian did to locate where he was hiding. "There are about 10 Wu Zongs, 3 spiritual knights and Meng Lian herself, a dream master... Now that she had brought along 6 Wu Zongs in white robes and 2 spiritual knights, there are 6 more!" All of these should be the people of the Divine Lotus Cult that they could gather in the region. If she were to lead them to their deaths, Meng Lian would not be able to answer to the cult. "What a risky move!" Fang Yuan watched as Bai Lian and her people entered the government office and killed the Eagle Lieutenant. He was expressionless as he could finally ount for all the manpower that the Divine Lotus Sect had in this region. If Fang Yuan was still at the cultivation level when he first arrived at Da Qian, he would not be able to go head-on against all these people and would have to hide. But now?" "Let¡¯s head to Fang Yuan¡¯s mansion to take a look. We can find some objects with his spiritual aura. Even if we have to execute the Blood Searching Technique, we cannot let him run away!" Meng Lian walked out of the government office with her hands stained with the lieutenant¡¯s blood. She paid no attention to it and continued to give out orders to the people around her. "Yes, Ma¡¯am!" A few Wu Zongs in white robes replied. At this moment, a lotus print appeared on Meng Lian¡¯s forehead. Suddenly, it exploded as flower petals fell down and covered her in an attempt to protect its owner. "Water and Fire sword essence, explode!" At the moment of the appearance of the lotus flower, a red and blue glow suddenly appeared above her head and exploded! "Whoosh! Chi! Chi!" Numerous streaks of red and blue struck around and blood spurted everywhere! The 3 Wu Zongs protecting Meng Lian were sliced into pieces! The 3 other Wu Zongs shrieked and flew back as they sustained severe injuries. Only the spiritual knight had a self-activated protective talisman which protected him from the strike. However, his hand was still bleeding. The Water-Fire Dual Sword Array at its full potential did not disappoint Fang Yuan. It took many lives in an instant. "It¡¯s you! Fang Yuan!!!" Meng Lian looked at the silhouette before her and gritted her teeth in anger. "How dare you go against us?" If Fang Yuan did not appear before her, she would never have thought that this dream master without the backing of an organisation would be so cruel. With just a sword essence, 3 Wu Zongs were sliced up! This was akin to a harmless rabbit transforming into a big bad wolf! "You are already all out against me. I can only retaliate!" Fang Yuan appeared. With the fire sword in his hands, he walked forward. "Kill!" Although the 3 remaining Wu Zongs were severely injured, they mustered their courage and in an instant, 3 spiritual meridians appeared behind their backs. They were prepared tobine forces and fight to their deaths. "It¡¯s useless..." The actualised Fire Sword had a dragon on the handle. The de of the sword was like a me. With a simple swipe, the sword radiance was released and in an instant, the killer moves of all 3 Wu Zongs were countered. Walking forward, he struck a sword at each and every one of them, killing all 3 Wu Zongs. Their Golden Silk Armour and Elemental Force Protection were useless defences against he Leaving Fire Sword. All of his actions had demonstrated the power of a 4th Meridian Wu Zong and a magical soldier, which pushed the power of a dream soldier master to its maximum potential! "Magical soldier?" The remaining Wu Zongs looked at the fire sword which appeared on Fang Yuan¡¯s hand and made a guess. "You are a dream soldier master?" "That¡¯s right, but you¡¯re toote!" In an instant, Fang Yuan came before them and ended their lives with a simple lunge. In a red glow, the spiritual knight felt as though the entire world was lying on him and that he had no means of escape. "Posture of the Heavenly Lotus! Go!" Meng Lian finally reacted to what had happened. She quickly executed the technique and the flower petals in front of her flew and shielded the spiritual knight from Fang Yuan. "Underground Burrow!" The spiritual knight bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood. Brown-coloured spiritual inscriptions appeared on his body as he started to burrow underground. "Why struggle?" Fang Yuan sighed and sliced his Leaving Fire Sword down, breaking apart the petals in front of the spiritual knight. He mysteriously arrived at a seemingly random spot and struck his sword into the ground! "Rumble!" The ground cracked and the crack lines resembled a spiderweb. Smoke gushed out of the cracked lines. As soon as he pulled his sword out, blood gushed out like a geyser. "Alright, now all that¡¯s left is you!" Fang Yuan plucked his sword, stood up and looked at Meng Lian. Thedy before her was only a newly-promoted dream master. To him, it was a matter of a few strikes of his sword. However, as a reserved Divine Lady, he was unsure if she had any protective treasures with her. "You want to kill me? It¡¯s not that simple!" Seeing how Fang Yuan could easily finish off her subordinates, Meng Lian forced herself to regain herposure. "It¡¯s my fault for not knowing how powerful you are, but... by killing all my subordinates, it seems that you have decided to make enemies with the Divine Lotus Cult!" "You have started all this!" Fang Yuan sighed as he struck his Fire Sword out. "Ding!" There was a metallic sound as the sword touched the flower petals. The white lotus shook before calming down, but Meng Lian who was within was unharmed. "It¡¯s useless... As the reserved Divine Lady, I have the protection of the Divine Lotus Print, your weak sword essence can do nothing..." She stopped halfway and her expression changed. In Fang Yuan¡¯s left hand, a shorter magical sword appeared. It was blue and had chilly vibes. "Water-Fire Dual Array, kill together!" Fang Yuan struck both swords out together. The red sword essence quicklybined with the blue sword essence and there was an exponential increase in power. "Bang!" Under the Water-Fire Dual Sword Array, even the Divine Lotus Print would not be able to hold. There were cracks forming and it looked extremely unstable. "If I can use master¡¯s 8 Gates Sword Array all at once, it would be extremely powerful! However, this would also mean that people would be able to identify it and know who my master is. Among the dream soldier masters, there are too many that are using the Water-Fire Dual Sword Array. Therefore, I can still use it without too much concern!¡¯ Thoughts ran through Fang Yuan¡¯s mind. He held the fire in his right hand and the water in his left. As the swordsbined, a strong and concentrated sword essence exploded like a sun. "Rumble!" In the huge explosion, the Divine Lotus Print cracked and crumbled. "You..." Meng Lian retreated and there was blood on her lips, which stained her clothing. It was a pitiful scene. "Die!" Fang Yuan was determined. Without a sense of pity, he struck another sword out. "You forced me..." As she felt her death approaching, Meng Lian quickly pulled a piece of jade from her neck with a fierce look on her face. "Who dares to harm mydy?" A loud and powerful voice was heard. In the piece of jade, there was a glow as the jade started to crazily absorb the elemental energy from the surroundings. "The magical clone of a powerful person?" Fang Yuan sighed. He knew that an importantdy like Meng Lian would have plenty of protective treasures on her body. Quickly, he came to a decision. "Retreat!" Chapter 280: Joining the Realm Alliance Chapter 280: Joining the Realm Alliance Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "You have the guts to kill the people of my cult! No one will be able to save you!" A silhouette appeared from the jade. It seemed to be a schr wearing a crown. The person had a long beard and appeared righteous. His body was illusionary but it was forming quickly. He pointed at Fang Yuan and shouted, "Destroy!" "Whoosh!" There was a bright glow. In mid-air, runes shed and quickly flew towards Fang Yuan. Subsequently, they entered his forehead. "Eh?" In his actualised dream world, a gigantic word ¡¯Destroy¡¯ appeared. As the word glowed, it brought with it the feel of destruction. This schr was extremely powerful and wanted to destroy Fang Yuan¡¯s spirit! "8 Gates Sword Array, attack!" After all, the actualised dream world was Fang Yuan¡¯s base. This was where all his power was and of course, he would have the advantage here. Fang Yuan recalled the techniques of defence from the inheritance of Master Heartless. With a simple thought, the 8 Gates Sword Array shook and 8 sword essences flew up, trapping the glowing word. Smashing it downwards, the word crumbled into powder. "If this was the real world, I would still not be able to use the 8 Gates Sword Array to its fullest potential. However, I can already execute the techniques of the array within the actualised dream world. If you are physically here, you might be able to kill me, but now, you are trying to kill me with just your incarnation?" In the real world, Fang Yuanughed and flicked his right index finger. Immediately, two swords flew out. "Water-Fire Dual Sword Array, Go!" "Whoosh! Whoosh!" Two streaks of red and blue rose up into the sky and formed a small array which contained the schr and Meng Lian within. In the next moment, the water and fire sword essences exploded. "Ahhh!" Meng Lian eximed as a wound opened up at her chest. "Guard!" The schr had to help his daughter and therefore split his energy to protect her. There was a glow in his hands and a brush appeared. As he wrote in mid-air, he formed the word ¡¯Guard¡¯. With a glitter, the word transformed into a shield which protected him and Meng Lian in within. "Rumble!" As soon as hepleted his technique, a terrifying explosion broke out. As the dust flew, it covered the sky like a mushroom cloud. At the ce where the explosion urred, there was now arge hole. The government office was also affected and many were dead, but Fang Yuan was no longer to be seen. "Adoptive father, why didn¡¯t you chase him?" Meng Lian held her chest and her face was filled with hatred. Suddenly, her expression changed. There were two sword scars on the schr¡¯s body. His originally half-formed body had now be illusionary as though it would disappear anytime. "Great sword skills! Great sword array!" The schr sighed. "This person is not only in the Illusionary Divine stage but hasmendablebat skills. I believe that the only way to defeat him is to use our cult¡¯s protective technique. Lian¡¯er, remember, don¡¯t be reckless!" If his true self was here, he wouldn¡¯t have let him escape. But now, there was nothing he could do. He nced at the government office which was in tatters and shook his head. "Let¡¯s go... If the highly skilled people from Da Qian were to surround us, it would be troublesome!" "Alright!" Meng Lian gritted her teeth. She had to admit that the failure of this mission had made her embarrassed. "Fang Yuan? I¡¯ll remember you!" ... At the outskirts of the district town, in the wilderness. Fang Yuan spread out his arms like an eagle in flight and rushed out. "Whoosh! Whoosh!" Two streaks of light quickly flew towards him and entered his body. In his actualised dream world, the Leaving Fire Sword and Rough Water Sword returned to their original positions but the glow from them had be dimmer. "It seems that that schr is indeed powerful." Fang Yuan looked down. He quickly transferred his dream elemental force towards the spiritual swords, repairing them. This was the advantage of being a dream soldier master. Even though his weapon might be damaged, all he needed would be some time to repair it, which would be much simpler than when he was forming the swords. If he could really form the 8 swords and form the sword array, he could attack continuously and the array could be utilised to its maximum potential. "However... Looking at my current standards now, it seems that I am still no match for the Divine Lotus Cult!" The killings which he hadmitted were purely due to the fact that they were looking for him and he had to retaliate. Even if he escaped, he would still be chased by them and therefore, he would rather take the initiative and kill as many enemies as he could. Now that he had earned himself some time, it was different. "I shall not return to the Qin Family, since I cannot be certain if I am being followed. Furthermore, looking at the cultivation levels of the Qin Siblings, if I were to get them involved in this, they would probably die like ants being stepped on..." Fang Yuan came to a decision and decided to run as far as he could. After all, there were 99 regions in Da Qian! He had been dwelling in the less popted regions and had yet to experience the prosperousnds. This was the perfect opportunity for him to explore. "Looking at the hatred the Divine Lotus Sect have with the Imperial Court, I¡¯m sure their influence would be the weakest at the capital..." Fang Yuan rubbed his chin. "Of course... It is dangerous for me to be alone. I need to find a backing..." He arrived at a river and executed the Turtle Aura Technique before freezing the water beneath to form a small icy mountain. He then trapped himself within and dived into the river, allowing the river stream to carry him along. At the same time, Fang Yuan entered the Dream Realm. ... "Feng Xinzi!" He took out his inscription te and sent out a message. "Brother, you¡¯re just in time. In a day¡¯s time, I will prepare for a makeover in preparation for making the pill!" Feng Xinzi¡¯s symbol shook and replied almost instantaneously. "What¡¯s up, brother?" "I have been targeted by the Divine Lotus Cult. Can I get protection if I join the Realm Alliance?" Fang Yuan was honest and enquired directly. "You are interested in joining the Realm Alliance? That¡¯s great! Wait for me..." In the next moment, Feng Xinzi¡¯s figure appeared in the Dream Realm with a look of joy on his face. "It is a wise choice to choose us!" "I hope so!" Fang Yuan rubbed his nose. He had a rough understanding of the 5 organisations of the Dream Realm. The Evil Divine Sect and the Divine Lotus Cult were both evil sects with a bad reputation. On the other hand, there were too many restrictions to join Baize Mountain, while the Source Seeking Sect was filled with crazy people. Thinking about it, he realised that the Realm Alliance was the only one with the least restrictions and the least requirements. "Let me warn you beforehand. Previously, the Divine Lotus Cult had looked for me and we had a big fight. I had even killed some of their people!" Fang Yuan was honest. "Brother, you¡¯re really... decisive!" Feng Xinzi let out a bitterugh and continued. "Are there dream masters among people you have killed?" "Nope. Only a few Wu Zongs and a spiritual knight. Meng Lian had sustained a few injuries!" Fang Yuan reported. "Then that is no problem at all!" Feng Xinzi sighed. "To the Divine Lotus Cult, Wu Zongs and spiritual knights are just servants and they could easily be reced by new people. Furthermore, this was the test period of the reserved Divine Lady. Your actions might be weed by the other reserved Divine Ladies!" "However, these reserved Divine Ladies all have a Divine Lotus Print to protect them and other countless magical equipment and yet, you can still hurt her..." Feng Xinzi nodded his head. "It seems like your abilities are beyond my expectation! Follow me!" He brought Fang Yuan to a dead end of the Dream Realm. As the fog dissipated, a green mountain appeared and there seemed to be people on the mountain. "This is the headquarters of the Realm Alliance in the dream world!" Feng Xinzi dissipated the pill essence which covered him and brought Fang Yuan along a path of stone steps. Not long after, they arrived at a stone square. What surprised Fang Yuan was that there was a simr mission rock tablet in the middle of the square. Words were inscribed on the rock tablet and huge amounts of information shed across. "This is a special feature provided by the Realm Spirit to the 5 big organisations. The function of this rock tablet is exactly the same as the one in the Dream Realm. On it are mostly the missions specific to the Realm Alliance. The rewards for the missions here are greater and there are some ssified pieces of information provided from the tablet as well, including information regarding the use of karma..." As Feng Xinzi spoke, he brought Fang Yuan to a rock pce and into a room. "Elder Smelter, greetings to you!" "Haha... You wouldn¡¯te here without any rhyme or reason. Come in!" The doors slowly opened by themselves. It was extremely spacious inside and at the four corners, there were many pools of different colour, including red, purple, blue, green, white... Different coloured mes were burning brilliantly but no heat was felt from the mes. In the middle of the pce, there was a rock bed and on it was a person crossing his legs. He was a short person and his eyebrows were red. He had apassionate look and smiled as he saw the both of them. As he looked at him, Fang Yuan was shocked and could feel that he was being seen through. Immediately, he knew that this person was a high-tiered dream master which was much more powerful than him. "Greetings, senior!" "Fang Yuan, Venerable Smelter is the elder of the Realm Alliance. He is at the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage!" At Fang Yuan¡¯s ears, he could hear Feng Xinzi¡¯s voice as he introduced to him the person in front. Although the 7th Tier Illusionary Divine stage was not the Prominent Divine Stage yet, thebat powers were simr! He was a powerful person, even among everyone in Da Qian Empire. "Keke, no need for formalities. You are Fang Yuan, and you wish to join the alliance?" Elder Smelter chuckled. "You¡¯re good! You¡¯re not even 30 and yet you have already achieved the 2nd Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, hmmm... You have the vibes of a magical soldier. Are you on the path to bing a dream soldier master?" "That¡¯s right! Elder Smelter, you¡¯re good!" Fang Yuan bowed and replied. At this point in time, Feng Xinzi started to exin the situation Fang Yuan was in. Elder Smelterughed. "It¡¯s just a few ves of the Divine Lotus Cult! That¡¯s nothing... our Realm Alliance is still capable of giving you protection from them. As for Lin Qianye from the Thousand Year Mountain... Hehe, this person is crazy! He even dared to kill a dream master previously. He is just seeking is death! Little Fang, don¡¯t you worry. It is a coincidence that I am in the North. Wait for me and I shall help you take your revenge!" Venerable Smelter had a personality simr to fire. As he eximed, he looked at Fang Yuan, impressed. "Considering your age and cultivation, you are indeed a talent. If you join the Realm Alliance, you can have the rights of Two Leaves. Feng Xinzi, see that it is done!" "Yes, Sir!" Both of them took a bow once more and were dismissed from the hall. Chapter 281: Revenge Chapter 281: Revenge Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Haha... Brother Fang, you¡¯re really lucky that Elder Smelter admires you!" As soon as they walked out of the hall, Feng Xinzi congratted Fang Yuan. "From today onwards, we will be an alliance. Remember to look out for each other!" He felt that Fang Yuan was his lucky star and it was fate that they met each other. After knowing Fang Yuan, he not only obtainedrge amounts of rare spiritual nts, he also had the karma flower now. "Please guide me along with your invaluable experience!" Fang Yuan knew that although the Realm Alliance was not as strict, there were different factions within the alliance. Elder Smelter and Feng Xinzi were of a faction and now, Fang Yuan was part of it too. Of course, it was a good thing that someone was there to guide him through as soon as he joined the alliance and therefore, he would not reject the help given. "Of course!" Feng Xinzi quickly agreed. "The requirements to enter the Realm Alliance is the least. The only thing we ask of you is not to betray the alliance and not to fight against our fellow alliance mates. Also, you just have toplete a mission every once in a while. You will sign an agreement with the witness of the Realm Spirit and anyone who breaks the agreement will be hunted down by every dream master alive and will be denied entry into the Dream Realm!" He exined in detail and Fang Yuan gained more understanding of the organisation structure and the powers in the Realm Alliance. Since the Realm Alliance was formed from scattered groups of dream masters in the past, there were no sects and physical headquarters; everything was in the Dream Realm. In the alliance, the ones with the most power were the Elders Association. It was known that the association was formed by a group of 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream masters. There was an official Alliance Leader who had already entered the Prominent Divine Stage and was the heart of the Realm Alliance. Below them were cultivators ranked from 1st Leaf to 7th Leaf, and the varying ranks would have different levels of authority and treatment. A normal dream master who just joined the alliance would have to start as a 1st Leaf Cultivator andplete missions to rise up the ranks. Fang Yuan had directly entered a faction and was admired by an Elder. Therefore, he was directly conferred the rank of a 2nd Leaf Cultivator without much effort. "The higher the rank of a cultivator, the greater the chances to ept missions of high rewards and the greater the authority to browse through top-secret documents..." Feng Xinzi brought Fang Yuan to the square and in front of the rock tablet. "The top of this tablet is the official binding document of the Realm Alliance. You can simply call for the Realm Spirit to witness your signing!" Fang Yuan looked towards the top of the tablet. Indeed, there was a row of small golden words. These words described the agreement of the Realm Alliance and they were indeed less uptight and strict than the other alliances. With a nod of his head, he called for the Realm Spirit. "Ding! You¡¯ve been verified! Let the Realm Spirit take care of the rest!" After a mechanic bell rang, the inscription te around his waist flew up. In a sh, there was a new row of golden inscriptions on it. "This is the rights to enter this ce and use this rock tablet. Congrattions, brother! When you first use the rock tablet of the Realm Alliance, your rank will automatically be updated to a 2nd Leaf Cultivator!" Feng Xinzi smiled. ¡¯Is it that simple?¡¯ Fang Yuan was shocked. The Realm Alliance was indeed a carefree alliance, judging by how his initiation took ce. "Alright, the disciples of Elder Smelter will look for you for the other matters! I¡¯ll be on my way to continue my alchemy!" Feng Xinzi took out his inscription te and swiped it on the rock tablet. With a look of joy on his face, he quickly disappeared. "It must be another mission to bring in a neer!" Fang Yuan rolled his eyes but knew that in order to join the alliance, he had to let Feng Xinzi get the longer end of the stick and therefore didn¡¯t mind. After which, he ced his inscription te on the rock tablet. "Di! Wee, Cultivator Fang Yuan!" Many pieces of information flowed out. They were ssified into different sections, namely rewards, missions, techniques and secret news. The first piece of information was a congrattory message from the Realm Spirit. "Due to the authority of Elder Smelter, you have directly gained the rank of a 2nd Leaf Cultivator. You can straightaway ept missions of 2nd Tier difficulty and below and can browse through a part of the information bank!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. "It is a good idea to ssify missions into tiers so that dream masters will not die in the mission just because they are under-skilled..." His scanned through everything quickly and found the description regarding karma. It was simr to what Feng Xinzi had described to him, just more generic. However, there were only pieces of information about people dao karma and none about heavenly karma. It seemed that his authority was not enough to view more information. ¡¯Hehe... This is a good way to motivate the dream masters to serve the alliance so as to rise up the ranks to see more ssified information...¡¯ ¡¯Of course, this is happening everywhere. As long as they don¡¯t take too much advantage of the low-tiered dream masters and don¡¯t keep them within the low ranks for too long, it would be alright. Instead, as the low-tiered dream masters rise up the ranks, they would proactively respect the confidentiality of these pieces of information and the system would be able to operate smoothly!¡¯ Fang Yuan snickered and found the piece of information which he needed: "The different tiers in the Illusionary Divine stage are defined based on the things that are actualised. In every 3 Tiers, a huge breakthrough will be required! The 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage would require the dream master to create something from nothing and actualise a spiritual property in objects!" The spiritual property would be referring to pill spirits and equipment spirits. The objects would have a spirit and a mind but would be unable to replicate on its own. Feng Xinzi was at the 3rd Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. If he were to be sessful in creating a pill spirit, he would have broken through to the 4th Tier. Even to Fang Yuan, it would be an extremely arduous task to form the 4th sword. At this stage, every magical sword would have their own sword spirit and would be able to form the 4 Emblems Sword Array. It would have half the power of the 8 Gates Sword Array and was something to be feared. "The 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine would allow one to create a race and actualise a small piece of spiritualnd!" A race would refer to a heritage of living things able to take care of themselves and self-popte in the wild. Reading up to here, Fang Yuan was deep in his own thoughts. If his guess was right, his master, Master Heartless, should be at this stage. In Da Qian, this level of cultivation would beparable to the martial arts Divine Body and spiritual knights in the True Elemental Realm. They would be able to rule over an area with their might. There was only a line of description for the Prominent Divine Stage. "Able to create people! Able to create an ecosystem! The creator of all!" "Oh, the race which was described in the 7th Tier Illusionary Divine Stage did not include people! Does the difference lie in the wisdom of humans?" Fang Yuan made an educated guess. Dream masters below the level of Prominent Divine Stage could only actualise animals or even humans with simple thoughts. However, they were unable to create an entire sentient race! Just by this point alone, dream masters in the Prominent Divine Stage deserved the title of ¡¯Divine¡¯. This was why the Imperial Court of Da Qian had to fear the dream masters. Fang Yuan roughly understood why the dream masters of Da Qian could feel a sense of superiority here. It was not just the difference in powers; dream masters were on an entirely new level. As a creator of things, how would the dream masterspare themselves to the things that they could create? "Cultivator Fang Yuan, my master invites you!" Just as Fang Yuan was carried away by his own thoughts, a small child in red robes came to him and bowed. "You are..." Looking at the child, he could see through the disguise and realised that it was not a real child, but a fiery dragon. "I am Fiery Dragon, the subordinate of Elder Smelter!" The child replied respectfully. "Since that is so, please lead the way!" Fang Yuan looked at the back of the child and was lost in his thoughts. The Fiery Dragon was likely to be created by Elder Smelter. Although his actions were no different from a normal human, it was not able to reproduce. Therefore, it could only be created by a dream master and was therefore not considered a race. "Haha..... Fang Yuan,e over here!" It was the same hall. Elder Smelter smiled and invited Fang Yuan over. "You have joined our alliance! That¡¯s good!" He stroked his beard and continued. "I have just talked to the elders of the Divine Lotus Sect. They will not hold you ountable for killing a few servants. However, you have to defend yourself in the event a dream master of simr cultivationes to you for revenge! After all, it is the testing period for the reserved Divine Ladies. If they can kill you, they will be heavily credited for it!" "Thank you, Elder!" Fang Yuan bowed and thanked him sincerely. He was not at all worried about the fact that a dream master of simr cultivation would seek him for revenge. ¡¯It is indeed different after I have a backing! Of course, the good thing is that this Elder Smelter is very protective. It seems like the right choice to join this faction..." "Alright, my physical body has already arrived at Victorious East Region. Let¡¯s meet at the foot of Thousand Year Mountain!" This came as a shock to Fang Yuan. "Thousand Year Mountain?" "Of course! Does Lin Qianye really think that he can get away with it after killing dream masters?" Elder Smelter waved his hands. "The previous dream master had no backing and was indeed a little overboard. Therefore, he deserved it. However, ultimately, as a martial artist, you cannot just simply kill a dream master! And don¡¯t forget your encounter with him as well! We need to let them know that there is retribution in this world!" Elder Smelter was indeed an aggressive person. With a snicker, he continued. "I want to see how Venerable Longhu can protect Lin Qianye!" Fang Yuan remained silent. A dream master could afford to be overbearing! ... Thousand Year Mountain. Ruan Junxian was practising his martial arts and appeared focused. There was ayer of sweat on his forehead but he did not mind and continued to practise. Since the previous incident, he had decided to put in more effort in practising his martial arts. Although Ruan Ming was rescued in the end, it was a disgraceful incident for the Ruan Family. Even though Lin Qianye had promised the family that he would kill the dream master, there was no news of it, which made the entire family depressed. Finally, they realised that Fang Yuan was only after them for the martial arts technique. However, none of them was willing to admit that they were enemies with Fang Yuan. After this incident, they might seek revenge in the future. To experience such an unfortunate event in a single day was embarrassing, especially for such a big family like the Ruan Family. The cause behind all that had happened was a single dream master! "I must train hard! To achieve a breakthrough to Wu Zong!" After executing a series of techniques, Ruan Junxian finally stopped and clenched his fists. "From the tests I did when I was younger, I know that my magic abilities were only average. However, after breaking through to Wu Zong, my magic would increase and from there, I can try to cultivate in spiritual spells! However, it¡¯s still a pity that I will not be able to be a dream master..." A spiritual knight had a higher status than Wu Zong but was nothingpared to a dream master. The strict requirements to be a dream master left many unqualified. "... However, if I be like the Vice Sect Head with top-notch martial arts, I can still kill dream masters easily. Hmmm... what path should I choose in the future?" Lin Qianye walked back and forth, deep in thought. "Han Longhu,e out!" A loud voice was heard as though thunder roared, and Ruan Junxian was shocked. "Who would dare to call the sect head by his full name? Is he crazy?" Chapter 282: Death Fight Chapter 282: Death Fight Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Roar! Roar!" After a few roars, many thick fiery dragons appeared in mid-air and spat our mes towards the mountain. There was an immense amount of energy in every fiery dragon and after a few moments, the entire Thousand Year Mountain was set on fire. ck smoke filled the sky and it was as though doomsday was approaching. "Retreat!" Seeing this, Ruan Junxian had no intentions of fighting. With the other disciples, he ran towards the headquarters of the Thousand Year Mountain. This was the power of the heavens! It was not something that humans could go against! "Roar! Roar!" The few dragons flew aroundzily and slowly shrunk in size. Although they were shrunk, they were still over 30 feet long and were still majestic beasts. On the head of one of the dragons, there were two people. Witnessing this scene, Fang Yuan broke out in cold sweat. The fiery dragons were setting everything into a burning inferno but he could feel no heat from where he was standing. This was the perfect control of powers on the part of Elder Smelter, which was indeed impressive. This was the power of a 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master! Never would Fang Yuan have guessed that Elder Smelter would be so reckless. They had only met moments before Elder Smelterunched an attack against the Thousand Year Mountain. The entire Thousand Year Mountain would be reduced to ashes if Venerable Longhu was not around! "Hmph... I¡¯m not even burning down a city. This is merely a mountain! I¡¯ll like to see who can stop me!" Elder Smelter waved his hands majestically. "Fiery Dragon Child, burn this ce down!" His voice roared across the entire Thousand Year Mountain. "Yes, Sir!" A child¡¯s voice was heard from all three dragons. Suddenly, the dragons flew up and circled the mountain, spitting fire in the process. "What?" Ruan Junxian was confused as he hid among the fellow disciples. From the shout, he could feel pain in his ears and he almost fainted. "Where did this demone from? How dare he destroy our sect!" "This person can control fire dragons and use their spiritual awareness to his advantage. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s a dream master!" The ck Tiger Taisui, He Shantong, had more experience and could vaguely know what was happening. There was a look of despair on his face. "This person is a high-tiered dream master as well! Other than our sect head, no one can stand a chance against him!" "Dream master!" Ruan Junxian turned pale and his legs went jelly. "Could it be that they are still after my family?" "You think too highly of yourself. Do you think they will need such a powerful dream master to wipe out your family?" He Shantong chuckled and for the first time felt that this disciple of his was causing too much trouble. "I¡¯m afraid that they are after the sect this time, hmmm... Vice Sect Head!" At this stage, even He Shantong was like an ant and could not do anything to help the situation. Under the burning inferno, even a Meridian Opening Wu Zong would be reduced to ashes! "Ah..." In the sect head¡¯s hall in Thousand Year Mountain. A person was wearing robes with dragons and tigers sewn on it. As he ced his hands behind his back, another person was kneeling down behind him. It was Lin Qianye. "Qianye, do you know where you¡¯ve gone wrong?" This was the sect head of Thousand Year Mountain, Venerable Longhu. He was 13th in the Dragon Ranks and had already condensed the Divine Body. "I should not have recklessly chased after that dream master!" Lin Qianye scoffed. "Why didn¡¯t he bring out his backing before? This is frustrating!" "Sigh... You still don¡¯t know where you¡¯ve gone wrong! This is not the source of the trouble! It was the fact that you previously killed a dream master. Our Thousand Year Mountain is a small sect. Why kill the dream master out of frustration? Do you know why other people are not willing to kill dream masters? They are all waiting for others to do so......" Venerable Longhu sighed. "It¡¯s partially my fault for not being stricter with the rules. Because of this, you have be too proud of yourself. You need to know that the world is huge and even having the Divine Body, I have to think twice before acting!" "Brother!" Suddenly, Lin Qianye stood up and walked forward. "What do I have to fear? I will only die at most!" "Don¡¯t be stupid!" Venerable Longhu waved his sleeves and Lin Qianye could not help it but took 3 steps backwards. Although he had already formed 8 spiritual meridians with the Kurong Mysterious Technique, he was still nothingpared to a True Divine. "As the sect head of Thousand Year Mountain, how can I not shoulder the responsibility?" Venerable Longhu looked at the mes in mid-air and took a step out. "Rumble!" On his body, a surge of energy condensed and transformed into the figures of a dragon and a tiger. "Who are you and why are you here?" The voice was no weaker than that from Elder Smelter as it spread throughout the mountain. "Chi!" As the vibrations from the voice swept through the mes, they were extinguished immediately. "This is the power of a True Divine!" "You¡¯re impressive, sect head!" As the few disciples witness their sect head taking action, they cheered loudly. "Remain where you are and don¡¯te out!" Venerable Longhu shouted once more as he quickly made his way to the top of the mountain to engage the dream master. "Is this a True Divine with a Divine Body?" Although Venerable Longhu only nced at Fang Yuan for a split second, Fang Yuan could feel that his dream elemental force came to a halt and at that moment, he was speechless. He knew that if he were to fight Venerable Longhu, even after using his killer moves, he would be finished off with a single punch without a doubt! "A True Divine martial artist will be able to use their pure energy to condense it into power and hurt someone without even touching them! This is godly!" Seeing the dragon and tiger beside Venerable Longhu, Fang Yuan slowly understood. "Hehe... Venerable Longhu, you¡¯re finally here! Give me Lin Qianye and kill him in front of me and I shall forget all this, otherwise... I will make the Thousand Year Mountain cease to exist!" Elder Smelter eximed loudly. He wanted to directly destroy the entire sect! Although Venerable Longhu had a good temper, there was a hint of anger on his face. Holding it in, he looked at Fang Yuan. "Are you the dream master who attacked the Ruan Family?" "Not attack, but merely collecting debts!" Fang Yuan shook his head and appeared insistent. "Alright... I¡¯ll apologise on behalf of my Vice Sect Head!" Venerable Longhu gave a respectful bow. "Please forgive Lin Qianye this time. We¡¯ll reward you in the future! If you have any requests, the Thousand Year Mountain will ede to it!" "This..." Fang Yuan was tempted to ept his offer. After all, it was good to establish good rtions with a True Divine martial artist. However, it was a pity that he was not in the position to make the decision as he looked over to Elder Smelter. "Hehe... It¡¯s toote for regrets!" Elder Smelter was unforgiving. "That brother of yours didn¡¯t just chase Fang Yuan. How should we settle the score the previous time he killed a dream master?" With this, Fang Yuan closed his eyes. He knew that there was no longer a chance for a peaceful resolution. His heart shivered. ¡¯Elder Smelter seems righteous on the outside but he is actually scheming! Firstly, he wants to demonstrate his power on Thousand Year Mountain! Secondly, he wants me to offend the True Divine and be loyal to him! This is indeed a good plot, but it¡¯s too cruel!¡¯ "What do you think?" Indeed, Venerable Longhu felt that there was no room for discussion as gave off a cold expression. This was only a high-tiered dream master, and he had the cultivation of a True Divine himself. He stood a chance against this dream master. "Hehe... It seems that you will not fear until you¡¯ve seen the coffin!" Elder Smelter waved his hands "Three Suns Dragons, Go!" "Yes, Sir!" As a child¡¯s voice responded, the 3 dragons expanded and roared. "Hmph! Dragon Tiger Massacre!" As Venerable Longhu leapt backwards, the figures of the dragon and tiger leapt into him, allowing him to form the silhouette of a giant. The silhouette was extremely clear. It stood tall like a god and there were imprints of dragons and tigers on his body. As the muscles on his body contracted, he looked up towards the sky and struck a punch out. "Bang!" There was a loud explosion and the entire Thousand Year Mountain shook. As the two most powerful people in the vicinity struck, the power that they had generated could potentially destroy an entire city. How could the mountain take the stress? "Crumble!" As Giant Longhu took two steps backwards, the buildings crumbled and there were cries and blood spurting everywhere. "You are... Smelter of the Realm Alliance?" In the next moment, Venerable Longhu dispersed his Divine Body and smiled, for he had identified the dream master. "That¡¯s right!" As the fiery dragons exploded, Elder Smelter waved his sleeves and released his dream elemental force. Within seconds, 9 simr dragons appeared. "How¡¯s that? Do you want to continue?" "If you are willing to stop, I will be eternally grateful for that. But if you insist, I can only defend with all my life! The spirit of a martial artist is to never give up!" Venerable Longhu replied decisively. Even a 9th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master would have to think twice if a True Divine were to fight with all his life. ¡¯Elder Smelter will not risk his life for me. If I¡¯m not wrong, he should be thinking about something else...¡¯ Fang Yuan watched from the sidelines and thought to himself. Indeed, in the next moment, Elder Smelter started tough. "Alright, how about both of us take a step back? Let Lin Qianyee out and fight Fang Yuan to their deaths. Both of us shall not interfere and after the fight, we¡¯re even. How¡¯s that?" "That¡¯s a good idea!" As Venerable Longhu was deciding, a silhouette rushed out. It was Lin Qianye. He looked at Fang Yuan and was full of confidence. After all, he had managed to chase him down. That was only a few months before, so what could change? "Second Brother!" Venerable Longhu red at him. "Big Brother, if we do not settle it like this, what other choices will we have?" Lin Qianye voice was softly heard in Venerable Longhu¡¯s ears. "Even if I die, I can still protect Thousand Year Mountain!" "Alright!" Venerable Longhu finally agreed with tears in his eyes. Lin Qianyeughed and walked forward as he looked at Fang Yuan. "Please!" ¡¯This Elder Smelter just trapped me?¡¯ Fang Yuan rolled his eyes. However, he felt something in his sleeves and heard Elder Smelter¡¯s voice in his mind. "Just go ahead with the fight. If you think you can no longer continue, just throw this out. I¡¯ve hidden a fiery dragon in it. Burn him down!" After all, Elder Smelter only wanted Fang Yuan to be enemies with Thousand Year Mountain and to be loyal to him. Therefore, he wouldn¡¯t let him die. Although this was cheating, Venerable Longhu did not detect anything. It was a scarily impressive move. Chapter 283: Ups and Downs Chapter 283: Ups and Downs Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Please!" It was also Fang Yuan¡¯s wish to be able to fight with Lin Qianye once more. The people of Thousand Year Mountain crept out of their hiding spots to watch, although they were given the order to hide. It was a rare opportunity to spectate a death match between a highly-skilled martial artist and a highly-skilled dream master. "Whoosh!" A Leaving Fire Sword appeared in Fang Yuan¡¯s hands and the mes burnt brilliantly. "Have you regretted what you¡¯ve done?" "Regret? You dream masters are a poisonous tumour to society! The only regret I have is killing too few of you!" Lin Qianyeughed. "Even if I die killing you, it will be worth it!" It seemed that Lin Qianye knew of his predicament. If he were to lose, he would die. Even if he were to win and kill Fang Yuan, Elder Smelter wouldn¡¯t let him go! Death was his only option and therefore, the best oue for him was to die together with Fang Yuan. This was how pitiful it was to be part of the weaker force! "Alright, it is only times like this that I can hear what you truly feel!" Fang Yuan smiled and struck his sword out. The sword essence of the Leaving Fire Sword exploded. "Lin Qianye is indeed crazy! Nothing could save him!" Elder Smelter red at Venerable Longhu. "Is this how you teach your disciples?" "Of course not!" Venerable Longhu was stunned. He could feel the death wish from Lin Qianye! Inside, he sighed. Lin Qianye¡¯s parents were killed by dream masters and the love of his life was abducted by a dream master as well. All of these had let to the change in his personality. "This is just sword essence!" 8 spiritual meridians appeared behind Lin Qianye¡¯s back as he rushed forward. "Thousand Leaves Palm!" "Whoosh!" Both his hands released elemental force and turned translucent. With continuous strikes, he extinguished the sword essence. "Kurong Double Posture-Killing the Devil!" As a Wu Zong with 8 spiritual meridians, he was just one step to forming the Divine Body and be a True Divine. With a sh, Lin Qianye quickly arrived in front of Fang Yuan and sliced down with his hands. Behind him, the 8 spiritual meridians came together to form a figure, half of which appeared wilted and the other half healthy. With this, his body was strengthened. This was putting all of his strength in one strike, preparing to kill Fang Yuan in a single blow! "Impressive!" If Fang Yuan was a normal dream master, he would have been stunned by the spiritual aura of the Kurong Mysterious Technique. With a split second of hesitation, he would probably be killed on the spot. But Fang Yuan was not only a dream master, he was also a Wu Zong! His thoughts ran quickly as a dim golden glow emitted from his body. The 4 spiritual meridians behind his back quickly formed a spiritual armour as he retreated. At the same time, in his left hand, a blue Water Sword appeared as well. "Water-Fire Dual Sword Array! Kill!" "Whoosh! Whoosh!" Streaks of red and blue sword essence trapped Lin Qianye at where he was before exploding. "Oh? You¡¯ve achieved a breakthrough? No wonder you dare to fight against me! How can such a dual-sword array be so powerful?" Lin Qianye shook and could feel a pressure within him. He finally realised that the person in front of him was a worthy opponent and he had to focus. "Buzz! Buzz!" The Kurong Figure assimted into his back and spiritual inscriptions appeared on his body. Even half of his face started to dry up and appeared as though it was wilting. Although his appearance was disfigured, his body became extremely strong. As the sword essencended on his body, only pelting sounds were heard. ¡¯Brother, you have finally improved...¡¯ Seeing this scene, Venerable Longhu sighed. If Lin Qianye could survive the fight, he could possibly condense the Divine Body after 3 years of meditation and arrive at the peak of martial arts! However, all breakthroughs would require an immense amount of resources. Even though he might break through to the next stage, his cultivation would not immediately follow. Witnessing the fight, Elder Smelter started to feel increasingly aggressive. "Die!" Lin Qianye roared like a beast, but all his moves were to perfection as he forced Fang Yuan to his limits. "Hmm... It seems like sword essence alone would not be able to kill you." Fang Yuan struck his swords out continuously like a river stream. Although Lin Qianye was immune to the weaker sword essences, the main sword essence could still hurt him. Therefore, the physical body of the magical soldiers would surely be able to kill him. After a series of exchanges, there were a few bloodied scars on Lin Qianye and his expression became increasingly frenzied. "Magical Technique of Burning Blood!" He roared as his skin exploded. Instantly, he became a bloodied person and resisted all the sword essences before arriving before Fang Yuan. "Die!" "Water and Fire, strike together!" Fang Yuan clenched his teeth and struck both swords out. A slight rumbling of thunder was heard. "Whoosh!" The ground shook and the dust flew. Venerable Longhu sighed and Elder Smelter seemed worried. "Great... I finally died in your hands..." Lin Qianye looked at the sword in his hands and had a mixed expression. After finishing his sentence, his forehead exploded, revealing a charred scar inflicted by a sword. He fell to the ground, motionless. ¡¯The Water-Fire Dual Sword Array is on par with you. The final thunder-type sword essence made the difference...¡¯ Fang Yuan wiped the blood on his mouth, turned around and faced Elder Smelter. "Fortunately, I did not disgrace the dream masters!" "Great! This is great!" Elder Smelter retrieved his fiery dragon, but Fang Yuan could not guess what he was thinking. "You have returned victorious but you are injured. Have a good rest!" His expression returned to normal as he looked towards Venerable Longhu. "Since the culprit is dead, we shall take our leave..." Venerable Longhu was expressionless as he looked at Lin Qianye¡¯s corpse. Seeing this, Fang Yuan sighed. He knew that they would be enemies for a long time toe and there was nothing he could do to establish good rtions with them. "Let¡¯s go!" Elder Smelter chuckled and led the way while Fang Yuan followed behind. If not for the protection from Elder Smelter, the entire Thousand Year Mountain would tear him apart alive. ... After a long while, the unforgiving sun raysnded on Venerable Longhu. He was motionless like a statue in the wind. "Sect head?" A few elders came out with worried looks on their face. "Forget it. Bury Qianye and let him... rest in peace!" Venerable Longhu waved his hands and as he finished his sentence, he almost choked on his words. "Yes, sect head!" A few deacons and disciples came out and cleared the mess. Looking in the direction where Elder Smelter had left, Venerable Longhu was in a daze. Finally, he returned to the building. "I want to meditate in seclusion. Don¡¯t disturb me!" ... "This... This is the power of dream masters! Is this person against our family?" Ruan Junxian looked at the tattered battlefield and Lin Qianye¡¯s corpse, not knowing what to do. Lin Qianye was the pride of the sect, a highly skilled martial artist with 8 spiritual meridians and was a single step away from condensing the Divine Body. But now, he was killed by Fang Yuan. This was a severe setback for Ruan Junxian. He felt that even if he were to reach the cultivation level of Lin Qianye, he would still be easily killed by the dream master¡¯s single strike of the sword. Furthermore, in the time that he would take to reach the 8th spiritual meridian, how far ahead would his opponent be? Their vast difference was discouraging. "Junxian!" At this point in time, a few disciples surrounded him with aggressive looks. As the crowd gave way, the ck Tiger Taisui, He Shantong came. "Master!" Ruan Junxian felt even more ufortable but forcefully raised his head up to look at his master in the eye. "You... sigh. Although it is not your fault, it is a fact that all of this started with your family. I¡¯m afraid the Thousand Year Mountain cannot let you stay..." Ruan Junxian turned pale and took a few steps backwards. "Master.... You..." He felt a sharp pain in his heart. He knew that none of them wanted to get implicated and therefore wanted to chase him out of the sect! Thinking about how much he had offered his master in the past years, there was a burning sensation in his chest. However, he could only clench his teeth. If he were to disy his dissatisfaction, he might get himself killed. "I can no longer be your master!" He Shantong sighed. "From today onwards, we shall cut our ties. Leave the mountain!" "Master!" At this point in time, a young martial artist stood out. "Although he is being chased out, he still has martial arts which belong to the Thousand Year Mountain!" Ruan Junxian nced at him but had no energy to rebut. Previously, this young martial artist appeared respectful to Ruan Junxian but now, who would¡¯ve thought that he would turn his back on him! "That¡¯s right, we need to strip him of his martial arts!" "Master, you¡¯re too kind. Why are you only chasing him out? If you ask me, I believe we should kill him..." ... There were only a few who would be willing to help him, but countless others who were trying to make things worse for him. Seeing this scene, Ruan Junxian wanted tough. Where had these loyal disciples gone to when trouble arrived at the sect? After all, they feared those that were powerful and some of them even had the thoughts of changing sides and siding the dream masters. "That¡¯s not appropriate. After all, Junxian had known martial arts before he entered the sect, and... the Ruan Family is still here!" He Shantong twitched his eyebrows and shook his head. "Go!" "Thank you master... and everyone else!" Ruan Junxian stumbled on his way down the mountain like a zombie. Thinking about the times where he was considered a talent, and the good times with his fellow sect mates, tears started to well up in his eyes. "Haha... Haha..." Arriving at a small cave in the mountain, he tried to cry but instead, he started tough heartily. "Who would¡¯ve thought that I, Ruan Junxian, would end up like this... Haha! If not for my family, I wouldn¡¯t even be able to keep my martial arts!" "Haha... dream masters are bullies and Heaven is blind! Blind!" As he was wallowing in despair, something miraculous happened in his body. "Whooo!" Elemental energy started to flow like a spiral. There was a distinct popping sounding from his Dantian. "Is this... Have I achieved a breakthrough?" Ruan Junxian was shocked butposed himself. "Have I achieved the breakthrough which I¡¯ve been dreaming about all day? Am I a Wu Zong now?" If this was earlier, he would be overjoyed. But now, he could only smile. Even with a True Divine, the Thousand Year Mountain could not protect Lin Qianye. How would they be able to protect him? Chapter 284: Delivery Mission Chapter 284: Delivery Mission Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the mountains, by the river. Elemental force surged around in Ruan Junxian¡¯s hands and he could control it like his limbs. "I have finally achieved the realm of Wu Zong!" There were mixed expressions on his face. "If I had achieved the breakthrough earlier, I can be the protector of the mountains. By then, if they want to chase me out, they will still need the approval from 70 percent of the elders and the approval of the sect head... With this, I have a chance to stay and things wouldn¡¯t escte to this stage... What a pity!" However, Ruan Junxian was not confident of breaking through to Wu Zong if not for the happenings and his fluctuating emotions. "Regardless, it is rare to harness elemental force. If I join the Imperial Court of Da Qian, I can be an official and might even have special treatment since I am young. I would think that I would be conferred the appointment of an Eagle Lieutenant..." As a personing from an influential family, Ruan Junxian was extremely familiar with the hierarchy. "However, after entering the military, I would be bounded by more restrictions..." Hisrgest obstacle was Fang Yuan; like a humongous mountain, Fang Yuan was a shadow in his mind. "That high-tiered dream master is likely to have overlooked me. Therefore, the Ruan Family can still survive... As the Young master, the only thing I can do for the family is to search for a strong backing for the family!" Ruan Junxian¡¯s eyes were burning with passion. "The best would be for me to be a dream master myself and subsequently join the 5 powerful organisations. If that were to happen, the Ruan Family would be the most powerful family in the Victorious East Region!" He knew that the world was unfair and only dream masters belonged to the higher levels of cultivation world. Any influential family would surely have a powerful dream master to back them up. If any family wanted to be more powerful, they would have to spend fortunes trying to train a dream master from their family before they could progress to have the rights to fight with other families. Furthermore, even the Imperial Court had employed arge number of dream masters known as the ¡¯Hidden Dragon Guards¡¯. Otherwise, they could not have ruled over the 99 regions so smoothy. "Now that my magical abilities have been improved, I can start to cultivate in spiritual spells. However, I am still a little short in bing a dream master..." There was a look of depression on Ruan Junxian¡¯s face. A dream master was not only unparalleled in fights, they could create life and was the number 1 profession. Unfortunately, the requirements to be a dream master was too high and it was too hard. However, all hope was not lost. For instance... a few natural treasures were rumoured to be able to strengthen the foundation of a Wu Zong and initiate the path to be a dream master. "Forget it... After all, there are a few Meridian Opening Elders at home maintaining peace and order. There is no need for my presence at home. Why not explore thends in search of opportunities? I can strengthen myself at the same time!" Ruan Junxian came to a decision. Looking back at Thousand Year Mountain for onest time, he turned around and walked away. The world was ever-changing and even a dream future master would not be able to urately predict the future withplete certainty. Even as an ant, he had to strengthen himself and believe that he will be powerful one day! ... "Fang Yuan, how are you feeling?" A fiery dragon flew around and roared. Mingling in the skies, it was like a deity. On its back, Elder Smelter looked at Fang Yuan. "Impressive!" Fang Yuan sighed softly. Below them was a small city. The Fiery Dragon had spirituality and was yful. As it peered through the clouds and revealed its ws, the city dwellers started to panic and hide like ants. A spiritual light started to glow on the city walls and in the government office, and many archers readied their bows. "Haha!" Elder Smelter was overjoyed. "That¡¯s right... This is the majestic power!" He pointed at the people atughed. "We dream masters are equivalent to gods in the ancient times! How would mortals ever understand our power?" "The few of you, don¡¯t go too overboard! Although the Da Qian is ordinary, it would be troublesome if the ¡¯Hidden Dragon Guards¡¯ were toe!" Elder Smelter had a proud look as hemented, but his face twitched the moment he mentioned the ¡¯Hidden Dragon Guards¡¯ "Oh? Please exin to me, Elder! How does the Hidden Dragon Guardspare with the Realm Alliance?" Fang Yuan became interested. "Hmph! Just a fewckeys that depend on the humans for survival. How can theypare to the Realm Alliance? If you see any Hidden Dragon Guard, just kill them!" "If not for them, hehe... I¡¯m afraid that the Imperial Court would be destroyed by the crazy people from Source Seeking Sect!" Elder Smelter looked away; it was evident that he did want to continue with this topic. As for Fang Yuan, he was deep in thought. "To keep two evil sects and one crazy sect at bay must mean that the Hidden Dragon Guards are rather powerful! They might be on par with the 5 powerful organisations. Since they have the support of the Imperial Court, they should be quite powerful! But... What made the Source Seeking Sect go against the Imperial Court?" As he thought about it, he subconsciously spoke his mind. "Hehe... There¡¯s nothing surprising as to what that bunch of crazy people can do!" Elder Smelter knew that he had said something wrong and did not want to reveal more. "Alright, where do you intend to stay next?" Elder Smelter changed the topic and asked Fang Yuan. "I have been cultivation in seclusion. For now, I want to explore Da Qian and visit the capital!" Fang Yuan spoke the truth but hid his intentions. This was a small trick that he used. After all, he was speaking before a high-tiered dream master who would be sensitive in detecting his tone and emotions. But now, Elder Smelter could not detect anything fishy. "I need to return. After killing the evil water dragon in Sand Region, I have obtained 3 drops of ¡¯Mysterious Elemental Heavy Water¡¯ and I can use them to perform alchemy. Since you have the intention to explore the ce, help me with something!" "Please instruct me. I¡¯ll do anything!" Fang Yuan heaved a sigh of relief and replied. "Help me deliver an item to the Middle Region since the capital is in the Middle Region as well..." Elder Smelter took out a small red sword. "Take this sword and bring it to Tianmu Mountain in Middle Region. Ask to see the owner of the mountain and pass this sword to the owner... Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t be doing this for nothing. I will officially assign you this mission in the Dream Realm!" This mission was assignment-typed and the rewards were not good, but it would count a lot towards his contribution to the Realm Alliance. "I will do it!" Fang Yuan took the sword over form Elder Smelter. The red sword which was previously glowing died down in its brilliance as soon as it entered Fang Yuan¡¯s hand; it was like a normal sword now. "Alright, be on your way!" Elder Smelter waved his sleeves and immediately, Fang Yuan could feel a huge force pushing against him; it was akin to a small boat being pushed by a tsunami. As soon as he realised what had happened, he was already on a small hill on the outskirts of a county town. "This is the power of a 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master!" Looking at the busy and prosperous county town, Fang Yuan sighed. Without wasting time, he quickly disappeared into the forest. ... "The journey to Middle Region is long and therefore, I need to make some ns..." Fang Yuan was neutral about the mission. He was only a newbie among the dream masters and would not suspect that Elder Smelter would try to harm him by assigning him this mission. Of course, he had to be wary of the small sword and had to seal its energy up. This was not guarding against Elder Smelter but rather, it was merely being careful. After finding a secluded spot, he entered the Dream Realm and indeed, on his inscription te, there was a new ongoing mission. It was assigned by Elder Smelter and after browsing through the details, he could only ept it. ¡¯Generally speaking, this was among the unspoken rules which were already not considered strict. After all, I am a new member and it is only logical for him to test me out...¡¯ Fang Yuan came to the headquarters of the Realm Alliance and started to browse the information on the rock tablet. As a 2nd Leaf Cultivator, he had certain rights and could ess parts of the information bank. Pieces of information from the information bank were either mostly not found on the rock tablet in the Dream Realm, or they were ssified. After all, it was not a bad thing to read up more. Of course, the missions on the rock tablet in the Dream Realm were more generic and it was the ce where the 5 powerful organisations would interact. "I am clear about the cultivation of a dream soldier master and am looking forward to the next dream-traversing opportunity... As for that mysterious force in my body, I need to clear it out as soon as possible before I reach the 4th sword, otherwise, things would get tricky!" There was a look of depression on Fang Yuan¡¯s face. When he achieved a breakthrough previously in the Three World Mountain, he had the help of the mysterious but evil force. Although it was not affecting him now, it would be troublesome if he were to lose control over the mysterious force in the future! "The 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine is a big leap. Among us dream soldier masters, it would mean that we can form the spirit of the swords. This is especially so for the 8 Gates Sword Array. After forming the spirits of the 4 swords, I would be able to harness at least half the potential of the 8 Gate Sword Array... Therefore, I must quickly get rid of the evil force in me!" Once the magical soldiers get their spirituality, their power would increase by folds and they could potentially fly on their own to attack enemies. This would be simr to the Fiery Dragon Child of Elder Smelter. The mysterious force might affect the spirit of the sword, making it an evil spirit. If that bes the case, Fang Yuan would be the ve to his swords. "Tian Xiezi... Why are you still causing trouble a few hundred years after your death?" Fang Yuan gave a cold look as he continued to browse the information on the rock tablet. It was extremely rare to encounter any technique which would dispel evil forces in one¡¯s body. Most of them would cheat him of his money and those who potentially could help were charging more than he could afford. Finally, something was different. "9 Smelting Technique (Iplete): Able to purify and remove foreign true energies from one¡¯s body. The setback would be that one¡¯s cultivation would drop, and the drop is dependent on how polluted one¡¯s body is..." "Only an iplete version? Furthermore, it can only purify true energy? What about elemental force and dream elemental force?" Fang Yuan rubbed his chin. As a 2nd Leaf Cultivator, he could only read up to here. However, from the description, he had the feeling that there was more to it. If he could get his hands on theplete version, he might be able to purify his true energy, true elemental force and even dream elemental force. "This is a solution indeed. Of course, the root of the problem is still from Evil Divine Sect!" Fang Yuan gritted his teeth. Chapter 285: Black Roc Chapter 285: ck Roc Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Tian Xiezi was a dream master of the Evil Divine Sect. After his death at the Two World Mountain, his dream world became the Illusionary World and from then on, Three World Mountain was born. Just by the dangers of the Three World Mountain alone, it could be deduced that he was at least a 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master and was able to create spirits. Even after his death, demons with their own spirits were seen lurking in the Illusionary World. "What a pity... With my rights as a 2nd Leaf Cultivator, I can only read up to here. There¡¯s nothing left below!" Fang Yuan shook his head and started to worry about how he should travel to the Middle Region. The world over here was extremely vast. There were 99 regions in Da Qian Empire and every region was already extremely huge. Any average human might not even be able to traverse through an entire region in their lifetimes. Therefore, not many would have been to the capital before. "The map of the entire Da Qian should be ssified information and I need to be at least a 5th Leaf Cultivator before I can get the details... The only information I can gather is the map of the 9 regions nearest to me..." Fang Yuan looked at the rock tablet as his eyes glittered. "To head towards the Middle Region, the path designated for officials, the Official Path, would be the most convenient path. The officials would report for duty and send troops through the Official Path. However, the requirements to use the path are extremely stringent and there are checks everywhere along the path. Even if I can find my way in, it would take a lot of effort to go through the checks undetected and I would waste too much time..." As he walked out of the headquarters of the Realm Alliance, he arrived at a public space. "I am at Victorious East Region. How do I make my way to Middle Region?" Just a simple thought from him triggered pieces of information which were revealed before him. "There are mountains and rivers in between East Victorious Region and Middle Region. There are 87 danger areas along the journey and it is a must to take a route around them. The mostfortable and quick way is to take a ride on a spiritual bird. Of course, the journey will also take about a month to a few months..." Fang Yuan searched and indeed, there were dream masters like the previous Huo Qing. However, this time, the bird was a huge ck roc beast[1] and it was rumoured that the roc had the blood of the legendary Kun Roc. Its body was as huge as a mountain and it flew at incredible speeds. It was the ruler of the skies. The dream master must be at least a 4th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master to be able to tame such a powerful bird. "ck Roc, I want to head to Middle Region!" Fang Yuan used his spiritual will tomunicate to the dream master ording to the symbol on the tablet. "Alright, the journey will cost you 200 contribution points. You will have to pay 100 contribution points as a deposit first and tell me your location. I will reserve a seat for you!" Not long after, there was a reply. "Reserve a seat?" Fang Yuan was shocked. "Do you think you¡¯re the only person I¡¯m fetching?" ck Roc scoffed. "After receiving the deposit, I will tell you when I¡¯m arriving. The earliest would be 3 days from now and thetest would be a month!" "Alright!" Fang Yuan was speechless but paid the contribution points. "I am at Sand Region, Dragon¡¯s Head Mountain!" With the Realm Spirit as a witness, he was not afraid that ck Roc would cheat him of his money. "Very well, wait for my news!" After receiving the contribution points, ck Roc left, satisfied. Fang Yuan remained speechless. Although he knew that it was impossible, he had the feeling as though he was being cheated. With augh, he left the Dream Realm as well. "Could I be feeling this way because I don¡¯t have enough contribution points? I have not felt such fear and anxiety in a long while..." Without wasting time, Fang Yuan made his way towards Sand Region. He did not know how long he would spend in Middle Region. Therefore, he felt that he should at least inform the Qin Siblings of his movement and remind them to be on their guard. After all, they were his backup n if all else fails. ... It was nightfall and the stars glittered brilliantly. In the Qin Family mansion in Dongyi County. A silhouette slipped into the mansion and the protective array failed to detect anything. The Qin siblings were already asleep. Disoriented, they arrived at a ce. There were trees, a river, a small bridge and a small pavilion supported with bamboo poles. A young man sat within and there were a few tea bowls ced in front of him. "Greetings, Sir!" The Qin Siblings looked at each other and knew that this was Fang Yuan calling for them in their dreams. Together, they greeting him. "Take a seat! Have some tea!" Fang Yuan waved his hands. "Thank you!" Qin Qing raised her tea bowl and realised that the bowl was made from ceramic. With its average-looking appearance, it gave off an ancient vibe. The tea gave off a simr vibe; it was sweet and there was a hint of jasmine fragrance. "How¡¯s it?" Fang Yuan smiled. "Simple and elegant!" Qin Qing smiled and replied. However, Qin Yun was observing the surroundings and came to a realisation. "Are you intending to travel, Sir?" "Hmmm?" Fang Yuan looked at him, astonished. "That¡¯s right!" After bing independent as the family head, Qin Yun felt more matured now. Through all that he had gone through and the new experiences, he seemed like a polished gem. "In my absence, take care of yourselves..." After reminding them to take care of themselves, Fang Yuan left. ¡¯Why are they not here... Divine Lotus Cult, what are you thinking?¡¯ The purpose of Fang Yuan returning to the Qin Family Mansion was to track the Divine Lotus Cult¡¯s movement as well. After all, he had be enemies with a reserved Divine Lady and would surely attract the attention of many. Meng Lian¡¯spetitors were grateful to Fang Yuan but none of them would solely depend on Fang Yuan for their sess to be the Divine Lady. ¡¯The Divine Lotus Cult and Evil Divine Sect are the two most powerful evil dream master sects and by now, they should have known about my background...¡¯ Thoughts ran through in Fang Yuan¡¯s mind as he purposely leaked a hint of his own spiritual aura. ... "Divine Lady!" In a mansion within Dongyi County. Although this mansion was no different from other mansions, anyone who entered it would be shocked. In a row, 18nterns were lighted up, illuminating the interior of the mansion. There was a golden-furred carpet on the ground and a light fragrance of the lotus flower. Suddenly, one of thenterns flickered and in an instant, the me of thentern exploded! "Whoosh!" In the quiet room, the noise was easily picked up. Two servants in white walked up and looked at the woman sitting on thentern. "Lantern C2 had detected something. It must be that person!" This woman was around 20 and had a gentle demeanour. She had pretty eyebrows and gave off the vibe as though she came from a rich family. Such ady would be regarded as a beauty in the world and no one would associate her with the cruel Divine Lotus Cult or think that she was an evil reserved Divine Lady. At this point in time, the Divine Lady smiled. "The cult has ced an order. No dream master of 4th Tier and above are allowed to go after him, for his is now part of the Realm Alliance... However, they did not impose restrictions on the magical equipment that we can use. Of course, looking at my current cultivation level, I¡¯m not skilled enough to use most of them. However, the Changming Magical Lantern is not an offensive magical equipment as has an extraordinary ability to perform surveince! I can first detect his location before striking him by surprise!" After Meng Lian¡¯s embarrassing defeat, she not only sustained severe injuries but also used up most of her protective magical equipment. The resources of the Divine Lotus Cult in the vicinity were all used up by her and by letting it all go to waste, she no longer seemed likely to be the chosen one, the Divine Lady. It was good news for the other 7 reserved Divine Ladies that one of them was no longer in thepetition. Furthermore, if any of them were to be able to capture Fang Yuan, it would be a huge aplishment. Although capturing Fang Yuan would not directly make her the Divine Lady, at least it would give her the edge over the other reserved Divine Ladies. This was the reason behind the arrival of this reserved Divine Lady. "Although this person is extremely cautious and even talks to his subordinates through their dreams, after my observations, I can tell that he is preparing to travel somewhere far!" This reserved Divine Lady was witty and immediately gave her orders. "Order the spies in Qin Family to gather information from the Qin Siblings... Also, start monitoring the skies of Dongyi County. If there are any findings, immediately report to me!" After dismissing them, the reserved Divine Lady remained seated and smiled. "Before embarking on his journey, he would surely enter the Dream Realm..." She closed her eyes, arrived before the rock tablet in the Dream Realm and started enquiring. ... After 15 days. Sand Region, Dragon¡¯s Head Mountain. The Dragon¡¯s Head Mountain was a geographically interesting location in Sand Region. Although it was secluded, the peak of the mountain had a panoramic view of the region and the extreme peak had the shape of a dragon¡¯s head. Being unique, it attracted many tourists. Fang Yuan stood on the top of the dragon¡¯s head and looked up into the sky, speechless. "Handsome... that person seems stupid!" Tourists behind him werementing on him. A young girl in red robes looked at Fang Yuan and startedughing. "Don¡¯t cause trouble!" Beside her was a man with a long sword. He looked like a martial artist and he lectured the girl before apologising to Fang Yuan. "My junior is too direct, please don¡¯t me her!" Both of them dressed up like martial artists but they only had the cultivation of around the 5th to 6th Gate. Fang Yuan did not even bother to look at them. "You..." With such an attitude, both of them were shocked. They knew that the world was huge and there were many highly-skilled people all around. Could they have encountered one themselves? "Eh? Why is the sky darkening?" Before being able to continue the conversation, a shadow descended and covered the entire sky. The tourists in the vicinity looked up and saw a huge bird descending. In mid-air, a bird the size of a small hill slowly approached. As it came closer, they finally realised that it was an enormous ck bird with a huge back and a small building on its back. They were all left tongue-tied. As the bird descended, huge gusts of wind blew about on the mountain. The martial artist and his junior held on tightly to vines as they were almost blown off their feet. "Is this the ck roc?" Fang Yuan leapt onto it and felt as though he was standing on a t piece of ground. Seeing a huge inn ahead, he walked towards it. "Keke... Brother, wee to the ck Roc Inn. I hope you will enjoy your stay in the next month with the other guests!" In the inn, a dream master was standing in the ce of an innkeeper. Although he was smiling happily, Fang Yuan could feel his 4th Tier Illusionary Divine Cultivation. "I understand!" "Whoooo!" As the ck roc spread its wings, it flew up into the sky. Beneath, the martial artist and his junior were stunned. Fortunately, they did not start a fight with Fang Yuan. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have time to regret... [1]: The Roc is an enormous legendary bird of prey in the popr mythology of the Middle East. Chapter 286: Mengmei Chapter 286: Mengmei Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "That¡¯s good!" The ck Roc Beast, with its ck feathers and plump body, gave a genial smile that carried a hint of arrogance. "Currently, my ck Roc Inn has 19 guests and 36 servants. After I receive 3 other dream masters and their servants, we will set off and arrive in the Middle Region...of course, dear guest, you are a dream master and we will arrange for you to stay in the Tianpin Room!" "Servants?" Fang Yuan found it mildly strange. "Of course... not every dream master is alone like you are. In this day and age, the dream masters trained by the influential ns, even the ones of a lower level, set off on their journeys with at least a few spiritual knights." ck Roc scoffed. "Some even haverge harems that serve them wherever they go. These people merely rely on their wealth to get by, and they actually hope to achieve great things, hmph..." Its tone was contemptuous as if it favoured Fang Yuan, a lone cultivator, over the rest of them. Fang Yuan gave a wry smile as he listened. It was not that he had nobly decided to go at it alone. His situation had more to do with his foundations being too weak and inability to source for manpower. Of course, to others, a dream master at the Illusionary Divine stage without followers was a person who had clearly decided to wholeheartedly pursue enlightenment. Without another word, Fang Yuan went straight to his room and saw that it was spacious and well-tidied. There was a sleeping quarter, a living area and even a meditation corner. Of course, there was no kitchen. After all, it was high up in the air, and there were restrictions. Still, there was amon kitchen with a full-time cook. If the customers were dissatisfied, they could book the kitchen for their own use. The service was indeed ratherprehensive. "If Huo Qing could be considered a solo journeyman, then the ck Roc is exaggerating slightly..who knows, he might actually achieve something given time..." Fang Yuan opened up the windows and stared out into the strong winds and blue skies of the world outside, deep in thought. ... With the darkening of the skies came dinner time. Most of the dream masters preferred peace and silence and rarely took their meals in the inn¡¯smon dining hall. They had their meals sent to them in their rooms where they could frolic about with their concubines and live like gods. Fang Yuan did not have such a capacity and therefore, ordered a meal in the hall. The dishes were served quickly by the waiters, who were also cultivators who had obtained elemental force. They were most likely followers of the ck Roc and they seemedpletely content with carrying out their menial tasks. "Dear guest, the served meals areplimentary, free of charge. Of course...if you want more food, you can inform our chefs, or send your servants to the kitchen to prepare the food. For this, we will charge a fee!" This servant looked to be in his thirties. However, the Wu Zongs would tend to look much younger than their actual age, and Fang Yuan ced his estimate closer to sixty years old. The articte servant had a white towel draped over his shoulder. He was probably a runner. "No need, this is more than enough!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and dismissed him. The upants of the dining hall were few, and Fang Yuan picked a corner where he could dine in peace. The meal was extremely sumptuous and consisted of three dishes and a soup. It was chicken soup which was rich and fragrant and it whetted the appetite. Just one taste and Fang Yuan immediately knew that the chicken in question was fed with spiritual rice. It was truly special. The other three dishes were: mushrooms and greens, meat slices and a stir-fried mix. They were all fantastic. The chef responsible for this meal was definitely better than the cook he had recruited in the Da Yuan maind. Fang Yuan helped himself to more servings of food eagerly. "The rice used is the Cloudy Pearl Rice, which can be considered a luxury good. However, the quality is still somewhatcking inparison to the Yellow Grain Rice.." After he had his fill, Fang Yuan rubbed his tummy and sighed contentedly. At this time, a gentle voice floated in. "The Yellow Grain Rice is a top-grade spiritual good and is extremely beneficial to us dream masters. The nt only grows under harsh conditions and is a rare find in the territories controlled by the 5 powerful organisations. Only the Da Qian aristocrats are capable of supplying Yellow Grain Rice in bulk. But to me, this is the most improbable method to acquire the rice!" Fang Yuan turned around and noticed a beautiful youngdy in robes of lotus-green. She looked like she was of noble birth, and blushed when she met his gaze. "Thank you for your exnation! I am Fang Yuan, may I have your name?" "I am Liu Mengmei, a member of the Liu n in the Middle Region..." Liu Mengmei had a very sweet-tempered outlook and her manner of speech was demure. "I see!" As a traveller, Fang Yuan was unwilling to engage a stranger in anything beyond casual conversation and toasted her before turning around to leave. He had to concur that the wine served by the inn was of good quality; it was clear and smooth on the throat. Fang Yuan was beginning to feel tipsy after only a few cups. Fang Yuan was not a hardcore drinker and this amount of alcohol was just right. Fang Yuan thus walked back to his room. Liu Mengmei watched on as Fang Yuan¡¯s silhouette faded into the distance. With a smile on her lips, she retired to her room as well. "Divine Lady!" Two female servants in green were already waiting in the room and bowed in greeting as Liu Mengmei entered. "Mm, that person is indeed heading towards the Middle Region. Our preparations seemed to have paid off..." Liu Mengmei continued on after a pause. "It is just that he is extremely guarded. It will be difficult to get close to him. Not to mention that this ce is under the protection of ck Roc, and taking action here will break his rules! Set up the Nine Lotus Divine Lantern Soul-infusing Array! I will take him on in the dream world!" "Yes my Lady!" The two female servants bowed out of the room and began with their preparations. To the dream masters, there were many ways to kill someone without spilling blood. Also, as long as the ongoing conflict between the Divine Lotus Cult and the Realm Alliance did not vite the fundamentalws or inconvenience the other guests, the ck Roc would not dare to interfere! Liu Mengmei smiled and walked to over to the centre of the 9 Perpetualmps with the seal in her hands. She sat down with a solemn look on her face. "Chi!" "Poof" Around her, the Perpetual Lamps lit up instantly, and a ndestine wave shot out. ... In his room, Fang Yuan sat down rxedly with his legs crossed. "Not bad, not bad! This building is constructed of spiritual wood and arranged based on an arraying technique, which enables elemental gathering and concealment...in fact, the whole inn is a giant magical tool. Every room upant has a small degree of authority, but the core of power belongs to ck Roc!" Based on Fang Yuan¡¯s knowledge of arraying techniques, this was all he could tell. Still, he was very sure that the ck Roc was not only a dream master in the Illusionary Divine stage, but was, in fact, an array master. At ck Roc¡¯s level of cultivation, he couldy out sentient arrays that could operate independently of the array master and exert immense power! However, if ck Roc really had ill-intentions, there was only one way things could end: He could destroy by the many dream masters residing in the Inn. With this unspoken threat, together with the guarantee of fairness by the divine beings, Fang Yuan¡¯s safety and privacy were more or less assured on this journey. "But...what about that woman, Liu Mengmei?" Fang Yuan rubbed his chin and a slight smile yed on his lips. Although Liu Mengmei had disguised herself well, and there were no hints of simrities between her and Meng Lian, but Fang Yuan had a feeling nevertheless. And there was no need to mention that when Fang Yuan had deliberately released his spiritual aura at the Qin Manor, this woman had swooped right in. It was too much of a coincidence. "I doubt this Divine Lady would be as bold as to fight in midair and endanger the safety of dozens of dream masters...the only possibility would be to engage in the traditional way of dream masters!" Fang Yuan shut his eyes confidently and entered a deep stage of meditation. ...... It was deep into the night. Fang Yuan aura was in the dream world. Suddenly, felt a disturbance. "She has arrived? I cannot wait!" A cold smile broke out on his face. "To be able to break through the barriers ced around the inn is no mean feat. However, barging into my dream world is a mistake. This woman is slightly more powerful than Meng Lian since she is at the illusionary divine stage!" At the borders of his dream world, a fog started to gather. It was clear that Liu Mengmei had ill intentions and was indeed barging into his dream world. Fang Yuan had the protection of the 8 Gates Sword Array. If activated the array, the woman¡¯s concentration would be severely affected and she would suffer. "However...this does not fit in with my original n!" Fang Yuan sensed that Liu Mengmei was at the 1st Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage and had the help of a magical tool. He waved his hand and the 8 Gates Sword Array immediately dimmed, allowing the fog the infiltrate. His true aura was momentarily dazed and he nearly fell into the dream. ¡¯If I remain asleep after a certain period of time, the 8 Gates Sword Array will immediately reappear to eliminate the approaching enemy!¡¯ In that moment of unconsciousness, ording to the Three Corpse Seven Murderous Magic Splitting Technique, Fang Yuan¡¯s thoughts will be separated from his body and be transferred to the 8 Gates Sword Array. Now that his body and consciousness were both protected, Fang Yuan had no qualms about taking on the Divine Lady. "She actually dared to infiltrate my home ground with a prowess of only the first stage. Even with the help of a magical tool, this is extreme foolishness..." Fang Yuan¡¯s spiritual will acted up, and he fell immediately into a dark swirl. ... It was dawn and golden rays fell upon the earth. Beneath the green mountains, the roosters crowed, and the little vige came alive. "When Heaven is going to give a great responsibility to someone, it first makes his mind endure suffering. It makes his sinews and bones experience toil, and his body to suffer hunger. It inflicts him with poverty and knocks down everything he tries to build. In this way Heaven stimtes his mind, stabilizes his temper and develops his weak points...[Mencius, Gao Zi Part 2]" A bright voice reciting the ssics floated out of a straw hut. The door opened. A beautiful and kind lookingdy walked out. She looked like she was younger than 20 years, and yet her hair was arranged as though she was married. She went over to the chicken coop and picked up two warm eggs, and broke into a smile. "Good girl!" She sprayed some grains on the floor to reward the hen. After that, she busied herself with chopping firewood, boiling water, cooking rice. Beads of perspiration decorated her forehead even though the weather was cold. The farmer¡¯s life was undoubtedly a tough one, not to mention that they also had to support the schr at home. Before the morning light was at its peak brightness, breakfast was ready. A pot of porridge, two servings, one thick and one thin. The woman added an egg into the thick serving, and after some hesitation, added another. She then walked over to the adjoining room. "My husband, it¡¯s time for breakfast!" Chapter 287: Horse Bandits Chapter 287: Horse Bandits Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Mmm, it¡¯s been hard for you, wife!" With gratitude, Zhang Hanmented as he walked out and rubbed his red eyes. He was around 20 and wore a schr¡¯s attire. However, it was ordinary clothing and one could tell that he was not an imperial schr. He had a skinny look at they were leading poor lives. Looking at the egg in his bowl and the soup that his wife had prepared, he had a heavy heart. "Mei¡¯er, it has been 3 years since we¡¯ve been married. Every day, you¡¯re doing the hardbour and it has been hard for you..." Quickly, he picked up his chopsticks and started to peel the egg, but was stopped by his smiling wife. "I¡¯m fine. Besides, what¡¯s more important is your studies!" "One is enough for me, have more for yourself!" Zhang Han insisted and wanted to give her another egg. Although his wife knew that he was persistent, she stood firm and rejected. Under her supervision, Zhang Han ate his egg. Laughing, Mei¡¯er started to eat her egg as well, delighted. Could this be happily ever after? Witnessing this scene, tears welled up in Zhang Han¡¯s eyes as he almost cried. After breakfast, Mei¡¯er cleared the table while Zhang Han appeared dazed. Hmm, his name was Zhang Han and he was a schr. His family had about a hectare of farnd, a few hostels, and he had a wife for himself. When he was young, Zhang Han¡¯s family was rather affluent and could afford for him to study. However, afterwards, his siblings were fighting for their parent¡¯s inheritance. He had no grounds to fight and only inherited a little. There was no progress in his studies as well and slowly became the joke of the vige. Slowly, poverty set in. "Mei¡¯er, don¡¯t you worry! I will be an Imperial Schr and let you live the rest of your life in bliss!" Zhang Han was determined as he clenched his fists. "That¡¯s right! I shall wait for then!" His wife, who was busy, turned around and smiled, filling his heart with encouragement. In the ancient times, being an Imperial Schr was a big thing. They were not obliged to greet officials and were exempted from very. Additionally, officials would reward them with plots ofnd. The top students would be given a fixed amount of staples every month. Although they were still not considered rich, they were well-to-do. However, Zhang Han was a bit of a nerd and was unsessful many times in many examinations. Zhang Han felt a little different today. As he looked at his wife rushing towards the farm, he walked over. "Let me help you!" "That¡¯s not appropriate. You are a schr, how can you do the menial stuff?" Mei¡¯er rejected his help and spoke with fear in her voice. "Let me apany you!" There was nothing Zhang Han could do to convince Mei¡¯er. The couple walked along the farm. It was cold and there was a lining of frost on the leaves of the nearby trees. Zhang Han casually plucked a branch and waved it around at random. As the branch cut through the air, there was a buzzing sound as though he knew swordy. "Husband, it is cold. You should return!" Mei¡¯er carried a hoe on her shoulders and spoke with worry. "Your body has always been weak..." Since young, Zhang Han was a weak boy but now, although he did not wear thick clothing, he did not feel too cold. With a smile, he held Mei¡¯er¡¯s hands. "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m strong!" Although this was a normal act of intimacy, Mei¡¯er started to blush. "No... Don¡¯t do this here! If someone else sees us, we¡¯ll be in trouble!" In the olden times, there were many rules and teachings. Even legitimate couples performing acts of intimacy in public would provoke rumours to be spread, which might cause their death! Zhang Han was a schr and knew this. However, he did not let go. "Look around. There¡¯s nobody!" Both of them talked andughed as they arrived at their own farm. Mei¡¯er started to tend to the farm and Zhang Han had attempted many times to help her out but was rejected. Finally, he sat on a wooden stump next to the farm and started to read his books. As the sun rose, Mei¡¯er started to sweat and her sweat slowly dripped onto the soil. "Who would understand how much effort it takes to harvest rice..." Zhang Han shook his head and ced his book down. He quickly poured a cup of tea. "Mei¡¯er, take a rest. I can help out!" "It¡¯s alright! I¡¯m almost done!" Although she imed that she was almost done, she still stopped whatever she was doing and took the cup of tea over. Before she could say anything else, the galloping of a horse broke the silence. "Gallop! Gallop!" At the horizon, a few ck dots appeared. The ck dots slowly grew in size and the farmers around were stunned as they looked at the horses. Suddenly, there was a cry. "The horse bandits are here, run!" After running a few steps forward, the farmer who cried out was soon caught up by the horse. With a sh, his head rolled onto the floor and his blood spurted everywhere. His body continued to run a few steps forward before tumbling to the ground. "Father!" A well-built man cried as he waved his hoe. "D*mn you! I¡¯ll fight with you!" "Whoosh!" s, he was only a farmer. His strength, technique and equipment were far off from that of the horse bandits. Amidstughter, a horse galloped through and the long sword sliced effortlessly through the hoe and slicing the well-built man in half. His intestines and blood flowed out and it was a horrendous sight. "Run!" The other farmers finally realised what was going on as they ran for their lives towards the vige. "Haha..." As the horse banditsughed, they chased the farmers around and casually killed a few more of them. Although there were a few hundred people in the vigepared to the few horse bandits, the horse bandits were much more highly-skilled than the rest of them and the chaos which ensued made the vigers unable to regroup and defend. "Go!" Zhang Han grabbed his wife¡¯s hands and ran. Her hands felt cold, but there was no time to think about it. One of them was a schr while the other was a woman. Both of them could not run fast and started to trail behind, attracting the attention of the horse bandits. "Eh? Thatdy is sweet!" One of the horse bandits noticed Mei¡¯er and his eyes glittered as he galloped ahead. "Haha... schr, give me thisdy!" "Husband! Quickly leave! Don¡¯t care about me!" Mei¡¯er was determined as she pushed Zhang Han away. "No!" Zhang Han clenched his teeth. "I am willing to die together!" "What a couple. It¡¯s a pity I won¡¯t let your wishe true!" The horse banditughed and chased up to them. With a grip, he pulled Mei¡¯er onto the horse and struck his sword on Zhang Han¡¯s head. "Husband..." Amidst Mei¡¯er¡¯s wailing, Zhang Han¡¯s expression changed. Although he appeared stunned, he was already taking action. In that instant, Zhang Han tilted his body and avoided the sword. His right hand quickly struck out and gripped the horse bandit¡¯s wrist. With a pull, the horse bandit wailed as the sword flew out of his hand. "ng!" Zhang Han held the sword and sliced it in the air. A line of blood appeared on the horse bandit¡¯s forehead as he tumbled down the horse¡¯s back. The snatching of the sword and killing of the horse bandit happened within seconds. While the horse bandits behind were still cheering, the horse bandit in front tumbled down, which left them in shock. "Go!" Zhang Han leapt onto the horse and along with his wife, they galloped away. The horse was as swift as wind as it rushed towards the remaining horse bandits. "Die!" As he swung his sword out, with the strength of the moving horse, he sliced another hose bandit in half. "Ah!" The remaining horse bandits galloped ahead and eximed. "How dare you kill our people!" "Hmph!" Zhang Han did not reply them. Instead, he controlled the horse and swung his sword out a few more times. In a few seconds, another 2 horse bandits were sliced off their horses. "Spare me! Spare me!" Seeing this, thest horse bandit was petrified as he turned around and escaped. "Whoosh!" After galloping for a few seconds, a glow shed past and struck into the horse bandit¡¯s back. It was a sword. As the horse neighed, it flung the corpse off its back and continued galloping. "Phew... I would always know who would awaken first!" After killing the horse bandits, Zhang Han stopped the horse, kept the sword and gazed at the beauty in his arms. He had mixed emotions. "Husband... you..." Mei¡¯er was shocked at what had happened and has yet topose herself. "You¡¯ve sealed your memories? What an effort!" Zhang Han, nope! Fang Yuan sighed as he pointed his finger at her forehead. "You..." Mei¡¯er¡¯s mouth was bleeding and she appeared confused. She did not believe that he husband was capable of all that he had just done. Her eyelids became heavy as she started to close them. At that moment, she opened her eyes and had a mysterious look. "Impossible! I¡¯ve already harnessed the abilities of the magical equipment and arrays. How can you be self-aware so quickly?" If Fang Yuan did not be self-aware, the schr would die under the sword of the horse bandit and Mei¡¯er would act ordingly. This would surely leave a deep impression on her heart. If she were to repeat this for a few more lifetimes in the dream, she couldpletely destroy Fang Yuan! "You don¡¯t have to know this... Are you prepared to face the bacsh of intruding into my dream world?" With a sinister smile, the sword essences of the fire and water sword appeared in Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes. Slowly, it prated Mei¡¯er¡¯s eyes. "Reverse this! Dream in a dream! Go!" Fear was written all over Liu Mengmei¡¯s face. Within seconds, she fainted and lost her breath. "I¡¯ve caught you!" With a smile, Fang Yuan carried the corpse in his hands. He knew that she had the help of magical equipment and her dream world to recreate the past 3 years and force a snippet of memory into Fang Yuan¡¯s dream world. Strictly speaking, the dream only started from this morning. Liu Mengmei wouldn¡¯t give him so much time, or he might have the chance to be self-aware. Toplete the act to perfection, she used her own mind and sealed her own memories. It was a lot of effort for her to do this to reveal her truest emotions. "Life isplicated like a dream! Mei¡¯er... thank you!" Fang Yuan dismounted from the horse, dug a grave and buried Mei¡¯er. Afterwards, he quickly restored his true appearance and the dream world started to crack. As a dream master, he needed to have the strong willpower to leave the illusionary. This dream could be the best memory he would ever have, and yet it would not affect how he would live his life in the future. Entering a dream and leaving it would be akin to being reborn! Chapter 288: Love Tribulations Chapter 288: Love Tribtions Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Firecrackers erupted as the joyous wedding proceeded. "First bow to the Heaven and Earth! Second bow to the parents! Spouses bow to each other...." Under the master of ceremonies¡¯ address, the newlyweds bowed to each other and were sent for consummation. Donned in a wedding garb emzoned with red silk across his chest, the groom lifted the bride¡¯s veil with a jade ornament. Adorned in a grand phoenix tiara and wedding shawl, the belle¡¯s indescribable beauty radiated under the red candle lights with a tinge of shyness. "Mydy!" "My husband!" As the wedding candles extinguished, nothing could be heard. ... Out of the blue, the scene changed. A wedding entourage was happily celebrating, as the bride inside the marriage sedan wept. Suddenly, as they travelled across a hill, the bride jumped out of the marriage sedan as though she was crazy and dashed towards the tombstone beside the road. She took off her ceremonious wedding dress to reveal a solemn mourning dress. "Lady, please don¡¯t!" The matchmaker and the sedan porter were utterly shocked as they looked at the bride wield a dagger in front of the grave, with her face covered in tears. "If we can¡¯t be together when alive, then I rather be buried together in death!" The bride appeared resolute as she caressed the tombstone. All of a sudden, she rammed her head into it and a stream of blood flowed down the tombstone. The tombstone cracked open and two butterflies seemingly fluttered out. .... Abruptly, the scene changed yet again, now to a dangerous mountain peak. A young couple was being hunted down by arge group of martial arts experts. Both of them wielded swords, and the woman had an infant swaddled in her arms. "Father!" As the young woman turned back to look at a senior, a sorrowful expression appeared on her face, "Brother Tian and I are sincerely in love, in this two hundred over years the two families have been feuding with each other as mortal enemies, how many people have died by now? Isn¡¯t that enough?" "Outrageous! Even if you marry a dog or a pig it¡¯s still better than marrying this guy!" The senior was seething with rage as he spoke, "I rather not have such a daughter. Perhaps, I should have drowned you back then!" "Master..." The young man looked at his side¡¯s people with a forced smile. The two sides had been in a bloody brawl for hundreds of years. This time, because of the two lovers themselves, they finally joined forces for once. "Sigh..., you should just take your own life!" The master directly dered. It was rare for either of the two sides to be in agreement with their enemies. "Sister Mei, have you ever regretted before?" The young manughed and looked at his wife. "I have noints and no regrets! As long as I am with you, Brother Tian, I will never regret!" Not long after, a bloody battle erupted... ... Da Qian Empire. It was a cold night. The ck roc beast let out a loud, abrupt caw and sped up, with its back still steady. Inside a covert room in ck Roc Inn, ck Roc suddenly opened his eyes, "Array? Dream Entering?" Although he was supposed to respect the dream masters¡¯ privacy, he was allowed to monitor them if they were attacking each other in their dreams. After looking at the room number, it was all clear, with a slight headache, "As long as the issues between the Realm Alliance and the Divine Lotus Cult don¡¯t cause too much action and disturb others, I better care less to avoid being implicated!" "Eh?" Momentster, he wondered, "Can¡¯t believe the Reserve Divine Lady has such a high tiered treasure, this means the Dream Master is in danger. Hopefully, the issues don¡¯t be big problems..." Luckily, the two rooms were still rtively peaceful and he could finally be slightly at ease. However, a short whileter, his expression changed yet again. He was shocked to see Liu Mengmeiing out from his room, arriving in front of Fang Yuan¡¯s room. Such Sky numbered rooms had a Spiritual Will Imprint on it that could grant limited control powers. As the door squeaked open, it was evident that the person in the room had granted her permission to enter. Liu Mengmei hesitated a short while before entering the room. The events thereafter were what he could not see. Although he was really curious to know who won during this confrontation, he knew if he were to rashly intrude, he would definitely be discovered and this would foster animosity. "Perhaps, they are evenly matched and might even make peace?" Perplexed, ck Roc stroked his chin. ... "You came!" Inside the room, Fang Yuan sat cross-legged, smiling without saying anything. "Of course I came, you perverted guy! You got me into deep trouble!" Liu Mengmei blurted, as her eyes gleamed with both anger and joy, yet with a tinge of tenderness and surprisingly without resentment. Other people would have been pretty shocked to see such a look. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!" Fang Yuan shook his head. "Nevermind..." Liu Mengmei sighed, "Anyway, you have already be my psychological barrier. No matter what you do, I will still forgive you!" Just from her state, Fang Yuan could tell she was fully subdued by him. After a mere moment of happiness, a chilling thought emerged in Fang Yuan. ¡¯Deliberately intruding another Dream Master¡¯s Dream World is a highly dangerous move. Of course..., this woman put in lots of money to make use of rare treasures¡¯ powers to attempt to fully subdue me. Her Real Spirit entered my homeground, the first stage Dream World, and I almost lost. If she seeded, I am afraid I would have be a marite under her allure by now.¡¯ ¡¯Of course, now that the situation is reversed, not only did she not seed, on the contrary, I entered her Real Spirit¡¯s dream and nted the Eternal Love Tribtions Imprint on her heart. Even though it could only affect the inclination of her fondness, it was sufficient!¡¯ Naturally, it was impossible to fully control a Dream Master, even by any means, it would be discovered by an advanced stage Dream Master immediately. Hence, Fang Yuan chose another method, which was through utilising dreams within dreams, pestering for an eternity and nting hints, which made Liu Mengmei unknowingly fall in love with him. It was a choice she made herself, out of natural instincts, without being manipted by any external powers. Expectedly, it would leave no trace behind while appearing seemingly fitting and reasonable. Clearly, such situations were very rare, it required the Dream Master to deliberately intrude the opponent¡¯s dream with its own Real Spirit, and then be fought back by the opponent, with the Real Spirit falling into Dream World, and finally, the opponent can then possibly make its move. A Dream Master who deliberately invaded another person¡¯s dream world must either be profoundly skilled or fully prepared, so how could she make such a rookie mistake? And it was the fact that Liu Mengmei picked the wrong opponent that led her to such a state. "What are you thinking about, my dear husband..." Noticing that Fang Yuan was in deep thoughts, Liu Mengmei said, "I brought with me my whole heart for you to fully trust this time around, with just amand of yours, I will definitely not leak the whereabouts of my dear husband. Although the Divine Lotus Cult is giving us trouble, it¡¯s nothing but a death feud between you and Meng Lian, I will scheme for you and there will be no more futureplications!" "This sounds good!" Fang Yuan then said, "But can you not call me ¡¯dear husband¡¯!" "My love for you is already deeply rooted and resolute...." Liu Mengmei was on the verge of tears, she let out a distraught sigh and said, "Besides, in the Dream World, my dear husband has already taken advantage of me. Are you not going to admit it?" Even though Fang Yuan was shameless, his face turned red upon hearing that. Initially, she deliberately designed the Dream World and did not let him take any advantage of her. However, eternitiester, it was him who was toying with her Real Spirit. Naturally, he had no scruples. After having formed such a loving rtionship, there were no secrets left in front of her. "Okay, up to you!" Through that experience, Fang Yuan knew he broke her heart and has already be a psychological barrier in her heart. For her to progress, she could only either have the wisdom to break the bond between the two of them or to fully submit to him and there was no other choice! A wrong thought could cause devastating consequences beyond redemption, and such was the horror of battles between Dream Masters. "Also..., we have to maintain our hostile rtionship on the surface, there must be a reason for you toe and find me tonight. Hmm, let¡¯s just say we were evenly matched as we fought in the dreams, so you came to provoke me. Let¡¯s create a smallmotionter to prevent ck Roc from suspecting..." Now that Fang Yuan had gained so much from her, it was certainly not too much to utilise her even more. Fang Yuan then asked again, "Have you brought any rare treasures with you?" "As a Divine Lady, I am under the protection of the Divine Lotus Print, the Green Yang Divine Lantern,..." As Liu Mengmei listed her rare treasures, cold sweat dripped from Fang Yuan¡¯s forehead. Not only has she cultivated to the Illusionary Divine stage, she possessed numerous protective treasures. The odds were definitely even if they fought face to face. "Very good, you and I continue to do what we should do, after you reach the Middle Region, you notify your cult that you have aborted the mission as I was too troublesome to handle. There is no need to go too overboard in order to protect your own safety!" Fang Yuan immediately started to n, as with her as his pawn, it was definitely beneficial. "Thank you, my dear husband, for caring about me!" Fang Yuan knew Liu Mengmei was definitely very happy from the way her eyebrows moved as she smiled beautifully. After all, he experienced so much in the Dream World, he should be extremely familiar with her. "Also, when you are back, help me take note of two things. First, it¡¯s news about the Evil Divine Sect, things regarding Tian Xiezi..., and also, pay attention and look for the refinery of different spells, especially rare dream elemental force spells. Fang Yuan closed his eyes and said slowly. Liu Mengmei solemnly said, "Regarding the intelligence about the Evil Divine Sect, I can sort them out for you tomorrow. Whereas, regarding the refinery of rare elemental spells? With my current status, I only have information regarding one kind, which is theplete version of the 9 Smelting Technique that can refine rare elemental forces... However, they are ineffective to dream elemental force, but I also heard my Elder mentioned that the 9 Smelting Technique has another version which was known to exterminate all living matter and I believe the rare dream elemental force would not be able to survive it too!" "Just exchange theplete version of the 9 Smelting Technique for me!" Fang Yuan said directly, as he pulled out the small sword Elder Smelter gave him, "Do you recognise this item?" "I don¡¯t recognise it!" Liu Mengmei shook her head immediately. Fang Yuan had a small glimmer of hope, but could only let out a sigh as he kept the small sword. The item had a strange build and Fang Yuan did not dare to court death by keeping such an item with unknown origins in the real Dream World. Moreover, he suspected the item could not even be kept in the Dream World, else the Elder Smelter would not have spent so much effort to look for people to send him the mail. ¡¯I guess I can only start solving this mystery when I reach the Middle Region, at Tianmu Mountain?¡¯ At that moment, he had already made up his mind that he wanted Liu Mengmei to exhaust all channels to source for information regarding the mountain. Although the dreams kept cycling, he was detached from it, whereas Liu Mengmei was still deeply trapped in it. The stark differences between their situations naturally resulted in different mentalities. Truth be told, if Liu Mengmei seeded initially, the Fang Yuan now would be way more miserable than the Liu Mengmei now. Chapter 289: Old Mother of Tianshan Chapter 289: Old Mother of Tianshan Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions ck Roc was experienced in his trade and knew the dangers in the sky. Therefore, their journey was a rather smooth one as he avoided all the spiritual air soldiers. The ck roc beast was the ruler of the skies. By releasing its spiritual aura, the other ferocious animals would make way and would not find trouble for them. After finish acting with Liu Mengmei, both of them continued to live in their own rooms. After a few days, they made a few friends who were staying in the inn. Unknowingly, a month had passed and the number of dream masters gradually lessened as they alighted at their destinations. Finally, the people left behind were just Fang Yuan, Liu Mengmei and a few others. "Alright, this is the border of Middle Region. If we cross the border, there would be more soldiers patrolling in the skies. By then, even I would not be able to avoid all of them..." After all, Middle Region was where the royal family of Da Qian stayed. The security was extremely tight here and it was differentpared to the other regions. Needless to say, the capital was there and it was filled with powerful people. ck Roc wouldn¡¯t be so foolish as to go there and just bying to the border of the region was a risk in itself. "Thank you!" Fang Yuan and the rest were understanding as they thanked ck Roc and dismounted the ck roc beast. Liu Mengmei left with her servants and took onest nce at Fang Yuan. There was an unwilling look in her eyes and no one could guess that she hadpletely surrendered herself to Fang Yuan. "Haha... Brother Fang, be careful! The demonicdies of Divine Lotus Cult are a troublesome bunch!" A dream master noticed them exchanging nces andmented. He was short and plump like a round ball. Wearing a gold robe, he gave off the vibes of a rich person. There were 8 subordinates following him and among them were Wu Zongs and spiritual knights. He called himself ¡¯Qian Kuan¡¯! He was the person behind a small organisation in Middle Region and had a 3rd Tier Illusionary Divine cultivation. "I only wish for them not to think about me. That would be all!" Fang Yuan disyed a troubled look. "You¡¯re handsome and talented, but you seem a little empty... Have you gave it a thought? My promise still stands. Take your pick among my girls, and I shall give them to you!" Qian Kuanughed while the few servants behind him remained emotionless. A few of them lowered their heads in embarrassment, while others were winking at him, trying to attract his attention. "This... I don¡¯t think this is suitable for me. Thank you for your offer, though!" Although it was extremely normal for dream masters to exchange subordinates, Fang Yuan would not ept the offer from a stranger! After rejecting Qian Kuan, he promptly left. ck Rocughed as he witnessed this scene. After thest visitor had left, he sighed. "He is indeed carefree... It has been awhile since I saw someone like this. I wonder how far can he go... How is this any of my business?" He walked up the ck roc. With a chirp, it shot into the air and disappeared. ... "Middle Region is indeed the middle of the world. Even the elemental energy here is plentiful..." As he took a walk in the forest, he sighed. He could feel that the natural elemental energy was rather concentrated here. It was at least 5 times as dense as that in Sand Region. Therefore, normal humans living here would be able to increase their life expectancy and cultivators would be able to easily achieve breakthroughs. However, the most important was the fact that the capital was here and business was booming. With the increasing poption, the Middle Region would be as powerful as 5 other regionsbined! "Of course, the control of the Imperial Court is stricter here in Middle Region. It would be impossible for me to bluff my way through with a fake identity..." Previously, he was miles away from where everything was, but now everything was in front of him! There were plenty of soldiers and highly-skilled people here! Even the 4th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master ck Roc would fear the region. Fang Yuan would surely understand that he had nothing to show off here. "Tianmu Mountain!" Opening the map, he could see a path. "Mmm... This mountain is at the Northwest of Middle Region. It is only a few hundred miles from the Jade Capital. Or should I say... This is the limit of the 5 powerful organisations of the dream masters!" He now knew that Tianmu Mountain was an obstacle nted by the dream masters in the Middle Region. By the looks of it, the dream master in control of the mountain must be powerful. He had to be at least a 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master to stand firm under the scrutiny of the Imperial Court. "Could his cultivation be even higher... like the Prominent Divine Stage?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. ... After 7 days, Fang Yuan finally arrived at the foot of Tianmu Mountain. The tall mountain towered before him. What surprised him was that the mountain did not appear dangerous. In fact, there was a huge city at the foot of the mountain with trade happening everywhere. Business was booming "The owner of Tianmu Mountain..... How can I find you?" There were patrolling guards at the city gates. If Fang Yuan wanted to do something to bluff his way through, he would be able to do so. However, there was no need. He made his way around the city and went straight to Tianmu Mountain. He guessed that based on the owner¡¯s abilities, he should be able to detect Fang Yuan¡¯s arrival. The vegetation was dense and crickets chirped. Tianmu Mountain was covered with lush greenery and was full of elemental energy. It was an excellent ce for cultivators to train for it had gathered energy from everywhere. Of course, what piqued Fang Yuan¡¯s interest was the fact that there were traces of dream masters. He could detect it the moment he entered the mountain. "Come out!" After walking a few feet, Fang Yuan sighed and looked in a certain direction. "I have no grudges against you. Why are you stalking me?" "Whoosh!" As soon as he finished his sentence, the surroundings started to change. A wave appeared in mid-air and spread, revealing a hidden array meant to kill. The spiritual light on the array was glowing and the energy around the array was surging. Even Fang Yuan would be troubled by the array if he were to step in. But now, since the array was revealed, it was no longer a threat. "Although we have no grudges, the fact that you are visiting Old Mother of Tianmu means that you must have a token! Since you are in the fight as well, this is only normal!" From the shadows, a dream master emerged. He had white eyebrows but ck hair and seemed about 50 years old. With the cultivation of Illusionary Divine, he was considered rather good among the dream masters. "Oh? I¡¯d like to hear more about it!" Fang Yuan sighed. He knew that he was tricked by Elder Smelter and had unknowingly gotten himself involved in trouble. "Don¡¯t you know about it? Don¡¯t you have a token with you?" The dream master was confused as well. "Whoosh!" At that moment, a red streak of sword essence exploded in mid-air and shed. "You..." He shrieked as the space around him started to bend. As the sword essence struck onto the ground, a charred hole appeared. "A dream array master? With some illusionary spells?" Fang Yuanughed heartily and walked up. He blocked the path of the dream master as the dream master tried to escape into the array. With the wave of his hand, a chilly blue streak of sword essence appeared. "Go!" Combining the powers of fire and water, the array master started to retreat and quickly shouted a form. "Strike!" As he chanted his form, he started to distort and be translucent. It was as though he was about to disappear in the next moment. "Keke... What a small trick. Destroy!!!" 4 spiritual meridians appeared on Fang Yuan¡¯s back as his muscles started to grow. With that, he eximed. With the Seventh Elemental Force and the thick blood of Wu Zongs, the air around him shook, revealing the shocked face of the dream master. "You... do you want to live or die?" Since there might be a possibility of other highly-skilled people observing their fight, Fang Yuan did not want to continue using his powers as a dream master. Instead, he used his martial arts and with a flying kick, he struck the dream master and ced the fire sword on his neck. "Master!" Everything happened within seconds. Only when Fang Yuan held the dream master to his neck did a few people appear from the thick vegetation with shocked looks. "Tell me... what is the use of the token?" Fang Yuan held the fire sword and forced an answer. "How can you not know?" The dream master was in a daze. "Why are we still fighting, then?" "You speak too much nonsense!" Fang Yuan frowned. The fire sword flickered and the few surrounding Wu Zongs quickly retreated as though they had been hit. "A token is a token! It is the item you need to enter the Changli Mountain Hollow!" With his life on the line, the dream master spilt everything out. "Changli Mountain Hollow? What has it got to do with this token? Also, where is Old Mother of Tianmu, the owner of the mountain?" Fang Yuan probed further. "It has nothing to do with the token. The Changli Mountain Hollow is a joint discovery by the 5 powerful organisations of the dream masters. The token was also created by the 5 powerful organisations and it is rumoured that with the token, one will be able to get help from Old Mother of Tianmu to enter the Changli Mountain Hollow. Changli is a person rumoured to have attained the Prominent Divine Stage. Even though he had passed away, whatever that he left behind was enough for us descendants to enjoy for a long time toe..." With a sword by his neck, the dream master blurted out everything he knew quickly. "I see. You don¡¯t have a token, so you wanted to snatch mine. What a person..." Fang Yuan shook his head and asked a final question. "Where is Old Mother of Tianmu?" "This... I have no idea!" "Since you have no idea, what¡¯s the use of being alive?" A murderous look shed across Fang Yuan¡¯s face. He would not let anyone with ill intentions towards him get away. The fire sword shook and was about tond. "Bang!" As the ground shook, a green vine appeared and shielded the dream master from the sword. "Ding!" Although fire was the weakness of wood, the Leaving Fire Sword could not damage the green vine. Instead, there was a distinct sound like jade colliding with ice. A voice was heard in Fang Yuan¡¯s ear. "I don¡¯t wish to see blood!" "It¡¯s Old Mother of Tianmu! Greetings!" Seeing the appearance of Old Mother, Fang Yuan stopped and took a bow. "I know the intentions for your visit. I am willing to see you!" Fang Yuan kept his sword and followed the vine. Son, he arrived before a cliff, which was covered in green rocks. As soon as he arrived, the cliff started to split, revealing a ck tunnel. Chapter 290: Mountain Hollow Chapter 290: Mountain Hollow Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The tunnel was dark. As soon as he entered the tunnel, his mind entered a state of confusion. He could feel as though he was falling. Tensed, Fang Yuan prepared his sword essence. However, as soon as he woke up, he realised that he was standing in a hall. In front of him was a tform 10 feet wide and 30 feet tall. There was a glowing from the top of the tform like a sun, and there was a silhouette of a person on the tform. "Greetings, Old Mother of Tianmu!" Fang Yuan took a deep bow and felt stunned as he detected the person¡¯s vast and powerful spiritual aura. "Hehe... are you not afraid that you¡¯ve got the wrong person?" A clear voice travelled from the tform as though it was from a 15-year-old girl. ¡¯I don¡¯t really have a choice here!¡¯ Fang Yuan rolled his eyes inside but gave a respectful look. "Only the Old Mother of Tianmu would have such a majestic entrance!" "You¡¯re right! You¡¯re from the Realm Alliance. What are you here for?" The Old Mother on the tformughed, and Fang Yuan felt as though he was being seen through. "Ring!" At this point in time, there was a chime from his robes. The small sword flew out and shimmered a brilliant red. "This is a token from Elder Smelter of my alliance. Please ept it!" Fang Yuan continued respectfully. "Hehe... This token is not mine, but yours!" As the glow of the sun spread, the face of a beautifuldy appeared, but all that Fang Yuan could see was a pair of glittering eyes. Calm and emotionless... yet high up like a god. She seemed like the gods in the heavens from the other realms which he had visited. "Mine..." As he mumbled to himself, he realised that he had fallen into the n of Elder Smelter. "That¡¯s right! It is extremely rare for anyone from the 5 powerful organisations to get the chance to visit the Changli Mountain Hollow! Who would¡¯ve guessed that Elder Smelter would give it to you!" The Old Mother of Tianmu mocked him. "Could you be... his illegitimate son?" "... If I don¡¯t want this token, what will happen to me?" Fang Yuan was speechless and directly asked about the token. "There are no ifs. As long as you are a member of the 5 powerful organisations and you have the token, you can enter the Changli Mountain Hollow as you wish. If it is yours, it will be yours. Others cannot take this away from you, and you cannot reject this!" The Old Mother of Tianmu sounded strict, as though this was a heavenlyw. ¡¯This is not good!¡¯ Fang Yuan¡¯s hair stood on its ends. "Be on your way!" At that moment, from the Old Mother¡¯s finger, a streak of lightnded on the small red sword. After receiving the glow, the sword exploded and struck forward, shattering the mid-air. A door was revealed. Fang Yuan quickly felt a huge force pushing him towards the door. Before he could react, he was sucked into the door. In the next moment, the tform regained its peace once more, except for the golden glow of holy light which spread across the entire floor. "You¡¯re clever to be on your guard. However, it will depend on your luck to see if this is a good or bad thing for you!" Old Mother of Tianmu mumbled to herself. Soon, she returned to the glowing sun and disappeared. ... "What the hell!" In mid-air, a door appeared and a person fell from it. Fang Yuan hadposed himself andnded squarely on the branch of a tree. Looking at the dense vegetation, he knew that this was no longer Tianmu Mountain, but within a hollow. While he was travelling to this hollow, a line of information appeared, allowing him to understand where he was. "This is... the inside of the Changli Mountain Hollow?" The hollow was, in fact, a miniature version of a small world. Of course, such a miniature version was yet to be matured. Therefore, it still had to rely on the Da Qian Empire. Changli was a Prominent Divine dream master and after his passing, his inheritance was a hollow situated near Tianmu Mountain. Therefore, with the Old Mother of Tianmu in control and together with the power of the 5 powerful organisations, they had finally located the hollow. Unfortunately, the hollow would reject ess to highly-skilled dream masters. Therefore, in every organisation, they had to send a dream master of 4th Tier and below to explore the hollow. Everything would be kept a secret and only when the representatives arrive here, they would be briefed on the details of the hollow. Of course, Fang Yuan felt likeughing after knowing of this. "Why didn¡¯t he send someone who was loyal and had potential? Why did he send me? I have only just joined the alliance! This ce must be full of dangers lurking everywhere!" The state which he was in was akin to his many dream-traversing experiences. However, the only difference was that the hollow was within Da Qian and that he was using his real physical body! If he were to die, he would really die and there would be no chance for him toe back. "Elder Smelter, Old Mother of Tianmu... Although they might seem like respectable people in peacetime, they would be ever so willing to sacrifice those under them in times like this....." He shook his head and started to gather information about him. "Now... the hollow has yet to be activated. This should be the boundary of the hollow..." Fang Yuan looked far and could see ayer of fog all around, surrounding him and the forest within. "Based on the information, I will need to wait for another 2 months for the hollow to be activated. By then, the few of us selected explorers would have to explore the hollow and retrieve treasures from within. Of course, it would be best if we can obtain the Prominent Divine dream master¡¯s inheritance. If we can takeplete control over the hollow, the organisation wee from would be heavily rewarded!" Unfortunately, Fang Yuan was unwilling! "After my arduous exploration, the rewards will still not go to me!" "Fortunately, I have 2 months to spare... Furthermore, it seems like Old Mother of Tianmu has intentionally split the explorers up to prevent us from killing each other and wasting our energy..." The size of a hollow would be as huge as a region or even a few regionsbined. With such a huge area and being separated by an array, other dream masters would not dare to do anything to it and hiding a few people within the hollow would most likely go undetected. Of course, when the restrictions would be lifted and when all of them would head to the centre of the hollow, they would be detected by then. "Does this mean that... now is my precious time to rest?" Fang Yuanughed, examined the geography of the area and casually came to a cave. The hollow of this Prominent Divine dream master was indeed impressive. Every flower, every grass, every rock and every tree was exactly the same as the outside world. Also, there was an exact same sun which red from the skies. Fang Yuan could notprehend suchplexity. Instead, he closed his eyes and attempted to enter the Dream Realm. "I cannot feel it... It seems like I am separated from it by a void space... It seems that although the hollow depends on Da Qian for its existence, it is still an independent world after all..." Fang Yuan sighed. As soon as he realised that he was unable to enter the Dream Realm, most of his ns became futile. This would mean that he would not be able to call for backup. "They didn¡¯t even give me time to prepare. It feels like they are plotting something against me... It¡¯s a pity that even if I am able to make it out alive, I am unable to immediately get my revenge!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes were burning with passion. "Looking at my 2nd Tier cultivation, it seems like I would be the weakest among all the explorers. Without any magical equipment to protect me, I would be endangered..... Extremely endangered!" "In the next 2 months, I must quickly increase my cultivation. I must at least achieve the 3rd Tier of Illusionary Divine and gain some experience from the hollow before I be capable enough to explore the heart of the hollow. If I am discovered by other dream masters, I can only fight with all my life!" "The only solution is the dream-traversing technique!" Fang Yuan mumbled to himself and a look of determination appeared on his face. He had yet to reach the maximum potential in the previous Water Realm. Therefore, he had left with the intention to return and reap everything from it in the future. And now, his physical body was facing a threat. He could not care so much and had to do whatever he could. "Although I will only have 1 to 2 years over there, with careful nning, I will be able to gain enough karma! This is what I can use to protect myself!" Fang Yuan gritted his teeth. After sealing the cave, he did a thorough check of his surroundings before starting to dream-traverse. "The previous two times, I had the assistance of the Realm Spirit. Now, I will have to locate the coordinates myself, making it more troublesome. Furthermore, I will have to take care of my own physical body. Fortunately, with the Three Corpse Seven Murderous Magic Splitting Technique, I can leave a hint of consciousness to check on my physical body. If I encounter any danger, I can wake up immediately!" As for locating the coordinates outside the Dream Realm, Venerable Dream Traverser had also described the process before... Most importantly, it is fortunate that I have gone to the Water Realm before with the use of Realm Evidence. With my incarnation within the Water Realm, it shouldn¡¯t be too hard to awaken it!" He adopted afortable posture andid down before executing his dream traversing technique. As he closed his eyes, among the universe, it was as though one of the worlds had detected him and started to call out to him. This was the connection between his real body and his incarnation. They shared the same consciousness and it would be extremely hard to separate them. "This is the one!" A Yin Spirit floated out and shook in mid-air. As it condensed elemental force, it started to perform a ritual. In the middle of the ritual, space started to distort and slowly, a swirl appeared in mid-air. The calling from the incarnation was hearding from the swirl. Seeing this, Fang Yuan leapt into the swirl without hesitation. "Bloop!" As the swirl shook, it dispersed. As everything darkened, the cave returned to its original state. ... Tianmu Mountain. mes started to appear as a fiery dragon danced around and transformed into a child. Looking up at the tform, there was a look of fear and respect written on his face. "Old Mother of Tianmu, all my people have entered!" "The Realm Alliance contributed 5 people and both the Divine Lotus Cult and Evil Divine Sect contributed 6 people each. Baize Mountain contributed 3 people and Source Seeking Sect contributed 1. Including the 10 over lone cultivators that we have attracted, everyone is ounted for..." On the tform, the glow was ring. Old Mother of Tianmu appeared and she was calm. "We have arranged it in a way that they will all meet as soon as the heart of the hollow is activated. There will be surely more than 20 deaths and we will fulfil the requirement of blood sacrifice..." "Sigh..." The Fiery Dragon Child who was possessed by Elder Smelter sighed. "Who would¡¯ve guessed that the seal of Changli Mountain Hollow would require the blood sacrifice of dream masters in the Illusionary Divine Stage to be broken for us to enter? All of us have no choice. At most... we shallpensate whoever is fortunate among them to survive!" Chapter 291: Return Chapter 291: Return Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The seal on Changli Mountain Hollow was real, but Old Mother of Tianmu would surely not tell Fang Yuan the truth. They were just sacrificial sheep! They were nned to kill each other and from there, satisfy the requirements to break the seal. Because of this, every organisation put in their best effort to trick neers into entering the hollow. "Sigh... Why is the requirement so weird? To ask for Illusionary Divine dream masters under the age of 60? Although we have such talents, they are painstakingly trained by us. How can we sacrifice them just like that? The only solution is that every organisation contribute a few..." Elder Smelter sighed. "Why is that? Are you soft-hearted now?" Old Mother of Tianmuughed. "Nope!" Elder Smelter¡¯s expression remained unchanged. "We are not killing thempletely. It¡¯s just that we¡¯ve given them a slim chance of survival and it¡¯s up to them to see if they can do it. Furthermore, after the seal is broken, they can also enjoy the spiritual treasures in the hollow. This will be their fate! Whoever can survive will be the true talents! The rest of them would be killed because they are useless and do not deserve to survive!" "Haha... Well said!" Before Old Mother of Tianmu could continue, a ck silhouette on the wall startedughing. "Dream masters are all respectable! How can we let the useless people destroy our reputation? Only by such a method can we sieve out the real dream masters. The representative from Source Seeking Sect is a reserved who is already aware of the requirements of breaking the seal! Furthermore, he has voluntarily entered the hollow even after knowing what would happen! If he were to survive, we can officially recognise him as a dream master!" "Old Xue!" Elder Smelter was stunned. As his eyes blinked continuously, there was fear written on his face. After all, the bunch of dream masters from Source Seeking Sect were all crazy! They were not just crazy, but also powerful and would do anything to attain their goal. Everyone would feel a little uneasy when facing people from the Source Seeking Sect. "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m just here to take a loot... After all, we have a stake in the Changli Mountain Hollow!" Old Xueughed, which did not ease their emotions. "Alright, I want to remind everybody that this ce is too close to the Jade Capital. The Imperial Court has yet to discover the Changli Mountain Hollow. However, at the moment of blood sacrifice, the energy of the hollow would surge and the Hidden Dragon Guards would be able to locate the hollow and make their way here..." "If the 5 organisations unite, why should we be afraid of the Hidden Dragon Guards?" There were mes in Elder Smelter¡¯s eyes as hemented. "We¡¯re not afraid of the Hidden Dragon Guards. But if the Imperial Court sends every highly-skilled person they have, we will have trouble!" Old Mother of Tianmu added. "The Imperial Court is the biggest thief of all!" Elder Smelter was enraged by sounded jealous at the same time. It was no joke that the royal family of Da Qian had the power of the heavens! Even if normal True Divines and True Elemental spiritual knights would reach their peaks, they would be able to achieve another breakthrough under the blessing of the Dragon Meridian. If they do so, they would be as strong as a Prominent Divine dream master! Although there were only a few of such people, together with the Hidden Dragon Guards, they were on par even if the 5 powerful organisations were tobine forces. If they did have such abilities, the royal family of Da Qian would be wiped out long ago. "Hehe... That¡¯s right!" Old Xue¡¯s voice was sharp like a bird. "With the geographical advantage, they are fortunate... We believe that it is the Imperial Court¡¯s doing that prevented us from being able to find the source of dream masters... In reality, the inheritance, the hollow, all these are small issues. The 5 organisations shoulde together to destroy the royal family of Da Qian or even sacrifice their blood. From then, we might be able to trace the source of dream masters..." "Keke..." Elder Smelter exchanged nces with Old Mother of Tianmu and wasughing inside. The bunch of dream masters from Source Seeking Sect were indeed crazy! ... Water Realm, Golden Lake Prefecture, ck Lake District. The District Leader was no longer Xu Ren. Because of hismendable efforts, he was promoted to the prefecture level after 3 years. He was now a Prefecture Minister. In fact, he was ted to be the Prefecture Minister after the retirement of the current Prefecture Minister. Therefore, many people started to support him and establish good rtions with him, making him rather influential. At this point in time, an old daoist with a head full of white hair brought along two children and were strolling on the streets in ck Lake District. "Mm, the people are doing well and there have been no more sightings of evil gods ckmailing the people. This is good governance!" The old daoist smiled and stroked his beard in satisfaction. "I¡¯ve heard that this is the work of the previous District Leader, the current Prefecture Minister, Xu Ren. He was strict and harsh against thieves and robbers and took the initiative to clear evil gods. He also took extra care of the old people and educated the masses. In 3 short years, the people in the district would no longer steal and there was no need to lock their doors while they were sleeping at night. This is true prosperity..." The child behind continued but appeared to be only 12-years-old. On the other hand, the other child looked around and lowered his voice. "The current district leader Zhang Gui is under Xu Ren... Xu Ren served out of pure loyaltyst time. Now, he has settled down in the Golden Lake Prefecture. Not only did he shift his entire family here, he has also bought numerous plots ofnd and rebuilt temples. With all his assets, he is the most influential family in Golden Lake Prefecture!" "If this is his fate, then it is normal..... Otherwise, how else should he n for his future?" The white-bearded old daoist smiled. "The uprising of the people dao is the trend. We daoists should follow the heaven¡¯s intention. Everyone in the Xu Family would be heavily involved in the uing tribtion. We must pay close attention!" "This of course!" The child behind chuckled. "Our people have been instructed to establish good rtions with him. Otherwise, as an official from a foreignnd, without us secretly helping him to influence the Imperial Court, do you think he will be able to have such progress? Not to mention how smooth it was for his family to settle down?" "It¡¯s a pity.... The Xu Family is close to many demons..." The child at the side sighed. "Who knew how the demons started?" "From the Killer Tribtion, the fates of everyone would be messed up. This is only normal!" The old daoist¡¯s beard drifted with the wind, but his tone was chilly. "These demons want to support the Dragon Court and take our share of fate energy and karma! By killing Clear Wind, they have disyed their persistence! We shall allow that carp demon to live for another day. Hehe, when the time is right, we shall kill the demons in front of Xu Ren to disy our might!" The 3 of them spoke as they walked. Although there were passers-by, they did not leak any information. Soon, they arrived on the outskirts of the city. "Grandmaster, are we here to kill the giant demon?" A child asked. Seeing that there was no one around, he toyed around with a hint of sword essence in his hands. The sword essence was a pure white and as extremely concentrated. However, in his hands, the sword essence became liquid-like and flowed around. The child¡¯s cultivation in swordy was shocking! Since he looked young, he had to be a reincarnation and was a powerful person in his past life. "That¡¯s right, it¡¯s that giant demon!" At the outskirts, the old daoist no longer tried to conceal himself. As energy surged around him, his robes flew with the wind. It was a majestic sight to behold; he was like a deity. Behind him, the two children transformed into swordlight andbined. "Have we located the Giant Venomous Snake?" "Yes!" The white-bearded daoist was infuriated. "We had detected something the moment Venerable Clear Wind died. However, the killer was too cruel and did not even leave his spirit behind. Without and leads and after a few years, I have received a prediction from an elder fortune teller. Finally, I know that this is the doing of the two demons from ck Lake District!" "That carp demon has the protection of the fate energy from Xu Ren, so let¡¯s forget about her for the moment. The Giant Venomous Snake is the culprit behind all and lives in seclusion. Therefore, we must kill it to appease our brother. Otherwise, everyone would think that Xuan Zhen Sect is weak!" "Although this demon has weak karma, it is extremely cunning and would not leave traces behind. We have tracked it a few times but in the past few times, it has escaped sessfully... Not this time!" "Rumble!" As the 3 of them spoke, they had entered a forest. The skies changed and fish-scaled clouds appeared. The dark clouds brought with them an atmosphere of danger. "Is this... Heavenly Tribtion?!" The daoist was extremely familiar with such a vibe. The clouds were different from the usual dark clouds and therefore, he could immediately identify it. "Haha... That¡¯s right! This is a Heavenly Tribtion!" The old daoistughed heartily. "That Giant Venomous Snake is extremely powerful and has a few tricks up its sleeves. It will be hard to deal with it. However, I have asked the fortune teller to calcte the ripe time to strike. This is the tribtion period of the demon, and therefore, it will not be able to escape us!" There was a murderous look on his face. "With such a weak fate energy, do you think you can transform into a dragon? Hehe... We are involved in this demon¡¯s people tribtion! Striking together with the Heavenly Tribtion, it has no way of escaping!" With the dark clouds, lightning and thunder, it was the bestpass to guide them to the Giant Venomous Snake. The 3 daoists made their way and soon after, they had arrived at the foot of a mountain. At the foot of the mountain, there was a source of spring water. The spring water was chilly and gave off cold vibes. Streaks of lightning began to rip across the skies, forming a of lightning. "Haha... This demon¡¯s Heavenly Tribtion is indeed powerful! We might not need to strike, and it will be dead!" Seeing this, the old daoist was overjoyed. However, he became confused. "This doesn¡¯t seem right... By helping Xu Ren and clearing the evil gods, it has umted good deeds. How can it have such a weak fate energy? How can its Heavenly Tribtion be so intense?" "This must be because it had gone against the Xuan Zhen Sect! By doing so, it had put itself against the people dao!" A childughed. "Regardless, this is good news to us!" "That¡¯s right!" The old daoist stroked his beard. The 3 of them were daoists and were afraid of approaching the tribtion. Therefore, they looked at everything from afar. "Kacha!" "Whoosh!" Water sshed everywhere and a huge ck silhouette appeared. It had a snake¡¯s head ad 4 legs. The scales on its body were ck but had a hint of golden glow. As it looked up into the sky, it roared like a ferocious beast. "What a Giant Venomous Snake!" The 3 daoists turned shocked. "With such power, no wonder it can attempt to transform into a dragon!" Chapter 292: Horned Dragon Chapter 292: Horned Dragon Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The Giant Venomous Snake was a powerful type of snake! With 4 additional legs, it could walk onnd and swim in the water. It had limitless abilities. But s, its snake properties were still more than its dragon properties. It was still a beast! To be a dragon, it had to undergo aplete transformation! As well as undergo a tribtion! Now, the scales of the Giant Venomous Snake glittered; it was evident that it had plenty of dragon properties in it. It was unbelievable. However, this was only Fang Yuan¡¯s incarnation. In the past 10 years, it had continuously absorbed the essence of the Dragon Pearl and had grown tremendously. As it roared, its demonic energy exploded from its body and acted as a shield. As the streak of lightning struck its body, there was only a charred mark with no severe injuries. With how things were, although there were a few more Heavenly Tribtions toe, it could survive all of them with its brute force and transform into a dragon! "What a demon! Do you really think you can be a dragon? The Xuan Zhen Sect will never allow it to happen!" The white-bearded old daoist gritted his teeth and whipped out a spiritual talisman which was giving off a purple glow. "I invite all the grandmasters of Xuan Zhen Sect, and together with the help of karma, to destroy this beast!" "Whoosh!" The spiritual talisman swirled and formed a purple glow as it shot into the sky. "Kacha! Kacha!" Ayer of dark clouds formed, filled with streaks of lightning within. They were tribtion clouds and together with the natural heavenly lightning, the intensity of the tribtion increased by folds in that instant. With a single bolt of lightning, the Giant Venomous Snake wailed as blood spurted out. A big hole was struck on its body and around it were charred marks. "The Magical Thunder Talisman is the treasure of the sect! There are limited numbers of them and every usage would consume a huge amount of karma and fate energy from the sect..." Both child daoist were shocked. "This Giant Venomous Snake is already disying properties of a dragon. If we really allow it to transform, it will be much more powerful than it was. How can we let that happen? After all, this is a threat to our sect. We have to kill it now!" The old daoist roared. "Both of you, quickly help!" "Kill!" Both children exchanged nces. With a wave of their hands, two streaks of sword essence appeared. One was green while the other was purple. Both of them swung their sword essences at the Giant Venomous Snake. The two children were actually reincarnations of the elders from Xuan Zhen Sect. They were equipped with the Purple Sword and Green Sword. Although these two swords were still inferiorpared to the spiritual treasure of the sect, they were still powerful magical equipment and wereparable to the lightning tribtion! The swordlight and streaks of lightningbined as they circled the Giant Venomous Snake. It was an emergency! ... "D*mn, what is this all about?" It was a whole new experience for Fang Yuan to locate the world by himself and execute the dream-traversing technique independently. However, that feelingpletely changed as soon as he entered the Water Realm. A huge force was felt, as though it was about to separate Fang Yuan from his incarnation and iste him outside of the Water Realm. The good thing was that the locating of the Water Realm was already in effect. With his incarnation in the realm as well, it was not that easy to separate Fang Yuan from the realm. He was forcefully squeezed into the realm but it felt as though he was locked up in a wooden box and spun around. His spirit felt ufortable. After spinning, he opened his eyes. His dream-traversing technique was sessful as he entered his incarnation. In a short moment, he adapted to his body as information flooded his mind. "What? It has been 15 years?" "Is my Giant Venomous Snake undergoing a tribtion now?" Fang Yuan looked up at the streaks of lightning and felt a little dizzy. "Isn¡¯t one month in Da Qian equivalent to one year here? Why is it 10 years now? It this because of the tribtion here? That it does not want to be disturbed?" Of course, he could slowly think about all these next time. More importantly, he had to survive this tribtion! "It was a good thing that I brought along with me the karma I had earned. However, since this incarnation is slowly breaking down the Dragon Pearl and absorbing the dragon element, there shouldn¡¯t be any problem with it!" He raised his head and was deep in thought as he observed the dark clouds dissipating. At this moment, a purple glow appeared and the Heavenly Tribtion struck once again. Furthermore, two streaks of swordlight shed by. One was green while the other was purple, and both had the intent to kill. "D*mn!" Fang Yuan was enraged. "Who dares to attack me!" There was a hint of gold in his eyes. He wanted to kill. "Go!" With that, he activated his actualised dream world. The remnants of people dao karma appeared and formed a golden flower. The golden flower floated to the top of his head before disappearing. "Buzz!" The link between the actualised dream world and the realm strengthened once more as two magical swords appeared before the Giant Venomous Snake. "Water-Fire Dual Sword Array, strike!" "Whoosh!" Both the Fire Sword and Water Sword flew out, forming a small sword array. With a single sweep, it trapped both the green and purple sword essence within the array. However, this was all Fang Yuan could do. In the next moment, the streaks of lightning turned purple and covered the Giant Venomous Snake. "Rumble!" Everything shook. Following, the dark clouds dissipated and sunlight peeked through the clouds. The destructive scene felt like an illusion. "Eh? Is the Giant Venomous Snake dead?" The old daoist and the two children exchanged nces. Following, they walked up and saw a 90-feet-long ferocious Giant Venomous Snake corpse. The corpse was jet-ck and was filled with many holes on its body. Every hole was charred and there was a creepy silence in the vicinity. "It¡¯s impressive that it is still able to preserve its corpse after undergoing the Heavenly Tribtion and my Magical Thunder Talisman!" One of the children scoffed and sounded confused. "Where did the Water and Fire Sword go to? The swords that trapped our sword essences!" "Hehe... This Giant Venomous Snake is considered a powerful demon. It must have some treasures in it! We cannot let it go to waste!" The other childughed and walked up, ready to slit open the demon¡¯s stomach. "Eh? Something¡¯s not right, let¡¯s get out of here!" The old daoist was stroking its beard. Seeing the child walking up to the corpse, he did not think too much. However, a piece of jade around his waist suddenly gave off an rm which sent chills down his spine. "Whoosh!" One of the children bent over and was inspecting the Giant Venomous Snake¡¯s corpse. It could not run in time and was struck by a White Bone Flying Sword. Without a shriek, he copsed and his spirit was destroyed as well. A small purple sword dropped to the ground and a distinct sound was heard. It was still shimmering in its glow, which showed that it had extreme spiritual properties and was unwilling to be destroyed just like that. "Brother!" Seeing this, the old daoist and the other child started to tear in their eyes. "Demon, die!" "Ssh!" Swordlight and magical techniques sliced away at the corpse, breaking it into many pieces. However, within the corpse, there was a golden glow. The silhouette appeared. The silhouette was only 3 feet long. It was like a small green-gold snake. The scales on it were green and they emitted a golden glow. On its head, there was a small horn. As it looked up towards them, there was no snake property. Instead, it had a powerful vibe like a dragon! It was no longer a snake, but a dragon! The 7th Transformation of the 9 Steps of Dragon Transformation Form! The Horned Dragon Transformation! It was recorded in the : "A young dragon with a horn is a Horned Dragon! It would have the body of a fish, the tail of a snake, patterns on its body and a horn on its head!" In fact, this was how a dragon would look like before maturity. Even though it was young, it was still a dragon! It was no longer like the previous fish and snakes, and it had magical properties as well! It would be able to dispel poison and give off a righteous vibe. "The heavens are blind to let you transform into a dragon!" The old daoist was devastated. Dragons were the leaders of all animals. They would be able to control the weather like a real god. Any demon who would be able to transform into a dragon would be considered powerful! A demonic god! They were impressive. To put it in another way, Fang Yuan was now eligible to be the Golden Court Dragon God based on his magical powers and his species. It was partly fate for him to be able to achieve to this far. Cultivators would at much as possible avoid killing these dragons, for they would experience a decrease in fate energy and would have to undergo a Heavenly Tribtion themselves! After undergoing the tribtion, Fang Yuan was now a dragon and waspletely different from before! "The heavens are fair to every living thing! Since everyone has the same treatment, why can¡¯t I be a dragon?" With a golden glow, a young man d in golden robes appeared; it was Fang Yuan. But now, this was no longer his Yin Spirit. It was his actual physical body. Higher-tiered demons would face more difficulties in trying to form a figure. In the 9 Steps of Dragon Transformation Form, Fang Yuan would only be able to form the human body at the 7th Transformation. Of course, the formed figure would be a human of 15-years-old and would have decent looks, unlike those of the demons. With a coldugh, Fang Yuan continued. "Look at you. You are with the people dao, and yet you are afraid that others would have a share of karma. You say that the heavens are unfair but in fact, it is you people who are selfish! The people dao are losers!" The old daoist and the leftover child looked at Fang Yuan as their heart shook. In that instant, they felt as though they were the ones in the wrong. "What a minute... this must be one of your demonic techniques! Don¡¯t be confused!" The old daoist reacted quickly and eximed. As he recited a form, a glow covered his entire body like a bubble. This formed a defensive shield around him. The remaining child, although a reincarnation of an elder, had not restored all of his cultivation. He was left rooted to the ground, not knowing what to do. "Whoosh!" Fang Yuan would not let this chance go to waste. With a finger, the Water-Fire Dual Sword Array flew out, forming a sword array and trapping the child. He released the sword essence from both swords and in that instant, a green spiritual sword fell to the ground and vibrated. "You..." Seeing Fang Yuan walking up to pick up both the Purple Sword and Green Sword, the old daoist was infuriated. Both swords were still vibrating but were well in Fang Yuan¡¯s control. The old daoist spat out a mouthful of blood and was enraged. Although these two children were reincarnations of elders with cultivations in spiritual swords, their powers were now restricted and instead, they had lost both spiritual treasures. "Demon! How dare you take my sect¡¯s flying swords?" The old daoist was anxious and with the wave of his sleeves, two streaks of ck rope flew towards Fang Yuan. They were like ck snakes as they wrapped around the Purple Sword and Green Sword. Not just that, the old daoist continued to recite a form in an attempt to re-ignite the two swords. "These heavenly treasures belong to those who have them... Now that I have them, they are mine!" Fang Yuanughed heartily. Since they were enemies now, how could he return them their weapons? From the time he had killed Venerable Clear Wind, the tussle between the sect and him had already begun. Only one side could be left standing. Thinking about this, Fang Yuan quickly used his karma flowers. As they were being consumed, the resistance from both swords started to reduce. "What treasures!" Fang Yuan was overjoyed. "Don¡¯t think about having these two swords back!" Chapter 293: The Encounter Chapter 293: The Encounter Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Fang Yuan had sessfully transformed into a dragon and had absorbed more than half of the Dragon Pearl within him. Now, the power in his dragon body was surging and it was unbelievable. The few daoists with their cultivation were now inferior to Fang Yuan. With the wave of his hands, the sword essences of the fire and water sword exploded. The two ck ropes disintegrated in the sky. "You!" In shock, the jade around the old daoist waist started to glitter and a glow emerged, covering him. "Whoosh!" With the rumbling of thunder, a White Bone Evil ying Sword shot out like an arrow and pierced through his forehead. The shocking sword essence shattered his elemental clone. "Bang!" The headless corpse of the old daoist fell to the ground and dyed the ground with his ck-coloured blood. "Hehe... I¡¯m afraid these 3 daoists are among the powerful ones in Xuan Zhen Sect! Would this be enough to be considered as a strong blow to Xuan Zhen Sect?" Fang Yuan thought to himself. After killing these 3 daoists, it would affect his karma, but that didn¡¯t matter. This was because he had already transformed into a dragon and his ability alone would be able to ovee the loss of fate energy. Therefore, killing these 3 daoists were nothing. Looking at his stats window, Fang Yuan realised that there was a tremendous change: "Name: Fang Yuan Race: Horned Dragon Essence: 36 Spirit: 36 Magic: 40 Profession: ??? Cultivation: ??? Technique: [Nine Steps of Dragon Transformation Technique (7th Transformation)], [Weather Controlling Technique (Grade 1)], [Natural Magical Strength (Grade 3)], [8 Gates Sword Array (3rd Sword) (2%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "My current stats are about the same as my true stats in the world I belong to. My Magic has been restored to how it was due to the fact that I had used karma to restore the link with my actualised dream world... Has Grade 5 of the Water Controlling Technique evolved to Weather Controlling Technique?" Fang Yuan rubbed his chin and nced at his techniques before letting out a sigh. "Or should I say... Grade 5 is a stage in itself and after achieving a breakthrough, there will be changes to the technique. Since my skill is in Botany, should I expect something to change after achieving a breakthrough in it?" At this point in time, he was extremely sure that if he were to achieve the 8th Transformation to be a water dragon, the cultivation of his incarnation would surpass his actual cultivation level. This was nothing much though; the greater his abilities, the better he would be able to reap from this world. There was a tinge of excitement on Fang Yuan¡¯s face. "Who would¡¯ve thought that time would pass quicker in this world after the tribtion! This is indeed fate for me to enter the realm at the correct time!" Originally, he nned to kill his way to achieve the next transformation but now, he was living in the moment he had been waiting for! With a happy heart, he started to scavenge for loots. Both the child daoists had nothing on them, but the elder daoist had a few treasures with him, especially the piece of jade around his waist. After keeping it, Fang Yuan shot his finger out. The mes from his sword essence erupted, incinerating the 3 corpses into ashes. "Xu Ren has done a good job... Has he been appointed the Prefecture Minister already? There¡¯s Xu Ting as well. He is 18 this year and should be experiencing a tribtion soon..." He rushed towards the prefecture city in a hurry. Previously as a Giant Venomous Snake, he would give off a demonic vibe wherever he go. Now, as a dragon, he could go anywhere and people would wee his auspicious vibe. ... Golden Lake Prefecture, Prefecture City. Next to the Xu Family Mansion, Fang Yuan sat by a roadside stall, took out some money and bought himself a pot of tea and a few dim sum. Heartily, he started to indulge. In his consciousness, he started to retrieve the memories of his incarnation for the past 10 years. "The powerful countries of the people dao would be Da Chu, where Xu Ren is at, Da Qi and Da Liang... Da Chu is experiencing a downfall now with the death of her previous king. The new king is only 8-years-old and power still lies in the ministers around him. With the weakening of the Imperial Court and the natural disasters that are happening, Da Chu is in a mess... The Imperial Court will have no choice but to take things into their own hands and take Da Chu back!" "Golden Court Prefecture... It is still quite prosperous but unfortunately, it is a few towns away from the Imperial Court and the Imperial Court will have difficulties helping the prefecture. Therefore, it seems as though the prefecture is governing itself..." This was the time. However, as the people dao became stronger, the fact that there were involvements of demons meant that things were much moreplicated. "Under Xu Ren, the evil gods in Golden Lake Prefecture have been cleared and the emergence of the few righteous god like Golden Court Dragon God ensured that support was given entirely to the people dao. Therefore, there have been fewer cases of evil demons wrecking havoc..." "On the other hand, in the An River and Qi Lake, the demons have be increasingly rampant. Could the demons have known of the trend of the world and could this be their response to it?" Of course, there were intellectual demons among them and Fang Yuan felt that things wouldn¡¯t be as simple as they seem. "Looking at things now, the king is young and the time is ripe. If he doesn¡¯t take any action now, he would miss out on a golden opportunity..." Although Fang Yuan¡¯s incarnation was living in seclusion for the past few years, it had received messages from Li Luan. From there, Fang Yuan could deduce and predict the happenings of the uing tribtion. "Things will have toe together after splitting, and split aftering together... Looking at the state of Da Chu and the fact that Da Qi and Da Liang did not invade Da Chu meant that both Da Qi and Da Liang are having their own domestic problems as well. If there were to be an uprising of a dragon, Da Chu could have its peace restored and could even take over Da Qi and Da Liang. Fate energies would surge everywhere and the people dao would prosper!" Fang Yuan thought silently to himself. Of course, the dragon might not appear in Da Chu. As long as it would appear anywhere with people and civilisation, things could still happen. With the emergence of dragons and other demons, there were too many factors, too much for Fang Yuan¡¯s experience toprehend. "Guest?" As he was deep in thought, he attracted the attention of many passers-by. The stall owner walked up to Fang Yuan, confused. "I am waiting for someone! You don¡¯t have to serve me!" Without thought, he waved his hands and smiled. The person he was waiting for had arrived. "Hiss..." Following the direction in which Fang Yuan was looking at, the stall owner took a nce and saw a 15-year-old young woman walking out from the Xu Family Mansion. As she came out, she was stunned and speechless. "Greetings brother, I am Li Luan!" Thisdy was indeed Li Luan. However,pared to how she was before, there was a huge difference. As they exchanged their greetings, both of them were shocked at each other. Li Luan was shocked at Fang Yuan¡¯s sessful transformation and the fact that he no longer had any demonic vibes, but the vibe of a majestic dragon. Her senses told her that Fang Yuan had the same vibe as her father, who was also a dragon! Of course, just by her eyesight along, she was unable to deduce that Fang Yuan had sessfully transformed into a dragon; she could only tell that he had tremendous improvement in his cultivation. Fang Yuan was stunned by the fact that Li Luan had a physical body. "Who would¡¯ve thought... that you can undergo a sessful reincarnation and be a human!" With the flick of his finger, he segregated the both of them from the rest with a spell beforementing. He was right! Thedy before him was a true physical human, not a demon! Li Luan must have gave up in being a demon and went into a pregnantdy to be born after 10 months. In this way, she could have a physical human body and this was simr to the two children from Xuan Zhen Sect. "No wonder they cannot do anything to you!" Fang Yuan was initially confused. Even with Xu Ren¡¯s protection, there were many highly-skilled humans who would not allow her to evene close to the Xu Family. He wouldn¡¯t have guessed that she would have the resolution to reincarnate into a human! "This is nothing much. After all... I have been following the Xu Family for all these years. With your help, I have slowly understood fate... The uprising of the people dao is indeed heaven¡¯s intention, so why go against it?" Li Luan spoke calmly but Fang Yuan could feel that she was still hiding something. After a long while of silence, Li Luan continued. "Are you here for..." To her, Fang Yuan was always mysterious and the past few times, she realised that he was a cruel person who would strike fear in many. If not for all that had happened, she would not want to be associated with Fang Yuan. "I want to meet Xu Ren! The time is ripe and he should strike now!" Although Fang Yuan wasposed, it felt as though he was shouting into Li Luan¡¯s ear. "Alright, I will ry your message to him!" She understood what he meant. With a pale face, she gritted her teeth and stood up. "Yu!" At this point in time, a few horses arrived at the door of Xu Family Mansion. The few servants at the doors passionately eximed, "My Lord has arrived!" "Mmm!" A young man leapt down from the horse. He was nimble and had sharp facial features. He was rather handsome. Seeing Li Luan walking over to him restlessly, the young man threw his horse whip. "Luan¡¯er, what happened?" Seeing how anxious he was, it was obvious that he was rted to Li Luan. "No... Nothing much!" Li Luan blushed. Seeing how Xu Ting wanted to help her tidy her hair, she avoided him and ran into the mansion. "What happened?" Xu Ting was stunned. As he looked across, a servant went up to him and whispered something into his ear. Soon, he red at Fang Yuan. ¡¯Hehe... Could this young kid have fallen for her? What is Li Luan doing?¡¯ Fang Yuan was confused. ¡¯No... Not right. As a demon, there would be simpler ways to mess with the humans! Li Luan has be close with the Xu Family and would probably have intertwined her fate with the family... Although I¡¯ve helped Xu Family in the past, If I were to get myself involved this time, I would reveal my identity...¡¯ He had the premonition that things would not go smoothly this time. At the same time, he was on guard; things were unpredictable here. "My Lord, old master is inviting him in!" Li Luan quickly rushed out. Seeing this, she tugged on Xu Ting¡¯s sleeve; she didn¡¯t want them to fight. "Since my father wants to see him, let hime in!" Xu Ting felt down and appeared depressed. Fang Yuan swung his robe and entered, registering this young man¡¯s minute expression. ¡¯Jealousy? Confusion? Hatred? Interesting... Only with such a chess piece will I be able to enjoy a good game of chess!¡¯ Chapter 294: Calculations Chapter 294: Calctions Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Greetings, Master Xu!" Fang Yuan waved his hand and sat down unceremoniously before sizing Xu Ren up. They had not met for 15 years. The upright angry youth who was worried about the country and his people then had turned into an expressionless two-faced middle aged man. Not a hint of anger could be found upon his face even though Fang Yuan was so disrespectful. It was clear that Xu Ren was shrewd which caused Fang Yuan to feel that the flow of time had been cruel. "It seems like my lord is here!" Xu Ren looked at Fang Yuan¡¯s youthful features and felt a sense of regret. He gave another solemn bow, "I would like to thank you once again for your great help in the past! What other teachings do you have for me this time? If you have any use for me, I would not hesitate to go through great lengths to help!" Fang Yuan remained expressionless after hearing this. However, heughed coldly in his heart. Using his spiritual sense, Fang Yuan could already sense the hidden room that was concealed in the study room. Within this antique study room, 8 skilled martial artists were hiding. There were also another two magic masters outside! Furthermore, the 8 martial artists were full of killing intent. It was obvious that they had killed many others before. They had trained their essence and magic to the point where even demons and ghosts were afraid of them. With an order, the study room could turn into a battlefield. Even though Fang Yuan was capable of the 5th or 6th transformation at that time, it would be troublesome for him to kill Xu Ren when he was surrounded. Needless to say, after the Xu Family relocated here, they had amass their power and had many links with other martial artists. It would not be difficult for him to call up hundreds of loyal soldiers. This was Heaven¡¯s will. ¡¯It seems like Xu Ren has truly grown up!¡¯ Fang Yuan thought solemnly but said, "I would not dare...You have the protection of Fate. I am here this time to ask you if you will act now that the time is ripe." "Fate?" Xu Ren was shocked. He waved his hand in the direction of Northwest. "I, Xu Ren, am an official of the court. I must naturally be loyal to the king..." He stopped in the middle of the sentence as he saw Fang Yuan¡¯s smile and could not continue. He now remembered that the opponent was a demon! He would not fall for this type of trick. Xu Ren fell silent and nodded his head. He finally spoke after a long time had passed. "The previous king did me a huge favour. I was not willing to scheme against his country at first. However, this concerns my race and as such, even if I am unwilling, I must try my best in order for my people to be happy!" It seemed that after one had been in the court for long, he would learn to use the glorious banner of People Dao as an excuse and a cause to conceal his disloyalty and ns for a revolt. Fang Yuan nodded although he knew that it was a lie. Whether there was such a cause, was another situation altogether. Fang Yuan could tell that Xu Ren was intelligent. Fang Yuan was clear about it ever since Xu Ren moved his entire race here and spread the word to raise sacrificial knights. "How do you intend to do it?" Fang Yuan asked again. The current magistrate, Kou Wei, is very old and sick. He is retiring soon and I have made preparations to take over his post and strengthen my base..." Xu Ren¡¯s face twitched, but he still told Fang Yuan his n. Afterall, there were no outsiders in the house. His bodyguards were all sacrificial knights who were all extremely loyal. "If that is the case, we will lose time!" Fang Yuan scoffed upon hearing what Xu Ren said. The tribtions were only taking ce these few years and yet, Xu Ren wanted to idly wait for the magistrate to retire? After all, he was not the hidden dragon [1] but merely his father. He had lost his fearless spirit and the courage to usurp everything and start again. "Then, ording to your intention, I should act now?" Xu Renughed. He had made up his mind to kill the demon in front of him on the spot if it were to suggest that to him! Afterall, Da Chu was weakened. Even if they mustered troops to revolt, they would only perish. "Not necessarily!" Fang Yuan smiled. "Do you still remember your wishes in the past?" Xu Ren absentmindedly remembered the past when he was still a hot-blooded youth. He had the ambition to rule the country and make it peaceful for the people. "The Golden Lake Prefecture has 2 evils, which are the evil gods and the pirates!" After a few years of purging the evil gods, there were not much of them left. Only the pirates, who advanced and retreated like the wind, were left. They usually hid within the Golden Court Lake like water droplets in the sea [2] and were extremely skilled in battles on water. Furthermore, the natural and man-made disasters in the other prefectures had resulted in the victims seeking refuge at the Golden Court Lake, which gave the pirates an endless stream of backups. Although Xu Ren had sent his troops to stomp out the pirates and have even achieved a decisive victory, the pirates came back not long after like how the spring wind brought along life during springtime. ording to his calctions, there was only hope in removing the pirates if he upy the surround prefectures around the Golden Lake Prefecture and govern them together. "Unless, you make this trip today because you have a n to exterminate the pirates?" Xu Ren asked joyfully. "How did the officials handle the situation after capturing the pirates the past few times?" Fang Yuan yed around with the teacup and spoke frankly with the official. With this kind of temperament, Xu Ren could not help but felt that even his talented son could not match Fang Yuan. After pondering, he replied, "The leader of the pirates are executed while the rest are relocated. However, I do not have muchnd in the Golden Lake Prefecture and am unable to relocate all of them.As such, there were many repeat offenders!"" "Previously, you were working within the constraints of being in the local authority and could only do so much. But now, by thinking out of the box, wouldn¡¯t you have everything? The Golden Lake Prefecture has always been focused on the development of the military. Wouldn¡¯t this make an excellent source for soldiers? Fang Yuan smiled as he presented his idea. Truth be told, all these were made by Heaven¡¯s will for Xu Ting. If not, how would he manage to rise up the ranks so easily? "Converting the pirates to be soldiers? Once the quota is exceeded, it would be no different from openly revolting..." Xu Ren pondered for a while and felt that Fang Yuan had not fully expressed himself. He could not help but stand up and gave a deep bow, "Please enlighten me!" He could not help but feel that the same scenario yed out many years ago when he made the decision to exterminate the evil gods! "There are many waterways in Da Chu. After training them, these pirates will make a topnotch navy...Furthermore, they owe their lives to you and would be loyal to you!" Truth be told, the navy was just a supplement to the cause. What Fang Yuan really meant was that Da Chu had existed for hundreds of years. The rules of the king had greatly affected the people. If one is to stage a revolution, even with the support of his people, there was an 80% chance of failure. At this time and age, the king¡¯s influence was unbelievable. As such, if the revolution really took ce, there would be little support. However, the pirates werewless. They were the people who killed the officials and went against thew. They would be fiercely loyal if they were able to lead a better life and saved from the harsh seas. They would not hesitate to go against the heavens. This was the type of mentality that the revolutionary army needed! "Well..." Xu Ren understood immediately and was moved. In any rebellion, if the people¡¯s minds were not resolute, once shaken, there would be spies and the army would be defeated. The Imperial Court had been awe-inspiring for many years. There were few who would dare to usurp everything. However, there were no shortage of people within the pirates who were willing and dare to bring down the king. It would certainly be advantageous to him if he manage to recruit the help of the pirates. Most importantly, he would be able to hide the troops within theke where they would not be seen or heard unless when called upon. Once called upon, they would be able to upy the waterways and attack the other prefectures. The chances of catching the others off-guard and unprepared was very high. If that was the case, he would be able to act immediately with great confidence that he would be able to annex the region. If he had time on his side...ruling the world would not just be a dream! "You have enlightened me with your words!" Xu Ren immediately kowtowed, tears flowing from his eyes, "I am able to reach where I am today due to your help many years ago. I am willing to build a shrine in my family house and offer sacrifices throughout the four seasons. I hope you would not decline my suggestion!" Up till now, he still believed that Fang Yuan was a ck Dragon General that was sealed and a god. "Haha...This is all Heaven¡¯s will. Do you think I came up with this n?" Fang Yuanughed before leaving. With a sh of golden light, he disappeared without a trace. Upon witnessing this scene, Xu Ren¡¯s face darkened and he mulled for a long time before pping his hands. "Come out!" "My lord!" The wall behind the study room opened and two men walked out. They kneeled down respectfully. "This matter...this is a top secret, I presume you know the rules?" Xu Renughed coldly. "Rest assured, my lord, this matter will not spread. If any rumours leak out, I will be held ountable!" The martial artists knew the weight of the situation. They solemnly kowtowed, their scalps dark red in colour. "I naturally trust you all. You all can go now!" Xu Ren waved his hand and allowed the martial artists to retreat before looking towards Wen Sheng. "Shen Changhe [3], you are the mastermind. What do you think of this n?" This scribe was dressed in green robes and was around 30 years old. He was in his prime and appeared schrly. He was full of confidence, and after overhearing what was said, he said, "My lord, I overhead the conversation just now. After consideration, I feel that this n is remarkable. Hiding the troops in theke. Once there are changes, we canpletely control the surrounding 5 prefectures and immediately create the atmosphere to..." "The most crucial element is still to capture the pirates in the right and just way so that no one can find fault in my doings!" "Yes!" Xu Ren stroked his beard. It was obvious that he was very satisfied. "It is just that...who will spearhead this operation?" He looked towards Shen Changhe and asked. Shen Changhe shuddered and broke out in cold sweat. He immediately kowtowed and said, "As the official, even if the magistrate has washed his hand of this matter, it would be best to avoid implications. However, you can send young master!" "The young master has already be a schr. If he were to perform this task, he would be awarded the post of a 9th grade official with the power to investigate in every county, and may even be the substitute district lieutenant..." The power to control the troops was a heavy responsibility. As the mastermind, Shen Changhe would not be so foolish as to get himself implicated. Truth be told, rmending Xu Ting was the only option. "Hmmm...the world is in a mess. So what if he bes a schr? It would be better for him to be an official directly. I will go speak to Ting¡¯er..." Xu Ren could not help but smile when he thought of his son. The responsibility of improving the family¡¯s social status in the future lied with his talented son. [1]A person of power and significance [2] The pirates blend into the surroundings well [3] Wen Sheng and Shen Changhe are the same person. Chapter 295: Dragon Palace Chapter 295: Dragon Pce Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "The immeasurable!" In a small temple, the chief Daoist walked out of the room where he was conducting morning sses. He gazed silently in the direction of the Golden Lake Prefecture. This Daoist was named Qing Xuan, and was in his fifties. His hair was half white, and hisplexion was often a healthy pink. He was full of vitality. However, at this point in time, his face was ash grey as he stared at the reddish skies. His heart felt as though it was going through a storm. ¡¯The convergence of fate energy, the gathering of an evil aura, this smells of war...the Xu family wants to rebel...¡¯ This was expected, and his sect had invested in this too. "But ording to the n, wasn¡¯t it up to the three grandmasters to advise the head of the Xu family, and subsequently im all the credit? Why did they act so early?" This had resulted in a loss and would inevitablypromise the great scheme of things. "Could it have been the Carp spirit?" Daoist Qing Xuan pondered, and his eyes were cold. "I wanted to let her off, seeing that she had already reincarnated into a human being, and also had the protection of dragon aura. Who would¡¯ve known that she would betray her master? She must be destroyed!" In truth, if it was only to aid the Dragon Court, it was alright to sacrifice karma and fate. But the most important consideration was that, this demon was close to the headquarters, and if she antagonised him one day, his investment would most probably fail. "I doubt that a little demon like her would be this bold..." The Daoist Qing Xuan pinched his fingers in an attempt at divination, but found the fates difficult to read. He was baffled. "Although it was destined that our forefathers fought hard for the rise of People Dao...but it remains unclear as to who will have thestugh when disaster strikes. Although my cultivation in both energy and divination techniques is solid, but I remain confused. Only the three grandmasters..." "Wait!" Thinking about the three grandmasters today had put a chill in his heart. "ording to my sect¡¯s prophecy, the grandmaster should have arrived, but why hasn¡¯t he? Demon hunting is no matter. In the Golden Lake Prefecture, which demon other than the Dragon God would be able to face thebined forces of the three grandmasters together with their purple and green swords? "Chirp" At this time, a green light shed in the skies, and a little green birdnded on a prune tree in the garden. It continued to twitter and chirp. "This is..." The Daoist Qingxuan flicked his fingers, and an enchantment was created. His face was extremely solemn. "What happened exactly? To the extent where the sect has to activate the green bird messenger?" As Qing Xuan recited some chants, a spiritual aura fell over the green bird. "Chirp" The green bird¡¯srge beady eyes turned green for a moment, and it opened its mouth to speak. The voice was an old one. "Qing Xuan! In the Grandmasters¡¯ Hall, the jade tablets of the three grandmasters have all broken at the same time, and they are probably in a bad situation. You shall investigate this covertly. Be careful, and remember to not act rashly!" "What?" The green bird was not an intelligent animal to begin with, and after uttering thest word, it reverted to the simple beast it was and started to peck its feathers. It was oblivious to Qing Xuan¡¯s terror. "The jade tablets of the Grandmasters¡¯ Hall is a secret feature of our sect. The spiritual wills of sect elders will be umted on the tablets. Three tablets cracking at the same time can only mean that all three grandmasters have met with harm...could it be the work of the Golden Court Dragon God?" There were no other possibilities that he could think of. This problem, coupled with the disturbances in the Xu family¡¯s dragon aura, caused him to break out in sweat. "The forces that the sect has put in ce in the Golden Lake Prefecture cannot be entirely activated, but we should not leave them hanging either..." Daoist Qing Xuan paced back and forth, deep in thought. "I won¡¯t alert the rest, except for the spy in the Xu family. I will send them a message to find out what exactly happened..." Except that he could not dig too deep or risk disturbing the dragon aura, which could cause things to turn ugly. It wouldpromise investigative efforts if that happened. However, if he put in effort, there would definitely be results. The reports came in at nighttime. "Lord Xu intends to send an army to deal with the pirates in the Golden Court Lake?" The room was dark save for a tiny light. The Daoist Qing Xuan analysed the situation. "The Golden Court Lake was vast, with countless of small inds. To clear them all was no small feat...also, there were some heroic figures among the pirates who must not be underestimated..." In truth, Qing Xuan understood that the Golden Court Lake was a god-given chance for the Xu family to grow their power. Their decision to act now also meant that the odds were in their favour. Qing Xuan turned to the messenger angrily. "This is a serious matter. You must report back to the sect immediately. Our people have to participate in this too...or we will lose a great opportunity." He looked towards the me ponderously. Qing Xuan did not have the means to continue investigating the fate of the three grandmasters . He had to appeal to the sect for help. ________ Fang Yuan was not in the mood. He went to the water¡¯s edge and moved his body slightly. Ayer of water vapour materialised and lingered about the surroundings. The light rays were reflected into different colours. This was a special urrence. "A horned dragon has power over water, and also has the ability to control the weather..." Fang Yuan took a step forward and there was a sh of golden light. He had transformed into a horned dragon, and dashed towards the blue skies. "Huff" The winds had risen and the clouds were gathering. The sky was darkening. Before long, rain began to fall. "The horned dragon can master the elements, which is a prodigious ability! The other major demons will never be able to achieve this..." As Fang Yuan traversed the clouds, he was experiencing something entirely new to him. "Following the transformation into a horned dragon, one can manipte all the water vapour in the immediate area. He is no different from a water god!" Of course, being the youngest dragon around meant that his powers were still very much limited. Additionally, Fang Yuan had no intention of causing storms and floods, and thus flew about carefully trying to familiarise himself with the art of weather control. "A good rain knows its season, andes when spring is here...in truth, this is the limitation of a horned dragon. To create real storms that affect arge area would require one to be a water dragon!" The horned dragon was a junior dragon, but the water dragon was powerful and was always apanied by the winds and rain. "A pity...I¡¯ve only managed to progress to the 8th step in the 9-Step Dragon Transformation Technique. The most crucial step is the True Dragon Transformation!" The water dragon was powerful, but was no match for the true dragon. The water dragons were numerous, like the various lords of the mortal world. But there could only be One True Dragon, just like how there was only one emperor. As his thoughts wandered, Fang Yuan could not help but examine his luck and karma. Dealing with Xu Ren had triggered the recovery of his People Dao Karma, which was previously down by half. Of course, an evil aura was gathering, which was the bacsh created from trying to change the general trend. "Who cares if I am to be dealt with with tribtions...it cannot be out of the blue...with my skills in magic, no one can challenge me in the Golden Court manor . The Daoist Xuan Zhen knew that the revenge n would take a lot of n, which leaves one more possibility!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes gleamed. He had no intention of slowing down, and the rain began to spread to the edges of the Golden Court Lake. From the torrents of water rose a water demon mounted on a ck fish. "Who is the one causing such a great disturbance? Do you not know that this is the territory of our Dragon God?" If Fang Yuan could create such a turbulence, the water demon should rightfully show him some respect. But the water demon defied expectations and raged on. Following a wave of its arm, a jet of water shot up into the skies. "Insolence!" Fang Yuan swung his tail and the water jet fell apart immediately. Not only that, but he willed theke waters to be turbulent. The water film formed a bubble and levitated into the air. The water demon was frightened and was trapped in the bubble like an insect in amber. Fang Yuan examined it with interest. He had every intention to kill it. ¡¯Hmm...this must be the workings of karma and fate, altering the potential of opportunities to confuse the mind?¡¯ If it was a native, he would definitely be irritated, kill the water demon in one blow and begin a massacre. This would foster an enmity with the Dragon God. Although this was the worst case scenario, it was a highly probable result. But Fang Yuan was different! Gods and spirits from another world had high resistance towards the temptations of fate. "You actually dared to challenge me, water demon." Fang Yuan released the demon partially from the water prison, and revealed his true dragon form. He then asserted his authority. "My...my lord?" The water demon was terrified. The dragon was the lord of all water beings, born to be a king. The water demon had disrespected a dragon and knew that his actions were treasonous. No words could express the fear it was experiencing at the moment. At this point, Fang Yuan felt a tinge of regret. It was unlike him to be provoked so easily. "I was yful and did not realise that I was trespassing. This is partially my fault. This, I will spare you. Go report my arrival to the Dragon God, now!" Following a nod from Fang Yuan, the water demon dived into the deep and disappeared from sight. In truth, these were but Fang Yuan¡¯s excuses. Knowing that the tribtions were impending, he acted first to bring the ball into his court. This was a useful method. Like what happened just now. With a clear n, one would be be more reserved in their actions. Otherwise, following the activation of heaven¡¯s will, one will still suffer. Without any preparation, the effects would be more profound. Before long, a swirl formed in the water. Water beings formed two rows, and a turtle appeared. It bowed down solemnly. "My lord the Dragon God, upon finding out that a fellow dragon hase to visit, was extremely happy. May I invite you to join us in for a gathering at the Dragon Pce!" "Mm lead the way!" Fang Yuan was intent on finding out more about the Dragon God of Golden Court Lake. He dived into the water and appeared as his human self. He then sat on the back of arge turtle. "Yes, let your old servant lead the way!" The turtle was obsequious and pointed out the road ahead. The turtle race was rted to the dragon race, and yet it was very difficult for turtles to cultivate the dragon form. Most of them were loyal followers of the Dragon God, and looked forward to the day where he could be a true dragon and elevate them together with him. Now that the turtle had met a young dragon in Fang Yuan, it considered him a master too and decided that it would notpromise on the formalities. The turtle was a sturdy creature, but yet moved at an rmingly fast speed in the water. Before long, a glittering ce of gold and jade appeared before Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes. Chapter 296: The Patrol Chapter 296: The Patrol Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The Dragon Pce was opulently grandeur and precious materials lined the floors and walls. Even though it was the most grandiose pce Fang Yuan had ever seen, he was unamused as he had seen simrly magnificent pces before. The tortoise guard was caught off guard by Fang Yuan¡¯s indifference. "My master is the richest amongst all in the seas and this pce is home to many treasures of Golden Court Lake; even the previous visitor, the Monkey God, was in utter awe of the pce. Yet, I can¡¯t believe unlike others, you are so indifferent to such opulence! Perhaps, you are from the seas?" With greater reverence, the tortoise guard led Fang Yuan inside arge za. Inside the za, a ck water dragon opened its eye. "Leave him here and the rest of you all are dismissed!" he ordered with a powerful demeanour. "Yes, your majesty!" With the Golden Court Dragon God¡¯smand, all the water dwellers solemnly and respectfully retreated. However, Fang Yuan¡¯s expression changed suddenly as he gazed at the ck water dragon. "This can¡¯t be right..., that¡¯s not his true form!" "Ssh!" Under the soft noise of water sshing, it was as though the mirage was dispelled by water. Akin to a soap bubble bursting, the humongous body of the ck evil dragon suddenly disappeared and left behind a majestic deity. The deity was donned in a royal crown and had two dragon hornsing out of his forehead. "God Dao Golden Body!" Fang Yuan was in awe and paid respects again, "It is my honour to meet you!" The golden body was cast from the beliefs of the people dao and possessed boundless powers that were even greater than that of the dragon body. Unfortunately, it was after all built from the intangible beliefs of the people dao and was not bound by flesh. "So the Golden Court Dragon God¡¯s true form is actually a people dao deity!" he thought. It was a sudden realization for Fang Yuan as all his doubts were cleared at once. "No wonder the clearing of the evil gods¡¯ offerings went so smoothly, behind those righteous gods, there was help from this greater god!" "Ah, no need for formalities!" The Dragon God raised his hands slightly and a surge of force lifted Fang Yuan. "I have been paying attention to you for a long time!" The Dragon God smiled and continued, "I wee you inside to talk!" The two of them then entered the pce hall behind the za. The pce hall was colossal. It had forty-nine sturdy golden pirs supporting a golden dome roof. Above it, ripples of water could be seen and it was truly a sight to behold. "This is the heart of my Dragon Pce, Blue Water Hall! Whatever we discuss here cannot be leaked, and it can even conceal secrets and mislead those who try to predict!" He then sat on his main seat and gestured towards Fang Yuan, "Have a seat too!" Fang Yuan sat on the Fire Jade Coral Chair and felt warm andfortable. At that moment, a puzzled expression appeared on his face. "Paid attention to me for a long time? Have we met before...?" "Ah, I have been noticing you ever since you destroyed the Monkey God¡¯s magical clone. However, I was busy doing my dragon transformation and was too wary of you. Hence, even though I thought of inviting you many times, it is such a pity I ended up backing out every time..." The Dragon God grinned, "Also, about that ck Dragon General¡¯s Temple of yours? I was also the one who sent people to tidy it, else people would have stopped visiting and providing offerings..." It was all clear to Fang Yuan. The Golden Court Dragon God was in charge of all the water deities in the surrounding radius of Golden Court Lake, he must have noticed Fang Yuan since that period. But was he biased towards the humans since then? Fang Yuan was even more certain that he could achieve his goals during this trip. Initially, he simply wanted to meet him first while transformed as a horned dragon and then look for more informationter on. However, he could nowplete it in one step. "This Dragon God¡¯s water dragon incarnation is already destroyed, what¡¯s left is just the embodiment of people¡¯s beliefs. He can be influenced the most easily now, and there¡¯s no doubt he is biased towards the humans." Fang Yuan thought. Fang Yuan stood up and bowed, "Thank you Dragon God! However, I have a favour to ask of you!" "Go ahead!" The Golden Court Dragon God gestured. Although he was already a people dao deity, his heart was still influenced by his previous form. Thus, he had a warmer attitude towards this fellow horned dragon. "The prefecture minister of Golden Lake Prefecture, Xu Ren, deeply pities themoners¡¯ tough life and furthermore, pirates are rampant over there. He wants to eradicate those pirates but however, the Golden Court Lake is so vast with thousands of inds. So please, I seek your helping hand, Dragon God!" Fang Yuan narrated Xu Ren¡¯s situation and added, "If you help out themoners of Golden Court Lake, they would be tremendously grateful for your benevolence!" "Ah, even if you did not mention this matter, I was already prepared to do so!" The Golden Court Dragon God stroked his beard with satisfaction. As a people dao deity, it was beneficial for him to maintain both the peace and stability of the environment and arge number of believers. "As a righteous god, I, the Golden Court Lake Dragon God, would definitely know the hiding locations of all those pirates... Just that gods and humans should not interact too closely, hence, I still require a human aide!" The Golden Court Dragon God eximed with radiance in his eyes, "You! How about you?" "Of course I can!" Fang Yuanughed; he knew that he had sessfully established rapport with the Dragon God. "In his eyes, we are very much alike... both born as dragons, both sensed great tribtions, both wanted to help the people dao... unlike humans and their infighting.... Of course, perhaps the Golden Court Dragon God¡¯s does not require a lot of karma points, solely relying on self-sustenance, unlike those of Xuan Zhen Sect who consumed so much and fought with others who vied for it too..." Fang Yuan thought. "Ah, it is my privilege to have you as my guest! I have already informed my subordinates to prepare a grand feast for you tonight!" The Golden Court Dragon God nodded, his divine gaze momentarily faded as he chatted like any other noblemen, "You must enjoy a couple of drinks tonight!" "Of course!" As they spoke, Fang Yuan began to wonder about the entertainment the Dragon Pce provided and he inevitably expressed his curiosity. It was normal for someone with such a high cultivation level to be so direct. "Hahaha..., great!" The Dragon God was ted. He pped his hands and two groups of gorgeous shelldies swarmed out. Behind them were water dwellers carrying an array of delicacies. Spiritual meals that could be eaten by both humans and Yin Spirits were consumed in the Dragon Pce. Although it was not very useful for Fang Yuan, it was eye-opening for him and he enjoyed his time with the host. ... Spring, 3rd Year of Yong An, Da Chu. At the pier of ck Lake District. Xu Ting stood on top of two ships and behind him were soldiers. The soldiers were fully geared and carried a faint sense of ferocity. As he looked at the ships and the soldiers, he was very satisfied. At that time, Xu Ting was already a ninth grade official. He was assigned as ck Lake District¡¯s naval patrol officer. As a patrol officer, he was in charge of recruiting soldiers, busting pirates, and also had the authority to set up roadblocks both onnd and sea. At his current rank, he could only recruit a hundred men at most. With help from his n and aid from the district leader, Zhang Gui, he managed to form the troop quickly. The only thing left for the substantial troop was to test its prowess in a real war. "Father was right, troubled times are ahead. I don¡¯t need schrly honour, in the future, it is a brawn over brain kind of world..." he thought. Unknowingly, Xu Ting felt mncholic as he looked at his military officer¡¯s uniform. ck Lake District¡¯s district leader was an old friend of his father. He was very kind to Xu Ting and supplied him with all the bows, arrow, armour and food that he required. Xu Ting still had some regrets. Once a candidate has been promoted to an official, he could no longer take the imperial examinations. "As a man, you shall seek for respect and authority!" As he stood at the front of the ship and faced hundreds of subordinates staunchly obeying his orders, he felt a strong sense of power and authority within him. The surge of dominance seemingly opened another door in his heart, as he felt like he had a greater ambition ahead of him. "Eradicating the pirates of Golden Court Lake is just the part one of my grand ns, once it seeds, my n would at least have the capital to have a footing in this tumultuous world..." he thought. Although he also thought of what would happen thereafter, he quickly buried those thoughts. At that moment, such wild ambitions were too elusive. He had to ensure his current ns seeded first. "Sir, we can prepare to sail now!" The crew reported the conditions of the winds and the water to Xu Ting. "Hoist the sails! Embark!" As Xu Ting gave hismands, he nced at the pier for thest time with no wistfulness. "Raise the anchor!" "Set sail!" The ship¡¯s crew were all experienced seafarers. Under hismand, the two ships embarked smoothly. Also, it was an official vessel, it had arger body, drained more water and was immactely stable. The possibility of feeling seasick on the ship was also much smaller. Furthermore, the key areas were covered in iron sheets and the ships¡¯ defence was unparalleled. There were two such warships and each had fifty soldiers on it. The soldiers were equipped with bows and other weapons. They were definitely a force to be reckoned with in Golden Court Lake. "Doesn¡¯t matter if it is politicking or working, the worst thing to do is to create a bigmotion right at the start. With my current status, a hundred men and two ships are ample. Anyway, we wouldn¡¯t encounter pirates throughout the whole journey and they can only have at most five hundred to a thousand of its people on those small inds. Plus, since they are mostlyprised of the elderly, the women and the young, we would definitely be able to bust them all!" Xu Ting was not an empty strategist, he was fully confident in his ns and envisioned, "By leading a troop of hundred, I am certain that I can conquer them all, and my power would snowball further afterwards!" Furthermore, every time the pirates were cleaned up with his efforts, he could im his merits from the imperial court and be promoted to receive greater power and authority. Hence, when he finally conquered all the pirates in Golden Court Lake, his rank would beparable to others. "Call all the sergeants and above toe to the meeting!" Xu Ting then issued hismand as his watched the glistening waters. The military system of Da Chu was formed on the basis that five men formed a team led by a corporal and ten men formed a team led by a sergeant. Be it a corporal or a sergeant, both ranks were below that of a ninth grade official. However, they formed the backbone of troops and were future candidates for officers. As he met the sergeants, Xu Ting stroked his sword and thought about how he could fully earn the loyalty of his men through leading them with both care and authority. In this tumultuous world, one has to be fully prepared at all times, and it was even more important to have a firm grasp of one¡¯s own military power. Such a belief was not due to distrust, it was simply due to the temperament of water dragons! Chapter 297: Eradicating Pirates Chapter 297: Eradicating Pirates Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "The ¡¯Pirates of Golden Court Lake¡¯ is merely a collective title for the numerous different small groups of pirates in Golden Court Lake. The different groups do not work together, they evenpete and sh with each other fornd, wealth and women..." Inside the small cabin, Xu Ting looked at the map and spoke with fervour. The Xu family was rooted in Golden Lake Prefecture for ten over years, it was unsurprising that they had such intelligence in their hands. "These pirates are mostly refugees from other areas that gather on the inds. Some of them do reim thend, but however, most of them rely on plundering! Some of them have even built up stockaded viges!" In reality, due to limited resources, terrain and remation limitations, such stockaded viges were notrge in scale and housed at most a thousand people. Furthermore, the natural resources on the indbined with the plundered materials were still insufficient forrge groups of pirates, and hence they had to branch off from one another. "This time around, we will be conquering the pirates on Heiguan Ind. These pirates have piged ck Lake District before, killing 27 people in the process and even raided arge family..." Xu Ting frowned. When the pirates were ashore, it was natural that they killed and raided. However, since they could break in theserge families¡¯ estates that were fenced and fortified with tall, huge walls, it meant that the pirates were either very brave, or there were very capable people within them. "Come, bring Hu San over!" Immediately after he pped his hands, two soldiers brought a man over. From the man¡¯s frail and ragged looking appearance, it was evident that he was the poorest of the poor. Of course, as those around were all soldiers, from the man¡¯s savage looking eyes and his body odour that reeked of seawater, they could immediately decipher his identity. "A pirate?" A few sergeants exchanged nces, and their face lit up. "Haha..., not bad, he is indeed a pirate. A pirate from Heiguan Ind to be exact!" Xu Ting stroked his steel ring and mentioned, "Exin everything you know and then guide the way for us! If you heed our orders, you will be greatly rewarded and your criminal records would be expunged! How about that?" Even though pirates were usually refugees, there were some exceptions. Hu San was from ck Lake District, however after hemitted crimes, he was wanted by the authorities. Hence, he had no other choice than to join the pirates. Once Xu Ting assumed his post and caught wind of the matter, he immediately tasked his n members to help him and after observing for a period of time, sure enough, Hu San was caught. With incriminating evidence held against him, Hu San was surprisingly not stubborn, he lifted his head, and with a slightly hopeful look, said, "Are you... for real?" "Hehe... our master is an official of the prefecture minister, why would he lie to a scoundrel like you?" Before Xu Ting could speak, a bodyguard at the side sneered. As the eldest son of the family, safety was of utmost importance. This group of bodyguards were the cream of the crop, they were all skilled inbat and defence. Also, instead of leather armour, they were donned in chainmail. The chainmail was made from metal rings looped together and was lightweight and flexible. In spite of that, its defence was much better than that of normal armour. It was costly to make such armour and was only possible for bodyguards of ninth grade officials and above to have it. However, the chainmail was amon sight here. As themander¡¯s bodyguard, such treatment was expected. Just with the five well-armed bodyguards alone, it might even be enough to kill hundreds of people! Thus, Xu Ting did not have many worries for this conquest. Nevertheless, preparations for the war were required. It was necessary to fully ready their tactics. "Prefecture minister... Xu?" Hu San took a deep breath, "Alright..., I will believe you this time!" With fire in his eyes, Hu San exined again, "Our boss is called Lu Jia. We upied Heiguan Ind and built a stockaded vige on it. There are seven to eight hundred people and three ships! There are hundred and twenty strong men called the Twelfth Jia..., and also, I know the way there and can bring you all there!" "Good, dismiss him and give him some meat and wine!" Xu Ting was delighted upon hearing that. Although they had a map of the waterway, it was reassuring that an experienced person held the task of navigating the directions. On the vastke, there were no reference objects to navigate with. Without an experienced navigator, a small mistake could steer the ship off by a huge margin. Thus, this was also the reason why the pirates remained uncaught till now. ... Hu San was indeed cooperative, after a day of him pointing directions, a small ind appeared in front of Xu Ting. "Hmm, looks clean, shouldn¡¯t be some kind of snake ind..." Xu Ting happily said as he shielded his eyes from the sun, looked far away and also smelled the air. There were thousands of ind on Golden Court Lake, some of the inds were dead empty, while other had many species of animals. Reportedly, there were some inds that only had numerous species of snakes; it was truly horrifying and dangerous. However, the ind ahead did not look like such and also did not have the kind of unique stench. "Sir!" At that moment, a few sergeants came over, "There are a few ships berthed at the other side of the ind. What Hu San said should be true! what should we do? Secretly disembark and detour over tounch a surprise attack?" "Wait a minute!" Xu Ting frowned, "Send the scout over first to see how many ships are there!" At that moment, the daoist priest on the ship was put in to great use. A white bird flew from the daoist priest¡¯s shoulder, circled the sky,nded back and started chirping away. "Sir, there are three ships!" The daoist priest reported momentster. "Very good, your efforts will be remembered!" Xu Ting was ted. Although the daoist priest did not have many techniques under his belt, he understood animalnguage. Even though he only had amon kind of white bird, it always worked wlessly in scouting. Hence, Xu Ting¡¯s father had always thought highly of the daoist priest and treated him very well. Thus, this time around, Xu Ting brought along the daoist priest to help out himself. And that was exactly how noble families worked. With those, as long as themander was not too ipetent, there was no reason to fail. "So how Sir, should weunch a sneak attack?" A few sergeants eagerly wanted to try. "What sneak attack?" Xu Ting took a few steps and made up his mind, "Our soldiers are so much more superior, we have plenty of weapons and armours, and our ship is fortified with iron! Whereas, they only have three lousy ships, do you think they even stand a chance? Also, all of us are unfamiliar with the ind¡¯s terrain, it would not be wise to solely trust one person!" "We are soldiers, they are thieves! We don¡¯t need any devious ns, we just have to raise our g up high and charge forward... With their three ships, where else can they run after we upy the pier?" While the n seemed simple, it was one that was meticulously devised. "In this first war, I rather win it clumsily than to lose skillfully. If my n is infallible, that would be the best!" Xu Ting quietly told himself. "Raise the official g!" "Prepare the spearguns!" "Speed up and charge forward!" ... After listening to Xu Ting¡¯s arrangements, the sergeants were not against it. After all, they were also clear that the pirates did not have much power to defend the pier. The pirates were no match for them. Furthermore, they were backed by bodyguards and the daoist priest. Truthfully, it was sufficient to fully suppress the pirates just with this elite force. With such an overwhelming strength, the morale was high. "Charge!" The two warships instantly charged towards the pier aggressively, rming its people. Frankly, the pier was actually just a few shoddy structures built on a natural harbour. The ships could barely be berthed there. Three old and dpidated fishing boats parked at the side of the shore. They appeared modified of sorts and had numerous fishermen climbing up and down, fixing the sails and tidying the ship. A ruckus erupted when they saw the two ships carrying the official g charged towards them. Not only were their boats difficult to operate, it took a very long time for them to gear up and be prepared to fight back. Furthermore, theycked shipmen. When Xu Ting charged towards them, he saw them scrambling to start up the ship. He could not help butugh as he saw many of them running away and also those who were having difficulty hoisting the sails. Ultimately, they were thieves against officials, the circumstances were against them. Naturally, their first reaction was to run. Those who really fought back without hesitation were truly stupid or ready to die. "Seize their ships! Even if they sink, do not leave them with any!" Xu Ting wanted to capture them all in one fell swoop and immediatelymanded. "Spearguns... fire!" A loud boom could be heard as the warship began to roar. The spearguns were actually crossbows mounted on the ship that shot explosive spears. "Boom!" On the opposite side, the spear hit the wooden ship and pierced through a few pirates. Blood spewed everywhere as shrieks of terror could be heard. "Boom!" Another official vesselunched another spear. This time, it was slightly off and pierced through the sail, leaving behind a huge hole. "Truth be told, this kind of speargun can only be used to scare off the opponents. It couldn¡¯t even hit a still boat urately! What if we were on rough seas?" Xu Ting shook his head at that sight, "Let¡¯s not even mention those crossbows or what not, they can¡¯t even be used for long. With such dampness and humidity, they would be obsolete after a while..." He was naturally talented in the battlefield. This time, not only was he collected inmanding, he even had the leisure to think about his own weaknesses. "Charge!" Once the ship reached the pier, the soldiers were prepared to jump down the official ship. As their ship was huge, the deck was high above the ground and gave a dominant vantage point. "Archers!" a sergeant hollered. Twenty-something archers then drew their bow and shot at the armed pirates on their deck. Fully armed soldiers then seized the opportunity and began jumping down the ship to fight. "Those damned government troops are here, those who don¡¯t want their whole family to die, fight with them!" Amongst the pirates, the very brave ones shed forward with their swords. "Form up and stab!" The soldiers formed up,unched their spears together and the pirates turned into a bloody mess. "Even with courage, this is all that is left..." Xu Ting curled his lips as he looked at the scene. These pirates¡¯ equipment were no match for the soldiers. Some of them were like beggars who used wooden spears. Most importantly, many of them suffered from hunger and were skinny to the bones. They could only rely on weapons with no gunpowder, and furthermore, they did not even have enough to eat, how would they have the energy to kill their enemies? Hence, through the ages, none of the refugees who rebelled ever seeded. As Xu Ting silently made up his mind, he was no longer undecided on what would be the oue of these pirates. Chapter 298: The Pacification Chapter 298: The Pacification Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Kill them all!" The soldiers assumed their positions in groups of 5 andplemented each other. Furthermore, with their leather armour for protection, they were able to cut through the defence easily. Arge group of pirates were immediately killed, their fresh blood staining the floorboards. Some of them panicked and jumped into the water to escape. When the second ship fell into the hands of the soldiers, a leader of the pirates immediately shouted. "Things are not looking good! Let¡¯s go...retreat and fortify the stockade vige!" He had a well-built figure with a booming voice and his skills were not too shoddy. With a swing of his sword, he sliced through a soldier¡¯s leather armour, causing the soldier to scream as his arm was severed. "The two of you, kill him!" Upon witnessing the scene, Xu Ting ordered his two bodyguards behind him without a moment of hesitation. "Understood!" The bodyguards replied before rushing forward, their faces bearing cruel smiles as they swung the Hundred Refined Goose Plume Swords. "Die!" "Crack!" The leader of the pirates raised his sword to parry. The two swords shed and sparks flew. A wave of power surged forth which caused him to retreat as his arms turned numb. He felt as though his sword was going to fly out from his hand and his expression changed. "This is... an elite troop!" He could notprehend the situation. These bodyguards, who could easily take on 10 people at once, were assigned only to generals. Why would they appear in this area to defeat a few pirates? However, he could think no further. The two bodyguards were well coordinated. One of them met the leader head-on while the other advanced slowly as he waited for the opportunity to strike. With a sudden lunge and a sh of steel, the other bodyguard buried his sword into the waist of the leader which caused fresh blood to gush out from the waist of the leader. With a coldugh, the bodyguard severed the head of the leader with a stroke of his sword. "This is a military warfare. Only a fool will y by your rules!" In a military warfare, everything was fair y as long as the objective was met. So what if there was a small loss of reputation by using a sneak attack to kill the enemy? It would truly be a joke if they were to talk about rules of the brave and the chivalrous with honour! "It is almost done!" When he saw thest will to rebel crushed, Xu Ting revealed a smile and nodded his head. "Listen well, your leader is dead! Why are you all not surrendering?" A bodyguard raised the severed head of the leader and hollered, "If you all still go against the soldiers of the imperial court, your whole family will be executed!" "Sir, please spare our lives, we are willing to surrender!" It was natural for the soldiers to capture the bandits. With the leaders gone, the remaining pirates did not have much will to fight. They threw down their weapons and knelt down to surrender. "Good! Prepare the ship, rope in the captives and ount for the weapons and the injured..." As he looked at the archers slowly killing off the pirates who jumped into the water to escape and arge group of pirates being held captive, Xu Ting gave the orders as his heart was filled with joy. Not long after, the results were back. "My lord, this time, we have killed 37 people and captured 50 people. The military power of the Heiguan Ind has been wiped out..." A sergeant reported, his face full of joy. "My lord, I have located the stockade vige. Those pirates that escaped previously have gathered within the vige. It looks like they are trying to defend there..." The Daoist priest came forward and spoke. There was no real solution. Afterall, no troops would stay for long for just for a small stockade vige. Once there were no real benefits left, the troops would withdraw. "Oh!" Xu Ting did not speak for a while. Instead, he stood on the floorboard and looked at theke water that was stained red. There was a corpse floating in it with an arrow lodged in the body. He asked, "How many of our men were wounded or killed?" "3 people were killed while 5 people were heavily wounded. There were others who had sustain light injuries. They would not affect the operation as they would be able to join in after they are patched up!" As he was the son of an official, the troops were highly skilled and there was an experienced doctor who saved the lives once at the battle ground, the troops were in high morale. "They have already discovered us. Do we attack?" No matter how short and poorly constructed the walls and the ditches were, the offensive side would suffer great loss should they attack the fortified area. "Why bother, this battle is already over!" Xu Ting tied up the pirates andughed. After a simple interrogation and multiple reports, they discovered that there were around 600 to 700 people left in the vige, with most of them being the elderly, women or young children. The leader, Lu Jia was there as well. Furthermore, the leader of the pirates who was previously beheaded was the second-inmand of Heiguan Ind. He was naturally courageous. Of course, he was reduced to a severed head as a token of his bravery. After hearing the reports, Xu Ting ordered the troops to reorganize and rest. He left around 20 people to guard the pier while he brought the remaining troops and captives before the stockade vige. At that moment, the vige was in an uproar. Women and the elderlies could be seen standing atop the wall with worried looks upon their faces. Afterall, Xu Ting¡¯s troops were from the army and as such, represented a sense of righteousness. Furthermore, they have previously defeated the pirates and killed off many of them. "Lu Jia is indeed a talent!" Xu Ting came forward and took a look at the vige. The walls were not very high. They were slightly over 3 metres and were dpidated. Before the vige, there was a ditch. Although it was freshly dug and unfinished, it was sufficient to serve its purpose. With these, if the troops were to assault the vige, they would have to pay a certain price. "It¡¯s a shame...he had lost his opportunity!" If the elite of the pirates were still guarding the vige, a hundred ordinary imperial soldiers would not be able to upy the vige. Even if Xu Ting were to order his bodyguards to spearhead the assault, the losses would still be great. Once there were discontent amongst the ranks, he would have to massacre the entire vige to pacify the soldiers. By then, he would not be able to conscript the pirates. However, the family members of these vigers were in his hands. As such, he had a trump card which gave him an advantage. "Sir, do we attack?" His assistant came forward and asked as he witness thest remaining military power of the valiant pirates that came to the wall. There were only slightly more than a dozen pirates left. The officer¡¯s 5 bodyguards were highly skilled and were able to kill off the leader quickly. By doing so, the stand-off woulde to an end. "Why bother risking our troops?" Xu Ting waved his hand. "Bring out the captives! Advise the vige to surrender. Tell them...if they do not surrender, I will use the captives to fill the ditches!" "Sss..." The officer pondered awhile before he let out his breath. He felt a chill in his heart before he praised Xu Ting. "You are indeed wise. The pirates will have no choice but to surrender!" It was simply human nature. How many would act against their loved ones? Even Lu Jia could not afford to make this mistake as it would incur the fury of the masses! Truth be told, his fate was sealed when the pier was attacked and the route of escape was cut off. This was a calcted victory! The officer might not be old, but he was well-versed in the arts of war. As such, he was an asset to Xu Ting. The assistant pondered silently as he came up with a certain idea. ... After the demand was made, there was more disturbance within the stockade. Shortly after, the door creaked open, revealing a dozen people carrying chaste berries. Upon seeing Xu Ting, they immediately knelt down. "Greetings!" "Hmmmm, get up!" Xu Ting looked at the leader of the pirates of Heiguan Ind. He was only around 30 years old. However, he looked weather-beaten and his hair had started to turn white. Xu Ting knew that the person before him was unwilling, but what else could Liu Jia do? He could not afford to offend the vigers and bebelled as a betrayer. As such, there was nothing he could do but to surrender. Of course, saving his own skin was most crucial! Afterall, based on how the imperial courts handled the pirates in the past, there was faith that only the leader of the pirates would be executed while the other pirates were relocated. The hair on Lu Jia¡¯s back stood up as he rose uneasily and looked towards the surrounding fierce soldiers. "You gathered a group of pirates and broke thew. You even looted a district town and robbed arge family. Your crime is unpardonable...." Xu Ting carried on. His light tone caused Lu Jia¡¯s legs to tremble as he knelt down once more. "My lord, please spare my life! Please spare my life! I am only trying to make a living...food on the ind is scarce and many had died of hunger..." "Thud Thud!" Not long after, Lu Jia¡¯s forehead was red with blood. Xu Ting was satisfied upon witnessing this scene. "...however, I empathise with you. As such, I am willing to remove your records if you enlist in my army and eradicate the other pirates!" Lu Jia was very capable and was of use to Xu Ting. However, he required more training to correct his boorish character. As for how to make use of Lu Jia, Xu Ting had already made up his mind. "Thank you my lord! Thank you!" Even though the person standing in front of him was just a youth, Lu Jia still repeatedly thank him. "Hmmm, Guo Kuixing, bring along 50 people to inspect the stockade and sort out the register..." Although Xu Ting knew that there would not be much resistance, he could not set his mind at ease and as such, ordered his subordinates to enter the vige with the captives. He only managed to smile after all the families were brought out and the stocks ounted for. He ordered the soldiers to start cooking in a huge pot, putting in wild herbs, sausages and the likes. They also added in a few salted fish to form a mixed porridge. The porridge were distributed and the soldiers took turn to eat and rest. The disturbance within the families started to die out as they received a portion of the food as well. While the others were resting, Xu Ting was kept busy to the point where he did not even have the time to drink water. He listened to Guo Kuixing¡¯s report of the stock. "We have captured around 750 people, 70 swords, spears and other types of weapons, 3 sets of leather armour, 500 taels of gold and silver, and a few chests of copper coins...However, there are very little ration. Medicine and cloth arecking as well!" "Hmm, all those male pirates above the age of 15 shall be conscripted into the army and sternly looked after. Group the rest of the families into 5 families per group for mutual monitoring. Punish those who try to flee!" Xu Ting walked a few steps before he spoke. "After you all are done with your meal, board the ship and burn down this stockade vige!" "As for the soldiers, reward them immediately. Those who took part in the battle would be rewarded with 1 silver tael. Those who kill the leaders of pirates will be awarded 10 silver taels. The reward for the main leader is calcted separately...I will not forget the officers whomanded the troops as well." "My lord, you are wise indeed!" Guo Kuixing and the other officers were joyous upon hearing the news. Xu Ting could onlyugh bitterly to himself. Truth be told, there were more losses than gains as the troops had to consume a lot of resources tounch an attack on this small ind. ¡¯They do not know that the real rewards are these captives!¡¯ Xu Ting looked at the hundreds of captives, his face revealing a bright smile. [1] Referring to Xu Ting and his elite troops Chapter 299: Evildoer Chapter 299: Evildoer Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Half a monthter, Quicksand Ind. A stockaded vige was on fire and thick clouds of ck smoke billowed towards the skies. Xu Ting gazed at the refugees under his charge and singled out the strong men before rearranging them into new groups. He was satisfied with how it all went smoothly. With Lu Jia, the spy, by his side, Xu Ting led a sweeping operation across the surrounding inds. There was an overwhelming amount of gold and silver. Most importantly, the ex-pirates of Heiguan Ind shed with members of their old brethren in a bid to prove their new loyalties. To date, the refugees numbered 2,000 with more than 300 able-bodied men among them. These men were not in the best of shapes but they were fearless. With enough food and the right amount of training, they could be a formidable force. Also, having killed a few rebellious refugee leaders, Xu Ting had managed to inspire fear among the men. They would not cause any trouble for now. "My lord..." Guo Kuixing stood behind him and spoke gingerly. "My lord is merciful for sparing the refugees. But we do not have enough supplies to support all of them!" "I know!" Xu Ting nodded to himself. He understood that things had reached a limit. It was indeed arge burden for the Golden Lake Prefecture to support thousands more. Besides, the goods offered by Lu Jia and his surrendered band of pirate leaders were running out too. The pirate headquarters was a location of utmost importance. The pirates would not give it up so easily. Also, the pirates might relocate their headquarters if they receive news of the army invasion. This would make things even more troublesome. "This operation to wipe out the pirates of the Golden Court Lake might be tedious, but I see it as an opportunity to train my soldiers!" Xu Ting was exhausted but there was fire in his eyes. "I am the onlymander in this vastke. I call the shots. I get to decide who lives and who dies....when the purge isplete, my reputation will reach new heights." Of course, at this point, both the men and equipment were at their breaking points. They all needed rest. Thus, Xu Ting spoke to his second-inmand. "Don¡¯t worry, I understand the gravity of the situation. Tell the boats to retreat!" Xu Ting¡¯s forces had seized many boats and he had to send them in batches, but the distance they had to travel was not too far. It was all manageable. Xu Ting noticed that his subordinates still looked worried. "...Father promised me that he would give usnd, housing and supplies. I think it will be enough to help all these people settle down!" Having heard that the arrangements had received the blessings of the Prefecture Minister, the men were somewhat assuaged. Who knew that Xu Ting was, in fact,ughing coldly to himself. The families of the surrendered pirates were going to be hostages. He would never have to worry about them going against him. This military operation had given him a better understanding of the situation. He had also be more well-versed in naval warfare. The next time, he would definitely put in more effort and request for reinforcements from his n. He would have to win a watershed victory and gain unparalleled influence in the area! "Time waits for no man indeed..." Xu Ting gave a deep sigh and gazed at the setting sun. ... In the capital city of Da Chu. An imperial manor. This was not a prince¡¯s manor, but its gates wererge and imposing, its gardens vast and deep. Guards patrolled the manor grounds in a solemn manner. It wasparable to any of the princes¡¯ manors. In the whole of Da Chu, only one n wielded such power. It was the family of the Prime Minister of Chu, Wang Qiao. Wang Qiao was born to a prominent n and was bright from a young age. He had joined the civil service as a junior official and in the span of 20 years, rose to his position as the premier official. Thete emperor had been a despot who immersed himself in wine and woman. He had died at a rtively young age, and Wang Qiao became the regent for his sessor. Wang Qiao dropped his image as a loyal subject when he ascended to the regency and had built up a court faction loyal to himself. He had also colluded with the corrupt eunuchs anddies of the harem so as to secure his grip on power. At the beginning of the year, the royal court had decreed that Wang Qiao was exempt from the full rites of greeting the emperor and could carry a sword to court. This was an exceptional privilege and was a testament to his unparalleled influence. "Haha...drink up beauty!" In the back garden, a band was ying a soothing melody. Ady with skin as fair as white jade and a slim waist was performing a song and dance. It was a very precious sight indeed. She was draped in only translucent silk, which entuated her perfect figure. Her features conveyed various expressions of love and longing. Even the servingdies standing around were intoxicated. Wang Qiao sat in the prime seat and raised a wine cup. He looked to be in his fifties and had a graceful and unusual aura about him. His eyes were lit up as he watched the performance. "Thank you, My Lord!" The beauty stepped forward elegantly and received the cup with her slender fingers. She then drained the cup in a swift movement. Some of the wine escaped her lips and formed a tititing streak by her mouth. Wang Qiao was enthralled. "My life bes much more colourful with such a beauty like you by my side, Beauty She!" Wang Qiao was about to continue with his frivolous activities when his housekeeper rushed in. "My lord!" Seeing that Wang Qiao¡¯s expression had turned unpleasant, the housekeeper fell to the floor in a hurry. "Sorry for dampening your spirits, My Lord, but there is something very important that I need to report!" The housekeeper produced a written report. As Wang Qiao read it, his face turned a turbulent shade and he mmed a fist on the table. "How dare this Imperial Censor!" The Imperial Censors had supervisory roles and could report directly to the emperor. The role was officially not a high-ranking one, but in truth, the Imperial Censors had much authority. This particr Imperial Censor was named Hai Qing and had submitted a report detailing the eight major crimes of Wang Qiao. The usations were very well substantiated and Wang Qiao was actually afraid. His fear quickly turned into rage. However, the report would never reach the emperor because Wang Qiao had intercepted it. Wang Qiao was angry indeed and he thirsted for blood. Wang Qiao might not be a king, but his wrath was a thing to behold. The servants all fell to the ground and prostrated before him. Even Beauty She was trembling. "Hehe...Hai Qing? An eloquent writer indeed!" As Wang Qiao calmed himself down, he broke out into augh. "Men, send my personal guards to detain him and throw him into prison. Cut out his ligaments and tear out his tongue..." "My Lord!" The housekeeper was shaken. He was a loyal and fairly capable adviser to Wang Qiao and spoke up. "Throughout history, the Imperial Censors have never been punished for their reports. If you want to deal with him, you should grant him another appointment and relocate him so that he will no longer enjoy the immunity of his position. When the timees, you can deal with him any way you want!" "You have a point, but am I to listen to you?" Wang Qiao knew that his previous order was an impulsive one and he had intended to correct it. However, hearing the housekeeper offer him the exact n he had in mind, and being under the gaze of the variousdies surrounding him, he was not about to back down. The housekeeper broke out into a cold sweat. "No My Lord! I will carry out your orders!" ¡¯This housekeeper thinks that I will tolerate his insolence just because he is old...¡¯ As he watched the housekeeper retreat into the distance, an idea came into Wang Qiao¡¯s mind. ¡¯I could use take this chance to test the waters. I want to know how many would dare to cross me!" In Fang Yuan¡¯s previous life, there was the famous Zhao Gao incident of fact distortion. Throughout history, the strategies of power consolidation remainedrgely simr to each other. Wang Qiao was nning to use an old trick from the book as well. After receiving the report, Wang Qiao was no longer in the mood for merrymaking, and he retired to his study. The musicians had already disbanded and went their separate ways, but Beauty She continued to stroll in the garden. Before long, she arrived at the edge of a lonely bamboo forest. There was a pavilion made entirely out of bamboo stalks. The workmanship was extremely fine and the pavilion remained cool even with the heat of summer. However, at this point, the pavilion was cold, and there was no one else in the surrounding area. Beauty She talked to the air. Her behaviour was secretive. "You are bold to sneak in here...are you not afraid of the repercussions from people dao and fate energy?" A soft ghostly voice broke out from nowhere. "Hehe...Wang Qiao is an unscrupulous person who is running out of luck. Why would I be afraid of him?" Beauty Sheughed when she heard the reply. "What a stubborn person. If you are not afraid, why don¡¯t you reveal yourself?" The presence in the air was silent for a moment. "The rise of people dao is a major development. The holy beings of the demon race are beginning to understand the thread of thought...this is why you demons can reincarnate at the cost of their powers and longevity, and infiltrate the countries of men. This is to bring about the fall of humanity and prevent them from taking up the heaven¡¯s mandate." "The previous mission involving thete emperor was a job well done. What about Wang Qiao this time?" Beauty She replied with a serious look. "For the sake of the demon race, I am willing to do anything. Wang Qiao is obsessed with wine and women. I think he will end up like thete emperor...it¡¯s funny how he isn¡¯t content with me alone and went to hook up with the empress...her race is well known for their cosmetics skills and even I am in awe of it!" "Excellent, but he is still useful and you should keep him alive for now..." The voice in thin air continued to speak. "Now we should focus our efforts on goading Wang Qiao to usurp the throne. This would definitely trigger a huge civil war in Chu and lead to the destruction of humanity!!" "Yes, I know!" There was a shudder in the air, and the presence was gone. Beauty She sighed in relief. These days, heaven¡¯s will had be more obvious. The tribtions of the demon race had increased, and the thunderps from the skies had grown more powerful. A band of gods from people dao and some traitorous demons were in collusion. It was a difficult time. The holy beings of the demon race had tried to read the fates and decided that it was unwise to go against them. Resistance was futile. Thus, the beings hade up with this n to create internal conflict and destroy humanity from within. When demons reincarnated, they could be human. However, this came at the cost of half their cultivation and they would lose their demonic magic. Their longevity would also suffer. To achieve their goals and hide from their destiny, even the holy beings from the demon race had sacrificed much of their cultivation. This was the true master n of the demon race. Not only in Chu, but Qi and Liang as well! Chapter 300: Map Delivery Chapter 300: Map Delivery Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Before a nation perishes, there were bound to be omens! Beauty She twisted a piece of bamboo leaf and thought to herself, "Thete emperor could have lived for ten plus years more but he got ruined by Sister Dowager. Now, the minister Wang Qiao has too be a puppet of us demons. It is not hard for an internal conflict to happen in Da Chu..." However, she had some doubts. After paying such a huge price, many amongst the demons were still too worried and were preparing to have two strings to one¡¯s bow. Other than the currentnd, the demons were already searching for new inds andnds in the vast seas. They were preparing to sow a batch of seeds of the demons on these newnds to preserve their elemental energy. One obvious n and one ndestine n, this was how the demons nned to strike back. As for those demons who harmed humans, they were merely defeatists who have given up. "The heavenly trend cannot be opposed!" As Beauty She thought of how despondently the Saint said that with a tinge of savagery, she unknowingly felt her heart became heavier. "My demon race has dominated for centuries! Used to and still is! The world will still be in our hands in the future!" "Provoking massive outbreaks of chaos is to eradicate all the brilliant human minds, whenever a human rise up, we will suppress him. All in all, we must stir internal conflict amongst the humans and cause them to deplete their own elemental energy!" Beauty She¡¯s expression turned cold and her eyes sparkled with a blue-green essence, "Mere humans, how dare they vie for the throne of master of all races!" Momentster, she stood up and left, leaving behind two evenly dissected pieces of bamboo leaves that were slowly falling. ... At the Pier in ck Lake District. "Sir,test intelligence from the capital!" Xu Ting had only rested for less than half a day before he got interrupted. After reading a few lines of the letter, an uneasy look appeared on his face. "Minister ns to rebel!" Although it was a few simple words, it was utterly shocking for Xu Ting. "Initially, I thought troubled times were ahead of us, looks like I am already in a troubled world now..." Xu Ting gave a wry smile, with his intellect, he could already predict the chain of events that would happen thereafter. "I thought I was fast enough, I guess I¡¯m too slow now! Way too slow!" Once Wang Qiao usurped the throne, he could make use of clearing rebels as a reason to eradicate anyone he deemed disloyal to him and the burden of righteousness could literally be thrown aside. With how smoothly things went, Xu Ting felt as though he was in a dream. "There¡¯s no problem with Golden Lake Prefecture, however, there is more than one prefecture around Golden Court Lake! For our family to rise, we still require more strength and we have to continue with capturing the pirates, but however, at a much faster pace!" He gritted his teeth, "We have to continue with the ns of hiding troops in theke, just that..." Even though he had the support of his family, it was demanding to support thousands of people. Furthermore, the supply of troops ahead of him was never-ending. Also, it was too conspicuous to have it carried out in Golden Lake Prefecture. "I definitely have to look for a more suitable ce to allocate the remaining big group of troops..., the leaders of the pirates and their family members definitely have to be ced ashore to control them with ease, while the rest do not have to and can be ced in theke, in theke..., in theke...." Xu Ting tugged his hair in frustration. He finally understood that no matter how good a n was, once executed, numerous unexpected issues would arise. Such situations tested the abilities ofmanders. "Small inds in theke are too scattered! If they were so spread out, how could I rule them together?" Xu Ting pondered. In order to hide the troops in theke, the most crucial problem to solve was where would the base be. If they were to use thoserger inds, it would be easily discovered by the fishermen who fish in theke daily and also the numerous pirates in the area. Unless... "Sir!" As he was deep in thoughts and scribbled on his desk, time past unknowingly and it was already dark outside. A lovely maid carrying an oilmp and meal boxes came forward. "Luan¡¯er?" Xu Ting¡¯s gaze softened as he saw her, "What brought you over personally?" "I was told to speciallye take care of you since you worked so hard on eradicating the pirates!" Li Luan lit up the room, opened the meal boxes andid out the dishes. There was a te of roast chicken, a te of drool-inducing braised pork leg, two tes vegetables and one bottle of wine. They were all Xu Ting¡¯s favourites. "Haha, Luan¡¯er knows me the best!" After receiving a pair of chopsticks from Li Luan, Xu Ting took a bite and sang praises immediately, "Your skills have improved... I better eat more today! Eh, howe there¡¯s no fish?" On the shores of Golden Court Lake, fish was the mostmon dish. Since he started eradicating the pirates, he seized countless dried fish. Hence, he asked curiously. "Fish..." Li Luan smiled unconvincingly, "Sir, you wanted fish?" "No! I¡¯m already of sick of it..." Xu Ting seemed like he remembered something and shook his hands. In spite of that, Li Luan¡¯s face was still pale, it was as though dark clouds were looming over her. As a thoughtful person, Xu Ting immediately realised the change in atmosphere. "Do you have something that is troubling you...?" "Indeed!" Li Luan pulled herself together. "Sir, do you still remember the person who visited your father?" "I do!" The n to hide the troops in theke was given by that young man. It left such a strong impression on him, how could he not remember? After further investigations, that man was apparently ck Dragon General, a people dao deity. It was truly inconceivable, and naturally, the misunderstandings dispelled. However, when Xu Ting heard Li Luan mentioned him again, he felt slightly ufortable. "What is the matter?" Li Luan answered, "He met your father again and delivered this map!" She took out a scroll and slowly unravelled it. "Eh..." Looking at the contents of the scroll, Xu Ting¡¯s eyes opened wide. "This is.... the water map?" Having fought with the pirates for so many days, he studied the water map daily and naturally, he could recognise it, "Not only is this a simple water map, it epassed the whole Golden Court Lake, such detail..." Beside him, Li Luan silently heaved a sigh of relief as he saw the sparkle in Xu Ting¡¯s eyes. The map had great utility, furthermore the fact that they could have it meant that Fang Yuan had the support of Golden Court Dragon God. Such rapid progress was shocking. However,pared to Fang Yuan, Xu Ting was... At that moment, Li Luan was gratified as he saw how contented Xu Ting was, she then added, "Sir, not only that... look!" She lightly caressed the water map and ayer of vapour appeared. It was as though the map came to life. Sparkling red dots appeared on the map; they could be seen clearly on the map moving. "These are the pirates¡¯ hideouts, the brighter the red dot, the more powerful they are..." Li Luan exined. "This is... a valuable treasure!" Xu Ting stood up, his face beamed with joy. With this map, it was akin to having the entire Golden Court Lake! With the help of the deity! "Such valuable treasure could only be made by Golden Court Dragon God. Congrattions Sir!" Li Luan then pointed at the map and continued, "There¡¯s a big ind here, we can reim 5,000 acres of farnd there! There¡¯s also a deep-water harbour for us to build a pier. It is a great location to ce our base in!" "This ce..." Xu Ting was puzzled and looked carefully, there was indeed an ind. He then asked, "Why hasn¡¯t it been discovered?" "Because there are a lot of undercurrents and whirlpools nearby which makes it difficult for ships to traverse through. However, there¡¯s a safe route on the map..." As Li Luan exined, in her heart, she was clear of something. The ind was actually inhabited by water dwellers. Although many of the water dwellers lived inside the waters, on special asions, they woulde up onnd to mate. On the whole Golden Court Lake, there were a few of such inds which were all forbiddennd for humans. However, for Xu Ting¡¯s sake, one of the inds was cleared out. In his heart, Xu Ting was even more in awe of the heavenly trend and Fang Yuan¡¯s power. "Such a valuable treasure... what a valuable treasure..." Xu Ting felt slightly uneasy as he held the scroll. However, his hands were still tight. He then enquired, "Then how did ck Dragon General got hold of it? Was he tasked by the Dragon God?" "I do not know if he was tasked by the Dragon God or not. However, I am sure the Dragon God is on our side. We should provide some offerings!" Li Luan reminded. "Hmm... that¡¯s true!" Xu Ting nodded his head. This time, with the help of the deity, his wishes came true and it made him felt as though fate was in his favour. ... Outside the prefecture, Fang Yuan suddenly smiled as he was looking at the scenery. "With the support of the Dragon God, Xu Ting¡¯s strength has multiplied... looks like there wouldn¡¯t be any more problems with uniting the pirates of Golden Court Lake." In reality, it was a win-win situation. With the Dragon God¡¯s backing, it was natural to return the favour by multitudes once they seeded. Most importantly, it was for Xu Ting reach that level of sess where he could return the favour. Fang Yuan opened the bottle gourd on his waist and drank the dragon pce¡¯s rare spiritual wine. As he drank and gazed at the sky, he felt awe-inspiring. At that moment, as soon as Xu Ting got the information, Fang Yuan naturally got it too. "A minister trying to usurp, what a coincidental timing! When the nations are in chaos, the demons would definitely interfere and add fuel to the oil, causing the humans to be in a perpetual internal conflict!" Although he did not know that there were already demons causing chaos in the nation, he could easily guess it as it was obvious for them to attack their enemies at such timings. As he saw Li Luan fell deeper and deeper, Fang Yuan had an even greater understanding and fear of this realm¡¯s heavenly trend. "The heavens make a fool of people, such a phrase is indeed true... even if Li Luan wholeheartedly wanted to support the Dragon God, she would inevitably be deluded and the oue would be unpredictable..." "If that could happen to her, what about those demons who hated the humans to the core?" Even though there were techniques to pry into heavenly secrets in this realm, most of the results were muddled or gave partial revtions that misled people. "Some of the demons were too smart for their own good!" "After all, the uprising of humans was the heavenly trend, there is no ce for demons to rule!" Fang Yuan chose not to be too close to the Xu family due to that exact reason. Even for the delivery of the water map, Fang Yuan had made use of Li Luan as a middleman to let her benefit, just for the sake of maintaining distance from them. By maintaining a distance from the Xu family, if the situation were to turn awry in the future, he could cut ties with them quickly. The heavenly trend was hard to predict! One could only tread as though he was on thin ice and be on guard against the unknown at all times! Chapter 301: Two Swords Chapter 301: Two Swords Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions 4th Year of Yong An, Da Chu. Loading Ind, Golden Court Lake. A noble and virtuous character is capable of great things! Originally, the ind was unnamed, however, once it was upied by Xu Ting to load goods, it was named as such. Such a name reflected his ambitions. At that moment, a few big ships were slowly approaching the pier. A group of refugee families disembarked orderly, while the soldiers, evidently experienced, maintained a basic formation at the sides. The terrain of the ind was rather t, there was a t piece ofnd after a short distance away from the pier. On top of it, furrows were already ploughed and there were a few farmsteads. The farmsteads and furrows were neatly built and evoked the beauty of a well-nnednd. "Sir!" At that moment, a few schrly looking men came forward. "Hmm... doing well! How¡¯s the situation now?" These men were all outstanding schrs in the family, they were literate and knew how to calcte. With them, they formed the backbone of the n. Xu Ting looked at the farnds and took a deep breath, "This is what I call foundation!" "We seek your approval in enforcing the Baojia neighbourhood administrative system here. Five families would form one unit, with one leader. Duties would also be clearly allocated. If anyone tried to escape, the whole unit would be implicated. We can currently form hundred of such units and reim 3,000 acres ofnd. Each family has to send out one fit man to join the troop and they would both work on the farm and undergo military training. As the people have bothnd and sufficient supplies of goods, they are contented and would rarely try to escape..." one of the schrs reported. "Very good!" Xu Ting nodded his head, "This time, I have conquered the pirates of 13 Chain Wall. There are 3,000 of them to be deported here, will there be any issue?" As the ce was under military jurisdiction, it was easier to organise and collect information. Hence, after a few moments, the schr replied with conviction, "The wooden houses are all built, they are just waiting for people to move in. Also, we can reim 5000 acres of farnd on the nds and at least 800 acres of terraced fields on the hills. When the paddies are harvested, we will be able to feed thousands of fit men!" This schr was also a member of the Xu family, as he spoke, his eyes were filled with fervour. In actual fact, the fit men were elite troops to be! It was remarkable for them to be able to deploy thousands of troops and even attack other prefectures through the waterway. Xu Ting was very pleased upon hearing such news. In all honesty, it was a way for the troops to be stationed there. During peacetime, they worked as farmers, while during wartime, they fought as soldiers. Under military jurisdiction, they did not have to rely on unreasonable borrowing terms from magnates. Even with half the tax rates, it was a good policy and managed to greatly increase the authorities¡¯ reserves. Furthermore, since paddies were harvested there, the yield was plentiful and it was sufficient to feed even more mouths. As such, he had the capital to rise to power. "The 13 Chain Wall was thest resistance alliance of the pirates. After this war, there would no more pirates of such scale in Golden Court Lake. Even if small groups of pirates were to appear, we can eradicate them sporadically..." As Xu Ting entered the conference room, he continued, "Since I trust all of you all, I will say this directly. The world is in an ailing and chaos state right now, wicked ministers are in governance and military upied towns are appearing everywhere. Our n does not seek power or riches, we just want to be content with our lives, but to achieve this, we must have strength." "This Loading Ind is our n¡¯sst base. When the situation is not in our favour, we can retreat here. With the protection of the undercurrents and reefs, we would be safe for at least a while here!" "To rapidly expand the ind¡¯s strength, there will be no issue even if there aren¡¯t any more pirates. We can go to each district and recruit their refugees, they don¡¯t even have to be from our prefecture!" ... Through eradicating the pirates and having control of the troops, the entire ind was already under Xu Ting¡¯s control, thus, he was not shy to share some ssified secrets. However, the real core and ambition would never be mentioned. "Brilliant, Sir!" However, with just those rationale, the crowd was overwhelmed with emotions. After all, everyone could see how tumultuous the world was in. Since Loading Ind was under the protection of natural hazards surrounding it and also had fertilends, once it could be self-sufficient, people would be contented. "Nowadays..., Wang Qiao¡¯s eagerness is growing even stronger. He even began scheming who would be his ministers, he simply could not be bothered to hide his ns to usurp.... The world is in chaos, however, with this base and troop, it doesn¡¯t mean that there¡¯s no hope for my n to further progress!" Xu Ting thought. Xu Ting gazed into the distance as his heart burnt with fiery. ... "The uprising of people dao has been progressing quickly..., especially within the different nations, there seems to be a presence of demons..." Fang Yuan thought as he looked attentively at Loading Ind from the water. "In Da Qi and Da Liang, either the princes are fighting for the throne, or they have manipting ministers in the country. Furthermore, the emperors are all not in good health. How could this be a coincidence? Hehe... the demons are truly easily predictable, just that with how much effort they are putting in, it is just for the good of others¡¯ causes!" With the current situation, he could guess that there were already demons wreaking havoc within the high positions of each country, and these demons wanted the people dao¡¯s fate energy to diminish. However, the heavens had made a fool of them! These three countries were originally not favoured by the heavenly fate and were bound to decline and descent into chaos. It was a survival of the fittest! When the demons interfered, it had the opposite effect of speeding up the process. Even the demons¡¯ higher beings and saints who predicted the heavenly secrets were muddled and had their skandhas messed up. The heaven made a total fool out of the demons and utterly misdirected them to such an extreme extent! "I guess the heavenly trend in this realm is more powerful than what I have imagined..." Fang Yuan¡¯s face became solemn as he turned his head away from Loading Ind. He then arrived at a cave under the waters. The horned dragon shook his tail and took on the magical clone of a human. He sat cross-legged and had two swords, one green and the other purple, floating in front of him. Both swords had a dazzling shine and were intimidating looking, evidently different from normal swords. "Go!" The moment he pointed his fingers, two surges of magical powers appeared and simultaneously turned into mes as it started to crazily form the two swords. "These spiritual swords were no small matter! Previously, as it was limited by karma, it was close to being formed!" At that moment, under the mes of magic, both swords floated unsteadily and continued to dazzle brightly. Sharp noises could be heard from the sword and it was as though the swords were giving theirst-ditch of effort in resisting. "Hehe... thest struggle at the point of death!" As Fang Yuanughed, powerful magic surged, and along with karma, it finally removed the remaining few traces of imprints in the spiritual swordspletely. "Swoosh!" The two swords lost all its radiance and revealed a modest looking body. On top of the swords, there were many primitive patterns. "Good swords! Indeed, they are such great swords, however, they aren¡¯t as simple as other rare treasures. In fact, it seems as though there¡¯s a faint sense of fate energy converging on it. It looks like it has to go through a round of killer tribtions..." No matter how good a rare treasure was, as long as it could not be kept in the actualised dream world, it was not really valuable for Fang Yuan as he could only use it for a while in his current realm. Of course, if Xuan Zhen Sect was to find out, they would be enraged. "After such a long period of investigation, Xuan Zhen Sect should know my background by now? Also, I¡¯m sure they would be back for their spiritual swords..." Fang Yuan sneered as he made up his mind. With a wave of his hands, the two swordsnded on his hands. After the swords lost its radiance, the inscriptions on the sword could be seen clearly. There were ancient characters on it. One was named Purple Suo and the other was named Green Qiu. "Both men and swords have killer tribtions..., the reason why Xuan Zhen Sect forged these two swords was to use it in numerous battles to kill numerous people in order to pass its own tribtion..." Naturally, Fang Yuan could easily guess the origins of the two swords. Suddenly, he had an idea. His hand beamed with magic and the Purple Suo sword changed its appearance. The Purple Suo sword became a primitive longsword in a scabbard, it was 40 inches long and had an indistinct purple glow. It was evident that the longsword was an extremely sharp and powerful weapon. "Demons were their opponents, while their counterparts were their enemies..., does Xuan Zhen Sect really still want to support Xu family?" he thought. Fang Yuan suddenly came over to the waters near Loading Ind and disguised himself under the appearance of a normal young man. Ayer of mist appeared as Fang Yuan instantaneously turned invisible, crossed the guards surrounding the ind and reached the depths of the ind. ... "Eat more... my birds!" Inside the dense forest, the daoist priest who fought along Xu Ting was seen feeding his white birds. A tinge of destion appeared on his face. Although he was a daoist priest, he had no official sect and did not have any legitimate ancestry. His name was Kong Luo. During a rare encounter with a wandering daoist priest when he was young, he got epted into his master¡¯s sect as a disciple. Except, such a descent still meant that he had no official inheritance of skills nor denomination. He only possessed the Quelling Bait Technique and the unique ability to raise white birds. Such lone practitioners often had little or no disciples to pass down their skills and such techniques would be extinct a few generationster. However, if a rare encounter were to be chance upon, his sect could still rise and be ranked amongst the sects. Kong Luo spent half of his life wandering with his master before finally settling down at Golden Lake Prefecture. Before his master passed away, by pure coincidence, his master managed to get hold of some heavenly secrets and instructed him to seek refuge with the Xu family. By doing so, he could hone his skills under the protection of fate energy and then further look for opportunities to bring glory to his sect. At that moment, inside Kong Luo¡¯s heart, he was in deep thoughts. "It¡¯s great to practice inside here! With the support of Xu family, my Quelling Bait Technique has already finessed to 2nd Grade. Even master could not go beyond that grade... Nowadays, Xu Ting¡¯s fate energy has been prospering. Furthermore, since he is training his group of elite troops, his ambitions must not be small. If I can support him and gain some of his fate energy, my dao powers will greatly improve!" "There are so many uniquely talented people in this world, my limited skills are actually nothing much..." Originally, he was heavily favoured and utilised by Xu Ting. However, as time past, Xuan Zhen Sect began investing more and more in Xu family, especially with their own daoist priests, and hence, Kong Luo was edged out and became dispensable. As Kong Luo felt that his position was threatened, a despondent and worried look appeared on his face naturally. "Hiss!" Suddenly, a scent of blood filled the air and noises could be heard from the bushes. A ck-coloured giant snake leapt out. Its eyes were filled with savagery and it pounced towards Kong Luo. "What? Such a big snake? What a monstrous fiend!" Kong Luo was terrified. The ind was cleared before, hence, it should not have any beasts still living in it. Why was there still such a huge snake? Kong Luo jumped away immediately and summoned a talisman, "Haste!" "Puff!" Sparks shed as the ck snake flinched for a moment before it immediately struck its tail at Kong Luo. Kong Luo was knocked back and began vomiting blood. "Quick, call somebody!" The white bird on his shoulder flew towards the vige while it made ailing shrills. Kong Luo did not hesitate even for a moment and fled for his life. "Am I going to die? No! I still have to revive my sect!" As he thought of his master¡¯sst will, Kong Luo mustered all his remaining strength and scrambled down the hill. As the hill was not far from the vige and since the area was under military jurisdiction, a group of soldiers quickly ran over. "Save me!" As Kong Luo saw the soldiers approaching, he immediately used hisst breath to shout out loud. Chapter 302: Acquisition Chapter 302: Acquisition Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "I¡¯m so dead!" The scent of blood filled the air and the snake almost got a taste of Kong Luo¡¯s neck. In a state of panic, Kong Luo tripped and fell. "Don¡¯t you dare hurt him, you fiend!" The group of people who came over ran towards Kong Luo at the speed of light and quickly formed up with their knives, ready to annihte the snake. As a fight was about to emerge, it made Kong Luo felt relieved. "Are these... Xu Ting¡¯s bodyguards? I¡¯m saved!" He took a good look at these people and noticed that Xu Ting was leading them; he felt like he was in luck. Knowing that Xu Ting¡¯s side was filled with skilful people, Kong Luo knew his life was saved. "Swoosh!" Sparks flew as des hit the snake¡¯s scales. Kong Luo scrambled to Xu Ting¡¯s side; he finally managed to stand up and looked at the ck snake. The snake was extremely thick and was about 10 yards long. It had fierce serpentine eyes, shiny scales and a flicking forked tongue that was waiting to devour a human. "Such a humongous ck snake, no, ck python! What a monstrous fiend!" Xu Ting¡¯s eyes shined brightly. As he saw the big python, he immediately hollered, "We must kill it, else it would harm our troops and farms!" "Yes, Sir!" As the two men fighting could not defeat the snake, a few more martial arts experts amongst his numerous skilled subordinates leapt out with their weapons. Not only that, a few apanying daoist priests began chanting curses and the fighters were imbued with magical powers. Their strength and vital elemental energy were greatly boosted. "ck Tiger w!" "Elemental Splitting Palm!" "Kill it!¡¯ Swords flung as gale like punches were thrown. Blood spewed out from the ck python as numerous attacksnded on it at the same time. "Thud!" Amongst the numerous attacks, an arrow shed past and urately hit the fatal spot on the python¡¯s heart. "Hhiii...iisss..." After a few struggles, the python finally sumbed and copsed. "Sir, great archery skills!" After the people around began congratting, Kong Luo then realised that Xu Ting was wielding arge purple bow. The bowstring was still vibrating when Kong Luo realised it. "Eh..." Xu Ting moved closer to the ck python but chose to not go too close. Although the ck python¡¯s heart was shot and its body was severed into many pieces, due to its humongous body, its vitality was still strong even if it seemed like it could not fight back. "This snake looks not bad. Pythons are not poisonous and we can use it to stew soup for our people..." As Xu Ting looked at the snake¡¯s carcass, he seemed to have thought of something and smiled. "Yes, Sir!" The soldiers replied excitedly. "The soup stewed from this snake¡¯s meat along with some meat from an old hen and a few eggs would be so nourishing..." A few people went up to the snake and began prepping it. "Eh? There¡¯s something in the snake¡¯s tail!" As a warrior was cutting open the snake¡¯s skin, he saw a purple glow in the corner of his eyes. Out of curiosity, he sliced open the snake¡¯s tail and acquired a sword. "Sir..., there¡¯s a sword hidden in the snake¡¯s tail!" Being quick-witted, he immediately carried the sword with both hands, kneeled in front of Xu Ting and presented the sword to him, "Looks like this is what the heaven is granting you, Sir! Your life is fated to build a military!" In this realm, heavenly visions would appear before heroes. The acquiring of a sword from a ck python was indeed a strange and wonderful urrence. The sword would be put to great use in the future, it could fight thousands of soldiers! "Oh?" Xu Ting was both surprised and delighted. It was because such a happening was very auspicious and also the fact that the man had a way with his words. By building a military, he could either be the ruler who unites countries or be the minister who supports; there were lots of leeway for him. However, if the warrior had talked about how it was pure fate, Xu Ting would have killed him instead. Hence, he received the sword cheerily, "Not bad, really not bad!" Many of the surrounding people felt jealous of his praises but could only hide their feelings and proceeded to celebrate. "Congrattions, Sir, for acquiring the sword!" "Swish!" Xu Ting had practised swordsmanship before. As he casually swung the sword, a cool purple glow appeared. The 40-inch long de was clear as snow and could clearly reflect his face on it. There was also a tinge of purple that Xu Ting liked. He then ordered someone to duel with him, only to hear a "ng" as the opponent¡¯s sword broke in half. The sword was indeed extremely sharp. "Haha... what a good sword!" Xu Ting was ecstatic. He observed the sword and noticed the ancient inscription of "Purple Suo" on it. The more he looked at it, the more he liked it. Immediately, he equipped the sword on his waist. "In the past, there was a king who killed a water dragon and then ruled the world, now... from how I had acquired this sword, could this be a sign from the heavens too?" Xu Ting pondered. Regardless, he was not going to bestow this sword to anyone else and was determined to keep the sword for his own good use. "We will hold a feast tonight!" As he gave out his instruction with glee, he naturally did not notice a certain daoist priest¡¯s panic-stricken look. "No one¡¯s caring about me..." As Kong Luo saw the big group left, he felt gloomy as he dusted the dirt off his body. Compared to the countless martial arts experts and other powerful daoist priests, Kong Luo knew he was no match for them and could only take a backseat. But as he thought of another daoist priest¡¯s expression just now, he felt odd. "Why did daoist Qing Xuan have such a furtive look on his face? He seems to know the origins of that sword? But such treasures from such beasts were meant to be powerful in the first ce!" As he watched the crowd rush to attend the feast, he could only think of how powerless he was. "This time around, I can at least take a backseat at the feast, but what about next year or the year after? As the neersugh, who could hear the old-timer weep..." His interest waned and he felt as though he did not want to appear at the feast to further embarrass himself. At that moment, as he looked at the trail of blood from the ck python, he suddenly had an idea. "From daoist Qing Xuan¡¯s gaze, this snake must not be normal. Such a beast would not have appeared for no reason..." He proceeded to walk in the opposite direction and arrived at the hill where he was feeding his birds. He then began searching carefully. Sure enough, the moment he prised open the bushes, he saw a pathway the snake must have taken. After following it, he reached a cave that had a faint stench. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained! I will take the risk!" Kong Luo bravely entered the cave only to realise the cave was clean and had no signs of snakeskin left behind. Except, at the end of the cave, there was a green light emitted from a small sword. On the cave walls, there was a chant for a form inscribed on it. The inscription was not long as there were only a few hundred words, but however, they were beautifully expressed. Upon seeing such, Kong Luo was shocked. There was no time to waste for Kong Luo to wonder about why no one had ever discovered this ce. He immediately began to recite it by heart. "This is a powerful magical form, and the spiritual treasure too... they are really gifts from the heavens! The revival of my sect is truly pure fate of the heavens..." He immediately kept the spiritual sword ording to the magical form and felt stronger at once. The spiritual sword was a treasure for killing. Thus, his magical techniques did not improve, but obviously, his lethality was vastly superior to before. With this, he could have the confidence and strength to fight alongside other daoists in front of Xu Ting. "Hmm... that Daoist Qing Xuan..." Before he strode out the cave, he waved his arms and a green sword essence appeared. The cave walls were scratched beyond recognition at once. ... "Very well..." After Kong Luo left the cave, Fang Yuan appeared outside the cave and watched his back view leaving. Fang Yuan was satisfied and thought to himself. "He does seem decisive, looks like he has the potential!" The two swords had some fate energy converging on it, or to put it in another way, it contained parts of the turning point for Xuan Zhen Sect. Hence, Fang Yuan could not keep them for long, else it would be detrimental to his fate energy. Not only would Xuan Zhen Sect chase after him, some of the swords¡¯ tribtions might even pass over to him. By gifting the swords, it reflected Fang Yuan¡¯s intelligence. Firstly, these two swords had already been cultivated. By gifting it away, the favour would be returned to him in the future. Also, it was the perfect n to give the swords to Xu Ting and a daoist priest from the same n. With how invested Xuan Zhen Sect was in Xu family, would they dare to demand the return of the Purple Suo sword from Xu Ting? Since Kong Luo was also part of Xu family, and the fact that he was now under the protection of the spiritual sword, Xuan Zhen Sect would not dare to start a conflict with him. After doing these things, Xu Ting felt energised. He opened his spiritual eyes and saw karma slowly descending from the skies. He could not contain his joy as he knew he reached a key point. This time, he managed to seize a decent amount of Xuan Zhen Sect¡¯s fate energy karma. "Not only are there people dao karma, there¡¯s also heavenly karma! I shall use it to increase my cultivation!" Fang Yuan made up his mind. On top of his head, streaks of golden essence gathered and formed the shape of seven shiny golden flowers. Whereas, the green balls of energy, through mysterious ways, turned in to the realm¡¯s energy and swarmed into the actualised dream world. In the 8 Gates Sword Array, the fire and water swords shined brightly, while on the east gate, lightning struck and the Thunder Sword formed more than half as it emitted electrifying illuminations. The 3 swords¡¯ luminance rushed to skies and the power of the 3 talents could be vaguely seen. "More than half of the Sundering Thunder Sword has been formed?" Fang Yuan looked at his stats board: "Name: Fang Yuan Race: Horned Dragon Essence: 36 Spirit: 36 Magic: 45 Profession: ??? Cultivation: ??? Technique: [9 Steps of Dragon Transformation Form (7th Transformation)], [Weather Controlling Technique (Grade 1)], [Natural Magical Strength (Grade 3)], [8 Gates Sword Array (3rd Sword) (55%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "The further I progress in the 8 Gates Sword Array, the harder it is to form the swords. However, its might is even more unimaginable..." A look of joy appeared on Fang Yuan¡¯s face as he thought, "Hmm..., by helping Xu family this time, it was simply an early investment. The karma I received wasn¡¯t a lot too... Only during chaos where Xu family rises to power is when I will truly gain the most from!" At that moment, as Xu family still did not officially reign an area, its influence was naturally not as great. However, once the world entered a state of chaos and undergone big changes, even if Xu Ting were to be a just a duke, he could still influence millions ofmoners. Hence, the karma Fang Yuan would receive from it would be exceedingly bountiful. Fang Yuan was eagerly anticipating for it to happen. "Nevertheless... even with my strength now, I am still a formidable force to be reckoned with...Seems like some issues in the past can be settled already too..." he pondered as he looked towards the direction of Qi Lake. Chapter 303: Evolution Chapter 303: Evolution Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Imperial pce, Qi Country. After the death of thete emperor, the Third Prince emerged from intense rivalry and was seeding the throne in the wake. Inside the pce, there was a hint of bloodiness and officials of all ranks shivered in uneasiness. This was especially so for those who were originally from Taihe Hall, as the hall¡¯s servants and maids, alongside their in-charge, Senior Eunuch Su, were put to death. Thus, rumours were rife. "No matter what... I have finally won this time!" Originally the Third Prince, he now ascended the throne and became the Emperor of Qi. Donned in his royal crown with his hand wielding a pearl ornament, he looked at his officials worshipping below. Though he appeared calm on the outside, he was extremely perturbed on the inside. "Majority of the guards of the imperial pce and the troops of the imperial city have already submitted to me, the situation should be stable for me now. Since the Seventh Prince and those loyal to him seems unwilling and grudging, I better severely punish them! Hmm, since they did not show up during this ceremony, it would be the best excuse to do so!" he thought. Unfilial acts and disloyalty were sins he could not tolerate. The new emperor took a glimpse of thete emperor in his dragon casket. Its ashen face and ghastly stiff palm sent a chill down the emperor¡¯s face. Immediately, he turned around and prayed silently. "Father..., I knew you have always favoured the Seventh Prince, but since I seeded the throne, I will definitely lead Da Qi to power and riches. I will also unite the three countries in this unprecedented rulership! Also, the imperial astronomer told me just now that the north star, Pris, shined extremely brightly. This is a sign that I am going to be a great emperor!" "Our Majesty!" At that moment, all the officials kowtowed nine times andpleted the ceremony. "Ah, rise!" As the Emperor of Qi strutted, he suddenly asked, "Where is the Seventh Prince and the Ninth Prince? Our father passed away and they dare not arrive yet? It pains my heart!" "Your Majesty, the Seventh Prince was punished to reflect in istion while the Ninth Prince is still on his journey, he is currently near the borders now." a senior minister reported. "Hehe.... such great excuses, are they questioning my abilities?" The Emperor of Qi gave a sardonic smile and immediately ordered, "These two treacherous princes vited the virtue of filial piety, even though I could not bear to hurt our rtionship as brothers, I have no other choice now. Immediately send the guards to bring these two over to the wake! I will have to question them thoroughly!" As an elder brother, he could not order violence against his younger brothers, but however, as long as he could arrest and enact soft detention on them, he could have his ways with them. A few imperial guards heeded the orders and dashed out only to stop suddenly. "Bang!" Under the loud noises, the ground tremored and violent bawls could be heard. Not far from the gates, fires could be seen and ck smoke rose into the air, bringing a sense of inauspiciousness. "What¡¯s happening?" As themotion was so huge, it could even be heard from Jinluan Hall. The Qi Emperor¡¯s expression changed at once. An imperial guard immediately reported, "Your Majesty, the Seventh Prince and Ninth Prince are leading a troop in and they im that they want to eradicate the emperor¡¯s disloyal followers! The eastern gate has already surrendered and they are storming towards the imperial pce now!" "What?" The Emperor of Qi felt ill at once and almost vomited blood. Naturally, there were elite troops and royal guards garrisoned around Qi Country¡¯s imperial capital. Thete emperor favoured the Seventh Prince and the Ninth Prince heavily and assigned them to numerous posts, hence they managed to attract many henchmen under them. The Third Prince¡¯s power was honestly much weaker than theirs. It was unexpected for him to seed the throne and the reason why he could was due to the fact that he bribed thete emperor¡¯s loyal follower. It was truly a very risky move. He did not expect the other two princes to be so resolute and decisive that they dared to led troops to revolt, and not to mention, influence the guards at the eastern gates to surrender their defences and side with them. "The Seventh Prince decrees, this military advance will not harm the innocent!" "The Ninth Prince decrees, however, those who did bad deeds andmitted offences will be prosecuted by militaryw!" ... The troop marched over with almost no resistance and surrounded the imperial pce. The Emperor of Qi¡¯s face turned pale. He forced himself up the pce walls and saw the sea of troops below. His legs turned soft and he immediately ordered, "Traitors! Zhang Jin, kill them all for me!" At that moment, the imperial guard could only reluctantly obey hismands to protect the imperial pce. However, the Emperor of Qi was still deeply unsettled. He knew that even if he were to win today, a revolt that urred immediately once he ascended the throne would severely impact his prestige and might. Furthermore, his followers had already be anxious and terrified; they were bound to notst for long. "All to listen up, the reason for this uprising is to seek justice for the mysterious death of ourte emperor. As his sons and ministers, we have to seek justice!" A deafening sound could be heard, it was as though spells were used. All the officials could not help but keep quiet. The actions of the two princes were no different to using the Third Prince of poisoning thete emperor and distorting the imperial edict. "I seeded the throne justly and honourably. The imperial edict left by thete emperor before his death serves as evidence! How dare they besmirch me!" the Emperor of Qi hollered with extreme wrath. "If you don¡¯t surrender in half an hour, we will not hesitate to storm in!" However, the two princes outside had reached their point of no return. Even if the imperial edict was real, it had to be denounced as fake. Hence, after a few shouts, they immediatelymanded their troops to attack. "Charge!" "Launch the catapult!" "Prepare the scalingdder!" In an instant, the magnificent imperial pce became a bloody battlefield. Blood spewed as smoke rose. Fear spread through themoners in the imperial capital as they quickly shut their doors. Even though the imperial capital of Qi Country was an ancient city with thousands of years of history, it ultimately could not withstand the destruction of war. The defences of the imperial pce were prated through within half a day and the troops swarmed it. The Third Prince was dishevelled, he had a longsword wielded while his robe was stained with blood. At that moment, he was searching through each pce hall in panic, "Beauties..., my beauties, quick, leave with me! I am still the emperor, even if we escape out of the capital, I can still gather all my loyal ministers to fight back!" As he barged into one of the pces, he scared away many of the servants. However, inside the hall, the melodious sound of a guqin[1] surrounded the entire hall. The person ying the guqin was an absolutely gorgeousdy. She was donned in a concubine¡¯s dress and appeared elegantly prim and proper. "Qing¡¯er, quick, leave with me!" The Third Prince¡¯s eyes filled with lust; he used to love listening to Qing¡¯er y the guqin as he casually rxed. However, ever since he began crafting his big ns, he never heard the melodious guqin music again. "Why should I leave?" Qing¡¯er smiled gently. "Eh?" The Third Prince was startled and he felt as though she had totally changed. "Sun Xingyu, I¡¯ve yed with you for so long, I¡¯m already bored of you, time to change to another prince to y with..." Qing¡¯er said calmly. "What? You want to side with the Seventh Prince and Ninth Prince? You sl*t!" The Third Prince was enraged upon grasping what she meant. "I want to kill you!" With bloodshot eyes, he charged forward with his sword. "Boring!" Qing¡¯er yawned. Suddenly, a ck shadow appeared and bit off the Third Prince¡¯s hand. "Ahh...demon!" The ck shadow was actually a horrifying looking gigantic rat with eyes asrge as copper coins and it emitted a green glow. "Indeed, it¡¯s my fellow demon!" Qing¡¯er sighed faintly, "After scheming for ten plus years, the n has finally seeded. Even though you are the emperor, you have no power and the current situation is against you! How much fate energy would you have left by now? Just die in peace...., don¡¯t worry, your brothers will join you soon!" Although she spoke calmly and expressionlessly, the Third Prince was horror-stricken, "How dare you demons try to ruin the Da Qi Country!" As long as either the Seventh Prince or the Ninth Prince seeded the throne, the throne would still be in the hands of the Sun¡¯s. But now, the Emperor of Qi had smelled a rat and knew a grand conspiracy was underway. "Hehe..., after today, the news of the two princes revolting and causing the death of the emperor would spread throughout the world..." Qing¡¯er seemed to enjoy such a situation and even as the noise of the battlefield outside got closer, she cidly expressed, "After the event unfolds, Da Qi¡¯s sovereignty would drop and be severely undermined, war will erupt and who knows how many more people will be killed! The more deaths there would be, the happier I am!" "De...demon!" The Emperor of Qi was incensed and the rat demon sank its teeth into his throat. "Bang!" Lightning and thunder struck the skies and the giant rat let out a loud shriek. Its body turned ck while Qing¡¯er¡¯s face turned pale and even retched up a mouthful of blood. "He was clearly on his deathbed, how could he still have such fate energy protecting him? People dao¡¯s fate energy is truly remarkable! Looks like this reflects their uprising..." Her face turned solemn, she then stood up and toppled the oilmp. Fire engulfed the entire pce hall in an instance as ck smoke billowed. In one night, the news of the two princes revolting and attacking the imperial pce causing the death of Da Qi¡¯s new emperor spread throughout the world. Immediately, war broke out and the entire Qi Country descended into chaos. Simr to its situation was its neighbouring country, Da Liang. Yutong Prefecture. Alongside the din of battle, huge amounts of troops entered the city and started killing mercilessly. After besieging the city for months, they suffered great losses as they were unable to sessfully breakthrough, hence, they finally vented their anger through ughtering. Outside the city, a ferocious looking general was surveying the scene in the city, his aide then respectfully congratted, "Congrattions, General Huo, for annihting this rebel town!" "Send mymand, massacre the entire city!" General Huo gave a wry smile and immediatelymanded, "Anyway, this city is the hub of the Wu rebels. Itsmoners greatly benefitted from them and hence, they might not be loyal! It will be better for us to wipe them out!" With hismands, the troops were roused. However, the officials at his side remained silent. General Huo was talented in leading troops and wars, however, he was vicious and bloodthirsty. He was sent to annihte the rebels and their town, and with this sess, it was a great achievement under his belt. However, it seemed like the way he did things was a bit overboard. Of course, since he had the support to back his behaviour, no one dared to do anything about him. Few brave and just souls dared to confront him just for the lives ofmoners. At that moment, Huo Qing¡¯s eyes turned blood red. As he listened to the unending screamsing from the city, he almost could not suppress his true form and thought, "Us demons would not only ruin the three countries¡¯ fate energy, we will not let any heroes emerge from the human race. The military governor of this town was an all-rounder and was also home to dragon energy which I have finally destroyed..." [1] The guqin is a Chinese musical instrument. Chapter 304: Right Timing Chapter 304: Right Timing Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Da Chu. "Congrattions, minister, for your promotion to Prince of Chu!" Inside the minister¡¯s manor, many of his henchmen gathered as joy andughter filled the air. While Qi Country and Liang Country were in chaos, Wang Qiao had no leisure to care about the neighbouring countries. He finally seized the rare opportunity to force the emperor to grant him the title of Prince with perpetual title heritability[1]. Furthermore, by using "Chu" as his prince title, it obviously reflected his rapacious ambitions. However, Wang Qiao had no fears. "The garrison guards of the imperial capital are already within mymand and these 200,000 troops are extremely skilful elites, no one would be able to defeat them! Furthermore, even the provincial militarymanders and imperial guards have pledged their loyalty to me and there¡¯s no one left that canpete with me!" He thought as he squinted his eyes. He knew that even if military upied towns were to rise in revolt against him, by having thergestnds and the most eliterge troops, he would be able to wipe each of them out. "How many troops have risen in revolt currently?" Wang Qiao asked suddenly as he sat up straight with a strong demeanour. "There are three military upied towns that have sent their troops. Liyang Prefecture¡¯s military governor Zhu Tong, Xinan Prefecture¡¯s military governor Li Chun and Wujiang Prefecture¡¯s military governor Wang Yujun have risen in revolt and started attacking other prefectures under the usation that you were nning to overthrow the emperor. Based on my humble opinion, that was merely an excuse for them to expand their strength. These governors are all smart men! They knew if they did not seize the opportunity to rise to power now, when we rise to power, they would have no more chance!" His adjutant immediately answered. Wang Qiao pped his hands and announced, "I will immediately report these three governors¡¯ ns to the emperor and an imperial decree will be issued immediately. This will list out their crimes clearly and we can then send troops to suppress them!" At that moment, since he had not forced the emperor to abdicate and hand the throne over to him yet, he knew he still required the emperor for his ns to seed. "Brilliant, Prince!" His audiences were all impressed. "Haha... instead of being afraid, I am happy that they are rising up! The power distribution in the imperial capital is veryplicated. Since I don¡¯t have much wealth nornd to reward you all, if you all defeat these three prefectures, you all will be promoted to nobility, with perpetual title heritability!" Wang Qiaoughed. Usually, it was hard to gather loyal followers for usurps that did not undergo mass killings as the power distribution in the country wereplicated and there were insufficient resources to reward them. However, since the three military governors revolted, it gave him an excuse to do so. Once the audiences heard it, especially the military officials, their eyes lit up as though it was on fire. With Wang Qiao¡¯s speech, it undoubtedly promised the reward of nobility and at the same time, hinted that once the military upied towns were suppressed, he would immediately force the emperor to relinquish his throne. Only the emperor could grant titles of nobility with perpetual title heritability and such a hint was already very obvious. "Reporting!" Just as the atmosphere was warm, an anxious-looking imperial guard suddenly rushed over. "Prince, a disaster is imminent!" "Tell me about it!" A feeling of uneasiness immediately overwhelmed Wang Qiao and made him stood up. He then asked, "What exactly happened?" "The emperor has suddenly fallen very ill after dinner..., the imperial physician does not dare to prescribe medication!" "What?" Wang Qiao¡¯s face turned unpleasant at once. Even though he has already decided to have him dead once he ascended the throne, he still needed his name and authority as the Emperor of Chu, especially at the moment where he was about to send the troops to suppress the rebels. How could he be on his deathbed? "Prince..." At that moment, another horse rushed over, "The emperor... has passed away!" Wang Qiao¡¯s face turned pale at once, he suddenly opened his mouth and blood spewed everywhere. "Prince!!!" ... 5th Year of Yong An. News of Wang Qiao bing the Prince of Chu and the death of the young emperor spread like wildfire across the world. There were now 7 troops that had rose in revolt. After Da Qi and Da Liang, Da Chu has descended into chaos too. Loading Ind, Golden Court Lake. Twentyrge ships were berthed neatly at the pier. Thousands of soldiers remained silent as they gathered to watch the ceremony. Once Xu Ting heard the news about the death of the emperor, he gathered the troop tomemorate thete emperor and held a rally to pledge loyalty before going to war. "This Wang Qiao! How ferocious! He murdered the emperor to usurp the throne, what an unpardonable sin! Even though I am not a genius, I still have a 40-inch long sword and thousands of soldiers! I will punish this traitor and fight with him to death! To seek revenge for thete emperor!" As Xu Ting stood high above on the tform and raised the Purple Suo sword, his voice could be heard clearly. "Punish the traitor!" "Punish the traitor!" The crowds¡¯ yells were deafening and could be heard from afar. "Send down mymand! We will deploy at once!" As Xu Ting gave hismands, the warships steered out of the pier towards the prefectures near Golden Court Lake. These prefectures were not ruled by military governors; they were still under the governance of the imperial court. Even if there were any power-hungry ambitionists, they dared not openly raise their troops. However, now that they had such a cause, that might no longer be the case. Hence, Xu Ting decisively deployed at once so as to grab hold of the surrounding prefectures near Golden Court Lake and increase his power while the rest were still scrambling. While the rest had no ns, he had ns, warships and an elite troop. Xu Ting was very confident. On the shore, daoist Qing Xuan looked at the scene peacefully. His eyes glistened and thought, "The truculence and aggressiveness of the troops are like an inferno..., Xu Ting¡¯s fate energy changes thrice in a day, it is about to prosper and the heavenly trend is starting!" In reality, the heavenly trend was merely a seed. Without the right timing, the right conditions and the right people as soil and rain for the seed, the heavenly trend would not sprout and grow. Instead, it would brew disaster. But however, at that moment, the three factors were all right; sess was imminent! "The original magistrate of Golden Lake Prefecture relinquished his position due to his illness. Hence, once Xu Ren took over the position, he garnered the support of all the districts. After ten plus years of gradual influence, things are falling into ces and he can now support Xu Ting in his war! With theirbined powers, the nearby prefectures will be of no match, and after seizing the entire Golden Court Lake, they would have their foundation to gather sufficient people dao fate energy to seed. However, my sect is not gaining much from it, many opportunities have been snatched..., d*mn demons!" When he thought of Xu Ting¡¯s Purple Suo sword, his expression turned even gloomier. The sword was an auspicious sign. Of course, Xu Ting sent people to spread the news to bolster his strength. The sword was like a treasure that signified the heavenly trends. For daoist Qing Xuan to ask for it back from Xu Ting was like courting death. "Also, that Kong Luo was merely an unknown lone practitioner that was not very good. Now, since he had gotten the Green Qiu sword, his power has tremendously improved and he even defeated many of my sect¡¯s people. Xu Ting greatly favours him now and they even deployed together..." Xu Ting could not be touched and neither could Kong Luo. Xu Ting would be a fool to allow hispatriot to be killed for the sword. Thankfully, Qing Xuan could still benefit from the fate energy gained. However, if he were to anger the dragon energy, he would really be totally dead. As Qing Xuan mumbled to himself, he felt as though there was a giant invisible that was enveloping Xuan Zhen Sect. Originally, it was still possible to gift these two swords as a form of investment. But now, they had spent too much effort helping others with no benefit for themselves gained. Even the head of the sect became worried and despondent after hearing the rumours. "The uprising of the humans is a heavenly trend and this Xu Ting has dragon energy within him... but now, with the steps Xuan Zhen Sect have taken, it seems like we have made the wrong moves..." As Qing Xuan thought of how the heavenly trend was hard to predict, he was awe-inspired. With the uprising of humans, killer tribtions became rife. As such, many were left dead in the process. Although Xuan Zhen Sect had treasures to suppress fate energy, there were usually no tribtions happening, but as for killer tribtions, how much effect these treasures would still have was really an unknown. ... Dragon Pce, Golden Court Lake. Fang Yuan sat opposite Golden Court Dragon God and in front of them was a chessboard. A water screen appeared out of nothing, and the scene of numerous warships departing was depicted. "Your magical powers are truly an eye-opener!" As Fang Yuan noticed Xu Ting¡¯s prospering fate energy, the Purple Suo sword on his waist and Kong Luo, he could not contain his smile. "The Golden Court Lake is under my jurisdiction, hence, the water reflective technique could be used. If they leave Golden Court Lake or if his fate energy were to further increase, this technique of mine would be unable monitor them from afar." The Dragon God smiled and straightforwardly ced a piece on the chessboard, "You are very observant and have nned well from the start. The way you handled the two swords was especially creative, I am very impressed." Since the Dragon God was very mighty and resourceful, he easily knew about the two swords. Furthermore, Fang Yuan and the Dragon God were truly on the same side. Compared to those people dao cultivators, especially those who aimed to monopolise fate energy, the Dragon God did not have a favourable impression of them. With the Dragon God¡¯s intelligence, he could easily guess that once Xuan Zhen Sect rose in power, they would go around destroying temples and force these deities to submit to them and have contractual agreements to be their servants. Even as people dao deities, dragons were haughty as it was part of their natural temperament. As for his dragon descendant going against Xuan Zhen Sect, the Dragon God was d to see such. "With Xu Ting¡¯s fate energy, there would be no problem uniting the Golden Court Lake¡¯s nearby prefectures under his rule. These prefectures have numerous resources and its people are settled peacefully, it is truly a great ce..." Fang Yuan ced a chess piece in response and started to mention another area, "After Wang Qiao usurps, it will still take some time for him to quell the rebel towns. If Xu Ting wants to grow further, he has to go along An River and conquer those prefectures all the way up to Qi Lake. Only then would he upy half the country and be considered extremely powerful." There were many river systems in the Water Realm. In Chu Country, Qi Lake, An River and Golden Court Lake were connected and those prefectures near it made up half the country! That made up one-sixth of the human poption! "The An River Dragon God¡¯s original form was a poisonous water dragon who loves blood sacrifices. He would definitely not sit back and allow the uprising of humans..., not sure if you are interested in the position of An River Dragon God?" "The position of An River Dragon God?" The Golden Court Dragon God thought for a moment and suddenly smiled, "With your extravagance, what requests do you have? "I was born in Qi Lake, how about Qi Lake?" Fang Yuan was not shy as heid out his conditions directly, "We will help out one another and fight against the sects, it is also for us demons to obtain a lifeline against this heavenly trend!" "A lifeline?" The Golden Court Dragon God was puzzled. "The uprising of the humans is a heavenly trend, however, all races are equal. Even if us demons are downfalling, it does not mean that we should be extinct. Even if thend was meant for the people dao, does it mean that there is absolutely no space for us demons?" Fang Yuan smiled as he exined; the Dragon God was moved at once. "That makes sense!" The Dragon God stood up and looked into the water screen. Large troops attacked and plundered, gatheringrge amounts of fate energy. This made Fang Yuan¡¯s intentions harder to beprehended by the Dragon God, the Dragon God could not help but to sigh. "We have always given in to the heavens and the people, and are always misunderstood by the demons. But now, we are in the same boat. This is all I can do and I will let history be the judge! I will not think too much now and after a thousand years, I will see what history has to say!" [1] Perpetual title heritability allows the title to be passed down to future generation without downgrading of rank. Chapter 305: The Return Chapter 305: The Return Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Kill!" Xu Ting¡¯s army was unstoppable and consecutively took down both the Seventh Dawn and the Thousand Scarlet Prefectures. Originally, prefectures and district towns were not allowed to have arge number of troops and only have a few thousand soldiers at most. As such, there was not much resistance against Xu Ting who had plotted for a very long time and had the backing of the pirates and his private soldiers. Of course, the scenario would be drastically different if it were to drag on for half a year where the big, influential families would have the time to build their own army. As of now, Xu Ting seized the opportunity and managed to sessively take over the towns. By the 8th month, he had already conscripted 2,000 new soldiers. His originally five thousand-strong troops were rumoured to have 10,000 soldiers now. News had spread to all ces that the soldiers had surrounded the Lanze Prefecture City. The sight of soldiers d in armour was frightening to behold. Xu Ting stood on the high ground. With a beckon, around 10 soldiers with loud voices came forward. "Listen well, Wang Qiao is a tyrant. It is my general¡¯s calling to take him down. If you surrender immediately, you will not lose your riches and honour. If not, we will destroy everything and it will be toote to regret your decision by then!" "How audacious!" A person who looked like an official appeared on the wall. He was d in magistrate¡¯s clothing and scolded them immediately. "Xu Ting, you are just a candidate who had just be a patrol officer, and yet, you call yourself a general. You even attack your fellow countrymen. If this is not a traitorous act, then what is a traitorous act? I, a pce graduate [1] favoured by the imperial court, will defend against you and not let you prevail!" There was a slight disturbance within the ranks, especially amongst the new soldiers when the magistrate scolded Xu Ting. However, nothing else happened. Xu Ting could not help butugh coldly. He knew that the elites among his troops were his own private soldiers and pirates. Their strength was absolute. There would be no problem even if his own troops were to revolt against him. Furthermore, in the name of seeking revenge for the young emperor, the soldiers were still dignified regardless of the position of the person who was scolding them. It would have been dangerous if his troops were made up of normal soldiers and if they did not have a cause to fight. ¡¯However...this magistrate is up to no good as well. On the surface, he appears to be loyal and devoted. However, I have received information that he secretly wanted to set up a regime and had started to amass his troops to stamp out the dissidents...¡¯ His face took on a cold expression. He waved his hand. "Attack! Take note of this magistrate. Once we have broken into the city, kill his entire family!" "Understood!" His army wasposed of pirates who were not afraid of anything. They had no qualms about attacking the city and started to push their weapons forward. When a few catapults were lined up before the city, the magistrate on the wall turned deathly pale and had to be assisted down from the wall. "Kill!""Kill!""Kill!" The troops shouted in unison. The attack on the city could take ce at any moment. "If we really attack head-on, even if there are not many soldiers within the prefecture city, the citizens can still be mobilized against me, which put me at a disadvantage! Is the preparation within the city ready?" Xu Ting asked after he tested out the defense of the city. "My lord, it has been arranged!" Kong Luo was dressed in green robes and appeared elegant. There were faint traces of sword essence on his body. "Huang and Zhang Families have agreed to open up the gates once night falls!" "Good!" Xu Ting was very pleased. The people within the prefecture city were not made of metal and as such, could be bribed. Otherwise, in ancient times, without the use of proper equipment to besiege the city, it would take many years to breach the defenses of the city even when the supply of food runs out. "Hmm, you shall lead the army this time. I will provide assistance!" Of course, things were different due to the existence of divine techniques. Xu Ting ordered after he moved. "Understood!" Kong Luo agreed after he opened his spiritual eye and realized that Xu Ting was not going to experience any tribtions this time based on his fate energy. Xu Ting was amongst the troops now and his fate energy was closely linked to the generals. If there were any changes, the changes would show themselves. Everything was smooth-sailing as of now. ¡¯Damn!¡¯ As the soldiers praised Xu Ting, a few people from the Xuan Zhen Sect were unhappy as they thought to themselves, ¡¯Instigating these two families were originally our sect¡¯s effort, why do we need to split the spoils of war?¡¯ However, who would dare to go against the general¡¯s order? Even if they were to vomit blood, they could only nod their head in agreement. ... Night fell. Huang and Zhang Families each sent out 200 soldiers, coordinated with the outside effort and betrayed the Lanze Prefecture city. The city¡¯s defense fell, the magistratemitted suicide by hanging himself and his who family was executed. Furthermore, those officials who resisted were executed regardless of their backgrounds. The whole prefecture was shaken by the executions and the people quickly surrendered. At this moment, many influential families realized that military might was the most important amidst the chaos. It was not time to talk about rtionships, feelings, families and the likes with a shining knife dangling above their heads, threatening their lives. In the 9th month, the magistrate of the Luosong Prefecture, thest remaining prefecture around the Golden Court Lake, brought a few hundred officials to surrender after realizing that the tables had turned. Xu Ting was pleased. After reporting to Xu Ren, he was appointed as a prefecture magistrate. However, he nted a few trusted aides within the troops everywhere he went. Till now, from the demise of the young emperor to the deration of the crusade, he managed to turn the 4 prefectures into military-upied towns of the Chu Country. The speed at which the operation was carried out was enough to cause onlookers to be dumbfounded. At this moment, the greatest battle of Chu Country was happening between the allied forces of 10 military-upied towns and the Chu imperial guards under themand of Wang Qiao. This gave Xu Ting the opportunity to expand his military might. 10th month, 5th year of Yong An. Xu Ren appointed himself as the ¡¯Glorious Grandmaster¡¯ and set up multiple appointments such as registrar and officials to handle the affairs of the prefectures. He also appointed Xu Ting as the Guerri Warfare General who was in charge of military affairs. The officials originated from the feudal states and the system evolved from the ideas of the schr-officials. They were feudal lords that once possessed acres ofnd, private soldiers, control thew and are able to impose taxes. Theyter became members of the emperor¡¯s inner ministerial circle and were split into different categories such as Zhong Daifu, Grand Daifu and Jian Daifu [2].There was no fixed number of officials. They had no fixed duties and were amongst the most distinguished in Chu Country. It was evident that Xu Ren chose this position as he regarded it to be important. Furthermore, it was civil service post which helped him paved a way for Xu Ting. "Auspicious energy, gather like clouds!" On the day the prefectures were set up, almost all the realm energy practitioners came forward to witness the new regime. "At this moment, the Glorious Grandmaster controls 5 prefectures. Even though he kept the system of prefecture magistrates and district magistrates, it is actually the minor officials who handle the affairs, effectively making the magistrates mere figureheads. The treatment of the magistrates remains the same. This is indeed a stroke of genius!¡¯" Kong Luo could not help but sigh. The positions of prefecture magistrates and district magistrates were used to recruit the surrendered enemies. The influential families surrendered against their wills as they were not firm or they had no other options. As such, they could not be given such a heavy responsibility at the start. Of course, they could not be brushed aside as that would breed hostility. At this moment, they were regarded as if they were y buddhas, where their sries and treatment remained unchanged to show the sincerity while the actual tasks were handled by capable minor officials whocked the qualification and backgrounds. Due to the integrated system, they were able to cut back on the resources needed. In the future, when those officials who surrendered were ustomed to the system, the minor officials could be relocated to new areas where they could be quickly promoted. As Xu Ting alone had the authority over the army, the 5 prefectures were united which was difficult to achieve for a new regime. "Throughout history, there is always a system to handle matters...It is not strange for the 5 prefectures to operate normally!" Kong Luo felt a surge of karma which brought along spiritual energy with it. He could not help but feel as though he was floating and eximed, "General Xu is vying for the heaven¡¯s fate energy and gathered the fate energies of 2 million soldiers and civilians in the 5 prefectures. Even if I were only able to obtain just a bit of the fate energy, I would be able to benefit greatly from it!" With the help of the Dao Magical Form, it would not be difficult for his Breathing Technique, which was currently in the 3rd tier, to break through to the 4th tier in a short amount of time. ording to tradition, those who had reached the 4th tier would be given the title of ¡¯Venerable¡¯ and would possess the qualifications to set up Dao orthodoxy as well as a small sect. It might even be possible for him to make use fate energy as a mean to perfect 5 or 6 levels of Dao Foundation! "This is an opportunity for my sect to rise. No one, not even Xuan Zhen Sect, can get in my way!" Kong Luo muttered as his eyes shed a steely green. ... "Golden Lake, Thousand Scarlet, Luosong, Seventh Dawn and the Lanze Prefectures...have a poption of 500,000 households and 2,000,000 civilians and soldiers. If they were properly integrated, the Xu family¡¯s father and son would be able to properly manage 50,000 soldiers without a problem..." Fang Yuan transformed into a horned dragon and ceaselessly advanced in a stream of water. At this moment, he naturally felt the benefits of being a horned dragon. The most direct benefit was that the horned dragon was continuously growing as he grew from 38 inches originally to over 3 yards long. A golden-green light flickered on his body and he was increasingly awe-inspiring. "Crash!" He pushed through everything in his way as not one water dweller dared to offend him. When he revealed a small portion of his dragon¡¯s might, many spirits pledged their allegiance to him and hundreds of fishes followed him. His fame was unmatched. Even though he was just a young horned dragon, he was still a dragon and as such, he was naturally different from the other water spirits! "Xu Ting is very smart. After taking over the 5 prefectures, he immediately reorganized his troops and aggressively develop the navy as he prepares to make use of the An River to bring the battle to Qi Lake. If he does not grasp this opportunity to expand his army and wait for Wang Qiao and the allied forces to finish their battle, things will be different..." Once he entered An River, Fang Yuan immediately felt at ease as arge amount of spiritual energy in the water surge forth. "This An River Dragon God failed to understand the right timing...as a demon race, he went against a greater power and had already lost half the battle. Although he had the right conditions, Ie here with the Xu Family¡¯s dragon energy. He was unlucky, for I have met my benefactor." In order to reach Qi Lake, Xu Ting had to dispatch his troops through the waterways and as such, the Golden Lake Navy would have to enter An River. If the Dragon God opposed it, he would be fighting against the heavenly trend and would be killed. One would be able to receive a lot of help when the fate energy is on his side. If the fate energy was not on his side, not even the hero would be able to save himself. Now that power was on his side, he should make full use of the opportunity. "Ah.....where do youe from?" A few guards poked their heads out. Upon seeing Fang Yuan, they did not dare to offend him and quickly bowed. "Please enter the dragon pce to visit the Dragon God!" "Haha.....I will not pay the An River Dragon God a visit. Help me convey to him the message to not oppose Heaven¡¯s will. If not, it will be toote when all hell breaks loose!" Fang Yuan would be foolish if he were to battle the Dragon God and give his life up for Xu Ting. He immediately transformed into a streak of golden light and escaped far away. After travelling for many days, the Dragon God was no longer able to catch him. A bigke filled with spiritual energy appeared before his eyes. "Qi Lake, I am back!!" Fang Yuan dove in, his heart filled with emotions. [1] Sessful candidate in the highest imperial civil service examination. [2] Different ranking of officials in the imperial court. Chapter 306: Rescue Chapter 306: Rescue Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the 150-mile radius of Qi Lake, mist covered the vast surface of theke. Fang Yuan hid his dragon might and transformed into a carp. As he swam, he felt overwhelmed with emotions. The Carp Transformation Technique was a must know for dragons, akin to an innate ability. If dragon gods were met with trouble, they would usually transform into a carp. At that moment, Fang Yuan transformed into a ck carp and swam around as if he was on a rampage. "Speaking of which..., I am still under the Qi Lake Water God¡¯s warrant for arrest, but who could ever imagine a carp would have transformed into a dragon in merely ten years?" The Qi Lake Water God, called Bai Guan, was a python that cultivated into a Water God through the imperial order. He could make waves and form rain. His aides included two powerful demon kings, an alligator snapping turtle and a water buffalo. Nevertheless, since he could not transform into a dragon, he could not be called a Dragon God and was merely a Water God. "For a python to transform into a dragon, it must undergo huge tribtions!" As Fang Yuan thought of that, he gave a wry smile at once, "With the heavenly trend, humans are rising up and demons are not favoured. The number of tribtions the Water God must pass to transform into a dragon is huge and it would be impossible for him do so!" He could not transform into a dragon without oveing heavenly tribtions and thus would remain a snake demon! If only he did not possess the heavenly imperial order nor had the help of his demon kings, Fang Yuan could have settled him by himself. "Hmm... and that Li Luan, if Xu Ting¡¯s power grows further, she would definitely not let off her father¡¯s killer!" Once he thought of Qi Lake Water God, he could not help but to thought of Li Luan. Li Luan was the previous Water God¡¯s daughter. In order to seek revenge, she stole An River Dragon God¡¯s pearl. It was an extremely daring move and reflected how resolute she was. However, once she met Xu Ting, she fell in love with him. Not only did she gift away the Dragon Pearl, she sent herself in. It truly made Fang Yuan felt how the heavens made a fool of demons. It was like how the Golden Court Dragon God got too close to the people dao for too long and relied on their beliefs for its own fate energy. Hence, he naturally got affected too. This was why Fang Yuan chose not to get too close to people. "I wonder how are those spirits at Lotus Pond are doing..." Fang Yuan thought of his old haunt and rushed towards to Lotus Pond. Vivid memories of the reserved Gui Zhong, the cute Luo Zhu and the unlucky crocodile appeared on his mind. When he arrived near Lotus Pond, he realised something was amiss. Many water dwellers have fled and groups of water guardians seemed to be searching for something. "Eh? This seems weird!" Fang Yuan was shocked as he saw that, "Could it be that another powerful demon has appeared in Lotus Pond? Is it being hunted down by the Water God? If not, what are they doing?" When he was a ck carp, he lived there. It was a remote spot in Qi Lake that did not have much spiritual energy nor powerful spirits. Fang Yuan could not think of why there was such a hugemotion. Unless, they realised he was arriving and intentionally wanted to capture him. However, that was absurd and baseless. "Hey! That ck fish there! The Water God is trying to capture someone, you better leave quickly!" One of the water guardians immediately hollered when it saw Fang Yuan approaching and its fierce aura spread across. "Capturing someone? Who are you all capturing?" Fang Yuan smiled, and slightly made use of his ability to satiate his curiosity. "Of course it¡¯s that scallop who stole the deity position! The Water God has ordered, whichever water guardian captures thatdy and presents the deity position would be promoted to general..." The water guardian was ferocious looking and wielded a giant steel fork, but spoke uninhibitedly. After it told Fang Yuan everything it knew, it then suddenly scratched its head, "Why did I tell you so much... wait a minute, you look very familiar!" "Oh, you don¡¯t recognise me?" Fang Yuanughed. The ck carp he was currently transformed as was noticeably different from his original transformation; it had shinier scales and a dragon beard. "I recognise you now, you are the Water God¡¯s wanted criminal! You are even more wanted than that shelldy!" The water guardian suddenly recognised him and was ted, "After I catch you, the Water God would definitely promote me to a deity!" It was overwhelmed with greed and without thinking of why such a ck carp would suddenly appear there, it charged forward with its fork. "Looks like it¡¯s a transformed water dweller too, its spiritual awareness... is worrying!" Fang Yuan thought for a moment, the surroundingke water immediately froze into ice and trapped the water guardian in it. "Those who don¡¯t want to die, scram!" With his spiritual will, it was as though a hurricane swept across with a tinge of dragon might. Against the dragon¡¯s might, many of the water dwellers fled in terror. "That scallop, could it be Luo Zhu?" An unusual premonition appeared in Fang Yuan¡¯s mind and made him sped up. ... Further inside theke, there were many water guardians making its rounds. They were holding a magical equipment that looked like a bright pearl. Leading it was a crab general. His whole body was golden in colour and he had four limbs. He was donned in metal armour and looked ferocious and strong. "The Water God has instructed that we cannot let the shelldy escape or else we would be punished! We have already sealed off the entire Lotus Pond, she cannot run away! Search for her carefully!" "Yes, Sir!" Under the possibility of heavy rewards or heavy punishments, the water guardians were flustered and began searching more carefully. As their search areas shrunk, suddenly, a dazzling red glow effused from a pearl which was spotted. "It must be here!" The water guardian who spotted it was overjoyed. Thekebed tremored as silt flew everywhere. Under the strong currents, a giant shell could be discerned. "Bam!" The shell was the size of a house. However, when the water guardian attempted to smash it, he let out a blood-curdling scream as his bones got smashed instead. "Pew! Pew!" The giant shell started expelling water currents in an attempt to escape, as though it was an undefeatable fortress rushing forward. However, the crab general had chased after it for a long time, he already knew the shelldy¡¯s tricks. With a wave for his arm, a group of water spiders appeared and sprayed colorfultings over her. Thetings intertwined to form a huge enveloping the entire shell. "Pull!" "Pull!" The huge group began tugging and pulling the. With this huge strength, it finally stopped the giant shell from escaping as the water currents could not carry itself further. "Go!" The crab general waved its arm yet again and the group started to smash the shell repeatedly. "How long would this take?" At that moment, the shell opened slightly, a silhouette of an anxious-looking youngdy carrying a pearl could be seen. The crab general gave an irritated roar as he swung numerousrge hammers on to the shell. "Bam! Bam!" The sound echoed like the muffled noise of thunder. A crack appeared on the shell and the face of the shelldy inside turned pale at once. She raised her pearl and squealed, "Stop!" Immediately, a divine light appeared and swept away the water dwellers, however, it got blocked by the light from the crab general¡¯s body. "Hehe..., you and I are both Qi Lake¡¯s deities. We are both under the jurisdiction of my master, Qi Lake Water God, how dare you think you have a technique that I do not know of?" The crab generalughed out loud, "Follow me back obediently and who knows the Water God might even pardon your crimes!" "Dream on!" The youngdy bawled out, "Grandpa Gui Zhong died because he obeyed you all!" "Stubborn fool!" The crab general snorted, although she was right and he indeed intended to do so, he was still slightly disgruntled being called out. He immediately raised his hammer and gave yet another powerful smash. "Bam!" Theke tremored again as cracks spread across the shell. "Haha... foolish girl, let¡¯s see where can you run to?" The crab general gave a wicked grin as she saw the youngdy gave a panic-stricken look. However, just as he raised his hammer again, he felt a sudden change in the surrounding currents. The originally calmke bottom turned into a vortex as a whirlpool that kept sucking in the crustacean army appeared. "This is... demonic magic? Who is saving this girl?" The crab general¡¯s heart turned stone cold as he stared at the vortex. Sure enough, in the eye of the vortex, there was a ck fish swimming leisurely. "Carp spirit? This seems very familiar!" The crab general paused for a moment before he immediately questioned, "Aren¡¯t you the carp who stole the Water God¡¯s treasure?" At the same time, the shelldy trapped in theke eximed, "Brother Fang Yuan?" "It is Luo Zhu!" As expected, Fang Yuan was the one who came over. Fang Yuan was surprised as he saw the shell and its shelldy had grown a lot. "To cultivate till this level, it must be due to what I taught her, but then, what is with the divine light?" Although Fang Yuan was bewildered, he did not begin recounting past events. This was because the crab general¡¯s hammer was approaching his head. "Haha... such is fate, I can¡¯t believe this ck carp just walked into the trap willingly!" The crab general¡¯s four arms began smashing in a flurry. "He is merely a water general?" Fang Yuan was disappointed at such, "I still thought it would be a demon king..." He swung its tail and, "Bam!" Under the loud noise, two hammers flew out. "Ah... you!" At that moment, the crab general then realised the ck carp in front of him was different, its strange energy made him thought of running away. Unfortunately, Fang Yuan¡¯s actions were much faster than his. Just as he was about to turn around, a fiery red sword essence pierced through his head and he burst into mes. ming! Under the mes, the initially golden crab cooked through and turned red. "Oh, this crab looks delicious!" Fang Yuan did not bother about the cooked crab general anymore and went to the shell. He summoned the sword essence and cut the colourful into pieces as Luo Zhu appeared from inside. "It¡¯s been so long since I met you, you have grown so much!" As he gazed at Luo Zhu, he smiled and lightly knocked her head like he used to. Luo Zhu was stunned from the events, tears welled up in the corner of her eyes and turned into pearls as they fell, "You... are really big brother, sobs..., grandpa Gui Zhong has passed away..." "What exactly happened? Also, why did you be a water deity?" As Fang Yuan looked at the divine light on her body, he was astonished, he looked at the surrounding and added, "This is not where we should be talking, let¡¯s go!" He then grabbed a slightly golden talisman from the crab¡¯s cooked body. "Yea, I will listen to you!" Luo Zhu nodded obediently and gave unconditional trust to Fang Yuan. Chapter 307: Entrust Chapter 307: Entrust Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The lotus leaves swept away and the blue waves sshed. Under a fragrant aroma, a small boat floated on theke. Fang Yuan and Luo Zhu sat facing each other and in front of them was a brewing pot of tea. "This spot is protected by my abilities. The Qi Lake Water God would not be able to discover us here. It has been ten plus years since we met, how have you been?" Fang Yuan raised his teacup and smiled. Although Bai Guan was the Qi Lake Water God, he could not meticulously search through every big and small detail in the 150-mile radius of Qi Lake. Hence, all the powerful demons had abilities to conceal themselves and unless they were really nearby him, it was extremely hard for them to be detected. "Umm..." Luo Zhu¡¯s eyes welled with tears and began narrating, "After big brother left, many fierce water dwellers came over to Lotus Pond. After searching through many times with no results, they left and never came back... I followed your techniques and cultivated. My pearl gradually became rounder and fuller, while my body grew too. Most of the past ten years were very carefree and worriless for me, except a few months ago where grandpa Gui Zhong suddenly appeared in my dreams. He told me that the Water God was after his life and he was going to die soon, he also said since he and I were fated, he entrusted me with the deity position... Ever since then, those fierce water dwellers appeared..." After hearing her, Fang Yuan was speechless, "That old green-haired tortoise? Nevermind, I will take a look myself! Don¡¯t move nor resist!" As Fang Yuan spoke, he ced his finger on the area between her eyebrows. Luo Zhu was dressed in a thin silk gown and radiated with the purity of a deity, her beauty was indescribable. Facing Fang Yuan, she opened up herself to him. After all, demons were simple-minded, the two of them had such a strong rtionship before and hence, it was natural for her to open up to Fang Yuan. "Hmm..., crystal clear, strong foundation, the magic is pure...." Since she was cooperative, Fang Yuan could easily and clearly view such. Fang Yuan nodded as he viewed, he then shifted his gaze to an imperial order talisman in Luo Zhu¡¯s sea of consciousness. The talisman shined in a mixture of green and red light, and there was a tinge of heavenly energy from it. It was noticeably unique. Furthermore, the imperial order Fang Yuan just obtained from the crab general and the other imperial orders he had seen before paled inparison; this talisman was vastly superior. "This deity position seems like it was not formed from people dao¡¯s beliefs, it seems to be formed from pure heavenly energy..." There were huge differences between a people dao deity and a natural heavenly deity. Thetter could easily adjust the spiritual energy in its divine territory and its might could not bepared to the formers¡¯. "No wonder I felt this old green-haired tortoise was hiding something, I can¡¯t believe he was secretly umting for his deity position..." Fang Yuan sensed a bit and detected the imperial order deity¡¯s territory, "Hmm..., its Lotus Pond and a nearby estuary..., hehe, this essentially means that part of the Qi Lake Water God¡¯s area of power has been cut off! Of course there was animosity! That old tortoise was timid and chose to y safe, who knows, he might even have coveted the Water God¡¯s position and got discovered and hence, put to death!" Then why did he appear in Luo Zhu¡¯s dreams and gave her the deity position? This was because she was the most powerful in Lotus Pond, hence, after the old tortoise, there was no other choice than her since she was the most qualified to inherit the deity position. "Of course..., he seems to have some ns!" Fang Yuan thought. Since he saw the imperial order was so close to being cultivated, Fang Yuan gathered his spiritual will and instructed, "Sister Luo Zhu, I want to help you to cultivate your deity position. Remember not to resist no matter what happens in your sea of consciousness, understood?" "Yea! Just do it Big Brother!" As Luo Zhu heard how dignified Fang Yuan instructed, she nodded her head solemnly. "Hah!" Fang pointed his fingers and three swords emerged with red, blue and green glows, surrounding the imperial order. Even as the swords glowed, their sword radiance was well kept and there were no signs of sword essence dissipating. It showed that the swords were controlled powerfully. For a dream master, it was like an innate ability to have such fine controls in the sea of consciousness. The three swords disyed the power of their three talents, and sealed off the imperial order at once. Seeing such, Fang Yuan finally stopped holding his breath andughed, "Old tortoise! You have hidden really deeply! Just that... a small trace of your spiritual will was left behind in the deity position! To steal my sister¡¯s body, you have to pass through me first!" The imperial order vibrated slightly, however, it did not move. Fang Yuan then gave a mirthless smile and pointed his finger. A delicate 3 Talents Sword Array appeared immediately and isted it. Surges of sword essence emerged in the array and pierced towards the imperial order. "Fang Yuan!" The imperial order suddenly moved. Under Luo Zhu¡¯s screams of terror, it dazzled brightly and a green-robed elder appeared. It was that green-haired tortoise demon, Gui Zhong. Gui Zhong was visibly distraught as he looked towards Fang Yuan and asked, "Why do you want to be so ruthless?" "It is not that I am stone-hearted, it is because you are immoral!" Fang Yuan scorned, "Originally, I could not be bothered about you cultivating your deity position, but since you nted your elemental clone right before your death, and wanted to rece her soul with yours, I will not let you off for harming my sister!" "Swoosh!" The fire and water swords converged as thunder sparked in the middle, it was a force that could not even be resisted by the imperial order¡¯s power. Gui Zhong¡¯s body has long died and his elemental clone has alreadyrgely disappeared. At that moment, it was just a shadow. No matter how well it had hidden itself, it was not very powerful even if it was discovered. Suddenly, the shadow dissipated, its face turned aggressive and said, "Ahh..., unless you really want to fight till one of us perishes? This is thatss¡¯ sea of consciousness, if I detonate the imperial order, she would die and her soul would be gone forever, unable to reincarnate! This is my bad, as long as you let me off this time, I swear I will immediately leave her body and look for another one, how about that? "How about no! You want to self-detonate? Why don¡¯t you try it? I¡¯m sure only you would die!" Dream masters were the mostpetent in manipting the sea of consciousness, when Fang Yuan used his 3 Talents Sword Array, it was all for this. He grinned and said, "I will ept the gift you have sent on behalf of sister Luo Zhu! Go!" "Swish!" Lightning shed. Although Gui Zhong wanted to detonate the deity position and perish together, suddenly, lightning struck this old tortoise¡¯s forehead as Luo Zhu let out a scream. He was stunned. He then exploded and turned into streaks of ck vapour. "I will just help youpletely cultivate this!" Fang Yuan thought as the 3 Talents Sword Array shined mysteriously and shed the imperial order. The imperial order totally dissipated and turned intorge amounts of golden red runes. Each of them contained heavenly axioms, epassing some kind of natural power. "Ah..., in actual fact, all roads lead to Rome, in the end, we are all learning about the rules along the way!" Fang Yuan pondered, he then waved his hands and the streaks of ck vapour originally from Gui Zhong surrounded his hand, as fragmented pieces of memories appeared. "Big brother.., what are you doing..., I... I¡¯m scared, it felt like I almost died just now!" Afterpleting, little Luo Zhu¡¯s voice could then be heard. "Don¡¯t worry,e out now and ept your deity position!" Fang Yuan smiled and dispelled the sword array. As he saw Luo Zhu¡¯s Yin spirit, he reached out his hand and dispersed the runes on her body. "Woong!" A divine light shed and immediately, many magical inscriptions appeared on Luo Zhu¡¯s body. They were divine techniques granted by the heavens, it could harness the spiritual energy of Lotus Pond and the estuary. "I... think I just suddenly gained knowledge of many things!" Luo Zhu paused for a moment. The divine light on her body grew stronger. "Yea, familiarise yourself with it!" Seeing such, Fang Yuan exited her sea of consciousness. He saw the Luo Zhu in front of him had aged a few years but did not bother her as her eyes were shut and she was deep in thoughts. The streaks of ck vapour on his hand dissipated, signifying that Gui Zhong¡¯sst remaining imprints in this realm had totally disappeared. "This Gui Zhong... I can¡¯t believe that there were traces of true dragon blood in him, he was really secretive!" As he thought of the scenes during cultivation, he mused, "This demon has carefully and profoundly schemed to be a true heavenly deity for a long time and he almost seeded... Just that the timing was not right and he was found out by the Qi Lake Water God. Hence, he was ultimately met with inexorable tribtions." Fang Yuan was not very interested in his background, just that he had greatly benefited from a deeper understanding of god dao. "The real heavenly imperial order was formed by rules, its unique power was sourced from the heavens and earth, hence, there are so many different types of deities!" "Whereas, for people dao deities, although they made use of the beliefs of people, it was not exactly the same as a heavenly deity. However, they can also ascend to a heavenly deity, as long as they do good deeds and umte heavenly karma!" "When Gui Zhong was cultivating his deity position, he had already used up most of his fate energy, hence, not only was the timing not right, he was met with tribtions and ultimately died..." "Pitter patter!" Suddenly, mist appeared on the surface of theke as momentster, dense raindrops sshed on to the surface of theke. "Thank you, big brother, for helping me to cultivate my deity position and removing the hidden danger!" Luo Zhu opened her eyes and thanked with radiance. She just realised how dangerous it was just now. If not for Fang Yuan, the moment she finally cultivated her deity position, Gui Zhong would have snatched her soul and all her efforts would have gone down the drain. "Now that you have your heavenly deity position, you automatically mastered how to control the weather! This is your fate!" Fang Yuan was very gratified seeing how she now had her own abilities, "Just remember, in the future, as long as you do more good deeds, do your duties dutifully and don¡¯t go against the heavenly trend, there would be no harms nor tribtions!" "Just that... Qi Lake Water God would definitely not do nothing about this deity position of mine!" After cultivating her deity position, Luo Zhu understood many things, hence her expression turned slightly sorrow. The Lotus Pond and the estuary were all part of Qi Lake, which were under the jurisdiction of the Water God. The Water God would definitely not be happy about part of his authority being carved out! Furthermore, Fang Yuan knew how Luo Zhu was different from that crab general. The deities under the Water God had the rtionship akin to ministers and emperors, it was just a rtionship of authority, and hence, these deities were easilymanded and controlled. Whereas, Luo Zhu¡¯s deity position was umted from the heavens, it was akin to a military governor having its own rule. Which emperor would allow such? Hence, the two parties would definitely fight with each other! "Hehe..., don¡¯t worry, I will definitely help you with this matter. After all, this Water God is a nemesis of mine!" Fang Yuanughed and then looked above his head. He saw green and golden streaks gathering and turning into flowers. They rippled as they bloomed auspiciously, revealing its extraordinariness. Xu family¡¯s dragon energy was prospering. The family had upied five prefectures and their troop was 200 millionrge. Naturally, the karma gained from it was extraordinary. Such great progress meant that it was the time for revenge! Chapter 308: Tribulation Chapter 308: Tribtion Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Name: Fang Yuan Race: Horned Dragon Essence: 36 Spirit: 36 Magic: 50 Profession: ??? Cultivation: ??? Technique: [9 Steps of Dragon Transformation Form (7th Transformation)], [Weather Controlling Technique (Grade 1)], [Natural Magical Strength (Grade 3)], [8 Gates Sword Array (4th Sword) (1%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "After this round of harvest, I have fully formed the three swords. Since the thunder sword has beenpleted, I can now use the 3 Talents Sword Array!" In the actualised dream world, the thunder sword shed with lightning, it had a dignified and vicious might. Also, soon enough, the fourth sword was slowly formed. It was pale green in colour, signifying the ultimate haste. "The fourth sword, the Modest Wind Sword?" Fang Yuan mumbled to himself solemnly. As a dream master at the Illusionary Divine stage, every three tiers was a huge stage. If the fourth sword was formed, not only could he harness the power of wind, thunder, water and fire to cast the 4 Emblems Sword Array, each magical soldier would have its own sword spirit! Once the magical soldier got their spirituality, their power would be way stronger than before! Not only would it not require control and could attack enemies on its own, it could even be like the Fiery Dragon Child! "At the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine, it would allow one to actualise spiritual properties in objects!" "At the 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine, it would allow one to actualise a race of beasts and a spiritualnd. Its power could even defeat that of True Elementals and True Divines!" "I am already at the 3rd Tier of Illusionary Divine and it¡¯s only a small distance away from the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine..." Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes gleamed, "But of course, before that, I have to settle the foreign evil forces that tainted my dream elemental force..." If he did not settle the matter and ascended the tier, he would fall into a ploy! "Let¡¯s go!" He stopped thinking and took a look at Luo Zhu who was beside him, "Let¡¯s visit that Qi Lake Water God, Bai Guan!" The moment he spoke, a loud, thunderous noise suddenly erupted. Grey clouds loomed while lightning and thunder struck, all the water dwellers in Qi Lake were rmed. One after another, they floated up to the surface of theke to look at the unusual scene. "Hmm..., why does this scene looks so familiar to the one that happened ten plus years ago?" Luo Zhu was unbelievably shocked, "A dragon transformation tribtion?" "It is... the tribtion to transform into a dragon!" Fang Yuan was puzzled. He then looked at the spiritual energy swarming into Qi Lake and sighed, "It¡¯s Qi Lake Water God... he is about to undergo a tribtion. I can¡¯t believe we are involved in his people tribtion! Is this a taste of his own medicine?" There was no doubt that the Water God Bai Guan¡¯s fate energy has dropped to its lowest point. Just as Fang Yuan made up his mind to look for trouble with him, he had brought about his own Heavenly Tribtions for his dragon transformation. As Fang Yuan had experienced it before, Fang Yuan knew how horrifying it was. Although the Qi Lake Water God had the help of his deity position, even if he made it out alive, he would be seriously injured. Furthermore, with Fang Yuan in his people tribtion, the Water God would definitely not be able to survive it! "Unknowingly, I¡¯ve be the heavenly trend¡¯s pawn!" Fang Yuan thought. He sighed as his fear of this unpredictable heavenly trend grew. ... On one area of theke¡¯s surface. In the mackerel sky, indistinct shes of purple lightning appeared. Below it, the concentration of spiritual energy that swarmed in was so dense that it looked like a physical entity. The white smog formed shrouded the centre and in it, only a shadow of a gigantic snake could be discerned. One of its scale and one of its eyes could be vaguely seen and it had a majestic and divine aura. "Brother buffalo, what do you think are the chances of brother Bai Guan passing the tribtions this time?" On the side, two demons kept a distance from the white smog as they only dared to view from far. The Heavenly Tribtion was no joke, if they were to help him pass the tribtion, they would definitely be counterattacked! If they helped, the tribtions would be even more dangerous and in the end, they would all suffer from baleful consequences! Even though they were birds of a feather and were very close, it was not to this extent! "Brother Bai Guan¡¯s power is extraordinary! He used his secret techniques to forcefully dy the tribtions till now. He has already fully cultivated his Water God imperial order. With the spiritual energy from the 150-mile radius of Qi Lake, there should be a 60% chance!" What the water buffalo said made the alligator snapping turtle pause for a moment before he gestured, "60%?" The alligator snapping turtle was in disbelief, "The Qi Lake Water God is one of the rare deities amongst us demons! He would have at least a 90% chance of passing the tribtions!" "That wasst time! With the heavenly trend now? I doubt so!" The water buffalo then continued, "Us demons are downfalling while the humans are rising! The saints in my race have either died or experienced a severe reduction in their cultivation. Now that a demon is at his tribtion stage, it would definitely suffer from the wrath and envy of the heavens!" This realm¡¯s Heavenly Tribtion was a way for the heavenly trend to maintain bnce. As the demons were meant to downfall, these few years, the tribtions the demons underwent were more and more brutal. Out of ten, only one could survive! Anyway, Heavenly Tribtions could not be dyed easily. It was already a feat for Bai Guan to forcefully dy it till now. "If brother Bai Guan bes a dragon, he will lose all his snake characteristics and be able to control the weather. Furthermore, since he is a deity, even if demons are downfalling, he can still protect our Qi Lake at the very least..." the alligator snapping turtle muttered. As the heavenly trend brought about the rise of humans, the demons reacted differently. There were some who resisted, some who gave up and some who escaped faraway to preserve their elemental energy. However, for the few of them, they just wanted to be a ruler of their area, Qi Lake. "Hmm... those d*amn humans, if I see any of them, I will eat them up!" The water buffalo snorted out white fumes as his eyes turned blood red in anger. "Hehe..., that¡¯s right, nevermind about thend near Qi Lake, the waters belong to us water dwellers, don¡¯t the humans dare try to upy it!" The alligator snapping turtle further added, "Let¡¯s not talk about others, now that brother Bai Guan has ten thousands of soldiers and tens of generals, no matter what ships the humans bring over, we will topple them over!" "As long as brother Bai Guan passes this tribtion, carefree days are ahead of us!" The water buffalo clenched his teeth. Suddenly, lightning shed and thunder roared. The mighty thunder demonstrated its power to determine life or death and even the two demons were extremely frightened. The Heavenly Tribtion had started! "Kaboom!" Numerous lightning and thunder merged together, forming a beam of purple light striking down. The white smog dispersed at once and within it, arge red-eyed snake appeared. He roared to the skies, its scales were burnt and blood was oozing out from it. "Unbelievable! This is only the first thunderbolt, and its power is so strong?" The water buffalo and alligator snapping turtle¡¯s expression changed at once, "Is this a heavenly punishment? By using secret techniques to change the timing of the Heavenly Tribtions, he is indeed being punished for it!" "Boom! Boom! Boom!" The Heavenly Tribtion was merciless as it continued without any dy. At that instance, three purple thunderbolts struck one after another. "Ahh... as the Qi Lake Water God, help me, heavenly energy!" Bai Guan hollered, a divine light appeared and shrouded its body, alongside the white smog, forming ayer of defence. However, it onlysted for a fleeting moment before it got destroyed. After the three thunderbolts, Bai Guan was severely injured, his body turned ck from the burns and his wounds were ripped. However, his might became stronger and there was a lump on his head and lower abdomen. "Ah..., brother Bai Guan!" The water buffalo and alligator snapping turtle were ted at such. "It was amazing how he could persevere on under such circumstances! He must be transforming into a dragon now!" "Swish!" Suddenly, at that moment, a giant shell appeared from far, inside it was a youngdy, "Hehe..., I y a part in the jurisdiction of Qi Lake too! Scram!" She looked pure and holy, with amand of hers, part of theke¡¯s spiritual energy dispersed immediately. "Ahh..., it¡¯s that old tortoise demon¡¯s b*stard!" "How dare you!" The water buffalo and alligator snapping turtle immediately charged at her without hesitation. Not only did the Heavenly Tribtion consisted of thunder, people tribtion was part of it too! In this realm, no matter how horrible a powerful demon¡¯s reputation was, they always had one or two friends on their side who served as protectors! "You are just a shelldy who obtained the deity position by luck, how dare you disrupt the Water God ascending? Die!" The water buffalo roared, he then summoned his ck cloud and stepped on it. "Boom!" It was as though the sky had crashed and fell! A ck hoof suddenly appeared in mid-air,pressing the air around it. It made Luo Zhu felt like she could not escape. Even though Luo Zhu has already be a deity, she still seemed tender and inexperienced facing such a powerful demon. However, Luo Zhu smiled, there was no hint of fear in her face, "Stupid buffalo, you have fallen into my trap!" "Swish! Swoosh! sh!" Just as she finished saying that, three sword radiance flew out from the giant shell. The three sword radiance had the properties of water, fire and thunder. It charged towards the water buffalo in mid-air and the beam of light formed a triangr shape. It was an array that trapped the water buffalo in it. In the beam of light, three magical soldiers appeared and disyed its prowess. The water, fire and thunder sword essence charged to full after a short while, and the water buffalo¡¯s shrieks of terror could be heard from within. The 8 Gates Sword Array of a dream soldier master finally disyed its cruel side in this realm. "Bang!" A gigantic corpse of the water buffalo fell from mid-air and blood sttered everywhere. After the 3 Talents Sword Array has been formed, no matter how powerful a demon would be, once it was trapped in it, it would be killed immediately! "Aaahh!" After witnessing the death of the water buffalo, the alligator snapping turtle ran away as fast as he could immediately. "You want to run? It¡¯s toote!" Fang Yuan guffawed as he wielded the thunder sword and behind him, the silhouette of a horned dragon appeared. Under the divine light, he leapt towards the alligator snapping turtle and captured him." "Ahh... you are a dragon? Why do you want to kill me?" the alligator snapping turtle asked. He was terrified by the dragon¡¯s might and its demonic strength dropped at once. "You don¡¯t need to know!" Although those three demons have met Fang Yuan before, the Fang Yuan then was merely a ck carp. Who would have linked it together with the Fang Yuan now? "Have a taste of my sword!" Fang Yuan was furious at his enemy. With a move of his right hand, a thunder sword essence struck the alligator snapping turtles back heavily. "Kaboom!" With a sh of lightning, numerous burnt marks appeared on his shell. The alligator snapping turtle still clenched its teeth and tried to escape. Since the alligator snapping turtle had some dragon bloodline in him too, he naturally knew how powerful such a dragon was. Furthermore, the dragon was even equipped with the thunder sword! The alligator snapping turtle had strong defences, his shell was extremely tough from years of cultivation, it could even survive attacks from humans¡¯ magical weapons. However, under the thunder sword, his shell cracked apart and blood oozed out. "Good! This thunder sword enacts punishments for the heavens and is the nemesis of all evil demons!" Seeing such, Fang Yuan was ecstatic. Chapter 309: Dragon God Chapter 309: Dragon God Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Most of the demons in this realm were extremely afraid of tribtions by lightning. Since Fang Yuan had the thunder sword, it was the number one weapon in punishing them. Hence, demons retreated in fear! "Your turtle shell is not bad, I will dly keep it!" Fang Yuan was confident, with a few strikes of the thunder sword, it destroyed all the alligator snapping turtle¡¯s demonic magic and magical equipment. Turtles were tenacious by nature and the alligator snapping turtle kept trying to escape. To Fang Yuan¡¯s surprise, the wounds on the turtle¡¯s body were being healed by his own vital elemental energy. Fang Yuan was slightly envious as he eximed, "What a regenerating body! Such a body could quickly restore wounds, but what if the damage you received in an instant is more than the limit?" "3 Talents Sword Array! Go!" Compared to the water buffalo demon, the alligator snapping turtle¡¯s speed was way too slow. It was like a living target for Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan was done fooling around. He immediately cast his three divine swords and formed the 3 Talents Sword Array. "Kaboom!" "Swoosh!" In the array, shing thunder, searing mes and frosty ice turned into sword essence andunched at the alligator snapping turtle continuously. The astonishing sword radiance was like a tempest. Nearing the end, it condensed into a single point and a loud boom could be heard. "Back!" The three divine sword turned into a stream of light and was kept inside Fang Yuan¡¯s cuff. Water from the surrounding filled back the originally exposedke bed and blood dispersed. There was only a turtle shell left behind, although it had numerous wounds on it, it still remained intact. "Not bad indeed..." Fang Yuan smiled slightly and kept the turtle shell. Luo Zhu was stunned at such a scene, she was left speechless. She was shocked at Fang Yuan¡¯s ease in annihting these two powerful demons. With such power, he must have many enemies! "Kaboom!" At that moment, apanied with suffocating pressure, thest thunderbolt finally struck. The snake was severely wounded by then. However, he was no longer a snake. He had a jade horn on its head and two small ws below his abdomen. While his dragon tail was still unadorned and in, his body was filled with the characteristics of a dragon. It was evident he had be a white-coloured water dragon! "The Water God is indeed powerful! He even managed to skip the young dragon period and transformed into a water dragon immediately!" As Fang Yuan came over to the side and took a look, he was in awe. He knew Bai Guan¡¯s current position was higher than his since he was only a horned dragon. At that moment, the water dragon roared. He had used up all the tricks in his sleeve and he could only exhaust all his remaining effort to face the lightning tribtions with his body. "Kaboom!" Lightning struck and water sshed everywhere. The dark clouds dispersed and the warm and sunny sunlight appeared. After the lightning tribtions, what was left behind was a white-coloured water dragon that was nearly cut in half. Fang Yuan and Luo Zhu went forward and looked into the water dragon¡¯s frightened eyes. "The two of you..." The water dragon was severely injured, he had used up all his umted fate energy and was at his weakest point. The water dragon almost did not have enough energy to speak, he finally muttered slowly, "...This is unfair...! To transform into a dragon, I had spent so long plotting and it had cost me so much..." Such a thought caused pearl-like tears to emerge from the dragon¡¯s eyes. "Big brother..." As Luo Zhu was inexperienced and naive, she was slightly moved by the scene. "Haha..., don¡¯t be deceived by him. Qi Lake Water God, if you still want to live, then hand over the Qi Lake imperial order and your Water Dragon Pearl as vouch!" Fang Yuan chuckled. "Never!" The water dragon¡¯s eyes filled with rage and enmity at once, "The Water God position might be discussable, but my life, the Dragon Pearl? Impossible! If I give you my Dragon Pearl, wouldn¡¯t I be under your maniption forever?" The water dragon hurled his tail and sent menacing waves across theke. He was trying to escape by creating confusion. "Even though he is on hisst breath, he is still the Qi Lake Water God. Inside his area, he will recover by a small amount with every second dyed!" Fang Yuan transformed into a horned dragon and plunged into the waters, "Be still!" Fang Yuan¡¯s Weather Controlling Technique and Water Controlling Technique did not lose to the water dragon¡¯s. "Ah..., I¡¯ll fight you!" The water dragon snorted, he gave up his original n of escaping through the waters and charged towards Fang Yuan viciously. "Hehe!" Fang Yuan gave a wry smile and he suddenly opened his mouth. A beam of lightning appeared and struck the water dragon¡¯s body as the thunder sword travelled through the beam and pierced the water dragon in an instance. "Boom!" Sparks flew, scales and blood sttered everywhere. Seizing the opportunity, Fang Yuan used his horn and lunged towards the water dragon¡¯s wound caused by the lightning tribtions. The water dragon let out a scream and grabbed Fang Yuan with his ws. "Haha..., you think I don¡¯t have ws?" Fang Yuanughed, the water and fire sword essences appeared at his abdomen and formed the shape of sharp ws, "Water-Fire Dual Sword Array, charge!" "Glub! Glub!" Bubbles and blood rose to the surface of theke and dyed half of theke¡¯s surface into a golden red colour. Luo Zhu was stunned at such a scene, but she could not interfere. "Hruuuuuu, hhruuuuuuu!" The sunny skies abruptly turned into a sea of dark clouds. Gale winds raged and a storm erupted at once! "When dragons emerge, the waters are calm; when dragons die, the heavens and earth weep!" For no reason, Luo Zhu suddenly thought of that sentence and blurted it out loud. Under the turbulent waves, the severed water dragon was washed ashore. Streams of golden red blood flowed continuously, revealing the pale colour of his flesh. Bai Guan was literally almost bled dry. "Nooo!" Bai Guan¡¯s face was ashen as he stammered, "As Qi Lake Water God, I have led ten thousands of water dwellers, why have I fallen into such depths of despair!" "Although you have never gone against the heavens, you have forsaken your morals for your own benefits!" The horned dragon emerged from the waters and transformed into a young man donned in a robe. He sighed and continued, "When you killed the previous Water God, have you not thought about how he was so close to transforming into a dragon? Although he was a green snake, his ancestors were true dragons and he was naturally protected by fate energy. After you killed him, you opened a can of worms for yourself. The loss of the Dragon Pearl and the tribtion this time both resulted from that!" Bai Guan was stunned at what Fang Yuan said. After a long while, he finally said, "Not bad! Indeed!" He looked at Fang Yuan curiously, "No one else knew about the green dragon¡¯s Dragon Pearl, were you that ck carp?" "That¡¯s right, I am!" "Haha... I guess karma always finds a way!" Bai Guanughed, with a shiver of his body, his breath stopped at once. A Yin spirit appeared with a divine light and escaped at the speed of light. "At such a moment, you still do not understand the order of nature..." Fang Yuan shook his head and sighed, he then pointed his finger. A thunder sword essence emerged and caught up the escaping light immediately. Before it could say anything, it was annihted into pieces. "If you obediently handed over the imperial order, I might have even gifted you some true aura for you to reincarnate. But since you tried to deceive me with words and then seize the opportunity to escape with your elemental clone to stage aeback next time, I did not hesitate to annihte you!" As long as such heavenly deities had a small amount of elemental clone left, there would be a chance for them to make aeback. For example, the Golden Court Dragon God also lost its dragon body in a tribtion, however, since manymoners believed in him and he received lots of offerings from them, he formed his golden body. The golden body wasparable to the dragon body and hence, it was a silver lining for him. After Bai Guan¡¯s elemental clone dissipated, an imperial order was left behind. It was made of pure gold and had a slight green glow from within. The runes were even hundred times more profound and mysterious than that of Luo Zhu¡¯s. At that moment, the imperial order turned into a beam of light and went to Fang Yuan¡¯s hands. "Eh?" Fang Yuan kept it and pondered, "Since the past, the Water God position of such great rivers and greatkes had to be dragons. This was because dragons had the innate ability to control weather and were heavenly deities!" "Thus, even if I gave the imperial order to Luo Zhu, with her cultivation and karma now, it might even harm her! Whereas, for me, it is suitable!" He originally had some qualms about people dao¡¯s deities. But now, he had a deeper understanding and his mindset had changed, especially towards the Qi Lake Water God¡¯s deity position, where it was formed from the natural order of the heavens and earth, which was very beneficial for a dream master¡¯s cultivation. Furthermore, he was just at the horned dragon transformation. If things were to go awry, he could quickly escape. "I will try being a Dragon God then!" The golden green imperial order exploded and turned into an abundance of runes which seeped into Fang Yuan¡¯s body. "Kaboom!" Suddenly, a mighty aura descended as the winds and rain got stronger. Fang Yuan solemnly emerged from the divine light, he was shiny and ripples of water shrouded his entire body. It could be discerned that he was linked to the entire Qi Lake¡¯s spiritual energy. Luo Zhu was astonished at such a scene. Last time, as Bai Guan was a white snake, it was still possible for her to harness Lotus Pond¡¯s spiritual energy. But now, as Fang Yuan was a horned dragon, he was a Dragon God, and hence, she could not possibly resist his power. On theke, lots of fishes appeared to pay respects and worship him. "I, Lotus Pond Water God, Luo Zhu, pay my respects to Dragon God!" Seeing the dignified Fang Yuan, Luo Zhu immediatelyposed herself and greeted him. "I now grant you the title of Lotus Pond Water God. You are now my aide!" Fang Yuan announced cidly. Luo Zhu paused for a moment and felt the uneasy imperial order in her body had calmed down at once. She was ted, "Thank you, Dragon God!" As Bai Guan was a water snake, even when he became a heavenly deity, he could only be called a Water God. However, as Fang Yuan was a dragon, he was immediately called a Dragon God. His status had rose immediately. "Follow me to the Dragon Pce!" Fang Yuan turned into a horned dragon and swam to the Dragon Pce. "Great to meet you, Dragon God!" The demons were afraid of those who were powerful. When all the water dwellers saw Fang Yuan¡¯s divine light and his might as a true dragon, they immediately paid their respects to him. "I will retreat for three years, any matters in Qi Lake would be handled by the tortoise guard and Luo Zhu. Unless as ast resort, do not disturb me!" Inside the crystal-like Dragon Pce, Fang Yuan immediately designated a tortoise guard and passed down themand. "Yes, Dragon God, I will obey yourmands!" None of the water dwellers dared to disobey him. "Ok, all of you may leave now, I am sealing the Dragon Pce!" Fang Yuan waved his arms coolly. After Bai Guan obtained the imperial order, it took him ten plus years to forcefully cultivate it. As a Dragon God, Fang Yuan still required three years as Qi Lake was still considerablyrge. Chapter 310: Three Years Chapter 310: Three Years Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Time flew by in the Dragon Pce. Three years passed in a blink of an eye. In the pce hall, Fang Yuan sat on his throne and gradually opened his eyes, "I have finally fully cultivated the imperial order!" The Qi Lake Water Dragon was a heavenly deity with control over the spiritual energy of the entire 150-mile radius of Qi Lake, a manifestation of its abilities. Each and every rune and inscription on the imperial order were all sacred texts! It contained arcane and unpredictable powers, and were reflections of thews that governed the realm. By wielding knowledge of suchws, one could then possess great abilities and be able to harness the spiritual energy of the entire Qi Lake. "Although it is just a position and not my own power, it is already very beneficial for my understanding of thews." Fang Yuan suddenly thought of the powers the royals held in Da Qian Empire. Prominent Divine dream masters were naturally of no match to True Elemental spiritual knights and True Divine martial artists. However, if he had the blessing of the heavens in this realm as a dragon, he would be able to fight them. In actual fact, this was also one of the uses of the imperial order in arger extent. Going against such kind of blessings was like opposing the realm it came from and itsws. With Da Qian Empire¡¯s natural source, even the Prominent Divine dream masters had to be fearful of such blessings. "Perhaps..., the purpose of dream masters exploring other realms was not only to search for the source! It was to upy and control a realm powerful enough to fight with Da Qian?" Fang Yuan closed his eyes, the situation of the entire Qi Lake appeared in his mind. However, there were a few spots covered in mist. It meant that those areas were under the protection of powerful forces or arrays, and were most likely upied by powerful demons. Thus, they appeared as eye-catching as fireflies in the night skies. "I guess being able to understand the big picture from a look is part of my power as a heavenly deity?" Fang Yuan flicked his fingers. "Wooonnggg!" A force spread across the entire Dragon Pce and lit up the ce. The seals used to seal the pce disappeared at once too. Drums and bells rang as the doors opened to receive the worship of themoners. "Sir!" The tortoise guard and Luo Zhu immediately rushed over and paid respects to Fang Yuan. "Tortoise guard, bring over the shellsdies and the water dwellers¡¯ elite troops to fill the Dragon Pce! As the Dragon God, I will meet my peopleter! It has to be very dignified!" Fang Yuan instructed in a majestic and imposing way while holding a jade ornament. "Yes, Sir!" The tortoise guard immediately proceeded to do what he was told. "What¡¯s the situation now? What about the spirits?" Fang Yuan turned and looked at Luo Zhu. "After you killed the three demons, other spirits were naturally fearful of you! They have already prepared celebratory gifts for you as a sign of allegiance!" Luo Zhu answered respectfully. In reality, the moment Fang Yuan obtained the divine position, all these were expected. Whereas, Luo Zhu did not pay close attention to the matters regarding the humans. "Xu family¡¯s fate energy and mine are intertwined. In the past three years, I could still sense that they were growing well. They have been strengthening their territory till now, and I guess it¡¯s time for war..." Fang Yuan thought as his eyes sparkled. It was the right timing for Xu Ting¡¯s troops to be dispatched. He then calmly ordered, "After this homage, I will be hosting a feast for the officials and the powerful demons! Invite them over!" "Yes, Sir!" As the Qi Lake Water God, Fang Yuan¡¯s words were all mandates. Hence, they were all immediately obeyed and properly carried out. As theke housed numerous kinds of spirits, it made him realise a certain difference. "Oh..., even as the water dwellers in Qi Lake reproduce, there are very few demons. There are only around 20,000 demons, and more than half of them are my army..." As Fang Yuan realised this, he understood something. Beasts were beasts and demons were demons, they were two different things! In this realm, although there were many different species of animals, nts and even water dwellers, those who could be spiritually aware and cultivate into demons were the extreme few. Unless both parents were powerful demons, their offsprings would be born as beasts and had to slowly learn, even if they were to have an innate disposition to be demons. Due to their restricted poption size, their foundation would not be as strong and thus, their position as rulers would naturally decline. This was the heavenly trend and could not be changed! Whereas for humans, just in one prefecture, there would be tens of thousands of them! Although most were stupid, they could be trained with basicbatant skills, and with arge enough foundation, the potential for cultivation would grow too. Hence, humans were the rulers of all; They could grasp the heavenly fate energy and were favoured by the heavenly trend! "Greetings, Dragon God! May you enjoy boundless longevity!" At that moment, a group of servants and guards arrived and stood at attention. Large numbers of water dwellers then came forward and worshipped the new Dragon God. They were slightly uneasy at the sight of the Dragon God. The two previous Water God¡¯s of Qi Lake were both snake demons but this time, it was finally a dragon. Also, the way the Dragon God killed the three demons made them fearful of him. "As long as you all do notmit any offences under my rule, you all will enjoy a peaceful and happy life!" Fang Yuan smiled, "Come, follow me to review the troops!" Outside the Dragon Pce, 8,000 soldiers gathered. They had a hint of demonic energy and yet had some divine light too. They were amassed by Bai Guan and his predecessor and maintained by the tortoise guard. With the 8,000 of them, it was beneficial for Fang Yuan. As they felt the new Dragon God¡¯s might and divine light, the crustacean army did not hesitate to worship, "Greetings, Sir! I pledge my life to you!" The tidy formation represented a strong force in theke. Such a disy made other powerful spirits¡¯ expressions change at once. "All of you will be rewarded for your loyalty and protection of the Dragon Pce! Enjoy the feast!" Fang Yuan appeared ted as he gave his instructions. He then gathered the officers to enter the Dragon Pce to enjoy the feast. The melodious drums echoed around the pce. During the feast, numerous servants joyously presented the delicacies and as they caroused, words of respect could be heard continuously. Fang Yuan sat on his dragon throne with a golden cup in his hands while he smiled looking at the scene. It was a lively celebration! This was the Dragon God¡¯s enjoyment! ... At Da Chu, although Wang Qiao had ascended the throne, none of the military upied towns recognised him as the emperor, and hence, the regnal dating system of the previous emperor continued. It was now the 8th year of Yong An. Inside Golden Lake Prefecture. Xu Ting was just in his early twenties, but he already had a strong and vigorous appearance. He had also married his wife, who was ady from a noble family. She was cultured and refined, a perfect match for him. Furthermore, they had a son and a daughter. Compared to his wife, Li Luan was still a titleless maid, which also caused gossip to spread. Xu Ting also had a moustache. He looked towards Li Luan and thought for a while but then stopped immediately. The world was in chaos and there was no time for such rtionships! Xu Ting walked into the room and paid respects to Xu Ren, "Father!" "Oh, my son hase over, have a seat!" Xu Ren was very satisfied with this son of his. "I have followed your orders and finished organizing the troops. They are currently separated into 10 battalions and each battalion has 3,000 soldiers. There are also 20,000 marines and one hundred warships!" The five prefectures near Golden Court Lakes produced plenty of goods and were not prone to natural disasters. Thus, with slight organisation, their strength easily took shape. "Hmm, in this three years, we have managed to train the troops and form close rtionships with the officials. Now, our officers are already well trained and would be able to hold their own ground." Xu Ren stroked his beard delightfully, "With such arge troop, we can win a war! Xu He, what do you think?" A middle-aged man walked forward, he was an officer appointed by Xu Ren to be in charge ofmerce. In actual fact, he was the leader of their spies. He paid respects to Xu Ren and Xu Ting, and then reported, "Sir! General! The fake king Wang Qiao was ambushed and killed at Luolong Hillside, and his army of 10,000 men has fallen apart!" "What?" The news was earth-shattering, Xu Ting immediately stood up in shock at first, but the expression on his face turned into joy immediately, "Wang Qiao is dead? Heaven is really helping our family!" Although the battle was very fierce, Wang Qiao still had an advantage as he had control of the imperial court and the imperial guards. In the past three years, he had already annihted five military upied towns. But now, just as he was about to fully seed, he was met with a sudden death. With his death, the imperial court had no leader, and with the opposition from the royalties of the original emperor, Wang Qiao¡¯s followers were bound to bepletely purged. The five remaining military upied towns also suffered severe losses to their strength as many of their soldiers were heavily injured or dead. It was a total mess for them to recuperate, upy more territories and attack the capital at the same time. If this was not the perfect opportunity, then when would it be?! "I can¡¯t believe it, Wang Qiao just died like that..." As Xu Ting¡¯s biggest enemy and obstruction just died, it made him slightly worried, "Who was the one who nned it?" Wang Qiao was so close topleting his grand ns but died suddenly. After Xu Ting¡¯s initial joy, he felt a chill down his spine as he sensed there was something sinister. "Although the five military upied towns proimed allegiance to each other, but in reality, the one in charge was still Xinfeng army¡¯s military governor, Baili Xuandu!" "Xinfeng army, Baili Xuandu!" As Xu Ting uttered his name, he knew he was his biggest foe. "If I was Baili Xuandu, I would have immediately charged to the capital and forced the imperial court to hand me the title of the emperor!" Xu Ting took a few steps, his eyes radiating with sharpness. "That¡¯s a good guess, my son!" Xu Ren sighed as he passed an intelligence report to Xu Ting. After Xu Ting read through it, he realised Xinfeng army¡¯s movements were indeed as he predicted. Furthermore, they had received the backing of two other military upied towns. It was an urgent matter, Xu Ting said, "This is not good, if our family still wants to rise to power, we have to use two methods! Firstly, I will quickly lead the troops along An River to Qi Lake and conquer all the prefectures along the way, thus, upying half the country! Also, we have to send spies to the capitals to influence or divide them, as long as Baili Xuandu does not easily conquer the capital!" "That¡¯s right!" Xu Ren said, "Since you have the will, just do it! Three dayster, we will dispatch the troop!" "Yes, father!" Xu Ting replied, and his voice was like a warcry. Inside Golden Court Lake, a shadow emerged to gaze at the spiritual energy ashore and he sighed, "After three years, is it finally happening?" The shadow was Golden Court Dragon God, he appeared puzzled and thought, "How did Wang Qiao just die like that? Demons must have interfered!" Chapter 311: Green Fish Chapter 311: Green Fish Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Night fell. The Golden Court Lake sparkled under the moonlight. There were only a few boats berthed ashore that hadmps still lit up. There was no wind, however, a small boat was floating by itself on theke. It was a unique sight. On the boat, there was a gorgeous youngdy d in chiffon. However, her expression was cold as ice and she seemed different from normal people. "Since I came over personally, why does the Dragon God not want to meet me?" Thedy let out a quiet sigh at an empty spot. After a long pause, a voice could be heard from beneath theke, "Divine Demon Queen, ruler of all demons on Da Chu¡¯snd, what brought you here personally?" A shadow appeared underneath theke. It was the Golden Court Dragon God. He then emerged from the waters and sat opposite the Divine Demon Queen. "You really do not know? Or are you acting like you do not know...?" The Divine Demon Queen¡¯s eyes reflected the lights from the moon and the nearbymps. With a cold and emotionless voice, she continued, "The heavenly trend is like a sharp knife! Even if us demons ruled for centuries, we can only tread on eggshells now to stand a chance of survival! I have already sacrificed some of my favourite granddaughters, else, why would Da Chu be in chaos and why would Wang Qiao be dead?" "Sigh..., the heavenly trend has long been hard to understand, why would you seek trouble? Although us demons are downfalling, we can still survive in a farawaynd in this vast world!" The Golden Court Dragon God sighed. "You have indeed be a people dao deity, you don¡¯t even any remaining fellowship as demons left!" The Divine Demon Queenughed, "Why must humans be the protagonists while us demons have to be at their mercy? Last time..., I saw you let the small carp go near Xu Ting, and I still thought you were being considerate for us demons. But now, after three years, I finally realised you all were befuddled by fate energy and willingly chose to forsake yourself!" As they spoke, the Golden Court Dragon God¡¯s god dao golden body could not be concealed. Furthermore, she knew each and every movement Xu family made. However, either because she was apprehensive of the Dragon God¡¯s arrangements or she was too focused on Da Chu¡¯s capital, she did not do much about Xu Ting. But now, she was extremely disappointed at such. Although Li Luan had abandoned her demon form and her cultivation to reincarnate into a human, she was still ignored by Xu Ting. Hence, from that, it could be told that even if demons gave up their powers andpromised, their oue would still be the same. After all, different species had different goals in mind! The Golden Court Dragon God remained silent. As they were both powerful demons and had supreme intelligence, they could understand each other without speaking. Li Luan getting close to the dragon energy was actually part of the Golden Court Dragon God¡¯s probe too. However, as Xu Ting married his wife and neglected Li Luan, he lost a lot of fate energy, especially those rted to the demons. "But this is the heavenly trend, what can I do about it?" The Dragon God finally replied, "Even if Xu Ting were to fail miserably and die, another true hero would still rise amongst the humans! His strength might even be greater!" "That is why I have already schemed! On one hand, I will create chaos, on the other hand, I will kill any potential heroes from emerging. Even though us demons are dwindling, we must make the humans¡¯ poption dwindle too!" The Divine Demon Queen indifferently added, "Both Wang Qiao and the previous emperor of Chu had great amounts of fate energy. Now that they are dead, their fate energy has dispersed! Thus, it will be harder to unite the countries and this would be very beneficial to us!" "I guess you are determined to kill Xu Ting this time?" The Golden Court Dragon God¡¯s eyes turned golden at once. "The Golden Court Lake is my territory, if it was like thest time, I could still contend with you in my territory! But now, you are going against the heavenly trend and your elemental energy is greatly affected! How much strength would you even have left?" "Of course I wouldn¡¯t strike this time!" The Divine Demon Queen smiled, "Just that..., out of this Golden Court Lake, how long can you still protect the humans? For the sake of us demons, would you not interfere?" "I am afraid I cannot obey you!" After the Golden Court Dragon God answered, he then waved his hand, causing spiritual energy to gather, thus sealing theke¡¯s surface. "Ahh..., after knowing each other for hundreds of years, I can¡¯t believe we have reached such a situation!" Seeing how the Dragon God fell out, the Divine Demon Queen could only let out a sigh. If it was her, she would have definitely made her move and seized such a good opportunity. Since he was already her enemy, she was no longer bound by their fellowship. Under the heavenly will, one had to fight for every opportunity to survive! "What a pity..." The Divine Demon Queen suddenly grinned as she slowly disappeared into thin air. "An illusion?" The Golden Court Dragon God reached out to grab her, only to grab a handful of water. "What an impressive Celestial Fox Technique!" The Dragon God¡¯s expression turned solemn at once, "The demons are already determined to kill the water dragon! Xu Ting is in danger!" ... An River. Xu Ting was fully geared as he stood on the deck of an irond warship with an overpowering aura. During this deployment, he sent a total of 50,000 soldiers. Out of the 50,000, 20,000 of them were marines. There was also 100 ships and countless of small vessels. The vast troop travelled through An River with an imposing appearance. The districts along the way were all terrified of Xu Ting¡¯s troops and they immediately surrendered. Xu Ting¡¯s force was unstoppable. "Sir!" A daoist priest suddenly asked, "Since we are passing the An River Dragon God¡¯s area, should we host a ritual and provide some offerings?" "An River Dragon God?" Xu Ting thought for a moment and remembered, "This deity is vicious and bloodthirsty, why would I host a ritual for him? Am I foolish?" "General!" The priest was appalled, "The An River is the An River Dragon God¡¯s area, if we pass through his area without paying respects, we will be harassed!" "Harassed?" Xu Tingughed and pointed at the warships, "I have ten thousands of soldiers, hundreds of warships and our troops are so strong! Do you think I am scared of a water dragon? Even if hees to obstruct us, we will kill him! You think my militaryw is a joke?" Although he replied stately, there was something different in hisughter. It was because he was not the one who came up with this idea. He was reminded by what daoist Qing Xuan and some other daoists rmended. People dao were strong and self-reliant, they did not have to rely on deities! Furthermore, deities absorbed their fate energy and were detrimental to their progress! Xu Ting then further added, "Besides, don¡¯t I have the help from all you daoists?" "Sir, not to worry!" The daoist priest¡¯s face turned ashen while Kong Luo suddenly replied, "With us, you will be fully protected!" "With you and other daoists from Xuan Zhen Sect, there¡¯s nothing I am afraid of!" Xu Ting chortled; he had left out the daoist who questioned him at the start. That daoist¡¯s expression turned even worse as Kong Luo could only nce at him with pity. Kong Luo understood Xu Ting¡¯s temperament, he knew this daoist would be shunned and if he was not cautious with his manners again, he would definitely be killed. "One lesspeting daoist!" Kong Luo thought. Kong Luo then sighed as he turned to look at Qing Xuan. Daoist Qing Xuan worked hard for three years and was gradually favoured again. After all, this was because Xuan Zhen Sect was a powerful and extensive sect, and thus, there were many areas daoist Qing Xuan could help out in. However, not only did these daoist from Xuan Zhen Sect marginalised others, they were ardently against deities too. This made Kong Luo bewildered. Suddenly, the crisp noise of a sword rang from his dantian. "Eh? There¡¯s demonic energy spying on us?" Kong Luo raised his eyebrows and strode to the side of the ship. With a wave of his hand, a few green sword essences plunged into the waters. "Glub! Glub!" Streams of bubbles and blood rose to the surface. The carcasses of a few water guardians and spirits floated to the top. "Eh, just a few water guardians... not to bother, continue forward!" Xu Ting instructed. Xu family rose from purging evil gods and their temples, thus, Xu Ting held no regards for the Water God. The warships ran over the carcasses with no qualms. ... "Dead, dead, dead..." Kong Luo did not realise that his sword essence had missed out a fish! Arge green fish had dodged the sword essence by luck. He was utterly astonished and terrified when he saw hispanions¡¯ carcasses, he then immediately swam for his life and arrived at a water pce. "Stop! How dare you trespass the Dragon Pce!" In front of the colossal doors, the two rows of crustacean army immediately hollered. One of them, named Prawn Thirteen, curiously asked, "Eh? Aren¡¯t you the big green fish under the patrolling water guardian? Where¡¯s your general? Do you have anything urgent to report?" "Dead, dead, dead..." The big green fish swam around frantically, his spiritual will was in chaos. "What... this fish is so dense, how could he be a soldier? What an embarrassment to us and the Dragon God!" A crab general at the side sneered immediately. "General, please pardon him, although this big green fish seems dense, he is hardworking and he has cultivated really quickly..." Prawn Thirteen went forward to pacify the big green fish. Finally, the big green fish managed to stammer a few words, "Dead... dead... so many humans... so many ships! General... is dead..." "What?" The crustacean army was surprised and angered, "Who dares to kill the patrolling water guardian! How insolent! Just wait, I will report this to the Dragon God now!" "No need!" the voice of a dragon resounded. A middle-aged man donned in a ck crown stepped out and behind him were a group of tortoise guards and shelldies. "I know everything that¡¯s happening in the river, this Xu Ting, hehe..." Although he had a human-like appearance, there was a ck horn on his head. As he sniggered, his mighty aura spread across the area, causing the crustacean army to immediately kneel on the ground and tremble in unease. "Dead, dead, dead..." The big green fish was terrified too, however, he quickly swam away and started swimming in circles. "This fish..." The An River Dragon God was surprised at such too, "Although he is unintelligent, his loyalty and bravery aremendable!" The Dragon God pointed his finger and a beam of golden lightnded on the big green fish¡¯s body. The big green fish stumbled on the ground and transformed into a strong man. He had green clothes on his body, thick brows,rge eyes and an honest looking appearance. The nearby soldiers were envious of him. The Dragon God¡¯s transformation technique was naturally different from that of water guardian. Normal transformation techniques merely gave life, the demons formed were disabled and their spiritual awareness was incapacitated. Whereas the Dragon God¡¯s transformation techniques had no repercussion, instead, it increased their intelligence and their bodies would not be deformed. It was a benevolent gift bestowed by the Dragon God. Chapter 312: Black Water Dragon Chapter 312: ck Water Dragon Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions An Dragon Prefecture. This was a huge prefecture surrounding the An River. The magistrate was long influenced and at the sight of the arrival of a huge navy, he paid his respects and provided a campsite for the naval forces to upy. Outside the campsite, two persons emerged as ripples formed on the surface of theke. It was Fang Yuan and the Golden Court Dragon God. "What do you think about this, Dragon God?" Fang Yuan had good eyesight and enquired as soon as he noticed the huge naval troops. "It is fate from the heavens that we dragons do not associate ourselves with the demons. What can we do?" Hearing him, the Golden Court Dragon God let out a bitterugh. In reality, although the An River Dragon God was powerful, both of them did not take him as a threat. The unpredictable nature of the people dao was more dangerous. "This must be the doings of Xuan Zhen Sect... the hidden dragon deserves this tribtion!" Fang Yuan looked ahead and spoke calmly. "Eh? Are you not afraid that we will get nothing out of it the moment the hidden dragon dies?" The Golden Court Dragon God was confused. In terms of investment, this young god had invested more in Xu Ting than himself. "This is just another battle. Even if we lose, we will at most lose some karma points. I can still return to Qi Lake and cultivate in seclusion... We are gods!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. "Brother Dragon God, don¡¯t get yourself manipted by the people dao¡¯s fate and be a pawn!" Although he had set his sights on the dragon energy, he was ready to give it up and had the determination to do so! Only with such a mindset would he be able to be unmoved and make sound judgements. "Ah..." The Dragon God shook as he felt a chill down his spine. He quickly bowed towards Fang Yuan. "I¡¯ve made a fool of myself. Thank you for your advice..." With anotherugh, he added. "Who would¡¯ve known that fate energy would be so powerful! I¡¯ve only gotten myself slightly involved in it and have almost be trapped in it..." "To us, it is simply a matter if we notice the problem, that¡¯s all!" Fang Yuan smiled. "As for the other weaker demons, as long as they get themselves involved, they would reach a point of no return. Look at Li Luan... Why, are you intending to help Xu Ting in this?" "Forget it!" The Golden Court Dragon God regained hisposure. "You¡¯re right, he deserves this retribution!" After all, he was once a demon and now, he was a god. Regardless, he was never a human! As he came to his realisation and shook off the influence of fate energy, he could quickly regain hisposure and calm self. "Hmm, we have swum the entire river. Almost half of the An River is within the An River Dragon God¡¯s control. However, if webine forces, the An River Dragon God will not be able to defend against us. The true enemy would be the Divine Demon Queen which you have previously mentioned..." Fang Yuan took a quick nce around andughed. "It has begun!" Amidst the strong current, weird-looking heads popped out from the surface of the river. They were the various species of water dwellers and there were thousands of them. There was silence everywhere as they made their way towards the big ships. Of course, with the presence of two Dragon Gods, a small technique was all that was needed to shroud the spiritual sense of the weaker demons, making them unable to detect the Dragon Gods¡¯ presence. ... Although they were in the campsite, guards were still required to look over the ships. The river was choppy and the cabins on the ships were stuffy. Therefore, it was not an easy job and therefore, the guards were rotated based on their shifts and were rewarded with more food and wine. Of course, those on duty were not allowed to drink but they could keep it for consumption after they hadpleted their guard duties. "Based on mybat prowess, who would dare to attack us in this area?" A sailor walked on the deck andined to his fellow sailor. "Why do we have to do this?" "Old Xue, if you were smart enough, you would have been a Lieutenant long ago!" Most of these sailors were pirates previously and had grudges. Even though they were ruled with fear by Xu Ting, they were secretly unhappy with the higher-ups. "What are you doing? Go for your rounds!" As they wereughing and joking around, an officer came out of his cabin with a stern look. "Whoever makes any more noise would be punished to scrub the decks tomorrow!" "Hehe... Don¡¯t be angry, we won¡¯t dare to ck!" The few sailors chuckled as they walked towards the edge of the deck. "Sigh...... Although these sailors are courageous, it is still a headache to discipline them!" Witnessing this scene, the officer let out a sigh. The moonlight illuminated the deck, giving it a touching glow. Unknowingly, the officer took a few steps forward. "What a bright moonlight... The moon is the same everywhere. Sigh... I wonder how is Xing¡¯er doing?" As he was deep in his thoughts, from the corner of his eye, he could see a glitter. ¡¯What¡¯s that?¡¯ He was about to say something, but it was a pity he could not begin to speak. "Whoosh!" A spear flew from mid-air and pierced through his chest. It had a reverse hook on its tip and with a tug, the young officer flipped overboard, causing a huge ssh. After a few moments, a deep red hue appeared, dyeing the river red. "Lieutenant sir?" The few sailors were in shock. They rushed to the railings and with a few ropes, they tied themselves securely and lowered themselves down. Beneath them, many figures appeared. They were all in shock as they screamed. "Water ghosts! Water ghosts!" "Ssh!" Rows of crustacean army floated up and climbed onto the decks as they started a killing spree. Outside the campsite, the river was pitch ck. A huge wave appeared and a whirlwind formed, which was a miraculous sight resembling a dragon spitting out water. "Kill!" "Kill all these humans!" "The Dragon God has given an order! We cannot let a single one live, and we need to destroy their ships!" A few crustacean generals smiled ferociously and as they stood before their army, the moonlight reflected off their shiny shells, revealing a mysterious shine. "How dare you demons infiltrate my ships!" The general on duty hollered. "Kill them all!" With the wave of his hands, a few highly-skilled soldiers appeared. All of them appeared mighty and they were all d in armour. They wielded Hundred Casted Longknives and with two swipes, a crustacean soldier was beheaded as his head rolled on the deck. "Alright... Let¡¯s not fear them. They are merely beasts with weird appearances equipped with ayer of armour!" The Naval Officer screamed. "Defend the ship with all your might... don¡¯t forget to send someone to inform General Xu Ting about it!" "Dong! Dong!" At this point in time, there was a mysterious tremoring from beneath the deck. "That¡¯s not good... Sir, they¡¯re taking the ship apart!" Seeing this, the Assistant General¡¯s expression changed. The Naval Officer had a simr expression as well. They were already helpless against the crustacean army on the decks. If the ship was destroyed, what would happen if they were to fall into the river, where the enemy would have the geographical advantage? "As the officer on duty, I must die with the ship!" With a ferocious look, he plucked his sword out. "Kill! Kill all these freaks!" ... "What¡¯s happening?" Themotion at the pier was big enough that those onnd were aware of what was happening. After all, Xu Ting had fate energy. Even though the magistrate offered him a banquet, he was determined to rest within the campsite. As soon as he fell asleep, he was abruptly woken up. After getting dressed, he saw 10 over daoist priest rushing over. Kong Luo was leading them. "General!" Kong Luo greeted Xu Ting. "The An River Dragon God is frenzied! He has sent his crustacean army to attack ours!" At this point in time, cries were heard from the ship and there were mes burning brilliantly on the deck. As the warship was taken apart, it slowly sank. All of these happenings angered Xu Ting. "Daoist Qing Xuan! Kong Luo! What are the both of you doing? Get there and make the demons retreat!!!" After all, he had risen through the ranks due to the navy. Since they did not fight back, Xu Ting was enraged. "How is this possible?" Qing Xuan could not believe his eyes as well. "Has the An River God gone crazy? All the soldiers from his crustacean army came from the past hundred years of training. Why would he deploy all of them here? Is he not worried that the demons in An River might stage a rebellion?" The uprising of the people dao meant that such an attack would be detrimental to the demons. At least, they would increase the chances and intensity of their tribtions in the future. Strictly speaking, most of the water dwellers who attacked the ship were mostly injured and it was a huge price to pay. However, this thought onlysted for a while before going away. "Since the demons are undergoing tribtions, they must havee to an agreement. The water demons must have talked to the demons onnd about this before the Dragon God would decide to take such a risky move!" Daoist Qing Xuan broke into cold sweat and knew that they were in a very dangerous predicament. Because of Xu Ting¡¯s stubbornness, they had disrespected the An River Dragon God and caused all the troubles that had just happened. He might just have to shoulder all the responsibilities for the day¡¯s happenings. All the fighting had reached a climax as soon as they realised a tornado brewing outside the campsite. "Everything¡¯s over!" "Over!" Xu Ting was in a daze and did not move a single muscle. It was as though someone had removed his spine. If the tornado were to enter the campsite, his efforts for the past three years would go down the drain. "Indeed an evil dragon. Once angered, it would not care about the consequences toe!" Outside the havoc, Fang Yuan and the Golden Court Dragon God witnessed the scene and heaved. "If the An River Dragon God were to aplish what he had set out to do, it would be certain that the next tribtion would take his life!" "Although the hidden dragon would be met with troubles, it should not encounter such a huge tribtion... After all, it is where the dragon energy is concentrated in the people dao..." Seeing this scene, the Golden Court Dragon God felt that he should not allow Xu Ting¡¯s navy to be destroyed. "How about we help him out?" "Alright!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and both of them took a step forward. They transformed into dragons and circled above the campsite. "Roar! Roar!" The Golden Court Dragon God only had the illusionary shape of a dragon, but had no physical body; On the other hand, Fang Yuan¡¯s dragon body had physical flesh. As they released their dragon¡¯s might, the reckless water dwellers shook in fear and became weaker. Those humans who were quicker took the opportunity to escape. Those who were slower merely became a bloodied mess. "How dare the both of you stop me!" Amidst the tornado, a ck water dragon appeared. Swinging its ws about, it had a ferocious look and there was a red glow in its eyes. "What an evil water dragon!" Fang Yuan sighed as soon as he saw it. Horned Dragons were merely young dragons with the body resembling a snake and a horn on its head. Water Dragons, on the other hand, had horns and dragon ws as well. Previously, Bai Guan attempted to transform into a dragon and had 2 dragon ws. However, this ck water dragon was a Dragon God for many years and had already grown 4 dragon ws! It was only a step away from bing a true dragon! Chapter 313: Slaying the Dragon Chapter 313: ying the Dragon Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Whooo!" As the tornado ensued, the winds raged on. Suddenly, a gstaff broke and the g was blown up into the air. In the epicentre of the tornado, a ck water dragon was ring at a horned dragon and a golden dragon on the opposite side. "This is..." "Thank you for your blessings, Dragon God!" Beneath, the leftover sailors, regardless of their rank, were all kneeling down and worshipping the dragons. "Where did these dragon godse from?" Xu Ting witnessed the scene before him, as he clenched his fists, tensed. "It seems that one of them is the Golden Court Dragon God. I don¡¯t seem to recognise the other one, but he seems as powerful!" Spiritual light spilt out of Kong Luo¡¯s eyes as he shook his head. "It is your fate that you have the protection from these two dragon gods!" He congratted Xu Ting. "It¡¯s too early to conclude! Go forth and assist the naval officers to y the demons!" Xu Tingid out a few othermands. "Also... As for these two dragon gods, remember to give them offerings in the future to show our gratitude..." He had to put up a show! At this point in time, the destructive tornado was still out there! After all, he had alreadypletely forgotten about the Xuan Zhen Sect¡¯s involvement with demons. "Yes Sir!" 10 over daoist acknowledged the order, arrived on the ship and executed their spiritual techniques. "Spring Returning Spell!" "Fire from the Heavenly Order, strike!" "Watch out for my sword, you beast!" ... With the continuous spiritual spells and sword radiance, Kong Luo leapt around with a lethal green-coloured sword essence around him. Although his strikes were powerful, there was no joy on his face. He was clear that they were mere distractions; the only ones who would be able to influence the oue of the battle were the dragon gods. "The two of you... are traitors! You bring shame to us demons!" The ck water dragon roared. "I am the An River Water God! The spiritual energy of the An River, hear mymand, gather!" A mysterious glow appeared on the ck water dragon¡¯s body as the winds started to pick up. A huge illusionary shadow of a river appeared behind him, blessing him with unparalleled power. The advantage goes to whoever was on their home ground! "Indeed a righteous god! What a pity... you¡¯re a tyrant!" Fang Yuan shook his head and nced at the Golden Court Dragon God. "Let¡¯s do it!" "Listen to mymand, the spiritual energy shall disperse!" At that moment, two mysterious glows appeared on their backs as well, revealing the imagery of a vastke. With a roar, the An River became affected and the spiritual energy quickly dispersed. "It¡¯s the Qi Lake Dragon God and the Golden Court Lake Dragon God!" These twokes were neighbouring the An River and could affect it greatly. Therefore, as the two dragon gods of thekesbined their forces, the spiritual energy of the An River was mostly dissipated! The greatest power a god could ever have was stripped off him in an instant. Furthermore, under the pressure from bothkes, the illusionary shadow of the An River started to shrink. Finally, it could no longer hold on under the pressure. A ck fog appeared and in it the hue of blood and an inauspicious omen. After the closer look, many restless souls were seen within the ck fog. These restless souls came from the live offerings given to the An River as well as the humans being killed by this attack. All of them were dressed in white robes and had blood oozing out of their eyes. As the An River Dragon God, he had to bear the responsibility if the gods under him were to partake in hical acts like epting live offerings. The restless souls umted over all these years had amounted to a scarily huge number. Being released all at once and the fact that the An River Dragon God had to deal with the other two dragon gods as well, he was being cornered with nowhere to go. "Karma will alwayse back at the right time!" Seeing this, Fang Yuan mumbled to himself as he gained a new level of understanding for the realm. "If you follow the heavenly trend, things would be easier!" The Golden Court Dragon God sighed and took a step forward. He stretched both his palms out. "Disperse!" "Whoooo!" A strong gust of wind started to oppose the tornado, weakening it. As the people on the ground witnessed the fight, they were all shocked and surprised. A huge cmity like this was so simply put out by the gods. "Ahh... You two, remember what you¡¯ve done!" There were bloody mes burning on the ck water dragon¡¯s body. As he roared in pain, he released a glow from his scales in an attempt to fight the mes as he tried to escape. With such a golden opportunity, how would Fang Yuan let it go to waste? "Thunder Sword! Strike!" "Rumble!" Thunder roared in the skies and a bolt of lightning struck across. Immediately, it blocked the path of the escaping ck water dragon. "Water and Fire are heartless, and the Thunder Sword shall act as the heavenly tribtion. 3 Talents Sword Array, rise!" "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" 3 streaks of swords struck towards the skies from the ground. Icy, fiery and electrifying, they exploded in a split second. "Young god... What an impressive move!" Seeing this scene, the Golden Court Dragon God¡¯s eyelid started to twitch. If he was the one being trapped by the sword array, he had no confidence in escaping as well. "Although this array is powerful, it is still not powerful enough to kill a dragon god!" Fang Yuan appeared calm. "Golden Court Dragon God, please restrict it with your imperial order for me to deliver the final blow!" "Alright!" "Bang!" In the next moment, the 3 Talents Sword Array exploded, revealing a heavily wounded and charred ck water dragon. "Restrict!" The Golden Court Dragon God appeared solemn. With both his hands, he pressed downwards an immediately, a colourful imagery of believers giving their offerings appeared behind his back. In a split second, the imagery turned into a golden wheel. This was the Golden Wheel of Offerings, and it had the power of tens of thousands of believers in it. In terms of people dao, the ck water dragon only had heaps of grievancespared to the Golden Wheel of Offerings. As the Golden Wheel of Offerings slowly pressed downwards against the ck water dragon, the ck water dragon let out a shriek. The imperial order from within its body appeared; it was golden with a hue of green. On it, there was a spinning glow. As the runes shook, it felt as though something big was about to happen. This was how easy it would be when going with the heavenly trend. "Alright!" The horned dragon shook and took on the form of a human. With a finger, Fang Yuan directed his 3 magical swords tobine into a single entity, forming a gigantic sword radiance. In mid-air, it was as though a huge sword had appeared. The huge sword had an icy body, but there were mes and streaks of electricity on its surface. It felt as though it was worthy of providing a heavenly tribtion. "Slice!" Fang Yuan held the sword in his hands and sliced down at the ck water dragon. "Whoosh!" As a huge glow appeared, the heavens and the earth came together in an instant. Dark clouds formed above and a storm broke out. As blood spewed everywhere, a water dragon¡¯s head rolled onto the floor andnded directly in front of Xu Ting with its eyes opened wide! "With a single slice, the water dragon is killed!" Kong Luo stared into nk space and his face was pale. He realised that this dragon god¡¯s cultivation in sword skills was a thousand folds more than his! The dragon god was at a whole new level! Xu Ting was more shocked than Kong Luo. "Is that... The ck Dragon General?!" Looking at his human form, he could recognise Fang Yuan¡¯s youthful look. The only difference was that previously, he was in inclothes but now, he was decked in a royal outfit and had a majestic look. After delivering the killer blow, he seemed even more powerful than before. Everything that had just happened made him feel as though he was in a dream. "Didn¡¯t Father mention that he was a ck snake, a water god? How did he be a dragon god so quickly?" Of course, the gigantic water dragon¡¯s severed head, the rain of blood and fight made him realise that everything was real, including Fang Yuan¡¯s power. Without thinking, Xu Ting quickly paid his respects. "I am Xu Ting from the Golden Court Prefecture. Thank you dragon gods for your assistance!" Golden Court Dragon God did not care about Xu Ting. He was entirely focused on restraining the An River imperial order. The An River Dragon God was as powerful as him. If not for Fang Yuan¡¯s assistance and the fact that they could make use of their geographical advantage, the Golden Court Dragon God had no chance of subduing the An River Dragon God. The An River imperial order shimmered as though it was unwilling to be restrained. However, as soon as it detected the karma and traces of people dao from the Golden Court Dragon God, it slowly calmed down. "Thank you, brother!" With the imperial order, Golden Court Dragon God was ted as he gave his thanks to Fang Yuan. Although the Golden Court Dragon God had no clue how long it would take for him to absorb this imperial order, he knew that if he could do it, his power would increase by folds. It was no small matter to be able to increase his power by such a margin. "This was our agreement, so you¡¯re most wee!" As he replied, his hands worked as he kept the corpse of the ck water dragon. Seeing this, the Golden Court Dragon God was stunned but did notment. Since he had already taken the imperial order for himself, he was in no position toment if Fang Yuan were to take the corpse. Even if Fang Yuan wanted to loot the entire An River Dragon Pce, he would still allow for it. "Both dragon gods!" At this point in time, they finally took notice of the ants beneath them. Kong Luo and a few other daoist were heard. "Our general is eternally grateful for your assistance. He would prepare a banquet and wants to invite both of you to join in!" "Alright, let¡¯s take a look!" Fang Yuan exchanged nces with the Golden Court Dragon God and both of themughed. Other than the An River Dragon God, there were no other gods worthy of posing a threat to them in the entire Da Chu. This called for a celebration. In reality, the demons had miscalcted. If there was only a Golden Court Dragon God backing Xu Ting, the An River demons would still be able to kill Xu Ting. They had no idea that Fang Yuan would get himself involved and destroy the ck water dragon to turn the tables! With a wrong move, the entire fight was lost. At this point in time, even if the Divine Demon Queen were to leave her stronghold ande for the both of them, both dragon gods had nothing to fear. It was a night of celebration. On the second day, Xu Ting sent both dragon gods off and immediately called his subordinates together for a meeting. "Reporting! Yesterday, we lost 20 ships, 2,000 Naval Officers and 1,000 other men... We have 17 officers of Lieutenant rank and above found dead!" A Naval Officer stood out and reported the numbers. They had incurred losses even before the war. However, considering that they did not lose their entire army, this oue was still eptable. Xu Ting was pale. "The remaining arrangements shall be made by this provincial militarymander. Also, I think that... We should build temples for the Qi Lake Dragon God and Golden Court Lake Dragon God in all prefectures!" "Yes, Sir!" Kong Luo took a step out and nced at the few daoist from Xuan Zhen Sect. "General, I am willing to fork out 1,000 taels of gold and 1,000 catties of ration to assist the army!" Qing Xuan¡¯s face twitched and had no choice but to report. "Mmm, I shall ept your generosity!" Xu Ting replied in an official tone. That feeling of animosity shook Qing Xuan, and he could do nothing but let out a bitter smile. He knew that considering all that his sect had done to fight the demons and gods in the past, it was now hard to salvage the situation. "Furthermore..." After all the other subordinates were dismissed, Kong Luo was requested to stay behind. The young general had a look of uncertainty on his face. "Secretly send some of our guys to the Golden Lake Prefecture... Fetch Lady Li Luan here!" After all that had happenedst night, Xu Ting had figured out that this woman represented a portion of fate energy of the demons. He had to ept and marry her. "Yes, Sir!" Kong Luo agreed, and his heart shook. After many years of cultivation, he also knew about the heavenly trend. The downfall of demons and uprising of humans had to be epted. Xu Ting had a weak foundation. It would be beneficial for him if he could absorb the fate energy of the demons. Chapter 314: Surrounding the Capital Chapter 314: Surrounding the Capital Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "My Lord!" Li Luan had a pale look. As soon as she entered the room, she saw Xu Ting and softly eximed. "Mmm..." Xu Ting acknowledged, but his mind wasplicated. After all, their feelings for each other were real when they were younger. However, since they were not suited for each other and coupled with the fact that the daoist priests from Xuan Zhen Sect had repeatedly warned him about Li Luan, he had neglected her for the past few years. However, hope was not lost. Immediately, he walked towards her and spoke in a soothing voice. "It has been hard on you for the past few years. I have already written a letter to my father, informing him of my intention to marry you after the war is over..." "Thank you, my Lord!" This was a dreame true for her. However, Li Luan was confused as she felt a chill down her spine. Although the man standing before her was the same man whom she had given the dragon pearl to, it felt as though he was worn out. Of course, on the surface, she did not disy her thoughts on her face. Even Xu Ting could not know what she was thinking and therefore did not suspect anything. "Very well, you have an old friend that wants to see you. I shall not hold you further!" Xu Ting waved his hands. Confused, Li Luan walked out. Following the servants, she arrived at a backyard. At the pond, there was a small pavilion. In the pavilion, there was a huge green fish jumping about, and it seems as though the fish had a demonic trait. Of course, what had surprised her was not the green fish, but the person ying with the fish. "You¡¯re here?" Fang Yuan turned around and smiled. "You..." Of course, Li Luan could recognise Fang Yuan. However, the young man gave off a very different vibepared tost time. He not only had the vibes of a majestic dragon, he had a powerful spiritual aura. Uncontrobly, tears welled up in Li Luan¡¯s eyes. "Is this... the Qi Lake Water God?" "That¡¯s right! I have killed the 3 demons in the Qi Lake and inherited the appointment as Water God!" Fang Yuan admitted to his doings without hiding anything. With the wave of his hands, the green fish rolled onto the floor and transformed into a well-built man in green robes. "Come to think of it, the 3 of us had gathered on Xu Ren¡¯s ship in the middle of An River. Everything is still the same, but we have all changed. Interesting..." As he calmly spoke, mysterious dragon vibes were felt from his body. Li Luan could detect that Fang Yuan was now more powerful than her own father was when he was alive as the Qi Lake Water God. "Also... The An River Dragon God had obstructed the navy and was therefore killed by the Golden Court Dragon God and I. Therefore, the tribtion on you has been reduced!" Fang Yuan revealed some news. Li Luan was originally the daughter of the Qi Lake Water God and had bad blood with Bai Guan. In order to take her revenge, she had willingly served under the An River Dragon God and had endured humiliation in order to steal a pearl from the water dragon. However, she was blinded by fate energy and made a rash decision to gift the pearl to Xu Ting. Therefore, it was not inexplicable that the An River Dragon God had attacked Xu Ting; both parties were unaware that they were already linked by the pearl. "Thank you, Dragon God!" Li Luan could not hold her tears back as she paid her respects to Fang Yuan. "Thank you Dragon God for avenging my father on my behalf and severing my ties with the dragon pearl. I shall swear from today onwards to cut off all ties with Qi Lake, and that shall apply to my family for generations toe!" "Very good! I like smart people! Alright, that¡¯s all!" Fang Yuan smiled and nodded his head. The previous Qi Lake Water God was that big green snake with little karma. Therefore, the chances that his future generations could rise up to power once more was slim. Therefore, Fang Yuan took precautions to ensure that he would not use up his fate energy in all that had happened. Of course, Li Luan was only a small part of his n. The crux had yet to unfold. After dismissing Li Luan, he looked at the huge green fish. "Hey... Little Green, do you remember me?" "That year... on that ship... ck snake... d*mn it!" Although the huge green fish was dense, it had a good memory and could recall what had happened many years ago. "Mmm... The 3 of us are fated, but not just by how we met before!" Fang Yuan continued after heaving a sigh. "The previous Qi Lake Water God had little karma. Although he died in the tribtion, he had a chance of revival. Unknowingly, even after meeting each other face to face, the father and his daughter no longer recognise each other. What a pity." After absorbing an entire imperial order, Fang Yuan¡¯s body was extremely sensitive. Together with his spiritual sense as a dream master, there was no way he could guess wrong. This green fish was the reincarnation of the previous Qi Lake Water God! In other words, his soul was now possessing this green fish¡¯s body! Of course, the power of being a god was already transferred to Fang Yuan. Even if he were to regain all his memories of his past life or even restore his cultivation, there was nothing he could do. Regardless, he would still be trouble. Also, Fang Yuan had taken the dragon pearl which he had prepared as a backup as well. This was how the both of them were rted. "You, get over here!" Thinking about this, he hesitated no more and called for the fish. "You¡¯re... calling for me?" The well-built man in green robes hesitated before walking towards Fang Yuan. "Very good!" Fang Yuan flipped his palm, revealing 9 drops of dark-red blood. In the blood, there was a hint of gold with a dragon¡¯s might. After disintegrating the water dragon¡¯s corpse, all that was left was this dragon¡¯s property and the blood of a water dragon. "Take it!" He smiled and executed a technique as he pressed the dragon¡¯s blood on the forehead of the well-built man. "Whoosh!" The 9 drops of bloodbined to form the shape of a small water dragon before flying into his forehead. "Bang!" The well-built man¡¯s eyes turned white as he fainted and fell to the ground. "I have obtained the dragon pearl and imperial order based on my own merits and have nothing to do with you. Today, I shall trade this dragon¡¯s property and dragon¡¯s blood to cut off all ties with you! We no longer owe each other anything!" Seeing the unconscious well-built man, Fang Yuan mumbled to himself. In reality, this was not only severing ties with him but a n for something greater. Once this huge green fish obtained the dragon¡¯s blood and dragon¡¯s property, it would be able to cultivate at an increased speed and there was hope for it to transform into a dragon in the future. This was how Fang Yuan wanted to end things. If the green fish were to regain its memory of its past life and plot against Fang Yuan for the position of Qi Lake Water God, then Fang Yuan would have no choice but to kill it! As for the greater n, it was a n against the Golden Court Dragon God. Although he had established a good rtionship with the Golden Court Dragon God, Fang Yuan would not trust him entirely and would prefer to guard against him nevertheless. Now that the Golden Court Dragon God had both the An River and the Golden Court Lake, he might get greedy and set his sights on Qi Lake! By then, Li Luan, this green fish and other rted water dwellers would be the Golden Court Dragon God¡¯s pawn; the chances that this green fish would be manipted by the dragon god was the highest. But now, the green fish would be considered rted to the Qi Lake Water God as well as the water dwellers in An River for it had absorbed the blood of the An River Dragon God. Therefore, it would be considered rted to the An River Dragon God as well! If the Golden Court Dragon God were to remain unaware of this rtionship and continue to manipte the green fish... the Golden Court Dragon God might lead himself to his own downfall. Of course, this was only a n and none of it had happened. At this point in time, the well-built man on the floor transformed back into a green fish. However, now, its scales had a ck pattern. This was the power of the water dragon¡¯s blood! Even if Fang Yuan were to personally help the green fish in absorbing the blood, the green fish would still ultimately change its personality and traits due to the dragon¡¯s blood. ¡¯This is how the plot will twist. If you be a ck fish, you would instead be more acquainted with the An River...¡¯ Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. As he walked to the riverbank, he released the half-green and half-ck fish with a smirk on his face. This was controlling one¡¯s fate and riding on the heavenly trend to n for the future! ... At the same time, in the royal capital of Da Chu. The Xinfeng Army¡¯s military governor, Baili Xuandu, had led an army of 60,000 to start attacking the city. He was 30 years old and started out as a small corporal. After rendering his meritorious service, he had gained the admiration of the more experienced military governors and was therefore promoted. They had even betrothed their daughters to him. This time, 10 military governors came together to fight against Wang Qiao. The most experienced of the military governors died on the battlefield. Baili Xuandu was tasked to assassinate Wang Qiao. As he was sessful, he had gotten his revenge and had gained the support of two towns. With his 10,000-strong army, he had surrounded the royal capital and the morale was high. "Da Chu had no more troops. Against my 60,000-strong army, I believe I can force the Imperial Court to surrender and be the emperor!" Baili Xuandu¡¯s eyes were burning with passion. Seeing the royal family standing atop the city walls, he ordered the machinery to advance. The three generals shouted once more as they did ast-ditch attempt to convince the Imperial Court to surrender. "Empress Dowager?" On the city walls, many officials nced at the young Empress Dowager as they remained silent. "Hey... After taking care of all of you for the past hundred years, do you guys really want toe together to force us to a corner?" The Empress Dowager snickered. Although she was fuming mad, she was still a beauty, which made many of the younger ministers¡¯ hearts sway. ¡¯We have been ordered to defend this ce with our lives. Baili Xuandu is here for the dragon energy. I must not let him have Da Chu and have his way!¡¯ The young Empress Dowager hugged the young King and thought to herself. She was originally a demon. After bing Wang Qiao¡¯s mistress, she had hidden from the public. After the arrival of the young king, Wang Qiao had given her an official title. Because of her baby, she was promoted and from then onwards, she had be the Empress Dowager, the true owner of the pce. Now that she had disyed her anger, the ministers knelt down in unison. "We don¡¯t dare!" "Since you don¡¯t dare to disobey, what are you still doing? Protect the city! Wang Xu, I¡¯ll leave the city¡¯s defences to you!" The Empress Dowager scanned her surroundings and picked a general. It was someone of the same ethnicity as Wang Qiao. "Yes, Ma¡¯am! We will obey your orders!" This person had the control over Wang Qiao¡¯s remaining fighting force, which was rather powerful. Of course, most importantly, they would not surrender and would fight to their deaths. This was because if Baili Xuandu were to enter the city, they would let off everyone except the ethnic people of Wang Qiao in the name of righteousness! Wang Xu agreed and scanned his surroundings. With a killer look, the rest of them were motivated to defend. "It seems that we still need to invade the city!" Outside the city, Baili Xuandu took in a deep breath. "Pass down mymand. Whoever reaches the top of the city walls first will be promoted 3 ranks and rewarded 1,000 taels!" Even though the city walls were tall and hard to infiltrate, they could do so as long as they had the determination and courage! "Kill!" In history, those who ascended the city walls first would promote a rank or had an insignificant reward. Now that they would potentially promote 3 ranks, most of the soldiers were motivated to try their best. As the catapults swung rocks at the walls, arrows rained towards the walls. The army charged forward and at that moment, they had forgotten the risks of dying. Beili Xuandu remained calm. He clenched his fists tightly. ¡¯Even if they don¡¯t surrender, they would suffer from a high casualty rate. This is the perfect opportunity and I must make full use of it!¡¯ The sunset spilt golden rays on the earth. ¡¯It has only been a day but I have lost over a thousand of my soldiers. However, if we persist for another day, I¡¯m sure we will be able to break through!¡¯ Baili Xuandu¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. In the next moment, he could feel a chill down his spine. "Military governor, look...... at...... north!" A group of messengers rushed to him and could not even articte properly. From a tall tform, Baili Xuandu looked across and noticed a ck line charging towards them from the horizon. They were not soldiers or calvaries, but wolves, tigers, leopards and other beasts forming a battalion of beasts! "Demonic beasts!?" Chapter 315: King Sun Chapter 315: King Sun Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Fenghe Prefecture, Da Chu. In this prefecture, there was a famous mountain called Xuanping Mountain that housed the Xuan Zhen Sect¡¯s headquarters. Forests on the mountains were lush while dense, fluffy clouds covered the mountains. On a certain mountain peak, a gust of wind blew away the clouds and a building could be seen. The building housed numerous pavilions and terraces; it was brilliantly structured. Caws of celestial cranes could be heard and spirit monkeys could be seen plucking fruits. It had the look of a grand celestial manor. "Chirp! Chirp!" Suddenly, a green bird cut across the sky and flew into the hall of the building. Its shrills were sorrowful and pierced the silence. The hall was built from pure copper and there were a few altars used to worship deities inside the hall. In front, there were a few elders seating on cushions. "A message from the green bird? Moreover, it¡¯s the most urgent secret information?" The head of Xuan Zhen Sect was stunned for a moment. He then immediately waved his hand and a clear gust of wind reached the green bird. The green bird¡¯s eyes shined brightly, it was extremely human-like. It then began rapidly reciting, "Elders, disaster! Xinfeng army¡¯s military governor Baili Xuandu was met with resistance from the Empress Dowager at the capital. After he refused to surrender, he was attacked by the Demonic Beast Swarm! The 60,000 men strong army toppled in a day and he almost died!" Although it was only a few sentences, the information and meaning in them were astounding. The elders¡¯ expression changed at once, "Demonic Beast Swarm? The demons have always schemed behind the scenes! This time, they finally disyed their powers in front of everyone?" "Divine Predictor Elder, what do you think?" After the initialmotion, Xuan Zhen Sect Head enquired a person. This person¡¯s beard was so long it touched the ground and his face was full of wrinkles. He appeared haggard and looked like a skeleton, as though he was about to die. "Cough...... cough......" The Divine Predictor coughed twice before speaking weakly and breathlessly, "I have already investigated each countries¡¯ dragon energy. Disregarding Da Qi and Da Liang, inside Da Chu, there are only two rising dragon energies. One is Xu Ting while the other is Baili Xuandu!" "Although there are some others with slight potential, since they have not risen to power till now, they have missed the right timing, the right conditions and the right people. They can be considered useless now..." "Although our sect originally favoured Xu Ting and invested in him early on, ever since Xu family have gotten too close with the demons, their fate energy has changed. In this three years, we have gradually favoured Baili Xuandu, but s, just before we could sever ties with Xu Family and invest in Baili Xuandu, he was defeated! He has fully lost the right timing and there would be no chance for him to rise again!" "The demons are determined to have us dead!" A female elder loathingly said, "But there are no other hidden dragons that have not been noticed and killed... what should we do from now on? Fully invest in Xu family or seal the mountain and retreat? "We absolutely cannot seal the mountain!" The Sect Head shook his head, "We are at the peak of the turmoil now and can only move forward with it. If we were to retreat, we will lose out on people dao fate energy, and our sect will slowly decline even if we have the support of our rare treasures..." "Looks like the Sect Head has favoured Xu Ting, but not only is he not getting closer to us, he is getting more inclined towards the lone practitioners and demons!" Another elder shook his head, "Previously, Qing Xuan ryed that the Golden Court Dragon God and Qi Lake Dragon God were the ones who saved Xu Ting¡¯s troops when he was attacked by An River Dragon God. This shows that they have deep ties..." "That¡¯s not true!" Xuan Zhen Sect Headughed, "Too much of a good thing can actually be worse! Although these two Dragon Gods yed a huge role, Xu Ting would still be fearful of them. Xu Ting is merely ingratiating them as he needs them for his war, but what happens when the war is over?" "Brilliant and insightful!" A few other daoists nodded their head in agreement, "Especially now, there are no more heroes in Da Chu¡¯s capital. Even the demons have used up everything! The two sides suffered severe losses. if Xu Ting can quickly send his troops over, he will definitely be able to upy it!" "Such a situation will be an easy task for Xu Ting, hence, the chances of him relying on the Dragon Gods would be even smaller! Thus, we must suppress them with every opportunity we have!" "True!" Xuan Zhen Sect Head nodded his head, "Since that is the case, go ahead!" "All of you may leave now!" The daoists kowtowed before leaving the hall one by one. Only the Sect Head stayed behind to ponder as he looked at the rising smoke from the incense and its quivering me. ... "What?" he news spread around fast and not before long, Fang Yuan, who was in Qi Lake, caught wind of it too. "I can¡¯t believe it! I really can¡¯t believe the demons were so daring to ambush the hidden dragon." Fang Yuan mumbled to himself. From his source of intelligence, although Baili Xuandu¡¯s army was wiped out, the demons suffered great losses as well. After all, Baili Xuandu was a powerful military governor; he had numerous talented people under him. Moreover, he had the support of his dragon energy. After the bloody battle, the Demonic Beast Swarm was severely desecrated too. Apparently, outside Da Chu¡¯s capital, there was a mountain tall pile of corpses. It was an utterly revolting mixture of humans¡¯ and beasts¡¯ corpses and carcasses. "This Xu Ting is really lucky. Perhaps his fate energy has greatly increased since he received the support from the Golden Court Dragon God and me?" Fang Yuan stroked his chin. Upon hearing the news, Xu Ting immediately gave up on reorganising his troops. He promptly led his troops towards Qi Lake. At that moment, the numerous military upied towns were in chaos after they lost their leader. They either surrendered or were conquered instantly. In just a short period, Xu Ting upied more than ten prefectures in the vicinity of An River and Qi Lake; he had already upied half the country! "If he can stop the demons from interfering and conquer the capital, he would naturally be able to rule the entire Da Chu thereafter!" The fight for Da Chu was getting clearer. Inside Da Chu, there was no doubt that Xu family was the strongest force to be reckoned with. Moreover, they were even stronger than the imperial family. Furthermore, Da Qi and Da Liang were in internal chaos too. If Xu Ting could unite and rule Da Chu, he could even unite the countries under his rule! "Hence, Xu Ting would be the number one hated target amongst all demons... this would spell trouble for him..." Fang Yuan shook his head and looked towards a direction as he pondered. After a moment, he cast a magical form and a water mirror appeared. "A group of daoist has just joined Xu Ting, looks like they are from Xuan Zhen Sect... How did I not know that there were so many cultivators in this realm?" As the Qi Lake Dragon God, he could understand the situation of the nearby prefectures. As he saw such a scene, he felt solemn. The reason humans were rising was not only because they were favoured by the heavenly trend, they had also surpassed a certain threshold. Thus, talented people and heroes could continually emerge amongst the humans. At that moment, Xu Ting was only left with bing the ruler of the entire Da Chu. Thus, he had the support of many people which made him even more powerful! Rome was not built in a day! Every contribution mattered! Once Xu Ting had the support of millions of people, even the Divine Demon Queen would be rather fearful of his force! "Since his soldiers were severely fatigued from the battles this year, he must strike next year!" Fang Yuan contemted, "Xu Ting has two ways to achieve a breakthrough. One is the capital of Da Chu, the other is to continue conquering the remaining military upied towns... this is all clear!" Xu family¡¯s strength was already sufficient to officially rule the entire Da Chu. "At such a stage, I guess some people can only be forced to invest more?" Fang Yuan looked towards the water mirror with a sly smile. ... At that moment, Xu Ting was in in clothes and was hiking with a few of his confidants. "Qiwei Prefecture is the core of the 5 prefectures near Qi Lake. Since Golden Court Lake is too far from here, Father has already prepared to move his office here. He will personally officiate this prefecture and monitor the frontlines..." They felt rxed as they hiked higher up the mountains. Xu Ting casually mentioned, "During the spring of next year, after we finish reorganising the troops, we definitely mustunch our attacks and rapidly unite Da Chu." "Just that... there is still an issue!" He raised his eyebrows and continued, "Although my father is the Glorious Grandmaster, such a title is still a ministerial position! A minister as a head of state, that is not appropriate!" "You are right, General, it is time to promote his title!" The confidants immediately chimed in. To be the ruler of a country was an opportunity many wanted. Furthermore, since Xu Ting already nned to attack the capital, the title of ¡¯Minister¡¯ was really not apt. "The Glorious Grandmaster¡¯s hard work allowed us to upy half the country! Promoting his title to King would be very suitable!" one of his followers suggested. Realistically, with thends he had upied, the title of Emperor would be too forced. "King?" Xu Ting was moved at once. Nearby, as daoist Qing Xuan watched the scene, he was reminded of his Sect Head. "Xuan Zhen Sect suffered losses after losses and our progress has been severely hindered... Now, the elders do not even mind utilising our sect¡¯s rare treasures to tide this through! This is not for our sect but for the heavenly trend!" Qing Xuan stood quietly as he waited for his chance. As they were tired from their hike, Xu Ting took a look at the sun and said, "Time to find a ce to rest! After lunch, we will head down the mountain!" "General!" Daoist Qing Xuan suddenly called out, "This peak is called King Sun¡¯s Mountain, we can visit the King Sun¡¯s Court up there to rest!" "Okay, let¡¯s go there!" Hearing such, Xu Ting was intrigued. Upon reaching the peak, there was indeed a small court. It was styled in a temple-like fashion, it was also rustic and elegant looking, while still retaining a sense of solemnity. In front of the court, there was a rock tablet. It introduced the life of King Sun and had a poem inscribed on it. "Although the temple has resided in this mountain for a long time, many have not heard of King Sun. He fought the rebels of Qi Lake, leaving behind his great legacy. A hero of the past enshrined in history, a name not known by many. Although new deeds could not be inscribed, respects could be paid." "So it¡¯s a temple for a king!" After Xu Ting thought for a moment, he ordered someone to pass him the incense. He then ceremoniously worshipped. This King Sun was the second prince of the previous dynasty. He was both schrly and skilled in martial arts. He had even led troops to suppress rebels in Qi Lake. After the eldest prince died, many supported him to be the crown prince. However, he was framed by others and ultimately did not be the emperor. He was only bestowed upon the title of King Sun and not long after, he mysteriously "drowned". Of course, Xu Ting did not trust what was written in the historical records. He felt a cold sweat as he thought, "The fight for the throne is deadly, even the descendants of emperors died fighting for the throne. What can I even be proud of at my current stage?" Xu Ting self-reflected as he prayed a few more times. "Eh?" Suddenly, the nearby Kong Luo¡¯s expression changed. He opened his spiritual eyes and saw streaks of fate energy gathering above the court and entering Xu Ting¡¯s head as he worshipped. It signified Xu Ting was meant to be a king! Chapter 316: Following the Trend Chapter 316: Following the Trend Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The 9th Year of Yong An, the First Day of the year. Xu Ren had arrived at Qiwei Prefecture. He had ordered for a Heavenly Temple to be built and had taken up the appointment of King, with the title of ¡¯Wu¡¯. He was now King Wu. On that night, there was a banquet and a ceremony to dere his wife as the Queen. Xu Ting was appointed the Head General and was in charge of military affairs. On the same day, one of the district leaders had presented a 5 Coloured Lingzhi, which was subsequently recorded in the books. On the 3rd Month, Xu Ting had officially led his troop of 10,000 soldiers to attack the capital city of Da Chu! Outside of the capital city, there were miles of charrednd and asionally, bones were seen lying around. It was a horrific sight to behold. Xu Ting whipped his horse as they advanced towards the capital city. Seeing that the city was just right before his eyes, he could not hold back but chuckle. "Baili Xuandu has returned to his own town and is no longer a threat! The priority now is to take down the capital city of Da Chu and make our upation official!" With almost half of Da Chu¡¯s territory in their hands, they had the freedom to choose which direction they would want to attack the capital city from. They could either strike the capital city of Da Chu, or attack from the Xinfeng Army. Based on Xu Ting¡¯s judgement, although Baili Xuandu had control over 6 prefectures in the north, they were but empty shells and was no threat. Therefore, he would choose to surround the royal capital. After all, the royal capital was where the headquarters were and therefore, he had to treat it seriously. Is Wang Xu in charge of the defence of the capital city of Da Chu? He is of the same ethnicity as Wang Qiao. Who would¡¯ve thought that he would be able to work with the Empress Dowager so closely!" Xu Ting rubbed his chin and recalled a few rumours that he had heard in the past. "There must be a reason for everything. The royal pce of Da Chu must be hiding some dirty secrets within!" "Pass down mymand, we shall set up our campsite here and officially invade the city tomorrow!" Thinking about it, he quickly passed down hismand. Although there were a few prefecture districts neighbouring the capital city of Da Chu, these districts were long destroyed and would surrender instantly if they were to set foot in them. It was an easy task to conquer those districts. At this point in time, his 10,000-soldier army were surrounding the capital city of Da Chu. With a strong backing, this invasion was much differentpared to that led by Baili Xuandu. They could afford to surround and contain the capital city and were not afraid to drag the invasion. With the heavenly trend in ce, they did not have to resort to using underhand means to sessfully invade the capital city. By dragging the invasion, it was advantageous for the Xu Family. This was because the way they had executed the invasion was slow but steady. It exemplified the true meaning of the art of war. "Yes Sir!" Without hesitation, the instruction was ryed and the campsite was set up promptly. Due to their past experience with demons, they had fortified and strengthened their tents and even had soldiers doing patrol duties. They would boil their water before consumption and were on their guards at all times. "Previously, the demons had suffered losses as well. Furthermore, I am not Baili Xuandu and I am in no hurry to take down the capital city. Therefore, it is unlikely that there would be any loopholes in our invasion for we are not hasty. The chances of us being attacked are minimal!" Even so, Xu Ting still sent out a troop of 500 cavalries to perform reconnaissance to make sure that the surroundings were clear of any threats. They were made to report to him every 6 hourly so that they could eliminate any potential threats. It was nightfall. There wasplete silence in the campsite. Not long after, the only light source was being put out. "Brother Golden Court, what do you feel about this army?" From afar, on a teau, Fang Yuan and Golden Court Dragon God had arrived. "They are steady like a mountain and are not hasty. They are well-disciplined too! An impressive troop!" Golden Court Dragon God shook before continuing. "Even you and I are affected by the energy given off by this army. Other demons would surely not dare to approach them!" "Not just this, but I have seen the energy given off by Xu Ting as well. He has a ring of auspicious energy around him and with the assistance of the water dragon¡¯s pearl, he is starting to reveal his dragon entity! He will be a king in the future! Inparison, his father¡¯s energy pales!" Fang Yuan replied. "Xuan Zhen Sect would throw in everything they have!" "This is where I am confused. After conquering the capital city of Da Chu, Xu Ting would be able to unify the entire Da Chu. By then, what should we do? Should we... leave before things get out of hand?" Golden Court Dragon God broke the silence. Hearing him, Fang Yuan nodded his head in agreement. This dragon god was indeed wise to be able to think of such a step. When the humans rule, everything else would have to give way for them. After the country is being rebuilt, the brave and courageous generals would have to be contained and nullified. Otherwise, any small trigger might cause a big trouble! It would be a disy of might, simr to how Zhu Yuanzhang killed the ministers who had worked hard. Although there were big changes everywhere, the basic principle of how things work would always remain the same! Furthermore, there was something more threatening to them! Ministers and generals would require the support of the government and they could be controlled. However, the few gods like them harness power in themselves! If the king could not control them, he would fear them even more! "With Xuan Zhen Sect sowing discord, we should really think about how to take our leave..." Fang Yuan did not rebut. Instead, he let out a coldugh. "Does Xuan Zhen Sect really think that they can expand their influence? Dream on! After clearing out demons and gods like us, the king would target the daoists next." "Mmm, as long as Xu Ting can sessfully invade the capital city of Da Chu, he would be credited for it. Even if we were to take our leave, it would not affect anything. Instead, we might benefit from it..." The Golden Court Dragon God nodded his head and replied. As a king, Xu Re would be able to gather dragon energy. They could not only cover up their weaknesses with the dragon energy, they might even strengthen themselves. "Mm... As demons and gods, we are ultimately not human. However, as long as we understand something, we can still survive!" Fang Yuan appeared serious as he continued. "The uprising of the humans is the heavenly trend. Humans with dragon energy would rise everywhere in the realm and Xu Ting is just one of them. Although many would pin their hopes on him, he is still not irreceable! We need to go with the flow, which is to simply eradicate the evil demons!" "As long as we can achieve that, we would have followed the heavenly trend. If the people dao¡¯s dragon energy decide to wipe us out, we can simply retaliate!" "You¡¯re right, young god!" Hearing Fang Yuan, the Golden Court Dragon God¡¯s heart wavered as though he had understood something important. Xu Ting was merely a pawn in the heavenly trend and was not representative of the entire people dao. As long as Fang Yuan and the Golden Court Dragon God follow the heavenly trend, nobody could do anything to them. Furthermore, they would be allowed to strike back if anyone were to touch them. After all, there would be no more problems once the humans rise up and the true dragons appear among the humans. "Therefore, this operation would be extremely crucial!" Fang Yuan continued. "Invading the capital city of Da Chu was initially a mere contest among the humans. However, if any demons were to get themselves involved in the invasion, then we will have to take action! Since we have brought along all our water dwellers with us, it is only a small matter if we have to sacrifice all of them. If the Divine Demon Queen were to stop us, we will still put up our best fight!" Although the soldiers in the dragon pces were only good in battles underwater, they could still hold their ground onnd; they would merely be a little weaker than they used to be. However, to Fang Yuan, none of this mattered. Instead, if the casualty rate of his water dwellers were high, the power of Qi Lake would be weakened. This would be aligned with the heavenly trend and therefore, there was nothing to be pity about! This was breaking things up into two steps. Firstly, he would continually do good deeds to gain heavenly dao karma. As for the people dao, as long as he did not oppose the heavenly trend, he would not be at risk of anything. After all, the heavens were cruel. No one could say for sure if the true dragon woulde from the Xu Family. Seeing how Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes were glistening, the Golden Court Dragon God shook. Being so decisive and meticulous as to deal with issues separately in terms of heavenly dao and people dao and having such a deep understanding of the people dao meant that there was no way they could fail! "With such a potential person among us demons, I have no worries!" The Golden Court Dragon God let out a sigh and released a signal. From a big river, troops of water dwellers appeared, forming a military formation. "Some of the Golden Court Army and An River Army have left behind to take care of theke and river. I have 12,000 of them reporting here today, and I¡¯ll let youmand them!!!" A golden glow appeared on the Golden Court Dragon God¡¯s hand and transformed into a dragon scale. With that, he passed the scale to Fang Yuan. "Do not worry. Just remember, we are here to attack the demons who are opposing the heavenly trend. We will not touch a single human regardless of the situation. I¡¯ll leave all those problems to Xu Ting!" Fang Yuan nced at the outline of the capital city andughed. "Let¡¯s go!" ... On the city walls of the capital city of Da Chu. The Divine Demon Queen was sitting atop the city walls, looking pitiful. However, the guards beside her were ignoring everything. It was weird. Upon closer look, the guards had a demonic glow in their eyes. As the torches illuminated their faces, ck streaks were seen on their faces. "Reporting, Queen!" A lieutenant walked up and paid his greetings. "All the soldiers who are willing to listen to yourmand have arrived! We have obtained more than half of the defences of the city!" He was indeed a powerful demon to be able to take up the form of a human! An independent powerful demon! Of course, with the Empress Dowager¡¯s assistance and the few demon spies around Wang Xu, it was possible to possess people in the royal pce. "Alright, this time, we shall make use of the city walls to destroy and wipe out Xu Ting¡¯s army. It would be even better if we can capture him!" The Divine Demon Queenmanded. "Yes, Ma¡¯am!" With a cunningugh, the lieutenant¡¯s eyes glistened. As soon as the demon lieutenant was dismissed, the Divine Demon Queen looked down at the sea of ck beneath the city walls and let out a sigh. The previous fight with Baili Xuandu had weakened the dragon energy, but her demons had suffered a high casualty rate. She had even lost some of her elite demons. Humans were able to reproduce and get their numbers up quickly. In a few years, a huge troop of soldiers were arriving once more. Furthermore, this time, there were many elite and capable people assisting the soldiers. Looking at her own demons, she realised thatparatively, her demons reproduce slower. Even if she were to multiply their numbers by 10 or even 100, she would still lose out in terms of numbers! "For the demons, I¡¯ll have to make do!" "The good thing is that I have received news that we have located a few inds far from here. These inds have an abundance of spiritual energy. I have already instructed the weaker demons to relocate there. With this, I can at least preserve some of our species..." The Divine Demon Queen looked towards the direction of Xu Ting¡¯s campsite and gave a cunningugh. "Even if I have to sacrifice all my demons, I must ensure that I destroy the people dao¡¯s dragon energypletely and ensure that chaos will break out for the next hundred years toe!" She had made up her mind. "Kill!" At this point in time, there were shoutings and warcries. The Divine Demon Queen turned pale. "Jerk, traitors!" Beneath the city walls, 20,000 water dwellers formed neat rows. Witnessing this, the Divine Demon Queen was enraged. She had initially nned to sacrifice all her demons to destroy the people dao¡¯s dragon energy and create chaos. However, if she were to start a war with the water dwellers, regardless of who would win the war, it was their own internal conflict and the humans would be the one who would benefit from their own conflict! "Roar! Roar!" Amidst dragon roars, the silhouette of two water dragons appeared. Fang Yuan transformed into a man with a crown. Together with the Golden Court Dragon God, they looked towards the city walls. "Qi Lake Dragon God, as a dragon, you are an asset to the demons. Why do you want to seek refuge with the humans?" The Divine Demon Queen had already lost all hope for the Golden Court Dragon God. Looking at Fang Yuan, she was in disbelief. "Since this is the heavenly trend, how can I oppose it?" Fang Yuan waved his hands. "This conversation is meaningless! Attack the city!" Chapter 317: Vicissitudes Chapter 317: Vicissitudes Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Zhang Han[1] was originally an unemployed young adult who loafed and idled around the capital of Da Chu. He came from a poor family and did not amount to much after he grew up, thus, he relied on shady acts for survival. However, these few years, life in the capital became worse. The capital became emptier and he lost his livelihood. Coincidentally, the imperial army was recruiting and had very low requirements, hence, Zhang Han enlisted. Zhang Han was doing guard duty at night. "Recently, many of the lieutenants and generals have changed...Their eyes have a green glow, so creepy looking!" The cold wind blew and Zhang Han still felt extremely chilly despite wearing his coat. As he shivered in the cold, he thought of thedies in Chunfeng Brothel. "Charge!" Suddenly, shouts could be heard outside the city gates. Zhang Han came out of his trance and was rmed by the noises. "There are rebels attacking our city, quickly defend!" Under the lieutenant¡¯smand, Zhang Han wielded his spear and rushed to the city gates. His hands were trembling in fear. After he climbed up the city walls and looked down, he was utterly panic-stricken. From the light of the mes, silhouettes of those below could be discerned. However, they were definitely not humans, each of them was oddly shaped and fully armoured. Some of them even had huge pincers as hands and were extremely vicious looking. "What are you all waiting for? Kill them!" The lieutenant hollered and a rain of arrows hit the crustacean soldiers¡¯ bodies. However, they were useless as only small sparks could be seen when the arrows bounced off their armour. "The bow is useless, we have to use crossbows, logs and huge rocks!" "Boom!" Huge rocks were thrown from the tall city walls and blood sttered everywhere when these rocksnded. Even though the crustacean army had scale armours, they could not withstand the logs and rocks crushing them. "These... these are not humans, they are demons! I quit!" Beside Zhang Han, a soldier was terrified by the scene and attempted to escape. "Splurt!" Blood spewed everywhere as Zhang Han¡¯s lieutenant smiled ferociously. With just a sh of his knife, the soldier¡¯s head rolled onto the ground. "Those who try to escape will be killed immediately!" The lieutenant licked the blood off his knife with enjoyment as he appeared extremely satisfied. The green glow in his eyes sparkled as he furthermanded, "What are you waiting for? Continue!" "Yes, Sir!" Zhang Han immediately turned his head away as the scene reminded him of the hungry wolf he had seen before when he was young. The look on the lieutenant¡¯s eyes was exactly the same as that wolf¡¯s, it was sly and savage looking. "Kill them all!" If the 20,000 strong troops were humans, they would have all died when they attacked the city at night. However, this time around, it was different. The ones attacking were the water dwellers. With the support of the two Dragon Gods, the water dwellers bravely rushed forward against the raining arrows and logs. Their hands turned into giant pincers or sharp ws as they arrived at the bottom of the city walls and began climbing up. "Kill!" One of the crab generals reached the top of the walls and began hammering the wall with his huge pincers. Momentster, part of the wall crumbled and made way for the water dwellers. The water dwellers immediately rushed forward. "Die!" The lieutenant lunged forward and a ck glow appeared on his knife, "Demon Wolf Technique, Moon Sword Flurry!" "Swoosh!" The knife was as radiant and as sharp as a waxing moon as it sliced the crab general. Arge gap appeared on the crab general¡¯s chest at once, tons of blood gushed out and he copsed onto the floor, revealing his original form which was a tiny crab. "Hahaha!" The lieutenant¡¯s eyes turned red from savagery as he howled to the moon. ck fur grew out from his face like an evil wolf. "I¡¯m right, a demon!" Zhang Han¡¯s limbs turned weak. As he looked around, he saw many of them savagely howling. They transformed into dholes, wolves, tigers and leopards and fought against the crustacean army. As he watched the bizarre and motley beasts fought, he thought he was dreaming. "Ah... haha, that¡¯s right, I must be dreaming!" Even though Zhang Han had seen before the Demonic Beast Swarm that fought against Baili Xuandu¡¯s troops, he began tough crazily. Zhang Han then threw his spear onto the ground and walked around aimlessly. Suddenly, a strong man with tiger stripes pounced on him and sank its teeth into his neck. Blood spewed everywhere! ... While the capital was in chaos, Fang Yuan remained leisurely. "There are indeed demons in the capital, but how many demons can the Queen possibly gather? 3,000? 5,000? We have 20,000 water dwellers, even if all of them were killed, it is not a pity!" At that moment, many of the crustacean soldiers were severely injured or had died already. While the Golden Court Dragon God was worried, Fang Yuan wasughing beside him. "What a cold-blooded and heartless young Dragon God!" The Divine Demon Queen remained silent as she watched the events unfold. Although she had powerful abilities, her elemental energy had been severely weakened as she had gone against the heavenly trend. Furthermore, she could not stand a chance against the two Dragon Gods. "I will remember what happened today! Just you wait!" Momentster, as she saw more demons were being killed, she could not bear it anymore, she finally let out a sharp shrill. The demons were rmed by the shrill and immediately transformed into ck vapour as they retreated. "Heh! The pettiness of women!" Fang Yuan smirked as he saw such. If a general could not view the soldiers under him as expendables and became irresolute during the key moment, he had failed as a general. However, perhaps it was because demons were the ones dying in the brawl, there was no other choice for the Divine Demon Queen. Nevertheless, Fang Yuan would not let this opportunity slip. On one side, they had numerous considerations. Whereas, on the other side, they had none. Thus, this showed that victory was already established from the start. "Send down mymand, chase after and kill all the remaining demons! Leave the humans alone and just chase them away will do!" "Boom!" As the demons retreated, the defences on the city wall fell immediately. A few crab general pushed open the city gates and a huge amount of water dwellers easily swarmed in. The night in the capital would definitely not be peaceful. The ruckus near the city walls was loud, lots of soldiers entered the city. They began searching for the demons and small brawls erupted everywhere. asionally, some of the bold and daring families peeked from their windows and saw some odd sights. For example, tigers and leopards could be seen dashing away as ck vapour shrouded them. Many water dwellers were marching on the streets. It was a truly bizarre sight to behold, a sight that one might not even be able to dream of. There were schrs who immediately recorded, "King Wu¡¯s army attacked the capital at night, the capital descended into chaos. Spirits and ghosts paraded the city walls... themoners dare not leave their house. During midnight, they came into the streets, their presence was vivid, their smell was strong! Fishes, prawns, tigers and leopards could be seen!" "You... are so vicious!" The Divine Demon Queen was devastated at such and she almost retched up a stream of blood. "Wipe out the enemy cleanly, leave no chance for them, the heavenly trend cannot be resisted, such are the vicissitudes of life!" Fang Yuan thought of a poem. Fang Yuan decisively hollered as a beam of lightning appeared on his hand, "Divine Demon Queen! As you went against the heavenly trend, you must be punished!" "Kaboom!" Thunder could be heard as a sh of lightning cut across the sky. Arge amount of electrifying lightning immediately surrounded the Divine Demon Queen. They then transformed into a sword and pierced towards her at the speed of light. "Poof!" Just when the lightning pierced her, it was as though it had pierced a soap bubble. The silhouette of the Divine Demon Queen burst and disappeared without a trace. "An illusion?" Fang Yuan thought to himself, "After I have spent so much effort preparing for this opportunity, she managed to hide! This demon¡¯s cultivation is unpredictably strong!" "The heavenly trend cannot be resisted, such is the vicissitudes of life..." the Golden Court Dragon God mumbled beside Fang Yuan. After a while, the Golden Court Dragon God then added, "You should know better!" Fang Yuan did not hesitate and rushed towards the imperial pce. Da Chu Imperial Pce. "Ahhhh!" The young emperor woke up from his nightmare and shouted, "Grandma! Grandma!" "What¡¯s wrong, my grandson?" At that moment, it was as though the entire pce was empty, the curtains swayed and evoked a sense of uneasiness. The shadow of ady donned in a crown appeared and slowly walked into the pce hall. It was the fox demon transformed as the Empress Dowager. "Greetings, Empress Dowager!" The young emperor stood up and paid respects. He was only around 6 to 7 years old, his supple little lips were red and his teeth was wlessly white. He was extremely cute and lovable. "Ah... my grandson..." The Empress Dowager went forward and carried the young emperor. Her eyes turned teary as she said, "We are not rted by blood, and yet I feel so close to you after spending time with you. I have never felt this way before, even with the previous two emperors!" The young emperor kept quiet as he sensed what the Empress Dowager said was very important. "Sigh... although I was instructed to wreak the imperial pcepletely... I can¡¯t bear to do so!" The Empress Dowager caressed the young emperor¡¯s cheeks as she continued with mixed emotions, "Being so close to a human... is a sin, sigh... my innocent child! I have already killed and sinned so many times, I really don¡¯t wish to sin again!" "Empress Dowager, what¡¯s wrong? Don¡¯t scare me..." The young emperor was frightened and started crying. He immediately screamed for help. Outside the pce hall, it was totally silent. There was not a single soul. "Krong! Kong!" Suddenly, the dignified noise of a dragon could be heard. "Sigh..." The Empress Dowager could only give a cold smile as hugged the young emperor, "My baby, you must depend on yourself from now on!" "Empress Dowager?" After they hugged, the young emperor called her softly. However, there was no response. He pushed her away slightly and her whole body fell over. Her body was stiff and she had passed away! Beside the Empress Dowager¡¯s corpse, a white glow emerged and transformed into a white-coloured fox. The fox turned back and look, its eyes were filled with emotions. Suddenly, a sh of lightning struck through the pce hall. The white fox immediately copsed onto the floor, its fur was burnt and it had evidently died. "Ahhhh!!!" The young emperor¡¯s eyes turned white and fainted. ... Fifth Month, 9th year of Yong An. Xu Ting led his troops and surrounded the capital. On the second day, hundreds of officials in the capital urged the emperor to surrender! It was a new page in the official historical records. As for other bizarre events, it was only detailed in non-official records of history, it was barely mentioned in the official historical records. In the Sixth Month, Xu Ren moved his imperial court to the capital to prepare for the abdication. In the Seventh Month, due to uncertain causes, Xu Ren suddenly fell very ill. Three dayster, he passed away. Xu Ting then seeded the position of king. In the Twelfth Month, the young emperor was forced to abdicate. Xu Ting seeded the throne and formed the Wu Country. He honoured thete Xu Ren as the founding father of the empire and rewarded his officials and generals. He continued to bolster his troops in preparation to conquer the northern part of Da Chu and thus, defeat thest military upied town of Da Chu. Hence, he would rule the entire Da Chu and step closer to ruling the world. [1] This "Zhang Han¡¯ is a different person from the one who appeared in Chapter 288. Chapter 318: Fall Out Chapter 318: Fall Out Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The Year of Hong Wu. The previous capital city of Da Chu had now been renamed to Wu Xing. Although they had a lot of rebuilding to do, the city was after all a royal capital. With their new Emperor, the lively atmosphere was restored and more and more people came to the city and roamed the streets. In the royal pce. The original young Emperor was casually given an appointment of a lord and could no longer remain in the pce. He was relocated to a specific holding in the pce and would spend the rest of his life there. In the royal garden, Li Luan stared at a plum blossom quietly. With the ession of Xu Ting, Li Luan was given the title of a spiritual concubine. She was ranked after the Queen and the Royal Concubine, but her servants wereparable to those serving the Royal Concubine. Therefore, the treatment which she received was still rather good. What shocked her was the fact that Xu Ting had be apletely different man after the passing of his father, Xu Ren. Although he was still courageous and brave, he became increasingly unpredictable. "Lady!" A eunuch rushed towards her in baby steps. "Previously, the Emperor had agreed to apany you to enjoy the plum blossoms, but now that he is in a bad mood, he will not being!" "I¡¯ll respect that decision!" Li Luan bowed before signalling to a servant. The servant brought over a piece of gold ingot. Such a heavy ingot made the eunuch grin from ear to ear. In such a big pce, everyone had to fight for their own survival and to survive, they had to earn gold or silver. Although Li Luan felt sorrowful inside, she did not disy her emotions. "What is affecting the Emperor¡¯s mood?" The eunuch thought for a while. After all, it was no secret. Without further hesitation, he answered. "I did not get the full story, but it seems like the messenger who was sent to convince the Xinfeng Army to surrender has returned..." "Baili Xuandu only has 6 prefectures under him. How dare he go against us, with more than half of the country in our possession?" Li Luan was shocked but did not probe further; the eunuch could not possibly know more. "There¡¯s nothing else!" After dismissing the eunuch, there was a look of worry on Li Luan¡¯s face. Indeed, not long after, more news came in. The military governor of the Xinfeng Army, Baili Xuandu, had rejected the offer to surrender. Instead, he had directly contacted the stronger districts in Qi Country and Liang Country [1] with the intention to borrow their troops! Of course, this had angered Xu Ting. He had decided to muster is 10,000 soldiers to settle this once and for all! This would be the final war for Wu Country! "Although there is chaos in Qi Country and Liang Country, if they were to unite with the Xinfeng Army, they would be a force to be reckoned with... I should advise the Emperor!" Li Luan had a solemn look on her face as she mumbled to herself. However, Xu Ting was the reason why the other countries could possibly unite! He had enlisted in his small prefecture when he was 10. But now, he was only in his 20s and yet, he had already managed to establish Wu Country! No one in history could match up to his achievements! If they did notbine forces, this person would take over the entire world! With thismon objective, they were easily swayed by Baili Xuandu¡¯s words. In addition, they might have been affected by demons casting spells on them. Thinking about demons, Li Luan appeared down. Although she was the concubine of the Emperor, there were many restrictions and therefore, she felt more restrained than she was before. She could only dream of looking for the two dragon gods to discuss their ns. "In history, demons only appear when the country is weakened! Now, Wu Country is prospering with the auspicious vibes. With the assistance from the powerful daoists from Xuan Zhen Sect, there are restrictions everywhere in the royal pce. All dao techniques are banned and I am not even allowed to send a letter. The dragon gods would naturally not risk their lives toe here..." Deep in her thoughts, Li Luan took out a squarish napkin and wrote a few lines of words before handing it over to a servant. "Leave the pce and throw this in any river will do!" "Yes Ma¡¯am!" The servant respectfully took her leave. Looking at her back view, Li Luan felt uneasy. ... In the royal study. Xu Ting now had a moustache and an awe-inspiring look. He looked different than he was before. At this point in time, in the study, there were a few other daoist talking. "... Therefore, the uprising of the humans is just merely part of the heavenly trend. Emperor, by following the heavenly trend, you can start a new empire!" "Are the demons really experiencing a downfall?" Xu Ting was hesitant. After all, he could only achieve all that he had through the help of demons. This exined his hesitation and scepticism. Seeing this, the head of Xuan Zhen Sect continued. "Daoist are still human. We are still passionate and loyal. However, we must always be on guard against the cunning schemes of the demons..." Although the demons had invested fate energy on Xu Ting, the increasingly concentrated people dao¡¯s dragon energy had be more prominent. Together with the energy from Emperor Sun, Xu Ting was confident. Now, he wanted to end the source of all his power! "Let me think about it..." Xu Ting was still indecisive. The head of Xuan Zhen Sect saw this, and his eyes glistened. He only approached the Emperor because he had the confidence to convince him and the fact that the Divine Predictor Elder had nned everything out for him. "Emperor!" At this point in time, a guard requested to see the Emperor as he presented a squarish napkin. Seeing it, Xu Ting¡¯s face was filled with anger. "What audacity! How dare she spy on our secrets and help the outsiders! Dragon gods indeed, demons indeed!" The sect head of Xuan Zhen Sect could not help butugh inside. He knew that the spiritual concubine might not have any ulterior motives for delivering the letter, but even so, it was a fact that she wasmunicating and colluding with outsiders! Furthermore, she wasmunicating with a dragon god! This was even more severe. After all, the previous country, Da Chu, was a prime example of how things could go wrong. "Pass down mymand..." Xu Ting paced. After a while, he calmly gave hismand. "By infringing the rules of the pce, the spiritual concubine will now be demoted to be a servant. Relocate her to Chunnuan Court so that she can reflect on her wrongdoings!" This was, in fact, throwing her into istion. The sect head of Xuan Zhen Sect was secretly ted upon hearing this news. "Also... Instruct those that are constructing dragon temples across the prefecture to stop their construction. Xuan Zhen, you shall be the messenger. I want the Qi Lake Dragon God and the Golden Court Dragon God to start eradicating all the evil gods and demons!" Through advice from the daoist, Xu Ting now knew that in order to deal with the gods, he had to first curb the faith towards these gods. Furthermore, as Emperor, he had the protection of Emperor energy and it would be extremely hard to harm him. Therefore, he had nothing to fear. "Yes... Yes, Emperor!" Xuan Zhen [2] kneeled down and was overjoyed. In his consciousness, he could see the silhouette of Kong Luo shing by. This daoist was already submissive. He could take the Green Qiu Sword back after forcing the dragon gods into submission. ... The Fourth Month of the Year of Hong Wu. Xu Ting had mustered his 10,000-strong troop and was advancing towards Xinfeng Army. Baili Xuandu could only hastily defend. Even if he were to receive aid from Qi Country and Liang Country, his mental instability would mean that he could not mount a proper defence. At most, he could only gather 50,000 to defend with all their might. At the same time, the sect head of Xuan Zhen Sect had led a group of elite elders and had arrived at Qi Lake. "We must take revenge for ourte elders!" As the few elder daoists gathered, their eyes burned with rage as they red at the imperial decree on Xuan Zhen¡¯s hands. The decree was 3 inches long and 1 inch wide. It was a pure yellow and there were dragon engravings on the scroll of the decree. Around there dragons were decorative clouds, giving the decree a majestic vibe from a dragon. "We are tasked by the Emperor to do this and therefore will be strengthened by the blessings of the Imperial Court. The soldiers of the Qi Lake are severely injured from the previous battle, so this is our chance!" Divine Predictor Elder stroked his beard. "I have already shielded us from the detection of the two dragon gods. This is the time to strike!" "Alright! Let us reduce him to ashes!" The few elders exchanged nces with a look of hatred on their faces. "Reduce them to ashes? That¡¯s too good of a deal for them. We need to make them agree to be our servants for the next thousand years toe before we shall kill them to eat and make use of..." "Let¡¯s go!" The few daoists transformed into streaks of light and disappeared from the surface of theke. ... Fang Yuan could not detect anything. At this point in time, he was looking at the big turtle ahead of him and was speechless. "Even though my water soldiers are dead, I am still the Qi Lake Dragon God, an official one nheless... How dare you guys go against me?" There were numerous living things in Qi Lake and there were about 20,000 of them worthy to be regarded as demons! Among the 20,000, half of them were working in the dragon pce. The other half were lone demons who would not submit to the dragon god. Seeing that the dragon god¡¯s water soldiers were wiped out, these lone demons came out to cause trouble and were vying for the position of water god as well! Seeing this, Fang Yuan was speechless but secretly, he was ecstatic. This was the perfect excuse for him to wipe out those who were unwilling to submit to him! There were too many demons in Qi Lake. Even if he were to kill 8,000 of them, there would be 10,000 remaining. Therefore, he could afford to go on a killing spree. At least, he would have to kill the leader of the rebellious group of demons. "You... the heavens are blind!" The turtle retracted its head and 4 limbs as a voice travelled from the shell. "As the dragon god, why are you helping the humans and sacrificing 8,000 of our demons on the battlefield? Do you think you are worthy of the position?" "Keke... Is this the reason for your rebellion?" Fang Yuan appeared calm as the Sundering Thunder Sword appeared in his hands. "Will you ever understand the reasons behind my actions?" The battle at the capital city resulted in 20,000 water dwellers being killed. However, amidst all the bloodshed, he had gained huge amounts of karma. With recognition from the heavens, he could undoubtedly continue to be the dragon god! The rebellion of the water dwellers only gave him a reason to continue his killing of evil demons. As soon as he swung his sword out, a streak of lightning struck through the shell. There was a shrieking from inside the shell and a sh which disappeared immediately. "To think about it, all of these is enough..." After killing them, Fang Yuan looked at the glow above him and smiled. However, his expression quickly changed. "However... It is worrying as to what is happening to Xu Ting!" He had progressed too quickly. He should have experienced another setback, but that has yet to actualise. This must be due to the fact that he had the protection of the dragon energy! To those who invest fate energy in him, it was a depressing thing. "Does he really think that the whole world is his just because he is an emperor of a mere country?" Fang Yuan snickered. "I need to let you experience retribution so that you¡¯ll understand my power!" As his spiritual will shook, he became a streak of light and arrived at thekeside. A few daoists were standing in a group with scheming looks on their faces. One of them suddenly raised the imperial decree towards the sky and shouted. "This is themand of the Emperor. Qi Lake Dragon God, kneel down before the decree!" As soon as he spoke, all of them could feel a huge pressure and an unbelievable might. This was the power of dragon energy, harnessed from half of the entire territory of Da Chu and the citizens living in it! [1]: Qi Country and Liang Country were previously mentioned as Da Qi and Da Liang. [2]: Xuan Zhen is the sect head of Xuan Zhen Sect Chapter 319: Retribution Chapter 319: Retribution Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "The emperor decrees, "As the emperor, allnds are mine and everyone is under me! As spirits, you should respect the dragon energy! Hence, I speciallymand both of you, Qi Lake Dragon God and Golden Court Dragon God, to immediately assist Xuan Zhen Sect to banish the evil gods¡¯ temples!" The head of Xuan Zhen Sect looked at Fang Yuan and read the imperial decree out loud. He raised the decree and smirked at Fang Yuan, "So how... are you going to oppose the decree?" "He thinks I am a tool? He wants me to clear the evil gods and the demons but doesn¡¯t provide any returns for me? Furthermore, he wants me to submit under Xuan Zhen Sect, does he thinks I am a fool?" Fang Yuan thought. Fang Yuan could not contain hisughter after hearing such and guffawed out loud. "How dare you disobey the imperial decree! Die!" Xuan Zhen and his daoists immediately hollered. "Roar!" The roar of a dragon could be vaguely heard. Streaks of green and violet energy gathered in the imperial decree and formed the shape of a golden green dragon. Its might was daunting. It was the people dao true dragon energy, it could overpower all kinds of power! Such an energy even made Fang Yuan¡¯s god dao divine light dimmed a little. "Cast arrays!" Xuan Zhen and his daoists were allowed to cast their arrays as the ban was lifted. Their power was uninhibited and they formed an array surrounding Fang Yuan, trapping him inside. "Humans will rise as per the heavenly trend while demons will fall! Demon, you shall be suppressed!" The elderly daoist was very solemn. He then loudly chanted, "The 33rd head of Xuan Zhen Sect invites the fate energy of our rare treasures and ancestors to assist!" "Woong, woooong!" After a sh of ck light, a small stone pagoda appeared on his right palm. The pagoda had sevenyers, it was carved from ck stones and delicately designed. Each side of the pagoda shined mysteriously and was inscribed with runes. It could suppress fate energy! "Demon Suppressing Pagoda?" Fang Yuan drooped his eyelids, "You all have even brought out this item! Aren¡¯t you all afraid your sect¡¯s foundation will be damaged and your sect will then perish?" That item was Xuan Zhen Sect¡¯s secret weapon, it was a rare treasure that could suppress fate energy! The moment they brought out this item, it meant that they were willing to use their all for Fang Yuan to die. "We are boosted by the dragon energy and the Demon Suppressing Pagoda, which are alsoplemented by the 4 Emblems Spirit Locking Array! Whereas, you have gone against the orders and lost your crustacean army, you have no chance of defeating us!" The Divine Predictor Elder sneered, "Iste! Seal off! Start!" Xuan Zhen immediately threw the Demon Suppressing Pagoda. The Demon Suppressing Pagoda magnified when it reached the peak of the array. It radiated brightly from all sides, streaks of light formed into chains and entered the array as it went for Fang Yuan. "Oh!" Fang Yuan¡¯s body quivered for a moment. Inside the array, he felt his energy from Qi Lake was isted away. The dragon energy suppressed his divine position, the Demon Suppressing Pagoda targeted its body, while the 4 Emblems Spirit Locking Array sealed off his heavenly energy and energy from Qi Lake! "Should I inflict retribution?" Fang Yuan mumbled to himself; he had a greater understanding of fate energy. People dao were strong on their own and self-reliant, whatever Fang Yuan did previously was a form of support! However, once he crossed a threshold, he would immediately be attacked! Of course, such a predicament was also due to Xu Ting¡¯s character and Xuan Zhen Sect¡¯s influence. However, these were already trifle reasons. Nevertheless, as he kept to the baseline and nned beforehand, he would not suffer great losses! He might even survive! "But... how can I make this the way I want it to be!" Fang Yuan thought. With such a thought, his gaze turned piercingly cold, "I will not use this opportunity to save my life, I will fully use it to inflict retribution! Anyway, my main reason foring to this realm this time was to reap as much as I can, why should I care about what happens afterwards!" "Quickly!" Although the Divine Predictor Elder and the head of Xuan Zhen Sect did not know what the Dragon God was thinking of, they felt uneasy and hollered to hurry up. "Haha... it¡¯s toote!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes burnt like fire and green energy from his head formed into a beam of clear light, causing the array to falter as the beam seeped out. He sent amand through it, "Fate energy, return! Quick!" "Kaboom!" Suddenly, the sky darkened. Lightning shed and thunder roared! ... Xinfeng Prefecture. Xinfeng Prefecture was Baili Xuandu¡¯s hometown. At that moment, Xu Ting¡¯s 10,000-strong army stormed into the prefecture. Numerous district towns surrendered before the battle even started, their power was fearsome. Inside a tent at the military camp. "Your Majesty, two more districts have surrendered to us!" "Your Majesty, numerous generals in Xinfeng Army have secretly contacted me! They are willing to surrender! ... Good news kepting up continuously, however, that was normal as Wu Country held the biggest power. As Baili Xuan still stubbornly held on to six remote prefectures, he slowly lost his followers. "Great! With this two prefectures conquered, the capital of Xinfeng Prefecture would be a piece of cake!" Xu Ting was overjoyed. The capital was Baili Xuandu¡¯s nucleus area, the moment it was conquered, Baili Xuandu would have no chance of rising back to power. "Pass down mymand... reward the whole army with meat! With the soldiers full, our strength is even greater and we will annihte Xinfeng army!" "Very wise, your Majesty!" The officials below greatly respected Xu Ting and were ted, they worshipped him at once. "Kill them!" Suddenly, the trotting noise of a horse and shouts could be heard from the northwestern side of the military camp. "Reporting!" One of the bodyguards quickly reported, "2,000 cavalry soldiers were spotted 3 miles outside the military camp! They seem to be charging towards us!" "2,000 cavalry soldiers? That¡¯s almost Baili Xuandu¡¯s entire strength!" The officials were astonished. However, Xu Ting remained still andmanded, "This Baili Xuandu loves to employ sly tricks, however..... the good always triumphs over the evil! Send down mymand, each battalion stay at where they are and prepare for battle! Anyone who steps out of the military camp will be killed, regardless if he is a general or a soldier!" "Also, disarm and detain all the newly surrendered soldiers, in case they were pretending to surrender!" "Yes, your Majesty!" After Xu Ting¡¯smands were ryed, the whole military camp became quiet. Some of the battalions that had somemotion calmed down at once. "Very wise, your Majesty!" Some of the generals were very convinced and immediately went out to deploy the defences. Such an attack was meant to confuse the unprepared troops. However, now that the 10,000 men strong army was not reacting, the 2,000 men strong cavalry could at most attack a few tents before their whole cavalry would be annihted. Unless another few tens of thousands of cavalry soldiers came over, there stood no chance of defeating this securely defended military camp. They were basically courting death. To Xu Ting, Baili Xuandu was his wit¡¯s end, it was his desperatest attempt. "Your Highness, look..." On a hill outside the military camp, the Divine Demon Queen looked at the scene with a few of her foxes. After the camp was on guard, they saw the 2,000 men strong cavalry let out a roar and charged forward fearlessly instead of retreating. "Baili Xuandu had already lost his dragon energy, this is hisst attempt! If it doesn¡¯t seed, he will die for his cause!" The Divine Demon Queen¡¯s face turned grim and said, "I will cast an array and use the 10,000 Demon Blood Sacrifice to obtain the help!" "Your Highness!" The demons were absolutely dismayed. The 10,000 Demon Blood Sacrifice spell was a taboo amongst demons, it could not be frivolously used. The user would definitely suffer from severe rebound and retribution, with the Divine Demon Queen¡¯s current health, she would definitely die! "I am not doing it to help the humans, but for the demons!" The Divine Demon Queen sighed and continued, "Us demons are experiencing a downfall; I am finally clear of the heavenly trend. The rise of humans cannot be stopped, whatever we have done merely added fuel to the fire... the heavens makes a fool out of demons!" As she lectured, her expression turned even more sorrowful, "But, I rather suffer beyond redemption than let the humans have an easy life... This Xu Ting has one of the strongest dragon energy amongst the humans, if he is defeated, the chaos would continue at least ten years. This will give enough time for us demons to survive and relocate far away! I have already decided, say no more!" "Your Highness!" Numerous demons wailed bitterly. The Divine Demon Queen¡¯s face was expressionless, she cast an array and sprinkled some of her vital blood on it. "I have already collected the resentment of 10,000 demons from Chu Country¡¯s capital, now I just need a lead... which is me! After this battle, whether victory or defeat, you all shall quickly retreat. Bring the young ones and escape to a farawaynd..." She sighed and stepped into the array. ming! Immediately, blood red mes mixed with horrifying streaks of ck vapour soared and engulfed the Divine Demon Queen. Under the cries of the many demons, a blood red beam of light shot up the sky. In an instant, dark clouds loomed and a raging tempest brewed. "Huuuuuuu! Hruuuuuuuu!" The strong gale howled and swept along sands and stones. The wind was blowing from the northwest and brought along numerous dark clouds which covered the entire sky. Baili Xuandu was immediately delighted, "Heaven is helping me! Charge!" "Kill them all!" 2,000 cavalry soldiers charged into the military camp with a strong might and a massacre erupted. Whereas the opposing Wu army was blinded by the sandstorm and panic-stricken, they immediately fell apart! "Demonic Wind! Demonic Wind!" Inside the main tent, Xu Ting¡¯s face turned red and spat out blood as he saw the tempest. After he spat out that mouthful of blood, his heart felt empty at once. It was as though he had lost something of extreme importance. "Reporting! Baili Xuandu¡¯s army is aided by the raging tempest, our troops are in chaos!" "Reporting! The northern camp is falling, they seem to be calling for help! They are charging towards our main body of soldiers, General An Jie is currently trying to suppress them!" "Your Majesty..." One of his bodyguards came forward and asked, "Should the generals apany your Majesty to retreat?" "No way!¡¯ Xu Ting clenched his teeth, "I am the heart of this army, I will never retreat! We will be defeated once I retreat! Send down mymand, it is still the same, each battalion stays at where they are! Concentrate on fighting the opponents!" He thought clearly, even if they had the help of the Demonic Wind, his troops would at most be confounded for at most a while. Afterwards, they would be back to their usual form and be able to defeat the cavalry. However, Xu Ting had not realised, at the corner of the tent, Kong Luo kept his head down and was in an emotional turmoil. It seemed that he had activated a certain talisman. "I am not close to Xu Ting, once Xuan Zhen Sect returns to power, I will definitely be killed! Although I am not close to him anymore, he still puts me at his side, he is testing my loyalty! Now, let¡¯s see what Baili Xuandu can do!" Kong Luo thought. Kong Luo wiped his face with his sleeve, and it was as though his eyes burnt with fire. "Kill!" Suddenly, the shouts came closer and closer. It was as though the enemies had eyes that could see through, they were charging directly to the emperor¡¯s tent! "Impossible... how could they be so urate?" Xu Ting walked out of his tent. When he saw the shadows of the cavalry and the mes, he almost fell to the ground. Inside the military camp, all the tents were simr and it was like a maze. How could they easily recognise which tent Xu Ting was in? However, the enemies had aplished such! His stubbornness to leave was now a joke!!! Chapter 320: The Escape Chapter 320: The Escape Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The 2,000 elite soldiers troop went straight for his tent with the aid of the raging tempest. If Fang Yuan was here, he would surelyment. "This is like the Battle of Okehazama in Japan!" In the period of war in Japan, the Tokaidos¡¯ warrior Imagawa Yoshimoto led 45,000 soldiers to invade the Owari Province. The leader of Owari Province, Oda Nobunaga, only had 4,000 troops and was dealing with internal conflicts when the invasion began. At that time, Oda Nobunaga led his elite forces to the Battle of Okehazama and with the help of a storm, they managed to take Imagawa Yoshimoto¡¯s head amidst the chaos. From then on, the ruler of Tokaido, Imagawa Yoshimoto, disappeared from the face of the earth, giving Oda Nobunaga his reputation! In all of these, the most important event was taking the enemy leader¡¯s head! Comparing with history, they had simr elite troops, simr aid from nature and simrly, everythingid on Xu Ting. In the Battle of Okehazama, if Imagawa Yoshimoto did not die, then Oda Nobunaga would have worsened the situation. It was the same now! If Xu Ting could survive this counterattack, disregarding Wu Country¡¯s reserved army, he could simply make use of his 10,000-strong army here to wipe out Baili Xuandu andpany! "Emperor, quickly leave!" His personal guard, Xu Jian, shouted with haste. "I¡¯ll block them!" The remaining few guards ran out. However, in a short while, their cries could be heard. After a few slices, their body parts flew everywhere. Witnessing what just happened, Xu Ting was at a loss. Xu Jian was part of the Xu Family. He was always loyal and would willingly sacrifice himself to protect Xu Ting over the years. He had survived many wars and he thought that he would be enjoying his life after this final war. No one knew that he would die here. "Kill!" Seeing that the Emperor of Wu was here, all the cavalry units were dumbfounded. Baili Xuandu led his soldiers to break through the defence and surrounded the tent. "Xu Ting... It¡¯s been a long time!" "You¡¯re right... It¡¯s been a long time!" Seeing his ministers and servants getting killed one by one, Xu Ting finally snapped out of his trance. "Who would¡¯ve thought... that you would be the one to kill me!" Even Emperors were still human and vulnerable! Even though he might have 10,000 soldiers outside, they would not be able to save him in time! Xu Ting looked around. He then saw Kong Luo getting up to his feet and killing a few daoists from Xuan Zhen Sect. Although He sort of understood Kong Luo¡¯s actions, he was in no position to say anything. He could only sigh. "Who would¡¯ve known that I, Xu Ting, would die here!!" As he saw the armoured guards walking towards him, he broke intoughter. "I am the Emperor! How could I die under your hands, you useless people!" In that instant, he plucked out his Purple Suo Sword and sliced his neck!" "Stter!" Blood spurted out from his neck as he fell to the ground. His body twitched a little and finally, he was put to an eternal rest. "Rumble!" As a purple streak of lightning shed across, thunder crackled in the skies and a storm started to brew... ... Qi Lake. Amidst the thunder, a dragon¡¯s roar could be hearding from the North. Streaks of green and purple formed the shape of a dragon which rushed towards the 4 Emblems Spirit Locking Array. "Is this... dragon energy?" As the Divine Predictor Elder screamed, the Demon Suppressing Pagoda shook and started to crumble. A few old daoists started to spit out mouthfuls of blood. Looking at the Qi Lake Dragon God within, they were shocked. ¡¯Who could know... the retribution would be so intense to the point that Xu Ting has died?¡¯ Fang Yuan caught wind of the news too and was shocked. "Ah, there¡¯s intervention from demons!" If demons did not intervene, Xu Ting would at most suffer a defeat and could likely preserve his life. However, now that the demons did interfere, there was no way he could live! "To me, this is disadvantageous!" Fang Yuan let out a bitterugh. He could still deal with it using his heavenly karma if he only weakened Xu Ting¡¯s fate energy. However, although unintentional, he had led to the destruction of the people dao¡¯s dragon energy. Even if he used up all his karma, he would not be able to redeem himself. "This evil demon... what did you do?" Seeing the dragon energy circling Fang Yuan as streaks of lightning ripped across the sky, the head of Xuan Zhen Sect started to shiver in fear and almost spat out blood. "This is not good... The dragon energy of Emperor Wu is destroyed. Although we are not the ones who caused it, we are still linked to it. The fate energy of our sect will be affected as well, and we might need to undergo a tribtion!" As he attempted to predict the future, Divine Predictor Elder spat out a mouthful of ck blood. The head of Xuan Zhen Sect started to feel dizzy. He had just gone all out to use the treasures of his sect to subdue Fang Yuan, but now, everything had gone to waste! And, in fact, they had to undergo a tribtion! Did all of these happen just because they wanted to pressurize this dragon god? Everything felt unreal. At this point in time, there were changes happening to Fang Yuan¡¯s body. "This concentrated dragon energy is extremely pure... Regardless, after reaping the dragon energy from Xu Ting, I¡¯d have gotten more than I can ask for..." Fang Yuan¡¯s thoughts wandered as he thought of other things. "Now, I can either try to spend all that I have gained to reduce my sins and I might even escape alive from the heavenly tribtion, but what for?" He broke intoughter as he transformed into his horned dragon form. As he opened his mouth, he swallowed the purple-coloured dragon energy. This dragon energy was the result of condensing fate energy of the people dao. However, in reality, it was a form of energy in the realm. With the assistance of the dragon energy, his horned dragon body started to expand with unsightly bulges appearing on his body. With an explosion, 4 dragon ws with 3 talons each appeared! A horned dragon was the younger version of a dragon with no ws and a single horn on its head. However, now that 4 ws had emerged, Fang Yuan had sessfully transformed from a horned dragon to a water dragon! The 8th Transformation of the 9 Steps of Dragon Transformation Form! The Water Dragon Transformation! "Why should I be afraid to stack up my sins in this realm? I shall reap a whole lot before leaving and end everything!" The water dragon was green with hints of gold. As it roared, it flew up into the sky and came before the head of Xuan Zhen Sect. Swiping its ws, it shouted. "Die!" This was a real dragon¡¯s w. With the power of the dragon energy, he could overpower all kinds of power. This was in addition to his original powers. No matter how powerful the head of Xuan Zhen Sevt was, he could only ce all his faith in the Demon Suppressing Pagoda. "Buzz! Buzz!" The small ck pagoda on his head started to move and released a glow of protection around it. As the dragon roared, the protection shattered like ss breaking. "Crash!" Without reservation, the dragon w swiped at the forehead of the head of Xuan Zhen Sect. The huge power of the dragon struck at that single moment, destroying the soul of the sect head! "Sect Head?" Two elders rushed forward. With the flick of his dragon ws, the sword essence of the Water Sword and Fire Sword appeared, transforming them into a block of ice and a pir of fire. "Where do you think you¡¯re going?" There were sparks of electricity around his body as he came before the Divine Predictor Elder. "Evil demon!" The Divine Predictor Elder shouted. "I will perish with you!" With a sh appearing on his hand, he had created a few magical talismans which were shimmering as though they were about to explode. "Whoosh!" Fang Yuan was quicker than him. With the Thunder Sword flying out, a single lunge through his forehead was all it took to end it all. "After attaining the Water Dragon Transformation and with my 8 Gates Sword Array, I only have a few worthy threats in this realm and can be considered a divine demon!" After his killing spree, Fang Yuan started to be worried as he looked at his own stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Race: Water Dragon Essence: 42 Spirit: 42 Magic: 50 Profession: ??? Cultivation: ??? Technique: [9 Steps of Dragon Transformation Form (8th Transformation)], [Weather Controlling Technique (Grade 2)], [Natural Magical Strength (Grade 4)], [8 Gates Sword Array (4th Sword) (1%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" Amidst the destruction, the vibes of a tribtion were felt as it filled the air. "Looking at all the sins I havemitted, it seems like I won¡¯t be able to redeem myself even after killing the sect head! I¡¯m afraid I have to escape!" Of course, Xuan Zhen Sect¡¯s involvement in Xu Ting¡¯s death was minimal and yet, they had suffered such a destructive ending. Fang Yuan, the cause of everything, would surely experience something more intense. As he was killing the daoists, many huge scales appeared, covering the sky. Although the tribtion was imminent, it could not strike at this moment. Fang Yuan¡¯s hair stood on its ends. Aftermitting such a sin and not using his karma to redeem himself, he would surely experience a tribtion. Dark clouds started to gather in the skies. This was due to the fact that he had just attained a breakthrough in his transformation and it was the heavens merely responding to it to destroy his spirit. "Of course... I am stronger than the Xuan Zhen Sect. They cannot run and escape, but I can!" He had nned to retrieve the dragon energy back to reap the rewards for it. As for the oue? He had long nned for it. As thunder crackled in the skies above him, heughed and drew a circle with his hands. Not long after, a tunnel seemed to have appeared. "If I leave now, it would be such a waste to let my dragon¡¯s body be destroyed!" The Yin Spirit of the water dragon appeared as he snapped his fingers. A streak of firended on the body of the water dragon and mes broke out. A golden-green imperial order and a water dragon pearl appeared. This was the essence of a water dragon. "I cannot remove other imperial orders and other dragon pearls from this world... However, these two objects are strongly rted to me... I can attempt to bring them with me!" As the space in mid-air started to distort, an invisible tunnel appeared. Thinking about it, Fang Yuan ced his people dao karma atop the imperial order and the water dragon pearl, forming a golden portal. The water dragon pearl was translucent and it was as though there was a small golden-green dragon within it. It was awe-inspiring and with a single touch, it quickly flew into the portal. "Rumble!" As the earth trembled, a streak of purple lightning struck down! "The heavens are enraged!" The dragon pearl could smoothly enter the portal, but the imperial order was met with resistance. After all, it was created by this realm and therefore, it could not simply leave the realm. "That¡¯s alright!" Fang Yuan¡¯s Yin Spirit stretched out his hands and grabbed the imperial order. With a swing, it flew into the sky. "Kaboom!" A golden-green screen appeared as it deflected the lightning strikes from the skies. "Crackle!" As the streak of lightning struck on the screen, there was only a small crack; the whole screen was still intact. "This is indeed the power of an imperial order! It seems like it can withstand 2 to 3 more strikes!" With a sigh, Fang Yuan hesitated no more as he stepped into the golden portal. "Buzz!" With a glow, the golden portal disappeared. "Rumble!" In the next moment, streaks of lightning rained down, destroying the screen created by the imperial order effortlessly. Furthermore, there was a mysterious vibration spreading across the realm and towards the direction which Fang Yuan had left. ... Da Qian Empire. Within a cave in the Changli Mountain Hollow. "Crumble!" Shattered rocks started to fly about. Fang Yuan looked up into the sky and squinted his eyes. "Indeed... the seal has yet to be broken. I¡¯ve guessed correctly!" He had been very fortunate in his journey in the Water Realm. He had reaped a lot from the realm even when encountering a tribtion. Of course, the most important was the fact that after spending 10 over years in the Water Realm, only a few days passed in Da Qian Empire. He could still make it! "They want to sacrifice us and explore the Changli Mountain Hollow for themselves!" Fang Yuan snickered. "I¡¯ll make sure you fail!" His expression changed as he felt dizziness in his Yin Spirit. "I did not expect such a bacsh from the Water Realm... Indeed, by reaping all these energies from these realms, I would either make it or break it!" Chapter 321: The Beginning Chapter 321: The Beginning Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions There was a thickyer of fog surrounding the dense vegetation. Although it was a hollow, it was no different from the outside world. Seeing the environment around him, Fang Yuan was a little stunned. He went on to pluck a few wild mushrooms, lighted a bonfire and started to roast them. The mushrooms gave off a mouth-watering fragrance. As he ate the mushrooms, he entered his actualised dream world. The 8 Gates Sword Array was standing tall and protecting the actualised dream world. 3 swords were already formed, and the 3 swords were arranged in the 3 Talents Sword Array. The actualised dream world had grown in size once more. Of course, all of these were expected. What had pleased him the most was the green radiance in the middle of the 8 Gates Sword Array, as well as the water dragon pearl. "This green radiance is the energy of the realm. It is the umted heavenly karma which I had obtained from the Water Realm... And the water dragon pearl contains all the dragon essence within it... Most importantly, my previous water dragon body had already fully absorbed the previous dragon pearl which I had stolen from the old Qi Lake Water God. This water dragon pearl is concentrated with dragon properties, so much so that it might even be considered a legitimate dragon pearl!" Looking at the sealed green radiance in the center, Fang Yuan was extremely satisfied. "With this, I am only a step away from forming the Modest Wind Sword and achieving the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine!" This risk of being destroyed by the heavenly tribtion and the hasty progress which he made in the Water Realm had paid off! "What a pity... If all of that did not happen, I could slowly n and might reap even more benefits if I were to be sessful in supporting a true dragon to rule the world..." With this thought, Fang Yuan became slightly depressed. As he waved his sleeves, the green radiance started to dissipate as the 8 Gates Sword Array started to absorb its energy. Immediately, a green and long sword started to form. In his stats window, the progress of his 4th Sword started to increase! From 2%, it jumped to 10%! Then to 20%! To 50%! And finally, to 99%! As soon as he reached this point, he quickly stopped. It was not because he had not enough energy from the green radiance. He knew that if he were to achieve the breakthrough, he would attain the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage and awaken the spiritual property of the magical soldiers. If that happened, the mysterious dream elemental force in his body might act up against him, which was something unfavourable to him. Furthermore, if he were to progress so quickly, he would arouse suspicion. It was better toy low. "Seal!" With a single thought, the four types of forces, namely Wind, Thunder, Water and Fire came together... In that instant, the green radiance was once again sealed in the centre of the 8 Gates Sword Array. "It might be a good idea to remain at this cultivation level and having the freedom to achieve the breakthrough anytime!" Fang Yuan nodded his head in satisfaction and took a quick nce at this stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 42 Spirit: 42 Magic: 59 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (3rd Tier), Wu Zong (4th Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 5) (1%)], [Hundred Poison Golden Body (1st Refining)], [8 Gates Sword Array (4th Sword) (99%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "Since the stats window can retain my original cultivation level, my current Essence and Spirit have matched up to the level which I had attained while I was a water dragon. The increment in Magic, on the other hand, is due to the progress in forming the 4th Sword..." "With such stats, I am already at the peak of the 3rd Tier of Illusionary Divine! Even Feng Xinzi is only at this stage... Furthermore, this is the highest cultivation I can attain in which the hollows would still grant me entry!" In the cave, Fang Yuan ate his roasted mushrooms as he felt a little bored. "Am I just... waiting for things to happen?" Looking at his stats window, he was lost in his thought. "Hmm... I might be able to make use of this time to train my martial arts!" As long as his progress bar was there, he could continually train up to improve his martial arts cultivation level. Therefore, he could make full use of his time while waiting. ... Time was like flowing water. In the blink of an eye, a month had passed. In the forest, Fang Yuan regted his breathing while meditating. With every breath, the 4 spiritual meridians on his back would glow and be more and more defined. Additionally, another meridian was vaguely visible and appeared illusionary. "Even in martial arts, I would experience a slower progress the higher my cultivation bes!" After a long while, Fang Yuan concluded his training. Seeing the small increment in his experience bar, he let out a sigh. However, after seeing Venerable Longhu and understanding the power of a True Divine, he would not give up on training his martial arts. "Dream masters would focus on their Essence and Magic while training, while martial artists would strengthen their bodies. Both would focus on different aspects, and in training both, these two vastly different aspects wouldplement each other!" Fang Yuan had vaguely figured out the path for his cultivation. "Whooo! Whoo!" At this point in time, he could detect that the fog around him was moving. It was thinning out. "Is the strength of the seal weakening?" Seeing this, a solemn look appeared on Fang Yuan¡¯s face. "The Changli Mountain Hollow is about to be activated!" On Tianmu Mountain, within a cave. "The time has finally arrived!" Elder Smelter, Old Mother of Tianmu and Old Xue were gathering around a sandbox with excited looks on their faces. In the middle of the sandbox, there was a screen revealing a miniature version of the hollow. "Let¡¯s begin to remove the seal!" Seeing this, Old Mother of Tianmu quickly gave her instructions. "With the dream masters inside as blood sacrifice and our attack from the outside world, we can surely find a weakness of this seemingly-perfect defensive seal." "Of course, we must be alert at the moment of the hollow opening, for the Hidden Dragon Guards might attack at that moment!" Although Old Mother of Tianmu was standing still, the surrounding space around her seemed to have opened up, allowing rays of light to flood in. "Don¡¯t worry! The highly skilled dream masters of our Divine Lotus Cult and Evil Divine Sect are already in the Jade Capital to keep the fighting force of Da Qian under control!" A gentle voice was heard. At the same time, two strong forces were suddenly felt in the sandbox. With such an interference, the fog within the screen started to disperse, revealing the rugged surface of the mountainous range. ... "The seal is open!" Fang Yuan climbed up a branch of a dried tree and mumbled to himself as he stared at the retreating fog. At this moment, from the corner of his eye, he could see a few streaks of light as he silently cursed. He knew that the Old Mother of Tianmu had her ulterior motive for nting him so close to the other dream masters. "Rumble!" At this moment, the ground shook. The edge of the forest became visible to the naked eye, and an evenrger piece of area appeared before him. At the same time, Old Mother of Tianmu¡¯s spiritual will could be heard rumbling. "Through this test, we can only allow 11 survivors. The remaining would be a sacrifice to the forest!" "It¡¯s time!" Hearing her, Fang Yuan¡¯s was stunned for a moment. He knew that he had been tricked my Elder Smelter with a simple mission being tasked to him. Elder Smelter had evil intentions indeed! With this thought, Fang Yuan rolled his eyes. "Brother..." As soon as the fog dispersed, two dream masters started to approach him. It was a man and a woman. The man was handsome and had distinct facial features. The woman was elegant and seemed like a deity from the heavens. They approached him with friendly smiles as though they did not hear the announcement from Old Mother of Tianmu. "Where are you from? This ce is dangerous! To survive, we have to stick together and work together!" In response, Fang Yuan smiled and shook his head. "Even if I want to form an alliance, I wouldn¡¯t pick the two of you to be part of my alliance... After all, I don¡¯t deserve to be friends with dream masters from the Evil Divine Sect and the Divine Lotus Cult!" "Sister Qing, we have been seen through!" The young dream master snickered and shrugged his shoulders. In an instant, he had transformed into a person who gave off cunning vibes. "Ourbined Evil Lotus Divine Technique did not affect him a single bit! He must be at the peak of the 3rd Tier of Illusionary Divine, with plentiful Magic proficiency points!" Interestingly, Sister Qing¡¯s expression changed. She took a bow. "I am Qing Meng. This is Ouyang Shu. May we know who you are... Wait a minute, you¡¯re Fang Yuan from the Realm Alliance!" It was as though she had recalled something. "This is impossible... How did you achieve such progress in such a short time?" "It seems like I¡¯m famous to the point that you can recognise me!" Fang Yuan touched his own face as he mulled. "Mmm... You recognise me? No worries, this is normal. Are you a reserved Divine Lady of the Divine Lotus Cult? Did Liu Mengmeie as well?" In reality, Fang Yuan had already made a guess. Those that were sent here were either hopeless dream masters who would take the risk or had weak backings. Even if Qing Meng were to be a reserved Divine Lady, she was most likely an insignificant one who hade forth to try her luck. "Fang Yuan from the Realm Alliance?" Ouyang Shu was startled as though he had recalled something as well. "Well well... who would¡¯ve guessed that the first two people that I would encounter would be dream masters from the two evil sects!" Fang Yuan remained calm. "Initially, I had my reservations in killing people. However, I don¡¯t think I would hold back against the both of you!" "Hmph! Watch your words!" Ouyang Shu¡¯s face was flushed with fury. "Sister Qing, let¡¯s take him down together! After all, he is alone and is a low-tiered Illusionary Divine dream master like us. What can he possibly do?" "You¡¯re an idiot!" Seeing this, Fang Yuan sighed. In the next moment, he rushed towards them like the wind. With an electric spark appearing in his palm, a Sundering Thunder Sword appeared. The presence of the wind represented an extreme speed. Although the Modest Wind Sword was notpletely formed, it was already powerful enough to stir wind. Furthermore, thunder could counter most techniques and was the preferred choice against evil! "Chi!" Before he could react, there was already a wound in Ouyang Shu¡¯s chest. Slowly, he copsed to the ground. In a single move, this 2nd Tier Illusionary Divine dream master was defeated! ¡¯Although he is not an elite dream master from the Evil Divine Sect, I can still make use of him to roughly gauge my abilities!¡¯ Fang Yuan pressed the Thunder Sword on Ouyang Shu¡¯s neck as he started to think to himself. "Based on my current cultivation level, I am already more powerful than Feng Xinzi. Furthermore, any 3rd Tier Illusionary Divine dream masters would also not be my match. Of course, if Feng Xinzi were to achieve a breakthrough to the 4th Tier, then everything would be different..." The 4th Tier and 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine were extremely difficult tiers to break through. It was akin to the fish leaping over the dragon¡¯s gate. "You..." Ouyang Shu was not yet dead. However, as soon as he started mumbling, the tendons in his limbs were already severed. "Don¡¯t you dare harbour any evil intentions before me!" Fang Yuan warned him sternly and moved his attention to Qing Meng. This woman had attempted to influence him with her evil techniques. However, even though Fang Yuan¡¯s actualised dream world had expanded and the 8 Gates Sword Array was rumbling, he silenced it. "Do you know someone... called Tian Xiezi?" As he questioned Ouyang Shu, he was stepping on him. Dream masters had many techniques to seal or mix up their own memories. Therefore, it was better to directly question him. "That person is my senior... this is all I know about him!" Since dream masters were capable of telling if someone was telling the truth, Ouyang Shu had no choice but to spill out what he knew. After all, he was in a dire circumstance. "Since this is so, then you are useless!" Fang Yuan quickly made sure that what he said was the truth before thrusting his sword downwards, ending this young man¡¯s life. Since he was useless, what was the point of keeping him alive? Chapter 322: The Village Chapter 322: The Vige Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Shing!" Blood spewed everywhere. Upon the death of Ouyang Shu, the normal-looking forest started to undergo a transformation. The ground started to ripple and the roots of the trees started to stretch and climb all over Ouyang Shu¡¯s corpse, consuming him. Fang Yuan could detect the arrival of a force from the hollow. This force sealed the space around the corpse and did not even let his soul free. "This is how the hollow would consume corpse. Indeed a sacrifice!" Witnessing this, Fang Yuan was stunned. "Lord Fang Yuan... I have no bad blood with you!" As soon as she saw him take notice of her, she forced a smile. "Furthermore... I can help you turn the tables regarding the grudge you have with my sect!" "Keke... although you are the reserved Divine Lady, I don¡¯t think you have any strong backing considering the fact that you are sent here! How dare you be so full of yourself!" Fang Yuan snickered and struck another sword. "Rumble!" Thunder rumbled as the swordnded. However, a Divine Lotus Print appeared on her body, shielding her from the blow. However, the print started to fade as soon as the sword struck down on it. "Die!" A cold look shed across Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes as he took another step forward. Streaks of electricity were buzzing around the sword. "You..." Qing Meng appeared deste. An unactivated talisman in her hands was destroyed by the streaks of electricity from the sword. Slowly, she fell to the ground and blood oozed out of her eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Without hesitation, she was consumed by the space around her. "Although she had a magical equipment with her, she is still very weakpared to Meng Lian. She doesn¡¯t even have the protection of a powerful dream master¡¯s magical clone..." Fang Yuan kept his sword and shook his head. "Are all of these people really sacrificial goats?" Scanning his surroundings, he chuckled. A few spiritual wills started to scramble and retreat. "We have been discovered! This person is powerful, let¡¯s retreat!" "At the 3rd Tier of Illusionary Divine, he is indeed powerful! Not someone I would want to deal with!" "Oh sh*t, he¡¯s a killer! We should not anger him!" ... A few silhouettes in hiding disappeared in an instant. Only a few who feared him and respected him remained. Seeing this, Fang Yuan could not help it butugh. When he just entered the hollow, he was only at the 2nd Tier and had yet to form his Sundering Thunder Sword. If he were to encounter this pair then, he would have to use all that he had. Even if he could defeat the both of them, he would not be able to survive the surrounding dream masters who were watching the fight. However, now, the Sundering Thunder Sword struck fear in all that witnessed him using it. "I have unintentionally killed. However, the few of you, don¡¯t anger me. Otherwise, you will meet your doom! Hmph!" Fang Yuan flicked his sword and snickered as his voice travelled far and wide. If he were to do this before he would just be considered crazy. However, now that he had killed two dream masters, his words struck fear. Seeing the surrounding dream masters take their leave, he paid no attention to them as he rushed towards a building at the end of the forest. "The centre of the hollow would be scrutinised by the 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream masters. I should not forcefully go there, and should instead explore the boundaries and make this journey worth it!" After unintentionally killing the dream masters, he was pumped with adrenaline. However, he knew that he was still no match for Elder Smelter. Therefore, he could only let off steam through other means. "Hehe..... This is really awe-inspiring! Phew!" In the dense forest, a female dream master had an expression of shock. As she fell to the ground, a man in green appeared behind her. He seemed extremely young and his fingertips were stained with blood. However, he had an intoxicated look on his face. "After finishing this mission, I must pit myself against you!" ... "Fang Yuan from the Realm Alliance?" In another location, a pair of twin sisters werebining forces and executing their techniques. Streaks of colourful butterflies were fluttering around them as they barely kept up with their defense. As soon as they heard Fang Yuan¡¯s voice, they were ted. "It¡¯s a fellow alliance member!" "Sister!" The butterflies were colourful and were extremely powerful in defence. They could shield against physical and spiritual attacks. As soon as the sisters got themselves out of the fight, the younger looking sister asked. "What should we do next? Should we look for that powerful alliance member for help?" "Let me think about it!" The older sister was a little more matured, but she could note to a decision. The sisters¡¯ backing was long gone and they were already ill-treated in the alliance. They were forced to enter this death trial and since then, they were wary of even dream masters from their own alliance and were hesitant to ask alliance members for help. "It is too low a chance, considering that only 11 can survive among the 31 dream masters..." The older sister gritted her teeth and hugged her younger sister as her eyes glistened. "Regardless, I must protect you, even if it... costs my life!" ... At another location, Fang Yuan sped off like the wind with a shocking speed. After a few leaps, he had already left the area which he was previously in, leaving all the other dream masters behind. "They would be fools to kill others just toplete the mission!" His eyes glistened. "This massacre is the most dangerous. In the end, the weak would be killed and the strong would eventually fight each other. It is indeed a good n for me to show off my skills first and avoid the chaos... Should I look for a fellow alliance member in the future? Otherwise, I would still be easily outnumbered and it would be extremely troublesome for me..." Now that he had left the forest, an empty in appeared before him. There were endless rows of ntations; it was a sea of gold, which seemed to be a bountiful harvest. At the edge of the ntation, there was a glittering building which was golden; it was different from anywhere else in the vicinity. "Is this... Yellow Grain Rice?!" Fang Yuan arrived at the ntation and was shocked and surprised. The grain that was growing in the ntation was a yellow and translucent spiritual rice. The stem of the nt was sturdy and there was an alluring auraing from the grain. It was the Yellow Grain Rice which he had painstakingly attempted to find! "This rice had a concentrated spiritual energy. More importantly, it aids in a dream master¡¯s cultivation and is extremely rare! I¡¯m afraid that only the 5 Grand Organisations in Da Qian and the Da Qian royal family will be able to nt them in huge batches! Who would¡¯ve thought that there is an abundance of it in the Changli Mountain Hollow!" Food was everything! Even for Prominent Divine stage dream masters who created their own world into a hollow, they could not leave out food as a staple! Looking at the abundance of rice here, he gained a further understanding of the cultivation of a dream master. "If there are farms here, there must be people living here as well. They might have relocated from the outside world to here, or they could be a race of wisdom created by this almighty dream master!" A dream master at the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage would be able to create a race of beasts, while dream masters in the realm of the Prominent Divine stage would be able to create a race of wisdom; a race that would be able to start a civilisation and reproduce for generations toe! Furthermore, they were not restricted to creating a human race. These race of wisdom might be living things with a single horn, or wings... they could adopt any form and anything was possible. What else was there to say? Fang Yuan widened his eyes. As he released his elemental force to form a huge hand, he started to harvest the Yellow Grain Rice and stored it in his Mountain River Pearl. "With these seeds, I can nt them for myself and consume them in the future. Who knows, they might even evolve special traits!" Others might worry if they would be able to germinate these seeds. However, with his special ability, Fang Yuan had nothing to worry. "The only thing is... I need to look for a piece of spiritualnd." After a short while, he rushed towards the building but soon, he could sense that something was not right. It was a continuous stretch of a pce with strong defences, covered with shimmering spiritual prints. However, there were sectors demarcated in it and there were simple carvings on the walls. With an ancient vibe, it was as though the ce was full of life. "This should not be the house of someone wealthy, but... an entire vige?!" Fang Yuan seemed to have understood something. "The continuous spiritual glow around the pce is a huge spiritual array... no! A huge magical equipment! As soon as it is activated, it will be a huge war beast!" "Whoosh!" As he was examining the surroundings, spiritual glow started to shimmer at the top of the pce. An icy arrow appeared and shot 100 feet away from him. It was a warning shot. "There are indeed inhabitants! Did they get the warning and therefore are all hiding in the building?" Seeing the arrow, Fang Yuan could not help it butugh. He would not strike without first knowing his enemies¡¯ ability. After giving it some thought, he decided to stay put and stood where he was and waited patiently. After a few moments, a few streaks of light finally caught up to him. As soon as they saw the Yellow Grain Rice, they were all envious and quickly started to harvest the rice as well. Their actions had enraged many of the onlookers who were staring at them from the pce. "Have they stopped fighting? It seems like these few dream masters are not entirely stupid..." Fang Yuan smiled. The weak dream masters would die at the beginning. Those that were able to survive until now were rather capable. Furthermore, they would want to satisfy their own greed. No one would dare to entirely betray their sects and go against the 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream masters. However, after a prolonged period, before the powerful dream masters would enter to reap the most out of the hollows, it was only natural and human nature for everyone to reap as much as they can to benefit themselves. "Greetings Brother Fang, I am Ye Shuhua!" Everyone in the hollow knew of Fang Yuan¡¯s prowess; no one would stupidly challenge him. Two identical dream masters who were twins approached Fang Yuan. The older sister paid her greetings first. "My sister, Shumin, and I are both from the Realm Alliance..." "Oh!" Fang Yuan casually replied them and started to examine the pair of twins. In terms of the vibes they gave off, these twodies were only average and could not evenpare to Qing Meng. However, they were elegant and their features were on point. Upon closer look, the older sister was taller and had a determined look on her face. On the other hand, the younger sister seemed gentler and submissive. ¡¯Sigh... the Realm Alliance is really wasteful. How can they send such beauties here as sacrifice... However, to dream masters, they can get any beauty that they can dream of!¡¯ Of course, Fang Yuan would not be simply left at the sight of these two beauties and returned the greeting. "Greetings, the both of you... may I know what you are seeking me for?" Ye Shuhua started to clench her teeth. Fang Yuan¡¯s polite and calm expression gave her the chills. She realised that their beautiful appearance did not waver Fang Yuan a single bit. Now that they were surrounded by other dream masters staring at them, her hair started to stand on its ends. "Please save the both of us!" "Save the both of you? What do I get out of this?" Fang Yuan examined the pce in front and calmly replied. "During this death trial, we sisters will listen to all yourmands! Although your magical swords are powerful, you might face troubles, right? Although we sisters are weak and are only at the 1st and 2nd Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, we canbine forces and execute the Dream Butterfly Defence to stall time for you!" "All of these are not enough!" Fang Yuan shook his head and started to pressure them. "Agree with my condition!" ¡¯Could he...¡¯ Shuhua felt a chill down her spine. However, she stood firm but blushed a little. "Alright! If you can save us, I shall... let you do anything you want to me! However, leave my sister alone!" "What are you thinking about?" Fang Yuan started tough. "Am I such a person?" He was unaware that her sister, Shumin, had heard the conversation and started to blush as well. She was utterly embarrassed and did not dare to let out her breath. Although the dream masters who were silently watching from the shadows were unaware of their exchange, they could vaguely deduce the content of their conversation. Fang Yuan was speechless. Chapter 323: Horned Wing Tribe Chapter 323: Horned Wing Tribe Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "My conditions are simple. Don¡¯t worry, I am not asking you to sell your body to me. Just take it that both of you owe me a favour. If the both of you can survive and leave this ce, then think about repaying the favour!" Fang Yuan gave it some thought before revealing his condition. No matter how forlorn the two sisters were, they would surely have a better treatment in the Realm Alliancepared to Fang Yuan. "This of course..." Ye Shuhua was ted. However, she started to look at Fang Yuan with suspicion in her eyes. "Are you sure you don¡¯t need..." She did not believe that there were people who would not be wavered by seduction. ¡¯No! He might be thinking of having us both! I need to protect sister. She is too naive and might be tricked by others... Sigh... It¡¯s a pity that our family is weak. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t have ended up here. However, this person seems to have a friendly disposition. He might just be telling the truth...¡¯ Fang Yuan had no idea that Yu Shuhua was thinking about all these. With a gentle smile, he continued. "Since it is required in the alliance¡¯s agreement, I will temporarily offer protection to the both of you!" "However, let¡¯s set things straight. If we were to meet with troubles which I cannot defend against, then every man would be for themselves!" "This of course!" Ye Shuhua nodded her head. "If this is really the case, then we shall just resign to fate!" The 3 of them came to an agreement. However, in the eyes of the other dream masters, Fang Yuan was merely a person full of lust. ¡¯Fang Yuan is indeed greedy... to take both sisters at the same time!¡¯ "Hmph!" Ye Shumin could feel that many pairs of eyes were ring at them. In embarrassment, she looked down and blushed. On the other hand, Ye Shuhua bravely exchanged res with the other dream masters like a rebellious kid. "This is... Hey, keep a low profile and don¡¯t get us more enemies!" Fang Yuan rolled his eyes. "Also, tell me everything about the Realm Alliance!" "Yes..." As soon as Fang Yuan mentioned about the alliance, there was a look of sorrow on Ye Shuhua¡¯s face. However, she did not dare to conceal anything. "The Ye Family is a longstanding family in the Realm Alliance and had joined since themencement of the alliance. Furthermore, we once had a 6th Tier Illusionary Divine stage dream master. Unfortunately, he had passed on from a failure in attempting to break through to the 7th Tier. From then on, it was a downfall of the Ye Family... Our father had the cultivation level of a 4th Tier Illusionary Divine stage and was our protection. However, he had also passed on 3 years ago..." Fang Yuan listened to them and remained silent. This was in fact what was happening to many families made up of dream masters. Although the lifespan of a dream master was extremely long, there were many natural disasters as well. No one could be assured of a smooth-sailing life. Considering how hard it would be to be a dream master, if a family were to not have any descendants capable of bing dream masters, they would surely experience a downfall. From then on, they would bemoners and would have a minute chance to rise once again. "The Ye Family of the Realm Alliance?" Fang Yuan sighed for a moment. "I¡¯ve heard of this name before. It seems like they have a rich history..." Although this family might seem to be at its lowest point, their connections with others still remain. If he could use them to pull strings, he might be able to get help in settling down in Da Qian. Of course, the easiest way to integrate with the family is to marry the sisters. However, he was a righteous man. Why would he resort to such a thing? Furthermore, after all these, all he would gain would be the eptance into the Realm Alliance as one of their own. Judging by the sisters¡¯ temperament, he could easily guess that something like that must have happened before. In fact, it did not end up well. Otherwise, these two sisters would not have ended up in the hollow. "In fact, dream masters are rather liberal about this. I don¡¯t think Shuhua is a woman of chastity. In fact, she might have ended up here because someone else tried to have both her body and her fortune and therefore ended up in a conflict?" Ye Shuhua followed behind Fang Yuan. She had no idea what Fang Yuan was thinking about. Otherwise, she might be infuriated to the point where she might kill Fang Yuan. Now, she was only focusing on executing her duties properly. Suddenly, she spoke with a gentle voice. "My lord, please be careful. All these survivors are rather skilled to be able to survive until now. The one you should pay attention to is Sun Jue from the Source Seeking Sect. He is naturally gifted and has already reached the 3rd Tier of Illusionary Divine at a young age of 23! In fact, he was not forced to join this death trial, but instead, he volunteered himself!" "Other than him, there is also Yi Xie from the Evil Divine Sect. He is 59 this year and is the cruelest among all. As for dream masters without an organisation, there is one called Liu Ru. She is ady but her Magical Binding Technique is shockingly powerful!" "Mmm!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and nced towards the direction of Sun Jue. If what Ye Shuhua had said was true, then Sun Jue must really be talented, or at least stronger than him if he did not have the ability to use the stats window. ¡¯Of course, this person might have a strong backing. His background might be as interesting as mine. Otherwise, it is really hard to exin how he would have such a progress.¡¯ On the other hand, Yi Xie was a handsome middle-aged man with white hair. There was an evil vibeing from him, which made Fang Yuan subconsciously take more notice of him. However, as soon as Fang Yuan looked over, Yi Xie could detect it and respond by looking over as well, with a mysterious re in his eyes. "Haha... why note over and have a conversation?" Yi Xie started to burst outughing. "I don¡¯t think any of us should set our sights on the treasures in the centre of the hollow. However, there must be some treasures in this pce. Why not work together and split the treasures afterwards?" "Brother Yi of the Evil Divine Sect, I agree with your words!" Among the lone cultivators, Liu Ru was d in green robes. With a willow branch in her hands, she nodded her head in agreement. Although she might appear weak, she must have the ability to be able to survive to this stage. The situation was at a tensed bnce, and any slightmotion would surely result in a chaotic massacre. "That¡¯s right!" Although there was a huge reward in the centre of the hollow, most other dream masters agreed with Yi Xie. However, everyone looked at each other with much suspicion, as though everyone was thieves. "If all of us have amon consensus, then why are we wasting time?" Sun Jue took a step forward. "Those hiding inside, listen up. I¡¯ll advise you to obediently open up the pce and give up your treasures, and we will spare your lives. Otherwise... we might just wipe out all of you!" "The demons from the outside world!" In mid-air above the pce, a silhouette of a human appeared. He had the appearance of a person from Da Qian, but he had a small horn on his forehead and a pair of green wings. "This is the territory of the Horned Wing Tribe. Please retreat!" As he pped his wings, strong gusts of wind started to pick up. He had an extremely strong spiritual will and seemedparable to an Elemental Opening spiritual knight. "What¡¯s this..." Fang Yuan was stunned as he looked up. He had once seen a dream person created by a dream master. However, such races of dream people were extremely rare. "Brother Fang, are you shocked? Among the dream people, although most of them have the appearance of a human, some Prominent Divine dream masters would interestingly create a different type of human, for instance, crossing beasts with humans..." Ye Shuhua started to exin. Although her family was down and out, her knowledge and experience were still with her. "Interesting!" Seeing this, Fang Yuan stroked his chin. "We might even see other species of humans in this hollow!" No one really paid any attention to the warning of this Horned Wing Tribe member. In the cruel world, it was the survival of the fittest. Who would care about ethics? Even though these dream masters might look like animals fighting each other, it would be the same situation, or even worse, if the 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream masters were to be in their ce. "You don¡¯t seem like you want to ept our gracious offer!" Sun Jueughed. Without waiting for Fang Yuan and the rest, he struck first. "Die!" An invisible wave spread from Sun Jue. The Horned Wing Tribe member was stunned in mid-air. As his eyes turned pale, he started to fall to the ground and infuriated those within the pce. "How dare you harm our tribe member! We shall kill you!" "Quickly activate the array!" "Let¡¯s fight these crazy demons with our lives! ... In the pce, many silhouettes started to fly around. The males were handsome while the females were beautiful. Some of them even have mysterious tattoos on their face which gave off a spiritual light. Even Fang Yuan had to admit that there was an alluring vibeing from the people of this tribe. "Horned Spiritual Hall, activate!" At this point in time, many Horned Wing Tribe members were eximing as they flooded the pce. Harnessing the power of the array, they collectively formed a gigantic white horn and charged towards Sun Jue. "Buzz! Buzz!" As soon as the white horn was formed, a huge restrictive force was felt. Fang Yuan and the other dream masters suddenly felt as though the air around them had transformed into a thick paste of glue and their movements were restricted. Sun Jue had the same feeling as well. Against an array created by a race created by a Prominent Divine dream master, the only thing Sun Jue could do was to roar and equip himself with a dark-scaled armour. Transforming into a human beast, he struck his ws forward. "Rumble!" After a huge explosion, the white horn crumbled and became sparkles. Sun Jue remained where he was. Although there was ck blood flowing from a huge wound on his chest, he continued tough. "Although the pce itself is a huge magical equipment, the people in it are useless! This is its maximum power! If all of you don¡¯t strike now, when will you strike?" Since he had already initiated the fight, 10 over dream masters started to join in without hesitation. They started to gather elemental energy from the heavens and earth, creating a colourful glow which struck the pce. Even though most of the dream masters were holding back and not using their powers to its fullest potential, thebined force was still shockingly powerful. With continuous streaks of fire and lightning striking the pce, it was as though the pce was about to face its destruction. "Freeze!" At this moment, the runes inscribed all around the pce started to glow once more, forming a thickyer of ice as a defensive wall. "Is this a... dream beast master?" Fang Yuan casually released two streaks of Fire Sword. Looking at the crazed Sun Jue, his eyes widened. "Indeed... those from the Source Seeking Sect are all crazy!" In the cultivation of a dream beast master, they would undergo many transformations in the initial stages. In the first 3 Tiers of the Illusionary Divine stage, they would be able to transform into different beasts and would experience an increase in their powers. At the 4th Tier, they would be able to transform into a magical beast! Of course, the most feared stage of their cultivation was still at the 7th Tier. If they were to achieve the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, they would be able to call upon a thousand animals as troops, and fighting against 10,000 soldiers would be a piece of cake. "Kacha!" 10 streaks of lightnded on the icy defensive wall, shattering it. After another huge explosion, cracks started to appear on the walls of the pce. The array started to be inactive. As soon as it becamepletely inactive, there were exmations of shock. With a roar, Sun Jue continued attacking in the form of a ck scaled beast. He leapt onto the roof of the pce like a meteorite, smashing a hole. With that, his killing spreemenced. The other dream masters started to enter the pce as streaks of light with bloodshot eyes. Other than looking for treasures in the pce, they were also looking for opportunities to kill each other. As mes broke out in the pce, the troubled Horned Wing Tribe members started to wail in despair. Seeing this scene, Fang Yuan remained silent and refused to take any action. Chapter 324: Retaliate Chapter 324: Retaliate Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Lord, are you not going?" Yu Shuhua¡¯s eyes glistened. "Don¡¯t let them have all the treasures!" "Sister!" Yu Shumin tugged at her sleeves, revealing an unpleasant look. She was young and had matured under the protection of her sister. Therefore, she was still rather naive. Thoughts ran through Fang Yuan¡¯s mind as he revealed a smile. "I¡¯m not greedy. However, I feel that something is not right!" "Is something wrong?" Ye Shuhua blinked her eyes. "That¡¯s right... In the world, there are the heavens and fate... Simrly, in the hollow, there should be a higher being¡¯s spirit. If that is so, then the Horned Wing Tribe would be the natives and we would be the demons from the outside world!" Fang Yuan smiled as he recalled his experience in the Water Realm. "As the invasive species, never mind if we are piging off their resources. If we be cocky and go on a killing spree, we would attract too much attention! That¡¯s it... You could argue that we are Illusionary Divine dream masters with unparalleled abilities and strong backings from the outside world. However, now that the seal over the hollow is still intact, the stronger dream masters cannot yet enter the hollow, but instead, we are already inside! Notwithstanding the fact that there might be a higher being here, do you not think that there might be other highly-skilled people in this hollow, which has an area asrge as 2 regions in Da Qian?" As soon as he spoke, Ye Shuhua broke out in cold sweat. "Then what about them..." "They either think that their backing is strong enough, or they are just letting off steam. Their actions might even be part of their own grand scheme of things... Of course, if we don¡¯t join them now, we might have to face theirbined powers afterward!" Fang Yuan snickered. "Then what should we do?" Ye Shuhua was frantic. She could neither hold up against being a sacrifice for the hollow or go against the other dream masters if they were tobine forces. "What else can we do? Let¡¯s just leave!" Fang Yuan shrugged his shoulders and looked beyond the horizon. "It might be toote even if we were to set off now!" "Eh? Why is that..." Ye Shuhua nced at the horizon. A few ck dots started to appear and were rushing towards them. They were all members of the Horned Wing Tribe. However, they had 2 pairs of wings on their backs. As they collectively pped their wings, an intense gust of wind started to form and an invisible wave of energy started to spread outwards. "Demons from the outside world... how dare you!" Seeing the damaged pce, the raging mes and the countless corpse of their own tribe members, their eyes became bloodshot. "All of you... die!" "Whooo!" As the strong winds ensued, a current of green-coloured wind descended from the skies. "It¡¯s the reinforcements from the Horned Wing Tribe. Timely!" "They¡¯re not just fast but strong as well! They seem to beparable to a 5th Meridian Wu Zong, and their bodies are covered in runes, granting them natural abilities to control wind! They might just be as powerful as a 5th Tier spiritual knight! Collectively, they might be on par with a 4th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master!" Seeing this, Fang Yuan sighed once more. "Let¡¯s not dy. Move!" The 3 of them were further from the scene of destruction. However, the dream masters within the pce were stunned. "Reinforcements from the Horned Wing Tribe? All of us thought that the pce might have hidden treasures for it seemed luxurious. What a pity... we cannot continue our search..." Yi Xie looked up and without hesitation, he disappeared underground in a ck glow. "Let¡¯s kill them to avenge our tribe members!" Only Yi Xie had such an ability; the other dream masters were left behind, not knowing what to do. Against the wind current, all of them could only defend. As soon as they realised what was happening, the roof of the pce was already blown apart. A few 4-winged Horned Wing Tribe members were looking down from above with menacing res. ¡¯D*mn it... this spiritual aura!¡¯ A few dream masters quicklyposed themselves. "4th Tier of Illusionary Divine? If all of usbine forces, we might just be able to take them down!" However, a few dream masters with quicker reactions had already executed their own techniques to escape. How would there be enough dream masters tobine forces together? The remaining few dream masters were surrounded and attacked. Their bodies were torn apart. Some of them cried out loud before their demise. "I am from Baize Mountain. How dare you do this to me! Are you not afraid that your tribe might be wiped out?" However, all effort was futile in front of an enraged group of Horned Wing Tribe members. They were still killed. As they died, their blood and corpse were quickly absorbed by the space around them, which made the entire ce appear red. ... "We have 20 sacrifices, and that¡¯s enough!" Old Mother of Tianmu, Elder Smelter, and Old Xue nced at the blood-red sandbox and were ted. "Let¡¯sbine forces to break the seal!" "Rumble!" An invisible force broke through from mid-air and descended. Even the hollow was shaking from the intense force. "The sacrifice isplete. It is only a matter of time that we will be able to reap the rewards from the hollow and destroy the seal. However, we still need some time. In fact, about half a day¡¯s time..." The few highly-skilled dream masters remained neutral. The hollow was the ultimate goal! How much can the weak dream masters reap from the hollow in half a day¡¯s time? It was insignificant! "The only thing we need to be cautious of is the Hidden Dragon Guards!" A spiritual will spread across the mountains. "The Divine Lotus Cult and the Evil Divine Sect have passed down news! Although they have sessfully created chaos, they were quickly suppressed. It was as though the royal family knew what was happening!" "Tianmu Mountain is the fruit of mybour. I have put in ce 38,000 Green Wood Magical Seals. Even the Hidden Dragon Guards will take a long time to break through all those seals and locate us..." Before she couldplete her sentence, there was a rumbling sound! The entire cave shook. "What¡¯s that?" Her expression quickly changed. From mid-air, a few ck silhouettes appeared. "Greetings... all of you!" "D*mn it!" Old Xue eximed as an illusionary shadow of Sen Luo Hell descended upon the cave. Tongues of mes were everywhere, and the ground was filled with bones! In a moment, the cave had transformed into hell! This was something only a 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master could achieve! "Indeed, the Changli Mountain Hollow!" As the few silhouettes surrounded the sandbox, they broke out intoughter. "Our master has always been meticulous. Do you think you could hide from him using your childish tricks...? Have you asked us for permission?" Amidst theughter, the space in mid-air suddenly opened up, allowing a huge ck hand filled with curses written all over it to stretch in. "Ghostly Magical Palm?!" Elder Smelter eximed, and there was fear in his words. "Who would¡¯ve thought that you Hidden Dragon Guards would invest so much!" As he spoke, his body glowed and immediately, 9 fiery dragons appeared and flew towards the weird-looking hand. "Rumble!" As the mesnded on the weird-looking hand, it started to catch fire. The temperature started to rise and the rocks around the cave started to melt. However, therge hand was unaffected by the heat. Instead, it continued to stretch forward. "Kacha! Kacha!" Amidst the hellish environment, be in mes or bones, everything was crushed as the hand surged forward. Finally, the 9 fiery dragons revealed their true physical form. Clutched by the hand, they exploded one by one and turned into a green smoke. "How dare you!" Seeing that the weird-looking hand was going for the sandbox, Old Mother of Tianmu roared. A sun appeared behind her and its rays shot down towards the hand. "Chi! Chi!" Like how hot oil would sizzle when in contact with water, the weird-looking hand stopped in its tracks. The curses all over the hand started to disappear and the flesh of the hand started to melt, revealing a pale-white skeleton. "You dream masters have already be theckeys of the Imperial Court and deserve to die!" Behind Old Mother of Tianmu, many void spaces started to open up, revealing a hidden force within the spaces. In an instant, they transformed into a chain and held the huge hand before ripping it apart. "Crrrrk!" This was akin to many dream mastersbining forces. Even though everyone only contributed a little, the end result was devastating. The weird-looking hand split and disintegrated into ash. "Hehe... Don¡¯t try to hide from me, the few of you! Changli was, after all, a Prominent Divine dream master! Furthermore, he has done a lot of research regarding the realms of dream masters. How will we, the royal family, let the few of you take his hollow for yourselves?" A silhouette spoke with a hoarse voice as it red at all of them. Behind the silhouettes, the space started to be unstable. The Green Wood Magical Seal started to break down, as though something mysterious was ¡¯squeezing¡¯ its way through. "The Head of the Hidden Dragon Guards?" Old Mother of Tianmu appeared stunned. "The Imperial Court knew about everything! There must be a spy among us!" ... "Eh? This hollow..." Although Fang Yuan did not know what was happening outside, he could vaguely feel that something was wrong. The Ye Family sisters raised their heads. The originally clear skies were now tainted with a hue of red. Not just that, there was the vague rumbling of thunder. The sky started to vibrate continuously as though it was about to be ripped apart. "This must be due to something big happening outside... but it is none of our business!" Fang Yuan continued casually. "Instead of wasting our energy looking at the sky, why not start to collect some resources for ourselves!" As his sword light shimmered, streaks of lightning responded around him in a second. "This direction..." However, Ye Shuhua noticed something different and became curious. "That is the direction in which the 4-winged Horned Wing Tribe members came from. Are you intending to ambush their nest?" That¡¯s right!" Fang Yuanughed. "If that small vige could arouse the greed of Sun Jue, what do you think would lie at their nest?" After rushing for a few hours, new plots of ntation appeared before them. In the middle of it all, there was a huge pce. It had the same vibes as the pce before but was many timesrge. It could be considered a town. Considering the fact that they had deliberately concealed their tracks, they were still undetected by the Horned Wing Tribe and could even see some of the tribe members farming in their ntations. "Now that the seal has yet to be lifted, the both of us have a secret technique, with the help of a magical equipment, which will allow us to detect the spiritual aura of the area around us!" Ye Shuhua turned around andmented. "Oh?" Fang Yuan¡¯s heart wavered a little as soon as he heard her. Their rich family heritage indeed left valuable techniques behind for them. Even the value of such a technique would be quite high. "Then I¡¯ll have to trouble the both of you!" "No worries, it¡¯s something we ought to do!" Ye Shuhua ced her left palm together with Ye Shumin¡¯s palm. On her right hand, her thumb and index finger came together, forming a rune which shimmered as though it was a butterfly pping its wings. As the same time, a mysterious wave of energy spread out and slowly, it died out. "Congrattions!" After a moment, Ye Shuhua opened her eyes. "The strongest member of the Horned Wing Tribe in the vicinity isparable to the 3rd Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. However, they are quite a number of them, 15 to be exact! 10 of them are stationed around the pce, guarding at their posts!" As she shook her finger, an average-looking t image of the hall appeared in Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes "What¡¯s this?" Of course, Fang Yuan did not entirely believed her and used his own methods to gather information. Although he could not receive information as detailed as the sisters, he could still roughly sense the situation. "Alright, let¡¯s go there!" Chapter 325: Ancestral God Chapter 325: Ancestral God Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the side hall. 10 2-Winged Horned Wing Tribe members sat in a circle, guarding the centre of the hall. All of them had looks of worry on their faces. "Ancestral God had warned us about the invasion of demons from the outside world. How do you think things would turn out, now that our tribe leader had led reinforcements to aid the other tribe members?" "Our role is to guard the Ancestral God Hall! With this hall left behind by our Ancestral God and the array in ce... Even if any evil demons were to attack us now, we would still be able to hold up until tribe leader and the rest return." ... The 2-Winged Horned Wing Tribe membersmunicated with each other through telepathy and most of them were, in fact,posed. To them, since they had already lived in their own world for the past 1,000 years, they would assume that this would be their way of life for the future. Furthermore, they had the protection of the Ancestral God. "Whooo!" However, at this point in time, a thin fog started to appear within the hall. A few Horned Wing Tribe members were stunned, while a few others started to pass out. The techniques of dream masters were targeted at sentient living things. Therefore, these tribe members would also be affected by it. "Rumble!" Suddenly, there was a huge rumbling in the hall and a golden glow started to appear. As soon as the fog came in contact with the golden glow, it dispersed quickly like how snow would melt under sunlight. "This is not good... we¡¯re being ambushed!" One of the Horned Wing Tribe members shouted hysterically and roared. However, it was already toote. "Whoosh!" A streak of sword radiance suddenly appeared before him. As it shimmered, it sliced down, bringing with it an intense wind and streaks of electricity! "Bang!" With a single slice, this tribe member had its wing sliced into two as it eximed and retreated. "Is this an elder?" "It¡¯s an enemy!" "It¡¯s one of the demons! Quickly activate the array!" The remaining Horned Wing Tribe members were frantically running about. Seeing this, Fang Yuan smiled and flicked his finger. "3 Talents Sword Array, rise!" "Rumble!" A huge sword array appeared and 3 streaks of pirs with sword energy rose up towards the sky. There were inscriptions on each pir, and there were essences of water, fire and thunder in all of them. This array could be used to trap one person, as well as a whole group of people! In the sword array, 7 to 8 guards of the Horned Wing Tribe were trapped as they hollered. "Even 3 dream masters at the 3rd Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage would need some time before they can break out of my 3 Talents Sword Array!" Without looking at them, Fang Yuan barged into the hall. "Bang!" As the door gave way, the interior of the building came into view. This pce was extremely big. There was an altar full of offerings in the middle, and on the altar, there was a tablet erected for a god. There were curtains draped around the altar, but that was all he could see. In the surroundings of the hall, there were a fewrge doors which seemed like storerooms. "How dare you, demon! How dare you show disrespect to our Ancestral God!" The remaining Horned Wing Tribe members were frenzied as they rushed towards Fang Yuan. Even those who were heavily injured did the same. "Ancestral God? I¡¯m not interested!" Fang Yuan let out a sigh as 4 spiritual meridians started to form behind his back. As he shouted, the level 7 elemental power in him exploded from his body. "Scram!" With his cultivation level as a dream master at the 3rd Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage and a martial artist at the 4th Meridian, the entire space around him came to a brief halt at the moment where he released his power. A vague and illusionary fist appeared before 2 of the tribe members. In the blink of an eye, both of them had flown backwards and blood spewed from them. "I can only take them down because of the element of surprise. However, I can at most hold on for another 30 minutes. Once the 3 Talents Sword Array is broken, I will have to be on my way!" As thoughts whizzed through his mind, Fang Yuan took no notice of the statues in the centre of the hall as he rushed straight to the storerooms. There might be treasures there! However, Fang Yuan knew for himself that he did not have the ability to take too many risks. Therefore, it was wise to quickly reap some treasures for himself. "Bang!" Although there were protective runes all over the door, Fang Yuan paid no attention to it. As his hands shook, the level 7 elemental power in him exploded, decimating the door. "Eh? This seems like a storeroom which stores Yellow Grain Rice. This amount is enough for a few hundred people to consume over a year... For a normal dream master, this supply would be able tost him for a few hundred years... I¡¯ll take them all away!" As the Mountain River Pearl glittered, sacks of Yellow Grain Rice were transferred into the pearl. There was a great feeling of satisfaction in his heart. Although he was quick, he had already spent 15 minutes in the storeroom with rice. He could sense a crashing sound from the 3 Talents Sword Array outside and straight away, he knew that the Horned Wing Tribe members had already realised that they could not defeat him one on one. Now, they werebining forces to destroy the 3 Talents Sword Array, elerating its rate of destruction. "Des......troy!" Without hesitation, Fang Yuan broke through another storeroom door. Inside, it glittered everywhere. There were piles and piles of elemental crystals, thrown onto the ground like misceneous items. There were a few rows of wooden shelves as well, and the crystals on the wooden shelves gave off a mysterious glow and seemed to be vibrating a little. "They¡¯re all good stuff! I¡¯ll take them!" With the wave of his hands, the few wooden shelves disappeared. After which, he started to collect the elemental crystals. The spiritual energy within the hollow was concentrated and therefore, the quality of elemental crystals here was rather good. However, Fang Yuan was only halfway done in collecting all these treasures when 3 streaks of light flew towards him and entered his body. They were his 3 magical swords. "My 3 Talents Sword Array is already broken? They are indeedparable to 10 dream masters in the Illusionary Divine stagebining forces! I cannot belittle them!" He quickly stopped his looting and rushed out. "Water and Fire, be heartless! Thunder, kill! Explode, my Level 7 Elemental Power!" "Rumble!" With thebination of his martial arts and sword essence, an intense explosion immediately blew a hole in the roof of the pce. A green current of wind started to circle Fang Yuan and soon after, it shot up into the sky as well. "Ancestral God..." The Horned Wing Tribe members who werete to themotion broke down immediately. "Please punish this sinner!" "Mmm?" Amidst their prayers, the curtains around the altar were lifted, revealing a silhouette of a human. A golden glow started to descend and slowly started to transform into mes. Fang Yuan nced at the statue and was utterly stunned. The statue was donned in a golden armour and had a dragon¡¯s head, but a human body. It was awe-inspiring but very different from the Sage Changli that he had imagined! "Who is this statue? Why does he look like a dragon? Wait a minute... no one said that Sage Changli had to be a human..." "Roar! Roar!" The might of the statue exploded and with it were the godly powers which governed the hollow! It was a dragon¡¯s might! "How can such a mere statue have such a might! Even the true dragons in the Water Realm cannotpare to this!" Fang Yuan quickly retreated. Suddenly, he realised that 10 members of the Horned Wing Tribe had started to activate a certain array. In mid-air, a golden glow transformed into a golden dragon¡¯s w with 5 digits. The w swiftly struck at him. "This is a real dragon¡¯s w!" In a moment, Fang Yuan felt that his entire surroundings froze. There was a chattering sound heard, and his expression quickly changed. At this point in time, in his actualised dream world, an object had responded as it let out a faint dragon¡¯s roar. "Eh?" In a split second, Fang Yuan quickly reacted and retrieved the water dragon pearl from his actualised dream world before shielding himself with it. "Roar! Roar!" Dragon roars were heard as the illusionary shadow of a small golden-green water dragon appeared. It had a small horn on its head and had 4 dragon ws from its body. Every w had 3 digits and the dragon¡¯s tail was dull-looking. This was the figure of a true water dragon. As soon as the energy of the water dragon appeared, the golden dragon w hesitated in mid-air before lightly striking at Fang Yuan. Amidst the golden glow, Fang Yuan flew backwards. "This dragon god..." In a green hurricane, Fang Yuan wiped the blood stains from his mouth. He was in his actualised dream world. The water dragon pearl was still there. However, the water dragon in it had be smaller and there were a few visible cracks on the surface of the pearl. This was the result of his opponent giving him mercy! "Dragon God or Ancestral God... which one was it?" Fang Yuan remained confused. "Sage Changli has already passed on, and this is a fact. Could the Ancestral God be the spirit of the hollow, since it could possess such a might? Or could it be a spiritual object which the Sage might have collected when he was still alive? Anything could be possible... Such a powerful being like the Sage might be able to leave his consciousness around even after his death to continue to harness his power and might..." "However... it is already a fact that he had be a true dragon. Fortunately for me, I have a water dragon pearl which seems toe from the same source. With that split-second of hesitation, I was able to escape with slight injuries... From this, I am sure that this Ancestral God is only a consciousness and does not have a mind of its own..." Without further ado, he quickly made his way to the meeting point to rendezvous with the Ye Family sisters. ... Shortly after they had met up, there was a soft voice in the winds. "Hehe... Both of you girls should follow me. What does that youngster know? Does he know how to treat the both of you right?" It was Yi Xie¡¯s voice. No one knew what special technique he had executed for him to be able to track them all the way here and intercept them. Transforming into a ck fog, he surrounded the sisters and started to speak in a lustful voice. "Although Fang Yuan¡¯s magical swords are powerful, he has recklessly attacked the headquarters of the Horned Wing Tribe. By now, he should have been heavily injured. Why would I fear him? Hehe... All these headquarters would surely have the protection of their own gods. This is a top-secret piece of information and I¡¯m sure the both of you are clueless about it! This is the difference between a long heritage and a strong foundation... I believe that even your Ye Family would meet your ultimate downfall!" "Stupid Yi, you seem gentlemanly, but do you really think the both of us are clueless as to your cultivation methods?" A glittering butterfly started to p its wings amidst the ck fog, protecting the two girls. With a voice filled with hatred, Ye Shuhua shouted. "Even if we have to die, we will not submit to you!" "If you are rejecting my kind offer, then I shall have to force you!" Yi Xie¡¯s eyes glistened. "Even though the both of you might still be virgins... let¡¯s see how long can the both of youst after experiencing my Colourful Lustful Fog!" As he spoke, his ck fog quickly transformed into a colourful glow. In the colourful fog, the girls¡¯ expression started to change. Tears started to well up in their eyes as their breathing became rapid. Their faces slowly became flushed, as though they were intoxicated. "How dare you!" Seeing this, Fang Yuan was enraged as he quickly sliced the Sundering Thunder Sword towards the fog. "Whoosh!" With a few streaks of lightning, the fog dispersed. "Eh... how could you have retreated with no injuries?" Yi Xie was still the handsome middle-aged man he always was. Seeing that something was not right, he continued to execute his technique and in addition, he pointed a finger at Fang Yuan. "Rise!" "Rumble!" The ck fog started to thicken and ck statues began appearing around Fang Yuan. They were ferocious looking and their eyes were bloodshot. "Roar! Roar!" Amidst the roaring of beasts, a mysterious array was formed. "Forming an array with his thoughts! A dream array master?" Fang Yuan still had to spend effort in arranging the swords into the array. However, with the snap of his fingers, Yi Xie had created an array without any effort in making arrangements. This was the special ability of dream array masters! "That¡¯s right... My 4 Evils Ultimate Array can undergo 72 changes. Even if you might break it, I still have the 8 Ghosts Sealing Array and the 9 Child Ghost Mother Array waiting for you. How long do you think you canst?" Yi Xie was indeed powerful, and he let out a coldugh. "I can feel that you seem to be hiding a lot of things. I shall kill you before slowly searching your body..." Chapter 326: Evil Force Chapter 326: Evil Force Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "There¡¯s something with me that attracts you?" Fang Yuan¡¯s expression changed as he summoned, "3 Talents Sword Array, arise!" "Chi! Chi!" The water, fire and thunder swords emerged as a sword array was summoned within the 4 Evils Ultimate Array. The sword essence was piercingly fierce and threatened the evil spirits. The ck-coloured beast was enveloped in it at once and turned into powder. "Using an array to defeat an array?" Yi Xie was slightly amused and sneered, "Such a half-baked array and you dare to disy it?" "Heeheehee!" "Hahaha!" On Yi Xie¡¯s body, 9 streams of ck energy appeared and turned into ghostly spirits of babies whichughed eerily non-stop. The 9 spirits dived into the ck fog. Immediately, another powerful array was cast, it was the 9 Child Ghost Mother Array! Although Yi Xie was belittling Fang Yuan, he was actually wary of him and immediately disyed his killer move! "Be careful..." Ye Shuhua warned. Within the colourful butterflies, Ye Shuhua¡¯s determined voice could be heard, "This array is very sinister and powerful, it is formed from 9 tainted spirits! It can severely corrode and damage magical equipment!" "There¡¯s no point talking now!" Yi Xie chortled, streaks of ck-green energy appeared and corroded the sword essence. It had even spread to the sword¡¯s body itself. "Thunder sword!" Fang Yuan made use of his spiritual will and the thunder sword coruscated with lightning. The ck-green energy was purified from the thunder sword. However, the water and fire swords were not able to withstand the ck-green energy. "Last time, when the 3 Talents Sword Array was broken, the body of the divine swords were also damaged? Thus, if I explode the sword essence, these filths would be gone at once..." Fang Yuan knew that the swords were powerful as they had previously fought against 10 Illusionary Divine dream masters and were also attacked by dragon ws before. However, Fang Yuan had a sense that the swords¡¯ powers were no longer at their strongest. The most obvious clue was the fact that the dream elemental force in his actualised dream world was depleting at an rming rate. It had already dropped to a very critical level. "Doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s a normal dream master, a dream master at the Illusionary Divine stage or a dream master at the Prominent Divine stage, their main cultivation was to forge magical energy through harnessing dream elemental force from the dream realm to create numerous things... At this moment, I can¡¯t believe my dream elemental force has be insufficient!" Fang Yuan thought. Since he had fought with so many simrly powerful people, this naturally happened. "If I explode the three swords now, I still can break out of this 9 Child Ghost Mother Array and escape with the power of the Modest Wind Sword... Whereas, for the Ye sisters, they can only rely on themselves!" Fang Yuan came to the conclusion of escaping after pondering for a moment. "Once I recover, Yi Xie will be no match for me!" He waved his right hand and an illusionary green-coloured windy sword essence appeared. It was agile and nimble. "3 Talents Sword, explode!" If they were normal magical soldiers, Fang Yuan would have greatly cherished and valued them. However, for dream soldier masters, once they were sessfully formed, even if they were damaged, they could easily be recovered with dream elemental force. Thus, Fang Yuan was naturally not parsimonious and used this move readily. "Kaboom!" "Kaboom!" "Kaboom!" The three swords exploded and a shocking red and blue light mixed with lightning dazzled as they spread "Ahh... I will fight till the end, 9 Child Ghost Mother, appear!" Yi Xie¡¯s hair was in a mess. He bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of vital blood. In the array, 9 ghastly green ghost babies appeared andbined into one, forming a horrifying and disturbing shape which surrounded Fang Yuan. "Heeheeee!" Once the Ghost Mother appeared, a destructive and baleful force could be felt. The astounding sword essence shot to the skies. me, frost, lightning... An agglomeration of ripples spread across the surroundings and even ripped ayer off the ground. A mushroom cloud rose and once the dust settled, arge crater was left at the original spot. Although the Ye sisters¡¯ butterflies were powerful and they were not at the centre of the explosion, they were still flung far away. Their butterfly defence was broken and both of them were unconscious. "Dead? Unlikely!" Fang Yuan tensed his lips, walked forward two steps and looked at the centre of the crater. "Bang!" The upperyer of soil sted off and Yi Xie emerged from it. The corner of his lips was bleeding and his shirt was broken, he was extremely ravaged. "Things are bad..." Fang Yuan became tense as he saw Yi Xie. Although Yi Xie appeared ravaged, it was merely minor injuries for him. Whereas, Fang Yuan had already used up all his moves. "Time to leave!" Fang Yuan thought as a green-coloured wind appeared beside to bring him away. "Don¡¯t think about escaping!" Yi Xie¡¯s eyes were bloodshot, he turned into a stream of light and charged forward. With a wave of his hands, a ck rope appeared. Yi Xie was relentless; he was determined to have Fang Yuan dead. "If we were to fight, even though my dream elemental force is almost fully depleted, my Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique has not been used at all yet..." Fang Yuan squinted his eyes and challenged, "Since you are courting death, I will let you die!" Even if he was forced into such a predicament, he could still breakthrough to the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine in the middle of the battle by using the heavenly energy which he kept in his actualised dream world! This was hisst card up his sleeve, it was not supposed to be easily used. But since Yi Xie was courting death, Fang Yuan decided to kill him. "Hand it over!" Yi Xie roared, "I feel... there¡¯s something I want in your body! It¡¯s even clearer now! Once I have it, I will definitely be able to advance to the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine!" "Advance to the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine... could it be..." Fang Yuan felt uneasy and looked at his own body. He just realised there was ayer of dark red glow on his body. In his actualised dream world, as the dream elemental force was almost fully depleted, streaks of evil forces appeared and became stronger. They had a dream-like power. "The evil force from the Illusionary World of the Three World Mountain!" Fang Yuan¡¯s expression turned awful at once, "After I depleted my dream elemental force and lost the power of my divine swords, this happens?" "Smack!" Fang Yuan could not spend so long thinking, his eagle w grabbed the ck rope and his palm was scalding hot. It was as though it was being seared by mes. "Hand over the thing now!" Yi Xie screamed crazily as he whipped the ck rope. An evil devouring force reached his palm and was incredibly corrosive. "What an evil weapon!" At that moment, even Fang Yuan¡¯s martial art elemental force could not protect Fang Yuan¡¯s palm. Under the corrosive force of the ck rope, both his palms rotted and blood oozed out. "Heehee... this Soul Devouring Rope is powered by my dream elemental force. Once it sticks to its prey, the prey will definitely die!" Yin Xieughed wickedly, "If you don¡¯t want to turn into a pile of pus, quickly hand over the thing I want!" "You want it? Fine, I will give it to you!" A ruthless energy grew from the bottom of Fang Yuan¡¯s heart which caused him to gave up on trying to escape. He suppressed his thoughts of breaking through and the blood-red glow on his body became even stronger. "This evil force is like a nuisance to me, but since you want it so much, I shall give it to you!" Fang Yuan guffawed as his voice turned darker. In an instant, ayer of bloody glow emerged from Fang Yuan¡¯s palm and Yi Xie¡¯s dream elemental force disintegrated at once. The blood-red glow spread along the ck rope and reached Yi Xie¡¯s palms. "This is... heavenly evil force! You have Heavenly Evil Dream Elements in your body?! Ahhh..." Yi Xie let out a bloodcurdling scream as both his hands wizened at once, it was as though his blood and flesh disappeared in an instant. "Let go... quickly let go!" Yi Xie shrieked as he was panic-stricken. Whereas Fang Yuan had urately felt this evil force¡¯s joy, it was as though it finally found its delicious prey and was greedily devouring the opponent¡¯s everything. "Spare me... spare my life..." Yi Xie¡¯s eyes were filled with terror. He could not let go of both of his hands as he instead became the Soul Devouring Rope¡¯s sacrificial offering. Slowly, his arms, shoulders, chest, et cetera wizened. Once the flesh on his cheeks disappeared, he became a blood red skeleton. "Crackle Crackle!" A bright red ze engulfed his corpse. Immediately, the entire dream master was gone. Even the hollow could not snatch it in time. "Heavenly evil force? Heavenly Evil Dream Element has be stronger?" Before Yi Xie perished, Fang Yuan wanted to stop. However, the evil force was so strong and adherent that it could not be let go. At that moment, once the mes extinguished, Fang Yuan felt that an evil force stronger than before had returned to him. Furthermore, it felt extremely filling. The evil force entered his actualised dream world and settled down. Streaks of mercury-like dream elemental force appeared and the dark red streaks could no longer be seen. "Horrifying!" Although it defeated his powerful opponent and even recovered his injuries, Fang Yuan was not even slightly happy at it. "This elemental force is indeed a type of dream elemental force. Heavenly evil force? Too bad Yi Xie has already died, if not, I could have asked him..." He felt that this force did not rely on his actions and had its own will. Obviously, Fang Yuan could not allow such an uncontroble force to be present in his dream world, especially one that came from a dead person!" "Once I leave, this hidden danger must be settled immediately!" He nced at the battlefield. Yi Xie was long gone, his flesh and elemental force were fully devoured and there was not even a piece of cloth left behind. The only thing left behind was the ck rope. At the side of the battlefield, the Ye sisters were still unconscious. The elder sister held on tightly to a piece of jade. The jade had ayer of clear glow to it which forcefully protected the sisters. "Unconscious until now? It is a form of blessing!" Upon a closer look, Fang Yuan realised they were really in aa. He sighed as his intentions to kill them faded. What happened earlier on was too bizarre. If these twodies saw it, he would have to kill them both. However, since they were unconscious, he no longer had to. "Hmm... the two of them are fine, just that their sea of consciousness were disturbed when I exploded my magical soldiers just now. If they were outside, I can just leave them to sleep and recover, but inside here..." Fang Yuan took the jade and formed two flowers made of water. He sprinkled the water onto the two sisters as two streams of dream elemental force transferred to them. The twodies were not severely injured and these were enough. "Ahh!" Ye Shuhua shrieked and opened her eyes, she scratched her head and said, "My head hurts... where¡¯s Yi Xie?" "Sister!" Ye Shumin hugged herself and said, "Why am I wet? It¡¯s so cold!" "You..." Ye Shuhua rolled her eyes at Fang Yuan. She realised both of them were revealed to Fang Yuan. She quickly blocked her sister¡¯s body and shrieked, "No looking!" Chapter 327: Hidden Dragon Chapter 327: Hidden Dragon Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Ye Shuhua didn¡¯t say anything at first, hence Fang Yuan didn¡¯t really notice much. However, after taking a good look, he couldn¡¯t help but nod to himself, "Not bad, not bad, they¡¯re of a decent size. Especially the sister......I never thought..." "You..." This time, Ye Shuhua was so angry to the point that she didn¡¯t bother hiding her skills. She started to circte her energy to dry her clothes outright. When her gaze turned to her surroundings, which were in a bad state, she was shocked, "You chased Yi Xie away?" "Not chased away, killed!" Fang Yuan revealed the ck rope in his hands. "I never thought... I really never thought..." Ye Shuhua¡¯s eyes were filled with shock, "This Yi Xie is rather famous among those in the 3rd Tier of Illusionary Divine Stage. He can form arrays with his mind and also has the assistance of 9 Child Ghost Mother. In the past, he fought against someone in Illusionary Divine Tier 4 and managed to retreat sessfully. Who knew that he would die in your hands!" "I was just lucky!" Fang Yuan waved it off, " we¡¯ll leave as soon as possible once you¡¯ve partially recovered. There has been too big amotion here. It¡¯s too dangerous!" "Ok!" Although Ye Shuhua didn¡¯t know that they had already fulfilled the required numbers for the blood ritual, she could remember the mutual deception they had gone through. Hence, she had no trust for dream masters, possibly even less than for members of the Horned Wing Tribe! "This time I managed to get a great haul so it¡¯s still good enough. After this, I¡¯ll find some cave to hide in and quietly wait for a powerful being to take control of this Hallow!" "Pui!" Right after Fang Yuan finished his sentence, Ye Shuhua couldn¡¯t stop herself from saying, "Find a cave... to hide in?" "In front of powerful beings, we are all just ants. In order to live, so what if I hide in a cave? I¡¯m only afraid that when the timees I can¡¯t even hide in one!" Once he was done, Fang Yuan swiftly left with a disappointed expression on his face. On the other hand, the hairs on Ye Shuhua¡¯s arms instantly stood up and she gazed towards the skies. The blood-red hue had already covered most of the sky while small ck cracks began to appear and spread outwards. "This... This isn¡¯t taking control of this Hollow; it¡¯s tearing the ce apart right?" Her lips slowly parted and disbelief appeared on her face, "Why is this happening?" "I¡¯m afraid it can¡¯t be helped!" Fang Yuan remembered that Tianmu Mountain was just nearby and a serious look shed in his eyes. ... Da Qian World, Tianmu Mountain. The originally grand peak had already been split through the centre, almost as though as something had squeezed it to the point of breaking. In the skies, cracks started to appear and spread, reflecting the situation in the Hollow in it. "The sky is cracking! The sky is cracking!" At the nearbyrge city, people said their goodbyes and left, gazing towards the sky. Some knelt and prayed while others fled towards the Jade Capital with fear written all over their face. Cultivators were also among them. Everyone knew that cultivators were much more knowledgeable, but at this point in time, they were even more afraid. With this sort of situation, some higher powers must have shed with each other. One did not have to look far for the horrific example of what happened to the Divine Lotus Cult, hence who would dare to gamble with their lives? Thus, they brought their whole families, including all young and old, to flee to the Jade Capital. Three beams of light appeared above the clouds and they looked towards arge, grand, and almost demonic figure with expressions of fear on their faces, "Lord Hidden Dragon? Are you going to start an all-out war with us?" The Old Mother of Tianmu asked with an ugly look on her face. "Just the likes of you can¡¯t represent the Five Great Alliances!" Lord Hidden Dragon only appeared as a shadow but it could cover the entire sky and sun and had an oppressing aura. Its voice had an unusual charisma about it, "For someone at my cultivation level, what¡¯s the purpose of lying to you? Your five great factions only begrudgingly joined forces for this Hollow, and the Prominent Divine Stage dream masters will only sit in the back lines at the very most, not evening to the front lines!" "Indeed... After you defected to the Imperial Court, you¡¯ve be more shameless than before!" Elder Smelter and Old Xue looked at each other, speechless. Lord Hidden Dragon, the Head of the Hidden Dragon Guards, was a true Prominent Divine Stage powerful being! To others, he could be called the creator! A Sage! However, for a Hollow, he actually sent a magical clone over. If they knew about this in advance, they would have asked the top experts in their ranks to attack! But now it was toote! ¡¯Although I have the ability to cross worlds, I cannot be disturbed while doing so... Now that Lord Hidden Dragon has personallye forward, releasing energy from a distance has be impossible!¡¯ Elder Smelter¡¯s mind moved quickly, "It¡¯s just a Hollow, so why does it seem like the Imperial Pce will stop at nothing to obtain it?!" Producing a Prominent Divine Stage expert required aptitude, determination, and luck. It would already be very good to be able to produce a dream master at the 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine Stage even with theplete inheritance of Sage Changli, much less if one only had a Hollow. At this moment, Old Mother of Tianmu and co. looked at each other and reached the same conclusion, "No matter what, the Imperial Court must not obtain this Hollow! Even if we destroy it!" "I¡¯m afraid that there are secrets that I have not decrypted in this Changi Hollow!" Elder Smelter roared, "Let¡¯s attack together. Our opponent is just a magical clone. I don¡¯t believe that he woulde here personally!" "You guys...... really want to fight me? Are you not afraid that you will die here?" Lord Hidden Dragon grinned, "Don¡¯t forget, we¡¯re close to the Jade Capital! Even if you ask your alliance for help now, which of our sides will arrive faster?" This was the geographical advantage. Old Mother of Tian Mu and co. were stunned. They couldn¡¯t think of anything else other than hate on the appearance of the Changli Hollow at this location "Dao Friend Hidden Dragon... Why do you have to appear in person for this small fight between the young ones? Wouldn¡¯t that be a little embarrassing?" At this moment, a crisp voice echoed down from the heavens. Rainbow coloured clouds appeared with the silhouette of a green imperial chariot above them. Dragons and phoenixes danced and two rows of servant boys and girls yed the drums and blew reed pipes. Purple energy shot towards the heavens, reaching thousands of metres high. "It¡¯s another magical clone of a Sage!" Elder Smelting and Old Xue stared at one another with a suspecting look in their eyes. "So it¡¯s Lord Yin!" Lord Hidden Dragon chuckled, "My imperial court might haverge territories and great industries, but its expenditure is great as well, so I can¡¯t do things as extravagantly as you do and have to be a little more prudent... You want to fight over this sort of small benefits with me?" "Originally... I was going to pass on this Hollow to give you some face. However, great intelligence may appear to be stupidity. On the surface, you seemed to be insulting yourself, but actually, you were insulting others, so I muste to fight with you over it!" When Sages hatch schemes, while they did not know the past and futurepletely, they could get a clear idea of the general flow of events. The ploy of baiting one¡¯s opponents with a show of weakness wouldn¡¯t work at all. Lord Hidden Dragon remained silent, this being the first time he felt that things were steering beyond his control. "Lord?" Two figures behind him asked. Despite being at the 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine Stage, they were just insignificant servant boys. "Inform King Qian to assemble the men and get ready for an all-out war!" Lord Hidden Dragon directly sent out the message, "This Hollow is extremely important. Even though all dream masters research into the mystery of the source, Sage Changli, who has not reveal his knowledge in this area, is possibly the person closest to the truth. This previous information must not be obtained by the enemy!" "Source... The source of dream masters¡¯ powers, that world of the legends?! Sage Changli actually found traces of it?" The two figures only then realised what was going on, and a chill ran down their spine, "We understand!" ... Rumble! Mountains copsed and the ground split open; floodwaters shed against moltenva! Inside the Changli Hollow, the ground cracked, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes... All sorts of natural disasters burst forth in an instant, giving everyone the impression that the end of the world hade. In reality, to this small Hollow, it was really armageddon! "Go!" A rock the size of a small hillnded and the Ye family sisters stared at it nkly without daring to make a single step. In that crucial moment, Fang Yuan¡¯s body turned into lightning and he grabbed the both of them while flying out of the affected area. Rumble! Behind him, a loud noise rang out. Shards of rocks flew everywhere, each of them not weaker than the hundred kilogram rocks used for sieging a city. "Kill!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes turned cold as he calcted where to step. Waving his hands, two streams of fire and water sword essence were produced, which cut the giant rock into two. Crack! Web-like cracks appeared on the surface of the ground, and underneath them, dark redva bubbled as though as it was a frothing river. Suddenly, a pir of fire shot into the sky, bringing with it a fountain ofva. This ignited the nts around, causing a giant forest fire. "This......What is going on?" Once the three of them fled to the edge of argeke, Yu Shuhua asked in a shocked state. "The Hollow is copsing. Can¡¯t you notice something this obvious?" Fang Yuan was frustrated as he retorted with a question of his own. "Impossible!" Ye Shuhua shook her head, "Even if others started fighting with the royal family outside, the many lords don¡¯t have the power to destroy the Hollow...Unless..." "Unless it¡¯s a creator, a Sage that made a move!" Fang Yuan coldly replied. "Elder sister... I¡¯m so afraid!" At the side, Ye Shumin grabbed her elder sister¡¯s sleeves tightly while she was distraught. "Since the Hollow is copsing, these cmities are simply an appetiser......The true test has yet toe! Regardless whether it¡¯s the wind of destruction or the spatial tears, we¡¯ll die if we meet either of them!" Giving out a long breath, Fang Yuan added on, "Now our only hope is that the Prominent Divine Stage powerful being¡¯s side will emerge victorious quickly and take control of the Hollowpletely, then perhaps we might have the chance to live!" "Impossible!" Ye Shuhua gazed at the frothing surface of theke while smiling bitterly, "This Changli Hollow is very close to the Jade Capital so the Imperial Court has the geographical advantage while out Five Great Alliance can¡¯t even maintain an appearance of peace for long. Perhaps they are even in conflicts with each other, hence it¡¯s impossible for them to be united. Otherwise, would there still be any issues with the Imperial Court?" "That¡¯s bad!" Fang Yuan guffawed, "The Sage is like a giant crocodile and if it swallows this piece of fat meat by taking control of the Hollow, we will be reduced to powder!" "This is the worst case scenario, so what we experience shouldn¡¯t be that bad right?" Ye Shuhua meekly asked. Even she did not have much confidence in her question. ...... "Demon!" At the center of the Hollow, in a cluster of buildings that were over a hundred times more majestic and beautiful than anything that existed before, six Horned Wing Tribe members were jolted awake. They gazed at the breaking sky, roaring in rage. Their figures were tall and perfect with four pairs of wings on their back. The feathers on their wings had a slight tinge of gold and their horns looked like they were made of pure gold. As the sound waves propagated, a terrifying amount of energy spread outwards, stabilising the pce of many kilometres in radius. "The Hallow is shattering. The grand tribtion that the Sage prophesied hase!" They looked at each other, and all of them were very determined, "The treasures that the Sage left behind must not be taken by the demons from the outside!" Chapter 328: Influence Chapter 328: Influence Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "There¡¯s no other choice, we can only awaken the Ancestral God as ourst form of resistance! Once the hollow falls apart, we shall each escape with a portion of the treasures!" As the key leaders of the hollow, these members of the Golden Horned Wing Tribe immediately understood what was happening and nned ordingly. "Kaboom!" A gigantic hexagram appeared on the ground, its centre was the pce¡¯s Ancestral God Hall. Immediately, a serene aura could be felt. It was as though something that was in 10,000 years of deep sleep had suddenly awoken. "Ancestral God, pleaseplete yourst duties!" Six members of the Golden Horn Winged Tribe kneeled down as tears flowed down their faces. In an instant, they turned into six streams of meteors and flew into the horizons. "Don¡¯t think about leaving!" Suddenly, the world paused for a moment. Even the destruction of the hollows seemed to stop for a moment. In the skies, numerous cracks merged together and formed into the shape of a door. A dainty jade hand emerged from this gigantic indescribable door. Just with this palm, the door seemed to copse as it could not withstand it. The jade white hand pointed lightly and one of the golden meteors was stopped. The Golden Horned Wing Tribe member in it bellowed, "Demon!" As it bellowed, numerous golden mes zed from its body which formed a small sphere. However, in an instant, the jade white hand broke space-time and appeared beside the Golden Horned Wing. Even as it tried to escape or defend, it was all useless, the jade white hand touched the area between its eyebrows. "Kacha! Kacha!" He floated in the mid-air and suddenly, his body cracked like it was made out of porcin. Between the cracks, a golden liquid slowly seeped out. "Boom!" Under the explosion, this Golden Horned Wing Tribe member turned into powder. A bit of light emerged from its body and was grabbed by the jade white hand immediately. The jade white hand was ted and went for the other golden coloured meteors at once. "Where do you think you all are going!" A green lightning split the skies as a simr green-coloured arm emerged from it. The green arm grabbed one of the meteors and crushed it into pieces. "Ancestral God!!!" The remaining four meteors let out a sorrowful wail. "Roar!" The pce below crumbled as a bedazzling and bright golden light shot up to the skies and turned into a golden dragon. Its antlers resembled those of a stag, its neck that of a snake, its belly that of a m and its scales those of a carp. There were four ws on its abdomen and each w had five toes. There was an inverse scale below its neck, it was indeed a five-wed true dragon! As it saw the hollow crumbling and turning into ashes, coupled with the grisly sight of the two dead members of the Golden Horned Wing Tribe, it let out a loud roar. "Woong! Wooong!" Large amounts of power from the hollows gathered around its body which formedrge heavenly clouds. The dragon was interconnected with the surroundings! Once the five-wed golden dragon appeared, the whole hollow momentarily went back to normal. It disyed its shocking might. At that moment, the true dragon¡¯s eyes had a hint of blood-red in it as he looked at the owner of the two huge hands. "Eh... just a transformed spirit of the hollow! What¡¯s there to be afraid of?" The two huge hands sent out a wave of force, it obviously did not undermine the true dragon. The spirit of the hollow hadplete authority over the hollow, it could harness the energy of the hollow to suppress outsiders. Even Illusionary Divine dream masters at the 7th Tier would be wary inside the spirit¡¯s home ground. "The spirit of the hollow¡¯s power is only limited to inside the hollow, the hollow is crumbling, what¡¯s there left?" A fearsome force from the outside was tearing apart the hollow, Changli Mountain Hollow was copsing at an even faster pace. "Roar!" The true dragon was majestic, its body was protected by the heavenly clouds. It blocked the two huge hands and allowed the remaining Horned Wing Tribe members to evacuate. "Ancestral God... hollow... tribe members..." The four remaining Golden Horned Wing Tribe contained their tears as they could only fly farther. "Kaboom!" Suddenly, ck fog gathered at one point of the horizon and turned into a huge ck-coloured hand. Its fingers were like mountains and grasped one of the Golden Horned Wing Tribe member, "The two of you are too slow! Since I am here, I have to rip this hollow apart!" "Kaboom!" The moment the voice spoke finished, a tremendous force from outside caused part of the hollow to immediately disintegrate, it was as though it was bitten off. "Roar!" One of the heavenly clouds on the five-wed golden dragon¡¯s body disappeared. As it faced the three humongous hands that covered the skies, his power slightly weakened. "Haha... small dragon, you better obediently surrender and call me master! I may even spare your pathetic life!" A terrorising thought emerged and viciously suppressed the true dragon. Suddenly, the five-wed golden dragon¡¯s eyes fully turned blood-red. He turned in a circle and encircled the three huge hands, there was a destructive atmosphere in the air. "D*mn it! This spirit of the hollow would rather self-destruct for his cause!" A slightly exasperated voice could be heard. Immediately, a shocking explosion happened. The explosion shot to the skies, the wave of destruction was extensive and cracks appeared in space. Only a few meteors were intentionally protected as they were sent out of the area to beyond the horizons. As the hollows trembled, blood rain fell from the skies signifying the sorrows of thend. Immediately, it was as though the hollow lost its core strength that kept it together. Large fissures emerged as the entire hollow began to break apart and disintegrate. ... "This... What¡¯s happening?" Even Fang Yuan and the Ye sisters experienced the impactful force. The blood rain also brought about a feeling of inauspiciousness. "Blood rain falls from the sky evoking the sorrows of thend... the spirit of the hollow has died..." Ye Shuhua¡¯s face turned ashen at once, "If he was merely subdued, this wouldn¡¯t happen... Indeed, it was a brawl between the sages..." Those below the Prominent Divine dream masters were merely nobodies, she obviously had no confidence in surviving. "You forgot the most important thing! Once the spirit dies, what will happen?" Fang Yuan clenched his teeth. "The hollow will disintegrate?!" Once Ye Shuhua spoke, an earthquake more than ten times stronger than the previous ones could be felt. Furthermore, this time around, not only did thends crumbled, space too! The obliterating storm began to brew in the hollow. Space was shattered into pieces as pieces ofnd was being thrown into the storm of chaos. "Dead, we are so dead!" Ye Shuhua despaired as she looked at such a scene. "There is actually a solution..." Fang Yuan stared into the fathomless void and he had an idea, "We can¡¯t wait for this entirend to be ripped apart by this space obliterating storm! We have to jump out first!" "You are saying... true form dream traverse?" Ye Shuhua was clever, she immediately understood. "Indeed... if this was like the usual, once we dream traverse with our true form, if there were no coordinates of other realms nor protection from rare treasures, we would be turned into powder! Whereas this Changli Mountain Hollow is different since it is not a realm but a part of Da Qian Empire, there is a huge possibility that we would be sent to Da Qian. I think there¡¯s a 70% chance of sess that is worth a gamble!" Fang Yuan rapidly suggested. The hollow was crumbling, they would have died if they stayed there. If they took the risk, they still had a chance of survival. "I guess that¡¯s the only way!" Ye Shuhua clenched her teeth, "We¡¯ll do it together!" "Of course..." With the protection of the sword essence, Fang Yuan also fully utilised his Golden Metal Body as they went against storm and arrived at the verge of thend. At that moment, the boilingva had already disappeared. What was left was only the silver coloured storm. Rocks, water currents and even living things were all sucked into the storm. The destruction left behind an eerie silence. "We must avoid the closest storm and throw ourselves into the calmer void further away!" Ye Shuhua hugged her sister and clenched her teeth. As she was talking, a loud boom could be heard as thend they were on tremored heavily and separated away towards the void. "There¡¯s no more time, hurry!" Fang Yuan whipped out his sword and carved out a piece of rock. He and the Ye sisters rode on top of it. "Huuu! Hruuuu!" Pieces of this huge rock melted away as it met the storm. Fang Yuan held the sisters tightly as he suddenly jumped and turned into a stream of sword radiance. He dashed across the storm quickly and entered the dark space. Immediately, a terrifying force surged and torn apart the three of them. It was like a powerful torrent which caused them to be unable to control their own bodies. In an instant, the three of them were separated inside the turbulence. "The void¡¯s turbulence is indeed horrifying, it is a totally different feeling from what an elemental clone would experience..." Fang Yuan felt the weightlessness and as he felt powerless inside the void, it made him clenched his fist and thought, "One day... I will make sure even this void cannot restrict me!" Momentster, a powerful force could be felt. He opened his eyes wide and saw a golden meteor entered the void rapidly. "That¡¯s..." Inside the golden radiance, there was a Golden Horned Wing Tribe member which had four pairs of golden wings. "Two pairs of wings was equivalent to an Illusionary Divine dream master at the 4th Tier... then this winged beast?" Fang Yuan¡¯s hair stood at once. However, this member of the Golden Horned Wing Tribe did not bother about Fang Yuan at all. It was using all its strength to p its wings and fly away, it was as though it was escaping from being killed. "You... can¡¯t escape!" All of a sudden, Fang Yuan saw a jade white finger chased into the void too. There was only one finger, however, it was akin to a sculpture that was beautifully carved out of jade. Its might was fearsome, it even caused the void¡¯s turbulence to retreat. This was evidently one of the jade white hand¡¯s finger. However, he did not know why only one finger was left. "The treasures left behind by the sage cannot be taken by the evil demons!" As the Golden Horned Wing Tribe member hollered, its facial expression was even more resolute and determined. "It¡¯s useless!" The jade white finger shook lightly and appeared right in front of it. "Die!" Even the void¡¯s turbulence moved aside as the powerful force resonated. "Ahh... I will fight till the end!" The Golden Horned Wing Tribe member howled. The horn on his head was lit in golden mes and its whole body turned translucent as a beam of light emerged. "You..." Suddenly, a shocking explosion could be felt. Even though Fang Yuan was not at the epicentre, he spat out a mouthful of blood at once, "Perish together? Wait a minute..." He thought of something and immediately took out the water dragon¡¯s pearl. As he focused his elemental force into it, a green coloured water dragon appeared. After the explosion, a mysterious glow that appeared tried to escape out of the void. However, due to the influence of the pearl, it entered the water dragon¡¯s pearl and stayed there. "It¡¯s sessful!" Fang Yuan was relieved, however, he was immediately thrown deeper into the void¡¯s turbulence...... Chapter 329: The He Family Caravan Chapter 329: The He Family Caravan Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The sun was setting and the wind was chilly. As the surroundings became dim, the crows cawed upon a tree as they red at a person beneath the tree, as though they were waiting for him to rot so that they could feast on him. The person flipped over. Although there were blood stains on his face, he appeared young. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and released a streak of white energy from his mouth. "Whoosh!" "Caw! Caw!" The crows shook and a few feathers fell off. They quickly flew away in shock and would not dare to return. "Mmm... Although I am injured, I am rather lucky not to have died!" This person was Fang Yuan. As he examined himself, he realised that he was severely injured. "The 3 magical swords are long destroyed and I will need a lot of dream elemental force to rebuild them. My physical martial artist body has been injured as I travelled through space. I can¡¯t even move a muscle now!" He gathered thest of his energy and started to absorb the elemental energy from his surroundings, initiating his recovery. "Forget about the 8 Gates Sword Array. This is not the time to use my reserved heavenly energy to achieve a breakthrough. I can slowly recover in the near future. This ce seems not too far from civilization. I should prioritize the recovery of my physical body and regain some energy to move before thinking of anything else..." Although the hollow was dependent on Da Qian Empire, the disruption and chaos within the hollow would mean that he could possibly end up somewhere else other than Da Qian Empire. However, from the spiritual energy around and the geographical features which he could see, the chances that he was in Da Qian Empire was very high. "The problem is that I don¡¯t know where I am, and I don¡¯t know about the fight at Changli Mountain Hollow..." With this thought, he recalled the ultimatum between the Golden Horned Wing Tribe and the finger of the jade white hand and how he had benefited from it. "That mysterious glow might just be the essence of the entire hollow. It was really lucky for me to have absorbed it... Both parties had fought to their deaths and in all that chaos, even the Prominent Divine dream masters would not be able to know. And if anyone attempt to predict what had happened, it would beughable. The technique of a dream future master would require extreme details before they would be able to make an urate prediction. Now that everything is in a mess, they would be extremely lucky if they could even start the prediction in the right direction..." "Of course, to ensure my safety, the only way is to quickly increase my cultivation level!" With a high level of cultivation, one would be able to resist the predictions of dream future masters even without the use of secret techniques or magical weapons. Furthermore, logically speaking, if one had a high level of cultivation and if the dream future master were to attempt to predict one, he would instead experience a bacsh! "Gallop!" On a path, galloping of horses was heard. A caravan slowly made its way towards Fang Yuan. "Head, a person is lying beside the road!" A front scout quickly came over and shouted his findings. "He still has a breath. With all these abrasions on him, could he have fallen off a cliff?" "He is just a mere vagrant. No need to pay any attention to him!" The head of the caravan came over and red at Fang Yuan as though he was a dead man. Fang Yuan felt indifferent towards him. After all, in this world, there were very few good and bad people. The majority were neutral. Since they were strangers, the head of the caravan had no obligation to help him and would, therefore, prefer to avoid trouble. This was only logical. ¡¯I cannot remain here, lying by the roadside...¡¯ Fang Yuan thought to himself as there was a mysterious look in his eyes. He was prepared to drop hints to make the person before him change his mind. "Wait up!" As a carriage approached, a young man around 15 years old came out of it. He was wearing a silk robe and his face was full of life. It was evident that he came from a rich family and was brought up with a silver spoon. Seeing Fang Yuan, he quickly eximed. "We should save him. After all, we are saving a human life. Just take it that our family is umting good karma!" "What a kind heart, my master!" As soon as their Young Master spoke, no one would go against him. Two men started to approach Fang Yuan. "Oh... he¡¯s still able to move?" "I¡¯m afraid that my internal organs are damaged and I cannot move at the moment!" Fang Yuan replied with a bitter smile. "Let¡¯s free up a carriage for him to lie down! We¡¯ll let Old Zhang take a look at him!" The consultant instructed a few men to carry out his instructions as he had a worried look on his face. As the caravan took a short rest, they quickly resumed their journey. Fang Yuanid in the carriage and felt a little dizzy from the suffocating confined space. As he focused, he could vaguely hear the conversation that was taking ce outside the carriage. "Young Master, you¡¯re rather reckless this time.... If he was a passer-by who fell and injured himself, then all is fine. However, Old Zhang had concluded that his limbs were fine and that he had sustained internal injuries! This means that he is likely to be a martial artist! Although we have a Wu Zong in our family, it is ultimately unwise to get ourselves into unnecessary trouble..." The consultant spoke in an extremely soft voice. He could never imagine that Fang Yuan would be able to hear what he had just said. "Uncle He, I¡¯ve thought of this as well... However, it must be fate that we encounter him! Who can exin fate? Who knows, we might need his help in the future!" The young man¡¯s voice was heard. He did not rescue Fang Yuan out of kindness, but although he might be thinking of making use of Fang Yuan¡¯s help in the future, his act was good enough. Fang Yuan remained indifferent and continued to focus on his breathing. "Since I am being rescued, I don¡¯t have to recover in a rush. I should slowly restore my foundations first to get rid of any hidden injuries which I might not have detected..." From all the fighting that he had gotten himself involved, to the chaotic scene before the hollow copsed, all of these were insignificant to Fang Yuan. He had only sustained all these injuries because of the ultimatum between the two parties and the pressure that he had undergone from forcefully re-entering Da Qian Empire. "Lord, it¡¯s time to eat!" After half a day, the carriage doors opened. A servant with a bun on her head served a box of food. "I¡¯m Little Ju! Young Master has instructed for me to bring you food!" As he opened the box, the fragrance of food filled the air. It was porridge with minced meat, and just the smell of it was enough to make anyone salivate. "Are you... really unable to move your hands?" Little Ju looked at Fang Yuan and was on her guard. "It¡¯s not that. I just feel an excruciating pain whenever I move my hands, and I would feel pain in my entire body as well..." Fang Yuan appeared helpless. "Alright then!" Hering him, Little Ju had no choice but to assist him. She picked up the spoon, scooped up the porridge, blew at it to cool it down before feeding it to Fang Yuan. "Thank you!" Although it was forced, Fang Yuan smiled. He could not tell her that all he needed was elemental energy from the surroundings and did not require food. However, he still needed physical food for his physical body to recuperate and therefore, he had no choice but to eat. ¡¯Although this is normal rice and not spiritual rice, the meat is extremely nourishing and it is not too bad...¡¯ After two bowls of porridge, he could feel warmth in his stomach. He started to feel morefortable. "Anything else?" "Hehe... this meat is the flesh of a spiritual beast and was specially prepared for Young Master. You¡¯ve already benefited, so what more do you want?" Little Ju started to keep the cutlery and took a towel to wipe Fang Yuan¡¯s face. After cleansing him, her face was red with embarrassment. "Who would¡¯ve thought that... you would look so charming?" ¡¯Is this servant thinking too much?¡¯ Fang Yuan secretly rolled his eyes. His appearance was average but he was young. Furthermore, he had experienced a lot and therefore seemed mature for his age. It was not something that Young Master could have. "What a pity..." Little Ju seemed to have recalled something. With a sigh, she took the food box and left. ¡¯Is it a pity that I am not your Young Master? That¡¯s true too... Servants would want to have the opportunity to get in bed with their young masters and help them give birth to a few children so that they could rely on their children once they be old...¡¯ Fang Yuan felt that it was rather interesting to think about how the servant¡¯s emotion had changed. Since the time when he had learnt martial arts and started on the path to bing a dream master, he had distanced himself from the lifestyle of normal humans. "Hey... Let me tell you guys. The person which Young Master rescued is quite decent-looking..." "Could you have fallen for him, Little Ju!" "Pui! That¡¯s not true... I think you¡¯re thinking too much!" Outside the carriage, chatterings were heard. The few servants sounded bold, which made Fang Yuan speechless. ... It was nighttime and the caravan was silent. Fang Yuanid lifelessly on the carriage. Suddenly, he could feel the elemental energy in his dantian gathering, making him feel ted. "I just need another day for me to restore enough energy for everything to be as they were before!" Suddenly, a hoarse voice was heard. Fang Yuan froze before he started to snicker. As the doors to the carriage opened, a ck figure entered. It had the appearance resembling a monkey and seemed to be in his thirties. The figure was moving about at first. However, as soon as his eyes came into contact with Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes, he froze. ¡¯I wanted to steal from him while he is still paralyzed. Brother Zhang has told me that although his clothing seemed tattered, he has a lot of valuables with him... Who would¡¯ve thought that he is awake?¡¯ After a while, the ck figure smiled. "What now? Why not you try moving? Or shouting? Our caravan deserves a reward for rescuing you. It is only reasonable for me to take my share..." As he threatened Fang Yuan, the ck figure stretched out his hands towards Fang Yuan. "You¡¯re courting death!" Fang Yuan let out a gentleugh. Was he really incapable of doing anything considering that his physical body was paralyzed? The cultivation of a dream master focused on the mind. If the caravan had ill intentions towards him, in the end, he would not be at the losing end. At this point in time, two streaks of glow shot out from his eyes and entered the eyes of the skinny person in front of him. The person was stunned and had an unpleasant look on his face. Against the bewildering technique of a dream master, even if it was at the most elementary stage, normal people would still be stunned and vulnerable. "Your name?" "Sun Ergou!" "How old are you?" "33!" "Who is the owner of this caravan? Where is your destination? And... which region are we in?" ... Since ab rat came to him voluntarily, Fang Yuan generously epted Sun Ergou¡¯s assistance as he continued to grill him for answers. With a straight face, Sun Ergou spit out everything. After a while, Fang Yuan waved his hands and allowed Sun Ergou to leave, as he smiled to himself. "Indeed, we are back in Da Qian!" Through the information he had obtained, Fang Yuan now knew that he was in the Cloud Region of Da Qian. It was already thousands of miles away from the Jade Capital. He was fortunate enough to have not ended up in the oceans or vast deserts. Furthermore, this was the He Family¡¯s caravan. The true purpose of the caravan was to send their young master to learn martial arts. They had performed a few trades along the way and were headed for the Golden Sun City. "Did the young master of He Family... disy traits and potential of bing a dream master?" This would surely be a big thing in their family. The entire family had shown their support. This caravan and a few shops in Golden Sun City would chip in to pay for their young master¡¯s training. Fang Yuan remained silent. He did not pay particr attention to the young master¡¯s potential previously. "In conclusion... there¡¯s nothing much!" As he sighed, he recalled the crumbling hollow. "The pieces of the crumbled hollow are beneficial to the dream masters at the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. Of course... that intense destruction does not seem to be them dividing their share equally, but seemed to be more of a self-destruction by the hollow! Even Sages might not be able topletely contain the hollow... With the pieces of the crumbled hollow exploding in all directions, there might be a few pieces entering Da Qian, and they might form spiritualnds or perilousnds or of their own. I wonder which fortunate or unfortunate person would stumble across thesends..." Chapter 330: Compensation Chapter 330: Compensation Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Demon! Die!" A member of the Horned Wing Tribe eximed as he rushed down. "I¡¯ll kill you!" On the brink of death, Ruan Junxian gave a cold look as he left his left arm in a vulnerable spot. From his right hand, spiritual soldiers started to appear and entered the tribe member¡¯s chest. "Chi!" Blood spurted everywhere. "It seems like you mutated people can bleed as well, and your blood is also red!" Ruan Junxian was breathing heavily. The member of the Horned Wing Tribe fell and with its dying breath, it mumbled something. "Demon... I curse all of you!" "It¡¯s the survival of the fittest! If you have the ability to curse me, I¡¯ll die with no regrets!" Hearing the tribe member cursing at him, Ruan Junxian took in a deep breath. With another slice of his sword, he had beheaded the member of the Horned Wing Tribe. "I believe this is the 3rd day since I have entered this secret ce!" Looking at the surroundings, he let out a sigh. After bing a Wu Zong, he had left Longhu Mountain. However, he did not return to his family, but instead, roamed thend in search of opportunities. After leaving a region, he arrived at this county and had encountered something big. The White Sun Star had fallen onto the surface of the region, directly altering the geographical features of it! A thousand miles of nd had instantaneously transformed into a mountain range! In addition, there were scattered plots of spiritualnd! Naturally, the cultivators among the county would gather around the mountain range. They had engaged in a frantic search for resources and territory within the mountains. He waspeting with them as well. However, along the way, he started to encounter the mutated race. "Or should I say... dream people! A new race created by a dream master in the Prominent Divine stage..." Ruan Junxian¡¯s eyes widened. "Based on my investigations, the division ahead is defending a Divine Tree. The ¡¯Qinghua Spiritual Fruit¡¯ which had grown on the tree was rumoured to be able to increase one¡¯s intellectual powers and increase one¡¯s magical proficiency. It is a well-known treasure of the dream masters! If I can obtain that fruit, I would be able to cultivate as a dream master!" After seeing Elder Smelter¡¯s might, he started to doubt the path of cultivation of martial artists and spiritual knights. In order to make a name for himself in Da Qian and to protect his family, there was only one thing he could do: be an all-mighty dream master! No matter how high the cultivation some spiritual knights might be, the nature of their powers would still remain the same. "In the past 3 days, I have caused chaos in the surroundings and have gone on a killing spree against this mutated race. They must be the most highly skilled things in the entire division... After their entire defence have been weakened, I will be able to take them on!" Although he was injured, there was a burning passion in his eyes. "4 days! I can spend another 4 days at most! Once the powerful organisations find this ce and send their highly-skilled people, I would not be able to take anything for myself... I shouldn¡¯t be too greedy. After getting the spiritual fruit, I will leave immediately!" Thoughts ran through his mind as a look of determination appeared on his face. ... In the Dream Realm. After recuperating, Fang Yuan started tomunicate with the realm. His figure appeared on the streets. It was illusionary and appeared weak. "In the Dream Realm, one¡¯s appearance would be dependent on one¡¯s mental strength and spiritual will..." He sighed silently before looking at his inscription te. On it, many messages were blinking. Most of the messages came from 3 sources: The Realm Alliance, The Ye Family sisters, and Liu Mengmei! "The Ye Family sisters are fine? It seems that they are rather fortunate as well..." After replying to their messages, he took a look at Liu Mengmei¡¯s messages. Thisdy was indeed conscientious. She imed that she had already slowly reduced the Divine Lotus Sect¡¯s grudge against him and had already exchanged for theplete version of the 9 Smelting Technique. All that was left was for Fang Yuan to meet up with her to collect the recording. Fang Yuan sighed as he thought about how she had helped him. All that was left were messages from the Realm Alliance. "Hehe..." At the thought of the alliance, Fang Yuan chuckled. Previously, Elder Smelter had sent him as a sacrifice by using a delivery mission as an excuse. This was infuriating for Fang Yuan. "If they do not offer me anypensation of sorts, then it is not worth it to continue staying in the Realm Alliance!" Although the agreement was to train him up and that he had benefited quite a lot from the hollow, the alliance was still too overboard in doing this to him. As soon as he saw the person contacting him, he was surprised. "Who would¡¯ve thought that he would represent the Realm Alliance to contact me!" After a moment of silence, he replied to the message. "Haha... Brother, you have finally returned! I¡¯ve been worrying about you!" Not long alter, a middle-aged man in green robes appeared. His body was surrounded by a colourful pill¡¯s essence. It was Feng Xinzi. "Haha, I want to congratte Brother Feng for finally achieving what you have wished for, which is the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine!" Fang Yuan greeted Feng Xinzi. The person in front of him was Feng Xinzi, who had ced himself in istion. His spiritual aura had be much more mysterious than before, and the pill energy around him had a hint of spiritual property. It was obvious that he had already achieved a breakthrough and had entered the 4th Tier! The 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine meant that one would be able to create spirituality and was a significant stage on its own. After crossing this stage, Feng Xinzi would be one of the most powerful dream alchemy masters in Da Qian. "Furthermore... he had achieved his breakthrough in a peaceful environment. However, I would need to risk my life outside. This is the difference in our predicaments..." Fang Yuan silently sighed to himself. There was a surging energy at Feng Xinzi¡¯s forehead. It seemed like after his breakthrough, he had an equivalent rise in his rank within the Realm Alliance. He not only had the increase in his level of rights but also had some unofficial rewards. "I owe this to you!" As Feng Xinzi spoke, he walked with Fang Yuan and both of them arrived at the Realm Alliance Mountain. Casually, he opened a small hall, boiled some water, prepared tea and invited Fang Yuan to sit. "All thanks to the alliance, I have advanced to be a 5th Leaf Cultivator and with thates added convenience!" Even if he did not reveal this to Fang Yuan, Fang Yuan would have found it out on his own and therefore, there was no need to hide. As he poured a cup of tea for Fang Yuan, he smiled. "I was previously unaware of what happened at Changli Mountain Hollow. Fortunately, you are a lucky person. Not just that... you seem to have luck in other areas as well! The two beautiful sisters of Ye Family seem to be very interested in news regarding your whereabouts!" Feng Xinzi smiled, teasing Fang Yuan. Very quickly, his expression changed again. "To speak the truth... the Ye Family is a powerful family with a heritage stretching back to many years ago. Although they have fallen and have encountered difficulties, the two sisters are still worthy of being your wife. Which of them would you prefer?" ¡¯Indeed... As one rises up the hierarchy, one would always talk about worthy of marriage. Are they for real...¡¯ Fang Yuan remained calm. "I only helped them because they are also members of the alliance. I have no feelings for both of them. As for what had happened, what does the alliance intend to do?" Hearing him, Feng Xinzi sighed. At this stage, all of them would only talk about their interests and would not pay any attention to all that didn¡¯t matter. If he were to continue being hypocritical, Fang Yuan might just leave. To make matters worse, Elder Smelter had also assigned him a mission of his own. This meant that Feng Xinzi was conflicted. "Take this... as a rare opportunity! Of course... whatever is yours will be given to you by the alliance! The alliance will credit you with 1,000 contribution points and increase your level of rights by 1, advancing you to be a 3rd Leaf Cultivator. How¡¯s that?" Feng Xinzi remained silent for a while beforeying out the conditions. "Alright!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. To think about it, what else could he do? If he were to remain unsatisfied andin, he would turn the rtionship with the alliance sour and his reward might even be reduced. He knew that there was a darker side to the alliance! The only thing he could do was to remember this day and take his revenge in the future! "Very well!" Feng Xinzi let out a heavy breath. It was already considered good for him to treat Fang Yuan like this. As for what would happen in the future, Feng Xinzi did not give any thoughts about it. Even if the person before him was a talent, he would still have to train for a long time before achieving the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage! To take things further, it would not be as simple as being talented for him to achieve the 7th Tier. With the wave of his hands, a streak of message appeared in mid-air. It quickly flew into Fang Yuan¡¯s inscription te and the transaction was automaticallypleted. ¡¯Are you showing off?¡¯ Seeing this, Fang Yuan rolled his eyes. "Another thing..." Feng Xinzi took a sip of tea from his cup and took quite a while before he could speak. "Brother, did you gain anything from the hollow while you were in it?" "Hmm?" Fang Yuan squinted his eyes. "Don¡¯t tell me the alliance wants a share of it..." "This..." Feng Xinzi let out a bitterugh. ording to the n, Elder Smelter would not care about the rice that Fang Yuan had taken. However, no one knew that the tables would turn. With the involvement of the Imperial Court and a whole bunch of Sages taking things into their own hands to split up the treasures in the hollow, together with the self-destruction, the few elders including the Old Mother of Tianmu, Elder Smelter and the rest ended up with scraps of leftovers. With this, they became jealous of the rewards that the alliance members had reaped from the hollow. Although Elder Smelter did not care about the rewards which Fang Yuan gained, his faction had many other disciples jealous of the reward! "Brother, please be assured that the Realm Alliance would not be so unreasonable!" Feng Xinzi blushed with embarrassment, but he had to speak the truth. "Elder has stated that this time, how much you would like to trade would be up to you. However, a few disciples in the realm require their share of Yellow Grain Rice... Your goodwill will not be forgotten." "If it is a trade, what am I trading it for?" Fang Yuan rubbed his chin and appeared calm. "They are all here!" Feng Xinzi took out a piece of paper. After reading through a few lines, Fang Yuan started to snicker. "I don¡¯t seem to see the sincerity... if this is all, then I think there is nothing left to be discussed!" "Brother, please don¡¯t be angry!" Feng Xinzi knew that the people from the alliance were trying to take advantage of Fang Yuan. "You cany out your conditions!" "I will need a piece of spiritualndrger than 60 hectares and the spiritual energy there would have to be more concentrated than normal... Also, after finishing this mission, I would not want to be forced to ept another mission from the alliance for the next 10 years toe!" After thinking about it, Fang Yuan quicklyid out his conditions. "Spiritualnd? Missions?" Feng Xinzi was stunned for a moment before he started to smile. "If you dare to request all these, you must have quite a lot of rewards, right?" "Not too much, but still eptable..." Fang Yuan reported a number. "Alright!" Feng Xinzi gritted his teeth. "We can give you the spiritualnd, but it is too unreasonable for you not to ept any missions for 10 years, and the alliance would lose its reputation. I have a solution to this. I can assign you a guarding mission. These type of missions are extremely easy to fulfil and can earn you quite a lot. You can do this mission for 10 years while you cultivate in peace..." "Alright!" Fang Yuan¡¯s heart wavered. He did not see a mission of such a nature on the Realm Alliance¡¯s rock tablet before. It seemed like it was an under-the-table mission. "I am at Cloud Region. Assign me a nearby mission, as well as a nearby spiritualnd!" "Alright!" Feng Xinzi quickly agreed. Fang Yuan nodded his head and went offline. After a moment, Elder Smelter entered the hall. "How was it?" "This person is rather smart. The number that he reported was close to our estimate. At most, he would keep a few catties for himself, and that is only human nature..." Feng Xinzi took a bow as he reported. Chapter 331: Guardian of the Prosperous Land Chapter 331: Guardian of the Prosperous Land Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Golden Sun City. The caravan entered the city and stopped in front of a mansion. With a few shouts, the goods were being shifted. A few consultants were staring at the helpers as they shifted the goods. "Lord Fang, are you feeling better?" A few days before they had arrived, Fang Yuan had already regained the ability to move. He asionally left the carriage to take a walk and talk with the people of the caravan. By now, he was already rather familiar with the head of the caravan. The Young Master of the He Family was He Qing. He had a young mindset but was also shrewd for his age. However, that was all. "Hmm, thank you, Lord He, for your assistance. I must leave today. Your kindness will be rewarded in the future..." Fang Yuan smiled. To him, He Qing did not save his life, but rather, assisted him in times of difficulty. Although his intentions were slightly ill, he did not let his heart rule his head. Therefore, Fang Yuan would still repay him for his efforts. "Lord, are you leaving?" He Qing was shocked. "Did we treat you with disrespect?" Based on his observations for the past few days, he realised that Fang Yuan was not a normal person. Sun Ergou¡¯s encounter was the best evidence. Therefore, he had plotted to establish good rtions with Fang Yuan. Although Fang Yuan was young, he was matured. His foresight, demeanour and the way he spoke was vastly different from a normal young man. Therefore, He Qing had unknowingly gained respect for him. "Fate cannot be forced upon. Furthermore, I cannot trouble you for any period longer than this... This Golden Sun City seems rather hospitable. I am deciding to stay here for a period of time. After I have settled down, I will write a letter to you... With this, I shall wish you all the best in joining the Three Suns Sect!" "Thank you for your well wishes!" He Qing respectfully sent him off. As he looked at Fang Yuan¡¯s back view, he felt as though he had lost something important. "Young Master?" A consultant approached him. "The various goods have been shifted into the storeroom. The checks have beenpleted. Together with the few times that we have traded along the way, we have a total of 50,000 elemental crystals. This is the umted amount that your family have given you. We have already prepared the gifts for your future fellow disciples, master and those that you might need to establish rtions with!" "Mmm, alright!" He Qing snapped out of his trance and had a cold look in his eyes. "And... what about Sun Ergou?" "I have followed your orders to chop off one of his limbs, as a punishment to warn the others!" The consultant immediately replied and broke into cold sweat. Based on his Young Master, the person which they had rescued was likely to be a spiritual knight. Therefore, they could not afford to show him any disrespect. "Also, Little Ju has been promoted to be the head of the servants. Her pay has been increased to 10 taels per month!" He Qing heaved a huge sigh. "Although he might not remember us, we should still remain hopeful... there is nothing wrong with being prepared!" "Young Master, you¡¯re wise!" Consultant He took a bow and gained respect for this young master. The He Family had risen 7 generations ago. Although they were not considered the most senior of families, it was already considered a gamble for them to send their young master to seek a dream master as a master. Seeing the conscientious young master was like seeing hope for the family. As long as he manages to be a dream master, their family would be able to progress by leaps and bounds! ... "Three Suns Sect in the Golden Sun City... He Qing is rather fated to have met me!" As Fang Yuan went on his way, there was a mysterious smile on his face. Although the Three Suns Sect was well-known in the city, it was, in reality, only a small sect with a thousand followers. They had 10 Wu Zongs and 5 spiritual knights in the upper management and a dream master as the sect head. This dream master was likely to be a dream master at the 5th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. Among big sects across the regions, it was onlymon for these sects to have at least a True Divine, True Elemental, or a dream master at the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage before the sect could be considered stable. Of course, being a small family, it was already quite a thing for the He Family to be able to attempt to join the Three Suns Sect. They would rather be the weakling amongst the strong than be the strong among the weaklings. "He Qing was aiming at joining the direct disciples of the sect. It would be meaningless for him to be an outer disciple, inner disciple or even a core disciple... He would have wasted his potential in bing a dream master..." "However... the head of Three Suns Sect is also a member of the Realm Alliance. The Three Suns Sect can be seen as the exterior influence of the Realm Alliance... I shall spend some effort and help him out as a form of repaying him for his kindness!" As soon as he found himself an inn, he entered the Dream Realm. "I am heartened to hear that you, my husband, are alright! I have bought the 9 Smelting Techniques and have hidden it in the Dream Realm for you to retrieve..." As soon as he looked at his inscription te, he saw Liu Mengmei¡¯s reply and an indication of a certain location. After all, she was still a reserved Divine Lady of the Divine Lotus Cult and had to consider the fact that onlookers would be looking if she were to meet Fang Yuan face to face. However, she had described a path to the location of the 9 Smelting Techniques and had assured him that it waspletely safe. After receiving the information, Fang Yuan did not think further and rushed on the streets. Soon after, he turned into an alley. The buildings in the Dream Realm were districts which were split up by the Realm Spirit based on how much contribution points they were paid for. This dark alley was extremely deserted and at the end of the alley, there was a wall. At the corner, there was a dark-coloured mark. "This is the so-called ck market. If it is as such in the realm of dream masters, I can safely assume that the goods being traded on the ck market are nothing proper..." As he pressed against the dark-coloured mark, the wall in front of him started to cave in, revealing a hidden pathway. The pathway was extremely short. As soon as he walked to the end of it, he saw a small shop. There was no signboard and the door was aged, as though it would crumble at any moment. Without hesitation, Fang Yuan took a step in and looked at the counter. This shop was like a grocery store as it disyed many items on the shelves. However, none of the items had a description of its usage, and it was up to one to deduce the purpose and function of these items. As Fang Yuan scanned across, his attention was drawn to a crystal box on a small purple carriage. "I¡¯ve seen this in the recordings before. It is known as the Purple Blood Carriage and can fly in the skies at an extreme speed... However, the process of making it is extremely inhumane. If I remember correctly, one of the ingredients includes the blood from 49 pregnant mothers. Furthermore, these pregnant mothers need to have a certain level of cultivation and be suited before the blood is drawn from them..." It was obvious that this shop not only sold improper goods but restricted goods as well. "Keke... herees another customer!" An old man slumped on the tabletop of the counter and eximed weakly. His skin was pale and he had countless wrinkles. From the looks of it, he seemed to be in his nies. His white hair was long and appeared lifeless. As soon as he saw Fang Yuan entered, there was a green glow in his eyes. However, he did not seem any more interested. "I¡¯m here for something!" Fang Yuan took out his inscription te. "Ah, I see it¡¯s you!" The spiritual auraing from the inscription te made the old man shake. He stood upzily from the counter. "Give me a moment!" He casually walked into the storeroom behind. Not longter, he carried a red box out. "This is the item that your friend had left behind. The seal on it is still there, you can take a look!" On the surface of the box, there was a red talisman. The spiritual aura on the talisman was extremely familiar. It was indeed from Liu Mengmei! If someone else other than Liu Mengmei and himself were to open the box, they would burn and die. Only 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream masters would be able to resist the bacsh from breaking the talisman. "Your friend has already paid for the service to safe keep this item!" The lifeless-looking old man pushed the box towards Fang Yuan before lying on the table top and drifting off into a deep sleep. "Many thanks!" Without another word, Fang Yuan took the box and left. Although the old man appeared lifeless as though he would die the next moment, Fang Yuan could detect his spiritual aura and knew that his cultivation level was even higher than that of Feng Xinzi! How could any normal dream master open such a ck market? Before he became stronger, the most he would do was to make use of such ck markets. It was unwise to dig up more information about such ck markets. ... As he walked along the streets, he realised that other dream masters had colourful protections around them. Looking at the fog around him, he smiled. "I¡¯m really fearful of death... Unfortunately, I¡¯m not strong enough to do without this protection yet!" He quickly found a corner before tearing the talisman on the box. With a tear, the talisman burst into mes. In the box, there was a fragrant-smelling napkin with the embroidery of mandarin ducks on it. Following a certain technique, Fang Yuan could ess the technique within the napkin using his spiritual will. "Considering my level of rights in the Realm Alliance, it is extremely hard for me to obtain theplete version of the 9 Smelting Techniques..." After reading the first few sentences, Fang Yuan nodded his head in satisfaction. The techniques recorded in the 9 Smelting Techniques were exquisite beyond words. Not only could they get rid of foreign entities within elemental forces, they also had the effect of purifying one¡¯s elemental force. Of course, this was only limited to the elemental force of martial arts and spiritual knights. As for dream elemental force of the dream masters, it had little effect. "It¡¯s rumoured that there is a continuation to this recordings. It is known as Red Night. I am still in the process of helping you get it..." Behind the recordings, there was a line of writings, which made Fang Yuan sighed. "She is really treating me very well... I would not have such a treatment at the Realm Alliance... Of course, if the world were to be void of all love and feelings, I¡¯m sure she would not hesitate to take a knife and kill me!" After remembering the technique recorded in the recordings, Fang Yuan destroyed the napkin in an attempt to destroy all evidence. Soon after, he arrived at Realm Alliance Mountain. "Brother, you¡¯ve arrived!" The treatment which Feng Xinzi had received was obviously improved. He now had a standing for himself in the hall of the Realm Alliance. "I have settled the mission which we have talked about previously. Also, take a look at this spiritualnd!" Immediately, he waved and a golden glow appeared. The glow came together to form a leaf with runes on its surface. Rows of words started to form, and there was a huge overload of information. "Mmm... The guardian of Golden Sun Prosperous Land?" Seeing this, Fang Yuan¡¯s expression changed. He did not tell Feng Xinzi his exact location. Never would he have thought that he would receive a mission so close to his actual location. It was such a coincidence. "The alliance assigns you to be the new guardian of the Golden Sun Prosperous Land. Now, go forth and take over from the previous guardian to protect this piece of prosperousnd for... 10 years!" Feng Xinzi smiled and gave a look of ¡¯you¡¯ve-earned-such-a-good-deal¡¯ to Fang Yuan. "Prosperousnd?" As Fang Yuan gave it a deep thought, he heaved a heavy sigh as his eyes glistened. "Does this mean that other than dispatching batches of resources every year as instructed by the alliance, I will be in charge of everything else? And that in addition to all that, I would have another 60 hectares of spiritualnd to myself?" "Hmmm... you can put it that way!" Feng Xinzi nodded his head. "After 10 years, whatever you¡¯ve gained from this 60 hectares of spiritualnd will be yours. You can do all the farming by yourself or you can assign it to the guardian of the prosperous farm. However, you¡¯ll have to pay him base on how much work he would do." "This is not too bad!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. "Alright, prepare to receive the resources!" In truth, the Realm Alliance would not try to take advantage of him over this. Otherwise, the alliance would lose its credibility and cohesiveness. Furthermore, Fang Yuan still had other people that he could rely on. He could even ask the Ye Family sisters about anything regarding the alliance. "That¡¯s good!" There was a look of happiness on Feng Xinzi¡¯s face. "After taking over, you shall assume your duty. As long as you do not disregard your responsibilities as the guardian, you can do whatever you like..." ¡¯Are you allowing me to take all of that for myself? To do anything I want with it? No wonder you said that it was a well-paying job!¡¯ Fang Yuan thought to himself. All he needed to prove his new identity was this golden leaf with the inscriptions on it and the inscription te he had in the Dream Realm. With these two objects, he could do away with all the hassle. Chapter 332: Hindrance Chapter 332: Hindrance Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Although I have the evidence as a license to take over my new role, I better recuperate first..." The handing and taking over was officially endorsed by the Realm Alliance, the possibility of something going wrong was very small. Therefore, Fang Yuan decided to recuperate his strength first as power was the only way one could gain a footing in Da Qian Empire! Inside the inn, Fang Yuan upied his own room and courtyard. He sat on the floor cross-legged and absorbed elemental energy from the heavens and earth to recuperate his body. In his actualised dream world, streaks of magical energy spread across and dug into the dark spots for an awesome energy, as they then turned into a mercury-like dream elemental force. The dream elemental began to restore the 3 swords in the 8 Gates Sword Array. "After the 3 swords self-detonated, it required a huge amount of dream elemental force as a foundation for its restoration. Luckily, I no longer have the difficulting of gathering dream elemental energy unlike previous times, if not I would have vomited blood..." Fang Yuan looked at the green energy in the core of the 8 Gates Sword Array and shook his head. Although he could immediately recover if he utilised this source, that was a reserve for him to breakthrough to the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine. It could not be easily used. Unless he was met with a critical life and death situation, it could not be used, else it would be a reckless waste. His eyes twinkled and he then looked at his stats board: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 20 (42) Spirit: 20 (42) Magic: 33 (59) Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (3rd Tier), Wu Zong (4th Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 5) (50%)], [Hundred Poison Golden Body (1st Refining)], [8 Gates Sword Array (4th Sword) (99%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "My stats have dropped really hard due to my injuries, but a portion of it has already been recovered. It will now be faster for me to fully recover. Furthermore... the training these few days and the void¡¯s turbulence seemed to improve my Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique..." For his injuries to recover so quickly, perhaps his fixed stats yed a part too. Fang Yuan spiritual will moved as he knew that there was a huge potential in his stats. He did not care about that for now and looked at the water dragon¡¯s pearl. The resources he dealt with the Realm Alliance previously were actually nothing much. This was the real gains! "Furthermore... although Yellow Grain Rice is difficult to grow, that might not be the case for me!" Fang Yuan started from botany in the past, although it was not very useful in Da Qian since he had his own spiritualnd now, he could further improve himself! Also, what was so special about that item the Golden Horned Wing Tribe member was protecting with its life?" Fang Yuan gazed into the water dragon pearl. Although the pearl was an essence of its dragon form, Fang Yuan felt he could not fully control the pearl at that moment. Inside the pearl, the golden-green water dragon was squeezed to a side. The foggy grey glow upied most of the space. "What exactly is the treasure left behind by Sage Changli? A technique? An inheritance? A treasure map?" Through contacting the water dragon within, Fang Yuan could sense that there was a vast sea of knowledge. However, he could not have a share of it currently. "With my current spiritual will and cultivation, I would be crazy to read the Prominent Divine dream master¡¯s knowledge memory! Furthermore, I could even be encroached and be schizophrenic..." It was not overboard to value and regard a Prominent Divine dream master so highly. However, leaving such a delicious piece of meat untouched was not Fang Yuan¡¯s style too. Fang Yuan thought, "Thankfully, this Sage Changli was close to dragons and his knowledge was attracted to my water dragon pearl. I can use the energy of the water dragon inside to absorb a bit of the knowledge every day. With thisyer of protection, I will start from the outside and slowly dive deeper... This is equivalent to having a teacher teaching me daily..." Fang Yuan¡¯s path as a dream master mostly relied on self-study. With this rare collection, he was ted as he could improve his shorings. ... Three Suns Sect. "Smack!" A masculine looking youth with thick eyebrows and white clothes threw the valuable treasures onto the floor and sneered, "You think you can enter my sect just with your pathetic background? Dream on!" Opposite him, He Qing¡¯s face swelled with anger, he was infuriated and clenched his teeth. This youth was the eldest disciple of the Sect Head and was an Elemental Opening spiritual knight! He Qing¡¯s current position and standing was no match for him. Furthermore, He Qing could see there was a hint of jealousy hidden deep inside this youth¡¯s eye. "As he is a spiritual knight, he cannot seed the legacy of the head of Three Suns Sect. Thus, he is being a hindrance and a prick to me since I came over to be apprenticed... detestable!" He Qing thought. Although He Qing was furious, he remained silent and did not utter a single word. He bowed to him and left. "What a pity... if he provokes me again, I¡¯ll make sure I¡¯ll give him an unforgettable surprise!" As the youth watched He Qing left, he felt sullen. Although he was talented, he could not be a dream master and therefore, he could not seed his master¡¯s legacy. As he saw someone who was qualified to do so came over, he naturally felt unhappy and intentionally hindered He Qing. "After all... I am Master¡¯s nephew by blood, even if I go overboard once in a while, it¡¯s nothing much... Although this He Qing is intelligent, his foundation is not strong enough. This is also my way of testing him on behalf of Master." As the youth mumbled to himself and gazed into the darkness, he justified himself in his thoughts. In a quiet room deep within Three Suns Sect. A screen of light appeared in front of a daoist which disyed whatever was happening. The daoist had red cheeks and three long strands of beard which swayed with the wind. He was closely observing whatever was happening outside and whatever was inside his nephew¡¯s mind. "Legacy... hehe, dream masters live a long life and it¡¯s not something you can understand! Perhaps I might even be the one that attends your funeral!" For dream masters, whether they were epting disciples or whatever this nephew of his was struggling about were merely inconsequential matters to them. This was their feeling as they sat high above them and watched these nobodies fought. Despite so, the daoist felt slightly unhappy. Just because the eldest disciple was the master¡¯s nephew, he tended to go overboard in handling matters... ... "Young Master, what should we do next?" Consultant He asked worriedly as the He family walked out the Three Suns Sect. Dream masters were secretive and did not meet people easily, they would barelymunicate withmoners. The Three Sun Sect was a contact that the He family arduously obtained. However, due to the hindrance from one of their disciples, they could not even meet Three Suns Daoist. Thus, they were naturally perturbed. "What else can we do? We just have to slowly wait for another opportunity! That youth is just one man, Three Suns Sect is not a one-man show! Once I can meet the head of the sect, I still stand a chance!" He Qing gave a mirthless smile. He did not think of looking for other masters. Dream masters were not so easily found and they did not ept disciples so easily. Even if He Qing could not enter a sect, there were still many things he could do due to his talents. The group of them despondently returned to their manor in Golden Sun City. "Young Master!" Little Ju was waiting at the gates and excitedly went forward when she saw them arriving. However, just as she saw about to speak, she saw the group¡¯s sullen faces and decided not to say anything. "What¡¯s the matter?" He Qingposed himself and asked. "It is about Fang Yuan! He settled down at Green Cloud Inn and wrote us a letter!" "It¡¯s him?!" Although He Qing was in a bad mood, he was slightly moved at once, "Ok, prepare some gifts and I will go meet him! Two brains are better than one, maybe he will have some ideas!" Although He Qing thought Fang Yuan was a spiritual knight but was not certain of his cultivation, he knew Fang Yuan could open some doors for him. Furthermore, Fang Yuan was wise and experienced, perhaps he could give him some other opinions? ... In a courtyard inside Green Cloud Inn. A lush fig tree stood tall inside the courtyard. Fang Yuan wore linen clothes and was enjoying his tea happily under the tree. "Lord, you are indeed rxed, I am so envious!" With the aroma of the tea, He Qing¡¯s previous vexation, fear and numerous negative feelings were dispelled at once. He was even more respectful towards Fang Yuan now and called him Lord. "It¡¯s nothing much..." Fang Yuan sipped his teeth and smiled. As a dream master, one had to pay attention to his own soul and self-cultivation. Dabbling in literature, wine, tea and such were ways to purify one¡¯s own thoughts. Meditative tea ceremonies had the same effect too. Furthermore, that was his own method of training himself. Compared to other dream masters¡¯ ways, that was more appropriate for himself. "Just that..... this person in front of me is amoner, I don¡¯t have to give him the Questioning Heart Tea..." Fang Yuan thought as he raised his teacup. In Da Qian Empire, spiritual items that could increase magical energy were very rare. Although Fang Yuan was not afraid to reveal, it would be troublesome for him to suddenly reveal his identity. "Of course... just the Questioning Heart Tea alone would not be very useful. It must be apanied by a meditative tea ceremony to maximise its effects!" Fang Yuan thought. As numerous thoughts shed passed Fang Yuan¡¯s mind, he smiled and asked, "Things didn¡¯t go sessfully at Three Suns Sect?" "Indeed... although my family had paved the way for me, we were hindered by their master¡¯s eldest disciple, Yang Zhantang!" He Qing sighed as he recounted the unlucky events that happened just now. "Although I will not interfere with your personal matters since we are fated, I shall help you persuade them!" Fang Yuan had his own way of settling things. Spiritual items could not be easily gifted away, however, rying a message for others was different as it only required him to be thick-skinned. Furthermore, it could help him familiarise with the strength of the dream masters in Cloud Region. "Ah! Thank you very much, mister!" He Qing was extremely grateful and bowed to Fang Yuan. "It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s just fate..." Fang Yuan closed his eyes and his magic-splitting arrived in the Realm Alliance Mountain in his actualised dream world. "Searching for... Three Suns Daoist!" "Ting! He is a member of our alliance. He is a 3rd Leaf Cultivator, you are able to contact him!" A response was received on the stone tablet immediately. "Three Suns Daoist?" "Yea, you are?" Using his identity inscription te, a spiritual will immediately responded. "My name is Fang Yuan. After a rmendation from Elder Smelter, I am the new guardian of Golden Sun Prosperous Land!" Fang Yuan did not hesitate to make use of Elder Smelter¡¯s name. After all, these were some of the benefits of joining the alliance. "Oh so its Fang Yuan, we will be close neighbours!" The spiritual will felt more intimate at once. "Ah, it¡¯s just that, I have a matter..." Fang Yuan told him everything. After a brief pause, he responded, "Since it¡¯s a rmendation from my fellow alliance friend, I will meet him!" "Great!" Inside the Inn, Fang Yuan waved his hands and told He Qing, "Settled! If you request to meet him again, your wish will be fulfilled!" Chapter 333: Taking Over Chapter 333: Taking Over Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Ah... Is itpleted?" He Qing was stunned. He had only just asked for assistance moments ago. All Fang Yuan did was close his eyes for a few moments before telling He Qing that everything was done and that he could directly visit the Three Suns Sect once more. ¡¯Is he trying to trick me?¡¯ He Qing was speechless. Seeing how awe-inspiring Fang Yuan was as he waved his hands, He Qing did not dare to utter a single word as he walked out, confused. Thoughts ran wild in his mind. In a few moments, he came to a conclusion. "Regardless, I must try a few more times to show my sincerity... As for this ce, I shall dispatch a few servants to serve him and we¡¯ll see what to do next after knowing the oue..." With that, he ordered his housekeeper to prepare gifts once more and headed to the mountain again. ... Three Suns Sect. "Zhantang, go to the gates. If you see He Qing, bring him to me!" Three Suns Daoist, who was in meditation, opened his eyes and mumbled. "Master?" Yang Zhantang was confused. He did not know what had just happened. This person has a backing. It is the request of the guardian of Golden Sun Prosperous Land for me to meet him. Furthermore... we¡¯ve received quite a lot of gifts from them. If he has the potential, we can allow him to join us!" Three Suns Daoist stroked his beard as his eyes glistened. "Why... are you unwilling?" "I don¡¯t dare!" Yang Zhantang shuddered. He knew that his master had found out about his doings. Uncontrobly, he knelt down and asked for forgiveness. "I know what you are thinking. Do you really think I will hand everything down to an outsider?" Three Suns Daoist shook his head with an impatient look. "The appointment as head of the Three Suns Sect is yours sooner orter. However, looking at your attitude and personality, you still need to undergo training. If you are so unforgiving of others, how can you achieve great things in the future?" "Master... Uncle!" Yang Zhantang was relieved and shocked at the same time as he almost teared up. "I¡¯ll go out this instant to invite my junior!" With that promise, he knew he had to change for the better and assume the role of a senior. "Keke..." Seeing his silhouette leaving, Three Suns Daoist revealed a mysterious smile. He was speaking the truth, However, it would be after his death. Seeing how things were, if Three Suns Daoists¡¯ nephew disciple could not achieve the 4th Tier of a spiritual knight, he would have to spend his whole life as a disciple, serving his master. "There¡¯s no other choice... a dream master lives for far too long, and I was fortunate enough to have obtained arge amount of Life Redeeming Pills... Everyone wants to take over me, but no one knows that I will live longer than all my disciples. Therefore, I am not lying to you... However, Fang Yuan seems to be hinting that this is the intention of the Smelter¡¯s faction! Regardless, I shall just agree to his request for the sake of the alliance..." To him, it was perfectly alright to have another disciple. This was how carefree a dream master could be. Furthermore, he would have the chance to squeeze his new disciple dry. After epting He Qing for the sake of Fang Yuan, he could thereafter reap benefits from him. This was what he was nning for all this while. Everything was merely returning to the original n. ... "After helping He Qing this time, it¡¯s time I should go and take over my plot ofnd..." By requesting a favour for He Qing, it was enough to repay all that he had done for Fang Yuan. Furthermore, at this point in time, his physical body had recoveredpletely and the 3 swords in his actualised dream world were fully restored. He had restored his peak condition and was about to leave to im his rewards. Throwing a gold ingot on the counter, Fang Yuan left the inn. Outside, a few servants were looking about. Ignoring them, Fang Yuan walked straight out. They were like blind people. Although they had opened their eyes wide, they still could not see Fang Yuan and were still attempting to look into the inn. Golden Sun City was in the centre of Cloud Region. People from all around the region came here to trade and it was a bustling city. In the vicinity, there were a few mountains and valleys. ording to the Fengshui of this ce, it was a favourable location to gather auspicious energy. Therefore, the Three Suns Sect has chosen this ce to set up the sect. Simrly, other sects had followed suit. Golden Sun Mountain. In the dense vegetation, Fang Yuan rushed inwards like the wind. As he entered the depths of the forest, he arrived at a ce where no hunters or herb pluckers would ever dare to venture. In the deep mountains, there was an unpleasant stench. Mutated beasts roamed the area and many species of flowers and grass werepeting to grow. The entire ce was an indescribable danger. "The Realm Alliance, Baize Mountain, Divine Lotus Cult, Evil Divine Sect and Source Seeking Sect... Even the 5 most powerful organisations of the dream masters are but empty shells, feeding on a foundation and a source of energy. Where does the foundatione from? The Hidden Dragon Guards of the Da Qian depend on the royal family, and on that note, the 5 Grand Organisations would have lost out. However, they can create their own prosperousnd filled with spiritual energy... Of course, most importantly, they will have to feed on the spiritualnds created by 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream masters or the hollows created by the Prominent Divine dream masters! These scattered prosperousnds and spiritualnds are thus created in the process, but are meaningless to them!" As he continued on his way, Fang Yuan slowly digested the information which he had previously obtained from the Realm Alliance. "Of course, the great powers would belong to their own factions. As soon as the hollows or spiritualnds are created, they would first use it to benefit members of their own factions and this is only normal... To new members like us, it would be extremely hard even to help them manage these publicly-avable prosperousnds!" Since he was not a direct descendant of a powerful being, it would be even more difficult for him to ess such and. However, things were different now that he had traded for one such piece ofnd. Arriving at a valley, the fog started to thicken. However, as a dream master, he could quickly tell that this fog was not made out of water droplets, but instead, created by a dream master. "This is indeed the location of the Golden Sun Prosperous Land..." With a smile, Fang Yuan walked into the valley. "Buzz!" As soon as he entered the valley, the surroundings started to change. The white fog slowly ascended up and transformed into a bewildering fog. Amidst the fog, a colourful talisman shed, revealing the fact that this was an extremely powerful array. "Where have youe from? This is the Realm Alliance¡¯s Golden Sun Prosperous Land. If you are an outsider, please take your leave!" A thunderous voice was hearding from the inside of the valley. "Mmm, is this the 99 Golden Suns Gigantic Array? It is able to protect the prosperousnd, nourish the energy in it and has the effect of misleading and trapping trespassers. Of course, most importantly, it is being strengthened by the main array. Although you might have the rights to control the array, you cannot be considered the owner of the prosperousnd, but a mere manager." Fang Yuan nodded his head and took out a piece of golden leaf. "Buzz!" As the golden leaf glowed brilliantly, the fog started to disperse. A string of messages appeared and flew into the array. Within moments, the fog had dispersedpletely, revealing a piece of prosperousnd. In the middle, there was a small mountain which had a faint glowing from it. Nothing seemed normal here. "Oh, it¡¯s the new guardian!" A streak of light shot down from a building and an old man with a long beard appeared. He started to examine Fang Yuan. The missions to be guardians were all lucrative missions. Furthermore, this person was allocated 60 hectares of spiritualnd for his private use. He seemed to have a strong backing, but the old man could not guess which faction he was from. "Greetings, Brother Jin!" Fang Yuan held the golden leaf in his heads. As soon as he saw him, he could roughly guess that he was a dream master at the 3rd Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. Compared to himself, his old man was much weaker. If he did not have the protection of the array, he would be very vulnerable. "Haha... Brother Fang, please give me a moment. I shall bring my manager over to facilitate the process of handing over!" The previous guardian was Jin Xing. He was aged and had a friendly disposition. However, as a fellow 3rd Tier Illusionary Divine dream master, Fang Yuan could tell that he was unwilling to go. After all, this mission was a lucrative one. Now that he had to hand over, he would have no idea what the alliance would assign him next. However, this was none of his business. Fang Yuan came straight to the main hall and ordered for themencement of the banquet. "I am about to hand over. This is your new guardian and your new head. Hurry and pay your respects!" Jin Xing pped his hands and a group of people entered the hall to pay their greetings. "Greetings, master!" "This life... is indeed luxurious! Are there over a hundred people here? To have all of them serving me would make me feel like a king..." With that, the servants started to serve up delicious wine and food. Dancers draped in loose clothing revealed their voluptuous figures as they danced around the hall. "Here! Let¡¯s toast to your achievements!" Jin Xing raised his cup and toasted Fang Yuan. "Thank you!" Fang Yuan drank a cup of wine and smiled. "We¡¯ve finished the wine and the banquet. Should we discuss how to take over things, especially the stocktaking of the storeroom?" Jin Xing went pale. Although this dream master was young, he was not foolish. In history, when handing over, the storeroom would always be the utmost priority. If there were any miscalctions, the records would go wrong in the future. Seeing his expression, Fang Yuan smiled to himself. He knew that this old man had taken a lot for himself. However, he was alright with this. As long as it did not affect him, he would not pursue the matter. However, what would matter would be the old man¡¯s attitude. "Of course, naturally..." After a brief silence, Jin Xing smiled and ordered for the records to be brought over. "Golden Sun Prosperous Land was discovered by our alliance 500 years ago. Since then, they have set up a gigantic array to protect it and have transformed the surroundings into 900 hectares of spiritual farm. Of course, among these 900 hectares, 60 hectares are now yours. We also have 127 servants and 562 other people living here. All these people here are literate and practice martial arts. We have 300 of them who had obtained inner force and 2 Wu Zongs..." As for spiritual knights, Jin Xing would naturally bring them along with him. "This prosperousnd mainly produces aged gold on the mountain peak. Every year, we would be able to produce 500 catties of it. As for the spiritual farm, we would produce 20,000 catties of spiritual rice annually, together with spiritual fruits and spiritual vegetables... We have already transferred the produce to the alliance this year. Right now, we have 3,000 catties of spiritual rice and 20 catties of aged gold in the storeroom. You can have everything else for yourself, Brother Fang!" "Mmm!" Fang Yuan received the records. Although he was doubtful, he silently nodded his head. This previous guardian was rather considerate not to have created a mess for Fang Yuan to deal with. Of course, this might be due to the fact that Fang Yuan¡¯s backing was powerful. Otherwise, no one knew if he would give the same treatment to someone else. "Although there are some mistakes in the records, no worries! Let¡¯s just leave things as such!" After a short moment, although Fang Yuan had spotted some errors in the records, he did not pursue it. After all, these insignificant resources were not enough to arouse his interest. Seeing that the previous guardian did not leave a mess for him to settle, he decided not to pursue and press him further. "Alright!" Jin Xing was ted. In reality, this was an important mission. Although he had kept some of the resources for himself, Fang Yuan did not pay any attention to all that he had taken. Seeing how magnanimous Fang Yuan was, he admired him in his heart. "Although I have a few connections and wealth stashed away, I still cannotpare to this direct descendant who is indeed generous!" Chapter 334: The Deal Chapter 334: The Deal Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The bigger scheme of things had been settled. All that was left were but the small details. With Jin Xing by his side, Fang Yuan patrolled the spiritualnds and warehouse. He left the message on the other party¡¯s inscription te and the deal was thus formalised. The whole 99 Golden Suns Gigantic Array roared on. The level of rights had shifted, and the transition from old to new waspleted nevertheless. Jin Xing did not stay long and left after saying goodbye. After all, he was the previous master and staying on would make him feel awkward. "Would I be calling the shots on this prosperousnd within 10 years?" Fang Yuan sat in the hall and suddenly remembered his spiritualnd on the Green Peak. "Now that I¡¯m here at Da Qian, I need a temporary ce to settle down in!" "Greetings master!" At this point, the whole management team entered and fell to the ground in a deep bow. They looked frightened. After all, the guardian hadplete control over them and they had no means of retaliation. The guardian could easily suppress theirbined strength of around five hundred. "Mm, you may all rise!" Five hundred men were probably not enough to farm a thousand hectares ofnd and to work a gold mine. But it was different if the five hundred men included three hundred martial artists who had broken through the cultivation levels and two Wu Zongs. Only the dream masters of Da Qian would employ martial artists to be miners and farmers. "The servants Meng Tian and Meng Guang, at master¡¯s service!" The two Wu Zongs stood up straight with their hands sped, their eyes staring ahead unflinchingly. On the Yuanwu maind, the both of them would undoubtedly be overlords. Even in the Da Qian world, they could obtain significant wealth. However, in this situation, they were but servants who took orders without question. This was indeed very strange and a huge pity. "The spiritual energy in Da Qian has always been dense to the extreme. The Golden Sun Prosperous Land is so, with elemental energy so thick that it might fall as spiritual rain. Living in the prosperousnd would increase one¡¯s longevity and even lead to a higher probability of achieving breakthroughs..." Fang Yuan nced about and pointed casually. "Since it has always been you two in charge, you shall stay in your appointments!" "Thank you, Master!" The two Wu Zongs were pleased and bowed repeatedly. After all, they had gained the approval of their new master, and their authority had been cemented. Meng Tian was in charge of agricultural affairs while Meng Guang was in charge of the mines. "Mining will carry on as per normal. What about the spiritual fields?" Fang Yuan knocked on the armrest of his chair. "What kind of spiritual rice are we growing these days?" Meng Tian immediately replied. "Master, it is the Qinghua Rice!" The Qinghua Rice was a spiritual nt of the Mystery Grade and regr consumption would build up one¡¯s elemental energy. It was good for spiritual knights. But it was still a lesser croppared to the Yellow Grain Rice. "Mm, I do not care about the other fields, but set aside one hundred mu ofnd from my own one thousand mu for the cultivation of Yellow Grain Rice!" Fang Yuan rubbed his chin as he gave his orders. "Yellow...Yellow Grain Rice? Master, I¡¯m afraid that this cannot be done!" Meng Tian was flustered. "The Yellow Grain Rice requires farnds of very high fertility, and the Golden Sun Prosperous Land does not satisfy the requirements. Also, Yellow Jade Fertiliser will have to be used monthly, and we arecking in this resource, not to mention the technical expertise..." Meng Tian was an honest man who did not mince his words, and several of his colleagues standing by rolled their eyes at him. "I know all of these...but this is my privatend, and your concerns are uncalled for!" Fang Yuan might have been suppressing dissent, but in truth, if the Yellow Grain Rice could be cultivated casually, the Realm Alliance would have no need to put in their trade requests. Perhaps only the master of the Hollow had the means to satisfy the various criteria. But Fang Yuan himself was different! He had advanced botany skills, and this was his chance to innovate. Besides, he might even be able breed nt types of a higher quality. "Your servant knows his mistake!" Meng Tian had broken out into a cold sweat after hearing Fang Yuan¡¯s reply and apologised profusely. "Never mind...the arrangements of the tenants can go on as usual. But I will convert my 6 hectares ofnd into an experimental field!" "Yes, Master!" Meng Tian and the other workers were perplexed. Was master intending to go down into the fields himself? But... ... A tea room in the Realm. "Many thanks for helping us out in the Hollow, Brother Fang!" The Ye sisters sat down with their legs crossed. "How can we ever hope to repay your kindness? Let us offer you some tea as a form of gratitude!" Fang Yuan nced at Ye Shuhua. She was dressed like a martial artist while her younger sister Ye Shumin was in herdy clothing. They both looked stunning in their own ways. "That day, when you got lost in the void, I was worried that Brother Fang might have gotten into trouble. But I also know that luck is on your side and that you will always be able to turn things to your favour." Ye Shuhua¡¯s features were gentle and she gazed at Fang Yuan with an expressionced withplex emotions. "Hehe...I am indeed fortunate!" Fang Yuan rubbed his nose. "Have you found the things that I need?" "The information that you require about the Golden Sun Prosperous Land and other things are all here!" Ye Shuhua smiled and passed him a jade disc. Although the Ye family was in dire straits, they were still able to gather information easily. However, she could not resist giving him a caveat. "The cultivation of the Yellow Grain Rice has stringent requirements. Unless you grow them in the Hollow, you will sustain losses. Only the Da Qian royals can afford to bear that kind of expenditure...I would suggest that you make other ns!" "But...this should be worth a try anyway!" Fang Yuan naturally would not admit that he was confident of seeding. He had revealed the fact that he knew the secret technique to growing the Yellow Grain Rice. Ye Shuhua forced a smile. "Then I wish Brother Fang all the best in your endeavours!" Cultivating Yellow Grain Rice was not an impossible task. Dozens of dream masters had tried to before. But the effort required was more than the potential returns. Nevertheless, Ye Shuhua saw that Fang Yuan had made up his mind, and she let him be. ¡¯He is a proud man and needs to suffer before hees to his senses...¡¯ The three of them walked out of the tea room. Ye Shuhua kept the smile stered on her face. "Guardian of the Prosperous Land is indeed a good appointment. But to stay in the position requires one to take note of several things. The rock tablet of the Realm Alliance also records relevant learning experiences. You have to check it out!" Engaged in pleasant conversation, they arrived before the rock tablet of the Realm Alliance. "Hmph!" Fang Yuan immediately noticed the jealous stare of a young man in nice clothes. The fact that he did not rush forward immediately showed that he was still rational. "Hmm?" Fang Yuan looked around and settled his gaze on Ye Shuhua. "Have you gotten yourself into some kind of trouble?" ¡¯Yes...¡¯ Ye Shuhua leaned in closer to Fang Yuan and contacted him mentally. ¡¯Help us!¡¯ It was then Fang Yuan realised that the sisters each held onto one of his arms. Their grips were tight and he could feel their soft and warm bodies. ¡¯What can I get out of you two using me as a shield? I¡¯ll get angry if there isn¡¯t a good deal. Don¡¯t think that I wouldn¡¯t dare to p the two of you in public. If I do that, everything would be resolved." Fang Yuan adopted a cold countenance. ¡¯What do you want?¡¯ Ye Shuhua clenched her teeth in silence. She had not thought Fang Yuan to be this ungentlemanly. "Get the Red Night 9 Smelting Technique for me, and I¡¯ll deal with him for you, regardless of whoever is backing him up!" The young dream master was not even at the illusionary divine stage of training, but the Ye sisters were still so wary of him. He probably had a powerful backer. But Fang Yuan had a backer too. When power is not made use of, it expires. Fang Yuan was not on the best of terms with the Elder Smelter, and he needed another n. "The Red Night 9 Smelting Technique?" Ye Shuhua was shocked by his demand but she gave in anyway. "Fine!" "Sign the Realm Spirit Contract or I won¡¯t believe you!" "Fine!" After Ye Shuhua agreed to his demands, Fang Yuan immediately pulled the Ye sisters close to his body and shot a challenging stare at the young man. "You..." The young man¡¯s face turned as red as a beetroot. He looked as though he had suffered all the injustice in the world and turned around to leave. "You can let go now!" Ye Shuhua¡¯s cheeks were flushed and she eximed hurriedly. She did feel a slight attraction to Fang Yuan but it was extremely awkward to be in this situation with him, especially with her sister present as well. "Haha...maybe you can tell me about his background now?" Fang Yuan breathed his question into Ye Shuhua¡¯s ear. Although he did it unthinkingly, he was making her nervous. "His name is Li Bai. His grandfather is a dream master of the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage and has some power in the Alliance, that¡¯s all...he thinks that with the amount of influence he has, he can possess us..." Ye Shuhua red at Fang Yuan before continuing. "Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t be killed!" "But it is still a troublesome matter! Remember to send me the payment..." Fang Yuan then let go of the Ye sisters with a gentle smile on his face. It was as if he had be a different person. "This fellow..." As she watched Fang Yuan walk into the distance, Ye Shuhua did not know what to feel. "This is a wily person. He bes a monster when self-interest is involved. A pity, but he is not a good match for us..." As she heaved a sigh, she noticed that her sister was blushing and she became flustered. "Sister, don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯ve fallen for him? Don¡¯t be naive. Just because he saved your life once. You will regret this..." Ye Shimin bit her lip and questioned her sister instead. "But sister...isn¡¯t he the only person who can help us regain the honour of our family?" "You..." Ye Shuhua was surprised and a strange look came over her face. To think that her sister, ady sheltered from young, had grown up so quickly following the incident in the Hollow. ... "Seems like there is another way to mastering the Red Night 9 Smelting Technique. To think that the Ye Family is this resourceful...she actually agreed so readily. I was expecting bargaining to be involved..." In truth, although Liu Mengmei was already conducting a search, Fang Yuan wanted an additional form of assurance. The heavenly evil force in his dream elements was no simple matter. No matter the potential opportunities contained within, to him, a force that cannot be controlled should be destroyed immediately. "Also...we can¡¯t let Liu Mengmei do everything. Toorge a goal would lead to too much activity. If we expose anything, everything will be for nought..." Fang Yuan¡¯s body dissipated, and he returned to the real world. When he walked out of the hall, the fragrance of the spiritual fields interacted with his senses. In the mist, he could see some of the farmers working hard. Fang Yuan overlooked the scene and exhaled contentedly. Chapter 335: Yellow Grain Rice Chapter 335: Yellow Grain Rice Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Within the Golden Sun Prosperous Land. A protective array rose up into the skies, enveloping the entire 6 hectares of private farnd. Elemental energy started to fall towards the farm in the form of spiritual rain, nourishing the ground. This was the Spiritual Gathering Array, personally cast by Fang Yuan. He had only cast this array over his own private farnd, but since he was the guardian of the prosperousnd, no one could say anything. Of course, Fang Yuan knew the reality. Although the array might seem like it was gathering spiritual energy, it had a hidden effect of sealing the area as well. After all, he was preparing the farm to sow the seeds of the Yellow Grain Rice and therefore, it had to receive different treatment from the other farms. "With this array, if any of my servants dare to trespass my private farm, I shall kill them instantly. This is only reasonable, for I had already given all of them a warning!" Fang Yuan thought to himself silently. "This farm is dedicated to collected the nts which would evolve special traits. When I obtain theplete plot of spiritualnd, I¡¯ll then attempt to nt it inrge scales. "At my current stage, it is sufficient to eat Yellow Grain Rice alone!" Although he had given up most of his Yellow Grain Rice to the alliance, he had nothing to worry about for he still had the seeds! "The remaining Yellow Grain Rice that I have now can be used to sow in the 6 hectares of the farm as well as provide for a few of my meals! This way, I can try them first!" As Fang Yuan arrived at the kitchen, he ordered for the servants to leave before cooking an entire pot of Yellow Grain Rice for himself. Once the rice had been thoroughly cooked, the fragrance of it made him twitch his nose uncontrobly. "It is recorded in : The Yellow Grain Rice isrge and thicker than usual rice. Harvest is little and it cannot withstand dry conditions. Therefore, it is extremely rare. It is fragrant when cooked as is regarded as food for the deities! In reality, since it has dream properties, it is best suited for dream masters to consume!" He filled his entire jade bowl with the rice, used his chopsticks and at a mouthful of it. "Fragrant and of good texture!" Considering all that he had gone through before, Fang Yuan had already tried most delicacies! Therefore, his pte was not something that could be easily satisfied! But now, as he swallowed the Yellow Grain Rice, an indescribable soothing feeling started to rise from his stomach, making its way to his heart. "This rice is soothing and is perfect for me to replenish my elemental energy..." Fang Yun silently allowed himself to experience the warm and soothing feeling in his dantian. As the warmth gathered, it was like a stream of hot spring water flowing through his entire body. Finally, it became a stream of energy which flowed along his spine all the way up, entering a whole new dimension in his body which he had never known about. "It is indeed rare toe across spiritual objects which would aid in the increase in magical energy... Most importantly, it is neither of Heaven Grade or Earth Grade, which would allow me to produce them inrge quantities. This makes it even more valuable!" In his actualised dream world, streaks of yellow glow appeared. It was as though something had triggered within the actualised dream world. His magical energy was swiftly restored and mighty force within started to calm down. In the yellow glow, his magical energy started tobine with his mighty force, resulting in a mercury-like dream elemental force which quickly started to fill up in the actualised dream world. "Mmm... If I can consume Yellow Grain Rice every day, I can restore my dream elemental force 3 times quicker than before!" As his True Spirit witnessed the restoration of his dream elemental force, he was relieved and nodded his head. "Needless to say, there is still the benefit of absorbing hints of dream property from the rice. It will be rather significant if I absorbrge quantities of dream property... this is great!" In the outside world, he did not hold back. The appetite of a 4th Meridian Wu Zong was huge. Instantly, he cleared the entire pot of spiritual rice before rubbing his tummy in satisfaction. He was now prepared to head to the farm and move about to aid in the digestion of the rice he just ate. Once he had left, his spiritual will shook. He realised that 2 servants were rushing into the kitchen. They were greedily sniffing the air and fighting over the metal pot. "Are they really fighting over the water used to wash the pot...¡¯ With that thought, his mind shook. He looked away and arrived at the farm. "Mmm... The ground is nourished enough. This is much better than any plots of spiritualnd in the maind!" He grabbed a fistful of soil. The soil was ck and loose. It was shimmering as though one would be able to squeeze oil out of it if they decided to do so. Furthermore, there was a thin whiteyer above the ck soil. This was not a whiteyer of snow frozen from liquid water. Instead, it was actualised from elemental force. This wasparable to fragments of elemental crystals and was formed from his very own Spiritual Gathering Array. "This soil might just beparable to that in the hollow..." Thinking about the environment in this prosperousnd, he started to think about the environment in Changli Mountain Hollow and shook his head. "Even after the passing of the Sage, the environment there is still much more superiorpared to the outside world." Considering the well-nourished soil in the Golden Sun Prosperous Land, it was possible to nt the Yellow Grain Rice. However, it was inevitable that he would use more resources to produce the harvest of Yellow Grain Rice, much more than he could have harvested. Therefore, a loss was inevitable. "Taking into consideration the current environmental conditions, I must produce a variant of Yellow Grain Rice which has the least requirements to grow." Fang Yuan¡¯s idea was simple. This 6 hectares of the farm was an experimental farm. He would surely be able to produce Yellow Grain Rice. However, he was gambling on the chances that such a variant would be evolved. If he could create an evolved variant with a higher grade, that would be even better. However, it was not a must to create it. All that he would look for was variant which could adapt to the current environment. Once he had the seeds of this variant, he would be able to produce the rice inrge quantities in the future when he would obtain the entire plot of his private farm. "Furthermore, if things did not go as smoothly and if the Yellow Grain Rice is extremely hard to evolve any special traits, considering my level in Botany, it is still possible for me to sessfully produce a new batch of Yellow Grain Rice. At least, I would still harvest back whatever I had sowed..." He took a nce at his stats window: "Botany [Level 5] ----- You¡¯re now a master in the Botany Realm! Any nts nted by you would not only awaken but also develop special traits, the maturity period would also shorten based on the conditions!" With that, he grabbed his how and started to sow the seeds of the Yellow Grain Rice. Because of this secret, he could not ask someone else to do it. Furthermore, in order for there to be any chances of special traits evolving, he had to do it personally. He would harvest whatever he had sowed. This was always thew of nature. ... "Fang Yuan! Fang Yuan!" In Realm Alliance Mountain, within a side hall, Li Bo clenched his teeth. As he read the intelligence he had gathered, he started to grit his teeth. "He is just a half-*ssed dream master who had gotten lucky to be a dream master in the Illusionary Divine stage. How does he dare to belittle me... Yes! It¡¯s true that I can do nothing about it! However, although my family might not be as influential as the Ye Family, we were still loyal to the Realm Alliance for 3 generations. Surely, you don¡¯t have the rights to bully us!" His face was flushed with anger. As he arrived at the main hall, he knelt down. "Grandfather! You must upload justice for me!" "What do you have!" In the centre of the main hall, on a bed of clouds, a silhouette appeared restless. Their family was weak. No matter how much effort they had put in, there was only one person among the descendants that had sessfully be a dream master. Although he was a lowly-skilled dream master, it was already a huge step ahead for the family. They were now on a different level from the average humans. With such a descendant, their position in the Realm Alliance had been cemented. Therefore, many families were jealous of them. However, looking at things now, it seems as though it was something the family could not settle. "Grandfather... I was merely following your orders and therefore went after the sisters of the Ye Family. Although you are the head of our family, we have little heritage to speak of. If we can form a rtionship with the Ye Family, our standing in the alliance would be assured!" Li Bo was not a dense person. "Now, the sisters of the Ye Family are closer to Fang Yuan... Of course, I am not going after them because of their appearances. However, it is a known fact that the resources in the alliance are limited. With the uprising of a family, it would lead to the downfall of another. With the talented Fang Yuan getting involved, if he were to marry the sisters, the position of our family in the alliance would be under threat..." "This... you make sense!" The silhouette nodded its head before revealing his body. It was a graceful middle-aged man. He was the grandfather of Li Bo, a 4th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master of the Realm Alliance - Li Qin. "Realm Spirit, give me information regarding Fang Yuan..." Considering that he was in the Realm Alliance Mountain in the Dream Realm and that he was a 4th Leaf Cultivator, his level of rights were rather high. With a single thought, he had already gained the basic information about Fang Yuan, which was still more detailed than what Li Bo had described. "He is only in his twenties and is already a 3rd Tier Illusionary Divine dream master? Indeed, a talent!" After reading a few lines, Li Qin nodded his head as though he had seen his younger self. "With the uprising of a new member, the few like us with weak foundations will have to do something, for our position will be under threat. Never mind about the fact that he is from a powerful faction... Is he now the guardian of the Golden Sun Prosperous Land? Who would¡¯ve thought that he would have relied on Feng Xinzi and would have Elder Smelter as his backing..." "Grandfather... Is Elder Smelter that powerful? We have many up anding dream masters who are talented as well. Who would pay attention to Elder Smelter? Also, don¡¯t we have the backing of Elder Green Wood?" Li Bo hurriedly answered. "Although you are right, Feng Xinzi has a close rtionship with Fang Yuan. Feng Xinzi is a newly-advanced 4th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master and is a powerful dream alchemy master now. His level of rights in the alliance has also been promoted to a 5th Leaf Cultivator!" Li Qin spoke with a calm voice but in his heart, he felt a little displeasure. Many years ago, he had joined the Realm Alliance and was willing to do whatever the alliance had requested of him. However, he was unfortunate enough to have lost everything in his generation. Now that he had umted enough resources and had achieved a breakthrough to the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine, he had helped his family secure a standing in the alliance. Even so, he was still considered an outsider and therefore, he remained a 4th Leaf Cultivator. On the other hand, Feng Xinzi was a direct disciple and was promoted to a 5th Leaf Cultivator immediately after he had achieved a breakthrough to the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage and was 1 level higher than Li Qin. Officially, the alliance would exin that this was as such due to the fact that Feng Xinzi was an alchemy master and would be able to contribute much to the alliance. However, no one knew the truth. This was exactly preferential treatment given to the direct disciples! Outsiders could only look with jealousy. If they were to have anyints, they would encounter countless troubles within the alliance. There is still the problem of Fang Yuan... Although Fang Yuan¡¯s background was simr to Li Qin, Li Qin had zero empathy for him. He had experienced hardships before. Therefore, in his warped mind, he would want to see others experience simr hardships like him before he would be satisfied. Although Fang Yuan had it tough when he had just joined the alliance, with his current position now, he would have to look out for himself. Notwithstanding the hatred they had between each other, Li Qin would still be perturbed to see how Fang Yuan had advanced to a 3rd Leaf Cultivator in such a short period of time. With that, he concluded. "After all, Feng Xinzi is not Fang Yuan. Feng Xizi is newly promoted and has limited influence. Therefore, he might not put in all his effort to help Fang Yuan... Grandson, just you wait. I will set things right for you!" Within the same alliance, it was not possible for them to have internal conflict. It would do both parties no good if they were to get into a conflict. However, Li Qin was extremely familiar about the loopholes in the rules of the alliance and knew how to go about dealing with Fang Yuan. After all, he had personally experienced it for himself and had earned this experience through blood, sweat and tears. ¡¯Since the ancient times, high-ranking officials would pressure those of lower ranks. Even though the Realm Alliance might be less uptight over rules, the same phenomenon still applies. It is too simple for me to deal with him without leaving any traces behind... Hehe, after all, he is a new member and deserves to undergo some hardships. If he is not put under pressure, he would not develop and improve. This is my effort in training you!¡¯ Li Qinughed to himself and was filled was satisfaction at the fact that he was about to take revenge for his grandson. Chapter 336: Meaning in Cultivation Chapter 336: Meaning in Cultivation Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Dream Realm. Fang Yuan strolled along the streets of the Dream Realm. The public area formed by the gigantic Kun beast was bustling as always. Numerous dream masters had a mysterious light shining from them to conceal their body. They walked along the busy streets and gathered at the four-sided stone tablet in the centre to trade or to browse through their missions. "The dream master who conceptualised and built this Dream Realm is really a genius!" As Fang Yuan looked at the streets, he sighed and thought, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely! With great power, people would vie for greater authority and status... The Dream Realm enables every dream master in the entire Da Qian to progress rapidly and form groups. Naturally, they would then vie for the absolute power of the whole world! This has nothing to do with being good or evil, it is a natural instinct!" Although there was a neutral Realm Alliance and a good Baize Mountain within the 5 Grand Organisations, Fang Yuan gained new understandings from the event at Changli Mountain Hollows. "In the end, doesn¡¯t matter if good or evil, we are all dream masters... Thus, we cannot tolerate betrayers. Just from the way the 5 Grand Organisations publicised about the Hidden Dragon Guards, it can be told that they share the same bitter hatred against themon enemy. If only there weren¡¯t some internal disputes regarding the benefits that couldn¡¯t be resolved, I guess Da Qian would have descended into chaos?" Fang Yuan went to the Realm Alliance Mountain instead of the public square. Ever since he received the level of rights, although he could set Realm Alliance Mountain as his main location to be transported to, Fang Yuan still preferred to be transported into the public area. "After the rank of 4th Leaf Cultivator, one could set a Green Bronze Hall as his location to conduct all sorts of training and experiments..." In reality, there were still many benefits in joining the Realm Alliance. The Realm Alliance greatly helped Fang Yuan. Examples included the help he received to fight against the Divine Lotus Cult and also the position of Golden Sun Prosperous Land¡¯s guardian. "Therefore, I still have to stay in Realm Alliance! Dream masters without an organisation usually do not live for long... especially during such a period where conflicts are bing more intense!" Fang Yuan had a premonition that the conflict between dream masters and Da Qian¡¯s royalties were bing more and more intense, as though it was about to explode! Perhaps the recent events at Changli Mountain Hollows were merely just a presage and the real tragedies awaited. As Fang Yuan came near the rock tablet of the Realm Alliance, he found a pavilion and sat down. He then sent a message, "Ye Sisters, I have reached!" "Please wait a moment, brother Fang Yuan..." The inscription te glowed and not before long, the two sisters arrived hand in hand. The elder sister was forthright as usual and sat down immediately. Whereas, the younger sister¡¯s cheeks were slightly red and she was shyly looking around. "Seems like there¡¯s something wrong, her attitude is different..." Fang Yuan thought for a moment. He did not care further and then asked, "You contacted me and said you have found the technique?" "Indeed! Here¡¯s the Red Night 9 Smelting Technique!" Ye Shuhua took out a blood-red coloured crystal and said, "This technique is created by a dream master at the 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine. It can banish evil forces and is extremely expensive... however, as my family is still rather reputable, it was found in a family friend¡¯s hidden library!" "Many thanks!" Fang Yuan received the crystal. As he peeked into the blood-red crystal, he saw a paragraph of wondrous words. Furthermore, as hepared it to the 9 Smelting Technique Liu Mengmei sent over, he saw that the two were perfectly linked together. Hence, he believed the sisters and assured, "Since I have already received the deposit, rest assured that I will handle that Li Bai and even the Li Qin behind him!" This was because Fang Yuan also had backings behind him, which were Elder Smelter and Feng Xinzi. Although it is said that rtionships were meant to be cultivated, in actual facts, such favours should be used quickly or else it would bring about greater troubles and resentment. This time around, with how Ye Shuhua quickly found the technique and closed the deal, it was also a way to put an end to their rtionship. From then on, the two parties no longer owed each other anything. This was natural for Fang Yuan. Ye Shuhua stood up slowly and bowed to him. She then dragged her sister who seemed like she wanted to speak and yet did not. Fang Yuan remained seated and appeared to be waiting for someone. Indeed, not long after, a middle-aged man came over. He was handsome and had a tall hat; he was calm and at ease. Behind him was an arrogant and haughty looking Li Bai that made Fang Yuan thought of a big cock. The middle-aged man walked forward and sat in front Fang Yuan. He then spoke in a straightforward manner and sincere voice. He did not sound like he was showing off. "My name is Li Qin, a dream master at the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine! A 4th Leaf Cultivator in the alliance!" "Eh... so what?" Fang Yuan gave a wry smile. Fang Yuan had to do his utmost since he made the deal. Just because the man said all those did not mean that Fang Yuan had to respectfully step down. "Simr... so simr!" Li Qinmented, "Seeing you is like seeing the young me! I used to be like you, so witty and sharp, just like a sharp sword out of its sheath! But as someone who used to be like that, I have to advise you to know your ce and limits... don¡¯t be too brash, else you would have lots of troubles ahead of you! This ising from an experienced man!" This man was interesting. He did not mention the Ye sisters nor did he abuse Fang Yuan with his position. Instead, he was like an old grandfather that shared his life experiences and gave warm pieces of advice. However, Fang Yuan¡¯s gaze changed at once and he beganughing, "Old fogey... you are out of date!" "Eh? What did you say?" Li Qin¡¯s eyes shed with a cold light; it was as though cracking noises could be heard from the surrounding. Behind Li Qin, Li Bai covered his mouth in shock. He felt Fang Yuan was extremely insolent and thought to himself. How dare he criticised his grandfather, was he tired of living? "You want to advise me and say that I am haughty? That I should be more reserved and less sharp-tongued?" Fang Yuan chortled, "That I should be like you? Like a pebble that has been smoothened? Like a person that made zero improvements in over ten years? Why would I be like a dead tree or a rotten skeleton? If you are really experienced, you would have known that us dream masters can only move forward and not backwards! Why would you be stuck at the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage for over ten years? I will not hesitate to make enemies with people like you!" "Insolent kid!" Li Qin was enraged and wanted to kill this kid. He would have never imagined that such a fearless blockhead would exist in this world. Furthermore, this kid had cultivated to the 3rd Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage! The heavens were blind! "What? You want to fight me?" Fang Yuan smirked and stared back at Li Qin, "Come on then, old fogey! Let me tell you, the issue regarding the Ye Sisters is now my issue too! If your useless grandson pesters further, he will have to suffer the consequences!" "You..." Li Qin¡¯s image was totally gone. As he saw the dream masters nearby gathering,menting, bantering and staring, he dared not touch Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan was not afraid as there would be no harm to his body even if his magical clone was destroyed. Most importantly, there were rules governing the Realm Alliance. It was uneptable If alliance mates fought each other for no good reasons. Furthermore, it would be even worse if it was a senior bullying a junior. "This Li Qin doesn¡¯t even dare to go against the alliance¡¯s rules and he dares to make enemies with me? He even wanted to destroy my meaning in cultivation?" Fang Yuan thought. Fang Yuan could only give a wry smile at such a scene. Although Li Qin initially appeared warm, he actually harboured malicious intentions and had ulterior motives. The most important thing for a dream master was the cultivation of his own soul in order to be resolute in his chosen path. If Fang Yuan believed Li Qin¡¯s rney and his ways of dealing with people, that would have been a real suicide! Not only would his cultivation stop improving and stagnate, it might even regress! That was what it meant to destroy one¡¯s "meaning in cultivation"! Hence, Fang Yuan brazenly attacked him with words. By making use of the Realm Alliance¡¯s rules, Fang Yuan knew Li Qin could not fight him even if he wanted to. Thus, things did not go the way Li Qin wanted and his actions could not match his intentions. Li Qin might even vomit blood when he went back! Thus, not only was Fang Yuan¡¯s meaning in cultivation not destroyed, he managed to disrupt Li Qin¡¯s state of mind! Although swords nor weapons were seen in this exchange of words, the dangers hidden within it wasparable to a fight for death. Fang Yuan was brought up by Master Heartless. He faced numerous challenges all by himself; even as the world was in chaos, he relied on his own ways and stayed true to himself. It was ridiculous for Li Qin to attack him for his personality. Furthermore, the world was experiencing a massive turmoil and chaos was imminent. If Fang Yuan cared about being humble and docile in such a time, it would be as though he surrendered himself to his enemy. "Old fogey... you are so pathetic!" Even if Li Qin used to be a genius, he had already lost his drive and spirit. If he were to fight in a fierce battle, his oue would be disastrous. Fang Yuan had already viewed Li Qin as a dead person. Fang Yuan calmly stood up and gave Li Qin a look of pity before turning away immediately. He did not even bat an eye at that Li Bai who was convulsing in anger. Although Li Bai was a dream master, 80% was due to external resources that helped him. Li Bai¡¯s character and temperament were utterly horrible and Fang Yuan would be stooping down to his level if he cared about him. "Fang Yuan!" "Fang Yuan!!" "Fang Yuan!!!" Li Qin was fuming mad. If that image of his was not formed by his spiritual will, he would have really vomited blood. Even so, a gleam of light shined across Li Qin and he became wobbly and unstable. "Grandpa!" Li Bai was shocked and immediately went forward to support Li Qin¡¯s body. However, Li Qin gave him a p and shouted, "Scram! I don¡¯t need your pity!" Li Qin¡¯s expression turned gloomy. He looked at Fang Yuan¡¯s back view leaving and thought, "If this kid doesn¡¯t die, my heart will not be at ease!" ... As Fang Yuan had bafflingly just gained another enemy, it made him sigh too. In actual fact, dream masters lived a very long life and had numerous powers. If they fought about women, it could be easily resolved usually. However, Li Qin had an ulterior motive, he wanted to destroy Fang Yuan¡¯s meaning in cultivation! That meant Li Qin had the intent to kill! Fang Yuan had no regrets in brazenly retorting him. Fang Yuan only regretted not having enough power and that it happened in the Dream Realm. Thus, it was not perfect for him as he could not kill his whole family and disy their chopped-off heads. "p! p!" Suddenly, a stream of pill essence gathered beside Fang Yuan and turned in the silhouette of Feng Xinzi. Feng Xinzi pped his hands and praised, "So mighty! So savage! Whatever you said just now was so true! Just that you have now offended Li QIn and bunch of useless elders in the alliance!" "Luckily I have you to support me!" Fang Yuan expression changed and said, "It¡¯s just a few words out of my mouths! They can¡¯t possibly be rushing over to kill me immediately!" "The Realm Alliance forbids members from killing each other. For Illusionary Divine dream masters at the same tier, they could still report it to the elders to fight on the Stage of Life and Death. You don¡¯t meet this condition and furthermore, amongst the 3rd Tier Illusionary Divine dream masters, no one is confident to take you down! Thus, there¡¯s nothing to be afraid of for you!" Feng Xinzi did not know whether to smile or not and continued, "Just that this Li QIn does have some power with him, especially since he is good friends with the treasurer of the prosperousnds in Cloud Region. You might be in for some small troubles..." Chapter 337: 9 Smelting Technique Chapter 337: 9 Smelting Technique Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "If I nt one in the spring, I will get back 10,000 in autumn..." Within the Golden Sun Prosperous Land. Looking at the golden stalks of rice, his face was filled with anticipation to harvest them. "Even if the Yellow Grain Rice does not evolve any special traits, the fact that I am able to shorten its maturity period meant that the resources required would be greatly reduced. As long as I am able to harvest them after maturity, I would have already earned!" After farming for half a day, Fang Yuan walked out of the array and arrived at the main hall. Beautiful servants with blushed cheeks served Fang Yuan all kinds of spiritual food and started to brew a pot of tea for him. In the past few days, he had spent half the day farming and the other half practising his martial arts. In his free time, he would read up on ancient recordings or conduct research on martial arts techniques. asionally, he would try and understand the mysterious glow from the water dragon pearl. Therefore, his lifestyle was rather regted. As time passed, Fang Yuan started to give off a mature vibe. He no longer had the haste of pushing his progress forward. This was a sign of his strengthening foundation. "Whooo!" After finishing his meal, he teased 2 servants and thoroughly enjoyed himself. With augh, he arrived at a square, released a breath of white energy and began his training in martial arts. "Chi! Chi!" Behind his back, 4 spiritual meridians formed a vague figure. A 5th spiritual meridian was faint, but with time, it slowly formed. Finally, it glowed with brilliance, and the entire illusionary vague figure shook. "The 5th Meridian of Wu Zong is formed!" Fang Yuanposed himself before revealing a look of satisfaction on his face. "The 9 Smelting Technique to purify one¡¯s elemental force is indeed effective!" In the past few weeks, he had umted experience to fill up his proficiency points. In addition, he had also started to practice the 9 Smelting Technique. It was the simplified version of the Red Night Recordings, but it was enough to purify his martial arts elemental force. Previously, he had hastily achieved his breakthroughs without a strong foundation. Now that he had practised the 9 Smelting Technique, although it had resulted in a dip in his elemental force, his foundations were slowly being perfected. Finally, he had achieved a breakthrough today, further progressing on his path as a Wu Zong. Fang Yuan took a nce at his stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 48 Spirit: 48 Magic: 59 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (3rd Tier), Wu Zong (5th Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 6) (1%)], [Hundred Poison Golden Body (1st Refining)], [8 Gates Sword Array (4th Sword) (99%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "The Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique, although fused with the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique from the Yang Family, can only attain the 8th Meridian at most. Although I can form the Divine Body, it is still imperfect..." From the corner of his eye, he could see the stats for his Hundred Poison Golden Body as he rubbed his chin. "Now that I¡¯ve settled down, I should improve this technique of mine... Furthermore, these two martial arts techniques that I have canplement each other to form a new technique. This is the path for me to enter the realm of true martial arts!" He took a look at both his arms. Even without channelling his elemental force, he could turn his skin into a golden colour with a mere thought. He had already thought of achieving such a stage, but could only finally achieve it after training in this plot of prosperousnd. This was not only due to the fact that the environment was stable. More importantly, he had obtained information which was once in the water dragon pearl and now had the information that a dream master at the Prominent Divine stage would have. "That mysterious glow is indeed a library of information. If there are already so many secrets on the surface of the glow, I wonder what I can discover in the core of the glow..." Up till now, he had achieved the peak condition and had improved as well. Fang Yuan arrived at a meditation room. With the flip of his palms, a blood-red crystal appeared. "I shall familiarise myself with the 9 Smelting Technique before I shall attempt the techniques in the Red Night Recordings. This way, although slow, I would be able to seed with low risks..." Fang Yuan sighed. The reason why he was so cautious was the fact that through various means, he had gathered more information regarding the evil force in him. Therefore, he would rather deal with it conscientiously. "This evil force, also known as Heavenly Evil Dream Element, is a unique variant of dream elemental force whiches from the Evil Divine Sect... Dream masters with this variant of evil force in them are mostly dream masters at the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. Furthermore... Most of them will experience a gruesome death. However, if they manage to survive, they would be aplished and might even have the chance to achieve a breakthrough to the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage!" "However, to me, I can achieve the same oue with an equal probability if I slowly progress in cultivating the 8 Gates Sword Array. Therefore, I have no need for such an evil force in me!" "Although others would not dare to im that this evil force came from the Evil Divine Sect, it is most likely that this was the case! They can use this to control or train up dream masters. Ultimately, they would be in control of everything!" ... With experience, Fang Yuan would not hesitate to assume to worse of his enemy. Since he knew that this was a trap, he would be a fool to jump right into it. "Fortunately, I am different from the dream masters of Evil Divine Sect. This evil force is different from my foundations as a dream master. I would only experience a mere disturbance if I were to achieve a breakthrough. However, I could still attempt to get rid of it even at that stage!" Fang Yuan closed his eyes. Sentences of the recordings from the Red Night Recordings appeared in his mind, and every single word was glowing. "Red means fire! The Red Night 9 Smelting Technique is basically bringing in an external fire to burn one¡¯s foundation and get rid of foreign forces. It might result in both the evil force and one¡¯s foundation to be destroyed... However, right now, my cultivation is pure and I have foundations in martial arts. I can still afford to experience some damage to my foundation!" With a single thought, a small me appeared in his actualised dream world. This me was not a normal me. It was also differentpared to the mes from the Fire Sword. It was red like blood. In an instant, it covered his entire actualised dream world and started to burn. "Rumble!" The 8 Gates Sword Array started to shake. Large amounts of dream elemental force started to evaporate, revealing the physical bodies of the 3 magical swords. Furthermore, the physical bodies of the magical soldiers started to undergo changes as the red mes raged on. It seemed as though it was being purified. "Bloop! Bloop!" Of course, dream elemental force was not as hardy as the magical swords and could not hold on for long. Under the red mes, mercury-like dream elemental force started to evaporate rapidly. In a few moments, the entire actualised dream world was almost bone-dry. Fang Yuan felt a wave of dizziness and started to feel weak in his limbs. He did not feel such weakness even when battling Yi Xie of the Evil Divine Sect while he was in the hollow, or when he had escaped from the hollow with all the physical injuries. "This mes can burn my magical energy..." Fang Yuan turned pale. The energy in his eyes started to dim. "Chi! Chi!" Finally, as thest drop of dream elemental force evaporated, the ground of the actualised dream world suddenly shook. An evil and demonic red dream elemental force started to appear from beneath. In the next moment, the dim red evil force started to sh with the red mes. "Buzz!" The actualised dream world shook. Fang Yuan shook as well, and there was blood flowing out from his mouth, nose, eyes and even ears. "8 Gates Sword Array, defend the 4 directions!" He did not care about himself. All he was focused at was defending the foundations of his actualised dream world, allowing the fire to freely burn the evil force. "Buzz! Buzz!" Suddenly, the evil force filled his entire body. In the meditation room, a red glow was emitted from his body, giving off an evil vibe in the process. As the mes raged on, the weakened evil force had nothing else to feed on. It retreated and started to sizzle. After a long while, everything settled down. Only Fang Yuan¡¯s hoarse voice could be heard. "Haha... This is indeed effective. Although the process is painful and that I can only remove 1% of it every time, I have the Yellow Grain Rice to replenish my elemental energy. I have all the time in the world. Slowly, but surely, I will be able to cleanse myself of this evil force and remove all troubles that woulde with it!" This process would consume a lot of his energy and might even result in this cultivation level to drop. However, with the ability to fix his stats and the resources to replenish his energy, he could recuperate in a short period of time. What would he have to fear? After his excitement died down, he started to be suspicious. "The things is... did I have that shocking feeling because my heart is pumping? Or could it be a powerful being performing a prediction on me? The only one who can do this to me now should be the owner of the evil force, right? Or could it be the inheritance left behind by Sage Changli? Tian Xiezi has already passed on. Therefore, does this mean that it is more probable for Sage Changli¡¯s inheritance to have caused this feeling? Hehe... As I was purging the evil force, I felt a concentration of spiritual aura around me. That is actually the best form of disguise! Could this be fate?" ... In an unknown ce in mid-air. A few strong spiritual wills had gathered together. With theirbined powers, the space around them shook. "Who would¡¯ve thought... Dragon Changli has spent so many resources and sessfully found clues about the source... If not for the fact that Lord Yin had helped us, the Imperial Court might have snatched it away!" "I respect Sage Changli for his knowledge and findings. However, there are 6 portions to the entire secret. If we do not gather all portions together, we cannot deduce the findings. Although we had tried out best, we only managed to obtain 2 portions!" "The Imperial Court might have obtained 1 to 2 portions as well. However, the locations of the other portions are unknown!" The few spiritual wills started to suspect each other. Even a dream master of the Prominent Divine stage had to put in so much effort to find out the source of all dream masters. If anyone were to manage to discover the source, they would obtain an unparalleled mighty force! With such a lure, no one in the right mind would peacefully work with one another. Unless they were to find the source publicly, otherwise, everyone would rather keep the source for themselves. Lord Yin remained silent. She began to suspect that among these Prominent Divine stage dream masters, one of them had kept the portions for themselves. ¡¯On the day of the self-destruction of the hollow, one of my magical clones was after a portion. As she entered the chaos, she was destroyed. I do not know where that portion of inheritance went to!¡¯ As a sage, Lord Yin would receive an answer with a single thought. Even if she did not specialise as a dream future master to perform predictions, she would also be able to get an answer. ¡¯Is the missing portion rted to an evil force? Evil Divine Sect!?¡¯ Lord Yin started to re at another spiritual will. ¡¯You hide really well! You almost had me fooled...¡¯ Of course, without evidence, she would not use anyone of anything. Furthermore, as sages, they would surely erase all traces that they had done it. She could only let it go. With that, she had decided that in the future, she would test him before giving him what he deserved! ¡¯Something feels weird. Did something happen in the sect?¡¯ A silent spiritual will seemed to have recalled something but slowly became suspicious as well. However, it replied without hesitation. "Although we cannotbine the 6 portions, we can stille to a decision with all the information that we currently have! If we don¡¯t remove the Imperial Court of Da Qian, it will always be in our way!" As a sage from the Evil Divine Sect, he was not against the Imperial Court. "I agree!" The Divine Lotus Cult showed its support. "I agree! We cannot let the Imperial Court benefit from the efforts of Sage Changli!" The sage of Source Seeking Sect agreed as well. "The Realm Alliance... agrees!" "Baize Mountain... forfeits the vote!" In a streak of divine light, there was a weak voice. "Haha... great! Ever since the creation of the Dream Realm, this is the first time that we 5 organisations have arrived at a consensus!" The spiritual will of the Evil Divine Sect was ted. As soon as the 5 sages came to a consensus, thunder started to rumble outside and a storm broke out! Chapter 338: Suppression Chapter 338: Suppression Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Within the meditation room in Golden Sun Prosperous Land. Fang Yuan was emitting the intense red glow of the evil force in him. Slowly, it contracted and became a sinister looking red droplet. "Rumble!" As the fire within his actualised dream world raged on, the dark red hint of evil force was being forced to a corner. "This is the time... get out!!!" With the flick of his fingers, the dark red evil force started to crystallize and was flung out. As itnded on a wall, a huge hole exploded and the boundaries of the hole started to corrode, releasing a ck fog. "Phew..." As soon as Fang Yuan had forced the red crystal out of him, he immediately felt morefortable. Even though he was still weak, it was as though he had put down a huge burden, and the sense of danger that he used to have was now gone. "In the past two months, I have continuously executed the Red Night 9 Smelting Technique for 81 times. Finally, I have cleared all traces of the evil force from my actualised dream world..." If he was a normal dream master, even if he was at the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine, his elemental energy would be adversely affected and he might even experience a drop in his cultivation level, considering the intensity of him executing the smelting technique. However, Fang Yuan had daily replenishment of energy in the form of food and could maintain his cultivation level at the 3rd Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. Furthermore, the technique that he had executed had also purified his dream elemental force and martial arts elemental force. "This is the best condition that I have ever been. Once I recover from this weakness, I will be able to attempt breaking through to the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine stage..." The 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage would allow one to trigger spiritual properties within objects and was a significant milestone. Regardless of whichever path a dream master might choose, as long as one would achieve the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, one¡¯s power would increase by folds and would be much more powerful than before. This was especially so for the 8 Gates Sword Array. Once the 4th Sword would be formed, Fang Yuan would be able to cast the 4 Emblems Sword Array. Furthermore, his magical soldiers would gain spirituality and each of their powers would be individually magnified! It would be hard to imagine what power the swords could collectively achieve. Of course, if he ever revealed the 4 Emblems Sword Array, he would have sealed his identity as Master Heartless¡¯ disciple. Therefore, he would either not cast the array, or he had to kill the person if he were to use the array. "I have unknowingly arrived at this stage..." Fang Yuan mumbled to himself as his eyes glistened. "I will take revenge for Master!!!" A dream master at the 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine was extremely powerful and had limitless powers! How would someone with such powerful die? Master Heartless must have been injured before arriving at the maind and was already nearing his death. After all that Master Heartless had done for him, he had to repay his kindness and therefore take revenge for him! "Of course... In order to keep this secret safe, I should not even mention it!" The enemy was too strong and Fang Yuan could not afford to be careless! ... In the Realm Alliance. Li Qin looked deste as he walked through a corridor and arrived at a hall. "Haha... Li Qin, who would¡¯ve thought that you would be thoroughly embarrassed!" A sinister but gentle voice was heard from the centre of the hall. In the seat at the centre, a sinister-looking schr slowly formed his physical body and smiled. "I¡¯ve got to admit that Fang Yuan is indeed a talent and a formidable opponent!" Li Qin had sadness written all over his face. "Now... I¡¯m afraid that he has be the demon in my mind. If he doesn¡¯t die, I¡¯m afraid I will be stuck at my current cultivation level forever!" Dream masters had to have a clear mind in doing things and would fear ¡¯obstacles¡¯ in their minds! As long as their minds were cluttered, they would never be able to achieve their true potential! "Sigh... an enemy?" The schr took in a deep breath. "Are you seeking for my help?" "Yes. He is now the guardian of Golden Sun Prosperous Land and will be in istion for 10 years. If he doesn¡¯te out of the prosperousnd, I¡¯m afraid that his achievement in theing 10 years will be too scary for me to imagine..." A sinister look shed across Li Qin¡¯s eyes. "As the treasurer of Cloud Region, do you have any solution to this? The resources from every prosperousnd will have to go through you! Let him personally bring his resources to you for a few times! Is that possible?" This was a tactic to weaken his enemy, or rather, to prevent his enemy from bing stronger. As members of the Realm Alliance, they would often take ownership of their own decision. The only thing that the alliance could request of the members was to do missions. However, since Fang Yuan would be upied for 10 years and would not be required to take up any missions, Li Qin could not stand it. The best idea he had would be to relinquish him of his appointment and force Fang Yuan to continue taking up missions from the Realm Alliance. By then, considering Li Qin¡¯s level of rights and rank within the alliance, he could plot against Fang Yuan. Although he could not brazenly assign Fang Yuan to do risky missions, the fact that he had to do missions means that he could not cultivate in peace. As long as Fang Yuan would be unable to advance in his rank, Li Qin could use many ways to deal with him, making him unbearable. "The portioning from Golden Sun Prosperous Land has already been submitted for this year..." The treasurer of Cloud Region smiled. "However... Brother, you¡¯re in luck! There¡¯s an opportunity here. Take a look at what the alliance just announced!" As he spoke, a mysterious glow flew from his hand andnded on Li Qin¡¯s palm. "Oh? The reallocation of resources across regions? What a lucrative job!" As an experienced dream master in the Illusionary Divine stage, Li Qin could tell that something was fishy. "The armies are still not deployed and the resources are already on the move. Is something big happening in the alliance?" "There could be an impending war, or they could be gathering resources to invade a few other realms. Who would know? However, as long as they delegate this mission, we will be at liberty to do whatever we want!" The schr let out a sinister smile once more as his expression changed. "Brother, as the treasurer of a region, you can decide how much resources you require. Even if you increase the amount by a little, no one could say anything..." Li Qinmented. "However, Fang Yuan is still a force to be reckoned with... Not only is he gifted and would likely be as powerful as us, he is also good friends with Feng Xinzi and is under Elder Smelter¡¯s faction!" "Smelter and Green Wood have been long-standing enemies. There is nothing more to say!" Li Qin sighed. He knew that although they were good friends, he would only help if he would benefit from it. Unwillingly, Li Qin took out something. "This Mysterious Elemental Crystal has always been a treasure of mine. I shall give it to you today!" "Haha... great!" Seeing this, the schr¡¯s eyes glistened and knew that Li Qin was giving it his all. "Alright! Leave this to me! Even if that small kid were to create trouble, I can still keep him in ce considering that I am a 4th Leaf Cultivator as well. No one would be able to say anything!" "I¡¯ll leave this to you!" Seeing this, Li Qin was decided. As he turned around to leave the hall, he revealed a sinister smile. ¡¯How dare you embarrass me. I shall let you know how powerful I am!; ... Within the Spiritual Gathering Array. As he walkedzily across the farm and gazed at the huge grains of Yellow Grain Rice, Fang Yuan could not control himself but let out a big smile. "If outsiders were to see this, they would surely be shocked beyond words, but it¡¯s a pity... It¡¯s always safer to keep such treasures a secret." With the ability to evolve special traits, the Yellow Grain Rice was ready to be harvest in merely a few months. Even though he did not produce a lot of spiritual rice, he could harvest around 100 catties of spiritual rice from the 600 square-metres the farm. Therefore, he was able to umte over 7,500 catties of spiritual rice, enough for a dream master to consume for 10 years! With so many resources to nourish himself, his intense training in the Red Night 9 Smelting Techniques for 81 times was nothing. "Eh?" After walking around, he discovered a small surprise. A few stalks of Yellow Grain Rice resembled a small horned dragon. "Is this another type of special trait being evolved? This is great! However, I don¡¯t know what special trait is it..." With a sh from his Mountain River Pearl, the seeds of the evolved variant were absorbed into storage. Considering howrge-scale his farming was, it was only natural that there were a few variants being evolved here and there. Although it might not evolve into how he would have wanted it to, it was always good to have improved variants. He now felt like a wealthy overlord. "Lord!" As soon as he exited the Spiritual Gathering Array, he noticed both Meng Tian and Meng Guang frantically running towards him. "Something bad has happened! A messenger arrived, iming that the contribution requirement has increased!" "Oh?" Fang Yuan frowned. Quickly, he sent a magical clone into the Dream Realm to investigate. "This is a piece of legitimate news. However, they have allowed each region to decide the increments for themselves. I¡¯ll just go take a look..." In the main hall. "Why is the guardian not here yet? Is he showing disrespect on purpose?" Fang Yuan arrived outside the main hall and heard an arrogant voice followed by a distinct p. "How dare you useless bum serve me? Get lost!" Amidst cries, two servants held their red faces and ran out, crying. Seeing Fang Yuan, they quickly greeted him. "Forget it, please carry on!" Fang Yuan suspected that something was not right. As he stepped into the main hall, he could see a dream master dressed in ck. A table was flipped and wine was spilt across the floor. Everything was in a mess. "Are you the guardian of Golden Sun Prosperous Land? I am Zhou Hun, the messenger of the treasurer! There is a new order!" Seeing Fang Yuan¡¯s arrival, Zhou Hun snickered. He raised an official document towards the ceiling. There were prints of spiritual lighting from the document. "You are just a dream-building dream master, yet to achieve the Illusionary Divine stage. How dare you? Where are your manners?" Fang Yuan chuckled. If it was a normal mission, they could directly inform him about it in the Dream Realm. Seeing how this messenger reacted, he could guess that the treasurer of Cloud Region must have colluded with Li Qin. Therefore, there was no reason for Fang Yuan to hold back. "You..." The messenger was stunned. As his attention was diverted, the official document in his hands disappeared and in an instant, he flew backwards and felt a sharp pain in his face. "Pa! Pa!" In a few moments, there were two fresh palm prints on his face. Zhou Hun, being groggy, took a while before realising what had happened. He was infuriated. "How dare you?" "You¡¯re such a dog, how would I not dare?" Fang Yuan continued. "Looking at your cultivation, you must be lowly-ranked in the alliance! How dare you show me attitude? If you dare to go against me, I¡¯ll kill you this instant. I will at most be punished by the alliance. Do you want to try me?" The official document was written in the name of the alliance. Regardless if it was fake or not, Fang Yuan had already decided to shoulder any consequences that mighte. However, after taking the official document from Zhou Hun, he would no longer be a messenger but a normal member of the alliance. Therefore, things were different. All of these were within the rules and no one could argue against it. "You..." Zhou Hun was startled and did not dare to speak a single word. To think about it, the person in front of him was a rogue dream master and would likely kill him if he was enraged. If that really happened, who would be able to help him? ¡¯I wanted to embarrass this person and please the treasurer. However, looking at how things are, I don¡¯t think I should take the risk... No wonder none of them was willing to take up this job!¡¯ Chapter 339: Breakthrough Chapter 339: Breakthrough Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Get lost!" Fang Yuan hollered. "Hmph! Please, know your ce and don¡¯t get in the way of the alliance!" Zhou Hun knew that he was at his wits¡¯ end. He stood up, paid his respects and left, depressed. Although he was still responsible for investigating Fang Yuan¡¯s background, the fact that the entire Golden Sun Prosperous Land was under the protection of the 99 Golden Suns Gigantic Array as well as Fang Yuan¡¯s own additional array meant that unless he had to ability topletely destroy the prosperousnd, there was nothing he could do. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t be so dumb as to court his own death. "Lord..." Witnessing this scene, both Meng Tian and Meng Guang were stunned. Even the previous guardian would show some respect whenever a messenger woulde. Why was their new guardian, Fang Yuan, so daring? "Rx... he is just an insignificant person. There won¡¯t be any severe consequences!" Fang Yuan flipped the scroll. Without looking, he could already guess that the figure they were demanding would be an astronomical value. "What... 3,000,000 catties of spiritual rice and 800 catties of aged gold?" Meng Tian squinted his eyes and examined the scroll as well. "Are they crazy? Why would the treasurer do this to us?" As he looked at Meng Guang, both of them could roughly guess that this was likely to be rted to the fact that Fang Yuan was now the guardian of the prosperousnd. "This... I will settle it. Carry on with your duties!" Seeing that these two servants were struck with fear, heughed inside as he waved his hand and dismissed them. To think about it, he could tide over this rtively easy. He just had to fork out resources from his own storage. However, only a fool would use their own resources to cover up for official resources! Furthermore, by eding to their demand and revealing his wealth, he would attract more unwanted attention and pressure from onlookers. Next time, the treasurer would then be able to demand 30,000,000 catties of spiritual rice and 8,000 catties of aged gold! "However... I would also be a fool to resign and put myself against the alliance just because of this unreasonable demand!" Fang Yuan sighed as he suddenly realised the power of such an organisation. It was true that an official would be able to oppress the weak! "Against such a problem, no matter how talented one would be, if one does not have a backing, one would still be toyed around like a fool and remain trapped by the rules! This is like dancing while being chained up!!!" Fang Yuan rubbed his chin, closed his eyes and arrived at the Dream Realm. "It seems... a little different!" As arrived at the rock tablet of the Realm Alliance before walking out on the public streets. "The dream masters are all rushing about. Every mission¡¯s payout is now 10 times more, and the prices of war supplies seem to have gone up... is a war about to break out?" Before the advancement of troops, their rations would have to go first. Even dream masters were not spared from such ideologies. From the tense atmosphere, Fang Yuan could sense that something was about to go wrong. "The alliance is forcing us to take up even more missions! Furthermore, most of them are assassination missions..." Fang Yuan licked his lips. "I¡¯m fortunate... If it was a littleter, I¡¯m afraid I would not have a chance to get this appointment as guardian!" With this appointment, he could officially be inactive. Even if there were no more resources for him to loot, he would still not give up this appointment! "No wonder the treasurer is demanding me for my supplies. Of course, the alliance wouldn¡¯t be against his decision! It seems like my appointment has gotten some jealousy..." Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glistened as he contacted Feng Xinzi. However, he was informed that Feng Xinzi was in istion. With that, Fang Yuan hade to a conclusion. "I¡¯ve used up my friendship with him... Or should I say, he has deemed that our friendship is over. Unless I can perform and show him that I am valuable to him, I would no longer receive preferential treatment from him!" With this thought, he disappeared from the Dream Realm. Since he could not rely on others, he had to prepare himself! "Elder!" Feng Xinzi got up and walked to the hall. "Fang Yuan has attempted to contact me, but I had rejected him!" "Mmm, thepensation that we¡¯ve given him is enough. We should not spend any more effort on him!" There was a serious look on Elder Smelter¡¯s face. "This kid is indeed lucky... In fact, I don¡¯t even think I might be able to smoothly get the appointment of a guardian for myself!" "Is it... really about to start?" Feng Xinzi shuddered. "Mmm... as the alchemy master of our realm, you have an important role to y. Give it your best!" Elder Smelter continued. "I have already ensured that higher authorities would not be able to get involved and personally deal with Fang Yuan. As for the internal conflicts, whatever he can guard will be his, and if he fails to do so, it is none of our business..." "Yes, Sir!" Feng Xinzi took a bow. Thinking about the heavy responsibility of producingrge quantities of spiritual pills andparing it with those who could enjoy their lives behind the scenes, it was understandable why Feng Xinzi would be jealous of Fang Yuan. "This is indeed a challenge for you, Fang Yuan. How do you n to deal with it?" Feng Xinzi suddenly felt a hint of worry. Before the impending war, even he had started to feel the jitters. ... In the Golden Sun Prosperous Land. "If others are unwilling to help me, I can only rely on myself!" In his meditation room, Fang Yuan was sitting cross-legged. It seemed like he had understood something. "It seems... my role as guardian is a lucrative job in peacetime, but in troubled times, it bes a piece of meat that everyone is jealous of and would want... there is an impending chaos! Could the Changli Mountain Hollow be the cause of all this?" Although his appointment was something small, it was a haven of peace! "All the more I should not ede to their demand! Although the Realm Alliance is nothing, at least I can gain protection there and benefit from it..." "It¡¯s time to achieve another breakthrough!" All of this had made him determined! Within his actualised dream world. Mercury-like dream elemental force was flowing about. It seemed heavy and dense, giving him a sense of security. Afterpletely eradicating the evil force, the entire actualised dream world felt as though the shackles on it were removed. With that, it expanded once more. "Ultimately, this ce will be a real hollow in the real world!" Fang Yuan¡¯s glistening eyes could not conceal his greed. With that, he looked at this 8 Gates Sword Arry. 4 pirs of sword rose up towards the sky. The fire was zing, the ice was freezing and the thunder was grand... The elements were fighting. As the 3 magical swords glowed, a hint of spiritual wind was in the centre. On the green sword pir, the tip of the sword was stillcking and the sword could not formpletely. However, this was done intentionally by Fang Yuan. "Breakthrough!" With this thought, the green ball of energy in the centre of the 8 Gates Sword Array, which was untouched throughout the many times he had fought, started to spread out. This was energy from the source of a realm and was exchanged using karma from the Water Realm. It was extremely beneficial to the cultivation of dream masters. Furthermore, this amount of energy was already enough for Fang Yuan to be a dream masters in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, but it was forcefully contained. After all, if Fang Yuan could not rid the evil force from his body and went on with the breakthrough, there might be repercussions in the future. However, now that the evil force was gone, there was nothing holding him back. "Buzz! Buzz!" Huge amounts of green glow gathered around the green sword pir. The lightweight Modest Wind Sword started to form. Green runes glittered on the surface of the sword and finally, they were engraved on the sword. The Wind Sword! Formed! "Rumble!" In an instant, 4 sword pirs glowed and their radiance shot up into the sky! Red, blue, purple and green... They represented the power of fire, ice, thunder and wind. As a stable foundation formed in the centre, the actualised dream world started to expand. The actualised dream world shook and trembled as though the ground was splitting. Fog rose up into the air, and the entire space was now increased to twice the size! "Fire, water, wind and thunder... the 4 Emblems are finally formed!" Seeing this, Fang Yuan was filled with satisfaction. "Although it is still iparable to the most basic earth, fire, wind and water, it is still alright, for I will not be able to harness such power. Instead, with these 4 Emblemsing together, it will be something I can manage and something that is suitable for me! This is the best!" With this, his stats started to change: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 48 Spirit: 48 Magic: 60 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (4th Tier), Wu Zong (5th Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 6) (1%)], [Hundred Poison Golden Body (1st Refining)], [8 Gates Sword Array (5th Sword) (1%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "Finally... the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage!" Fang Yuan heaved a sigh. Being at the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage meant that he would be able to create spirituality. He was now a dream master to be reckoned with, even in the Realm Alliance. In fact, the dream master who had troubled him, Li Qin, and even the treasurer of Cloud Region was only at this stage. In terms ofbat power, he would be on par with them, if not even stronger! "Activate your spiritual property!" Using his magical energy, he could control the space in mid-air. Immediately, he could feel a mighty force in him as though the heavens had bestowed him with power. With the point of his finger, an illusionary figure appeared on the Leaving Fire Sword. It was blurred and appeared confused but curious. "Master?" "Is it intellectually simr to that of a 9-year old kid?" Fang Yuan sighed. As he waved his hands once more, vibes of intellectual waves were given off from the 3 other spiritual swords. "The ability of a dream master in the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine to create spirituality is extremely limited... Of course, it is enough for the sword spirits to be able to have such an intellectual level! In the future when my cultivation improves, the spirituality and wisdom of the sword spirits will improve as well. Once I reach the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, I should be able to create the Fire Sword Child, Water Sword Child and more..." In reality, as a sword spirit, they did not need to be very wise. It would be enough as long as they could kill enemies! "Who should I look for to test out the 4 Emblems Sword Array?" With a new powerful weapon in his hands, Fang Yuan wanted to kill. With a snicker, he looked at his sword array. The 4 Emblems Sword Array appeared sturdy. At the west of the array, a mysterious ck sword was beginning to form. Spiritual aura began to disperse as the ck swordplemented the array like a puzzle piece. "This is the Lake Sword. It is graceful on the outside but brute on the inside. It is most suitable to be the heart of the array as it would be able to amplify the power of all the other 4 swords..." As the 4 Emblems Sword Array formed outside, the next would be to form the array within. Heaven, Earth, Mountain and Lake, followed by Water, Fire, Wind and Thunder! "At Master¡¯s peak, he should have formed the Heaven Sword at the 8th Tier of Illusionary Divine..." Fang Yuan knew the power of the 8 Gates Sword Array, and his fear for his master¡¯s enemy started to build up. "This is simr to martial arts. After the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, I would have the chance to achieve a breakthrough to the Prominent Divine stage. Master must have been close to invincible as a Prominent Divine stage dream master! However, he was not a sage!" "In the 8 Gates Sword Array, could there be... a 9th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage?" Suddenly, he realised what his Master¡¯s resolution and regret. Thinking about it, his heart shook. Chapter 340: Retaliation Chapter 340: Retaliation Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Fang Yuan...you...mm?" In the Dream Realm, Feng Xinzi stared at Fang Yuan and the sword essence that surrounded his hands. His eyes suddenly widened. "You...you have ascended to The 4th Tier?" Fang Yuan was toying with a ray of sword radiance, which swam in the air like a little snake. It seemed as though it was alive. To be able to exert such a degree of control over sword essence was incredible. Feng Xinzi was entirely aware that this was the cultivation of the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, a state where one¡¯s spirituality would be triggered. "That¡¯s right!" Fang Yuan acknowledged with a smile. In truth, this was impossible to hide. Although there was an increase in strength, but the increase in rank had not yet arrived. To face off with an enemy was unwise, and there was a need for Fang Yuan to search for a backer and prove his worth. "Congrattions...I am being honest!" Feng Xinzi was experiencing a flood of emotions. He remembered how he had been painfully stuck at the 4th Tier for years, and how he had only managed to achieve a breakthrough recently. He had sacrificed so much in the process. Now looking at Fang Yuan, he had this intense feeling of having led a wasted life. Unknowingly, a sliver of jealousy and depression had been born. Of course, the dream master of the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage was undoubtedly powerful. Feng Xinzi maintained his smile anyway. "I¡¯ll help you to inform the Elder Smelter! Our line has gained another talent. The Elder will be pleased!" Feng Xinzi left immediately after speaking. Fang Yuan looked on silently. Even though Feng Xinzi had not given away anything, all the more it betrayed his true feelings! Anyone would have felt envy upon seeing his achievements. Suppressing it to such an extent could only mean that he was a dangerous person. Fang Yuan¡¯s endless strings of breakthroughs had ultimately led to cracks in his friendship with Feng Xinzi! ... In the hall. "What? That Fang fellow has already reached the 4th Tier?" The Elder Smelter appeared at the master seat in the form of a fire dragon. He was rmed. "Such a qualification would at least bring him into the top 10 list of pugilists in the Alliance...no, for a dream master to rank up, there are considerations other than qualifications. Resources matter as well. Either he has inherited the generous legacy of the forebears, or dream-traversing the different worlds has done him much good!" "This person has immense talent. I cannotpare to him!" Feng Xinzi was hunched as he spoke. "Also...it seems like he carries a secret, and his inheritance is an umon one. Elder, you must decide what to do with him!" "But to be fair, has there been anyone who reached the illusionary divine stage without possessing secrets of their own?" The Elder Smelter was not overly concerned. He was a dream master of the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, more powerful than True Divine martial artists and True Elemental spiritual knights. He was a man of great ability and did notck for opportunities. He was at an elevated position and was not particrly impressed by a legacy of the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. However, Feng Xinzi¡¯s words had attracted his attention, and he stared at Feng Xinzi. "So...what do you think should be done?" Feng Xinzi felt his blood ran cold. He knew that the Elder Smelter had already picked out the jealousy in his voice, and he fell to his knees immediately. "Hear me out Elder. Our line has produced yet another talent, and I am ted. Even if I might not be entirely reconciled to this fact, I will not allow these feelings to get in the way!" The Elder Smelter was approving of Feng Xinzi¡¯s frankness and nodded. "You may continue!" Feng Xinzi heaved a mental sigh. He knew that he had the Elder¡¯s trust. "Now that Fang Yuan is at the 4th Tier, his abilities would be recognised by the Alliance sooner orter and they would give him a higher level of rights. To mend whatever hard feelings there might be between you and him, why not give it to him right now?" "This person must have been carrying some secrets to be able to rank up this quickly. But our line has a strong foundation and we can offer him so much more. As long as we continue with our subtle recruitment efforts, he will join us one day. Aggressive behaviour might turn him away instead. But it¡¯s a good thing that you have grasped the big picture!" The Elder continued. "A dream master at the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage can at least gain the level of rights as a 4th Leaf Cultivator. We should give it to him ourselves or he¡¯ll owe the favour to someone else. But he is not a core member after all and we will have to ce him under probation! Tell him toe in and I¡¯ll see him personally, and give him a higher level of rights!" "Yes sir!" Feng Xinzi bowed. He was filled with a sort of anticipation. The Elder had given him an assurance. Yes, although Fang Yuan and he were both of the illusionary divine stage 4, but he himself was around from the start and was a core member while Fang Yuan was only joining in halfway. Fang Yuan had to undergo a series of tests and training before he could be useful to the organisation. ¡¯Breaking through stage 4 would exhaust all of one¡¯s foundational strength, which would have to be umted again...we will now start from the same point. I have an advantage because I am a core member. He won¡¯t overtake me." Feng Xinzi¡¯s thoughts had given him more confidence and he swaggered off. Behind him, the Elder Smelter smiled quietly. Having gained two dream masters the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage under his wing would give him more authority in the Realm Alliance. This was especially important given that there was impending war. ... Not long after. The Realm Alliance Mountain. The residential hall of the Cloud Region¡¯s Treasurer. The Treasurer had a schrly air about him and was listening to Zhou Hun¡¯s reports gloomily. "My lord..." Zhou Hun was on his knees. His face was streaked with tears and he had a palm print on his cheek that he had put on deliberately. "That Guardian is an arrogant prick. He humiliated me, which is akin to not giving you respect!" "Jerk!" The Treasurer had a dangerous glint in his eye. "I already knew that this person was excessively proud, but I had no idea that he was violent and temperamental as well... he hasn¡¯t stepped out of line yet though. I cannot deal with him." Heughed coldly to himself. ¡¯Since he has already been assigned a task, the amount ofnd avable for use in the Golden Sun Prosperous Land must becking. He would have to put in much effort to maintain his appointment and avoid war at all costs! All the more we should ruin his ns!¡¯ The Treasurer then turned to Zhou Hun. "Go to him again in a month¡¯s time and if he haspleted his assignment, issue him another one with a workload that is twice as heavy as his current one!" "Ah...my lord, this defies logic!" Zhou Hun was stunned. Although he wanted to take revenge very much, he did not want to put himself in unnecessary danger. "So, there is only him! If the Golden Sun Prosperous Land is given arger share, the Cloud Region and other ces will have less to do. This is a good thing, and no one would object other than the Guardian of the Golden Sun Prefecture." The Treasurerughed with mirth. "As for him? Hmph...just a 3rd Leaf Cultivator. If he disobeys orders, it means that he is disregarding the big picture. I could report that to the leaders, who would remove him from his post and send him to the battlefield!" "My lord is brilliant!" Zhou Hun felt a chill in his bones. He could not imagine himself being the one involved in this situation. His lordship¡¯s greed could never be satisfied. But these feelings were soon reced with a sense of satisfaction. ¡¯Haha...to think that this day woulde. This must be your retribution for hitting me back then...eh?" At this moment, he nced a figure charging into the residential hall from his peripherals. "Who is that?" The Treasurer was equally perplexed. He did not know who the intruder was yet, but it was surely a person with the same level of rights as he. A 4th Leaf cultivator of the Realm Alliance, a force to reckon with. "Get lost!" Fang Yuan kicked out casually, and Zhou Hun flew out by several yards with a scream. "Ahh...are you the Guardian of the Golden Sun Prosperous Land? Fang Yuan?" The Treasurer was startled. "You? Have you attained the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage? Do you have the 4th Leaf level of rights? The rapidness of his promotion was astounding. He was a prodigy. "You are the Cloud Region¡¯s Treasurer?" Fang Yuan sized him up defiantly. He considered the Treasurer his equal, which was the truth in terms of power and authority. "I am Zhou Tian. What do you want?" The Treasurer frowned. "What do I want?" Fang Yuan roared withughter. "Zhou Tian! We both know it very well. You dared to interfere in my conflict with Li Qin. Are you bent on challenging me on the Stage of Life and Death?" "You..." Zhou Tian choked and was silent for a moment. The Stage of Life and Death was a method of resolving conflicts between dream masters in the Realm Alliance. They would fight each other to the death on a tform. The rule was that only dream masters of the same level of cultivation could fight each other, and they had to receive the blessings of the elders. All their weapons and magical tools would be taken from them to ensure fairness. Zhou Tian had not expected Fang Yuan to make such a huge fuss. He had only antagonised Fang Yuan slightly, and now Fang Yuan was challenging him to a death match. Had all his training been for nought? Even if he was 90% confident that he would win, a death match was still a worrying prospect. As a dream master, he was almost immortal. He could expect to live on for a long time. How could he take part in a death match so readily? The key thing was, how had he offended Fang Yuan? It was not worth it for him to risk his life for a Mysterious Elemental Crystal. He was not stupid. ¡¯Damn it! How did I forget that this person is a mad bull! For the sake of the Ye sisters, he actually dared to challenge Li Qin at only stage 3..." Zhou Tian was bing more afraid and beads of perspiration lined his forehead. He decided to smile obsequiously. "Brother Fang, you need to calm down. Perhaps there has been a misunderstanding!" "Misunderstanding?" Fang Yuan smirked. "How do you exin the issue with the quotas?" "This was all the fault of my subordinate...this Zhou Hun has made a blunder and I will punish him! As for the stated quota, it will definitely be changed! Changed!" Zhou Tian took on a fierce look immediately and waved his hand. Zhou Hun gave a shriek and his spiritual will disappeared into thin air. Fang Yuan giggled to himself as he observed the scene. This was the fate of a servant. At the same time, he was himself a newbie. To protect his interests, he had to either find a powerful backer, or be so belligerent that his enemies would think twice about crossing him. Unless they had good reason to kill him, his foes would leave him alone. There was an immediate shift in Fang Yuan¡¯s mood and he gave a gentle smile this time. "Oh, it must be a misunderstanding then. Treasurer Zhou, although we have the same level of rights, but based on appointment, you are my superior. Please do look out for me!" "Yes...yes..." Zhou Tian¡¯s face began to spasm. "This person is very mercurial. He is a scheming character indeed!" Knowing that Fang Yuan was no push over, Zhou Tian realised that many of his ns were unfeasible. He was suddenly annoyed at Li Qin. Chapter 341: Chaos Chapter 341: Chaos Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Are you unwilling?" Within the Green Bronze Hall, Li Qin gazed at the silhouette beneath him and frowned. "Grandfather..." Li Bai knelt down and was pale. "I have only just be a dream master. It is extremely risky for me to take up a mission now! How can the few elders in the Realm Alliance be so selfish as to sacrifice us to protect their direct disciples!" "What rubbish!" Li Qin frowned once more and had a serious look on his face. "Don¡¯t spout such nonsense... even before me! Keep these thoughts to yourself, otherwise... I will personally send you to the battlefield with the highest casualty rates to show my loyalty to the alliance. Do you understand?" "Under... understood!" Li Bai could see a chilly look in his grandfather¡¯s eyes as he acknowledged while shivering in fear. Following, he became silent for a while before hesitating to ask again. "Can I not go? The secluded 9 Extremes Mountain is among the top ten most dangerous ces in Da Qian... Even if I have support from outside, it is still too dangerous!" "... There are no more other suitable ces for you to go. You can sit out of this one, but if anything happens, you will be sent out to the frontline!" Li Qin paused for a while before continuing. "Although that ce is dangerous, if you do ept to go there, you are entitled to reject any other requests. This is the best I can do for you. Appreciate what I am doing for you. At your age, I killed many and stained my hands with blood before returning alive. People would fight to go there, but here you are, unwilling!" It was not a sudden decision to start a war with Da Qian. The dream masters would have to ascertain their base camp before they could start eliminating those that didn¡¯t matter before the war. These were people without sects and backing of any organisations and could be Wu Zongs, spiritual knights or even lone dream masters. Everyone had to choose a side; no one would be allowed to stay neutral! By that time, since the Realm Alliance had the least requirements to enter, there would surely be a lot of dream masters begging to join! Unfortunately, Li Bai could not understand his grandfather¡¯s goodwill. "But..." Li Bai hesitated. "How did Fang Yuan be the guardian of the prosperousnd?" Li Qin¡¯s face went ck. "He was fortunate enough to have settled that deal before all of these began. He had just taken over as guardian before everything changed. What can we do?" However, inside him, Li Qin felt unjust as he gritted his teeth with hatred. The job of a guardian was a lucrative one to begin with. It would be much more valuable during wartime and it would be impossible for there to be any vacancies. "Don¡¯t worry. Wait at the 9 Extremes Mountain. As long as you don¡¯t enter the secret realm, you would not be in any true danger. In the future, you would surely have the opportunity to be the guardian of a prosperousnd!" Li Qin gave a cold look as he mulled. Zhou Tian¡¯s n against Fang Yuan should have worked out by now. Fang Yuan would be pressurised and surely cannot retaliate! After getting rid of Fang Yuan, the appointment of a guardian would be made avable once more and therefore, Li Qin would be able to help his grandson be the next guardian. "Is this true?" Hearing this, Li Bai¡¯s worried look be one of happiness. "Grandfather, you must help me!" "Whoosh!" At this moment, a fiery glow shot into the Green Bronze Hall. It was a small sword with a piece of beautiful jade attached to it. The jade was filled with essences of elemental force. "This..." Li Qin¡¯s expression changed as though he had a bad premonition about something. With his index finger, he touched the surface of the sword. "My old friend, Li Qin!" From the small sword, Zhou Tian¡¯s voice was heard. "Regarding the issue about Fang Yuan, I have decided not to get myself involved. I shall return you the Mysterious Elemental Crystal in its original state... Let me warn you that this person has already attained the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage and his level of rights has been increased to that of a 4th Leaf Cultivator. He is now as powerful as the both of us and is an extremely dangerous person. It is going to be hard to deal with him!" "What? 4th Tier?" Li Qin let out a gush of spiritual aura which exploded in mid-air, as though he had lost control of something. "That brat... How could he advance so quickly?" "A 4th Leaf Cultivator?" Li Bai was stunned as well. This meant that Fang Yuan was one of the more powerful dream masters in the alliance and would be orded certain rights. To Li Bai, this was a powerful person which should be given utmost respect. "Brat!" Li Qin¡¯s eyes were filled with fury. "Fang... Fang Yuan!" If Fang Yuan¡¯s first words to him were akin to nting seeds of phobia within his mind, then Fang Yuan¡¯s rapid advancement would be akin to pping him in the face! "What a world! What a cruel world!" Most importantly, the source of the news was from a higher up and therefore, Li Qin could not deny this fact. In times of chaos, everyone had to give way to those who would rise to power quickly. Previously, Li Qin had also gotten help to achieve a breakthrough to the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. However, since then, his progress seemed toe to a halt. How long ago was it since he had attempted the extremely-dangerous dream-traversing? Li Qin appeared depressed. "I¡¯ve used up a lot of resources to achieve my breakthrough many years ago, as well as owing many others favours! Even my progression in terms of my level of rights is halted, and yet you can catch up within a day. You¡¯re good..." "Grandfather, don¡¯t be angry..." Li Bai tried to appease Li Qin and felt that his grandfather was on the verge of bing crazy. "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine!" Li Qin waved his hands. "It¡¯s just that it has been a while since I fought, and I don¡¯t want others to look down on me! Take your leave, I shall remain in istion!" The impending war and the threat from a neer both gave him a sense of danger! Under such stimtion, this old dream master would finally resume his training! ... In the Golden Sun Prosperous Land. Fang Yuan called Meng Tian and Meng Guang over to tell them about the change in the quantity requested for the resources. Both of them were overjoyed. "Congrattions, Lord! You no longer have to worry about it!" "Mmm, carry on with your work!" Fang Yuan waved his hands. Although he was not hopeful for the two of them to begin with, he waspletely convinced that he should not waste effort in training them up. "Eh... sometimes, animals are more loyal than humans... I wonder how are the Flower Fox Ferret andpany doing?" Fang Yuan was lost in his own thoughts. "If I can improve my cultivation in the future, I might be able to return to the maind and the Green Peak spiritualnd to visit them..." Of course, Fang Yuan knew that he owed nothing to both the Wu Zongs. In such a short time, he knew that it was impossible for them to die for him. Even the previous guardian might have a higher chance of getting the both of them to be loyal to him. "I¡¯ve settled everything at Zhou Tian¡¯s side and my level of rights has now increased to that of a 4th Leaf Cultivator. I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s not a lot Li Qin can do to me now... The older we get, the more afraid of death we will be. Even if I do not pay him a visit, he would surely train himself up and prepare himself for a death match with me..." Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glistened. He knew that since Zhou Tian had nothing to gain from their conflict, he would be easily scared by the thought of a death match. However, it was different for Li Qin! If Fang Yuan were to visit him, he might just agree to the death match. Although Fang Yuan had a chance of winning, ultimately, Li Qin was an experienced dream master in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage and would have many tricks up his sleeves. Li Qin might even be able to force Fang Yuan to reveal his secret 4 Emblems Sword Array. Now that he had scared Zhou Tian, Fang Yuan should not press further and should cowardly hide within the prosperousnd to train up. "Since time is on my side and that I¡¯ve settled Zhou Tian, let¡¯s see what else can Li Qin do!" With the speed of his cultivation, Fang Yuan was not afraid of Li Qin! If he could quickly advance and attain the 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine, killing Li Qin would be a simple task! "Furthermore... Is a war really breaking out? The alliance would have to kill the lone cultivators..." As a 4th Leaf Cultivator, he had a high level of rights in the alliance and was entitled to some ssified secrets. With a casual browse, Fang Yuan was able to obtain all these information. For instance, the alliance had stocked up on war supplies and resources and was now prepared to wipe out the small organisations. Furthermore, the alliance had secretly raised the requirements for entry and no longer epted lone cultivators readily. "If the current Feng Xinzi were to approach me then, I would not dare to join the realm alliance - I might be sacrificed in the war!" Fang Yuan felt a little fearful. "What if I want to remain as a lone cultivator? I¡¯ll have to get approval from the other organisations as well? This is tough..." All of these are in preparation for the impending war! There were only a few lone cultivators in the entire world that were worthy of the alliance to take notice of them. "This war is either among the 5 Grand Organisations or against Da Qian!" With that thought, Fang Yuan closed his eyes... ... Gold Region. This region was North of the Jade Capital and was famous for the 10 over gold mines scattered around the region. Although gold was not as valuable as they used to be in Fang Yuan¡¯s past life, they still worthed a fortune to the average person. More importantly, there were mysterious treasures around the gold mines; treasures that even dream masters require. Therefore, this region was extremely well-to-do. There were many sects, and the leading sect was Golden Peak Sect. At Chaoyang Sect, Maple Town. "Die!" With a crackling noise, the entire gate of Chaoyang Sect crumbled. "Ahhhh... How dare you?" The sect head of Chaoyang Sect was a 4th Tier spiritual knight. He was devastated as soon as he witnessed this. "Who is this? What hatred do you have with us?" "You don¡¯t need to know all these!" The ck figure snickered. With the wave of his hands, a ck fog appeared and started to spread. "It¡¯s a dream master!" In the ck fog came the shocking voice of the sect head. "The Golden Peak Sect will avenge us!" "Hehe... You spiritual knights and Wu Zongs have upied Gold Region for long and have enjoyed the treasures here long enough. Yet, all of you contributed nothing! My sect has endured this for long. Let me tell you, even the Golden Peak Sect cannot run away from us!" A voice as sharp as a nightingale was heard. There were hints of cruelty and evil in the voice. Not long after, the ck fog dispersed, revealing a broken gate. The sect head of Chaoyang Sect stared at the rubble and leaned against the wall. In his chest, there was a big hole and his organs were lying outside the body. He died a gruesome death. "Chaoyang Sect is destroyed!" As the ck fog intensified, 10 silhouettes appeared. "After this, we shall go for Green Bamboo Sect... After wiping them out one by one, we shall finally eradicate Golden Peak Sect! By then, the elder in our sect will help us as well! Hehe, the Golden Peak Sect has made use of the Imperial Court¡¯s support and discriminated against us in Gold Region. Finally, it¡¯s their retribution!" Chapter 342: The Alliance Chapter 342: The Alliance Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The Golden Peak Sect had dered hegemony over at Gold Region. Their power was not to be underestimated. In the Sect, there was a True Elemental spiritual knight and two True Divines. The three of them ran the organisation and called the shots. The other sects in the Gold Region had all pledged allegiance to the Golden Peak Sect, and there was an intricate web ofmunication going on within this alliance. Such a powerful organisation was making the dream masters ufortable, especially given that they seemed like they were about to collude with the imperial forces. Of course, their differences were not so obvious previously and most of the disagreements could be resolved on the negotiation table by both parties. But now, they no longer had time for such niceties! However, even as they fought each other, there were strategies to follow. It was not realistic to act on the core leaders of the Golden Peak Sect immediately, and it was far more effective to take out their associates first. The dream masters were bold and destroyed the affiliates of the Golden Peak Sect one by one. They even ced some of the sects under siege so as to draw out their reinforcements, and subsequently massacred all of them. The entire Gold Region was engulfed in blood and gore. The Giant Rock Sect. It was one of the most powerful factions in town, but had been destroyed because of its association with the Golden Peak Sect. "Junxian! What is your opinion upon seeing this?" Underneath, the carnage went on. The dream masters made use of their powers of illusion to kill their enemies in their sleep. The asional scream in the dead silence brought a chill to their bones. Ruan Junxian climbed up a tower to get a better view. He was shaken. In front of him, an old man in a schr¡¯s attire ate and drank with relish. There was a jug of fine wine and a few dishes on the table. The sharp contrast between the sumptuous meal and the massacre evoked a nauseous reaction from Ruan Junxian. Of course, he did not dare to show it, and refilled the old man¡¯s cup with wine. "The Giant Rock Sect is unscrupulous and have suppressed the people for a long time. Although their activities do notpromise ours, if we are intent on destroying them, they can do nothing about it. In this world, it¡¯s always the strong preying on the weak..." Ruan Junxian seemed to speak from personal experience. "The strong prey on the weak, well said! This is thew of nature...dream masters like us practise natural arts, how can we turn our backs on the orthodox ways?" The old man roared withughter. With a glint in his eye, he scanned Ruan Junxian from head to toe. "You werecking in natural gifts and did not have the potential to be a dream master. However, after consuming spiritual foods to boost your foundations, you did manage it somewhat...but can you bear to lose your progress in martial arts? It is still possible for you to be a spiritual knight. To give it all up for a small probability of bing a dream master?" "I won¡¯t have any regrets. Please recruit me, sir!" Ruan Junxian kowtowed to the old man after speaking. He knocked his forehead on the floor until it was a bloody mess. "Hold!" The old man stroked his beard. "Although you have missed the optimum window for cultivation, but it is your good fortune to have met me. There will be side effects, but my efforts will be sufficient to push you up the path of the dream disciple...as for the other aspects, I cannot say. It will depend on your luck." "Yes, thank you master!" Ruan Junxian stood up with determination in his eyes. "Haha...bear with this!" The old man gulped down the contents of a wine cup and pressed a finger to Ruan Junxian¡¯s brow. "Ahh!!" A sharp pain that seemed to cut deep into his bones and true aura made him scream out involuntarily. His veins swelled like fat worms on his body. It felt like tens of thousands of ants were assailing his limbs, his bones, his organs... Following this pain, his flesh felt as though it was withering. At his core, he felt his elemental force die off. "Enter dreams with martial power, breakthrough today, enter the way!" As heughed, the old man drew back his finger and Ruan Junxian copsed onto the ground. He was drenched in sweat and felt as though he had undergone the most horrific torture. "Thank...thank you for your help, master!" Although he was covered in perspiration, his eyes were shining and he bowed eagerly in gratitude. "Mm, from now on, you are a man of Baize Mountain." The old man held up his beard. "Now that you have entered the sect, it may or may not be a good thing. Now that there is continuous war, rewards will be given out freely. If you can make use of the spoils of war to support the war effort, you will be able to progress faster than dream masters are able to in years..." "Alright...we don¡¯t have to talk too much of this. Just follow me, kill and destroy!" The old man turned around and saw that a group of soldiers had appeared over the horizon. "Yes sir!" Ruan Junxian was exhausted, but he did not dare to take his time. He followed behind with his mind set in stone. ¡¯I am already at the start line. The next step will involve passing the test and umting dream elemental force so that I can be a dream master!¡¯ ¡¯Baize Mountain is one of the 5 Grand Organisations. With their protection, the family will be safe...also, the enmity between Father and his old masters...¡¯ ... The Golden Sun Prosperous Land. "My Lord, as per your instructions, all the children in the Prosperous Land aged 10 to 13 are over here..." In the hall, more than 20 children were gathered. Some were curious and others were nervous. "Mm...since I am the Guardian, I have a responsibility to make this ce prosper. As my subjects, you are all allowed to enter the libraries and learn how to read and write. You shall learn the martial arts too..." Fang Yuan decreed casually. The older personnel had their own independent motivations and there was no point in grooming them. But the young ones were impressionable and should undergo training. Fang Yuan did not dare to hope for a potential dream master among them, but it would be a good thing if a few spiritual knights and Wu Zongs emerged. After all, if he was to be stationed here for ten years, he needed to n for the long term. "Hurry, greet our lord!" Meng Tian and Meng Guang made the kids bow down to Fang Yuan. "My lord!" Their voices rang out brightly but were out of sync. It was funny. "Mm, the both of you will n out their curriculum and assign teachers to their education. I will check on their progress regrly..." Fang Yuan was in fact assembling a squad. This was not umon though. The previous Guardians had all done it before, albeit through different methods. Meng Tian and Meng Guang looked on at the kids with envy. They would probably never be the confidantes of dream masters, but the younger generation could, and it would bring glory to them all the same! If the children were found to possess talent, they would be taken in by Fang Yuan as his disciples. That would be a great leap and a great honour. Of course, Fang Yuan¡¯s original n was to recruit a few loyal followers. Additional helpers and back up ns were always wee. "This peace won¡¯t stay for much longer..." Fang Yuan could feel the stirrings of the war toe and he was troubled. "Hmm?" Fang Yuan looked towards the entrance to the Prosperous Land suddenly. "Buzz" Arge movement, followed by the gathering of fog, then a golden beam. The 99 Golden Sun Gigantic Array! It was not too overwhelming, however, which showed that whoever had arrived was holding back. "The Three Suns Daoist, together with his disciple He Qing, is here to visit!" A shining spiritual talisman hovered in the air, and a voice rang out when Fang Yuan reached out for it. "Ah, it¡¯s a friend! Give me a moment!" Fang Yuan walked over to the entrance of the 99 Golden Sun Gigantic Array, and he did see two people waiting there One of the daoists wore long flowing robes and had a long beard to match. He was in the pink of health and from one look, Fang Yuan knew that his cultivation had reached the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. The man beside him was familiar to Fang Yuan. It was He Qing, the young master of the He family. "Greetings sir!" He Qing fell to his knees when he saw Fang Yuan approach. "It is thanks to your rmendation that my master decided to take me in, sir!" "You have your own good fortune to thank!" Fang Yuan smiled and shook his head. He did not intend to have any further dealings with this person, and he turned to the Three Suns Daoist instead. "Your arrival has brought me happiness. Please do enter for tea!" "l will!" The Three Suns Daoist agreed spontaneously and followed Fang Yuan up the Gengjin Mountain. "The scenery in the Prosperous Land is excellent, and the many spiritual fields provide nourishment to thend. You are a lucky man indeed! I have brought you a gift to congratte you on your promotion!" The Three Suns Daoist gazed at the surrounding fields and smiled. In truth, he did not think much of these spiritual fields, but after the Guardian Fang Yuan had broken through to the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, this area had be a significant power base and had to be taken more seriously. "Thanks!" Fang Yuan was more than aware that if he had not achieved the breakthrough, these powerful personalities would not have visited him personally. Equality in interactionses with equality in power. This was something he understood clearly. The two of them did not enter the hall but found a spot under the trees to rest. In the shade, they began to brew tea. "You are dismissed for now!" The Three Suns Daoist said to He Qing after they had downed a cup of tea. "Yes master!" Although he was reluctant to do so, He Qing did not dare to disobey his master and took his leave respectfully. Fang Yuan stirred slightly. The Three Suns Daoist was about to move on to serious matters. "Sigh...there has been a recent flurry of activity in the Alliance. What are your thoughts?" The Three Suns Daoist was straightforward indeed. "If there is going to be unrest, it will be difficult for us to go about it alone!" Fang Yuan put on a solemn look. Although he had received a guarantee from the Elder Smelter, if the war continued to rage on and his services were required, he would have to leave his fields behind. "You are right, my friend. These are my exact sentiments!" The Three Suns Daoist gave a bitterugh. "Although we have not yet been activated, it is but a matter of time. You might be able to get out of it but it is different for me...if anything happens to me, might I trouble you to manage the Three Suns Sect for me..." "You worry too much, my friend..." Fang Yuan had realised that the Daoist was here to seek an ally, and he spoke. "If we could go at it together, we would have a better chance of making it through these difficult times!¡¯ "I agree!" The Three Suns Daoist disyed a wide smile. Chapter 343: Search Chapter 343: Search Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Several months passed in a sh. Fang Yuan formed a small alliance half-willingly the previous time Three Suns Daoist came to visit him. Many dream masters in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine Stage from the sects in the Cloud Region gathered one after another in a short span of few days to aid each other. Thanks to them, Fang Yuan was able to obtain several pieces of ssified information. As such, he knew that there were conflicts in all parts of the world as 5 Grand Organisations demonstrated their prowess with provocative acts. The Da Qian Royal Family had started to pull back and retaliate. The whole Cultivation World was in disarray. "Judging from the current situation, a majority of the martial artists and spiritual knights are siding with Da Qian...Needless to say, the dream masters have always been arrogant and it is no surprise that they have offended almost everyone?" Fang Yuan looked at the report and was speechless. However, in this world, an individual could possess the power to overwhelm everything. The dream masters possessed remarkable abilities. Even if all the Wu Zongs and the spiritual knights side with the royal family, it would only cause a little additional trouble as the dream masters would have to kill more people. "Truth be told...it is not the case where the dream masters do not want to integrate and mingle with the Wu Zongs and spiritual knights. However, they could only be servants here at best...over at Da Qian, they would be able to reap all sorts of benefits... After all, it is a people dao Kingdom. There are some resources which we are unable to give up so easily..." He pondered, "The royal family gathered the power of the masses and drew out the power that could be drawn out. It is a pity that it would not be able to block the power of the 5 Grand Organisations if the organisations were to wholeheartedlybine their power..." The war-torn Cultivation World was no new or miraculous experience for Fang Yuan. Of course, the most direct observation was that the missions in the different paradises became increasingly serious. These missions were dispatched by the alliance and were not meant to go against the Cultivation World. Not even Zhou Tian could change the mission. Meng Tian and Meng Guang grumbled incessantly that even if they were to deploy theirnd to its full capabilities, they would only manage to hold out for a year. However, Fang Yuan had made some ns. Now that peace and quiet were hard toe by, it was only natural for him to make use of his resources for as long as possible. The most crucial point was to increase his level of cultivation! So what if the world is in turmoil and the 5 Grand Organisations would notbine their power? Fang Yuan still had the confidence to ovee them! "Now that there is time, it is better to cultivate. If not, there might not be another chance once the war breaks out and I would even miss out countless of opportunities!" There were both dangers and opportunities when the world was in chaos. With the world in chaos, Fang Yuan naturally chose to undergo cultivation. It would be the perfect opportunity to strike when things quieten down next time! Without the need for many words, Fang Yuan arrived at a side pce hall. "Rumble! Rumble!" The green water rolled around ceaselessly and bubbled within the pond, emitting a ck aura. "Hiss hiss!" The ck aura took on the shapes of centipedes, scorpions, venomous snakes of the 5 poison types. It was indeed formidable and had the ability to erode souls and melt bones! "The Hundred Poison Golden Body is a technique which specifically trains the physical body. With the scarce resources from the maind, I managed to reach the 1st Refining Stage. However, Da Qian has plenty of resources and as such, I have a great room for improvement ...Furthermore, I am a dream master. Things will be different with the aid of the Dream Realm!" The sect which inherited this Hundred Poison Golden Body Technique was but a small martial arts sect. The user had to traverse the world in search of suitable poisonous objects. As such, it was very challenging. However, Fang Yuan was different! As a dream master, with sufficient contribution points or resources, it was only a matter of time before he would be able to procure ancient or precious poisons given the opportunities to trade within the Dream Realm. The poisons obtained from the trade were enough to reach the pinnacle of this technique! "Since the ancient time, trading life in exchange for cultivation was the only right way!" Fang Yuan jumped into the pond with a ssh, his body releasing a golden light. The raging poisonous fog was nothing but a gentle breeze to him. He spread his arms and leaned against the side of the pond as if he was taking having a soak in a hot spring. His face revealed a look of enjoyment. "There is a school of thought among the dream masters to concentrate on training up their magical energy and form their Yin Spirit. Their bodies are but shells which could easily be reced and in the end, they will cultivate to reach the level of ghost and deities. However, I do not subscribe to that school of thought!" "M...Master, your... soup!" After a moment, Fang Yuan pped his hands as Meng Tian and Meng Guang entered the room with a look of nervousness. Even though they had already taken the pill to counter the poison, they were still deathly pale as they looked at the Five Poison Fog. ¡¯Be obedient...if we inhale even a tiny bit of this poisonous fog, I am afraid that we would immediately be poisoned to death and our flesh will melt, revealing our bones...¡¯ They held their breath as they looked at Fang Yuan, who appeared to be serene and enjoying as if he was taking a soak in a hot spring. "This is the soup made from Intestine-breaking Grass and every de is worth 500 years. There is also the Heart-eroding Flower Pulp with a 1000-year poisonous property which is sufficient to poison a water dragon to its death!" "Hmmmm, put down the items and leave!" Fang Yuan waved them away when he saw the terrified expressions on both their faces. He reached for the bowl of soup without seeming to mind and drank it all in 1 gulp. "I should train my physique and my organs. I cannot afford to be careless..." He took the Heart-eroding Flower Pulp and ate it like an apple. "Understood!" Meng Tian and Meng Guang quickly retreated as though they had received a pardon and walked a great distance before they finally let go of their breath when they saw the clear sky. One would have the misconception that they had climbed back out from the gates of Hell. ¡¯Master¡¯s technique is indeed impressive...¡¯ ... "They are indeed mediocre..." Within the poisonous pool, Fang Yuan shook his head and could not be bothered. After he ate his food, he shut his eyes, as though he was taking a nap, as his spiritual will entered the Dream Realm. "Friend! Were you satisfied with the Five Poisons Flower you bought previously? I treat everyone fairly. Find me regardless of who you want to poison..." "My friend, do you still have Yellow Grain Rice? I am willing to pay a high price for it, regardless if it is spiritual ingredients, techniques or information, whatever you ask for..." "Senior, I have 2 top-grade cauldrons, both of which are of outstanding quality. How about I trade them for 200 catties of Yellow Grain Rice?" ... Once he entered the Dream World, the messages on the inscription te started to sh. "It seems like the Yellow Grain Rice is in high demand!" Fang Yuan stroked his chin and was very pleased. "Yellow Grain Rice was originally a top-grade resource for the dream masters. With then big war, the future consumption would be huge. As an item that can preserve lives, it would never be enough..." Even an alchemy pill, unless it is of the highest grade, could not be used as a staple. However, the Yellow Grain Rice could be consumed as a staple. He would naturally have to pay the price in order to collect all sorts of precious poisonous objects. As he had a use for his contribution points, he decided to put up a batch of Yellow Grain Rice instead as it would fetch the highest price for its quality. He did not expect that the market price for the Yellow Grain Rice would be so good. "It is not considered a feat for a dream master to produce Yellow Grain Rice. However, the crucial part would be to hide the proportion of resources needed to produce the Yellow Grain Rice as well as the type of spiritual seeds used...By keeping these 2 secrets close to me, given my current status, I would be able to curb the small talks about it." Fang Yuan scanned the objects avable a few times but was unable to find what he wanted. He was toozy to reply the sellers and headed to the stone tablets to search for the ingredients he required as well as the locations of several strange poisons. With a look, he discovered a stalk of ¡¯Jade me Gold Flower¡¯ which was a required poison to reach the 10th Refining Stage. He was joyous as he contacted the seller. "How much for the Jade me Gold Flower?" "500 contribution points!" The other party had a haughty expression. "I will use the Yellow Grain Rice to rece the contribution points!" "Ah...where are you, I wille over immediately for the deal!" In a sh of fiery light, a red shadow condensed as the other party rushed forward and asked. "You have Yellow Grain Rice? My Jade me Gold Flower is of the top grade and there is only 1 portion. I will trade it for 400 catties of Yellow Grain Rice..." One would sneer if one were to witness such a change in attitude. However, Fang Yuan had his fair share of experience recently. Truth be told, after witnessing the change in attitude, Fang Yuan felt somewhat sorrowful. Those lower-levelled dream masters were like duckweed which could only drift with the wind and flow with the waves. Afterpleting the transaction, he bade farewell to the seller and contacted the other dream masters he was familiar with. Liu Mengmei was extremely busy. As the main force of the offense, the Divine Lotus Cult and the Evil Divine Sect managed to aplish their tasks well. Even though she was a reserve, she had no choice but to take part in the battle to exterminate the enemies. On the contrary, the sisters of the Ye Family revealed their intentions to draw closer to Fang Yuan. They appeared regretful especially after Fang Yuan rose to the 4th Tier. Afterall, with the iing war, it would be better to maintain a close rtionship with someone of power. However, Fang Yuan had set his mind to further his cultivation and could not be bothered with the two of them. He merely contacted them and exchanged reports. "Beautifuldies are the cause of trouble, especially these two sisters who would inherit the Ye family¡¯s name and their grudges. Only a fool will go for them..." Fang Yuan arrived at the Realm Alliance Mountains and did not want to be bothered by the pair of sisters. "Only a person favoured by the heavens and destined to y the lead role would purposely take on and solve the problems, at the same time offending many highly skilled experts in the process before oveing them in the end. I would save myself the trouble and avoid this game..." The missions on the Realm Alliance stone tablet were able to fetch a higher pricepared to themon regions. The ingredients avable were more valuable as well. Fang Yuan was reserved as he made his payment in contribution points in exchange for a few types of poison before he retreated to a side to rest and ponder. "After breaking through to the 4th tier, I have already exhausted the benefits from the water realm. As for the martial arts and the Golden Body, I can only train step-by-step every day. It would be even more difficult to achieve a breakthrough in the Illusionary Divine Stage. In order to progress rapidly, I must take the shortcut!" Where is the shortcut? The shortcut is in the other realms! "I have only experienced 2 realms till now. However, the heavens and earth in the water realm hate me. I will receive heaven¡¯s tribtions the moment I set foot there. It is dangerous to even pass by there. I think it is time to find a new realm...." Even though obtaining the coordinates of the realms are hard, the difficulty in obtaining the coordinates also depended on the person seeking them. There were plenty of missions and specific ones in the Realm Alliance. Truth be told, most of the information held by the 5 Grand Organisations were hidden in other realms. How could the small benefits bepared to unearthing the realm¡¯s treasures? "These coordinates are from the core of each of the 5 organisations...a normal dream master would not be able to obtain the coordinates. However, I am a 4th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master with sufficient authority. Even though a previously explored realm does not hold great benefits, the benefits obtained from exploring these realms are still considerable..." With his thoughts, the identity inscription te shed and interacted with the stone tablet as it quickly searched for the information on other realms. "Given my current authority, I can only ess 3 realms? It is not bad considering I had to give up nothing...Hmm? This world..." He carefully analysed the information before he suddenly drew back as if he had seen something that appeared inconceivable. Chapter 344: A New Realm Chapter 344: A New Realm Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the sky, there was a huge sun. As the burning sun rays red upon thend, Fang Yuan squinted his eyes and shielded them with his outstretched right hand, forming a shadow. In the surroundings, there were flowers everywhere and birds¡¯ chirping could be heard. There was a mild fragrance in the air. Beneath his body, it was soft. Fang Yuan realised that his new body was lying on a patch of grass. "Yuan!" A voice started to approach him. Following which, the silhouette of a youngdy appeared. She wore a cloth made from animal hide and grass and could only cover half of her body, revealing her arms and leg. Since her limbs were exposed most of the time, they had a healthy tan. She was like a female leopard: fierce, graceful, sexy and dangerous. "Yuan? Is she calling for me?" Fang Yuan stood up and a string of memories appeared in his consciousness. "Divisions... my race... warrior... Yuan! Is this my new identity?" As his spiritual will shook, Fang Yuan could see himself from the corner of his eye. He was a 20-year old young man with big eyes and a tall build. He was wearing animal hide as well and hung a bronze sword by his waist. Mmm, this realm seemed young and underdeveloped. Most of the people lived in divisions and their craftsmanship was extremely rudimentary. Although Fang Yuan only had a bronze sword, it was already a symbol of his status. Only strong warriors in the division were worthy of such a sword. "You¡¯rezing away here again!" The female leopard-like youngdy climbed up the knoll and twitched her nose as though she was unhappy. "Ah ha..." Fang Yuan stretched himself and stood up. "What¡¯s up? Wei?" Most of the people in this realm had single-word names. It indeed felt rather ancient. "The leader of the division has called for a meeting. Hurry up!" Thedy called Wei was rushing Fang Yuan. "Because of the flood, we will have to migrate for the 3rd time..." "Flood? Alright, I¡¯lle!" As a warrior, Fang Yuan had the duty to protect his division. He quickly wiped the grass off his hair and walked with big steps. "Let¡¯s go!" The youngdy followed and the both of them rushed like the wind. Their physical fitness was unbelievable, which shocked Fang Yuan. The physical quality of the people in Da Qian was already impressive enough, but that of people in this realm was even better. Everyone was skilled enough to kill tigers and leopards. This was not because their realm was more superior, but merely their adaptation to survive due to the harsh conditions in the realm. ¡¯This isparable to how one would initially have a life expectancy of 150 years, but due to the extreme conditions in forcing their bodies to undergo intensities of more than 3 times, they would be fortunate if they could even live up to 50!¡¯ Looking at the vibrant body of Wei, Fang Yuan was confused. "Are they just started out? With such clothing and undeveloped fire... Unfortunately, they have to encounter us just when they are slowly bing developed. Who knows if this is good or bad for them..." At the foot of the knollid their division - Shang Yang Division. The houses were built from rattan and stones and seemed as though they would crumble in the slightest wind. Scattered houses formed the image of a vige. Around the vige, there were farms, nting rice. They were still using the most rudimentary equipment and methods of farming. The men would go out and hunt and the women would tend to the farms. Kids would y in the farms or help out, and there were extremely few old people. This further confirmed Fang Yuan¡¯s guess. "Yuan! We¡¯re waiting for you!" As soon as a middle-aged man saw Fang Yuan, his eyes glistened as he started to sound the drum in his hands. Not long after, 30 over people started to gather around and sat within the division leader¡¯s house. The division leader had a heavy responsibility. Since he was a public figure, he did not have many personal valuables and his house was only bigger because he had to facilitate gatherings and discussion. Everyone was seated on the ground and a small bonfire was lit in the middle. On the walls, ropes were hung around and had knots in them. There were many carvings of what seemed to be words, which made up the decoration of the room. Fang Yuan knew that all of these were merely methods to record information. It was a known fact that the ancient people use knots to record information. Over here, they were a little more advanced and used words as well, but there were many more methods recorded in the history books. "Since everyone is here, I¡¯m sure all of you know the purpose of this meeting..." A middle-aged man walked to the centre. He was the division leader of the Yang people, Yang! He was a 30-year old man with a tanned skin. He was covered in scars and had a dim red glow from his skin, disying his might and potential at his peak. As the leader of the people, he had to have strongbat power and experience to be able to lead everyone to survive in such harsh conditions! Yang started to speak. "In recent days... the river nearest to us has overflowed a few times. I¡¯ve sent our best swimmer to investigate. He has reported that the water level has already risen to as high as the average man. If we do not migrate, the overflowing river water will flood ournd and destroy our division by next year!" "Is there a need to migrate?" Although there were both men and women around, all of them were either warriors or group leaders of the division and were the people with power. Even so, they hesitated as they spoke. "It¡¯s not simple to find a suitable ce to stay, where there are no ferocious wild beasts and other divisions!" "We will spend a lot of effort and resources to migrate once more!" "But what can we do if we do not migrate? Stare at the river as it destroys our houses and wash away our loved ones?" ... The division was democratic. Therefore, even the division leader could not veto the decision. With that, the people under him started to argue. "Cough cough..." Seeing this, Yang waved his hands and stopped the fierce argument. "Also... The strongest division in the ins, Xia Division, will be sending their messenger here to discuss the flooding problem. Yuan! I¡¯ll leave it to you to receive the messenger!" "Alright!" Fang Yuan felt shocked that his name was mentioned out of the blue. However, he agreed to it without hesitation. "Let¡¯se to a conclusion regarding whether to migrate or not after seeing the messenger. Everyone, please return!" ... Outside the straw house, there was a fence. In the house, other than a few hides and piles of hay, there was nothing else. Seeing this, Fang Yuan let out a bitter smile. "Am I... a poor bloke now?" He could not care about this for now. He took out his allocated food. There was half a rabbit and a few fruits. He immediately started eating the fruits, started a fire and roasted the rabbit. "This realm..." As he ate, relevant information regarding the realm appeared: "This realm is named ¡¯Ancient Realm¡¯ by the Realm Alliance. It is known to be filled with concentrated realm energy within it and is only second to Da Qian Empire... Furthermore, it was rumoured that the alliance leader of the Realm Alliance, a sage, has benefited greatly from this realm for him to be a sage! Of course... this is only a rumour." "However, this became more interesting. It was rumoured that when the sage descended into this realm, he had possessed the division leader, ¡¯Gu¡¯ and started a war with the witches of Jiuli Division. The people of Jiuli Divisions were extremely brave. Their leader, ¡¯Wu¡¯, had 3 heads and 6 arms, a bronze head and metal forehead. He was imprable and ate metals for survival. He had an unparalleled ability. Furthermore, there were other witches in the division, including Wind and Rain Masters who could manipte the weather." "Initially, the Shangyang Division was about to be wiped out. At that time, Sage was still not at the Prominent Divine stage but was still incredibly powerful. He could alter nature and create dragons and fire spirits to aid him in killing the Wind and Rain Masters before beheading Wu himself... Without a head, the blood which flowed out from Wu became a forest of maple trees. He swung his bronze sword for another 7 days without his head before dying..." After such a though, Fang Yuan appeared solemn. It was recorded in . "... Chi You attacked the King. In retaliation, the King brought the fight to the Ji Region. Chi You invited the Wind and Rain Masters to whip up a storm. The King then invited a deity called ¡¯Drought Demon¡¯ to stop the rain and kill Chi You!" "Is this simrity due to the fact that all civilisations are like that, or that dreams are merely reality and reality is a dream?" With such a striking simrity, Fang Yuan started to think about something. "Could it be... a high-tech radiation leading to its mutation?" Of course, this was not all that the information had to offer. Gu managed to sessfully defeat Wu and be the leader of the realm. He then passed on his appointment as the leader and roamed the skies with much freedom. From then on, the appointment as leader was passed down for another 7 times before it was Xia¡¯s turn. Now, the entire realm was gued with floods and the people were suffering. Therefore, Xia started to study the rivers and controlled all the demons in the world. With this, he managed to expand his influence everywhere and was nominated as the king of the region. Afterwards, he epted the gold from the 9 Regions and 9 cauldrons as a symbol that all of this was heaven¡¯s fate for him. Xia was merely a possessed person, possessed by the Sage of Realm Alliance! This meant that after Gu left, this Sage returned to the realm once more to reap more energy from it! "This is a realm where many have harvested and visited before..." Fang Yuan seemed a little lost. To put it simply, the prize of this realm had long been taken away and therefore, there was not much left to take. "This seems to be the case... is it not?" Fang Yuan felt a tinge of disappointment in his heart. He quickly finished his roasted rabbit and walked out of the division. "Stats!" As his spiritual will shook, new stats appeared: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 2 (48) Spirit: 2 (48) Magic: 30 (60) Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (???), Wu Zong (???) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (???)], [Hundred Poison Golden Body (???)], [8 Gates Sword Array (???)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "This realm has already been conquered and would benefit dream masters of the Realm Alliance. It is interesting how I can preserve half of my magical energy!" "With the help of my fixed stats, it is a matter of 1 or 2 days for me to restore the other stats..." Fang Yuan arrived at a forest and gazed deep into it. "Roar! Roar!" At this point in time, the grass shook. With the roar of a tiger, a Sword Toothed Tiger leapt out. "My next meal is here!!" Seeing this, Fang Yuan was not shocked, but ted. Chapter 345: History Chapter 345: History Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In front of Fang Yuan was a living, breathing Sword Toothed Tiger. It wasrger than the average tiger and had two fangs as sharp as swords. It was the undisputed king of the predators. However, as the Sword Toothed Tiger red at Fang Yuan, it hesitated for a while before feeling a little fearful. Although it had eaten many humans before, it still felt a sense of danger from Fang Yuan. "This is timely... Fang Yuan wielded the short sword by his waist. "I¡¯ll test this new body... Hey, pussycat! You¡¯ll only have one try!" "Roar! Roar!" Although it could not understand humannguage, Fang Yuan¡¯s posture had agitated it. With a roar, it leapt forward. Any strong viger would still feel extreme fear facing this beast. "You¡¯re ultimately still a beast!" Fang Yuan twisted his body to one side and lunged his sword out. "Ping!" The sword in his hands was extremely short. It was almost as long as only 2 daggers. Although it was sharpened, the sword still snapped as it came into contact with the skin of the Sword Toothed Tiger! It snapped... "Is this weapon trying to y games with me?" After using his magical soldiers for quite some time, Fang Yuan could not get used to such a weapon. If not for his speed and agility, Fang Yuan might have already been bitten by the Sword Toothed Tiger. As a dream master at the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, it would be a waste if he were to be bitten by a tiger. "Die!" As his eyes glistened, the red sword essence in his hands was on the brink of explosion. "Yuan!" At this point in time, a youngdy ran over. Seeing that the Sword Toothed Tiger was about to attack Fang Yuan, she was shocked. Swiftly, she pulled her bow and shot an arrow out. "Whoosh!" Wei¡¯s archery skills were rather remarkable as the arrow flew straight into the right eye of the tiger. With a roar, it turned around and left. "Don¡¯t you escape!" Fang Yuan leapt forward, grabbed on to the arrowhead and pressed it down. As he pressed it in, a concentrated amount of sword essence exploded within the tiger¡¯s head, turning it into a gruesome mess. "Pa!" The Sword Toothed Tiger fell to the ground and ayer of dust was stirred up. "Yuan, are you alright?" Wei came forward with a worried look, unlike her brave and determined self just a few moments ago. "I¡¯m alright, thanks!" On the surface, he was being rescued by a woman... Fang Yuan was a little unhappy about it, but he did not let it show. "Come, let¡¯s carry this Sword Toothed Tiger back together. We shall have more meat for dinner tonight!" "Alright!" Wei replied happily. "I¡¯ve heard from the people of our division that there is a cunning Sword Toothed Tiger lurking around. I¡¯ve always wanted to kill it!" ¡¯Mmm... This is still the ancient times and people still do not regard females as housewives and mothers. They can be strong warriors as well, or even division leaders with thousands of soldiers under hermand... Enough to make us men embarrassed!¡¯ ... 3 dayster, Fang Yuan brought along 2 other warriors as they received the messenger from Da Xia. "Guest from afar, we wee you. I am a warrior of the division, Yuan!" Fang Yuan examined the group of people who had just arrived. They were all well-built and carried spears in their hands. They also had bows on their backs and their clothing was sewn with proper cloth. In all aspects, they were stronger and more superior than the people of Yang. "Mmm, my name is Qi. You can call me Xia Qi!" The messenger in front seemed like he was in his 20s and his skin was extremely white. He had a piece of jade on his waist. After seeing Fang Yuan, he smiled and twitched his eyes at him while transferring a message. ¡¯Are you the neer from the alliance?¡¯ "Eh?" Fang Yuan focused on the person in front of the group and used a simr method of transferring messages to reply him. "You are..." "No need for suspicion. I am following orders - All is well and peaceful here!" "I am Fang Yuan! I am here after receiving a mission to provide assistance!" After confirming their identities, Fang Yuan introduced himself. The alliance would not allow any dream master to enter an explored realm like this for free. Dream masters would either have to use their contribution points to purchase coordinates or take up missions to gain entry. Fang Yuan had spent his contribution points in cultivating his 10th Refining Stage and therefore had to save up on his contribution points. Therefore, he had chosen to enter the realm by taking up missions. "It¡¯s indeed you, the newly promoted dream master in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage! You are the talent of our alliance!" Xia Qi¡¯s eyes glistened. "In recent days, I¡¯ve been overloaded with work to do. Now that you are here, you can share my workload with me and everybody will have an easier time!" "Eh? Isn¡¯t it rumoured that after the uprising of Da Xia, the entire world has been developing peacefully? Why would you reach the stage of requesting for assistance?" Fang Yuan asked curiously. "Hmm... Actually, I¡¯m not supposed to share about this. However, since you are one of our own, I can tell you about it!" Xia Qi continued. "Last time, when the Sage of our alliance entered this realm, he killed Wu of the Jiuli Division, started a civilisation, protected the human dao and gained karma. Because of this, there were legends that he could fly to the heavens. However, he had no choice but to reincarnate as Xia and re-enter the realm. This is why the coordinates of this world had leaked out!" "The coordinates have leaked out? To which organisation?" Fang Yuan was shocked. He knew that if anyone else knew the coordinates, they would be able to dream-traverse and enter the realm as well. This was a threat. "It¡¯s Da Qian! The Hidden Dragon Guards!" Xia Qi continued with a cold voice. "There was a traitor in the alliance. Although the traitor had already gotten what he deserved, the trouble which he created was rather significant. Sage¡¯s original division was destroyed. The Hidden Dragon Guards had transformed into water demons and triggered tribtions all around the realm, causing the world to flood and killing many people! There are two more famous people among them and you might have an impression of them." "You are saying..." Fang Yuan quickly scanned through Yuan¡¯s memories, recalled a few legends and gave off a mysterious look. "Wu Zhiqi? And Xiang Liu?" Wu Zhiqi had fiery eyes and the look of a monkey. He was extremely powerful and could control the elements! Xiang Liu was a snake with 9 heads. He had eaten countless humans and anywhere he went would be wiped out. His blood was extremely poisonous and he could regenerate a severed head! These two were the greatest demons in the legends of this realm. Although Xia had managed to escape many times, he was still captured by these two demons. "It¡¯s these two!" Xia Qi smiled. "If they were normal demons, do you think they could stop a Sage? These two demons are two leaders among the Hidden Dragon Guards. They intentionally wanted to disrupt our alliance leader¡¯s ns and therefore entered the realm. Even if they were killed, they would only experience a little bacsh and could re-enter the realm once they recover and restore their cultivation. This was how the legends described Wu Zhiqi as indestructible and Xiang Liu as able to revive upon will..." "I see!" Hearing this, Fang Yuan understood what had happened. This was the history of this realm. Interestingly, the consciousness of the realm did nothing and allowed the intruders from the Hidden Dragon Guards to wreak havoc in the realm. "Wait a minute! The leader of the Hidden Dragon Guards? Does this mean that the head of Hidden Dragon Guards is here?" Fang Yuan took it one step further. "Is our mission rted to them?" "Nope!" Xia Qi denied. "The reason for the arrival of all the Hidden Dragon Guards is due to the fact that our alliance leader had aplished a lot in this realm. I¡¯ve heard that even the head of the Hidden Dragon Guards was involved. However, in the end, it was still our alliance leader that prevailed! From then on, the forces of the Imperial Court have since left this realm. Even if they are still lurking around, they would only do it secretly and would maintain a low profile." After all, the greatest reward from this realm had already been taken away. Since there were no other rewards, it was not logical for the Imperial Court to allocate so much manpower to go head on with the Realm Alliance. "However, the situation is different now!" Xia Qi continued with a solemn look. "The 5 Grand Organisations have agreed toe together to wipe out all organisations that are loyal to the Imperial Court. Do you think that the Imperial Court would be fools to not retaliate?" "They would retaliate by gathering all other Wu Zongs and spiritual knights, as well as attack us in the other realms. Don¡¯t worry, the strongest that they¡¯ve got this time is a dream master in the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. Therefore, our Elder would be the one going against him. We just have to give him encouragement and assistance!" Since they were dream-traversing to other realms, even if they were to die, they could start again. Therefore, Xia Qi seemed rather rxed. ¡¯He¡¯s thinking about it too simply. If we go against a strong adversary or die too many times, our actual bodies in Da Qian would still be affected as well...¡¯ Thinking about it, Fang Yuan replied. "How do you want me to help you guys?" "It¡¯s very simple. I¡¯ve brought along the order of Xi, the newest leader of Xia Country. We will contain the entire water system in the 9 regions and are gathering helpers from all divisions. By then, you can officiallye over!" "Contain the water system in the 9 regions?" Fang Yuan rolled his eyes. "This means... the Hidden Dragon Guards are still in the form of water demons? Theyck creativity!" "All that matters is that their n still works. Furthermore... This realm is still our home ground and has been defined as so because of the Sage! Therefore, if the Hidden Dragon Guards want to possess a body to enter the realm, it will be extremely difficult for them to possess humans. They can only try to possess animals!" As Xia Qi proudly remarked, it was as though he was satisfied by the fact that they will be possessing animal bodies. ¡¯This also means that... Sage has changed the rules of this realm. Other than dream masters from the Realm Alliance, any other dream masters who enter will be noticed by the heavens? And they will experience tribtions if they were to attack humans?¡¯ Fang Yuan was stunned. This was the first time he had witnessed the godly powers of a Sage. As soon as the Sage defined his homeground, if anyone else wanted toe in, they would have to do so as beasts! ¡¯However... How huge is this realm? This is not a simple hollow. Otherwise, Sage could directly deny entry to the evil dream masters!¡¯ Fang Yuan thought to himself silently. There was no question about the power of a dream master in the Prominent Divine stage. However, it was still a dream to be able to take entire control over a huge realm! Now, they were merely making use of the fate energy of humans and the 9 cauldrons system to gain the upper hand, forcing the Hidden Dragon Guards to have to make their way from the boundaries. ¡¯These Hidden Dragon Guards love to take up the form of demons, flood the world and eat humans. This is because the people of this realm is the external influence of the Realm Alliance, and the Imperial Court wants to weaken the alliance!¡¯ As the both of them talked, they arrived at the Yang Tribe. "I am the leader of the tribe - Yang! Wee, the messenger from afar!" Yang was long waiting at the entrance of the vige and had instructed for a banquet to be prepared. "Please enjoy. Let¡¯s discuss anything else tomorrow!" Chapter 346: Witchcraft Chapter 346: Witchcraft Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the Ancient World, deep at night in the wilderness. A huge monkey was crawling about. It had long arms and legs and was covered in ck fur. However, its eyes were darting about actively. A glowing essence from the moon started to descend, turning its fur white. Suddenly, an opening appeared on its forehead as it formed a third eye! Average monkey could only at most attain spirituality. However, in a single night, this monkey had be a demon! "Ah... I¡¯ve be a demon. This is interesting and weird!" The monkey scratched his ears and groaned like a human, as though it was depressed. "You¡¯re lucky to be able to possess a monkey. At least there are some simrities..." Beside him, there was a silver sh. A white fox with 3 tails appeared and it was as though it was dragging along 3 streaks of silver glow. "Those who would possess pigs, horses, cows or even goats would be the most unfortunate. I¡¯ve seen someone possessing a pig that was about to be butchered and was killed before he could cultivate anything. That¡¯s the worse!" "Hey! No one would have a say in this..." The 3 Eyed Monkey shook its head. "The Sage of Realm Alliance has already possessed the human dao and put in ce the 9 cauldrons. Therefore, we will be going against the trend of this realm. Anything we do will have consequences and fate energy will be going against us!" "That is not entirely true!" The 3 Tailed Spiritual Fox started to sound mysterious. "If the Sage can possess the heavenly dao, then we will have no ce here. But now, the Realm Alliance only possessed the majority of the people dao and is recognised by the heavenly trend. Therefore, we still have our chance! As for theck of fate energy, as long as we cultivate ourselves and strengthened up, we will be able to use our physical body to go against fate energy!" "That¡¯s true..." The 3 Eyed Monkey started tough. "Since the Realm Alliance now possesses the people dao, we must create natural disasters and tribtions to destroy their foundation!" The consciousness of the realm could be ssified into two, namely the people dao and the heavenly dao. Although the people dao could make decisions on its own, it still had to follow the heavenly dao to a certain extent. The Sage of Realm Alliance had used his identity as the King of Xia to preach to thousands of people. Therefore, he had possessed a majority of the people dao. Only with such a possession could he influence part of the heavenly dao. However, heavenly dao is still too vast! Therefore, the Sage was unable to totally restrict dream masters from entering. If the people dao was destroyed, especially the Xia Tribe, then his influence would be reduced by more than half. "If the Sage is still here, then we wouldn¡¯t even dare to set foot here. However, he has long passed on. King Xi is nothing and our leader will deal with him..." The 3 Tailed Spiritual Fox started to giggle. "Furthermore, our head has already made arrangements. Even if we lose, we will still manage to nt our spies among them. If we really manipted the people dao to affect the heavenly dao, do you think there will be no consequences?" "What is our mission?" The monkey crossed its legs and sat down, striking an uncanny resemnce of a human. "Firstly, we have to free the body of the two leaders, which were sealed years ago!" The 3 Tailed Spiritual Fox spat out a streak of light, which transformed into a huge screen and disyed an image. It was the image of an underwater location. From a dim glow emitting from a huge ck figure, they could vaguely see a ferocious monkey with golden eyes, a white head and a green body. It had golden bells strung on its nose and was restrained by thick and heavy chains. "This was the final body which our Leader had possessed. After his n to stop Xia had failed, he could only preserve his own body. Now, he has authorised us to use it. After all, it is something left behind by a dream master in the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. Even if we are weak, we can still hold up for quite some time with its assistance!" The 3 Tailed Spiritual Fox let out a cunningugh. "Great... This is great!" The monkey started to scratch his ears happily. "This is a powerful demon¡¯s body and will be much better than his monkey!" "I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s not for you!" The 3 Tailed Spiritual Fox shook its head. "This is my mission. Your mission is to enter the mountains to search for the descendants of the Jiuli Division!" "You mean... the people of Wu?" The monkey seemed a little unwilling at first, followed by a worried look. "Indeed... In reality, they should be the people of this realm. However, due to the fact that the Sage had descended and changed the fate of the realm... The people of Wu still have the protection of the heavens and therefore will not go extinct. To fight with the Realm Alliance in this realm, we will have to make use of the fate of the Wu!" "The descendants of the ancient army leader, Chi?" The monkeyughed. "The witchcraft dao aims to strengthen one¡¯s physical body and harness the power in the blood to release power capable of controlling the element. The army leader, Chi, fought with the Sage. Even though the Sage was not a Sage at that time, this was enough to prove their might! Alright, I¡¯ll go!" He was rather interested in the mysterious and weird witchcraft dao. "Considering that we have called in reinforcements, the Realm Alliance will be likely to do so as well. Be careful..." The 3 Tailed Spiritual Fox¡¯s voice could still be heard, but both of them were long gone. ... Division Leader Yang personally sent them off. "Yuan! You are the bravest warrior in our division. Give your best to King Xi!" "I will!" Fang Yuan carried a cloth bag, changed a new sword and gave his promise respectfully. Xia Qi gave an excuse to manage the rivers to request the Yang Tribe to sent people to provide assistance. Of course, Yang would not reject his request and sent 10 of his strongest warriors, with Fang Yuan as their leader. Something worth mentioning was that thedy, Wei, was among the 10 being sent off. "To rectify the problem of flooding, the crux lies in making the water flow smoothly in the river. Therefore, we will have to deal with the powerful demons living in the water..." Xia Qi had a graceful demeanour as he briefed them. Fang Yuan acted as though he was listening intently. However, in reality, he was thinking to himself. ¡¯What can I gain... from this world?¡¯ Although the Realm Alliance would reward him for the mission, Fang Yuan was not enticed by it. Every realm is a treasure in itself! Even if it might have been harvested before, there will still be valuables that Fang Yuan could reap. ¡¯To preach to the people dao and be king... Sage has already done all of these. It is not practical for me to do it again, and I would make myself too high profile! This is courting death! I¡¯ll have to give this thought up!¡¯ ¡¯Other than that, this realm has a unique system of cultivation. I can borrow this idea! Also, I can actualise treasures from this realm...¡¯ The Realm Alliance had already done enough research regarding this realm. ¡¯Thest thing would be spirits and bloodline...¡¯ This realm was still ancient and gods might have lived with them. Even in the most average person, there might be the blood of mysterious beasts or gods, which would strengthen them or awaken any special ability that they could potentially have. They might also be able to change their appearances, which was an extremely useful ability to have. Through the research done by the Realm Alliance, they realised that energy from such a bloodline could be purified and brought into one¡¯s actualised dream world. To a certain extent, this would also be possible for the souls of certain powerful demons! "Of course... this is the cycle of the heavenly dao and there would be retribution...In order for me to take something from this world, I must contribute something. This is the true meaning of karma!" Although this world was not based on karma and one would not be able to directly benefit from gaining people dao karma and heavenly karma, indirect results could still be seen from one¡¯s actions. "Of course... Even if the realm¡¯s consciousness is not awakened, it can still control the realm subconsciously and will not allow any random dream master to enter and remove treasures from it... How different is this from robbery? There would surely be tribtions!" "Therefore, if I want any treasure, I must find a geographically advantageous location and get the protection from the heavens. From there, I will have to trade for the treasure with my contributions to the realm... Of course, I can try snatching it by brute force, but whether I will be sessful or not depends on my ability and luck. If I am unlucky, I will be struck by lightning and my soul might even be destroyed!" Even a Sage could not be stronger than an entire world. If he were to go against the realm, he would surely be severely injured. "To follow the heavenly dao and observe. This must be what the Sage has done..." Fang Yuan mumbled to himself before sending a message to Xia Qi. "How¡¯s the energy system in this realm?" "Extremely powerful!" Xia Qi¡¯s eyes appeared solemn. "Have you realised it too? The quality of our physical bodies here is better than our own bodies back in Da Qian... Among the people here, there is another type of energy, called ¡¯Witchcraft¡¯. It is a method to bring out the fullest potential of one¡¯s body and discover one¡¯s bloodline. An example of a sessful person is the army leader, Chi. He was able to go against our sage and even survive without a head for 7 days!" "Other than that, there is also the existence of demons. Any types of spirits can be demons and their powers are extraordinary. There are also many spiritual treasures scattered around the realm, and all of their abilities are out of this world!" "As for the god dao, although the people here believe in a god, they have never encountered one. Therefore, this is most probably an effect of the heavenly dao on them..." "Witchcraft? To ring out the fullest potential of one¡¯s body? The powers of a bloodline?" Fang Yuan was struck with curiosity. He also had a technique to train his physical body and therefore, he could benefit from both. Of course, more importantly, he was in another world now and had to follow the rules of the other world. "Who knows... I must research the power of witchcraft for myself!" Looking at the advancing group of people, his eyes glistened. "Qi! Here¡¯s an oracle bone!" Suddenly, the group stopped moving. A person from the Xia Tribe quickly rushed towards them and presented a tortoise shell. "The people of the tribe have burnt this tortoise shell and predicted that someone has destroyed the seal on Wu Chiqi in the South. He has released the demon and King Xi had ordered for all of you to alter your nned track to stop it!" "Alright!" Xia Qi took the oracle bone. It had burnt marks, revealing the cracks on the tortoise shell. The people here predicted happenings using this method and would record the findings on the oracle bones. ¡¯What in the world...¡¯ Seeing this scene, Fang Yuan was speechless. ¡¯Isn¡¯t this just insider information from the Realm Alliance that the Hidden Dragon Guards are here? Why do they have to inform us using these weird tricks?¡¯ Indeed, the next moment, Xia Qi¡¯s voice was heard. ¡¯We have a little trouble. The Hidden Dragon Guards are removing the seal on Wu Zhiqi¡¯s body. In that body lies the power of a 7th Tier Illusionary Divine stage dream master and it is devastating... From previous patrols, we can confirm that the location of the body is at the Huai River Tortoise Mountain. Let¡¯s make our way there to stop them!¡¯ Chapter 347: Tortoise Mountain Chapter 347: Tortoise Mountain Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Huai River was one of the major rivers in the region. It flowed over a thousand miles acrossnd and was not far from the division of the Yang Tribe. ¡¯We¡¯ve searched for the possessed body of the head of the Hidden Dragon Guards. It¡¯s hidden at the Tortoise Mountain within the Huai River!¡¯ As they journeyed, Xia Qi used a sceptical tone and sent a message to Fang Yuan. "Within a 100-mile region from here, all of these floods is likely to be caused by Wu Zhiqi¡¯s consciousness... This is proof that the demon is being freed. The power of the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage is unbelievable!" Being the ones who would be discriminated against by the people dao, the Hidden Dragon Guards would face a tough time as they attempt to descend into this realm. They would have to slowly umte elemental energy from the heavens and earth and would have to constantly be on guard against the Realm Alliance¡¯s attempts to fish them out. Normal dream masters would not be able to umte a lot of power in the realm even after many years, but this would be different for the magical clone of a 7th Tier Illusionary Divine stage dream master! ¡¯Wu Zhiqi is a powerful demon which sealed himself. Therefore, he would spend minimal energy preserving himself and the demonic power that he would be able to umte would be likely to be able to support the arrival of a 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master and be harnessed immediately!¡¯ Their stats would be reduced by half as soon as they entered the realm, and this was leniency given by the Realm Alliance. If it was the Imperial Court, they would be fortunate if they could even preserve a hint of their stats. These other dream masters were not Fang Yuan and did not have the special ability to used fixed stats to restore their cultivation. They would have to cultivate for many years before they could even restore anything. Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glistened. "Xia Qi..... Are you not afraid?" "Don¡¯t worry... the alliance has confirmed that there is only the arrival of a 7th Tier Illusionary Divine stage dream master from the Hidden Dragon Guards! With King Xi controlling this area, it would not show up here." Xia Qi replied with much confidence. "It is not possible for someone toe here to possess Wu Zhiqi¡¯s body. It is most probably left there for other dream masters to make use of. If this is the case, this would mean that the dream master we will be dealing with will be around the 5th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. It¡¯s still not an easy fight!" He sounded confident and Fang Yuan could understand why. After all, the Hidden Dragon Guards were against all the 5 Grand Organisations. They would be lucky if they could remain status quo. The Realm Alliance had continually sent reinforcements, while the Hidden Dragon Guards only had a dream master in the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. Therefore, it would be wise for them to find a secluded ce and cultivate themselves. Although the possessed body was hidden well, it was only a matter of time before it would be located. However, the Sage preferred to risk more to get more rewards. Although the chances of locating the possessed body were extremely small, if he was able to find it, then the body would be undoubtedly destroyed. Therefore, the head of the Hidden Dragon Guards would not take this risk! "Let¡¯s hope that it will be as such..." Fang Yuan sighed. As he looked at the group of people ahead of him, he had a bad premonition. ¡¯I feel like... things are not as simple as they seem...¡¯ ... On Tortoise Mountain. The mountain was located at one of the river streams which flowed from the Huai River. This stream had the appearance of a huge tortoise lying down, stabilising the entire river. The gushing water would slow down the moment it flowed to this point. As the riverbed expanded, nutrients were deposited along the river banks, forming a huge piece of fertilend just next to the river. The Shangzhang Tribe, Doulu Tribe, Lilou Tribe... 10 over divisions settled down here and their collective power was strong. "Eh... I have been instructed to explore the 9 Regions and search for the d*mned Hidden Dragon Guards. In the 3 times that I¡¯ve passed by here, I always feel a tinge of temptation..." Witnessing this scene, Xia Qi sighed. "After all, Wu Zhiqi is a water demon and anywhere he goes would be flooded. Who would¡¯ve guessed that he would seal himself in such a prosperous and bustling location? He might even have bribed the people in the divisions and obtained protection from their tribal energy! I will request to see the leader of the divisionter on. If you detect any of them, just go for the kill and don¡¯t hold back! Oh yes, how much of your cultivation have you restored? Do you have at least half of what you used to have?" Half the power of a dream master in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage was too sufficient to destroy a few divisions. "Don¡¯t worry!" Fang Yuan nced at his own stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 48 Spirit: 48 Magic: 60 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (4th Tier), Wu Zong (5th Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 6) (1%)], [Hundred Poison Golden Body (1st Refining)], [8 Gates Sword Array (5th Sword) (1%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" Nobody could guess that he could restore his entire cultivation level in the span of a few days! Due to the differences in realms, even dream masters from the Realm Alliance would experience a reduction of more than half of their usual cultivation. They could only at most increase their cultivation to 80% of what they usually had. Even restoring to 80% would require them to cultivate for a long period of time. However, this was not a worry that Fang Yuan would have. Regardless of where he was, he could very quickly restore his original cultivation. This was his true ability and advantage over the others when dream-traversing to other realms. "That¡¯s good. With the both of usbining forces, even if they have 10,000 people against us, we can still prevail!" Xia Qi seemed relieved. As he walked to a certain division, he instructed his subordinate to inform them. "I am the messenger of Xia, and I have arrived to manage the river ording to the instructions of King Xi!" With this piece of information, they could quickly arrive at the heart of the divisions. This division was Shangzhang Division. It had a poption of 10,000 and their leader was known as Zhang. With this news, Zhang hesitated. "Father..." Beside him, a young man tried to speak but stopped halfway. Finally, he stood out. "Xia Country is the rightful alliance leader that all of us have agreed to! Years ago, we had conferred Xia as the King. Since his messenger is here, we should wee them!" As soon as he said his piece, a few elders exchanged nces and had mysterious looks on their faces. "That¡¯s right!" Zhang took a few steps forward, determined. "You shall represent me to receive them. Inform the people of the division to prepare the best wine and invite the most beautiful of the girls to treat the guests properly!" "Leader!" As the young man happily walked out, a skinny-looking priest in ck robes spoke. "What should we do?" Although the people of the division were clueless, these higher-ups were extremely clear that for Shangzhang Division¡¯s status in Tortoise Mountain was due to the protection they had from a powerful demon. "Let¡¯s hear what they have to say first. They might not have discovered it!" In determining the fate of the division, Zhang hesitated. "Instruct the warriors of our tribe to prepare! Also... Quickly inform the leaders of Doulu and Lilou Tribe! Although they might have conflicts with us from time to time, we have to stand together and stay united in times like this." "Managing the river? Hehe..." The priest and the elders nodded their heads and snickered. The surroundings of Tortoise Mountain was not flooded, so what was there to manage? The arrival of the messenger from Xia must have an ulterior motive. They were officially an alliance, but it was only a name to it. If the messenger were to bring news that would lead to a conflict of interests, then they would kill him! They would fight as long as they were unhappy! In recent days, there were signs that the water god was returning. As long as they could wait for it to awaken, they would have its protection and would fear nothing! ... "Wee, messenger from Xia! I am Fa from the Shangzhang Tribe!" Outside the division, Fang Yuan andpany waited for a moment before noticing a young maning out to invite them. "My father, Zhang, the leader of the division, cordially invites all of you to enter!" "Thank you!" Xia Qi nodded his head reservedly as he followed Fa into the division. Along the way, there were curious res from the surrounding straw huts. They should be the women and children of the division. Seeing all these, Fang Yuan was lost in his thoughts. ¡¯In reality, the divisions on the ins in Tortoise Mountain cannot even bepared to a town to the Xia Tribe. Leader Zhang has ultimate control over his people, his ownws, army and although he has acknowledged Xia as the leader of the alliance, he can go against Xia anytime!¡¯ If they were to go against Xie, the Shangzhang Tribe could effortlessly wipe out their 100-men group - if they did not consider the presence of the 2 dream masters. The sun started to set and in the middle of a square, there was a huge bonfire. Ladies came out to wee the group and brought along tes of roasted meat and fruits for the guests to enjoy. "Wee, the messenger from the noble Xia Tribe!" In front of them was a tall and skinny middle-aged man. With open arms, he continued. "I am the leader of Shangzhang Tribe, Zhang. What do we have from King of Xia?" "I am following the orders of the alliance leader, King Xi, to bring you a piece of news!" Xia Qi raised a piece of jade above his head and appeared solemn. "ording to the predictions by my priest, the powerful demon which had once gued the 9 Regions and disrupted the water systems - Wu Zhiqi, is hidden here. We want to find him and kill him!" With this, Fang Yuan could feel that the higher-ups of the division were all in shock. Although they could conceal their emotions well, it was almost impossible to hide their true feelings before these 2 dream masters. "So it¡¯s Wu Zhiqi..." Zhang froze before giving a gentle smile. "With the Tortoise Mountain to stabilise the river, we have not experienced a flood in 100 years... This piece of information is hard to believe. However, since you said it, we will surely support you. Let¡¯s not talk about this tonight,e... have a drink!" As he pped his hands, seductivedies surrounded all of them. They pulled Fang Yuan to his seat, held his hands and smiled as they poured wine for him. "Eh?" Fang Yuan tasted the wine. "This wine is not as concentrated and is simr to a fruit wine... How do they have wine? Did they adapt it from the Xia Tribe?" After all, this was not actual history before the Qin dynasty. With the Realm Alliance bringing many dream masters into this realm, it was unsurprising that things did not seem in ce. The body Fang Yuan possessed was well-built and while appearing generous, Fang Yuan seemed like the most eligible bachelor among all of them. Within moments, thedies around Fang Yuan started to blush in embarrassment and could not leave him. Even in such an ancient time, it was already a sin to be lustful. "Hmph!" Fang Yuan did not care about the girls. However, soon after, he could hear a voice from behind as he felt a chill down his spine. With a bitter smile, he turned around and saw an infuriated Wei. She seemed like an angry predator as though her prey was being snatched away, and was giving off a dangerous vibe. Chapter 348: Conflict Chapter 348: Conflict Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The sky darkened. The warriors of Xia and Yang Tribe were enjoying the delicacies. With thepanion of the young and beautifuldies, they soon fell into a deep sleep. The stars were glittering and illuminated the entire mountain. Amidst the silence, one of the huts in Shangzhang Division was still lit. "It¡¯s Lu of Doulu Tribe and Kang of Lilou Tribe! I amforted to be able to see both of you leaders!" Zhang smiled as his eyes glistened. "The messenger of Xia is about to unveil our secret. How can we note?" Lu was a plump person with two thin moustaches above his lips. In such harsh environments, only those in power could have the ability and luxury to be so plump. "I¡¯ve brought along my elite warriors this time!" Kang of Lilou Tribeughed. "The Xia Tribe has already offended us for even having the intention to kill our water god. The water god will not spare him..." "All of this is for the water god!" Even though they might have their own internal conflicts from time to time, these 3 leaders could finallybine forces to go against an external adversary. "We have to give it our all to defend this piece of fertilend given to us by the water god, even if it means going against Xia!" "Fight! Fight!" As the 3 leaders walked out, they could see rows of warriors standing neatly under the moonlight. They were all equipped with bronze knives and arrows carved from bones, and their eyes were burning with a passion to fight. "The warriors of Xia are mostly drunk, and this will be as simple as ughtering pigs!" As the leader, Zhang picked up a bronze knife for himself as well. "It will be a simple task to kill all of them!" "Alright! Let¡¯s go!" Kang and Luughed too as they picked up their weapons. To be the leader of the people, they had to have wisdom as well asbat power and the bravery to kill during a war! Even Lu had to force himself to be like this. Otherwise, how would his people trust him to lead them to survival in this harsh world? "Hmm... They can survive, so why are they courting death?" At this point in time, 2 people walked out from the shadows. Xia Qi wielded a long spear and sighed. "It¡¯s him!" Zhang scrutinised Xia Qi and eximed loudly. "He is the messenger of Xia. Kill him!" Regardless whether their n was exposed or not, they had no other choice but to attack. "Kill!" At this point in time, 3 elite warriors were surrounding Xia Qi. They were all like ferocious tigers and leopards. With a roar, they came closer to him. "Haha... I am a noble tribe member of Xia and have the blood of the gods in me. How will the few of you be my match?" Xia Qiughed. As he lunged his spear out, he killed his way into the soldiers. "Whoosh! Whoosh!" As the spear struck the bronze knives, sparks flew and one of the warriors was flung backwards with his blood spewing everywhere. ¡¯Is this... acting?¡¯ Seeing how Xia Qi was acting to be a normal tribe member, he was speechless before he came to a realization. ¡¯In a foreign realm, we will have to follow the rules of the realm. To the rest of them, Xia Qi is just a messenger. He would have to exin his powerful might if he were to reveal his true identity by recklessly using his powers as a dream master, the realm would also take notice and go against him!¡¯ With this thought, Fang Yuan held back. If such an experienced dream master in the Illusionary Divine stage had to be so careful, even though Fang Yuan had restored all his powers, how could he afford to be arrogant? "Ah... Where is Yu Xi?" Witnessing this scene, Lu eximed as another warrior rushed towards Xia Qi. Xia Qi raised his spear and countered. Yu Xi did not dodge but stood firm. "ng!" As the long spear pierced onto Yu Xi¡¯s body, there was a metallic ng. The spear started to bend before snapping. "Imprable? With strengthened magical abilities? You¡¯re a witch?!" Xia Qi was shocked for a moment before looking at Lu and Kang. "It¡¯s another sin for you guys to coborate with witches!" "Hmph! Thews of Da Xia does not apply to us!" Seeing this scene, Kang looked to the corner of his eye and pped his hands as well. Two priests walked forward and green and yellow runes started to glow all over their bodies. "Rumble!" As the ground shook, a few dirt walls emerged. Following, a few vines covered in ck thorns appeared from the ground. Like a python, these vines struck towards Xia Qi. "Divine Technique? Techniques from bloodline?" Xia Qi wielded a bronze dagger and defended himself. "Yuan,e on!" "Kill!" Fang Yuan roared. As he killed his way into the soldiers, he held a warrior in his right hand and used him as a human hammer. Spinning him around, there were many cries heard from the warriors. "Zhang... don¡¯t you leave!" As he located the direction of the 3 leaders, Fang Yuan started to rush towards them. "Why is there another one?" Seeing how Fang Yuan used the warriors as a human hammer and shield and killing his way into the soldiers like a thousand-men-strong army, the 3 of them were startled and froze with fear. Such a person wasparable to a 10,000-man army. It was extremely rare and there would usually be only one such person in a huge division. Most of the time, that person would already be the leader! In such a small group of people, it was extremely abnormal for there to be two persons who were so powerful. "Did the Xia Division already detected something fishy and have sent their army over?" Kang screamed. "It¡¯s useless to think about all of these now... Head Priest!" Gazing at Fang Yuan and Xia Qi, Zhang seemed depressed. "Leader... based on our currentbat power, we can only manage one of them!" The Head Priest of Shangzhang Tribe had white hair and his face was filled with wrinkles. He was almost bald and his hands were as skinny as that of chickens. It was unbelievable that he could live to such an age of about 80 years old. "He shall be the one!" Zhang pointed at Fang Yuan. "Keke..." The Head Priest let out a weirdughter, revealing his unpleasant-looking teeth. As he retrieved a figurine made of grass, he faced Fang Yuan and started to mumble his chant. A ck fog appeared, gathering around the straw figurine. The straw figurine started to change, and its appearance started to be more and more like Fang Yuan. ¡¯Eh? Is this... stealing my spiritual aura? Is this one of the curses in witchcraft? Interesting!¡¯ Fang Yuan started to intentionally slow down his actions to allow the priest to execute his curse. Suddenly, the priest started to shake his limbs. As he opened his mouth, a white streak of light shot out andnded on Fang Yuan¡¯s shadow. ¡¯Sand Shadow Technique?¡¯ Fang Yuan felt a little confused. Suddenly, his body froze. "Kill him!" The surrounding warriors became energetic as they crowded around Fang Yuan. "All of you are seeking death!" With augh, mes started to flicker on Fang Yuan¡¯s bronze sword. With a few slices, 6 warriors around him immediatelyid dead on the floor. "This person... he¡¯s extremely strong!" The Head Priest shrieked. He quickly took out a metal nail, bit his own tongue, smeared the nail in blood and nailed it in the straw figurine. "Buzz! Buzz!" In mid-air, there was an extremely strong and invisible force targeted towards Fang Yuan as it shot into his forehead. Outside his actualised dream world. ck runes started to appear in mid-air and began to attempt entering the actualised dream world. As the 8 Gates Sword Array shook, the power of wind, thunder, water and fire swept across the actualised dream world,pletely destroying the ck runes. ¡¯What¡¯s this? 7 Arrows Nail Striking Witchcraft? What a pity... the true aura of a dream master is within the actualised dream world and is constantly under protection...¡¯ Fang Yuan snickered as he looked at the Head Priest. "Ah... How are you alright?" The Head Priest was in shock. Within seconds, the straw figurine in his hands started to burn and turned into ash. From the ashes, a ck fog appeared which formed a ferocious looking face. The fog face screamed as it leapt towards the Head Priest. "Ahh!" The Head Priest let out a blood-curdling scream. He had a startled expression as he started to w his own face, creating a bloodied mess. Not long after, he spat out a mouthful of blood as fog and fell to the ground, lifeless. "Head Priest..." Zhang¡¯s face was filled with fear. How could the Head Priest with witchcraft just die like that? Furthermore, it was a gruesome death! With such a scene, although Zhang experienced many gruesome events before, he still felt a chill down his spine. "Let¡¯s... retreat first!" Seeing the ferocious Fang Yuan, Zhang and the few other leaders all had the intention to retreat. ¡¯He¡¯s killed by the bacsh from intruding my actualised dream world? How boring!¡¯ Seeing this, Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glistened as his skin turned into a metallic hue. With that, he pounced towards the 3 leaders and was indifferent to the weapons around him. "Don¡¯t leave!" "ng! ng!" As the bone arrows and bronze knivesnded on his skin, they could only produce a metallic sound as though he was made up of metal. "Are you a witch as well?" Zhang screamed as he countered with a strike of a sword. Fang Yuan grabbed the sword with his right hand and snapped it effortlessly. With a casual fling, Zhang fell to the ground. "Ahh... Let¡¯s do it or die!" Lu and Kang exchanged nces as they picked up their weapons. However, to Fang Yuan, they were mere disturbances and were simrly defeated by Fang Yuan. "Your leaders are in my hands. Surrender now!" Fang Yuan held the bronze sword to their necks as he hollered loudly. "Haha... die!" From the side, Xia Qi had also managed to break out of the crowd and killed two other witches who were executing witchcraft. Snatching a bronze sword from one of the warriors, he sliced the right arm of Yu Xi. Seeing that their most powerful warrior had been defeated and their leaders captured, the remaining warriors looked at each other in disbelief. One of them released their weapon and his bronze spear fell to the ground. "What happened?" Themotion had already awakened the entire division. Wei led a group of warriors with weapons and rushed to the scene. "Zhang, Lu, Kang... these three leaders have gone against the agreement of the alliance and depended on the demons!" Xia Qi raised his bronze sword high up and eximed. "Kill them!" "Kill them!" The warriors of Xia realised =they were tricked from the start. Embarrassed and angry, they chanted loudly. "This is not possible... my father will not do such a thing..." In the crowd, there was a dested cry from a young man. ¡¯F*ck! Why do they think we can kill them so easily. This is not the way to seek death..... They are indeed dumb!¡¯ Xia Qi sent a message to Fang Yuan in secret. ¡¯You¡¯ve done well to use some of your abilities and not reveal too. Remember that you can at most use your martial arts. Don¡¯t reveal too much...¡¯ Chapter 349: Fiery Eyes Chapter 349: Fiery Eyes Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Wu Zhiqi is a water demon! It had caused floods in the 9 regions and brought us suffering!" Xia Qi eximed as he signalled to Wei and the rest of the warriors to tie the 3 leaders up. With a menacing re, he looked at Fa. "Fa! I believe your father is being misled..." "That¡¯s right!" The young man had a pure heart and could not bear to do evil. This was why his father did not let him join in the decision-making process. Uncontrobly, Fa nodded his head as though Xia Qi was willing to spare his father. "My father must be misled by the water demons!!" "Mm, very well!" Xia Qi smiled, "Therefore... you must prove your loyalty to your people, Fa! Are you willing to lead your warriors to take on the water demon?" It sounded as though Xia Qi was deluding Fa. "As long as you can aplish that, I can not only release your father, I will also ensure that the Xia Tribe will support you in ascending to the appointment of division leader!" Currently, the leader of the division was nominated by the previous leader and was a cycle by itself. Of course, in the Xia Tribe, there was already a system where the father would pass down the appointment of leader to his son. Therefore, people already regarded the tribe as Xia Country. However, among the divisions in Tortoise Mountain, they still chose their leader through nomination by the previous leader. As soon as the young Fa heard Xia Qi, his eyes glistened. "Dear noble messenger from Xia, I am willing to assist you in taking down the water demon to prove my loyalty to my people!" As he knelt down, he gave up the bronze sword in his hands. "No..." Zhang wanted to say something, but before he could do so, Fang Yuan quickly went up to them and stuffed a ball of cloth in their mouths, rendering them mute. "We are willing to follow you, young leader!" The warriors of Shangzhang Tribe looked at each other. However, seeing that their leader was captured, they followed suit. They knelt down and presented their weapons as a sign of willingness to follow. "Alright!" Xia Qiughed. "This will be the same for Douli Tribe and Lilou Tribe. Yuan! Lead the warriors together with Fa, and let them know our might! If they are willing to surrender, then allow them to follow us!" "Yes!" Fang Yuan agreed, and his mind was clear. Capturing the leaders was just a method to convince the rest of the warriors to follow them. They were still too weak to face the water demon. Furthermore, these warriors might suddenly go against them if one of their leaders managed to escape. Therefore, they had to move immediately and take down the other two tribes, while sowing discord between these divisions of Tortoise Mountain in the meantime. Afterwards, they could do anything they wanted! As long as they quickly aplished this, even if the leaders of the 3 divisions were to escape, they could no longer turn the tables. Hearing this, Lu and Kang appeared deste. They made a few mumbling noises but could not speak. After all, they had already brought along their elite soldiers with them. Their divisions were now defenceless and if they were ambushed, they would surely lose and experience losses. ¡¯This strategy can only be thought of by a dream master from the outside world. These people here are simple-minded and I¡¯m afraid they will have to suffer!¡¯ Xia Qi remained at Shangzhang Tribe to guard beside the few captured leaders, while Fang Yuan started to allocate the manpower he had to prepare for the attack. He silently sighed to himself, "In an instant, an army of 10,000 failed to stop us and instead became our helping hand. We are really in control of everything!¡¯ "Yuan, if we manage to take down the other two divisions, remember to share the loots with Yang Tribe!" Wei carried a huge bow behind her bag as her eyes glistened with excitement, which made Fang Yuan speechless. Where was the demure girl as written in the books? ... The sun rose. The Shangzhang Division was bustling with activity. Groups of warriors walked on the streets and their knives were still stained with blood. They carried severed heads by their sides which were proofs of their efforts. Behind them, women were strung up with grass ropes. There were also meat and jars filled with treasures. These were all the valuables that they had looted. It was a normal thing in this realm to attack other divisions and kidnap their people, to the point where the kidnapped women would be obedient to their kidnappers as though they were used to it. "Messenger, this time, we have ambushed Douli and Lilou Divisions. It was a resounding victory and we¡¯ve killed more than 100 of them, kidnapped over a thousand and reduced their houses to ashes!" In front of others, Fang Yuan acted normal and reported to Xia Qi respectfully. "Very well, let¡¯s split the rewards with our people, namely the women and the staples!" The enemy¡¯s base was rather empty, whereas the attacking force was made up of elites and was even led by a dream master. There was no such thing as a failed mission and therefore, Xia Qi was decisive. "Also, let those warriors who are submissive join us. Sent messengers out to inform the other divisions in Tortoise Mountain... With this, the smaller divisions would not dare toe! By then, we can activate tens of thousands of people to help out in searching the Hui River and locate Wu Zhiqi!" "That sounds good!" Gazing at the satisfied Fa, Fang Yuan felt a little pity for him. Although this young man had a little power, the only way he could hold on to it was to show his loyalty to the Xia Tribe and would likely have to resort to abusing his authority in order to maintain stability within his tribe. Of course, all of this was none of his business. On the spot, Xia Qi initiated the splitting of rewards fairly and everyone was satisfied. "Yuan, do you think this cloth looks nice on me?" Wei did not care about the other treasures. She was extremely happy with a few bronze swords and a piece of dyed cloth. "It¡¯s very beautiful!" Fang Yuan was speechless. Women were simrly vain in any time period and any realm. "We are still some time away from informing the various divisions to gather their people..." After splitting the rewards, Fang Yuan went to a straw hut and started to ount for his treasures. He was not interested in the many bottles of medicine. However, he had snatched a basket of oracle bones and ropes from a few temples as he knew these divisions had the inheritances of witches. Now that he observed his loot, there was nothing that he could understand. "Although it might seem like a huge basket of oracle bones, the information in this basket might not even be as much as a few pieces of paper... This is creepy. If there were carvings on the oracle bones, I might be able to interpret them. However, these knots are hand-tied and I can¡¯t understand it at all. It seems like I will have to ask Xia Qi to let me have a few priest disciples to assist me in interpreting these..." He casually picked up a grey piece of bone. There were a few markings made on it which resembled a human opening up his arms and walking towards the sun. "This resembles something... Of course, more importantly, there is energy from this realm trapped within the cracks of the oracle bone..." Fang Yuan ran his finger through the cracks of the tortoise shell and felt an ancient spiritual aura in it. "The cultivation of witchcraft begins from one¡¯s physical body. These recordings are just a trigger to enable one to harness energy from nature to activate the bloodline in these people... From there, their abilities will appear on the physical bodies and they would be more powerful!" "From how things are, it seems like all of these people in this realm are qualified to be witches. Of course, the people of Jiuli Division are the most suitable... After their defeat in the hands of the Sage, the entire Jiuli Division was wiped out and the survivors were either split from each other and reproduced with other people which diluted their bloodline, or they could still be hiding in the wilderness trying to survive the harsh conditions... If I have the chance, I must take a look at the inheritance of these witches!" Fang Yuan flipped the oracle bones in the basket. Finally, as he picked up a red oracle bone, the energy in his body started to react. "This must be the word for ¡¯Fire¡¯!" Seeing how the engraved symbol resembled a ball of fire, Fang Yuan started to think to himself. "The quality of this body is unsatisfactory. However, with the increase in my magical energy, I am able to detect abnormalities in my blood. This is the foundation of being a witch. It seems like on Yuan¡¯s body, there are hints of fire-type witch¡¯s bloodline. If I can cultivate it to the peak level, can I be Zhurong, the Fire God?" Zhurong the Fire God was a god from the South. She was rumoured to have the head of a beast and the body of a human and was covered in red scales. There were fire snakes in her ears and fire dragons beneath her feet. "Of course, looking at my current cultivation, I believe I am too far off!" The cracks in this oracle bone only had the spiritual aura of a fire witch and should not be used to generalise other witches. However, Fang Yuan was a dream master! As long as he could initiate the cultivation and master the basics, he would be able to use his spiritual will to absorb the fire-type elemental energy from the surroundings to supplement his body. With the supplemented elemental energy, the hint of witch bloodline in him started to strengthen and turn into a golden-red hue, shimmering under the sunlight. "The bloodline is strengthened!" After a long while, Fang Yuan stood up and felt that although there were changes to his body, he could not feel the changes. As he walked to a water vat, he could see the reflection of a young man with big eyes and thick eyebrows. He had a muscr build and gave off a faint red glow. On the sides of his eyebrows, there were streaks of red in the form of runes, and his eyes glistened as though mes were about to emerge from them. "It seems like my bloodline and physical body has been strengthened, and I have gained some witchcraft abilities! Of course, my foundations are too powerful to begin with and this small boost from witchcraft should not affect me much..." He twitched his eyebrows and took a nce at this stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 48 Spirit: 48 Magic: 60 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (4th Tier), Wu Zong (5th Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 6) (1%)], [Hundred Poison Golden Body (1st Refining)], [8 Gates Sword Array (5th Sword) (1%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)], [Fiery Eyes (Level 1)]" A new skill, Fiery Eyes? Could I possibly train it to be the Fiery Golden Eyes?" Fang Yuan thought for a while as he focused on this new skill of his. With that, he obtained more information about it: "Fiery Eyes (Level 1): The ability from the bloodline of a Fire Witch. It is able to nullify basic illusionary spells, traps and elemental energy. Currently, at Level 1, you will be able to form fire-type spiritual inscriptions." "Fire-type spiritual inscriptions..." He subconsciously felt his red eyebrows. "Are they talking about this?" He quickly left the house and looked for Xia Qi. "Eh? How did you start to cultivate in witchcraft so quickly? Is this the red eyebrows Fiery Eyes? It seems like the Zhurong Blood in this body is rather concentrated!" Xia Qi was a little startled, but he did not mention the downsides of practising witchcraft. Others would see it as a sin for him to possess witchcraft, but to him, there was nothing wrong with it. Chapter 350: Earth Chapter 350: Earth Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Those 3 tribes¡¯ leaders were all defeated? Trash!" Near Shangzhang Division, a 3 Tailed Spiritual Fox was hiding inside a bush. It was watching the events unfold with its long and narrow blue eyes. "There must be a dream master from the Realm Alliance hidden amongst the Xia messengers! Once they gather the nearby divisions and send tens of thousands of people to search the Tortoise Mountain, Wu Zhiqi¡¯s seal would be discovered! No way! I need to make my move quickly!" As the fox thought, it turned into a stream of white light and disappeared in the bushes. Tortoise Mountain. The mountain was shaped like a tortoise prone on the ground. It suppressed the water currents and gathered auspicious energy. Near the position of one of the tortoise¡¯s leg, the waters were ck. A whirlpool was formed there. The white fox came to the side of the water and jumped in without hesitation. With a ssh, water sttered all over the surface of the river and waves were formed. Even the ck water whirlpool immediately subsided. Deep within the river, there was a mouth of a spring. Streaks of dim golden lights gathered and cast light on the silhouette of a gigantic ape. It had a white head, a green body, a pair of fiery golden eyes and a golden bell on its nose. It had a fearsome look and was shackled by numerous iron chains. Although both its eyes were shut, streaks of mysterious and mercurial like spiritual aura automatically gathered around its body and formed ripples. It was a natural water spirit body. Such a demon was truly terrifying! "Wu Zhiqi¡¯s divine body..." An air bubble emerged. Inside the bubble, the 3 Tailed Spiritual Fox was carrying a ck crystal in his mouth. The ck crystal was extremely condensed. Inside it, there were sparkling gold runes that radiated ayer of mysterious light. With the crystal, the mysterious water energy and the strong water pressure in the surrounding dispelled at once which allowed the fox to went closer. "Wu Zhiqi is a powerful ancient water demon! His body is filled with mysterious water-type inscriptions, he is extremely powerful and his magic is boundless..." The 3 Tailed Spiritual Fox sprawled on Wu Zhiqi¡¯s shoulders and mumbled, "Furthermore..., this is the powerful being¡¯s possessed body, it has umted over hundred years worth of demonic strength. Once it is released and controlled by me, it can even easily defeat dream masters at the 6th Tier of Illusionary Divine stage! Sadly..., there¡¯s only one chance!" Even dream masters from the Realm Alliance had their cultivation weakened in this realm and could not restore to their full power. The fox¡¯s own demon body had its advantages, it could control water currents in this realm. "The leaders were afraid our demon body would be discovered. They had already altered it such that once it is abandoned, it would die immediately. Such a pity!" the fox thought. The 3 Tailed Spiritual Fox turned a few rounds and finally made up its mind, "Although there¡¯s only one chance in this body, to be able to experience another realm and sense water currents and water-type spiritual inscriptions were the benefits of this body!" With such a thought, the 3 Tailed Spiritual Fox immediately abandoned its demon body. The white fox quivered. Its pulse and blood flow stopped immediately as it died. A translucent Yin Spirit emerged from it. It appeared to be a female dream master in a colourful skirt and a girdle with a jade pendant. There was a three coloured mysterious light glowing from her and hence, her figure could not be discerned clearly. She held the ck crystal and went towards Wu Zhiqi¡¯s nostril. "Woong! Woooong!" As she got closer, the golden bell began shaking and emitted a golden light. When the golden bell touched the ck crystal, it stopped shaking at once and a passage appeared. The Yin Spirit entered the passage and there was a momentary silence. Momentster, cracking noises could be heard. Cracks appeared on the chains and the golden bell which soon fell off. Wu Zhiqi opened his eyes. There was a fiery looking glow from his eyeballs. "Kaboom!" Outside, on top of Tortoise Mountain, grey clouds covered the skies. A storm erupted! ... "ng!" Xia Qi identally dropped a ceramic bowl on to the floor. He could not be bothered about it. He walked outside to look at the torrential rain and asked, "Why is it so fast?" "Pitter patter!" The river waters turned ck and overflowed. It surged over Tortoise Mountain and was flowing towards the ins. No matter how strong a warrior was, at the sight of such a catastrophic disaster, their expression changed at once as they froze in fear. "Looks like Wu Zhiqi¡¯s seal has been broken earlier than we expected!" Fang Yuan calmly spoke as he watched, while his eyes shined with a fiery light. "In actual fact, this is very normal. After defeating their supporters, we were about to search through the entire Tortoise Mountain, the seal would definitely be found! Since they didn¡¯t want to wait to be discovered, they definitely broke the seal first!" Fang Yuan thought. "Yuan! You¡¯ll follow me!" Xia Qi turned around and said. Only the two of them had divine techniques and could defeat the water demon. The other warriors were panic-stricken and confused, what use would they have? "No, I want to follow you!" Wei held his bow and followed Fang Yuan. "No! You all have to stay here and protect this division! Rely on the walls as defence!" Fang Yuan shook his head and pointed outside. Wei was astonished. She just realised within the rising waters, there were silhouettes of all sorts of demons. Wood fiends, water spirits, mountain demons, stone monsters and numerous other unimaginable spirits appeared inrge amounts. There were over a thousand of them charging towards the division. "These are all Wu Zhiqi¡¯s kind... kill them all!" Xia Qi hollered and looked at Fang Yuan. The two of them carried bow and arrows on their back and a copper dagger on their hands. They then charged out as though they were fierce tigers. "Yuan!" Wei could only scream loudly as she saw the two of them going away quickly. She clenched her teeth and looked at the spirits that wereing over to attack them. She then fiercely shouted at the young Fa who was beside her, "Fa! If you don¡¯t want your division to be defeated by these demons and have all your tribe members eaten up, you better be truthful and activate all your people to resist them with us!" ... "Oh... actually, this is pretty good too! Since Wu Zhiqi willingly appeared, we don¡¯t have to waste time searching for him!" "Furthermore, there are fewer restrictions since no one else is around!" Xia Qi moved his fingers gracefully as though he was ying a musical instrument. The demons in the surrounding 10 yards froze immediately and were ripped apart from between their eyebrows, turning into ck coloured sand. Such savagery, there was no tinge of panic left! Fang Yuan was very understanding of how Xia Qi had to bnce his true identity and his identity in this realm. He asked him, "You are so confident that this is not a powerful ability of a 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master?" "I am! If it was a powerful being, there would be no changes to the weather! The winds and waters would be calm, there would be no lightning or thunder. That would be the scariest!" Xia Qiughed and continued, "Of course... it¡¯s okay even if I guessed wrong. If such an Illusionary Divine dream master that we cannot defeat reallyes into this realm, we can still preserve our true aura and get out of this realm to report it to the Realm Alliance! It would still be a big aplishment!" "Nevertheless, the most likely scenario is that it¡¯s a Hidden Dragon Guard that is making use of Wu Zhiqi¡¯s possessed body. Hence, we have to suppress it!" "I understand now!" As Fang Yuan listened, he was greatly enlightened. Although such a possessed body was strong, it was an obvious target. Even if the seal was discovered, it might even be a trap that had been set up beforehand. If it was a bait set up by the Sage, even a dream master at the 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine would die if they fell into such a trap! 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine dream masters were powerful beings too, even the Imperial Court could not force them toe over. Even if they were toe, they wouldy low and slowly progress! With this premise, Xia Qi was naturally not afraid. Even if they were so unlucky and met such a dream master, they would just face the music. "Of course... at such a stage, we should no longer conceal our true selves! We should unleash all our abilities and destroy that Wu Zhiqi! Even if we have to return immediately, it is still a big aplishment!" Xia Qi¡¯s eyes burned fierily as he turned into a beam of light and reached the peak of Tortoise Mountain with Fang Yuan. As they looked down, they saw the originally calm waters of Huai River had be strong waves and currents. A whirlpool was bingrger andrger and it upied almost the entire width of the river. Inside it, a ck shadow could be vaguely seen. Suddenly, thunder roared and the river water exploded. A humongous ape emerged from the whirlpool and stared downwards viciously. "Wow! Winds and lightning rage, trees and rocks rustle! The realm is in chaos as Wu Zhiqi emerged! What a powerful demon!" Fang Yuan sighed and continued, "The water-type spiritual inscriptions on his body shows that he is from the witchcraft dao. If I can understand these inscriptions, it will be extremely beneficial to me!" "There are two dream masters from the Realm Alliance?" A woman¡¯s voice could be heard from the ugly monkey face of Wu Zhiqi. "No wonder Shangzhang they all lost so badly!" "Indeed, a Hidden Dragon Guard! It¡¯s not a powerful being possessing the body!" Xia Qi was relieved at such. However, his expression turned solemn again, "This Wu Zhiqi would be equivalent to a dream master at the 5th Tier of Illusionary Divine stage in Da Qian Empire. However, in this realm, dream masters at the 6th Tier of Illusionary Divine stage were restricted! There was a possibility that Wu Zhiqi could not be defeated!" "Defeat me?" Wu Zhiqi paused for a moment before he guffawed. It was as though he heard an incredulous joke, "Although my cultivation is not that strong, this possessed body is a remnant of the powerful being! It cannot be prated by any weapon and it is extremely powerful! Your Xi is noting and you are thinking of defeating me? Scram and get out of this realm!" "Roar!" The ape bellowed. Its roar was extremely menacing and earthshaking. The water levels in Huai River rose sharply immediately and formed a waterspout that flooded the Tortoise Mountain. "Ssh!" Under this extremely powerful force, the entire Tortoise Mountain tremored and a sorrowful cry could be heard from within it. Unbelievably, cracks started forming from the foot of the mountain! Wu Zhiqi¡¯s might could indeed topple mountains and wreak havoc on the seas! "Heh!" Apanied by a roar from Xia Qi, an earth mountain rose from the vast seas and Xia Qi transformed into an enormous giant. The giant was taller than Wu Zhiqi, it had a human body and a snake tail. There was also a winged snake that coiled around its entire body. The winged snake was spitting a yellow coloured spiritual light that was connected to the surroundingnds. "Dream beast master?" As Fang Yuan watched, he thought of Sun Jue from Source Seeking Sect. Of course, Xia Qi¡¯s power was much stronger than Sun Jue¡¯s. "In the cultivation of a dream beast master, they would mostly undergo numerous transformations in the initial stages. In the first 3 Tiers of the Illusionary Divine stage, they could only transform into different beasts to obtain their power. After the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, they could actualise spirituality and transform into magical beasts with powerful abilities. After the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine Stage, they could easy summon arge army of beasts that were undefeatable!" "The giant Xia Qi transformed into was an Earth Witchcraft body! Evidently, his body already contained the bloodline of an Earth Witch. This time around, by utilising this transformation, he is making use of twice the power of Earth Witchcraft! Its power is not to be belittled!" "Trying to fight water with earth?" Wu Zhiqi hollered, the voice was that of a woman which was rather queer. "With just that pathetic amount of energy from your bloodline, you think you can defeat a powerful being that has cultivated for hundreds of years? Die!" "Rumble!" Layers of water-type spiritual inscriptions on the ape¡¯s body glowed. All the water currents in the realm reacted and started gushing fiercely! Chapter 351: Waves of Destruction Chapter 351: Waves of Destruction Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Whoosh!" Water gushed around Wu Zhiqi. As spiritual inscriptions appeared on Wu Zhiqi¡¯s body, a godlike might seemed to appear. Wu Zhiqi seemed like a real god as the illusionary figure of the entire Huai River appeared behind it. The force of the flowing river slowly strengthened the beast behind it. "A lot of spiritual inscriptions indeed!" Seeing the water-type spiritual inscriptions all over Wu Zhiqi¡¯s monkey body formed something like an armour around him, Fang Yuan sighed. "The power of the Huai River, enter my body and explode!" Wu Zhiqi roared as water flowed into the sky, forming streaks of water lightning that struck the surface of the earth. "Bang! Bang!" The ground behind Xia Qi was struck, forming a huge indentation and a few cracks all around it. The surface appeared charred. However, in a moment, the ground began to heal itself. This was the power of the Earth Witch! As long as he stood on the ground, he could have a boundless source of energy! This was the perfect counter to Wu Zhiqi¡¯s river strike. "An impressive Earth Witch indeed!" From the monkey face of Wu Zhiqi, there was a female voice heard; it was indeed a weird sight to behold. "How can the earth block an entire river? Even if you be aplete witch, how can youpare with the 100 years of cultivation in this demon¡¯s body? Thousand miles of river!!" As it roared, the water in Huai River exploded and started to flood out to a thousand miles. "No!" Fa, who had sworn to fight against the water god, realised that a tsunami was approaching him. The water from the river covered the entire sky and crashed into the division, flooding it entirely. "Although earth might be the counter for water, I am using pure demonic strength to turn the surroundings to an underwater river city. This is my homeground, not yours!" Wu Zhiqiughed heartily. "Water thunder! Strike!" "Rumble!" 108 balls of water appeared in the sky before turning into bolts of water lightning. "Bang! Bang!" The Earth Giant hollered as the earth rose around him. Ayer of earth shielded him from 70 over water lightnings before the shield of earth gave way and crumbled. "Rumble!" The remaining bolts of lightning struck with its full might on Xia Qi¡¯s body. As he shrieked, many scars appeared on his body. This time, they did not immediately heal. Instead, Xia Qi quickly screamed. "Fang Yuan... Quickly help me!" "3 Talents Sword Array, go!" Fang Yuan let out a sigh as a green hurricane appeared around him which covered him. 3 streaks of sword pirs flew towards the sky, trapping Wu Zhiqi in it. The power of ice, fire and thunder appeared. Together, theypressed inwards. "Chi! Chi!" In a huge explosion, the sword array disintegrated. The 3 magical swords appeared and glittered with spiritual light. They were flying with their own will and gathered their spiritual auras by themselves, increasing their power by 100 times before striking towards Wu Zhiqi. "Chi!" Under such an attack, even Wu Zhiqi¡¯s imprable body started to sustain injuries and open wounds. "Magical soldiers? A dream soldier master?" Wu Zhiqi roared as it swung its monkey ws out. "Die!" "Bang!" A streak of water lightning appeared, striking towards where Fang Yuan stood. However, Fang Yuan was being carried by the green hurricane and rose towards the sky. "Master!" The 3 other magical swords could feel a sense of danger as they quickly flew back to protect Fang Yuan. "This demon is extremely powerful! If I don¡¯t use my 4 Emblems Sword Array, I might not be able to take it down!" Fang Yuan waved his hands and the 3 Talents Sword Array appeared once more. His eyes glistened. The 4 Emblems Sword Array would infuse the power of water, fire, wind and thunder and its power would be intensified. However, among the dream masters, there was only one family of dream masters who were capable of such an array. If he were to use it, he would leak his heritage and this might cause trouble for him. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t sacrifice himself for someone else. "Actually, with the strengthening of the 3 Talents Sword Array due to the swords having their own spirituality, it is alreadyparable to the power of a dream master in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage!" Fang Yuan had decided to conceal his final move. Xia Qi did not suspect anything. He was pleasantly surprised that this newly advanced 4th Tier Illusionary Divine stage dream master could have such abat power. "Alright! Let¡¯s do this together to take down Wu Zhiqi!" The Earth Witch roared and the earth around them shook. "Also, let¡¯s conveniently seal up this traitor as well, haha... I shall let ady like you remain trapped in this ugly monkey for hundreds to thousands of years! This is even better than killing you!" If the soul were to die here, the true spirit of the dream master would return to Da Qian. However, there is the existence of a sealing technique. If sessful, one¡¯s true spirit could be sealed in the realm and the dream master¡¯s body in Da Qian would be a vegetable. "You... you¡¯ve angered me!" Facing this threat, Wu Zhiqi remained calm. "Since both of you are courting death, I shall help you!" As it waved its hands, two steaks of spiritual aura, ck and white, flew out. They spun around each other, forming the shape of a Tai Chi. "Buzz!" The image of the Tai Chi started to expand outwards. In a few moments, it had expanded over a hundred miles and continued to expand into the earth and above the skies. "Eh?" Fang Yuan shuddered in fear as though something bad was about to happen. "Ah... This is a Heavenly Spiritual Image. It can separate us from our real bodies while dream-traversing!" Xia Qi started to scream and appeared panicky. He was no longer the calm man he once was. "Be careful! If we die within this image, it will be a real death for us! Our True Spirit will remain here! This is Sage¡¯s treasure. Why is it with you?" "A seal?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyebrows twitched as he seemed to have understood something. "We have segregated from our bodies? Does this mean that there¡¯s no running away?" "Yes, this Image is extremely valuable and normal dream masters in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage would not be allowed to hold it. However, this is given to me by the Sage, so naturally, I will have it!" Wu Zhiqiughed, "Although you 5 Grand Organisations are in control, do you think my head will sit around and do nothing? We have made many arrangements and are using all the treasures that we have. We will have a fierce fight with you dream masters from the Realm Alliance!" She sounded much calmer as though the two of them were already dead, and revealed a piece of ssified information. At this point in time, Xia Qi turned pale. His prediction that there was only one powerful being in the Ancient Realm was wrong! "Do you know why I am revealing so much? This is because with the Heavenly Spiritual Image separating everything, the both of you can no longer bring out any information with you. Furthermore, today, the both of you will die here!" Wu Zhiqi eximed as it tore both its arms. Blood flowed out from the arms, forming a specific print of a rune. "Heavenly Demon Body Destruction, One Single Blow!" "Rumble!" A huge force erupted, sealing the skies and earth around them. "Is this... the power of a dream master in the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage?" Fang Yuan appeared confused. "How is this possible?" "This must be the print left behind by the head of the Hidden Dragon Guards many years ago... Although it has been over a hundred years, his possessed body managed to keep it active. Gathering energy from all around, this is equivalent to the strike of a 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master!" Xia Qi eximed. "I understand now! This possessed body was not nned to be used for long, but it was prepared to self-destruct at the moment of sealing!!!" This was, in fact, umting all the power that it once had to deliver one final blow, achieving the intensity simr to that of a 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master! Although it was only a single blow, if properly nned, it was a significant thing. "Both of you deserve to die!" Wu Zhiqi continued to roar. Initially, it should not have used this single blow here. However, since it was discovered, it had to eradicate these two dream masters, even though the dream master controlling Wu Zhiqi would have to face punishmentter on. ¡¯This was actually for King Xi. To use it on the both of you is wasting it...¡¯ Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glistened as he gritted his teeth. ¡¯The alliance would not care about all these. If we die, then we would lose everything!¡¯ With that thought, the green hurricane around him thickened and a green magical sword appeared from it. "Master!" "The 4 spirits of the 4 swords, form the 4 Emblems Sword Array! Go!" As the power of water, fire, wind and thunderbined, a mysterious change was happening. The sword array started to shrink around Fang Yuan, keeping him in the centre. Beside him, Xia Qi roared as well, covering himself withyers andyers of soil. Just as the both of them hadpleted their defence, a green-coloured sun exploded. "Rumble!" Waves crashed about and the earth shook. The green sun started to spread outwards. The defence which Xia Qi had created with his witchcraft cultivation quickly disappeared. Furthermore, even the clouds in the sky were being punched through by the expanding green sun, revealing a clear sky behind. Water started to evaporate into steam, forming a white mushroom cloud. After a long while, everything started to slowly settle down. Wu Zhiqi stood on the water surface. Suddenly, cracks started to appear on its face. Like a spider web, it slowly spread around. "Ssh!" With that, the huge demon body started to crack and fell into the water. A white sh appeared nearby, revealing a Yin Spirit which quickly flew into the body of a white fox. "It¡¯s dead? To think about it... who can withstand such power? It¡¯s a pity that this possessed body is wasted... However, it¡¯s worth it that I managed to kill 2 dream masters in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage..." The white fox mumbled to itself as it looked towards where the both of them originally stood. It was empty there, as though everything which Xia Qi had created was evaporated by the explosion. Satisfied, the fox giggled to itself. "Hehe... Nobody asked the both of you to look for me. You¡¯re seeking your own deaths!" "Is that so?" "Chi! Chi!" The ground exploded, revealing a sword array. From it came Fang Yuan¡¯s voice. "How is this possible?" The white fox was stunned. "How can you survive that blow! It¡¯s impossible!" "Nothing is impossible in this world!" Fang Yuan waved his hands as the 4 Emblems Array expanded, trapping the white fox within it. Initially, Fang Yuan had doubts about his decision. ¡¯The 4 Emblems Sword Array did not disappoint me. Of course, I can feel that that immense force is really powerful. However, without an owner to control it, it can only achieve the power of a 6th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master. Close to the 7th Tier, but it is ultimately not! This difference is the difference between life and death!¡¯ "Water, fire, wind and thunder? The 4 Emblems... This sword array is much more powerful than what an average dream soldier master can harness. Where have I seen this before?" The white fox started to grow suspicious. As it saw Fang Yuan approaching, it started to shudder in fear. "I am a member of the Imperial Court and I have a very powerful backing!" "That¡¯s right..." Fang Yuanughed sneakily. What a pity... This ce is already sealed by your Heavenly Spiritual Image. Xia Qi¡¯s death is undoubtedly real... What about yours?" The white fox froze. Never would she have thought that her killer move to seal the both of them here would trap herself! Chapter 352: Meeting the King Chapter 352: Meeting the King Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The Heavenly Spiritual Image was the treasure of the Sage. Although it could only be used once, it could seal the entire world, trapping all True Spirits within it. Within the spiritual image, if a dream master were to die, they would die in their own world as well! "You..... you cannot kill me!" The 3 Tailed Spiritual Fox could feel the murderous vibe on Fang Yuan¡¯s body as it shuddered in fear. "Even though you care nothing about my backing, don¡¯t you want to know what the Hidden Dragon Guards have nned in this realm? Even King Xi doesn¡¯t deserve to know the n..." "That¡¯s right! Then be honest about it!" Fang Yuan was tempted to know. Seeing this, the white fox was ted. "As long as you are willing to release me, I am willing to tell you everything... ah! What are you doing?" "Whoosh!" With the glitter of a sword radiance, a streak of lightning came down which struck the 3 Tailed Spiritual Fox and charred it. As Fang Yuan stretched his hands out, he grabbed hold of a Yin Spirit before chaining it up with 4 streaks of sword essence. "You have too many tricks up your sleeve... Furthermore, I only need to know what the Hidden Dragon Guards intent to do. I wouldn¡¯t believe anything else you say!" Fang Yuan appeared calm. As the 4 streaks of sword essence began to entangle with each other, the Yin Spirit let out a scream before disappearing in a puff of green smoke. "This is what you get for failing to get my trust..." After dispersing the 4 Emblems Sword Array, Fang Yuan looked at the receding river water and sighed. "Furthermore... I cannot let you spread the news about my 4 Emblems Sword Array. Therefore, you¡¯re dead meat!" If he had hesitated, the fox might secretly remove the restriction of the Heavenly Spiritual Image and killed itself. That would spell even more trouble for Fang Yuan. He had no choice but to be ruthless. "After such a big fight, the foot of the Tortoise Mountain is now submerged and 10,000 people are killed just like that... sigh..." A green hurricane appeared which carried Fang Yuan in it and transported him to where Shangzhang Division once was. As the flood receded, a damaged division was revealed. Corpsesid everywhere and their eyes and stomach were bloated. It was a gruesome sight to behold. "I¡¯m afraid that the divisions of Tortoise Mountain will be history!" Fang Yuan continued walking and saw Fa. Fa had an aggressive look on his face as his hands were outstretched. His skin was pale and he appeared as though he was fighting for survival. "Such an establishment is destroyed in a few moments!" Fang Yuan sighed and continued walking. Ahead, there were a few warriors of the Yang Tribe. They were dead as well, either from drowning or being killed in battle. "Eh?" Suddenly, he thought of something and turned to another spot. In a pile of mud, there was a huge severed trunk. Beneath the trunk, a youngdy was trapped. Her nails were ingrained deeply into the trunk, but she was still breathing. It seemed as though she had merely fainted, and her eyes were shut. Around them, a few water demons started to approach as though they had found their prey. "Die!" With his mind, Fang Yuan summoned a green sword essence which flew out like a gust of wind. The few water demons froze before turning into ash. "Wei!" Fang Yuan walked up to the trunk and ced his finger on Wei¡¯s forehead to transfer her some elemental energy. "Yuan? Am I dreaming?" After a moment, she sighed and woke up, appearing confused. "I dreamt of the flood! Demons! You ran out quickly..." "This is not a dream!" Fang Yuan helped her up before she saw the mess that was once the division. "Wu Zhiqi was released and flooded everything here. I have already killed him!" Fang Yuan continued to exin. "I¡¯m afraid that there are no other survivors here..." "Ti, Gao, Li..." Wei mumbled the names of the few other warriors that came with them as tears welled up in her eyes. "Yuan, what should we do? Return to our division?" "No! I want to go to the heart of Xia Country - Yang City!" Fang Yuan spoke with determination. "Even though the messenger of Xia is dead, I have to fulfil the order of our leader to report to King Xi about it!" "I want to go with you!" Wei bit her lips. "I¡¯ll follow you wherever you go!" Fang Yuan examined thisdy before him. After all that had happened, it seemed that she had matured quite a bit, and became stronger than before. However, there was a mysterious feeling about her, which made Fang Yuan confused. ¡¯Does she have the protection of the realm? Looking at things... Wu Zhiqi¡¯s flood killed everyone except her. Either she is extremely lucky, or she has the protection of the realm! This is interesting!¡¯ "Alright! Then let¡¯s go together!" ... Yang City. After sessfully managing the river, the leader of Xia was crowned the king. Construction started in Yang Mountain, and the 9 cauldrons were smelted and ced in the centre of the city square. From then on, Yang City became the capital of the Xia Tribe, the headquarters of the entire ins! The city was rather primitive. The city walls were made of soil and were 30 feet tall and 5 feet thick. It stretched around the city for 15 miles. Although this was nothing to Da Qian Empire, it was the most advanced capital in this realm, with everything built without machinery! As soon as Wei entered Xia Country, she was mesmerized by the fertile farms, intricate pottery and dyed fabrics. Entering Yang City was even more of an eye-opener, she was like a viger entering a modernised city. "Yuan... look at this! They¡¯re all wearing cloth! At that stall over there, they¡¯re selling bronze and even iron equipment!" Looking around, Wei felt a little embarrassed as she was only draped in animal hide. She froze and could no longer move. "If you like it, we can get a few iron swords after seeing King Xia. They¡¯re more useful than bronze swords anyway..." Fang Yuan did not feel out of ce. This kind of city was like a town. Of course, it took up a lot of space and the architecture in the city had an ancient feel to it. "They are more useful than bronze swords?" Looking at the ck iron sword, Wei hesitated. It seemed as though she wanted to slice it with her bronze sword to test it out. Fang Yuan smiled and remained silent. Although they had long discovered iron, they knew that it would rust and would take too much effort to be made into weapons. Therefore, they were not asmon as bronze weapons. One reason for that was that the smelting process of iron was extremelyplicated. In Xia Country, with the help of dream masters, it would be effortless to get iron equipment. ¡¯However, it seems like it is not poprized... the dream masters of the Realm Alliance are indeed very careful...¡¯ Fang Yuan brought Wei to the pce. "I am Yuan from the Yang Tribe. I have brought along with me the belongings of Qi and is requesting to see King Xi!" He raised the jade piece which Xia Qi left behind and shouted. One of the guards nced at him and immediately, one of them rushed into the pce. "Wait here!" After a while, he ran out. "King Xi wishes to see you! Follow me!" The guard pointed at Wei, "You are not allowed to enter!" "Why so?" Wei was enraged and almost took out the bronze knife by her waist. However, she was stopped by Fang Yuan. "Wait for me here!" With that, he followed the guard into the pce. The pce did not seem luxurious. The only thing special about it was that it was huge. After a short walk, they arrived at a square. In a hall behind the square, there were 9 huge cauldrons. There were carvings of famous treasures and mysterious beasts on the surface of these cauldrons which would strike fear on whoeverid their eyes on these engravings. ¡¯The 9 Cauldrons of Xia! Where the fate of the people dao lie!¡¯ Fang Yuan mumbled to himself as he felt a huge invisible force on him. The 9 Cauldrons served the purpose of stabilizing the entire region. It was created by the Sage many years ago and was representative of the traditions of the people dao! ¡¯This is not dragon energy. It is more powerful than dragon energy and is able to stabilize the region and restrict evil spells!¡¯ As he remained silent, he could feel the passion of the ancestors of the people dao boiling within the cauldrons. The energy from the cauldrons rose up into the skies. Even if a Realm Alliance dream master in the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage would be no match to King Xi in Yang City, for the king would be strengthened by the energy from the cauldrons! He focused on the task at hand and followed the servant as they entered the main hall. "I am Yuan. Greetings, King Xia!" Since this was the ancient times, this form of greeting was not considered disrespectful. After their greetings, he arrived at a table and sat down with two other ministers which made Fang Yuan feel respected. "Yuan from the Shangyang Division, tell me about Qi¡¯s and your encounter with Wu Zhiqi!" And King Xi spoke, his deep voice was heard. "Yes!" Fang Yuanposed himself, nced at the two ministers standing by the side before exining everything. Of course, secretly, he was sending a message to the elder. Along the way to the pce, Fang Yuan had already decided on what to say. He had mostly said the truth but only changed thest part, iming that Wu Zhiqi and Xia Qi had fought to their deaths before Fang Yuan stood in to deliver the final blow. ¡¯It¡¯s a good deed that you and Qi managed to kill the unsealed Wu Zhiqi!¡¯ After a while, the loud voice of King Xi was heard from above. "I am only doing my part to eliminate the evil!" Fang Yuan thanked King Xi before look at him. King Xi of Xia Country was an elder of the Realm Alliance. He was dressed in robes and had aposed look. His thick eyebrows gave off the vibe that he was extremely dependable. "You deserve to be rewarded if you do a good deed, and deserve to be punished if you do a bad deed. This is only normal!" King Xi waved his hands. "Yuan of Shangyang Division killed Wu Zhiqi and is therefore deserving of a reward! I shall change the name of the North Sea Secluded Capital to Fang Mountain, and that piece ofnd is now yours. The priest will record this down!" "Thank you, King Xia!" Since he was also part of the Realm Alliance, there was no reason for Fang Yuan to return to his division. Of course, he had to take orders from the Xia Tribe. Fang Yuan epted the reward without hesitation. "Mmm, since you are now the Lord of the Fang Mountain, your descendants shall take the surname Fang. From today onwards, you will be Fang Yuan! That is all!" King Xi smiled as Fang Yuan felt a little humoured. ¡¯In the ancient times, there was a person named Shang Yang. However, since he was part of Wei Country, his named was changed to Wei Yang. Afterwards, as he became the king of Qin Country, hisnd was known as Shang and his name was changed to Shang Yang or King Shang. Who would¡¯ve thought that I would now experience the same thing...¡¯ Regardless, Fang Yuan appreciated the fact that he could use his real name from now onwards. Without hesitation, he paid his respects and left the pce. "All of you, leave too! Ju, stay behind!" King Xi dismissed the other ministers, leaving behind Ju, who was also a dream master from the Realm Alliance. "Elder... Is Chen Qi really dead? And... do you think Fang Yuan would trick us?" Ju asked. "Since even the Heavenly Spiritual Image is out, we can do nothing about it..." King Xi¡¯s voice was calm. "After thinking about what he said, I believe that most of it were true. The Hidden Dragon Guards are plotting for something big, and we have to be well prepared!" Chapter 353: Essence of the Blood Chapter 353: Essence of the Blood Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Fang Yuan was made Lord over his plot ofnd! He couldmand ministers, collect taxes and even set up an army! To Fang Yuan, the process of making him a Lord felt more simr to the western version of being knighted. As time passed, history had shown that the kings would slowly lose power. Finally, it would only be a status. In the west, they could truly knight someone and confer him all that he deserved. However, in the east, power was everything! However, now, Fang Yuan not only had power, butnd and even riches as well! He would be considered to have attained a high status among the people of this realm for going this far, and even had the potential to start his own country! ¡¯Both Elder and I are not from this realm. Therefore, we would not pay as much attention to all of these. I¡¯m sure that Elder is intending to make use of me...¡¯ This was only an excuse for Fang Yuan to remain in Xia Country. As soon as he left the pce, he told Wei about what happened. The youngdy opened her eyes wide. "Yuan... you are now the Lord of Xia Country? Does that mean you are not returning to the division anymore?" "Yeah, I¡¯m not going back!" Fang Yuan gazed afar. "Look at all these... This ce is prosperous and is the heart of this world! I¡¯ve decided to stay in the Xia Tribe and make a name for myself!" He now seemed like a greedy person who would abandon his home and his people for riches. "Alright!" Wei pped her hands. "I like this ce too. Let¡¯s stay here!" "... Cough cough..." ... Although Fang Yuan was dered a lord, he had to go through a ceremony of sorts, even if it was a simple one. At the very least, a simple ceremony was still required. Furthermore, he had other rewards which he sent some servants to collect for him. There were servants in this era! There were still cruel people outside of Xia Country who would bring all their servants to their graves after their death. The more servants, the more prestigious the person would be! In an instant, there were representations of both civilised and barbaric practices. With the status of a lord, Fang Yuan was directly under themand of King Xi and did not have to worry about where to stay. Furthermore, during the night, Fang Yuan would be required to secretly pay a visit to the Elder of the Realm Alliance and the other dream masters of the Realm Alliance. "Ahh... I have no idea if the people in Fang Mountain are wealthy or not, and I am clueless as to how many people reside in the mountain!" Beside him, Wei childishly started to count using her fingers, which amused Fang Yuan. ... It was nightfall. Fang Yuan woke up, silently left his house and arrived at the pce. "Greetings, Elder!" The white pce was empty and the guards who were supposed to be guarding the doors fainted. King Xi sat on the throne, simr to how he did in the daytime. However, this time, there were a few dream masters from the Realm Alliance around him. Although there were fewer people now, the spiritual aura in the surroundings felt much more threatening. "Fang Yuan?" King Xi smiled. "You are indeed the talent of our alliance. I am Xi Chen. These few dream masters are Dan Ju, Wu Li and Song Cai... you all will get along in the future!" The Realm Alliance had invaded countless realms. To think that in this Ancient Realm, there would be a dream master in the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage and a few other 4th Tier Illusionary Divine dream masters showed the importance of this realm. Of course, there could be other dream masters in the Illusionary Divine stage. However, their statuses were too lowly and thus, they did not have the rights to join in this conversation. "Yes, Sir!" In front of his elder, Fang Yuan and the few other dream masters could only pay their greetings. "Fang Yuan, please describe what you previously said, but in more detail!" Fang Yuan started to mention the details regarding the Tortoise Mountain. "Based on what you have said, the Hidden Dragon Guards are plotting for something big here. We must be on our guards!" Elder Xi Chen appeared solemn. "Although our Sage has already gotten control of the people dao in this realm, he has mentioned before that the source of energy in this realm is extremely concentrated. There might even be changes in the future. If we can seed, then this would be the best opportunity to explore and understand the heavenly dao!" "Yes, Sir!" The other dream masters agreed and Fang Yuan was lost in his own thoughts. ¡¯Heavenly dao... could this be the path after attaining the Prominent Divine stage?¡¯ The means of cultivation in Da Qian was split into spiritual and martial arts. In terms of martial arts, martial artists would have to go through the 12th Golden Gates before obtaining elemental force as a Wu Zong. From there, they could further advance to form the 9th Meridian and form the Divine Body, thus entering the realm of True Divine. As for spiritual knights, cultivators would have to begin as a spiritual disciple before they would obtain elemental force as a spiritual knight. From then on, they could go on and attain the 9th Tier of the Elemental Opening Realm before reaching the realm of True Elemental! Dream masters werergely simr to spiritual knights. They would start off as dream disciples before they would obtain elemental force as a dream master. From there, they could achieve the 9th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, gain spirituality and finally reach the Prominent Divine stage! The only difference was that dream masters would have an unparalleledbat power. A 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master could go head on with a True Divine or a True Elemental. A dream master in the Prominent Divine stage would be even more powerful and would be regarded as a Sage. No one would be able to challenge the Sage except for the True Elementals and True Divines who obtained the blessing and strengthening from Da Qian Imperial Court! "Martial artists, Wu Zong, Meridian Opening, True Divine! Spiritual Disciple, spiritual knight, Elemental Opening, True Elemental! Dream disciple, dream master, Illusionary Divine, Prominent Divine!... Who would¡¯ve guessed that there would be a path after the Prominent Divine stage? Is this rted to the fate of this realm?" Fang Yuan was drowned in his thoughts. The few dream masters in the Illusionary Divine stage started to discuss among themselves. Unfortunately, they had too little information and in the end, there was no productive conclusion. They could only remain calm andpose themselves. Fang Yuan knew that as a neer, he should not speak too much. Therefore, for most of the discussion, he was silently listening to the exchanges at one side. "Alright! After all, the Xia Tribe has control over the fate of the people dao. As long as we do not do anything evil, with the presence of the 9 Cauldrons, we will remain safe!" Near the end, Xi Chen started to wrap things up. "At hand, we will have to settle two big issues. The problem of flooding and the survivors of Jiuli! Fang Yuan! You have done well to kill Wu Zhiqi. The alliance will reward you handsomely. You havepleted your mission. If you decide to join in future missions, there will be more rewards!" Fang Yuan stood out and thanked Elder Chen Xi. "Also... It¡¯s the Fiery Eyes that you have activated, right?" Looking at Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes, Chen Xi smiled. "Let¡¯s not talk about the rewards from the alliance. As the King of Xia Country, I want to present you with a gift!" "Buzz!" As soon as he finished speaking, a fiery-looking crystal floated towards Fang Yuan. "After my observations, I believe you have activated the bloodline of a Fire Witch. It seems that you want to improve your cultivation in witchcraft... This drop of blood essence was obtained when I killed a powerful witch. That witch is also a Fire Witch and was able to harness the power of Zhurong the Fire God. He was as powerful as a dream master in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. I shall give this to you!" "Thank you for your reward, Elder!" As soon as the crystalnded on his hands, Fang Yuan could feel a warm fuzzy feeling. It was as though mes were burning within the crystal and it looked special. ted, Fang Yuan quickly thanked Chen Xi. "Alright, that is all. Everyone, please return!" Chen Xi waved his hands. "After settling the issue of the flood, the witches will rise once again. We need to be prepared to leave anytime to deal with them!" "Yes, Sir!" The Illusionary Divine dream masters obeyed the instructions. ... "He is indeed a powerful 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master to be so generous!" Fang Yuan strutted out of the pce, arrived at an empty spot and crossed his legs. He looked at the drop of blood essence in his hands and gave a look of satisfaction. As a person who has cultivated in fire-type witchcraft, Fang Yuan could tell that this drop of blood was indeed filled with the essence of a Fire Witch. Needless to say, since this body was not his own, he was not afraid that the Elder would do anything to him. With that thought, he opened his mouth and swallowed the drop of blood. "Rumble!" As he swallowed the drop of blood, Fang Yuan could feel as though there was a ball of fire in his stomach. "Fire!" He forcefully focused himself in absorbing the drop of blood. Thinking about the fire-type inscriptions on the oracle bones, he recalled a technique to transfer the energy to his entire body. A burning sensation started to spread from his stomach to his limbs. "This is indeed a blood from a Fire Witch!" Fang Yuan could feel that he was being replenished. He could see a red glow within him, seeping through his bones, blood and muscles. Part of it rose upwards and gathered in his eyes. "Stats!" After a while, as he fully absorbed the essence of the blood, Fang Yuan felt his eyes and eximed: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 48 Spirit: 48 Magic: 60 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (4th Tier), Wu Zong (5th Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 6) (1%)], [Hundred Poison Golden Body (1st Refining)], [8 Gates Sword Array (5th Sword) (1%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)], [Fiery Eyes (Level 2)], [Fire Controlling Technique (Level 1)]" "Fiery Eyes (Level 2): The increased ability from the activated bloodline of a Fire Witch. It is able to nullify fire-type elemental energy and traps. Currently at Level 2!" "Fire Controlling Technique (Level 1): An activated ability from the bloodline of a Fire Witch, granting you the basic ability to control fire!" ... "The cultivation of witchcraft is simply the activation of the witch¡¯s bloodline. It can produce a natural magical ability! Controlling fire..." Fang Yuan snapped his fingers. With that, a small me appeared above his right hand. It was greenish-yellow and flickering, giving out light and warmth. "This skill is rather useless now... To quickly increase my cultivation, I¡¯m afraid that I have to gather the blood essences of the witches?" Thinking about it, Fang Yuan let out a bitterugh. "In this realm, the people with the most concentrated witch bloodline are the people of Jiuli Division. Elder Chen Xi has really nned it well!" "Of course, I am not a native to this realm. I will not hesitate to kill the people of Jiuli Division to take their blood... This is logical thinking..." Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glistened. This was an era before the Qin Dynasty. All the stories which he once heard made him think. "What I want the most is the secret as to how this world changes!" Why would such a normal realm develop such an ancient vibe? Why are most of the folklore and stories here simr to that of his own world? Could this be an effect of the influence of a certain cultivation? Or could this be a result of the doing of someone from a higher dimension? If any of this was the cause, and if Fang Yuan was able to find out about it, this meant that he would be able to travel to their dimension and world, right? As Fang Yuan licked his lips, he hade to a conclusion. Chapter 354: Black Water Chapter 354: ck Water Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions North Sea, Secluded Capital Mountain. It was now known as Fang Mountain. "Lord, Fang Mountain and its surrounding 35 miles ofnd are all under your control!" An elderly man kneeled before Fang Yuan and reported respectfully. "Oh? Then tell me, how much wealth do I have here?" Fang Yuan fiddled with a ck steel dagger as he asked nonchntly. Wei stood beside Fang Yuan with a steel spear on her hand. She was now donned in cloth. Behind her, there were hundred over ves. Although they were ves, they were specially chosen by Fang Yuan from prisoners of war from each division. They were well built and skilled in fighting; with just some slight training, they would be extremely useful. They were able to purchase all these thanks to King Xi¡¯s rewards. After Fang Yuan was granted the title of Lord, King Xi rewarded them with riches. Even these ves had to be approved by the higher authorities or else they could not be easily amassed. The nobles in Xia Country felt King Xi treated this outsider extremely well. In actual fact, this was very normal. Furthermore, Fang Yuan had received instructions from Xi to build an army to prepare to fight with the survivors of Jiuli in the mountain ranges in the southern area. To this Realm Alliance¡¯s Elder, Fang Yuan, who was a dream master from the Realm Alliance too, was his real ally. Since that was the case, what else could be said? "Reporting, my Lord!" The elderly man quivered as he felt pressured. His voice trembled as he reported, "Near this mountain, we have three small divisions with a total poption of 10,000. There are 2,500 acres of farnd and over 1,000 soldiers that can be trained!" Realistically, everyone was a soldier. If not for agriculture needs, 3,000 to 4,000 soldiers could be trained, however, that was unnecessary. "2,500 acres of farnd? That seems like a very low yield... at least its supplemented by hunting..." Fang Yuan thought to himself. Fang Yuan stroked his chin and ordered, "Bring over the leaders of the three divisions to ept my authority as their head. Order them to offer me prey and fresh flowers as a symbol of submission! If they don¡¯t agree, I will enve their whole division!" "Yes, Lord! Your orders will definitely be fulfilled!" The elderly man clenched his teeth and answered. "Yuan... this entire mountain and its surrounding areas are all ours?" Wei was excited at such a sight and her face turned red. She continued, "Such a big piece ofnd granted to us! We can even relocate the entire Xiangyang Tribe here..." "Relocating a tribe is not so easy! Of course, if the tribe here does not surrender to me, I guess I will have to do that!" Fang Yuan intentionally said that out loud such that word would spread which would put pressure on the three divisions. Fang Yuan walked a few rounds and chose a spot beside a small river on the t ground, he then said, "We shall camp here tonight, also... prepare to determine a few plots ofnd for us toy foundations to build rows of wooden houses! Oh, right... we have to make some bricks! We can¡¯t always rely on straw huts!" Fang Yuan felt it was very novel as it was as though he was ying some sort of primitive civilisation game. Not before long, the elderly man brought three men over. "My dear Lord, we are the division leaders of White Mountain, ck Water and Xuan Du, here to pledge our loyalty!" The three uncivilised looking division leaders brought along animal hides, fresh flowers and other gifts to disy their sincerity. "Hmm, as your Lord, from today onwards, all items that you hand over to Xia Country will be collected by me... Also, I want each of you all to bring over 300 men from your division to be ced under mymand!" As told by Xi, there was an upheaval in southern Jiuli. Hence, Fang Yuan had to quickly build up an army in order to suppress them. "This..." In one division, there were only a few thousand people, 300 men would be one-tenth of its poption. Furthermore, they had to be strong men, thus, the three division leaders were naturally hesitant. "Rest assured, under my military training, food and weapons will be provided by me!" Fang Yuan waved his hands. "Since that¡¯s the case, we will be willing!" As that was the new Lord¡¯s firstmand, the three division leaders could only clench their teeth and ept it. "Very good... follow me and survey this Fang Mountain!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and walked towards the mountain, "What are the specialities that could be found near here? Or are there any dangers around here?" "Of course there is!" One of the division leaders replied, "Inside the Secluded Capital Mountain, there are all sorts of ck coloured feline beasts, they are extremely strong and vicious! They always attack our divisions and devour our people!" "ck coloured... beasts?" Fang Yuan thought about it after he heard what the division leader said. As the group of them continued, they arrived at the periphery of one of the divisions. There was arge plot of farnd which was enclosed by a fence. Inside it was some small beasts. Evidently, they were influenced by Xia Country and the people in this division learnt how to rear animals too. "Lord, this is White Mountain Division!" One of the division leaders stepped out and proudly eximed. "Leader!" Suddenly, a young hunter ran out from the forests. His body was stained with blood and he eximed, "We encountered a ck leopard! It chased after us and ate many of our people!" "What? Quickly prepare to guard against it!" The division leader was appalled and grabbed his weapon tightly. He then looked towards Fang Yuan. "A ck leopard, interesting! I will take a look!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and pointed at the hunter, "Follow me!" "No!" Although the young hunter was a warrior in this division, he was panic-stricken and flustered, "Don¡¯t go! It will kill you!" "Huuuu!" Suddenly, the bush rustled and a gigantic ck shadow emerged from it. It was a giant leopard that was twice the height of a human. Its pure ck fur radiated with a mysterious glow under the sunlight and its mouth was dripping with blood. As it saw the White Mountain Division, a greedy look could be seen in his eyes. "Gather the tribe! We will fight this beast!" The division leader of White Mountain clenched his teeth and shouted, "We can¡¯t let it enter our division!" "Let me settle it!" Fang Yuan calmly took a few steps and appeared in front of the ck leopard, "Scram, kitty!" "Woosh!" Fang Yuan¡¯s hand glowed with a dark light and the ck leopard was stunned at once. Momentster, its huge head fell off and blood gushed out. "This... this..." The three division leaders were astonished. For them, such a ferocious beast had to be trapped by all the warriors in their divisions before it could even be killed. Also, they would have suffered tremendous losses during the process. But now, the new Lord had easily sliced off its head with a wave of his arm. Such powerful martial art skills made them speechless. "Haha... speechless right? Yuan is the number one warrior who killed the powerful demon Wu Zhiqi, this ck leopard is no match for him!" Weiughed and looked at Fang Yuan proudly. "Lord!" Momentster, the three division leaders were fully convinced and paid their respects to Fang Yuan. "Eh, distribute its meat amongst the people in the division!" As Fang Yuan looked at the ck leopard¡¯s carcass, an idea appeared in his mind, "I want to enter the mountain to take a look!" The three division leaders wanted to warn Fang Yuan against it as the mountain was very dangerous, but as they thought of Fang Yuan¡¯s powerful martial arts skills, they did not say anything. ... Inside Fang Mountain. Fang Yuan swept some vines out of the way and asked, "Other than ck beasts, what else is inside this mountain?" "There¡¯s ck water that runs through the cracks of the ground which corrodes the earth! Wherever it passes through, nothing would grow!" The leader of ck Water Division answered. "Eh? Bring me there!" As they arrived at a location with mudcracks, indeed, within the low-lying grounds, ck water could be seen flowing through it. It was as though the ck water seeped out from deep within the earth and it was extremely eerie. "Ok, let¡¯s go back!" After witnessing it for himself, Fang Yuan did not stay any longer and went back immediately. Only Wei who was nearest to Fang Yuan could hear him repeatedly mumbling to himself, "It is recorded in : Within the North Sea, there is a mountain named Secluded Capital Mountain. There were ck water, mysterious birds, mysterious snakes, mysterious leopards, mysterious tigers, mysterious foxes." "Yuan, what are you saying?" Wei was confused at what he was saying and asked him. "Nothing much... ck Water Division leader!" Fang Yuanughed and continued, "From now on, the offerings from your division shall just be this ck water! It shouldn¡¯t be a difficult task to collect it, right?" "It¡¯s not difficult, of course it¡¯s not difficult!" The division leader was stunned for a moment before he quickly replied. "This ck water looks so dirty, what do you need it for?" Wei was bewildered at such and asked Fang Yuan after the three division leaders left. "I¡¯m preparing... to make weapons out of it!" Fang Yuan smiled sinisterly, "If there were no witches here, this Secluded Capital, which is the Fang Mountain now, might even be the foundation of an empire!" Fang Yuan had already confirmed that this ck water was in actual fact, crude oil! Of course, without an industrial system, it was useless even if they had a huge oil field. However, there were no problems utilising it for basic uses. Regarding this aspect, Fang Yuan was not hesitant to follow in the footsteps of people in the past, for example... the Byzantine people! Wei was even more confused as he listened to Fang Yuan. "Gather some brass, wooden tubes and craftsmen over! I will tell them how to manufacture Greek fire!" Fang Yuan instructed. Not bad! This time around, he wanted to produce Greek fire. Greek fire was a type of incendiary liquid made out of crude oil, it was also known as liquid fire as it could spit fire. Most importantly, it could not be extinguished by water! "Although there are still some problems in producing the Greek fire, with the divine techniques in this realm and the Fire Controlling Technique I possess, these problems can be solved... In actual fact, if I was in any other mundane realm, such a power would allow me to rise up. Nevertheless, now that I can allow normal people in this realm to control mes, it would be a killer move during battles! By utilising it well, it can definitely bring us victory!" Fang Yuan pondered. The Greek fire was not useful to Fang Yuan, however, it was extremely useful for the normal people under him. Although it was a primitive incendiary weapon, it was already extremely powerful in wars in this early Qin dynasty time period. Furthermore, not every person in Jiuli Division possessed divine techniques, there were many normal people amongst them too. Thus, such a weapon would be put to great use against them. Chapter 355: Jiuli Division Chapter 355: Jiuli Division Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions There were many mountains in the South. In the lush and sprawling primitive forests, there were numerous ancient and towering trees that formed a canopy which blocked out the sun. Colourful clouds enveloped the area too which was a beautiful sight to behold. However, it was actually a dangerous trap in disguise as they were actually poisonous miasma. In such a harsh environment, even the people in the realm would find it hard to survive here. There was little life and even Xia could not exert his influence here. At this point in time, in a huge mountain. "Revenge! Revenge! Revenge!" Rows of people from the Jiuli Tribe gathered. Their eyes were burning with passion and their skin was tanned. The average tribe member here was about 8 feet tall and they were all like mini giants. They smeared colourful paint on their faces and shouted as they waved their weapons in the air. In the centre, there was a huge tform surrounded by 4 red vibrant gs. The g of their Army Leader, Chi, was flying in the air as though he was alive and roaring in the wind. mes were burning everywhere, leaving charred marks on the ground. On the tform, two of the strongest witches were engaging in a deathmatch. "Dong! Dong!" One of them had ferocious eyes and wielded an axe in one hand and a shield in another. Every time their weapons met, a dull sound could be heard which shook the entire ce. "Bang!" In another sh, the giant axe mercilessly shattered the bronze hammer the opponent was wielding. Not long after, his opponent was sliced in half. "Stter!" Fresh blood spewed everywhere from the tform and started to glow brilliantly. Suddenly, it started to flow together, forming the shape of what seemed to be a snake. Finally, it slithered to the winner and imprinted inscriptions on his body. "Roar! Roar!" The witch roared loudly as the surrounding warriors knelt down, showing their submission. "I am... Xing!!! I have already defeated 80 warriors from all the different tribes! From today onwards, I shall be the leader of Jiuli Division. Are there any objections?" "Xing!" "Xing!" "Xing!" Many warriors of Jiuli Division started to chant Xing¡¯s name. "You are our leader. You shall lead us to get our revenge with Xia Tribe!" Beneath the tform, there were a few priests d in colourful robes. They exchanged nces and nodded their heads as well. "Xing, you have passed through the ceremony to take over the leadership of the division. From today, Xing will be the leader of all of us here in Jiuli Division!" Secretly, a few other priests were satisfied too. ¡¯Through the ceremony, Xing¡¯s body has gathered the purest bloodline from the entire Jiuli Division. He is at the peak of forming the Ultimate Witch Body and might even attract the soul of Army Leader Chi!¡¯ ¡¯The Xia Tribe is merciless and have pushed us to our limits, forcing us to live in the mountains. Every year, countless of our people would die to the poisons and the ferocious beasts from the area. We need to avenge them!¡¯ ¡¯We have 50,000 warriors in the division. We have also mined for minerals in the quarries and smelted weapons. Under the leadership of our new leader, we will surely seed!¡¯ As everyone was satisfied with their new leader, the atmosphere was energetic. Amidst the fiery mes around, the g of Army Leader Chi quickly caught fire. ck smoke filled the air, which seemed to form a ferocious looking face which was looking downwards... ... "Is it true that Army Leader Chi¡¯s soul is still around?" Somewhere far, on the top of a hill, the onlooking Hidden Dragon Guard in the form of a 3 Eyed Monkey started to shiver in fear. As the illusionary shadow of the face appeared for a brief moment, it was as though a strong magical will was felt, causing the demonic force in him to feel unstable. "He is indeed the mighty Army Leader Chi, who was worthy to fight against the Sage before he had achieved the Prominent Divine stage!" The 3 Eyed Monkey mumbled to itself as it started to kneel beneath a tree. "Head! Look..." "Whoosh!" The tree had many branches and leaves. As it shook, a pair of eyes appeared on one of its branches. A slit appeared beneath, which revealed wooden teeth. The tree instantly took the form of a human face. Seeing this scene, it sighed. "This is not only his soul but the fate energy of his tribe as well!" "Fate energy?" The 3 Eyed Monkey looked confused. "He was defeated and his tribe was forced to suffer. What fate energy is there to talk about?" "After all, this world revolves around the people dao..." The face on the tree started to smile mysteriously. "Even against a Sage, these people would still have a chance of survival and would not be wiped out... Now that they are ready to strike back, this must be the doing of the heavens!" The 3 Eyed Monkey seemed to have understood something. Suddenly, it could also feel a mysterious but fleeting strong force blessing and strengthening the people of Jiuli Division. "The Sage is, after all, an outsider. He is ultimately no match for the entire realm, especially against such a realm with a concentrated energy source!" The face on the tree smiled once more. "Let¡¯s follow the will of the heavens. You shall pay Xing a visit to represent the demons in forming an alliance with them. From there, you will be protected by his fate energy!" "King Xia is the leader of all alliances. Do you think they do not hate him? As long as the Jiuli Division is ready to strike, they will be able to do so with the assistance of the water demons. From there, we will have a chance to kill him!" "After such a long nning, we only have a chance?" The 3 Eyed Monkey agreed and appeared a little helpless. "It¡¯s rather good to have a fifty-fifty chance. After all, this is the realm designed by the Sage! It will still be dependent on the restrictions imposed by Da Qian. The Realm Alliance would not be so crazy as to bring it a lot of reinforcements..." The face on the tree calmly spoke. "However... Even if we lose, it will not matter. Head¡¯s n is much more than you can imagine..." "Whoosh!" As soon as the tree finished speaking, it shut its eyes and reverted back to a in-looking tree, and had no more spiritual aura. "That¡¯s true too. Our leader already has many unbelievable ns, so I should expect even more from the Head!" The 3 Eyed Monkey was lost in its thoughts. After a while, it started climbing and made its way to Jiuli Division. "Who¡¯s there?" Two witch guards shouted as water-type and fire type runes appeared on their bodies. They mustered their magical energy and seemed as though they were going for the kill. "I am a messenger from the demons!" The 3 Eyed Monkey took in a deep breath and shouted. "I bring with me the goodwill of the demons and thetest news regarding Xia Country!" ... Fang Mountain. Many wooden houses were built on what was once an empty plot ofnd. In the middle of the buildings, there was a majestic mansion, which was Fang Yuan¡¯s intention. It stood out among the other buildings. In this era, he had no intention to be on an equal standing with the rest. As the lord of this ce, he had the responsibility to protect his people. However, having the influence meant that he could enjoy everything that was on his piece ofnd, and he would be stupid if he had harboured thoughts of being equal with the rest. In his newly-built city, the most eye-catching architecture was not Fang Yuan¡¯s mansion, but a majestic looking altar in the centre of everything. "We can make use of the people in these divisions, but we cannot rely on them... Most importantly, we have to strengthen ourselves!" Fang Yuan brought Wei along with him as he patrolled in the vicinity. "Firstly... we need to impose a hierarchy on the 100 ves that were brought here. Their rights would be dependent on their ranks. As long as they work hard and show their contribution, they would be promoted from being ves to being civilians, and might even be rewarded with women!" As he casually spoke, he paid no attention to Wei, who was beside him. In this era, everything which he just said was perfectly normal. "If there are a hundred ves, we will need a hundred women..." Indeed, Wei did not get angry. Instead, she thought of other considerations. "This means that we will need to get a lot of resources!" "Don¡¯t worry about it... What I want to buy most are children!" Fang Yuan smiled. "Children?" Wei was a little confused. Old people, children and weak women were the people that would most likely die in this era. Therefore, people did not give any importance to them. "That¡¯s right. As a single person, the lord of this ce, our power is too weak! Too weak!! Therefore, it is hard to stand firm here. Your previous rmendation to shift the entire Shangyang Tribe is impractical. Therefore, I want to buy children ves and teach them to be loyal from a young age!" Actually, it was practical to shift the entire tribe to his new piece ofnd. However, there were leaders and elders there. If they were to shift here, who would be the one making the decisions? Fang Yuan would rather start anew and preferred not to be controlled by others. "Once we have our own armed forces and base, we can form an organisation and slowly take over the 3 neighbouring divisions, allowing them to join our division... Although this might seem hard and impossible to be aplished within a single generation, after many generations and reproduction, we will be able to form a new division in Fang Mountain. By then, we might be able to form a country..." "Form a country? On a scale asrge as the Xia Country?" Wei¡¯s eyes glistened with excitement. "Mmm, asrge as Xia Country!" Fang Yuan nodded his head, "A unified division must have a unified mindset and culture. Therefore, I have constructed this altar, making this the religion of our division. We will have to build schools in the future. Anyone from anywhere will be allowed toe here to learn from the priests and warriors." "What do we have to pray to?" Wei examined the altar. The altar was constructed from soil and was 30 feet wide and 10 feet tall. Considering the ability of the people in this era, this was an impressive feat. "We should not pray to evil ghosts, and we shall not pray to the mountains and rivers. These are too small and unworthy for our division to pray to..." As a person from a different realm, Fang Yuan could speak with confidence. "We shall pray to the heavens and the earth, that will be enough!" The heavens were above and the earth was below. The people dao was between both entities. "Lord!" At this point in time, an old man in a priest outfit came forward. "Everything is ready!" "Mmm, let¡¯smence the session!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. The priests started to light fire torches and performed a mysterious-looking dance. These few priests were actually new members of the tribe. Based on his current influence, he was still unable to convince priests to join him. This old man was simrly bought from the ve market. Although he had invaded a division and enved everyone, the priests and leaders were treated differently. They were old people and would be killed. However, this old man had concealed himself. Furthermore, he was not a real priest but merely at the disciple level. Therefore, he had escaped death, but not Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes. After buying him, Fang Yuan forced him into submission and turned him into his puppet. As the leader of a ce, how could Fang Yuan not have control over the religious aspect of the divisions? Chapter 356: Hule Division Chapter 356: Hule Division Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Bow!" In front of the altar, Fang Yuan led Wei and the other ves to pray. The deities they prayed to were faceless and there was no need for idols or statues. Fang Yuan¡¯s actions were systematic and well rehearsed, but his mind was going wild. "Huff!" A sh of fire flew up into the skies, and there was a gentle breeze. This was the precise time when the afternoon light gave way to dusk. Just as the ceremony ended, Fang Yuan squinted towards the south and was slightly moved. ¡¯It seems like something has changed!" "Yuan, look!" Wei tugged at his wrist and shook it. "The sky..." "Hmm?" Fang Yuan raised his head and saw a clump of red clouds. They looked like a fantasy and were beautiful. It seemed as though they were about to fall. "The heavens have acknowledged our offerings!" The master of ceremonies¡¯ face was flushed, and he roared. "This is our tribe¡¯s honour!" "Many thanks to the heavens and earth!" Everyone bowed once more, especially the leaders and warriors from the other tribes. Their faces of disbelief showed that they had also been awed by the sight. "No way!" Seeing the amazement and joy in their eyes, Fang Yuan was speechless. ¡¯It was all supposed to be an act...how did it be real? No! Impossible. If I had ten thousand people and led them in praying to the heavens and earth, it might have been more believable. But this is child¡¯s y, how could it be real?" "Unless, there are other forces at work...a great shift in the south?" Fang Yuan rubbed his chin, and pointed at the master of ceremonies. "This is a sign from the heavens. I order you to divine the fortunes!" "Yes my lord!" The old man dropped his exaggerated gestures and conducted the proceedings with a greater degree of seriousness. He threw some tortoise shells into the fire and began to chant. The heaven was circr and the earth was square. The hump of the tortoise shell represented the skies, and its t abdomen represented thend. Thus, it was a sacred object that could connect heaven and earth, and was used for divination. When the fire was down to itsst embers, the master of ceremonies picked out the tortoise shell and read the patterns on it. "My lord, lord of the tribes!" The old man prostrated himself before Fang Yuan. "ording to the heavens, there will be a cmity in the south! We, on the other hand, will prosper!" ¡¯Shit!¡¯ Fang Yuan widened his eyes. "Great! You have be the official master of ceremonies?" "Yes, my great lord!" The old man remained on the floor, his forehead to the ground. His eyes were full of tears. "While I prayed to the heavens and earth, I felt an overwhelming radiance emanating from above, and acquired the powers of our forefathers...the all-knowing ones told me that you are our destined leader, and will lead us towards a golden age!" "Yuan!" "Yuan!" "Yuan!" All the ves and warriors which even included the White Mountain, ck Water and Xuan Du tribesmen were cheering. Amidst these developments, the leaders of the three tribes had terrible looks on their faces. But they managed to squeeze out smiles. "Great Leader Yuan, we will pledge our allegiance to you. The three hundred warriors that you required will be sent to you shortly!" "Alright!" Fang Yuan agreed but he was slightly troubled. ¡¯What does this mean? A pretender that became legitimate?¡¯ ...... After the sessful ritual, the people were once again in awe of the heavens, and this would lead Fang Yuan¡¯s reign to stability. The different tribes sent three hundred men each as promised on the second day. From this pool, one thousand men were chosen to undergo military training. The impending military threat pressured everyone to work hard, and barbarians came from all over to join in the war effort. Thus, Fang Mountain became a hive of activity. Fang Yuan only yed a supervisory role. Micromanaging was not his style. He tasked the youngdy Wei to run the show. After all, running this little fief was but a game to him. It did not provide him with much real power. As time passed, news from the south came in a never-ending stream. "The Jiuli Division has raised an army of fifty thousand with Xing at its fore. They destroyed the Zhuri Division in 3 days?" "The Xia borders are not stable. The Kuayi Division to the west, Sangjie Division to the east, and the Hule Division to the north have all revolted?" "The demonic tribes have all risen, and are definitely major threats. However, are they only targeting the Xia?" ...... Fang Yuan picked some blueberries and put them into his mouth. When he bit down, he tasted both sweet and sour. It was a delicious mixture of pulp and juice. "Everything is going wrong!" If the other territories had to deal with these external troubles, in addition to their internal conflicts, they would most certainly be torn apart. But to Xia, it was but a tiny problem, as long as the Hidden Dragon Guards stayed out of it. "Yuan! You¡¯re still in the mood to eat!" Wei stomped in. "As one of the Xia lords, you will definitely be summoned when war breaks out!" "Yeah!" Fang Yuan picked up a string of red berries. "How¡¯s the training going along for our soldiers? Also...is the Greek fire ready?" "Yes sir, everything is going ording to your n. One section will consist of five men. There will be a five-troopmander and ten-troopmander, who will be nominated by the soldiers. They will report to their ten hundred-troopmanders, who will in turn answer to us directly, all with different responsibilities......and the Greek fire has already been tested. It can burn on water and it is extremely difficult to put it out. We need to train a team of one hundred to specialise in utilising this weapon!" It was apparent that Wei was looking forward to trying it out. "My lord! The Xia envoy is here!" An attendant led the envoy in. The envoy was dressed in ck, and appeared to be quite agitated. As soon as he saw Fang Yuan, he presented the bone tablet in his hand to him. Fang Yuan read it. "Ah...so King Xi has ordered me to mobilise the troops and rendezvous with the northern army. We must defeat the Hule Division and send reinforcements to Yang City! Of course...I will be themander-in-chief!" In truth, the message included one strand of spiritual will from the dream masters, who had given him more information and missions. "Although the one thousand soldiers we have are fresh out of training, we have no time left. Order them to form up, and prepare to march off!" Wei raised his hands and shouted. "Mmm, I¡¯ll go too! Me too!" "Alright, you shall go, but only as far as the Hule Division. Don¡¯t go to Yang City!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and made his decision. ...... North of Xia. Thend was vast and t for as far as the eye could see. On the great ins, a tribe of about a hundred thousand was moving south. "We, the Hule Division, were once an ally of the Xia. And yet after peace had returned to the Nine Regions, we were only given the poornds of the northern ins for our trouble!" "Crops cannot be cultivated here, and many of us die every winter from the cold! This is all the fault of the Xia!" "That¡¯s right, this is why we are moving to the south, to take everything from them!" ...... "Hehe, Great Leader Mu. Look, your people are facing the south!" At the front of the herd, a man in ck robes gave a deepugh. His eyes stood out from his cowl like two greenish mes. "Don¡¯t worry. Since we, the Hule Division, have agreed to the Alliance, we would not renege on our promise!" Mu, the leader of the Hule Division, looked to be in his forties. His sideburns were slightly grey, but hisplexion was a healthy pink. "Rest assured Leader Mu. If you settle your part of the deal, thends to the north of Yang City will all be yours!" The man in ck robes was overjoyed. Immediately after, Mu waved his hand and rushed forward on his steed. Another steed caught up with his, with an old man mounted on it. "Mu...I¡¯ve never doubted your decisions. But moving the whole division to the south and challenging the Xia people...it¡¯s too risky!" "Our shaman has consulted the heavens and received blessings...what is there to worry about?" Having said that, Mu smiled wolfishly. "I know, whether it is the Jiuli, Xia, Sangjie or other tribes, they are all our enemies...hehe...they can give us all thends north of Yang City, but we don¡¯t need that! We, the Hule people, were raised on horseback. The grasnds are ours!" As an ambitious leader, he was aware of the great cultural disparity, and had no intent to submit to Xia rule. All he wanted was to maintain the status quo, to protect something very precious. "Then why are we still moving south?" The old man did not understand. "How do the hunters of the grasnds hunt? They move forward relentlessly and force their prey to spend all of their energy on surviving. And when that happens, they will sweep up their prey effortlessly. This is our strategy!" Mu bit off the cover of the leather pouch in his hand and gulped down the wine. "We have to pige all we can during our time in the south so that we can make it through winter on the grasnds. If we do seed in weakening Xia this time, then we will harass them every year. One day, I want the King of Xia to acknowledge my status as Lord of the ins!" There was something else too, but he kept it in his heart. Once the Hule had consolidated its power, and when the Xia had fallen into a war on multiple fronts, they would be able to build a nation. The Hule might even assimte the culture of the central ins and lord over them!" Although it might take a long time for Mu to achieve his dreams, he had the determination of the wolf! "Alright!" The old man sighed. "I thought you had been taken in by that envoy, but it seems like you are still our greatest leader! Don¡¯t worry, your generals and the shaman are behind you!" "Excellent!" Mu was ovee with happiness. "I, Mu, hereby vow that I will lead our people towards a brighter future!" Or even be the Lord of the Nine Regions!" Mu steeled himself. Chapter 357: Preparing for War Chapter 357: Preparing for War Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions On the ins, the two armies of Da Xia joined forces. "As appointed by King Xi, I am Yuan, themander-in-chief of the northern warzones!" Fang Yuan raised the oracle and announced pretentiously. "I am the leader of the northern army, Tong! I pledge my loyalty to you, Lord Yuan!" A valiant looking man along with 1,500 of his men bowed and paid respects to Fang Yuan. "We were ambushed by Hule Division previously! This is all we have left!" In reality, the reason the two groups could merge seamlessly and why Fang Yuan could quickly hold authority over them was because Tong was also a dream master from the Realm Alliance! Of course, Tong was of a much lower tierpared to Fang Yuan. He just entered the Illusionary Divine stage and was just defeated in a battle, hence, he was submissive to Fang Yuan. "There¡¯s only so few people in the entire northern army?" Fang Yuan furrowed his eyebrows. Secretly, he sent a message to Tong, "Within Hule Division, are there any powerful person?" "Lord, in the entire Hule Division, not including the other tribe members, there are already ten thousands of archers... Of course, to us, these normal people are no match for us. However, their shamans are pretty powerful, there are powerful demons helping them!" Tong sounded like he was trying to please Fang Yuan and continued, "Looks like we have to activate the whole army and send our best people in order to suppress these rebels!" "No need! Pass down mymand, we will be deploying to the frontline immediately... No! Wait! Prepare our defences first!" "You are saying?" Tong was shocked, "The people of Hule Division are so daring that they dare to charge into ournd?" "Furthermore, other than that, your men have already lost their willpower to fight! Let¡¯s retreat and reconsolidate them!" Just after Fang Yuan sent hismand and the 1,000 soldiers finished arranging themselves, a ck line appeared on the horizon. There were thousands of cavalry soldiers shouting and charging towards them. "D*mn it! Another attack!" Tong clenched his teeth at such a sight. Obviously, Tong¡¯s badly defeated army would be conquered by this thousand plus strong cavalry. Even the army trained by Fang Yuan was in amotion after they saw this huge group of cavalry charging towards them. "In ancient times, cavalries were unstoppable in the battlefield... Of course, currently, these people could not really be called cavalries, they were at most infanteers that rode horses!" Fang Yuan easily recognised the difference with just a quick nce. Saddles, horseshoes and such were still not invented yet. Their horse riding skills were extremely barbaric as they solely relied on the strength of their thighs. Those who were able to shoot arrows on top of the horses were the elite warriors amongst them. Amongst this 1,000 plus men, there were at most 50 of such skilled warriors! "Furthermore... they were not armoured! Even the horses were not armoured at all!" Fang Yuan was very clear, if such cavalry dared to charge into the battlefield, once they hit against something, they would be smashed like eggshells! Hence, he was not bothered by them and hollered, "Prepare for war!" "Defend!" Weimanded loudly. "Defend!" The Fang Mountain army was very disciplined. As the new soldiers saw the five-troopedmanders and ten-troopedmander were still calm and collected, themotion quickly died down and they held their weapons tightly. Indeed, when the 1,000 men strong cavalry saw the opposing army remained at their location, they stopped miles away from them. They then came down from their horses and began preparing their weapons for war. Although the two sides were equally numbered, the cavalry rode on horses on their journey here, hence, they were still energetic. Naturally, they seemed like they could easily achieve victory. Not only that, one group of hundred over cavalry soldiers left their big group and charged towards the rows of soldiersmanded by Fang Yuan. "Woosh!" The ten few people that led the pack shot numerous arrows towards the northern army. More than ten long arrows flew towards Fang Yuan¡¯s army and hit a few of his soldiers. They immediately copsed onto the floor and screamed in pain. "There are only ten over horse archers? They must be the elites amongst the enemies¡¯ cavalry!" Fang Yuan snorted and picked up his ownrge bow. His bow was brought from Yang City. The body of the bow was very long and had a lustrous shine to it. The head of the arrow was crafted from steel while its tail was made from the tail feathers of geese. It was far more mightier looking than the bows used by the opponents! As the horses galloped, the noise of the arrows shuffling was deafening! The sound of the bowstring vibrating continuously was like that of a thunder! The cavalry soldiers on the opposite side fell off their horses one by one! Each shot of the arrow was extremely urate! After nine cavalry soldiers were shot dead, the cavalry shouted and dispersed as they returned back to theirrge group at the back. "Lord, your archery is impable!" As Tong watched, he pped his hands and praised, "We have killed at least a few of their men!" "No need for useless talk, fight!" Fang Yuan raised his long sword andmanded, "Also, you, bring those warriors who are still brave enough to the frontline to fight!" No matter how inexperienced Tong was, he was still a dream master. He could still defeat hundreds to thousands of enemies in a normal army. "Yes, my Lord!" Tong roared as he raised his weapons and charged towards the frontline with a group of soldiers. "Kill them all!" The two groups of armies got closer and closer. Suddenly, howls of agony could be heard from the opposite side. "Clop! Clop!" Dust flew everywhere as the horses trampled the earth. Hundreds of horses were freed from their halters. After they were viciously whipped, the leading horse led the herd of horses towards the northern army. Their strength was unstoppable, it was like a mighty flood! "Great!" Fang Yuan could not help but to p his hands at such a sight. The horses were no longer protected and most of their cavalry soldiers were either severely injured or had died. By using the horses as a direct formation that charged towards them, once such a formation was defeated, Fang Yuan¡¯s army would immediately emerge victorious! Such a formation was simr to military tactics recorded in history, particrly Tian Dan¡¯s Fire Cattle Columns and South Asia¡¯s elephant cavalry! "Sadly... their attempt was pathetic!" Fang Yuan waved his arms and instructed, "Bring on the fire-spitting soldiers!" "Yes, my Lord!" 100 soldiers carrying wooden tubes came forward and as they pressed the trigger,rge amounts of mes were spat out. Greek fire! Liquid fire! The hidden weapon of the ancient Byzantine people was disyed for the first time in this realm! "Swooosh! Sooosshh!" The horses neighed and scattered away messily. The glow of the fire, the loud noises and the burning mes made the horses ufortable and panicky. Furthermore, these ancient horses were not as mature as horses used in wars in the future. They were not tamed and were easily disturbed, they could not remain calm in all sorts of situations. As the horses were terrified, not a single horse dared to continue charging towards the mes. Most of them fled away to the sides and some even galloped back directly towards the front of Hule Division¡¯s army. "Kill them all!" The people of Hule Division were not stupid, they immediatelymanded their soldiers to utilise all their weapons. Bows, arrows, copper swords, dagger-axes, et cetera... they wielded all sorts of weapons as theymanded their horses. However, the horses had already lost their sanity after being scared by the mes. They charged forward crazily with great momentum and inertia, wreaking havoc all over the battlefield. Blood and flesh sttered everywhere, it could not even be discerned whether they were from humans or horses. "Charge!" Fang Yuan naturally did not let such an amazing opportunity slip, he immediatelymanded his army to charge forward. The 100 soldiers who carried the wooden tubes seared anyone they came across even as they tried to escape. "Kill them all!" In the army, five to ten soldiers formed a section which viciously murdered the Hule soldiers. Compared to the Hule Division, their soldiers were scattered all over the ce. Each of their soldiers fought alone bravely, the difference in militant skills between the two sides was evident. "After all, this is still the barbaric period and their soldiers valued bravery. But, that¡¯s useless...! Times are changing, if they don¡¯t keep up with the trend, they can only be left behind mercilessly!" Fang Yuan thought as he sighed. Fang Yuan then grabbed his iron sword tightly and strode forward. The enemies¡¯ soldiers were mostly defeated, it was now the time for Fang Yuan to strike! "Die!" Opposite him, a few shamans chanted as they shook the blood-red coloured spiritual drums with their hands. An unpleasant gust of air swept across the corpses on the floor. Blood and water gathered and formed monsters immediately. These monsters rampaged all over the battlefield. "Kill them all!" Fang Yuan strode forward and swung his sword. There was a fiery glow that sparkled on his forehead, in the area above his brows. "Wuuuu! Wuuuuu!" These bloody beasts copsed at once and turned into ck blood. Fang Yuan continued forward and arrived in front of the shamans. "Protect the shamans!" A few soldiers from the Hule Division shouted. However, under Fang Yuan¡¯s swords, they were severed into two pieces. "Leader Mu would seek vengeance for us!" Two of the young looking shamans stared at Fang Yuan with extreme enmity and hatred, as though they wanted to bite Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan did not hesitate and annihted them with his sword. "The shamans have died!" Seeing such, the Hule Division soldiers who were still defiantly resisting just now immediately fell apart. They fought against each other for the horses and began fleeing away. "No need to chase them!!!" Fang Yuan immediately ordered, "Clean up the battlefield, set up the tents, build up the defences and prepare for the big war!" "Lord? What you meant is...?" Tong came over to stood beside Fang Yuan. Although his body was stained with blood, his expression seemed happy. "Their frontline soldiers have already arrived here, their main body will definitely reach here in two days!" Fang Yuan shook his head slowly, "If they know we have thousands of people, what will they do?" "Of course they would destroy this remaining strength of ours! From then on, the north of Da Xia would be free rein to them! They would then charge towards Yang City!" "Hence... we will be preparing for war right here!" Fang Yuan directlymanded, "At least we still possess some firsthand advantage here. We can dig more trenches, store more food, build our earth walls higher..." "1,000 against 10,000?" Tong was speechless, he rolled his eyes and continued, "Are you confident?" "No, it¡¯s 2,500 against 9000!" Fang Yuan corrected Tong¡¯s mistake and replied, "Unless you think you still can escape?" "Haha! Great, I will take this gamble with you then!" If it was any other normal general, he would not be able to convince a subordinate he just newly met even if he was extremely charming or had an impressive character, especially to one that almost died just moments ago. However, Tong was not any normal person too! As a dream master, even if the army was fully defeated, there was still a chance for him to escape. Furthermore, dying in this realm was like losing in a round, it was nothing much actually. Two dayster. Near 10,000 cavalry soldiers charged to the battlefield and saw numerous structures made out of earth. There were even trenches that surrounded the entire area. Chapter 358: Ambushing the Campsite Chapter 358: Ambushing the Campsite Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Thick smoke filled the air. Around 10,000 soldiers surrounded the tiny city made from earth. They had already tried to invade for 3 days but to no avail. "Mu has instructed that the first person who can sessfully scale and infiltrate the walls will be promoted to amoner, followed by a promotion to a chief. As a chief, you will receive 100 ves as a reward!" A cavalry unit galloped about, spreading the news to the army. It was not worth it for the chiefs to risk their lives invading the city. However, to themoners and ves, it was a chance for them to change their lives. With that, they were encouraged once more as they attempted another attack. "Fire!" On the walls, a sharp voice was heard as arrows flew towards the invading soldiers. "Chi! Chi!" Blood spewed everywhere and themoners without armour fell to the ground. Some of them were even trampled to death by their own fellow soldiers! During the construction of the earth wall, Fang Yuan had included the design of a fort to ensure that from whichever direction the enemy attacked from, they would be in the line of fire. Coupled with the fact that these invaders had almost no defences, it was just a simple massacre. "Don¡¯t be afraid! Let¡¯s charge!" Of course, this realm was different from what Fang Yuan had imagined it to be. A few exmations were heard as 10 strong warriors stood together, waving the wooden shield in their hands. They were exceptionally nimble and avoided the arrows. In no time, they arrived at the foot of the wall and started their ascent. "Burn them!" These were the elite warriors of Hule Division. As soon as they scaled the walls, they raised their knives and sliced haphazardly. Normal soldiers could not evene close to them. Wei shouted amand as the soldiers trained in Greek fire rushed forward and shot out mes from their tubes. No matter how skilled the warriors were, against fire, they still turned into a burning inferno and were pushed down the city walls as they cried in pain. "Ah... Shamans, quickly bless us!" Beneath them, a daring shaman risked himself and chanted a few curses. With that, he summoned a stream of water. "Ssh!" Unfortunately for them, the Greek fire floated on the water and continued to rage on mercilessly with no signs of weakening. A few other warriors attempted to use witchcraft to infiltrate the walls. However, they were quickly spotted by the soldiers of Tong and Fang Yuan and were killed. After thest few burning men fell from the city walls, the motivated soldiers of Hule Division started to feel discouraged and retreated. "D*mn it!" Seeing this, Mu eximed. "Capture those who ran the fastest. Regardless if he is a chief or amoner, kill him!" "Leader Mu... Please spare me!" "Leader Mu... No!" After a few cries, over 10 heads fell to the ground and the remaining soldiers shuddered in fear. Mu nodded his head, he then instructed the nearby soldiers to clean up the mess and return to their camps to rest. "D*mn it... when did Xia Country have such a heavenly fire and such soldiers?" After 3 days, over 2,000 soldiers died. If not for the reinforcements, the Hule Division would be in an even more dire state. Not just that, many of the chiefs were no longer willing to fight for the war and wanted to leave to pige other divisions. "How would these stupid people know? If we do not wipe out thest army of Xia Country in the North, if we abruptly enter like that, we will be ambushed on both sides!" Mu gazed at the blood-stained ground and appeared depressed. At this stage, it was already impossible for him to retreat his forces. There was no room for a coward to lead on the ins! If he were to retreat, someone might overthrow him on his way back! "Get Hei here!" After a long while, he finally called for a man in ck robes. "Greetings, my noble Leader Mu!" The man in ck let our a weirdughter. "Do you know how to deal with that liquid fire?" Mu enquired. "Naturally... The reason for the shamans¡¯ failure was because they had used the wrong method and there were too few of them..." The voice of the man in ck sounded a little dry. "Therefore, in order to deal with the group of fire-sprayers, we need to send all the shamans we have... However, both you and I are aware that they also have their highly skilled people. If our group of shamans go too close, they would be ambushed as well!" Mu bit his lips. He was aware that the general, Yuan, was the one who killed Wu Zhiqi! Such a person was surely a powerful and highly-skilled warrior. If he were to make his way into the group of shamans, the result would be too painful to imagine. "What else can we do?" Mu raised his eyebrows. "My noble Leader Mu, if you are willing to wait for a little longer, my reinforcements will be here in no time!" The man in ck bowed and reported. "I¡¯ll have to wait a little longer?" Mu clenched his teeth as though he was about tough. He knew what the demons were preparing. Rather than getting help from afar, he should just attack Yang City directly! After all, only Hule Division was involved in the fighting up in the North. Furthermore, if the two parties were to result in casualties, some other parties would get to benefit. ... "It¡¯s been three days. That¡¯s about it!" On the walls made of earth, Fang Yuan stood with Tong and was filled with emotions. "The enemy has attempted to invade for 3 days straight and have tired themselves out. Together with the high casualty rate, I¡¯m sure their morale will be extremely low by now...." Most of the soldiers were simple-minded and brute and had no thoughts about getting organised. Therefore, they were notparable to the soldiers of Xia Country. Previously, they were weak and only got the upper hand from executing an ambush. As soon as everything was prepared, their weaknesses were showing. "Pass the order to prepare for a counter-attack!" Fang Yuan waved his hands. "Yes!" Tong bowed respectfully and went down the wall. If it was 3 days ago, they would be crazy to use their almost 3,000-men strong army to attack Hule Division¡¯s 10,000-soldier strong army. There were no highly skilled people among the enemy. However, even a dream master in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage would find it troublesome if trapped among the shamans. However, the situation was different now. The enemy was now fatigued and most of their highly skilled warriors were killed. They had a chance to counter-attack. ¡¯Who would¡¯ve thought... this lord is very well-versed in the art of war!¡¯ Tong thought to himself as he felt more respect for Fang Yuan. It was nightfall. Dark clouds covered the moon and the stars twinkled dimly. Ayer of fog appeared across the battlefield, engulfing it. A part of the wall was being destroyed and rows of soldiers silently walked out. In front of them was Fang Yuan, Tong, Wei and a group of highly-skilled warriors who were adept at riding horses. "We must seed in tonight¡¯s ambush! Kill!" Fang Yuan shouted and rushed forward. At the opposing end, in the camp of Hule Division. Hule Division was clueless as to how to properly pitch their tents in formation. They treated it like a normal in and casually pitched their tents. After 3 days of intense fighting, they could finally rest. They were tired to the extent that nothing would be able to wake them up. "Kill!" Fang Yuan shouted and ran into their territory. From his horse, he fired a few arrows, killing a fewmoners. Within minutes, the soldiers rushed into the tents. They started to kill anyone that they saw and burnt down any tent they came across. After a few moments, hundreds of soldiers arrived at the scene as well and everything was out of control. "Is the enemy ambushing us at night?" Mu sat up from his bed and quickly rushed out of his tent. He could see mes everywhere and chaos in the campsite. "Chiefs, hurry up and appease themoners. The shaman group, go forth and stop the chaos!" The enemy only had a thousand soldiers and therefore, only a hundred would be capable of creating this ambush! It was impossible for them to create such a hugemotion. The only other exnation was that theirmoners were contributing to the chaos as well. There was no other choice but to use brute force to keep themoners under control. "Capture and kill Leader Mu! Destroy Hule Division!" Amidst a few shouts, 10 soldiers on horse spotted the golden tent and made their way towards it. "Protect Leader Mu!" A few shamans went ahead and chanted a few curses. "Die!" mes appeared in Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes. The fire-type sword essence gathered in his eyes, giving his eyebrows a brilliant red hue. Two streaks of me shot out from his eyes. "Chi!" The mes flickered and burned, nullifying the witchcraft spells. "Haha... die!" He whipped his horse, making it gallop forward. Soon after, he arrived at the golden tent as well. Fang Yuan was the epitome of a highly-skilled martial artist. With the illusionary shadow of a sword in his hands, Fang Yuan waved them and the heads of the two shamen flew up high into the sky. "Let¡¯s go!" Mu was in a shock and could only think about leaving. "It¡¯s Yuan!" The man in ck was even more stunned and his voice changed. "You have disrupted my ns. You deserve to die!" "You have demonic energy around you?" Fang Yuan was stunned for a moment. Shortly after, he pulled his bow, aimed at the retreating Mu and fired an arrow. "Whoosh!" The arrow had a little me on its tip. It pierced through two other guards before finally piercing through Mu¡¯s back. "I..." Mu had a face of disbelief, "I am the leader of the ins. How can I die here?" Fang Yuan had already done something to the arrow as a fiery force started to burn Mu¡¯s insides. No one could save him and in a few moments, he fell to the ground, dead. "Leader Mu is dead! Leader Mu is dead!" Thest resisting force of Hule Division was astonished at this scene and broke down, fleeing as fast as they could. "Don¡¯t you run!" Fang Yuan identified the man in ck and gave chase, running out of the campsite. "Hmph!" With the wave of his hands, a hurricane appeared. The illusionary shadow of a sword appeared in the hurricane and flew towards the man in ck robes. The man in ck fell to the ground and groaned in pain. Just as it was about to use its demonic spells to escape, it noticed a small green sword floating in mid-air. The sword had a shockingly powerful sword essence and the man in ck no longer dared to move. "Previously, it is a war among humans and therefore, I had my reservations. As for you... Hehe..." Fang Yuan stripped the ck robe off, revealing a shivering weasel. "A dream master from the Hidden Dragon Guards? Why is your cultivation so low?" It was obvious that this weasel had not yet attained the Illusionary Divine stage. "I am only a small demon. Please spare my life!" The weasel started to beg. It was only a dream master in the Dream-building stage and was barely qualified to dream-traverse. If he were to die, his own body would be severely injured and the bacsh he would experience would be much worsepared to a dream master in the Illusionary Divine stage. It was a life and death situation. "What a pity... I know that you have been a sacrificial pawn all along. What value will you even have?" Fang Yuan sighed. The green Modest Wind Sword seemed to understand its master¡¯s intention. With a strike, the weasel disintegrated into dust. At that moment, a True Spirit appeared and was being chased out of the realm. "This True Spirit..." He gazed towards the horizon. ¡¯It seems like something about this was mentioned in Sage Changli¡¯s inheritance...¡¯ Chapter 359: Swelling Earth Chapter 359: Swelling Earth Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The sky became lit. The campsite of Hule Division was a big mess. The soldiers emerged from the walls of earth as they guarded the fugitives, swept the battlefield for survivors and looted from the campsite. "Lord..." Tong¡¯s face was filled with happiness as soon as he saw Fang Yuan making his way over. Without hesitation, he presented a piece of oracle bone. "After predictions, it is confirmed that we have killed over 3,000 soldiers. We have actually only killed 1,000, but the other 2,000 were killings among themselves during the chaos. We have captured 4,000 of them, taken possession of 5,000 weapons. The rations and bronze are still unounted for. In addition, we have more than 2,000 horses now!" "That¡¯s not too bad!" Deep down, Fang Yuan knew that the credit for his victory and rewards belonged to the internal chaos in Hule Division. "After this, all the elite soldiers in Hule Division are wiped out. With this piece of news, people would return to the North to continue living in the ins. We have finally settled the mess in the North!" Fang Yuan casually added. "I want at least half of all that we have looted. Split the remaining half as you wish, but don¡¯t forget the contribution to Yang City! Hmm, I want more horses as well!" With these horses, Fang Yuan could train up his cavalry units for the future. Based on the method of training which he adopted, the cavalry which he would train up would surely be stronger than that of the Hule Division. "Of course!" Tong had no intention to vie for the rewards and respectfully replied. "Since all of this is over, we shall rest for one day before heading to Yang City to provide our assistance!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes widened. "Wei, you shall escort our loot back!" "Hmph!" The young woman heaved a heavy breath and agreed. She knew that she could not go against Yuan¡¯s orders and could only clench her teeth and carry out his orders. ... Yang City. The capital of Xia Country was now in a deste state. With the Jiuli Division army attacking and the assistance from the divisions from the East and West, they were formidable. Under the leadership of Xing, they killed their way to the vicinity of Yang City. "Kill them! Kill all these Xia people to take revenge for the people of Jiuli!" In one of the divisions, Xing roared as the blood inscriptions on his body glowed dimly. He waved his axe about and wielded a huge shield. Ferociously, he struck at the head of another division¡¯s leader. "Ah... You cannot kill me! I am..." This division leader was a dream master from the Realm Alliance. However, he could not finish his sentence as his expression turned to one of fear. "Die!" "Rumble!" Above him, many small array gs appeared, forming an array. It was a killer array of a dream array master! "Hmph... You are one of those mutants!" Xing grinned from ear to ear. "It¡¯s a pity... Who would even care about such a small spell?" "How dare you call my Evil 7 Extremes Array a small spell?" The dream master was infuriated. "7 Evil Ghost Generals, kill!" "Hehe!" "Keke!" From all directions, armoured ghost generals and soldiers emerged from ayer of fog. They had sinister smiles on their faces and fangs poked out of their mouths, dripping blood. Together, they floated towards Xing. "You are the one to die!" Xing eximed as the illusionary figure of a giant appeared behind him. The figure stretched out its huge hands and mmed down. "Pa!" It was as though the hand was pping a fly. With that, the glow from the array dimmed and blood trickled from the nose of the dream master. The dream master took a few steps backwards; it was evident that he had just experienced a bacsh. Xing continued to advance and sliced his axe forward. "Bang!" As the axe made its way down, the dream master immediately became a bloodied mess and died in a gruesome fashion. "Leader... Our leader is dead!" As soon as the people of the division witnessed the death of their leader, they immediately ran for their lives. "Haha... Go forth! Kill their men and capture their women. Kill those children taller than the length of a bronze sword, and keep the remaining as ves!" As Xing gave hismand, the warriors behind him let out bloodshot eyes. However, these were all understandable. If they didn¡¯t do this, how else could they vent out their years of hatred for the people of Xia? With this, the division started to undergo destruction. Outside the division, a person was witnessing everything. A slit appeared on his forehead, revealing a third eye. ¡¯Xing is bing too... scary! The peak of the Ultimate Witch Body would allow one to nullify most types of spells and would grant one immense power like a godly demon. This would make oneparable to a True Divine martial artist in the main world... To be able to kill a dream master in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage in one move would mean that he must be as powerful as Army Leader Chi years ago!¡¯ "Monkey!" Xing walked out with mes of passion burning in his eyes. "I will be able to see the walls of Yang City in another day. Where are your promised allies?" "This..." This monkey was naturally the 3 Eyed Monkey. After being questioned, he became slightly embarrassed. "Xing... Your army is advancing too quickly. The Sangjie and Kuayi Divisions from the East and West have already started to make their way, but they are facing resistance from the other divisions. They will need another 10 days before they can arrive at Yang City... As for the Hule Division in the North, they are already defeated!" "Bunch of useless people!" Xing scoffed and let out a heavy breath. "This is especially so for Hule Division. Who was the one who defeated them?" "It¡¯s the lord of Xia Country - Yuan! The hero who killed Wu Zhiqi!" As the monkey replied, it shuddered in fear at the thought of it. Only he knew the true meaning behind what he had just said. "He killed Wu Zhiqi?" Xing smiled. "In a few days, I shall personally behead him! Hopefully, he will not be as useless as the other leaders to die in a single move of mine..." "Yes! Yes of course!" The monkey was a little sceptical. However, he quicklyposed himself. "Although we cannot depend on the other 3 divisions, you can trust that the demons are already taking action to cause floods in Xia Country and especially so for Yang City. You will be able to witness our friendship and power." "Very well, I shall look forward to it!" Xing smiled widely and replied. As soon as the monkey left, his expression turned to a cold one. "Another mutant! All demons in this world are mutants! They are the ones who had harmed our people. Only the people of Jiuli Division are the true owners of this world. This is predicted by the priests and will never be wrong!" "Yang City is also upied by a bunch of mutants. Since I can still make use of the demons, I shall do so. Otherwise..." ... Within the pce in Yang City. "King Xi, Xing had already destroyed Tian Division with 50,000 soldiers. He will be able to arrive at our city walls in a day!" "King Xi, the water demons have been wreaking havoc for the past few days and have destroyed many things. As of now, they are hidden in Yang River, which is next to Yang City..." On the throne, Xi sat calmly like a piece of rock. Hisposure brought peace to those who were worried within the tense atmosphere of the hall. "Reporting!" At this point in time, another priest requested to see the king. "King Xi, we have news from the North. Tong hasbined forces with Yuan and they have defeated Hule Division. They are now rushing back!" "That¡¯s great!" Hearing this news, Xi finally bit his lips. "How many soldiers do we have left in Yang City?" "Our people have caught wind of news that Jiuli is invading us. They have loyally pledged their lives to us. If we use the soldiers in the reserves, we can rack up 30,000 armed soldiers!" One of the ministers stood out and reported. "However, the Yang River is overflowing! That is a more pressing problem!" "This is easy to resolve. Ju!" Xi calmly spoke. "Retrieve the Swelling Earth and stop the disaster!" "Yes, King!" Ju dismissed himself, walked out of the main hall and arrived at a spot in the pce. "The King has instructed me to retrieve the Swelling Earth!" The guard of the treasury was also a dream master and was long aware of the instructions. With an outstretched hand, he disabled the seal on the treasury. Ju entered the treasury and noticed spiritual glows everywhere. ¡¯All the treasures of the Xia Empire is here. It¡¯s a pity... none of these can be brought out!¡¯ Xia Country ruled over the 9 Regions and therefore had many treasures. However, those spiritual treasures which could turn illusionary and be brought out of the realm were only for the Sage and the dream masters in the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. How could they enjoy these treasures? Even if they could get their hands on these treasures, they would not have enough karma to bring them away! Ju arrived at a corner of the treasury. On an elevated tform, a bunch of ck soil was wrapped in cogon grass. It appeared normal. "Sir, please be careful. If the Swelling Earth is not contained by the cogon grass and if it were tond on the ground, it will start to expand immediately!" Although both of them were aware of the ability of this treasure, the guard of the treasury had the responsibility. After all, there was no harm in reminding his fellow dream master. "I know about it. This treasure has the essence of the heaven and is full of life. In past years, the Sage has used it for himself to manage the floods as well!" Ju bit his lip and carefully held the bag of Swelling Earth in his hands. "Of course, this treasure has its own limit as well. It can only expand to 800 feet wide beforeing to a halt! This is only a temporary measure to manage the flood!" With that, he carried the Swelling Earth and brought it to the top of the city wall of Yang City. "Sir, look!" Beneath them, the Yang River surged as water crashed onto the city walls. It was a threatening scene to behold. Furthermore, within the murky waters of the river, there were many ck silhouettes. "Go!" Ju mustered his magical energy and scattered the Swelling Earth. With that, the soil fell into the river. "Buzz! Buzz!" The ground shook. Within a few moments, the Swelling Earth started to expand and blocked the mouth of the river. However, it continued to grow. Although the water was gushing with might and the water level was rising continuously, it was finally blocked. The soldiers on the city wall witnessed this scene and cheers erupted. However, Ju silently sighed to himself. ¡¯We can only temporarily keep the demons at bay. However, if the water erupts from it in the near future, the consequences would be worse! What is Elder Xi Chen thinking?¡¯ Of course, it was a sin to doubt his leader in such a tumultuous period. Ju forcefully wiped this thought of his from his mind! "Elder Xi Chen is the disciple of Sage and is powerful. He will have his own arrangements. Why do I have to care so much? I just have to follow the n..." "After all... this world is manipted by Sage. Who would dare to show disrespect here?" Ju mumbled to himself. If things were to fall out of control, Sages would get involved to correct it! If that was the case, what do they have to fear? Thinking about how Elder Xi Chen could keep hisposure amidst all the chaos, Ju felt impressed and was full of admiration for him. "This is what the mind of a powerful being can do!" Chapter 360: The Big War Chapter 360: The Big War Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "We¡¯ve finally arrived!" Fang Yuan could not help but sigh as he saw the city walls of Yang City. Immediately, the Swelling Earth flourishing on the riverbanks caught Fang Yuan¡¯s attention. "This is Swelling Earth? Amazing indeed!" "Lor... Lord!" Tong¡¯s teeth were chattering. As they were rushing for time, only the two of them made use of their techniques to arrive so quickly. As Tong thought about the trouble ahead of them, he felt anxious and uneasy. "50,000 tribe members from Jiuli Division and a Xing that¡¯sparable to an army leader! If we brought along that few thousand men of ours, they would surely die to them!" Fang Yuan gestured, "By leaving the entire army there, they can continue to suppress the north... That said, you dare to note here?" "... I dare not!" Tong could only force a smile and reply him. After all, Tong was a dream master in the Realm Alliance. If he did not want to be killed after he returned to Da Qian, he could only obedientlye to Yang City and await his next order even if he knew his chances of survival would be very low. "Another idiot blinded by ¡¯righteousness¡¯!" Fang Yuan thought of Tong¡¯s plight with disdain. Momentster, he felt fearful. Although Fang Yuan was confident he could survive in this realm, he still had to enter this realm even though he knew this realm was extremely dangerous! Of course, if this was not a dream realm, Fang Yuan would not have willingly chosen to face such dangers. He would even rathermit treason than willingly put himself in such dangers in the real world. Royal Pce. "Greetings, King Xi!" Fang Yuan and Tong paid their respects to Elder Xi Chen. "Yuan, Tong... it¡¯s great that you all could settle the Hule Division in the north!" Xi was still solemn and stern as always, he continued, "Just that I can only reward the two of you after we defeat the Jiuli Division! Now, follow me to fight them!" Xi stood up immediately after he finished speaking. He was donned in a body armour. "Yes, your Majesty!" Fang Yuan and Tong took a step back and joined the rest of the ministers and lords. They then gathered at the top of the heavily guarded city walls of Yang City. "Revenge!" "Revenge!" "Revenge!" The Jiuli Division army was already near the city walls. The 50,000 witches were like a ck coloured torrent and were shouting loudly, their voices spreading far and wide. However, the ministers on top of the city walls remained unfazed. "This is..." The dream masters and priests saw much more. As Fang Yuan surveyed the group of Jiuli Division army, he saw ck coloured and red coloured vapours rising to the sky above their heads. It seemed as though there were immense hatred and cursingsing from them. "The hatred from an entire country and the cursings from an entire tribe.... This is umted and brewed over hundreds of years..." Fang Yuan could see even more as the corner of his eyes twitched and his Fiery Eyes shined brightly. The ck and red vapours were even denser and they mixed together. There was even a tinge of purple in it! "The heavenly trend?!" The purple colour disappeared in an instant. Even though Fang Yuan only caught a few glimpses of it, his eyes began to hurt and were on the verge of tears. He was greatly enlightened, "That¡¯s it! In this realm, even though the Xia Tribe is doing very well, they will still not be favoured as much by the heavens!" "Furthermore, if the Sage did not enter this realmst time, Jiuli Division would have been the ones leading the people dao!" "Hence, although Chi was destroyed, the Jiuli Division still survived. Now, they have engaged their whole tribe to fight us and are even blessed by the heavenly trend!" With the heavenly trend on their side, they would be protected by the heavenly energy too! If they were killed, their attacker would be punished with the wrath of the heavens and suffer tribtions! It would be truly horrifying. Amongst the Jiuli tribe, there was an extremely muscr man. He had a dark red light glowing from him and his body was god-like. He stood forward and hollered loudly, "... The orthodox of Xia has long oppressed the tribe of Jiuli! Today, I will seek vengeance and enact punishment! Attack!" At this stage, all the spying, peace talks and even schemes were useless. Only absolute power could suppress all! "Kill them all!" 50,000 Jiuli tribe members roared and charged forward. The ck and red coloured energies on their headbined and turned purple before falling onto their heads, blessing them. Even dream masters felt suffocated at the sight of such mighty powers. "Summoning the people dao!" Xi waved his hands coldly and a picture scroll appeared from thin air. It first depicted the scenes of ancestors engaging in sh-and-burn agriculture, their harsh lives and numerous other scenes of civilisation starting. Afterwards, the souls of those outstanding humans in the people dao formed a long river stream. This was the people dao torrent! Once it appeared, the Xia Tribe were boosted by their tribal energy. Simrly, it even affected the heavens as they too gained purple-coloured fate energy. "People dao is part of the heavenly dao. Xia Tribe has the 9 cauldrons that could suppress fate energy and offset the heavenly trend¡¯s boost on Jiuli Division..... The Xia Tribe may even have a slight advantage!" Fang Yuan contemted as he watched. "Fight!" Xi bawled loudly. "Fight!" "Fight!" The warriors of Xia Tribe roared towards the skies. Even though they were the tribe with the best standards of living in the 9 Regions, they did not lose their bravery and righteousness! "Bang!" Under the loud noises, the two groups of armies shed together. Although the soldiers of Jiuli Division were brave, they were disadvantaged by their weapons and the city walls. Immediately, there was a stalemate. Xia Country¡¯s city walls became a meat grinder that was continuously taking away lives from the two sides. "Kill them all!" Xing hollered and a colossal giant emerged from behind him. With a punch, he rushed towards the city walls. In that instant, the realm tremored! That was a punch from the witch! It wasparable to a True Divine! It could not be dodged! Almost no one could block it! If itnded on the city walls, the walls would have definitely given way. "Xing!" On top of the city walls, a sun appeared behind Elder Xi Chen¡¯s back. As its corona extended, its spiritual territory spread across the area. "Dream masters at the 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine stage can actualise spiritualnds and wield power over thend! Furthermore... they can create spirituality and even actualise a tribe, but not humans..." Fang Yuan thought. Fang Yuan stared intently at this scene. Such high-levelled battles were extremely umon. "Roar!" The sun shined brightly high in the sky. Under the corona¡¯s territory, it was as though the entire city walls were blessed. The Xia Tribe soldiers standing on it were energised while the Jiuli soldiers were badly scorched and injured. Furthermore, in front of the city gates, two 100 feet tall beasts emerged from the cracks in the earth. One was in the form of a dragon while the other was in the form of a tiger and their eyes brimmed with intelligence. They then roared loudly as they pounced towards the punching giant. "Bang!" A loud bang could be heard and the tiger and dragon erupted. Large amounts of rocks scattered down and a bloody scent filled the air. The punching giant also disappeared without a trace left. "The head of Xia Tribe, Xi?!" As Xing watched, a bloodthirsty glow emitted from his eyes, it was as though he had found his most wanted prey. He ferociously sprang forward so quickly as though he travelled through time and arrived below the city walls in two steps. Xing raised his giant axe high up and dared, "I dare you toe down and fight!" "Why would I dare not?" Xi leapt down lightly and a long sword appeared on his hand. The sword was straight and well built while its de had four sides to it. One side was carved with the sun, the moon and the stars. Another side was carved with mountains, rivers, trees and grass. Another side was inscribed with agricultural techniques. Thest side was inscribed with military tactics to rule the world. The sword had a mighty meaning to it and was a heavenly sword! "Amazing sword!" Fang Yuan thought. Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes sparkled at the sight of the sword as he thought, "People dao fate energy is condensed on this sword, even if I reach the 7th Tier, my magical soldiers may not even beparable to this!" "Kill them all!" Xing swung his axe as he shouted. The axe swung wildly. Although it was barbaric, it was filled with an indescribable intrinsicality, it was as though it could create a world. Xi Chen parried with his sword. "ng!" An intense vibration spread across immediately. The eardrums of the soldiers in the nearby 100 feet radius ruptured at once and they copsed onto the floor screaming in pain. A 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master could actualise a group of beasts and utilise the power of its spiritual territory, it was natural that he could strengthen his body! Although Xi rarely demonstrated his skills, his body still contained numerous divine techniques. Additionally, with the blessings from the spiritualnd, his body wasparable to a martial artist Divine Body! "Haha! Good, again!" The inscriptions that covered Xing¡¯s entire body were like metal armour. His voice was filled with excitement as they were both equally matched, he continued, "You are the king of Xia Tribe, I will kill you fair and square! I will take away your everything!" "Breach the city walls and massacre Yang City!" As the two powerful leaders fought,rge numbers of ck shadows appeared outside Yang City which turned into numerous kinds of demons. Especially inside the waters, the ck shadows repeatedly attacked the seal on the Swelling Earth. "Quickly suppress them!" Ju stood high above and ordered all the dream masters, officials and priests of Xia Tribe to fight against the demons and those who possessed divine techniques in Jiuli Division. Fang Yuan fought dutifully. As he was a dream master at the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine stage, he picked a simrly powerful demon, a ck water dragon, to fight against. He fought against the demon slowly and used his sword spirit from time to time. The ck water dragon was one of the more skilled ones amongst the Hidden Dragon Guards. Although it cultivated for many years, it was no match for Fang Yuan¡¯s 3 Talents Sword Array¡¯s sword spirits. Thus, Fang Yuan could still observe the battlefield while fighting against it. "The two sides are evenly matched..." After scanning the surrounding with his spiritual will, Fang Yuan thought to himself, "Just that... the Hidden Dragon Guards have ced a powerful being leader into this realm. After the Realm Alliance was alerted to it, we have also sent more members here as reinforcements. Now we just have to wait and see who will make the first move!" A powerful being¡¯s patience should not be underestimated. In order to emerge victorious, it was nothing for them to lose tens of thousands of lives in Yang City! "However... in terms of contributions to people dao, fate energy and their intrinsic qualities, Xia Tribe is still way ahead of Jiuli Tribe! Even if Xia Tribe is defeated this time around, there will still be chances for them to rise again. Whereas if Jiuli Division is defeated this time around, their entire tribe would be doomed!" Fang Yuan thought. Fang Yuan moved his spiritual will. Indeed, momentster, the 9 cauldrons in the royal pce resonated and turned into 9 powerful beams of golden light. They soared through the skies and dug down to the earth before joining the battle. "Bang! Bang!" Although Xing had already cultivated his witchcraft dao Divine Body, he could not withstand the 9 cauldrons which suppressed people dao fate energy. Xing kept moving backwards while squeaking noises could be heard from his body. "The Jiuli has been defeated! Us Xia Tribe form the people dao with our 9 cauldrons and obtain fate energy by ourselves! Xi Chen¡¯s voice could still be heard, "Today... I will use the 9 cauldrons to cultivate thatst resistance of yours!" As he spoke, mes erupted from the 9 cauldrons and seared Xing¡¯s Divine Body. "Boom!" It was as though hot oil just touched water. Originally, the inscriptions on Xing¡¯s body were imprable. But now, he could only scream bloody murder as the mes of the people dao seared him. Streaks of ck vapour appeared as the inscriptions on his body disintegrated continuously. Chapter 361: Resurrection Chapter 361: Resurrection Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "ming!" The divine mes of people dao had a golden radiance to it. It was as though it sang praises to the culture and the magnificence of the civilisation. It symbolised the wishes of the humans and was filled with hope and beauty. However, the divine mes were Xing¡¯s witchcraft dao Divine Body¡¯s nemesis! The moment the mes touched his body, the spiritual inscriptions on his body disintegrated immediately! "Holy!" Numerous souls of past heroes appeared and surrounded Xi. They began chanting and shined brightly as though Xi was a god. Xi¡¯s eyes glistened. He raised his heavenly sword and sliced towards Xing¡¯s neck! "Sigh......" A low pitched sigh could be heard rumbling. An earthquake erupted and a gigantic red coloured snake rose from the cracks on the ground. The gigantic snake¡¯s body was totally red. It had a human face, a snake body and only one eye. When its snake-like eye was shut, the entire skies turned dark at once; once the snake opened its eye, the skies were bright again at once, as though the sun was red and shining brightly! "Xi Chen!" The snake roared and it¡¯s sun-like radiance shined on Xi¡¯s body. "Back off!" After the snake appeared, the ground was tattered and in pieces. Even parts of the city walls of Yang City were destroyed. Both the armies of Xia Tribe and Jiuli Tribe suffered from the natural disaster as many of their soldiers were buried under piles of rocks and stones. "This is the... Torch Dragon?" Fang Yuan was surrounded by his sword essences. A green coloured beam of light flew out and shattered a huge piece of rock in front of him. He no longer cared about the ck water dragon he was fighting against and he quickly moved backwards. It was recorded in , "...There is a god-human here with a human face and a snake¡¯s body, and he is scarlet. He has vertical eyes that are in a straight seam. When this deity closes his eyes, there is darkness. When the deity looks with his eyes, there is light. He neither eats, nor sleeps, nor breathes. The wind and the rain are at his beck and call. This deity shines his torch over the ninefold darkness. This deity is Torch Dragon!" The giant snake that just appeared was exactly the same as the Torch Dragon. Except, the legend of the Torch Dragon stated that it was a thousand leagues long, however, this Torch Dragon was only at most half a mile long. Nevertheless, its might was already earth-shattering. "It has hidden well deep within the earth! Once it appears, it moves as rapidly as lightning and thunder! A possessed body cultivated by a leader of the Hidden Dragon Guards indeed!" Evidently, the Torch Dragon was the possessed body of a powerful being at the 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine. Furthermore, it had cultivated for extremely long to umte such a terrifying power! "Haha... Jiu Yinzi, you finally appeared!" No one could move closer to the battle between the powerful beings. But suddenly, a rough voice could be heard. "Huuuuu! Huuuuuu!" High above the skies, the originally pristine and white clouds turned red at once. A dragon head that was spitting mes emerged from the clouds and directly blocked the Torch Dragon¡¯s radiance. "This voice!" Fang Yuan raised his head and saw the clouds dispersing. A 6 Headed Fiery Dragon brandished its ws and leapt down. Its target was the Torch Dragon. "Elder Smelter! Can¡¯t believe the reinforcement sent here is him!" As the reinforcement was a familiar person, Fang Yuan had no thoughts of going forward to acquaint each other. Instead, he moved away immediately. Just from the reverberation formed between the battle of two powerful beings at the 7th Stage of Illusionary Divine would severely injure people! Only fools would charge forward! "Smelter!" The Torch Dragon and the 6 Headed Fiery Dragon coiled around each other. A sinister smile appeared on the Torch Dragon¡¯s human face as he sniggered, "You are the person I wanted to lure over!" "What?" Xi Chen was shocked. He utilised his spiritual will and thought of something immediately, "The Hidden Dragon Guards still have further assistance? Impossible! Our leader has already confirmed, other than Jiu Yinzi, the rest are in other realms!" A powerful being¡¯s heart had been forged through numerous experiences, it was extremely resolute. Even though he was flustered, his jade-like hands were still resolute as ever as he sliced Xing¡¯s neck. "Bam!" The witchcraft inscriptions on Xing¡¯s body were already burnt by the divine mes of people dao. Now, with a sh from a powerful being¡¯s heavenly sword, his head flew up and warm blood spewed everywhere. "Hate! Hate! Hate!" Although Xing was already decapitated, his body still stood still. He used his fingers and wrote the word "hate" thrice with blood. "Kaboom!" An ominous stream of air filled with grievances shot up the skies and absorbed the dark red clouds before returning momentster. "I, Xing of Jiuli Tribe, sacrifice my own body for the heavens! No regrets in death! Only to seek vengeance!" "Kaboom!" A purple coloured lightning shed and struck Xing¡¯s headless corpse. A strange transformation began at once. A pair of eyes appeared on Xing¡¯s bare chest and his belly button turned into a mouth. It then roared and its voice was that of an ancient person, "I am... back!!!" "Kaboom!" Dark clouds loomed and purple bolts of lightning shed. An enormous headless apparition appeared and merged with Xing¡¯s body. An indescribable and petrifying atmosphere loomed at once! "This is... revival with a drop of blood? No, it¡¯s possession! This is not Xing, this is Chi!" Xi Chen eximed. "Ancient survivors? Demons from outside? Die!" The eyes on Chi¡¯s chest stared intently at Xi. He moved his right arm and the glow of an axe struck at once. At the same time, the nine ck coloured blood dragons on his body emerged and roared. They easily broke free from the 9 Cauldrons¡¯ suppression. "ng!" The axe and the sword shed against each other and Xi moved back immediately. Cracks formed on the people dao heavenly sword at once. "Chi is powerful indeed! He fought against the Sage before! In terms of power, he is even more powerful than Xing!" Xi Chen¡¯s stare intensified as he continued, "Also... he seems to be boosted by tribal energy and the grievances of the heavens and earth. He is enacting punishment for the heavens and cannot be suppressed by the 9 Cauldrons!" "Kill! Kill! Kill!" The headless Chi strode forward and thend tremored along, it even trampled the spiritual territory! With yet another swing of his axe, he roared, "Evil demons from outside, die! War!!!" The moment the word "war" came out of his mouth, the atmosphere changed at once. It was as though the energy from the entire realm¡¯s wars gathered and condensed on his giant axe. In the surrounding, scenes of wars and battles appeared which pushed away the other spiritual territories. Even the Torch Dragon and the Fiery Dragon were pushed aside. Furthermore, a purple lightning struck down and merged with the giant axe. "Ah! Assist me, Green Wood!" It was the first time Xi lost hisposure. He sent out a spiritual will. "The lush green forest thrives! Even if wildfires burn it down, it will regrow the next Spring!" Inside the royal pce, a skinny elder in a green rope appeared. With every step he took, the surroundings turned into lush greenery that flourished luxuriantly. "Fire from wood! Haste!" A spiritual territory filled with greenery extended forward andplemented Xi Chen¡¯s sun. The situation was stabilised as they withstood the war energy from the battles in the 9 Regions. "Such a pity..." Xi Chen thought. Xi Chen watched and shook his head as he thought, "After all, this spiritual territory of mine is not purely true fire-type. If the two elders, Green Wood and Smelter, can cooperate with each other, their power would betterplement each other. Sadly, the two of them hold grudges against each other and it would be impossible for them to join forces!" "Another one!" Army Leader Chi remained unfazed and unafraid as he strode forward into the ovepped spiritual territories. "Die!" Behind him, the silhouette of the 9 Regions appeared. On top of it, scenes of countless of soldiers battling were depicted. Other than the northern areas, fierce battles could be seen in the eastern, western and southern areas. Even the ovepped spiritual territories near Chi¡¯s body were weakened. "Chi built up himself through numerous wars. Now that the 9 Regions are in war, he is conforming to the heavenly trend!" Green Wood¡¯s expression turned solemn and he spoke to Xi Chen, "Elder Xi Chen, it¡¯s time to use our all!" "That¡¯s right!" After Xi Chen agreed, all the giant trees in the spiritual territory opened their eyes and transformed into giant battle tree men. Faeries that resembled fire phoenixes also appeared and they formed arge army that charged towards Chi. These were all faeries actualised by the two powerful beings during their spare time. They were meticulously trained and their power wasparable to Illusionary Divine dream masters. Furthermore, they could travel out of the spiritual territory alone to fight as they had their own foundation and elemental energy. However, they were willing to sacrifice all of them now just to deplete some of Chi¡¯s strength. As Army Leader Chi had resurrected and was boosted by the realm¡¯s war energy, even though the two powerful beings joined hands, they did not know how to defeat him. ... At another area of the battle, the Torch Dragon was fighting against the 6 Headed Fiery Dragon. Jiu Yinzi then sneered, "Hehe... can¡¯t believe they sent three elders here! Your Realm Alliance doesn¡¯t care about or want the other realms or even Da Qian anymore?" There were only 7 powerful being elders in the Realm Alliance. They were putting all their eggs in the same basket by sending almost half of them here! "Three elders?!" Far away, Fang Yuan had a simr reaction. As there were three dream masters at the 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine here, it was no wonder Xi Chen was so confident. With their power, even though army leader Chi resurrected, they could still defeat him! "Just that..." A curious look appeared on Fang Yuan¡¯s face as he thought, "I don¡¯t think the Hidden Dragon Guards have fully revealed all their hidden cards up their sleeve!" When Fang Yuan killed Wu Zhiqist time, Wu Zhiqi purposefully hid something. As the Hidden Dragon Guards had yet to utilise it now, Fang Yuan immediately knew they still had some tricks up their sleeve. "It is too dangerous for me to go to the epicentre of the battle now... Why don¡¯t I..." The corner of Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glistened and he turned into a gust of wind immediately that floated out of Yang City. ... Deep in the mountains, a loud bang was heard suddenly. A ck coloured head fell from the sky and smashed the ground violently, forming a small crater. However, although the head was severed, there was no blood flowing from it. It was extremely strange. "Huu..." Momentster, it even opened its eyes. "I am not Chi, I am Xing!" "By sacrificing my body and my blood, I resurrected the mighty ancestor, Chi! This is enough..., I should now think for myself! Witchcraft divine technique, Revival Technique!" A bloody glow shined from his eyes andrge amounts of blood flowed down his neck which slowly formed the shape of a human. Bones, blood vessels and muscles appeared one by one. Lastly, a gust of ck air floated over and engulfed him. Momentster, a deity-like man with a body that glowed like jade walked out of the crater. It kept caressing its face and body while eximing, "Great! Although I sacrificed my flesh body, I inherited Chi¡¯s legacy! It was not in vain... Just that it¡¯s such a pity, this witchcraft divine technique was created by the Army Leader years after his death from all his grievances. Else, he could have recovered his Divine Body back then and fought for the world with Gu!" At that moment, he closed his eyes slightly and furrowed his brows, "I have lost half its divine techniques and strength. Based on Army Leader¡¯s instructions, I need to leave immediately with the seeds of Jiuli Division to preserve ourst remaining bloodline!" Xing touched the area between his eyebrows and a red line could be partly felt. That was the witch¡¯s vital blood, it was a gift from Chi. Although Xing was weak now, he only needed some time before he could fully recover. "Army Leader... you have to win!" As Xing gazed towards Yang City, tears flowed down his face. Suddenly, he turned around. His eyes red viciously as he shouted, "Who¡¯s that?" Chapter 362: Surreptitious Chapter 362: Surreptitious Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "I thought the witches were reckless and simple-minded people. Who would have thought there would be smart ones among them that thought ahead and thought about their future?" Fang Yuan walked out of the forest and apuded. "Don¡¯t go about looking for the priests. I have already dealt with them!" The other dream masters hid as soon as they realised that the powerful dream masters were fighting against one another. None of them would have imagined Fang Yuan would be so daring to leave the city and enter the enemy¡¯s territory. Therefore, Fang Yuan managed to obtain a great opportunity. If the demise of Xing was Army Leader Chi¡¯s n to revive, what would it mean for Xing to be a leader? "Is the ability to split one¡¯s head and body a witchcraft ability?" Fang Yuan waved his hands and 4 magical swords appeared. Harnessing the power of water, fire, wind and thunder, he quickly captured Xing within. "Your original form is indeed powerful. However, in order to let Chi revive, you had to sacrifice a huge amount of energy and use up your magical bloodline to execute the revival technique. How much do you have left in you?" Without hesitation, he released his most powerful 4 Emblems Sword Array as he wanted his enemy to lose all hope of winning and end the fight as quickly as possible. "Master has instructed us to kill the witches!" The 4 magical swords had spirituality and their concentrated sword essences gathered in the centre. Furthermore, it felt like an entire realm on its own as it started to constrict. "Is this... another realm? No, this is just a miniature version of another realm!" Seeing this, Xing eximed loudly. "If my original body was still here, I can turn you into a pile of bloodied meat with a swing of my axe. Who are you, you despicable foreign demon?" "I am... Yuan! However, don¡¯t bother remembering my name, for a dead person does not need to know all these! 4 Emblems Sword Array, kill!" Thepleted 4 Emblems Sword Array could form a miniature version of a realm and was vastly different from other arrays. This was the secret of the 8 Gates Sword Array. If dream masters from the main world were to see it, they would be able to identify it. However, Xing was a native of the Ancient Realm and could never spread this piece of information out. "Chi! Chi!" Red, blue, purple and green streaks of light gathered. With the power of the different elements, a huge was formed, covering all possible escape routes. "Oh, so you¡¯re Yuan!" Xing roared as he smashed his fists outwards. "Buzz!" The entire array shook, but the formed from sword essence continued to float towards him. "Chi!" Xing quickly retreated and realised that his fists were full of blood. His eyes turned bloodshot. "I hate this! Foreign demon, you will get your retribution!" "You speak too much nonsense! Die!" With his thoughts, Fang Yuan fused the on Xing, resulting in a fog of blood spewing out. This fog of blood was extremely concentrated and had a ck hue. In it, there seemed to be countless faces of witches cursing and struggling. "Purify!" Seeing what Xing did previously, Fang Yuan was still a little fearful of the Revival Technique. Therefore, hemanded the array to turn into mes and purify Xing¡¯s blood. "I¡¯m afraid that Xing is not even 1% of what he used to be. However, his physical body is still here. The fact that the 4 Emblems Sword Array is able to kill him means that there is no doubt about its power!" Fang Yuan had a look of satisfaction on his face. The mes raged on as he finally purified thest drop of blood and grieving soul from Xing¡¯s body. Finally, all that was left was a drop of blood essence. Like an earthworm, it started to wriggle with spirituality. "It is indeed the blood of a powerful being to be able to survive all this. However, none of this would matter! Thunder Sword!" Within the 4 Emblems Sword Array, Fang Yuan was God! With the wave of his hand, the Thunder Sword appeared in his hands and was shimmering. "Ah!!!" A vengeful shriek was heard, which even shook Fang Yuan. This was all that was left of Xing in this realm, and yet it was destroyed by Fang Yuan. Without a consciousness, the drop of blood finally stopped moving. It waspletely purified and was now a drop of dull-red blood crystal. "Although Xi had given me a drop of blood from a powerful witch before, that was nothingpared to this!" Fang Yuan had a look of happiness on his face. Suddenly, his hair stood on end. Being decisive, he kept the sword array and quickly left. "This is..." He could feel a sense of worry in him, which was a familiar feeling. "Is this how the realm discriminates against us? Even the 9 Cauldrons of the people dao cannot overpower it?" Dream masters were ultimately people from the outside world. This was simr to the previous Hui Realm and Water Realm. If one were to go against the heavens, there would be tribtions! There were exceptions in the Ancient Realm due to the fact that the Realm Alliance had control over the people dao and could manage it using the 9 Cauldrons! Now, the 9 Cauldrons were no longer in power and it was a fact that Fang Yuan had destroyed the bloodline of a witch. This was the bacsh that he was about to experience! "Could there be heavenly streaks of lightning?" Fang Yuan gazed up at the cloudy sky and was feeling extremely tensed up. After he left, peace was restored in the mountains. A few momentster, a few streaks of light flew into the mountains. There were a few exmations and their voices were filled with hatred and despair. ... On Fang Mountain. Wei strapped a bow behind her back and as she was patrolling, she kicked a piece of rock. "D*mn you, Yuan... Don¡¯t you know how I feel towards you? Why did you not bring me along! Please, let nothing bad happen to you!" Thoughts ran wild in her mind. Suddenly, a ck shadow flew across her head. "Lord Wei!" The warriors around her eximed. "These are the mysterious beasts from the Secluded Capital Mountain. They¡¯re here once more!" Although the name of the mountain had long been changed, they were still more used to its old name. "I see it!" The ck shadow was a huge ck bird. It resembled a phoenix and had a long tail and was covered in golden-ck feathers. Wei adored it the moment she saw it. "This is my prey!" Without thinking, she pulled her bow and fired an arrow. "Whoosh!" Her archery skills were impressive all along. Now that she was equipped with the best bow of the Xia Tribe, she was even more urate and deadly than before. Regardless, with the p of its wings, the bird was able to avoid the arrow. Startled, the ck bird did not dare to linger around any longer and flew straight towards Fang Mountain. "After it!" Without thinking, Wei chased it into Fang mountain. "I want to gather its feathers and give it to Yuan as his victory gift!" She was extremely fast. In a few moments, the warriors behind her could no longer catch up as she entered the depths of the mountains. "Chirp! Chirp!" Following the high-pitched chirping of the bird, Wei bashed her way through the dense vegetation and soon arrived at a cliff. As soon as she arrived, she could see the bird lying on the ground. Seeing her arrival, the bird quickly spread its wings and flew into the sky. In a moment, it became a ck dot and disappeared. On the ground where it onceid, there was a huge and round egg. There was still steaming from the egg. "This egg..." Wei took a step forward and knocked the egg with her knuckles. There was a look of suspicion in her eyes. "... it¡¯s edible, right?" ... "Eh? What happened?" Fang Yuan made his way to Yang City. In that instant, the feeling of worry which was bugging him was gone. Not just that, he felt as though he was integrated into the world. ¡¯This feeling... it is simr to how I used Realm Evidence to enter the Water Realm previously. However, I can feel it more this time... Has this realmpletely epted me?¡¯ Fang Yuan remained stunned as thoughts ran through his mind. ¡¯Could it be... that the prayers of my tribe are working? That my division has the blessing of the heavens?¡¯ At this point in time, there were a few developments on the battlefield. Above the battlefield, there was a huge sun. Beneath it, there was a huge green wooden trunk which rose towards the sky. Bybining forces, the 2 powerful dream masters finally managed to contain the energy of the 9 Regions¡¯ soldiers. Even Army Leader Chi¡¯s voice was starting to soften. "You have killed so many young people... and now you still want to make so much noise? Jiu Yinzi, how would you like to die?" From the fiery dragon next to him came the mocking voice of Elder Smelter. "I want to see all of you dead! Keke..." Jiu Yinzi, in the form of a Torch Dragon, gave a sinisterugh. "Whoosh!" Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling noise. The earth gave way and a headless illusionary figure covered in wounds appeared from a glow. "Kill!" Xi Chen exchanged nces with Green Wood before channelling their power to oppose Chi¡¯s body. Whoosh!" The witchcraft dao Divine Body of Chi immediately cracked. The skies started to rain blood, and a fresh-red heart suddenly appeared in mid-air, pounding with life. "Roar! Roar!" As the clouds gave way, the ferocious-looking head of a leader appeared. The heart started tobine with the head. Blood started to spew everywhere as a huge body was being formed. "I am Chi! I am invincible!" A strong spiritual will was felt from his body. "Every death I undergo will only strengthen me!" "We must kill him for good!" Two strong forces started to pound towards Chi, but they were held back byyers of ck fog. Xi Chen looked at Green Wood once more and had a worried look on his face. "Has his power as a witch increased once more? Could he really absorb vengeance from the realm just before his death?" "Hiss! Hiss!" At this point in time, from the riverbed of Yang River, a long and slithering silhouette appeared. "Whoosh!" As a ssh emerged from the river, a huge demon was revealed. This was a snake demon. However, it had 9 heads and each of its head had corrosive and poisonous venom. With the flick of its tail, the seal formed by the Swelling Earth immediately shattered. "Rumble!" As soon as the seal broke, terrifying waves of the river crashed out, smashing into the already weakened city walls. "Bang!" The entire wall cracked as the river water started to flood into Yang City mercilessly, carrying with it everything that was in its way. Against such a cmity, normal warriors stood no chance and were all killed, regardless if they were from Xia Tribe or Jiuli Tribe. "It¡¯s Xiang Liu!" The powerful dream masters of Realm Alliance heaved a sigh of relief. "This is not its actual soul and therefore, its powers are limited!" "Hiss! Hiss! Burn the demonic body to deliver one single powerful blow!" At this point in time, there was a mysterious glow on the 9 heads of Xiang Liu. As the blood in its body burned, waves of energy started to spread. "Venerable elders, I am here to help you!" At that moment, the green sun exploded towards Chi, who was forming the Divine Body! Even though Chi was bing increasingly powerful, against the 3 powerful dream masters, the ck fog around him gave way, revealing his true body. "Chi!" Blood spewed everywhere as the green sun exploded towards Chi¡¯s body. It imprinted ck runes on his body, which gave off a mysterious vibe. "Never trust them! They are demons from the outside world!" Chi raged angrily. "Haha.... It¡¯s toote. You would truly die once we destroy your witch bloodline. I wonder how will the world change if we were to offer you as a piece of offering to the heavens?" Xiang Liuughed before copsing and losing its breath. Chapter 363: Heavenly Trend Chapter 363: Heavenly Trend Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Xiang Liu! How could the secret move of the Hidden Dragon Guards, the strike of a 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master, be exhausted on Chi? Xi Chen and Green Wood began to suspect something. Now that everything was on the edge, they exerted their powers as well, expelling everything on Army Leader Chi¡¯s Divine Body. "Buzz! Buzz!" The dark runes on Chi¡¯s Ultimate Witch Body turned into mes and surprisingly started to burn him alive. "In today¡¯s defeat, our ancestral bloodline will forever be lost. There is so much hate! Hate! Hate! You demons are disgusting!" Chi¡¯s head continued to roar and tears seemed to be welling up in his eyes. With that, his head started to burn. In mid-air, blood-red fate energy started to disperse quickly. "This is the tribal energy of Jiuli Tribe, and Chi was merely the body which the tribal energy had chosen to enter... After this episode, there will no more Jiuli Tribe!" Xi Chen sighed as he looked at the Torch Dragon. "What is the intention of the Hidden Dragon Guards?" "What intention? You¡¯ll know very soon!" The Torch Dragon broke intoughter. Quickly, it lost its breath and fell to the ground. "Crash!" The huge corpse of the Torch Dragon fell into the gushing water. In a few moments, it was entirely consumed by the river and disappeared. Considering that they were all powerful dream masters in a foreign realm, if anyone of them wanted to die to leave the realm, no one would be able to stop them, even if 3 powerful dream masters were toe together tobine forces! "What does he intend to do?" Elder Smelter gazed down and could see that everywhere was flooded. The normal Jiuli Tribe members and Xia Tribe members were long dead. Just a scene of death gave him an ufortable feeling. "This is not good..." "Rumble!!!" In the next moment, the entire world shook and many clouds resembling fish scales started to cover the sky. Streaks of lightning danced around. The power of tribtions came from the source of energy of the realm. By harnessing the power directly from the source of energy, tribtions would be terrifying! "Why is this happening? The Xia people are the main people of the people dao, and we have the 9 Cauldrons to control our fate energy..." Xi Chen froze and subsequently gazed down. The water from the river flooded the entire ce, turning the whole Yang City into ake city. Other than a few survivors, everyone was killed and corpses floated around. Furthermore, the water continued to gush towards the pce, flooding the entire ce and covering the 9 Cauldrons as well. "Rippp!" A streak of lightning struck down towards the cauldrons and immediately, cracks appeared on the surfaces of the cauldrons. There was a tremor felt. As the water continued to flow, the 9 Cauldrons were being carried away. "The 9 Cauldrons are made from normal materials. What makes it such a strong treasure is the fact that it is filled with the fate energy of the people dao..." Xi Chen witnessed the entire scene and suddenly came to a realisation. "The people of Jiuli are the original natives of this world. Therefore, they still had a portion of fate energy with them. Now that we have destroyed their bloodline, the heavens have noticed it and are angry!" "Initially, this shouldn¡¯t trouble us at all. Even if there were tribtions, we could still defend ourselves with the 9 Cauldrons... However, now that the Xia people are mostly dead, the people dao is weakened and we have lost the fate energy!" Without the Xia people to manipte the people dao, they could no longer affect the heavenly dao! This was why there were tribtions now! "Someone secretly altered the fate of the Xia people and even prevented us from detecting it!" Green Wood started to predict before letting out a shriek. "The 3 of us are dream masters in the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. Only a dream master in the Prominent Divine stage could do this! It¡¯s the Head of the Hidden Dragon Guards!" "D*mn it!" Elder Smelter gazed into the sky as the green streak of lightning started to turn purple. "The source of energy of the Ancient Realm is extremely concentrated. If we are to bear the brunt of it, we will have no chance of survival..." Even Sages could only create hollows which depended on the main world. Now that an entire realm was enraged, which dream master would be able to bear the tribtion and survive? "Rumble!" As the entire realm shook, a huge force was felt upon the few dream masters. Blood rain started to fall. Everyone was fearful, dream masters of the Realm Alliance and demons alike. "Heavenly tribtion! Heavenly Tribtion! Our True Spirits cannot escape!" "What? I thought there isn¡¯t any Heavenly Spiritual Image?!... This is the world sealing us in it!" Xi Chen quickly reacted and could feel the immense force. "After a certain limit, anything foreign within the area would be killed by the tribtion! This realm is trying to kill us all! Furthermore, I have not seen this type of seal before!" No matter how powerful the 3 of them were, they could still feel fear as the realm raged upon them! "Rumble!" As the blood rain fell, purple streaks of lightning struck down. Two demons and a few dream masters of the Realm Alliance were pulverized! ... Outside the Ancient Realm. A huge hand floated in mid-air and paused for a moment at the boundary of the Ancient Realm. On it, there was a mysterious colourful glow. With the mysterious glow, the solidified wall of defence at the boundary of the realm started to melt, revealing a realm in turmoil. ¡¯The world is starting to awaken and is discriminating against the foreigners! Head of Hidden Dragon Guards, I will settle this score with you!¡¯ From the huge hand, there was an anxious voice heard. "Haha... since you want to settle the score with me, let¡¯s fight!" Outside the realm, another huge green hand appeared. It flew up and pressed down against the entire realm. "Ancient! You shall decide if you want to save your own people or fight against me!" The giant hand which had arrived first was stunned. With that, it used its nails to carve an opening from the boundary¡¯s membrane. "Bang!" In the next moment, the giant green hand flew towards the other hand, grabbing on three of its fingers and pulled it towards the ground. As the space around them vibrated, there was silence for a while before a spiritual will was heard. "Head of Hidden Dragon Guards! Good! You¡¯re good!" "Of course I¡¯m good. This Ancient Realm was named after you and used to be your home ground. But now, we¡¯re even!" The spiritual will of the Head of Hidden Dragon Guardsughed. "The consciousness of the realm is waking up and it will choose whoever it wants to take over the 9 Regions! In this period, you will have to consume a lot of energy before you can arrive... I know, you¡¯ve always wanted to reap rewards from this world for the third time and advance to the Prominent Divine stage. Hehe... look what happened now! Since you are a Sage and have once made your way through to conquer this realm, you can try to do it again!" The Ancient Realm¡¯s consciousness was asleep and was only functioning on its subconsciousness. Therefore, The Ancient One was able to conquer the realm and use the 9 Cauldrons to control fate energy, therefore affecting the heavenly dao through the people dao. However, the Head of Hidden Dragon Guards had subtly awakened the consciousness of the realm and had made use of eliminating the bloodline of Jiuli Tribe to anger the consciousness of the realm so as to allow it to cleanse the realm of foreigners. Even a Sage would have to put in a lot of effort to go against the consciousness of a realm. Time would pass and there would be another favoured tribe in the future. The Xia Tribe would slowly be written in the history books. The Head of Hidden Dragon Guards had only meticulously made use of everything that was in ce to achieve his objective. With that, everything that The Ancient One had left in the realm was all gone, and the dream masters which the Realm Alliance had sent into the realm were also sacrificed! The Realm Alliance had invested 3 dream masters of the 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine stage to guard the realm only because they had been warned, and countless other dream masters were sacrificed as well. What about the Hidden Dragon Guards? They only had a powerful dream master in the form of a Torch Dragon, which had taken his leave earlier on. Therefore, even if the Ancient World were to sort the foreigners out, The Ancient One would be the only one desperate, for his disciples were all trapped in the realm! ... Within the Ancient Realm. "Eh?" Xi Chen could feel that the realm was not as restrictive as before and was ted. "Master must have helped us to weaken the realm¡¯s defence. Let¡¯s go!" Without thinking, he mmed his palm on his forehead. With that, his head exploded and his True Spirit quickly flew out and disappeared. "This is a good opportunity!" Elder Green Wood sighed. "We can take our leave quickly, but as for the weaker dream masters, they¡¯ll have to depend on their luck! Go!" "It¡¯s a pity that hundreds of years of preparation is now destroyed!" Elder Smelter sighed and closed his eyes. The fiery dragon lost its breath and fell to the ground. "Go!" Seeing all that had happened, Fang Yuan remained emotionless and went into a daze. Beside him, Tong gritted his teeth and killed himself, escaping the realm. Ju was a little unfortunate. It seemed as though he had insufficient fate energy since his True Spirit was unable to escape after his death. It froze in the air as though the realm had detected it and prevented it from escaping. With a bolt of lightning, his True Spirit was reduced to ashes. Fang Yuan stretched his hands out and within a few moments, a puddle of blood was collected on his hands. His clothes were drenched in blood as well and he became a bloodied man. Other than that, there was nothing much. It seemed as though Fang Yuan had understood what had happened in the past few moments. "The realm is discriminating against the foreigners, but it has forgotten about me? What¡¯s this about..." He started to think to himself. The power of the realm was immense and it was probably even more powerful than a Sage! But now, all the dream masters were being dealt with except himself. What a chance this was! ¡¯If wepare this to the analogy of a game, this game has turned from a public game to a private game!¡¯ Fang Yuan¡¯s heart started to burn with excitement. Seeing the desperate faces of the dream masters around him, Fang Yuan thought to himself. ¡¯But... at the very least, I still have to put on an act. After all, I have the coordinates of this realm. I can secretly return in the future!¡¯ With that determination, he killed his own body as his True Spirit started to leave. However, he was different from the other dream masters who were desperately making use of this opportunity to escape while the defence of the realm was weakened. Fang Yuan was not targeted by the realm and therefore, his escape was smooth. ... Fang Mountain. "Ah! It¡¯s pain!" In a room, Weiid on a bed and shrieked. "Quicky! Send over the witch doctor and priest!" "Yes! However..." The two female servants looked at her bulging stomach as though she had been pregnant for 10 months. ¡¯If I¡¯d knew earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have eaten that egg!¡¯ The greedy woman was filled with regret. Suddenly, she could feel a kick in her stomach. With that, she started to scream. "No... I don¡¯t want to be a mother!" "Get a few experienced women here!" The priest arrived outside the house and appeared solemn. He allowed a few olddies to enter before walking towards the altar and started his predictions. "Rumble!" Dark clouds started to gather and a streak of lightning struck down. With that, the distinct cries of a baby were heard. At the same time, he held onto the oracle bone and started to read into the pattern on it. With his solemn face, he seemed to have interpreted the prediction. "Giving birth to a child after eating an egg! It is a prosperous thing!" Chapter 364: Test Chapter 364: Test Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Golden Sun Prosperous Land, Da Qian Empire. "Life is like a dream!" Fang Yuan stretched his body, walked out of the meditation room and shook the golden bell. "Sir, you are awake?" The maids waiting outside the room were pleasantly surprised and went inside the room to help Fang Yuan wash up. Momentster, a female cook served him food. The jade bowl was filled with Yellow Grain Rice and there were also a few side dishes made from spiritual fruits and vegetables. The in tasting meal really suited Fang Yuan¡¯s pte as he had isted himself for a long time. "Not bad..." Fang Yuan ate the rice with his spoon and felt warmth in his body as his dream elemental force recovered. He was very satisfied. "You all are dismissed!" After finishing his meal, he dismissed his servants and sat cross-legged. "Stats!" A screen that could only be seen by him appeared. "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 48 Spirit: 48 Magic: 60 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (4th Tier), Wu Zong (5th Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 6) (1%)], [Hundred Poison Golden Body (1st Refining)], [8 Gates Sword Array (5th Sword) (1%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]" "After abandoning that body, the witchcraft abilities I cultivated are gone..." Fang Yuan expected it to happen. Using his spiritual will, he looked into his actualised dream world and saw that red drop of witch¡¯s vital blood. He smiled and thought, "With this, the dream traversing this time around was still worth it. Of course, what makes me even happier is the changes happening in Ancient Realm that caused it to purge foreigners. It has be my own realm..." He sensed that the originally vast realm had already shrunk itself. Concentrated amounts of heavenly energy had already formed a crystal wall with a hive-like structure that surrounded the realm, preventing it from being explored. It would be extremely difficult for dream masters to enter this realm from now on. "The realm shrank and it was now turbid like an egg. Such an extent... even if the Sage were to descend in the realm, it would require a lot of effort too? Furthermore, he will be suppressed and won¡¯t be as powerful..." Originally, with the help of the 9 Cauldrons of people dao, dream masters who entered the realm would at most have their strength halved and could recover their strength quickly. But now, even the Sage would not obtain his power so quickly if he entered the realm. "The Hidden Dragon Guards must have caused such changes! The Sage was so smart to stay outside the realm..." Fang Yuan let out a breath of air, "The Realm Alliance must have suffered great losses this time!" The method of escaping from the Ancient Realm this time was different from the usual method of leaving the realm. In order to escape as quickly as possible, many dream masters used a suicidal method to escape. Even dream masters at the 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine stage suffered losses. Furthermore, with the realm¡¯s seal, there was only a fifty-fifty chance of escaping! Fang Yuan closed his eyes and his spiritual will linked with the Dream Realm as he arrived at Realm Alliance Mountain. Although the ce remained the same, there were fewer people around. Many dream masters had a sombre look on their faces and it was as though something big was about to happen. "Looks like the Realm Alliance suffered great losses this time around..." Fang Yuan thought. It was truly extremely unlucky that the Hidden Dragon Guards set a ploy that misled and lured the Realm Alliance to send in more reinforcements. As Fang Yuan was in the Realm Alliance, it was natural that he knew about the situation as he had ties to the alliance. "Brother Fang!" A few messages appeared on his inscription te. The first message was from the Ye sisters, "We are very relieved to know that you are alright, little sister was very worried for you!" "There were some setbacks, but luckily I¡¯m alright!" Fang Yuan replied, "What¡¯s the situation like in the alliance?" "What else can it be like? Many were either injured or died! Only at most 40% of the dream masters returned from Ancient Realm, the rest died... The three elders were injured but their injuries were not too serious and they have already appeared to appease the people!" "That¡¯s great!" In actual fact, even the powers of 10 dream masters at the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divinebined would not beparable to that of a single dream master at the 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine. As long as those three elders were alright, the Realm Alliance would be alright. Of course, at such a moment, some of their strategies were affected by the losses. "Also..." Ye Shuhua hesitated for a moment before sending over another message, "Li Qin died... He was also one of the reinforcements this time!" "Li Qin?!" This enemy of his, the old-fashioned dream master at the 4th Tier of Illusionary Devine, died in the Ancient Realm too? Fang Yuan thought hard, other than the period thest reinforcements were sent, he was at the north the whole time. He had no impressions of him and could not help but to sigh. Although Fang Yuan still had some issues to settle with him, Fang Yuan never imagined he would just die like that. The realm was merciless. Fang Yuan only escaped due to his luck, but what about next time? Would he still have such amazing luck? ... Fang Yuan walked into Green Bronze Hall and saw Feng Xinzi just momentster. "Brother!" Feng Xinzi was dressed in a five-coloured robe and pill essence surrounded him exuberantly. His spirituality was astounding. Although he seemed tired, a happy expression appeared on his face the moment he saw Fang Yuan. "I heard you went to the Ancient Realm and was so worried for you! Now that I see you are all fine, my heart is relieved at once!" Realistically, only Feng Xinzi himself knew how he really felt inside his heart. Just that dreams masters were the masters of manipting their emotions and soul, no one would be able to tell they were faking. "I was just lucky!" Fang Yuan could not tell too. As Fang Yuan was cautious by nature, he replied cautiously and ensured nothing was leaked, thus blocking Feng Xinzi¡¯s attempt to probe. "Sigh... times are difficult!" Feng Xinzi sighed and continued, "Many died in the alliance this time, it is now a period of bereavement. Also, many positions are now empty and they have to be reced or removed.... You have done well this time and earned your merits! When you visit Elder Smelterter, your level of rights can be raised to 5th Leaf!" If Fang Yuan had received the 5th Leaf level of rights in the alliance, his level of rights would be equal to Feng Xinzi. Thus, this could not be decided so easily and Fang Yuan had to pass through the elder first. Feng Xinzi was slightly gloomy but he did not reveal it on his face and continued, "Just that, from the 5th Leaf onwards, you would be at the mid-high level and you have to pass through a test first!" Fang Yuan was speechless, he knew this was another attempt at systemic exploitation by the alliance. "A test?" Fang Yuan stared at Feng Xinzi deeply andughed all of a sudden, "What if I choose not to raise my level of rights?" "What?" Feng Xinzi¡¯s jaw dropped, he almost could not believe what he heard, "This... although there is no set rule, why would you choose not to ept a reward?" "Haha... I¡¯m just kidding. Let¡¯s talk about it once I meet the elder and obtain more information about the test!" Fang Yuan sped his hands and walked out the door. "Hng..." Many momentster, after there was no one else left in the Green Bronze Hall, Feng Xinzi¡¯s smile turned stiff and his expression turned sullen. ... "Heh... whatever 1st Leaf or 2nd Leaf level of rights is merely a status, it doesn¡¯t provide me with great authority in the alliance, the practical benefits are minute! I would be a fool to risk my life for such a thing!" Fang Yuan joined the Realm Alliance initially to resist the pressure from Divine Lotus Cult. Now, it was to avoid the effects of the big war once it started. He did not care much about his level of rights. As long as Fang Yuan himself was powerful as a dream master was all that mattered. At the 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine, he would be able to actualise spiritualnds and tribes. When he finally reached that stage, he would be truly powerful and relevant! What would that mere status matter? "Of course... now, I still need the Realm Alliance¡¯s protection. In these kinds of organisations, a lowly member would dare not disobey an order, even if it was an unspoken rule! There were ways for the organisation to force them! Hence, I still need to put up a facade... although I cannot disobey, I can drag and dy it!" Dying the test required some tricks too. Mentioning that he did not want to up his level of rights was just a way to prevent them from repeatedly forcing him to take the test. His own attitude would then slowly soften and his decision would flip back and forth. Overall, it was for him to have a battle of words with them! The time gained from dying would then be used to cultivate and strengthen himself. Once his power passed through a certain threshold, things would go his way. The test would no longer be a difficulty to him. Fang Yuan was all set in his n and went ahead to meet Elder Smelter. ... A few dayster, Golden Sun Prosperous Land. "After a few arguments, I managed to find out the baseline... I can still retain my Golden Sun Prosperous Land and the pact for me to not participate in other mandatory missions for 10 years. Just that I had to ept one mission!" Fang Yuan thought. In actual fact, he had no other choice. After the events in the Ancient Realm, three elders were injured and many alliance members died. The original arrangements were barely sufficient and new bloods had to rece these empty positions. Furthermore, it was not only him. Even Zhou Hun and other members of the alliance who worked behind the scenes were deployed too. "Also......I can only at most drag for half a year! In half a year, I need to strengthen myself!" Secretly entering Ancient Realm was the best way for Fang Yuan to strengthen himself. Although that realm was extremely defensive, it did not purge Fang Yuan. But now, after such events, it was very likely many higher beings were paying extra attention to him now. He would be caught if he were to enter the realm! Furthermore, the realm was in havoc now, it was obvious that the heavenly trend was changing. If he riskily entered the realm, even if he could reap great benefits, he would most likely garner hatred. Hence, Fang Yuan would not enter the realm and he still had to slowly n first. "Other than the Ancient Realm, the other coordinates I can contact are limited. Furthermore, they are small realms which were attacked numerous times and they would have nothing left..." Fang Yuan sighed, "Looks like I still have to cultivate more over a period of time first." Luckily, he did note back empty-handed from Ancient World. Inside his actualised dream world, a drop of blood-red coloured crystal vibrated slightly. It had a mysterious glow on it and was being repeatedly analysed, emitting bits and pieces of witchcraft dao¡¯s legacy. "Witches valued the body the most. Thisplements the Hundred Poison Golden Body technique I have been refining... If I can absorb this blood and fully analyse its divine techniques, my martial arts and body will greatly improve." "Other than that, I still have the inheritance from Sage Changli which I will be learning continuously from. At the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine, I can now see and analyse even more content!" "The most important things in this half a year would be this two!" Chapter 365: Fiery Golden Eyes Chapter 365: Fiery Golden Eyes Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions A few monthster, at the Golden Sun Prosperous Land. Fang Yuanid in a pool of hundred types of poison and both his hands were resting on the sides of the pool as though he was soaking in a hot spring tub. He had a look of enjoyment on his face. "I¡¯m afraid that I might just achieve the 10th Refining Stage today!" He opened his eyes and seemed excited. Fang Yuan had wholeheartedly epted the fact that he would have to undergo a test. He could not avoid the chaos in Da Qian. Even if he were to hide in an isted ce, he would still have to enter the Dream Realm and interact with the other dream masters, right? Anywhere with the existence of people would have civilisation! It would be the same for every organisation. Most of the yers in the game of chess had made their way from being pawns. The only difference which set them apart was that the yers had spent more time in the organisation than the pawns. Taking this time as an example, Fang Yuan could only ept what was given to him since it was the rules of the alliance. In his actualised dream world, a dragon pearl floated up and down and emitted a mysterious glow from it. Pieces of information started to flow out from it, which was subsequently ssified ording to the type of information. "I am only a middle-ranked dream master and yet, I have ess to all these information..." Fang Yuan started to read a recording which detailed the tips for a dream master to take note when dream-traversing. The information provided on this recording was much more detailed than that provided in the Dream Realm. Even 6th to 7th Leaf Cultivators might not be able to obtain these pieces of information. Now, all of these were his to enjoy. "Sage Changli seems to be an expert in dream-traversing... I have never heard of all his methods. He must be incredibly talented... I wonder what secrets are there in the heart of all of this information?" Fang Yuan retrieved a recording which detailed a technique in it. This technique was about retaining the True Spirits of dream masters in other realms to deny them of any chance of escaping. This piqued his interest as he continued to read in detail. Unknowingly, a few hours had passed and the pool of poisonous water had slowly cleared up. He climbed out of the pool, shook off the water droplets from his body and channelled a force throughout his entire body, clearing any residue from it. Water started to evaporate from his body as steam, revealing a clear-looking skin beneath. On the skin, there was ayer of metallic-gold hue. "I have finallypleted the 10th Refining Stage of the Hundred Poison Golden Body!" Fang Yuan let out a heavy breath and clenched his fists, cracking his knuckles in the process. "I can now use my physical body to fight against Meridian Opening Wu Zongs! Only such a body is strong enough to ept the blood essence of a witch!" Since he was unable to dream-traverse and reap rewards from other realms, the only way he could increase his cultivation in such a short period would be to absorb the blood essence of the witch. Although this was a good treasure, Fang Yuan still needed a good foundation before he could ept it. If he was a normal Wu Zong or even a Meridian Opening Wu Zong, he might destroy his own physical body if he were to absorb this blood essence. Fang Yuan had done multiple experiments and finally determined that the minimum strength he had to have before he could absorb the blood essence was that of the 10th Refining Body! The physical body was the source of one¡¯s essence, which waspletely different from the strength of a Wu Zong. However, it didn¡¯t matter. Fang Yuan already had a technique to strengthen his own physical body. With a single thought, the blood-red crystal in his actualised dream world exploded, turning into streaks of energy which entered his body. "Mmmm..." Fang Yuan gritted his teeth as his face turned ferocious. Beneath his skin, his green veins started to pop out and wriggle about like small snakes. His muscles started to grow and his physical body started to expand, turning him into a small giant. "The blood essence of a witch is indeed powerful... This is too strong!" He mumbled to himself as he felt as though his body was on the verge of breaking down. However, his strong spiritual will remained steadfast and unaffected by external factors, keeping himposed. "Buzz! Buzz!" Ayer of metallic-gold started to cover him. He did not explode into a bloodied mess purely because he had the foundation of a 10th Refining Body. However, that was not enough. As the blood of the witch entered his body, Fang Yuan felt as though there were countless untamed dragons surging about in his arteries. The huge force in his blood felt like magma, destroying anything in its path. Even with the protection of his Golden Body, there were countless bruises forming beneath his pores. "What¡¯s this... my original blood is being forced out? The blood essence of the witch is indeed demanding. Is it trying to change my entire body? What a pity... the only thing I want from you is your power!" Fang Yuan quickly summoned the sword essences of wind, thunder, water and fire around him. With the 4 elements, he formed a miniature realm around him, which started to strengthen his physical body. In his dantian, Fang Yuan¡¯s martial arts elemental force started to surge as it tried to take control of the force of the witch¡¯s blood. Although the barbaric force of the witch¡¯s blood was like an uncontrolled dragon, Fang Yuan¡¯s martial arts elemental force flowed continuously. Gaining an upper hand with an immense volume, it started to gain control over the blood essence of the witch with every passing day. 300 days! 600 days! 1,000 days! ... Time had passed. Suddenly, Fang Yuan¡¯s body shook and his elemental force surged. After all this while, he had finally absorbed more than half of the blood essence. Like scalding hot water, the burning sensation started to spread to his limbs. It was a numb and itchy feeling which alternated with a cold and hot feeling. "This time... It is not my blood that is changing. Instead, it is my blood trying to control the witch¡¯s blood which caused all these problems!" Fang Yuan knew that his physical body belonged to Da Qian and he was not prepared to visit the Ancient Realm regrly. Therefore, he did not want to change his blood entirely. Furthermore, the world in which he lived in might not ept the blood essence from a powerful being from an alternate realm. He might be restricted in certain ways if he were to change his blood. Therefore, the best way for him to make use of the witch¡¯s blood was to use it to strengthen his own. "I have long destroyed Xing¡¯s spirit. Now, I just have to merely tame the blood, for Xing¡¯s imprints still linger in it. Let¡¯s do this!" Fang Yuan¡¯s spiritual will shook. "Rumble!" His actualised dream world started to shake and information regarding witchcraft started to overflow. In his dantian, thest bits of resistance from the witch¡¯s blood started to die down and his inted body started to shrink. "Whoosh!" As his eyebrows twitched, with the wave of his hands, a dim red scab fell from his body as though a snake was shedding its skin. "I can use this opportunity to expel the poison in me..." Fang Yuan frowned as he quickly ripped apart the blood leeches on his body. Looking at his bronze skin, he remained speechless. Afterpletely absorbing the witch¡¯s blood essence, there were huge changes to his body. He clenched his right fist and immediately, there was a shattering sound as though the air in his fist was contracted. "Is this... my physical strength? It seems like this is not all..." He could clearly feel warmth in his eyes, which he could activate at will. "A magical ability? I get to use this ability which was once exclusive to only those with the martial arts divine body?" As he waved his hands, a mirror made out of water appeared, reflecting his godlike appearance. Fang Yuan examined himself. The young man in the mirror was handsome and energetic. He had beautiful eyes and as his eyes moved, they turned into a golden colour, like tiny mes in the eyes. "Is this the ability of a spiritual eye?" He gazed outwards and realised that he could now see through the walls of the hall and even through arrays. He could see the natural elemental energy in the surroundings. "I seem more suited to develop abilities that make use of my eyes!" After all of these, Fang Yuan seemed more matured and gentle. He smiled to himself. "Is this theplete version of the Fiery Eyes, the Fiery Golden Eyes?" With this, he called for this stats window and observed a huge change: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 96 Spirit: 48 Magic: 60 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (4th Tier), Wu Zong (5th Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 6) (1%)], [Hundred Poison Golden Body (10th Refining)], [8 Gates Sword Array (5th Sword) (1%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)], [Fiery Golden Eyes (Level 1)]" "Fiery Golden Eyes: The ability of a witch, formed from Level 5 of Fiery Eyes. It allows one to observe the future and perform predictions, and can nullify most spells! Currently at Level 1!" "This is indeed the power of a witch¡¯s blood essence to be able to double my physical strength!" Seeing that his Essence was about to reach 100, Fang Yuan took in a cold breath. "I think that I am not far from forming the martial arts divine body! With such a foundation, I am now scarily strong!" Other than obtaining the skill of Fiery Golden Eyes, there was nothing much. However, the foundation that it hadid out for Fang Yuan¡¯s physical body was unimaginable! "I would be stronger than any martial artist who is not a True Divine!" Fang Yuan slowly experienced his strengthened body and was feeling extremely satisfied. "Of course, it¡¯s still most important to continue my cultivation! Now that my Essence is greatly improved, I can attempt to open my meridians. No matter how much brute force I use to achieve the next breakthrough, my physical body will be able to handle the stress, and my martial arts can be improved by leaps and bounds!" The foundation of a martial artist would be their physical body. Now that Fang Yuan¡¯s physical body was strengthened, his previous path towards forming the Divine Body was now reced with a more straightforward and foolproof path. The only thing that would limit his progress now was time. "Breathe in... breathe out..." Thinking about this, he quickly walked out of his hall and started to breathe. "Whooo! Whooo!" Suddenly, in the middle of Golden Sun Prosperous Land, there was a tornado. Spiritual energy from the surroundings was slowly being sucked in. The tornado started to be more intense as time passed! Huge amounts of elemental energy from the surroundings were being absorbed as well, and even the 99 Golden Suns Gigantic Array started to shake. "What magical technique... is Lord cultivating this time..." At the farms, Meng Tian and Meng Guang raised their heads to such a terrifying scene. Even though they were Wu Zongs, their legs started to turn jelly. The servants around them could not hold on any longer and went down on their knees. Fang Yuan could not care so much about them. Seeing that the foundation for his physical body was improved and that the experience bar for his Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique was slowly filling up, he felt excited. 50% - 75% - 100%! In a moment, the 6th spiritual meridian was formed. Furthermore, Fang Yuan¡¯s body did not stop there as it continued to scale further. Chapter 366: Aid Chapter 366: Aid Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Whoosh!" A blurred silhouette rushed through the forest, across a few areas with perilous dangers and finally arrived at the boundary of Golden Sun Prosperous Land. As the silhouette came to a stop, the person was revealed to be Zhou Tian in a schrly disguise. "Who would¡¯ve thought that a simplemand from the alliance would send all of us scrambling about!" He gazed at the opening of a cave and let out a bitterugh. "This kid has extreme potential and is able to improve his cultivation very quickly. His level of rights is also increasing at a shocking rate. It only took a while for him to reach the level of rights of a 5th Leaf Cultivator. To think about it, he is now my superior!" There was no limit for cultivation. It was perfectly normal for juniors to overtake their seniors in terms of cultivation. However, the fact that Fang Yuan was able to do it in such a short time considering the fact that things were made difficult for him made Zhou Tian feel that things were a little mysterious. Now that Zhou Tian had arrived, he walked into the cave and raised an order te. "I am Zhou Tian of the Realm Alliance and I am requesting to see Lord Fang!" Since there was a certain level of rights inscribed in the order te, the 99 Golden Suns Gigantic Array shook and his message was delivered through. "Haha... It¡¯s Brother Zhou! Why do you make it sound like we are strangers?" Not long after, the array split and Fang Yuan walked out to wee Zhou Tian. "I wouldn¡¯t dare!" Zhou Tian bent over slightly and appeared humble. "In this mission, we are no longer rted based on our appointments as treasurer and guardian. Instead, you are now my superior!" He solemnly gazed at the order te. "... ording to the elders of the alliance, we are both required to head to 9 Extremes Mountain for official business!" To think about it, the alliance could have just sent a message to Fang Yuan through the Dream Realm. By sending another dream master to inform him showed their sincerity as well as the importance of this mission, making it hard for Fang Yuan to reject. ¡¯It seems like I¡¯ll have to leave for at least half a year!¡¯ Fang Yuan smiled, for this was what he had expected as well. "After settling some minute stuff, I will be able to join you!" "Alright!" On small matters like this, Zhou Tian would naturally let Fang Yuan have his way. On the contrary, seeing how Fang Yuan treated him so kindly, he shuddered. ¡¯This kid gave me a sense of extreme danger like a ferocious beast. Could he have cultivated a powerful technique for himself?!¡¯ Although he was shocked, a part of him was relieved. ¡¯With him around, we would have a higher chance ofpleting the mission at 9 Extremes Mountain.¡¯ After a while, a spiritual boat flew out of the prosperousnd. Meng Tian, Meng Guang, and the other servants followed behind to send their lord off. High up in the air, the wind was strong. There was glowing sphere surrounding the spiritual boat, which separated it from the surroundings outside. Fang Yuan stood at the bow of the boat and was shocked. "It¡¯s rare to see such a magical boat!" "This is merely a mode of transportation. Brother Fang, have you seen the Imperial Court¡¯s Kunpeng? That is a city in the sky, the ruler of the heavens!" Zhou Tian let out a bitterugh once more. "We will need to pick up a few other dream masters along the way. I have prepared tea and some snacks in the room. Brother Fang, do you want to have some?" "Thank you for your good intentions, but I am good for now!" Fang Yuan appeared serious. He removed the protection around and allowed the strong gusts of wind tond on his body. "Whooo!" His body became somewhat like a ck hole, sucking the energy of everything around it. ¡¯I¡¯m afraid that even 9 Meridians Wu Zong will not be able topare to this body of mine?¡¯ After all this time, Fang Yuan had gained full control of his powerful physical body. With that, his strong body was now like the 4 Emblems Sword Array, something he could depend on to save his life. Furthermore, he had fewer restrictions to use the strength from his new physical bodypared to the 4 Emblems Sword Array. With a strong foundation, the experience bar of the Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique quickly increased as well. As of now, Fang Yuan had already formed the 7th spiritual meridian and had achieved the lowest cultivation required for one to achieve the True Divine! ¡¯The more spiritual meridians I have, the stronger I will be when I achieve True Divine. It¡¯s a pity that the Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique is limited to the 8th spiritual meridian! If I want to achieve any more breakthroughs, I will have to depend on my Hundred Poison Golden Body!¡¯ Fang Yuan long had the idea tobine these two techniques into one. Now that his physical body had been enhanced, this gave him an even stronger foundation to do so. As he looked at his stats, he could not help it but smile. "With the strengthening of my physical body, the Spirit in me is increasing rapidly as well!" There were a few changes in the window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 96 Spirit: 70 Magic: 60 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (4th Tier), Wu Zong (7th Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 8) (5%)], [Hundred Poison Golden Body (10th Refining)], [8 Gates Sword Array (5th Sword) (1%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)], [Fiery Golden Eyes (Level 1)]" With such a strong physical body as a foundation and the fact that Fang Yuan had spent most of his time practicing his martial arts and had nourished himself with nutrients and supplements, he managed to achieve consecutive breakthroughs in his martial arts. Furthermore, he had the utmost confidence that he could push his Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique to the limit of the 8th Meridian. However, if he were toplete the breakthrough, he would not have achieved his fullest potential. Therefore, he still required the aid of his Hundred Poison Golden Body. Something to note was that after reading through the cultivation experiences of Sage Changli and the recordings on witchcraft, Fang Yuan had begun to set his sights on other worlds and had a clearer path of martial arts. ¡¯However... Just my physical body alone is already a powerful weapon in itself.¡¯ Fang Yuan was deep in his thoughts. ¡¯This will be especially so while I¡¯m in 9 Extremes Mountain!¡¯ With that thought, a sh appeared on his hands and a jade inscription te appeared. The details regarding this mission started to flow into his consciousness. 9 Extremes Mountain! This mountain was among the 10 Perilous ces in Da Qian. It had a popr legend behind it. Legend had it that an unknown Sage had passed away there, causing its hollow to merge with the world! Even Sages were vulnerable and could simrly experience death! With their passing, their hollows would either slowly disintegrate, be sealed away and left for their descendants, or be shattered to merge with the real world, resulting in the formation of either spiritualnds or perilousnds. 9 Extremes Mountain was a mountain range with stretched out for 1,000 miles. In it, there were many unique types of flowers and grass, and countless weird-looking beasts. There were many unknown secrets in it as well, and it was these secrets which attracted many dream masters to explore the mountain. Unfortunately, there were many dangers in the mountain. Not only did it have many wild and ferocious beasts, a ban was also ced on the mountain by thete Sage. Finally, the mountain had a special property known as ¡¯The Ultimate Segregation¡¯, which would separate anyone in the mountain from the outside. Even natural elemental energy and dream elemental energy would be affected! It was because of all these unique traits of the mountain which gave it the name ¡¯9 Extremes Mountain¡¯! "Of course... although it is a perilousnd, the potential for opportunities is there. Among the many dream masters who had explored the mountain, a few of them had discoveries of their own and became powerfulter on!" "It was rumoured that the ban imposed on the mountain was iplete due to the fact that the hollow had been shattered. Therefore, in specific periods of time, the ban would be at its weakest. That would be the best time to conduct any explorations!" After the shattering of the hollow, it would merge with the real world and even Sages would not be able to iste it. Of course, they could forcefully iste it from the real world, but they would also anger the heavens in the process and it would not be worth it. Although the 9 Extremes Mountain was extremely dangerous and was a hollow left behind by a Sage, it was still able to attract many dream masters in the Prominent Divine stage. "In fact, there might be Sages who had already explored it, but we are just merely unaware of it!" Fang Yuan was lost in his thoughts as he thought about this mission. "... We are tasked to enter 9 Extremes Mountain! Even at the boundaries of the mountain, the other 4 Grand Organisations are alreadying together tobine forces. This shows that the mountain is indeed special!" Because of the Realm Alliance¡¯s previous failure, the alliance had been maintaining a low profile since then. However, the alliance had still sent out dream masters to the 9 Extremes Mountain, and this was the same for all 5 Grand Organisations, making the mountain seem extraordinary!" "Wait a minute..." Fang Yuan¡¯s expression changed as though he had recalled something. "The 9 Extremes Mountain... I seem to have read about this description in the inheritance of Sage Changli. It was an important node..." Unfortunately, he had only read the brief description of it and he had only obtained one-sixth of the full inheritance. Therefore, he was still confused. ... The 1,000 miles of 9 Extremes Mountain was mostly shrouded in fog. There was a colourful glow covering the entire mountain and lone cultivators who would wander into the glow would all die a gruesome death. There were a few rare weaker spots. There were either created by fate when the hollow shattered, or they might be weakened by powerful dream masters. These weak spots were perfect for others to enter. Therefore, these spots were determined as gathering points, or strongholds, for dream masters. Although the 9 Extremes Mountain was filled with danger, the treasures were extremely worth it. Naturally, it could attract and y on the greed of many dream masters. However, the dream masters of the 5 Grand Organisations had guarded these entrances fiercely, denying entry to any members of the Imperial Court or lone cultivators. At this point in time, at the stronghold of the Realm Alliance. A few flying boats appeared in mid-air in the form of streaks of light. They quickly gathered above the stronghold. From the stronghold emerged many dream masters. They were alert and had a look of anticipation on their faces. "Mmm, we havemunicated with them before. The mark is right. They are one of us!" One of the dream masters nodded his head. "Let them in!" An invisible vibration started to spread and the dream masters around started to let their guard down. This was especially so for those in a nearby tall building. Their fierce spiritual auras slowly disappeared. "Whoosh! Whoosh!" 3 flying boats slowlynded, creating an air current as theynded. 10 over dream masters alighted from the boat and looked around in curiosity. ¡¯Just 15 of them?¡¯ Beneath them, the leader of the dream masters gave a depressed look before smiling and approaching the neers. "I am Xing Yunzi, the guardian of thisnd. Wee!" "Alright!" Fang Yuan and the rest of them returned their greetings. Xing Yunzi had an unpredictable spiritual aura. He was a dream master in the 6th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, one step away from being a 7th Tier dream master! Although he was only one step away, he was still very different from a dream master in the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, but ultimately, he still had a chance. "Haha... no need for formalities. I have prepared a banquet and hope that all of you will join me. We shall rest for 3 days before entering 9 Extremes Mountain!" Xing Yunzi was a decisive person. With that, he started to examine the neers. Finally, he took notice of Fang Yuan, Zhou Tian and another dream master in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. These 3 dream masters were all that the Realm Alliance had sent to help out. "Please!" As his heart wavered, he walked up and invited Zhou Tian and the other Illusionary Divine dream master to join in the banquet. With that, he gazed at Fang Yuan. "You must be Fang Yuan, right? You¡¯re young but you have already attained the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage and are a 5th Leaf Cultivator. You¡¯re indeed a young hero! You are the future of our alliance, and I am relieved!" Fang Yuan smiled as he followed Xing Yunzi into the main hall. As they got seated, female servants started to serve wine. He slowly examined his surroundings and noticed another familiar face. With that, Fang Yuan let out a sinister smile. Across the hall, Li Bai held his head down and wished he was an ostrich at that moment. His entire body was shaking in fear. After losing his grandfather as his backing, it was as though he had lost his spine. Chapter 367: Node Chapter 367: Node Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In Fang Yuan eyes, Li Bai was merely a worthless stalk of weed. As long as Li Bai did note close to Fang Yuan, Fang Yuan could not be bothered about him. After the banquet, the dream masters returned to their rooms. Fang Yuan sat cross-legged and began detailedly searching inside the inheritance of Sage Changli. In his actualised dream world, a dragon pearl shined brightly. It was hazy inside the pearl and a golden-green dragon was pulling out streaks from it to be analysed. "This is the Sage¡¯s legacy. As I am only a dream master at the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine, I can only at most see the middle levels and not its core... However, they are already enough!" Based on his memory, Fang Yuan picked out a grey spot and analysed it. It turned into a magnificent map of the world. The vast Da Qian Empire was in the centre with 99 regions in it and it upied arge portion of fate energy. On it, there were many tiny stars littered around. "Evidence of fate and breaths of the earth could be found in the world. This was especially so for breaths of the earth, they had meridians which could be found and nodes on the earth....." Areas with numerous nodes gathered would form natural prosperousnds and spiritualnds. Some of these areas were hubs of earth meridians and were key positions that would attract numerous people. It was obvious that there was such an area inside the 9 Extremes Mountain! "Sage Changli had calcted that there are over a thousand nodes in the entire Da Qian Empire. However, this map is slightly tattered and there are only 365 nodes shown on it, which is the number of days in a year... If arrangements are made on these nodes and they are tweaked during crucial moments, the direction of the breaths of the earth can even be manipted. This would be a big hit to the imperial court of Da Qian!" Fang Yuan faced turned serious as he continued to ponder, "But it seems like Sage Changli¡¯s arrangements are not so simple, there¡¯s more to it!" Fang Yuan had one-sixth of Sage¡¯s heredity while all other dream masters and Da Qian royalties solely relied on information from Changli¡¯s investigations. Thus, Fang Yuan could naturally read more than what meets the eyes. "It is not so simple to be just about disrupting the foundation... But I still have to wait and see what would truly happen..." Amongst the thousand plus earth meridian nodes in Da Qian, some were big while some were small. The one in 9 Extremes Mountain was definitely an extremely important one. Of course, Fang Yuan himself was clear of that and the Realm Alliance was clear of that too. But no one knew what Da Qian and the Hidden Dragon Guards would do. ... Three dayster. An opening in 9 Extremes Mountain. In the dense forest, a thick white fog sealed off the opening. It was a powerful restriction that seemed to segregate the mountain from everything else. During noon, the white fog slowly dispersed and a passageway could be seen. "When the 9 Extremes Mountain was discovered, it resulted in a cmity. It caused the demise of an ancient kingdom..." Xing Yunzi stroked his beard and continued, "It¡¯s such a shame that its restrictions have lived for thousands of years and have never been broken before. Especially with The Ultimate Segregation array, once you enter the mountain, not only would your elemental energy be isted, even your dream elemental energy would be isted! You must be careful!" Behind him were Fang Yuan, Zhou Tian and a dream master also at the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine called Peng Xuan. Peng Xuan was very ethereal as he held a horsetail whisk in his hand and was donned in an airy green robe. No matter what realm or world was it, power decided a person¡¯s standing. Xing Yunzi was leading them and behind him were the three 4th Tier Illusionary Divine dream masters. Further behind them were the other Illusionary Divine dream masters. For those like Li Bai, they could only stand the furthest away and listen to the orders quietly. Peng Xuan smiled and said, "Rest assured, Sir... we are well aware of the dangers of 9 Extremes Mountain. This is why we brought along a few strong men to use!" As 9 Extremes Mountain was segregated from the outside, dream masters and spiritual knights would not be able to use their techniques freely. Hence, they could only rely on their martial artists as they would be the least restraint. Fang Yuan looked around and saw numerous submissive looking powerful martial artists as expected. Fang Yuan could not help but to silently judge. There were no True Divines amongst them which was very normal. True Divine martial artists had already forged their Divine Body and were not bound by their flesh. They also have extremely powerful divine techniques. If they pledged loyalty to Da Qian, they would get to enjoy a rich and wealthy life, why would they degrade themselves down here? Only powerful beings at the Prominent Divine stage could possibly have True Divines as ves under them. But this was definitely not the case for these dream masters here. "Fang Yuan..... You don¡¯t have anyone to order about, do you want me to lend you two?" Zhou Tian walked forward and spoke in a scornful way. "No need!" Fang Yuan took a nce at those behind Zhou Tian and saw a few strong men with bronze skin and divine light shining from them. They were definitely Wu Zongs at the 5th or 6th Meridian! Such loyal subordinates had to follow their masters closely even in life and death situations. They must be groomed from young and slowly influenced which Fang Yuan would not be able to. However, he did not felt deprived and instead clenched his fists and smiled inside his heart secretly. Although dream masters could also refine their body, not many could endure the pain from it. Also, they would not even beparable to Fang Yuan¡¯s 10th Refining Body, what about his current powerful body? Hehe... "Good, let¡¯s go!" Xing Yunzi spoke no further and ordered two strong men to protect him on his left and right side as he stepped into 9 Extremes Mountain. "Rumble!" Fang Yuan and the rest followed behind immediately and felt as though they crossed ayer of the boundary of the spiritual territory. Their expressions change at once! "Indeed, there is ayer of restriction that suppresses us. The channel in which I absorb dream elemental force has been isted, wait, no! I can¡¯t say its fully isted, it is just restricted, like it used to be like arge river and now it is like a small stream. The elemental force which I have already umted is not affected. Is this The Ultimate Segregation?" Anyone who cultivates would utilise magical energy! Magical energy wouldbine with the person¡¯s¡¯ own mental strength, which would allow them to absorb elemental force from the surroundings to improve their body and hence, form divine techniques. This was the case for spiritual knights! Dream masters too! Just that the elemental force dream masters absorb were dream energy from a higher dimension, which is the dream elemental force. Dream elemental force had numerous powerful uses and could suppress everything! Thus, to be a dream master, there would be a higher requirement for one¡¯s magical energy. Not everyone could be a dream master and those who could are gifted! In Da Qian, the most talented and intelligent ones were dream masters! After dream masters, it was the spiritual array masters, the medicine master, the spiritual knights, the martial artists, et cetera! Furthermore, there would be no problems absorbing dream elemental force in other worlds. However, this was not the case in 9 Extremes Mountain! "In this mountain, once dream elemental force is depleted, it would be extremely difficult to replenish it! Hence, refrain from using spells! Have a sufficient supply!" Xing Yunzi voice could be heard by the whole group. "Elemental energy from the surroundings have been reduced by 99% too, there¡¯s practically nothing left... The martial artists are still fine as even if elemental force was hard to recover, they still have their powerful bodies!" Fang Yuan nced around a saw terrified expressions on most of the dream masters¡¯ faces. "This is not even a situation where all their powers are isted, they can still slightly use them...." Fang Yuan thought. Fang Yuan could not help but sigh as he thought, "Dream masters can actualised divine techniques, but in reality, these were all gifted by the heavens from the world with the natural source...... The Ultimate Segregation array is a good point that proves this. Unless a dream master cultivates until he does not require forces outside him, he would remain affected!!!" By not requiring outside forces, it meant that one¡¯s own body contained evesting powers. Even Sages could not achieve that! After all, even their hollows needed to be rooted in a world to grow! "Thankfully, other than inside 9 Extremes Mountain, no one else in Da Qian could cast such a powerful The Ultimate Segregation array. Else... martial arts would prosper in this world!" Fang Yuan looked at the two martial artists in front of him. These Wu Zongs were merely ves in their dream masters eyes and were derogatorily called "strong men". There were also different levels of Wu Zongs amongst them. For example, Zhou Tian¡¯s Wu Zongs were around 5th to 6th Meridian and so were Peng Xuan¡¯s. Whereas, dream masters behind them only had normal or average Wu Zongs and some were even alone as they had none. The two Wu Zongs beside Xing Yunzi were at least at the 7th Meridian and it could be felt as though they were about to forget their martial artist Divine Body! Once they forge it sessfully, they would be a True Divine martial artist and their status would rise exponentially! Even Xing Yunzi would not be able to order them around. "Of course... martial arts is easy at the start and tough at the end. Even with the 12 Golden Gates, Wu Zongs who could go beyond the 7th Meridian were extremely rare. Even amongst 100 qualified Wu Zongs, there might not even be one who can sessfully forge the Divine Body." Fang Yuan thought. Fang Yuan secretly sized up the two Wu Zongs beside Xing Yunzi. They appeared to be middle-aged but their bodies had a waning aura, it was evident that they were not young anymore. They might even have consumed pills that extended their life. Martial arts cultivation was extremely tough, it required one to repeatedly exhaust his own body¡¯s potential and even abuse their body for short-sighted gains. Even if the Wu Zongs were nourished with elemental force, they also had to break through their Meridian and hence, their vitals would be damaged and their lifespan would be much shorter than spiritual knights and dream masters. Unless they forged the martial arts Divine Body, transformed into this new body and thus cleansed their body, else, their lifespan would remain as short. Except, such a leap was extraordinarily difficult, not many people could pass it. "This current mission does not require us to do much, we just have to build a stronghold at the periphery of 9 Extremes Mountain and then guard it!" Fang Yuan pondered about the current mission. In actual fact, if there was no interference from the royalties of Da Qian and the Hidden Dragon Guards, they only had to face the dangers of the mountain itself which were rtively simple as of now. The forests were abundantly dense and the fog was especially thick. The entire group was silent and only the shuffling of feet could be heard. "So quiet! No... it¡¯s too quiet, I am afraid there¡¯s something wrong!" Immediately, Xing Yunzi¡¯s yell could be heard from in front, "We have a situation on our hands!" "Woosh!" Numerous green arrow-like shadows appeared from all sides of the surroundings. Upon closer look, there were numerous small snakes spitting out their red tongues that were hiding inside the thick fog. They were perfectly blended in the background before they appeared and even Illusionary Divine dream masters did not detect them with their spiritual will. As they suddenly surfaced, it was as though thousands of arrows were suddenlyunched at once! "Puff!" One of the dream masters who stood further away did not manage to evade fast enough. Ayer of protective fluorescent armour appeared over his body but blood splurged out as the green shadow prated right through it with no signs of it slowing down! "Elemental Piercing Snake? This kind of snake is extremely fast and its body is like metal and can pierce through elemental defence! Be careful!" Peng Xuan immediately warned everyone. He then shook his whisk and thousands of silver lines appeared and sliced the green snake at once which caused droplets of blood to spew everywhere. After all, it was just a normal ferocious animal thatunched a surprise attack, else mediocre dream masters would be able to manage it too. "Kill!" The strong men finally reacted and whipped out their weapons to fight and protect the dream masters. Even so, a few shrieks could be heard as some dream masters were still attacked. "Hiss! Hiss!" Suddenly, a huge hole was torn from the ground. A green light emerged from it which charged towards Fang Yuan at the speed of light! Chapter 368: Blood Mosquitoes Chapter 368: Blood Mosquitoes Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Hehe, you¡¯re seeking death!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glistened as a streak of wind and thunder sword essence appeared, slicing the snake into half. Wind and thunder were extremely quick! One slice was all it took to behead the snake, as blood started to spurt out. As he stretched his hands out, the head of the snakended on his head and was still squirming about. "The Elemental Piercing Snake has extremely sharp fangs and poisonous venom!" Beside him, Zhou Tian gave a friendly reminder. "Thank you for your reminder!" Fang Yuan ced his palms together and kept the snake¡¯s head in his sleeves before examining the surroundings. The dream masters around were all powerful dream masters of the Realm Alliance. They could quickly gain theirposure after the ambush, eradicated all the green snakes and started to ount for their losses. "Lord Xing Yunzi, we have 5 deaths. Among these 5 are 2 dream masters, Li Bai and Xia Ruo!" Very quickly, they ounted for the deaths, and the news shocked Fang Yuan. "Li Bai!" Fang Yuan took a few steps forward. Indeed, there was the corpse of a young man with the wound of a fang on his forehead. He had an expression of willingness as his face appeared unnatural. "Gather the corpses and bury them!" Xing Yunzi did not even twitch his eyebrow. These experienced dream masters were extremely acquainted with death and did not react too much to it. This was especially so because Li Bai¡¯s backing had already died. Now that Li Bai himself had died here, the Li Family would surely go down, for they had no one else who would give power to the family. Therefore, they casually buried him and left everything behind. There was a look of worry on Xing Yunzi¡¯s face, for his team had suffered such a loss as soon as they entered the mountains. "Sigh... You, settle Li Bai¡¯s corpse. I will inform the rest..." Seeing this, Zhou Tian sighed as he instructed a servant to clean up the mess. Noticing the Fang Yuan had nced over, Zhou Tian tried to exin. "After all, I have a little friendship with his father, Li Qin. But that is all..." What Zhou Tian meant was that he was not willing to be enemies with Fang Yuan. "They are all dead. Why would I care? Brother Zhou, you¡¯re thinking too much!" Fang Yuan smiled magnanimously. After all, the Li Family depended on Li Qin and pinned their hopes on Li Bai. Although both of them were gone, the Li Family still had plenty of resources. Many people would still try to establish rtions with the family. By then, Zhou Tian¡¯s unofficial rtionship with the family would not aid him in any way. In fact, if the family wasn¡¯t careful, they would end up bing weaker and weaker. Therefore, he did not care about much and continued to chat with Zhou Tian. "There used to be many treasures in 9 Extremes Mountain. By now, many dream masters have already explored it and the number of treasures that are usable is getting lesser and lesser. Therefore, the number of dream mastersing here to explore is also reducing... The two biggest dangers are the wild animals and the restriction on the mountain! With regards to the restriction, the alliance has already investigated and have found a way to bypass it by using a map and exploiting the weak points. However, the locations of the beasts are always changing, and that is the most troubling thing..." Xing Yunzi calmly exined. These beasts were not normal beasts. They were mutated beasts created by a powerful person! They harnessed many unique and special abilities. Coupled with the dangers in 9 Extremes Mountain, even a careless dream master might sumb to the dangers. However, after this incident, the remaining dream masters were now more alert. They had no more encounters and finally, they had arrived at akeside. "It¡¯s this region!" Xing Yunzi held a round-looking magical equipment and started to confirm his suspicions. "The node which my alliance is looking for his here! Once we locate the crypt, we will need to map its location. I¡¯ll have to trouble everyone to inspect every corner of thiske." With that, he started to give out simr-looking magical equipment to Fang Yuan and the few other dream masters in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. "By having the few of us to lead the groups, we will eliminate the chances of encountering a danger. Pick a direction and start working!" "It¡¯s this item!" Fang Yuan examined the ancient coin in his hands. The coin was circr in shape and was made from pure gold. It was used as a form of currency by normal people and gave off the vibe of royalty. "This is royal money made into a magical equipment by infusing people dao dragon energy and pure gold. Therefore, it can sense objects beneath the ground..." After benefitting from Sage Changli¡¯s inheritance, Fang Yuan¡¯s experience and knowledge was much more than the average dream master, and had an even greater understanding of this cepared to even Xing Yunzi. "This node is recorded in Sage Changli¡¯s inheritance. However, this piece of inheritance is with me. It seems like the Realm Alliance has predicted this node from the location of the other nodes, and have yet to ascertain the exact location of the node!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glistened. Xing Yunzi had deployed him to the East, which was where the nodeid! "Since I am fortunate enough, I shall explore it!" With that, he led a group of servants and started his exploration. Although there were many mutated beasts in 9 Extremes Mountain and many restrictions in ce, the dream masters were in total control! Along theke, Fang Yuan andpany had walked towards the East for a few miles. The fog from the surroundings started to thicken, restricting their visibility. "Lord! There seems to be a restriction ahead!" The other dream masters were only in the 3rd Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. Therefore, Fang Yuan was the undisputed leader. One of the dream masters had a look of anticipation on his face. "Let¡¯s take a look!" Fang Yuan took a few steps forward and the fog started to disperse, revealing a messy stone array. Besides the array, there was nothing else but arge patch of empty space. There was a faint yellow glow in mid-air, which meant that there were restrictions in ce here. "There should be something sealed within here. However, it looks like someone has already taken it away!" Another dream master took a step forward and his face was filled with regret. "It¡¯s been taken away?" Fang Yuan focused as a hint of gold shed across in his eyes. The other dream masters thought of nothing after seeing Fang Yuan execute his special ability. After all, dream masters would traverse to many worlds and would have seen many different types of weird techniques. This was obvious just a simple sight technique. Through his Fiery Golden Eyes, Fang Yuan could see much more. As he felt his eyes heating up, he could see through the fog. A ripple appeared on the scattered rock array and the truth was revealed. On the empty space, a few holes were now revealed. ck fog started to disperse out from it, which worried Fang Yuan. On the stone array outside, there was now an ancient-looking seal on it. The yellow glow formed many runes which gathered together to form a chain, restricting the ck fog in within. "There are good and bad breaths of the earth. If the breath of the earth is good, then the ce will be a prosperousnd. If the breath is evil, does it make the ce a perilousnd?" This node made Fang Yuan feel uneasy and he could guess that the breath of the earth here must have been evil. "Lord? Do you have any findings?" A female dream master walked forward and gave a look of concern. She was rather pretty and started to tear up in her eyes. Her gentle voice was therapeutic. ¡¯D*mn! What does Pink Deity intend to do...¡¯ The other dream masters were left speechless, and some of them were jealous of her. After all, in such troubled times, one could ensure one¡¯s safety if one could win over the hearts of the powerful! One¡¯s life would still be more important than honour and humiliation! "Mmm, I can see the restriction. All of you,bine your powers and remove the restriction. Be careful!" Fang Yuan acted and looked towards the ground. The ancient coin had some unnatural movements here. This might just be the location of the node!" "I see! We¡¯ll do it!" With hismand, the other dream masters had to exert their dream elemental force and strike on the restriction above the stone array. "Rumble!" Even though they had held back and only used part of their dream elemental force, theirbined force was enough to make the restriction vibrate, revealing a crypt which was emitting ck fog. "Lord, you¡¯re spot on!" Pink Deity blinked andplemented Fang Yuan. "Although we¡¯ve broken the restriction, we still need to deliver one final blow!" Fang Yuan could tell that although the restriction was passive, its defence was extremely strong, as though it was almost impossible to break through it. Although the dream masters hadbined their forces to break it down, it could quickly recover itself, forming a stalemate - These situations which would challenge the endurance of dream masters was the type that dream masters would want to avoid. ¡¯The Ultimate Segregation and a depletion restriction? What a great pair!¡¯ Fang Yuan thought to himself. As he waved his hands, the Water, Fire and Thunder swords appeared. With the power of the 3 Talents Array, Fang Yuan delivered a powerful strike towards the restriction. "Rumble!" As the entire ce shook, the faint yellow glow shattered and smoke started to rise. ¡¯He is indeed a powerful dream master in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. However, by using up so much of his dream elemental energy, is he not worried that he might encounter dangerter?¡¯ The dream masters, including Pink Deity, were all shocked. Shortly after, an evil force was felt, which sent chills down their spines. At the same time, the ancient coin in Fang Yuan¡¯s hand started to make a loud buzzing noise as though it had identified the location of the node. "Buzz!" "Buzz!" "What sound is that?" Amidst the smoke and fog, there was a buzzing sound and vibrations were felt, as though many birds were pping their wings all at once. Pink Deity was stunned. Within moments, she could see a dark-red cloud floating from the crypt, which started to spread out. "What¡¯s that?" Fang Yuan had an exceptional eyesight and could see immediately that the red cloud was a group of blood mosquitoes, and each of them were as big as a thumb. Their bodies were translucent as though they were carved from jade, and their proboscises were huge and scary. It was evident that this blood mosquito was a mutated variant. At this point in time, the mosquitos gathered together and flew towards the group of dream masters. "A dream of clouds and smoke!" Pink Deity was the closest to the mosquitoes. With the wave of her hand, she summoned a pink fluffy cloud to shield herself. "Pa! Pa!" As the mosquitoes collided with the cloud, the cloud vibrated violently and the mosquitoes exploded into a mist of blood. As the mist of blood became more and more concentrated, the defensive fog around Pink Deity started to thin out. Her face became pale with fear. "Ah!" The dream masters were managing well. However, the Wu Zongs apanying them fell to the ground as they cried out loud. In a few moments, they had be a dried corpse!! It was a gruesome death for them to die with their corpsepletely dry, their bones wrapped in a thinyer of skin. "Wow..." Seeing this, Fang Yuan was speechless. "The Elemental Piercing Snake is able to pierce through the elemental force defence of dream masters and spiritual knights. Now, there are Blood Mosquitoes which can pollute elemental force and break through the defence of Wu Zongs... How many mutated beasts did this Sage create?" With the flick of his finger, a streak of Thunder Sword essence flew out, slicing the air. The Blood Mosquitoes which were around him disappeared in an instant, and even the mosquitos in the vicinity were all gone. With that, he had saved Pink Deity¡¯s life in the process. "Thank you for saving my life, Lord!" Pink Deity had yet topose herself as she quickly hid behind Fang Yuan before expressing her gratitude. It was a good position to hide. After all, the mosquitos which came near were sliced by the lightning streaks around and turned into ash. The other male dream masters started to feel jealous of her. However, they could only clench their teeth and suck it up for the fact that they were male. Chapter 369: Corpse Refining Technique Chapter 369: Corpse Refining Technique Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "What are you staring at? Quickly send the signal and get Lord Xing here!" Although Fang Yuan could deal with the mosquitoes himself, he would rather not. With that, he shouted at the startled Pink Deity. "I understand!" Pink Deity snapped out of her trance and quickly activated her piece of jade. "Guardian Xing, I am Pink Deity. We have discovered a node at the East of theke! We are now under mutant beasts attack, so please send help!" "Oh? You¡¯ve found it!?" Xing Yunzi¡¯s excited voice was heard from her piece of jade. "Hold it a little longer, I¡¯ll be there in a jiffy!" ¡¯There shouldn¡¯t be any problem!¡¯ Fang Yuan nced at the dream masters in his group. Other than Pink Deity who had such an encounter, the rest who died were mostly Wu Zongs. These Blood Mosquitoes seemed to prefer martial artists. Therefore, without the protection from the dream masters, these martial artists suffered severe injuries from the mosquitoes. "Buzz! Buzz!" Seeing that they were unable to prate any further, the Blood Mosquitoes started to fly into a different formation, forming a twisted shape which vaguely resembled a human¡¯s face. It had a sinister look and suddenly, the face let out a shrilling voice. "Ah! Ah!" A piercing female voice was heard; it was akin to the scratching sound of a fingernail on a piece of ss. Everyone¡¯s hair stood on their ends and all of them started to have goosebumps. "What¡¯s this..." As soon as Fang Yuan focused, he could see an invisible vibration spreading out. Apanying the vibration was a powerful force, and the nearby dream masters were all affected. Their eyes turned white and blood started to flow out of their ears. Some of them even fell straight to the ground, and it was unknown if they were dead or not. More importantly, their defences were immediately crippled as soon as the powerful force reached out to them! "Buzz! Buzz!" At that moment, thedy¡¯s face started to disperse. Groups of mosquitoes started to spread out towards their defenceless preys, as though a hungry wolf had found a piece of meat in front of it. "Thunder, strike!" Fang Yuan shook his head. As he waved his hands, streaks of lightning appeared everywhere, striking the air. Ashes began to fall to the ground. "Chi! Chi!" As the mists of blood exploded, his depleted dream elemental energy was quickly restored. "This is not bad... I¡¯m afraid that even normal dream masters in the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine will not be able to take them down!" Fang Yuanmented before striking another sword out. "Wind Sword, go!" "Whooo! Whoo!" A hurricane started to pick up speed and the Blood Mosquitoes around him were blown about, losing all control. In fact, these mosquitoes were likely to find out that this enemy they were facing was not an ordinary enemy. They would have no chance to suck his blood and might even risk their proboscises. However, even so, Fang Yuan would not want to reveal his unusually strong physical body. Just as the tables were being turned, a few streaks of light appeared. It was the arrival of Xing Yunzi, Zhou Tian and a few others. "Who would know that there would be so many Blood Pitched Mosquitoes?" Xing Yunzi stood in front. As he evaluated the scene before him, he stretched his palms out. An invisible force started to increase in strength and Fang Yuan suddenly felt as though his body had be heavier. "Bang!" "Pa! Pa!" With that, the Blood Mosquitoes in the surroundings started to fall to the ground like raindrops. "Ha!" Xing Yunzi shouted as his head started to transform into that of a beast. He now had a sharp and pointed mouth with a long and red tongue. With that, he swung his tongue out. "Whoosh!" The Blood Mosquitoes on the floor were swept clean. "Is this... an anteater?" Fang Yuan was speechless. There was the Ultimate Segregation Array in the 9 Extremes Mountain. Therefore, anyone who wishes to enter would be required to have an extremely strong physical body. It was normal for the guardian of this ce to be a dream beast master. After all, even if they were to deplete all their dream elemental force, he could still rely on his transformed beast form to survive for long periods. What Xing Yunzi had disyed was a partial transformation, which was an extremely high-levelled technique. After all, the magical beast which he was to transform to had to have the ability to eat up all these blood mosquitoes. In order for him to manage the Blood Mosquitos in his stomach, he needed to transform his stomach to that of another magical beast - Wenkong! Of course, Fang Yuan felt uneasy as he looked at Xing Yunzi. "Elder Xing, you¡¯re finally here!" However, he could only keep his thoughts to himself. After all, Xing Yunzi was the strongest dream master here that was from the Realm Alliance. Therefore, Fang Yuan had to be humble in front of him. "Hmm! Who would¡¯ve thought that there would be a nest of Blood Mosquitoes here!" Xing Yunzi transformed his head back into that of a human as he licked his lips. "Who are the casualties?" "We have about 6 to 7 dead, and the rest are injured by the high-pitched vibration..." Fang Yuan reported honestly. "The more Blood Pitched Mosquitoes there are, the more powerful their high-pitched sound will be. We can do nothing about it!" Looking at the crypt, Xing Yunzi nodded his head. "Who would¡¯ve thought that there would be such a restriction over this node. Zhou Tian, Peng Xuan, Fang Yuan, follow me as we enter this crypt. As for the rest of you, prepare a campsite here and form a protective array!" Now that all the Blood Pitched Mosquitoes were gone, the crypt became visible to everyone as itid in the middle of the messy stone array. The ck fog which spewed continuously from the crypt resembled the mouth of a weird looking beast, as though it was prepared to swallow a person whole. "This is giving off a sinister vibe!" As Zhou Tian arrived at the side of the crypt, he examined the wide opening and was speechless. "I¡¯m afraid that normal humans or even dream masters might be affected aftering into contact with this corrosive ck fog!" "Let¡¯s go!" With a long face, Xing Yunzi activated ayer of yellow scales around his body in an attempt to protect his vital parts. He led the group of them as they walked towards the crypt. The crypt was extremelyrge and the tunnel ran deep. After a few yards, everything became pitch-ck. At the same time, glows appeared on the ancient coins in their hands, illuminating the entire ce. This was a sign that they were getting closer and closer to the node. The wall was not made of soil or rock. Instead, it was a wall of crystals, and in these crystals, there were red glitters. "This is..." Fang Yuan took a few steps towards the wall and started to examine it. "Hehe... I see that you realised what it is. This is thervae of the Blood Pitched Mosquitoes. This entire tunnel is, in fact, the nest of the Blood Mosquitoes... No wonder we can feel a sinister vibe everywhere." Zhou Tian sighed. At this point in time, the thick ck fog started to surround them and now, there was already a visibleyer of fog. What surprised Fang Yuan was the fact that there were no longer any dangers along the way in the tunnel. The 4 of them made it to the end smoothly as they arrived at a huge pool. In the middle of the pool, there was a pitch-ck liquid which bubbled continuously. "Ahh, this node is indeed within an extremely perilousnd!" Xing Yunzi shook his head and started to examine the surroundings. On the other hand, Fang Yuan started at the pool of ck water and was lost in his thoughts. His physical body was already as close as the level of the 100th Refining Stage and he should be fine even if he were to take a swim in this pool. On the other hand, in the refining process, he might require a few poisons which can only be obtained in crypts like this for him to attain the 100th Refining Stage. "What are you thinking about? Are you interested in this poisonous water, Fang Yuan?" Peng Xuan gazed over with a look of anticipation as though he had found someone with simr interest. " This pool of ck water is one of the most poisonous waters in the world, and even elemental force would corrode in it. However, it would be a good resource to use to refine corpses! Even if I were to throw in a most normal corpse, I might be able to get a Yaksa[1] in return!" "Refine a corpse?" Zhou Tian seemed to have understood something as he tugged at Fang Yuan¡¯s sleeves. "I remember something. This Daoist Peng Xuan has a nickname, the ¡¯King of Corpses¡¯. It was rumoured that he had stumbled upon an extremely powerful corpse refining technique in one of the small realms. Obsessed with this, he went on to modify it and refined a few Iron Corpses and Golden Corpses as his bodyguards, but unfortunately..." Fang Yuan knew why Zhou Tian sighed at the end. The Bronze Corpse and Iron Corpse were powerful and imprable. However, the same could be achieved with highly-skilled martial artists. In fact, martial artists were even agiler than the corpses. With the Wu Zongs as servants, who would need to refine corpses? "That¡¯s not true! Not true!" Peng Xuan waved his whisk. "The technique of refining corpses is a study on its own. Even the refining of the Golden Corpse is only elementary. If I can really refine a Yaksa, then I will really be skilled. After all, the Golden Corpse has a simple mind but the Yaksa has the mindparable to a normal human being. If I am lucky and I am able to refine and create the Drought Beast, then keke... it will cause a drought in a 3,000-mile radius, and I¡¯m not lying!" "Dream on!" Zhou Tian rolled his eyes. "What Drought Beast do you think you are talking about? That is only in the novels..." "That¡¯s not true! The Drought Beast exists..." Peng Xuan started to look serious. "I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever achieve the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage in my life. However, if I am able to reincarnate into a Drought Beast, I will be able to lengthen my lifespan to live even longer than a Sage!" "Forget about it! You¡¯ve told this story to almost everyone you meet, and you¡¯re just finding new people to trick!" Zhou Tian immediately rebutted. "Fang Yuan, don¡¯t take his word. Everything he said was imaginary. In our world, we can at most refine a Golden Corpse!" "Previously it is because I have limited resources!" Peng Xuan gazed at the pool of ck water and his eyes glistened. "If I can make use of this treasured ce, I can surely refine the Yaksa!" "Alright!" Xing Yunzi, who was examining the entire ce, turned his head around. "Don¡¯t make too much noise... As long as we seed this time, in the future, no matter how long you guys like to stay here, you will be able to do so!" With that, he flicked a purple-coloured ancient coin into the pool. The ancient coin was made of gold, but this particr one was even more unique. It was translucent like a crystal and as soon as it fell into the pool of ck water, it disappeared in a ssh. As Fang Yuan focused, he could see a purple figure floating about at the bottom of the pool. After a while, it stopped at a particr spot. "It¡¯s here!" Xing Yunzi seemed extremely excited. "Let¡¯s go!" With the wave of his hands, a purple streak of light appeared. In the streak of light, there was a long needle. The needle flew into the water and through the hole in the middle of the coin whichid at the bottom of the pool. "Rumble!" It felt like hallucination as the entire crypt shook at the moment where the needle entered the hole! ¡¯This is using the Dragon Searching Acupuncture Technique to search for the core of the node in the earth meridian...¡¯ Fang Yuan started to think to himself. ¡¯After this, we should be building an altar directly above this ce to keep it under control and to detect anything from it, right?¡¯ ... At the same time. Outside the 9 Extremes Mountain, in an isted room. The room was extremely spacious and there was a bronze cauldron in the middle of the room. On the cauldron were 8 golden dragons facing in different directions. "Pa!" At this point in time, one of the dragons opened its mouth, spitting out a golden pearl whichnded in the mouth of a golden toad below. "Are the earth meridians changing?" One of the old daoist guarding the ce opened his eyes and moved his fingers in an attempt to predict something. "It¡¯s from the 9 Extremes Mountain... Since the dragon meridian is injured we will have to remedy it within 9 days. Otherwise, all hope would be lost!" [1]: A Yaksa is a type of human-eating ghost. Chapter 370: Peace Chapter 370: Peace Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Inside the messy stone array, 9 Extremes Mountain. A boxy looking altar was already built above the entrance of the crypt. Nearby it, the rites of numerous arrays surrounded the altar with numerous runes swirling around. There was a fierce and mighty aura to it. Inside the altar, Xing Yunzi sat right in the centre. He was expressionless and spoke, "The altar has been built, now we just need to guard it for nine days and the mission will bepleted. After that, we just have to leave a few men to check on it asionally!" Fang Yuan and Zhou Tian looked at each other and nodded. There was no need for Fang Yuan and Zhou Tian to give excuses or fight to stay. From the looks in Peng Xuan¡¯s eyes, he was determined to be the one staying behind. "Anyway, within these nine days, we might be ambushed by Da Qian¡¯s dream masters! We can¡¯t let our guard down..." Xing Yunzi gravely reminded. He then assigned Fang Yuan and the rest to take turns to keep watch while the others rest. "No, wait... this 9 Extremes Mountain is the 5 Grand Organisation¡¯snd. Where are the people of Divine Lotus Cult and Evil Divine Sect?" As Fang Yuan walked out the altar, a thought shed in his mind, "Looks like... either there¡¯s more than one node in 9 Extremes Mountain or they are hiding in the dark, preparing to ambush the Imperial Court?" The Realm Alliance suffered great losses due to the Hidden Dragon Guards previously, they would definitely want to seek vengeance. Ne one knew if this was a bait. Fang Yuan had never been afraid to judge those in the higher authorities with the worst intentions. "Sirs, we have already finished building some houses nearby! Come on in and rest!" Pink Deity was outside the altar and the moment he saw Fang Yuan and the rest, her eyes lit up. She went forward immediately to invite them to the houses and at the same time, gazed at Fang Yuan numerous times unintentionally. "Haha... great!" Zhou Tianughed and gave Fang Yuan a look before walking away. Dream masters were powerful and there were no problems for them to be more easygoing in their private lives. Furthermore, Fang Yuan was young and virile, cough cough... "Great!" Beside the altar, a row of small houses was built with bricks. Fang Yuan entered his house and sat crossed legged as he looked at Pink Deity who followed in, "I understand your thoughts and I know you want me to protect you, but as someone who¡¯s painfully cultivating, I¡¯m not interested in romance nor sensual pleasures. As long as you listen to me in 9 Extremes Mountain, I will protect you to a certain extent!" "Yes, Sir!" Pink Deity¡¯s cheeks turned slightly red as she replied, "I will pay diligently investigate and look for information to report to you daily!" "She¡¯s smart at least!" Fang Yuan thought. In actual facts, lust was not forbidden to Fang Yuan. It was just because he had indulged enough in Maind and was already tired of carnal pleasures. Now, it was not because he was not attracted to Pink Deity, but because after all, she was still a dream master. It was not good to be too involved with another dream master, especially during such times where war was imminent. Why would Fang Yuan have the spare thoughts to be involved with her? "Very well, I will not treat my own people shabbily!" Fang Yuan smiled and poured open his Mountain River Pearl. A few bags of Yellow Grain Rice came out from it and Fang Yuan then continued, "I¡¯m not used to eating rough grains, you can cook and send these over to me for my daily meals and keep the rest!" "Yellow Grain Rice?" Pink Deity heaved a cold breath of air and almost fainted. Although the Mountain River Pearl and Yellow Grain Rice were rare, it still matched Fang Yuan¡¯s position and status. Thus, Pink Deity would not have any negative thoughts about it. Just that when she saw how rich Fang Yuan was, her intentions to seek refuge with him grew even more. Fang Yuan was a young man with wealth and powerful cultivation, Pink Deity would be a fool to not keep close to him... Just that it was a pity that he was not very interested in her beauty. Hence, Pink Deity was slightly vexed at such. ...... 7 dayster. It was totally calm near the altar, there were not even many beast attacks. This made the dream masters felt relieved. Inside the meditation room, Fang Yuan sat crossed leg and analysed the earth meridian map left behind by Sage Changli in his sea of consciousness. "There are over a thousand nodes in Da Qian and the 5 Grand Organisations have already made arrangements at many of them. It might be possible that Da Qian did not care about this node..." After many days of peace, it made Fang Yuan felt that way. "Just that... I don¡¯t think the Realm Alliance is simply disrupting this earth meridian..." Fang Yuan¡¯s face turned serious as he saw one of Sage Changli¡¯s manuscript. "Dream masters are very powerful and can actualise many things. This is all possible due to the world where the natural source of dreams is from. Even a powerful being dream master at the Prominent Divine stage cannot set himself free from this... Hence, centuries of dream masters have been continuously chasing after this dream source world. However, none of them has ever seeded before and thus, there are Sages who conclude that there is an "invisible" in Da Qian world. This is because the fate and breaths of the earth in Da Qian were too strong and hindered the dream masters¡¯ search... In actual facts, this was only one reason and not the main reason!" Sage Changli¡¯s manuscripts were all written in an ancient text that was more simr to talismans. After Fang Yuan spent lots of contributions points to buy a book from the Realm Alliance which could analyse the texts, he finally understood it in his own words. "ording to Sage Changli¡¯s deductions, Da Qian world¡¯s interference was only one small reason. Most importantly, that source world was simply too far away, it might not even be in the same dimension! Even Prominent Divine powerful beings can only passively receive its radiation and would not be able to find its source as their powers were not strong enough!" "Hence, discovering the source of dream masters and breaking free from the "invisible" were merely the most basic reasons. The most important thing was to obtain powers from the natural source which could break through everything!" Fang Yuan¡¯s expression turned cold as he then thought of the arrangements the Realm Alliance made at the earth meridian. Previously, he would have thought it was to simply destroy the earth meridian in order to destroy Da Qian. But now, with the numerous Sages¡¯ calctions, it was truly unpredictable. "An energy sufficient to break through dimension?" Fang Yuan pondered, "I guess taking other realms¡¯ natural source is not even enough, but... if it¡¯s Da Qian itself¡¯s natural source, it might be enough..." Da Qian world was the strongest world Fang Yuan had ever seen, the energy of its natural source was dense and iparable and even Ancient Realm wascklustrepared to it. Looks like the five powerful Sages amongst dream masters would definitely not miss this treasure, especially since they would want to progress further. "Chaos is really bound to descend... in this world..." As Fang Yuan was no longer confused, he immediately felt the deep and cold meaning behind all these. Dream masters were high above others, they conquered and plundered numerous worlds and realms. In their eyes, even Da Qian was merely just a temporary stop for them. In order to progress further and also seek for the natural source, they would not be hesitant in sacrificing an entire world! Those crazies from Source Seeking Sect would definitely do that! Even the Sage from Baize Mountain might not even oppose it. In the eyes of the heavens, all lives were equal. In the eyes of the Sages, allmoners were equal. Since they were all equal and since other worlds and realms could be sacrificed, then why not Da Qian? "Unknowingly, I am now on the opposing side..." Fang Yuan gave a wry smile and his eyes glistened, "Even so, the real methods are in the core of the inheritance... If I can fully master Sage Changli¡¯s secret inheritance, I might even be able to surpass all!" ... "Sir?" Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. It was Pink Deity. "Come in!" Fang Yuan expression turned gentle as saw thedy carrying a meal box with an expression meant to please. "Sir, enjoy your meal!" As she looked at Fang Yuan using the spoon and drinking it, she began to report on the situation, "Early in the morning today, the small group who went out to patrol was attacked by an Elemental Piercing Snake. One dream master and three strong men died..." "Qing Yuan and a few other master masters secretly sneaked out to explore the movements of the nearby restrictions and I heard they found something. Although it was just a few of them, they were still part of the team, but even though Xing Yunzi seemed to notice it, he did not say anything..." "Ok, I get it!" As Fang Yuan calmly acknowledged, another cold thought appeared in his mind. Such behaviour of doing personal work while on official duty was technically counted as neglecting one¡¯s duty, but since Xing Yunzi was surprisingly not disapproving of it, it exined why they did it. "This mission is not only an obvious conquest, it is also a bait to lure the Hidden Dragon Guards and Imperial Court to react? In order to let the other four organisations ambush and destroy them?" Fang Yuan thought. The real ns were unknown. In the entire team, only Xing Yunzi would know the real rationale and n. "Although I don¡¯t even have many expectations left, such behaviours are still... disappointing!" Fang Yuan thought to himself. Seeing such, Pink Deity felt coldness in her heart as even though she was exposed to many things, amongst the dream masters at the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine, only Fang Yuan felt the most mysterious and unpredictable to her. .... "Haha... Brother Fang Yuan!" At that moment, Zhou Tian¡¯s voice could be heard from outside. He then teased, "Am I interrupting?" "No,e on in, Brother!" Fang Yuan moved his hands and an invisible force opened the door. Zhou Tian walked in and took a quick nce at Pink Deity before he gave a facial expression all men could understand. "I will take my leave!" Pink Deity¡¯s cheeks turned pink as she bowed and left. "Haha, did I interrupt you and yourdy?" Zhou Tian asked teasingly. "What, don¡¯t you know there¡¯s nothing between me and her?" Fang Yuan rolled his eyes and continued, "So what have you discovered that brings you here?" Indeed, other than those lower tiered dream masters, Zhou Tian was one of those who sneaked out too. "I shall tell you everything!" Zhou Tian sat crossed legged as his expression turned solemn, "Two strong men and I were searching the surrounding areas these few days and we found the remnant of a restriction! I need your help!" Zhou Tian was roping Fang Yuan in to share the rewards. Whereas for Peng Xuan? Ever since Xing Yunzi allowed him, this King of Corpses had been inside the crypt for days, unseen by others outside. "Sure!" Fang Yuan thought for a while and agreed. He then looked at Zhou Tian and contemted, "In this current mission, other than Xing Yunzi and a few others, the rest were all those not as reliable ones like us or the weak ones. The motive of making use of others to get rid of adversaries was not too obvious... Feng Xinzi, Elder Smelter!" Although Fang Yuan knew this situation was most likely brought about due to Feng Xinzi¡¯s jealousy, if the Elders did not approve, it would not be like that now. Fang Yuan¡¯s gaze deepened as he fiercely made up his mind. Chapter 371: Elemental Refining Fruit Chapter 371: Elemental Refining Fruit Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Half a day passed, in a location about a 100 miles from the messy stone array. Fang Yuan walked alongside Zhou Tian as 2 other Wu Zongs followed behind. "This is the ce. I previously sent a Treasure Seeking Mouse out, and here is where it found traces of the Elemental Refining Fruit!" Zhou Tian bashed through a few trees as he spoke. As soon as they heard the name of the fruit, all of their hearts wavered. The Elemental Refining Fruit was an Earth Grade treasure. However, it was not suitable for dream masters in the cultivation. Instead, it was a spiritual object used to strengthen one¡¯s martial arts. This was especially useful to Wu Zongs in the Elemental Opening Realm for it would be able to assist them in triggering a breakthrough. "ording to the report from the Treasure Seeking Mouse, there are quite a lot of Elemental Refining Fruits there. It should be enough to assist Ah Long and Ah Hu to achieve a breakthrough and advance to the 7th Meridian!" The powers of a Wu Zong in the 6th Meridian were vastly different from that of a Wu Zong in the 7th Meridian. At least, the minimum requirement to form the Divine Body would be attained. Taking a quick nce at Ah Long and Ah Hu, Fang Yuan realised that their spiritual auras were indeed different. Their elemental forces were strong, and this would go to show that Zhou Tian did invest quite a lot in them. If they were to achieve a breakthrough, they might have a slight hope of attaining True Divine in the future. However, there was a confusion bugging Zhou Tian. "I¡¯ve seen the map. The location of the Elemental Refining Fruit is no longer in the safe zone. Therefore, we might encounter more restrictions and dangers along the way!" "This is why we need your help, Brother Fang!" Zhou Tian patted his chest. "Of course, after we get the fruits, I will not forget your gratitude." "Mmm, you can give me fewer Elemental Refining Fruits, but I will want to take its spiritual roots!" Fang Yuanid out his conditions. "You want this spiritual nt? Of course, there¡¯s no problem in that!" Zhou Tian immediately agreed, for he was not interested in these spiritual nts which would take over a hundred years to mature. "That¡¯s a deal!" Fang Yuan was ted. With his skill in Botany, he knew that he could reduce the maturity period of the spiritual nt. With that, he would have an endless supply of Elemental Refining Fruit! Even if he would no longer require it in the future, he could still make use of the fruits to train up his servants. The fog started to thicken. As the few of them traversed through a small valley, strong gusts of wind blew from both sides. Spiritual light was glowing about, covering the entire sky and giving off a creepy vibe. "Squeak!" Zhou Tian fished out a mouse-looking spiritual beast. "It¡¯s up to you, Treasure Seeking Mouse!" Fang Yuan closely examined the beast and realised that it was as big as his palm. It had a red nose, green eyes, glittery fur and a few streaks of purple on its back. After eating a few acorns, the mouse immediatelyid on the ground, twitched its nose before scooting off in a particr direction. "Let¡¯s go!" Zhou Tian was excited as he waved his hands. Among his servants, the one known as Ah Long, the 6th Meridian Wu Zong, led the way. The two dream masters followed behind, and Ah Hu guarded the back. The 4 of them continued their way and arrived at the depths of the valley. They could see a calm-lookingke. Theke was small at about 400 square yards. However, it seemed extremely deep, and the surface of theke was ck. On the walls of theke, there were vines stretched all over. On these vines, there were green fruits the size of an apple and it gave off an aromatic fragrance. "This is indeed the Elemental Refining Fruit!" Zhou Tian was ted. "It is our fortune to be able to find this!" "However, ording to thews of nature, there must be spiritual beasts guarding in the vicinity. Everyone, be on your guard!" Fang Yuan appeared solemn as he gazed at the deepke. He could sense that something was hiding within. "Ah Long!" Zhou Tian licked his lips. Ah Long gingerly made his way forward, arrived by thekeside and stretched out his arm in an attempt to pluck the fruit. "Ssh!" The water in theke started to tremor as a huge ssh emerged. From it came a ck silhouette which swift flew out before striking down. "Bang!" Ah Long was already prepared. Without hesitation, he retreated. Surprisingly nimble, he leapt into the safe zone behind. "Your lightness skill is not bad!" Fang Yuanplimented him before turning his attention to the ck silhouette once more. It was a python as thick as a bucket and was about 20 yards long. It had many small scales which resembled ck jade, and there was a faint purple glow around it. As it raised its head, its silvery eyes peered down coldly. Furthermore, there was a tumour growing on its head which somewhat resembled a horn. "Is this... the Silver Eyed ck Snake? How did it grow to such a massive size... and the tumour on its head..." "It seems like the Elemental Refining Fruit is its forbidden fruit." Zhou Tian quipped. "Hiss! Hisss!" The massive snake had no reason to show them mercy. With the previous ambush attempt failed, it now turned aggressive and swung its tail out. "Hmph! Water, rise!" Zhou Tian eximed and the water in theke started to rise, forming a wall of water in mid-air which blocked the giant python¡¯s path. "Pa!" With the flick of its tail, a hole broke through the water wall as the python started to slither through the hole. "It is indeed a powerful wild beast... ice!" Zhou Tian eximed once more. The temperature in the surroundings started to fall and the water froze into ice! "Whoooo!" A chill breeze blew across, freezing the water wall into any ice wall and at the same time trapping the snake in within. ¡¯Spiritual spells with a single thought. A dream spells master?¡¯ Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glistened as he discovered Zhou Tian¡¯s background. It was the mostmon of all Illusionary Divine dream masters, the dream spells master. It was rumoured that such dream masters would be able to actualise any spiritual spell which they had seen before, and they would be able to use it to alter reality. Every dream spells master would have mastered all 5 types of spiritual spells and would be powerful spell masters. Even spiritual knights in the Elemental Opening Realm would have to concede to them. Only True Elemental spiritual knights would be able to defeat a dream spells master. Otherwise, there would be no question of the oue of a fight between a dream spells master and a spiritual knight. "Hmm, this snake is ferocious. It seems to have the power of a 7th Meridian Wu Zong!" Zhou Tian smiled calmly. "Ah Long and Ah Hu came on their own, they might not be able to defeat it!" As cracks appeared on theyer of ice, instead of being worried, Zhou Tian was excited. "Brother Fang, how about some roasted snake meat for dinner?" As he flipped his hands, mes emerged in the strong wind. Just as they ck snake had freed itself from the ice, it began to burn in the mes. With that, it transformed into a huge ming torch as it squirmed about in pain. Zhou Tian could control the elements with the flip of his palm! Even in the 9 Extremes Mountain, a dream master in the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine was still powerful. Seeing how Zhou Tian handled the snake, Ah Long and Ah Hu could only lower their heads in respect and they were once again reminded of how powerful their master was. Even if they were to be a 7th Meridian Wu Zong, they would still remain as Zhou Tian¡¯sckeys! Seeing this, Zhou Tian felt satisfied. As the ck snake fell to the ground, he started to give his orders. "What are you doing? Quickly harvest the Elemental Refining Fruits! Also, Brother Fang has requested for the spiritual roots of this nt. Be careful not to damage it!" "Yes, Sir!" The 2 Wu Zongs quickly agreed and went on toplete their assigned task. "How... how do I deserve this..." Fang Yuan sounded humble. After all, it was Zhou Tian and his subordinates which put in all the effort in getting the Elemental Refining Fruit, and Fang Yuan did nothing to help them. "Haha..... Why not?" Zhou Tian was generous. After all, Fang Yuan could attain the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage at such a young age and was even a 5th Leaf Cultivator. Therefore, it was worth it to establish good rtions with him. At this point in time, something happened! As Ah Long and Ah Hu arrived at the walls of theke and were about to pluck the fruits, a purple streak of light shed past. Ah Hu quickly retreated far away and was in a daze. "Brother?" Seeing his dazed look, Ah Long was worried and approached him. "Ho ho!" At this moment, Ah Hu¡¯s eyes started to turn bloodshot and purple veins started to grow on his face. As he shouted "Ho ho!", he struck his fist out with all his might. The tables had turned! Ah Long could only block with his hands. With that, he flew backwards and spat out a mouthful of blood, suffering a few fractured bones. "Eh? What is this evil thing?" Based on Fang Yuan¡¯s exceptional eyesight, he could see that the streak of purple light had entered Ah Hu¡¯s body before taking control over him. Firstly, it was shocking that Ah Hu was so easily manipted, considering that the both of them were 6th Meridian Wu Zongs which had the protection of their own elemental force and spiritual meridians. Secondly, the foreign entity could immediately make use of Ah Hu¡¯s elemental force as soon as it took control of him. It was not simply taking over him and controlling his actions like a puppet. "The Puppet Snake? Ah Hu is already dead! Quickly cremate him!" It seemed as though Zhou Tian had recalled something as his expression changed. With the wave of his hand, two ming tornadoes appeared. As the wind intensified the mes, the fire started to spread. "Ho ho!" Ah Hu continued to shout with a deep voice. Suddenly, the 6 spiritual meridians started to form around his body, forming a spiritual armour around him. With that, he started to charge towards Zhou Tian. "Whoosh!" He was extremely quick and created a strong gust of wind. As he ran swiftly, he split the mes and formed a long pathway. "D*mn it! I have limited dream elemental force now..." Zhou Tian seemed troubled. He had tried to show off as he killed the huge snake. With that, he had over-depleted his dream elemental force. It was not a simple task to restore one¡¯s dream elemental force under the Ultimate Segregation of the 9 Extremes Mountain. "Leave this to me!" Fang Yuan took a step forward. With an expressionless look, he flicked his fingers and a Thunder Sword flew out! "Whoosh!" As sparks of electricity dazzled around the sword, Ah Hu shouted. Spiritual light started to gather around his right fist. With that, he smashed down. "Bang!" The Thunder Sword trembled and veered a little off course. However, Ah Hu¡¯s hand was now charred and his bones were already showing. "After all, this is not your own body. No wonder you wouldn¡¯t care about it..." Fang Yuan flicked his finger once more as the Wind Sword was formed. "Wind and Thunder, kill!" "Chi! Chi!" The sword essences were released as the Wind and Thunder Swords formed two illusionary shadows which were green and purple. They started to circle Ah Hu, piercing and slicing him. After a moment, the two swords came to a halt. Ah Hu, who was in the middle, was motionless. Suddenly, a piece of his meat fell off from his body. "Whoosh!" From the bloodied mess, a streak of purple light flew out. "I¡¯m waiting for you!" Fang Yuan smiled as the Fire Sword appeared in his hands. With that, he struck the sword forward. "Chi!" With the glow of the fire sword, a thin-looking purple snake fell to the ground, split into two. "It is indeed the puppet snake. This one has already cultivated to purple! Even we might sumb to its control if affected...." Zhou Tian had an uneasy look on his face. Ah Hu was dead and Ah Long was severely injured. This expedition to look for the treasured Elemental Refining Fruit had cost him dearly. However, he still had to force a smile on his face. "Thank you for your help, Brother Fang." "It¡¯s nothing much!" Fang Yuan walked forward, kept a few Elemental Refining Fruits and even plucked out the roots of the spiritual nt. With that, he kept everything in the Mountain River Pearl before examining Ah Long¡¯s injury. This man was ambushed by his brother and was severely injured. He had to be sent back to camp to recuperate. However, something happened in this instant! Chapter 372: The Might of the Body Chapter 372: The Might of the Body Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Rumble!" A vibration was felt which seemed toe from the direction of the altar! "What¡¯s that..." Zhou Tian had felt the same thing as well and his expression changed. "Is the base under attack? Should we quickly return to help them out?" "Are you joking?" Fang Yuan looked at Zhou Tian with scepticism. "We are so far and yet we can feel the vibration. Who do you think is involved in the fight? A True Divine martial artist? Or a True Elemental spiritual knight? Or could it be a dream master in the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage?" "How is this possible? This is only a normal mission..." Zhou Tian was confused. "Why would such powerful people get involved?" ¡¯Because we are mere baits! The alliance has decided to use us to lure the Imperial Court toe for us, and we might even have the assistance of the other 4 Grand Organisations!¡¯ Fang Yuan thought to himself, but did not intend on telling the truth to Zhou Tian. "Against such a situation, we would be of no help. We should wait until themotion is over before returning there to assess the situation. He would not admit that he had only followed Zhou Tian out because he wanted to avoid the impending sh at the node. Even if he were to be punished by the alliance, it would still be better than going head-on against the enemy and losing his life! "Hmm, you make sense!" Zhou Tian¡¯s expression changed once more. Finally, he weighed the options and realised that staying alive was more important. With that, he agreed to Fang Yuan¡¯s suggestion. "Rx! The Imperial Court will at most destroy the altar and leave. After all, there are still other nodes around!" Seeing how worried Zhou Tian looked, Fang Yuan tried to calm him down. In fact, if Fang Yuan had predicted correctly, if the Imperial Court had decided to go down hard on them, the Realm Alliance would suffer great losses. "Hmm?" At this point in time, Fang Yuan and Zhou Tian suddenly felt something as they looked at the entrance of the valley. A few silhouettes appeared. Their spiritual auras were strong as they started to surround them. It seemed as though they had bad intentions. "The people from the Imperial Court?" Fang Yuan sighed. Never would he have thought that he would still encounter them, even though they were so far away from the altar. However, these people were only the supporting forces and therefore, Fang Yuan andpany would gain a little advantage over them. "Fang Yuan, Zhou Tian. Both of you are dream masters in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. Especially for you, Fang Yuan! You¡¯re young and yet you are already a 5th Leaf Cultivator. Not bad! Not bad at all!" A few of them started to approach Fang Yuan and Zhou Tian. Their spiritual auras were vastly different. There were 3 martial artists and 1 spiritual knight. All of them wore the same uniform and had a murderous look in their eyes. "Who would¡¯ve thought that theke and the weird snake here would deplete quite a substantial amount of elemental force from you... I am Wang Chan from the Imperial Court, and together with me are 3 Wu Zongs. We are instructed to destroy you crazy traitors!" The spiritual knight in front seemed to detest dream masters. Vaguely, 9 spiritual points appeared on his body. With a shout, a shocking spiritual pressure was felt. 9 spiritual meridians formed on each of the martial artists¡¯ backs, forming the illusionary figure of a giant behind them. Spiritual inscriptions appeared all over their bodies which resembled a battle armour. "A 9th Tier spiritual knight? A 9th Meridian Wu Zong?" Zhou Tian took in a cold breath as he slowly realised the power of the Da Qian Imperial Court. These few people had the chance to attain True Divine and True Elemental, but they had no qualms in serving the Imperial Court to be deployed. This showed their hatred towards dream masters! ¡¯What should we do?¡¯ Zhou Tian nced at Ah Long. ¡¯I can take on this 9th Tier spiritual knight. However, under the influence of the Ultimate Segregation, I¡¯m afraid that only dream masters in the 6th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage would be able to take on the 3 9th Meridian Wu Zongs. However, Fang Yuan and I have already depleted most of our dream elemental force previously!¡¯ "What else do we have to say to these traitors? Kill them!" One of the martial artists took a confident step forward. "You dream masters have been troubling the people and always do whatever you wished. Now that we have the order to kill you, just cooperate and concede to us!" The few martial artists had bloodshot eyes. It was evident that they had an immense hatred for dream masters, which made Fang Yuanugh inside. What the martial artist just said was true. With such powers, dream masters had been in control over the past few thousand years. The resentment the people had for dream masters would have umted, but they were always kept under control forcefully by the more powerful dream masters. Now that they had an opportunity to strike back, they would strike back hard like the eruption of a volcano. "Fang Yuan, I¡¯m afraid that the both of us will have to die here today!" Seeing how the 4 of them could seal of their escape paths with much chemistry, Zhou Tian could onlyugh helplessly. "That may not be the case..." Fang Yuan stripped his robes and cracking sounds were heard from his body. His martial arts spiritual aura started to explode. "Eh? A 7th Meridian Wu Zong?" One of the martial artists was stunned before breaking into aughter. "Do you think you can escape with such a weak cultivation? Dream on! Kill!" With a roar, the martial artist leapt forward. The spiritual aura from his spiritual meridian exploded and he seemed to harness the force of an entire mountain. A 9th Meridian Wu Zong would have reached the peak of the Elemental Opening Realm and would be a single step away from forming the Divine Body! Although it was one step away from the Divine Body, a 9th Meridian Wu Zong was, without a doubt, sufficient to deal with a 7th Meridian Wu Zong. "Seven Murderous Ferocious Tiger Fist! Die!" This martial artist was shockingly powerful. As his arms rotated, his fists struck out like cannonballs. Every fist had an immense amount of force and power. As he flew through the air, there was a faint roaring of a tiger. "With the long knife, I will kill your soul!" As the first martial artist started to pounce towards Fang Yuan, hispanion also reacted. A Hundred Casted Knife appeared in his hands and there was a skull engraved on the handle of the knife. There was frost on the de of the knife and as it sliced through the air, the glitter from the knife sealed Fang Yuan¡¯s escape path. The two martial artists¡¯ coordination was seamless. Zhou Tian felt uneasy as his breathing hastened. In the 9 Extremes Mountain, the dream masters would be at a disadvantage and their power would be reduced by a lot. Now that they were in such a situation, even if Xing Yunzi was here, all of them would still suffer great losses! It was not known as to where the Imperial Court sourced these Wu Zongs. All of them were highly-skilled and murderous and would not give any chance the moment they attacked. "Restrict!" He could not think so much. Just as two 9th Meridian Wu Zongs were attacking Fang Yuan, Wang Chan started to execute his technique. A streak of spiritual light flew out and covered the entire surroundings. It was colourful and glittery as it formed the word ¡¯restrict¡¯. Zhou Tian could feel the energy in the surroundings slowly being depleted. The original dream elemental force which he had in him also came to a halt. With that, his expression changed. He knew that Wang Chan was using spiritual spells to force himself to fight with all that he had. Wang Chan wanted to deplete Zhou Tian of his elemental force to force him into submission! Just as he was being restricted, the final Wu Zong rushed forward and leapt towards Zhou Tian like a tiger. He arrived about 4 yards from Zhou Tian, raised his right palm up and activated all 9 of his spiritual meridians. Like an enraged dragon, his force travelled from his arm to his palm, and from his palm to his fingers. With that, his fingers struck down! "Ah, I¡¯ll go all out!" Zhou Tian¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot as he spat out a mouth of blood. From his body, a piece of jade flew out. As soon as the jade came into contact with the blood, the golden runes on the jade started to glow and expand, forming ayer of defence around him. "Metal blood, destroy!" As the Wu Zongughed, he eximed as his metallic ws strengthened by the spiritual meridian struck on the golden glow of protection. "Bzzzzz!" The golden glow shook before crumbling into sparkles and disappeared. That was all Zhou Tian needed to retreat half a step back and avoid the killer move. As he felt the wind which was created from the swift ws, his face turned pale and he continuously retreated. "Disgusting..." If this was outside, he would have restored at least half of his dream elemental energy and would be able to retaliate! "Hmph, you¡¯re lucky to have survived the first strike. What about the next?" The Wu Zong pressed forward and pressured Zhou Tian. Suddenly, there were criesing from the other side which attracted their attention. "What¡¯s happening?" Wang Chan thought that he had things under his control. Now that he gazed over to the direction where Fang Yuan was, he was devastated. Fang Yuan was standing still and beneath his foot, there was a Hundred Casted Knife. The Wu Zong which wielded the knife was exhausted, but he could not pull the knife form Fang Yuan¡¯s foot. The other Wu Zong was lying dead on the ground and his arms were bloodied as though a giant beast had trampled over his arms. "Hmph, how dare you show off when you are so weak!" Fang Yuan kept his fists and smiled. He had 70 proficiency points for his Spirit! What kind of concept was that? It was overflowing with elemental force, much more than the limit of a 7th Meridian Wu Zong! Furthermore, he had a strengthened physical body! The Wu Zongs did not know what they got themselves into. It was like throwing an egg on a rock, and the oue as extremely predictable. Just previously, Fang yuan had simply stepped on the Hundred Casted Knife. Everything was held beneath his feet. With a simple punch, the arms of the 9th Meridian Wu Zong had exploded and his bones shattered. It was a gruesome death! "Big brother! Quickly leave!" The Wu Zong suddenly released the handle of the Hundred Casted Knife and rolled forward. Using his palms as a knife, he sliced towards Fang Yuan¡¯s waist. "Dong! Dong!" There was a loud but dull sounding from Fang Yuan¡¯s body. His shirt was torn, revealing a muscr body with a bronze hue. Peering down, Fang Yuan quipped, "Are you scratching my itch?" "This is impossible... the martial arts Divine Body?" The Wu Zong shuddered and momentarily forgot what he was doing. In the next moment, a huge handnded on his head with a great force. "Bang!" His head exploded like a watermelon. With that, Fang Yuan kept his fists and took in a deep breath. ¡¯A simple fist and strong force within my blood is the true essence of martial arts!¡¯ "Second brother, third brother?" The remaining Wu Zong no longer cared about killing Zhou Tian as his eyes turned red. "Quickly leave... this person is too powerful and we are no match for him!" Wang Chan quickly snapped out of his trance and executed a few techniques in one go. "Stabilize! Bind! Seal! Kill!" 4 spiritual spells appeared which continuously struck towards Fang Yuan. Wang Chan wanted to buy himself some time to escape. "It¡¯s no use! No use! No use!" Fang Yuan walked up to him and paid no attention to the spiritual light as it struck his body. With a little vibration, the spiritual spells were nullified. "Die now!" Without any fancy techniques, Fang Yuan came to Wang Chan and struck out a simple fist. "You!" How scary was it to deal with Fang Yuan, who had a strengthened physical body? Even before Wang Chan could finish his sentence, his body exploded! It exploded! All of his defences were useless. His body exploded into a mist of blood and he turned into a bloodied mess. "Keke... No one would¡¯ve thought that you had attained such a level in martial arts. The three of us brothers are utterly impressed!" Witnessing this scene, the final Wu Zong felt a chill down his spine and tears started to well up in his eyes. "Heaven... why are you so kind towards these traitors? I can¡¯t believe it!" "Chi!" He was a reckless person. Knowing that Fang Yuan would not let him go, the Wu Zong bit his tongue, spat out a mouthful of blood and killed himself. Chapter 373: Killing Spree Chapter 373: Killing Spree Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "This..." As the mountain breeze blew across the valley, Zhou Tian gazed at the few corpses before him, speechless. How did the highly-skilled people of the Imperial Court, a 9th Tier spiritual knight and 3 9th Meridian Wu Zongs, die in front of his eyes so easily? "Fang... Brother Fang!" Looking at Fang Yuan, he started to stumble on his words. "Have you really formed the Divine Body and attained True Divine?" Looking at Fang Yuan¡¯s power, there had to be only one exnation. "True Divine? I¡¯m not that powerful yet!" Fang Yuan turned around and smiled sheepishly. However, the fact that he had killed the 4 of them so easily just now still made Zhou Tian unable to speak a single word. ¡¯Through the encounter just now, I now know his martial arts ability as well!¡¯ Fang Yuan clenched his fists. ¡¯Even in the outside world, without the effects of the Ultimate Segregation, I am still able to win anyone that¡¯s not a True Divine!¡¯ Furthermore, after refining his blood with that of the witch¡¯s, his physical body was alsoparable to that of a True Divine and he would stand a chance against any True Divine as well! ¡¯Unknowingly, my martial arts has improved tremendously and it is slowly bing as powerful as my dream master¡¯s ability... Or it might even be more powerful already.¡¯ ¡¯This kid...¡¯ Zhou Tian looked down. He could feel that themotion from afar was beginning to settle down as well, and thoughts ran wild in his mind. ¡¯The alliance might have intentionally ced us here as bait for us to be ambushed, but this Fang Yuan... he has the ability all along and yet chooses to conceal it. He is indeed dangerous and unpredictable!¡¯ "Sir, what should we do next?" Zhou Tian humbly enquired. He already regarded Fang Yuan as a True Divine. At least, in the harsh environments of the 9 Extremes Mountain, Fang Yuan wasparable to having half the power of a True Divine! "It¡¯s the same n. We shall observe... Now that we have killed these few leaders, we can continue to patrol and wait to see if anyone else will approach us. It will be a big aplishment for us to kill them. Fang Yuan chose the option which favoured him. "This is... good!" Zhou Tian promptly agreed. Fang Yuan¡¯s future was limitless. With that understanding, he knew he had to establish good rtions with him. ... At the base near the messy stone array. Smoke billowed in the air as the entire altar shattered into many pieces, revealing a pitch-ck underground hole. In the surroundings, a few dream masters and Wu Zongsid on the floor and their blood stained the ground. "Kill!" Groups of martial artists in ck robes appeared. They were all in the Meridian Opening Realm as they forced their way into the base. "Strike!" A dream master waved his hands and ayer of fog appeared. In the fog, a few icicles appeared as well. A few martial artists sumbed to the attack and a few holes were pierced through their bodies, spewing blood all around. "Hmph... the few of you are just servants. How dare you fight against your master?" This dream masterughed. Suddenly, a big hole appeared beneath him. A Wu Zong draped in yellow robes appeared. Wielding a sword and swinging it around, it resembled the tongue of a snake. With that, he went straight for the dream master¡¯s throat. "You..." Ayer of icy armour appeared over the dream master¡¯s body. However, it was too thin and the sword managed to pierce through it, making its way to the throat and piercing through it as well. ¡¯What a pity... If this was outside, how would this even happen?¡¯ The dream master¡¯s mind was filled with thoughts of unwillingness before he fell squarely to the ground. If this was outside, he could quickly restore his elemental force and the icy armour would be able to at least withstand the piercing of a thin sword. "Great! You¡¯re indeed the powerful Sword Burrower, Wang Tong!" The few Wu Zongs around started to cheer. "If not for the Anti-dust Robe given to me by the Imperial Court, I will not be able to seed so easily!" Wang Tong gave a humble smile before gripping tightly on the thin sword in his hands, which resembled a spiritual snake. "Dream masters are overbearing! They have created chaos everywhere they go and treat martial artists like us as servants. We need to let them get their just desserts!" "You¡¯re right!" The few Wu Zongs cheered in unison as they started to cry tears of hatred. However, it was inurate to say that dream masters were evil and overbearing. It was simply the fact that with dream masters around, other professions would never get to shine. Furthermore, being more powerful, dream masters would be able to get their hands on more resources. Therefore, considering the rarity of spiritualnds and prosperousnds, how would the other martial artists and spiritual knights survive if all of these rare resources belonged to dream masters? Therefore, they started to develop a hatred for dream masters and all of them came out once they caught wind that the Imperial Court was about to wage war on dream masters. "Die!" A few martial artists roared as the spiritual meridians on their bodies started to glow. In a flurry, their enemies were sliced and diced into many pieces, revealing the dream master which was being protected in the centre. "Please spare me..." "Chi! Chi!" The swords did not stop. With a few slices, the dream master was sliced into 5 pieces. "Are these people from the Imperial Court?" The group of Wu Zongs made their way into the crypt and created amotion as they entered. With that, Peng Xuan came out. With the wave of his right hand, a handful of golden-coloured sand flew into the air and transformed into streaks of lightning. It was a powerful move indeed. This was his famed magical equipment, the ¡¯Golden Steel Thunder Sand¡¯. It was made from 12,900 grains of ck sand and refined by elemental force. Afterwards, it would go on to seal each and every lightning in it to be gold in colour. If thrown at the enemy, the streaks of lightning would be released at the same time. Although it would not be as powerful as a heavenly tribtion, it was powerful in its own way and hard for anyone to even defend against it. "How timely it is for Lord Xing to leave and for Fang Yuan and Zhou Tian to have yet to return!" Although he was obsessed with the technique of refining corpses, he was not stupid and could detect that something was amiss. At the moment where he released his Golden Steel Thunder Sand, 3 Golden Corpses emerged from the crypt. They had ferocious looks on their faces and was entirely gold in colour. They were imprable as they advanced out of the crypt. "Eh? A dream master in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage?" Such abat power immediately piqued the interest of the few 9th Meridian Wu Zongs and spiritual knights around. "Aw! Aw!" The Golden Corpses shrieked. They were unafraid of death and their nails were sharp and poisonous. Effortlessly, they managed to kill and formed a path in their wake. However, as soon as they reached the end, 2 of the 3 Golden Corpses were already beheaded. "Hmph... The Imperial Court of Da Qian, just you watch out. How dare you destroy my Golden Corpse! I will take revenge for them!" Peng Xuan heaved a sigh before throwing out a feather. "The Thousand Feather Burrowing Technique..." The feather was a pristine white and had a translucent spiritual glow to it. It was obvious that there was some sort of escaping burrowing technique sealed in the feather. With his chant, the feather was about to be activated. "Hmph! Are you thinking of fleeing?" A tall figure appeared behind Peng Xuan. This person was shockingly skilled to be able to sneak up to a dream master in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. "Aw! Aw!" The remaining Golden Corpse was filled with fear. With a weird voice, it leapt forward but was being punched away. His entire head was punched into its thoracic cavity as it fell to the ground, motionless. "Chi!" Peng Xuan was stunned. Looking at the bloodied hand which appeared before his chest, he gave a pitiful look. "A True Divine martial artist? A captain from Yanwu Court? What a pity... strike!" "Whoosh!" As the glow of the feather descended on Peng Xuan, it covered him inside. Instantly, he became a streak of light and flew away. "Hmmm? The burrowing technique of a dream master in the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage?" The tall figure was stunned. As he gazed at the disappearing Peng Xuan and the ck heart which was squelching in his hand, he revealed a sinister smile. "This is interesting... Did he transform himself into a zombie? No wonder it is able to survive after my punch... What a lucky fellow!" "Pa!" As he tightened the grip on his hand, the heart exploded into a mist of blood. "Capital leader!" The other martial artists and spiritual knights quickly settled their respective targets before bowing respectfully. "We have cleared this entire base. In total, we¡¯ve killed 15 dream masters and 37 Wu Zongs!" "What a pity. Xing Yunzi is a sly fox and has already left long ago. There are another 3 dream masters in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, but none of them is here... It is rumoured that the Realm Alliance arex in their rules, and that is indeed true! Quickly destroy this ce! Let¡¯s leave!" The capital leader used a clean cloth to wipe his hands as he calmly gave out his orders. The Imperial Court had long known that the 9 Extremes Mountain was all along a trap. However, with thepetent Hidden Dragon Guards and other skilled personnel, they could afford to take the bait and escape. However, little did they know that the dream masters of the Realm Alliance were all sly. Although they had aplished their mission, they only killed a few non-essential personnel and were therefore unsatisfied. "Yes, Sir!" The Wu Zongs knew that he was powerful and therefore quickly agreed before making their way down the crypt. Not long after, there was a faint roar of a dragon. The entire crypt started to crumble and within moments, it was buried underground. There were mes burning all around the base. ... "Wow... This is such a pitiful loss. I can¡¯t even bear to witness it..." After a long while, Zhou Tian and Fang Yuan finally returned and destruction was all they saw. Many of the dream masters and Wu Zongs had their heads severed and stacked up, forming a small hill. It was a sign of taunt. "There were all aplished people, but now, all that¡¯s left of them are bones..." Fang Yuan examined the unjust looks on their faces but did not manage to find the heads of Peng Xuan and Xing Yunzi. With that, he shook his head. They were all smart and cunning people to begin with. Therefore, they would not blindly sacrifice themselves, especially for the sly Xing Yunzi. Looking at things, it seemed as though these two powerful dream masters were tipped-off and had already escaped long ago to leave the remaining dream masters to fend for themselves. "Fang Yuan! Zhou Tian!" A few streaks of light suddenly appeared. They carried familiar spiritual auras with them. As they arrived at the base, they transformed into a few dream masters with deste faces. Taking a closer look, Fang Yuan realised that Xing Yunzi was leading them and apanying him was Feng Xinzi. "Where were you when the Imperial Court attacked?" Xing Yunzi asked coldly. "While we were fighting with all our lives, where were you?" "Of course in a fight as well!" Fang Yuan retorted with confidence. "While I was patrolling with Zhou Tian, we had detected traces of Wu Zongs. We chased them to over 30 miles from here and we finally killed the 4 of them! Their heads are here!" Zhou Tian retrieved 3 heads. They were the heads of 9th Meridian Wu Zongs and their spiritual auras were indeed terrifying. They could not lie about this, for there were techniques in this world which would allow one to retrieve information from a severed head. "9th Meridian Wu Zongs?" Feng Xinzi examined the heads and eximed. "What? All three of them?" Xing Yunzi¡¯s expression changed. If these three Wu Zongs were tobine forces and attack him together, he knew that he would not be able to escape. "Not just that, there was another 9th Tier spiritual knight as well. However, it was a pity that his head was smashed beyond recognition..." Zhou Tian remarked. He was clear that he would stand by Fang Yuan¡¯s side. Therefore, he had to cover up for Fang Yuan and help him as much as possible. After all, chasing after enemies and leaving one¡¯s position of duty were very different things. "Keke... Not bad!" Feng Xinzi forced a smile. "To think about it, both of you have aplished something during this mission. I will report it to the alliance on your behalf..." Chapter 374: Cleaning Up Chapter 374: Cleaning Up Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Why are you here, Feng Xinzi?" Fang Yuan turned his attention to Feng Xinzi and smiled. "I am instructed by the alliance to meet you..." However, in reality, the 5 Grand Organisations hadid a trap and Feng Xinzi was the representative of the Realm Alliance. He had specially journeyed here to see how Fang Yuan would have ended up but instead, he was faced with a surprising oue. "Oh, thank you!" Fang Yuan smiled as though he had taken Feng Xinzi¡¯s word for it. "Since that is so, now that our mission isplete, I shall take my leave and return to the prosperousnd, right?!" "That¡¯s right! That¡¯s right!" Zhou Tian added on without hesitation. The dangers which he had experienced in his mission had led him to reminisce about the peaceful times he enjoyed before all of this happened. "I¡¯m afraid that we will have to discuss this!" Feng Xinzi rebutted as Xing Yunzi stood out. "Cough cough... although the both of you have killed the highly-skilled enemies, the fact is that the crypt has been destroyed and the altar has been gone to waste. Therefore, the mission is still iplete." "What?" There was a look of anger on Zhou Tian¡¯s face. "We have killed 3 9th Meridian Wu Zongs and a 9th Tier spiritual knight. We are now exhausted and our energy and dream elemental forces are depleted. How will we be able to stop this destruction? Aren¡¯t you a little harsh, Lord Xing?" "Since this is the mission objective, what can I say?" Xing Yunzi waved his hands with a cunning look in his eyes. "Feng Xinzi, what about you? What do you have to say about this?" Fang Yuan paid no attention to what Xing Yunzi said as he directly pressured Feng Xinzi to answer. "My views regarding this... is that we should follow the rules set by the Realm Alliance. Therefore, we shall go ahead with Xing Yunzi¡¯s suggestion." Feng Xinzi calmly replied. Unknowingly, he felt a little fear as he looked at the severed heads on the floor and Fang Yuan¡¯sposed look. "Alright, since this is the case, we shall wait for the alliance to decide!" Fang Yuan was straightforward. As soon as he forced Feng Xinzi to make a stand, he waved his hands and together with Zhou Tian, they transformed into two streaks of light and flew into the clouds. There was an awkward silence. After a long while, Xing Yunzi spoke. "This person is able to kill a few 9th Meridian Wu Zongs. His ability is much stronger than mine and he is bing as powerful as an elder... My nephew, it is not worth it to go against him!" "I know!" Gazing at the severed heads on the ground, Feng Xinziughed. "I cannot control my jealousy. After all... I have gained wisdom at 3 and started to cultivate as a dream master at 5. All I ask for is an uncluttered mind. I thought that I have already achieved it but now, I am being haunted by jealousy once more." "When I first met him, he was only a newly advanced dream master in the Illusionary Divine stage. I even thought about helping him. Now that he had already reached the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, I am only filled with jealousy for him and even more so now..." It was not an easy thing to witness a junior overtaking him in terms of cultivation. "Furthermore... I am against him for the sake of the sect, and not for my own personal agenda!" As he continued to reason, his voice became increasingly louder. "The alliance needs capable people. This person is obviously capable but he has chosen to deny responsibilities. He even left his position of duty, which shows that he is not a loyal person!" He, however, did not mention how he had nned for Fang Yuan to be deployed here as a bait. "With such hical actions, the more powerful he is, the more we cannot allow!" Feng Xinzi¡¯s eyes glistened as he spoke with a vibe of righteousness. Beside him, Xing Yunzi was speechless. He was indeed a talent to be able to twist facts to such an extent! ... On the other side. Two streaks of light flew out from a valley. As soon as they left the region of 9 Extremes Mountain, Zhou Tian let out a satisfactory exmation as though he was freed of shackles. He would never want to experience the inability to use his abilities under the Ultimate Segregation ever again. "Zhou Tian, let¡¯s part ways. What do you think?" Fang Yuan took in a deep breath as dream elemental force was slowly restored in his actualised dream world. Slowly, his 8 Gates Sword Array started to shimmer once more. "This... Alright, Sir, please be assured that I will not reveal anything about your secret!" Zhou Tian sounded solemn as he begun to swear to the heavens. Dream masters were superstitious about these things and they knew that they would be bounded by the oath they made in certain ways. "It¡¯s up to you..." Fang Yuan was speechless. If he really wanted him to swear upon an oath, or if he were to decide to do anything to Zhou Tian, he would have done it in the 9 Extremes Mountain. Since he had already spared Zhou Tian¡¯s life, he was not worried that Zhou Tian would go around spouting nonsense. It also meant something if Zhou Tian could keep the secret of Fang Yuan killing the 3 9th Meridian Wu Zongs and the 9th Tier spiritual knight. However, there was no more meaning in acting weak. Sometimes, it would be better for Fang Yuan to reveal his true power so as to instil fear in others. After all, now that the war was beginning to heat up, if the alliance were to treat him like a normal dream master in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, he might be randomly deployed to dangerous ces as bait again. He had previously concealed his true ability in order to protect himself. Now that he had revealed some of this true ability, it was also to protect himself. At least by doing this, Feng Xinzi would not treat him lightly any more. He would have to undergo an open discussion with the elders and this would buy Fang Yuan some time. After all, with regards to Fang Yuan¡¯s martial arts, he was already considered half a True Divine. His prowess was already among the strongest few in the Realm Alliance. ¡¯With rightse obligations! With martial artses respect! Anyway, since I have the appointment as guardian and a mission, and considering that I have revealed some of my true ability, I¡¯m sure the alliance would not touch me without any good reason... This is also one of the rules of the organisation! How can they deal with their members without any good reason? Are they not worried that people would regard them as hical?¡¯ ¡¯Now that I have disyed some of my power and have fallen out with Feng Xinzi, I will be able to cause Elder Smelter to worry... If he continues to plot against me, I can look for other factions, for instance, Green Wood!¡¯ With that, he would have the foundation and reason to leave the faction. He could also make use of this opportunity to improve his cultivation further while the alliance would remain clueless about his actual cultivation. This was not his maximum potential. He could attempt to form the martial arts Divine Body and attain True Divine! "I¡¯m afraid that other Wu Zongs, even those with the 9th Meridian, would find it extremely hard to form the Divine Body because they do not have enough resources. However, if I cannot form the Divine Body, I¡¯m sure no other martial artists would be able to do so." His own body was only a little weaker than the martial arts Divine Body. Additionally, after receiving the inheritance from the witches, he had the resources and knowledge and it was extremely feasible for him to form the Divine Body. By then, as a True Divine, he could go head-on against Elder Smelter. Only at that stage would he be able to ensure his survival in the impending tumultuous period and be the biggest winner! ... "What? Are you saying that that kid is close to attaining True Divine?" Within the Dream Realm, Feng Xinzi knelt on the ground and exined everything. Finally, he lowered his head. "I am not lying. Based on the severed heads and the evidence found from the ce they fought, that person is indeed close to attaining True Divine. Furthermore, he might even stand a chance if he were to go against a True Divine in the 9 Extremes Mountain!" Fang Yuan¡¯s strong physical body meant that he did not require the support of martial arts elemental force. This would mean that he would gain the upper hand in the 9 Extremes Mountain. With regards to this, even other normal True Divines would be disadvantaged. "If this is true... this is troubling!" Elder Smelter twitched his eyebrows. His started to gaze at him with an unfriendly look. To think about things with a calm mind, it was logical for Elder Smelter to be closer to Feng Xinzi because of their familial ties. However, now was a time of war and every fighter was equally important, and even more so for highly-skilled fighters! This would affect the oue of the war! However, they had already missed the opportunity. They had thought that Fang Yuan was a normal dream master in the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine and even wanted to squeeze him dry. Now that he had disyed such power, it would mean that within the alliance, only the elders would be able to deal with him. If they continued to pressure him, he might just join the enemy! If Fang Yuan were to leave the Realm Alliance, he would be hunted down by all the dream masters of the alliance. Therefore, he would not be so stupid as to do it. However, he could just simply look for another faction and another elder. It would be the fortune of other factions to easily gain such a powerful dream master. If that really happened, Elder Green Wood and the rest might just mock Elder Smelter. "Regarding this incident... you¡¯ve handled it poorly!" Although Elder Smelter sounded calm, in the ears of Feng Xinzi, it was as shocking as thunder. His limbs turned to jelly. Feng Xinzi knew that if this elder were to act up, he might dly sacrifice himself in exchange for Fang Yuan. An alchemy master at the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage was indeed valuable. However, how could itpare to a dream master who was about to attain the True Divine? ¡¯This... I can¡¯t believe it!¡¯ Feng Xinzi could predict that this was an extremely possible oue. With that, he started to panic. "Elder... Fang Yuan has unparalleled martial skill and he refused to disy it all this while. This goes to show that he has been having his reservations! Furthermore... he has been cowardly hiding in the prosperousnd and is all this while unwilling to help Elder in the war!" What Feng Xinzi was trying to convey was that although Fang Yuan was powerful, he had his own ns and ulterior motives and therefore could notpare with Feng Xinzi¡¯s loyalty and willingness to serve. "Hmmm... you¡¯re right!" Elder Smelter stroked his beard. "Pass a message to him and make it sound a little more respectful. Tell him that I want to meet him!" "Yes!" Feng Xinzi left the hall, disappointed. He knew that he had failed to convince Elder Smelter with his reasoning. At the same time, a deep-seated jealousy started to take over him. ... Outside the 9 Extremes Mountain, Fang Yuan did not leave. He found a hiding spot for himself and settled down, surviving on Elemental Refining Fruits and practising his martial arts. At the same time, he was hearing out for news. "Based on Liu Mengmei, the 5 Grand Organisations havee together and used us as a bait to trick the Imperial Court. However, that n did not seed... Although they have managed to destroy the messy stone array, all the highly skilled dream masters have escaped and they failed to capture even one dream master in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. Instead, they had suffered heavy losses as well... However, the Imperial Court seemed to have won a few battles outside the 9 Extremes Mountain, and that made up for their lost in the 9 Extremes Mountain!" As he took arge bite from the spiritual fruit, he gazed at the 9 Extremes Mountain with a fire in his eyes. "This is a perilous territory to dream masters, and a dangerous ce to spiritual knights and Wu Zongs. However, it seems like it is a huge plot of prosperousnd for me!" Everyone was afraid of the Ultimate Segregation in the mountains. However, Fang Yuan¡¯s physical body was extremely strong and required no external sustenance. Therefore, he would not feel any restrictions at all in the mountains. Chapter 375: An Agreement Chapter 375: An Agreement Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "This Elemental Refining Fruit is indeed a treasure for Wu Zongs! It is highly beneficial for one cultivating in the Meridian Opening Realm!" After consuming the spiritual fruit and cultivating for a few days, Fang Yuan¡¯s martial arts progress had skyrocketed. After all, he had a strong foundation in martial arts to begin with and had the special ability to view his stats and experience bar. Together with the spiritual fruit, his cultivation in martial arts quickly advanced and not long after, he was already about to form the 8th spiritual meridian. "The spiritual fruit and the experience bar are just assisting in my cultivation. The most important factor is my extremely strong physical body. With it, there would be no more bottlenecks and cultivation will be extremely smooth!" Fang Yuan knew that his strong physical body was alreadyparable to that of a True Divine. His journey of cultivation from then on was a smooth one. He had quickly advanced through the various meridians in the Meridian Opening Realm. As soon as he noticed that the experience bar for his Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique was 90% filled, he became hasty and as his eyes glistened, he quickly ate an Elemental Refining Fruit. "Burp!" As soon as he finished hisst spiritual fruit, he could feel an immense warmth filling up his dantian. The energy which gathered there felt like a river which was about to overflow. Normal Wu Zongs, when faced with such a situation, would not be able to withstand it for their dantians would not be able to hold up against such stress. This was even so for 8th and 9th Meridian Wu Zongs. If they were to forcefully let it happen, their bodies would explode. However, to Fang Yuan, his body was extremely hardy. He would at most experience the popping of his veins before everything would revert back to normal. "Chirp! Chirp!" On his back, the 8th spiritual meridian waspletely formed. Together with the other meridians, they formed a mysterious illusionary figure. This figure was extremelyrge like a giant. However, it had a weird shape as it had a pair of wings on its arms, as though it was about to fly. Furthermore, there were faint grey inscriptions forming all around his body like feathers, giving his physical body ayer of spiritual armour. "The Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique is now at its peak!" Fang Yuan clenched his fist and immediately, the illusionary figure behind him did the same. "I can feel that as long as I am willing, I will be able to form the Giant Spiritual Divine Body and enter the realm of True Divine!" The Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique has its foundations in the Yang Family¡¯s Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique. It had the potential to form 8 spiritual meridians and form the Giant Spiritual Divine Body! Both martial artists and spiritual knights alike would be able to attempt to breakthrough to True Divine or True Elemental respectively once they had formed the 7th Meridian or at the 7th Tier. However, the potential of the prematurely-formed Divine Body would be much lower than if they were to attempt the breakthrough with the 8th Meridian or 8th Tier. Most importantly, the chances of forming the Divine Body prematurely were extremely low! "With a strong foundation, it is only a matter of time one will be able to attain True Divine... However, the Giant Spiritual Divine Body does not seem satisfactory enough..." Fang Yuan took a quick nce at his stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 96 Spirit: 76 Magic: 60 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (4th Tier), Wu Zong (8th Meridian) Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 8) (100%)], [Hundred Poison Golden Body (10th Refining)], [8 Gates Sword Array (5th Sword) (1%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)], [Fiery Golden Eyes (Level 1)]" "I must form the strongest possible Divine Body by advancing only when I have formed the 9th Meridian!" He came to a conclusion as soon as he nced at the stats of his Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique and Hundred Poison Golden Body technique. Afterbining Sage Changli¡¯s inheritance and the theory of witchcraft, Fang Yuan had gained enough knowledge to understand his path to breakthrough the limitations of the Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique. "The next step... I shall gather some resources from the Dream Realm before attempting tobine these two techniques to push it to the 9th Meridian!" Fang Yuan sat on a piece of rock, shut his eyes and arrived at the Dream Realm in an instant. "Cultivator Fang!" As soon as he entered, his inscription te started to sh continuously as it received countless messages. The first was from Feng Xinzi. "I¡¯m sorry for what happened previously. However, Elder Smelter would like to see you to discuss about future ns!" "Elder Smelter... It seems like my treatment is getting better!" Fang Yuan smiled and quickly arrived at Realm Alliance Mountain and stood outside of Elder Smelter¡¯s hall. "I¡¯m Fang Yuan, requesting to see Elder!" "Please enter!" As soon as Fang Yuan made his request, two children in red robes came out of the hall and greeted him with smiles. "As soon as my master knows you¡¯re here, he immediately started to meditate to enter the Dream Realm!" "I¡¯m sorry to trouble him!" Fang Yuan replied before entering the hall. "Buzz! Buzz!" A sh of fiery glow gathered, forming Elder Smelter¡¯s body. A few Fiery Dragon Children were standing around. "Greetings, Elder!" Fang Yuan properly paid his respects, not allowing anyone to fault him for disrespect. "It is the good fortune of our alliance to have such a talent like you!" Elder Smelter smiled as Fang Yuan humbly denied thepliments. After all, Fang Yuan knew where he stood. Although he was not afraid to take on a True Divine, he would still lose in the war if he was all by himself. This Elder from the Realm Alliance was a dream master in the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine and had once fought with Venerable Longhu, the True Divine! Of course, although Fang Yuan seemed respectful , he had no fear for Elder Smelter. After all, his existence in the Dream Realm was only his mind. If he were to anger this Elder, his actual physical body could immediately escape into the 9 Extremes Mountain! Within the area affected by the Ultimate Segregation, even Elder Smelter might not be his match! "Considering your cultivation level, I shalle straight to the point and be honest with you. As long as you wish, I can immediately increase your level of rights to that of a 7th Leaf Cultivator, which is only one level lower than us few elders. You can also deal with Feng Xinzi however you like!" Elder Smelter¡¯s eyes glistened as he calmly spoke. Upon hearing this, Fang Yuan remained silent. This seemed like a favourable deal, but if he were to ept it, he knew that he would have to put his life on the line and get himself involved in the war. "I only want to know how much I will earn from the previous mission and the status of my appointment as the guardian of Golden Sun Prosperous Land." After a while, Fang Yuan smiled and enquired. "The guardian of Golden Sun Prosperous Land?" Elder Smelter gave a weird look. "This job is too lowly for you. You can at least be appointed as the baron of and!" "Hmmm..." Fang Yuan shook his head and looked at Elder Smelter. Elder Smelter¡¯s face started to turn red. He knew that Fang Yuan was still asking about the promise of not being required to take up missions for the next 10 years toe. With that, he started to regret. Previously, Fang Yuan was only a dream master in the 3rd Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage and there was no war going on. Therefore, Elder Smelter had allowed Feng Xinzi to promise Fang Yuan of this privilege. Never would he have thought that Fang Yuan¡¯s progress would be so quick! How could they afford to waste such a powerful person? Even Elder Smelter himself would have to get his hands dirty if the war would continue. ¡¯This kid... He¡¯s smart!¡¯ Feng Xinzi¡¯s attempt to convince Elder Smelter was starting to work. A thought began to grow in Elder Smelter¡¯s mind. "This mission at 9 Extremes Mountain was aplete failure. However, you have aplished much and that is notable... However, it is still a fact that the mission remains iplete!" Elder Smelter had contemted, but still decided to deny Fang Yuan anyway. "Oh? Then what would you like me to do, Elder?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glistened. To speak the truth, although the Golden Sun Prosperous Land was good, Fang Yuan was not insistent on it. Since he had already decided to test Elder Smelter on his stance with regards to this, he would naturally have a response to rebut him. "Hmmm... I have a few minute stuff to settle in 9 Extremes Mountain. If youplete those, we can consider this missionpleted. I¡¯ll let you keep the Golden Sun Prosperous Land!" Elder Smelter held himself back as he proposed the n to Fang Yuan. "Alright!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and took his leave. Although the 9 Extremes Mountain was a dangerous ce for other dream masters to go, it was merely a walk in the park for Fang Yuan. ... In the Green Bronze hall, as soon as Fang Yuan took his leave, Elder Smelter remained motionless as though he was lost in his thoughts. "Elder?" After a while, Feng Xinzi entered and knelt down. "Mmm, you¡¯ve heard our conversation. If there is nothing else, this will be how things are!" Elder Smelter waved his hands. "Yes, Sir!" Feng Xinzi gritted his teeth, unwilling to resign to what had happened. "Don¡¯t harbour any evil thoughts..." Seeing Feng Xinzi¡¯s expression, Elder Smelterughed. "Although it is only our minds that enter the Dream Realm, I have already used to a secret technique to test the kid out. He has a strong Essence and Spirit and has a red glow of spiritual light around him. This means that his physical body is extremely strong and even normal dream masters in the 6th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage are no match for him! Don¡¯t be too hard on yourself." "I wouldn¡¯t dare!" Feng Xinzi turned pale and lowered his head. "I just cannot believe it! Although this person is talented, he was obviously much weaker than me before..." "Hehe... By dream-traversing to different realms, anything can happen!" Elder Smelter seemed as though he was not surprised at Fang Yuan¡¯s progress. After all, the Sage of Realm Alliance had once gained plenty of rewards from the Ancient Realm to finally be a Sage! Compared to such an encounter, Fang Yuan¡¯s situation was nothing. "As for you... Your stubbornness in cultivation and the dao of alchemy will get you nowhere!" Elder Smelter chided Feng Xinzi before stroking his beard in confusion. "However... this kid¡¯s previous mission seems to be the Ancient Realm..... It seems like he had benefited from the final chaos! Could he have collectedrge amounts of witch blood? Hmm, this seems possible." At that point in time, the situation was chaotic. Many highly-skilled dream masters of the Realm Alliance were killed, and simrly, the people of the Jiuli Tribe including Chi, Xing and many other highly skilled witches were killed as well. The opportunities were boundless. If Fang Yuan were to collect a lot of their blood essence and used it to refine his own blood, then it would be logical for his martial arts to improve by leaps and bounds. Elder Smelter was a cunning man. With a few guesses and predictions, he could roughly understand the reason behind Fang Yuan¡¯s great improvement. Never would he know that Fang Yuan paid no attention to the blood essence of the normal witches. Instead, Fang Yuan went for the leader of the Jiuli Tribe - Xing! With that, he had obtained the purest form of the witch¡¯s blood essence and even the inheritance of the study of witchcraft from the Jiuli Tribe! .... "Who would know that there are still things to settle in the 9 Extremes Mountain!" In the Da Qian world, Fang Yuan¡¯s mind returned from the Dream Realm as he woke up. Regardless if it was the Dragon Searching Acupuncture Technique or just destroying things, there was no point of return. "Wait a minute... The 9 Extremes Mountain stretches over 350 miles and yet my map has only charted the mountain up to 130 miles and is therefore iplete. Could there be other nodes?" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glittered. He had no fear. After all, the 9 Extremes Mountain was his homeground! In the outside world, against a powerful being, Fang Yuan could only hold on for a few moments but would ultimately lose the fight. However, under the influence of the Ultimate Segregation in the 9 Extremes Mountain, a dream master in the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage could still be exhausted and be killed! "Hmm, maybe I should apply to be the guardian of this ce and rece Xing Yunzi." Chapter 376: Mystical Technique Chapter 376: Mystical Technique Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Within the 9 Extremes Mountain, the surroundings remained misty. Numerous restrictions covered thend, forming an area of extreme danger. Although many dream masters had explored the mountain, a few treasures still remain, but the traces of dream masters had slowly reduced. In a certain location, an altar was erected. Arrays shimmered around it as many dream masters gathered within the protection of the array. With fear, they scanned the surroundings and were on guard. "Our 5 Grand Organisations have formed an alliance. The one in charge of this ce should be a powerful dream master from the Realm Alliance. Why is he not here yet?" A man in yellow robes nced at his array te and gave a worried look. "Could there be changes?" "Hmph! When did Baizi Mountain produce such cowardly dream masters?" As soon as he finished his piece, a young man with a pale skin and an evil vibe scoffed. "Lu Xuanzhi, since your Evil Divine Sect is so powerful, why not you go out and take a look?" The man in yellow robes rolled his eyes and rebutted. "Keke..." With a chuckle, Lu Xuanzhi remained silent. Previously, the base of the Realm Alliance was being attacked. Although none of the powerful dream masters was injured, most of the normal dream masters were killed. Furthermore, the n for the other 4 Grand Organisations to attack the reinforcements of the Imperial Court did not go smoothly and many dream masters were killed in the process as well. All of these factors had already struck fear in these low-tiered dream masters. Although they had already confirmed that the Imperial Court had retreated, it was still possible for one or two of them to linger about in the premises of the 9 Extremes Mountain! All of them were assigned missions to guard the altar. It would be seeking death if they were to leave the ce! "Hehe... Why are we having internal conflicts?" Suddenly, with a chime and a whiff of fragrance, a beautiful figure floated and came in between the both of them. "As alliance members, let¡¯s not fight each other, alright? On my ount, shake your hands and reconcile." Thisdy smiled, giving off a shockingly alluring vibe. "Since it¡¯s the Divine Lady¡¯s request, I¡¯ll respect that!" Lu Xuanzhi dismounted from his donkey. However, the man in yellow robes revealed a look of uneasiness. Although thisdy was not a powerful dream master, she was a Reserved Divine Lady of the Divine Lotus Cult. With that, she had many followers and backings in the base. The man in yellow robes was a dream master of Baize Mountain and therefore found it hard tomunicate with members of the two evil sects. He remained speechless. After all, if he were to establish any rtions with these two dream masters, he would only bring trouble to himself. ¡¯Fortunately, the guardian of this ce is a member of the Realm Alliance. The dream masters of the Realm Alliance are neutral and therefore have a good rtionship with the dream masters of Baize Mountain!¡¯ The man in yellow robes felt a little relieved. He had gotten news that the newly-deployed dream master should have been Xin Yunzi, but the Realm Alliance had swapped him out in thest minute. It was extremely rare for such swaps to happen, which would, more often than not, make the rest worry. Lu Xuanzhi was about to speak but suddenly, the 3 dream master could detect somethinging from afar. The silhouette of a human appeared. With every step he took, he would leap over 30 yards. In no time, he had already arrived before them. "Who¡¯s that?" This person had a shocking spiritual aura of a martial artist, bringing difort to everyone in the base. "Strike!" Lu Xuanzhi quickly executed a defensive technique and a yellow glow appeared outside the array. "I am the guardian of this ce. Why is there none of you out here to wee me?" The silhouette had an extremely pressurising spiritual aura as it casually took out a piece of order te. "Buzz! Buzz!" The glow from the array shook and as it interacted with the order te an opening was revealed. "It is indeed an order te from the Realm Alliance!" The man in yellow robes heaved a sigh of relief. Together with Lu Xuanzhi and the Divine Lady, they paid their respects. "We are Huang Long, Lu Xuanzhi, Meng Lian. Greetings, senior!" "Meng Lian?" The silhouette entered the array. He appeared young but had a mysterious and unpredictable spiritual aura. Mockingly, it examined Meng Lian. "What... It¡¯s you! Fang Yuan!" Meng Lian raised her head and gazed at the face she so hated. Uncontrobly, she spoke. "It¡¯s not possible that you are the powerful dream master assisting us!" "Oh?" Lu Xuanzhi exchanged nces with Huang Long. Looking at the pale Meng Lian, both of them were thinking that Meng Lian and Fang Yuan had met before. "Why can¡¯t it be me?" Fang Yuan rubbed his nose and felt entertaining as he looked at the woman in front of him. After such a long time, this woman had improved in her cultivation and had already attained the Illusionary Divine stage. However,pared to him, her improvements were nothing. To make things worse, she was now Fang Yuan¡¯s subordinate and Fang Yuan had the rights to give her orders. Fate was making a fool of everyone. "Meng Lian pays my greetings to you, Lord. Please forgive me for any past wrongdoings!" Being smart, she immediately paid her greetings humbly. "Forget it, please rise!" Fang Yuan tried to control hisughter as he waved his hands. "From today onwards, we have to work together to aplish the mission of our alliance. That is the most important!" Although he was the leader among them, he could not brazenly kill this woman, especially so after the dream masters around had learnt of their past encounters. However, Fang Yuan was decided that if they were to encounter another ambush by the people of Da Qian, he would do nothing to help her and leave her to die! "I shall take a rest first. I¡¯ll get to know every one of you during the dinnerter on!" With aposed look, Fang Yuan waved his sleeves and entered the centre of the base. A few dream masters of the Realm Alliance were already waiting for him to serve him. The 3 dream masters remained at their spots, speechless. "What?" Lu Xuanzhi gazed at Meng Lian with a look of curiosity. "Sister Meng Lian, how did you know of Senior Fang?" "Fate!" Meng Lian gritted her teeth aggressively as fear filled her heart. She started to shudder. "I know that this person has only joined the Realm Alliance for a few years. Most importantly, when I first met him, he was not even in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage." "He needs to be at least in the 5th or 6th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage to be our guardian, right?" Huang Long felt confused. "How can his improve so quickly? Even if he was blessed with opportunities, he had to be a one-in-a-million talent!" Exchanging nces with Lu Xuanzhi, both of them were ovee with shock. "Sister Meng Lian, I recall that I have just finished a batch of spiritual pills. I have to manage the fire in the furnace. See you!" Lu Xuanzhi took his leave. Seeing this, Huang Long left as well without saying a single word. Their direct superior was now Fang Yuan. Even if Meng Lian had a powerful backing, it would not be able to arrive on time to save her should the need arise. Wouldn¡¯t it be a pity if any of them were to be caught in their crossfire and get injured? "D*mn it!" Of course, Meng Lian could understand them. With that, her face turned pale. "Now, the war is everything. Even my father cannot change this mission. To think that I will have to serve under him..." With that thought, she was filled with regret. ... "This ce is indeed a node!" After being brought into a stone hall, Fang Yuan did not immediately take his rest. Instead, he entered the earth meridian to investigate the node. In the middle of a calm pool of water, there was a fleeting purple glow which gave off a faint roar of a dragon. "This is indeed the Dragon Piercing Needle! What about all these..." A golden hue shed across his eyes as Fang Yuan mumbled to himself. In this period of time, Fang Yuan had studied the inheritance of Sage Changli and was already extremely familiar with these arrangements. Furthermore, he had now further understood the greed of the 5 Grand Organisations. "The Imperial Court must have felt it oo. However, they are at a disadvantage! So what if they destroyed a few nodes? It would not affect the final oue..." Fang Yuan sighed. Dream masters were indeed powerful. In previous years, the Evil Divine Sect and the Divine Lotus Sect hadbined forces, and that was already enough to hold the Hidden Dragon Guards to a stalemate. The only reason why they did not eradicate the royal family was that there were conflicts of interest between the dream masters from the two sects. However, now that the 5 Grand Organisations had decided tobine forces, the Imperial Court would not be likely to hold up. "However, the arrangement here is not just simply restricting the earth energy at the correct time..." Fang Yuan sighed. With that, he returned to this room and started his cultivation. His path as a dream master hade to a halt. Without anything else to aid him, it was extremely difficult for him to increase his cultivation level. On the other hand, his progress in martial arts was extremely smooth sailing. Therefore, he had decided to focus all his effort on the cultivation and training of his martial arts. After all, if he were to achieve a breakthrough and form the Divine Body, he would immediately be a True Divine,parable to the power of a dream master in the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage! "I have maximised the potential of the Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique. However, I can still fuse it with the Hundred Poison Golden Body Technique to achieve a breakthrough to the 9th Meridian!" This technique of fusing techniques was something Fang Yuan had thought about after reading through the recordings of witchcraft. Comparing it against the experiences of Sage Changli, Fang Yuan felt that it was extremely usible to execute it. "After all, in these two techniques, one of the technique focuses on my Spirit, while the other one focuses on my Essence. Both of them are not conflicting and instead, they canplement each other. Considering my strong physical body, I should be able to handle the stress!" "Based on my predictions, once this new technique achieves a breakthrough to the 9th Meridian, I will be able to form the Divine Body immediately. After all, my foundations are already strong enough!" Fang Yuan stood still. Suddenly, he started to walk about the room and asionally struck a few ws. Considering his current martial arts cultivation level, if he were to use his full force, he would destroy the entire base. Now, he was silently executing his moves. "After my experimentation, the Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique is still considered a rough technique and has the properties of iron. However, the Hundred Poison Golden Body has the properties of gold!" Taking a few steps forward, his body started to glitter. Together with an eagle¡¯s chirp, ater of metallic ck appeared on his skin. This was the appearance of the 8th Grade Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique. Behind him, the spiritual meridians came together, forming a giant eagle which raised its head towards the sky and chirped. Within moments, a golden hue appeared. It started to mix with the ck-coloured hue. This was the defensive element of the Hundred Poison Golden Body, and it was being forcefully fused into Fang Yuan¡¯s technique. "Chirp! Chirp!" As the eagle let out a loud chirp, the illusionary figure of the giant started to blur. On Fang Yuan¡¯s body, the gold started to mix with the metallic colour, forming a new dark-gold hue. "Hmm, since this technique is formed from fusing two great techniques to allow me to attain the 9th Meridian, I shall call it the ¡¯Nine Transference Mystical Technique¡¯ which will allow one to form the Golden Metal Body!" With a thought, the stats on Fang Yuan¡¯s stats window started to change. Under Techniques, thebel of Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique and the Hundred Poison Golden Body Technique started toe together and transformed into the words of ¡¯Nine Transference Mystical Technique¡¯. However, there was a row of question marks behind the technique. "This stats window is indeed showing me what I know." Seeing this, Fang Yuan was lost in his thoughts. Chapter 377: 8 Dragons Bearer Chapter 377: 8 Dragons Bearer Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Late at night. Fang Yuan suddenly stopped while practising his martial arts, his eyes turned as he wondered, "Finally here?" "Meng Lian... seeks permission to meet Lord!" Momentster, a gentle voice could be heard outside the door which brought about an uneasy feeling. "Come in!" Fang Yuan waved his hands and the door opened, revealing Meng Lian¡¯s alluring figure. It seemed that Meng Lian had specially dressed up, her lips were scarlet red and she was dressed in thin silk which showed her clear, pale skin. As she stepped in with the moonlight shining on her back, it was as though she was a faerie from the moon. "I was foolish to offend youst time, please forgive me, my magnanimous Lord..." Once she entered the house, she shyly bowed down to Fang Yuan and begged, "If Lord wants to put me, I will willingly bear the me..." "You will bear the me?" Fang Yuan stroked his chin and his eyes burned with lust as he leered her entire body again and again. "Yes, I will do anything to bear the me!" Meng Lian replied gently. Meng Lian coyly looked downwards as her skin blushed slightly. "Hehe..." Fang Yuan gave a mirthlessugh when he heard her reply. He knew what she was hinting, however, ady from Divine Lotus Cult should not be yed with. From his experience with Liu Mengmei, Fang Yuan obviously understood this kind of Divine Ladies were the best at ndestinely seducing men, especially when the men were smitten by them. Furthermore, Meng Lian was a Reserved Divine Lady, her tactics were even more powerful. If she willingly gave her body, she could definitely enve the heart of a powerful dream master in the Realm Alliance and benefit so much from it. "That¡¯s great!" After Fang Yuan finished sniggering, he directly demanded, "First of all... to prove your sincerity, I want you to give me all your Dream Realm contribution points!" "You..." The smile on Meng Lian¡¯s face turned stiff at once as she forced herself to reply cordially, "Lord, you are joking right?" "What do you think?" From Fang Yuan¡¯s pondering gaze, she finally woke up and understood that he was absolutely not wavered by her beauty and seduction. She could not help but blush, however, it was due to anger, not shame! "Fang Yuan!" Meng Lian stood up as though she was a kitty brandishing her ws, "What exactly do you want?" "Look at what you are saying, you were the one who offended me first! Just moments after you came over to seek forgiveness, you are now asking me what exactly do I want?" Fang Yuan sat cross-legged as he watched her fume with rage. His eyes glistened and continued, "Furthermore... I am in charge of this ce, how dare you spout nonsense at me with no respect for authority nor rules! Is that what Divine Ladies from Divine Lotus Cult are like? Eh?" "Rumble!" As Fang Yuan harangued, a giant shadow emerged behind him. It had a golden and metal-like glow to it and it affected the atmosphere, causing a powerful gust of spiritual pressure tond on Meng Lian¡¯s body. Meng Lian¡¯s expression changed at once as she was moved back a few steps. Now, she could only admit that the person she was facing had long surpassed her and was one of the truly powerful ones in the 5 Grand Organisations. Meng Lian¡¯s face turned pale and she rolled her eyes around before she recovered and finally replied in an odd manner, "Ok! I still have 1,000 plus contribution points, I will give it all to you!" "Oh, I still have other conditions! But I have not thought of them now, I will tell you once I think of them." Fang Yuan waved his hands, "Now... take your leave and don¡¯t disturb my meditation." "Meng Lian takes her leave!" If looks could kill, Fang Yuan guessed he would have died thousands of times by now. Once Meng Lian left, a sly smile appeared on his face as he thought, "She wants to reconcile? And she uses such a trick at the start? She clearly does not mean it!" Fang Yuan was suddenly eagerly anticipating for the Imperial Court to attack them. During the chaos, so what if a few of them died? ... However, his wishes did note true. Half a month passed in a blink of an eye. Perhaps it was either because they suffered too great of a loss previously or because they were afraid of the 5 Grand Organisations¡¯ retaliation, the Imperial Court and the Hidden Dragon Guards did not attack them. They did not even reconnoitre the area which made Fang Yuan slightly gloomy. "Seems like I can only let Meng Lian have it easy this time..." Fang Yuan thought. Standing inside the crypt, Fang Yuan observed the earth meridian which was scintiting with a purple light and ruminated, "Also... this array, after reading through Sage Changli¡¯s inheritance, I finally sort of understood it. There must be an ulterior motive behind the 5 Grand Organisations, their ambitions are pretty wild..." "However, that is already like an obvious n, there¡¯s no use if I get it now... The only thing I can anticipate now is the day when the Jade Capital is turned upside down!" As Fang Yuan thought to himself, he waved his hand and streams of light entered and immediately disappeared into the earth meridian. "Lord!" Back to the surface, a few dream masters paid their respects to Fang Yuan and offered spiritual tea and spiritual fruits. Fang Yuan carefreely consumed a few before he returned to his room to cultivate. Everything was fake, only one¡¯s own power was real. His whole body radiated with a golden metal-like glow as his Nine Transference Mystical Technique was close topletion. "Once I fully form it, I can attain my 9th spiritual meridian and breakthrough the bottleneck and forge my body directly!" Although forging the martial artist Divine Body was a huge checkpoint for 9th Meridian Wu Zongs, it was nothing much in Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes. Fang Yuan took a look at his stats: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 96 Spirit: 76 Magic: 61 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (4th Tier), Wu Zong (8th Meridian) Technique: [Nine Transference Mystical Technique (? ? ?)], [8 Gates Sword Array (5th Sword) (10%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)], [Fiery Golden Eyes (Level 1)]" "I just need myst shot in the goalpost for my Nine Transference Mystical Technique!" Cultivating martial arts gave Fang Yuan a kind of bottlenecked feeling, as though he just needed one more step to breakthrough, but he just could not take that step. This was because taking that step was not as simple as attaining the 9th Meridian, it was about forging the martial arts Divine Body directly! "I can¡¯t believe my martial arts have finally reached such a stage!" Fang Yuan could not help but smile as he saw the progress of his 8 Gates Sword Array. It was an unexpected progress for Fang Yuan but a good one. After all, the 8 Gates Sword Array was a secret array which could not be easily revealed in front of others before he enacted his grand revenge. However, there were no qualms for Fang Yuan to reveal his martial arts prowess. "Furthermore... once I forge my Divine Body, I would be a True Divine martial artist. Thus, once Da Qian descends into absolute chaos, there would be many formidable and powerful men and I would also be qualified to try to enact revenge!" Fang Yuan was extremely grateful for his master and their rtionship remained strong. Fang Yuan had not forgotten about his thirst for vengeance at all. However, those powerful beings were naturally intelligent, wise and they could also predict the future. Hence, Fang Yuan could never mention his intentions at all. But once Fang Yuan became a True Divine, his martial arts would surpass many and he would be able to automatically shield himself from others trying to predict him. "Also, although I would not be able to set up many escape ways, it is still better than having none!" ... Inside a secret chamber outside the 9 Extreme Mountain. A daoist elder who was sitting cross-legged stood up and looked at the copper pot with eight golden dragons on it. His face appeared stupefied as he watched. On the floor, the big mouth of the copper toad was filled with many copper balls and brought about an inauspicious meaning. "I control the earth dragon of Da Qian but however, both Da Qian¡¯s fate and breaths of the earth cannot defeat dream masters¡¯ fate energy..." The daoist elder clenched his fist so tightly that it turned white and a few streaks of blood appeared in his eyes. He was almost about to retch out a mouthful of blood. "There are over thousands of earth meridian nodes in Da Qian. As of now, more than half of them have already fallen into the enemies¡¯ hands. Although the repercussions of it are still not obvious now, the dream masters would definitely hasten their next move!" The daoist elder wiped away the redness on the corners of his mouth and paced back and forth in the chamber as he muttered, "Dream masters are despicable... although we have already trained up the Hidden Dragon Guards to fight against them, they can only fight against one of the powerful organisations at most. The rest have to be fought by the Imperial Court¡¯s True Divines and True Elemetnals!" Other than the Head of Hidden Dragon Guards, the Imperial Court only rely on their True Divines and True Elementals to fight against a Prominent Divine powerful being. However, although normal True Divines and True Elementals were also called powerful beings, they were onlyparable to high-tiered Illusionary Divine dream masters. The most powerful ones of them were equally as powerful as dream masters at the 9th Tier of Illusionary Divine. Nevertheless, Da Qian was still favoured by heaven¡¯s fate and the royalties possessed secret techniques to gather fate and breaths of the earth onto the bodies of Wu Zongs and spiritual knights. This was the blessing of the heavens and inside Da Qian Empire, if they could freely consume it, they would be as powerful as Sages! This was the capital which allowed Da Qian to hold its standing till now! Nevertheless, at this stage, dream masters had already totally broken off all rtionships with Da Qian. They dared to go against the heavens and disrupt the earth meridians. Even though the elder and the Imperial Court had fought against such numerous times, it was all futile. This was the result of their overall strength beingcklustrepared to the dream masters; no amounts of schemes could change that. "Shang Hou, how is it?" Inside the chamber, a slender shadow appeared. It was as though scenes of stars being formed and dying could be seen inside his eyes; it was the Head of Hidden Dragon Guards! "Things are not going well..." The daoist elder, Shang Hou, shook his head and continued, "I am the dragon son of Da Qian and have cultivated the techniques of dream masters. By luck, I cultivated to the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage and hold the position of 8 Dragons Bearer, where I monitor all the nodes for the Imperial Court. However, I am now at a loss! I have seen before the array the dream masters are casting in Sage Changli¡¯s inheritance, it is the 6 Extremes Earth Shattering Array! There are 1,275 nodes in Da Qian and their presence allow the heavens and earth to thrive and flourish and as long as half the nodes remain, they are still effective!" "When we attacked them previously, we only destroyed a few of their arrangements and instead caused them to hasten their progress. Now, the array has been formed and there¡¯s nothing we can do... you don¡¯t have to deploy people to ambush them anymore, just prepare for the imminent war! The world is going to be in chaos soon! Cough cough..." Shang Hou was coughing continuously and blood stained his shirt. The Head of Hidden Dragon Guards could only remain quiet as the elder coughed. Bodies of Illusionary Divine dream masters were strong, they would not fall sick easily and naturally, they were not as weak. However, this elder was in charge of monitoring all the earth meridians and the current situation was not in his favour as numerous nodes had fallen. Thus, all his pent-up resentment finally erupted inside him at once, which he could not withstand. His lifespan might even be cut short from it. "Shang Hou, you can cultivate in peace! There¡¯s still a few imperial advisors and me to take care of this empire!" The Head of Hidden Dragon Guards consoled Shang Hou, "Ahh... as the grandson of the emperor, I cannot escape this war!" Elder Shang Hou smiled and suddenly grabbed the Head of Hidden Dragon Guards¡¯ palm, "The dream masters are after me this time all because of Changli¡¯s inheritance. I saw the core chapter, although it was just remnants of it, the secrets I uncovered from it is sufficient enough for us to use it as an advantage! We might not be able to resist against the dream masters and recover our fate energy, but we can perish together with them! Lord, would you help me?" "You are saying..." The Head of Hidden Dragon Guard waved his hand and a powerful restriction appeared at once. His eyes glistened blindingly. Chapter 378: Destroying the Sect Chapter 378: Destroying the Sect Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Gold Region. At the gates of Golden Peak Sect. Smoke billowed into the skies and people rushed about. A huge array covered the entire Golden Peak Sect as heavenly fire continuously struck the gates. The long invasion of Gold Region had finally reached the end. "This is how powerful a dream master can be. To think that they can directly burn the entire Golden Peak Sect together with the mountain and force everyone out..." Ruan Junxian was a small infantry trooper tasked to rally the people. Witnessing the destruction of the sect from the foot of the mountain, his heart shook. "Roar! Roar!" On the peak of Golden Peak Mountain, a streak of terrifying spiritual spell appeared. It had a golden glow to it and it stretched out like a river. Suddenly, it flicked in the air and transformed into a huge golden roc. The roc had ming-golden feathers and an awe-inspiring look. With the p of its wings, it flew up towards the array. "This is... a spiritual spell!" Witnessing this scene, Ruan Junxian was stunned and his mouth was wide opened. "The feeling I get is... even though I am separated from it by such a huge array..." "Hehe... This is the power of a True Elemental spiritual knight!" A dream master beside Ruan Junxianughed. "This must be the sect master of Golden Peak Sect - Venerable Golden Peak personally fighting! However, with us ambushing and trapping them, the True Elemental spiritual knight and the two True Divine Wu Zongs will not be able to escape!" "These three powerful people will turn to dust?" Ruan Junxian mumbled to himself. At this point in time, Ruan Junxian had already obtained elemental force and was officially a dream master. However, he was still in admiration for these powerful beings. In his previous sect, in the entire sect, there was only one such powerful being, Venerable Longhu! But now, his new sect, Baize Mountain, paid no attention and directly struck against these 3 powerful people all at once! The difference was too huge for one to imagine. "A True Elemental spiritual knight will have an almost unlimited supply of spiritual strength. Most importantly, his spiritual spells will have true spirits. Even his most lowly spells would turn magical through his hands. Take this golden roc for example. It definitely has about a third of the power of an ancient beast... However, it¡¯s a pity for him, for the array is cast by 3 dream masters in the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage!" The dream master chuckled and felt proud. "Chirp!" The golden roc pped its wings and finally crashed into the array. "Rumble!" There was a shattering sound followed by the roar as the entire peak of Golden Peak Mountain shook. On the array, a translucentyer slowly became visible and was rather thick like a wall. With the crash, the shook and cracks began to form. In mid-air, three dream masters appeared. There were glows emitting from their bodies and the illusionary image of a plot of spiritualnd appeared behind their backs. With that, the invisible plot ofnd crashed down. "Buzz! Buzz!" The array shook and in an instant, the cracks were repaired. It remained sturdy like a crystal rock, sealing up anyst hope of escape. "Venerable Golden Peak, why are you going against fate?" The 3 Illusionary Divine elders crossed their legs and sat down. All of them lookedposed. "The Imperial Court is overbearing and our actions are only in retaliation! If the Golden Peak Sect refuses to change, then everything within the array will be reduced to dust. If you want a chance of survival, submit to us and allow us to control you. If you agree, you might even be able to preserve your heritage!" "Dream on!" A voice was heard from the Golden Peak Mountain. "I¡¯ve sworn to the heavens that I will forever go against you thieves!" "Roar! Roar!" As soon as he had finished his sentence, 5 streaks of spiritual spells appeared once more, transforming into different elemental water dragons in mid-air. Forming an array on its own, hemanded the dragon array to crash onto the array above. "Bang!" The water dragon array exploded, but the huge array merely shook. On the other hand, the mes and chilly ice scattered across the mountains, causing the entire Golden Peak Mountain to be stricken with disasters. "Why are you forcing yourself even after knowing that all that you do will be of no use?" The 3 powerful dream masters sighed. The huge array remained intact and a translucent-looking me started to brew in the centre of the array. Anything in the mountain, be it the rocks, grass or the panicky disciples turned into mes as soon as they came in contact with the translucent me. Slowly, they melted. The final defences of the Golden Peak Sect started to weaken under the burning of the translucent mes. It was only a matter of time before everything would turn into ashes. It seemed that the dream masters of Baize Mountain were absolute this time and were insistent to wipe out everything on the mountain, be it the mountain itself, the disciples or even the sect head! Within the peak in the Golden Peak Grandmaster¡¯s Hall. Venerable Golden Peak witnessed the raging inferno and knew what the oue of the fight would be. With a heavy heart, he almost spat out a mouthful of blood. "Baize Mountain... You guys are ruthless! How dare you guys im that you are the good guys!" "It is only normal that we had previouslybined forces with the Hidden Dragon Guards to ambush against one of your elders!" Beside Venerable Golden Peak, a middle-aged martial artist with a tall built stood straight. "We have now fallen into their trap. It seems like there is no way of escaping..." Venerable Golden Peak looked at his True Divine brother and gave a bitterugh. "We have implicated the entire sect as well... Fortunately, Brother Cang has managed to escape and we can still preserve our heritage!" The Golden Peak Sect was led by a True Elemental spiritual knight and two other True Divine Wu Zongs. Although they were tricked this time, their sect would not be entirely wiped out. With one of them outside the array, the sect still had a hope of a future. Venerable Golden Peak would not even think about whether the Imperial Court would send reinforcements to help them out. With such amotion over at the Golden Peak Mountain, it was obvious that the 5 Grand Organisations were taunting the Imperial Court to attack them. Considering the resources that the Imperial Court had, it was not wise to go head-on with the 5 Grand Organisations especially at this juncture. "Haha... Sect head, don¡¯t be disheartened. We have our chance!" The middle-aged martial artist broke out intoughter as he held a gourd in his hands. Biting the cap off, he drank heartily like a luxurious person. "Chance? Let¡¯s bet on it!" Venerable Golden Peakughed as well. "Well said! Rather than waiting here to be crushed by the array, let¡¯s fight our way to death!" The middle-aged martial artist threw the gourd of wine on the ground and rushed out. "I am True Divine Xuan Wu. Who dares to challenge?" "Challenge!" "Challenge!!" "Challenge!!!" Hisst words were loud and striking, spread out far and wide into the clouds. His energy was like a tiny sun, vibrating and ready to explode. With that, the illusionary figure of a giant appeared. The giant was entirely ck and had the shell of a tortoise on its back. A huge snake coiled around its body. With a ferocious roar, the giant struck a punch into the sky towards the array. "Rumble!" At the foot of the mountain, Run Junxian almost lost his bnce. "True Divine?" In his eyes, the giant which suddenly appeared had extremely toned muscles as though it had walked out from a fable. Such martial arts was indeed scary and even Venerable Longhu might not be able to match up to it! Furthermore, he had started to re-evaluate if his choice in bing a dream master was a right one. "Hmph, it¡¯s just a small trick!" In mid-air, the three powerful dream masters exchanged nces and shook their heads. If they were to be ambushed this giant, they would have to fear it. However, now, the giant was trapped in an array which was given by a Sage. Its indisputable might would surely be able to contain this giant. Under such circumstances, why would they be afraid of the taunt of a True Divine martial artist? With this, the dream masters executed their techniques. The translucent mes started to gather, forming something which resembled a tiny sun. As soon as the tiny sun was formed, it started to descend. "Aw! Aw!" The giant started to beat its chest and roared. As its body was covered in mes, even the body of the True Divine was beginning to melt. "Ah... F*ck it! Blood river!" With the exmation of a True Divine, the giant started to crumble. Where its heart was supposed to be, there was a huge hole. An emerald glow started to intensify, and with the energy of the True Divine¡¯s blood, it struck towards the array. "Eh?" "This is... the blood energy of a martial artist? His giving it his all!" "He is indeed a powerful True Divine to be able to use his powerful blood energy to such an extent!" The three dream masters quickly discussed how to deal with him, but none of them dared to go head-on with the True Divine¡¯s final blow. The only thing they could do was to continuously strengthen the array. "Ch!" As the emerald glow struck upon the array, it sizzled and exploded just like how boiling oil would react when in contact with water. The three elders shook as blood started to flow from their noses. Even a Sage¡¯s array woulde to a halt against such a powerful force. A huge hole emerged on the surface of the array. "This is the time. Sect head, go!" "Brother?!" Venerable Golden Peak¡¯s eyes turned red. He quickly transformed into a streak of light, carried a few disciples with him and tunnelled his way out of the array. Within seconds, he disappeared into the horizon. "Haha... My sect will live on!" The middle-aged martial artistughed as he started to bleed from his eyes, nose, ears and even his mouth. He was badly injured and there was no chance of survival. This person had just sacrificed himself to fight for a chance of survival for his sect head and fellow disciples. "This is pitiful, this is... amusing!" Seeing this, the three dream masters remained in their seating posture and did not look defeated. The streak of golden light was extremely quick. As it arrived at the horizon, it gazed back with a tinge of unwillingness before disappearing beyond the horizon. "Rumble!" At this point in time, the space in the air cracked as a giant hand stretched out, grabbing the golden glow. Venerable Golden Peak¡¯s faint voice could be heard. "Is this... the hand of a Sage?" On the mountain, as the middle-aged martial artist witnessed the re-capture of his sect head, tears welled up in his eyes. "Hate! So much hate!" "Hmph, we have spent so much effort to use you guys as bait knowing that the Imperial Court would cower in their pce. We can only take it out on you guys to appease us!" One of the eldersughed as hemanded the translucent fire to burn the True Divine into ashes. "Burn! Burn everything!" "Rumble!" The fire raged on for another day. The thousand over disciples of Golden Peak Sect were reduced to ashes, and even the mountain was reduced to a t ground. "This... Is this the power of a powerful being? Casually burning up ces into hell..." At the foot of the mountain, Ruan Junxian was in a daze. As a small trooper in charged of rallying the people, he had the opportunity to witness the entire process. With this, his willingness to be a dream master became stronger. On the second day, news of the destruction of Golden Peak Sect had spread, and all 99 regions of Da Qian remained solemn. Any sect in the empire would now fear dream masters and would begin to establish good rtions with powerful beings as backings. Now, the Imperial Court had decided to prepare its army and war was imminent! Chapter 379: Misfortune Chapter 379: Misfortune Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Baize Mountain and the alliance of dream masters, I, Cang Xuansheng will fight against you for my entire life!" In a random corner of the Jade Capital, within a huge room, a Wu Zong was reading a letter. He shrieked as he crushed the paper in his hands into powder. At this point in time, his face turned red. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood. The dark red blood stained the white walls like spots of plum blossom flowers. "Lord Xuansheng?" Outside, there was a cry. A dream master discovered what had happened and quickly spread the information. Not long after, an old man came in. He had a peaceful look and was wearing a long ck robe. His hair was a pure silver colour but he appeared extremely energetic. As he gazed at the wall, he frowned. "Xuansheng, although you have escaped, you have still sumbed to the ¡¯Seven Emotions Devouring Form¡¯. You must keep your thoughts under control. Know that being happy, angry or sad would harm your soul. Just this time, you have already shortened your lifespan by ten years!" The Seven Emotions Devouring Form was created by a powerful being from the Evil Divine Sect. Even the Imperial Court could not do anything to undo it. "I know... But what meaning does life have if I cannot avenge by sect? Furthermore, I am a martial artist!" Martial artists hold pride in gaining through brute force. If he held himself back, how would he then be able to cultivate to the realm of True Divine? Cang Xuansheng took in a few deep breaths andposed himself down. "Tell me, how long do I have left?" "Cough cough... if you be useless, what is the purpose of living a long life?" The old man¡¯s eyes briefly glistened. "However, looking at your current state, if you are willing to recuperate and ignore worldly affairs, together with the help of herbs, you should be able to live for another hundred years." "However, in this period of time, you cannot fill yourself with emotions and must restrain yourself from fighting with others!" Cang Xuanshengughed. "If this is so, how am I different from a dead person? I would rather have a quick death." He nced at the old man. Suddenly, his voice became cold. "I believe the royal family will find it meaningless to take care of a useless person, right? Since I have already found an heir and have already recorded by martial arts into the royal family¡¯s martial arts treasury, I no longer have any value..." "Cough cough..." The old man¡¯s expression changed. "Xuansheng, don¡¯t think too much. You have helped the Imperial Court and we will take care of you for your entire life..." "What if I don¡¯t want to be taken care of! I am almost crippled and would rather make the most of my life. Staying alive might even irritate you all..." Cang Xuansheng was clear that such promises made by the Imperial Court were not worthy. They mightst for a year or two but as time passed, any major contribution made in the past would be swept off the table. Furthermore, what meaning would there be to lead a meaningless life? "Make the most of your life? What are you intending to do?" As the Divine Hand of the royal family, you can revive dead people and restore flesh to bones. How long do you think you can keep this Seven Emotions Devouring Form under control? Don¡¯t tell me that you have no idea. There are so many people in the Imperial Court, and there must be a time where you have encountered something like this, right?" Cang Xuansheng asked coldly. "You¡¯re right... The Evil Divine Sect has always been at odds with the Imperial Court. Therefore, it is only normal that I have seen this form elsewhere before. Although there is no cure for it, there is a ¡¯Seven Perilous Earth Dragon Pill¡¯ which, in essence, make use of the fact that a poison can counter another. It can restore your martial arts for up to 7 days and you will be able to live normally. However, as soon as the 7 days pass, you will die and there will be no way of bringing you back to life!" The old man stroked his beard as though he was already prepared. "How do you intend to take your revenge... within the next 7 days? Although the Imperial Court and the Hidden Dragon Guards will assist you, the main group will still have to remain in the Jade Capital to defend it. You will not be able to get enough reinforcements!" "I am only a True Divine martial artist and will not be able to trouble the 5 Grand Organisations too much. I¡¯ll just kill as many of them as I can!" Cang Xuansheng had a mysterious look. "Do you have the records of all the powerful dream masters in the 5 Grand Organisations that are below the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage? I want all of their information and their whereabouts! Although I cannot touch the powerful dream masters, I can kill their disciples and weaken their army." "Alright!" The old man bowed. "Don¡¯t worry, I will send all this information in an instant!" It was indeed in an instant. Within a few moments, a Hidden Dragon Guard entered with a solemn look and presented a tray to Cang Xuansheng. On the tray was a translucent jade bottle. Within it, there was a ck pill. Beside the bottle was a stack of papers. "This Seven Perilous Earth Dragon Pill is made from 7 types of extreme poisons and infused with dragon energy before being made. It is used as a poison to counter another poison. As soon as you consume it, there will be no turning back." The old man¡¯s gentle voice was heard. "This stack of information has all the names of the talented dream masters in the 5 Grand Organisations. Most of them are at the 4th Tier or higher and are roaming out there..." A powerful being would take almost no effort to wipe out these talents. He would be able to quickly finish every fight with every one of the dream masters and able to weaken the future potential of dream masters as well. "I understand. By being able to kill a few more of them in the next 7 days, it is already making the most of my remaining life!" Can Xuansheng remained expressionless as he took the tray from the Hidden Dragon Guard. "After this, both the Imperial Court and the Hidden Dragon Guards will no longer look out for you. Please take care of yourself!" The old man took another deep bow. He could only secretly kill the disciples of the powerful dream masters, for even the Imperial Court would not be willing to take such a risk and do it openly. After all, if the Imperial Court were to im responsibility, the 5 Grand Organisations would surely strike back 10 times as hard. To look at things from another angle, Cang Xuansheng was a member of the Golden Peak Sect, which was just wiped from existence. It was therefore logical for him to take the risk and kill the talented dream masters. Even if the dream masters of the 5 Grand Organisations were to strike back 10 times as hard, they could do nothing since the Golden Peak Sect was already destroyed. "Alright!" Cang Xuansheng picked up the stack of papers, scanned across and revealed a look of vengeance in his eyes. ... "Elder Smelter is still rather smart about this..." Within the 9 Extremes Mountain, Fang Yuan wiped his robe and stood up. To think about it, this additional mission was extremely rxed. After the previous happenings, the scout of the Imperial Court did not linger in the 9 Extremes Mountain any longer. Therefore, Fang Yuan could easilyplete this mission. All he had to do was to wait for another representative from the Realm Alliance to take over from him so that he could return to Golden Sun Prosperous Land to remain in istion. However, he still felt a tinge of pity for he did not get a chance to indirectly kill Meng Lian. "Lord!" At this point in time, a dream master from the Realm Alliance requested to see Fang Yuan, iming that he had bad news. "The 5 Grand Organisations have spread the news that a True Divine martial artist is on a killing rampage. He has already killed dream masters from Baizi Mountain, Evil Divine Sect and the Divine Lotus Cult. We have to be on our guard!" "True Divine? How would he dare?" Fang Yuan was confused as he touched his cheek. Mmm, even if he were to ignore Fang Yuan¡¯s cultivation in martial arts, the fact that Fang Yuan had achieved the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage would mean that this True Divine would be likely to be looking out for Fang Yuan. "Of course he would dare!" The dream master from the Realm Allianceughed. "This person is Cang Xuansheng. He was an elder of the Golden Peak Sect in Gold Region... Their sect was just destroyed and there were no survivors!" Since Cang Xuansheng had no more worries, he could recklessly go about on his killing spree. Fang Yuan was speechless. "What in the world... How can the powerful dream masters miss out on such a dangerous person!" Knowing that this True Divine was crazy, it would be unfortunate if anyone were to encounter him. "Do we know his whereabouts?" "Nope. The few elders have been looking out. However, this person is extremely sly. It is simple for a True Divine to cover his own tracks. Unless facing a True Divine, it would be extremely hard to detect one. Furthermore, they can cover over 350 miles in a day, so it is tedious to determine their location!" The dream master gave a look of uneasiness as he nced at Fang Yuan. "Mmm... If he wants to maximise his powers, it is very likely that he would enter perilousnds like the 9 Extremes Mountain..." Fang Yuan was speechless for a while. "Pass the order for the defences to be tightened up!" "Yes, Lord!" This dream master was extremely careful as he took his leave, for he was afraid that Fang Yuan might be in a bad mood and would take it out on him. "Really..." Witnessing his reaction, Fang Yuan felt a little depressed. "Am I really a person who would take it out on others? Furthermore... the other talented dream masters might be looking for ways to protect themselves, but for me, I think I would be a good opportunity to test out my martial arts." Now that his Nine Transference Mystical Technique had reached a peak, he required an opportunity to achieve the breakthrough. ... Very quickly, 3 days had passed. A few dream masters had arrived to take over from Fang Yuan. Unfortunately, Fang Yuan did not manage to encounter the True Divine. Seeing how the other dream masters like Huang Long, Lu Xuanzhi and even Meng Lian heaving sighs of relief, Fang Yuan felt even more disappointed. "Could Cang Xuansheng be already captured by the powerful dream masters? Otherwise, considering the geographical advantage in the 9 Extremes Mountain, why would he note?" If the other dream masters were to know what Fang Yuan was thinking, they would surely be speechless. Most of them were afraid that the powerful enemy would approach them and no one would think that anyone would be looking forward to seeing the enemy. "Alright, the takeover isplete. Have a good journey, Lord!" The dream master who led the group of them to take over was only at the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. With a smiling face, he attempted to establish good rtions with Fang Yuan. After all this while, the arrangements on the node will be able to activate itself and will no longer be easily destroyed. Therefore, from now onwards, they would only need to send a few people to asionally take a look. "Alright!" After receiving proof that their mission waspleted, the few dream masters had no intentions of staying behind. All of them quickly left as though this ce was hell. "Such a prosperousnd... it¡¯s a pity that it¡¯s hidden!" Fang Yuan followed the dream masters as he thought to himself. Perhaps, he could start nning to get the appointment of the guardian of the 9 Extremes Mountain after a few more years. To him, this was the best prosperousnd he could ever ask for, especially in troubled times like this. It was a safe haven. With him leading the way, the group of dream masters quickly arrived at the exit. "Alright, after passing this ce, we will be out of 9 Extremes Mountain. Take care of yourselves!" Fang Yuan waved his hands. His spiritual will shook as he smirked. "Lord, please take care!" Lu Xuanzhi and Huang Long paid their respects while Meng Lian had some thoughts to herself as she chuckled inside. ¡¯The faster you climb, the harder you¡¯ll fall. We must quickly leave this ce and leave you for you will be the source of trouble. It is noughing matter if we get involved in the True Divine¡¯s killing rampage.¡¯ Chapter 380: The Fight Chapter 380: The Fight Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Sigh..." It seemed as though Fang Yuan had already detected Meng Lian¡¯s evil thoughts. "Lord, why are you sighing?" Lu Xuanzhi asked curiously. Out of the 9 Extremes Mountain, they did not have any more official rtionship. Although Lu Xuanzhi still respected Fang Yuan, he sounded more casual now. "I feel that with the mountains and the rivers, this ce is the best prosperousnd anyone can ask for..." Fang Yuan sighed once more. "It is worthy to be of someone¡¯s ce of burial!" "What do you mean?" Meng Lian was on high alert as she sprinted away, thinking that Fang Yuan would strike her. "That¡¯s right. This ce is indeed perfect to be your ce of burial!" But this time, it was a deep voice. The dream masters were shocked. With all of their spiritual wills, they would still be able to detect a 9th Meridian Wu Zong. The only person they would not be able to detect would be a True Divine, capable of concealing their spiritual auras! "This is not good... Run!" Huang Long¡¯s expression changed as he burrowed away in a streak of yellow light resembling a water dragon. "Bang!" After a few yards, the yellow water dragon came to a halt as though something was blocking it and blood spewed everywhere. "Is this wind from the fist of a True Divine?!" Lu Xuanzhi shuddered in fear as he gazed at Cang Xuansheng who seemed to have appeared from mid-air. Cang Xuansheng was wearing green robes and had sharp facial features. He had a handsome look for a middle-aged man, but to the dream masters, he was the cruellest demon of all! "Hehe!" "Hehe!" "Cang Xuansheng, your enemy is Baize Mountain. It is none of our business. Since you have already killed Huang Long, why are you still not taking your leave? Do you know that you are already wanted by the 5 Grand Organisations? Any powerful dream master might appear anytime to kill you!" The dream masters were shivering in fear as Lu Xuanzhi clenched his teeth to exim. Cang Xuansheng held his hands behind his back and examined the crowd. "Baize Mountain should be destroyed, but it is the same for all of you here! Are you Fang Yuan? The talent from the Realm Alliance?" He ignored Lu Xuanzhi as though he was part of the background and instead, started to examine Fang Yuan. "Great! Great! Great! You have strong energy from your blood and your martial arts is shocking. Your physical body is indeed hardy, and I believe you have already formed the 7th Meridian? You¡¯re indeed a talent. It¡¯s a pity..." Cang Xuansheng was indeed a powerful True Divine martial artist for he could figure out Fang Yuan¡¯s cultivation level in one look. With that, he shook his head and sighed. "You have great potential, but it¡¯s a pity that you have turned to the dark side!" "Oh? May I know how I was being described in the information?" Fang Yuan asked with curiosity. "Fang Yuan, unknown heritage, 5th Leaf Cultivator in the Realm Alliance, under the age of 30, at the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, has unparalleled potential..." Cang Xuansheng recited a portion of the information. "Although you are a hero among your people, you are my enemy. I cannot let you walk out of here alive! Of course... before that..." "Whoosh!" As his shadow flickered, he floated swiftly towards Meng Lian. With the flick of his fingers, the protective fog around her was dispersed, revealing a pale Meng Lian. With his ws, he grappled on the piece of jade on her neck. "Too many tricks!" "Cang Xuansheng, if you dare to kill my daughter, I will..." The jade shook violently as a desperate voice was heard. In the jade, there was a faint glow and the illusionary figure of a person as well. "Even if you send you magical clone here, what can you do?" Cang Xuanshengughed. Tightening his grip, the jade was reduced to powder and the mysterious and unwilling voice disappeared. "Senior..... You..." Meng Lian¡¯s expression changed once more and she could only force herself to say a few words. "Bang!" A bloodied hole appeared on her forehead as she fell gently to the ground. "A pretty corpse but all this vengeance... After your death, everything is fleeting!" The True Divine sighed as he looked around. "Why are there so little smart people in this world?" "Rumble!" In the next moment, fear was written on every dream master¡¯s face. An expanding and hot sun started to emerge. From Cang Xuansheng, the sun started to expand, spreading its glow and heat, enveloping all the dream masters within it. In the next moment, Lu Xuanzhi¡¯s expression changed as he felt the dream elemental force in him came to a halt. The only thing he could see was a sh of sword radiance before him. Within seconds, his body was perfectly sliced into two. "Go!" Although his physical body was destroyed, his Yin Spirit was still intact. Possessing a piece of ck talisman, he hastily attempted to escape into the air. He was quick, but Cang Xuansheng was quicker! After slicing through him, the sword radiance became strengthened. Curling backwards, the light turned into a glow resembling a furnace, trapping the ck talisman inside. "Ah!" The sword radiance slowly shrank. A shriek was hearding from it. This dream master from the Evil Divine Sect waspletely wiped out of existence. "Using a knife as a? An interesting and powerful knife technique!" Fang Yuan realised that every time the True Divine waved his hands, there would be a streak of sword radiance emerging out. Even if the dream masters were to sacrifice their physical bodies to allow their Yin Spirit to escape, they would still end up being trapped in the sword radiance. Needless to say, the strong blood energy of this True Divine was enveloping the entire ce. It was specialised to counter illusions and spiritual spells and this person had a lot of experience in dealing with dream masters. With regards to martial arts, of course, the dream masters would still fall behind. "You¡¯re smart..." After a while, Cang Xuansheng stood still. "You don¡¯t have any tricks up your sleeves. However, it¡¯s a pity that you are a member of the Realm Alliance. I can offer you a better deal for you to kill yourself!" "Kill myself?" Fang Yuan bit his lip. "I¡¯m afraid I cannot ede to your request!" "Then you¡¯re just courting death!" With sparks, the True Divine quickly made his way towards Fang Yuan and struck a palm out. Although it seemed like a casual palm, it was extremely swift. Fang Yuan could not react in time as his subconscious martial arts defence was only beginning to form. The palmnded squarely on his chest and Fang Yuan flew out like a cannonball. "Hmm?" His strike was sessful, but Cang Xuansheng felt that something was not right as he looked at his own palm. "This is a powerful True Divine strike indeed!" From the ashes, Fang Yuan¡¯s figure walked out. He dusted his chest. Now that his shirt was tattered, his golden metallic skin was revealed and there was the print of a palm on his chest, but he had sustained no injuries. "The martial arts Divine Body? No! You have not reached the realm of True Divine. How can you cultivate such a strong physical body? This is unbelievable!" Cang Xuansheng¡¯s eyes glistened. He knew that he had underestimated this opponent. "There are many more unbelievable things that you do not know of!" Fang Yuan twisted his head, creating loud cracking noises from his joints. With that, his entire figure seemed to have grown taller. "I have started my path of cultivation as a martial artist. I can finally put what I have learnt all these years in today¡¯s fight!" "Rumble!" In the next moment, the Nine Transference Mystical Technique was activated and 8 spiritual meridians formed behind Fang Yuan¡¯s back, forming a blurred figure. "How can an 8th Meridian Wu Zong have such power?" Cang Xuansheng red at Fang Yuan and walked forward, turning his palms into the shape of a knife. "The Overbearing Sun Knife! Seven Death Ultimate Strike!" "Chi! Chi!" The devastating sword radiance appeared once more like how a sun would rise over the horizon. Its mes started to cover Fang Yuan in the sun. The sword energy started to strike across. The earth shook and cracks started to form on the ground as though someone had run an iron plough through it. "Bang! Bang!" Fang Yuan¡¯s body was smashed into the ground, forming a huge crater. He flipped himself up and sighed. "My martial arts is still too weakpared to a True Divine..." "This is impossible!" Witnessing this scene, Cang Xuansheng¡¯s heart shook. Although he was using his bare hands, he had trained his sword energy for many years and had formed it by absorbing energy from the sun. With it, he had killed many powerful people before and had overpowered many powerful weapons as well. However, he could do nothing to damage this hardy physical body in front of him. "Considering your potential, if you take up the path of a martial artist, you will surely overtake me in terms of cultivation. However, as a dream master from the Realm Alliance, I cannot let you walk out of here alive!" Cang Xuansheng gazed at Fang Yuan and took a deep breath as though he cane to a conclusion. "Roar! Roar!" His body started to expand and within moments, he had grown to a muchrge build. Behind him, clouds gathered, forming an illusionary figure of a martial artist. It was a person with a tortoise¡¯s back holding a snake and seemed like a legendary ancient martial artist. "The Xuan Wu Divine Body?" Seeing this, a hint of excitement shed across Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes. "Watch out for my eagle w!" He flew forward. A strong surge of energy flowed from his chest to his arms, from his arms to his ws. With that, he struck 13 w consecutively and his powerful ws seemed to even rip the air apart. "Bang! Bang!" Deafening scratching soundsnded on Cang Xuansheng¡¯s body, but they did not seem to be able to harm him. "My Xuan Wu Divine Body specialises in defence. You cannot do anything to me..." Cang Xuansheng¡¯s Xuan Wu Giant mumbled something beforended a punch on Fang Yuan¡¯s head. "Bang!" How intense would the punch of a True Divine be? Where Fang Yuan stood, there was another huge crater. Cracks appeared and started to spread out from the crater. "Great! Strike me again!" Fang Yuan crawled on the ground and stood up. Shaking his head, heughed hysterically and leapt forward once more. "Hmm? This is the pure brute force of the physical body... How can a human¡¯s body be so strong?" Cang Xuansheng began to suspect something. Without holding back, hended another punch on Fang Yuan¡¯s chest, fusing the elements of tremor, shatter and tearing into his punch. At that moment, all of these exploded in Fang Yuan¡¯s body. Unfortunately, Fang Yuan¡¯s body reacted in the same way it did previously. Without stopping, Fang Yuan made his way towards Cang Xuansheng once more. "You¡¯re a freak!" Cang Xuansheng eximed. Although he was utterly shocked, he did not hesitate. Varying his punches, hended multiple strikes on Fang Yuan¡¯s body. There were continuous shocking explosions heard. Under the attack of a True Divine, although Fang Yuan had a strong physical body, he could not retaliate. In an instant, he had be a sandbag as he was being punched continuously. The Ultimate Witch Body was an impressive body to begin with. Immense strikes which would shatter the bones of normal humans would only do so much as to scratch the surface of the Ultimate Witch Body. With the continuous strikes, Fang Yuan began to gain experience and now, he could slowly retaliate one strike in every ten strikes. Hisbat experience started to increase in real time. "Alright...e again!" Fang Yuan broke intoughter as he struck once more. Although his mouth was full of blood, he was enjoying himself. The punch of a True Divine was like a smash from an iron hammer. With the strikes, Fang Yuan¡¯s martial arts elemental energy started to transform into gold! Chapter 381: True Divine Chapter 381: True Divine Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Ka-baa-boom!" The ground tremored and space shook. In the centre of it was a total mayhem, two monsters could be seen brawling. Fang Yuan and Cang Xuansheng both had shockingly strong defences and their attacks did not do much on each other. Thus, they only focused on attacking with their flurry of punches as though they were two not very skilled men with only brawns and no brain. In actual fact, the unskilled appearances were just masking their intelligence. Each and every technique and attacks contained strength powerful enough to split a mountain. A normal human or even Wu Zongs at the 7th or 8th Meridian would be a pile of minced meat if they were hit. "Bang!" "Heavenly Eagle 13 Chain Strike!" "Overbearing Sun Knife!" After yet another round of injuries sustained on both of them, the two of them briskly moved apart and stood on their own. Cang Xuansheng wiped off the blood on the corner of his mouth and looked at the more injured Fang Yuan and shook his head, "You lost! Although your body is strong, after all, you are not a True Divine. You are the one losing out fighting with me!" "That¡¯s right!" Opposite him, Fang Yuan¡¯s hair was dishevelled and his shirt was torn. There were even numerous wounds on his body. Fang Yuan obviously knew the limits to his body. Although he was already severely wounded, a manic expression appeared on his face as he retorted, "But I still have to thank you! If you did not fight, how would I have entered the 9th Meridian!" Fang Yuan looked at his stats. Beside the "Nine Transference Mystical Technique", the mist covering the brackets finally fully dispersed, the words "9th Meridian" could be clearly seen! Behind Fang Yuan, a spiritual meridian was formed and quickly entered into his body. With the support of this spiritual meridian, things were going well for Fang Yuan and some sort of change was urring. "9th Meridian Wu Zong?" Cang Xuansheng frowned slightly. To him, even if Fang Yuan suddenly broke through, it was nothing to be afraid of. However, the next moment, his eyeballs were popping as he stared. He saw the blurry figure behind Fang Yuan condensed and fully seeped into his body. Immediately, a savage and explosive aura could be felt from Fang Yuan¡¯s body. Not only that, the deep wounds on his body were miraculously being healed rapidly. "Woong! Woong!" Outside, astonishing amounts of heavenly elemental energy gathered and formed a gigantic vortex with five colours, red, yellow, green, white and blue. It was being continuously funnelled into Fang Yuan¡¯s body. Fang Yuan¡¯s body was like a bottomless pit that kept sucking in the unlimited supply of elemental energy. "This is... the phenomenon of a True Divine?" Cang Xuanshengposed himself and muttered, "You actually broke through two stages at once! After forming the 9th Meridian, you broke through the bottleneck and forged your Divine Body directly!" As Cang Xuansheng was a True Divine that sessfully forged his Divine Body too, he of course knew how difficult such a bottleneck was and how much resources it required. However, unknowingly, a feeling of danger emerged in his mind immediately. His intuitions as a martial artist made Cang Xuansheng knew that Fang Yuan would be sessful if he broke through this time. "I cannot let him seed!" Cang Xuansheng hollered and a red coloured sun appeared in the skies. Streaks of golden coloured light fell from the skies and gathered on his hands, "Golden Sun Knife, kill!" "Swoosh!" A knife was formed and with a strike of the knife, the knife red brightly as though it harnessed the mes of the entire world¡¯s suns! Cang Xuansheng exhausted all his strength tounch that knife! Once the Golden Sun Knife wasunched, the surroundings dimmed at once as the zing knife condensed and turned into a thin line of light that shot towards the eye of the vortex where Fang Yuan was. "Toote!" Fang Yuan snorted and took a deep breath akin to a vortex that sucked in all the five coloured elemental energy in the surroundings. The golden metal light glowed on his body and turned into a jade-like shine. A few kinds of glow sparkled simultaneously from his body before merging together, forming a greenish purple colour. "c! !" He reached out his right hand and grabbed the knife¡¯s light with ease, the beam of light was like an earthworm that kept wriggling and giving out sparks. However, it was useless against Fang Yuan. With slightly more strength, the knife¡¯s light was annihted at once. Even as the power of the sun exploded, it did not affect Fang Yuan¡¯s body at all. "This martial art body of mine is built from the foundation of the Ultimate Witch Body andbined the powers of my Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique and Hundred Poison Golden Body! I call it Pangu Eagle Body!!!" In front of Fang Yuan, his stats window shined brightly as it changed: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 100 Spirit: 100 Magic: 61 Profession: Dream Soldier Master Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (4th Tier), True Divine Technique: [Pangu Eagle Body (? ? ?)], [8 Gates Sword Array (5th Sword) (10%)] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)], [Fiery Golden Eyes (Level 1)]" "Strength!" Fang Yuan clenched his fist and felt the surging elemental force in his body and his body¡¯s limitless strength. He had an enlightenment, "Powerful beings are called as such because either one of their essence, spirit or magic stat had reached 100 or above. Perhaps it was unique for dream masters as they were skilled in powerful magical abilities..." "Both my essence and spirit have reached 100 which means that I am a True Divine! For Prominent Divine dream master, their magic must be 100 or above!" Of course, Fang Yuan¡¯s breakthrough was a double stats breakthrough. He was much more superior than Cang Xuansheng who only had a single stat breakthrough in spirit. "Pangu Eagle Body?!" Cang Xuansheng face turned extremely solemn as he looked at the muddled glow on Fang Yuan¡¯s body, "I have been devoted in martial arts and I know each and every martial arts technique in the world. Inside Da Qian¡¯s ranks of martial arts Divine Bodies, there isn¡¯t even such a kind of Divine Body! I can¡¯t believe you actually self-created such technique and broke through to True Divine! What a lunatic!" Of course, if one became psychotic while cultivating and hence died, he would be like a lunatic. But now, since Fang Yuan seeded, he was a grandmaster that created his own path! Winners were crowned while losers were vilified, it was that simple! "Speaking of which... I can only breakthrough this time all thanks to your provocation!" Fang Yuan felt all his injuries on his bodied had recovered and his power had surpassed his peak to reach a new height. He brandished his smile at Cang Xuansheng, revealing his sparkling white teeth, "In return, I will make you the first one to die from my newly acquired martial art prowess!" "Shameless!" Cang Xuansheng felt a dangerous omen but revealed a wry smile on his face. To Cang Xuansheng, although he was inferior to Fang Yuan, it was not difficult for him to escape. However, the next moment, Cang Xuansheng¡¯s expression totally changed. This was because Fang Yuan was already throwing a punch in front of him. "Bang!" The True Divine bodybined with Fang Yuan¡¯s originally strong body brought about breakthroughs in both his essence and spirit which was not as simple as one plus one. "Boom!!!" With just one punch, Cang Xuansheng¡¯s entire body was thrown back and sounds of bones cracking could be heard. "Impossible... how could he be so brutally strong!" Cang Xuansheng thought. Cang Xuansheng¡¯s mind was in disarray, only one thought kept appearing in his mind, "How could my Xuan Wu Divine Body be so weak..." Such a powerful punch caused blood to well in his eyes which subsequently flowed down his cheeks. If he could see from his eyes, he would have seen an extremely tall, well-built and muscr Pangu Giant appearing from the purple image behind Fang Yuan. The giant was at least ten timesrger than Cang Xuansheng¡¯s Xuan Wu figure. As the giant looked from high above, it brought about the powers akin to heaven being formed and earth being created. Its might was overpowering. In front of Fang Yuan, Cang Xuansheng¡¯s figure was no different from a toddler. "Nevermind... anyway, I have already killed many talented dream masters, that¡¯s enough..." Under immense pain, blood spewed out from Cang Xuansheng¡¯s mouth and nose. However, his lips curled into a sinister smile as he thought, "I have no regrets in life being able to witness such martial arts before I die! In this world, martial arts would bound to prosper and flourish!" Momentster, he saw Fang Yuan¡¯s perfect Divine Body pounce towards him. He let out a blood-curdling shriek before he died... "A True Divine has just been beaten to death by me?" Fang Yuan kept his bloodied fists and breathed slowly to pacify his boiling blood and elemental force. "I have finally entered the echelons of powerful beings! Though as the most inferior one, martial arts powerful being..." True Divine martial artist, True Elemental spiritual knights and dream masters above the 7th Tier of Illusionary Divine were the overlords of Da Qian Empire as they were extremely powerful. At this point in time, Fang Yuan was not even 30 years old and he had already stepped into this overlord tier! Fang Yuan heaved a sigh and waved his hands. The soils on two sides moved together and formed the shape of a tomb. "Although you view me as your enemy, you are still a True Divine. I shall erect a tomb for you!" Fang Yuan silently pondered before he turned around and left. Once Fang Yuan¡¯s cultivation passed this limit, there were many things he could do. The core of Sage Changli¡¯s inheritance could be analysed. He could start seeking revenge for his master, Master Heartless. Furthermore, he could protect himself from being others¡¯ cat¡¯s paw in the imminent war! "Of course... what I need to do now is to take a good rest..." Fang Yuanughed unamusedly before he disappeared. It was total silence in what was left of the battleground. Momentster, two persons appeared. It was a schr and an attractivedy. "Meng Lian¡¯s spiritual aura was around this area!" The middle-aged schr¡¯s facial expression was very awful. He quickly scanned the surroundings and found the battleground where Cang Xuansheng fought in and also his daughter¡¯s corpse. "D*mn it... Cang Xuansheng, I will kill you!" As he saw the bloody hole on Meng Lian¡¯s forehead, the middle-aged men¡¯s blood boiled. "Sigh... I guess all these dream masters have died!" The apanyingdy was 30 something years old, which was the age where charisma of youth and maturity merged. As her beautiful eyes turned, she understood the big picture, "That Cang Xuansheng¡¯s target must have been Realm Alliance¡¯s Fang Yuan. I heard this guy is very talented and he even broke through numerous tiers of the Illusionary Divine stage in a row! He is really different from the rest!" "Huh! No matter how talented a genius is, after such a genius dies, there¡¯s nothing worthy left..." The middle-aged schr snorted and his expression changed, "But, I heard he is not so simple, even if he is against Cang Xuansheng, he should still be able to sort of handle him... He should be around here, let¡¯s find him..." Soon enough, as they followed the traces left behind by the battle, they saw the numerousrge holes in the ground and the tomb. "Cang Xuansheng... died?" As the middle-aged men stared intently at the tombstone, he felt it was unbelievable. "How could it be possible? Who could kill him?" "I saw the battle, it should be two True Divine martial artist brawling and not any of our people..." A grim look appeared on thedy¡¯s face as she continued, "I am afraid it¡¯s that Realm Alliance¡¯s Fang Yuan!" "He... can kill a True Divine?" The middle-aged schr repeated himself, "Doesn¡¯t that mean, he is also a..." "True Divine martial artist!!!" Thedy heaved a long sigh and her gaze turned gloomy. Chapter 382: The Ultimate Plan Chapter 382: The Ultimate n Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions In the Dream Realm, Green Bronze Hall. "What? Fang Yuan has be a True Divine?" Elder Smelter held a message talisman in his hands as a look of shock filled his face. "Although I already know that this will happen, I never thought that it would be this quick and even kill Cang Xuansheng!" Cang Xuansheng was famous in Da Qian for being a True Divine martial artist of the Golden Peak Sect. Now that he was killed by a newly advanced True Divine martial artist, Fang Yuan¡¯s name would spread far and wide. "Green Wood and the other elders must be so anxious now, hehe..." Elder Smelter stroked his chin. He felt a little proud but speechless at the same time. "Who would¡¯ve thought that the talented dream master of the Realm Alliance would have the cultivation of his martial arts stronger than his cultivation as a dream master..." "Elder, Feng Xinzi requests to see you!" A dream master arrived at the door of the hall; it was Feng Xinzi. "Come in!" Elder Smelter waved his hands. With aposed look, he opened the doors to the Green Bronze Hall. "Greetings, Elder!" Feng Xinzi walked in and took a bow respectfully. It was only recently when he became much more respectful and cowardly in front of Elder Smelter. Could it be out of fear? "Hmmm, do you know that Fang Yuan has already formed the Divine Body and is now a True Divine, sitting among us powerful beings?" Seeing Feng Xinzi, Elder Smelter scoffed. No matter how respectful Feng Xinzi was,pared to thebat power a True Divine would bring, everyone knew the obvious choice. "What?" This news was shocking and Feng Xinzi was stunned. "How is this possible?" "This news has been verified by two elders of the Divine Lotus Cult and is proven to be true... it¡¯s a pity that you were once close with Fang Yuan but now, both of you have fallen out..." Elder Smelter shook his head. "Elder!" Hearing the news, it was as though Elder Smelter had poured a bucket of cold water over him. He was shuddering in fear and suddenly he looked up towards Elder Smelter. "Elder... give me a chance! Give me another chance!" "You deserve this!" Elder Smelter shook his head. "The Elders have discussed this. We will demote your level of rights to be a 3rd Leaf Cultivator and will banish you to the Chilly Cave to serve for 50 years!" "Elder!" Feng Xingzi was startled. "I am loyal to you and the alliance. You cannot do this to me!" "You¡¯re crazy!" Elder Smelter appeared serious and gave off a murderous vibe. He knew that Feng Xinzi had secretly tried to deal with Fang Yuan himself. However, since he was doing it secretly, as long as he was not exposed, Elder Smelter would leave him to be. However, Fang Yuan had now be a True Divine! Furthermore, this was a period of tension and only those with the ability to fight would be favoured. Although Feng Xinzi could still leverage on his past rtionship with Fang Yuan, Elder Smelter doubted that it would be of much use. ¡¯This is a pity... If only Feng Xinzi could hold his jealousy back and establish good rtions with Fang Yuan, then this wouldn¡¯t have happened! Furthermore, he could potentially get assistance from Fang Yuan to improve his own cultivation. Now that things are at this stage, what else can he do?¡¯ "Take your leave!" Looking at the cowardly Feng Xinzi, Elder Smelter waved his hands with an expressionless look. Feng Xinzi was in a daze. As he walked out of the Green Bronze Hall, he disappeared. "Where are the children?" Elder Smelter passed down his order. "Master!" A Fiery Dragon Child came out an paid his respects. "Bring a gift with you under my name and proceed to the Golden Sun Prosperous Land and congratte him!" No matter what, Fang Yuan was still part of his faction. Now that they had gained a True Divine, their faction would be strengthened and therefore, it was worth it to establish good ties with Fang Yuan. The first step would be to banish Feng Xinzi, and the second would be to congratte Fang Yuan. "Yes, Master!" The Fiery Dragon Child took his leave and disappeared. ... Within the Golden Sun Prosperous Land. Seeing that Fang Yuan had returned safely, Meng Tian and Meng Guang were ted. After all, Fang Yuan had treated them well and had regrly sent spiritual rice back to the prosperousnd. He had even guided them on their martial arts. It was rare for such a good superior like Fang Yuan toe by. The Golden Sun Prosperous Land was an insignificant piece of spiritualnd and did not attract the attention of the Imperial Court. Therefore, amidst the chaos, it remained rtively peaceful. Furthermore, as Fang Yuan entered the array, he had a shocking discovery. The 6 hectares of Yellow Grain Rice had matured once more and was ready to harvest. Presently, Fang Yuan¡¯s mindset was now different. After attaining the realm of True Divine, he was now considered a powerful being in Da Qian. Therefore, he would be able to keep the secret of his Yellow Grain Rice safe. With that, he immediately ordered for the array to be deactivated and instructed Meng Tian to start the harvest process. This well-built man stared at the 6 hectares of Yellow Grain Rice in disbelief and Fang Yuan smiled, thinking about their foolish looks. If these two Wu Zongs were to realise that he had formed the Divine Body, who knows what expression they would reveal. "The True Divine, especially my Pangu Eagle Body, makes me one of the most powerful people in Da Qian Empire. I will now be able to conceal myself from the predictions of others and many more!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glistened. His master¡¯s enemy was powerful. If he were to attract too much attention and be predicted by a dream future master, the enemy might make his way here to kill Fang Yuan. Previously, he did not even dare to think about avenging his master. However, after bing a True Divine, he could finally think about doing it. "Bing a powerful being would mean that even a dream future master in the 9th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage would only obtain blurred predictions about me... Needless to say, I have yet to even encounter a dream future master in the 9th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. Furthermore, I have not heard any dream future master breakthrough to be a Sage..." Fang Yuan crossed his legs. A glow appeared on his hand as a water dragon pearl appeared. The pearl was translucent and there was a dim mysterious glow in it. However, the fog around the glow was now much lesser than before. This was Sage Changli¡¯s inheritance. Previously, his cultivation was too low and he was restricted to only the information outside. "Now, based on my identity as a True Divine, I should be able to break through the restrictions!" Fang Yuan turned serious and a purple hue shed across his face. "Roar! Roar!" Behind him, the illusionary figure of a giant appeared. Its muscles were defined and it had the print of an eagle on its skin. The energy from the giant felt as though it was able to split the heavens. A green fog appeared and gathered together, forming the shape of an axe. The giant lifted the axe and struck towards the water dragon pearl. "Kacha!" After the sound of shattering ss was heard, the dim glow in the pearl exploded and an information overflowed in the form of golden runes. "This is the time!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glistened. A shockingly powerful spiritual will formed a bridge, guiding the golden runes across. "Roar! Roar!" In the water dragon pearl, a small golden-green water dragon appeared and seemed like it was helping out with the process as well. Finally, with pressure from both sides, the numerous golden runes which seemed uncooperative at first started to form a small golden river, flowing towards Fang Yuan¡¯s forehead. "Ahhhh!" Fang Yuan shrieked as he felt his head trembling. May pieces of information flowed into Fang Yuan¡¯s mind. Every piece of information had power on its own. If not for the fact that Fang Yuan had already formed the Divine Body, his overflowed brain might just turn crazy. "Da Qian... The natural source of dream masters.... The 6 Extremes Earth Shattering Array... the system of the invisible..." The transference of information was extremely slow and onlypleted after half a day. In a daze, Fang Yuan went straight into meditation. After 3 days and 3 nights, he finally sorted out all the new information and prioritized the ones he was interested in. "Now I know that the array the Realm Alliance has cast is the 6 Extremes Earth Shattering Array. It is able tost for eternity and can contain immense power! Its most basic purpose is to sacrifice, instead of dealing with the Imperial Court of Da Qian! It will firstly recreate the entire consciousness of the Da Qian World before taking in energy to create the strongest force in the world, allowing the dream master¡¯s source world to enter!" Fang Yuan appeared solemn and mumbled to himself. "Such effort! So much effort indeed!" With that, Fang Yuan shuddered in fear as though the heavens had taken notice of him. "Even though we are the children of this world, if we do this to our own world, we will still be hated upon and killed... of course, due to the fact that the higher beings are natives protected by their own spiritual auras, they are still not being noticed at the moment. However, the heavens of Da Qian will ultimately support the Imperial Court of Da Qian!" Fang Yuan seemed to have understood a lot more. It was no wonder that even though the dream masters of the 5 Grand Organisations had formed an alliance, they were still unable to defeat the Imperial Court. The Imperial Court and Hidden Dragon Guards were merely representatives. The real enemy of the dream masters was the world itself! The world of Da Qian! "This is even scarier than the Ancient Realm. This is the strongest world I¡¯ve seen so far!" Fang Yuan began to mumble to himself. "If not for the fact that we are all natives of this realm, we would have been struck by lightning long ago and even the Sage¡¯s Hollow would be destroyed!" "Even if we do not take any action now, once our n begins, it will be our ultimatum against the world. We will surely lose!" "Dream masters are indeed crazy people!" Although they were all dream-traversers, Fang Yuan still had affection for this world in which he lived and matured in. However, the leader of the 5 Grand Organisations, the Sage, was intending to live on forever by destroying the entire world! His actions were heartless and Fang Yuan knew that he could never be like him. "The next part is the crucial part!" He rubbed his chin and revealed a sneaky smile. "Do I really want to join the dream masters and go crazy? Or should I help the world? I have a premonition that if I go against the dream masters now, I will be able to gain the protection of the world and might even produce some energy souls!" Putting this issue aside, Fang Yuan walked out of the meditation room. "Lord!" Meng Tian and Meng Guang were waiting outside for a long time. "There are many messengers outside... they im that they are here to congratte you in attaining True Divine!" Both of them swallowed their salivation and were still in disbelief. After all, they were talking about bing a True Divine! It was one of the peak cultivation levels of Da Qian. How could their own guardian so easily achieve it? Both of them thought that Fang Yuan was only an ordinary middle-tiered dream master. "Messengers?" Conducting a sweep with his spiritual will, Fang Yuan detected a few other spiritual auras in the vicinity of the 99 Golden Suns Gigantic Array. These people were indeed instructed by a powerful being, but the higher being was not here. Instead, they were only a bunch of servants. After all, in the ongoing war, who would have so much free time to personally pay a visit? Furthermore, it was a good deal for Fang Yuan to have such treatment considering that he had yet to advanced to the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. Chapter 383: The Past Chapter 383: The Past Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions After a few days. The messengers who hade to congratte Fang Yuan took their leave. Only a few elders of the Realm Alliance stayed behind. In the main hall, there was a huge round table. Children of different spiritual auras were seated around the table. "Alright! Fang Yuan, let me introduce them to you. These are the 7 Elders of the Realm Alliance. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve met Xi Chen and Green Wood. Next up, we have ck Water, Thick Earth, Sharp Gold and Extreme Darkness!" Elder Smelter¡¯s Fiery Child started to introduce all of them. Although he had an aged voice, he sounded proud. "I am junior Fang Yuan. Please ept my greetings, Elders!" A hint of gold shed across Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes. All these children had different spiritual auras as though they were wearing different masks. For instance, on Fiery Dragon Child, there was the illusionary image of Elder Smelter¡¯s face on it. Knowing that all 7 elders had sent part of their soul within these messengers, Fang Yuan paid his respects. He had seen Xi Chen before. Although he had only seen him in the form of the King Xia in the Ancient Realm, his real appearance was rather simr. Seeing Xi Chen looking at him, he returned a friendly smile. On the other hand, Elder Green Wood¡¯s expression was a little unnatural. Fang Yuan could only guess that this was because Green Wood¡¯s opposing faction now had the addition of a True Divine. The other elders had their own special abilities and their spiritual auras were all extremely powerful. This was especially so for Elder Extreme Darkness. As the only female, she covered herself with ayer of ck fog and made Fang Yuan feel the most threatened out of all the other elders. She also struck fear in the other elders and sat a distance away from everyone else. "Mmm, you¡¯re not bad! No one would think that you can form the Divine Body so quickly. After discussion among the elders, we have decided to increase your level of rights to that of a 7th Leaf Cultivator. You are now thew enforcer of the alliance!" Elder Xi Chen nodded his head and spoke in a gentle voice. However, with Fang Yuan¡¯s shockingly powerful spiritual will and his Fiery Golden Eyes, he could observe Xi Chen¡¯s weakness straight away. It was the same for Elder Green Wood. They were severely injured from the previous encounter in the Ancient World as they could not escape in time. "... Haha, that¡¯s right! Fang Yuan, you need to put in even more effort now! It¡¯s a pity that you have achieved a breakthrough in martial arts. Therefore, we are unable to promote you to the position of an elder. However, I believe that is a small issue. Considering your potential, I¡¯m sure our alliance will soon gain a new elder!" Elder Green Wood initially appeared depressed but now, he had a cheerful smile. With this, Elder Smelter appeared a little embarrassed. Fang Yuan observed them and appeared fearful. "I have only just achieved a breakthrough and have already used up most of my energy. How would I be able to think of another breakthrough? On a separate note, is the alliance leader here? Since I¡¯ve joined the Realm Alliance, I believe I should pay my greetings to him." Fang Yuan could detect that each of these 7 Illusionary Divine elders waspeting with each other in terms of spiritual aura. Elder Extreme Darkness was the strongest among all. Fang Yuan made a guess that she had the cultivation level of a 9th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master. A dark energy continuously spiralled around her and Fang Yuan felt as though he was staring into a cold night and a bright moon as soon as he noticed her. Next up, it was Xi Chen. This elder seemed to have the cultivation level of an 8th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master. Being the direct disciple of a Sage, he was special. The other elders were all around the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage and were allparable to Smelter and Green Wood. However, their internal conflict had left Fang Yuan speechless. "Alliance leader has important matters to see to. However, as the newest potential of the alliance, he will surely be d to see you!" It is only normal for a new up anding member to pay respects to the alliance leader. Xi Chen was stunned for a while before answering Fang Yuan. ¡¯It seems like the n against Da Qian has reached a crucial point where they now require a dream master in the Prominent Divine stage?¡¯ Fang Yuan mulled for a while as he extracted information from Xi Chen¡¯s words. "Alright, since you are now thew enforcer of the alliance, you need to be given responsibilities. Since you like the Golden Sun Prosperous Land, we have decided to give all of its rights to you. We shall also reduce the time period for you to not take up any missions to half a year. What do you think?" The few elders exchanged nces as Extreme Darkness said her piece. Her distinct female voice was mysterious and sinister, as though it could freeze one¡¯s soul. "Since this is the request of the elders, I can only ept it." Fang Yuan sighed to himself. He was already prepared that something like that would happen. With the war, all of the elders would also be busy. How would they allow him to get away scot-free without helping out? By reducing the time period to half a year, it was the greatestpromise the alliance coulde to. If not for the fact that he had be a True Divine and was now renowned for killing Cang Xuansheng, it was still a question if he would even be offered such a deal. ¡¯Half a year... It seems like the war is about to break out soon... No, it has already begun. Half a yearter will be the final battle!¡¯ Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glistened as though he had understood something. "That¡¯s great!" The few elders exchanged nces once more. After settling everything, they took their leave from the children. "Greetings, Lord!" The children were all confused. After paying their respects to Fang Yuan, they took their leave as well. "This type of magical transference technique... Firstly, they would need something to possess, for instance, these children which they would surely have done something to. Secondly, they cannot transfer too much ability to these children.... Previously, although those elders had powerful spiritual auras, they would be at most dream masters in the 6th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. I will be able to destroy all of them!" Fang Yuan started to n ahead. "Alright... With this half a year, I shall return to master¡¯s hometown to pay a visit. I wonder how his old friends are..." ... Leaf Region, Cloud Jade Mountain. The region was a small one and there were few people living here. However, the spiritual tea produced from Cloud Jade Mountain was famous and they were even patronised by the royal family of Da Qian. Therefore, they could survive on trading tea leaves and could build a small town surrounding Cloud Jade Mountain. Many cultivators had also gathered here to settle down and live a peaceful life. On the streets, a bull carriage was on the move. Fang Yuan wore a set offortable robes and a bamboo hat on his head. Heid back, appearing rxed andzy. He had already obtained the full inheritance from his Master, Master Wenxin. Other than the secret 8 Gates Sword Array of a dream soldier master, there was a simple description of his hometown in the inheritance. ¡¯My nickname is ¡¯Heartless¡¯ and I am from Cloud Jade Mountain, Leaf Region in Da Qian Empire. I am from the Ye Family and have cultivated in swordy from young. The elders have given me the name of ¡¯Li¡¯... I have achieved a breakthrough in Wu Zong at the age of 15 and have made a small name for myself. As I roamed across regions, I stumbled across the inheritance of a dream master at the age of 18. From then, I had officially be a dream master and was recruited into the Imperial Court as a Hidden Dragon Guard.¡¯ Master Heartless was a Hidden Dragon Guard, aw enforcer of the Da Qian Imperial Court! Unfortunately, Fang Yuan did not want to follow his master¡¯s steps with regards to this. Furthermore, he was only forced to find a backing only because he had offended the Divine Lotus Cult and from there resolve the conflict through the Realm Alliance. If Fang Yuan were to join the Imperial Court, he would find himself in more trouble as the Imperial Court was all the while against the Divine Lotus Cult. "As a Hidden Dragon Guard, Master has the resources from the Imperial Court to cultivate himself. He was extremely powerful and under his 8 Gates Sword Array, he had killed countless people and from then created animosity with the two evil sects... After forming the entire 8 Gates Sword Array, he was only inferior to dream masters in the Prominent Divine stage. He had even killed a few direct disciples of Sages and was heartless. From then on, he was nicknamed ¡¯Heartless¡¯..." Fang Yuan sighed as he recalled the information which he had once read from the inheritance: "Even with the protection of the Imperial Court, I have made too many enemies. Together with some crazy dream masters, they have caused the Misfortune of Cloud Jade Mountain. They had killed my master¡¯s disciples in one night and even severely injured my masters¡¯ physical body. Fortunately, Master managed to escape but his cultivation was greatly affected. With that, the Imperial Court started to give him a cold treatment... Because of this, Master has given up hope on the Hidden Dragon Guards. After creating chaos for them, he left and arrived at the maind where he adopted me..." Leaning on the carriage, Fang Yun was in a daze as he recalled all that had happened in the maind. Because of this, if Fang Yuan were to reveal the 8 Gates Sword Array, he would make the entire world turn against him! "The dream master which had killed Master¡¯s disciples was the sect head of Source Seeking Sect. He was the renowned Demon Killing Divine Pen, Li Qingmian. Li Qingmian was a dream master in the Prominent Divine stage! He had the power to create things at will! With a pen, he can create the world. With a flower, he can create heaven!" This opponent was still too strong, even though Fang Yuan had already be a True Divine. "Of course, I cannot do anything to Source Seeking Sect. However, during the impending war between the 5 Grand Organisations and Da Qian Imperial Court, I might be able to take his opportunity..." Fang Yuan sighed. "As of now, I need to hide and visit the few ces that Master has mentioned..." To hide and strike when the opportunity arose was a theory which all dream masters understood. The family members of the Ye Family which Master Heartless hade from had already escaped. They had used secret techniques to prevent predictions and even changed their names just to avoid trouble. From then till now, there should still be a few survivors carrying the blood of the Ye Family. As the bull carriage moved forward, Fang Yuan arrived at arge city in no time. This was Cloud Jade City, where the Ye Family once lived. Fang Yuan dressed up as a businessman. Moving his muscles about, he altered his appearance and took up the look of a spiritual tea trader who had arrived from other regions. After walking around the streets aimlessly, he arrived at the East side of the city. This area wasrgely different from the rest. It had been geographically altered before and had a few connectedkes. There were many types of vegetation being nted here as well. Looking at the pleasing sight of greenery and theck of people, this sight was something the other areas of the city could not offer. "This ce... It should be where the Ye Family¡¯s mansion once stood......" Looking at the crystal-clearke, Fang Yuan was overwhelmed with emotions. Realising that there was a small tea shop nearby, he quickly went there and ordered a pot of tea. Although it was not spiritual tea, the fact that they were close to Cloud Jade Mountain exined the quality and fragrance of the tea. "This is good tea!" Fang Yuan acted surprised and glistened his eyes. "Haha... Although my tea cannot bepared with spiritual tea, it is one of the best among the normal teas. This skill of mine was obtained years ago when I served in a tea shop of the Ye Family. Among all the tea masters and chefs, I was among one of the best..." The shop owner had a head full of white hair. He gazed afar as though he was reminiscing. "Unfortunately... The Ye Family was destroyed in one night and the tea forest was burnt down. Even half of Cloud Jade City was destroyed. That was one of the worst nights..." Fang Yuan silently listened as he drank his tea with a calm look. After a while, he ced a silver coin on the table and left. Chapter 384: Siblings Chapter 384: Siblings Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions 30 miles to the west of Jade Cloud Mountain stood a hugeke with ends stretching beyond the horizon. Reflecting the sunset on the surface of theke, it was a majestic sight to behold. It was almost 200 squared miles in area and was named Leaf Lake. Although it was a hugeke, there were not many spiritual objects. It was an areacking in resources. Because there were only a few cultivators here, the few not-so-well-to-do martial artists here began to upy plots ofnd and the strongest of them was only a Wu Zong in the Meridian Opening Realm. "Master¡¯sst descendant must have lived here, right? Master had once used a secret technique and even changed his bloodline. Therefore, even the predictions of dream masters or the curses on his bloodline will not affect anything here!" Fang Yuan changed his ride to a horse and wore green martial artist robes. He hung a long knife around his waist and adopted the mostmon of appearances of lone cultivators. "I previously did not dare toe here due to my background and I feared that the crazy dream masters from Source Seeking Sect would trace me all the way here. But now, I have reached the peak of martial artists and attained True Divine. Now that I can cover up my traces and be undetectable, I can finallye here without any worries. In the eyes of a high-tiered dream future master, the river of life and fate could be sorted out like how ab would be able to straighten hair. Once one bes a powerful being, one would be like a ck hole, absorbing the strings of life and fate. Therefore, one would be able to avoid being predicted. "It has only been 10 over years. There shouldn¡¯t be many changes!" Fang Yuan cracked his horsewhip. As his horse neighed loudly, it started to gallop faster. Four Elements City. This city was much smaller than Cloud Jade City. The walls were short and parts of it were broken. The armour of the guards were old and tattered, but everything from the city gave off a murderous and evil vibe. Because of the need to survive, they were forced to their limits to work with whatever resources they had, which was why they were living their lives like scavenging wolves. Harsh environments would nurture strong people. "Hold up, the entry fee is one tael of silver!" Fang Yuan was being halted as soon as he arrived at the city gates. The greedy look of the officer in charge scanned around from his clothing, horse, a bag of valuables and finally the long knife on his waist. Signalling his intention, the guard by the door quickly stood before Fang Yuan and shouted. "Here it is!" Fang Yuan smirked and tossed a piece of silver. "Get out of my way!" The officer nodded his head and ordered for the path to be cleared. It was not that he could not ask for more money. The officer knew from experience that these types of lone cultivators with weapons were not to be trifled with. Since there were so many others which he could pick on, why would he risk himself to anger this person and put his own life in danger? In the city, there were very few people. The whole atmosphere felt as though the entire ce was in chaos. "Oh, that¡¯s right, the chaos in this empire is already beginning to pick up..." Fang Yuan suddenly realised that after living in the prosperousnd and 9 Extremes Mountain for long, he had forgotten how it felt like to roam about like a nomad. After the alliance of the 5 Grand Organisations, the world of cultivators fell into a turmoil. The 99 regions in Da Qian were not spared either and cities with non-cultivators were also facing tumultuous times. 15 years ago, Wu Yue of Yong Region had led 3,000 armoured soldiers to revolt. They had attacked city after city and as of now, he already had control over 2 regions and was known as King Yong! In the same year, there were rebels from the South as well. They had gathered 20,000 sailors which controlled ships, killing the soldiers from Da Qian. The leader was Zhang Jin. He was known as ¡¯The Heavenly General¡¯, with 18 cities and the rivers in the South under his control, restricting traffic and trade through these rivers. Most importantly, near the Jade Capital, there was a rebellion as well and the fight was even brought to the centre of Middle Region, affecting the Jade Capital! These 3 were the most powerful rebels of the empire. There were 10 other smaller rebellion groups inciting rebellions in various regions. Although their influence was limited, they were still able to create trouble and make it hard for the vigers to live peacefully. "To think about it... the sessful rebellion groups are all supported by dream masters..." Finding himself a restaurant, Fang Yuan settled down, ordered a te of beef and another te of vegetables and two vats of wine before enjoying his meal. "The chaos which is happening everywhere is within the 6 Extremes Earth Shattering Array. Da Qian is unable to keep the earth dragon under control, resulting in the dispersing of the breath of the earth... The instability of the dragon meridian will lead to furtherplications, including the uprising of dragons and snakes." Although this world was not particr about Fengshui, Fang Yuan could still use the exnation from the Karma World and the pieces of the puzzle would still fall into ce. This showed that even though worlds and realms differ, they were ultimately the same. The location of the restaurant was extremely central and it was the best ce to obtain information. Their culinary skills weremendable as well. The beef was marinated and was charred on the surface. However, the fibres of the meat were chewy and the dish was fragrant. After eating a few pieces of meat, Fang Yuan ced his chopsticks down and sipped on his wine as he gathered his information. Considering his powerful spiritual will, nothing in the restaurant could hide from him. "This world is already in chaos. Just yesterday, a rtive of mine escaped from Liyang. He imed that there were already soldiers there, and they belonged to The Heavenly General..." "Sigh. The battle at Lan River resulted in the death of all the Naval Officers from the Imperial Court. No one else from the South can block the army of The Heavenly General... I¡¯m afraid that Da Qian Empire is doomed!" "Who cares what would happen to Da Qian. Even if the king were to change, as long as we vigers listen to them and pay taxes, the new king would not force us to death. Why bother ourselves with such troubles? Let¡¯s drink!" ... Most of the people in the restaurant were discussing the current affairs and were speaking softly. After a few sentences, they would stop talking and start drinking, which disappointed Fang Yuan. At this point in time, two cultivators in the disguise of martial artists walked in, arousing Fang Yuan¡¯s interest. It was a pair of young men. They had long swords with them and were decent looking. They gave off the vibe of young heroes as they had requested for a private table and ordered plenty of food and wine. "Brother, the fight between the head of Sha Sect and master of Thunderp Palm, Elder Han, is going to be interesting!" The younger of the both of them wore green robes and seemed excited. "Years ago, Elder Han had brought his entire family to Four Elements City and ruled the city with his Giant Thunderp Palm before bing established. In these 10 years, Elder is still fit as a fiddle and is not any weaker than he was years ago! However, the Sha Sect seemed fierce and determined. They are also an experienced sect. Now that the sect head of Sha Sect is eyeing on the assets of Han Family, a fight is inevitable!" "Brother, that is logical!" The elder brother sounded more matured and seemed around 15 years old. He was wearing blue. As he held his cup of wine, he smiled unnaturally. "Master has instructed us to descend the mountain and train but did not ask us to get involved in all these. Know what we are supposed to do, and remember it! Throughout the journey, you have caused many problems for me already. If you carry on, I will be sure to tell master about it." Hearing his tone, it was as though he was already aware of his brother¡¯s antics and was giving out a warning. "Ah, brother, forgive me! I will never do it again!" The young man in green seemed to havee to his senses as though he was extremely fearful of his master. "Alright, after this meal, let¡¯s look for the Han Family and watch the show!" The man in blue quipped. "The sect head of Sha Sect, Sha Lifei and Elder Han of the Han Family are experienced Wu Zongs. Although they have not reached the Meridian Opening Stage, they have a wealth of experience and this fight will be interesting..." "But both of them are not your match!" The young man in greenughed. "That¡¯s hard to say. After all, since we are at the same cultivation level, our techniques, secret moves andbat experience will alle into y..." The young man in blue smiled and sounded confident. "However, if it was one-on-one, I am still rather confident." "Hmph, you¡¯re too confident!" Upon hearing the man in blue, a pair of siblings sitting at another table were enraged. The elder brother immediately pped the table. "What are you saying? You¡¯re young and you don¡¯t know anything. How will you know the power of my family¡¯s Thunderp Palm ?" "You¡¯re from the Han Family?" The man in green robes examined them before revealing a sly look. "Brother, I did not cause this." "Yes, we are!" The man in blue rolled his eyes. Never would he expect to offend the Han Family with a single sentence. However, the Han Family had already lived here for 10 over years and their influence had already spread far and wide. Therefore, it was only normal to bump into the people of Han Family. "Hmph! I am Han Jingfei of the Han Family. Apologise, or..." This young man from the Han Family stretched out his right hand and smacked the table. As he mustered his strength, the perfectly sturdy table immediately broke into half, demonstrating his strength. From the looks of it, Fang Yuan predicted that he was in the realm of the 4 Heavenly Gates and was an ordinary martial artist. After all, Fang Yuan was at a stage where he had already killed countless Wu Zongs. Those under the realm of elemental force was nothing to him! However... Looking at the siblings of the Han Family, Fang Yuan then proceeded to examine the two young men. One of them was a Wu Zong and the other one was at the peak of the 12th Gate. Fang Yuan was speechless. ¡¯The people of Master¡¯s race seem to be ignorant and too full of themselves!¡¯ "Brother!" A youngdy tugged at Han Jingfei¡¯s sleeves. "Let¡¯s go home, otherwise Father is going to be angry." "Ling¡¯er, wait here. I have to teach these two fools a lesson!" Han Jingfei eximed. The shopkeeper of the restaurant could recognise Han Jingfei and knew him as the one who would always cause trouble. However, he stood by the side and smiled, with no intention of stopping the fight. "Aiya... I¡¯m really afraid!" The young man in green picked up a piece of wood. As he tightened his grip, wood shavings began to slip through his fingers. "Eh?" Han Jingfei was stunned. Although he was reckless, he knew a powerful martial artist when he saw one. With this simple demonstration, he already knew that his opponent was much stronger than him and therefore, he could only feel helpless. ¡¯These two young men are around the same age as me, so who would think that their cultivation would be so much higher than mine? If the younger brother is already so powerful, is his elder brother a Wu Zong?¡¯ Sweat started to trickle from Han Jingfei¡¯s forehead. He was unwilling to concede. With a flushed face, the situation came to a stalemate. "Brother!" Han Ling¡¯er¡¯s face turned pale as she pleaded her brother to look at his surroundings. Resembling a helpless rabbit, the young man in green robes was ted. "Forget it... I shall not pursue the fact that you have shown us disrespect. As long as you get your sister to serve us three cups of wine as an apology, we can forget everything that has happened. How¡¯s that?" "Mmm!" Han Jingfei remained silent. The man in blue lowered his head and felt that his younger brother had finally matured. Chapter 385: Assistance Chapter 385: Assistance Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "You scoundrel!" Han Jingfei was enraged as they provoked his younger sister. He smacked out his palm which was burning red. This was Han Family¡¯s "Giant Thunderp Palm" which was a powerful martial arts technique. There would be no problem for one who possessed such a technique to cultivate into a Wu Zong and there was even a possibility for him to reach the Meridian Opening Realm. Of course, although Han Jingfei was impetuous, he was not an idiot. While he hollered, he had already secretly hinted his servants outside to return home quickly to ask for help before he fought against the two brothers. "Thunderp contains the strength of both thunder and fire! Your Thunderp Palm only has fire strength while its thunder strength is not even formed and you dare to embarrass yourself with such a half-baked skill?" The youth in green shirt smirked and extended his right hand too. "Look at the prowess of my Mystic Jade Technique!" As he extended his arms, his skin was changing along and turned into crystal clear jade-like skin, as though it was beautifully carved from jade. The green shirt youth was intentionally showing off as he channelled 90% of his strength to disy his technique. He wanted Han Jingfei to suffer under him. As Fang Yuan watched the scene unfold, his eyebrows frowned slightly. The green shirt youth was vicious. If no one stopped him, Han Jingfei would be severely injured. "Bang!" The two palms shed and their energy could be felt. A choking noise could be heard as one of them was thrown back and smashed into the wall. Lots of wine and dishes spilt on his body; he was ravaged and kept shrieking in pain. "Eh?" The pupil of the youth in blue shirt shrunk as he smashed the wine cup in his hands, "Junior?" He ran forward to the green shirt youth¡¯s side and saw his brother crying in pain while holding his right hand. Part of his arm¡¯s bone was jutted out and exposed as blood flowed down continuously. It was as though his arm was run over by some sort of beast. "Senior..." Tears dripped from the green shirt youth¡¯s eyes as he whined, "His....his palm strength is so weird! You have to seek revenge for me!" "Rest assured!" The blue shirt youth¡¯s hands grabbed on to his junior¡¯s arm bone with lightning fast speed and pushed it back. Under the crisp sound of bones being aligned, the green shirt youth¡¯s eyes turned white as he fainted. The blue shirt youth¡¯s hands did not stop moving as he dexterously applied spiritual medicine on his wound and bandaged it. From how fast his fingers moved, it was evident that he was very experienced in doing it. Momentster, the blue shirt youth stood up and looked at Han Jingfei. He had a serious expression never seen before on his face as he said, "I, Lan Feihong from Mystic Jade Sect, pay my respects to Brother Han. My junior was impudent in his words and was a little disrespectful, but why did you have to be so heavy-handed?" The blue shirt youth now viewed Han Jingfei as some sort of hidden young skilled martial artist. Inside his heart, it was burning with anger. Furthermore, even he himself could not realise that Han Jingfei was so skilled in martial arts, which meant that Han Jingfei was much more powerful than he imagined. "I..." Han Jingfei was still stunned as he stood still at his spot, "I don¡¯t know anything..." "Wait a minute, the two of them might not be as powerful as I thought. It might just be some sort of trickery when they crushed the wood into powder..." As these thoughts shed through his mind, Han Jingfei became braver and shouted at the two of them, "Humph! You two useless thugs dare toe to Four Elements City and brag shamelessly but did not even bother to check whose territory is this! I am just teaching you a lesson!" "Ok!" Lan Feihong heaved a long breath and his eyes glistened, "Can Brothen Han teach my humble self a few techniques?" "Humph! How dare you quacks try to be cocky..." Han Jingfei was sniggering, but suddenly, his eyes turned round and mouth turned agape like a toad. This was because, in front of him, Lan Feihong was secretly channelling his technique. Around Lan Feihong¡¯s body, a green light was sparkling and turned into the shape of a jade rod which he held tightly in his hand. At the same time, he was continuously exuding a fearsome might that seemed to be linked to the heavens and earth. "Projecting elemental energy? Giving elemental energy from the outside of one¡¯s body? He is a ... Wu Zong..." Han Ling¡¯er who was at the side covered her mouth in shock. She had only seen before such a projection and fearsome might from her grandfather¡¯s body, who was a Wu Zong. "It... it is fake......but no quack would be able to imitate a Wu Zong! Could what he said be true..." Han Jingfei mouth¡¯s felt intensely bitter as though he just drank the most concentrated bitter wine and almost could not speak. Han Jingfei had only just broken through the 4 Heavenly Gates and cultivated his Yin and Yang. He did not even reach the stage of an Earth Gate martial artist nor cultivated his miniature elemental force yet and would, therefore, be a piece of cake for a Wu Zong! "Please engage!" Opposite him, Lan Feihong did not seem to believe Han Jingfei was just a weak martial artist and viewed him as someone who was ying dumb to gain an advantage. Han Jingfei¡¯s gaze intensified as he thought, "Till now, I can¡¯t even detect anything abnormal from him, his hidden martial arts techniques must be extremely powerful! I cannot be careless!" With such a thought, Lan Jingfei moved his hands mightily as he revealed his esteemed technique, "Cloud Rod 8 Strike!" Immediately, Han Jingfei saw the Wu Zong charge towards him with both his hands transforming elemental force into jade rods. The shadow of the two rods reflected their unlimited power. Furthermore, a powerful thought had already viciously invaded his mind as he could not move and remained still like a small rabbit that met a ferocious tiger. "Brother!" Under the shadow of the rods, only a girl¡¯s screams of terror could be heard. "Boom!" Suddenly, a loud boom erupted and the elemental energy projection dispersed at once. Han Jingfei stood still at the same spot and stared at his own finger in astonishment. Opposite him, Lan Feihong looked at the bloody hole in his chest and could not believe what just happened. Moments before, the Han Jingfei who had no ability to retaliate suddenly raised his hands and shot out a sword essence that annihted the rods¡¯ shadow and left a gaping hole on Lan Feihong¡¯s chest. "What a powerful sword essence! I concede defeat!" Lan Feihong let out a wailingughter before a hateful look appeared on his face, "Just that the way you do things... is too unscrupulous..." "What... what did I do? Howe I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening..." Han Jingfei was on the verge of tears. He was frightened by how he raised his hands and released the sword essence just now. "Hmph! My skills are inferior to yours! What else is there to say?" Lan Feihong looked below and saw numerous people had already arrived outside. Leading that group was a tall and well-built elder with a long beard and mighty look. "Who dares to harm my grandson?" "Humph!" Lan Feihong clenched his teeth and carried his green shirt junior in one hand while breaking through a window with the other. He leapt out of the restaurant and fled far away like a bird. "Impressive Lightness Skill! A Wu Zong indeed!" Han Family¡¯s Elder then went up the restaurant and lightly patted Han Jingfei¡¯s face, "Grandson... it¡¯s fine now, with grandpa here, no one dares to harm you!" "Grandpa!" Han Ling¡¯er tugged Grandpa Han¡¯s sleeve and said, "Others didn¡¯t bully us, it was big brother who was bullying others!" "Eh?" Grandpa Han¡¯s eyes widened at once, "Although that guy is young, he is no doubt a Wu Zong! You all were bullying him?" "Grandpa... I was!" Han Jingfei squeezed out an expression even uglier than a crying expression as he said, "They imed to be from Mystic Jade Sect and were beaten by me! I... I brought trouble to Han Family!" "Mystic Jade Sect? One of the three big sects in Leaf Lake? The Mystic Jade Sect with a Wu Zong in the Meridian Opening Realm as their head?" Grandpa Han almost choked to death as he heard what his grandson said. He immediately opened his eyes wide and scanned the surroundings. As Grandpa Han was older and wiser, he had much more worldly experiences than his grandson. He knew that even if ten Han Jingfei fought against one Wu Zong, the Wu Zong would still defeat them with ease unless someone was secretly providing assistance. The restaurant was in a total wreck and many of the customers had already run off as they feared trouble. Only the shopkeeper and a waiter were hiding in a corner. Nevertheless, there was still a table that remained unscathed. The customer on it was even happily enjoying his wine which was very odd lookingpared to the surroundings. "Greetings, friend!" Grandpa Han went forward and greeted this young man while sizing up him with his eyes. The man was very young and appeared to be 20 years old only. However, he had sword-like brows, star-like eyes and appeared solemn and out of the ordinary. He was dressed like a normal martial artist. He slightly lifted his head to reveal a bright smile as he greeted, "Since you havee, why not have a drink, Elder!" "That sounds good!" As Grandpa Han tried to probe, he could not figure out what this young man¡¯s cultivation was and felt uneasy. Nevertheless, he still amiably sat down and lifted his wine cup, "I, Han Xiaotian, toast you! Can I ask what is your name?" "Fate caused us to meet, why bother to ask if we met before..." Fang Yuan smiled, "My nickname is Crazy Knife. Pardon me for teaching those two young ones a lesson for being arrogant!" "Indeed!" Han Xiaotian had a look of realisation on his face. Han Jingfei and Han Ling¡¯er who stood beside Han Xiaotian finally realised their benefactor was right there. Their curious eyes kept looking at Fang Yuan as they sized him up. It was especially so for Han Ling¡¯er as her face turned slightly red. "Wow! Looks like there¡¯s some advantage to having a beautiful face!" Fang Yuan thought to himself. Fang Yuan was speechless at such a scene as he caressed his cheeks. As Fang Yuan changed his appearance, he slightly improved his looks to fit the beauty standards. His current face was already much better than his previous one and he could be deemed as a pretty boy. "Furthermore, this pair of brother and sister look like nice people and I guess fate brought us together which is why I decided to help them against such bullies!" "Thank you very much..." Han Xiaotian was very much speechless. This was originally a small issue as his grandson would have just learned his lesson after being defeated. However, with Fang Yuan¡¯s so-called assistance, they had now offended Mystic Jade Sect! It was truly unlucky for the Han Family. "Helping them my a*s!" Han Xiaotian thought. Inside Han Xiaotian¡¯s heart, he was definitely very frustrated and vexed. Nheless, since they had already offended Mystic Jade Sect, they could not bear to offend another person. Han Xiaotian still forced a smile and appeared cheery. "Great, since this trouble was caused by me, I will settle it!" Fang Yuan had alreadypleted more than half of his goal and he immediately heroically continued, "I just finished cultivating in the mountains and I¡¯m looking forward to testing my skills! If Mystic Jade Sectes after you all again, I will settle them myself!" "I was waiting for you to say this!" Han Xiaotian thought. Han Xiaotian¡¯s eyes sparkled as he could not contain his smile and thanked Fang Yuan profusely. He even warmly invited Fang Yuan to stay with Han Family. "How... how could I trouble you!" Fang Yuan acted like he was rejecting the offer which made Han Xiaotian anxiously use up all his pleasantries to make Fang Yuan ept the invite. Chapter 386: Killing Chickens Chapter 386: Killing Chickens Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions Although Han Family had moved into Four Elements City for less than 30 years, with Han Xiaotian as an elder that led the family, their family thrived well. Their mansion was sprawling and opulent, which evoked a wealthy feeling. "Morning, Mr Crazy Knife!" Early in the morning, Fang Yuan just woke up and was extravagantly served by eight young maids. As he walked to the courtyard, he saw Han Jingfei and his sister waiting over there. There were a few drops of sweat on their body which meant they had been waiting for quite some time. Han Jingfei felt the most uneasy inside him. At the banquetst night, Fang Yuan saw him in a totally different light and praised him as being "sturdy and well built while also talented and intelligent", which meant that he was suitable to train in Crazy Knife¡¯s martial arts. When Han Xiaotian heard it, he was absolutely speechless as he was very clear what kind of person his grandson was. But at that time, due to a certain purpose, he still let Han Jingfei and his sister get closer to Fang Yuan. "In actual facts... this Han Xiaotian is a nephew of Master. Thus, I would be two generations above this pair of siblings... but for no reason, my seniority was dropped by two levels! That¡¯s so sad!" Fang Yuan thought. After Fang Yuan made his observations yesterday, he had alreadyrgely confirmed that this Han Family was one branch of his Master¡¯s family. They had even changed their surnames, it was evident that they were hiding from troubles. "Hmm, since both of you cane, that¡¯s great!" Fang Yuan nodded his head and acted like some sort of hero, "Although both your builds are rather average, both of you are still suitable to learn my line of martial arts and secret techniques! If the two of you train well, you all might be aplished next time." "Ah... please teach us, teacher!" Han Jingfei was a ditz, he was very excited the moment he heard what Fang Yuan said. After Han Ling¡¯er tugged his sleeves, he then realised something andughed dumbly while scratching his head, "Of course, I still have to seek approval from grandpa!" "Humph! This line of martial arts of mine only has one disciple per generation and there are also special rules to be adhered to!" Fang Yuan looked at Han Ling¡¯er and smiled sinisterly. "What rules?" Han Jingfei asked curiously before he suddenly remembered this Crazy Knife was a loner and that he might even be someone from an evil sect, which exined why he was so extreme in dealing with things. Hence, Han Jingfei was secretly afraid. "This line of martial arts can only be passed down to one person per generation..." Fang Yuan shook his head and continued, "Before this, I already one have one disciple under me. If you want to learn, I have to go back and kill that disciple first before I can ept you as my disciple!" "Hehe... you must be joking..." Fear struck in Han Jingfei¡¯s heart as he secretly confirmed Fang Yuan must be a skilled martial artist from an evil sect inside his mind. Now, he could only smile awkwardly to hide his thoughts. "But one or two techniques should be no problem! Catch it..." Fang Yuan loosened the long knife on his waist and threw it forward. "Bang!" The knife was brought randomly from the street side and its de was extremely mediocre. However, it was now different after Fang Yuan trained with it once and secretly nted his Mind Imprint on it. Han Jingfei was almost breathless just from holding the handle of the knife. A tinge of blood appeared in his eyes as though he saw the scenes of early civilisation, where hundreds of tribes fought against each other on the vastnds. There was a barbarian wielding a long knife slicing through everything while battling against all sorts of wild beasts. "This sword is called Demon Knife and its technique is called Demon Knife Technique. This knife can kill deities and snatch their souls, each slice of this knife is heartless..." As Fang Yuan¡¯s deep and serene voice be heard, Han Jingfei snapped out of his trance and his forehead was drenched with sweat. "You must remember, the essence of this knife technique is, ¡¯humans must resist the knife¡¯ and it is not ¡¯the knife must resist humans¡¯! If your mind is not strong enough, you might be led astray and never recover from the tribtions!" In actual facts, the 12 Demon Knife Styles were just an improvisation made by Fang Yuan from one of the techniques in the witches¡¯ inheritancebined with modern martial arts. Although the knife technique was only slightly above average, it was vicious, strong and was forged through numerous experiences. Apanied by the hint of barbarism on the knife, the might of the person who wields it would increase tremendously and there would be hope for him to be a Wu Zong one day! Hence, seeing how useless Han Jingfei was, Fang Yuan thought he had to harden him through some training for him to be aplished. "Big brother... this demon knife is so dangerous, let¡¯s not learn it?" Han Ling¡¯er tugged Han Jingfei¡¯s arms and was so scared she almost cried out. "Not learn it? No way!" Han Jingfei clenched his teeth. He missed that feeling of world domination he felt when he was in his short moment of trance just now, which made him determined to learn it. Furthermore, Han Jingfei knew that with his own innate talents, there was only a 50% chance of him bing a Wu Zong in his entire lifetime. However, if he had that knife, he could win against all martial artists who passed the 4 Heavenly Gates and his chances of bing a Wu Zong would multiply like crazy! There was nothing else to be said and the choice of obvious. "Hmm, not bad, each slice of the knife does note with regret! Every time you draw your knife, you must draw blood! You must, must remember this!" Inside the garden, Fang Yuan sat inside the pavilion as he watched Han Jingfei obsessively and repeatedly practised his knife techniques. Opposite Fang Yuan, Han Ling¡¯er was very concerned but forced herself to remainposed as she brewed tea for Fang Yuan. She was skilled and dainty in preparing the tea and watching her brew tea was like watching a butterfly fluttering beautifully. It also made Fang Yuan smelt a familiar scent. "Great tea!" As Fang Yuan drank the tea, its taste lingered in his mind. Fang Yuan was slightly dazed by the tea. The tea and her skills were passed down within a family, which made Fang Yuan noticed the slight simrities between it and meditative tea ceremony. After a long pause, Fang Yuan finally slowly said, "Your basics are passable, you don¡¯t have to learn any martial arts. I have some medical skills and a mind-cleansing form which I can teach you. If you master it, even if your brother goes crazy and even demonic next time, you will still be able to save him from it. Are you willing to learn?" Actually, the Demon Knife Fang Yuan gave only appeared scary. It was at most better at killing and with Han Jingfei¡¯s calibre, it would be extremely difficult for him to be demonic. Nevertheless, Han Ling¡¯er was still scared of it and immediately eximed, "I am willing!" "Great, very good!" Fang Yuan nodded his head, "But before that, you have to learn how to brew tea!" "Brew tea?" From her eyes, it could be told that the young girl was slightly perplexed. "That¡¯s right..." Fang Yuan felt extremely emotional inside his heart. Master Heartless epted him as a disciplest time and now, he was teaching two descendants of the Ye Family. There was a subtle sense of the amazingness of fate in how this came about. "Such a pity, after I saw the members of Han Family yesterday, many of them are not worthy to be cultivated. By helping too many of them, it will only bring about more troubles. They would be better off living their lives peacefully as normal people..." As Fang Yuan reminisced the scenes, his eyes glistened. ... Many dayster. Somewhere in Four Elements City. The head of Sha Sect, Sha Lifei was holding an iron ball on each hand as he stared at the elder who came to visit. With a solemn expression, he asked, "You are?" "I am Cheng Miao!" Cheng Miao was donned in a white robe and had a celestial appearance. The moment Sha Lifei heard his name, he was immediately taken aback and paid his respects, "So it¡¯s Mystic Jade Sect¡¯s head who came to visit personally, my apologies for the discourtesy!" "Eh, you want to go against Han Family?" Cheng Miao eyed Sha Lifei and his powerful might as a Wu Zong at the Meridian Opening Realm could be felt like a giant rock that smashed down. "That¡¯s right... I guess you are also preparing to deal with him?" Sha Lifei was secretly pleased with such but did not reveal it on his face. As the overlord who was determined to crush Han Family, how would he not know about any big matters that happened in Four Elements City? Sha Lifei obviously knew about the matter where Mystic Jade Sect¡¯s people were defeated by Han Family¡¯s people. "Very good, let¡¯s begin earlier! You will visit them personally tomorrow and I want to see who was the one who dared to offend my Mystic Jade Sect?" A furious expression shed across Cheng Miao¡¯s face. After all, Lan Feihong was his favourite disciple. Cheng Miao was enraged when he saw Lan Feihong returned with serious injuries with no clear reasons. Sha Lifei was ted, with the lead of a Wu Zong at the Meridian Opening Realm, he was very confident and immediately reassured, "Please be assured, Sir! My people have already been spying on Han Family and we know that that person lives with Han Family. He had not gone out for many days which meant he must still be there!" "Very good, I want to see who was the one who dared to offend us!" Perhaps Cheng Miao stayed in this impoverished region for too long that he had already be too arrogant and conceited. "Offend you? Who do you think you are?" Suddenly, a youth¡¯sughter could be heard from the door. "Who¡¯s that?" Sha Lifei and Cheng Miao were shocked. They immediately saw the shine of a knife slicing about as two disciples of Sha Sect shrieked in pain while the doors were smashed into pieces at once. The shadow of a man in ck shirt wielding a knife slowly walked in. "Eh? You are... Han Family¡¯s Han Jingfei?" Sha Lifei¡¯s eyes twitched as he saw his two guards dying on the ground. "Why do you seem like a different person now?" "Humph, the two of you are in cahoots to scheme against my family. Since you all have met me now, I will give you a taste of my strength!" Han Jingfei brandished his knife and his menace was dominating. However, inside his heart, he wanted to cry but could not, "Teacher Crazy Knife... don¡¯t y anymore!" "Don¡¯t worry, just let go and do it! Think about it, even though your cultivation has not reached the realms of elemental force, you are about to kill two Wu Zongs today! Also, one of them is at the Meridian Opening Realm, your name would spread far and wide!" A soft voice rang inside his heart. "I don¡¯t want this kind of fame at all!" Han Jingfei whined inside his heart. "Eh, young man, you are so good in martial arts at such a young age, very good! I am looking highly of you, ok...." Under Fang Yuan¡¯s taunt, Han Jingfei could not help but charge forward with his Demon Knife Technique which totally enveloped Sha Lifei and Cheng Miao. "No way, there¡¯s something weird about this guy!" Cheng Miao stepped back a few steps. As he felt the viciousness of the Demon Knife, his expression turned awry. "I don¡¯t care if there¡¯s something weird, the two of us are both Wu Zongs, he would be a piece of cake!" Sha Lifei roared and whipped out a long whip with spikes from his waist that moved like a python, "Boundless Yellow Sands!" "Heaven and Earth Jade Quake!" Cheng Miao nodded his head and sped both his hands. He projected elemental energy and his hands turned into a squarish piece of white jade seal that smashed towards Han Jingfei. "Two Wu Zongs fighting against me, I¡¯m so dead! Save me, teacher!" Han Jingfei was scared soulless and screamed inside his heart. "Hmm, look carefully!" Fang Yuan¡¯s thoughts replied and Han Jingfei immediately moved and struck out his long knife. The knife¡¯s light split and immediately formed a purgatory that weed the two Wu Zongs. "Huu! Huuuu!" Large amounts of elemental energy from the heavens and earth gathered and turned into a ck shadow of a ghost that roared on the knife¡¯s body. With one slice, the evil ghost descended and sought for blood! "Elemental force? Aren¡¯t you..." Under the light of the knife, Cheng Miao¡¯s horrified voice could be heard. Two streams of blood erupted at once. "Boom! Boom!" Two corpses smashed on to the floor. Han Jingfei stared at the long sword on his hand and still could not believe what just happened, "Two Wu Zongs just died like that? Why was it easier than killing two chicken?" Chapter 387: The End Chapter 387: The End Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Is this person... really, Sha Lifei?" Han Jingfei looked at the person he just killed in disbelief. The person who had troubled his family for so many days had just been killed by himself! He was a Wu Zong! "Not just him... Cheng Miao is dead as well. He is the sect head of Mystic Jade Sect and he¡¯s also a Wu Zong in the Meridian Opening Realm... As soon as news of his death spreads, the entire Mystic Jade Sect will be likely to crumble..." Fang Yuan walked out casually andmented. "As for the few loyal ones remaining, you should be able to deal with them as long as you put in the effort to practice the knife technique that I have taught you. Let this be a pressure to motivate you..." "Thank you, Mr!" Among all the corpses, Han Jingfei seemed to have matured. He forced himself to forget how helpless he felt under Fang Yuan¡¯s control as he respectfully bowed to Fang Yuan. "If not for your help, the Han Family might be troubled!" "Hmmm, let¡¯s return!" Fang Yuan shook his head. To speak the truth, in this short period of time, it was not enough for him to pass down his techniques to this disciple. However, Fang Yuan was a dream master and therefore had his own means to transfer his techniques to these pair of siblings for them to master their respective techniques quickly. Without another word, they quickly left the headquarters of Sha Sect and returned to the Han Family. "Grandfather!" Seeing Han Xiaotian waiting in the main hall, Han Jingfei quickly knelt down and paid his respects. "Mr Crazy Knife and I have gone forth to kill both sect heads of Sha Sect and Mystic Jade Sect!" "Is that so?" Han Xiaotian turned pale and had a look of suspicion on his face. However, he forcefully smiled and invited Fang Yuan in. "Thank you for your assistance. Please enter the hall to enjoy the banquet." "Alright..." Fang Yuan took a quick nce at the old man before walking in. "Jingfei... Bring your sister along to the back hall to help out!" Seeing how Han Jingfei was following Fang Yuan, Han Xiaotian shouted at him with a fierce tone. "Yes!" Han Jingfei turned pale as though he had detected that something was out of ce. With that, he rushed to the backyard. ... "Come, Mr Crazy Knife, let me toast you!" In the main hall, a sumptuous meal was prepared. The meat was spiritual meat and the fruits were spiritual fruits. There were spiritual wine and spiritual tea as well. It was a meal which would take up the resources of over 100 families and they were all that the Han Family could fork out after much effort. "Thank you, thank you..." Fang Yuan did not hesitate as he downed a cup of wine. The wine was smooth and fragrant. "This is the meat of the Shaluo Beast. It is rare in this area, so you should enjoy more of it!" "I, Elder Han, toast you, Mr Crazy Knife!" "Please, have some spiritual fruit!" ... Seated around the table were all elders. Han Xiaotian introduced them one by one and there were a total of 4 of them. Now then all of them were drinking and feasting, everyone appeared flushed. Fang Yuan acted as though he was unaware of it continued feasting. "Mr Crazy Knife, your tolerance for alcohol is indeed good!" After a few rounds of wine and feasting, Han Xiaotian¡¯s expression turned cold. "However... I am unsure if I should ask you about something." "Shoot it. There¡¯s nothing for me to hide!" Fang Yuan held his wine cup and smiled. "ording to my useless grandson, you have used the techniques of a dream master to control him the other day in the restaurant, right?" Han Xiaotian red at Fang Yuan. "That¡¯s right!" Fang Yuan nodded his head. "Great! Great! Great! You¡¯ve finally found us!" Han Xiaotian¡¯s legs turned to jelly and it was as though his energy had been sapped from him. With a look of hatred, he red at Fang Yuan. "Elder brother, let¡¯s fight it out with him. With uncle¡¯syout in ce, what do we have to fear?" An elder with white hair spoke up with a fierce tone as though he wanted a piece of Fang Yuan¡¯s flesh. "Hmm... It seems like youryout isplete, right?" Fang Yuan continued. "Next up, are you going to send 300 people with axes to fight me?" "300 people with axes?" Han Xiaotian shook his head. "I would think that 3 of them would be too much. You do know that there is no poison in this food and wine. However, together with the array in the hall, there will be an intoxicating spiritual aura formed. Even dream masters will feel decapitated and will be unable to move... This is personally put in ce by our uncle, and is even capable of killing powerful beings so that we can deal with you d*mned dream masters! Try using your dream elemental force now!" "Brother, why bother speaking so much to him?" An elder flushed with anger whipped out a ck axe. "Let¡¯s chop him before anything else!" Fang Yuan remained speechless. These people were extremely hospitable with guests but were also decisive in starting a fight. Furthermore, what his master had recorded in his inheritance was true. Master Heartless had already offended all the dream masters in the area and he had no friends or allies. Therefore, as soon as his family encountered a dream master, they would logically assume that it was because of revenge. "Whooo!" Without hesitation, the elder swung the axe at Fang Yuan¡¯s head. "ng!" A loud ng was heard. The terrifying reaction force broke the axe, swinging its parts far away. The elder flew backwards as well and collided with a pir, causing the entire hall to shake. "This is impossible!" Han Xiaotian observed the dented axe and the immovable Fang Yuan who was unharmed. Breathless, he finally spoke. "True Divine...." These two words were extremely powerful as the elders around revealed looks of helplessness. "Who would know that you are not only a dream master but a True Divine...." Han Xiaotian signalled to the rest of them. "To trouble you to take our lives is our honour..." "Didn¡¯t all of you rush to establish good ties with me previously..." Fang Yuan drank another mouthful of wine and remained speechless. "I have only admitted that I am a dream master. Why do all of you think that I am here to seek revenge?" "Uncle has told us that he had offended too many dream masters in the past and have no friends... we have to kill any dream master thates here!" Han Xiaotian spoke with a calm voice. Fang Yuan rolled his eyes as he felt that this was Master Heartless¡¯s true personality. Could Master Heartless have experienced all these before turning to the benevolent Master Wenxin which Fang Yuan knew? "Alright..." Fang Yuan shook his hands and felt that if he were to continue his act, he would scare the hell out of these elders. That way, he would have taken revenge instead of repaying his gratitude for his master. With that, he revealed the truth. "I believe that all of you have mistaken my identity. I am not seeking revenge, but I am the disciple of Master Ye Li..." Upon hearing about his revtion, Han Xiaotian¡¯s eyes glistened before shaking his head. "This is impossible... my uncle has never taken in any disciples before!" "He does not have to take in disciples while he was in Da Qian... Furthermore, why should I lie to you?" Fang Yuan snickered. "If I were to fight all of you, I can wipe out everybody in an instant!" "That¡¯s true..." Seeing how Fang Yuan sat in his chair with a majestic vibe, he was in disbelief. "Cough... do you have any evidence?" "Evidence? Does this count?" With the wave of his hands, the 4 magical swords of Wind, Thunder, Water and Fire appeared, forming the 4 Emblems Sword Array and a miniature spiritual territory. "The 4 Emblems Sword Array and a miniature spiritual territory. This is indeed uncle¡¯s 8 Gates Sword Array!" Han Xiaotian started to tear and apologised. "Brother, please forgive us for our disrespect. How is uncle doing?" The few elders sat around with embarrassed looks, especially the one who struck the axe at Fang Yuan. How he wished he could burrow underground to hide! "Master has passed away..." Fang Yuan sighed as he summarized all that had happened to Master Heartless. "Sigh... we are unfilial to be unable to serve uncle. Thank you, brother, for doing it on our behalf!" Han Xiaotian and the other elders appeared weary and paid their gratitude to Fang Yuan. "Hmm. This time, I have returned to take a look to see how Master¡¯s family is doing and offer some protection if necessary. Seeing how things are, it seems like everyone is doing fine... I don¡¯t have to worry about you all..." Fang Yuan smiled. "Although I am now a powerful being, Master still has too many enemies. For safety reasons, I will continue toy low..." "We understand!" Han Xiaotian and the other elders smiled. Suddenly, it was as though he had recalled something as he stood up. "We have the possession of one of Uncle¡¯s property. Please take a look!" With that, he shifted the banquet table to one side, flipped a stone tile beneath and retrieved a leather pouch from under the tile. "Eh?" Fang Yuan was stunned. From the beginning, his spiritual will had already swept across the entire ce countless times, but he did not detect the stone tile. It seemed as though this leather pouch had the unique ability to conceal itself from being detected by spiritual wills. Han Xiaotian flipped the leather pouch around and took out a yellow piece of jade. With a smile, he exined. "This is left behind by Uncle. He had instructed us that if any of our descendants have the ir to be a dream master, he shall be bestowed this jade upon attaining the Illusionary Divine stage. However, we are all useless and our bloodline is weak. We don¡¯t even have a spiritual knight among us..." "Hmmm!" Fang Yuan retrieved the jade piece and was filled with curiosity. With his spiritual will, he seemed to have understood it. "This is the inheritance for the 8 Gates Sword Array. If any of you were to be a dream master, the person will be able to follow the path to a dream soldier master... eh?" Fang Yuan already had his own copy of this inheritance and therefore, it was nothing much to him. However, at the back of the jade, Fang Yuan¡¯s spiritual will detected arge chunk of information after the description of the 8 Gates Sword Array. With that, hemitted the information to memory. "This object... still has some use. I shall record it down!" He generously returned the jade to Han Xiantian. With another thought, he took out a piece of blood-red jade. "In this jade, there is a version of my martial arts known as the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique. It has the potential to open 8 spiritual meridians and form the Giant Spiritual Divine Body and is one of the better techniques in Da Qian. Furthermore, the way I have obtained it is not through illegal means, so you will have no worries about epting it!" Since the demise of the Yang Family, the Qian Kun Giant Spiritual Technique had already spread far and wide and was even on sale in the Dream Realm. Therefore, it was nothing much. "Thank you, Sir!" Han Xiaotian was ecstatic. Although his Giant Thunderp Palm was powerful, it did not have the potential to form the Divine Body. Now that he had this Giant Spiritual Technique, he had obtained the foundation required for the Han Family to rise once again. "Mmm, since all of this is settled, I shall take my leave!" Fang Yuan bowed and ayer of fog appeared around him. The people in the hall appeared dazed. "I¡¯m sorry. To y safe, I will have to change some of your memories..." Chapter 388: Heavenly Array Chapter 388: Heavenly Array Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions After a few days, a shocking news came from Four Elements City. The powerful and overbearing Sha Sect was wiped out from existence as the disciples of the sect fleed. None of them had the courage to honour the agreement and fight. Furthermore, even their powerful sect head, who was a Wu Zong, had disappeared. It was unknown how he had died, and the powerful and influential organisations in Four Elements City started to worry and show their support for Han Family to redeem themselves for their indecisiveness to pledge their loyalty. However, this shocking news was nothingpared to the disbanding of the Mystic Jade Sect, which was one of the 3 powerful sects in Leaf Lake. ording to Mystic Jade Sect, a few days ago, a mysterious highly-skilled person had visited the sect. The elders of the Mystic Jade Sect, under the leadership of the sect head, we no match for the mysterious martial artist. Therefore, they were all forced to swear that they would disband the sect and would never use the name of Mystic Jade Sect ever again. In truth, the Han Family knew that it was a cover-up by the sect after discovering that the sect head was killed. Without a Wu Zong in the Meridian Opening Realm to lead them, considering the resources that Mystic Jade Sect owned, they would attract a lot of attention which would in turn cause trouble to all the disciples of the sect. Elder Han was an experienced person. He knew that he should not ride on the situation to make things difficult for the Mystic Jade Sect. Instead, he had be even more low-profile as he started to let go of control in Four Elements City, beginning his n to move into seclusion. After all, trouble times ensued. If he were to attract too much attention, the family could get into trouble. If he were to move the family into seclusion, even if the soldiers were to wreak havoc in the city, the Han Family would still stay safe and live on for generations. Of course, these were all ifs. ... Just as the powers in Four Elements City were changing, Fang Yuan had already left Leaf Region. As he journeyed, he started to investigate the jade which he had just obtained from his Master¡¯s family. "Master has already taught me everything that he could. In this piece of jade left in his own family, he has not only recorded the 8 Gates Sword Array but also some secret information regarding the Imperial Court and the Hidden Dragon Guards as well... He thought that these pieces of information would be useless to me but useful to the family. However, he never thought that it would be extremely hard for dream masters to continue existing..." Fang Yuan sighed. "However, after this, there might be some changes." He taught Han Ling¡¯er the Meditative Tea Ceremony and even left some Heart Questioning Tea for her. Considering the amount of tea that he had given her, if the family was fortunate enough, one of them might walk on the path of bing a dream master! Even if that was not possible, they might still be spiritual knights. This was the opportunity for their family to rise once again. To Fang Yuan, since the people of the Han Family were not the immediate family members of Master Heartless, they were already fortunate enough to have obtained these. Moving on, Fang Yuan had to put down his worries and n for his own path. "I have a few months remaining of the 6 months. In this period of time, I can increase my cultivation once more through dream-traversing..." Although he had attained the True Divine to be qualified to fight in the war, Fang Yuan wanted to have more confidence to be able to go against a group of powerful beings including Sages so as to benefit from them. Therefore, he was stillcking such an ability. His path of martial arts hade to an end. After all, other than the few imperial advisors who were strengthened by the heavenly energy of Da Qian, there were no other newly promoted True Divines. Fang Yuan knew that he was no match against all of them. Therefore, he had shifted his attention to other aspects of his cultivation. With this, dream-traversing to increase his power as a dream master became a priority. "The coordinates of those realms rich in source energy are with the highly-skilled people of the influential organisations. I have no way of getting it from them... the only exception is the Ancient Realm!" Fang Yuan felt a tinge of regret. He had tried before in his realm and was disappointed. Although the realm did not discriminate against him, the entire realm seemed to have fallen into a mysterious turmoil, as though it was undergoing a certain change. The feeling that time was not consistent in the Ancient Realm led Fang Yuan to suspect that if he were to enter it once more, it might be possible that a day in the Ancient Realm would result in a year to pass in Da Qian! By then, he would have lost the opportunity to cultivate in both Da Qian and the Ancient Realm. "However, as a 7th Leaf Cultivator, my level of rights is rather high. I should deserve some special treatment, right?" With that, Fang Yuan hade to a conclusion. Within a few moments, he had entered the Dream Realm and sourced for a suitable realm from the Data Treasury of the Realm Alliance. ... Middle Region, Yingchou City. This city was the North entrance to Middle Region. Leveraging on the geographical features of the Yingchou valley, the 20,000 rebels of Shi Longtu were kept at bay outside of the region. At this point in time, the entire city had be a fort, ready to engage in war. The city walls were glittering with spiritual light. The runes sparkled and spiritual cannons and spiritual bows were all ready to fire. "Leader!" Two leaders from the Hidden Dragon Guards sat in a building as their strong spiritual will covered the entire city continuously. With that, a few Hidden Dragon Guards entered the building and paid their respects. "ording to leader¡¯s tip-off, we have discovered the hiding spot of a group of rebels during today¡¯s patrol! They were from the Divine Lotus Cult and we have killed all of them." "Mmmm..." The powerful being who seemed as though he was in the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage nodded his head before looking around the room. These are only the small soldiers. What is most important in killing the rebels are yourbat powers!" "Hmph, Shi Longtu was favoured by the king and was once a soldier under the king. Who would¡¯ve thought that he would rebel!" As soon as a Hidden Dragon Guard heard the leader, he gritted his teeth and remarked. Shi Longtu was originally the region governor of Tall Region. He had a distinct look when he was younger and was famous in his vige. As he matured, he was assisted by the local minister and was enlisted into the military. With his sesses in war, he was favoured by the king and his career was smooth sailing. As the next king, King Zhao Ming, took over, Shi Longtu was further promoted to the appointment of region governor. No one would think that this person would rebel against the Imperial Court. "There was no other oue... we have traced his family to 3 generations ago and understood more about the Shi Family... They were originally the spies of the Divine Lotus Cult. Shi Longtu was the incarnation of an elder from the Divine Lotus Cult. He had sealed his own memories and therefore, he was undetectable. It is only now that he is taking action..." These spies could only do so much and therefore, there was not many of them. However, if any of them could climb up to a high appointment, they could cause destruction. "Zhang Jin from the South and Wu Yue from Yong Region are nothing to be feared. However, Shi Longtu is indeed troubling. After all, his subordinates are all officers in the military!" One of the leaders sighed. Since the ancient times, the farmers would be at the frontline of a volunteer corps. However, they had insufficient food and weapons and were not sufficiently trained. Facing such a volunteer corps, the government could use 1,000 soldiers to fight against 10,000 of them! Or even 100,000! Only the armies with resources, military discipline and training would be able to pose a threat to the Imperial Court. In the Da Qian Empire, such a difference in the quality of soldiers would be magnified. How many normal civilians would have the chance to be Wu Zongs, spiritual knights or even dream masters? Therefore, those in power would be much more powerful and those lowly civilians would have no hope if they rebel. If there were natural disasters or threats from rebels, a district leader with a high level of cultivation would be able to gain positive control over the district regardless of the number of rebels from the volunteer corps. Although there seemed to be a lot of rebellion going on in Da Qian, if the Hidden Dragon Guards were to strike, most of them would be wiped out and they could restore peace within a month! Even if they were up against 20,00 soldiers who were properly trained, it would only take 2 Hidden Dragon Guards to clean up everyone. Unfortunately, the rebels were also protected by dream masters. That would be the greatest cause for concern. The leaders of both sides already had an unspoken agreement to not get involved in the conflict and would solely depend on their army to get their intended oue. Considering the current situation of Da Qian, this was their desperate attempt to keep the entire Empire under control. "Within Yingchou City, we only have 50,000 soldiers. It should be no problem to guard the city for half a year!" The other leader replied. "Head has already instructed that we would be given credit as long as we can defend this ce for half a year!" "After Yingchou city, it is a vast piece of grassy ins. If we fail to defend the city, the rebels will be able to smoothly make their way to the Jade Capital..." The other leader started to shake his head. "Does Head intend to dy things for half a year to change the situation? Difficult! Difficult! Difficult, I say!!!" "The 5 Grand Organisations have already cast the 6 Extremes Earth Shattering Array to disrupt the breath of the earth. The power of Da Qian will slowly be weakened. However, that is not how fate should be, and things might change!" The two leaders exchanged nces and their eyes glistened. ... Jade Capital City. Within the city, powerful beings were in total control. The buildings were grand and the Dragon Meridian here was under control. It was the strongest looking city in the world. "Cough cough...." In a particr corner of the city, an old daoist was coughing, staining his handkerchief with blood. "The enemy has the support of many dream future masters and they have disrupted the fate of the world. I cannot do anything but push against fate, making it jumbled out. If I do so, we will not be able to predict anything, but our enemies will also be helpless..." This war at such a scale had already begun long ago. Both sides were disrupting each other¡¯s fate, resulting in the fate of the realm to be jumbled up. Even a powerful dream future master would not be able to obtain a definite prediction and would predict many oues wrongly. Otherwise, the oue of Fang Yuan obtaining Sage Changli¡¯s inheritance and even be a True Divine would have been predicted countless times which would reveal Fang Yuan¡¯s true intentions. "Very well, this is enough. Thank you for your efforts. Leave everything to me!" Beside the old daoist, it was the Head of Hidden Dragon Guards speaking with a deep voice. "Cough cough... I don¡¯t have long to live and I have no cure... Needless to say, you will feel less pressured with one new helper..." Old Daoist Shang Hou smiled and examined his surroundings. He was in something which resembled an altar. It was ancient looking and was constructed with colourful bricks. Standing at 30 yards tall, it was a grand structure and offerings were already prepared on the altar. "Hmmm, alright then...." The Head of Hidden Dragon Guards lit the offerings aze and threw a jade rock and a spiritual tortoise¡¯s shell into the mes as well. Green smoke started to fill the air, covering the skies. "The earth dragon is only manipted by the rebels because it lies underground... The 6 Extremes Earth Shattering Array ispleted. We cannot stop it from forming anymore. The only thing we can do is to build an equally strong array to go against it. The opponents are using an Earth Array, so we shall form a Heavenly Array!" The will of heaven was invisible and intangible. Therefore the array created would have no tangible weakness. Previously, it would be absurd for even the Head of Hidden Dragon Guards to cast a Heavenly Array. Now, everything was different! Shang Hou could sense that the will of the Da Qian world was supporting them! That would form the foundation of the Heavenly Array! Chapter 389: New Realm Chapter 389: New Realm Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Kaboom!" There were originally no clouds in the vast skies, however, a piece of cloud appeared suddenly. Immediately, a lightning bolt shed across the skies. Momentster in the direction of Middle Region, a fogbow appeared and shined brightly, as though it pierced through the skies. The dark cloud was dispersed at once to reveal the clear blue skies. "Eh?" Fang Yuan looked towards the sky and the corner of his mouth raised in amusement, "This feeling... this is a crazy idea mentioned in Sage Changli¡¯s inheritance, the 9 Heavenly Sky Net Array? I can¡¯t believe the Da Qian royalties are so determined..." The reason Fang Yuan was so certain it was them was because he was clear that for the array to be formed, the dream master¡¯s cultivation was merely one factor, the most important thing was still whether the heavenly fate favoured the one who cast it or not. Obviously, the 5 Grand Organisation¡¯s dream masters would already count themselves lucky if they were not met with a heavenly punishment. Thus, it was not possible for them to be aided by fate! Therefore, other than the Imperial Court, there would be no other possibilities! "Once this array is formed, it will envelop the whole Da Qian World like the sky. Very scary..." Fang Yuan frowned and his body felt slightly ufortable. Under the skies, he felt uneasy as though he was spied. "Only the eye of the array is cast as of now? Although the starting is always tough, with Heaven¡¯s eye as the foundation, it will supplement and form the whole array. It should take at least half a year though..." Fang Yuan ruminated, "The power of the array¡¯s current state is not even 30-40% of its fully developed state! But it is already so terrifying..." Fang Yuan was very clear, once the entire 9 Heavenly Sky Net Array is formed, Da Qian would wield the power of the heavens and enact punishments for the heavens. They might even let the dream masters from the 5 Grand Organisation get struck by lightning every day. "The 9 Sky 6 Earth arrays were originally essences obtained by Sage Changli. Now that this array is cast, looks like the Imperial Court isn¡¯t full of stupid people as they have already nned how to fight back!" Truthfully, the 5 Grand Organisations¡¯ dream masters¡¯ ns did not bode well for Fang Yuan. The source of dream masters was uncertain and many Prominent Divine powerful beings could not find it. Although Sage Changli had some clues, who could be sure that it would be sessful? Not only that, once arge portion of Da Qian World¡¯s natural source was sacrificed, the entire Da Qian World would experience a severe decline. Although it would not perish immediately, it would slowly wane and perish ultimately. Even if the entire process took millions of years, it would still be a sin against the world by these natives! "Furthermore... even if the source of dream masters was found, does it really meant something was ¡¯obtained¡¯?" Fang Yuan was very sceptical about such. Fang Yuan felt it would be impossible for a world that continuously gave out radiation and granted powers to dream masters, which also allowed them to actualise numerous things, would really be a perpetual motion machine that would never be depleted? And it would only benefit others and never itself? "This is very illogical... but of course, dream masters firmly believe that is where paradise is! Where everything begins and ends! Where immortality is transcended?" As such a worry began to show on Fang Yuan¡¯s face, he suddenly could not help butugh, "What a pity, even if I am already a True Divine, I¡¯m still a small fry in the eyes of other Prominent Divine dream masters. I can¡¯t influence the direction the dream masters and the world is heading towards..." Realm Alliance Mountain, Dream Realm. Fang Yuan appeared directly in a magnificent and grand hall which was not in any way inferior to where an elder stayed. "This is one of the benefits of having my level of rights raised to 7th Leaf!" Fang Yuan was not apprehensive at all as he went straight for the main stone chair and sat on it. As both his hands touched the stone armrests, his mind was connected to the realm alliance¡¯s rock tablet immediately, "Searching for... realms to dream-traverse!" "Woosh!" As the screen pulled down, information of more than ten realms appeared in front of his eyes. The topmost realm was Ancient Realm which was marked in red texts, which meant that it was extremely dangerous. "This realm¡¯s consciousness prevents dream masters from entering it, chances of sessful dream-traverse is only 0.01%. The realm is undergoing tumultuous changes, its flow of time is extremely chaotic, exceptionally dangerous!" Fang Yuan touched the option lightly and arge chunk of message appeared, "Can¡¯t believe there are still discovery missions for this realm, they are even posted by The Ancient One? Hehe... indeed, a sage never gives up!" "In this world, there were moral ones like the Sages and immoral ones like the bandits." Unknowingly, Fang Yuan thought of this quote. Fang Yuan knew the severity of the Ancient Realm but did not express it on his face. Even if he was in Dream Realm, it might not be the safest ce. "This world used to be amazing, but now, its flow of time is too strange! I give up on it!" Fang Yuan shook his head and continued moving his fingers. He then saw more realms appearing on the screen. "Icy Realm..." "ming Lizard Realm..." "Giant Wood Realm..." "Tsk tsk... these realm¡¯s natural source are not very strong and what¡¯s left are scraps, just scraps..." As Fang Yuan read many options, he kept shaking his head. "Now, it¡¯s best if I find a realm with a strong natural source and a flow of time suitable for me... Sadly, only those powerful being elders would have the coordinates for these kinds of realms for themselves to slowly reap from it. It would be their private collection and they would never release it! Just like how I obtained the coordinates to Water Realmst time..." As Fang Yuan pondered, he continued to search and sighed. "Eh... I will pick this Western Fantasy Realm! Its heavenly energy is pretty strong and I will have ample time! Also, it looks quite interesting!" Fang Yuan finally picked one with his finger. "Ting!" Suddenly, a new option appeared at the bottom of the screen. "Eh? Is this the most newly added realm?" Fang Yuan was intrigued at once. Not only was the realm¡¯s natural source very strong, it was also marked in red which meant there were significant dangers. "¡¯No. Alpha 3 Realm: intense natural source, mainly inhabited by humans, rate of time flow ¡ª 3 days in Da Qian to 1 year in No. Alpha 3 Realm...¡¯ Wow, perfect!" While ncing through, Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes lit up. The realm was very interesting and was the most recent one that appeared, which meant that its level of exploitation was not very high yet. Hence, there were great benefits to be reaped. "The first to explore this realm was Elder Extreme Darkness... this used to be Elder Extreme Darkness¡¯ private collection, but she has now made it avable..." As Fang Yuan read further, he was shocked to see such. Although there were great rewards for submitting a realm¡¯s coordinates to the alliance, those powerful being elders would rarely do it unless there were special situations. It was either the realm was fully exploited, or the difficulty was too hard and they had no choice but to give up. Elder Extreme Darkness¡¯ situation was more likely to be thetter case. "No. Alpha 3 Realm has a powerful natural source which is only slightly below that of the Ancient Realm¡¯s. However, the realm¡¯sws are harsh. Whatever sort of unworldly forces would be grievously restricted, even including martial artists¡¯ elemental energy. Dream masters who entered had their cultivation zeroed... There are some changes happening in the realmtely, only those above 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine are rmended to explore this realm." This description made Fang Yuan realise how scary this realm was. This realm was exceptionally belligerent towards unnatural forces. Even dream masters who entered the realm could not maintain 1% of their cultivation. Furthermore, although its heavenly energy is intense, elemental energy is extremely scarce inside this realm. Any path of cultivators would find it difficult to make aplishments in this realm. Even if they were aplished, they were still easily crushed another path of cultivators. "This realm..." Fang Yuan was curious about this realm but did not enter it immediately. Instead, he carefully chose to contact Elder Extreme Darkness, "Greetings Elder Extreme Darkness, did that No. Alpha 3 Realm use to be a private collection of yours?" Through the meeting with the Realm Alliance¡¯s elders previously, Fang Yuan already had the contact information of the other six elders. It was very fast for him to message them directly with his inscription te. Also, with his status, Fang Yuan would receive their replies swiftly. "It was!" Almost instantaneously, Elder Extreme Darkness replied, "Fang Yuan, you are interested in that realm?" "Of course, a realm that is not fully discovered meant that there are still lots of benefits to gain from it!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes sparkled. "From my experiences, I can give you some word of caution. That realm is run by ¡¯steam technology¡¯, which is very hard to be influenced by foreign forces. Of course, there are some changestely, the resurgence of a mysterious force piqued my curiosity but sadly, my body in the realm grew too slowly and was crushed by the realm¡¯s newly created mysterious entity..." There was some coldness in Elder Extreme Darkness¡¯ voice which made Fang Yuan understood why she would list the realm up now. After dying once during such a discovery with one¡¯s true aura, it would be detrimental to the dream master. As the big war was imminent, Elder Extreme Darkness had no choice but to sell the realm to the Realm Alliance in exchange forrge amounts of resources to recuperate. Else, half a yearter, if she was discovered with huge injuries on her body, she would definitely be targeted at and would most likely die. "Thank you very much, Elder Extreme Darkness, but I would still like to try!" Fang Yuan was secretly excited. This was the first ever technological realm dream masters had found. It was understandable that they felt helpless against thews of the realm. But Fang Yuan was different! With the memory of his previous realms, he might be smooth sailing in this realm. He would be more at easepared to other dream masters and thus, there would be more space for him to showcase himself. "Up to you..." Elder Darkness replied coldly and broke off the messaging decisively. "This world it is then!" Fang Yuan kept his inscription te and clenched his fist tightly as he thought, "This is a realm that is built specially for me... also, no one has ever harvested from it before. Its natural source is so strong..." "Just that, what in the world is that mysterious force that was just awakened?" Although he had some queries, he did not hesitate to spend his contribution points in exchange for the realm¡¯s coordinates. "This time, I will not do any missions. I will just freely discover it by myself!" ... Da Qian World. "Kaboom!" In a cave somewhere in the wilderness. Fang Yuan smashedrge amounts of rocks with his fist and sealed off the entrance to the cave. Immediately, a small array that concealed spiritual aura was cast. "I tried my best to run for days and chose a ce with a thin supply of elemental energy, I don¡¯t even know where I am now. Also, with the array concealing, the chances of my original body being discovered is very low..." Fang Yuan then dug out lots of rare materials to cast an array. "That realm is too far from Da Qian, even if I dream-traverse with Sage Changli¡¯s realm locating method, I still require external help!" Momentster, within the array¡¯s formation, Fang Yuan sat cross-legged with both his eyes shut. With a flick of his finger, the array was activated. As light spun, the space in front of him was warped and a ck vortex emerged. Some true aura flew out and entered the mysterious ck vortex, before disappearingpletely... Chapter 390: Restrictions Chapter 390: Restrictions Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions The feeling of dream-traversing was a mysterious one. Fang Yuan had already dream-traversed to 3 other worlds and was considered rather experienced. However, even the previous dream-traversing expedition to the Ancient Realm didn¡¯t feel as long as this time. The transference of one¡¯s True Spirit should happen in a moment. However, due to the fact that this new realm was too far away, the time taken to transfer his True Spirit felt extremely long. His True Spirit floated in a dark space, unable to interact with the surroundings and even time seemed to havee to a stop. That feeling was a hundred times more torturouspared to being trapped in a small dark room and it was a feeling which could potentially turn someone crazy. The long journey was also depleting the energy of Fang Yuan¡¯s True Spirit. Just as his True Spirit was about to bepletely depleted, Fang Yuan felt as though he was about to return without any rewards from this expedition. "Rumble!" The space around him shook and a streak of lightning tore the ck space apart, allowing light to flood in. "Whooo!" Fang Yuan sweated profusely. He felt as though he was a drowning person who was just being rescued. Standing up, he took in a deep breath. In the sky, the ring sunlight caused heatwaves to be spread across thend. Subconsciously, Fang Yuan stretched his right hand out to shield himself from the sunlight. With that, he took notice of his dirty and small hands. He was a skinny boy who seemed around 12 years old. "Am I now a kid?" Fang Yuan let out a bitter smile and observed the surroundings. On a white birch tree, there were many chirps. His small body was wearing a white shirt and a green pair of long pants. They were of good quality but were pale from being washed many times. There were holes in his shoes. In his sight, he could see a cemented building. It was a short building and was at most two storeys high. The field was surrounded with a cemented wall painted in red paint. There were taglines painted on the walls. On an antenna by the side of the field, there was a huge loudspeaker sting loud music. asionally, there was the energetic voice of the broadcaster. "Television, broadcast?" Fang Yuan felt that everything was a little weird. "Didn¡¯t she say that it was steam technology?" All of this gave him a weird sense of familiarity. It was as though the faded pictures of his past life had actualised into the world. Racking his brains, he finally recalled some bits and pieces of memories. Although he was only a kid, he had undergone education and Fang Yuan was able to deduce the details of the world from his iplete memories. This realm was spherical and was known as Earth. In outer space, there was a sun, a moon, and others, forming a sr system. However, there was only one such in the entire system that was suitable for humans to live on. 70% of the surface of this was covered in oceans and there were 3 main continents. Over a 100 countries were spread across these continents. There were more than 1,000 races of people and these races were constantly in conflict. In fact, a devastating world war had just ended. With the advancement of technology came the improvements in the quality of life, but there were troubles as well. After the world war, over 10 countries were wiped from the surface of Earth. A few billion people were killed. However, at the same time, there were countries which benefited from the war and grew stronger. For instance, in the country he was in - Chinese Country, the country had sessfully taken the opportunity to unify a few countries in the vicinity, forming an alliance across an entirend mass across a continent. The country now had a coast which stretched over ten thousands of miles. Because the people of these unified countries were simr and once had strong ties, their cultures were smoothly integrated and theirbined powers were rather substantial. After the war, the unified country became one of the superpowers with substantial influence in the world. Mmmm, this realm only had 3 continents, split into the East Continent, Middle Continent and West Continent. The people of the West Continent had fairer skins, blond hairs and green eyes. The people of the East Continent were mixed, while the people of the Middle Continent were people with yellow skin. Fang Yuan was now in an orphanage in Chinese Country. After all, this was the year 999. It was only 5 years after World War 1. Therefore, many kids were orphaned and taken care of by the country. The body which he was possessing was one of the unfortunate children. "Fortunately... I am still known as Fang Yuan. I won¡¯t have to change my name that way!" Fang Yuan took in a deep breath, closed his eyes and focused. After a while, Fang Yuan revealed a desperate look. "It is indeed impossible! This realm is not hospitable to supernatural forces! The rules of reality are too harsh." Just previously, he had tried to detect natural elemental energy. However, he had gotten nothing from it, as though this realm was a desert for natural energy. Fang Yuan knew that the source of energy of this realm was bountiful and that this was not the end. The only exnation would be that his system was notpatible with this world. "How hard would it be to cultivate in another technique? Let¡¯s forget that idea for now... In terms of martial arts, as soon as it involves elemental force, it will no longer work. I can only preserve the most basic martial arts to strengthen my physical body." He shook his head and eximed. "Stats!" With that, a screen appeared. Although it was hard to read the figures, Fang Yuan could still vaguely make out the words: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 0.5 Spirit: 0.1 Magic: 0.9 Profession: ??? Cultivation: ??? Technique: ??? Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)], [Fiery Golden Eyes (Level 1)]" "Everything has been cleared indeed! This is even scarier than the Water Realm!" Fang Yuan had a premonition that even though he had the special ability of fixed stats, it would still be extremely hard for him to restore his cultivation in this realm. "However, it is surprising that my skills are still with me! Maybe... In such a long period of time, I will have to rely on my skills." With the ability of fixed stats, Fang Yuan could be assured the fact that he would be able to reach the peak of his cultivation even after dream-traversing. This was akin to a bottle. Regardless of which realm he was in, the bottle would always be the same volume and would not be reduced. However, it was one thing to have his fixed stats remaining and another thing for his cultivation to be restored. Ultimately, he would still have to fill the bottle with liquid. In the previous 3 realms, there was natural elemental energy for Fang Yuan to easily fulfil this. However, in this realm, there was almost no elemental energy. There might be other forms of energy but they were not as easy to absorb. Therefore, it would be extremely hard to restore his cultivation and his peak condition. "Since it is already so hard for me, wouldn¡¯t it be even harder for Extreme Darkness? No wonder she would give up on this realm... this difficulty level is almost like hell..." Fang Yuan stood up, looked for a pond, examined his own reflection andughed. In the reflection, there was a 12-year-old boy with a messy hair and yellow skin. He was skinny and appeared malnourished. Such a boy would lose his life if he were to merely fall sick! "This is such a difficult start... The only thing good about this ce is that the time flows faster here and I will have around 50 years to explore the realm..." Fang Yuan rubbed his rumbling tummy as though he had recalled something. With that, he scooted off to the canteen. This was his lunch break. If he did not get some food now, he would have to endure his hunger. As he ran to the canteen, he noticed a row of young boys and girls seated on a bench. Big ceramic bowls were ced in front of them. "Fang Yuan, why are youte?" An old woman wearing a ck-framed sses appeared displeased. It was evident that she was angry. "I... I had a stomach ache!" Fang Yuan made up an excuse. "Report!" At this point in time, a young girl with braids wearing a pink shirt raised her hand. With a clear voice, she shouted. "Reporting, teacher! I saw Fang Yuanzing around at the field, taking a break from his voluntary work!" "Mmm, Wei Xiaohong, good!" The olddy gave off a sinister vibe. "Fang Yuan, after lunch, see me at my office. Reflect on your behaviour! Now, please get yourself seated." "Yes!" Fang Yuan tiredly made his way to his sit as he red at the young girl. He hated those who would snitch on their friends. "Hmph!" The young girl seemed fearless as she red back with pride and a look of justice on her face. Fang Yuan was speechless and paid no attention to such a snitch. More importantly, the chef of the canteen had arrived and served them bowls of porridge. It was real porridge and the soup was clear to the point where Fang Yuan could see the bottom of the bowl. Scratching his head, he seemed to have recalled something. Since the independence of Chinese Country, there were many administrative issues to be sorted out. As a drought struck, resources were scarce and therefore tightly rationed among the people. Even on the streets, a typical man would only be given a few scoops of rice per day. Therefore, as orphans, they would not expect much. It was already fortunate enough if these orphans did not die of hunger. "This cannot go on!" Fang Yuan quickly slurped down his porridge, but his hunger was not satisfied. Instead, it only made him more hungry. "This cannot go on. If I were to go hungry every day, what else can I do?" Fang Yuan thought to himself. "After lunch, all of you will have a one hour break. Afterwards, report to your respective sses!" This orphanage was huge and there were more than a thousand orphans here. They were split ording to their age and gender and had to go through a daily curriculum. A female teacher with the vibe of a disciplinary mistress raised her sses. "Also... We have a physical test tomorrow. Everyone is to take part, and no one is to be absent! This is tasked by the province!" Through her sses, the teacher red at the few troublemakers, giving her stern warning. Fang Yuan was one of them. "Why do we need to go through the physical test? Didn¡¯t we already did it this year?" One of the orphans beside him quipped. "Mmm, that¡¯s right!" Guo Jianjun added. Fang Yuan shook as though he had understood something. "That¡¯s right. We have already done it this year and it seems like the norm already... Could this be rted to the mysterious force described by Elder Extreme Darkness?" Chapter 391: Physical Test Chapter 391: Physical Test Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions It was nightfall and the bunk was stuffy and hot. Fang Yuan was sleeping in a double-decker bed. In a big room, 23 orphans were sleeping together. Snores and scratching sounds were normal and there was the asional gritting of teeth. All of these led to Fang Yuan recalling what the female teacher had rambled on and on for the whole afternoon: Ideological Education. "I can¡¯t sleep, I can¡¯t sleep..." He crawled out of his bed and squinted his eyes. In that instant, the dark room became instantly bright. "It¡¯s great that I can still keep my Fiery Golden Eyes..." This was a form of constion for Fang Yuan. With more focus, Fang Yuan could observe the effects of an X-Ray as he scanned across the skeletons lying on the beds. It was a scary scene. "Hmm, it seems like my skill is evolving. Are my Fiery Golden Eyes able to see through things now?" In his field of vision, he could see that every child was full of life and energy, glowing like fireflies. "Eh?" At this point in time, from the window outside, there was a small glow which attracted Fang Yuan¡¯s attention. "Is there someone?! It¡¯s so huge! Could it be the teacher doing her rounds?" He climbed down his bed nimbly and at that moment, he could see a suspicious-looking skeleton flipping over the railing and wall outside. Looking at how experienced the skeleton was, this would mean that this was not its first time doing it. "Eh? How can a child have a stronger life energy than an adult?" Fang Yuan stuffed a pillow on his bed and covered it with a nket. With a piece of metal wire, he poked the lock of the door. "Kacha!" With the help of his X-Ray Vision, the locked door gave way and Fang Yuan darted out. The night breeze was cooling and Fang Yuan felt free. "Ha..." His eyes focused on the suspicious shadow as he followed behind it. Outside the orphanage, there was a small river stream. The small figure held a bamboo stick in his hand, stood by the river and observed it. Suddenly, as he released his hand, the bamboo pierced into the river and through a big green fish. Fang Yuan was startled. Such speed and force were rare even among adults. Although the green fish was being pierced through, its scales were shimmering and its tail was still flicking around. The figure eximed in excitement. As it was about to retrieve the fish, it heard a voice from behind. "Hey, Zhao Daniu, what are you doing?" "Ah!" The figure shuddered and turned around slowly. With that, he gazed into the shadows as Fang Yuan emerged. Shocked, the fish in his hands slipped and fell to the ground. "I... I... It was not on purpose, and I am not here to steal anything..." Zhao Daniu had big eyes and seemed like an honest bloke but now, he was panicking to the brink of crying. ¡¯He is only a pure child and would never think of killing me just because I found out what he was doing......;¡¯ Fang Yuan sighed before exining himself. "I am not here for the fish, but for you. I¡¯ve seen what you just did. Your strength is superb and your speed is remarkable! You don¡¯t seem like a normal person..." "I... I am not a monster!" Whatever Fang Yuan had just mentioned seemed to be his weakness. With that, Zhao Daniu shuddered and cried out. "Hey, you¡¯re not a monster. You¡¯re a superhuman, a superhuman who would contribute to Chinese Country!" Fang Yuan smiled. "Therefore... I want to give you up to the country!" "Huh!?" Zhao Daniu blinked furiously and gave a look of confusion. Can they remain as friends? Their friendship was on the brink. ... After a few minutes, in a bomb shelter. This was originally built for the war but now, it was left alone. It was a mini base which Zhao Daniu had discovered for himself. Fang Yuan lit a bonfire, descaled the fish, took out its organs and started smoking it over the fire. Although he did not have salt and oil, the method of smoking was still able to remove the fishy smell from the fish. The fragrance of the smoked fish filled the air and made Zhao Daniu salivate. "It¡¯s done! Let¡¯s share it!" After roasting the fish, Fang Yuan split it into two pieces. He gave one to Zhao Daniu and started eating the other one. Sigh... Without enough nutrients, his body would be extremely weak. "Whooo... It¡¯s great! Delicious!" Zhao Daniu did not care about the fact that the fish was still burning hot as he munched on it happily. "If I knew that roasted fish would be so nice, I wouldn¡¯t have eaten it rawst time..." Fang Yuan was speechless. What kind of life did Zhao Daniu lead in the past? Of course, after threatening to hand Zhao Daniu over to the country, Zhao Daniu had toe to an agreement with Fang Yuan and promise to share any fish with him in the future. This secret had stayed long with Zhao Daniu and he felt relieved the moment he opened up to Fang Yuan. "When I was 8, my appetite grew and I became stronger. My eyes have also evolved to be able to see many things..." "Booohoooo... I am not a monster. I am only out here looking for food because there isn¡¯t enough food in the canteen..." "All the kids don¡¯t want to y with me, and they even bullied me... I dare not retaliate... boohoooo..." ..... "Alright, you are also a pitiful person!" Looking at the sobbing Zhao Daniu, Fang Yuan was speechless. However, he had no intentions of protecting him. "Come over and let me take a look!" It was rare to see someone with powers. How could Fang Yuan let this chance slip by? "Hmmm... Your body is normal and seems like everyone else¡¯s. Your muscles are slightlyrger and you are much stronger than an adult. However, you don¡¯t seem to have any additional organs..." With his skill in Medicine and his Fiery Golden Eyes, Fang Yuan gave him a detailed checkup before remaining silent. "Other than the fact that your mindset is slightly more mature than that of the people in your age group and that you are stronger, you don¡¯t seem any more different than the others... It seems like the magnitude of your evolution is not big enough?" The only exnation was that this was a special case in itself. To Fang Yuan, it was simply because Zhao Daniu was too mature for his age which was why he was frightening himself. "I can¡¯t even detect any problems with him. I¡¯m afraid that we will not be able to see any results during tomorrow¡¯s physical test..." After eating, he brought Zhao Daniu back to the orphanage. Fang Yuanid on his bed and was deep in his thoughts. "Furthermore... I can¡¯t even detect any abnormalities. It seems like I need to learn the science of this realm... I¡¯ll have to show my knowledge off and learn as much as I can." ... "Children, put in your best effort in this physical test and make our orphanage proud!" On the second day, thousands of children gathered around the field. Everyone looked at the proud-looking principal trying his best to shout into the microphone. From this scene, Fang Yuan knew that he was oversimplifying things. "... This physical test is in ce to select the best few to join a special organization of the government. All of you must perform well. If you are selected, you will be able to eat buns, meat, noodles and barbequed pork every day!" In front of them, the teacher-in-charge used a microphone as well. "Rumble!" Everyone was swallowing their saliva. Barbequed pork was very tempting in such times of hunger. In fact, even the simplest buns were enough to tempt not only children but adults as well. "Alright! The test is beginning soon. Everyone, please queue up ording to your sses. Pleasee forward if I read out your name!" "We will first measure your height and weight followed by your physical fitness!" ... On the few, doctors draped in their cloaks surrounded a few trucks as they meticulously started setting up their medical equipment. It was extremely organised which made Fang Yuan suspect something. "Could this be the military? ... Furthermore, in this era, everyone would be made to draw blood for blood testing. The price for one such equipment is already not cheap. It seems like the country is determined..." Fang Yuan generously walked forward to allowed his blood to be drawn. During the eyesight test, Fang Yuan had effortlessly outperformed everybody to get a perfect score of 2.0, which would qualify him to be a pilot in the military. "Alright, next up will be the physical fitness test!" Of course, these doctors seemed to know that their test would not have any results and they seemed to have a final deciding factor. "1-kilometre run, 100-metres sprint, high jump, weightlifting, push-ups, sit-ups... everyone needs to do it!" "If your performance is good, you will be selected to join the Special Group and the Gifted Group. You will get better treatment there!" "If anyone of you can enter these groups, you would have done the orphanage proud. Children, do your best!" ... "Fang Yuan, we¡¯ve got news!" Beside him, the two children, Wang Aiguo and Guo Jianjun gave him a suspicious look and spoke in a serious tone. "Teacher has said... The country is choosing athletes. We can even join the Olympics in the future and do the country proud!" "Yes!" Fang Yuan rolled his eyes and examined the children around him. Under the temptation of material gains, honour and glory, although he knew that he was different from, how could he hide his desire for such gains? He gazed over to look for Zhao Daniu, only to find him standing in front of a shot put with a look of unwillingness. In a few moments, Zhao Daniu¡¯s expression changed. He mustered all his strength and threw it to around 400 metres? ¡¯Alright... his acting skills resembles mine...¡¯ Fang Yuan broke out in sweat. "Whoosh!" Suddenly, from the track, there were exmations. "11.7 seconds! 11.7 seconds!" A doctor in a white cloak screamed. "Are you Liu Fei? Do it another time!" On the track, a tanned and skinny boy ran like the wind and ran past the finish line for the second time. "11.6 seconds!" With this, there was a hugemotion among the doctors. All of them started to surround Liu Fei. "You¡¯re good... This is the standard of the national sprinters! He¡¯s only 13 and this is unbelievable!" "Alright! Liu Fei, you¡¯re doing good!" Zhang Haiman rubbed the child¡¯s head, her face flushed with excitement. Fang Yuan had a feeling that Liu Fei was about to be brought somewhere else. Chapter 392: Three Years Chapter 392: Three Years Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Fang Yuan is once again the top student. Let us congratte him! Everyone, follow his as the role model and work hard!" Teacher Zhang Haiman was full of emotions as she announced the results on stage. With that, she pinned a small red flower on Fang Yuan¡¯s chest. In her eyes, Fang Yuan was a delinquent who had understood the teachings and finally found his way. Now, he was a model student who was obedient and hardworking. By achieving the position of top student every year, he was a role model for all of them to emte. Teacher Zhang Haiman was filled with a sense of aplishment as she felt that she was sessful in turning Fang Yuan into a changed boy. Hmm, if Fang Yuan, who was once a troublemaker, was able to change for the better, everyone could do the same! Teacher Zhang had a look of excitement on her face, and Fang Yuan¡¯s friends shudder as their hair stood on its ends. "Pa! Pa!" Amidst the apuse, Fang Yuan took a deep bow and returned to his seat with aposed look. Really! He was already a matured adult and yet he was here, bullying the children and students by bing the top student. How different was this to snatching sweets from children? It was despicable! The good thing was that in these few years, he had be increasingly thick-skinned and paid no attention to Wei Xiaohong¡¯s murderous look. Mmm, it was important to mention the fact that the child who had snitched on Fang Yuan three years ago used to be the top student. It was unknown if she felt a tinge of regret for creating such a strong opponent for herself after that incident. Three years had already passed since the physical test. Fang Yuan and his friends had grown to be youths and they were now studying in junior high school. Of course, the impressive ¡¯Liu Fei¡¯ was being transferred to somewhere else the day after the physical test. He was being brought to the city, which was the dream of the many orphans in the orphanage. He was living the life that they could never imagine. Fang Yuan had a new best brother, Zhao Daniu. Because he had an additional meal every night, his build became bigger. He grew taller and his chest became wider. Coupled with the fact that he was a good basketball yer and had good results as well, he was the most attractive male in the school and had received many love letters from young girls. The good thing was that Fang Yuan was resolute and therefore, he did not taint his reputation. "Alright, students, let¡¯s open our history textbooks and revise our Modern History..." As the school bell rang, the history teacher took out her pointer. "Fang Yuan, summarise about Modern History!" "Yes!" Fang Yuan stood up, cleared his thoughts and started to recall the history of this realm. "Historians agree that the exploration of the oceans ispleted. We have 3 continents, and there is a consensus that Modern History begins from the moment the world map was charted out. That year is known as 1." "In the next 1,000 years, countries started to develop their navies. Civilisation slowly wiped out ignorance and barbaric practices, pushing the world to greater heights! However, due to the inconvenience of ancient ships with sails and the slow rate of production, the progress of the world came to the lowest point. This was known as the dark ages andsted for 750 years..." "In the year 782, Professor Thomas Neen from the West Continent, Golden Eagle Federation discovered the power of the steam and coal. From there, he created the first ever steam-powered engine and used the force generated by steam to leapfrog on the world stage. The Industrial Revolution happened and in the span of a hundred years, civilisation had progressed more than the collective progress of the past one thousand years!" "In the year 867, a citizen of the Golden Eagle Federation, Mr Wheatstone perfected the first steam-powered generator, weing a new age with the introduction of electricity. With the steam-powered engine and electricity, the industries of the world took off and the world had the power to change..." At this point, Fang Yuan was a little shocked. Although this realm had petroleum as well, they did not have as much. Instead, they had an abundance of coal. The efficiency frombusting this coal was much higher than the type that Fang Yuan had seen before. Together with technological advancements, the improved steam-powered generator was nowparable to an internalbustion engine, which allowed the steam-powered generator to remain relevant and coexist with the introduction of electricity. The present day was thebination of the discoveries from the first and second Industrial Revolution. "The Golden Eagle Federation started to colonise countries through their sturdy ships and strong cannons. They became the most advanced country in the world. With the uprising of their economy and their banks, together with conflicts among the higher powers, finally..." In the year 994, a world war broke out!" "The leader of the Golden Eagle Federation was usurped and the federation now started to trade with the people of the Middle Continent and East Continent. They were the Golden Eagle Federation of West Continent, Chinese Country of Middle Continent and Blue Star Alliance of East Continent. Around these three big countries, there were many other smaller countries with their own resources and own technologies. Some of them were much poorer and less developed, and these are basically the countries on Earth..." "Very good!" The teacher gave him an apuse. "Fang Yuan is very familiar with Modern History. Students, take note of the important points for they will be tested in the uing test..." As soon as the teacher finished her sentence, there were scribbling sounds everywhere. Even the few troublemakers seemed serious. "It¡¯s the promotional examinations!" Fang Yuan sat down and remained speechless. "Who would know... even after dream-traversing, I still cannot escape this!" ... It was nightfall. Everyone around him had fallen asleep. Like an agile cat, Fang Yuan slipped out of the orphanage and arrived at the bomb shelter. "Fang Yuan... I¡¯m lucky today, I¡¯ve caught a few fishes!" Zhou Daniu sat next to the bonfire. He pierced a wooden branch through the fishes and roasted them over the fire. In a short span of 3 years, this child had grown quite a lot. He was still an honest bloke. Along with him were bottles of salt and condiments and he would asionally rub them on the fishes. After the development of Chinese Country, the standard of living of the people had improved considerably and there was no more need to sneak out and catch fish to supplement their protein. The roasting and catching of fishes now were more for entertainment, especially now that they had salt and other spices. Zhao Daniu was still reminiscing for Fang Yuan¡¯s roasted fish. Unfortunately for him, Fang Yuan, being azy person, had not roasted another fish ever since he taught Zhao Daniu how to roast it. "Mmmm, Daniu, your culinary skills are getting better and better. You can open a stall and sell roast fish for a living!" Fang Yuan munched on the fish and smiled before whipping out a bottle of alcohol. "Don¡¯t say that I amzy, for I am taking out my prized possession." "Ahh... there¡¯s alcohol!" Zhao Daniu¡¯s eyes glistened and he quickly scrambled to find cups. Since they were still young, their tolerance for alcohol was not that high. After a few cups, Zhao Daniu¡¯s tanned face became flushed. "The promotional examinations are about to begin. Fang Yuan, your results are good and you will surely be sent overseas to further your studies. It won¡¯t be too good for me. I¡¯ve heard that those who fail will have to make a living for themselves outside..." This was normal, for the orphanage could not possibly take care of them for their whole life. However, it was still shocking for them to leave this ce, which they had already regarded as their home. "What¡¯s so good about it?" Fang Yuan sipped on his alcohol and smiled. "Do you need to worry about this? Just look for the teacher and tell her that you want to be like Liu Fei. Looking at your physical test, I¡¯m sure you will have no problem in bing an athlete... The previous time Liu Fei came back to visit us, he had a luxurious treatment and even had a personal car to send him here!" 2 years ago, Liu Fei returned to the orphanage to visit all of them. It was a big thing for the orphanage and it even made some young girls cry as they appealed for another new physical test to be conducted. However... they were disappointed. Fang Yuan knew that Zhao Daniu had the potential. After all, he had the strength of about 3 adults which could be trained further. It could be attributed to his natural talent. "However... After 3 years of observation, the mysterious force in this world still confuses me..." Fang Yuan shook his head in disappointment. Since Fang Yuan had a matured mind and Zhao Daniu was a simple guy, it was only normal that Zhao Daniu treated Fang Yuan as his best friend. There was nothing he would not share with Fang Yuan. With a look of uneasiness, Zhao Daniu spoke. "My father once told me that I cannot ept free things!" "Wow! Who would¡¯ve thought that you would stick by your principles so firmly..." Fang Yuan felt interested. "Then why are you drinking the alcohol that I have offered?" "It¡¯s different! I¡¯ve traded it with fish!" Zhao Daniu had his own logic and was extremely stubborn. Fang Yuan could only roll his eyes and could do nothing about it. "What about you? What do you intend to do in the future?" In Zhao Daniu¡¯s mind, Fang Yuan was a remarkable person. Although he could not exin why Fang Yuan was remarkable, he could just feel it that way. "Mmm, I want to be a noble doctor and cure thousands of people of their illnesses!" Fang Yuan clenched his fists and gave a look of nobility. In reality, he only wanted to investigate the human body and understand the differences between the bodies of humans here and the bodies of humans in other realms before searching for a path to be superhuman. For that, he had to study hard and dominate his junior high school. Ah... A highly-skilled person was destined to be lonely. "Mmm, Fang Yuan, you can do it!" Zhao Daniu nodded his head furiously. "However, I prefer Traditional Chinese Medicine more. Now it¡¯s your time to contribute. Stretch out your hand for me!" Fang Yuan smiled and took out a few silver needles. "Can I pass?" Zhao Daniu gave a look of uneasiness. He was afraid of nothing but Fang Yuan¡¯s attitude. Unwillingly, he stretched out his arm. "Rx, I am very urate in acupuncture!" Fang Yuan heated the needles and smiled. "It will not be like the previous time where I almost paralysed you for half a day..." ¡¯Who would believe you!¡¯ With a single needle, Zhao Daniu¡¯s face became stale. His eyes turned white. Before he could express himself, he had lost all strength and fell to the ground. Chapter 393: Investigations Chapter 393: Investigations Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "The bodyposition of the humans in this world is indeed different from that of other worlds, albeit it being minute differences..." As Fang Yuan executed his acupuncture, he mulled to himself. Although he had lost all his cultivation, he still had his experiences from other worlds. Together with his skills in Medicine, he should be doing quite alright in this realm. However, before he could do anything, he realised the hostility of this realm. Although his acupuncture technique was good, the pressure points of the bodies here were already different, rendering his skills useless! Therefore, in the past few years, he had sourced for bodies during his free time to practice. Finally, he had improved his skills and re-learnt the different locations of the pressure points of the humans in this realm and in the process, integrating into the realm. Zhao Daniu, the guinea pig, was the unfortunate one. There were many instances where he was paralysed for almost half a day, causing him to fear needles the moment he sees them. Of course, he did not sacrifice his body for nothing. At least, with the help of Fang Yuan, he now knew how to control his strength and therefore, no one realised that he was a bit special. "I am finally restoring my special traits! However, I have already looked after him for 3 years before finally getting a grasp of Medicine in this realm, sigh..... As a dream-traverser, I am really a failure..." Fang Yuan secretly did something to make Zhao Daniu fall asleep. With that, he closed his eyes and used the needles and his mind to finally detect traces of Zhao Daniu absorbing energy. These traces were very small. Even with Fang Yuan¡¯s current spiritual will, he found it extremely hard to detect and he could only make use of his possessed body to try and sense it. However, as long as there were traces, it would be akin to finding an oasis in the desert and it was still good news. "Although this world is the desert of energy sources, there are these kinds of droplets... Although extremely rare, from how Zhao Daniu has matured, I can confirm its existence and the fact that it is slowly strengthening... Regardless, it is still very weak." Without any other consideration, Fang Yuan named this source of energy ¡¯Spiritual Droplets¡¯! This had to be the mysterious force that Elder Extreme Darkness was talking about. However, based on what Fang Yuan had learnt, such spiritual droplets were limited. The weapons of this realm were highly developed. Although Zhao Daniu had a strong body which was even further strengthened by Fang Yuan, against a machine gun, he would still die. Even if one was highly skilled in martial arts, one would still fear a knife. After 10 years of training, one would still die under a single shot from a gun! This was the reality of this realm! "Notwithstanding others, if I were to don an armour on him and equip him with a weapon, after some training, it would be different... at least normal security guards will not be able to take him down..." Fang Yuan¡¯s hands were swift as the needles flew about. In a moment, Zhao Daniu¡¯s entire body was covered in needles. If Zhao Daniu were to wake up now, he would realise that he had be a ¡¯Needle Man¡¯ and would take it out on Fang Yuan - Not that he could win Fang Yuan in a fight, that was. "I¡¯ve finally seeded after so long and have discovered a quicker way to absorb the spiritual droplets!" Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes glistened. On Zhao Daniu¡¯s body, he had done all that he could. He had not only allowed Zhao Daniu to have full control of his strength, he had pushed him to the possibility of gaining full autonomy of his own body. After many failures, it seemed like there was finally an oue. To speak the truth, although Fang Yuan had devised this acupuncture activating technique for a year, he was still not sure of its effectiveness. Until now, that is. There was no more doubt. "Hmmm... Without my help, Zhao Daniu¡¯s strength will beparable to two adults. Although I¡¯ve only increased his strength by another 0.5, it is still stronger than what he was. I wonder if I can execute this technique on other normal humans." Fang Yuan kept his needles. He knew that Zhao Daniu would only wake up after another hour and therefore, brought himself out to take a shower under the moonlight. "Home is where the heart is... Unfortunately, everything is mixed up now!" He heaved a huge breath, crossed his legs and faced the sky. Retrieving his own silver needles, he started to pierce at his own acupuncture points. With the guidance of external forces, he started to force his body to react with the spiritual droplets in the air. "It¡¯s a good thing that I have experience of cultivation from other realms. This means that I will at least be able to achieve an initial breakthrough!" Fang Yuan was clear about one thing. ording to how Immortal Cultivators cultivate, Zhao Daniu had a favourable body to begin with as it could absorb spiritual droplets by itself. However, Fang Yuan was possessing a normal body and it would be difficult for him to achieve a breakthrough to begin absorbing the spiritual droplets. However, with his strong mind, he gritted his teeth and pierced another needle in his Baihui Acupuncture Point. Within seconds, blood started to gather at his forehead, forming a red hue there. "Whoo... I feel like I¡¯m burning all over!" Fang Yuan used his skills in Medicine to allow his blood to gather. Focused, he forcefully increased his Essence and Spirit. If he were to fail, he would be crippled! Under an intense pressure, every minute felt like an eternity. Finally, after a long time... "Ch!" Fang Yuan heard a crisp sounding from his forehead. A strong mind power made Fang Yuan feel as though a river with clear spring water was flowing through his forehead. "Haha..." Although the number of spiritual droplets was negligible, Fang Yuan still smiled. "Finally... It¡¯s done!" With this step, Fang Yuan had officially entered the world of cultivation for this realm. Although he was still far behind those with favourable bodies, he could slowly catch up through his cultivation in the future. His journey of bing supernormal began here! ... "This is... energy sense!" Fang Yuan took in a deep breath. As he focused on the inside of his body, he could feel a warm stream of energy flowing about. This force,pared to the elemental force of Da Qian, was but a firefly¡¯s glow and was insignificant. However, in this world where physics governed the rules of reality, it was already hard to cultivate this force. "Since I¡¯ve started on my journey of cultivation, there should be changes in my stats!" Full of emotions, Fang Yuan gazed at his stats window: "Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 0.8 Spirit: 0.2 Magic: 1.0 Profession: ??? Cultivation: ??? Technique: [Elemental Spiritual Energy Cultivation Spell (Grade 1 (1%))] Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)], [Fiery Golden Eyes (Level 1)]" "Elemental Spiritual Energy Cultivation Spell - Using the Guiding Skill as a foundation, together with acupuncture and breathing techniques, you will be able to change your physical body and increase the rate of absorption of spiritual droplets. Currently at Grade 1!" It was a very normal and general exnation. In fact, even the name ¡¯spiritual droplet¡¯ was coined by Fang Yuan himself. Basically, it meant that Fang Yuan would use someplicated means to cover up for his weaknesses by absorbing energy from the spiritual droplets. After a prolonged period, he might be able to cultivate something. "At such a stage, Grade 1 is already consideredplete. At most I would have restored more than half of my Medicine Skills, right?" Fang Yuan thought to himself before he woke Zhao Daoniu up. "Ah..." He forcefully supported himself up and was drenched in sweat. "I had a nightmare, a nightmare that I was in the operating theatre and many needles were poking me!" "That is your own hallucination! Imagination!" Fang Yuan didn¡¯t even blink. "Also... Why are you still worried that others might discover your special ability? Didn¡¯t I go through this with you before? Even if you were to be taken away by the government, you will be fine. Look at Liu Fei. Look at how luxurious his life is!" Taking the orphanage as an example, in a thousand people, only two of them had awakened their special abilities. It was a 1 in 500 chance! What did this mean? This might even be an overestimation, and the real probability might be 1 in a 1,000 or even 1 in 10,000... Looking at the poption of Chinese Country, the oue would still be a scarily big number of mutants. These mutants would form the foundation of the society. However, no one would risk trying to deal with them unless they feel that their power is under threat. Therefore, Fang Yuan predicted that in the future, it would be likely that others would try to establish good ties with these mutants and forcefully deal with those who would cause trouble. Although there would be an increasing amount of experimentation done on these people, it would not result in the loss of their personal freedom as would not be as direct as wheeling them into the operation theatre. What special abilities would these people be disying? Would they run faster? Would they lift heavier? Although it would be hard to believe, how would normal people understand the concept of the limits of the human body? They would be convinced with any simple exnation that the scientists could cook up. Looking at the trend of the world, Fang Yuan could generally guess what the people in power would be dealing with. "In the new era, humans are evolving... It is such an ideal situation! As long as these mutants remain and the stage there are at in the present day and do not disy any surprising traits... they would be able to integrate with the normal humans without being detected and from there, unleash the potential of the human body." Zhao Daniu¡¯s reaction of shock was only an exception and could not be taken into ount for Fang Yuan was partly responsible for him as well. "But..." At this point, Fang Yuan smiled. "Such a mutation... or should I say evolution... will it stop here?" ording to Fang Yuan¡¯s theory, although there was a scarcity of spiritual droplets in this realm, there seemed to be a trend pointing towards the increase in the concentration of spiritual droplets. ... In the mountains not far from Mountain Ocean City. At the foot of the mountain within the depths of the forest, many buildings were concentrated in an area, forming a base. In an office, A middle-aged man wearing white robes had the vibes of a military personnel. He was reading a report intently. "... In conclusion, I believe that these ¡¯evolvers¡¯ will not have a substantial impact on the society. Therefore, our actions need not be too extreme and we should remain in observation as much as possible." "The transformation of their genes is something very hard to predict... For instance, that witchdy who is indestructible during the war..." An old man raised his sses. The middle-aged investigator froze. The records of that witchdy were in the top-secret files of every country. Only the people of authority would have ess to these files. "This is the main point of our investigation... Furthermore, I cannot give assurance of the stability of these evolvers because ording to a 3-year-long study on 100 of them, it seems like they are getting stronger and stronger..." The middle-aged investigator turned solemn. "Therefore, I hope that this n will be approved!" He took a step forward and carefully ced a document on the desk. Under the re of the desk light, the huge words of were illuminated, making it feel mysterious. Chapter 394: The Gifted Chapter 394: The Gifted Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions After the promotional examinations, Fang Yuan¡¯s batch of students was allowed to do whatever they liked. Those who always had good results were doing their own self-revision, striving towards their goal of a better life in the future. As for the majority with average results, they were constantly worrying and trying their best to establish ties in the outside world so that they would be able to find a job and make a living for themselves. Finally, those with consistently poor results had already given up on themselves and were ready to enter society in whatever state they were in as soon as the results were back. Amidst all this chaos, Fang Yuan remained calm. Other than training himself every day, he also read some history books. At this point, he was reading a fantasy Wuxia novel about a protagonist fighting against ghosts and demons. In the history of Chinese Country, there were ounts of Daoist Swordsmen and Mages. They were all-mighty and awe-inspiring. However, they soon disappeared from the face of Earth, which was known as ¡¯The End¡¯. "Hmmm... It seems like there were traces of spiritual droplets since the early years. However, it seemed to have weakened and now, it is makingeback... Is this the fixed cycle in this realm?" Fang Yuan knocked his own forehead with his palm. "Looking at how things are... It is rather obvious that every country has their own secret inheritances. From there, I would be able to find traces of these supernormal forces..." Unfortunately, it would not be applicable to him. The body which Fang Yuan was possessing was a normal person. Even if he were to find any secret manual for cultivation, it would still be unable to cultivate anything from it. On the other hand, Zhao Daniu was a prime example of a person with the potential to perform cultivation. If he were to do it, he might even be able to cultivate a special skill. "My Elemental Spiritual Energy Cultivation Spell is exactly for times like this...¡¯ Fang Yuan thought to himself silently. ¡¯After achieving Grade 1, my physical body should be no different from that of the evolvers and I can be considered as a cultivator. I will then be able to benefit from the spiritual droplets and alter my spiritual body. After which, I should start searching for the secret techniques of cultivation in this realm and quickly improve myself...¡¯ His Elemental Spiritual Energy Cultivation Spell was a foundation to change his body¡¯s potential. Fang Yuan ced more emphasis on the techniques to harness the power of the spiritual droplets using the cultivation techniques of this realm. Only with these two aspects would Fang Yuan be able to achieve something and increase his cultivation. "Fang Yuan!" At this point in time, Wei Xiaohong walked towards him. "What¡¯s up?" Fang Yuan casually pushed the history book aside and replied. "Teacher Zhang is looking for you!" Wei Xiaohong had an uneasy look. Suddenly, she spouted something. "I am preparing to be a specialist, after which I will be able to enter the workforce directly!" "Oh!" Fang Yuan casually replied as he gazed at thisdy, who had aplicated look on her face. "That¡¯s very good! Which kind of specialisation are you intending to go for?" "Hmmm... Nursing!" The youngdy softly replied which made Fang Yuan feel that something was wrong. Everyone knew that Fang Yuan wanted to be a doctor in the future. What would it mean for Wei Xiaohong to tell him all these? Now that he paid more attention to her, Fang Yuan realised that Wei Xiaohong had already matured. She had a tanned skin, energetic look and was a beauty. "What... what are you looking at?" Wei Xiaohong was embarrassed to the point where she almost fainted. "Nothing much, let¡¯s go!" Fang Yuan stood up, approached her and whispered into her ear. "I¡¯m sorry that I didn¡¯t say this earlier... I am more interested in Traditional Chinese Medicine!" Wei Xiaohong was in a daze. Satisfied at his little joke, Fang Yuan made his way to the office. "Good day, Teacher Zhang!" Politely, he greeted Teacher Zhang before realising that there were a few other teachers in the office. There was another teacher in a green shirt. He was middle-aged and wore sses, making him seem gentle and elegant. Another two teachers stood by Teacher Zhang and appeared solemn and serious, making the entire atmosphere tensed. "Ah, it¡¯s Fang Yuan. Come in!" Seeing her model student, Teacher Zhang Haiman was all smiles. "Teacher He, he is Fang Yuan!" At the same time, she introduced Fang Yuan to Teacher He. "This is Teacher He Tianming from the capital! He is a professor from the most prestigious school and is in charge of the selection throughout the country. He is spearheading a project to start a gifted ss in a university!" "Good day, Professor He!" Fang Yuan politely greeted him and faced him squarely. "Hmm... Your results are not bad. However, the students I need for my ss are the smartest of the smartest. These students would advance 3 levels and would start on the university curriculum. The workload will be very heavy!" Professor He raised his sses. "Your results topped the entire Mountain Ocean City, but they are not enough!" "If I were to enter university directly, there should be requirements for Senior High School. I shall start my self-study..." Fang Yuan smiled. "Oh?" He Tianming¡¯s eyes glistened. "Which levels are you intending to self-study?" "I have alreadypleted the self-study for the next 3 levels. You can test me on anything within the sybus. Furthermore, I have already begun in Calculus and other topics taught in university!" Fang Yuan spoke calmly. It was too slow to follow the flow and sometimes, risks would need to be taken. Furthermore, why should he constantly remind others that he would want to be a doctor in the future? It was all in preparation for the future so that he would be able to join the government to conduct research on the human body! It was too slow for him to conduct experiments on his own. How could itpare to having the assistance of the entire country in conducting the experiments and research? Since he had arrived at this realm filled with technology, it would only be wise for him to leverage on it as well as the support of the country. It was a wise choice to enter the government. "Self-study? The modules in university?" Zhang Haiman was stunned but soon after, she smiled. "Although I know that you have the habit of picking up used books from the rubbish bin, I am still stunned that you are able to reach such a stage." "We need to prove it. I will now prepare a test for you!" He Tianming raised his sses and smirked. Those who knew him would know that this was his reaction whenever he was interested in something. In a few moments, within the office, Fang Yuan scribbled writings as he rushed to revise. His ears twitched and the conversation from the other room was distinctly heard in his ears. With that, he revealed a sneaky smile. Although the teachers were very far and they were separated by walls, Fang Yuan was still able to hear all of it. ... "Director, what do you think?" In an office with sealed windows, He Tianming held a few documents in his hands and frowned. "This Fang Yuan... He was once the troublemaker in the orphanage. Now, he has suddenly turned hardworking and consistently topped the ss. This does not seem normal..." "Through the few physical tests, we have found out that other than his brain which we cannot directly measure and test, everything about him is normal!" A cadre which was attached to the director flipped a few documents and retorted. With the control the country had over its people, as soon as they took notice of Fang Yuan, the government was able to fish out all the documents and information regarding Fang Yuan¡¯s past. "He might be simply a gifted child or an evolver with a highly developed brain. Why would all this matter? What we need is his contribution to the country! After all, he will still be raised through a university education and we will be able to know more about him in a few years time toe. If he is really gifted, then we can allow him to join the government. Otherwise, we can still let him be a normal technology developer to build the foundation for our country!" Director Zhou made a decision. "Hmmm, then let¡¯s make a decision after seeing his results for this test!" With this sentence, He Tianming was filled with even more anticipation. "After going about through more than ten cities, the number of gifted people can be counted with my fingers. Hopefully, this one will not disappoint me..." "Director Zhou, Professor He!" A teacher knocked on the door. "Fang Yuan has alreadypleted the test and wants to submit his script!" "What?" He Tianming shook his head. "How is this possible? I gave him two hours but only 10 minutes have passed!" "Could he have failed toplete the test and leave a few questions nk?" Director Zhou witnessed He Tianming while he was setting the paper, and knew that even university students would not be able to answer some of the questions. With that, He Tianmingughed. "In the previous few cities, the few gifted students who are boastful, aren¡¯t they all like that?" "Let¡¯s take a look!" He Tianming sighed as he entered the office. "Good day, Professor He!" Fang Yuan handed his script and his writing filled the entire paper. However, they were neat and tidy, and as He Tianming read through, he nodded his head. Even if the answers were not correct, the tidiness of his handwriting and presentation had already left a good impression on He Tianming. With that, he took the script and started marking. His expression started to change. "Your logic is clear and your methods are correct... full marks... Fang Yuan, did you do all these?" "I believe this invigtor will be able to testify for me!" Fang Yuan replied without any reservations. With his colleague¡¯s affirmation, He Tianming¡¯s face was filled with happiness. "I¡¯m sorry, what I meant was that you are only fifteen, right? Considering your age, this is unbelievable!" "Most of them are content from the textbook. Only a few questions would require me to do some additional interpretation, but that is all!" Fang Yuan ced his hands in his pocket. "How¡¯s that? Have I passed?" "Of course... I believe that Xijing University will be very pleased to have you as their gifted student!" He Tianming exchanged nces with Director Zhou and was ted. "What about you? Do you have any requests? We can consider eding to them..." "I prefer to study Medicine, especially thebined theory of ancient and present-day study of the human body...." Fang Yuan thought for a while. "Also, I would like to rmend a few of my friends for their preferred jobs!" "Medicine?" He Tianming took out a notebook and quickly recorded it down with his ballpoint pen. "Also, to help your friends get their jobs... that¡¯s fine, we can do all of that." "If there¡¯s nothing else, when can I report to Xijing University?" Fang Yuan came straight to the point. "September of Year 02. That is when the new school term starts! Call us before you board the train. We will send someone to pick you up from the station. Don¡¯t worry about your amodation and your necessities!" Director Zhou finally spoke and sounded amicable. Regardless, he admired Fang Yuan for the fact that he remembered about his friends. Anyone would feel at ease when interacting with someone with a good personality. "Alright, Fang Yuan, I¡¯ll see you at the university!" He Tianming stood up, shook his hands with Fang Yuan and left the school. "Alright!" From behind, Teacher Zhang Haiman approached Fang Yuan with tears in her eyes. "It¡¯s Xijing University, the most prestigious university in Chinese Country. Fang Yuan, you are the pride of our orphanage! I have decided to start an assembly this afternoon and you shall prepare a speech... and be a role model for your juniors!" Fang Yuan remained speechless. Chapter 395: Antiques Deal Chapter 395: Antiques Deal Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "Choo! Choo!" Apanied by the rhythmic noise of the steam engine and the billowing white smoke, the train slowly arrived at the capital¡¯s station. Once the train doors opened, an ocean of green and grey swarmed out the train carriages. Large amounts of passengers dragged their luggage and carried their bags as they squeezed towards the exit. Outside the train station, it was bustling with activity. There were numerous stalls selling snacks and maps and the hawkers were enthusiastic touting away at each passenger. All sorts of dialects could be heard and the area was filled with life. Fang Yuan carried a haversack and still appeared like a child. As he saw the boisterous scene in front of him, he felt slightly lost as he felt he could not fit in. Soon enough, he saw a guy in arge military coat and red scarf raising a piece of cardboard and walked towards him. "Are you schoolmate Fang Yuan?" The guy warmly introduced himself, "I am Sun Jian, Professor He¡¯s student!" "Hello!" Fang Yuan shook his hand. Immediately, Sun Jian¡¯s face turned slightly surprised, "You came over by yourself? Where¡¯s your luggage?" "This is sufficient, let¡¯s go!" Fang Yuan replied while patting his backpack. "Oh, great! There¡¯s also another schoolmate, he arrived earlier!" Sun Jian was very friendly. He then brought Fang Yuan to a green coloured jeep at the carpark. "The capital is very big, there are many fun ces to go! Once you all settle down, I will bring you all around!" "Thank you!" Fang Yuan sat at the back and saw another teenager seating beside him as expected. The teenager¡¯s skin was abnormally pale, he was skinny and his face was ice cold, as though he did not want anyone to get close to him. "Hello, I am Fang Yuan!" Fang Yuan reached out his hand. "Lin Xing!" Lin Xing had his arms crossed and an "I don¡¯t want to talk" look on his face. "Lin Xing has very good hands-on skills! The machines he upgraded even won the top prize in a national level award!" Sun Jian added cheerily. "Well... geniuses are haughty I guess!" Fang Yuan thought to himself and rolled his eyes. Fang Yuan then began looking at the buildings and scenery outside. Although there were no modern skyscrapers, there was still a unique charm to the Chinese courtyard houses mixed with cement buildings. One and a half hourter, the jeep drove into Xijing University, the number one institute in Chinese Country. As it was the start of the new school year, many new students could be seen busily doing their stuff in the beautiful school campus. "Here we are!" The jeep parked below a dormitory. Once Fang Yuan and Lin Xing got out of the car, they were weed by He Tianming, "The dorm is already prepared and it is a double bedroom! As you all are still young, the school specially granted you all exemption from military training! I will be your ss¡¯ form teacher." "Greetings, Teacher He!" Fang Yuan immediately greeted He Tianming after he got out of the car. "It¡¯s great that both of you are here! There¡¯s no lesson these few days, you all can take this time to get used to the new environment!" He Tianming handed them a stash of meal coupons and cash as he continued, "Both of you are independent since young, I hope you all will remain disciplined here! Don¡¯t let down the school¡¯s contribution to you all!" "Yes!" Fang Yuan solemnly promised, while Lin Xing nonchntly agreed, which made He Tianming feel speechless. In Fang Yuan¡¯s eyes, Lin Xing was like a rebellious teenager. "Also, technically, your Gifted ss will not be split into faculties during Year 1. You all will be taking culture sses together to build up your foundations! For Fang Yuan, I have already spoken to them and you will be allowed to listen in sses from the Biology Faculty and Medicine Faculty!" "Thank you!" If not for these conditions, Fang Yuan would not havee here. From now, Fang Yuan would amass knowledge for two years andplete his own knowledge base before amazing others with his next move. ...... First of all, they went to the canteen to have a meal together. As He Tianming had some urgent matter to attend to, he quickly left first. Fang Yuan was taking big bites out his steamed buns and swallowed the whole bowl of pork vermicelli quickly. His massive appetite and kiddish appearance attracted the looks of many seniors. Whereas Lin Xing had already hidden at a corner as though he felt ashamed to be associated with Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan ate hisst steamed bun, rubbed his stomach contentedly and looked towards Lin Xing, "Do you want to tour around outside?" "No need!" With a cold expression on his face, Lin Xing left immediately. "Sigh... kids should be cheerful and smile more..." Fang Yuan sighed begrudgingly like an old man which made Sun Jianugh, "Fang Yuan, aren¡¯t you only just 15 too?" As Sun Jian spoke, a tinge of pity could be seen in his eyes, "... Also, you were not well fedst time? Don¡¯t worry, many university students who just entered were like that too, you will get used to it!" "I wasn¡¯t mistreated or abusedst time..." Fang Yuan thought to himself as he secretly rolled his eyes. Fang Yuan then immediately steered the conversation towards sightseeing. "Haha... Fang Yuan, you are so energetic, where do you want to go?" Sun Jian was a bit surprised and asked. "I heard there are three antique markets here! Let¡¯s not talk about the ze Factory market and Pan Family Gardens market first, let¡¯s go take a look at Sambhogakaya Monastery first!" Fang Yuan wiped his mouth. "Oh, didn¡¯t think you would be interested in antiques! Are you interested in majoring archaeology too?" Sun Jian smiled. "It¡¯s just that I heard it¡¯s bustling and since the jeep doesn¡¯t have to be returned so quickly, we can still utilise it... Sorry for the trouble, senior! I will treat you to mutton hotpot at night!" "That¡¯s great!" Sun Jian merrily agreed. Sambhogakaya Monastery was a renowned Zen Buddhist temple in the past. After Chinese Country was formed, the temple underwent restoration and was not only a famous cultural attraction now, there were also many stalls selling numerous stuff. Although there were rare antiques, there were also many counterfeit goods. The environment was very good too. As Fang Yuan arrived, he saw many grand trees providing shade andrge groups of people walking along the corridors of the inner courtyards. There were also hundreds of small andrge stalls that sold all sorts of rare or weird items. The ents from every part of the country could be heard too. "We are just taking a look this time, right... eh? Fang Yuan, you are really interested in buying?" Right after Sun Jian sighed, he saw Fang Yuan squatting at one of the stalls and was flipping through the stuff sold. Fang Yuan appeared very interested in the items. "Eh... this looks interesting!" Fang Yuan picked up a ceramic doll and a strange smile could be seen on his face. The ceramic doll had arge head and round feet, which was simr to a roly-poly toy. It was painted with colourful oil paint and had a simple look. Sun Jian could easily tell it was definitely not some sort of antique, but a toy used to cheat children. However, as he saw Fang Yuan was so intrigued by it, he was momentarily speechless. "My friend, your taste is so good, my ancestors have lived in the Imperial Pce in the past dynasties before... this..." The stall owner was a smooth talker and immediately started to persuade Fang Yuan after he saw him came to his stall. He tried to convince Fang Yuan further, "This is an item yed by those ministers in the past, it¡¯s exactly the same! It would be so joyous if you buy back a pair!" "I will sell it to you for ten dors!" "Forget it!" Sun Jian could not stand it anymore, "If you go to West Industrial Zone, you can buy back a whole cart of it with ten dors!" "Haha!" As the stall owner was met with someone who knew the real deals, heughed and retorted, "It¡¯s not the same! Not the same! My goods are specially made from machines! Look at the paint, its added with many of that... chemicalpounds!" "What!" Sun Jian could not contain hisughter after hearing such but felt sad after a while. The notion that such machine-made products were better than handmade products and the idea that added chemicalpounds meant that it was good was truly ridiculously stupid andughable but also made Sun Jian felt at a loss. Fang Yuan could not help butugh too, "Nevermind, give me three! I will give you three dors, how about that?" Fang Yuan eyes sparkled and he quickly picked three of them. Although the dolls were rather simple and crude, a mysterious charm could be felt from the area between their eyebrows, which meant they were not possibly made from machine moulds but were definitely handmade. "Three dors is too low..." The stall owner¡¯s expression changed slightly, "These are passed down from my ancestors..." "Wait a minute, didn¡¯t you just say they were made from machines?" Sun Jian pulled Fang Yuan and said, "Nevermind, let¡¯s go to other stalls!" "Ah... wait!" The stall owner immediately shouted, "Nevermind, I will take it as I¡¯m blind today, three dors will do!" "Three dors is still too pricey!" Fang Yuan was still slightly undecided and he randomly picked up another ancient book from the stall, "I like to read, so if you add this on, I will buy for three dors!" "Deal!" The stall owner quickly nced at the book and saw the book was grey and drab and there were also many small holes on it. The book did not have an appealing appearance evenpared to the other random misceneous items he was selling. Furthermore, even the cover of the book was stained with dirt and half of it could not be seen clearly already, thus the stall owner readily epted the deal. "Sigh... Fang Yuan, you are too wasteful." As Fang Yuan spent his own money, Sun Jian could not say anything else and could only sigh. "Money can¡¯t buy happiness! I will treat you to mutton, senior!¡¯ Fang Yuan could not contain his smile as he looked at his ceramic dolls carefully. WIth Fang Yuan¡¯s Fiery Golden Eyes, it was super easy for him to make a small fortune. Although the dolls appeared normal on the surface, their insides contained many precious materials. He already saw a piece of agarwood and a few pieces of jewels inside the doll. Fang Yuan should be able to fetch a decent price with the current market prices. After all, Fang Yuan just started cultivating, he had to earn some extra ie to supplement his consumption. The ancient book in his pocket was an even more surprising gain. "This ancient book has a secretyer in it... Furthermore, just from the words on the outside, hints of magic are hidden in it, it is not so simple... Just with that, I can confirm the majority of what¡¯s hidden inside must be something rted to cultivating in the past. Looks like the stall owner did not lie, his ancestors must have mixed in the Imperial Pce before and got many good things out from it..." Fang Yuan turned around and looked at therge building of Sambhogakaya Monastery and suddenly pondered, "Let¡¯s not talk about the rest... this ce is a worthy investment! With my the power of my eyes, I will be really profitable next time! The resources I need for cultivation are settled..." Chapter 396: Fist Technique Chapter 396: Fist Technique Trantor: Sparrow Trantions Editor: Sparrow Trantions "