1novels Chapter 323 - 260: Bottom of the Little Demon Abyss (2)
Chapter 323 - 260: Bottom of the Little Demon Abyss (2)
The vision of all three men blurred; they hadn’t seen how this person had appeared at all. Such a feat proved he was someone they stood no chance against.
"Lord Xiqi Leopard? What are you doing here?"
Nether Fire’s face paled in alarm. He quickly bowed, then carefully voiced his question.
Xiqi Leopard ignored him, instead turning to Fang Qingyuan.
"Young Friend Li, it wasn’t convenient for me to appear earlier. I hope you don’t mind."
Fang Qingyuan nodded, accepting the apology. ’Xiqi Leopard probably held back because he wanted to gauge my combat strength,’ he thought. ’Who would have thought that Withered Bones and Nether Fire would lose their nerve and not dare to make a move in the end.’
’It’s clear now that Nether Fire recognizes this man, while Withered Bones just looks on with deep apprehension. If Xiqi Leopard hadn’t been here, he would have fled long ago.’
"You two can go. Young Friend Li and I have something to discuss."
Hearing this, Withered Bones and Nether Fire looked as relieved as if they’d been pardoned. After bowing, each chose a direction and fled, unwilling to linger for even a moment longer.
Just before leaving, they both glanced at Fang Qingyuan, a trace of wariness in their eyes.
Once the two had vanished completely, Xiqi Leopard’s towering figure came to a stop before Fang Qingyuan. He spoke slowly.
"Do you know why I’ve come looking for you?"
Fang Qingyuan didn’t immediately shake his head. After pondering for a few moments, he asked tentatively,
"The Blood Life Pills?"
Xiqi Leopard roared with laughter, his bushy beard trembling. He said excitedly,
"Yes, precisely! Blood Life Pills without the blood poison aren’t just premium-grade—they’re something else entirely. You’ve improved this formula, increasing its value many times over. Name your price. I’ll take that formula off your hands."
’So he’s after my pill formula,’ Fang Qingyuan thought. ’But there’s only one Longevity Vine, and it’s tied to the Immortal Mansion. I can’t give him the formula even if I wanted to.’
Thus, with a troubled expression, Fang Qingyuan shook his head and declined.
"My apologies, Senior, but the formula isn’t something I have access to. I’m just helping someone distribute their goods. Do I look like a Cultivator who can refine Blood Life Pills?"
Xiqi Leopard eyed Fang Qingyuan with suspicion. He took a few careful sniffs of the air around him, his expression finally turning to one of disappointment.
"You do indeed lack the scent of Pill Fire that hangs around a Pill Master. And you don’t carry much of the stench of blood, either. It doesn’t match your rugged exterior."
Fang Qingyuan smiled sheepishly. ’This is just a disguise, after all. Xiqi Leopard should be able to see my true face.’
"When you’re away from home, a little disguise is necessary. My apologies, Senior."
Xiqi Leopard didn’t press the issue, simply saying,
"If you don’t have the formula, then so be it. I don’t like forcing people’s hands. I’ll need you to supply me with ten bottles of Blood Life Pills annually. As for compensation, rest assured, I will make it worth your while."
With a Golden Core Cultivator being so amicable, how could Fang Qingyuan possibly refuse?
He could only agree for the time being. Then, he voiced the question on his mind.
"Senior Xiqi, how am I to deliver the pills to you?"
Xiqi Leopard took out a token and tossed it to Fang Qingyuan.
"Come find me in the Outer Sea Little Demon Abyss. This token is your entry pass. And remember, ten bottles of Blood Life Pills. Not one bottle fewer."
’The Little Demon Abyss?!’
Fang Qingyuan’s heart sank. That was not a good place to be. As one of the realm’s largest gathering grounds for Demon Cultivators, the Little Demon Abyss had always been a thorn in the side of the Great Zhou Academy.
But the Little Demon Abyss occupied a unique location, situated in the Outer Sea directly beneath a great oceanic abyss. If anyone were to attack rashly, the residents of the Little Demon Abyss might act out of desperation and rupture the abyss, which would cause innumerable deaths among the coastal populace.
With their hands tied by the potential collateral damage, the Academy could only watch as the Little Demon Abyss grew stronger. Now, with the outbreak of the pioneering war in the White Mountain Territory, Fang Qingyuan had heard that many Cultivators had flocked to the Little Demon Abyss, swelling its ranks and power even further.
The fact that Xiqi Leopard was from the Little Demon Abyss caught him by surprise. In his mind, people from the Little Demon Abyss weren’t supposed to be this reasonable.
’Shouldn’t the standard procedure be to threaten my life and coerce me?’
As if sensing Fang Qingyuan’s cynical thoughts, Xiqi Leopard said with a helpless sigh,
"For centuries, Cultivators from the Little Demon Abyss have been treated with prejudice by others. That isn’t right. If things are to change, it must start with our generation. You’ll understand one day."
After speaking those somewhat resigned words, Xiqi Leopard turned and vanished without a trace, leaving Fang Qingyuan alone above the vast sea.
As he replayed the recent events in his mind, Fang Qingyuan took stock. He was confident he could have dealt with Withered Bones and Nether Fire. But against Xiqi Leopard, an early-stage Golden Core Cultivator, he was not yet a match.
’However, Xiqi Leopard hadn’t displayed any hostility on the Mind Map, which is why I didn’t try to flee right away.’
’Otherwise, I wouldn’t have hesitated to use my Innate Primordial Qi to execute the Five-Colored Divine Escape and flee this place instantly.’
The Five-Colored Divine Escape was a Divine Technique Fang Qingyuan had developed from studying his innate Talent, the Five-Colored Light.
Alongside the Five-Colored Divine Brush, this Five-Colored Escape Light was one of his greatest assets.
A single use could cover dozens of miles in an instant, a speed faster than even an early-stage Golden Core Cultivator could fly.
Even Xiqi Leopard wouldn’t be able to catch up. A Golden Core Cultivator’s Divine Sense only had a range of a hundred miles or so; after using the Five-Colored Divine Escape just three consecutive times, he would lose all trace of Fang Qingyuan.
’Of course, it’s best not to use a trump card like this Divine Technique unless absolutely necessary. After all, an ace in the hole is most powerful when it remains hidden.’
When Fang Qingyuan returned to the *Evergreen*, Tuoba Ye was fishing, looking bored out of his mind.
Tuoba Ye perked up the moment he saw Fang Qingyuan. He didn’t ask what had happened over the past few days, but instead inquired,
"Captain, where are we heading?"
Fang Qingyuan simply answered "Home," then immediately ducked into the captain’s cabin.
...
The rest of the voyage was calm, and the *Evergreen* returned safely to Iron Wind Island. Halfway there, they made a point to bypass Xiliu Island, wanting nothing to do with the pirates there.
After returning to his own courtyard, Fang Qingyuan began feeding his newly acquired Demonic Magical Artifacts to the Longevity Vine.
As the Longevity Vine grew, Fang Qingyuan steadily collected the resulting Life Source Liquid. In the end, the six Demonic Magical Artifacts yielded a total of forty-five drops.
This would be enough for a guaranteed minimum of thirty bottles of Blood Life Pills, which made Fang Qingyuan ecstatic.
However, refining the elixir pills would take a long time, so Fang Qingyuan wasn’t in any hurry.
Xiqi Leopard’s request was for ten bottles of Blood Life Pills next year. It was currently only mid-year, which meant he had up to a year and a half.
Still, the fact that Xiqi Leopard had been so reasonable left Fang Qingyuan feeling a bit unsettled. If someone had told him that Xiqi Leopard was a grandmaster from the Qi Yun Daoist School, Fang Qingyuan would have believed it.
But he was from the Little Demon Abyss—a den of Demon Cultivators. The two things just didn’t seem to fit.
’Perhaps I should gather more information on him, so I’ll be better prepared for our next meeting.’
After dealing with the Demonic Magical Artifacts, Fang Qingyuan took out the two fire-attribute Tier Three Spiritual Materials he had won at auction. He glanced at them for a moment before waving a hand and burying them within the Immortal Mansion.
It was only in the Black Market that Fang Qingyuan could disguise his identity and spend Spirit Stones so freely.
On Iron Wind Island, however, he wouldn’t dare.
In the Black Market, no one asked about an item’s origins or a bidder’s identity. On Iron Wind Island, however, even if he were disguised, spending so lavishly would attract the prying eyes of numerous factions.
After all, a mysterious, free-spending Foundation Establishment Cultivator would make many people want to uncover his identity and purpose.
Iron Wind Island was large, but the social circles were small and full of constraints. You couldn’t act on a whim unless you possessed the strength to overwhelm the entire island.
With the spiritual materials buried, Fang Qingyuan just had to wait for his Fire Spirit Root’s aptitude to increase. Two Tier Three Spiritual Materials were enough to raise his fire-attribute Spirit Root’s quality by one point.
He just hadn’t come across any spiritual materials for his other elements. Both of these Tier Three materials had come from Fire Melt Island.
’Fire Melt Island... just how many more secrets are you hiding?’
....
Six months later, the Bee Queen had finished refining all the Life Source Liquid into Blood Life Pills. The final yield was thirty-three bottles, a little more than Fang Qingyuan had anticipated.
During that half-year, Fang Qingyuan had taken the *Evergreen* out hunting several times. On one occasion, using his Mind Map to sense them, he had managed to catch a small pack of Foundation Establishment Sea Beasts.
That hunt alone had netted Fang Qingyuan an official income of over one hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones, and the other crew members also made a hefty profit.
Such was the allure of hunting sea beasts. One trip could make a man rich overnight; another could ensure he never returned at all.
Fang Qingyuan’s Fire Spirit Root also improved by one point as expected, its value now reaching thirty-two points of top-grade quality.
This single point of improvement to his aptitude shaved more than half a year off his cultivation time. Now, he only needed a little over seven more years to advance to the next layer.
One day, as Fang Qingyuan was on deck supervising the crew, a bizarre transformation began to overtake Jinbao’s body within the Immortal Mansion.
After more than three years, Jinbao was finally showing signs of waking up. Once it awoke, it would be in the Foundation Establishment Stage. Fang Qingyuan wondered what incredible Divine Techniques it would awaken this time.