Chapter 17: Viewing the Book Observing Black Ridge

Azure Fall Market.

This marketplace was located atop a stretch of azure lake, composed of more than a dozen great vessels. It drifted constantly, moving along water veins to conduct trade.

The last time Fang Qing had been at the Floating Boat Market District, he had already inquired about several marketplaces near Ba Commandery, so he was thoroughly familiar with the situation.

This time, he employed the Disguise Technique, transforming into a sinister-looking middle-aged man. He simulated the fluctuations of Qi Ingestion Path power and arrived at Azure Fall Market.

“Fellow Daoist, greetings.”

Sure enough, the guarding cultivator no longer gave him the trouble one would give a mortal. He directly cupped his hands in salute and said, “Fellow Daoist looks unfamiliar. Might you be a loose cultivator?”

“Indeed. I wish to purchase cultivation methods for a junior in my family.”

Fang Qing’s voice carried a slight rasp.

“Cultivation methods?” The boat guard smiled lightly. “There are quite a few texts on the book vessel… If Fellow Daoist can wait, there will also be an exchange gathering among fellow practitioners tonight. Many cultivation methods should circulate then.”

The guard chuckled softly. “I shall wish Fellow Daoist success in advance.”

Fang Qing nodded. He did not head to the book vessel immediately, but instead wandered among several other ships.

“Hm… this place also relies mainly on bartering goods.”

“I thought it would be like Jade Island of the Qi Refining Path, where spirit stones are mined and used as a general equivalent. Could it be… that spiritual items here are already so scarce? Or is Jade Island simply too rich in resources?”

After circling around once, he discovered that the local cultivators were indeed very poor. Even an ordinary artifact could be treated as a “treasure of the ship,” and all kinds of spiritual items were extremely scarce.

The same was true for pills and talismans—not only were the quantities small, the varieties were even fewer.

The rarest item of all was a strand of fifth-tier, top-grade “Yin Corpse Qi.” At a glance, this True Qi was clearly not something from any righteous path, yet its asking price was extremely high. The ship selling it had the greatest number of powerful cultivators aboard. Even a casual glance from them made Fang Qing feel as if thorns were pressed against his back.

“What a rotten place.”

He muttered a complaint and walked toward the book vessel.

“Fellow Daoist, welcome to the ‘Nine Rivers Water Pavilion.’ What book might you wish to purchase?”

A beautiful mature woman greeted him. Her skin was like congealed jade, a green jade hairpin adorning her hair, and her face carried a scholarly air. She smiled charmingly as she spoke.

“I am selecting a 【Ji Water】 cultivation method for the juniors in my family.”

Fang Qing answered calmly.

He already possessed “Earthspring Tempered True Qi.” With just one 【Ji Water】 cultivation method, he could attempt Qi Ingestion and Enter the Dao, becoming a Qi Ingestion Path cultivator.

This 【Ji Water】 cultivation method was not particularly rare, but the old blind man at the Floating Boat Market did not have it. Moreover, he had claimed that even if he did, back then Fang Qing could never have afforded it—even after trading in an Autumn-Slaying Saberfish for fate reading, problem solving, and an additional Qi-Gathering method.

“【Ji Water】 cultivation method?”

The beautiful woman thought for a moment and replied, “Our Water Pavilion only has one such method in its collection, titled Observing Black Ridge. Its Dao Foundation is cultivated as ‘Enduring Sweet Rain.’”

“Only one?” Fang Qing frowned slightly, then relaxed again.

Although he had no choice, he possessed the Dao-Birth Pearl, so it was not a major issue.

“Qi Ingestion and Entering the Dao is a great matter of choosing one’s Dao path. Naturally, it requires careful consideration…” The woman seemed to understand this very well. “Once a Dao lineage is chosen, it cannot be changed. Even the very first breath of True Qi determines the quality of one’s future power. If the Dao Foundation is mixed and impure, refining it later will be extremely difficult…”

“Compared to the Qi Refining Path, where one can pay a price to switch cultivation methods, the Qi Ingestion Path is actually this harsh?”

Fang Qing was slightly surprised inwardly. “Oh, so I can change freely? Then it’s fine.”

“Our Water Pavilion also has several fragmentary 【Ji Water】 methods,” the woman added sincerely. “Fellow Daoist may take a look as well. But without sufficient fortune to find the later portions, I fear one would be trapped in the Qi Ingestion Realm for life…”

“I wish to read them first.”

Fang Qing pondered briefly, a hesitant expression appearing on his face.

“Of course. All books in our pavilion are inscribed with restrictions. One may only browse the first three pages. Fellow Daoist may peruse them at will, then come to me to purchase the unsealing.”

The woman smiled slightly, sat down on a rattan chair nearby, and began sipping tea while reading.

Expressionless, Fang Qing walked to a pile of books and swept his gaze across them:

Asking the Sword, Thoughts on Observing Marquis Tao Slaying a Flood Dragon, Plain Questions, Geographic Records of Ba Commandery, Complete Fate Scripture, Essentials of Longevity, Plum Blossom Divination…

“Hm? There are even geography books and miscellanies? They shouldn’t be expensive—worth buying to broaden experience and scholarly bearing…”

“Most cultivation methods are fragmentary. Very few can truly cultivate to the Dao Foundation Realm. Judging from the openings, none have Purple Palace sections. That’s normal… How could such a small marketplace sell Purple Palace methods?”

“If I didn’t have the Dao-Birth Pearl and bought such inferior methods, I’d probably be stuck in the Qi Ingestion Realm for life. Even if I were lucky enough to forge a Dao Foundation, I’d never glimpse the Purple Palace… truly miserable.”

“Hm?”

After checking several fragmentary 【Ji Water】 methods and confirming they matched the woman’s words, he wandered unintentionally to another shelf.

On this shelf were Qi-Gathering manuals!

“Earthspring Tempered True, Cold Pool Crane Qi, Heavenly Wind Falling Mystery… Great Sun Purple Qi?!”

Fang Qing’s gaze lingered briefly on a dusty gray booklet in the corner, his heart stirring. “There’s actually a Qi-Gathering manual for Great Sun Purple Qi?”

However, his eyes quickly moved on. With a thought, he pulled out another manual. “Moon Flowing Radiance?”

After opening it, the beginning was indeed identical to the Qi-Gathering method passed down for generations in the Fang Family of Three Waters Hollow.

“Moon Flowing Radiance… ranked sixth-tier, top-grade…”

“Could it be that the Luo Family cultivates Moon Flowing Radiance? Still, if I visit a few more marketplaces, I should be able to confirm such information…”

Fang Qing’s thoughts shifted.

He had never forgotten the enmity with the Luo Family.

Especially being forced to hide most of the time on Jade Island due to his own weakness—this memory was carved into his bones.

“Fellow Daoist is interested in these Qi-Gathering methods?”

The beautiful woman appeared beside him at some point, carrying a rich, fragrant scent.

“There are many juniors in my family. It’s better to walk several paths, so as not to be easily restrained.”

Fang Qing shook his head. “Everyone has different talents. One cannot force it.”

“Fellow Daoist plans for future generations—such devotion truly earns my admiration.”

The woman smiled. “If Fellow Daoist purchases Observing Black Ridge, I can decide to gift a few Qi-Gathering manuals as well.”

“As expected, these Qi-Gathering methods are worthless…”

Fang Qing complained inwardly, but showed interest on his face. “A few Qi-Gathering manuals won’t be enough… You’ll need to add several miscellany books as well.”

As he spoke, he casually picked up several Qi-Gathering manuals, then went to the next shelf and took a few geographic records and biographies.

“Fellow Daoist… that’s too much for a bonus.”

The woman’s expression darkened slightly. Then she saw Fang Qing pick up a divination book and ask, “Does this Plum Blossom Divination involve predictive techniques?”

“Of course. Fellow Daoist is interested in divination? If you truly intend to cultivate this art, then I must truly admire you.”

Her words carried a hint of teasing. Then she saw Fang Qing toss out a jade box. “This item… should be more than enough to exchange for Observing Black Ridge along with these miscellanies, right?”

“This is…?”

The woman opened the jade box and saw a strange flower the size of a bowl, waves of heat rushing out. She was shocked. “Blazing Sun Flower? This is indeed more than sufficient for these books…”

“Good. Then I’ll pick a few more.”

Hearing this, Fang Qing was immediately unabashed. He casually grabbed several more miscellany books, mixing in the Qi-Gathering manual of Great Sun Purple Qi.

“This…”

The woman knew she had misspoken and could only smile bitterly. Seeing that Fang Qing had taken only worthless items, she finally relaxed.

“Is divination and predictive arts truly that difficult?”

At this moment, Fang Qing suddenly asked.

“It’s not a matter of difficulty,” the woman replied at once when she saw him change the topic and stop taking books. “Fellow Daoist must understand: all divination methods inquire into heavenly secrets. But there are too many great powers in this world, and the heavenly secrets have long been tangled into chaos. We Qi Ingestion cultivators, even if we practice for a lifetime, may not get accurate divinations more than a few times…”

“Only Dao Foundation cultivators who specialize in divination-type Dao Foundations can barely obtain some signs, and even then they must interpret them themselves, with many errors. Only Purple Palace divine abilities might truly survey cause and effect as easily as reading lines on one’s palm—but even that depends on karmic depth. Interference from peers of the same realm makes success extremely difficult…”

Fang Qing roughly understood.

Divination arts were too difficult. Defense was easy, offense was hard, and the effort rarely matched the reward.

Even those who specialized in such Dao Foundations and divine abilities had to reach the Dao Foundation Realm before achieving some accuracy, and still needed to judge the results themselves. Only at the Purple Palace Realm could one calculate detailed outcomes.

Yet even then, one could only calculate Qi Ingestion or Dao Foundation matters. With interference from peers, everything became guesswork.

Coupled with the extreme difficulty of entry, divination arts were indeed rather tasteless.

But Fang Qing had the Dao-Birth Pearl, and also possessed a great power that existed “as if within the calculation itself.” Naturally, he was quite interested in divination arts.

“This Plum Blossom Divination can count as part of the deal.”

Fang Qing patted the Plum Blossom Divination in his hand and smiled.

“Alright… but only these.”

The woman hurriedly agreed, seemingly afraid Fang Qing might change his mind. She immediately carried the books to the counter and began unsealing them one by one.

A moment later, Fang Qing walked out of Azure Fall Market, a trace of satisfaction on his face.

“Excellent… Next, I just need to find a place to break through. Then I’ll be a Qi Ingestion Path cultivator.”

“I hope this fifth-tier, mid-grade ‘Earthspring Tempered True Qi’ won’t disappoint me…”

Fang Qing patted his storage pouch. The Green-Leaf Flying Vessel flew out, transforming into a green leaf that carried him steadily away from Azure Fall Market.

“Fellow Daoist, please stay!”

At that moment, a voice sounded from behind.

Fang Qing turned around and saw a black-clothed burly man standing atop a flying shuttle, far faster than the Green-Leaf Flying Vessel. When he saw Fang Qing turn, the man immediately raised his hand. A powerful flash of light burst forth from his right hand.

“Not good!”

Fang Qing cried out inwardly. His eyes immediately burned with pain, tears streaming down.

At the same time, the man rubbed his hands together, and clumps of earth and rock flew over, their target clearly the Green-Leaf Flying Vessel.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Large amounts of sand and stone exploded in midair, forming a yellow-brown earthen wall.

But at this moment, the wall was already shattered. In the blink of an eye, it exploded into countless points of yellow-brown spiritual light that scattered away.

“An ambush, too? If I hadn’t secretly prepared an Earth Wall Talisman, I’d be dead or severely injured this time!”

Fang Qing rubbed his eyes. Seeing that the earthen wall—considered excellent defense in mid-stage Qi Refining—had been so easily shattered by the rocks, he ground his teeth.

“The cultivator robbing me is no weakling…”