Chapter 29: Combat of Techniques

Several hours later.

Red Maple Valley, the ancestor’s cultivation site, the “Heavenly Maple Pavilion.”

At the banquet, cups clinked and light flowed in dazzling hues. Dancers and musicians performed, creating a scene of shared joy and harmony.

Li Rulong sat high at the seat of honor, carrying an air of coiled dragon and crouching tiger. He addressed Fang Qing at the guest seat: “Allow me to introduce you, Brother Fang. You have met my younger sister before. These are Madam Miaoyi, Pure Cloud Child, Zhang Hefang…”

Fang Qing returned each greeting in turn. When he noticed two mortals seated at the very end, he could not help but smile. “So it was you two…”

“This humble one greets the Immortal Master!” Liu Wansu and Zhu Zhenheng, both clad in armor, rose to bow.

They were Li Rulong’s sworn brothers, yet they lacked the aptitude for cultivation.

This time, when Li Rulong raised a righteous army, they followed him after selling off everything they owned. By now, they had become mortal leaders within the army.

Seeing a gathering of immortals feasting and drinking, who knew what emotions stirred in their hearts?

“By the way, Brother Li, why did you suddenly raise a righteous army?” Fang Qing asked, somewhat curious.

Given the people’s utter misery in Ba Commandery, refugee armies were nothing unusual. Before he had come into contact with the transcendent world, even he had wanted to raise a banner and rebel—damn the consequences.

But now that he understood the truth of the world, he no longer had that courage.

“Alas… I was born under the fate of Neck Metal. That fortune-teller of great skill said I carried dragon aura and was destined to carry out the overturning of the cauldron…” Li Rulong sighed. “At first I did not believe it. But later, after cultivating and Entering the Dao, once I reached the mid-stage of Qi Ingestion, my ‘Minor Geng Metal Sword Art’ became increasingly difficult to advance… Then, by chance, I encountered the Pu Family mother and daughter in Yulin Commandery. In gratitude for a previous life-saving favor, they introduced me to the Pu Family Patriarch… The Pu Family is a prominent clan in Yulin Commandery with considerable strength. They also could not tolerate the chaos next door in Ba Commandery and wished to pacify the turmoil… Our aims aligned perfectly. They offered support, several fellow Daoists and brothers lent their aid, and thus the righteous army was formed…”

Fang Qing listened, his gaze turning strange as he stared at Li Rulong.

‘This man… why was he starting to look more and more like a novel’s protagonist? The mother and daughter he just happened to save turned out to be from a Purple Palace family… carrying dragon aura and encountering a time of chaos? His cultivation advancing so ferociously?’

‘It seemed that cultivation along the Qi Ingestion Path was closely tied to enacting one’s own fate-path?’

‘But… Ba Commandery was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Leaving aside Dao Foundation families, the Black Miasma Sect had a Purple Palace ancestor. How did he dare?’

These thoughts ran through Fang Qing’s mind, yet admiration surfaced on his face. “Brother Li possessed such ambition—my respect was boundless. It was just that… how did he plan to deal with the Black Miasma Sect?”

“Daoist Friend might not know this,” Madam Miaoyi said with a laugh, covering her lips, her face as youthful as a maiden. “The Purple Palace ancestor of the Pu Family of Yulin, ‘Lord Pu Mountain,’ had already met with the ancestor of the Black Miasma Sect. Both sides agreed that cultivators above the Dao Foundation Realm were not to intervene. The matter would be left to those below to decide for themselves…”

“So that was it…” Fang Qing understood.

‘If I were a Purple Palace ancestor with five hundred years of lifespan, I certainly would not lightly engage a peer in battle either… leaving it to those below was indeed a good idea.’

‘The rise and fall of these two commanderies, the livelihoods of millions of commoners—were they nothing more than a game to Dao Foundation and Purple Palace cultivators?’

Li Rulong’s rapid advancement in cultivation stemmed, first, from matching his own fate, and second, from gaining support and cultivation resources.

Knowing this, Fang Qing had no intention of joining the righteous army.

‘Though serving as a pawn vanguard had its benefits, and being used also meant having value… I now held heavy treasures in my hands and lacked none of this. Once one had put on shoes, one could no longer act like the barefoot.’

He sighed inwardly.

Fairly speaking, Fang Qing very much wanted to slaughter Black Miasma Sect cultivators properly and avenge his family’s blood feud.

But now? He chose a steadier path—waiting until he reached the Dao Foundation and Purple Palace Realms before exacting ruthless revenge.

When Fang Qing repeatedly refused Li Rulong’s invitations and firmly declined to join, the atmosphere at the banquet cooled at once.

Instead, Li Rulong displayed the bearing of a great general. “Hahaha… everyone has their own aspirations. Since Brother Fang was unwilling, I will not force it. By the way, Brother Fang mentioned earlier that he wished to exchange Spiritual Resources in Maple Leaf Valley? What did you wish to exchange for? I will see whether the army has it…”

“Indeed… I wished to refine pills, but I lacked one ingredient: Seven-Star Grass.”

Fang Qing spoke honestly.

“Daoist Friend was actually a pill refiner?” Pure Cloud Child, previously rather arrogant, changed expression at once. “I happened to have several stalks of Seven-Star Grass on hand…”

Li Rulong nodded, then looked toward the Ye Family Ancestor.

“Our family’s medicinal fields have this spirit herb,” the Ye Family Ancestor replied stiffly, afraid Li Rulong might simply requisition it.

“Excellent… I have several hundred jin of spirit grain, along with a few bottles of spirit water suitable for early- and mid-stage Qi Ingestion cultivators to enhance True Power. All of it can be used for exchange.”

Fang Qing felt a surge of joy.

The spirit grain he took out had been blended on this side. Qi Ingestion cultivators who consumed spirit grain daily could also advance their cultivation—it counted as a form of cultivation resource.

“Good, good, good…” Pure Cloud Child hurriedly completed the exchange, then inquired whether Fang Qing could help him refine pills. His words carried more than a hint of fawning, enough to make even Madam Miaoyi frown slightly.

‘It seemed that in this Ancient Shu region, the inheritance of the hundred arts of cultivation was rather mediocre… or perhaps it was because I had not joined a Purple Palace great sect?’

Recalling that the foundational training of his pill refinement had been laid within the Core Formation great sect, the Azure Sea Sect, Fang Qing immediately gained clarity.

‘I couldn’t outcompete my senior brothers back in the sect, yet over here I counted as a high-end elite among loose cultivators?’

With joy in his heart, he completed the transaction with the Ye Family Ancestor.

‘Excellent. With these Seven-Star Grass, I refused to believe I couldn’t refine Spirit-Consolidating Powder…’

“Good, let us all drink together…” Li Rulong raised his cup again, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

Suddenly!

The expressions of everyone present changed, save for the few mortals who remained oblivious.

“A cultivator was approaching—likely a Qi Ingestion Realm cultivator of the Black Miasma Sect,” Li Rulong said as he rose, his expression solemn.

The Ye Family Ancestor’s face changed drastically. “Such disciples of a high sect—this old one probably couldn’t defeat even a single one… and even if I could, who would dare to kill them?”

Bitterness filled his heart. ‘The Pu Family of Yulin wanted to enter Ba Commandery yet did not wish to clash directly with the Black Miasma Sect. That was why they supported several token righteous armies… I must have been cursed for eight lifetimes to be noticed by you people—now I was stuck, unable to advance or retreat.’

“I dare kill!”

Li Rulong let out a long howl. Man and sword merged as one, transforming into a resplendent golden sword light that shot skyward.

At some point, dark clouds had gathered in midair.

The sword light plunged into them, like a blade cleaving the dawn.

“Ah!”

A scream rang out. Immediately after, a venomous female voice sounded. “Junior Brother Miao was killed… what audacity!!”

Buzz—buzz!

In the void, clusters of earth-yellow insect swarms appeared from nowhere. Only upon close inspection did one realize they were countless insects fused together, sending chills down the scalp.

“Kill!”

Guo Tianhong produced a willow branch in her hand and swept it toward the sky.

A layer of verdant radiance appeared. The willow’s light scattered into the insect swarm and quickly dissipated.

“Black Miasma Sect cultivators primarily cultivated Earth of the Di Mansion, an earth that governed plagues and could spread pestilence,” Madam Miaoyi shouted. “Everyone, be careful!”

The insect swarm parted, revealing several Black Miasma Sect cultivators with indigo headwraps, black vests, bound legs, and bare feet. Among them, a female cultivator formed seals with both hands, riding a yellow-brown longhorn beetle as she charged toward Li Rulong.

The remaining cultivators each engaged Guo Tianhong and the others.

Even though Fang Qing moved to shield everyone at the first moment, he was still locked onto by a cultivator with triangular eyes.

He sighed, piloted the Green-Leaf Flying Vessel, and slowly retreated toward the valley’s outskirts to seek a suitable battlefield. “Daoist Friend, I was only here to trade. I am not part of the righteous army…”

“Heh heh… do you think I would believe that? Moreover… you called these refugee rabble a righteous army. That alone showed you already had a stance.”

The triangular-eyed cultivator sneered.

“That was true…” Fang Qing laughed softly. He indeed held no goodwill toward these Black Miasma Sect cultivators.

Leaving aside the Seven-Star Grass he had just bought from Li Rulong, even his family hatred alone meant he could not let such an opportunity slip.

“Enough. Let us finish this quickly.”

Resolving himself, he brushed his right hand over the storage pouch, and three Fireball Talismans appeared at once.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three massive fireballs detonated, their temperature and range far surpassing Fang Qing’s earlier experiments on Jade Island.

“Damn it… so many fire-aspected talismans?”

The triangular-eyed cultivator’s face changed drastically as he produced a pitch-black shield with a wave of his hand.

The raging flames exploded, leaving charred, pitted craters across the shield’s surface.

“Hah…”

He narrowly survived, relief and venom flashing across his face as he glared fiercely at Fang Qing. From his robes, he pulled out a bamboo tube. Crawling from within was a crimson, double-tailed centipede—he was about to unleash miasma arts.

The Black Miasma Sect was famed for miasma arts, excelling in sinister and poisonous techniques that afflicted opponents unknowingly, even killing them outright!

But before he could act, Fang Qing produced another talisman—this one metal-aspected.

Whoosh!

A flash of golden light appeared in the void, forming a massive golden blade etched with complex patterns. Its edge radiated piercing sharpness, not inferior in the slightest to Li Rulong’s sword!

The blade flashed. The black iron shield was cleaved cleanly in two, the cut surface bright as a mirror.

“Damn it… just who in the world was this person? A direct descendant of a Dao Foundation family?”

The triangular-eyed cultivator already wanted to flee. Forget the opponent’s cultivation—this sheer array of talismans alone rivaled the sect’s true inheritor disciples.

“Firecloud Talisman!”

At this moment, Fang Qing, intent on eradicating evil completely, activated his trump card: a top-grade first-tier Firecloud Talisman.

The instant it activated, he felt that fully thirty percent of the True Power in his dantian vanished!

‘Such consumption? If I were still at the early stage, my dantian would likely be drained dry… no wonder Qi Refining cultivators found it so difficult to use second-tier talismans—the gap was simply too great.’

Fortunately, Fang Qing had always paid attention to body tempering and spiritual cultivation. At this moment, he controlled the formation of the violent spell.

Whoosh—whoosh!

Endless fireclouds converged like crashing waves, instantly engulfing the triangular-eyed cultivator…