Chapter 30: Four Years

“Hmm?”

Within Red Maple Valley.

Guo Tianhong’s pretty face was deathly pale as she suddenly coughed up a pitch-black beetle—clear proof that she had already been afflicted by miasma arts.

Opposite her, a Black Miasma Sect cultivator with a sinister expression was just about to press the advantage and curse her to death in one final burst.

Suddenly—

Terrifying fireclouds erupted beyond the valley. That overwhelming fire-aspected spiritual power nearly forced all cultivators engaged in combat to halt their movements.

“Dao Foundation? No… probably not…”

“But how could a Qi Ingestion expert of this level appear here?”

“What terrifying fire-aspected spiritual power. What cultivation lineage is this—【Tail Fire】, 【Wing Fire】?”

“Could it be an expert from the Pu Family of Yulin?”

In that brief moment of distraction, Li Rulong merged man and sword as one. With a single resplendent strike, all manner of blades and weapons on the ground suddenly rang in unison.

Whoosh!

A flash of golden light burst forth, breaking through the defenses of a Black Miasma Sect female cultivator and sweeping past her swan-like neck.

“Senior Sister?!”

“This is bad—retreat!”

The Black Miasma Sect cultivators immediately withdrew. Hounded all the way, they suffered heavy casualties.

Li Rulong stood with sword in his arms, gazing at the red clouds beyond the valley, somewhat dazed. “No wonder my sword heart kept sensing that Brother Fang was in danger. As expected, he was hiding his true depth…”

“Big Brother…”

Guo Tianhong flew over, her expression filled with shame. “I was useless… and I even misjudged Fellow Daoist Fang earlier, nearly bringing a great enemy upon you…”

“It’s fine. The fact that Brother Fang was willing to act for us already explains everything.”

Li Rulong smiled faintly. “Though he doesn’t wish to join us, he’s still willing to support our cause…”

“I never imagined that Fellow Daoist Fang Shui, aside from being a pill refiner, possessed such formidable power.”

Madam Miaoyi and the other cultivators returned from pursuing the Black Miasma Sect members, equally moved. They couldn’t help but wonder whether their earlier attitude toward Fang Shui had been insufficiently respectful.

“Oh right—where is Fellow Daoist Fang Shui?”

Madam Miaoyi’s eyes rippled as she looked beyond the valley.

“He probably… left already.”

Li Rulong felt a trace of melancholy. “In the end… our paths differ.”

…

‘This time, the Black Miasma Sect only sent so few cultivators… something’s completely off.’

After killing the triangular-eyed cultivator, Fang Qing didn’t even pause to check the spoils. He immediately piloted the Green-Leaf Flying Vessel away.

The fierce wind roared past his ears, yet his expression remained grave.

‘Judging by the attackers’ strength, it was just barely within Li Rulong’s group’s ability to handle… Without me, it would’ve been a hard fight, but this still isn’t normal!’

As a disciple of a Core Formation sect, Fang Qing knew full well that sect-issued missions always left ample margins.

If they truly intended to wipe out Li Rulong, they should have sent several late-stage Qi Ingestion cultivators at the very least.

Yet this time, the attackers’ strength was clearly lacking.

Even accounting for the prior agreement among Purple Palace cultivators, it still felt abnormal.

“So… is this tacit understanding between two Purple Palace powers?”

“Or… are they raising gu?”

Fang Qing’s expression turned cold.

Recalling how Li Rulong had casually revealed his cultivation method earlier that day, Fang Qing couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat. ‘Didn’t that blind old man from Azure Fall Market warn him that identical cultivation methods can devour each other? Or… did he dare not warn him? Because someone—some power—has already set their sights on him?’

“At tonight’s banquet, how many people will be watching the show… and how many will be waiting to devour him?”

“I originally planned to get closer to Li Rulong and take over the treasures he seized from annihilating families one by one… but now, it’s better to keep my distance.”

…

Jade Island, Azure Sea Sect.

After fleeing back to his cave dwelling and activating the grand formation, Fang Qing finally felt a long-missed sense of safety.

‘Better to avoid that wretched place in the future…’

He went to his bed. Instead of meditating, he collapsed straight into sleep.

The next day.

The morning sun rose in the east.

Atop the cliff, Fang Qing sat cross-legged and began Qi ingestion just as the sun was about to rise.

Having obtained the Qi ingestion method for Great Sun Purple Qi, it was only right to put it to use.

“Ingesting Qi here doesn’t pose much of a problem… Great Sun Primordial Qi is abundant. In about three or four years, I should be able to obtain this ninth-rank top-grade True Qi. Unfortunately, there’s no matching cultivation method… With the lineage of Great Sun Purple Qi severed, cultivation manuals for it must’ve already depreciated into worthless paper. With patience, acquiring one shouldn’t cost much…”

After completing his daily Qi ingestion, Fang Qing returned to his cave dwelling and began body refinement.

“Hoo…”

He visualized the Horse-Headed Vajra Guardian, his face divine yet demonic. Blood and qi surged within him, transforming into strange power that propped up skin, sinews, bones, and flesh…

After a round of cultivation, Fang Qing sensed both body and spirit advancing further, feeling somewhat astonished. “This Secret Treasury Domain technique is truly formidable. More importantly—why does my progress feel so explosive?”

Though he had carefully selected this body-refining technique, the speed of improvement still exceeded his expectations.

“According to that blind old man, while this technique can advance through bitter cultivation, it’s best paired with the Secret Treasury Domain’s secret medicines and essential oils… I have none of those resources, yet after such a short time, I already feel close to breaking into low-grade second tier…”

“Could it be that before my Qi Refining even reaches late stage, my body refinement will surpass it?”

Fang Qing felt a trace of unease, suspecting hidden pitfalls in the technique. But the thought of the Dao-Birth Pearl immediately calmed him. ‘At worst, once it’s fully cultivated, I’ll simply abolish it and convert everything into Primordial Qi…’

After finishing body refinement, he swallowed a few drops of Ginseng-Green Spirit Water and began Qi refining.

Before he realized it, night had fallen.

Fang Qing cultivated for an entire day, only consuming a Fasting Pill at noon. His sole rest came from reading various miscellanies and pill formulas… occasionally delving into Plum Blossom Divination.

“Too weak… I’m still far too weak.”

“If I want to enjoy life better and longer in the future… I should at least strive to reach Foundation Establishment first and gain three sixty-year cycles of lifespan, right?”

At night, after converting his power into 【Ji Water】 True Power and sensing the condition of the spring water in the spirit pool before him, he nodded and began refining spirit water once more.

First came Ginseng-Green Spirit Water. By now, he could control the success rate to around seventy to eighty percent. Selling it would yield enormous profits.

“This water-method pill refinement… though entering it is extremely difficult and one misstep can lead to bankruptcy, once truly mastered, it indeed brings daily riches. Gong Susu’s recommendation back then was clearly meant to坑 me, but who would’ve thought that by sheer coincidence… she ended up helping me instead.”

With Zha Zhu’s repeated visits, Fang Qing more or less understood Gong Susu’s intentions.

He just couldn’t quite grasp why—even if Zha Zhu advanced to Foundation Establishment someday—would the benefits to Gong Susu’s group really be that great?

Could it be… establishing Foundation first to drive others to do so later?

“Forget it. It has nothing to do with me.”

Fang Qing casually tossed an Azure Qi Ginseng into the spirit pool.

At his current cultivation level, refining Ginseng-Green Spirit Water gave him a sense of effortless freedom.

A true pill refiner, beyond merely following inherited formulas, must also learn to adapt to time and place.

Especially water-method pill refiners!

Each spirit pool and spring eye differs in spiritual energy and water nature. How could everything possibly follow a single rigid standard?

Thus, during refinement, subtle adjustments were essential. This was experience no pill formula could provide—something that could only be comprehended through refining pool after pool!

“Once this batch of Ginseng-Green Spirit Water is done, I’ll try Spirit-Consolidating Powder again…”

Fang Qing’s gaze turned deep.

…

Four years later.

Inside the cave dwelling.

Fang Qing sat cross-legged, black-water True Power surging around him. He had clearly reached peak completion of the sixth layer of Qi Refining!

Silently circulating Commentary on the Water Classic, he refined the black-water power within, faintly sensing a layer of barrier.

From the seventh layer of Qi Refining—the late stage—he seemed just one step away, yet could not cross it no matter what.

“A bottleneck?”

Fang Qing wasn’t surprised. Nor did he force a breakthrough. Instead, he followed the flow, dispersed his True Power, and slowly concluded cultivation.

“With mid-grade aptitude and relying on spirit water to cultivate True Power, breaking through to the sixth layer was manageable. But now, facing the seventh-layer bottleneck, forcing it would surely fail…”

“Mid-grade water spiritual root is still lacking. If it were someone like Zha Zhu with a top-grade water spiritual root, perhaps the breakthrough would succeed in one attempt…”

The deeper he cultivated, the more Fang Qing felt the importance of aptitude.

“Now that I’ve encountered a bottleneck, the most reliable option is taking a pill that assists in breaking through… but pills that aid late-stage Qi Refining breakthroughs are not only expensive, they’re extremely rare. Ordinary disciples simply can’t afford them.”

“The second method is venturing out to fight and seek opportunities… especially on the brink of life and death, where breakthroughs are most likely—though death comes just as quickly…”

“The third is slowly polishing True Power and waiting it out. Some cultivators manage it in years or a decade; others remain stuck for decades, or even a lifetime.”

Fang Qing was wealthy and had no desire to gamble with his life. Naturally, the first method was his consideration.

As for the third—it consumed far too much time.

“Wait… Commentary on the Water Classic has hit a bottleneck, but Observing Black Ridge hasn’t. If I cultivate Observing Black Ridge to the sixth layer of Qi Ingestion and then fully convert it… wouldn’t that be equivalent to nearly half a pill for breaking through a bottleneck?”

A solution formed in Fang Qing’s mind, putting him at ease.

“And there’s also Spirit-Consolidating Powder… I’ve already pushed it to the final pill-merging step. If I succeed, allowing me to possess divine sense during the Qi Refining stage, a mere late-stage barrier would be shattered with a snap of my fingers!”

He straightened his robes, rose, and entered the pill-refining chamber, taking out a stalk of Seven-Star Grass.

“These past few years, Ba Commandery has grown increasingly chaotic… Li Rulong really stirred up something huge, making my cross-world trade more and more difficult.”

Thinking of Ba Commandery’s turmoil, Fang Qing couldn’t help but sigh.

The more chaotic the cultivation world, the more bandit cultivators there were!

Though he’d been sufficiently cautious on several occasions, there was still one time when information leaked, drawing the attention of a group of bandit cultivators.

If he hadn’t later supplemented with several top-grade Firecloud Talismans and Golden Blade Talismans, along with the aid of the Sea-Transforming Pearl, he would’ve had no choice but to stage an on-the-spot transmigration—exposing his greatest secret.