Dao and Arts Are Different!

Fang Qing and the others finally arrived in a vibrant, natural world.

Such a world delighted many of the students. At the very least, it looked far better than their previous stop.

Many students voiced their feelings. Some of the female students even wanted to kiss the sunlight and the earth, overcome by sentiment.

Fang Qing looked around at where they were. They were now atop a mountain peak. In the distance, nine great mountains connected with one another, encircling an unimaginably enormous ravine.

The ravine was too deep to see to the bottom. Looking down, there was only an endless stretch of darkness.

After delivering Fang Qing and the others here, the massive dragon corpse and Bronze Coffin had fallen into the abyss. No echo had ever risen from below, as though they would never reach the bottom.

"Brother Fang, this place doesn't look like a good one. We need to make proper plans for what comes next."

Pang Bo and Ye Fan stood beside Fang Qing. Pang Bo spoke quietly, sensing that this place was not as peaceful and tranquil as it appeared.

"There's half a stone stele over there..."

Zhang Ziling suddenly spoke.

The group walked over and saw a broken half of a stone stele lying on the mountaintop. Three ancient characters were carved upon it, their strokes powerful and solemn, bearing an ancient, weathered air as though they had existed for countless years.

Many people looked at it, but none recognized the words written there.

Ye Fan, however, studied it for a while and still sounded uncertain. "It seems to say Ancient Desolation Forbidden."

"Ancient Desolation Forbidden? What does that mean? It doesn't make any sense."

"The stele is broken. There should be more characters below it. But what words could be connected to Ancient Desolation Forbidden?"

"The character 'forbidden' isn't a good one. It could form words like restriction or forbidden zone. No matter how you put it together, this place doesn't seem good."

Some students spoke up, then frowned deeply after finishing.

Ancient Desolation Restriction.

Ancient Desolation Forbidden Zone.

Neither sounded like a good term. Both seemed to carry countless dangers.

"Have you noticed? There don't seem to be any birds or beasts nearby. It's frighteningly quiet!"

Wang Ziwen spoke up, having noticed something strange.

"Could there be an even bigger boss here? Is this entire place its territory, which is why there are no other ferocious birds or beasts?"

Someone's expression turned grave.

There were flowers, grass, and lush ancient trees everywhere, yet there were no cicadas in the trees, no grasshoppers in the grass, and no birds in the sky. Something was clearly very wrong.

"We've arrived in an unfamiliar place, so caution is right. But don't scare yourselves either. We can't fall into chaos before the enemy even arrives."

Fang Qing spoke.

"Brother Fang is right!"

"Yes, having no wild beasts or ferocious birds is the best outcome. If there were any, we'd be running for our lives right now."

"If people like us really encountered wild beasts, we probably couldn't even beat a wolf. I just hope we can make it through safely."

Quite a few students looked nervous. In such an unfamiliar place, they had no sense of security. It seemed that only by sticking together could they calm their minds even slightly.

Yet many were still at a loss as to where they should go next.

"I'm so hungry. We need to find something to eat."

Pang Bo's stomach was growling. He immediately pulled Ye Fan around the mountaintop to search for food, and before leaving, he invited Fang Qing along as well.

Fang Qing naturally agreed.

The three set out together and soon discovered a spring pool.

Several ancient vines as thick as water buckets coiled around a spring pool roughly one meter across, located a few dozen meters ahead. Spring water flowed slowly within it, like sweet dew from a Divine Spring.

Beside the spring pool grew more than a dozen small trees over half a meter tall. Their leaves were broad, each one resembling a human palm.

At the top of every small tree hung a bright red fruit, looking exceptionally tempting.

Each fruit gave off an intense fruity fragrance that would have overwhelmed even the aged aroma of a thousand-year-old wine cellar.

"It smells so good!"

"Should we eat them? What if they're poisonous?"

"They probably aren't poisonous, right? I'm too hungry. I can't take it anymore."

The three exchanged glances and decided to eat the fruits despite the risk.

Fang Qing also ate one. As he did, countless thoughts ran through his mind. The fruit he was eating had actually been planted in the home of the Ruthless Great Emperor. It was part of the Immortal Divine Medicine, the Nine Marvels Undying Medicine.

Ordinary people had no chance whatsoever of obtaining such divine medicine. Even if they exhausted every possible means to enter the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Zone in search of the Nine Marvels Undying Medicine, they would only die beyond all hope of survival.

Yet he and Ye Fan had traveled from distant Earth through the stars and landed directly before the Nine Marvels Undying Medicine, able to pluck this divine medicine at will. It had to be called a stroke of fortune.

As Fang Qing ate the Divine Fruit, he glanced at Pang Bo. Unaware of the fruit's origins, Pang Bo was eating with great delight and satisfaction.

Who cares where it came from or who planted it? I'll eat it first and worry about that later.

If Old Pang can eat it, so can I.

More thoughts flashed through Fang Qing's mind as he swallowed an entire fruit. At once, a rich and fragrant scent surged straight into his internal organs and spread throughout his body.

The fruit entered his body and transformed into incomparably vast energy, flowing everywhere within him.

Fang Qing immediately sat cross-legged and began circulating the Purple Haze Skill, intending to refine much of the Divine Fruit's medicinal power.

He had originally intended to circulate the Longevity Art, but he had obtained it too recently, as well as the Bodhi Seed. He had not had time to comprehend the Longevity Art, so he could not use it.

As for the Buddhist Six-Syllable Mantra, it concerned the profound Great Dao mantras of Buddhism and contained no specific minor technique for absorbing the Divine Fruit.

The several hundred ancient characters obtained from the Bronze Coffin likewise spoke of Great Dao Words and contained no such specific minor technique.

Great Dao Words gave the broad outline and differed somewhat from small techniques. Though Dao and arts were often spoken of together as if they were the same thing, they were actually different.

The only thing Fang Qing could use now was the Purple Haze Skill.

But the Purple Haze Skill alone was enough.

Fang Qing circulated the Purple Haze Skill, and immediately refined a trace of the essence released by the Divine Fruit. The fruit's essence transformed into the essence of his own body, and his strength began to rise rapidly in an instant.

If strength could be measured in numbers, Fang Qing's strength swiftly increased by three hundred pounds, five hundred pounds, one thousand pounds, two thousand pounds...

And this was merely the result of a tiny trace of the Divine Fruit's essence.

To refine all the essence within the Divine Fruit would require much more time. Fang Qing would need to cultivate more advanced methods before he could transform the fruit's essence stored within his body into the essence of his own strength, vastly enhancing the very nature of his life.

Even so, after Fang Qing refined a trace of the Divine Fruit's essence, the vital energy within his body transformed into Misty Purple Qi. The abundant essence of the Divine Fruit evolved into Misty Purple Qi and became the qi protecting his body.

This was what Taoists called Refining Essence into Qi.

A Taoist martial art like the Purple Haze Skill also had levels. This Taoist secret manual was divided into nine layers. Layers one through three were called Purple Haze Continuous, layers four through six were called Purple Sun Overhead, while layers seven through nine were called Purple Qi Transforms to True Qi.

The first six layers were actually rather ordinary in power. Only upon reaching Purple Qi Transforms to True Qi could one cultivate Purple Haze True Qi.

This was a kind of Mystic Gate True Qi, balancing hardness and softness, harmonizing yin and yang, perfectly rounded and adaptable, unfathomably changeable, impervious to water and fire. Even in a martial arts world, it would be enough to make one a grandmaster-level figure.

Yet in a martial arts world, few people could cultivate the Purple Haze Skill to the ninth layer. Even reaching the fourth or fifth layer required an entire lifetime.

Yue Buqun from the world of Smiling, Proud Wanderer had at most reached the fourth or fifth layer. His true qi had not even undergone a qualitative transformation, and he remained unimaginably far from the realm of Purple Haze transforming into True Qi.

Now, having obtained a trace of the Divine Fruit's essence, Fang Qing's cultivation realm surged forward, and his strength increased greatly as well.

"Even if I cultivate the Purple Haze Skill to perfection in this world, it won't mean much. But it still has meaning for now. With my current strength, I could go out and kill a tiger with a single palm strike."

Fang Qing felt the explosive growth of his strength, and joy filled his heart.