Divine Bridge!

Inside Fang Qing's thatched hut, Fang Qing fished up a piece of Crimson Copper Iron.

This was a peculiar material, not some magic treasure, yet it was extraordinarily sharp by nature.

Fang Qing tried refining the piece of Crimson Copper Iron and found that it could indeed be refined. Once refined, it could effortlessly pierce through a nearby hill. To the Crimson Copper Iron, stone was as soft as tofu.

This was another trump card.

However, what Fang Qing needed most now was a treasure that could provide vast amounts of life essence. If he could fish up such a treasure, he would advance to the Divine Bridge Realm even faster.

Life Spring, Divine Bridge.

Fundamentally, both required absorbing vast quantities of heavenly treasures and earthly materials to transform one's Wheel of Life and bring drastic changes to the Bitter Sea.

Beyond that, there were not many principles that needed to be comprehended.

Even so, Fang Qing still read every day.

He now had several books to study.

He needed to read the Dao Scripture of Lingxu Grotto-Heaven every day. This legendary classic could still yield many gains even for those whose Cultivation Level had reached profound heights.

Unfortunately, Lingxu Grotto-Heaven's Dao Scripture was merely a fragment, not the complete scripture.

After reading the Dao Scripture for a while each day, Fang Qing also studied the Longevity Art.

The Longevity Art was not something ordinary people could understand, because it was recorded in Oracle Bone Script. Ordinary people did not recognize Oracle Bone Script at all, but fortunately, the seven diagrams at the end could be used for study.

Over these days, Fang Qing carefully contemplated the Seven Diagrams. They seemed to expound many principles concerning heaven, earth, the universe, and all creation.

One of the diagrams described the principle of yin, while another described the principle of yang.

Yin, yang.

When applied to qi, they became yin qi and yang qi.

Cultivators could refine the surging yin qi between heaven and earth to kill enemies. They could also absorb the surging yang qi between heaven and earth, refining essence into qi and refining qi into spirit, thereby reaching exceedingly profound realms.

The Longevity Art had some potential at the beginning of cultivation, enough to allow a cultivator to reach the realm of Refining Qi into Spirit.

Refining Qi into Spirit was a decent realm. Perhaps it did not increase one's physical strength as much as the Shrouding the Heavens Method, but it made one's spirit increasingly powerful, allowing one to accomplish other tasks with half the effort.

In his spare time, Fang Qing also read the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill. This cultivation method from the Esoteric Buddhist sect emphasized not only physical cultivation, but also the cultivation of wisdom. Prajna, prajna—it increased one's supreme wisdom and brought sudden enlightenment.

In addition, Fang Qing used the Bodhi Seed to cultivate the several hundred Great Dao Words from the Nine Dragons Pulling Coffin, as well as the Buddhist Six-Syllable Mantra he had heard at Great Thunder Sound Temple.

Those several hundred words and the Six-Syllable Mantra were immensely profound. Whenever he contemplated them, he felt their mystery was beyond mystery. If he tried to write down those several hundred words, they would even stir certain inscrutable laws, causing the words to vanish again.

Fang Qing had tried writing those several hundred words on paper. The moment he put brush to paper, the words he wrote disappeared, and even the paper was destroyed by some inscrutable law. It seemed exceedingly mysterious and profound, giving Fang Qing a few new ideas for dealing with enemies.

If he wrote those several hundred words on Elder Han's body, would those inscrutable laws not destroy Elder Han along the way?

It seemed feasible, but it was also a rather dark joke.

After all, if Fang Qing could write several hundred words onto Elder Han's body, then with that much effort, he might as well simply kill Elder Han with a single sword strike. That would be much faster.

Amid this reading and contemplation, another full half month passed.

Over those half months, Fang Qing's life remained quite comfortable.

He read, studied, refined Hundred Herb Liquid, lectured on the Dao, and sometimes patrolled Lingxu Grotto-Heaven.

Fang Qing's life in Lingxu Grotto-Heaven was very fulfilling. He had also gained many loyal followers who were willing to work alongside him for the justice and laws of Lingxu Grotto-Heaven.

Of course, some people secretly hated Fang Qing so much their teeth itched. Every day, they monitored his every move.

Han Yishui and Elder Han's ten great disciples were all in the Life Spring Realm. They had cultivated in Lingxu Grotto-Heaven for more than ten or even several decades, and they longed to avenge Han Feiyu immediately, but they had never found an opportunity.

They could only wait, waiting viciously. So long as an opportunity arose, they would strike to kill and avenge their master's grandson.

Yet Fang Qing continued cultivating.

"Another half month has passed. I wonder what kind of treasure I'll fish up this time."

Fang Qing felt that time passed extremely quickly. Half a month had indeed gone by in an instant, though it had also been very fulfilling.

In his mind, the Bronze Rod flew out, heading into the void of the unseen, and soon fished up another treasure.

It was another Elixir Pill, as large as a fist, yet it radiated light in every direction, like a tiny sun.

Fang Qing clearly saw the pill's name.

Profound Vast Pill.

The name was exceptionally imposing.

One character for profound, and one for the vast heavens.

Combined with its aura, which resembled a small sun, this Elixir Pill was clearly of a far higher grade than the Clear Sun Pills Fang Qing had fished up before.

An extraordinarily powerful Elixir Pill!

Refined from more than three hundred types of yang-attributed Heavenly Earth Rare Treasures, it could greatly increase Life Energy. Of course, if one's physical body was not strong enough, consuming this pill might even reduce one to ash.

"Secluded cultivation. Break through to the Divine Bridge Realm!"

Without hesitation, Fang Qing began secluded cultivation.

He did not consume the entire pill at once, instead taking half of it first.

In an instant, he felt his body shudder. His bones, muscles, and every part of his body crackled, while his flesh seemed about to ignite and his internal organs felt as though they were burning.

It was excruciating pain.

Fang Qing circulated his spirit and endured the torment of the pain.

He activated the Mysterious Methods recorded in the Dao Scripture. Great amounts of life essence flowed toward the Bitter Sea according to the scripture's records. Countless streams of Life Energy seemed ready to blast through his Bitter Sea, but Fang Qing continued to keep them firmly under control.

Some of that Life Energy traveled through Fang Qing's body, seeming to cleanse him. When the Life Energy and medicinal power entered his bones, they subjected them to intense tempering, making them as hard as the sharp blades of Divine Weapons.

His internal organs were likewise cleansed by the medicinal power, becoming flawless and immaculate, like divine artifacts.

Within his Bitter Sea, countless streams of life essence erupted. The Bitter Sea continued to expand, the Divine Spring gushed forth, and then surged upward. Vast quantities of life matter condensed into a short section of Divine Meridians, suspended above the Bitter Sea and extending toward higher ground.

It seemed that if he continued cultivating, this Divine Bridge would enter the next wondrous domain, open a mysterious gate, and bring about a drastic rise in Fang Qing's Cultivation Level.

And now, Fang Qing had already advanced.

He had broken through from the Life Spring Realm into the Divine Bridge Realm!