"Did you miss me, or did you miss the cultivation techniques and spells on me?"
Zhou Xue teased with a smile as she looked Fang Wang over, satisfaction showing in her eyes.
Fang Wang walked to her side and opened the door as he said, "Let's talk inside."
"Mm."
The two entered the cave dwelling, and the stone gate shut tightly behind them.
They sat down at the table. Fang Wang poured Zhou Xue some tea and asked, "Has Fang Manor already arrived in the Fang Realm?"
Zhou Xue nodded. "Over a hundred clan members have moved into the Fang Realm already. Fifth Uncle and my father are overseeing it together, while Grandfather remains in Nanqiu City. He said Fang Manor cannot move away entirely, since he fears trouble might break out in Nanqiu City."
Fang Wang frowned slightly upon hearing that.
"Don't worry. So long as White Clad Startling Swan's true identity is not exposed, Fang Manor will not suffer retaliation from Green Cicada Valley or the Li Family. As for Lu Yuanjun, he helped Great Qi's Son of Heaven enter the Taiyuan Sect. Great Qi's plan to transform into an immortal cultivation dynasty has already begun, so he certainly will not dare collect souls anymore. From his perspective, he definitely will not retaliate against Fang Manor again either, lest he expose himself. But Great Qi's Son of Heaven, Zhao Zhen... he truly is ruthless."
As Zhou Xue spoke, a mocking look appeared on her face.
Fang Wang asked, "Why do you say that?"
"He had the Prime Minister responsible for this matter assassinated, then pinned the crime of exterminating nine clans upon him. He claimed that the previous attack on Fang Manor was connected to the Prime Minister. Not only Fang Manor—all the other cities that were massacred were blamed on the Prime Minister as well. Then, in a short time, he exterminated the Prime Minister's nine clans." Zhou Xue answered.
Fang Wang knitted his brows tightly. "There were other cities?"
"Mm. Aside from the Dukedom Manor I went to before, they targeted two other Dukedom Manors and slaughtered the cities where those estates were located. Lu Yuanjun has collected no fewer than a million dead souls."
Hearing Zhou Xue's words, Fang Wang could not help recalling his earlier exchange with Zhao Zhen. That Son of Heaven had seemed gentle and sunny in both speech and bearing. It was difficult to imagine that he had secretly committed so many vicious deeds.
Fang Wang narrowed his eyes. "Lu Yuanjun's goal was to collect souls, so he had Zhao Zhen make the arrangements. Zhao Zhen then took the opportunity to have Lu Yuanjun's people eliminate the Dukedom Manors that threatened him?"
Zhou Xue nodded. "That's right. And by doing so, it makes the matter look like nothing more than a tragic struggle between imperial power and ministerial power, with no involvement from the immortal cultivation world."
"But the Prime Minister is dead. If we want revenge in the future, won't we have no evidence? Did any of the cultivators who acted for Lu Yuanjun survive?" Fang Wang asked with a frown.
Zhou Xue smiled without quite smiling. "If you truly want revenge, do you still need evidence? Evidence is only there to convince yourself. Leave revenge to me. Focus on cultivating peacefully. I told you the truth only because I hope you won't be deceived by Lu Yuanjun and Zhao Zhen's outward appearances."
Just as Fang Wang was about to reply, Zhou Xue interrupted him. "Let's talk about this Nine Meridians Martial Competition. You must compete, because the final nine victorious disciples can enter Great Sage's Grotto-Heaven. Great Sage's Grotto-Heaven is a secret realm passed down from ancient times. If nothing unexpected happens, the Taiyuan Sect will profit the most from it, and that will lay the foundation for the Taiyuan Sect's rise."
Great Sage's Grotto-Heaven?
Fang Wang's interest was piqued. Even Zhou Xue wanted him to compete for it; there had to be many benefits within.
"I will enter Great Sage's Grotto-Heaven this time as well. Once you can enter, I'll explain it to you in detail. Great Sage's Grotto-Heaven will be a turning point for Great Qi's immortal cultivation world. At the same time, we will encounter immortal cultivation sects from other dynasties. We might even meet an unparalleled genius with a Heaven Origin Treasure Spirit."
Zhou Xue smiled. Her words made Fang Wang even more interested in Great Sage's Grotto-Heaven.
Fang Wang asked curiously, "What have you been doing these past two years? Just looking after Fang Manor?"
Zhou Xue shook her head. "Of course not. I need to work hard to grow stronger too."
"What realm are you at now?"
"I'm not telling you. But I know you have already reached the Ninth Layer of Spirit Sculpting Realm."
Zhou Xue rested her cheek on her right hand and stared at Fang Wang with a smile.
Fang Wang's expression stiffened. He had not expected Zhou Xue to see through his cultivation. It seemed the Breathless Natural Skill could be countered after all.
"To be honest, your defeat of Li Honggang truly exceeded my expectations. It seems you've kept a trick up your sleeve from me as well, brat. It's fine, keep hiding it. Only then can I feel more at ease about you." Zhou Xue continued smiling. She had already begun comparing Fang Wang to those eternal geniuses from her memories of her previous life.
Fang Wang gave a fake cough and asked, "As it happens, there's something I want to ask. Can a cultivator only have one Life-Bound Treasure Spirit?"
Zhou Xue narrowed her eyes upon hearing this. "Could it be that something unusual has happened in your Treasure Spirit Space?"
Fang Wang did not hide anything and told her what he had sensed. When he finished, Zhou Xue was not shocked. Instead, she said with a wistful tone, "So that's how it is. No wonder your talent is so formidable. That's right, there truly are cultivators in this world who possess more than one Life-Bound Treasure Spirit. The most gifted person I have seen had nine Life-Bound Treasure Spirits. He ascended with me, and after ascending, he became unstoppable, eventually becoming an existence even I had to look up to."
Fang Wang raised his brows. "Really? What kind of realm could make an Immortal Venerable look up to them?"
"The title Immortal Venerable is merely an honorific in the upper realm. I was not the strongest existence in the upper realm, otherwise I would not have returned to this time." Zhou Xue replied. She seemed unwilling to discuss the upper realm further and returned to the topic of Life-Bound Treasure Spirits.
"The cultivation realms are divided into Qi Cultivation Realm, Spirit Sculpting Realm, Spirit Pill Realm, Mysterious Heart Realm, and Spirit Concentration Realm. Generally speaking, possessing an Earth Origin Treasure Spirit gives one hope of reaching the Spirit Concentration Realm. In Great Qi's immortal cultivation world today, Spirit Concentration Realm great cultivators can be counted on one hand, which is enough to show the importance of a Treasure Spirit's grade. Those with multiple Life-Bound Treasure Spirits have one or two additional Life-Bound Treasure Spirits, granting them more possibilities than other cultivators."
"Take you, for example. The grade of your second Life-Bound Treasure Spirit may not necessarily be lower than your first, but it could also be completely unremarkable. It all depends on fate."
"I estimate that once you break through to the Spirit Pill Realm, you will be able to mold your second Life-Bound Treasure Spirit."
Fang Wang's heart surged with excitement. Although he had never used the Celestial Palace Halberd, back in the Heavenly Palace, he had wielded the Celestial Palace Halberd and used the Nine Dragon Divine Transformation Art. Its power had been terrifying, enough to prove that the Celestial Palace Halberd was far stronger than the high-grade artifact Qing Jun Sword.
If he could have one more Life-Bound Treasure Spirit...
The two continued chatting. Fang Wang asked questions, and Zhou Xue answered them. Gradually, Fang Wang's understanding of the immortal cultivation world grew deeper and deeper.
An hour later.
Zhou Xue rose to leave, and Fang Wang immediately saw her off.
"Don't make any more requests. Once you reach the Spirit Pill Realm, I'll teach you another technique. It definitely won't disappoint you," Zhou Xue said as she walked ahead.
Fang Wang curled his lips, thinking to himself, Am I the kind of person who only wants to take?
"Fine. That day won't be far away!"
"Mm."
A month passed quickly. During that month, Fang Wang rarely cultivated. Instead, he planted spiritual herbs and flowers within his cave dwelling.
When the day of the Nine Meridians Martial Competition arrived, spiritual power rippled from his Disciple Token. He immediately picked it up, and Yang Yuanzi's voice came from within:
"Fang Wang, come to Pure Heart Hall immediately."
Fang Wang stood up, made some simple preparations, and then walked out of his cave dwelling.
The moment he emerged, he saw Gu Li, causing him to raise his brows.
Gu Li noticed his expression and said irritably, "What? Do you think I'm not qualified to represent the Third Vein?"
"That's not it. It's just that you only recently entered the sect..."
"You don't think the Nine Meridians Martial Competition consists entirely of Spirit Pill Realm cultivators fighting each other, do you?"
"Isn't that the case?"
"How could it be? Spirit Pill Realm cultivators are already qualified to advance to low-ranking elders or deacons. Though Spirit Pill Realm disciples do participate in the Nine Meridians Martial Competition, they account for less than forty percent."
Gu Li snorted. Her words gave Fang Wang a clearer understanding of the Taiyuan Sect.
Above the Spirit Pill Realm was the Mysterious Heart Realm. According to Zhou Xue, the peak masters of every vein were all in the Mysterious Heart Realm. As for the Spirit Concentration Realm, only Sect Master Guang Qiuxian might have reached it.
Fang Wang smiled. "Let's go. We need to bring glory to the Third Vein."
"Hmph!"
Gu Li rolled her eyes at him. Then the two flew on their swords toward Pure Heart Hall atop the mountain.
Before Pure Heart Hall, Yang Yuanzi and Senior Disciple Li Yu were already waiting. After Fang Wang and Gu Li landed, four people had yet to arrive.
Before long, the remaining four arrived one after another.
Fang Wang noticed that apart from Gu Li and himself, there were three others in the Spirit Sculpting Realm, all at the Eighth Layer of Spirit Sculpting Realm. No wonder the Third Vein had ranked second to last in the previous competition.
Yang Yuanzi swept his gaze over the nine disciples below him and said expressionlessly, "Since new disciples are participating, I will explain the rules once more. The upcoming Nine Meridians Martial Competition uses one-on-one duels. The peak masters choose their opponents, and may only choose veins ranked higher than their own. The disciples of one vein will then take turns fighting the disciples of another. We have seven choices, while the First Vein, ranked first, can only wait for challenges from the other veins. During the competition, if all disciples of a higher-ranked vein are defeated, that vein's rank will be replaced by the victor's. The defeated vein may consider whether to continue challenging, but the nine participating disciples cannot be replaced."
"In the end, the nine disciples with the most individual victories will represent the Taiyuan Sect in entering the grotto-heavens and blessed lands to seek opportunities!"
Before you continue