Ming Qing Pavilion (Seeking Collection)

Green Bamboo Demonuntain.

Fang Xi's figure appeared in the cellar, warily observing his surroundings.

Seeing that the Protective Talisman on the wall was still intact, though its spiritual light had become incredibly faint, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"I was able to return, it seems I can easily escape that dangerous place."

As for trying to bring others through?

Fang Xi had no such thought in his mind!

His golden finger was extremely important, even if everyone in Black Stone City died, he would never compromise on this point.

This time, he used the pretense of searching for supplies to go to a deserted corner and make the crossing.

At this moment, Fang Xi's expression gradually became serious, and he took out a small jade bottle from his embrace.

Inside the bottle was the blood of a demon-infected person!

"The demons in the Great Liang World... are not the same as the Demonic Cultivators in the cultivation world. At least, I haven't sensed any Demonic Qi, but their behavior is quite strange..."

Fang Xi thought for a moment, took out a jade plate, and poured the contents of the jade bottle, letting a drop of dark blood fall onto it.

Clink!

The blood bead landed on the jade plate, emitting a sound like that of a pearl, as if it had already solidified.

Fang Xi's expression remained unchanged. He channeled wisps of Blood Qi Power into the jade plate.

Vast patterns like blood vessels instantly appeared on the surface of the jade plate, coiling around the blood bead.

Hiss!

Tiny white smoke emerged. The moment the blood threads touched the bead, they turned into nothingness, completely evaporated!

Seeing this, Fang Xi's expression didn't change. He simply switched the power he channeled to True Force.

Hummm!

Within the jade plate, the light of the blood threads flared instantly!

Wisps of light coiled towards the blood bead.

The blood bead was partially enveloped and began to melt. However, in the next moment, an astonishing scene occurred—from within the blood bead, incomplete black tadpole-like symbols began to seep out.

The blood threads formed by True Force, upon encountering these symbols, immediately made sounds of unbearable strain and were slowly corroded into nothingness!

Gazing at this scene, Fang Xi's expression was solemn.

"Putting aside Blood Qi Power, even a martial artist's True Force, when encountering a diluted lower-level curse power, will still be eroded?"

After using the methods of a cultivator to detect it, Fang Xi immediately understood Mu Canglong's condition.

The Martial Hall Master had previously said he could resist with a large amount of True Force, but looking at it now, his death was likely not far off!

"Curse power... the power of demons... a power that surpasses Blood Qi Martial Arts?"

Fang Xi pondered, and once again circulated his cultivation technique.

But this time, he circulated the 'Evergreen Art'!

Wisps of cool Magical Power seeped into the jade plate, transforming into green threads that continuously pierced towards the blood bead.

This time!

Even though the dark, incomplete tadpole script reappeared, it was easily pierced by the green threads.

Following that, the blood bead slowly melted, suddenly turning into a wisp of green smoke and dissipating...

"A cultivator's Magical Power can restrain curse power?"

Fang Xi's eyes lit up.

This was good news.

At least, for cultivators, demons might not be invincible.

"Mu Canglong is about to die. I wonder if the Clear Spirit Pill I have will work?"

While thinking, Fang Xi walked out of the wooden house.

A note was stuck to the door.

He picked it up and was immediately a little excited: "It's Chen Ping..."

Previously, he had asked the other party to introduce him to some circles. Now, it seemed he finally had some results!

Half a day later.

Green Bamboo Demonuntain Market.

Chen Ping and Fang Xi, one after the other, arrived before a tall teahouse.

Chen Ping's face held a hint of smugness: "Fellow Daoist Fang, please rest assured. Fellow Daoist Shen and Yunmeng Fairy are both amiable people and have no airs."

Fang Xi gave a wry smile: "I'm not worried about that, but rather..."

He looked up at the plaque.

The teahouse was named 'Ming Qing Pavilion', famous for selling spiritual tea.

A place with such high consumption was something the original Fang Xi wouldn't even consider visiting.

However, he still shamelessly came, as befriending fellow cultivators was not a bad thing.

Of course, this was also because the gathering spot Chen Ping mentioned was within the marketplace. If Chen Ping had said the location was outside Green Bamboo Demonuntain, Fang Xi would have turned around and left without a second word, severing all ties with him.

"Oh, don't worry, Yunmeng Fairy has already paid for the private room this time."

Chen Ping saw what Fang Xi was worried about and comforted him.

"So that's how it is, what are we waiting for then?"

Fang Xi immediately pulled Chen Ping and entered Ming Qing Pavilion.

The pavilion was decorated elegantly, with a rooftop terrace where a Qin Master was playing the strings with her bare hands.

From the surrounding incense burners, calming incense smoke rose.

Although there were some guests, their conversations were extremely quiet, truly a very elegant and refined place.

Chen Ping also seemed a little nervous. He recognized the way and walked into a private room.

Inside the private room, a man and a woman, both cultivators at the mid-Qi Refining stage, were already seated on futons.

One of the male cultivators was as handsome as jade, elegant and dashing, wearing a blue leather fox fur coat and a jade crown, exuding an extraordinary presence.

The other female cultivator was about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a pink dress, her skin was as delicate as if it could be broken by a puff of air, her eyes were as gentle as water, and her aura was like a dream or mist.

"Let me introduce everyone. This is Fellow Daoist Shen Haoran, and this is Yunmeng Fairy..."

Chen Ping introduced the three of them: "This is Fellow Daoist Fang Xi, my good brother who lives next door."

"Greetings to both of you."

Fang Xi was slightly surprised. He had originally thought Chen Ping's connections would only be with fellow cultivators at the early Qi Refining stage, but he didn't expect him to have such resources.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Fang."

Shen Haoran drank his spiritual tea casually and greeted him indifferently.

It was Yunmeng Fairy who stood up and bowed gracefully, appearing very polite and well-mannered.

But Fang Xi could tell that the more polite she was, the more distant she seemed.

"We are fortunate today to not only taste this 'Cloud and Mist Spiritual Tea' but also to listen to the 'Phoenix Qin Master' perform."

Chen Ping and Fang Xi sat down, then smiled and said, "We also have Yunmeng Fairy to thank."

"It was beyond my expectation that the Phoenix Qin Master would be willing to come here..."

Yunmeng Fairy pursed her lips and smiled.

Fang Xi did not join their conversation, merely focusing on drinking tea and eating pastries.

He clearly understood his position; he was just a foil and background.

This Yunmeng Fairy and Shen Haoran were clearly not rogue cultivators from the bottom rung. The reason they valued Chen Ping might be because of his talent in talismans.

In comparison, with no special skills, it was better for him to remain an inconspicuous nobody.

For example, this spiritual tea was quite good. One sip refreshed body and mind.

There were also spiritual food pastries. Eating them not only left a lingering fragrance in the mouth but also enhanced one's cultivation.

Fang Xi even felt that if he could enjoy such spiritual items daily, he might be able to cultivate to the peak of the third level of Qi Refining within a month.

"The Phoenix Qin Master is about to perform! And there's another distinguished guest."

Just then, a sound transmission talisman flew in from outside.

Shen Haoran received it, his face lit up with joy, and he looked at Fang Xi.

Fang Xi glanced around. He noticed that the private room felt spacious with four people, but it would be a bit crowded with five.

As the cultivator with the lowest cultivation and weakest background, he needed to be perceptive. He immediately stood up: "Everyone, I just remembered I have something important to attend to at home, so I'll take my leave now."

"But the Phoenix Qin Master is about to perform, her music is a rare..." Yunmeng Fairy said regretfully, but she didn't try to keep him.

Fang Xi bowed and walked out of the private room.

Faintly, he could hear Shen Haoran speaking to Chen Ping: "Fellow Daoist Chen, you'll be a talisman master in the future, and you should have status... Let me tell you, the distinguished guest who is about to arrive is a great expert in the late Qi Refining stage..."

"Oh? Then I'll have to ask Brother Shen to introduce me." Chen Ping's surprised voice rang out simultaneously.

As Fang Xi walked out of 'Ming Qing Pavilion', he could faintly hear a melody drifting from the pavilion.

On the high platform, a graceful figure seemed to have appeared.

Unfortunately, all these elegant and romantic affairs had nothing to do with him.

'If you don't have enough strength, don't enter circles that are too high...'

He quickly adjusted his mindset and returned to his simple hut.

Bang!

A palm strike flew out, hitting the doors and windows fiercely.

White Cloud Palm!

Although he didn't get to hear Fairy Feng play the zither this time, he at least got to enjoy spirit tea and snacks.

It was a great time to cultivate!

Fang Xi's Red Snake Leg had broken through to the Martial Hall Master realm, but his White Cloud Palm was still a little short.

Crackling!

He unleashed both palms, striking in rapid succession, and then formed nine hand seals.

In the blink of an eye, Fang Xi's palms began to emit a grayish-black color.

Strangely, the gray was constantly receding, while the black was expanding wildly.

"Hoo!"

Fang Xi exhaled a long breath, and the white vapor shot out several feet.

He looked at his hands, confirming that his palms had completely entered the Black Cloud realm, reaching the level of a True Force martial artist!

The True Force of White Cloud Palm primarily strengthened the hands, and the improvement to other parts of the body was far less than the previous time.

"I broke through so easily..."

"Sigh... If only my talent in immortal cultivation was as good as my talent in Blood Qi Martial Arts."

The low-grade spirit root aptitude of this body had always been a pain in Fang Xi's heart.

The next moment, feeling the change in the True Force of White Cloud Palm, his expression gradually turned solemn.

Using Spiritual Awareness to look inward, he could see that as his entire body's Qi and Blood circulated, several vortices had appeared, mainly located in his legs and palms.

Even more alarming was that these Qi and Blood vortices seemed to be pulling at each other, causing the circulation of Qi and Blood to be somewhat chaotic.

"Is this... the 'drag' that Lu She mentioned?"

"Alas... my Red Snake Leg already broke through, and my Qi and Blood are already mixed. There's nothing I can do about practicing another art."

Fang Xi looked at his palms.

White Cloud Palm could be released or retracted. After retracting the True Force, his palms were now as white as jade, as delicate as the hands of a young lady from a prominent family.

No one could imagine that the power contained within these hands could already rival some Yao Beasts.

"The True Force of White Cloud Palm and Red Snake Leg indeed conflicts, and this must be resolved..."

"And the subsequent realms..."

A mere body cultivator equivalent to the early Qi Refining stage was nothing. Fang Xi was focused on the progress and hope that lay ahead!

"Fortunately... I heard that the trip to Yuan He Demonuntain is still on..."