Signs (Seeking Bookmarks)

"I wonder how Fellow Daoist Situ Ying is doing?"

Fang Xi gazed at the Situ Family's newly appointed An Tian Envoy. After a long while, unable to find a topic, he could only ask about the question troubling him.

Situ Qingqing's expression turned solemn. "After investigation... this person was negligent in his duties, deceived those above him while hiding things from them, and extorted bribes. He has already been seized by the family, sentenced to punishment by the Thunder Whip, and ordered to face the wall in reflection... Were you in seclusion before, Fellow Daoist? Otherwise, you should have known this long ago."

"So that's how it is."

Fang Xi nodded, secretly delighted. That skinflint Situ Ying had finally gotten what he deserved!

He even developed a sliver of goodwill toward the Situ Family.

But that sliver of goodwill was quickly strangled out of existence. He was a tenant farmer, after all. If a landlord gave him the slightest benefit and he became grateful beyond measure, then deep down, he still had the bones of a slave!

On the surface, however, Fang Xi still let his emotions show, deeply moved. "The Situ Family truly sees everything with piercing clarity. With Miss Qingqing here, the sky itself has cleared..."

This man... is far too obsequious.

Situ Qingqing suddenly felt a little sickened. She had originally seen that Fang Xi was in the mid-stage of Qi Refining and wanted to ask him a few more questions, but now she simply said, "If you need anything in the future, you can come directly to Cave Abode Three of the Earth District in the Market and find me."

She immediately mounted the Iron Leaf Boat and sped away.

Watching Situ Qingqing leave, Fang Xi narrowed his eyes slightly. "Heh..."

He did not particularly believe Situ Qingqing's explanation.

Through Di Qi, he had also learned a little about the attitudes those Cultivation Families held toward their own clansmen.

Even though the Situ Family was a Foundation Establishment Family, every clan member who possessed a Spiritual Root was important. How could they punish one over such a minor matter?

Yes... to Cultivators, collecting a few extra pecks from Spirit Farmers was indeed a minor matter!

Therefore, Situ Qingqing's transfer was highly unusual!

She might have another scheme in mind, or perhaps she was investigating something in secret!

It can't be that she's investigating me, right?

Fang Xi arrived at the Jade Bamboo Forest and pulled up weeds with his bare hands. Suddenly, he sighed again.

This Market... was restless once more!

Or rather, it had only just settled down after the fervor surrounding the Purple Nether Mountain Secret Realm, and less than a year had passed before hidden currents seemed to be stirring again!

Hopefully, I won't get dragged into this...

But I'm a Spirit Farmer hired by the Situ Family. When the nest is overturned, how can any eggs remain intact?

Should I run first? In any case, I no longer care about the yield from this kind of Spirit Field... But the Green Bamboo Mountain Market's channels are still very important...

For a time, Fang Xi fell into hesitation.

But soon, he decided to observe the situation first.

Because of Situ Qingqing's appearance, Fang Xi had grown suspicious of everything. He temporarily abandoned his plans to travel to the Great Liang World, disguise himself, and pose as an outsider Rogue Cultivator to sell Yao Beast Meat at the market. Instead, he simply cultivated the Evergreen Art and the Entanglement Technique, while continuing to work as a Spirit Farmer.

As he did so, Fang Xi discovered something.

Without pills to swallow, and cultivating in an inferior Spiritual Energy environment, his progress in the fourth layer of the Evergreen Art was slow to the extreme.

He meditated and refined qi for three or four hours every day, yet his cultivation technique still crawled along like a snail.

Based on his estimate, if things continued this way, he might need more than a decade to cultivate the fourth layer of the Evergreen Art to perfection—not even counting the bottleneck when attempting the fifth layer.

The difficulty of cultivating immortality for Rogue Cultivators and those with poor aptitude could be seen from this alone.

"It's already this difficult just to accumulate magic power... Breaking through a bottleneck will be even harder. This Low-grade Spiritual Root is truly miserable..."

"And according to the information I've gathered, the disadvantages of a Low-grade Spiritual Root are comprehensive. Even when refining the Spiritual Energy within pills, its absorption rate is considerably lower than that of a mid-grade or High-grade Spiritual Root... How can one describe it except with the word 'miserable'?"

After another session of meditation, Fang Xi rose to his feet, his brows filled with helplessness.

If his aptitude and Spirit Vein environment remained unchanged, then without the aid of pills, he might not be able to reach the realm of Qi Refining Perfection in this lifetime!

"The only good news is that after mastering Primordial Chaos Energy, I can already lock down the Blood Qi throughout my body... Even when I reach a hundred years old, the Blood Qi Gate won't be able to stop me!"

"But if my magic power hasn't reached Great Perfection, I won't even be qualified to attempt Foundation Establishment!"

Fang Xi's expression was grim.

In fact, a cultivator at Qi Refining Great Perfection, even without a Foundation Establishment Spirit Item or Foundation Establishment Pill, still had a chance to attempt Foundation Establishment independently.

It was just that the success rate was pitifully low. Supposedly, it did not even reach ten percent, and failure meant immediate death and the extinction of one's Dao.

Fang Xi had never liked gambling on probabilities. Once he attempted Foundation Establishment, he would at least have to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill, ensuring that even if he failed, he would not die.

As long as he stayed alive, everything could begin anew!

He stood up, cleaned his body, and walked out the main gate.

"Yo, little brother from next door, would you like to discuss the Way of Yin and Yang with me?"

Next door, a coquettish female Cultivator had just emerged from the wooden hut where Chen Ping had originally lived. She smiled sweetly and issued an invitation.

"Fairy Xie, please don't tease me!"

Fang Xi rejected her with a perfectly serious expression and headed to a certain place on Green Bamboo Mountain.

He had a gathering with Nine Profound Venerable and Di Qi.

Green Bamboo Mountain.

Near the Spirit Field district, in a place of limpid streams and verdant mountains.

Fang Xi had specially caught two wild chickens and roasted them, sprinkling them with specially prepared spices. As sizzling oil dripped, they gave off an enticing fragrance.

Nine Profound Venerable and Di Qi sat on either side, eyeing them like tigers stalking prey.

Fang Xi looked around and sighed regretfully. "Fellow Daoist Chen didn't come again..."

"Alas... you don't know this, but Fellow Daoist Chen has truly struck it rich!"

Nine Profound Venerable's tone was sour. "Ever since purchasing Master Zong's notes, Fellow Daoist Chen's progress in the Talisman Path has been advancing by leaps and bounds. I heard that he has recently begun attempting to produce First-grade High-rank talismans..."

"This..."

Fang Xi was dumbfounded.

Could it be... that Chen Ping truly was a once-in-a-century talisman-making genius, and had simply never gained enlightenment before?

"Not only that, Fellow Daoist Lu Zhi has also changed her attitude toward Fellow Daoist Chen. Two days ago, I even saw them strolling arm in arm, extremely close..."

Di Qi began to sound sour as well.

Though he was a clan Cultivator, his was merely a Qi Refining Family, hardly much stronger than a Rogue Cultivator.

If someone told him to kill Chen Ping and take his place, he would be a hundred times willing in his heart.

So what if she was a widow? So what if she had a child?

His stomach was weak, so he was suited to living off a woman. Besides, Lu Zhi was quite beautiful...

"If Fellow Daoist Chen Ping becomes a First-grade High-rank Talisman Master, then his status in the Market truly won't lose out to those experts at Qi Refining Great Perfection."

Fang Xi sighed in admiration, then looked left and right. "When should we prepare a substantial gift and pay him a visit?"

As Rogue Cultivators, they still needed to possess this much discernment.

"Of course, of course..." Nine Profound Venerable nodded repeatedly. Though his heart was sour, that did not stop them from building a good relationship with Chen Ping. Who knew? They might have use for it in the future!

"Heh heh... don't bother thinking about it."

At this moment, Di Qi sneered several times and shook his head. "Chen Ping has already moved to a cave abode in the Market. A few days ago, I went to visit him, only to be stopped outside the door... They were people from Yunmeng Fairy's side! In my opinion... after making his fortune, he had long since forgotten about old friends like us..."

Yunmeng Fairy again?

Fang Xi instinctively felt that Chen Ping was not that kind of person. However, if Yunmeng Fairy and Shen Haoran had done it, then it did seem possible.

Those two had extremely sharp eyes and had invested in Chen Ping from the beginning.

Now that Chen Ping showed signs of soaring into the heavens in a single bound, it was only natural for them to court him even more. Driving away his former acquaintances and replacing his network of relationships was also to be expected.

It was said that some overbearing sects and families, upon encountering Cultivators outstanding in the four arts of cultivation and possessing extraordinary talent, would simply abduct them and take them back, using them as tools until death!

But Chen Ping's rate of progress in the Talisman Path is still a little abnormal... Did Situ Qingqing come because of him?

A thought surfaced in Fang Xi's mind. He then sincerely asked the two of them, "Have there been any rumors lately?"

Nine Profound Venerable's cheeks flushed as he rattled off a string of strange tales.

Di Qi drank his sorrows away, occasionally adding a few words.

From this, Fang Xi learned that everything in the Market was normal, and that magical artifacts and talismans showed no particular trend of rising in price.

Furthermore, there was no news of any war.

It seems I might have been seeing threats where there were none?

Perhaps the Situ Family had suddenly appointed a law-enforcement elder who hated evil as his enemy...

Fang Xi consoled himself for a while.

At this moment, he heard Di Qi say, "As for the biggest news... it's naturally the Purple Nether Mountain Secret Realm. It was jointly breached by Red Leaf Valley and the Situ Family and completely swept clean. The blockade there has now been lifted, but it's just a wasteland. Rogue Cultivators went back to search it several times, yet couldn't even pick up scraps..."

"The Purple Nether Mountain Secret Realm?"

Fang Xi thought of Old Mai Tou and fell silent.

After a moment, Nine Profound Venerable said enviously, "It seems Purple Nether Mountain was only a small secret realm, not worthy of the two great powers joining forces... But with all the spirit items plundered, perhaps the Situ Family and Red Leaf Valley will produce several more Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators in the next few years..."

The speaker was thoughtless, but the listener took it to heart!

Upon hearing this, Fang Xi's heart gave a sudden jump.

As the old saying went, when prosperity reached its peak, decline followed. There was some truth to it.

The Situ Family and Red Leaf Valley had obtained quite a few treasures. It was hard to guarantee that outsiders would not covet them.

Furthermore, if these two families produced several more Foundation Establishment Cultivators, would the neighboring powers be pleased?

Even if he assumed the worst, two tigers could not share one mountain. Once the meat had been eaten, could Red Leaf Valley and the Situ Family truly coexist harmoniously?

Could the abnormality of this recent period have come from this?

Fang Xi gnawed on a chicken leg, yet his mood inexplicably relaxed.

He was now at the very bottom of the Cultivation World. No matter how things changed above him, they had nothing to do with him. As long as he handed over his grain on time, that was enough!

What Cultivator war? I absolutely must not get involved!

When it comes to running away, no one under heaven can surpass me!

At worst, if things descend into chaos here, I'll go hide in Daliang for a few years!