"We don't have the best relationship with the authorities. Isn't their attitude a little too much?"
Once they entered the Inner City, the surroundings grew much quieter. Some people looked at the group with curiosity, but none came close.
"We can't say for sure. Our Prefecture Governor is an old fox. Who knows what he's up to?" Eleventh Elder shook his head.
"The banquet in three days, Yuan'er, you should go."
Fang Yuan thought it over, then agreed.
Although he wasn't fond of such occasions, he still had to maintain appearances. It wouldn't do to slight them.
Besides, he wanted to see which faction in the city had sent the assassins.
"Fearsome Young Master, welcome home!"
As soon as he returned to the courtyard, Xiao Zi was already waiting at the entrance, smiling like a flower.
Fang Yuan smiled and patted her little head, then spread his arms so the maid could help him change into fresh clothes.
"Don't you find this troublesome?"
Xiao Zi shook her head and said earnestly, "As long as Young Master returns safely, this servant is already overjoyed."
"Has anything happened at home lately?" Fang Yuan asked.
Xiao Zi pondered for a moment, her pretty face going blank before she suddenly realized.
"Young Master, you've been gone for less than three days."
Two of those days had been spent on the road. They'd needed to inventory the goods and transport back the stolen pig iron, so they hadn't been able to move quickly.
"Still, Rain Listening Pavilion has had a minor problem lately."
Seeing Fang Yuan's puzzled gaze, Xiao Zi explained, "Most of Rain Listening Pavilion's disciples don't have household registration in the Prefecture City."
"When they run into patrols on the road, it's easy for trouble to arise."
"We still have to follow the rules. Go through the proper procedures."
Rain Listening Pavilion wasn't officially part of the Fang Family, and Fang Yuan didn't want it to be permanently branded as belonging to the Fang Family.
"I've already sent someone to handle it. It should be sorted out in the next couple of days," Xiao Zi replied.
Having household registration in a territory was a prerequisite for living there long term. Otherwise, one could easily be treated as an illegal resident and driven out of the city.
The main purpose of this measure was to prevent large numbers of ordinary people from flooding prosperous cities and making them harder for the authorities to govern.
"I thought patrols rarely checked household registration in the Inner City," Fang Yuan murmured.
"Maybe it was just a coincidence."
Xiao Zi also found it a little strange, but didn't think much of it.
"Miss Qingyun came out of seclusion yesterday," Xiao Zi reminded him.
Fang Yuan smiled. "That girl's been in seclusion for so long. I imagine her strength has improved again."
Fang Qingyun was one of the two most dazzling beauties in the Fang Family—and his younger sister.
"Did you have someone buy pastries from Crisp Fragrance Workshop and send them over?"
Fang Qingyun had a sweet tooth.
Fang Yuan had someone buy pastries for her every so often, and Crisp Fragrance Workshop was the most famous pastry shop in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
"Replying to Young Master, the pastries will arrive at the residence today. I'll personally deliver them to Miss Qingyun in a little while," Xiao Zi replied.
Fang Yuan gave a slight nod. After returning to his room, he began studying the two halves of the Jade Cup, his eyes glinting.
He tried fitting the two halves together, using his true qi as a bridge and slowly pushing them into place.
Emerald light shimmered in waves as wisps of mist spread around them. The two pieces of jade joined together, with no trace of a crack left behind.
The Jade Cup was shaped much like a bowl, though smaller, and oval in form. It also resembled a cup that could be held in one hand.
"What kind of material is this? It's clearly so hard, so how did it break?"
Fang Yuan squeezed the Jade Cup, gradually increasing his grip.
But it was as solid as a rock, without the slightest damage. Even when he hacked at it with his Spiritual Sword, he couldn't leave so much as a mark.
"It looks like a corner is missing from the front."
Fang Yuan turned the Jade Cup over and over, noticing that the missing piece at the front was about the size of the last joint of his little finger.
He'd already noticed that half of the Jade Cup could absorb true qi without end, but it had given no response.
Now that it was nearly whole, its effect should be different.
"All the acupoints in my body are open, and my true qi reserves are half again what they were. I'll try again."
True qi surged in Fang Yuan's palm as he sent it into the Jade Cup.
Half an hour passed. Most of his true qi was gone, yet the Jade Cup still hadn't stirred.
"I refuse to believe you're just a bottomless pit."
Fang Yuan popped two perfect-quality Returning Origin Pills into his mouth.
In an instant, his Dantian became like a tiny whirlpool, frantically drawing in spiritual energy from the outside and converting it into true qi.
But even so, the Jade Cup absorbed it faster than he could recover.
This went on for an hour.
Fang Yuan had almost run out of Returning Origin Pills, and the true qi within him was nearly depleted.
The Jade Cup remained as still as an old monk in meditation, showing no change whatsoever.
"Even a high-grade Spiritual Weapon should react to this much true qi," Fang Yuan said helplessly.
Just as he was about to give up, the Jade Cup suddenly trembled. Blinding emerald light burst from it.
Crack!
A crisp sound rang out.
A restriction inside the Jade Cup seemed to shatter. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a streak of light and shot into Fang Yuan's Dantian.
Before Fang Yuan could react, the Jade Cup had vanished from his hand.
"A treasure that can be stored and nurtured in the Dantian has to be at least a Spiritual Treasure."
Fang Yuan let his awareness sink inward. He stared at the Jade Cup floating above his Dantian, his face full of wonder.
Treasures were ranked from lowest to highest as Magical Artifacts, Spiritual Weapons, Spiritual Treasures, and Heavenly Treasures...
Each rank had three grades: upper, middle, and lower.
Treasures were difficult to forge, with an extremely low success rate, which made them very expensive.
Many Foundation Building Realm True Persons could hardly afford even a lower-grade Spiritual Weapon.
Mad Blood Daoist, for instance, had been extremely envious when he saw Fang Yuan wearing the Cosmic Pouch at his waist and holding the Spiritual Sword.
The entire Fang Family didn't have many Spiritual Treasures. Even a defective one was far stronger than an upper-grade Spiritual Weapon.
Fang Yuan was very satisfied.
He'd never expected to come away from Green Ridge Stronghold with a Spiritual Treasure.
If the other two great Aristocratic Clans in the city and the Prefecture Governor's Mansion learned about it, they would have already flattened Green Ridge Stronghold.
"But what does this Spiritual Treasure do?" Fang Yuan fell into thought.
He tried probing the Jade Cup with his mind and found it filled with dense true qi. Deeper inside, everything was shrouded in mist.
Fang Yuan pondered for a moment. As he studied the shifting patterns in the inner space, understanding dawned on him. He used his mind to guide it, and true qi immediately began pouring into his Dantian.
In less than a quarter of an hour,
the true qi in his Dantian was full again.
This recovery was more than ten times faster than using Returning Origin Pills.
"If I fill the Jade Cup with true qi beforehand, then when I fight someone in the future, it'll be like having two Dantians!"
What did that mean?
Twice the true qi didn't mean only twice the increase in strength.
After all, many powerful martial techniques consumed a great deal of true qi, not to mention the divine abilities used by those in the Foundation Building Realm.
"But I haven't condensed Divine Sense yet, so I can't control the Jade Cup precisely. For now, I can only make it absorb and release true qi."
Just as now, after the Jade Cup released its true qi, it was soon empty again.
But if Fang Yuan tried to guide the true qi from his Dantian into it, he couldn't stop the process midway.
For now, he couldn't control it at will.
"I'll break through to Foundation Establishment in the next few days." Fang Yuan's gaze was confident.
He'd gained a lot from the battle at Green Ridge Stronghold, especially his insights into the realm and his control over his own strength.
As the saying went, reading and watching a thousand times could never compare to trying it once for yourself.
The oppressive feeling of facing a Foundation Building Realm True Person, and the sensation of brushing against death, were things no simulation could reproduce.
While his mind had been stretched taut, the remaining medicinal effects of the Spirit Gathering Pill that he hadn't fully refined had finally taken effect.
Although he still couldn't condense Divine Sense, he was only a hair's breadth away!
Fang Yuan took a deep breath and cast aside his jumbled thoughts.
He hadn't cultivated today. He couldn't afford to slack off.
Time to add points!
Before you continue