Convoy (Seeking Recommendations)

Three days flashed by in the blink of an eye.

Fang Qing looked at the spring water before him, faintly darkening, his face full of frustration. "It's going to fail..."

Truth be told, the failure of his first attempt at refining spirit water had been entirely within his expectations.

But not knowing where he had failed was truly a headache.

"Fire changes in a thousand ways, so controlling fire is difficult... But water shifts in hidden ways. By the time you notice something is wrong, it is like a dam collapsing—too much has piled up to turn back. The mistake was actually planted long ago... The key is that I still don't know where it lies."

Fang Qing scratched his head in distress. This was the suffering of having no teacher constantly drilling instruction into him.

Next, he either had to spend a huge sum to hire an alchemist of the ranks for some guidance, or burn through his own money and buy more materials to pile up proficiency.

Unfortunately, he could do neither.

"Ah... One failed refinement, and all my savings have flown away like chickens and eggs."

Fang Qing sighed, but his gaze gradually turned resolute. He took out his flying vessel from his storage pouch and headed straight for the Hall of Miscellaneous Affairs on Myriad Treasures Island.

Inside the bronze great hall, countless disciples came and went, as noisy as ever.

After wandering around for a few circles, he began searching for a suitable mission.

"Junior Brother Fang?"

Just then, a gentle male voice rang out.

Fang Qing looked over and saw Senior Brother Hua Lianhua, with Yu Taohua standing beside him.

These two had likewise entered the inner sect, though one was on Myriad Treasures Island and the other on Formation Island.

"Senior Brother Hua, Junior Sister Yu..."

Fang Qing greeted them.

"What? Junior Brother, are you preparing to take a mission? Would you like to join my fishing team?"

Senior Brother Hua smiled. "I rented a double-fanged ship. It can go deep into the sea."

If Fang Qing had no other plans, joining a fishing team would indeed have been a good idea.

Not only could he train his combat skills, but he would also have a constant supply of demonic beast fish meat to eat.

Even if its effects were somewhat inferior to pills, over time the accumulated benefits would be anything but insignificant.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Senior Brother, but I still prefer acting alone."

Fang Qing refused directly, accepted a mission that required leaving the sect, and hurried away.

Watching his retreating figure, Yu Taohua was somewhat indignant. "He merely got lucky and latched onto a disciple with hopes of becoming a true disciple... Senior Brother Hua, didn't we already inquire into it? That Junior Sister Zha Zhu has gradually grown distant from him. Why are you still being so polite?"

"It's merely a surface courtesy. It doesn't cost us any real benefits, so what does a few polite words matter?"

Senior Brother Hua's smile was deeply meaningful. "Who knows... This Junior Brother Fang might make a comeback someday. After all, he has medium-grade aptitude, unlike those lower-grade ones..."

Fang Qing casually took a mission to purchase Treasure Fish, then left the Azure Sea Sect's gates.

Such procurement missions required visiting many fishing villages. They were extremely tedious and offered little reward, making them a tasteless morsel, discarded with regret.

But for him, a mission that gave him a legitimate excuse to leave was the best mission possible.

Fang Qing piloted the Green Leaf Boat for a full day and night before finally landing in a wilderness, where he found a cave to rest in.

With a thought, heaven and earth changed. He had arrived in the Land of Ancient Shu!

"Rather than risking my life to capture demonic beasts in the sea, I might as well explore the Ancient Shu world... Clearly, the returns here are greater!"

His gaze was deep as he began taking stock of his assets.

"Cultivation: newly entered the third layer of Qi Refining... I have mastered the Water Control Art, Water Arrow Art, Wind-Riding Formula, and Heavenly Eye Art..."

"One storage pouch. Inside are two bottles of Fasting Pills, one Golden Blade Talisman with the strongest offensive power, and one Earth Wall Talisman... As for magical artifacts, I still only have the Green Leaf Boat for travel."

"The more I look at it, the more impoverished I feel. I don't even have an offensive magical artifact or a defensive magical artifact..."

Fang Qing let out a sigh.

Even if he had not chosen to impoverish himself refining pills, his savings still would not have been enough to buy a single low-grade offensive magical artifact.

Moreover, his risky attempt at pill refinement had been for the sake of securing a stable life.

If he had been given a choice, he would certainly have chosen to lie low in the Azure Sea Sect, cultivating until he reached a bottleneck before coming to this world to seek opportunities.

But now, he was already more or less at a dead end.

If he remained in the Azure Sea Sect, he could already see the path ahead: repeated failures in pill refinement, financial ruin, perhaps even delays to his cultivation, and in the end, no hope of Foundation Establishment...

For the hope of Foundation Establishment, he had to take a gamble!

"Besides... I'm only conducting a preliminary exploration. As long as I can find cultivators, or even trading channels in a marketplace, then with enough caution, I can use the two worlds to obtain immense wealth!"

"Go!"

Within the mountain forest, Fang Xing pointed casually, and a water arrow shot forth like lightning and flint, plunging into the forehead of a white-browed hanging-eyed tiger.

The beast did not even make a sound before collapsing to the ground.

"The spells from the Azure Sea Sect can actually be used here..."

Fang Qing withdrew his hand seal, somewhat surprised. "That makes things much more convenient... I can also sense spiritual energy in the air, but for some reason, it feels a little off."

In his perception, the spiritual energy here was thin and faintly different from that around Jade Island. Metal and fire spiritual energy flourished here.

"Is it because Ancient Shu lies inland? Or is it because these are two different worlds?"

"Forget it... I definitely can't figure out such high-level questions. I should first make contact with the cultivators of this world. Before that, I need to disguise myself properly."

With a thought from Fang Qing, all the mana within his dantian vanished without a trace. Most of it transformed into Origin Qi and was stored away, leaving only a few wisps to descend and become Divine Martial Force.

This Divine Martial Force came from the Divine Martial Canon, an unparalleled martial art that Fang Qing had casually studied alongside his other learning over the past three years.

At this moment, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would only be able to tell that he was a mortal, and a grandmaster of innate martial arts at that. There was not the slightest trace of mana upon him.

"Mm... Passing through the martial world as an expert of the mundane martial arts world should be enough."

Fang Qing touched his face.

If he had still been a youth three years ago, he was now a tall, jade-like young swordsman with sword-shaped brows and starry eyes.

Even if the Luo Family had issued a wanted notice for him three years ago, the portrait surely no longer resembled him.

"Why is Ba Commandery so chaotic?"

Fang Qing casually struck down a disorderly soldier attempting to rob him, frowning.

Since setting out disguised as a swordsman in green, this was already the third band of robbers he had encountered.

From their mouths, he had also learned much information.

Ever since a plague swept through Ba Commandery three years ago, the region had never settled down. A force of disorderly soldiers had appeared from nowhere, attacking cities and seizing territory everywhere, creating countless refugees and allowing bandits to run rampant.

Even Heavenly Prefectural City, which Fang Qing had visited before, had fallen into ruin and nearly become a city of the dead.

"Three years of plague, followed by the calamity of war... The plague was the work of the Black Blight Sect, but what about this military disaster?"

Just as he was pondering this, another burst of clamor came from ahead.

Fang Qing strode forward and climbed a hillside. Below, he saw a group of riders fiercely besieging a convoy.

Though the convoy had few people, most of them women and children, several young martial heroes with fairly respectable skills guarded it with swords in hand, and the bandit riders could not take them down for the moment.

"These bandits also appear to be routed soldiers... There are faint traces of military discipline in their movements... They have divided into several waves to exhaust the stamina of those martial arts experts. Once their internal strength runs dry, they will be in trouble."

As an observer, Fang Qing saw the situation as clearly as fire reflected in water.

"Ah!"

Sure enough, before long, a cold arrow pierced through the sword-light and punched through the chest of a young martial hero.

Blood foam spilled from the young man's mouth as he fell to the ground unwillingly.

"Third Brother?"

The leading young martial hero's eyes nearly split with rage. "Hold them off... I'll go assassinate their leader!"

The three-foot Azure Edge in his hand danced, faint dragon roars ringing out as it guarded his entire body so tightly that not even water could seep through. He actually charged alone into the enemy formation!

"Mm, faced with a dead end, he didn't flee but chose instead to fight to the death? He's a real man!"

Fang Qing nodded inwardly. To be safe, he silently activated the Heavenly Eye Art.

This was a spirit-eye spell cultivated by all Azure Sea Sect cultivators, capable of observing fluctuations of spiritual energy and mana.

Of course, before high-level cultivators, it was actually useless.

But at this moment, he gave a surprised cry. Within the convoy, he actually saw several faint points of spiritual light!

"There are spiritual energy fluctuations, but they aren't cultivators. Are they spiritual objects?"

"Finally... I've found a clue."

Joy rose in his heart. Then he saw the martial hero let out a roar and charge toward where the leader of the disorderly riders stood.

"Good swordsmanship!"

The leader gave a long howl, swinging a ghost-headed broadsword horizontally toward him.

Clang!

Blade and sword collided, and the martial hero's heart immediately sank. "Not good... This man's skill actually surpasses mine!"

"Haha, you little brat, your martial arts aren't good enough, yet you still tried to play the hero who draws his sword when he sees injustice... Now you've gotten yourself killed, haven't you?"

The leader laughed loudly, the ghost-headed broadsword in his hand flashing with black light.

After only a dozen exchanges, he knocked the martial hero's longsword flying.

"My life is over..."

The martial hero's face was bleak as he prepared to accept death. Suddenly, a tremendous sound rang out beside his ear.

Smack!

The ghost-headed broadsword crashed to the ground. Beside it lay a pinecone that continued spinning.

"This..."

The martial hero looked toward where the pinecone had come from and saw a scene he could scarcely believe.

A young man in a bamboo hat was strolling toward him as if taking a leisurely walk through a courtyard.

The disorderly bandits shouted all around him, but neither blades and spears nor feathered arrows could come within three feet of him.

It was as though an invisible "wall of qi" surrounded him within that three-foot radius!

"An immortal?"

The leader of the disorderly soldiers likewise changed expression dramatically, then quickly shook his head. "No... He's an ancient-shaking, world-dazzling grandmaster of martial arts... Mother of mine, even if this man had trained martial arts from inside his mother's womb, could he have reached such a level?"

Without another thought, he fled like a rat with his head in his hands.

But Fang Qing lightly tapped the ground with his foot and caught up behind him. He curled the fingers of his right hand and flicked.

Rip!

A blast of force shot straight as a spear, striking the leader in the back and exploding a bloody hole.

"The leader is dead!"

"Run!"

"That's not a man, it's a monster!"

Seeing their leader dead and Fang Qing impervious to blades and spears, the surrounding riders fled in terror.

"Are you all right?"

Fang Qing looked at the martial hero, with whom he had formed a fairly good impression.

Though he did not claim to be a good man himself, he still deeply admired such righteous people and liked making friends with them.

After all, even villains hoped their friends were good people.