Moonlight lay like water.
Inside the cave dwelling.
"I observe Black Ridge, where a clear spring gushes forth..."
Fang Qing converted his Breath-Nourishing Dao dharma power and silently contemplated [Winnowing Basket Water].
Splash!
Dharma power surged through his body like roaring waves, and all at once, he broke through a certain barrier.
"Finally... Qi Ingestion Fourth Layer."
"All that Ginseng Green Spirit Water I drank wasn't in vain."
Fang Qing opened his eyes, a faint excitement on his face. "This means my Breath-Nourishing Dao cultivation technique has also entered the middle stage."
After thinking for a moment, he closed his eyes.
The Dao-Born Pearl spun round and round. The [Winnowing Basket Water] dharma power around Fang Qing vanished, transforming into Black Water Dharma Power!
"The Water Scripture circulated, naturally and effortlessly..."
A smile touched his face as he felt the Black Water Dharma Power within him drift with the current. Then it suddenly broke through, and his Dantian Qi Sea expanded another round.
"Qi Refining Fifth Layer... At this rate, I'm probably even a little faster than Zha Zhu? Is it because I cultivate all three flowers of essence, qi, and spirit together, and have converted all of them?"
After all, he also possessed the Horse-Head Vajra Protector Divine Art, cultivating both essence origin and spirit origin. This breakthrough had likewise converted its unusual power!
"This cultivation speed is somewhat too fast. I can conceal it a little."
With that thought, Fang Qing immediately converted part of his Black Water Dharma Power, causing his aura to fall back to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refinement.
After breaking through, he emerged from seclusion refreshed and clear-headed, only to find a voice transmission talisman from Xu Wusu. "Oh? The procedures have all been handled? Truly a double blessing."
A moment later, inside a pavilion.
Fang Qing entered and saw Xu Wusu making tea.
"Haha... Junior Brother Fang, I had to make many trips before I got the sect's decree approved. With this, you can remodel your cave dwelling and draw in a water vein, so long as it does not exceed First-Order."
Xu Wusu took out a letter talisman. "Besides that, I contacted Senior Sister Qin from Formation Island for you... Senior Sister Qin is a First-Order High Grade formation master and also has hopes of becoming a True Disciple. If not for Senior Brother Five Dragons Child being on good terms with her, she truly would not have acted."
"Thank you."
A trace of delight appeared on Fang Qing's face as he accepted the letter talisman. "As for that 'Spirit-Concentrating Powder,' I happen to have some thoughts..."
This Spirit-Concentrating Powder was one of several ancient pill formulas held by the Five Dragons Society. It could condense Spiritual Sense, but its main ingredient had long since gone extinct on Jade Island.
"For our pill formulas, when the main ingredient has gone extinct, we mostly gather materials from sea demon beasts as substitutes... What if we used Seven-Star Treasure Fish in place of Seven-Star Grass?"
"Sigh... We thought of that approach long ago. We even acquired several Seven-Star Treasure Fish to try it, but whether it was fish blood, fish flesh, or fish bones... none met the requirements."
Xu Wusu shook his head in disappointment. How could replacing the main ingredient of an ancient pill formula be such a simple matter?
Without hundreds or thousands of experiments and accumulated experience... one had to be a grandmaster of alchemy, with every change in medicinal properties crystal clear in one's heart, before one could narrow down several possibilities.
Even a grandmaster would have to fail in several batches before having any hope of success.
"Sigh..."
Fang Qing likewise revealed a disappointed expression.
"Haha, let's not speak of that... A year has passed now, and the results are out for those twenty-five True Disciples who entered seclusion."
Xu Wusu brought up another matter. "Senior Brother Zhang, Senior Sister Can... eight in total successfully achieved Foundation Establishment, while all the rest failed."
"Twenty-five, with eight succeeding? A success rate approaching thirty percent?"
Fang Qing murmured.
"That's right. One Prime Quality Foundation Establishment Pill can add thirty percent to one's hope of Foundation Establishment..." Xu Wusu naturally had an ulterior meaning in bringing this up. "Those True Disciples who failed are stepping down one after another. The next round of competition for True Disciples must begin preparations early..."
This was really just urging him for spirit stones.
"This time, I have Senior Brother Xu to thank for running all those procedures. Just a small token of appreciation—please help me deliver it to the society."
Fang Qing smiled and took out a small pouch of spirit stones.
"Haha, excellent."
After accepting the spirit stones, Xu Wusu's smile became much more sincere. Then he sighed again. "Foundation Establishment is difficult... Even True Disciples who fail once are forever consigned to another register. Who knows how they will repay the borrowed Contribution Points afterward? Unless the sect shows mercy beyond its laws, they will not have a second chance at Foundation Establishment..."
In theory, after failing once upon taking a Foundation Establishment Pill, one would be abandoned by the sect. Yet there were naturally exceptions.
For instance, disciples of Core Formation ancestors, direct descendants of powerful inner sect elders, and the like...
Fang Qing was long accustomed to it. Compared to Ancient Shu, this little cruelty of sect competition was simply nothing. Even if one died from forcibly attempting Foundation Establishment without a Foundation Establishment Pill, that was still better than taking a Human Pill, wasn't it?
"By the way, building a Spirit Spring within your cave dwelling is a major undertaking. Reconstruction will take quite some time. Could it be that Junior Brother plans to rent another cave dwelling?"
Before they parted, Xu Wusu asked.
"No. I plan to head out to sea and fish... Perhaps I'll catch a spirit fish that can help me break through my realm, allowing my dharma power to advance by leaps and bounds."
Fang Qing told the truth.
"Fishing at sea? Do you have a fleet?"
Xu Wusu smiled, not taking it too seriously.
Every Azure Sea Sect cultivator knew that the sea held boundless opportunities. Then why did so many still refuse to put out to sea?
Was it not because the deeper one went into the sea, the greater the danger?
With bad luck, one might encounter a Third-Order or even Fourth-Order demon beast. Even a Core Formation ancestor might not return alive!
"I have no fleet. I still prefer acting alone."
Fang Qing naturally would not team up with others. If he went to sea alone, he could still hide in Ancient Shu if he encountered danger.
If he formed a team, never mind the question of whose orders to follow—even hiding would become difficult.
"If I go to sea alone but avoid the deep sea, the risks should remain manageable... And it would be just the right opportunity to make another fortune in name."
For cultivators, heading out to sea and catching high-grade spirit fish was likewise a shortcut to becoming rich overnight!
Naturally, far more ended up buried in fish bellies. Yet that still could not stop increasing numbers of cultivators from exploring and catching fish... Hua Lian, for example, had established his own fleet and gone to sea even without sect organization.
Fang Qing did not need to truly catch high-grade spirit fish. He only needed an excuse for getting rich.
Whoosh, whoosh.
The sea wind howled, vastly different from the tranquility of a lake.
"Ocean Water is [Chariot Water]. Compared to [Winnowing Basket Water], it truly possesses a different sort of profound mystery..."
A lone sea boat drifted upon the ocean, while Fang Qing silently experienced the sea's ever-changing moods.
"Breath-Nourishing Dao cultivation seems to place greater emphasis on 'Dao practice,' or rather... one's comprehension of Water Virtue."
"So troublesome. As expected, it is still not as good as the Qi Refinement Way, which can press forward with fierce vigor..."
After contemplating for half a day without gaining anything, he took out a pill formula and silently studied it.
This pill formula was precisely the Spirit-Concentrating Powder obtained from the Five Dragons Society!
"Qi Refinement Way medicines mainly come in the forms of spirit water, powder, pellets, and pills... each has its own strengths, and their refining methods differ."
"This Spirit-Concentrating Powder is even more difficult to refine than spirit water."
Fang Qing sighed.
It was already the seventh day since his conversation with Xu Wusu.
After receiving the letter talisman, he immediately went to Formation Island to request an audience with Senior Sister Qin.
Senior Sister Qin was indeed exceptionally skilled in formations and had also taught herself the way of geomancy, so there was no need to find someone else to draw in the water vein.
After surveying Fang Qing's cave dwelling, she immediately provided a remodeling plan.
Fang Qing thus handed the cave dwelling over to Senior Sister Qin, packed up his belongings, and went out to sea to fish.
But fishing was merely a pretext. His main focus remained his own cultivation.
After his daily cultivation, he began pondering the pill formula again.
"This ancient Spirit-Concentrating Powder formula has actually been mostly solved by the Five Dragons Society. Most of its materials can be found on Jade Island or replaced with substitutes. Only this Seven-Star Grass has truly left them helpless..."
Thinking of this, Fang Qing gave a mysterious smile and patted his storage pouch.
A jade box opened, revealing a strange spirit herb. Its spirit leaves bore patterns like tiny stars. It was precisely Seven-Star Grass.
"Among the Five Dragons Society's several pill formulas beneficial to Spiritual Sense, only this Spirit-Concentrating Powder has had its main ingredient found in Ancient Shu... Next, once the Spirit Pool is completed, I can try opening the furnace and refining it myself."
For a medicine of such importance, Fang Qing would have to be stupid to refine it at Cold Spring Peak, much less hand it over to the Five Dragons Society.
Naturally, the proper course was to refine it himself and consume it himself!
The sun rose and set, the tides swelled and ebbed...
Fang Qing sat cross-legged on the boat. Every day, he spent two fixed hours refining qi and cultivating his techniques, then set aside another hour for Body Refinement and the Horse-Head Vajra Protector Divine Art.
He spent the remaining time reading all kinds of miscellaneous books and alchemy classics, researching ancient pill formulas.
When he occasionally relaxed, he half-reclined upon the fishing boat and cast his rod into the sea.
He knew what mattered. He never went into the dangerous deep sea, merely circling through several safe waters near Jade Island that had already been explored.
As a result, although his gains were meager, he encountered no danger.
On this day.
Splash!
Feeling the fishing rod tremble, Fang Qing's face lit up. He violently reeled it in.
A Treasure Fish with a body like jade was flung from the sea, and he easily caught it in his hand.
The Treasure Fish opened its blood-filled maw. Its mouthful of sharp teeth were like sawteeth, grinding noisily against Fang Qing's hand, yet they could not even break his skin.
"Jadeflower Treasure Fish? My luck is not bad today..."
Seeing this, Fang Qing applied a little force with his palm, and a smile appeared on his face.
This fish was the main ingredient for refining Jadeflower Spirit Water, making it relatively valuable among Treasure Fish.
Of course, it was only a Half-Demon and had not yet entered an order. It could not possibly break the defenses of his First-Order Low Grade Body Refinement.
"If I encountered a First-Order Low Grade, or even Middle Grade spirit fish... it would not be so easy. After all, the human body is not suited to underwater combat, unless one cultivates specialized techniques, such as water lightning and the like..."
Within the sect, there were specialized fisher cultivators. Their cultivation techniques, spells, and dharma artifacts were all designed for underwater fishing, making them exceptionally formidable at catching spirit fish.
Of course, when they encountered danger, they died quickly as well...
Before you continue