Four Years (Please Follow)

"Hmm?"

Inside Red Maple Valley.

Guo Tianhong's pretty face turned pale as she suddenly coughed up a pitch-black beetle. This was a sign that she had already been afflicted by Blight Arts.

Opposite her, a sinister-faced Black Blight Sect cultivator was about to press the advantage and curse her to death in one fell swoop.

Suddenly.

Terrifying fireclouds erupted beyond the valley. That powerful fire spiritual energy nearly made every cultivator engaged in battle stop moving.

"Dao Foundation? No... probably not..."

"But how could such a Qi Ingestion expert...?"

"What powerful fire-element spiritual energy. What lineage does he cultivate? [Tail Fire], [Wings Fire]?"

"Could he be an expert from the Pu Family of Yulin?"

In that brief moment of distraction, Li Rulong merged man and sword into one. His sword flashed brilliantly, and all manner of blades and swords upon the ground suddenly rang in unison.

Whoosh!

A flash of golden light broke through the Black Blight Sect female cultivator's defenses and swept past her swanlike neck.

"Senior Sister?"

"This is bad, retreat!"

The Black Blight Sect cultivators immediately withdrew, only to be pursued and slaughtered all the way, suffering grievous casualties.

Li Rulong stood with his sword clasped before him, staring blankly at the Redcloud beyond the valley. "No wonder my sword heart kept sensing that Brother Fang was in danger. So he had been hiding his true abilities all along..."

"Big Brother..."

Guo Tianhong flew over, but her expression was filled with shame. "I was useless... and I misjudged Fellow Daoist Fang before. I nearly brought a powerful enemy upon you, Brother..."

"It's nothing. Brother Fang's willingness to act for us already says everything."

Li Rulong smiled. "He may not be willing to join us, yet he is still willing to support our cause..."

"I never expected that Fellow Daoist Fang Shui, besides being an alchemist, possessed such formidable Dharma power."

Madam Miaoyi and the other cultivators returned from hunting down the Black Blight Sect cultivators. They were equally moved, wondering whether their previous attitude toward him had been insufficiently respectful.

"By the way, where is Fellow Daoist Fang Shui?"

Madam Miaoyi's eyes rippled as she gazed beyond the valley.

"He should have... left, perhaps?"

Li Rulong seemed somewhat melancholy. "In the end... our paths differ."

"This time, the Black Blight Sect only sent so few cultivators... Something is completely wrong."

After Fang Qing killed the triangular-eyed cultivator, he did not even have time to inspect the spoils. He immediately rode the Green Leaf Boat away.

The fierce wind whistled past his ears, yet his expression was exceedingly grave.

"Judging by the attackers' strength, they were probably just within the range that Li Rulong's group could handle... Without me, it should have been a hard battle. But that isn't normal!"

As a disciple of a Core Formation sect, Fang Qing knew very well that when such sects issued missions, they would certainly leave themselves a margin.

Thus, if they wanted to wipe out Li Rulong, they should have sent at least several Late Qi Ingestion cultivators, shouldn't they?

Yet the attackers' strength this time was truly somewhat lacking.

Even with the restrictions of the previous agreement between Purple Mansion cultivators, it was still rather abnormal.

"So... was this an unspoken understanding between two Purple Mansion powers?"

"Or... were they raising venomous insects in a jar?"

Fang Qing's expression chilled.

Today, when he heard Li Rulong reveal his own cultivation technique, the man's utterly matter-of-fact expression sent a cold sweat down Fang Qing's back. "Didn't the Old Blind Man at Jade Heaven Market remind him that identical cultivation techniques could devour one another? Or... did he not dare to remind him? Because Li Rulong had already caught the eye of someone, some force?"

"At tonight's banquet, how many people were watching a play, and how many were waiting to... devour him?"

"I had originally wanted more contact with Li Rulong, to take over the treasures he accumulated as he wiped out family after family... But now, it seems I'd better keep my distance out of respect."

Jade Island, Azure Sea Sect.

After fleeing back into his cave abode and activating the grand formation, Fang Qing felt a long-lost sense of security.

"I'd better visit that damned place less often in the future..."

He went to the bed, did not sit in meditation to cultivate, and simply fell asleep face-first.

The next day.

The rising sun climbed into the sky.

On the cliff, Fang Qing sat cross-legged. Taking advantage of the moment before the sun rose, he began gathering Qi.

Now that he had obtained the Qi Gathering Method for "Great Sun Violet Qi," he had to put it to use.

"Gathering Qi here won't pose much of a problem... Great Sun Origin Qi is abundant. In roughly three or four years, I should obtain this Ninth Rank upper-grade True Qi. What a pity there's no matching cultivation technique... 'Great Sun Violet Qi' has been severed, so cultivation techniques for it should have depreciated into worthless paper. If I search patiently, the price should not be high..."

After completing his daily Qi gathering as usual, Fang Qing returned to his cave abode and began tempering his body again.

"Huff..."

He visualized the Horse-Head Vajra Guardian. His face looked half-divine, half-demonic, while the blood and Qi within his body surged and transformed into strange power, bracing his skin, sinews, bones, and flesh...

After a round of cultivation, Fang Qing sensed that both his body and spiritual cultivation had advanced another step. He found it somewhat strange. "This Secret Treasury Domain technique really is formidable. More importantly, why does cultivating it feel like I'm advancing by leaps and bounds?"

Although he had carefully selected this body-refinement technique, its rate of progress still exceeded Fang Qing's expectations.

"According to the Old Blind Man, although this technique can improve through bitter cultivation, it is best paired with Secret Treasury Domain secret medicines and essential oils... I have none of those resources, yet it feels as though I can break through to First-Order middle-grade after not cultivating Body Refinement for long..."

"Could it be that my Qi Refinement cultivation hasn't even reached the late stage, yet my Body Refinement can surpass it?"

Fang Qing was somewhat worried that this technique might contain hidden dangers. However, when he thought of the Dao-Born Pearl, he immediately calmed down. "At worst, once I complete it, I'll directly discard it and convert it all into Origin Qi..."

After cultivating the body-refinement technique, he swallowed several drops of Ginseng Green Spirit Water and began Qi Refinement.

Without his noticing, night arrived.

Fang Qing cultivated for an entire day. At noon, he only swallowed one Grain-Escaping Pill. His sole rest came when he read various miscellaneous books and pill formulas... and occasionally studied Plum Blossom Divination.

"Too weak... I'm still far too weak."

"In order to enjoy things better and for longer in the future... I should at least strive to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm first and gain three cycles of sixty years of lifespan, shouldn't I?"

At night, after converting his power into [Winnowing Basket Water] Dharma power and sensing the condition of the spring water in the Spirit Pool before him, he nodded and began refining spirit water again.

First was Ginseng Green Spirit Water. He could now keep the success rate at roughly seventy to eighty percent, and selling it would earn him a handsome profit.

"This Water-Method Alchemy... Though getting started is extremely difficult, and one careless mistake can leave you bankrupt, once you truly master it, money comes pouring in every day... Gong Susu's recommendation back then had been intended to set me up, yet through a twist of fate... it ended up benefiting me instead."

With Zha Zhu's several visits, Fang Qing had roughly understood Gong Susu's intentions.

He simply did not understand one thing. Even if Zha Zhu advanced to Foundation Establishment in the future, would that truly bring such great benefits to Gong Susu and the others?

Could one person establish a foundation first and then spur others into Foundation Establishment afterward?

"Forget it. It has nothing to do with me either way."

Fang Qing casually tossed a stalk of Jade Qi Ginseng into the Spirit Pool.

At his current cultivation level, refining Ginseng Green Spirit Water gave him a feeling of being able to wield it freely.

A true alchemist, besides refining pills according to the formulas left by predecessors, also had to learn to adapt to the time and place.

This was especially true for Water-Method Alchemists!

The spiritual energy and water properties of every Spirit Pool and spring source were different. How could they possibly all be identical?

Thus, subtle adjustments had to be made during alchemy. No pill formula could provide such experience; one had to comprehend it personally through refining pool after pool!

"After refining this pool of Ginseng Green Spirit Water, I'll try Spirit-Concentrating Powder again..."

Fang Qing's eyes gleamed faintly.

Four years later.

Inside the cave abode.

Fang Qing sat cross-legged, Black Water Dharma Power rippling around him. He had astonishingly reached the realm of Qi Refinement Sixth Layer Great Perfection!

He silently circulated the Water Classic Commentary, purifying the Black Water within his body, and faintly sensed a barrier.

The Late Qi Refinement realm of Qi Refinement Seventh Layer seemed only one step away, yet he simply could not cross it.

"A bottleneck?"

Fang Qing was not surprised by this, nor did he force his way through. Instead, he went with the flow, dispersed his Dharma power, and slowly concluded his cultivation.

"As someone of middling aptitude, whose Dharma power was cultivated by consuming spirit water, breaking through Qi Refinement Sixth Layer had been manageable before. But now, facing the bottleneck of Qi Refinement Seventh Layer, forcing a breakthrough would surely end in failure..."

"A Middle-Grade Water Spirit Root is still somewhat lacking. If I had a High-Grade Water Spirit Root like Zha Zhu's, perhaps I could succeed in breaking through in one attempt..."

The more Fang Qing cultivated, the more deeply he felt the importance of aptitude.

"Now that I've encountered a bottleneck, the most reliable method is to consume a pill that can assist with breaking through it... But pills on the market that can help one break into Late Qi Refinement are not only expensive, but extremely scarce. Ordinary disciples definitely cannot afford them."

"The second method is to go out and fight, seeking opportunities through chance... Especially at the line between life and death, where it is easiest to break through obstacles. Of course, that is also where one dies the fastest..."

"The third is to slowly polish one's Dharma power and wait it out. Some cultivators need only several years or a dozen years, while others remain trapped for decades, or even their entire lives."

Fang Qing was wealthy and did not want to take risks, so he naturally considered the first method.

As for the third? It consumed far too much time.

"Wait... The Water Classic Commentary has encountered a bottleneck, but the Black Ridge Observation Book has not... If I cultivate the Black Ridge Observation Book to the Sixth Layer of Qi Ingestion as well, then convert it all over... wouldn't that be comparable to nearly half a pill for breaking through a bottleneck?"

Thinking of a solution, Fang Qing's heart settled.

"And there's Spirit-Concentrating Powder... I've already advanced to the final pill-fusion step. If I can refine it successfully and gain Spiritual Sense while still in the Qi Refinement Realm, then a mere late-stage barrier will likewise be shattered with a flick of my fingers!"

He shook out his robes, rose to his feet, went to the alchemy chamber, and took out a stalk of Seven-Star Grass.

"In recent years, Ba Commandery has become increasingly chaotic... Li Rulong has truly caused quite a commotion. He has made trade between my two worlds more and more difficult."

Whenever Fang Qing thought of Ba Commandery's chaos, he could not help sighing.

The more chaotic the cultivation world became, the more Cultivator Bandits there were!

Although he had been cautious enough during his previous trips, he had once carelessly leaked information and been targeted by a group of Cultivator Bandits.

Had he not later replenished several upper-grade Firecloud Talismans and Golden Blade Talismans, with the Sea-Transforming Pearl assisting him as well, he would likely have had to put on a performance of crossing over on the spot and expose his greatest secret.