Four Years (Please Follow)

"Hmm?"

Inside Red Maple Valley.

Gong Tianhong's pretty face was pale as she suddenly coughed up a pitch-black beetle. This was a sign that she'd already fallen victim to a blight curse.

Across from her, a sinister-faced Black Blight Sect cultivator was about to press the attack and curse her to death in one go.

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 there be such a Qi Ingestion expert?"

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

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

In that instant of distraction, Li Rulong merged with his sword. His sword radiance blazed brilliantly, and all manner of blades and swords lying 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 swan-like neck.

"Senior Sister?"

"This is bad, run!"

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

Li Rulong stood with his sword held before him, staring blankly at the red clouds beyond the valley. "No wonder my sword heart kept sensing that Brother Fang was in danger. He truly hid himself deeply..."

"Big Brother..."

Guo Tianhong flew over, her expression full of shame. "I was useless... I even misjudged Fellow Daoist Fang before this and nearly brought a powerful enemy down upon you, Brother..."

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

Li Rulong smiled. "He may not wish to join us, but he's willing to support our cause..."

"I never expected that Fellow Daoist Fang Shui, besides being an alchemist, would possess such formidable dharma power."

Madam Miaoyi and the other cultivators returned from pursuing the Black Blight Sect cultivators, equally moved. They couldn't help wondering whether their earlier attitude had been insufficiently respectful.

"Right, where is Fellow Daoist Fang Shui?"

Madam Miaoyi's eyes shifted as she looked beyond the valley.

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

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

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

After killing the triangular-eyed cultivator, Fang Qing didn't even have time to inspect the spoils. He immediately rode the Green Leaf Boat away.

The fierce wind howled past his ears, but his expression remained grave.

"Judging by the attackers' strength, they were probably just within what Li Rulong's group could handle... Without me, it should've 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 account for a margin of error.

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

Yet the attackers' strength this time had truly been somewhat lacking.

Even with the constraints imposed by the prior agreement between Purple Mansion cultivators, it was still rather abnormal.

"So... was it a tacit understanding between the two Purple Mansion factions?"

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

Fang Qing's expression chilled.

Today, hearing Li Rulong casually reveal his own cultivation technique, with that completely matter-of-fact expression, truly sent a chill down Fang Qing's back. "Didn't the Old Blind Man at Jade Heaven Market warn him that identical techniques could devour one another? Or... did he not dare warn him? Because someone, or some faction, had already set their sights on him?"

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

"I originally wanted to get closer to Li Rulong and take over the treasures he collected as he wiped out family after family... Now, it seems I'd better keep my distance."

Jade Island, Azure Sea Sect.

After fleeing back to his cave abode and activating the grand formation, Fang Qing finally felt some long-lost security.

"That damned place... I'd better go there less in the future."

He came to the bed, didn't meditate, and simply fell asleep.

The next day.

The morning sun rose.

Fang Qing sat cross-legged atop a cliff. Seizing the moment before the sun had fully risen, he began gathering qi.

Now that he had obtained this qi-gathering technique for Great Sun Violet Qi, he had to put it to use.

"Gathering qi here isn't much of a problem... Great Sun Origin Qi is abundant. In another three or four years, I should obtain this Ninth Rank high-grade True Qi. It's just a pity I don't have a matching cultivation technique... Great Sun Violet Qi has been cut off. The techniques for cultivating Great Sun Violet Qi have probably depreciated into worthless paper. If I search patiently, the price shouldn't be high..."

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

"Haa..."

He visualized the Horse-Head Vajra Guardian, his face seeming divine and demonic alike. The blood and qi within his body surged, transforming into strange strength that reinforced his skin, sinews, bones, and flesh...

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

Though he'd carefully selected this body-refinement technique, its rate of improvement still exceeded Fang Qing's expectations.

"According to the Old Blind Man, although this technique can improve through bitter cultivation, it's best used with Secret Treasury Domain secret medicines and essential oils... I have none of those resources, yet it feels as though I haven't practiced body refinement for long before I can break through to First-Order Mid Grade..."

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

Fang Qing worried that this technique might contain hidden dangers. Yet when he thought of the Dao-Born Pearl, he immediately calmed down. "At worst, once I've mastered it, I'll directly cripple it and completely convert it into Origin Qi..."

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

Before he knew it, night had arrived.

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

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

"To enjoy life better and for longer in the future... I should at least work hard until the Foundation Establishment Realm and gain three jiazi of lifespan, shouldn't I?"

At night, after converting his dharma power into [Ji Water], he sensed the condition of the spring water in the Spirit Pool before him. Nodding, he began refining spirit water again.

First was Ginseng Green Spirit Water. He could now keep its success rate at around seventy to eighty percent, and selling it would earn him a great deal.

"This Water-Method Alchemy... though it's extremely difficult to begin with, and one careless mistake can leave you bankrupt, once you truly master it, money pours in every day... Gong Susu's recommendation back then may have been meant to trap me, but through a twist of fate... it ended up benefiting me instead."

After Zha Zhu visited several times, Fang Qing roughly understood Gong Susu's intentions as well.

He simply didn't understand something. Even if Zha Zhu advanced to Foundation Establishment in the future, would it really bring Gong Susu and the others such great benefits?

Could it be... that those who established their foundation first could somehow drive those after them to do the same?

"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, refining Ginseng Green Spirit Water gave him a feeling of freely wielding the brush.

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

Especially a Water-Method Alchemist!

The spiritual energy and water nature of every Spirit Pool and spring were different. How could they possibly all follow the same pattern?

Therefore, one had to make minute adjustments during alchemy. This was experience no pill formula could provide; one had to comprehend it personally through refining pool after pool!

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

Fang Qing's eyes were dark and deep.

Four years later.

Inside the cave abode.

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

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

He seemed only one step away from the late-stage realm of Qi Refinement Seventh Layer, yet no matter what, he couldn't cross it.

"A bottleneck?"

Fang Qing wasn't surprised by this, nor did he force a breakthrough. Instead, he went with the flow, dispersed his dharma power, and slowly concluded his cultivation.

"As someone with merely average aptitude, and with dharma power cultivated by consuming spirit water, breaking through the Sixth Layer of Qi Refinement was manageable. But facing the bottleneck of Qi Refinement Seventh Layer now, forcing my way through 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, I might be able to break through in a single 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 option is taking a pill that can assist with breaking through it... However, pills on the market that can help one break into Late Qi Refinement are not only expensive, but extremely scarce. Ordinary disciples definitely can't afford them."

"The second method is to go out and fight, crashing into one's opportunity... Especially at the very edge of life and death, it's easiest to break through barriers. Of course, that's also when one dies the fastest..."

"The third method is to slowly temper 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 had a generous fortune and didn't want to take risks, so he naturally considered the first method.

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

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

Fang Qing thought of a method, and his heart settled.

"There's also the Spirit-Concentrating Powder... I've already reached the final pill-combining step. If I can refine it successfully, allowing me to possess Spiritual Sense while still in the Qi Refinement Realm, then this mere late-stage hurdle will likewise shatter at the flick of a finger!"

He shook out his robes, rose, and entered the alchemy room, taking out a stalk of Seven-Star Grass.

"These past few years, Ba Commandery has grown more and more chaotic... Li Rulong has truly accomplished something tremendous—he's made trade between my two worlds increasingly difficult."

Whenever Fang Qing thought of the chaos in Ba Commandery, he couldn't help sighing.

The more chaotic the cultivation world became, the more cultivator bandits there were!

Though he'd been sufficiently cautious on several previous occasions, he'd still accidentally leaked information once and been targeted by a group of cultivator bandits.

If he hadn't later replenished several high-grade Firecloud Talismans and Golden Blade Talismans, and had the Sea-Transforming Pearl to assist him, he would've had to put on a show of transmigrating on the spot, exposing his greatest secret.