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Inside the secluded cultivation chamber.

With a thought, Fang Qing converted all his Black Water Dharma Power, newly raised to the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, into Winnowing Basket Water Power.

Gurgle, gurgle!

A clear spring bubbled, while a gentle breeze wafted past.

Water ripples faintly surrounded his body, and a flash of black light flickered in his eyes. "The sixth layer of Qi Ingestion truly failed to break through the bottleneck of the seventh layer..."

Fang Qing was not surprised. After all, in terms of the quality of its spiritual power, the Black Ridge Contemplation Scripture was originally superior to the Water Classic Commentary.

He converted it again and discovered that his Black Water Dharma Power had condensed and refined considerably once more.

"Now that my realm has reached this level, my spiritual power can be cultivated up quickly. Refining it once more is actually a good thing."

Fang Qing nodded in satisfaction and took out the Five Dragons Alchemy Classic.

After studying it for a while, he felt that the alchemy classic was truly mediocre. There were omissions in many places.

"Now, if I refine a first-order superior-grade pill, I'll certainly be able to master it after failing at most two or three times..."

"What kind of alchemy talent is this? If I were willing to expend the effort, I probably wouldn't have much trouble with talisman-making or artifact refinement either... No wonder most Foundation Establishment cultivators can master a second-order craft as long as they are willing to work hard at studying it..."

He tossed aside the Five Dragons Alchemy Classic and took out the Black Ridge Observation Book to study.

"Observing Black Ridge, I saw a spring there, with Winnowing Basket Water murmuring..."

"This book... contains the rhythm of the Dao..."

After a long while, Fang Qing let out a deep breath, swallowed a Grain-Escaping Pill, meditated to regulate his breathing, and then tried practicing the Horse-Head Vajra Protector Divine Art.

This time, the moment his Spiritual Sense stirred, the Horse-Head Vajra he had visualized seemed to come alive. The Vajra Pestle gripped in its hideous palm suddenly became solid.

"Hmm?"

"By combining Spiritual Sense with the visualization diagram, I seem to be able to condense the Demon-Subduing Vajra Pestle and transform it into a secret art... Could this be... a secret technique for attacking the Spiritual Sense?"

Fang Qing was delighted. "As expected, there are still many secrets hidden within this cultivation method."

After studying the technique for a while longer, he began reading other miscellaneous books. The most important among them was the Plum Blossom Divination.

"Among the Hundred Arts of Immortality inherited by Jade Island, there's nothing related to divination... Does the Qi Refinement Way lack this kind of inheritance? There's only astrology and physiognomy, which seem somewhat related..."

He studied the Plum Blossom Divination and gradually gained some insight. "As expected, Plum Blossom Divination is closely related to the art of numerical calculation—the Primordial Eight Trigrams, the six-line hexagram images..."

Several days later.

At sunrise.

Fang Qing faced the morning sun and breathed in that wisp of purple qi.

As he circulated the Qi-Gathering Formula, the final wisp of Great Sun Violet Qi took shape and was drawn into a jade bottle.

Within the jade bottle, a complete strand of Great Sun Violet Qi was clearly visible.

"Ninth-Rank Superior-Grade, Eastern Extreme Jade Clarity... Success!"

"It's just a pity... I still haven't been able to find the Great Sun Cultivation Method..."

Fang Qing let out a faint sigh. For this strand of Great Sun Violet Qi, he had spent several years of painstaking effort.

Although he only needed to meditate for a moment each day at sunrise, it still required perseverance and patience.

"This Spirit Asset... In Ancient Shu... I wonder what kind of raging waves it will stir up?"

Lost in thought, Fang Qing immediately cast a hexagram, using the Plum Blossom Divination he had just begun to master.

As expected, he could calculate nothing.

"This... isn't because my cultivation is too shallow, but because the Heavenly Secrets are incompatible... The so-called divination and deduction are actually 'questioning Heaven's secrets.' Heaven and earth know all, but what I'm calculating is the 'Heaven' of another world. To the Heavenly Secrets of this world, it's equivalent to not existing at all. Naturally, there's no hexagram image..."

"However, even in Ancient Shu, I'm afraid I couldn't calculate a causality this immense. My realm is too low..."

Fang Qing thought for a moment, put away the jade bottle containing the Great Sun Violet Qi, and then calculated his own fortunes.

"Minor misfortune?... Will I have a bit of bad luck from here on?"

After studying the hexagram image, Fang Qing furrowed his brow. "What bad luck could there be within the sect? This Plum Blossom Divination is mediocre too. It only gives me a hexagram image, and I still have to interpret it myself... Yet the interpretation I can manage is extremely vague."

Now that his Plum Blossom Divination had only just reached the entry level, he could not divine many matters involving profound causality. Even when he managed to obtain a result, there were only a few possible hexagram images: great misfortune, minor misfortune, middling fortune, minor good fortune, and great good fortune.

With a thought, he went to Myriad Treasures Island.

"Hmm?"

The moment he entered the Palace of Miscellaneous Affairs, Fang Qing sensed that something was wrong.

Teams of enforcement cultivators guarded every area, their expressions exceptionally solemn—a complete change from their usual lazy demeanor.

"Junior Brother, what happened?"

He casually grabbed a disciple at the fourth or fifth layer of Qi Refinement and asked.

The disciple had originally worn an impatient expression, but after sensing the concealed aura of the sixth layer of Qi Refinement on Fang Qing, he immediately dared not be negligent. "Reporting to Senior Brother... it's the Great White Zhong Clan. They've gone to war with our Azure Sea Sect! Apparently, they've already begun attacking ships in various sea regions. The disciples of our sect who went out to sea... have suffered heavy casualties!"

"Hmm?"

Fang Qing was shaken to the core when he heard this.

The Great White Zhong Family! It was one of the three Core Formation factions in the Minor Vast Sea cultivation world! It stood alongside the Azure Sea Sect and the Heavenly Heart Chain Islands, and was famous for its ice-element cultivation methods.

"No wonder my fortunes are poor. An individual's luck is bound to be influenced by the tide of the times... With two major sects at war, I'll be lucky if I'm not forcibly conscripted."

Fang Qing sighed inwardly.

Rumble!

Just then, the sensation of the earth shaking and mountains swaying rolled over.

He hurried out of the Palace of Miscellaneous Affairs and flew up on the Green Leaf Boat. He saw a glimmering azure light spreading from the seven islands in the lake, forming a vast curtain of light like an enormous bowl turned upside down, protecting the entire Azure Sea Sect within.

"Is that the sect's protective formation—the Seven Profound Azurewave Formation? It's activated at full power?"

Beside him, a Formation Island disciple exclaimed in amazement.

"All disciples of the Azure Sea Sect, heed my order! The Palace of Miscellaneous Affairs is temporarily suspending the distribution of missions. Return to your respective abodes and prepare to await deployment..."

Several streaks of light flew out over Myriad Treasures Island. At their head was none other than the "Myriad Treasures Elder," his voice solemn.

"Elder... my brother hasn't returned yet."

"Reporting to the Elder, my family is still outside..."

The many disciples descended into chaos.

"Enough! The sect has opened the harbor. Disciples outside the formation can enter, but they still need to undergo an inspection!"

Several members of the enforcement team flew out and explained.

Upon hearing this, large numbers of streaks of light immediately flew toward the formation's passageway.

Fang Qing arrived at the pier and saw flying boats descending from the sky one after another as if fleeing a disaster, coming to berth at the harbor.

However, the pier was currently separated from the sect's interior by another curtain of light. Enforcement disciples stood there with icy expressions, holding magic artifacts as they inspected the disciples' identity tokens, terrified that spies might slip inside.

The later the flying boats arrived, the more battered they appeared on the surface. Clearly, they had just endured a fierce battle.

Some Azure Sea Sect disciples relaxed with relief after disembarking. Others wore grave expressions, while still others had tears at the corners of their eyes, their faces filled with the look of people who had narrowly escaped death...

"This... they're really going to war?"

Fang Qing exhaled slowly, suddenly thinking of Zha Zhu and the others who had gone out to sea.

"If it were me, even without a cheat, I'd definitely run straight into the deep sea, find some island to hole up on for a year or two, and wait to see how the wind blew before deciding what to do..."

As he considered his own countermeasures, he saw a three-pronged sea vessel descend from the sky.

This kind of sea vessel had mainly been built to resist monsters in the ocean. Its flight function was extremely impractical and consumed a large number of spirit stones, so it was rarely activated under normal circumstances.

Now that it had been activated, it was naturally to flee for their lives.

The deck was mottled with blood, clearly showing that it had just gone through a fierce battle.

After the large three-pronged vessel had berthed, several cultivators immediately flew down.

Fang Qing focused his gaze and saw only Hua Lian, Li Yusu, and a few other disciples.

Huo Tianhuo, Ming Lingzhen, and even Zha Zhu... were all nowhere to be seen.

"Surely not?"

With a thought, he cast a hexagram for Zha Zhu.

"Great misfortune. The master has passed away... Could this mean... she's dead?"

Fang Qing fell silent. It was as if he had returned to many years ago, when he had seen that little girl in a red padded jacket, holding a large blue-flower fish bowl.

"Cultivation... truly is lonely."

His expression darkened. After waiting for a moment, he saw Li Yusu.

Li Yusu was covered in blood and had lost her right arm. When she saw Fang Qing, her expression was tragic.

"What about Zha Zhu? And Senior Brother Ming and the others—how are they?"

Although he already knew the answer, Fang Qing still asked.

"Dead... They're all dead."

Li Yusu's voice was hoarse. "The Great White Zhong Family! It was the Great White Zhong Family who did it! Sob... Senior Sister Zha..."

Fang Qing bit his lip, then noticed Hua Lian beside him, who had just finished undergoing inspection.

Hua Lian's face was pale. It seemed he had exhausted too much spiritual power, affecting the source of his cultivation.

When he saw Fang Qing, he gave a tragic smile. "It's over... It's all over."

Fang Qing swept him with a glance and asked, "What about Junior Sister Yu Taohua?"

"To protect me, she was struck by the enemy's Ice Spike Technique and died on the spot..."

Hua Lian's voice was low.

"My condolences..."

Fang Qing offered a few words of comfort, then took his leave.

Now that he knew what had happened to Hua Lian and the others, he needed to find Xu Wusu and the others from the Five Dragons Society to discuss their plans from here on.

However, after taking his leave and departing, it was as if a huge stone had settled over his heart, impossible to dispel.

"Hua Lian... and Li Yusu?"

Fang Qing was not the kind of person who could keep things bottled up inside. He immediately cast a hexagram for each of them.

"Hua Lian... great misfortune for me?"

"Li Yusu... middling fortune?"

"Why would it be like this?"

Fang Qing sank into deep thought, then secretly seethed with resentment. "The rank of Plum Blossom Divination is too low, and I've only just begun to master it. I can barely divine a hexagram image and cannot reveal any more clues... But it seems that Hua Lian cannot escape responsibility for Zha Zhu and the others dying this time. Could it be that this person had been cultivating a reputation all along?"

Remembering how Hua Lian's fleet had always made plentiful gains while suffering few casualties, and how great his reputation was, Fang Qing suddenly felt that this person concealed treacherous depths beneath a calm exterior.

"However... I crushed him through divination."

"Should I report him to the sect?"

"But this person has Flying Fish Island backing him. I'm afraid that without evidence, I'd only bring trouble upon myself."

Fang Qing's expression was distant. "Wait... The Great White Zhong Family suddenly launching an attack this time—could Flying Fish Island have cooperated with them from within? Has this Foundation Establishment faction, which originally belonged to the Azure Sea Sect, defected to the enemy?"