Three Metropolises, Five Masters, Eighteen Heads

Fang Shu walked along Toad Street, replaying Hua Xiaqing's death over and over in his mind.

He slowly came to a stop amid the crowd. The passing servants flowed around him on either side like running water.

At the same time, Fang Shu recalled the attitude of the attendant Tong Cou after he had emerged from seclusion, as well as Steward Sun's repeated gestures of goodwill just now.

He could not help sighing inwardly. You may be polished and sociable, with sleeves that dance through every occasion, but if that is all you have, you will never compare to breaking through in Qi Refinement and planting a spiritual root.

Today, Hua Xiaqing had used her own life to prove that truth to Fang Shu in the starkest possible way.

With a trace of relief and vigilance in his heart, Fang Shu pulled his robe tighter and continued onward in broad strides.

Before night fell, he returned in time to Senior Sister Fang Lu's cottage.

Standing at the door, Fang Shu helplessly murmured, "The white deer is not a deer, Elder Sister is not a sister—lead me into the household."

He did not understand why Senior Sister Fang Lu had left him with such a strange password spell.

With a creak, the door swayed open, disrupting his thoughts.

The cottage before him opened wide. Pearls within lit up one after another, releasing a dim spiritual glow, as though welcoming him home.

Fang Shu strolled inside and once again felt the dense spiritual qi, his expression easing with comfort.

The spiritual qi in this cottage was rich and abundant. Cultivating in such a place long-term might not double or triple one's results, but it would certainly increase them by several hefty portions.

For disciples without true spiritual roots, this was undoubtedly of