Free of Attachments, Shedding the Shackles of Dust
The land was acquired.
Subsequent matters included building the house, and the uncle and nephew officially registering their household registration in Guling Town after owning the property... and so on.
Fang Shu was handed over to his second uncle Yu Le.
This time, he earned a fortune for his second uncle, and while he was overjoyed, he was also extremely relieved.
With this house, Second Uncle can live a more peaceful life in Guling Town. Even if he falls into the situation of having to sell his blood to make ends meet again, he shouldn't become Blood Ghost.
With a job and a family business, Fang Shu believed he had done everything he could for his second uncle, except for not having a wife.
What he needed to do next was to devote himself entirely to his own cultivation and stay away from other matters.
In an instant, Fang Shu felt as if a shackle had been removed from his heart.
He seemed to sense something.
That day, he entered the quiet room of the Solitary Gu Hall, using the feeling of ease in his body and mind to promote his Qi and Blood and strengthen his muscles and bones.
Just one night later, the text in the Dao Register changed:
[Realm: First-Tribulation Essence-Refining Human Immortal (89% complete)]
His cultivation progress did indeed improve dramatically, although it was only by "three points," but compared to his usual cultivation, it was still a rare and valuable gain.
In particular, Fang Shu is now only "one point" away from achieving 90% of the First Tribulation Realm!
According to the book, in such cases, impatient Immortal cultivator can try taking potent medicine to make up for the last bit of damage in one go and try to get through the second tribulation.
In his joy, Fang Shu suddenly realized:
"Besides having clear and unobstructed thoughts, a mind free from worries is also beneficial to spiritual practice."
One night passed.
He felt no fatigue whatsoever, and taking advantage of his current detached State of Mind, he continued to cultivate in the quiet room, attempting to increase his cultivation progress to 90% in the shortest possible time.
With a mind free from all attachments, one should strive diligently and courageously!
On the other side.
After selling his house voucher and other valuables, Xiao Hu finally managed to purchase another precious medicine.
Clutching the precious medicine, he quickly returned to the Scorched-Tail Hall and headed straight for the backyard.
Along the way, some disciples from the Scorched-Tail Hall saw him.
Seeing Xiao Hu's hurried demeanor, so unlike his former managerial bearing, they couldn't help but chuckle.
"If only they had known this would happen, they wouldn't have done it in the first place. It's only because the headmaster is kind-hearted that these two—one embezzled the temple's money and still dared to buy a house, and the other left town Evil Method... These two unlucky bastards would have been kicked out of any other temple long ago."
A disciple echoed:
"That's right. It's purely because the owner is kind-hearted. Considering the old man's hard work and the misfortune his daughter suffered, he not only didn't kick him out, but also forgave his debts and even gave him several doses of precious medicine to prolong his daughter's life."
Xiao Hu overheard the disciples' discussions on the road. His eyes darkened, and he clenched his teeth, but he didn't stop walking. He pretended not to hear and continued on his way to the inner courtyard.
Even after he had walked a little further away, the disciples were still talking amongst themselves, their voices drifting back, and now they were even louder:
"I heard that this fellow, out of jealousy towards your senior brother, even tried to turn on him with his daughter, claiming that your senior brother harmed his daughter. He even tried to take it to the Black Tiger Hall, almost airing our dirty laundry in public."
"Yes, yes... Later, that old dog chickened out again. I guess it was only because of his relatively good attitude that the museum master was willing to provide the precious medicine to prolong his daughter's life."
"Speaking of which, it seems her daughter ventured out of town to cover his losses. Now, it seems she's gotten what she wanted?"
The constant whispers behind him made Xiao Hu feel like he was grinding his teeth to powder.
He wished he could rush to the inner courtyard's quiet room right now and call out the Ling Baiquan was nominally under house arrest but was actually just in seclusion for cultivation.
The two fought fiercely, battling to the death.
Although he, the Xiao Hu, is an old dog, even an old dog has a few teeth!
But the next moment, he saw a room ahead where the smell of medicine wafted out even before he got close.
He muttered to himself, "No, I still have Lili to take care of."
With a creak!
Xiao Hu pushed open the door and entered. The gloom on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a look of great joy.
He carried a bag of medicine in one hand and a pastry in the other, feigning smugness as he said:
"Look what Dad brought you back! Osmanthus crystal cake from Mrs. Wang's Pastry Shop. They make it with fresh osmanthus flowers."
Xiao Hu muttered something, causing the figure on the bed to sway.
The figure struggled to get up from behind the bed curtains, and it took a long time for him to straighten his upper body.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Hu's smile froze instantly. He felt extremely distressed and wanted to help, but he could only restrain himself, feeling awkward and uneasy in place.
"Father." A weak voice rang out.
Xiao Lili lifted the bed curtain, a smile appearing on her face, and looked at Xiao Hu at the door.
The woman's face was sallow, her eyes were cloudy and lifeless, her hair was dry and yellow like grass, and her abdomen was very large.
The current state of her is completely different from her former bright-eyed and white-toothed appearance. She can no longer be described as "sickly" but rather as "lifeless" and "on the verge of death."
Xiao Hu stared at Xiao Lili and quickly replied, "Yes."
The father and daughter then exchanged a few words.
Xiao Hu first fed his daughter the medicine, then placed the pastries on the bed. After he finished everything and saw that his daughter was in a good condition, he carefully left the room to continue his busy work.
As soon as he left, Xiao Lili, who had just been forcing a smile, immediately became numb, her eyes empty and silent.
She lay blankly on the bed, able to clearly feel the precious effects of the medicine she had just taken being greedily absorbed by the "Flesh Ginseng" in her chest and abdomen, while her physical body could barely enjoy even one tenth of it.
But it is precisely because the "Flesh Ginseng" has absorbed the medicinal Spiritual Qi that she is now barely clinging to life.
Xiao Lili's mind was once again in turmoil.
Although her father had always said that there would be a way to remove the "Flesh Ginseng," she already knew that there was indeed a way.
However, the Evil Method she had cultivated was deeply rooted in her internal organs, and the ginseng roots had already penetrated her bone marrow. At this point, even if Refining Qi Spirit Immortal were to take the ginseng, she would face certain death.
Aside from forcibly removing it, what the father and daughter now seek is what the curator meant by "the melon ripens and falls from the vine."
They are hoping that once the "Flesh Ginseng" matures, it will detach from the human body on its own, at which point it will be harmless.
But... will this Evil Method truly ever come to fruition?
Xiao Lili was unaware.
All she knew was that she had long since passed the so-called "seven-day ginseng planting period," and the ginseng embryo inside her belly could already be extracted and used as a precious medicine.
Time flies, and another half month has passed in no time.
Fang Shu opened his eyes in a daze in the quiet room and looked up at the bright white moon overhead.
Pieces of moonlight were falling from the sky, which he swallowed.
This wondrous sight didn't last long; the moonlight stopped falling.
The remaining moonlight on him seemed to melt away like snowflakes.
Fang Shu took a deep breath and inhaled all the moonlight, which served as an extra boost to his Spiritual Qi.
That night.
He then stopped practicing his Cultivation Method, even abandoning his stance training, and simply lay quietly at the bottom of the meditation room, gazing at the full, bright moon reflected in the well.
Fang Shu was calm and peaceful, appreciating the moonlit scenery.
After a period of seclusion, he had already achieved 90% of the First-Tribulation Essence-Refining Human Immortal realm, and his Qi and Blood were completely stable.
"It's time to press on and find a way to purchase more precious medicines so that I can cultivate to the full extent in one go." Fang Shu's thoughts stirred.
However, purchasing suitable precious medicines and preparing for the second tribulation would require spending a considerable amount of Talisman Coins.
Fang Shu immediately recalled the various treasures he had left behind in the wild, such as the remains of Immortal cultivator and Painted-Skin Mask.
So he did a somersault and stood up from the bottom of the well, easily leaping out of the quiet room.
"I need to go out and retrieve those items, then head to the Monster Market to sell them off."
The so-called "Monster Market" refers to a black market that exists outside the town. It is said to be run by mountain demons and has things that cannot be found in the main market, as well as goods that are not allowed to be sold in the main market.
Back then, Fang Shu's second uncle, Yu Le, sold his Law Technique in the Monster Market outside the town to raise enough money to become Shu Xiu's apprentice.
In such a place, where all sorts of people mingle and it's hard to distinguish between humans and demons, dealing with the remains of a Black Tiger Hall disciple wouldn't even cause a ripple.
Fang Shu got up and waited quietly for dawn.
In the afternoon, he finished his preparations, left the town, retrieved his belongings, and headed straight for the Monster Market.