A Solution

"Alas..."

Fang Xing opened the door and sighed.

The Ghost God Blade was difficult to get started with, which meant his combat strength could not surge anytime soon. He truly had little sense of security.

What was more, he still could not settle the grudges in his little notebook!

"Brother Fang..."

At that moment, Meng Yi happened to emerge from next door and immediately greeted him. "It's been many days..."

"I saw how formidable that Demon Bird was earlier, so I chose to go into seclusion and hide for a while. I wonder what happened afterward?" Fang Xing asked directly, without the slightest embarrassment.

"That demon bird was captured by Ancestor Zheng long ago... When a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator took action, it truly was extraordinary. It's a pity Brother Fang did not witness the scene for yourself," Meng Yi replied, sounding as though he still wanted more.

I doubt you were excited to see a Foundation Establishment Cultivator take action. You were excited because you made quite a haul from looting, weren't you?

Fang Xing could not help inwardly criticizing him.

When they had encountered the demon bird that day, Meng Yi had told his wife to hide in the market before rushing out with an excited look on his face. He definitely had not gone out to help fight the bird; he had gone to pick up bargains!

After chatting with Meng Yi for a few more sentences, the conversation turned to Martial Arts.

After all, the Other World also had many merits worth drawing upon. Combining the strengths of both worlds was the true marvel of his Golden Finger!

"Oh? So Brother Fang is cultivating a demonic art, but is troubled by distracting and malicious thoughts?" Meng Yi's expression remained calm.

After all, he too was a martial artist and had cultivated some of the so-called "demonic arts" of the mortal world. He held no particular prejudice against them.

"Does Brother Meng have a solution?"

Seeing Meng Yi's expression, Fang Xing's eyes lit up. He sincerely said, "I hope Brother Meng will not hesitate to enlighten me..."

"Haha, you must know that, in the eyes of Cultivators, most of our martial arts are exceedingly crude... Even demonic arts that dominate the martial world are no exception."

Meng Yi laughed. "The Heart Demons faced by Cultivators are far more terrifying than the distracting thoughts encountered when we cultivate demonic arts. There are even rumors that when high-level Cultivators break through a major realm, Extraterrestrial Demons take physical form and descend to obstruct their path... Thus, Cultivators have far more experience dealing with such situations than we do. Whether through cultivating special techniques and secret arts, or gathering relevant pills and magic artifacts... all can have some effect. Brother Fang can look around for such things and should gain something from it. After all, we are merely martial artists. Pills and magic artifacts effective on Qi Refining Stage cultivators—or even ones whose effects are not so obvious to Qi Refining Stage cultivators—would be more than enough for us..."

"So Cultivators are the most skilled at handling such matters? Many thanks!"

Fang Xing cupped his hands and immediately headed for the market.

Naturally, he would not completely trust Meng Yi's words, so he planned to ask around as well.

Old Master Ding Bushan was a good person to consult.

Several hours later.

Azure Pill Workshop.

Fang Xing looked up at the plaque and its azure leaf emblem before striding inside.

He had also gone to see Ding Bushan earlier. Under the pretense of purchasing Spirit Rice, he had subtly asked about a few matters.

According to that Qi Refining Middle Stage cultivator, Cultivators indeed possessed many methods for dealing with Heart Demons.

However, most of them were beyond the reach of ordinary Qi Refining cultivators.

As for martial artists?

There was even less to say.

Still, Fang Xing intended to give it a try.

Cultivators' secret arts and special magic artifacts that protect the mind... Even if they gave them to me, I couldn't use them. Damn it, they're just bullying me for not having a Spiritual Root... Besides, those things are hard to find and especially expensive...

As for Talismans, there's a Mind Calming Talisman that is particularly suitable for this sort of situation. Unfortunately, it requires Innate True Qi at the very least to activate...

The only thing left to try is pills...

As he pondered, Fang Xing looked toward the young woman approaching him.

His luck was not bad. This time, he encountered the woman he had met on his first visit to Green Forest Market. She had a good temperament.

"Esteemed customer, what kind of pills do you require?"

The young woman spoke with a radiant smile.

"Something suitable for martial artists, to deal with distracting thoughts while cultivating martial arts..."

Fang Xing stated his requirements.

After listening, the young woman fell into thought. "Given your situation, the only suitable item in our shop is the Mind Calming Pill. This pill can slightly enhance the Spirit Sense of Qi Refining Stage cultivators and has the effect of clarifying the mind... However..."

"As for the price, that is easy to discuss. How many Spirit Stones?"

Fang Xing put on the appearance of someone unconcerned with the cost of Spirit Stones.

In truth, that was indeed the case. With his Drone gathering herbs, if he lacked Spirit Stones, he only needed to bring in more medicinal herbs to sell.

Moreover, because of the recent Beast Tide, the danger of venturing outside to gather herbs had greatly increased, and spirit herbs had risen considerably in price.

The current Fang Xing could casually take out several dozen Spirit Stones.

If not for his need for Mind Calming Pills, he would have first bought an Innate Pill to keep in reserve.

He just did not know whether pills in the Cultivation World had expiration dates.

"The Mind Calming Pill used to sell for thirty Spirit Stones per bottle... But our shop is currently out of stock."

The young woman smiled apologetically.

"What? Out of stock?"

Fang Xing was somewhat surprised. "Why is that?"

"To refine Mind Calming Pills, one needs a spirit herb called the Illusion Heart Orchid. Our shop used to receive a few plants now and then, but the Beast Tide is now running rampant. The Illusion Heart Orchid has demanding requirements for its growing environment and is mostly found deep in the Great Wilderness. No herb gatherers can go there anymore, so it has naturally gradually gone out of stock..."

The young woman explained seriously. "Perhaps after the Beast Tide ends, you can come back and take a look, esteemed customer..."

"Thank you. May I ask your name?"

Fang Xing was somewhat disappointed and prepared to leave, but looking at the young woman, he still felt it would be good to build a relationship with her.

After all, he was appearing in his real face now. If he wanted to tap this world's potential as much as possible, managing every relationship well was also important.

Cultivation was not merely about fighting and killing!

"My name is Xiao Rui!"

The young woman's smile blossomed like a flower. "The next time you come, you can ask for me directly..."

"Alright. I'll remember that."

Fang Xing nodded solemnly.

Although he knew this, Fang Xing was still unwilling to give up completely.

The Azure Pill Workshop might not have any Mind Calming Pills, but some previously sold stock could possibly be available at the stalls.

Yet after circling around once, he began to lose hope.

Given the nature of Rogue Cultivators, once they obtained pills beneficial to cultivation, they would generally swallow them to increase their strength. Few would have any left over.

What was more, even if a Rogue Cultivator's stall had one or two pills, Fang Xing might not dare use them.

He would need to buy enough for a full course of treatment at once, then have White Mouse test them before he could give them a try, right?

Of course, it would be even better if the original Jade Bottle was still sealed.

At Rogue Cultivator stalls, pills of unknown origin sold loose would definitely be much cheaper than sealed, genuine products.

There were very few stalls selling pills in Green Forest Market.

Of the four cultivation arts—formation, pill, artifact, and Talisman—alchemy ranked second. Not only was its inheritance difficult to obtain, its consumption of resources was also terrifying.

Generally speaking, no Rogue Cultivator would bother taking up alchemy as a secondary art when the effort was not worth the reward.

Even if there were one or two "alchemists," they specialized in only one or two highly obscure pills.

Their competitiveness often did not even match that of large pill shops.

That was precisely why stalls selling pills were so scarce and rare.

Fang Xing searched more than half the market before finding a few stalls, each with only a handful of pills.

"May I ask whether you have any Mind Calming Pills for sale?"

He came to a stall run by an old man, whose hair was tied into a topknot with ebony wood. He wore a Spell Robe that shimmered with spiritual light.

Upon hearing Fang Xing's question, the old man's eyes lit up. He smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist, you have indeed come to the right person. There are very few people in this market with channels for obtaining Mind Calming Pills, but this old man is one of them..."

"Oh? You have Mind Calming Pills? What is the price?"

Fang Xing perked up.

"They are still in the furnace..."

The old man stroked his beard, wearing the air of an enlightened master.

Fang Xing turned and left without another word.

"Hey, wait... Wait, little brother!"

The old Daoist immediately sprang to his feet. "Let this old man finish! I really am an alchemist. In my early years, I obtained the formula for the Mind Calming Pill, and I have a sixty to seventy percent chance of successfully condensing the pill. If you don't believe me, little brother, go out and ask around about the great name of Thousand Peaks Forest!"

Fang Xing slowed slightly. "So... do you have any pills or not?"

"About that..." Ten Thousand Pill Master chuckled. "This old man and several other fellow Daoists have pooled together enough ingredients for several batches of Mind Calming Pills. We are only lacking one ingredient: Illusion Heart Orchid..."

"That's the same as saying nothing..."

Fang Xing turned away again.

"Why be so impatient, little brother? This old man has already discovered a place where Illusion Heart Orchids grow. It is just somewhat dangerous there, as a group of Purple Wing Scorpions has taken up residence... This old man is preparing to invite fellow Daoists to eliminate this scourge. Once we have plenty of Illusion Heart Orchids, won't Mind Calming Pills be within easy reach?"

"Then I'll come buy them after you've refined the pills. The price is negotiable."

Fang Xing nodded and gave the old man a deep look.

"Well... would little brother be interested in lending a hand? If this succeeds, this old man can waive much of the cost..." Ten Thousand Pill Master asked tentatively.

"I am merely a Postnatal Martial Artist. What help could I possibly provide?"

Fang Xing sneered, turned, and left without the slightest hesitation.

"..."

The old man watched Fang Xing's departing back. He wanted to persuade him to stay, yet could not bring himself to say the words. He could only sigh faintly.

He continued tending his stall, selling low-level pills such as Grain Avoidance Pills. Only when the sun set and dusk fell did he slowly pack up and return to his shack.

Ten Thousand Pill Master did not notice that, in a corner of the shack, a beetle the size of a fingernail had appeared at some point and was quietly lying there.

Because it was so small and resembled an inanimate object, it did not emit the slightest trace of spiritual energy.

To Fang Xing, this beetle-shaped listening device was practically a Divine Artifact.

That old man's behavior today had been somewhat suspicious. If he had merely been promoting pills, he should have told Fang Xing to come back in a few days.

What was with trying to recruit a Postnatal Martial Artist?

Unless he knew Fang Xing was no ordinary person!

Thus, after leaving, Fang Xing had immediately deployed the beetle listening device.

After returning to his shack, the old man first meditated to rest, then swallowed a Grain Avoidance Pill before entering the workroom beside it to process some medicinal herbs.

Everything appeared perfectly ordinary.

It was not until late at night that knocking sounded on the Gate: three long knocks, followed by two short ones.

The old man immediately rose and went to open the door.

The wooden door creaked open, revealing a figure.

"You're here?"

The moment the old man saw the visitor, a trace of displeasure immediately appeared on his face.