The Outcome (Please Bookmark)

Canyon entrance.

Fu Qing of the Black Tiger Gang was controlling a Tortoise Shell Shield and a Tiger Head Saber. One artifact attacked while the other defended as he tangled with Thousand Peaks Forest, who had brought out a pill cauldron-shaped artifact.

Both were Cultivators. Fu Qing's cultivation was higher, but Thousand Peaks Forest was, after all, an alchemist with considerable wealth. Besides the previous Pill Lightning, he actually produced a stack of first-rank high-grade Talismans. Countless Talismans flashed, transforming into Wind Blades, golden arrows, massive boulders, and other attacks. They firmly held Fu Qing back, while Thousand Peaks Forest still seemed to be handling things with ease.

"Third Brother, today this old man will cleanse the family of its traitor."

Chen Yi glanced over the battlefield, his expression incomparably grim as he stared at Chen Hongtian. A cyan Wind Blade appeared in his hand.

"Big Brother, we've been brothers all our lives. Are you really going to take this so far?"

Chen Hongtian roared and hurriedly poured his Innate True Qi into a Defense Talisman. The two began fighting as well.

Generally speaking, an Innate expert was at most comparable to a Qi Refining Early Stage cultivator. Only outstanding Innate Martial Artists at the peak of the Innate realm could barely match a Qi Refining Middle Stage cultivator.

Chen Hongtian therefore knew that he was no match for his eldest brother. All he could do now was stall for time.

Hua Fei Yue and the couple, Meng Yi and Shen Yuxin, lay on the ground. As they circulated their Innate True Qi to purge the poison, they watched the battlefield with lost expressions.

Why... had things suddenly turned out like this?

How exactly had this situation developed?

Third Brother had betrayed them, and Big Brother had actually kept all of them in the dark...

Meng Yi felt as though his heart were being cut by knives. Hua Fei Yue, however, furrowed her brows as she considered whether she could survive.

None of them noticed that, above the canyon now cleared of mist, a hawk had appeared at some point!

It circled twice before suddenly diving like a black arrow.

Whoosh!

The next instant, the hawk swooped down beside the lake, extending its talons to seize an Illusion Heart Orchid!

"You damned beast!"

Ten Thousand Pill Master's eyes nearly split with rage at the sight.

But Fu Qing was right in front of him, and he could not spare a hand. Besides, the hawk flew too fast and was too far away... The few Cultivators could only watch helplessly as it flew off.

Boom!

The next moment, although the Cultivators were still enemies, they all moved deeper into the valley without prior agreement.

They had fought so hard for their spoils. If those were taken again by some unrelated beast, they would be furious enough to cough blood!

Green Forest Market.

Fang Xing carried a basket on his back for show, dressed like an Herb Gatherer heading out.

As a market resident, he faced rent pressure every month. Many Innate Martial Artists could not survive in the market and could only sign contracts of servitude to become tenant farmers in the nearby spirit fields!

Those who could remain either possessed a useful skill or were willing to risk their lives!

They often had to go out to gather herbs and hunt Demon Beasts!

Living inside the market has plenty of benefits—not just safety and order, but also the concentration of spiritual energy... Nourished by spiritual energy, Internal Energy cultivation progresses quickly, and it can even extend one's lifespan...

Fang Xing naturally had enough Spirit Stones to pay the rent, but continuing like this would draw too much attention.

Besides, the Illusion Heart Orchid would be arriving soon.

So he decided to make a trip to the temporary camp outside.

Many spirit herbs gathered by the Drone over the past period were also stored there, and he could retrieve them all at once.

When he reached the market entrance, he saw quite a few martial artists.

Most were dressed like him, ready to enter the mountains. Some even bore the grim air of people facing life and death.

After all, the Beast Tide was rampant now. Going deep into the wilderness was practically gambling with one's life!

"Sigh... Song Laosi got killed too..."

Several martial artists carried a corpse back, and everyone around them looked deeply shaken.

At that moment, a martial artist spotted Fang Xing and immediately came over. "Little brother, you're an Herb Gatherer too, right? Do you know that it's even more dangerous outside now? A large number of Demon Beasts have noticed how densely populated this place is and are migrating toward the Green Forest Mountain Range. They've practically turned this place into a hunting ground..."

"Sigh, there's nothing to be done about it."

Fang Xing sighed. "The bigger the risk, the higher the reward."

"Exactly, well said!" The martial artist's eyes lit up. "How about we work together?"

"No need."

Fang Xing waved him off with an expression that kept strangers at arm's length. He used his movement technique and swiftly vanished into the dense forest.

With the Drone scouting from above, the chance of encountering danger was low, but it still existed!

He could not afford to be careless.

Of course, Fang Xing did not need to run all the way to the temporary camp.

He only needed to leave Green Forest Market, avoid other people's eyes, and then collect nature's gifts delivered by the Drone.

Strictly speaking, the danger was not great.

After wandering outside for only half an hour, he returned with a basket full of herbs on his back.

Naturally, for disguise, the herbs were covered with a layer of miscellaneous items. Having learned his lesson from that old man with the pipe, he had even deliberately dealt with the herbs' scent.

When Fang Xing entered the market carrying his basket, he happened to see that the martial artist who had spoken to him earlier had become a corpse, with more than half of his body missing.

"Th-this is..."

"Sigh, that team had terrible luck. They hadn't gone far when they encountered a Fire Essence Jackal..."

Listening to the nearby martial artists' discussion and looking at the blackened scorch marks around the man's mangled wounds, Fang Xing shook his head.

"Huh? Didn't this brother just head out?"

A martial artist noticed Fang Xing. He casually glanced into Fang Xing's basket and spotted the plant roots used as camouflage. He could not help but sneer. "So you didn't go out to gather herbs, brother. You went to dig sweet potato roots to fill your stomach?"

"Sigh, in times like these, forget Spirit Rice—we can barely afford ordinary rice."

Fang Xing sighed and walked away amid everyone's disdainful gazes.

Room 57-D.

Fang Xing glanced over and found that the neighboring door was still tightly shut.

Only when it heard movement did an eye peer cautiously through the crack in the door, like some pitiful little beast.

"Sigh, another pitiful kid..."

Fang Xing ignored Meng Zijing, closed his own door, and went down to the Basement.

After tossing the sweet potato roots on top of the basket aside, he revealed the pile of herbs inside.

Every single plant would make an Innate Martial Artist green with envy if it found its way outside!

Especially that Illusion Heart Orchid!

The orchid was dreamlike in its beauty, its stem, leaves, and petals covered in a faint shimmering glow.

With just a light sniff, Fang Xing felt slightly intoxicated and dazed, as if he had been drinking.

"It really is good stuff. If I take it to Azure Pill Workshop and commission them to refine it, getting a Mind Calming Pill shouldn't be a problem..."

"But I snatched this spirit herb, and Ten Thousand Pill Master and the Black Tiger Gang are watching for it. Will Azure Pill Workshop keep my secret?"

Although Azure Pill Workshop had a good reputation, Fang Xing still hesitated.

Only then did he open the Surveillance Log to check what happened next to the Five Heroes of Cangshan, Ten Thousand Pill Master, and Fu Qing...

"Huh?"

In the footage, Meng Yi's chest was pierced by the Tiger Head Saber artifact, but he fiercely shoved his wife, Shen Yuxin, beside him.

Shen Yuxin was still clutching an Illusion Heart Orchid in her hand!

"Hmm? This is... a complete mess."

After watching to the end, Fang Xing barely managed to piece together what had happened.

Chen Yi had prepared a backup plan and had not been poisoned. After Hua Fei Yue and the other two purged the poison, they quickly joined the battle.

Thousand Peaks Forest was only an alchemist, after all, and lacked combat power. Chen Hongtian was merely Innate as well. Surrounded and attacked by the remaining Four Heroes, he died on the spot!

Seeing that things had gone badly, Thousand Peaks Forest used a life-saving Talisman and escaped successfully!

It seemed that Fu Qing of the Black Tiger Gang and the Four Heroes of Cangshan had won. But while dividing the spoils, Chen Yi actually struck first and ambushed Fu Qing!

Hua Fei Yue and the other two had no choice but to join the fight. Then Meng Yi was stabbed through the heart and died beyond any doubt.

Before dying, he created an opportunity for Shen Yuxin to escape with the harvest.

Fu Qing had first been worn down by Thousand Peaks Forest, then ambushed by Chen Yi and besieged by several Innate Martial Artists. He did not dare prolong the battle and directly left with the largest share of the spoils.

A herb-gathering operation had come to an end, but two Innate experts had died!

The survivors were all wounded as well. It was a truly miserable outcome.

"Treasure hunting and exploring secrets in the Cultivation World are truly dangerous. I should never join this sort of inexplicable activity again unless I have to..."

Fang Xing silently warned himself, then began steaming rice, cooking dishes, roasting meat...

With the market's excellent spiritual energy environment and its supply of Spirit Rice and Demon Beast meat, he persisted in training every day.

Moreover, the steadily rising numbers on his attribute panel gave him the same thrill as leveling up by grinding monsters in a game from his previous life.

He was practically addicted!

Night.

Just as Fang Xing was preparing to sleep, he suddenly heard heart-wrenching sobs from next door. "Dad... sob... I want Daddy..."

"Meng Zijing? Did they come back? They're awfully slow..."

He lay in bed and turned over. "Mm, I'm expecting too much. They can't fly straight back, after all. They also had to avoid plenty of dangerous areas along the way..."

Although he knew what had happened, showing up at their door now would undoubtedly seem strange.

So Fang Xing stretched, waited three seconds, and let a sphere of silver light envelop him.

He chose to return to Chuying Star to sleep!

It had to be said that public security in the Blue Star Federation was fairly good. Aside from Cultists, it was usually very safe.

Living in such an environment, even sleeping felt more comfortable than it did in Green Forest Market.

If not for the market's spiritual energy environment, he would probably rest here all the time.

The next day.

Green Forest Market.

When Fang Xing walked out of his home, he saw a long white funeral banner erected outside the shack next door.

This was the local funeral custom. A white banner outside one's door meant that a family member had passed away.

He walked over and saw that the center of the shack had been turned into a mourning hall, with a spirit tablet and a set of clothing displayed there.

Clearly, Meng Yi's body had not been recovered.

After all, Shen Yuxin had fled in great haste. One could not ask more of her.

"Ah? What... what happened?"

The sight immediately left Fang Xing 'shocked beyond words'!

"It was my husband. He went out to gather spirit herbs and unfortunately lost his life..."

Shen Yuxin's eyes were slightly red. Dressed in mourning clothes, she answered in a calm voice, "This is fate... I don't want to remain in this place of sorrow. I'm already preparing to leave with Zi Jin."