Starfire
Atop the mountain, cultivators came to the market in an endless stream. It was even livelier and more crowded than the last time Fang Yu had visited.
"Freshly collected Blood Qi, just ten Dragon Gate Stones!"
"Battle soul essences going cheap! They can be used to refine all kinds of soul bodies!"
"The Embroidered Tiger Army is recruiting Rogue Cultivators! All cultivation levels welcome, with all the Blood Qi you need! Fellow cultivators skilled in healing, such as those of water virtue or wood virtue, get priority!"
"..."
Fang Yu walked through the market, cries and conversations reaching his ears from time to time.
"Who would have thought Zhang Hu had such fortune? A few years ago, he was just a martial arts grandmaster in someone else's service. Now he's poised to contend for the world. Looks like the next imperial clan of Anping Prefecture will be surnamed Zhang."
"He must have been chosen by those on the mountain. With such great fortune, forming his Dao Foundation someday is bound to happen as naturally as a canal forming when water flows!"
"If we throw in with him now, we might get a share of the spoils!"
"I think we should wait and see. The current court's fortune hasn't run out yet. Things might still change."
"..."
Fang Yu's gaze swept over a bottle of Qi and Blood on a cultivator's stall, and he sensed the thick Blood Sha within it. At least several thousand commoners must have died for that one bottle of Qi and Blood.
War now raged throughout Anping Prefecture as mortal kingdoms rose and fell. Those killed directly by the fighting were only a minority; many more died amid the chaos from flight, military service, forced labor, hunger, plague, and other disasters that followed in its wake.
For mortals, this was a great calamity, but for immortal cultivators, especially Rogue Cultivators, it was a stroke of great fortune. Whether gathering Blood Qi or collecting living souls, battlefield Sha Qi, or mortal plague Sha, everything had become much easier.
For those willing to join an army and become an immortal master in its service, collecting all kinds of resources was even easier.
As he wandered, a sudden premonition stirred in his heart, and he turned toward the horizon.
He saw a white cloud floating toward him, bearing a cultivator dressed in Confucian robes with a bamboo book case on his back. He looked like a wandering scholar.
The man found an empty spot in the market, set down the book case from his back, and laid out the booklets inside one by one.
Could this man be where my fortune lies?
Fang Yu thought to himself.
Although his own heavenly secrets had long since fallen into such disarray that they were difficult to divine, the Spiritual Pivot Resonance Chapter had stirred of its own accord, giving him that sudden premonition. It should have sensed where his fortune lay. And since his Yuanchen Pearl had shown no unusual movement, this fortune should truly be his, rather than someone targeting him.
Fang Yu strode over to the scholar's stall and swept his gaze over the few Cultivation Method booklets on display. "How much are your Cultivation Methods?"
The scholar smiled. "Just one Dragon Gate Stone to copy a book!"
"That's cheap enough!"
As Fang Yu spoke, he picked up a booklet and leafed through it. Its contents looked genuine, but there were only a few pages. He picked up the other booklets, and they were all the same.
He stopped looking through them and asked directly, "Do you have a Cultivation Method suited to a Wings Fire fate?"
"Naturally!" The scholar pulled two Cultivation Methods from his book case. "Both of these Fire Virtue Cultivation Methods suit a Wings Fire fate, and the Spiritual Qi needed to get started is extremely easy to obtain. You can gather it directly in the mortal world."
Fang Yu took them and glanced over the two booklets, the Dwelling Root Darkening of the Light Method and the Starfire Heart-Burning Instruction. "What's the difference between these two?"
"The difference is enormous!"
The scholar smiled. "The Dwelling Root Darkening of the Light Method comes from the Changliu Immortal Sect. If you use it to cultivate the Setting Sun Tribulation Dao Foundation, fellow cultivator, you can go to Mount Changliu and become a disciple, obtaining the subsequent Divine Abilities and Dao arts. You'll have hope of reaching the Purple Mansion. The Starfire Heart-Burning Instruction, on the other hand, comes from Phoenix Mountain, an immortal sect of High Antiquity. Its lineage has died out, and only this introductory Cultivation Method remains. Though it's also very simple to cultivate, whether you find the subsequent methods will depend on your fortune, fellow cultivator."
Fang Yu had already opened the Dwelling Root Darkening of the Light Method. Its introduction said that the Spiritual Qi required was Dusk Fire, and that it cultivated the Setting Sun Tribulation Dao Foundation, but the fate best suited to it was Encampment Fire.
He then looked at the Starfire Heart-Burning Instruction. The Spiritual Qi it required was the Fire of Ten Thousand Households, it cultivated the Phoenix Sets the Plains Ablaze Dao Foundation, and the fate best suited to it was Wings Fire.
As a Fire Virtue cultivator, he could theoretically cultivate any Fire Virtue Cultivation Method, just like the Molten Edge Flow he had already mastered.
But the best fit was naturally the Starfire Heart-Burning Instruction, a Wings Fire Cultivation Method. Yet it was just like Molten Edge Flow, or even worse. At the very least, he knew he could go to Mount Longhu to seek the Cultivation Method that followed the Molten Edge Flow Dao Foundation.
The Starfire Heart-Burning Instruction, however, came from Phoenix Mountain, an extinct immortal sect of High Antiquity. If he wanted the subsequent Cultivation Method, there was only one way: his fortune had to be strong enough for him to find a secret realm, blessed land, or grotto-heaven left behind by Phoenix Mountain and obtain its inheritance there.
His gaze returned to the Dwelling Root Darkening of the Light Method. This Cultivation Method came from Mount Changliu, another great sect with a Golden Core True Lord as its foundation. Its inheritance of subsequent Cultivation Methods and Divine Abilities was certain to be complete.
But how could a great sect like that be so easy to enter? For instance, quite a few firestone laborers in his sect had cultivated the Molten Edge Flow Dao Foundation, and quite a few elders had considered going to Mount Longhu to seek the subsequent Cultivation Method.
Wu Tong was one of them, but he had given up halfway there. He had told Fang Yu that his fortune had run out and he had no affinity with Mount Longhu, but the real reason was probably not so simple. Most likely, he had been afraid.
These elders who had cultivated Molten Edge Flow were nothing more than "sacrifices" the sect had raised to refine flying swords. They had simply been fortunate enough to seize that sliver of hope and survive.
But if they really went to Mount Longhu, who knew whether they would become sacrifices once again?
Besides, the competition within the Metal Stone Immortal Sect had already become exceptionally brutal. Even if members of the Tie Household died, that was that.
Mount Longhu was the ancestral court of Daoism. The ferocity of the competition among its disciples was probably even worse than the cutthroat struggle within the Metal Stone Immortal Sect.
If outer disciples like them, who had formed their Dao Foundations elsewhere, went to Mount Longhu, they would most likely be ground to death in the competition.
Mount Changliu was likewise a Golden Core sect. If he learned the Dwelling Root Darkening of the Light Method, even after forming his Dao Foundation, he would have to go to Mount Changliu for the subsequent Cultivation Method. That was really no different from going to Mount Longhu.
At that thought, Fang Yu looked at the Starfire Heart-Burning Instruction. Though this Cultivation Method came from an extinct sect of High Antiquity, the fact that it had been passed down meant its lineage had not been completely severed. Somewhere in the Unseen, its fortune still existed. If he could cultivate it successfully, he might be able to connect with the sect's fortune and thereby obtain the subsequent Cultivation Method.
Even if there was no subsequent Cultivation Method, it did not matter. He had the Yuanchen Pearl anyway and could cultivate anew. When the time came, he could simply look for another Cultivation Method.
Thinking of this, he looked at the scholar. "How many Cultivation Methods do you have here?"
The scholar said somewhat smugly, "I have Cultivation Methods from all seven great lineages of yin, yang, and the five virtues, one hundred and seventy-eight books in total. They cover the Qi Ingestion Cultivation Methods of basically every major lineage under heaven. You're not thinking of taking them all, are you, fellow cultivator?"
"One hundred Dragon Gate Stones. Give me a copy of every one!" Fang Yu looked at him. "Will that do?"
Hearing this, the scholar immediately nodded. "Naturally! I imagine you want to build a library of your own, fellow cultivator. I have complete sets of Cultivation Methods here, as well as some accompanying annotations and miscellaneous books, such as travel accounts of the various provinces and biographies. There are seventeen hundred books in total; I'll give them all to you as well."