Seeking the Spirit Root

"The Daoist Black Shoes has left?" Fei Nanying, slightly surprised upon hearing the words of his subordinate.

Fei Nanfeng, the fifth master of the Fei Household, sighed, "Why did he leave like that? Did he really go to the outer seas? Why would he abandon a perfectly good noble family and instead debase himself to go to the outer seas to struggle for his life with those penniless, poor people and become Rogue Cultivator?"

"Reporting to the patriarch, this news is undoubtedly true," the Fei Household's chief intelligence officer replied.

"Brother, do you think the Two Instruments Sect will send someone to intercept the Daoist Black Shoes after he leaves Cloud Horn Prefecture?" Fei Nanfeng's words carried a hint of schadenfreude, as if he wasn't particularly interested in the Daoist Black Shoes, a pure cultivator who remained unmoved by the recruitment efforts of the She Mountain Hall.

"Stop him?" Fei Nanying thought for a while before slowly saying, "It's not impossible. Since the Daoist Black Shoes has chosen to go to the outer sea, a barbaric land overrun by demons and monsters, to become Rogue Cultivator, he means he has cut off the protection of the state court."

It's understandable that some high-ranking cultivators couldn't contain themselves and wanted to vent their anger on him. After all, although Chongming Sect wasn't large or strong, it had thwarted many people's plans in recent years. Daoist Black Shoes was entangled in the matter, so how could he be so easily separated from the Chongming Sect as he wished?

Fei Nanfeng Fei Nanying's words and found them to be true. Although the Daoist Black Shoes had almost never participated in the battle between the Two Instruments Sect and the Cloud Horn Prefecture Court, he even chose to protect himself when Jiang Qing lost his arm.

Although he took good care of the Chongming Sect afterwards, he did not openly fight against the Two Instruments Sect Leader Kang Da.

To be honest, perhaps only Yue Lan and others, who were originally regarded as expendable pawns by the high-ranking cultivators of the Two Instruments Sect, truly died at their hands.

Although Yue Lan had lost power within the Two Instruments Sect back then, he still genuinely held the title of Elder of the Battle Hall. It wasn't far-fetched for the Two Instruments Sect to use this as a pretext to specifically target the Daoist Black Shoes.

"If a high-level cultivator from the Two Instruments Sect makes a move, Kang Dabao's stepfather might be in trouble." Fei Nanfeng still had some serious matters on his mind. After laughing, he spoke seriously to Fei Nanying:

"Elder brother, should we intervene? If you can't do anything about it, I can take the Ying Mountain Army and ask Granny Liu to go with us."

"No rush," Fei Nanying stopped the slightly agitated Fei Nanfeng, bypassed the latter and directly summoned the intelligence chief to his side, asking calmly again, "Do you know what the Lord's reaction is now?"

"This..." The leader, dressed in black, hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I don't know. I only heard that the Lord left seclusion yesterday and stayed at the Lady Yue's residence. According to several Demon Correction Office Division, he hasn't woken up yet, and I don't know if he already knows about the departure of the Daoist Black Shoes."

"Yes, I understand. Go to the General Affairs Hall to collect your Merit Points." Fei Nanying paused slightly, nodded, gave some instructions to the leader, and then slowly turned back to his seat.

"Elder brother, we..." Fei Nanfeng was about to offer advice when Fei Nanying him to stop. Fei Nanying spoke calmly and confidently, "No rush. Lord Bo will soon send me to find the Daoist Black Shoes."

"Brother, are you so sure?" Fei Nanfeng asked, somewhat puzzled, but Fei Nanying remained silent.

The latter thought to himself, "They probably want me to persuade the Daoist Black Shoes to come back. With his aptitude, as long as we allocate more resources and spend several decades, it shouldn't be difficult to produce a True-Grade Golden Core."

Moreover, he is a rare sword cultivator, having just Core Formation; he cannot be compared to an ordinary newly Golden Core. Furthermore, if the Daoist Black Shoes were to prove himself and also attain a Middle-Grade Golden Core, that would be even more remarkable, perhaps even with a chance of Nascent Soul Formation stage. If another True Person with a heart set on serving the state court were to emerge...

Our Earl of Nan'an has great ambitions; we certainly can't bear to let such a talent go."

The two brothers remained silent for a while before Fei Nanfeng spoke again, "Elder brother, if I may say so, and the Daoist Black Shoes cannot be persuaded to return, then should we still do our best to protect the Chongming Sect?"

"What? So the son-in-law of my She Mountain Hall isn't Kang Dabao, but the Daoist Black Shoes?" Fei Nanying glared at Fei Nanfeng, who shrank back, about to explain, when Fei Nanying spoke up again:

"Kang Dabao is no less important to Lord Bo than Daoist Black Shoes. When the time is right, he will definitely be given an important position. Besides, his sect is also quite capable, so why push him away?"

Upon hearing Fei Nanying's words, Fei Nanfeng suddenly recalled the cold treatment Sect Leader Kang Da had received at the Fei Household during this period, and asked in surprise, "Then why did you still treat him that way after you returned, elder brother? I thought..."

"These are two different things," Fei Nanying shook his head and said, "I thought that after he came back to the clan with me this time and paid homage to Ancestor Ye Shui, he would have a fortuitous opportunity to become a True-Grade Golden Core."

Unfortunately, he lacks ruthlessness and his aptitude is questionable, so his Dao Path are likely limited. However, as long as the Earl still remembers him, he still has a chance to rise again.

After all, the patriarch has placed his bet with the Earl of Nan'an, who has exceptionally high hopes for Kang Dabao. If the area remains as peaceful as it is today after the Earl Core Formation, there's a good chance he might be given an important position.

Fei Nanying mentioned this, he saw that Fei Nanfeng still had doubts in his eyes. Just as he was about to explain further, a member of the Fei Lineage guarding the gate brought him an urgent message.

The urgent message contained few words. After observing that Fei Nanfeng 'Fei Nanying expression remained unchanged, Fei Nanfeng boldly began to read it.

Fei Nanfeng narrowed his eyes slightly, glancing at the seal script on the urgent letter for a while before presenting it to Fei Nanying and saying in a low voice, "Elder brother, just as you predicted, the Earl wants our Fei Household to go and find the Daoist Black Shoes."

Fei Nanying took it, glanced at it briefly, and said, "This is really nothing special; it wasn't hard to guess anyway."

"Elder brother, then I will go and ask Granny Liu for help. I will also bring Ying Mountain Army along, so that everything will be foolproof." Fei Nanfeng was about to volunteer, but Fei Nanying stopped him with a gesture.

After thinking for a while, the latter rose from his seat and said calmly, "It's alright, I'll go instead. He must have gone incognito this time. You and Granny Liu taking the Ying Mountain Army might not be able to find him."

"Brother, now that you are a high-ranking cultivator, isn't it beneath you to do such errands?" Fei Nanfeng clearly disagreed and was about to persuade him further, but Fei Nanying and said again:

"If I can find him when I go back, I might be able to shield him from other Golden Core cultivators. Regardless of whether I can persuade him to return, I can at least gain a favor."

Fei Nanfeng spoke again, "Even if that Daoist Black Shoes has achieved the Golden Leaf Dao Foundation, in the end, he's still just a mere Foundation Establishment. What's the point of you, elder brother, trying to gain his favor?"

Fei Nanying raised his voice slightly this time. He glanced at his fifth brother, who still wore a smug expression, before saying, "Now is the best time to earn favors. Otherwise, how will we earn their favors after they Core Formation?"

"Brother, you think so highly of him forming the Golden Core?"

Fei Nanfeng's tone was even more surprised. After all, nothing is absolute. Even if the Golden Leaf Dao Foundation is indeed rare, the path of cultivation is extremely dangerous. The Daoist Black Shoes left his hometown alone and went to the outer sea to make his way in the world. He might not be able to grow to that level.

"If he didn't have such courage today, I might not be so confident." Fei Nanying laughed again, strode out to the Xuanwei City, and was about to board a flying boat when he saw a huge black shadow floating in the sky, almost completely blocking out the sun above.

"Elder Zong!" Fei Nanying hadn't expected Juntian Bird to return from Ying Prefecture at this time, since the latter hadn't returned since sending Kuai En to Capital Circuit.

Fei Nanying assumed that the old man was disgusted by the barren Spirit Vein of Cloud Horn Prefecture and was therefore content to stay at home and enjoy his life. He didn't dare to ask any more questions and simply assumed that this elder had never been there.

After all, the Two Instruments Sect has been hesitant and timid, and apart from occasionally sending the Jingnan Yuan Household to make moves in White Sand County, the two sides can only be described as having minor frictions.

Under such circumstances, even the death of a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator would be a rare occurrence. In the short term, there would be no need for the Fei Household's clan-guarding spirit beast, the Juntian Bird, to be stationed here.

The wings of the Juntian Bird had become visibly brighter, clearly indicating that he had also gained considerable benefits from recommending Kuai En to the Prince of the South's faction.

Upon seeing Fei Nanying, he asked curiously, "Nanying, where are you going? This time, I obtained some resources from His Highness the Prince of Prince of the South that he no longer needed but used to nourish his Golden Core body for my younger brother. I only returned after seeing that he had refined them, which is why I was delayed a bit. I hope I didn't delay your business?"

"Nanying was unaware of Elder Zong's presence today and has failed to greet him properly. Please forgive him."

"Enough! Enough! You juniors all speak in the same tone, it's so boring. I, your ancestor, can fly and disappear at will, why do you need to greet me from afar?! Answer me quickly, where are you going?!"

Upon seeing Juntian Bird's tone suddenly turn displeased, Fei Nanying quickly began to briefly explain the arrangements made by Kuang Liuting, which indeed piqued the old bird's interest.

"So, you're going to find that Daoist Black Shoes? I have nothing else to do, so let's go together. It would be best if that damned Two Instruments Sect really dared to send someone; then I can test the abilities of these Golden Core cultivators from the borderlands."

After speaking, Juntian Bird did not wait for Fei Nanying's reaction, and urged the latter to climb onto the pavilion on its back and ride the wind away.

---- Tengwen Prefecture, Bathe in the Wind Valley

The Daoist Black Shoes, carrying the strange Spirit Artifact "Mist-Hidden Visage" that he had found during his travels in other states in his early years, once again stepped into the famous Myriad Treasures Trading Company of Great Wei.

His return was naturally motivated by a desire to find a precious object to nurture the magic sword.

The Solemn Autumn Sword is a high-grade, mid-level Third-Tier Middle-Grade, a rare Law Treasure that even many Golden Core cultivators might not be able to acquire after hundreds of years of cultivation.

Therefore, it is difficult to find a precious object that can nurture this sword in ordinary places in Shannan Circuit. That's why the Daoist Black Shoes deliberately detoured to Myriad Treasures Trading Company in Tengwen Prefecture to try his luck before leaving.

His Spirit Artifact, "Mist-Hidden Visage," is only of low grade, but even False Core cultivator who is not proficient in the Dao of Divine Sense would find it difficult to discern its true form.

The Daoist Black Shoes conjured a face with pockmarks and scars. As soon as he entered, a beautiful female cultivator quickly came to greet him.

He made a point of inquiring about the prices of several other unrelated spiritual items beforehand. Sometimes he frowned and remained silent, and sometimes his eyes lit up with joy. The female cultivator who was welcoming him showed no impatience whatsoever, taking out and putting down each exhibit one by one, as always without the slightest delay.

With the foreplay nearly complete, the Daoist Black Shoes asked one last question, the one he always asked, "Hmm, I almost forgot. An elder from a certain generation came to make some purchases this time, and before leaving, the elder casually mentioned that he wanted me to come and try my luck, to ask if your family has any Azure Firmament Spirit Root for sale?"

"Azure Firmament Spirit Root?" Even the beautiful female cultivator who greeted many high-ranking cultivators daily frowned upon hearing this. She quickly ran her fingers through the Jade Slip in her hand before apologetically saying:

"Unfortunately, the Mountain South branch does not have the spiritual item you require. If you urgently need it, it may be able to be obtained from another source. However, this would require time and expense."

The Daoist Black Shoes had become numb to that astonishing number. He only sighed inwardly, "I'll search for Brother Qing again after we get out. I've always heard that although the outer sea is dangerous, the resources for cultivation are no less than those in the capital Central Prefecture. Even if we still can't find the Azure Firmament Spirit Root, we should be able to find other substitutes."

However, before the female cultivator could finish speaking, the Daoist Black Shoes quietly selected several good spiritual materials and mixed them together with the precious items for nurturing the sword.

After spending most of his hard-earned fortune, the Daoist Black Shoes could see the undisguised joy in the female cultivator's eyes and the frequent flirtatious glances she sent, but he ignored them all.

He simply stepped out of that den of iniquity and headed towards the outer sea along the predetermined path to immortality, letting his shadowy tail emerge and follow behind him.

The man and the bird flew together for a long time, but still did not see the figure of the Daoist Black Shoes, which made the Juntian Bird slightly dissatisfied. It suddenly stopped its wing movements, stopped in the clouds and mist, and spoke:

"Nanying, young man, I haven't seen the Daoist Black Shoes or any other Golden Core cultivators on this journey. Did you, like last time, miscalculate the Daoist Black Shoes's route?"

Standing atop the palace atop the thick back of the Juntian Bird Fei Nanying tried his best to sound confident as he respectfully replied, "Please wait a moment, Elder Zong. We should find it a little further ahead."

"Ancestor, I truly haven't decided yet. I hadn't considered how difficult it would be to find a Foundation Establishment cultivator in this vast world." Juntian Bird sighed again, saying, "Search for another quarter of an hour. If we still can't find one, then we'll return."

"Elder Zong, this is something the Earl arranged." Fei Nanying looked troubled.

"So what? Apart from the current emperor and the two princes of the North and South, which member of the Kuang Household family in the Great Wei Immortal Dynasty is someone I, the ancestor, cannot afford to offend?"

Juntian Bird Tianqin didn't Fei Nanying was feeling slightly frustrated at the moment, and his tone was full of indifference.

A quarter of an hour passed quickly, and the Juntian Bird, not waiting for a moment, was about to fly straight back. Fei Nanying to persuade it again, but to no avail, so he stopped trying.

For a dignified Golden Core cultivator to personally undertake such a task is a great deference, and even if Kuang Liuting knew about it, he would find it difficult to say anything.

The man and the bird had only traveled a few hundred miles when they came across a Golden Core cultivator whose skin was as smooth and lustrous as jade.

"Hey kid up ahead, stop!"

The Two Instruments Sect leader Li Yun, who was alone, heard an arrogant voice behind him that made his eardrums ache. He immediately became alert, thinking that the person behind him must be very close. He was about to flee, but was stopped by another loud shout that followed.

"Dare to leave! If you dare to run again, I'll peel off your Golden Core and use it to make wine!" The Juntian Bird flapped its wings a few times and overtook the high-level flying boat that Li Yun was using, blocking his way and asking, "You brat, are you out looking for the Black Shoes?"

"Just as you said, senior," Li Yun recognized the feathered beast in front of him as the Fei Household's spirit bird at a glance, and a bitter look appeared on his face.

It must be understood that even if he is the sect leader, he only holds that position because of the Two Instruments Sect's rotation system. In terms of true cultivation and ability, he is only considered below average among the Golden Core cultivators of the Two Instruments Sect. How could he possibly have the strength to fight against this seasoned veteran who has fought countless battles?

"What a pity, if the Master of the Star-Picking Pavilion didn't care about your family, I could have just chewed up your tender Golden Core." Juntian Bird chuckled deliberately.

Fei Nanying hadn't forgotten his business. Looking at Li Yun, who showed no sign of resistance, his expression was extremely serious. "Li Yun, have you come to settle accounts with the Daoist Black Shoes?"

"On the contrary, the elder in charge of my family's Battle Hall was going to personally come to settle accounts with the Daoist Black Shoes, but I stopped him." Li Yun was much more composed in his conversation with Fei Nanying, and he added, "As for why I came, the reason is the same as yours."

"Your family is actually willing to take him in?" Fei Nanying slightly surprised, but Li Yun didn't find it strange. "He doesn't have many blood Two Instruments Sect on his hands, he's only killed some low-level disciples, why wouldn't we take him in?"

That made some sense, Fei Nanying was about to say the next thing when he heard a loud bang, "Go!"

The human and the bird worked in perfect harmony, quickly leaving Li Yun behind, and then sped off towards a place with strong spiritual energy fluctuations.

Li Yun didn't dare to chase after them alone. He could only grit his teeth in anger, cursing inwardly, "It's one thing if Fei Nanying is still around, but even that old bird is out here doing errands for Kuang Liuting. The Ying Prefecture Fei Household really has no shame!"

When the two Fei Household cultivators arrived, the Daoist Black Shoes was wielding the Listening to the Spring, single-handedly fighting three opponents of the same level. The process was rather uneventful, akin to cutting melons and vegetables, quite a sight to behold.

The screams gradually subsided, Fei Nanying slowly approached the Daoist Black Shoes, saying calmly, "Fellow Daoist, you have made considerable progress."

"I dare not presume to praise you as a senior." The latter clearly hadn't expected to be found by Fei Nanying, and immediately bowed in return to show his humility.

"I heard that you intend to travel to the outer seas, fellow Daoist. This is a letter from the Earl, please..." Fei Nanying saw that the Daoist Black Shoes had taken the letter but showed no intention of opening it, so he asked curiously, "Why don't you look at it, fellow Daoist?"

"Whether I look or not, I'll still have to go, so I might as well not look," the Daoist Black Shoes replied with a faint smile.

"You youngster, your words are quite to my liking." Having finally found the person in question after a long journey, Juntian Bird's mood improved considerably. He then said, "Although you concealed it well, you couldn't fool my eyes. You must have already cultivated the Sword Essence, right? For a mere Foundation Establishment True Cultivator have achieved such a feat is truly remarkable."

With your talent, if you're willing to return to our clan's territory in Ying Prefecture with me, my younger brother is a generous man and will certainly open up all the family's resources for you. You can then cultivate to the Golden Core stage, or even Middle-Grade Golden Core, much sooner."

"Didn't you come here to act as an intermediary for Kuang Liuting, senior?" The Daoist Black Shoes was slightly taken aback. "Ah, this..." The old bird was so embarrassed that he couldn't answer. Finally, Fei Nanying spoke up, "We are all doing our best for the king. Why do you have to be so clear about it, fellow Daoist?"

The Daoist Black Shoes didn't dwell on it, and bowed again, saying, "What you say is true, senior. However, I am only Yixin making a name for myself in the outer seas, and I am truly unworthy to serve the king."

Upon hearing this, Juntian Bird grew slightly impatient. "Outer Sea, Outer Sea! I've already clearly stated that I'll give you a future of forming a Middle-Grade Golden Core, are you still not satisfied?! What, do you still want to form Upper-Grade Golden Core like Kuang Liuting?"

You know, even he might not have a high chance of winning. You, all alone, going to the open sea, who knows what your future holds?"

This time, the Daoist Black Shoes remained silent and did not answer.

Juntian Bird was taken aback. "You've got quite the ambition, kid! You actually want to form Upper-Grade Golden Core?!"

"I have never felt that nobles and princes are inherently superior to me," the Daoist Black Shoes replied, raising his head.

"Good lad!" Juntian Bird exclaimed again, though it was unclear whether he was praising or surprised.

Fei Nanying both laughed and sighed, "I originally thought I could gain your favor this time, but I didn't expect those petty scoundrels from the Two Instruments Sect to recognize your future prospects. It's a pity that the trip didn't go through."

Upon hearing this, the Daoist Black Shoes' eyes lit up. "If senior truly values this junior's favor, then this junior will dare to presume to do so."

When four pairs of eyes turned to him, the Daoist Black Shoes finally spoke, "I wonder if Senior could be so kind as to part with a section of this Azure Firmament Spirit Root?"

Fei Nanying suddenly changed, and he said only, "Farewell, fellow Daoist!"