Chapter 39: Turning Back
Inside a temporary cave dwelling.
“Ugh…”
Fang Qing clutched his forehead and jolted awake, breathing heavily.
He wiped his nose and discovered two streaks of blood flowing down, unable to help but smile bitterly. “This is… excessive consumption of divine sense? Luckily I have low-grade first-tier body refinement; otherwise I would probably have fallen seriously ill, with severe loss of primordial energy.”
With the Dao-Birth Pearl’s support, and in an environment like Jade Island where the Heavenly Secrets were clear and pure, the pleasure of divination was simply incomparable.
After divining the second-tier Horned Serpent, Fang Qing saw the karmic entanglements and could not help but divine Flying Fish Island as well.
After divining Hua Lianhua, he then saw matters related to Zha Zhu and could not resist pushing the calculation further…
The result was that he sank deeper and deeper, almost exhausting his mind without realizing it!
“Sigh… does this count as a kind of backlash from the Heavenly Secrets? A happy kind of trouble. If only things could be like this over in the World of Ancient Shu.”
The Heavenly Secrets in the World of Ancient Shu were still a cesspool. Even with the Dao-Birth Pearl’s support, Fang Qing could barely divine his own fortune and misfortune. As for matters concerning Li Rulong, it was an expanse of chaos. The only thing he managed to calculate was his own involvement… and great calamity!
‘What a rotten place… I can divine even a Core Formation Ancestor and glean one or two hints, yet when I run into Purple Palace cultivators it becomes this miserable…’
‘Forget it. Better to go there less in the future.’
Fang Qing swallowed a healing pill. Some color returned to his face as he pondered inwardly. ‘According to the earlier deductions, that peak second-tier Horned Serpent will advance very soon. There may be some excitement to watch.’
‘No—since it’s confirmed that the Azure Sea Sect isn’t in immediate danger, I should return to the sect first and establish a loyal persona… Otherwise, if I only return after the great calamity passes, I might end up being filed into a separate register.’
…
Azure Sea Sect.
The azure-green Seven Profound Azure Wave Array resembled a massive bowl, firmly protecting the sect within.
As another flying vessel descended, many wounded cultivators emerged.
Most of them had pale faces and severe blood loss. Some were missing arms or legs, their faces ashen, clearly aware that their Dao paths were severed.
Along with their arrival, an unsettling piece of news spread:
“Our side suffered a crushing defeat in the Wei Day Sea Region—three Five-Tusked Great Ships were sunk!”
“In the Zhong Family’s hired loose cultivator battle formations, not only did many loose cultivators skilled in combat appear, even puppet beasts showed up… It’s obviously people from the Heavenly Heart Linked Islands, wearing loose-cultivator disguises to strike at us!”
“Little Wave Reef has fallen… the Zhong Family’s army could land on Jade Island at any time!”
“And on Jade Island, the Zhong Family’s elite cultivators are wreaking havoc everywhere… it’s said that an Inner Sect Elder already fell into a trap and unfortunately perished, body and Dao extinguished…”
A group of Qi Refining cultivators were thrown into panic. Many of the wounded who returned were filled with regret. ‘If only… I had found a chance to run on the way back…’
“Hm?”
When Fang Qing arrived riding the Mysterious Ice Wheel, this was the scene that greeted him.
“Stop! Who goes there?”
Above the harbor, seeing Fang Qing arrive alone, a squad of law-enforcement cultivators watched him with guarded expressions.
“I am a disciple of this sect—Fang Qing! I previously accepted the mission to garrison the Red-Scaled Fishing Grounds!”
Fang Qing formed a hand seal with one hand. A streak of spiritual light wrapped his disciple token and flew into the hands of the law-enforcement squad leader.
The leader took it and activated a spell to verify it. “Indeed a disciple of the sect… but I remember that the Red-Scaled Fishing Grounds were already overrun…”
“Exactly so! I was pursued by a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator and suffered severe injuries. By relying on terrain, I was fortunate enough to take his head, but my injuries were too grave to move… which is why I delayed until today to return.”
Fang Qing’s expression remained unchanged as he took out Zhong Wufu’s Zhong Family identity token.
No matter how long he had been ‘recovering,’ returning after killing a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator was hardly something he could be blamed for.
The law-enforcement captain hesitated. “Wait here. I’ll report to Elder Tianxing…”
Fang Qing naturally had no objections. Under the strange gazes of other disciples, he arrived at the Punishing Evil Hall.
After waiting at the hall entrance for a long time, he suddenly sensed a sweep of divine sense pass over him. His heart stirred slightly, but his face remained calm.
“Inner Sect disciple of Pill Island, Fang Qing… the Elder summons you!”
Before long, a Punishing Evil Hall disciple came out and glanced at Fang Qing.
Fang Qing nodded and strode inside.
Not long after, he saw Elder Tianxing, dressed in a blue robe with a ferocious countenance.
Elder Tianxing held a dossier in his hands. “Fang Qing… Inner Sect disciple, recipient of the Red-Scaled Fishing Grounds garrison mission… recount the process once more.”
“Yes!”
Before returning to the sect, Fang Qing had already divined everything. He recounted how he garrisoned the area, encountered Zhong Family cultivators, and through good fortune killed Zhong Wufu.
The earlier segments were told completely truthfully due to the many witnesses; only the details surrounding Zhong Wufu’s death were slightly altered.
“Hm. No wonder you could kill Zhong Wufu—so you already advanced to late-stage Qi Refining and possess some body-refinement cultivation.”
Elder Tianxing nodded slightly, believing that his earlier divine sense scan had seen through everything, including Fang Qing’s ‘hidden’ cultivation.
In reality, if Fang Qing had not refrained from using the Dao-Birth Pearl to conceal himself, the elder could have stared himself blind and still learned nothing.
Breaking through to late-stage Qi Refining!
This was the flaw Fang Qing deliberately revealed early.
After all, a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator killing a late-stage one would be rather shocking.
But if he usually concealed his cultivation, suddenly erupted, fought a bitter battle, and paid the price of severe injuries to kill another late-stage cultivator, it became much more reasonable.
‘If I hadn’t used the Dao-Birth Pearl to convert most of the cultivation from the Horse-Headed Vajra Guardian Divine Art, and you saw my current low-grade first-tier body refinement, you’d be even more astonished.’
‘Still, mid-grade body refinement cultivation is already quite good.’
The reason Fang Qing revealed late-stage cultivation had another purpose—the sect was in dire need of manpower!
Late-stage Qi Refining disciples were not cabbages; even within the sect, they were considered elite.
As long as the sect still wanted to use him, it would not punish him harshly.
‘And I already divined that the Horned Serpent’s Core Formation tribulation is tomorrow… no matter what dangerous mission comes, I’ll just take it. After tomorrow passes, none of it will matter.’
As he was thinking this, he heard Elder Tianxing say, “You slew a powerful enemy. No fault, only merit. But why did you choose to return to the sect at this time? Being outside, you should know the sect’s current situation—it isn’t good.”
Fang Qing immediately adopted a look of righteous indignation. “I was originally a fisherman’s son. It was the sect that nurtured me… Now that the sect faces calamity, how could I abandon it? Elder… I returned to contribute my meager strength to the sect. Whatever task there is, please give the order!”
Such impassioned, heroic resolve instead left Elder Tianxing momentarily at a loss. “Enough… since you’ve returned, rest for one night first. If there are any tasks, go to the Administrative Affairs Hall on Wanbao Island to receive them…”
“This disciple takes his leave!”
After Fang Qing departed, Elder Tianxing stared at his retreating back, uncertain. “Is this genuine innocence, or cunning like a fox?”
“Heh… Tianxing, what are you looking at?”
A flash of blue light appeared as a thin, clear-featured Foundation Establishment cultivator materialized—it was Sect Master Linghu of the Azure Sea Sect.
Elder Tianxing immediately recounted Fang Qing’s matter.
After hearing it, Sect Master Linghu smiled. “This child truly has good fortune. That matter will be decided tomorrow.”
“What?”
This news was clearly top secret. Even Tianxing had only just learned of it, and he could not help but be startled. “As soon as… tomorrow?”
“That’s precisely the desired effect. Within the sect, only the Founding Ancestor and I know the exact date of the tribulation. Now you and Elder Wanbao as well… remember to adjust the formations and guard several key locations.”
After handling the most important matter, Sect Master Linghu finally had the leisure to chat. “Mid-grade Water Spiritual Root, breaking through to late-stage Qi Refining in just over a decade since entering the sect—that is somewhat fast… but among our True Disciples, which one doesn’t have a small fortuitous encounter? As long as the sect prospers, they can only add bricks and tiles to it. Fortunes, destiny, techniques… like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, gathering within our sect. The sea does not reject water—thus it becomes deep.”
“Indeed!”
At this, even Elder Tianxing’s face flushed slightly with excitement. “As long as the spirit beast successfully undergoes tribulation tomorrow, our Azure Sea Sect can wipe out the Zhong Family and the Heavenly Heart Linked Islands, unifying the Small Huan Sea Cultivation World in one stroke… no so-called heavenly prodigy will escape our grasp!”
…
“So… it really passed that easily?”
Pill Island.
Cold Spring Peak was cold and desolate.
Fang Qing glanced around and returned to his own cave dwelling.
The Minor Lost Traces Array was still operating normally. The spiritual pool was filled with mist, carrying wisps of water vapor.
He sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion and exhaled deeply. “As expected… the folk customs over on Jade Island are truly simple and honest…”
After sighing for a moment, Fang Qing took out a pill scripture and began reading it carefully.
After reaching the seventh layer of Qi Refining, the effects of Ginseng-Green Spirit Water during cultivation were no longer very good.
To continue advancing boldly, he would have to rely on pills!
Fortunately, his divine sense had already achieved success, allowing him to quickly grasp low-grade first-tier pill formulas.
At this moment, he was studying a kind of ‘Qi Refining Powder,’ said to have extremely noticeable effects on improving cultivation for late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.
“Mm… I’ve more or less digested these pill-refining techniques. They aren’t very difficult.”
With the aid of divine sense, recalling how he had once stared blankly at pill formulas, Fang Qing could not help but smile. “The main ingredients are almost fully collected. For this first furnace opening, I have a seventy percent chance!”
Even so, he did not act immediately. Instead, he lay down and went straight to sleep, preparing to watch a good show tomorrow.
What a joke!
Tomorrow was the Horned Serpent’s tribulation. If he refined pills, not only might he miss the spectacle, but if residual fluctuations caused the refinement to fail, what then?
Although divination indicated his personal safety would be fine, pill refinement tolerated no mistakes—any slight lapse could lead to failure. It was better not to gamble.