Immortality Cultivation

Fang Hao did not stupidly run through the mountain forest. Are you kidding? He was a Nascent Soul Stage expert now; why use his legs when he could fly? Although keeping a low profile was the golden rule, there was no need to wrong himself by scurrying through the forest like a rabbit. He landed on a secluded hilltop, swept his Divine Sense around, and confirmed that there was not even a Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator within dozens of miles, only a few Foundation Establishment Stage small Demon Beasts napping in their respective territories. It was very safe.

He focused his Divine Sense on his Storage Ring, and a cyan light flew out. It grew in the wind, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a flying boat about three zhang long, with a smooth design and a body that looked like it was carved from cyan jade, hovering in front of him. The boat’s body was engraved with complex cloud patterns, with Spiritual Qi faintly flowing through it; it looked very valuable. This was one of the spoils he had "seized" from Mo Yunhe, called the "azure spirit boat." It was a High Grade flying Spiritual Artifact. It was fast, had decent defense, and most importantly, it was comfortable to sit in and could automatically absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to fly, saving him worry and effort.

"Heh, when my cultivation was low, driving this thing was a bit strenuous. Now, though..." Fang Hao chuckled, his figure flashed, and he appeared at the bow of the boat. The interior space of the flying boat was not large, but it was laid out very elegantly, with meditation cushions, a small table, and even a small wine cabinet. He sat down on the cushion in a grand manner. With a thought, the azure spirit boat hummed, and a layer of cyan light shield rose, enveloping the entire flying boat. It was windproof and provided a certain level of protection.

"Old Jin, come up, we’re setting off." Fang Hao called out.

Old Jin’s silver-white body crouched slightly, then with a "whoosh," it leaped up like a cannonball and landed steadily behind Fang Hao, like a silent metal statue, motionless. Its weight landed on the flying boat without even making it sway, showing that the carrying capacity of this azure spirit boat was quite good.

"Let’s go!" Fang Hao pointed his finger towards the northeast direction and injected Spiritual Power into the flying boat’s core Formation. The azure spirit boat vibrated slightly, then turned into a streak of cyan light, skimming the treetops, silently cutting through the sky, and speeding towards the Great Yan Kingdom. The speed was not particularly fast, roughly equivalent to a Late Golden Core Stage Cultivator flying at full speed, but it was steady and durable, and it had a Formation to conceal his aura, making it difficult to detect without careful investigation.

Fang Hao leaned against the bow of the boat, feeling the breeze blowing against his face, which became gentle after being filtered by the light shield, and watching the mountains and rivers rapidly receding beneath his feet, he felt incredibly comfortable. This was the style a Cultivator should have! Back in the day, he even had to save Spiritual Power when flying on a sword, unlike now, where he was leisurely, as if he were on an outing.

While driving the flying boat, he divided his attention to count the gains from this time. It was mainly the few Storage Pouches and Spirit Beast pouches he got after killing Daoist Chong and his two Golden Core subordinates.

He took out Daoist Chong’s insect banner, which had a hole in it, to study it. The material was good, refined from a rare kind of "Yin Soul Wood" and "Century-old Iron Thread Vine," and it was also sealed with a large number of Demon Beast insect essences, including that "Centipede of Heaven," within it. Its grade was about at the level of a Medium Grade Magic Treasure, but unfortunately, he had pointed his finger at its core with his "Chaos Spiritual Power," causing great damage to its spirituality; it was mostly ruined. However, the banner pole and banner material were good; he could take them apart and refine something else later. The insect eggs and larvae remaining in the insect banner were carefully collected by him in a jade box. Although he did not play with insects, these things should be worth some Spirit Stones if sold to the Beast Taming Sect or insect Cultivators.

There were many things in Daoist Chong’s Storage bag, but most of them were quite evil. There was a pile of poisonous Materials like "Rotten Heart Grass," "Bone-Eroding Flower," and "Five Poison Sand," and the bottles and jars were filled with various strange poisons and Medicinal Pills for cultivating Demon Beasts. There were tens of thousands of Spirit Stones, mostly Medium Grade, with only a few dozen High Grade. There were also some Jade Slips recording insect control, poison refining, and Gu raising; the Cultivation Technique was evil, and Fang Hao just gave it a rough glance before tossing it aside; he did not intend to take this path. There were a few Jade Slips recording some dangerous places, Secret Realms, and some strange anecdotes in the Western Regions, which he found very interesting; some of the dangerous places mentioned in them were places he had never even heard of.

The Storage Pouches of the Bald Big Man and the Dwarf were much more miserable. Added together, there were only about ten thousand Spirit Stones, some ordinary Artifact Refining Materials and Medicinal Pills, and the Cultivation Technique Jade Slips were also common goods. The only thing of some value was the corpse of the "Black Python with a Single Horn" that the Bald Big Man had, which was killed by Old Jin. This thing had thick skin and flesh, and the single horn, snake gallbladder, and venomous fangs were all good Artifact Refining and Alchemy Materials, so Fang Hao also collected them.

"Tsk, three poor ghosts. Added together, they aren’t as rich as me." Fang Hao curled his lips in disappointment. However, even a mosquito’s leg is meat. Although he was quite wealthy now (mainly relying on Alchemy and killing people to seize goods), his Cultivation also cost a lot, so more income was always good. Especially those poisons and insect eggs, although he could not use them, finding someone who knew their value should allow him to sell them for a good price, especially the insect eggs; some rare varieties were priceless.

After counting the spoils, Fang Hao put his attention back on himself. The Nascent Soul had been formed, but it still needed time to stabilize. He closed his eyes, his mind sank into his Dantian, and he observed the small Nascent Soul. The little guy seemed to sense his gaze, opened its eyes, "blinked" at him, and then continued to close its eyes and meditate, swallowing the Chaos Spiritual Power in the Dantian. Fang Hao could feel that the Nascent Soul was slowly growing stronger every moment, and its connection with his Physical Body and Divine Soul was becoming closer and closer. The Chaos Spiritual Power circulated through his wide and tough Meridians, nourishing his Physical Body that had just been baptized by the Lightning Tribulation and repaired by the thunder milk; traces of hidden injuries were slowly healing under the scouring of the Spiritual Power.

"The Chaos Derivation Art seems to have some new changes after reaching the Nascent Soul Stage..." Fang Hao carefully experienced the operation of the Cultivation Technique. Before, at the Golden Core Stage, it was mainly about accumulating Chaos Spiritual Power, opening up the Qi Sea, and condensing the Golden Core. Now that the Nascent Soul had been formed, the operation route of the Cultivation Technique was more complex and profound. As the Spiritual Power circulated, it seemed to faintly resonate with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi outside on a deeper level, and the efficiency of swallowing Spiritual Qi was several times higher than that of the Golden Core Stage. More importantly, his understanding of the word "Chaos" seemed to be a layer deeper. Chaos was not emptiness, but contained infinite possibilities, could evolve all things, and could also return to Chaos. The finger of "Chaos Spiritual Power" he used when fighting Daoist Chong was the initial application. It was just that the consumption was too great, and it was not precise enough; he had to practice more in the future.

"After arriving at the Xuanfeng Mountain Range and finding that relic, it’s best to find a quiet place to enter seclusion for a while to get familiar with the strength and Cultivation Technique of the Nascent Soul Stage." Fang Hao pondered. A surge in cultivation was a good thing, but if he could not master it, it would be easy to have problems; just like a child playing with a big hammer, it was easy to smash his own feet.

The azure spirit boat flew steadily in the air. Days passed as the sun rose and the moon set. Fang Hao flew all the way to the northeast, having already crossed two small Mortal kingdoms and entered the edge of a vast swamp area called the "Cloud Dream Great Swamp." Here, miasma was pervasive, water systems crisscrossed, and many water-type and poison-type Demon Beasts lived here; it was one of the dangerous places for Cultivators to collect specific Materials and hunt Demon Beasts, but it was also full of crises.

Fang Hao did not want to cause trouble, so he controlled the azure spirit boat to increase its altitude, preparing to fly directly over the Cloud Dream Great Swamp. With the speed and concealment of the azure spirit boat, as long as he did not take the initiative to provoke those powerful Yao kings entrenched in the swamp, it should not be a big problem.

However, sometimes, trouble always finds its way to the door.

On this day, the azure spirit boat was flying over a swamp area filled with water vapor and poor visibility. Fang Hao was sitting cross-legged at the bow, distracted by driving the flying boat while comprehending the new changes of the Chaos Derivation Art. Old Jin, like the most loyal guard, stood behind him, motionless, only its pair of silver-white eyes occasionally having subtle rays of light sweeping across the surroundings.

Suddenly, a flash of silver light flickered in Old Jin’s eyes, and it issued a rigid prompt: "Warning, high-intensity energy reaction and Spiritual Power fluctuation detected below, suspected Cultivator battle. Distance, three hundred zhang directly below, one hundred and fifty zhang to the southeast, eighty zhang to the northwest..."

Fang Hao woke up from his meditation, his brows slightly furrowed. His Divine Sense had already detected the battle below, but he did not pay much attention to it. In a place like the Cloud Dream Great Swamp, it was normal for Cultivators to fight over Spirit Medicine, Demon Beast Materials, or out of revenge. He did not want to meddle in other people’s business and was planning to adjust his direction slightly to bypass this area.

"Boom!"