vstars Chapter 80 News from the Secret Realm
Chapter 80 News from the Secret Realm
Chapter 80 News from the Secret Realm (Bonus Chapter, Please Subscribe)
Fang Qing held the communication talisman, his expression playful.
Within the entire Bihai Sect, probably only he and the two Core Formation Ancestors knew the truth about Linghu Jin's Core Formation.
External alchemy is not true core formation after all. Sect Leader Linghu is probably still in the Foundation Establishment stage—he's not young anymore, is he? If he can't truly form his core soon—the sect leader's lineage will likely have some fun to watch.
Fang Qing only paid slight attention to this matter initially, but the information Qin Ruxue provided next made him more concerned: "The remnants of the Zhong family and the remnants of Tianxin Linked Island have joined forces—forming the Sea Extinction Alliance," specifically targeting our Bihai Sect with assassinations and sabotage? And Bihai Sect is retaliating in kind, labeling them as demonic?"
The Annihilation Alliance is undoubtedly a place where defeated forces band together for warmth. Not only the remnants of the two major Core Formation forces, but also other forces that hate the Azure Sea Sect, such as the remnants of the Hua family from Flying Fish Island, will most likely join in.
All things considered, this is a considerable potential threat.
Of course, what truly concerned Fang Qing was news of Zhong Lingxiu.
"This person hasn't shown up for quite some time —"
"What a pity, what a pity—"
He still remembered that Zhong Lingxiu possessed an Ice Soul Pearl talisman!
This is a powerful treasure capable of deciding the outcome of a battle.
Even among the ancient Shu Dao Foundation cultivators, he is probably no ordinary person.
If he knew Zhong Lingxiu's location, he wouldn't mind leading a group to ambush and kill the boy, and seizing his treasures.
Outside the Xuanbi Cave.
Each herb swayed gracefully, its emerald leaves glistening with dewdrops, exuding a faint spiritual aura.
Fang Qing glanced at it and then ignored it.
Although he had Qin Ruxue sow some seeds of second-tier spiritual herbs in the spiritual fields of the cave, they would be of little use without a hundred years.
On Dan Island, many Qi Refining disciples were relaxed, some gathered in twos and threes, others trying their hand at alchemy, exuding a sense of ease after the great battle.
It seems the Azure Sea Sect truly doesn't take the so-called "Sea Annihilation Alliance" seriously—which makes sense, given that the opposing side doesn't even have a Core Formation ancestor, at most a few Foundation Establishment cultivators—
Fang Qing hadn't left his cave for a long time, so he wandered around for a while and then arrived at Cold Spring Peak.
Watching the disciples occupy the spirit pool and try to refine pills, he couldn't help but chuckle, and then he thought of how he had first started washing clothes and refining pills here.
"Look—Senior Sister Gong is about to refine pills!"
Suddenly, several disciples gathered in front, staring at the location of a spiritual spring with a hint of anticipation on their faces.
Fang Qing scanned the area with his divine sense and couldn't help but chuckle.
The one refining elixirs here was none other than Gong Susu.
The young woman kept a straight face and spoke calmly, "Fellow junior brothers—today I will be refining the Bright Jade Pill. This pill has a slight effect on preserving youth. Those who wish to learn from me must first pay fifty contribution points—and I can answer three questions."
Fang Qing was speechless for a moment: "How did this woman fall to such a state?"
While there's nothing wrong with teaching junior students, the fees seem a bit high, clearly indicating a money-making scheme.
"Hmm—his complexion is alright, but his magical power is unstable—he actually looks like he's severely injured—could it be?"
A thought struck him, and he began to speculate.
At this moment, Gong Susu also saw Fang Qing. Her expression became extremely complicated, but she still stepped forward and bowed respectfully: "Disciple greets Martial Uncle Fang—Junior Sister Hua, thank you for taking care of me before, Martial Uncle."
"Huh? It's actually my Martial Uncle in the Foundation Establishment stage?"
"I recognize him. This is my Uncle Fang from our sect. When Uncle Fang first came to Cold Spring Peak, he used this very spirit pool."
Many disciples gathered around, bowing respectfully, their eyes filled with eagerness and admiration.
After all, Fang Qing's journey from an ordinary disciple to a true disciple, and then to the Foundation Establishment stage, is legendary on this small Pill Island.
"Come with me."
Fang Qing frowned and led Gong Susu to a pavilion.
With a flick of his wrist, a soundproof barrier opened, blocking the way between the inside and outside.
The pavilion instantly fell into complete silence.
"You have injuries, what happened?"
Fang Qing asked casually.
"Uncle Qi, I used my battle merits to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill from our sect and attempted to establish my foundation—but I failed."
Gong Susu answered sadly.
During the ten-year war, the Azure Sea Sect destroyed two major Core Formation forces and gained immense benefits.
The higher-ups have eaten their fill, and at least some scraps have fallen to the lower levels.
The Azure Sea Sect then released a considerable number of Foundation Establishment Pills, and quite a few Qi Refining disciples seized this opportunity and successfully established their foundations.
Of course, there were also many losers, such as Gong Susu.
"This woman not only failed to establish her foundation, but her second-level alchemist teacher also died in battle—no wonder she is in such a bad situation."
Fang Qing sighed inwardly. Having satisfied his curiosity, he prepared to leave, and would also like to pay a visit to Senior Brother Tian Ding.
"Uncle-Master—wait a minute."
Gong Susu, however, for some reason gritted her teeth and tried to persuade him to stay.
"Hmm? Is there anything else?"
Fang Qing glanced at Gong Susu, only to see her blushing face. She whispered, "My junior sister fell in love with you the moment she saw your handsome appearance, Uncle-Master—I wonder if you need a concubine?"
She knew that Fang Qing was not averse to women. After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, he took Qin Ruxue from the Array Island as his concubine and devoted himself to helping her reach the Foundation Establishment stage.
Now that she has lost her support, her desperate attempt to reach the Foundation Establishment stage failed, and she has almost fallen to the same fate as the Fifth Prince, having to spend her whole life refining pills for the sect to pay off her debts. Yet she still wants to grasp at one last straw.
If Fang Qing agrees, this will be the background of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Even for her, perhaps there is still a sliver of hope for a second Foundation Establishment?
After all—Qin Ruxue attempted to establish her foundation three times, using three Foundation Establishment Pills to barely succeed. She was also a legend among the low-level cultivators of the Azure Sea Sect.
"Do I really look that much like a sucker?"
Fang Qing inwardly scoffed, then his expression hardened: "I have no intention of taking a concubine. But I have one more thing to say to my junior disciple Gong: walk the right path and don't always try crooked ways."
After saying that, he flicked his sleeve and drifted away.
Only Gong Susu, her face gradually turning pale, remained standing silently.
Deep within the Dan Palace.
"Senior Brother Tianding—"
Fang Qing smiled and cupped his hands in greeting, noticing that his senior brother seemed to have aged a bit more than before.
Even though Dan Island was only responsible for logistics during the ten-year war, it was still an extremely demanding undertaking, so it's understandable.
"Junior Brother Fang?"
Elder Tianding's face lit up with joy: "So you're planning to come down from the mountain to help me?"
"This—I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Senior Brother. I've only recently reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and I'm currently planning to go into seclusion to further my cultivation—"
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Fang Qing smiled and shook his head, which made Elder Tianding feel a bit annoyed: "Sigh—I was very impatient watching those second-level alchemists fighting for power and profit before, but now that so many familiar faces are gone, I feel inexplicably lonely—"
The longer a monk lives, the more eccentric his temperament may become.
Fang Qing had heard similar rumors before, but didn't take them seriously.
After they sipped a few more mouthfuls of spiritual tea and chatted for a while, he finally brought up his own affairs.
"Oh? You want to exchange for a few second-tier precious herbs?"
Elder Tianding took the prescription from Fang Qing: "Junior brother, what you need is quite a variety."
Fang Qing certainly wouldn't directly throw out the materials for the Lesser Barrier-Breaking Pill, and Qin Ruxue had already collected several of the materials.
He simply added a few other materials that Qin Ruxue had not yet fully collected and handed them over to Tianding.
"We're preparing to modify the ancient elixir formula, so we'll need a variety of materials."
Fang Qing smiled.
"Junior brother—this second-tier precious medicine is sect property; it's against the rules to let private individuals refine it."
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Elder Tianding replied solemnly, "Unless you become an elder of the Pill Hall and refine pills for our sect—"
"Senior brother, I have a Water Essence Pill here. What do you think of it?"
Fang Qing chuckled inwardly and handed over a pill.
"This—a mid-grade second-tier Water Essence Pill? You're really extravagant, using a second-tier demon core to refine pills? Wouldn't it be better to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill with this demon core?"
Elder Tianding shook his head repeatedly, scolding Fang Qing for wasting things.
"I obtained one by chance, so I decided to give it a try—"
Fang Qing said, "We are currently preparing to try using the flesh and blood of a mid-grade second-tier demon beast, along with other medicinal herbs, to replace the second-tier demon core. If successful, it will greatly benefit our sect."
"I see—"
Elder Tianding calmly slipped the Water Essence Pill into his sleeve: "Since Junior Brother is considering the sect's interests, then this will be the only time. And there will be no next time."
The deal was finalized, and for a time, their relationship seemed to grow closer.
Elder Tianding then began to guide Fang Qing on some ideas for replacing the second-tier demon core.
Fang Qing listened and immediately gained some insights.
After all, he could still draw knowledge of alchemy from another world, and recently he had been studying "Notes on the Origin of Alchemy." Occasionally, he would utter a sentence that would make Elder Tianding's eyes light up, and he would repeatedly praise Fang Qing's talent in alchemy.
The two talked about alchemy and cultivation, and eventually the topic turned to the Annihilation Alliance.
"Destroy the Sea Alliance? A bunch of clowns, utterly pathetic."
Elder Tianding waved his hand: "They can still be active now only because they have the resources to survive the escape of the two major Core Formation forces—"
"Hmph, if it weren't for the need to keep them around to lure those with ill intentions towards our sect, and to incidentally investigate the whereabouts of Patriarch Bihai, our sect would have been wiped out long ago."
"What? There's this other consideration too?"
Fang Qing was slightly taken aback.
Elder Tianding smiled: "The sect leader's faction has high hopes for you, after all, you succeeded in Foundation Establishment on your first try, making you a core member of the sect—"
"Knowing this information is fine, but do you know why our sect's founder, Azure Sea Ancestor, came to this Small Universe Sea to establish his sect?"
"Isn't this because there's less competition here?" Fang Qing's heart skipped a beat.
"Less competition? That's part of the reason—besides that, it's also because of a secret realm!"
Elder Tianding made a startling statement.
"A secret realm?"
Fang Qing jolted awake, and it has to be said that she had some kind of stress reaction.
"Indeed, this secret realm was built by ancient cultivators with great supernatural powers. Not only is it brimming with spiritual energy, but it also contains numerous treasures and elixirs—"
Even a single pill could potentially raise our cultivation level by one level.
Elder Tianding's face was filled with longing when he mentioned this.