Yuhua Sect, Purple Lightning Peak.
Fang Qiang, this former senior maidservant, stood at the peak of the cliff, gazing intently at the sea of clouds in the distance. A trace of solemnity appeared between her brows. Suddenly, in the vast sea of clouds afar, a tiny streak of lightning sped over. She hurriedly waved her hand, and her hand similarly emitted lightning. Yin and yang attracted each other, drawing it over.
The lightning fell into her hand and transformed into a talisman, densely covered entirely with fly-head small characters.
After reading for a while, her expression grew increasingly poor, and a layer of frost seemed to form on her face.
"In only a few short months, such major events have happened on the sea! The Demonic Commander killed three great true disciples of the Taiyi Sect and was targeted by a Heavenly Dao Pursuit Order! Additionally, the Water Gu Heavenly Demon actually broke out of its seal! And that Fang Han appeared on the sea, defeating an army of a hundred thousand heavenly demons in one fell swoop and sealing the Water Gu Heavenly Demon… Eldest Miss and the Demonic Commander went through unspeakable hardships to seal this Demonic King precisely for its origin power. Now measuring it falling into Fang Han's hands, it is quite a troublesome matter. These critical news must be reported to Eldest Miss as soon as possible, so she can make a decision. Especially the Demonic Commander's matter, it absolutely cannot be delayed! Even if it affects Eldest Miss's secluded cultivation in the Minor Immortal Realm, it cannot be helped."
Fang Qiang pondered for a moment, immediately sat down cross-legged, solemnly took out a lightning talisman in the shape of a dragon and snake, silently chanted an incantation, then shook her five fingers. Drops of fresh blood seeped out from her hand, smearing onto the lightning talisman: "The Great Dao is Unique, Lightning Essence Qi, Travelling Myriad Worlds, the Mind's Thoughts are Eternally Prosperous, Telepathy!"
Crack!
That dragon-snake lightning talisman in her hand suddenly split open all at once, transforming into thread-like electric currents and dissipating into the air.
"The Telepathy has already been sent out; I hope Eldest Miss can sense it."
Fang Qiang stood up, letting out a long breath: "Fang Han… I originally thought he was just a little bit lucky, but I never expected him to actually become this formidable…"
The piercing heavenly wind blew over, swaying her body unsteadily, seeming as if she was about to fall down the bottomless cliff. However, her feet were firmly planted, taking root in the ground, completely fearless. Walking casually on the slick, moss-covered edge of the cliff, she displayed powerful mental fortitude and extremely profound physical control techniques.
Very, very far down the mountain, several powerful servants of the Fang Family, Fang Man, Fang Rui, Fang Lie… and others, were the few who had competed with Fang Han for power and profit back then and had been violently beaten.
"Tsk tsk, this girl Fang Qiang's martial arts are becoming increasingly formidable. Walking on the edge of the cliff as if strolling in a courtyard, I'm afraid she is nearly cultivating to the tenth realm of the physical body, the Divine Transformation realm…" Fang Man licked his lips, revealing an obscene light.
"She is the favorite person beside Eldest Miss, and also the grand steward of this Purple Lightning Peak, lacking nothing like pills. Her cultivation naturally shot straight up! Swish! Swish! Swish! What? Fang Man? Could it be you are still scheming about this girl?" Fang Rui clapped his hands, and a servant half-knelt to present a cup of fragrant tea.
"What's wrong with that? If we were in the Governor's Mansion of the Fang Family, with her just a petty little maidservant, wouldn't I be able to easily capture her? Right now, all I am thinking about is how to elevate my cultivation, how to become an outer sect disciple of the Yuhua Sect. If we can curry favor with some formidable figures who would reward us with pills, flying swords, and a dharma robe! Then we could soar on the clouds and ride the mist, our power abruptly increasing a hundredfold! And even more, we could stand out among our peers." Fang Man turned the obscene light into a sickly green greed: "What, Fang Lie, could it be you don't want to avenge the deep-seated hatred of being bullied by that little bastard Fang Han?"
"Quiet! That kid Fang Han is already a true disciple of the Yuhua Sect now, his power overwhelming the sky. He could pinch us to death with a single finger; how could we retaliate?"
"Hmph, he also offended the most formidable immortal deity among the Yuhua Sect's true disciples, Hua Tiandu! He won't be jumping around for much longer. We must take revenge; otherwise, for a petty groom to actually ride on top of our heads, becoming an immortal and achieving godhood! How can we swallow this anger?" Fang Man, this powerful servant, slammed the table fiercely!
"Oh? You want to seek revenge that badly?"
Suddenly, a faint voice resonated beside them. The several powerful servants abruptly turned their heads and saw none other than the Second Miss, Fang Qingwei!
At the same time, beside Fang Qingwei, stood a mysterious person in black.
"Ah, your servants greet the Second Miss!" The three powerful servants immediately fell to their knees.
"Rise! Since you have the heart to seek revenge against that slave Fang Han, and you are also servants of my Fang Family, I must necessarily promote you a bit. Oh? This is a rogue cultivator Daoist friend I newly befriended on the sea, named Sir Huanzhen. Why aren't you paying your respects yet?" Fang Qingwei introduced the person in black beside her.
"Greetings, Sir Huanzhen!" The several powerful servants looked at each other, knowing that these were all extraordinary people, of the immortal class. With their ingratiating personalities, how could they dare be negligent? They immediately began to curry favor.
"No need for formalities. Since you are Miss Qingwei's servants, I inevitably have to give you a bit of benefit." This mysterious person in black, Sir Huanzhen, spoke very stiffly, but his actions were incredibly generous. With a wave of his hand, suddenly three one-inch-long flying swords fell into the hands of the three powerful servants. Accompanying the three flying swords were three dharma robes of antique design, exuding powerful magic power. The three swords and three robes were all top-grade items among spiritual artifacts.
Upon seeing this, Fang Qingwei's heart leaped fiercely, unexpectedly finding this Sir Huanzhen to be so generous! Six spiritual artifacts given away just like that.
This mysterious person in black, Sir Huanzhen, was someone she met at the Ever-returning Sea Market. He was straightforward and exceedingly generous. She traded pills with this Sir Huanzhen and took quite a bit of advantage, thinking he was a complete sucker.
Furthermore, this Sir Huanzhen was not a person of demonic paths, but an overseas rogue cultivator. His cultivation was not high, barely reaching the Divine Ability Realm and thus just able to circulate magic power.
If people from demonic paths entered the Yuhua Mountain, they would likely be severed by flying swords.
"These three swords and three robes, after you drip blood to refine them, you can utilize them," Sir Huanzhen said: "Miss Qingwei, I see these three have decent aptitude. Since Yuhua wouldn't take them in, how about I take the three of them as disciples?"
"That is also fine. Fang Man, Fang Rui, Fang Lie? Why aren't you hurrying to pay your respects to your master?" Fang Qingwei thought it over, giving the three a look. The aptitude of these three powerful servants was actually extremely mediocre, completely lacking even the qualifications to be outer sect disciples of Yuhua. However, Fang Qingwei assumed that overseas rogue cultivators had not seen much of the world and were different from the Yuhua Sect.
"Greetings, Master!" The three powerful servants were overjoyed!
"Sir Huanzhen, let's go. We're heading to the Wanluo Peak. I will introduce you to our Yuhua Sect's true disciple of the Great Dao of the Golden Pill, Senior Brother Wanluo. You have some spiritual artifacts obtained from ancient ruins on you; you can exchange pills with Senior Brother Wanluo." Fang Qingwei knew that this Sir Huanzhen was a lucky rogue cultivator who had obtained ancient ruins and wanted to exchange for some pills, thus during the exchange, she could greatly take advantage.
"Ah, Great Dao of the Golden Pill!" Sir Huanzhen was distinctly shocked, showing a bit of apprehension. Seeing this in her eyes, Fang Qingwei felt a measure of complacency stemming from being from a major sect.
While speaking, she led Sir Huanzhen and the three powerful servants, flying towards Wanluo Peak.
Fang Qiang took all of this into her eyes.
"That Sir Huanzhen, who exactly is he? He seems to be extremely mysterious? Among some of the rogue cultivators on the sea, I roughly know a few, yet there is no such person? Fang Qingwei has just entered the immortal dao, frivolous and arrogant; it's best if she doesn't delay Eldest Miss's matters…"
Outside the Yuhua Mountain, in a desolate mountain area, several mysterious people in black stared at the towering Yuhua Mountain in the distance, conversing with each other: "Lord Divine Sovereign Huanzhen has been inside for so long without coming out, surely he hasn't encountered a mishap? The Yuhua Sect is the number one major sect of the immortal dao! Unfathomable."
"In the immortal dao, there are also visits to friends and relatives; what's there to be afraid of? We are neither human, nor demon, nor monster; could the people of the Yuhua Sect recognize us? Moreover, with Divine Sovereign Huanzhen sealing his own origin qi, nobody can see through him. This time, Divine Sovereign Huanzhen merely wanted to probe the internal situation of the Yuhua Sect. I didn't expect that by granting a few spiritual artifacts, he would actually fool Fang Qingwei; in the future, using this to approach Fang Qingxue will be much easier."
One mysterious person in black said.
"Let's go! We should stay a bit further away from the Yuhua Sect, lest we be discovered by the experts within!"
While speaking, the several mysterious people in black concealed themselves and vanished without a trace.
Yuhua Sect, the highest point of the Yuhua Heavenly Palace, in a mysterious space-time. Hazy cloud and rosy mist energy permeated everywhere. These cloud and mist energies appeared in various colors, rolling and scattering. There was no sky above, and no earth below; it seemed the entire world was constructed from clouds and rosy mists.
Some of these cloud and mist energies were hard, some were soft, and some were like water, incomparably heavy.
However, all these cloud and mist energies exuded waves of Pure Yang aura, differing from any spiritual qi between heaven and earth; it was like immortal qi projecting down from the mysterious Immortal Realm!
Make no mistake, this was the Yuhua Sect's sacred land for secluded cultivation, the "Minor Immortal Realm"!
What filled the inside was entirely extracted by the Supreme Elders and the Supreme Headmaster of the Yuhua Sect, several experts of the Longevity Realm, jointly exerting vast magic power to tear through the void from the mysterious and distant space-time crevices of the Immortal Realm, thereby constructing this single Minor Immortal Realm. If an expert of the Divine Ability Realm was inside, every breath of spiritual qi absorbed would increase their magic power, and their physical body would be reshaped anew.
Because every fraction of the Immortal Realm's spiritual qi in this "Minor Immortal Realm" was incredibly noble and rare, and every disciple entering to cultivate and absorb would consume a fraction, generally, only special disciples were allowed to enter and cultivate; ordinary true disciples absolutely lacked this privilege.
Even Jin Shitai, whose father was the Grand Elder of the sect, was not qualified to enter the Minor Immortal Realm.
But now, Fang Qingxue was cultivating inside the Minor Immortal Realm.
She sat within a mass of solid cloud and rosy mist. Around her body, countless flashes of lightning flickered back and forth unsteadily. Every inch of lightning manifested powerful condensed force.
These lightning flashes were not scattered and chaotic, but were refined into various talisman edicts, linked head to tail, possessing profound spirituality. One grand lightning array after another surrounded her, and subsequently, with a gentle motion, they were drawn into her own body. At this moment, her body seemed not to be flesh and blood, but a mass of lightning, a mass of thunder power.
The most terrifying thing was that above Fang Qingxue's head floated a massive talisman edict fully three or four miles in circumference. On this talisman edict were numerous figures of thunder gods—some fully feathered, with human heads and bird bodies, holding thunder hammers; or human bodies with bird heads, entwined with lightning of various colors entirely.
On it, there were also scriptures composed of characters upon characters, not current writings, but exceedingly ancient and desolate. Every character seemed to be expounding on the rules of heaven and earth, secrets of the ancient past, and mysteries of the primordial chaos…
This colossal talisman edict was actually a magic treasure!
It had already surpassed the scope of ordinary treasure artifacts! Like the Yellow Spring Diagram, it was a talisman edict, the talisman edict of the ancient Thunder Emperor. It was a Dao artifact! A Dao artifact that could make even Longevity Realm experts, those eternal colossi, feel moved.
"Myriad Methods Return to One, Myriad Methods Return to One…"
As Fang Qingxue's body moved, many grand arrays spewed out again. Every grand array represented a divine ability. She seemed to want to condense the multitude of grand arrays into one entity! Refining them into something resembling a seed.
Suddenly, her mind stirred, and all the grand arrays withdrew back into her body.
"Telepathy? Fang Qiang wouldn't execute this item unless it was a critical juncture." Operating her mind, Fang Qingxue instantly understood: "To think such major events occurred during my secluded cultivation! A life-and-death clash between the Demonic Commander and the Taiyi Sect? That kid Fang Han actually became a true disciple, and even suppressed the Water Gu Heavenly Demon! Even more astonishing is that he actually challenged Hua Tiandu, establishing a ten-year life-and-death gamble? What is he relying on to be so audacious! It seems I must come out of my seclusion!"
A series of information was sensed from her mind; this was a special divine ability, Telepathy.
"Thunder Emperor Talisman Edict, Indestructible Lightning!" The moment the thought of coming out of seclusion arose in her mind, she waved her hand upward. The colossal talisman edict above her head instantly shrank and entered her mind.
Subsequently, her body flashed and shuttled; after a few shifts, she was out of the Minor Immortal Realm.
Fang Qingxue came out of seclusion!
On the sea, at the Thunder Emperor Cave Dwelling of the seventy-seven forty-nine islands, after Fang Han enjoyed the Pill Origin Assembly, he didn't tarry but continued his journey with Long Xuan and the demoness, heading toward Guixu. Their mode of travel remained diving underwater.
Flying on the sea surface was truly too conspicuous. From the battle with the Water Gu Heavenly Demon, Fang Han's true qi was significantly damaged by the Great Cutting Art, and it could only be replenished through silent cultivation within the cauldron.
And "Yan" was also refining a piece of Dharma Saint Sarira.
Of course, before departing, Fang Han didn't forget to absorb all the numerous Golden Thread Nanmu trees planted in the forty-nine islands Thunder Emperor Cave Dwelling to repair his damaged true qi. Infusing the noble aura of the Golden Thread Nanmu, the Wood Sovereign True Qi became even more agile and perfected.
Originally, he was very likely to condense gang qi right then, but the damage sustained in the battle with the Water Gu Heavenly Demon postponed his realm elevation. He wasn't in a rush; it was only a matter of time anyway. The thicker the foundation laid, the easier it would be to break through realms later on.
What he was most enthusiastic about now was entering Guixu to find the heavenly demon army, absorbing eight million heavenly demons, and completely unlocking the power of the Five Hells King Cauldron!
The current "Five Hells King Cauldron," having absorbed a full fifty thousand heavenly demons as laborers, traveled through the water at a much faster speed, nearly ten thousand miles a day, moreover without expending much of his own magic power.
For another three to five days, Fang Han cultivated arduously within the cauldron every day, consuming Origin Infant Pills, and his damaged true qi recovered significantly. On this day, he surprisingly felt waves of cold air seeping in from the exterior seawater, as if they had entered a different ocean.
"Fang Han, we have reached the North Ocean, the edge of Guixu. We must be highly cautious now! Danger may be encountered at any moment!" Long Xuan's voice transmitted over.
"Reached the edge of Guixu! It seems the Demonic Commander has also led the Taiyi Sect disciples hunting him down into Guixu! However, we absolutely must not run into them!" Fang Han thought, steering the King Cauldron upwards.
He wanted to float up to the surface to see what Guixu looked like.