Chapter 191 - 166: This Lantern Knows Martial Arts?

Chapter 191: Chapter 166: This Lantern Knows Martial Arts?

On the summit of a towering, thousand-zhang peak surrounding the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land.

Beneath a verdant, cliff-side cypress stood a stone table.

Its surface was covered in an array of carvings, varying in depth and shape.

An old man in green robes leaned forward slightly, his eyes fixed on the carvings. He stroked his beard from time to time, completely engrossed.

「Just then.」

Two streaks of Escape Light flew in from the horizon, one after the other. In just a moment, they landed on the summit.

The spiritual light dissipated.

The figures of Feng Bai Mei and Luo Fang appeared. They stepped forward and said respectfully, "Greetings, Elder Qing."

Elder Qing withdrew his gaze, put away the stone table with a wave of his hand, and turned to face them. "Rise," he said with a gesture.

"What business do you have with me?"

Feng Bai Mei took a step forward, cupped her hands, and said, "Reporting to the Elder, this disciple has found Tong Zuo’s location. I implore the Elder to take action."

"Oh?" A hint of surprise appeared on Elder Qing’s face. "Where is he?" he asked.

Feng Bai Mei held nothing back, revealing the location where Tong Zuo had last disappeared according to their investigation over the past few days.

’Breaking through in a place full of swamps and poisonous miasma... Is he trying to use his Lifebound Spirit Insect to condense his Dao Foundation?’ Elder Qing instantly understood Tong Zuo’s opportunity for a breakthrough, and his eyes glinted. ’If he can break through this way, then that matter might just succeed...’

The thought flashed through Elder Qing’s mind. After pondering for a few moments, he instructed the two, "You need not concern yourselves with Tong Zuo’s matter any longer. Just focus on guarding the Spiritual Land."

"Yes, Elder," Luo Fang replied respectfully.

Feng Bai Mei looked as though she wanted to say something but hesitated.

But Elder Qing gave her no opportunity to speak. As soon as he finished his instruction, his figure suddenly disintegrated, turning into a light breeze and vanishing completely.

Luo Fang stood up and looked at Feng Bai Mei with a faint smile. "Steward Feng, there’s no need to be so fixated on this. As for Tong Zuo... hehe." His figure then blurred and turned into a streak of Escape Light, flying toward the Spiritual Land.

"Sigh..."

Feng Bai Mei’s expression shifted uncertainly. With a final, mournful sigh, she turned into a streak of Escape Light and departed.

Their return to the Spiritual Land caused no disturbance.

In the center of the Spiritual Land, the Spirit Fields where a batch of Spirit Medicine had just been harvested were being tilled once more by the Spirit Farmers to plant a new crop.

Meanwhile, the Spirit Fields at the edge of the Spiritual Land were a lush, green expanse as far as the eye could see.

Because the Spiritual Qi in these fields was thin, they were mostly used for planting Spirit Rice. To ensure the Spirit Rice wouldn’t wither and die from lack of Spiritual Qi, the planting density was very sparse.

The yield from three mu of this land was barely comparable to one mu of a Graded Spirit Field.

Even so, the Loose Cultivators’ enthusiasm was sky-high. They diligently walked through the Spirit Fields every day, getting rid of pests and pulling weeds.

And the marketplace, located in the center of the Loose Cultivators’ residential area, had also become much livelier thanks to the Spirit Medicine harvest.

But how many slivers of Spirit Stone could one spend on beast meat, oil, and salt?

The Spirit Farmers, their purses full again, felt it was all rather boring. ’So boring, truly boring. We can’t even spend all our Spirit Stones.’

This situation, however, caught the attention of certain Loose Cultivators.

Most of the Spirit Farmers were male Cultivators brimming with vitality. Back on the Miscellaneous Peaks, it was a different story; there were all sorts of pavilions filled with alluring women.

’How could the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land be any different!’

After just one night, dozens of large red lanterns appeared in the marketplace, and their numbers continued to grow.

The marketplace grew even more boisterous.

Seeing this, the Patrol Guards simply turned a blind eye.

After all, it was all for the sake of cultivation. Nothing to be ashamed of.

Of course, the ever-increasing tax revenue was another reason they didn’t interfere.

In the marketplace.

The festive, bright red lanterns seemed to shine right into the hearts of the Spirit Farmers. The more frequently they visited the marketplace, the broader the smiles on their faces became.

「Day by day, time passed.」

On the Ten Thousand Snake Lake Island, at the center of the summit, in a small courtyard.

"Junior Brother, you’ve been on this island for quite a while. Are you interested in going out to see the sights?"

Ma Rong spoke of the increasingly lively marketplace, a mischievous smile creeping onto his face. "Those red lanterns... they not only melt hearts but also soften your muscles and bones. They’re even proficient in the eighteen schools of martial arts."

?

’Are you sure these lanterns know martial arts?’

Li Changsheng couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Ma Rong. After decades of experience, how could he fail to understand the blatant meaning behind Ma Rong’s seemingly veiled words?

He shook his head and asked about something else.

"Senior Brother, have you caught that Cultivator from the Ten Thousand Poison Forest lineage?"

Hearing this, Ma Rong gave him a strange look, then straightened his expression and shook his head. "The swarm has already started to cannibalize itself. It seems those two Cultivators have truly abandoned this horde of insects."

"Oh."

Li Changsheng nodded, a little disappointed.

He had been hoping Ma Rong’s group would catch them, to see if he could obtain a complete Magical Spirit Contract from them, or perhaps an even more advanced and complete Insect Control Technique.

From the looks of it, that was clearly impossible now.

A thought stirred in Li Changsheng’s mind, and he asked, "Senior Brother, where is the Ten Thousand Poison Forest Cultivator’s swarm?"

Ma Rong assumed he was just curious and, without thinking much of it, told him the swarm’s location.

Li Changsheng silently committed it to memory.

He then asked about Tan Hu.

Ma Rong’s eyes flickered, and he said with a playful grin that Tan Hu was still busy and wouldn’t be free for some time.

Li Changsheng frowned. But as a mere Qi Cultivator, he couldn’t help. He could only hope that Tan Hu was all right.

After chatting a little more.

Li Changsheng thought for a moment, then said with a smile, "After constant experimentation these past few days, I’ve developed a formula that can speed up the maturation of Concentration Flowers." He paused, then added, "It’s just that I’m still missing..."

"Wait..."

Before he could finish, however, Ma Rong suddenly stood up, staring straight at him. "Junior Brother, are you saying you can speed up the maturation of Concentration Flowers?"

Li Changsheng was slightly stunned by his reaction. He hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

’If a guy like Yan Shaoyuan, who only condensed a partial Spirit Plant Mark, could develop a formula, it makes no sense that I, with my complete Spirit Plant Mark, couldn’t.’

’It’s perfectly reasonable.’

After receiving confirmation, Ma Rong’s shock gave way to irrepressible joy. Remembering the end of Li Changsheng’s sentence, he hurriedly asked, "Junior Brother, what are you missing?"

Li Changsheng gave him a curious look. With a flip of his hand, he took out a palm-sized piece of Jade Bamboo and handed it to Ma Rong, explaining, "This is a branch of Jade Bamboo. I accidentally discovered that when mixed with other Spirit Plants, it can accelerate the maturation of Concentration Flowers."

He paused, then continued, "Besides the Jade Bamboo, I also need Bright God Flower, Illusion Heart Grass, Muscle Forging Grass, Heartless Fruit, Bone Refining Flower..."

Ma Rong’s reaction felt a bit off, so Li Changsheng quickly added the names of several useless Spirit Plants to the list.

"Alright."

Even after he rattled off a list of several Spirit Plants, Ma Rong didn’t hesitate at all, simply nodding in agreement.

"Junior Brother, just wait a few days. I will definitely have these Spirit Plants delivered to you."

With that, he turned and hurried toward the door. Just as Li Changsheng stood up to see him off, Ma Rong suddenly turned his head and asked, "Junior Brother, how effective is your formula?"

Li Changsheng hesitated for a moment, then held up two fingers. "It can shorten the maturation time by two months."

Hearing this, Ma Rong was stunned for a moment. He asked seriously, "Junior Brother, are you serious?"

Huh?

Li Changsheng paused, then gave a slight nod.

Even after watching Ma Rong leave, his mind was still filled with questions.

’Did I say too much again?’

Li Changsheng was speechless.

He had experimented on his own Concentration Flowers. Using the formula provided by his Golden Finger, it only took half a year for them to mature.

Claiming it could speed up maturation by two months was a number he had deliberated on for a long time.

After all, if it was too fast, it would attract prying eyes. If it was too slow, they might not take it seriously. A moderate amount like this should have been the most appropriate.