Chapter 221

At the Pill Origin Assembly.

“Cultivators from Blood Fiend Island?”

Watching the scene unfold, Fang Qing felt no surprise at all. Instead, he experienced the strange sense of relief that came when a long-anticipated stone finally hit the ground.

‘As expected, wherever Zhan Hongxiu goes, something earth-shattering is bound to happen. This is the treatment reserved for a child of destiny!’

At the same time, he sensed several strands of Nascent Soul divine sense sweep across his body. None of them detected anything unusual.

After all, he was merely an ordinary and unremarkable “Foundation Establishment Perfection” cultivator. Mixed into a crowd, he was like a pebble tossed into a sand dune, effortlessly overlooked.

Core Formation True Personage, however, were worthy of drawing a Nascent Soul cultivator’s attention and were naturally marked as important targets.

For example, Fairy Yuecang and Qingdan True Personage both immediately changed expression. Without a second thought, they turned to flee.

Blood Fiend Island was infamous as a gathering place for demonic cultivators and bandit cultivators. Given their status, they would not be killed immediately if captured, but lifelong imprisonment to refine pills, or extortion of enormous ransoms from their sects and clans, was practically guaranteed.

“Heh heh... Fairy Yuecang, where do you think you're going? Why not stay behind and have a little fun with us brothers?”

Seven streaks of blood-red light appeared out of nowhere, intercepting Fairy Yuecang’s escaping radiance.

They were seven blood-robed cultivators. The weakest among them possessed mid-stage Core Formation cultivation. Moreover, they had clearly cultivated a battle formation technique. Their auras linked together seamlessly, allowing them to suppress even Fairy Yuecang, a Core Formation Perfection cultivator.

“Fairy, be careful. Those are the Seven Earthfiend Ghosts. The seven are born of the same mother and cultivate battle formations together. Joined as one, they can contend against a Nascent Soul cultivator for several exchanges.”

Qingdan True Personage sighed and moved to stand beside Fairy Yuecang.

After all, he was a True Personage affiliated with the Profound Center Sect. There was no way he could stand by and watch one of the sect’s foremost geniuses fall into demonic hands.

As for True Personage Jinxia and Dan Shuzi, they immediately fled in separate directions, only to find demonic cultivators pursuing them as well.

Fang Qing honestly blended into the crowd and escaped into the marketplace.

At this point, the market had already descended into complete chaos.

Not only were large numbers of demonic cultivators conducting organized raids, but rogue cultivators from who-knows-where had begun concealing their appearances and auras with spells before joining the looting themselves.

“Sigh… Although the Eastern Sea cultivation world is known for its simple and honest folkways, this is a little too.”

Fang Qing shook his head and sighed.

His spiritual warning had yet to trigger, which meant he had not encountered any truly dangerous threat.

Moreover, he had already performed a divination with the Plum Blossom Divination technique and selected a direction of great fortune.

‘With Nascent Soul old monsters flying around overhead, the more one stands out, the faster one dies. Better to honestly run a good distance away first, then enter the void and escape properly.’

He turned a corner.

Suddenly, his divine sense stirred, locking onto the figure of an elderly man.

“Fellow Daoist... save me!”

The old man was being pursued by a black-robed Core Formation cultivator. The moment he spotted Fang Qing, his eyes lit up with hope.

Fang Qing recognized him as well.

This was the shopkeeper from one of the Azure Pill Chamber of Commerce’s stores.

The fellow still owed him the third-rank water-aspect demon cores he had ordered.

‘That’s right, I already paid the deposit.’

‘After this battle, will this marketplace even continue to exist?’

‘Damn it. This counts as force majeure during a cultivation war. Even spirit contracts won't compensate for that.’

‘Could my great fortune actually lie here?’

As the thought crossed his mind, the black-robed True Personage raised a hand.

A pitch-black demonic claw treasure shot forward, piercing straight through the shopkeeper’s body.

Its momentum remained undiminished as it continued toward Fang Qing.

Putting on a panicked expression, Fang Qing hastily activated a talisman treasure to block the demonic claw before turning and fleeing desperately in the opposite direction.

“Heh heh... You can't escape. All of you shall become sacrifices for this lord’s demonic arts.”

The black-robed True Personage moved like a ghost, rapidly closing the distance.

At the same time, his divine sense stirred.

Hidden within his words was a divine sense attack technique, which slammed directly into Fang Qing’s sea of consciousness.

Then...

Nothing happened.

“Hm?”

The black-robed cultivator immediately grew suspicious.

Yet the moment his speed slowed slightly, Fang Qing abruptly changed direction.

His figure seemed to merge into the wind itself.

When he reappeared, he was already directly in front of the black-robed cultivator.

It was none other than the Wind Encounter Technique!

‘The demonic path of the Eastern Sea cultivation world really is a level higher than the Minor Huan Sea. Divine sense secret arts are practically standard equipment here.’

Fang Qing sighed inwardly.

His qi and blood erupted like a primordial beast awakening from slumber.

Then he threw a punch.

The Great Vajra Divine Strength erupted.

The Ignorance Illuminating Ashes ignited.

With a single punch, he shattered the black-robed cultivator’s Core Formation defensive power and crushed his head into pieces.

Before the corpse could even hit the ground, Fang Qing had already swept away several storage bags and continued running without a trace.

Throughout the entire exchange, he had only used body cultivation techniques. He had not revealed any true Core Formation power.

Combined with the surprise attack, the battle ended almost instantly and produced very little disturbance.

Amid the chaos, it should not attract the attention of any Nascent Soul old monster.

“I wonder what sort of harvest I got…”

While fleeing, Fang Qing emptied the contents of the storage bags.

Anything suspiciously carrying tracking marks was immediately destroyed or discarded.

“As expected of demonic cultivators. A pile of blood-soaked junk... Hmm? What's this?”

He opened one storage bag.

It clearly belonged to the shopkeeper.

Inside, he discovered two third-rank demon cores.

A smile immediately appeared on his face.

“Excellent, excellent. Not only did I avoid a loss on this transaction, I made a substantial profit instead.”

“Hm? And this is…”

Beside the demon cores lay a jade slip.

Recorded within it was a pill formula.

The Mysterious Star Falling Cascade Pill*.

A third-rank mid-grade medicinal pill capable of assisting early Core Formation cultivators in advancing their cultivation.

“This...”

“This pill is somewhat similar to the Star Origin Pill. It's exactly the sort of thing I need.”

Fang Qing swept through the contents with his divine sense.

Then his gaze landed on the final line of the formula.

Recorded by Qingdan True Personage.

Fang Qing immediately understood.

‘So he still hasn’t given up on that Core Formation senior backing me. Is he planning to keep using this item to win them over?’

‘Qingdan True Personage, you really are a good person...’

After obtaining the benefits, Fang Qing became even more cautious. He once again calculated the auspicious and inauspicious signs of every direction.

“Hmm. Aside from one direction showing a great calamity, all the others produce favorable hexagrams. Looks like someone is about to have terrible luck and run into a Nascent Soul old monster. I wonder who it will be?”

The moment the thought arose, he did not even need to calculate karma to make a guess.

‘Could it be... that daughter of destiny?’

‘Tsk tsk. A Foundation Establishment cultivator provoking a Nascent Soul old monster... Now that’s impressive.’

Without another glance behind him, he left the marketplace. After a few leaps, he departed Tianquan Island. Then, with a flash of his figure, he stepped into the void and vanished without a trace.

...

Meanwhile.

In the direction Fang Qing had divined as one of great calamity.

Zhan Hongxiu had just recalled her supreme-grade spiritual artifact. At the same time, she placed a hand against Wan An’s abdomen.

“Brother Wan... let me treat your injuries.”

Wan An was already gravely wounded and barely clinging to life. He could only allow Zhan Hongxiu to do as she wished.

Unnoticed by him, she had already employed the secret technique taught to her by Old Turtle. A pearl surrounded by eight currents of wind was silently extracted from within Wan An’s body and concealed within her own hand.

She even left behind a phantom image of the pearl inside his dantian qi sea.

At the very least, it would conceal the theft for a short while.

‘Good... With this Puppet Mirage secret technique, he will never realize I was the one who took it.’

‘And I saved his life. Our karma is settled and cleared. Even if this Scenic Wind Pearl carries some karmic burden, it should have nothing to do with me.’

Zhan Hongxiu withdrew her hand and said solemnly,

“Fellow Daoist Wan, let us part ways here. We should each flee for our lives.”

“Ah... alright.”

Wan An had no idea why this female cultivator, who had been so friendly before and had even risked her life to rescue him moments ago, had suddenly become so cold and distant.

But inside Zhan Hongxiu’s sea of consciousness, Old Turtle's shrill voice exploded like thunder.

“Not good! Run! A Nascent Soul old monster planted a divine sense imprint on that boy for surveillance. They've already discovered you!”

“What?”

Zhan Hongxiu felt her soul nearly leave her body.

“How could this happen?!”

...

High in the heavens.

Nascent Soul-grade treasures clashed against one another. Vast waves of spiritual qi surged wildly. Countless flashes of light erupted as thunder and fire spread across the sky, blasting apart several acres of clouds.

“Heh heh heh. Who would have thought that old fossil Xuande would be here as well? And still refining a Nascent Soul Condensation Pill? What extravagance.”

The Poison Beggar Old Monster still appeared crippled and decrepit.

With a rub of his hands, acres of poisonous clouds emerged and swept toward a slovenly old man from the Profound Center Sect.

The disheveled elder stood atop a pitch-black cauldron and wielded a dark banner, defending himself so tightly that not even water could penetrate.

As the battle raged, the Poison Beggar Old Monster’s expression suddenly changed.

“My divine sense imprint? That brat carrying the treasure?”

“Hm?”

“What nerve!”

With a flick of his finger, a black fingernail-shaped artifact shot through the air.

The object howled as it flew. Countless malevolent ghosts emerged from within it and surged toward Zhan Hongxiu.

“Old Turtle?!”

Locked onto by the divine sense of a Nascent Soul cultivator, Zhan Hongxiu’s mind went completely blank.

“At this point, there is no other choice. This old man must act personally. Do not resist!”

Old Turtle’s voice echoed.

Suddenly, Zhan Hongxiu’s body moved on its own.

She slapped her storage bag.

A strange turtle shell flew out and instantly expanded to the size of a house.

The black fingernail artifact surrounded by countless ghosts struck the turtle shell directly.

Yet it failed to leave even the slightest mark.

The attack was completely reflected away.

Large numbers of ghosts screamed miserably before dissipating into nothingness.

“Go!”

Zhan Hongxiu dove into the turtle shell.

The shell transformed into a streak of light and shot away at a speed far surpassing that of ordinary Core Formation cultivators, leaving Tianquan Island in an instant.

“That is... the natal turtle shell of a fourth-rank upper-grade turtle demon?”

“How could a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator activate it?”

“And that escape technique... Could an old acquaintance be possessing her body?”

Not only the Poison Beggar Old Monster, but even the slovenly elder opposite him looked uncertain.

At that moment, silver runes began appearing across the turtle shell.

They resembled both mystical inscriptions and the shell's natural patterns, intertwining to form a single talisman.

“A fourth-rank... Void Crossing Talisman?”

The Poison Beggar Old Monster’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

This was no longer merely the treasure opportunity carried by that boy.

That fourth-rank upper-grade turtle shell alone was a supreme treasure that even late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivators would covet!

The opportunity had practically been within his grasp, only to slip away at the last moment.

The Poison Beggar Old Monster suddenly slapped the crown of his head.

A strange Nascent Soul emerged.

It resembled him seven or eight parts out of ten and wore a tattered robe that made it look like a beggar.

The Nascent Soul cast a cold glance at the slovenly elder opposite him.

The elder immediately retreated, fearful of becoming the target.

After all, when a Nascent Soul old monster released their Nascent Soul from the body, it meant they were prepared to fight with everything they had.

The Poison Beggar Old Monster’s Nascent Soul let out a sinister chuckle.

Its tiny hands rubbed together.

Two dark-green poisonous flood dragons appeared and coiled around the physical body as guards.

Then the Nascent Soul flashed once.

It directly entered the void and disappeared without a trace.