Chapter 248

The Qi Refining path.

Eastern Sea cultivation world.

As Fang Qing sped through the skies, his expression remained calm, though his thoughts churned beneath the surface.

'Spiritual Master Xinyi, a peak Purple Mansion cultivator... died while seeking the Golden Core?'

'Did she not know how difficult it is to cultivate divine abilities and advance to Golden Core?'

'Or was it because if she missed this opportunity, there would never be another? Did she have no choice but to take such a desperate gamble?'

'And what exactly is this method of "Borrowing the Mysterious to Seek the Origin"?'

Questions continued to emerge in his mind, yet he found no answers.

For now, he could only continue observing the situation on the Qi Ingestion side.

"We've arrived. This is the place."

Ahead of him, Zhan Hongxiu halted her flight.

"A Demon King occupies the waters beyond this point. If we alert even one of them, they will gather in groups. After all, this is part of the outer sea. If the disturbance becomes too great, it may even attract fourth-rank demon beasts."

"From here onward, we must conceal our tracks. Fellow Daoist, please."

She raised a hand and released a green pearl-shaped treasure.

It was none other than the Scenic Wind Pearl.

Within this pearl had once been refined eight varieties of spiritual wind. At its peak, it could transform into eight wind spirits, each one no weaker than a Nascent Soul old monster.

However, its grade had long since fallen from high-grade fourth-rank.

After reaching Core Formation, Zhan Hongxiu had refined it anew. Now, it could only summon a single wind spirit comparable to an early Core Formation cultivator.

Even so, this wind spirit controlled a unique ability known as Illusory Scene Wind, which possessed extraordinary effects when concealing one's presence.

Whoosh!

A gentle breeze swept past, and Zhan Hongxiu's figure instantly vanished.

'Could this pearl treasure be the opportunity Zhan Hongxiu obtained on Tianquan Island? Was this why a Nascent Soul old monster targeted her?'

'It does seem somewhat fated with me.'

'But countless things are fated with me. Must I really take them all for myself?'

Fang Qing smiled faintly and took out the Heaven-Shrouding Curtain, draping it over himself.

His aura vanished without a trace.

'This Fellow Daoist Bai also possesses quite a few treasures.'

Zhan Hongxiu's heart stirred.

She noticed that the Illusory Scene Wind Spirit displayed an instinctive affinity toward Fang Qing.

Unable to suppress her curiosity, she thought, 'I am clearly the master of the Scenic Wind Pearl. Why is the wind spirit acting this way?'

'Could Fellow Daoist Bai be related to Senior Jingfeng from back then? Perhaps a descendant by blood, or maybe an inheritor of his legacy?'

Neither of them spoke further.

Concealing their flight, they continued deeper into the outer sea.

Roar! Roar!

The ocean suddenly churned violently.

A whale demon beast of immense proportions surfaced, its colossal body resembling a small island as it leaped high above the waves before crashing back down.

Boom!

Countless torrents of seawater exploded into the air like a torrential rainstorm.

The sea rolled and surged, sending tsunamis hundreds of meters high racing in every direction.

'A Throne Whale? A peak third-rank beast. Its demon core must contain astonishing power.'

Standing at the edge of the massive waves, Fang Qing glanced at the creature before transmitting with his divine sense.

"It hasn't discovered us. Let's go."

Zhan Hongxiu nodded, and together they descended into the depths of the sea.

The ocean floor was unfathomably deep.

A vast fissure stretched before them like an immense underwater canyon.

Countless light sources shone within it, illuminating the surroundings with dazzling colors that created a breathtaking scene.

Fang Qing glanced around and, for the first time in a long while, felt his scalp tingle.

Those glowing lights belonged to a swarm of Soul-Devouring Jellyfish.

Most of these demon beasts were only first-rank or second-rank, but their numbers were beyond counting.

"No wonder you dared not make any noise. The innate abilities of these creatures are quite unusual. If they combine their soul attacks, even Nascent Soul old monsters would find them troublesome."

Fang Qing transmitted his thoughts.

"There's more."

Zhan Hongxiu added, "A third-rank Stone Azure Shrimp occupies the entrance to the secret realm. Once startled, it creates enormous disturbances. That would certainly alert the entire jellyfish swarm."

"So we need to kill it instantly."

Fang Qing understood.

Although Zhan Hongxiu's spirit beast had already condensed a demon core and could contend against a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, instantly killing a third-rank demon beast was still far too difficult.

"Leave it to me."

Following behind Zhan Hongxiu, he arrived near the territory occupied by the Stone Azure Shrimp.

Spiritual light flickered within his eyes.

He immediately spotted the enormous demon beast.

It measured nearly thirty feet in length and resembled a giant shrimp.

Its body was covered in dark green-black armor, while four enormous pincers gleamed with a chilling metallic sheen.

"That's the one."

Zhan Hongxiu lowered her voice as she transmitted the message.

Fang Qing nodded.

Using the Heaven-Shrouding Curtain to conceal himself, he quietly approached.

This treasure had once been one of the Blue Sea Sect's prized possessions, capable of deceiving even cultivators' divine senses.

Demon beasts generally possessed weak spiritual senses compared to cultivators of the same rank, making it even harder for them to detect anything unusual.

'Close enough.'

After closing to within a few yards of the massive creature, Fang Qing's thoughts shifted.

His cultivation method instantly transformed.

A pitch-black true core emerged.

At the same time, the Tide-Birth Pearl supplied him with a steady stream of mana.

This external core had helped him tremendously over the years.

Yet now, it was gradually falling behind the pace of his cultivation.

Especially after advancing to mid-stage Core Formation, the mana provided by this core could now only further deepen Fang Qing's reserves, bringing him close to the peak of mid-stage Core Formation. It had lost the ability to push him into late-stage Core Formation.

After all, at its essential, it was merely a third-rank superior-grade flood dragon pearl. Its limits were fixed.

‘My strongest form right now is the combination of the Devouring Sea Art, the Tide-Birth Pearl external core, and the augmentation of my Duzi status.’

With a thought, two treasures appeared out of thin air.

Stone Azure Shrimp had only just reacted when it saw the pitch-black jade bottle releasing a hazy radiance that caused its divine sense to blur.

Immediately afterward, the Abstruse Dark Mirror emitted a beam of brilliant light, freezing the beast in place.

Its four massive pincers had yet to swing when a human sword cultivator appeared before it.

Empowered by his qi and blood, Fang Qing transformed the Wolfbreaker sword into an incomparably sharp thread of sword qi. It effortlessly pierced through the Stone Azure Shrimp's dark green armor and stabbed directly into its demon core.

In an instant, the demon beast's soul was extinguished.

It died on the spot.

Its enormous body went completely still without making a single sound.

“Fellow Daoist... truly impressive.”

Zhan Hongxiu approached, astonishment filling her eyes.

“I merely took advantage of a sneak attack.”

Fang Qing waved his hand dismissively.

In truth, if Senior Turtle had been here, he would certainly have noticed something unusual and suspected that Fang Qing had cultivated the Devouring Sea Demonic Art.

But to Zhan Hongxiu, the cultivation world contained countless magical treasures and secret techniques.

Bottle-type and mirror-type treasures alone were far too numerous to count. Naturally, she could not discern anything out of the ordinary.

“Let's go.”

Fang Qing only took the Stone Azure Shrimp's demon core before following Zhan Hongxiu into its cave dwelling.

Inside the natural cavern, a third-rank water vein wound throughout the underground chambers.

The ground was carpeted with white bones layered one upon another. Countless living beings had clearly perished at the hands of the Stone Azure Shrimp.

“I found it!”

Excitement filled Zhan Hongxiu's voice as she stopped before a stone wall.

After brushing away a thick layer of grime and seaweed, a simple star chart was revealed.

Her eyes shone brightly as she took out the fourth-rank turtle shell and began chanting an incantation, sending one hand seal after another into it.

Ancient runes surfaced across the turtle shell's surface, revolving according to the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams as they resonated with the star chart.

A thread of silver light suddenly flashed across the previously ordinary diagram.

“Oh? There really is a hidden secret realm?”

Until now, everything had appeared completely unremarkable. Even the Great Void had shown no reaction. Only after the turtle shell and the incantation appeared did things begin to change.

'The high-level cultivators of the Qi Refining path truly have some remarkable methods.'

'Or perhaps this is only to be expected from a legacy left behind by the Zhoutian Star Palace?'

Fang Qing silently praised them.

Yet Zhan Hongxiu's expression grew increasingly unsightly.

As more hand seals entered the turtle shell, the stone wall suddenly burst with silver radiance. Beyond it, faint images of mountains, rivers, jade palaces, and pavilions could be seen.

Yet the spatial passage refused to open.

“Fellow Daoist...”

After a long moment, Zhan Hongxiu turned around and awkwardly said, “It seems this passage has fallen into disrepair over the years... it won't open. How about... we wait and come back another time?”

Inwardly, she had already cursed Senior Turtle several times.

How could this happen? It's already halfway open, yet it still stopped here. This is truly humiliating...

Fang Qing's expression remained unchanged as he walked up to the wall.

“To be honest, I possess a spatial treasure. Why don't I give it a try?”

He could already sense the partially opened secret realm intersecting with the Great Void at this location.

And for a Purple Mansion cultivator, as long as there was even the slightest point of intersection within the Great Void, everything else became simple.

It was like two sheets of paper lying parallel to one another. Once a single point connected them, countless methods became possible.

“Oh? Fellow Daoist actually possesses a spatial treasure? Even Nascent Soul old monsters rarely have such treasures!”

Zhan Hongxiu exclaimed in delight.

Then again, she had encountered this sort of last-minute reversal so many times that she was gradually growing accustomed to it.

“Come, Fellow Daoist.”

Fang Qing grasped Zhan Hongxiu's hand. Using his Duzi status to sense the Great Void, he followed that tiny point of connection and instantly tore through space.

Zhan Hongxiu only felt her body grow light.

The next moment, she found herself standing within a grand hall.

Ancient teleportation arrays stood silently throughout the hall, though most had already been destroyed.

“Star Hall?”

Sweeping out his divine sense, Fang Qing spotted a towering plaque outside the silver-white hall.

After briefly sensing the spiritual qi in the area, he looked surprised.

“Fourth-rank spiritual qi? Could there be a fourth-rank spirit vein here?”

“That's right!”

Following Fang Qing out of Star Hall, Zhan Hongxiu looked up at the dim sky overhead, where countless points of starlight drifted down from above.

Towering peaks rose in all four directions, each bathed in streams of starlight and protected by powerful restrictions.

Nearby stood beast pens, medicinal gardens, and numerous other facilities.

Taking a deep breath, Zhan Hongxiu turned to Fang Qing.

“Fellow Daoist... although there are quite a few treasures in the surrounding area, most are only third-rank items. The true treasures, such as Nascent Soul spiritual objects and the Azure Emperor Wood I seek, should be located in the core region.”

“I have a small request. If we encounter any treasures capable of nourishing the soul, could you allow me first choice?”

“I see.”

Fang Qing adopted an enlightened expression.

“Could it be that Fellow Daoist injured your soul during your Core Formation breakthrough or while protecting your spirit beast during its tribulation?”

“Since you need such treasures, I naturally have no objections.”

“Many thanks, Fellow Daoist!”

Joy surged through Zhan Hongxiu's heart.

Senior Turtle once mentioned that beside the Azure Emperor Wood in the core region grew a stalk of Nine Illusion Heart Orchid.

This treasure greatly nourished the soul. Once Senior Turtle consumed it, he should finally awaken.

The two streaks of light flew side by side, occasionally passing areas where treasures lay hidden.

Although the treasures in the outer region were not of especially high rank, neither Fang Qing nor Zhan Hongxiu would mind picking them up along the way.

Even if they had to deviate slightly from their planned route, discovering a thousand-year spiritual herb would more than justify delaying their journey by several hours.