Qingzhu Mountain.
Fang Xi's figure appeared in the cellar, looking around cautiously.
He found that the talisman on the wall was still intact, although the spiritual light had become extremely weak, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"I can come back, it seems I can easily escape from that dangerous place."
As for trying to bring someone along?
There was no such thought in Fang Xi's mind at the moment!
His golden finger was extremely important. Even if all of Heishi City died, he would never compromise on this point.
This time, Fang Xi ran to a deserted corner under the pretext of searching for supplies to cross over.
At this moment, Fang Xi's expression gradually became serious as he took out a small jade bottle from his bosom.
Inside the bottle was the blood of the one tainted by demons!
"The demons of the Great Liang World... are not the same as the demon cultivators in the cultivation world. At least, I didn't sense any demonic energy, but their behavior is quite strange..."
Fang Xi thought for a moment, took out a jade plate, poured the contents of the jade bottle, and let a drop of dark blood roll onto it.
Ding!
When the blood bead fell on the jade plate, it made a sound like a pearl, as if it had solidified.
Fang Xi's expression remained unchanged as he input a thread of blood and energy into the jade plate.
Countless blood vessel-like patterns instantly appeared on the surface of the jade plate, winding towards the blood bead.
Hiss!
Fine white smoke appeared, and as soon as those blood threads touched the bead, they turned into nothingness, evaporating completely!
Seeing this scene, Fang Xi's expression remained unchanged, only changing the energy he input to true energy.
Buzz!
Within the jade plate, the light of the blood threads suddenly intensified!
Threads of blood intertwined towards the blood bead.
The blood bead was partially enveloped, starting to melt. However, in the next moment, an astonishing scene occurred—broken black tadpole symbols began to seep out from inside the blood bead.
The blood threads transformed by true energy, upon encountering these symbols, immediately emitted a sound of unbearable burden, slowly being corroded to nothing.
Watching this scene, Fang Xi's expression became solemn.
"The power of qi and blood, even if it is the true energy of a martial artist, when faced with diluted lower-level curse power, will still be eroded, right?"
After using the methods of cultivators to test, Fang Xi immediately understood Mu Canglong's condition.
The martial arts master had previously said he could resist with a large amount of true energy, but now it seemed that his death was probably not far off!
"Curse power... the power of demons... surpasses the power of qi and blood martial arts?"
Fang Xi thought for a moment, then activated a technique.
But this time, he used the 'Changchun Technique'!
Threads of cool mana seeped into the jade plate, turning into green threads that continuously pierced towards the blood bead.
This time!
Even though the dark broken tadpole characters reappeared, they were easily pierced by the green threads.
Then, the blood bead slowly melted, suddenly turning into a wisp of green smoke and dissipating.
"The mana of cultivators can restrain curse power?"
Fang Xi's eyes lit up.
This was good news.
At least, for cultivators, demons might not be invincible.
"Mu Canglong is about to die, I wonder if the Clear Spirit Pill I have on hand will work?"
Thinking this, Fang Xi walked out of the wooden house.
Above the door, there was a note.
He picked it up and read it, feeling somewhat excited: "It's Chen Ping..."
Previously, he had asked the other party to introduce him to some circles, and now it seemed that he had finally made some progress!
Half a day later.
Qingzhu Mountain Market.
Chen Ping and Fang Xi arrived at a tall teahouse one after the other.
Chen Ping had a slightly smug look on his face: "Friend Fang, rest assured, Friend Shen and Fairy Yunmeng are both kind people, they have never put on airs."
Fang Xi smiled bitterly: "I'm not worried about that, but..."
He looked up at the sign.
The teahouse was called 'Mingqing Pavilion' and was famous for selling spiritual tea.
Fang Xi, who originally had no intention of coming to such a high-consumption place, still came, as making some connections with fellow cultivators wouldn't hurt.
Of course, this was also because the gathering place mentioned by Chen Ping was within the market. If he had dared to say it was outside Qingzhu Mountain, Fang Xi would have turned around without a word, cut off ties with him, and left.
"Oh, don't worry, the private room fee for this time has already been paid by Fairy Yunmeng."
Chen Ping understood what Fang Xi was worried about and reassured him.
"I see, then what are we waiting for?"
Fang Xi immediately pulled Chen Ping and entered Mingqing Pavilion.
The pavilion was elegantly decorated, with a rooftop where a musician was playing the zither.
Incense was wafting from the censers around, creating a calming atmosphere.
Although there were some guests around, their conversations were extremely quiet, making it a very elegant place.
Chen Ping seemed a bit nervous as well, he recognized the way and led them into a private room.
In the room, there were already two cultivators, one male and one female, sitting on cushions, both at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement.
The male cultivator was handsome and elegant, wearing a blue fox fur robe and a jade crown, exuding an extraordinary aura.
The female cultivator, who looked about fifteen or sixteen, wore a pink dress, with delicate skin as if it could be broken with a touch, and her demeanor was gentle and dreamy.
"Let me introduce you. This is Shen Haoran, Friend Shen, and this is Fairy Yunmeng..."
Chen Ping introduced the three of them: "This is Friend Fang Xi, my good brother who lives next door."
"We've met."
Fang Xi was slightly surprised. He had originally thought that Chen Ping's connections were just some Qi Refinement stage cultivators, but he didn't expect to have such resources.
"I've met Friend Fang Xi."
Shen Haoran drank his spiritual tea absentmindedly, casually greeting him, appearing very indifferent.
On the other hand, Fairy Yunmeng stood up, giving a graceful bow, showing great courtesy and manners.
But Fang Xi could tell that the more courteous she was, the more distant she seemed.
"Today, we are fortunate. Not only can we taste this 'Cloud Mist Spirit Tea', but we can also listen to the performance of 'Phoenix Zither Master'."
Chen Ping and Fang Xi sat down, and then Chen Ping smiled: "We also have to thank Fairy Yunmeng."
"The fact that the Phoenix Zither Master is willing to come here has exceeded this little girl's expectations..."
Fairy Yunmeng smiled lightly.
Fang Xi did not participate in the conversation between the three, just focusing on drinking tea and eating pastries.
He was well aware of his position, just a foil and background.
This Yunmeng Fairy and Shen Haoran were obviously not ordinary wandering cultivators. Perhaps they valued Chen Ping because of his talent in talisman crafting.
Compared to that, Fang Xi, who had no special skills, was better off being a transparent background.
The spiritual tea was good, a sip refreshed both body and mind.
And the spiritual pastries, a bite not only left a lingering fragrance in the mouth but also enhanced cultivation.
Fang Xi even felt that if he could enjoy such spiritual items every day, he might reach the peak of the third layer of Qi Refinement within a month.
"The Phoenix Zither Master is about to perform! And there is another distinguished guest."
Just then, a sound transmission talisman flew in from outside.
Shen Haoran took it, his face showing joy, then he looked at Fang Xi.
Seeing that the private room was still spacious with four people but would feel slightly crowded with five, Fang Xi, as the one with the lowest cultivation and weakest background, had to be tactful. He immediately stood up: "Everyone, I remembered I have something important at home, so I'll take my leave."
"But the Phoenix Zither Master is about to perform, her music is rare..." Fairy Yunmeng regretted, but she didn't show any intention of keeping him.
Fang Xi bowed and walked out of the private room.
In the background, there was still the sound of Shen Haoran speaking to Chen Ping: "Friend Chen, you are also a talisman master in the future, you should have status... Let me tell you, the distinguished guest who is coming, is a great expert in the late stage of Qi Refinement..."
"Oh? Then I must ask Brother Shen for an introduction." Chen Ping's surprised voice rang out.
When Fang Xi walked out of 'Mingqing Pavilion', he could faintly hear the sound of a zither coming from the pavilion.
On the high platform, it seemed that there was an additional graceful figure.
Unfortunately, these elegant affairs had nothing to do with him.
"If my strength is not enough, I shouldn't enter high circles..."
He quickly adjusted his mindset and returned to his shack.
Bang!
A palm technique shot out, hitting the door and window heavily.
White Cloud Palm!
Although he didn't get to hear the Phoenix Fairy play the zither this time, at least he got to enjoy the spiritual tea and pastries.
It was a good time for cultivation!
Fang Xi still needed to break through the White Cloud Palm to reach the realm of the martial arts master.
Crackling!
He clapped his hands, striking continuously, then condensed nine large handprints.
In an instant, Fang Xi's palms began to show a gray-black color.
Strangely, the gray color was constantly fading away, while the black color was spreading rapidly.
"Hoo!"
Fang Xi exhaled a long breath, and white energy shot out several feet away.
He looked at his hands, confirming that his palms had completely entered the realm of Black Cloud!
The White Cloud Palm mainly strengthened the hands, with much less improvement in other parts of the body.
"It's simple to break through..."
"Alas... if my talent in the immortal path was the same as in the martial arts path..."
The mediocre spiritual root quality of this body had always been a pain in Fang Xi's heart.
The next moment, feeling the changes in the Black Cloud Palm energy, his expression gradually became serious.
He used his spiritual sense to inspect himself and found that when his qi and blood circulated throughout his body, there were several vortices, mainly located in his legs and palms.
What was even more alarming was that these qi and blood vortices seemed to be pulling on each other, causing some disorder in the circulation of qi and blood.
"Is this... what Lu She called a hindrance?"
"However... I have already broken through the Red Snake Leg, and my qi and blood have long been mixed. Practicing another technique is impossible."
Fang Xi looked at his palms.
The White Cloud Palm could release and retract energy. After retracting the true energy, his palms were as white as jade, delicate like the hands of a noble lady.
No one could imagine that the power contained in these hands could already rival some demonic beasts.
"The conflicting true energies of the White Cloud Palm and the Red Snake Leg must be resolved..."
"And the future realms..."
Being only at the equivalent of the early stage of Qi Refinement in body cultivation was nothing to Fang Xi. What he cared about was the progress and hope for the future!
"Fortunately... I heard that the expedition to Yuanhe Mountain hasn't run away..."
(End of this chapter)