Several miles away.
Fang Xi pulled the Qinghe Sword out of the heart of an elderly martial artist, splashing a puddle of blood.
"The old man doesn't abide by martial ethics, but luckily I'm used to it."
Ever since he made a big purchase at the market a few months ago, he always encountered bandits on his way out.
Fortunately, the bandits who came to rob were only at the level of true strength martial artists, easy to deal with. However, searching the bodies yielded little gain, leaving Fang Xi somewhat disappointed.
He entered an abandoned house and activated the crossing.
"The best way to evade pursuit is to disappear completely!"
"I'll stay in the cultivation world for a while, improve my martial arts, and then come back..."
...
Blackstone City.
The sky remained dark, with eerie light piercing through layers of black mist.
On the edge between the inner and outer city.
A large mansion.
Several scattered "cursed individuals" were wandering casually.
According to the rapidly growing experience of scavengers, once they entered the area covered by the canopy, they would inevitably be attacked by the root of the gas, and there would be a large number of "wooden people" and "cursed individuals" besieging them, almost leading to certain death!
The strength of the wooden people even surpassed that of ordinary martial arts masters.
Even facing cursed individuals, it was quite troublesome for martial artists with three changes in blood and energy.
But now, as resources were gradually depleting, for the sake of their lives, there were still many fearless individuals trying to roam on the dangerous edge, seeking opportunities.
The gate of the wooden house was gently pushed open, and two children emerged from it.
They didn't know where they were from, forming a small team and adventuring to search for supplies.
"Hurry, the monsters are coming!"
A girl with braided hair whispered.
"Don't worry, Xiaoyun, Brother Gou is always fast!" A half-grown teenager ran out from the inner house, wearing tattered clothes and holding something bulging in his arms.
At this moment, their cautious footsteps still attracted the attention of a cursed individual.
"Not good, Xiaoyun, you go first!"
Brother Gou handed the bundle in his arms to Xiaoyun and pushed the little girl away.
The cursed individual turned her head, a woman covered with dark runes on most of her face, her absent-minded eyes staring fixedly at the two living people.
Suddenly, she accelerated and rushed towards them at a fast speed.
"Go!"
Brother Gou picked up a stone and threw it at the female cursed individual, running in the opposite direction. "Come on, come catch me!"
"Brother Gou!"
Xiaoyun cried as she ran towards the outer city.
If they didn't retrieve the food soon, the few children even younger than them in the small broken house would starve to death.
Bang!
Unfortunately, she was too heartbroken, and she stumbled and fell hard while running.
The little girl didn't cry out in pain, she just held onto the bundle tightly in her arms.
However, a few pieces of cured meat rolled out.
Snap!
One piece of cured meat rolled a few times on the ground and stopped by a shoe.
Xiaoyun looked up and saw first a pair of iron-like feet, then a man as sturdy as a tower.
Fear immediately appeared on her face.
Even the surviving children knew to stay away from anyone stronger than them, as strangers could potentially have malicious intentions!
"For... for you!"
Xiaoyun timidly said, her voice trembling, "But can you leave me a little?"
The big man picked up the cured meat and handed it to the little girl, saying with a smile, "I, Zhang Junming, never take ill-gotten gains!"
As he spoke, the big man dashed towards the female cursed individual.
In action, his muscles moved like flowing water, clearly a master who had reached the level of a martial arts master.
Bang!
The female cursed individual screamed as she was sent flying.
Zhang Junming grabbed a child and quickly escaped the danger zone, only putting them down at the edge of the outer city.
"Thank you, hero!"
Brother Gou quickly squeezed out a smile, his agile eyes darting around.
"Haha, rest assured, I, Zhang Junming, have no ulterior motives. But your quick thinking, I really like it. If it were before, I would have taken you as my disciple, alas..."
Zhang Junming sighed, "Unfortunately, most of my disciples have died..."
"Big brother, this is for you!"
Xiaoyun's eyes curved as she handed a piece of cured meat to the big man.
Zhang Junming was stunned, then burst into laughter, picking up the piece of cured meat that he would have scorned a few months ago, still a bit dirty, and took a big bite, "Delicious, truly delicious..."
...
"Delicious!"
On Qingzhu Mountain.
Fang Xi caught a wild chicken, plucked it without using a pot, cleaned out the innards, stuffed it with bamboo shoots, mushrooms, various seasonings, then covered it with mud, making a dish called "flower chicken."
With one bite of the chicken wing, it was so delicious that even his eyebrows were about to fall off.
"Haha, Brother Fang's flower chicken is truly extraordinary."
Chen Ping sat beside him, tearing into a chicken leg swiftly. The aroma of the chicken leg wafted, and with a gentle shake, the meat separated from the bone effortlessly.
Around the bonfire, there were also two wandering cultivators who seemed much more destitute than Yunmeng Fairy and the others, with their cultivation at the early stage of Qi Refinement.
When Chen Ping returned from Mingqing Pavilion, he felt somewhat guilty.
Then he introduced two fellow cultivators to Fang Xi again.
This time, he learned from his lesson and chose companions of similar cultivation levels.
The location was also chosen near the shantytown, and they had a barbecue in the wilderness.
"Hehe... Brother Fang's culinary skills would definitely be considered divine in the mortal world. Do you have any intention to become a spiritual chef?" A seemingly ethereal old Daoist, who was swiftly gnawing on a chicken butt, said. Beside him were two clean chicken feet, and as he ate, he licked his fingers as if savoring some exquisite delicacy.
This man called himself "Master Jiuxuan," and his appearance was quite impressive, but in reality, he was only at the second level of Qi Refinement. In the mortal world, it was said that he had served as a national teacher for a period of time, but after arriving at Qingzhu Mountain, he was at the bottom of the bottom, with considerable knowledge, especially about the mortal world.
"Having meat without wine is a pity."
Next to Jiuxuan was a young man in a blue shirt, dressed like a secular knight.
He looked in his twenties, but his cultivation had already reached the peak of the third level of Qi Refinement.
This man was named "Di Qi," a member of a small cultivation family near Qingzhu Mountain, ranking as the seventh.
Although his spiritual root aptitude was not good, among the people present, he was the most generous.
He directly took out a gourd of spirit wine and distributed it to everyone.
"Generous, Brother Di!" Chen Ping quickly took out a cup, looked at it, and threw it away, replacing it with a broken bowl, saying with a smile, "This gourd of spirit wine could sell for at least one spirit stone in the market!"
"No problem, no problem... I have always felt that having three or two good friends to cultivate and discuss the Dao together is the most joyful thing!" Di Qi said with a smile.
In fact, he was quite concerned about his own identity.
After all, family cultivators, even if they were only a level higher than wandering cultivators like him, were still a step above!
But Chen Ping was at least a future talisman maker, so he had to give him some face.
The four of them ate and drank heartily.
After they were full and drunk, Master Jiuxuan began to talk about his experiences, having traveled far and wide and had extraordinary experiences.
Even Fang Xi listened with great interest.
At first, he wanted to join various circles to broaden his horizons and expand his network.
Now, hearing Master Jiuxuan boasting about how he had once enslaved several great masters in the mortal martial arts world, Fang Xi's eyes lit up, saying, "Even if worldly martial artists are strong, they can't compare to cultivators at the Qi Refinement level, right?"
"Although that's true, using them as laborers or even warming the bed for those female warriors is still quite good." Master Jiuxuan had a nostalgic look on his face, smiling as if he was enjoying some exquisite delicacy.
"Maybe not... If worldly martial artists are well-prepared and cooperate with the terrain and equipment... If we Qi Refinement cultivators run out of mana, it's still possible to capsize." Di Qi chimed in.
As a family cultivator, he had been specifically warned by his elders.
"In fact... the physical training methods of worldly martial artists are somewhat similar to body refinement techniques." Fang Xi subtly steered the conversation.
"Not quite..." Master Jiuxuan shook his head, "Even the 'Body Armor' of the Thirteen Jia of the Transnational Fame, the ten absolute masters Qin Tian, who practiced ten great hard techniques alone, had a fearsome reputation, but in the end, he was still slightly inferior to a Qi Refinement cultivator, and... died a few years later."
"This person probably died from internal energy conflicts. If we cultivators use spiritual awareness to harmonize internally, we might not be without a way out, and even achieve higher accomplishments!" Fang Xi's eyes flashed.
"Difficult, difficult, difficult... If worldly martial arts can match body refinement secrets, we would have all learned them long ago." Chen Ping shook his head.
"In fact... there might be a way." Di Qi said, pretending to be profound.
"Oh? Please enlighten us, Brother Di." Fang Xi's heart stirred, thinking that the meaty part was finally coming.
Di Qi put a mouthful of spirit wine from the gourd, seeming to savor it with his eyes closed, shook his head and said, "Cultivators can only temporarily suppress internal energy conflicts with spiritual awareness. If you want to eliminate hidden dangers, it's better to buy a 'Breath Adjustment Pill' from the Dan Ding Pavilion. This pill is best at harmonizing different internal energies. In our family, we recruited a once-in-a-century peerless martial artist as a servant, and this was the reward we gave him!"
Fang Xi's eyes lit up at the words.
Not because he was sure the Breath Adjustment Pill could solve his problem.
But because the martial arts' mixed qi and blood, difficult to break through, might be a hindrance in the Great Liang.
But in the cultivation world of the Southern Wilderness, it might be a joke!
"The Breath Adjustment Pill is only meant to solve the internal energy problems of martial artists from the Yue Kingdom, not related to qi and blood at all."
"But in the Dan Ding Pavilion, there may be elixirs that can harmonize martial arts' qi and blood!"
"Even increase the limit of qi and blood, as long as you want it, alchemists may not be unable to refine it!"
Fang Xi was overjoyed.
Resources and experiences from both worlds complemented each other, and his path and longevity were hopeful!
(End of this chapter)