Baochuanfang Market.
Fang Xiyuan disembarked from the Black Feather Boat from a distance, disguising himself as a burly man with a square face, stepping on a mid-grade spiritual weapon flying sword, and landed at the entrance.
"Do you need a guide, Immortal Master?" A group of mortals immediately surrounded him, their expressions eager and respectful.
"It's you!" Fang Xiyuan casually pointed at a person, who turned out to be Mo Qingyi!
"Thank you, Immortal Master. Allow me to lead the way for you," Mo Qingyi, not looking much different from before, took the lead, "I am extremely familiar with this market..."
'Nonsense!' Fang Xiyuan silently criticized.
Mo Qingyi might only know some surface-level information about the market, after all, he was just a mortal.
In terms of resource channels, he was far inferior to the Decrepit Wood Daoist who had been around for many years.
The reason Fang Xiyuan brought a guide was simply to establish his new image, as the old folks would never fall for this trap.
"Your surname is Mo, and you belong to the Qing generation. Do you have any connection with the Mo Family of Black Sand Island?" Fang Xiyuan thought of Mo Qingyu and casually asked.
"Not hiding anything from Immortal Master, my ancestors did indeed come from the Mo Family of Black Sand Island!" Mo Qingyi instinctively straightened his back in response.
"I see." Fang Xiyuan didn't inquire further. For descendants of cultivators, it was understandable for a branch to end up on Baochuan Island.
Moreover, it could be a strategy of those cultivation families!
Even if the main branch of Black Sand Island was destroyed, there were still bloodlines circulating outside.
With a bit of luck, it could be like Ruan Xingling, returning as a king... reviving the Second or even Third Prosperity Family!
Prosperity of the family!
For family cultivators, besides foundation building, this was probably one of their most sought-after goals.
"Who is the best local master craftsman? My family wants to find him for crafting!" Fang Xiyuan pretended to be bold.
Mo Qingyi pondered, "The best craftsman in this market should be Master Lu from Tiangong Workshop. He was already a first-grade superior craftsman many years ago, and his skills have become even more exquisite... Besides him, there's Cui Keqing from Longmen Pavilion, and the independent cultivator 'Gong Zhuzi,' who also possess extremely profound crafting skills..."
"Not bad, similar to what I've heard before." Fang Xiyuan thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to Tiangong Workshop and find Master Lu!"
...
Tiangong Workshop.
It was divided into two buildings, with the front being an ordinary magic tool shop, while the back housed several crafting rooms where the earth fire was controlled. Even through the walls, one could feel the heat.
As Fang Xiyuan entered the shop, a knowledgeable attendant greeted him, "What kind of magic tool does this guest wish to purchase?"
"Custom-made. My family wants to find Master Lu!" Fang Xiyuan casually tossed out a low-grade spirit stone.
The attendant's eyes lit up, "Please follow me to the private room, I will go and serve you tea..."
Meanwhile, Mo Qingyi naturally waited outside the shop.
After a while, a tall, muscular man entered the room, "What kind of magic tool does this guest wish to customize?"
Fang Xiyuan looked at the closed door and coughed, "My family wants to customize a superior magic tool made from monster materials! Can you keep this confidential?"
Master Lu frowned, then relaxed, "Guest, please rest assured. Our Tiangong Workshop has been established for over two hundred years. We have crafted spiritual tools for foundation-building cultivators... Alright, I can first make a Heart Demon oath, absolutely not to disclose the friend's privacy..."
"Thank you!" Fang Xiyuan clasped his hands, watching the other party make the oath. He then tapped his storage bag.
A flash of light, and a roll of snake skin and a large amount of snake bones appeared.
A faint sense of pressure emanated from the snake skin, scales, and even the snake bones.
"It is indeed a first-grade superior monster snake... Huh? The quality is also exceptionally good." Master Lu activated a spell, and a flame appeared on his fingertip, burning a piece of snake scale.
After a while, the scale remained unchanged.
His expression became solemn, "This snake's bloodline seems extraordinary!"
"Exactly. Using this material to craft a full-body spirit armor, how much would it cost?" Fang Xiyuan asked with a smile.
After some contemplation, Master Lu replied, "This monster material is difficult to refine with ordinary flames. It requires the earth fire vein behind Tiangong Workshop. Crafting the armor is a significant task, taking at least a month! As for the price... two hundred spirit stones!"
In the magic tool shop outside, a single-function superior magic tool was only priced around a hundred spirit stones.
"Alright, I will pay half as a deposit first. When the magic tool is completed, I will pay the other half and sign a contract!" Fang Xiyuan nodded, took out a hundred spirit stones from his storage bag, handed over his part of the contract, and left Tiangong Workshop.
After leaving the workshop, he sent away Mo Qingyi, mingled into the crowd, and disappeared in an instant.
After a while, Fang Xiyuan, now in a different attire and appearance, rented a cave mansion in the market for a month and began to reside there.
Every day, he would sell monster materials in different forms, exchanging them for a large number of elixirs, talismans, spiritual ores, and other raw materials.
Time passed swiftly, and over twenty days flew by.
Tea House.
The Decrepit Wood Daoist was no longer there, but the business of the tea house remained good under new management.
Occasionally, Fang Xiyuan would come to enjoy a cup of spirit tea and listen to news from Wanhudao and even the Xueguo cultivation world.
On this day.
As he ordered a cup of 'Five Carp Playing with Pearls' as usual, enjoying the sight of spiritual fish chasing each other, he heard the tea house owner sigh, "Have you heard... about the resurgence of the Mo Xiu Situ Family?"
'The Situ Family?!' Fang Xiyuan sighed inwardly, it had been a while since he heard that familiar name.
He looked up, showing a faint smile, "I would like to ask the owner to enlighten me, and a cup of spirit tea with pastries would be perfect..."
"Thank you, thank you!" The tea house owner chuckled. He relied on sharing secrets and the latest news from the cultivation world to attract cultivators to come and drink tea, earning some hard-earned money.
After bowing to the four directions, he began to narrate like a storyteller, almost missing a wooden block, recounting, "Speaking of the Situ Family, they were once one of the seven major cultivation families in Xueguo. What does it mean to be a cultivation family? Each generation must produce foundation-building cultivators to be considered a cultivation family! In Xueguo, apart from the Xuantian Sect, there are only five major sects under it, and then there is them!"
The Hongye Valley was once one of the five major sects, but it was later annihilated. However, a new foundation-building sect, the Qiyang Sect, rose to take its place.
Fang Xiyuan felt that behind the power shifts in Xueguo, there seemed to be an invisible hand manipulating things.
That invisible hand was called the 'Xuantian Sect'!
The Xuantian Sect occupied the most essential third-grade spiritual energy land in Xueguo, as well as several rich spiritual stone veins and the largest market sales.
Then, it distributed the unmanageable corners to the foundation-building families and sects below, maintaining the number thirteen.
Once a branch showed signs of surpassing the main trunk, it would be pruned immediately, like the Situ Family and Hongye Valley in the past.
After pruning, new forces would be supported to replace them, keeping the Xuantian Sect in control!
The lowest-level Qi Refining families and sects were like dogs yearning but unable to obtain.
"After the Situ Family was annihilated, many survivors turned into Mo Xiu, with the largest group being the 'Heaven-Annihilating Alliance'! This force has been designated as a Mo Xiu organization by the Xuantian Sect, with a bounty on its leaders, but it has yet to be eradicated."
"Recently, the 'Heaven-Annihilating Alliance' did something significant—they looted a market under the Song Family's control, reportedly killing all the Song Family's descendants, hanging their heads under the market's archway. The scene was horrifying... But this action seems to have completely angered the Xuantian Sect, as the Xuantian Sect's Foundation-Building Ancestor personally took action!"
As the tea house owner reached an exciting point, he stopped speaking and just sipped his tea.
Some impatient cultivators began clamoring, "Boss, why stop? Continue... What happened after the Foundation-Building Ancestor took action?"
The tea house owner remained silent, smiling without saying a word.
Only after Fang Xiyuan led the way and ordered another pot of spirit tea did he smile and say, "After the Foundation-Building Grandmaster took action, needless to say, the Heaven-Annihilating Alliance was caught off guard, and it was said that a foundation-building cultivator died on the spot..."
"But even so, the Situ Family and the 'Heaven-Annihilating Alliance' were not completely wiped out. Instead, they fled southeastward and entered the territory of the Muguo Kingdom!"
...
"Muguo Kingdom!" Fang Xiyuan understood. The Qingmu Sect of this country, like the Xuantian Sect, also had a Foundation-Building Ancestor presiding. There had been some unpleasant incidents due to the search for spiritual treasures in the past, almost leading to a major conflict.
It was a good choice for the remnants of the Situ Family to escape to this country.
"Why did the Heaven-Annihilating Alliance target the Song Family's market?" Another cultivator raised another question.
"Hehe... The market defenses of the Xuantian Sect are strict, with at least second-grade superior mountain protection formations and at least a mid-stage foundation-building expert guarding them. Even with ten times the courage, the Heaven-Annihilating Alliance wouldn't dare. The Song Family, on the other hand, is different..."
The tea house owner chuckled, "Moreover... The one who actually annihilated the Situ Family back then was mainly led by the Song Family. The two families have deep-seated enmity! But the Song Family is not simple either. The Song Family's Ancestor is a perfect foundation-builder, a future figure who is expected to reach the Foundation Establishment stage..."
After hearing the repeated praises of the Foundation-Building Ancestor, there was not much new content.
Fang Xiyuan stood up and left the tea house.
"I didn't expect to hear news about some old acquaintances... Situ Family, Song Family, hehe..." Both families were not good people, and the more they fought each other, the happier Fang Xiyuan felt.
He had been keeping an eye on Chen Ping, Jiu Xuan, and others, but there was no news about them.
Perhaps it was because of their shallow cultivation and lack of fame.
Since he couldn't find out, he let it go.
Fang Xiyuan transformed into the burly man with a square face and returned to Tiangong Workshop.
Inside the private room.
"Guest, you've arrived just in time. The armor has been completed. Please have a look!" Master Lu, with his sleeves rolled up, laughed heartily and opened a huge iron box.
Inside the iron box lay a set of spirit armor.
From the inner armor, outer armor, arm guards, wrist guards, knee guards, boots, gloves, helmet... everything was complete, emitting a powerful spiritual light.
"Living up to the task, this 'Spirit Snake Armor' is a first-grade superior item, with formations such as 'Sturdy,' 'Water-Repellent,' 'Fitting,' and more... It also naturally carries a sense of majesty, deterring snakes and insects, and has a certain deterrent effect on poisons. It weighs a total of sixty-seven catties!"
Master Lu's face was flushed, and his eyes gleamed as he introduced.
(End of this chapter)