"Could this person... be a Foundation Establishment cultivator disguised as a fisherman?"
A terrifying thought crossed the minds of Lu Master and his two companions.
The opponent had swiftly killed two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, a feat even an ordinary late-stage cultivator couldn't achieve!
"Damn it, today it's either his death or ours!"
The old man stepped on a strange crow-like bird, flying into the air. "His movement technique requires borrowing power from the earth, manipulating flying artifacts!"
Lu Master and another middle-aged man with a stern face immediately controlled their flying artifacts and ascended into the sky.
"Don't hold back, use your trump cards, kill him!"
The old man shouted hoarsely, clearly filled with fear.
They had unwittingly provoked such a formidable enemy. If he managed to escape, their own families would likely...
"Have you found him?"
Fang Xi raised his head, chuckled, took out a newly purchased 'Flying Talisman,' slapped it on himself, and swallowed a 'Raging Blood Pill' to replenish his energy and blood!
In the next moment, the extinguished astral energy erupted from his body once again!
Astral energy permeated his whole body!
Three-inch sword aura!
Flying Talisman!
After achieving the Grandmaster level, Fang Xi's physical cultivation had long been comparable to a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator in the cultivation world.
He dashed forward like a black line, rushing past the old man who was reaching into his storage pouch.
A bloodline appeared on the opponent's forehead, running across his nose, chin, and the demonic beast beneath him...
"Damn it, die!"
The stern-faced middle-aged man roared, finally unleashing his trump card.
A delicate yellow talisman with electric flashes was swiftly activated in his hand.
Boom!
A yellow-brown thunderbolt struck down from the sky, directly hitting Fang Xi after killing the old man!
The astral energy on his body burst first, and the Spirit Snake Armor had little defense against this divine thunder, tending to disperse actively!
Second-grade inferior - Wutu Divine Thunder Talisman!
This thunder was of the earth attribute, perfectly countering the water attribute of the Spirit Armor!
"Is it done?"
Lu Master's face showed excitement.
In his understanding, even a late-stage Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator, with triple body refinement, would likely...
Puff!
The next moment, two golden lights, like scissors, attacked from both sides, fiercely clashing with the shield beside him.
A figure descended from the sky, the Xuantie Sword cleaving through the last shield, diagonally slashing Lu Master's neck.
Lu Master's head flew off, with only one thought in his mind: "The Spirit Snake Armor I crafted... its defense is unexpectedly... strong?!"
Of course, he was unaware that the Spirit Snake Armor was only a top-grade first-tier armor. The real power lay in Fang Xi's astral energy outerwear. The combination of the two doubled the defensive power!
...
Splash!
Lu Master's head fell onto the lake surface, and Fang Xi turned to the stern-faced middle-aged man who had released the Wutu Divine Thunder Talisman. "Do you have another second-grade talisman? You can try again..."
The stern-faced middle-aged man remained silent, releasing a black flying boat and fleeing frantically towards the market district!
He had realized that this person was truly among the top cultivators below Foundation Establishment.
Their five late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators had exhausted their trump cards and were unexpectedly killed by four of them!
If they didn't escape now, were they waiting to be killed?
"Die!"
Fang Xi's expression was stern as he chased relentlessly after the man.
"I am a guest of the Zhong family. I have already sent a messaging talisman to the Zhong family... The Foundation Establishment cultivator guarding the treasure ship market will arrive soon!"
The middle-aged man shouted back quickly.
"Ignore him!"
Fang Xi turned a deaf ear, his arms swelling, muscles bulging like tumors, injecting the last of his true astral energy into the Xuantie Sword.
He swung it fiercely, the Xuantie Sword like a black lightning bolt, instantly flying out and smashing into the middle-aged man's flying boat.
The man screamed in agony as his figure plummeted.
Fang Xi wielded the Golden Dragon Sword and Golden Dragon Blade, instantly attacking!
"Foundation Establishment? I'm so scared!"
He mocked inwardly, but showed no mercy in his actions.
The Golden Dragon Blade tore through the man's defensive spiritual shield, while the Golden Dragon Sword pierced through his chest.
Fang Xi grabbed the man's corpse, took the storage pouch, then plunged into the lake, retrieving his Xuantie Sword.
In the next moment, he disappeared without a trace.
Not long after, a figure riding on invisible wind flew from the direction of the treasure ship market, seeing the corpse of the middle-aged man floating on the lake surface, his expression turning extremely grim.
His powerful divine sense swept through every inch of the area, but the culprit had long since vanished...
...
The Daliang world.
Barren mountains.
In a temporary cave on a cliff.
Fang Xi's figure suddenly appeared.
His expression changed abruptly, spitting out a mouthful of blood, then gritting his teeth to remove the Spirit Snake Armor from his body.
A burnt mark was visible on his chest.
Inside the cave, there were scattered spiritual objects and talismans, worth far more than a thousand spiritual stones, a fortune that would make any Qi Refinement cultivator envious.
But at this moment, Fang Xi paid no attention to them, directly finding some healing pills, swallowing one, and his complexion improved slightly.
Next, he formed hand seals, mobilized his energy and blood, and mysterious patterns appeared on his body.
"Returning to Origin Technique!"
This technique was imitated from the 'Devil,' using a warrior's energy and blood to simulate the Devil's recovery ability.
He had obtained this technique after saving Dugu Wuhopeless and earning merit at the Grandmaster Assembly.
In the next moment, piece by piece, black dead skin peeled off his body, and new flesh and blood grew.
With the combination of immortal elixirs and martial arts techniques, his injuries were rapidly healing...
After a while, Fang Xi exhaled a turbid breath. 'This time was too risky. Someone was hiding a second-grade talisman, specifically targeting the Spirit Snake Armor...'
If he hadn't reached the peak of triple body refinement, with an astonishing physique, and had his astral energy block for a moment, his injuries would be more than just severe now.
'The middle-aged man mentioned that a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Zhong family would come...'
'This time, before starting the Longevity Technique, I can't leave the Demonic Tree too far, let alone cross over...'
'In the aftermath in Daliang, it's better to resolve everything.'
Fang Xi couldn't help but think of Mu Miaomiao, Baihe, Qingsang, and others, his facial lines softening slightly.
In the next moment, he entered another room in the cave.
This room was filled with a large amount of food and soil on the ground.
He reached into the soil and pulled out a white, huge meatball - Taisui!
"Old buddy, it's time to go to Nanhuang!"
Looking at this helpful and his first acquired demonic beast, Fang Xi murmured, showing a faint smile. "But before that..."
A flash of light in his hand, a blood-red document appeared, the 'Blood Contract Document'!
"Go!"
In the next moment, Fang Xi cut his finger, squeezed out a drop of blood.
The drop fell on the document, emitting black smoke, and the document began to burn without fire.
Muttering incantations, he pointed at Taisui.
Swish!
Black smoke gathered, forming a rune with a hint of blood color, swiftly entering Taisui's body.
During this process, Taisui was as docile as a plant, showing no resistance.
"It's indeed a plant demon!"
Feeling the contract established and a faint connection with the other party, Fang Xi was very satisfied.
Taisui's weak resistance was even beyond his expectations, making the contract establishment extremely smooth.
With this blood contract, he could control Taisui's life and death at any time!
As long as the other party couldn't break through the second-grade Foundation Establishment, it would be impossible to resist!
At this moment, Taisui was only a first-grade inferior demon beast, no, it was now a spiritual beast.
For cultivators, any demon beast they couldn't control was considered a demon beast.
And those that could be tamed as mounts or guard the sect's gates were spiritual beasts!
...
Three Yuan City.
As soon as Fang Xi entered the city, he felt that something was amiss.
The city gate was already sealed, and martial law had been imposed.
The streets were sparsely populated, and there was a sense of unease among the people!
"What's going on?"
Fang Xi arrived at the residence of Yuanheshan in Three Yuan City, taking out a blue crystal-carved token given by Yuanheshan.
"See the Elder!"
The disciple guarding the door was immediately shocked and invited Fang Xi in.
Not long after, a well-built middle-aged man came over to pay his respects. "Hu Buwei pays respects to the Elder."
Although he looked well-built, his eyes were sharp, and his aura was strong, revealing that he was also a martial master!
"I haven't been to Three Yuan City for a long time. What's happened here?"
Fang Xi sat on the grandmaster's chair, casually asking.
He usually traveled by controlling the Black Feather Boat and didn't even encounter a passerby, so naturally, he didn't hear any news.
"Sigh... The court has been in turmoil recently. The old emperor has passed away, and the new emperor ascended the throne, but he's only six years old. Therefore, the Grand Tutor is acting as regent, and there are conflicts with the harem and courtiers..."
Hu Buwei sighed, "We in Dingzhou were originally fine, but in the nearby Dazhang Mountain, there's a group of bandits and rebels who have gained support from somewhere, causing chaos. They've been attacking and seizing cities continuously, and now they're near Three Yuan City... The Dingzhou army fought a battle but was defeated!"
"Even the Dingzhou army was defeated?"
Fang Xi was slightly shocked.
This was definitely not his fault. Although he had killed two captains of the Dingzhou army, the Dingzhou army's power hadn't diminished much.
"I heard..."
Hu Buwei lowered his voice, "Among the rebels, there's more than one Grandmaster!"
"I see."
Fang Xi understood, asked for more information, then left confidently.
...
Baiyun Martial Hall.
The current head of the martial hall was Mu Miaomiao, with Zhang Mingding and other disciples assisting.
In the hall.
"Sister, I heard that there's unrest, and many disciples have gone home. The price of food in the city has risen... Our martial hall's funds are running low this month."
Zhang Mingding held the account book, looking worried.
"Ah..."
Mu Miaomiao also felt a bit troubled, then gritted her teeth, "Sell all my jewelry, everyone pitch in, buy as much food as possible."
After experiencing the crisis in Heishi City, she didn't want to experience hunger again.
"Hehe, Junior Sister is doing well. What's money worth? Spend it all, and it will come back!"
Just then, a young voice came from outside the door.
"This voice sounds familiar?"
"And this disdain for money... Senior Brother?!"
Mu Miaomiao saw the visitor, her eyes reddening, "You're finally back..."
(End of this chapter)