Star Sky Professional
Chapter 698 - 596 Superficial

Chapter 698: Chapter 596 Superficial

The night was deep.

Inside the wooden cabin in Qingyu Garden, where the disciples rested.

A door quietly opened, and a shadow flashed out, arriving at the foot of the millennia-old Evergreen Tree.

The moonlight was hazy, illuminating the figure of a coarse-handed servant woman, none other than the Medicine Garden elder—Hua Qing!

"The millennia-old Evergreen Tree... This tree is extremely hard, Cultivators below the Dao Foundation can hardly cut it down... But Wood Element spirit plants are naturally restrained by Fire Poison. Just sprinkle a bottle of ’Xuan Yuan Fire Poison Liquid’, and it can destroy its roots... Irrecoverable by any medicine."

Hua Qing seemed to be talking to herself, taking out a jet-black Jade Bottle from her bosom.

"Alas..."

Suddenly, a low voice sounded.

"Who is it?"

Hua Qing was startled, her eyes flickering with malice as a Shadow Puppet transformed into a Demon Fox, moving across the ground.

Poof poof!

The ground cracked open, and thorned vines, like pythons, tightly bound the Shadow Puppet fox.

A figure emerged from the darkness, with dark skin and simple features, surprisingly Fei Changqing!

But at this moment, Fei Changqing was surrounded by a protective Evil Qi, seemingly employing some secret technique, with mana so abundant and vigorous that it could compare to the Gang Qi Realm.

"Fei Changqing? Impossible... I clearly added..." Hua Qing seemed to think of something, her face turning extremely unsightly.

"You added ’Youchan Fragrance’ to the food, a spice that is non-toxic to humans and also promotes sleep... Thus, even an old herb farmer like Meng Tiandong did not suspect. But unfortunately, you couldn’t escape my notice..."

Fei Changqing shook his head: "Are you a spy for the Blood Shadow Sect? It seems the real Hua Qing is already dead... But why must you harm this millennia-old Evergreen Tree? This is indeed my... Foundation for Dao attainment..."

By the end of his words, his voice had dropped to an inaudible whisper as his hands flicked continuously, planting peculiar little flags around.

These little flags were surprisingly made from spirit wood and spiritual silkworm silk, mixed together, forming an array.

The shadow of cyan trees emerged, providing defense, sound-proofing, and other effects, completely enveloping the area.

"Is this... an Array?"

"No, this is the ’Twelve Green Wood Spirit Controlling Flags’. Although its quality is average, it’s definitely not something an ordinary Qi Sensing disciple could refine or utilize... Who are you, really?"

’Hua Qing’s’ expression changed dramatically as she took out a skin mask, wearing it on her face.

In an instant, she transformed into a demon!

This demon stood two meters tall, bearing the heads of a goat, a bull, and a pig, while its body was that of a human, covered in black fur and scales, its hands resembling bird claws.

It looked as if various Demon Beasts and human parts were randomly pieced together.

"Hundred Faces Shadow Puppet... Within the Blood Shadow Sect, you are considered a Core Disciple."

"Quick!"

Fei Changqing’s hands moved rapidly, activating the ’Twelve Green Wood Spirit Controlling Flags’, conjuring ethereal green vines like chains binding the Hundred Faces Shadow Puppet Demon.

Simultaneously, he reached toward his Flying Squirrel Bag with his right hand, pulling out a handful of bean seeds.

These bean seeds took root upon hitting the ground, quickly growing into numerous Bean Puppets.

Rumble rumble!

Within the array, the Hundred Faces Shadow Puppet Demon roared continuously, yet not a sound escaped the array.

A moment later, a miserable cry emerged.

"You... you’re not Fei Changqing!"

"You’re ’Xuanmu Zhenren’!"

The Hundred Faces Shadow Puppet Demon’s two heads were severed, leaving only the pig head, which emitted mocking laughter: "Ha ha... You were slain by the Zhenren of our sect, yet managed to escape with a sliver of Yin God, seized a body for rebirth... But you dare not return to the sect, evidently the internal strife at Qingmu Ridge has escalated beyond imagination. This battle shall end in our favor, I’ll be waiting for you below..."

Poof!

Before the words finished, a green wood Flying Sword slashed down, severing the pig head.

The entire Shadow Puppet collapsed like a deflated ball, turning into a puddle of foul-smelling hide.

Threads of blood seeped out from the hide.

Fei Changqing sighed, collected the array flags, and skillfully cleaned the battlefield, leaving no trace behind.

"Xuanmu has long since died, now I am... just Fei Changqing."

He approached the millennia-old Evergreen Tree, reaching out to caress its bark, silently performing a cultivation technique.

Strands of peculiar Qi were absorbed by him.

"This body’s aptitude is still too poor. If I follow the conventional path of cultivation, I will never break through to the Dao Foundation before I die..."

"Only by cultivating the ’Eternal Method’, absorbing the ’Years’ Wheel Qi’ from the millennia-old Evergreen Wood, can I hope to forge an Upper Dao Foundation—’Age Wood Autumn’. At that point, I shall employ the ’Seize Dao Swallow Foundation Technique’, devour a Cultivator with a ’Water Linglong’ Dao Foundation, and achieve the divine skills of ’Waterwood Years’, reascending to the rank of Zhenren..."

It was precisely because the millennia-old Evergreen Tree was crucial to his cultivation that Fei Changqing dared to take such a risk.

The anomalies on his body were too many, making him cautious to report to the Dao Foundation steward here.

After a round of daily cultivation, he whistled, and a cyan hummingbird landed on his arm.

"Hmm... that person remained inside the treehouse, never coming out? Very good..."

Fei Changqing fed a bee-eater an elixir, a look of satisfaction appearing on his face, then returned to the wooden hut to rest.

A moment later.

A flash of light flickered across the earth, and a pangolin emerged.

However, that little green bird wasn’t bothered at all; instead, it warmly approached, rubbing against the pangolin as if greeting this new friend.

"Such adorable little creatures..."

Fang Xing casually waved a paw, and a green glow, the size of a soybean, entered the bee-eater’s body.

If Fei Changqing saw this scene, he would most likely vomit blood.

The bee-eater, which he had raised using a secret technique specifically to monitor Fang Xing, seemed to have quickly changed sides...

’If it weren’t for this bee-eater... I would only have suspected Hua Qing had issues. Unexpectedly, Fei Changqing—no, Xuanmu Zhenren—has an even bigger problem... Yin God Zhenren’s possession rebirth? What kind of story unfold is this from a fiction book?’

Fang Xing arrived under the Evergreen Tree, using the Druid’s natural affinity to sense this ancient tree.

Subsequently, the events that occurred under the tree seemed to replay before his eyes like a movie.

’Hmm... this Fei Changqing, as expected of Yin God Zhenren reincarnated, even at the Qi Sensing Realm, he refined a protective array?’

’And this bean puppet, flying sword... such extraordinary methods, ordinary Mixed Element cultivators are absolutely no match for him.’

’To absorb the aura of tree rings for cultivation? Obviously, this built Dao Foundation would be unique... So this person came to Qingyu Garden for this purpose?’

Although Fang Xing couldn’t see much, he knew that Fei Changqing’s cultivation technique seemed to require absorbing a special aura from the Evergreen Tree, likely related to time and age, which means he needs to stay in the Medicine Garden for a long time.

He didn’t know that the ’Age Wood Autumn’ Dao Foundation was a secret transmission from Qingmu Ridge, where, during the Qi Sensing early and middle realms, one could cultivate by absorbing the aura of century- and millennium-old Evergreen Trees.

But upon reaching the Qi Sensing Post Realm, especially when trying to break through the Dao Foundation, one must absorb the aura of the Eternal Evergreen Tree’s growth rings.

More crucially... the aura of the years can’t be rushed, it requires a full cycle of spring and autumn for the rings to grow another circle.

And once an Eternal Evergreen Tree is chosen, it’s hard to change.

Otherwise, if the Blood Shadow Sect spy intended to destroy the Evergreen Tree, Fei Changqing wouldn’t be so anxious to act.

"No need to rush to make a move..."

"First, investigate thoroughly, then find a few soul-searching and interrogating magic techniques, and practice them to a profound level..."

Fang Xing flopped onto the ground, and the pangolin immediately disappeared.

...

Several months later.

"Recently, it seems the Blood Shadow Sect infiltrated the sect, Junior Brother Fang, you must be careful..."

Fei Changqing personally escorted a batch of supplies over and warned Fang Xing solemnly during the handover.

"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother. Since the Hua Qing incident, we’ve been conducting strict investigations here..."

Fang Xing clasped his fists in gratitude.

A few months earlier, Hua Qing went missing, and he naturally reported it.

Then Fei Changnong came to investigate and found nothing, resulting in a haphazard conclusion that Hua Qing had encountered a Blood Shadow Sect spy and died without remains.

In fact, this was coincidentally the truth.

After Fei Changnong left, Fang Xing looked at the somewhat anxious disciples, "Why are you still standing around? Get back to work! You should learn more from Fei Changqing, that unflappable qi cultivation technique in the face of crisis..."

He droned on with a lengthy speech, while Dong Mei’er secretly criticized: ’Fei Changqing is just a fool...’

At this moment, Fei Changqing paused his work of de-weeding in the field and looked up with a simple smile.

Yet for some reason, his heart couldn’t help but skip a beat when his gaze swept past Fang Xing...

Fang Xing, as usual, lay on a soft chair, with spiritual tea and snacks by his side, supervising the disciples at work.

After finishing his tea and snacks, he picked up an ancient thread-bound book and pretended to read seriously.

The cover of the book, impressively titled "Qingmu Heroes," narrated the stories of outstanding talents from Qingmu Ridge.

Fang Xing flipped through the pages and came to the section on Xuanmu Zhenren:

"Xuanmu Zhenren, whose given name was ’Ye Xuanqing,’ was born with an omen, joined Qingmu Ridge at a young age, built his Dao Foundation at the age of forty-six, and ascended to Zhenren at one hundred and fifty-seven years old..."

"Since his debut, he has slain countless demons and evildoers, excelling in arrays, and refined a set of Zhenren-grade ’Twelve Green Wood Spirit Control Flags’ as his lifebound magical treasure, possessing vast power..."

Fang Xing noticed that the latter content was filled with accolades for this ancestor, without any records of his demise.

Previously, from indirect probing, Fei Changnong only mentioned that the sect’s front-line situation was very favorable, with constant victories and hardly any Dao Foundation cultivators falling, let alone Yin God Zhenren.’

’Sigh... if I really believed it, I might be fooled utterly...’

Fang Xing secretly mocked himself with a sigh, then picked up another miscellaneous book.

This one contained introductions to the sects of the Outer World, and even some teachings of the Great Zhou Divine Dynasty.

Among them was the ’Killing Life Sect’!

’According to the disdain hierarchy of the Outer World, the longer something from the Great Zhou Divine Dynasty persists, the stronger its power...’

’In other words, the sects that couldn’t withstand it and were forced to migrate were the weakest... and the Killing Life Sect, which has held out until now, is even stronger than the Feijian Sect!’

’As for Qingmu Ridge? Sorry, this sect has always prided itself on its long history... It seems to be one of the first forces among the righteous and evil top ten sects to relocate to the Outer World...’