Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 1080 - 934: Light and Time

Chapter 1080: Chapter 934: Light and Time

"Oh? Tell me more!"

Fang Xi became interested and asked casually.

"It’s..."

Qi Min sighed, "Ever since the monk from Bliss Profound Realm crossed the ocean to the east, the fortune here has favored the Brahman Sect, and thus the Golden Bamboo Sea has become the antennae through which the Brahma cultivators enter the Beichen Immortal Domain... My ’Abundant Karma House’ is one of the major powers in Beichen Immortal Domain, and expanding here inevitably feels somewhat constrained..."

"Fortune’s favor, that’s an interesting description. It seems that there must be some intrigue behind the old monk and the Dragon King’s story... But that’s none of our concern. My Abundant Karma House’s difficulty in expanding here is due to the power struggle, I see."

Fang Xi understood somewhat.

If it were a power like Divine Wood Palace with only one or two Immortals, it would be manageable, but if Abundant Karma House were to do business with the Brahman Sect, they would indeed need to be mindful of the impact.

After all, the biggest power in Beichen Immortal Domain is still the Beichen Immortal Palace!

If they were to communicate with outsiders and provoke the suspicion of Beichen Immortal Palace, it would be more harm than good!

"Therefore, our house here is just small-scale management, merely an outpost."

Qi Min gave a wry smile, then lowered his voice, "Even if there are real big business deals between the two domains, it’s the big shots from above who personally come forward to handle it, it’s not our business. And those bald donkeys are extremely adept at doing business, constantly improving all kinds of goods; we’ve lost a lot of business to them and have gradually been beaten down..."

Fang Xi nodded.

Monks have always been very good at business, like the high monks of the Great Xiangguo Temple during the previous life’s Song Dynasty, who were adept at roasting pork, loaning money at high interest rates, and even dabbling in real estate renting.

"So that’s how it is..."

He finally understood why the Golden Bamboo Sea mission was not very dangerous but nobody wanted to take it.

The glory was limited, the benefits were small, and sometimes the higher-ups of Abundant Karma House would come visiting, making it impossible to even enjoy the "mountains high and the emperor far away" feeling, truly frustrating.

But Fang Xi didn’t care about any of that!

As long as there could be a peaceful period of ten thousand years, that would be enough.

For the Golden Bamboo Sea, this was easy.

Because the tranquility of the Golden Bamboo Sea had been maintained for over five million years!

Fang Xi did not think his arrival would break this peace unless the Beichen Immortal Domain suddenly went mad and declared war on Bliss Profound Realm...

"Bring up the ledger, I need to check the warehouse..."

He smiled faintly, asking Qi Min to bring up the ledger, as he turned to the first page, "Hmm? According to the records, there should be another Cultivator here—Gong Jiujin. Where is this person?"

"Reporting to Sir, Gong...he...he..."

Qi Min seemed to be hiding something difficult to express.

Just then, a Cultivator wearing a grey robe, with a long and narrow face and green eyes, suddenly entered the shop. Seeing Fang Xi, he was startled and hastily bowed, "Subordinate Gong Jiujin, at your service, Sir!"

"You’re back rather quickly?"

Fang Xi looked at the man’s narrow face and green eyes, smiling faintly, "Are you a Demon Cultivator?"

"Indeed, I have integrated the ’Qi Sha Greedy Wolf’ bloodline, which causes my killing intent to surge uncontrollably every few months, making it hard to restrain. I have to use chains forged from Meteor Cold Iron to lock down my body. My delayed arrival, please forgive me, Sir..."

Gong Jiujin explained.

Fang Xi made no comment, then continued, "Let’s start the inventory..."

...

Months later.

In the ’Abundant Karma House’ Dongfu designated for guests.

Although called a Dongfu, it was only about a hundred square meters, with each room being quite small.

Even so, such a small but fully-equipped Dongfu, filled with abundant Immortal Qi, would be the envy of countless Cultivators.

Fang Xi walked leisurely, as Array Flags and Array Disks were embedded into the walls all around.

A layer of colorful light shields rose, within which gold and silver prohibition symbols flashed continuously.

"Although this Dongfu is small, its original prohibitions are not bad... at least Returning to Emptiness Integration Cultivators would find them difficult to break through."

With the control token in hand, Fang Xi adjusted it for a while and was quite satisfied with the result.

With his current achievements as a Ninth Order Immortal Array Master, he had arranged such a powerful array that ordinary Mahayana Monks would not be able to break in.

Even if an Immortal scanned the place with Divine Thought, he would be alerted!

Still, he had no intention of setting up a Cave Heaven in his own Dongfu.

A hundred square meters was enough for him, since a Cultivator’s Dongfu only needed to be sufficiently private; everything else was not a problem.

Thinking back on the previous events, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, "Qi Min, Gong Jiujin..."

"Qi Min is one thing, but Gong Jiujin, truly as greedy as a wolf..."

Fang Xi muttered to himself.

When he took inventory of the warehouse that day, he found that the previous manager and those two Cultivators had kept things relatively clean, so he let it be.

Fang Xi came to the Golden Bamboo Sea not to revitalize the store but for his personal cultivation.

Therefore, he chose the easiest approach, to follow the existing rules and announced that everything would remain the same, asking those two Cultivators not to bother him.

At the same time, he also took over the best Dongfu under the name of Abundant Karma House.

It was originally meant for the highest-ranking person in that place, and there was nothing the other two could say about him moving in.

Through observing them in secret over this period, especially through spying with Divine Thought and sending out Puppets to lurk around, Fang Xi had also uncovered the true colors of these two excellent subordinates.

Gong Jiujin was tightfisted as they came, even indulging in gambling and beast fights to the point of incurring a substantial debt to the monks, with interest rates so high they would scare anyone, and sometimes even being forced to fight to the death in the arena himself, performing for other Cultivators in exchange for extensions on his debts.

According to Fang Xi’s observations, the Blood Qi and resentment on this person were incredibly dense; it was quite possible he’d been killing and looting in secret.

For most Immortal Cultivators, as long as they’re not caught, they’re not considered cultivation-robbers.

Qi Min was no simple character either. If Gong Jiujin could be described as greedy and as fierce as a wolf, then this man was as cunning as a fox.

Had it not been for the deployment of tiny Puppets to track him, Fang Xi would have never known that this man had quite a few businesses outside, holding the position of Supreme Elder in at least three Sects!

"All of them are talents indeed..."

Fang Xi sighed, "But as long as they don’t come looking for trouble with me, it’s none of my business..."

He took a deep breath and entered the Alchemy room.

The Alchemy room was small, with a pitch-black cauldron inside, under which Mahayana True Fire was burning.

Fang Xi’s expression turned solemn as he took out a Storage Talisman.

Amidst the flickering silver light, jade boxes flew out one by one, then opened to reveal the spirit materials inside.

Among them were ores and strange Spirit Plants...

Even, there were three blood-colored Cicada Sloughs!

"Go!"

After briefly observing the fire, Fang Xi swiftly extended a finger.

The three blood-colored Cicada Sloughs turned into three streaks of crimson light and entered the black cauldron.

These blood-colored Cicada Sloughs came from the Huixie Clan of the Earth Immortal Realm and required a Jin Chanzi of Integration Level to refine.

Fang Xi had directly raided the Monster Clan’s lair to assemble so many.

Now, as the flames licked the materials, the blood-colored Cicada Sloughs began to melt. Outside the cauldron, the Void rippled with an undescribable halo, conveying a faint sense of time passing.

Fang Xi nodded to himself upon seeing this and began handling another spirit material...

Time passed unknowably.

His expression turned extremely grave, and he cast Magic Spells like gusts on a windmill.

"Open!"

A moment later, Fang Xi formed a Magic Spell.

The cauldron opened automatically, with light and shadows shifting around it, carrying the scent of the Law of Time...

A clump of viscous liquid flew out from the cauldron, its form indistinct and seemingly about to disappear.

Fang Xi saw this, but his face showed not shock but delight, as he raised his hand slightly.

Strands of the Law of Time appeared in the Void, crisscrossing like a large net.

The net gently scooped up the clump of liquid, pulling it from nothingness.

"Time Jade Liquid, it’s done."

He raised his eyebrow, "Fortunately, this Spiritual Liquid doesn’t test my alchemy skills too much... I can still manage to refine it."

This ’Time Jade Liquid’ was naturally an essential component of the ’Evergreen Skills’ secret technique, used to hasten the arrival of the Mahayana Immortal Thunder Tribulation!

This secret technique from the Earth Immortal Heritage required a Spiritual Liquid rich in the Power of Time and Space to be deployed alongside.

’Time Jade Liquid’ was the simplest Spiritual Liquid that Fang Xi chose based on his own warehouse reserves.

Carrying this clump of ’Time Jade Liquid,’ Fang Xi proceeded to the Training Room and sat down cross-legged, forming a strange hand seal with both hands.

The ’Time Jade Liquid’ was poured onto his body as if alive, spreading along his skin and enveloping him completely.

He murmured complex and obscure incantations and changed his hand seal.

In an instant, the River of Time moved slightly.

In the Training Room, the light and shadows suddenly became blurry and illusory, as if Fang Xi had grown three heads and six arms, stretching out multiple arms, with each hand forming a different Magic Spell.

This was of course not the manifestation of a Divine Skill with three heads and six arms, but rather it seemed as if time itself was overlapping at that moment.

The ’Fang Xi’ from several moments ago overlapped, forming different hand seals.

"Quickly!"

Fang Xi’s eyes snapped open, and numerous versions of himself were pulled back, then outstretched arms unfolded, imprinting a circular mark on his chest.

If one looked closely, they would see that this mark was composed of countless Dragon Chapter Scripts, or perhaps it should be called Time Scripts, densely packed and so complex and profound that they surpassed even what Zu Long had comprehended in his Dragon Chapter Script!

"A strange sensation..."

Fang Xi furrowed his brow slightly, then smoothed it out.

The secret technique to accelerate the Mahayana Immortal Thunder Tribulation wasn’t causing his lifespan to pass at ten times the rate.

Rather, it was a far more peculiar state.

His lifespan was elapsing just as usual, but Fang Xi could sense that his own tribulation had been inexplicably brought forward.

What was originally a once in ten thousand years Immortal Thunder Tribulation would now occur after just a thousand years!

"Such a secret technique... If one isn’t extremely confident, it’s akin to committing suicide!"

"Luckily, it doesn’t matter to me... At worst, I still have the final trump card, ’Treasures of All Heavens’."

The status of the Treasures of All Heavens was undoubtedly far beyond the rank of Immortal Mansion Rare Treasures.

What’s even more terrifying is that it could directly dispel thunder calamities without causing the Immortal Thunder Tribulation to go berserk...

This caused Fang Xi to vaguely guess at the status of the Treasures of All Heavens.

After all, from True Immortals to Prime Taoist Masters, all are just extensions of the Power of Rules.

Only the ’Taoist Fruit’ can reverse the Rules and achieve all kinds of unimaginable feats!

"Taoist Fruit... huh?"

Thinking of the information within the Treasures of All Heavens, Fang Xi couldn’t help but show a trace of anticipation: "I wonder how many steps it takes to go from a Taoist Species to Taoist Fruit?"