Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 165 - 164: Pill-Stealing Skills (Congratulation to Silver Great Alliance)_1

Chapter 165: Chapter 164: Pill-Stealing Skills (Congratulation to Silver Great Alliance)_1

Ruan Xingling moaned softly and awoke.

What greeted her eyes was a rough stone cave dwelling that seemed to have been newly hewn.

"Fairy Ruan, you’ve awoken?"

Fang Xi, who was sitting cross-legged next to her, recovering his magic power, opened his eyes and revealed a hint of a smile.

"The magic talisman... And what of the demon cultivator Situ Jia?"

Ruan Xingling got up, scanned the area with her divine consciousness, and immediately asked the most crucial question.

"After the magic talisman unleashed its power twice, its potency was exhausted... I had to reveal all my trump cards to finally slay that demon cultivator..."

Fang Xi said, seemingly still shaken by the event.

"You... you killed Situ Jia?"

Ruan Xingling found it somewhat hard to believe.

Situ Jia not only had a cultivation at the initial peak of the Foundation Establishment stage but also practiced demon skills, comparable to an ordinary mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

To think that he was crushed even when facing an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator and was now dead!

She paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled, "It seems that seeking Mr. Fang’s assistance was indeed the most correct decision."

Ruan Xingling had always felt there was something extraordinary about Fang Xi and later thought she had been mistaken.

But upon hearing that he succeeded in Foundation Establishment, she gained a new understanding.

Ever since she met Fang Xi, he had taken every step with great steadiness, neither arrogant nor rash, unflustered by honor or disgrace—this was not something an ordinary cultivator could achieve.

After some thought, she said, "Since Situ Jia died by your hand, then his storage bag... "

"Naturally, it is now in my possession."

Fang Xi nodded, then asked thoughtfully, "It seems to contain something that might be useful to the fairy?"

"Indeed... The truth is, I was under Situ Jia’s control and he had planted the Blood Curse Heart Seal in me. There should be a drop of my own essence blood refined into a curse talisman in his possession..."

Ruan Xingling said with a bitter smile, and that was one reason she did not seek help from other Foundation Establishment cultivators.

This curse talisman was extremely important and contained her own essence blood—should it fall into the hands of a malicious cultivator, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Actually, had it not been for Situ Jia’s intent to capture her alive, several demon path secret techniques could have put her to death directly.

In comparison, Fang Xi was still considered trustworthy.

"Could this be the item?"

After pondering, Fang Xi took out a white jade bottle from his golden belt, from which a faint scent of blood emerged.

"Yes, this is it!"

Ruan Xingling’s eyes brightened upon seeing it, "May I ask if there is a pill as well?"

Fang Xi scanned the object with his divine consciousness and shook his head, "There isn’t..."

"In that case... it seems this matter is not yet settled..." Ruan Xingling sighed, looking at the jade bottle in Fang Xi’s hand with a pitiful expression, "Mr. Fang..."

"The fairy invited my assistance, offering something in return that could increase the chances of Core Formation..."

Fang Xi watched Ruan Xingling’s changing expressions and suddenly smiled, tossing the jade bottle to her, "I have already obtained that item, so let’s say you have fulfilled the agreement... "

Ruan Xingling received the jade bottle, feeling a sense of relief, then stood up and bowed gracefully, "Thank you, Mr. Fang... for not minding my slight deceit. However, the matter of increasing the chances of Core Formation should be true. I’ve covertly discovered that the demon cultivator had a secret technique that could assist in Core Formation..."

Indeed!

The reward Ruan Xingling promised was actually on Situ Jia’s person, and her prior commitment was entirely at another’s expense.

They were old friends of several decades.

If it had been another Foundation Establishment cultivator who came to her aid, Ruan Xingling’s outcome could have been very bad.

Fang Xi, on the other hand, was fondling a blood-red jade slip in his sleeve, his face full of contemplation.

...

On that day, when he saw Ye Sanren coming for them, he had no intention of continuing the fight. He withdrew the array and the puppets, grabbed Ruan Xingling, and ran for it.

With the help of the innate monster skills of a second-tier flight puppet to increase their escaping speed, they finally managed to shake off Ye Sanren. Then they randomly opened up a cave dwelling outside to inspect their spoils of war.

Among the items in Situ Jia’s storage belt, aside from spirit stones, various other items, and some demon path materials that sent shivers down one’s spine, the most special items were Ruan Xingling’s "curse talisman" and this jade slip.

Within the jade slip was recorded a demon skill named "Five Extremities Primordial Demon Skill."

This skill encompassed everything, broadening Fang Xi’s horizons, and he faintly felt parts of it were similar to the "Blood Fiend Demon Art" he obtained from slaying Situ Ying, probably belonging to an advanced level of the latter’s technique!

Within this "Five Extremities Primordial Demon Skill," not only were more demon path secret techniques recorded, it even included a "Primordial Demon Stab," a secret skill for attacking with divine consciousness!

This gave Fang Xi a slight surprise. Although it only involved attacking the enemy with divine consciousness and did not include a method to cultivate divine consciousness, it was not important for him, who could slowly increase his own divine consciousness.

This "Primordial Demon Stab" must have been the secret technique Situ Jia used to attack him. It had slight flaws—it seemed to be of no use against enemies with stronger divine consciousness, only effective at bullying the weak.

Apart from that, the last two secret techniques were what truly lit up Fang Xi’s eyes.

One of the secret skills is called ’Stealing Immortal Foundation’, which claims that even those with inferior Spiritual Roots can successfully achieve Foundation Establishment!

The method of cultivation involves, first, finding a cultivator whose Spiritual Root compatibility and other conditions match the practitioner, then, using various secret techniques to refine them, and waiting until they reach Foundation Establishment, at which point through the merging of their Qi, one can steal their ’Base of the Great Taoist’, thereby succeeding in establishing their own foundation!

It sounds simple to speak of, but of course, the entire process is very troublesome when put into practice.

Not to mention the difficulty of finding a compatible cultivator to serve as the cauldron.

Even in the end, the process of stealing the ’Base of the Great Taoist’ is extremely dangerous. After all, a Qi Refining cultivator seizing the ’Base of the Great Taoist’ from a Foundation Establishment cultivator, even if the latter has been subdued, there is still the possibility of capsizing.

But as long as the ’Stealing Immortal Foundation’ is successful, even if the practitioner is drained of both Qi and blood, is past the age of sixty, and has poor Spiritual Root quality, they will definitely succeed in Foundation Establishment. Moreover, the growth of their Divine Skill and Magic Power, and even their lifespan, will be no different from that of ordinary foundation-establishment cultivators—indeed a wonderful method!

However, the ’Base of the Great Taoist’ that is stolen is ultimately not one’s own, and cultivators who establish their foundation using this demon path secret skill generally have no hope of reaching Core Formation. Their cultivation potential is bound to be limited to the peak of Foundation Establishment in their lifetime.

"This cultivation method... is suitable for those who have Foundation Establishment or even Core Formation elders, or for major forces to cultivate their core members... Otherwise, once the cauldron establishes foundation, how a Qi Refining stage cultivator could possibly subdue a Foundation Establishment cultivator, is also a major problem..."

Of course, this was not Ruan Xingling’s payment.

The compensation from Ruan Xingling was the final part of the secret skill—’Pill-Stealing Skills’!

As the name implies, this is the luxurious upgraded version of ’Stealing Immortal Foundation’, requiring the cultivation of a Core Formation cultivator, followed by the theft of their Golden Core, allowing oneself to advance to Core Formation!

In the preface of the secret skill, there is an annotation from an old demon—"Saints don’t die, grand thieves never rest... the Righteous Path’s method of creating a Jia Dan, was originally derived from the Pill-Stealing Skills. Cultivators steal Beast Inner Dans to condense a Jia Dan, which is considered the Righteous Path, while if we steal a human’s pill, it’s the Demon Path... In fact, they end up at the same destination, utterly ludicrous!"

The opportunity Ruan Xingling spoke of to increase the chances of reaching Core Formation was this.

This woman did not know where she heard such news, but it was a bit inaccurate.

At least Fang Xi, after reading the ’Pill-Stealing Skills’, was rather speechless.

The requirements were too exacting!

"It requires finding a cultivator whose bloodline is similar, preferably a blood relative, and who has a matching Spiritual Root attribute. Ideally, they would have a Heaven Grade Spiritual Root... Then, after using various secret techniques to refine them, when they are about to reach Core Formation, one would then steal their Qi mechanism..."

"Get lost! There is virtually no bottleneck for Heaven Grade Spiritual Roots before Core Formation, and every Nascent Soul sect would drool over discovering one, with Nascent Soul True Monarchs personally taking them as disciples. To put such a person through this process, only to benefit another with unremarkable Spiritual Root quality, isn’t that a waste of heaven-sent resources?"

"Unless a Nascent Soul True Monarch wishes to favor their own child, otherwise it’s basically impossible to hope for..."

"Hiss... From this point of view, those Heaven Grade Spiritual Root geniuses who enter the major sects of the Demon Path might not be so fortunate after all..."

Fang Xi felt somewhat depressed as he set aside the jade slip.

This ’Pill-Stealing Skills’, he would most likely have no use for it.

However, he looked towards Ruan Xingling, "Fairy, could it be that you..."

"Indeed..." Ruan Xingling smiled bitterly, openly answering, "I am likely one of the choices for demon cultivators, prepared to complete the foundation for a Qi Refining cultivator at the peak of his progress... And so is Ruan Dan..."

She obtained her own ’curse trigger’, managing to break free from her shackles, but Ruan Dan was still in some danger...

"Fairy Ruan, to be in such dire straits and still be able to fight your way out, I admire that,"

Fang Xi sincerely bowed his hands, "However, Thousand Island Lake is a dragon pond and a tiger’s den, and I am not planning to go back..."

He mentioned the pursuit by Ye Sanren, which alarmed Ruan Xingling, "How should we handle this?"

"No matter how chaotic Thousand Island Lake is, it’s just a group of Foundation Establishment demon cultivators... We just need to turtle up in Baize Immortal City, and we should be safe..."

Fang Xi raised an eyebrow, utterly unconcerned about possible retaliation from demon cultivators, "As for Sir... maybe... sneak over to the Mysterious Heaven Sect branch and report them?"

He had actually wanted to report the Situ Family all along.

Now that he thought about it, this was the best course of action.

Once Mysterious Heaven Sect sweeps through Thousand Island Lake with an overwhelming force, they should be able to eliminate any hidden dangers.

Even so, he still planned to stay within Baize Immortal City.

"Mysterious Heaven Sect? It might indeed be an option..."

Ruan Xingling mused thoughtfully.

Fang Xi was confident that, with the woman’s ability, she would be able to handle the matter flawlessly, without causing him any trouble.

"After reporting, I also plan to lay low in Baize Immortal City for a while. In the future, we might actually become neighbors!"

Ruan Xingling looked at Fang Xi, suddenly breaking into a beautiful smile, blooming like a hundred flowers, "Sir has helped me so much today, I truly do not know how to repay you..."

...

Several days later.

Fang Xi was rubbing his fingertips, as if he could still smell the rich floral fragrance.

Ruan Xingling had already taken her leave without a trace.

He headed for Baize Immortal City, and along the way, found a place to cross over to the Great Liang World and stuffed the Situ Jia’s storage belt into the treasury of the Martial God Sect.

"The Martial God Sect is not weak, I will further teach them about the changes in Qi and blood, combined with the Spirit Stone Array, they should also be able to use a Storage Artifact..."

Fang Xi looked around the Martial God Sect’s treasury. The most crucial ’Beast Blood Pill’ was naturally missing.

Aside from that, there were many items from the Cultivation World, enough to inspire most Grandmasters to achieve contributions.

Among them, there were even several cultivation manuals that could train a body cultivator to the sixth level of Body Refining, comparable to the late stages of Foundation Establishment!