Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 294 - 292 Tie Jiu (Please subscribe)_1

Chapter 294: Chapter 292 Tie Jiu (Please subscribe)_1

"The affairs of the Green Wood Sect... Do you think I would not know if you did not tell me?"

Fang Xi manipulated the Spiritual Instruments, first went to the Warehouse to receive a batch of materials for refining second-tier spirit talismans with the mission jade slip, then flew back to the Emerald Bamboo Forest, chuckling to himself.

Even though he hadn’t paid much attention, his occasional sweep with his Golden Core Divine Consciousness had already given him clear insight into the internal affairs of the Green Wood Sect.

’Recently, the news of Patriarch Lu Qing’s Sitting and Transforming has started to spread within the Green Wood Sect... Although peace has been restored with Yue Country and Martial Kingdom, there are undercurrents stirring within the sect...’

’The Green Wood Sect occupies the best Spiritual Vein and several spirit stone mines in Wood Kingdom, all of which are now coveted... Even though Lu Qing had signed peace treaties with two major Golden Core Sects before his death, within its own territory, the Green Wood Sect is more than capable of defending the Green Wood Forest. However, defending various spirit stone mines, marketplaces, and Spiritual Medicine Gardens... they are somewhat short-handed.’

’There have been frequent harassments by cultivation-robbers lately... Suspected to be instigated by Foundation Establishment powers behind the scenes...’

’Even the Foundation Establishment cultivation-robber gangs from Yue Country and Martial Kingdom have been tempted to cause trouble within Wood Kingdom...’

’All these are actually conspiracies targeting the Green Wood Sect... If the Green Wood Sect maintains composure, gradually consolidates, and then manages to produce a Golden Core—even a Jia Dan would do—all will once again return to its former glory. If not, I’m afraid...’

’That Elder Qian looks troubled, probably because a Foundation Establishment Cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment failed in attempting Core Formation...’

’It is said that the female cultivator with the surname Lei, in a desperate bid, used several secret skills that shortened her lifespan to increase her chances of Core Formation... After her failure, her end was especially tragic, directly Sitting and Transforming...’

’However, this Elder Qian is a good man; he really gets things done when given Spirit Stones... Now that manpower is already tight, it’s only right that he dispatches other tasks... Upon thinking about it, could this have something to do with Zheng Tie’s influence?’

Having returned to the Emerald Bamboo Forest, Fang Xi ignored Zheng Shan, who had dressed up specially and almost came over to greet him, and directly entered his Dongfu, then closed the door of the Dongfu.

Seeing this scene, Zheng Shan couldn’t help but bite her lips bitterly...

...

Four years later.

Fang Xi sat in his Dongfu, silently celebrating his two-hundredth birthday.

Two-hundred years!

Ordinary mortals would likely need to live through two or three lifetimes to match such longevity!

Even for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, it would be enough to span a lifetime!

Fang Xi poured himself a cup of second-tier Green Bamboo Wine and silently savored it.

By now, he had grown quite fond of the bitter taste of this Green Bamboo Wine.

"Now that I’m two hundred years old... I figure, Zhan Tu and Zhong Hongyu must be around one hundred years old, right? They’ve gone through half of the lifespan of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. The former still has the possibility of reaching Core Formation, while the latter’s hope is really, dim indeed..."

"Zhan Tu is a special case, but Taishu Hong, who is over a decade younger than Zhong Hongyu and has a high-quality Spiritual Root from self-cultivation, still has some hope..."

"And Liu Sanqi... his lifespan must be nearing its limit too, right? But as he possesses a Body of Plants and cultivates Wooden Element techniques, perhaps he can live to the limit of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator?"

After calculating for a while, Fang Xi indeed felt quite sentimental: "The old friends are half gone..."

Given the current difficulty of reaching Core Formation in the three countries, his contemporaries who were lucky enough to reach Foundation Establishment were now mostly at the end of their lives...

The next day.

Fang Xi got ready, took out the second-tier Spirit Talismans he had casually refined these days to complete his mission, and although he had lowered the standards, these talismans were still considered fine pieces among their kind, earning Elder Qian’s endless praises.

With a sweep of his Divine Consciousness, he found that Zheng Shan simply bowed from a distance, then continued to busily tend the Spiritual Medicine Garden, likely having completely given up hope.

Yet her cultivation had improved, apparently reaching the peak of the ninth layer of Qi Refining.

Judging by the situation, she was possibly about to break into the Great Perfection of Qi Refining’s tenth layer and prepare for Foundation Establishment.

"On top of the third-tier Spiritual Vein, it took so many years to move from the seventh layer of Qi Refining to this state; it seems the quality of her Spiritual Root is indeed quite average, and she hasn’t encountered any opportunities..."

Fang Xi sighed and went to the General Affairs Hall.

"Master Cao..."

Elder Qian looked even more aged than before, managing a forced smile as they handled the handover:

"Hmm... the quality of these second-tier talismans is good, but starting next year, the number of talismans you need to hand in each year must increase by thirty percent. In particular, the demand for offensive talismans is to increase by fifty percent, otherwise, I will have to give Master Cao’s share to other Talisman Masters."

Elder Qian sighed, saying words that slightly moved Fang Xi.

"Increase by several percent? As long as there are enough materials, it shouldn’t be a problem..."

However, after pondering for a moment, Fang Xi still agreed to the terms.

"Oh? It seems junior brother’s skill in talismans has improved again, truly a cause for celebration..." Elder Qian clasped his hands and then suddenly sighed again, "Lately, a group of cultivation-robbers have been frequently plundering our sect’s supply convoys. The leader of the robbers ’Pei Fei’, his cultivation astoundingly reached the late phase of Foundation Establishment, killing our sect’s Foundation Establishment Cultivators..."

"Pei Fei?"

Fang Xi showed a puzzled expression: "I’ve never heard of this cultivator’s exploits before..."

"Hmph, a cockroach that only shows its head but hides its tail, either assuming a false name or having fled from another country... Our Green Wood Sect has already laid a Tianluo Dinet. This time, an elder from the Punishment Hall will personally lead the operation, and we will surely capture this culpit!"

Elder Qian, having secretly observed Fang Xi for over a decade and confirmed him as a dedicated cultivator, had gradually come to regard him as one of their own, revealing some secrets.

Of course, this ambush is likely already over by now, hardly a secret anymore.

"So that’s how it is... Only those at least in the late stage of Foundation Establishment can serve as elders of the Punishment Hall. Those robbers are doomed this time..."

Fang Xi showed a look of delight, ready to take his leave.

Suddenly, a thunderous bell rang out, once more reverberating throughout the Green Wood Forest.

"This is..."

Elder Qian’s expression became vacant, and after hearing the bell toll nine times, he seemed as though his soul had been snatched away, slumping back into his seat, muttering to himself, "Another one dead, another one dead... What to do, what to do...?"

Fang Xi maintained a poker face, thinking to himself, ’Nine rings of the bell must mean someone in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, or at Great Perfection has died, the kind that cannot be kept secret...’

’The disciples of the Green Wood Sect who went out to ambush Pei Fei... I fear it’s a major loss.’

He flew out of the Green Wood Sect, only to see the ’Ten Thousand Sea Bamboo Forest Array’ fully activated, a sea of illusory bamboo shadows engulfing both inside and outside the forest.

A chaotic swarm of Escape Lights flitted about aimlessly like headless flies, and Voice Transmission Talismans flew disorderly everywhere, presenting a scene of utter chaos.

Any discerning person who saw this would invariably think of ominous phrases like ’a dynasty on the verge of collapse.’

Fang Xi pondered for a moment, then turned his Escape Light to seek out Zheng Tie.

In the Green Wood Sect, he only had a few acquaintances after all.

Three days later.

Inside Zheng Tie’s Dongfu.

"Alas... this time the elder of the Punishment Hall planned to capture Pei Fei, but unexpectedly fell into a trap..."

Zheng Tie still looked somewhat pale, his demeanor unsettled, "Pei Fei actually hid his cultivation level, he is a Core Formation-level Demon Cultivator, and had several Foundation Establishment helpers as well... After a fierce battle, it was our side that suffered a great defeat. Not only did the elder of the Punishment Hall die in battle, but a number of Foundation Establishment combat cultivators also perished... Now, even our Sect Leader Wei Xuan is facing impeachment and may have to resign."

"Alas..."

Fang Xi heaved a sigh, "External troubles are actually not so critical; at worst, just give up some peripheral markets and spirit stone mines... By retracting our forces and firmly guarding the Sect, how could a mere Demon Cultivator at Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment breach the Great Array of our Green Wood Sect? The key issue is internal strife and the hearts of the people... This ambush against the elder of the Punishment Hall must have involved spies leaking information, yet due to this, the Sect is stirred up by internal scheming and power struggles..."

Bang!

Zheng Tie slammed his fist onto the table, "Well said, so very well said... I always thought you, my learned nephew, were focused solely on your cultivation and not engaged in worldly affairs, but it appears your wisdom is deeply internalized... Tell me, how did our Green Wood Sect’s millennium of foundation come to this state?"

His eyes slightly reddened, as if he indeed held deep feelings for this Sect.

’Actually, it’s quite simple, Sects in the Cultivation World are like warlords... Strength is honored, and when a Sect lacks a decisive leader, a headless dragon, it naturally falls into disarray...’

’Luckily, with the help of our Arrays and heritage, we can sustain this chaos for a few decades, which is enough for my cultivation...’

After chatting a bit more, Zheng Tie suddenly said, "In examining this incident for spies, that Tie Jiu is very suspicious... He belongs to the Punishment Hall’s fighting cultivators and was part of the mission, but he vanished without a trace, neither the living nor the dead found... Master Fu has suffered a great setback for this, but it’s fortunate that you, my learned nephew, haven’t had much to do with him."

Leaving Zheng Tie’s Dongfu, Fang Xi’s eyes flickered with thought.

’Tie Jiu, a spy? Indeed, it’s possible...’

’But with him gone and the elders and others dead, doesn’t that mean the second or even first-class Dongfus could now be vacant?’

’Now that Patriarch Lu Qing has passed on, living at the Spiritual Vein’s Core isn’t inconvenient...’

’The Green Wood Sect is far more generous than Ouyang Zhen; back then in Baize Immortal City, guest cultivators were placed in the Inner City, while only disciples cultivated on White Peak Mountain...’

’Hmm... It could be worthwhile to angle for a position, as even a tier three middle-grade Spiritual Vein’s Dongfu is better than a lower-grade one...’

’However, at this juncture, drawing too much attention could get me drafted... Better to wait until the Green Wood Sect changes its strategy to focus on contraction, then make a decision...’

Emerald Bamboo Forest.

Fang Xi deliberately slowed his Escape Light and stopped in front of a Dongfu.

"Greetings to Master Cao..."

Zheng Shan gave a proper bow.

"Mm, you’ve tended to the Spiritual Medicine Garden well, it shows your dedication..."

Fang Xi offered words of encouragement before entering the Dongfu.

...

Before long, news spread from the Green Wood Sect that Sect Leader Wei Xuan had stepped down, to be replaced by another Core Formation-stage master ’Ling Yunzi’ as the new Sect Leader of the Green Wood Sect.

Upon assuming office, Ling Yunzi announced a defensive strategy, abandoning unimportant marketplaces and retracting manpower.

This led to a sharp reduction in the Green Wood Sect’s losses, while Fang Xi’s Talisman duties were also decreased.

Consequently, his application to change Dongfus was directly denied by Elder Qian.

The reason was that ’Ling Yunzi,’ the new official, had just taken office and was wary of touching this matter... Moreover, with the Foundation Establishment cultivators being gradually recalled from their posts to the Sect, competition for the best Spiritual Vein Dongfus had heated up...