Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 597 - 595: Undercurrents (Additional Updates, Seeking Monthly Tickets)_1

Chapter 597: Chapter 595: Undercurrents (Additional Updates, Seeking Monthly Tickets)_1

An Escape Light flashed, and a young noble in a brocade robe stepped into the Black Water Pavilion.

This Nascent Soul cultivator had a youthful face, was slightly short in stature, and had darting eyes that conveyed a sense of shrewdness tinged with coldness.

He wore a golden crown, which for some reason gave Fang Xi the impression of "a monkey dressed in silk."

"Manager Liu, I’ve come again to support your business. Is Mr. Qing Hezi also here?"

The cultivator said with a smile, clasping his hands together before slapping his Storage Bag and causing the carcass of a large salamander, several zhang in length, to slump onto the ground.

This large salamander had horns on its head and sharp claws like those of a flood dragon, and it was sealed within a block of crystal clear ice.

"Eh?"

Manager Liu’s eyes shone brightly as he began to scrutinize the creature: "This dragon newt, it must have had at least nine hundred years of cultivation... What a pity, what a pity, just a hundred years shy of a true Dragon Transformation."

"If it had really transformed into a dragon, I wouldn’t have been able to take it down,"

the young cultivator said with a proud smile.

"Friend Wang Qiao is too modest. With your ’Item Transformation Spell’ divine skill, even Transformed Great Demons are easily captured," Manager Liu replied with a chuckle.

This ’Wang Qiao’ hailed from a nearby Cultivating Immortal Family—the Wang family!

A thousand years ago, the Wang family uprooted en masse to move to the Mysterious Dark Abyss, and an untold number of their descendants perished within the Mysterious Dark Heavy Water.

Generation after generation pressed on, and finally, their fortune erupted as the Wang Family Ancestor of this generation ascended to the great perfection of Nascent Soul, leading the Wang family to become one of the leading forces under the Black Water Sect near the Mysterious Dark Abyss, with no fewer than ten Nascent Soul cultivators.

This ’Wang Qiao’ also came from the Wang family. He successfully condensed his Nascent Soul at over two hundred years old and was touted as a rising talent on par with the talent of the Wang Family Ancestor, gaining some fame in the Mysterious Dark Abyss.

Fang Xi was on the side, watching the two cultivators haggle over the price until Manager Liu, with a pained expression, eventually stored the dragon newt in the warehouse.

"Congratulations to Friend Wang, this deal you’ve struck will surely allow you to purchase many more spirit objects to enhance your cultivation. Perhaps you’ll quickly advance to the middle stage of the Nascent Soul..."

He looked at Wang Qiao, clasping his hands together with a smile.

"Thank you!"

Wang Qiao left the Black Water Pavilion and turned into a blue Escape Light as he left.

Fang Xi continued to exchange pleasantries with Manager Liu for a bit before also leaving.

Moments later.

Inside the ’Heavenly Immortal Tavern’ in the Kong Sang Market.

This tavern employed several Spiritual Chefs at high salaries. The Spirit Food they produced was not only delicious but also provided effects comparable to Spiritual Pills and was completely free of pill toxins.

If not for the fact that a dish cost far more than spirit medicines and pills and was not suitable for long-term storage, the Earth Immortal Realm’s alchemists would have considered switching careers.

Fang Xi entered in a casual manner, looking like a regular.

"It turns out to be Mr. Qing Hezi. We’ve been keeping your private room reserved."

The Waiter saw Fang Xi and immediately beamed with a smile.

As one of the few Nascent Soul cultivators in the market, Fang Xi was indeed a major patron of the tavern.

And since this Nascent Soul cultivator had a strong penchant for gourmet food, in the eyes of the Heavenly Immortal Tavern, he was akin to a cash cow—keeping a private room reserved for him wasn’t a problem at all.

In the private room.

Fang Xi picked up the Jade Chopsticks and feasted on the array of delicacies, occasionally sipping some Spirit Wine.

Thud, thud!

Just as he was reaching for one of the five-colored little dragons swimming in the soup with his chopsticks, a knock at the door suddenly sounded.

"Come in!"

Fang Xi flicked his wrist, and the Prohibition on the door dissipated at once, allowing someone to enter—it was none other than ’Wang Qiao’.

"Mr. Qing Hezi truly knows how to enjoy life. This pot of ’Nine Dragons Snatching Pearls Soup’ smells so good it could waft for miles..."

Wang Qiao commented, licking his lips with evident desire.

"Friend Wang..."

Fang Xi poured a cup of wine for Wang Qiao and asked with a smile, "About the matter we discussed earlier, how are you considering it?"

"That..."

Wang Qiao’s face showed a tinge of difficulty: "The ’Mysterious Water Dark Heart Pill’ is a secret of my family, extraordinarily effective in breaking through the Nascent Soul bottlenecks. Paired with the ’Infant Transformation Pill’ and ’Condensation Infancy Pill,’ it could even enhance the original effects of the pills by another ten or twenty percent..."

"First, take a look at this,"

Fang Xi said with a light smile, knowing Wang Qiao was already interested and now was simply angling for a better price. He promptly tossed him a Sky Green Bottle.

Upon opening it, Wang Qiao’s eyes widened in surprise: "This seems to be... a Phoenix Origin Pill?"

Though the treasured ’Phoenix Origin Pill’ he had stored up had long been used up, Fang Xi had obtained the pill recipe from Elder Qing and, with Xiao Qing’s help, coupled with the technology of The Nine States, repurposing the ’Phoenix Origin Pill’ was naturally no trouble with his Alchemy Skill.

"You actually recognize this kind of pill from the Monster Clan?"

Fang Xi was slightly surprised.

"I have perused a pill manual that recorded this pill’s ability to assist in breaking through mid-stage bottlenecks and also comes with a life-extending effect..." Wang Qiao said, captivated as he took out a medicine bottle: "I’ll take the liberty of making the exchange right now!"

"Thank you."

Fang Xi also verified the authenticity of the ’Mysterious Water Dark Heart Pill,’ revealing a satisfied smile...

...

Nightfall.

Mount Sang Qing.

A shadowy figure stealthily approached the edge of the Array, producing a Voice Transmission Talisman.

It wasn’t long before the Array opened a crack, allowing the person to slip inside.

"Meng Zhuzi pays respects to the senior!"

The visitor was none other than the eldest amongst the five cultivators who swore brotherhood—Meng Zhuzi.

"Hmm... What news is there from the market recently?"

Fang Xi had saved them once, and after these five came to express their gratitude, they struck up a relationship through repeated interactions.

The five of them needed a tiger skin, and Fang Xi needed people to run errands and gather intelligence. Their needs aligned perfectly.

"The White Crane Sect’s fleet has been at sea for several years without any message. It’s almost certain that they’ve all perished..."

"The Wang family intends to form a marriage alliance with the Spirit Bridge Chen Family..."

Meng Zhuzi reported the news solemnly, one item at a time, "There’s also an individual cultivator with the surname Chen who seems to have found a ’Nine Turn Dragon Transformation Grass’ in the Mysterious Dark Abyss, and now that person has disappeared..."

This ’Nine Turn Dragon Transformation Grass’ was an extremely rare high-tier spirit medicine. It was normal for an ordinary individual cultivator to be unable to protect it and disappear.

Fang Xi’s expression remained unchanged. "Is that all?"

Meng Zhuzi immediately broke out in a cold sweat, knowing that the senior was somewhat displeased.

He glanced around at the tight prohibitions and arrays, then gritted his teeth and shared a piece of ambiguous news, "There’s also a rumor... The Black Water Sect’s Great Elder doesn’t have much longer to live."

A glint flashed in Fang Xi’s eyes. "Oh? Where did this news come from?"

To dare to spy on the lifespan of a sect elder was no small matter.

To put it bluntly, the undercurrents hidden beneath this could turn the Kong Sang Market upside down at any moment!

"I don’t know..."

Meng Zhuzi hurriedly shook his head. "This news suddenly circulated everywhere. We are also puzzled by it..."

"Is that so..."

Fang Xi thought about the high-ranking situation within the Black Water Sect; some things stop being secrets over time.

For instance, he knew that the Black Water Sect had a total of three Transcendent God elders. Among them, the Great Elder had the deepest cultivation, around the mid-stage of Transcendent God, while the other two were at the beginning stage of Transcendent God.

An ordinary Transcendent God early-stage human cultivator would have a lifespan of around four thousand years. Later-stage Transcendent God cultivators could swallow life-extending spirit pills or use certain secret skills to reach the lifespan limit of five thousand years!

The Great Elder, being at the mid-stage of Transcendent God, was unlikely to break through to a higher realm. As he had been famous for about four thousand years, he was indeed around four thousand five hundred years old, indicating that his end was not too far.

’Is a power secretly promoting this fact to probe something?’

A thought struck Fang Xi as he looked at Meng Zhuzi and said seriously, "There might be major changes at any moment. It’s best for the five of you to be cautious in what you say and do, especially regarding any sudden appearance of powers or organizations. It would be wise not to get involved with any of them..."

"Yes, we understand the gravity of the situation."

Meng Zhuzi hurriedly promised, resolved to restrain his sworn brothers and sisters once he got back.

He had already found the matter suspicious, and now that Qing Hezi, a high-level cultivator, was taking it so seriously, it was clear that the upcoming storm was too great. A moment of carelessness could drown them...

"Hmm..."

Fang Xi took out a jade bottle and casually tossed it to them. "Travelling here to deliver the news at night is quite arduous. Consider this bottle of pills a reward."

Meng Zhuzi opened the bottle cap, and his expression suddenly grew excited. "Is this... ’Water Purifying Pill’?"

"Exactly, it is the ’Water Purifying Pill’."

Fang Xi smiled slightly.

This ’Water Purifying Pill’ could remove the poison of Mysterious Dark Heavy Water, and it was a flagship product of Kong Sang Market. After buying one, Fang Xi naturally tried to analyze its components and reverse-engineer the pill recipe.

Normally this wouldn’t be an easy task, but who would imagine he had the Nine States supporting him from behind?

Once he had completely analyzed the pill recipe, Fang Xi realized how profitable this ’Water Purifying Pill’ was!

After all, it was only a low-tier pill recipe, using common spirit medicine, with only a few types being special products from Mysterious Dark Abyss, yet the selling price was enough to make a Core Formation cultivator wince!

’This is real hard currency. It’s okay to privately refine a few bottles to give away, but if I sell them in large quantities, it’s essentially smashing the Black Water Sect’s pot...’

’At this sensitive time, it’s better not to provoke the Black Water Sect any further.’

Fang Xi was completely at ease in his considerations.

As for the current complex and unpredictable situation, he wasn’t really taking it to heart.

Time is the greatest director. Just keep watching, and in a few years, a few decades, a few centuries... all conspiracies and the powers behind them will naturally come to light. Just see which family the Black Water Sect destroys in the future, or who destroys the Black Water Sect, and it will be clear. Even if there are some errors, by determining the second and third beneficiaries, it’s almost certain...

What he needed to consider now was his own issues.

’The Kong Sang Market is actually still under the control of the Black Water Sect behind the scenes. With the Black Water Sect shaky this time, perhaps it’s better to go into hiding for a while?’

’As long as I run into the Mysterious Dark Abyss, nobody will be able to find me...’

’However, this opportunity is rare; perhaps the fifth-order spiritual vein is something I could scheme over?’

Fang Xi had been considering planting trees in the Earth Immortal Realm for a long time but had lacked a suitable opportunity.

This time, regardless of who stirred up the situation, it presented a good step.

With that thought, the command token appeared in his hand, and he checked the prohibitions on the arrays everywhere.

Upon confirming that everything was intact, he vanished in a flash of silver light.

...

The Mortal Realm.

Demon Tree Ridge.

A red Escape Light flew into an area enveloped by the Monster Tree, and Zhong Hongyu looked at the even larger tree, which seemed to obscure the sky, somewhat lost in thought.

"Hong Yu, you’ve arrived?"

On the grass beneath the giant tree, a table and some papers were set up simply. Fang Xi, holding a talisman brush, was writing vigorously.

Seeing Zhong Hongyu, he spoke without raising his head.