Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 939 - 795: Discussing the Tao (Extra - for Monthly Votes)

Chapter 939: Chapter 795: Discussing the Tao (Extra Chapter for Monthly Votes)

"Sir Lei, could it be that you are acquainted with Mr. Fang?"

Lady Zi was somewhat dubious.

In the Purple Clothes Tower, who didn’t know that Old Ancestor Lei was as fiery as a thunderbolt, incredibly explosive in temper?

Furthermore, he was prideful and aloof, not holding other early-stage Integration cultivators in high regard.

When had he ever shown such humility?

"This..."

The man in the purple robe hesitated slightly.

"In the Demon Heaven Mountain range, we had some casual acquaintance... By the way, how is the cultivator with the Body of Plants from your pavilion?"

Fang Xi casually inquired.

Once upon a time, he had a friend who had awakened the Body of Plants, sadly, before the friend’s capability could be fully unleashed, he had already passed away...

Compared to that cultivator with the last name Zhuo who became a Transcendent God, it was truly the epitome of misfortune.

If Liu Sanqi had been in the Earth Immortal Realm, perhaps he could have seized the opportunity to glimpse into the mysteries of becoming a Transcendent God.

It was a pity, however, that he was born in the resource-scarce Lower Realm. Before he could even fully unlock the abilities of his Body of Plants, he announced that his life span was nearing its limit...

"Thank you, Sir, for your concern. My disciple is safe and sound..."

The Lei-surnamed man felt rather surprised but still responded respectfully.

Lady Zi’s beautiful eyes shifted, immediately sensing something amiss and, in her gaze towards Fang Xi, there appeared a hint of reverence.

"My Penglai Fairy Pavilion has discovered a Secret Realm here, and seeing as we are neighbors, why don’t we find another place to have tea and discuss the Dao together? Wouldn’t that be delightful?"

Fang Xi proposed with a smiling expression.

Lady Zi immediately jumped on the suggestion, "What Sir says aligns perfectly with my own desires..."

It wasn’t long before Liang Ruolong was astonished to see the two formidable Integration cultivators from the Purple Clothes Tower, who initially appeared aggressively, now accompanying the Supreme Elder like old friends for decades, joining in an Escape Light to have tea and discuss the Dao together.

"Could it be... this is how high-level cultivators socialize?"

He exchanged glances with the nearby old Transcendent God cultivator, both somewhat bewildered...

...

Inside a heavenly treasure that looked like a fragrant carriage,

The sky was glimmering with colorful brilliance, and in the pond, numerous purple lotuses blossomed.

A white jade boat floated on the lake, with various colored carp bringing teacups, lotus seeds, pastries, and so on, leaping up toward them.

"How does Sir find my ’Zi Hua Cave Heaven’?"

Lady Zi, who had previously been unkind in her attitude, now tried her utmost to mend the relationship. Her playful and flirtatious smiles and every movement carried the poise of the elite.

"Not bad, not bad..."

Fang Xi sipped the lotus seed tea, starting to chat amiably with the two early-stage Integration cultivators.

Though the Cultivation of these two Integration cultivators was around the early stage, they knew a lot about the many secrets of the upper echelons of the human race, which were exactly what Fang Xi urgently needed.

They were also impressed by Fang Xi’s profound insights into the path of cultivation, and for a time the company was much enjoyed.

"So, Sir, you managed to defeat the Mirror Demon?"

When it came to the matters of Demon Heaven Mountain range, Lady Zi covered her rosy mouth with a laugh, "That Mirror Demon, although it had only attained perfection in Returning to Emptiness, had myriad transformations in its Demon Skills, especially that Thousand Eyes Bird transformation. It swam through the mountains as if they were water, and even when encountering Integration cultivators on several occasions, it managed to escape using such skills... Now, it has finally met its end at your hands, Sir. It’s truly reaped what it sowed."

"The Thousand Eyes Bird’s vision is extraordinary, and its eyeballs are incredible treasures." The Lei-surnamed man spoke with an envious look.

Fang Xi merely smiled and sipped his lotus seed tea, without any intention of contributing to the conversation.

Seeing this, both the Lei-surnamed man and Lady Zi exchanged looks, smiling wryly inside, realizing that any hope to trade for some Thousand Eyes Bird eyeballs was dashed.

"We have gone through countless hardships and serendipitous opportunities to cultivate up to the Integration realm. Now, to advance further, it is extremely difficult..."

Lady Zi sighed, "Whenever I recall the Great Tribulation of Integration, I still think it was by sheer luck..."

This was a modest statement. After all, to reach the level of Integration one must be truly exceptional, the pinnacle of the human race!

"After achieving Returning to Emptiness, aside from some legendary Immortal Bodies and Spiritual Roots, innate talent hardly determines the progress of cultivation anymore. What truly restricts our advancement is opportunity!"

The Lei-surnamed man said, "Right now, there is an opportunity before us, but I wonder if Sir is willing to hear about it?"

"If it’s just listening, of course, there is no harm..."

Fang Xi said noncommittally.

As cultivators, they were the kind who wouldn’t release the hawk until they saw the rabbit.

Expecting him to make any prior commitments was entirely wishful thinking.

"Actually, this matter is related to ’Jin Gangzi’, one of the Five Sons of Human Race..."

The man surnamed Lei hesitated for a moment before deciding to speak.

But before he could finish, he saw a golden Buddhist bead in Fang Xi’s hand and was immediately surprised, "So Mr. Fang you already knew?"

"Oh? Could it be that Sir also received an invitation from Jin Gangzi?" Fang Xi was slightly taken aback, then said, "I’ve only received an invite from Jin Gangzi, and as for whether to go or not, that’s yet to be decided..."

But inside, he had a moment of realization.

With only a few Integration Level Cultivators present at Mount Sumeru, Jin Gangzi’s options for assistance were quite narrow.

Perhaps he could also sway people from other regions, but not necessarily those who would willingly come.

I just happened to be coming to Mount Sumeru; therefore, was it Luo who invited me with no solid promise?

"Moreover... I truly know nothing of the details of this opportunity."

Fang Xi inquired, "Do you two know anything about the situation?"

The man surnamed Lei and Lady Zi looked at each other and said, "We do know a little... Sir must know, the barbaric wilderness is vast, with many dangerous areas that pose significant risks even for beings like us. Mount Sumeru is located at the intersection of the three clans, not exactly a boundary line, but rather a place of terrifying dangers, even the habitat of True Spirit level Wild Beasts..."

"Indeed, could there be some opportunity emerging in one such dangerous place?" guessed Fang Xi immediately.

"That’s right. According to Jin Gangzi... he hopes to gather a group to venture deep into the wilds and slay a Wild Beast suspected of being at the True Spirit level," Lady Zi said with a light laugh.

"A True Spirit level Wild Beast?"

Fang Xi took a sharp breath, "Although Wild Beasts are different from the Monster Clan, and they don’t cultivate Demon Skills, relying only on natural instincts, their methods of attack are simplistic. But a True Spirit level Wild Beast... could easily crush any of us."

"Fortune favors the bold. We’ve attained such levels through continuous risk-taking. The opportunity guarded by a True Spirit level Wild Beast is bound to be extraordinary; it may even offer a chance at the Mahayana Period!" said the man surnamed Lei.

For Jin Gangzi, the only thing that could compel such a life-and-death venture was likely the temptation of breaking through to the Mahayana Period.

"If a group of Integration cultivators works together, with Jin Gangzi in charge... and if we find something that extremely restrains that Wild Beast, then there might be some possibility..." said Fang Xi, who always pursued cultivation conservatively and avoided risks, after reflecting seriously: "But it’s still extremely dangerous... What kind of benefits has Jin Gangzi promised the two of you?"

He could see that the man surnamed Lei and Lady Zi were inclined to accept the offer, but they were also uncertain, which is why they sought to enlist other Integration cultivators.

Lady Zi glanced at the man surnamed Lei and said with a charming smile, "Nothing much, just a seventh-grade Lifespan Extension Fruit Tree..."

"A seventh-grade Lifespan Extension Fruit Tree that produces seventh-grade lifespan-extending resources at regular intervals? Indeed quite rare..." Fang Xi rolled his eyes inwardly upon hearing this.

Seventh-grade lifespan-extending spiritual objects were extremely precious to Integration beings, but to him, they were of little interest.

Not to mention, any class of medicinal pills and spiritual objects would see their effects diminish with repeated use, ultimately becoming completely ineffective...

If Jin Gangzi were to use this to tempt him, that would be...

Lady Zi and the man surnamed Lei shared a glance, seeing Fang Xi’s indifferent demeanor, they couldn’t help feeling a silent sense of admiration.

To high-level cultivators, lifespan becomes ever more crucial.

Not only does every cultivator wish to live for more years, but as the impact of spiritual roots and other innate qualities becomes less significant after the Returning to Emptiness, and medicinal pills to increase magic power during Integration are extremely rare... relying on long-term cultivation to gain power and break through bottlenecks becomes the preferred choice for most cultivators.

At such times, every additional hundred years of lifespan could represent the hope of finally accumulating enough to break through to a higher minor realm!

’Indeed, the rumors are true...’

’This ascending cultivator must be very young, having broken through Integration before the age of five thousand... resulting in an abundance of lifespan, not much concerned about lifespan-extending spiritual objects.’

’Heh heh... wait until he reaches our age and realizes the slow pace of cultivation, surely his feelings will be quite different.’

After a brief exchange of glances, the man surnamed Lei took the initiative to change the subject.

He seemed to have realized that although this Mr. Fang was extremely impressive in divine skills and magic power, even capable of annihilating Integration level Wild Beasts, his personality was exceedingly cautious.

Without utter confidence, he would hardly ever take action.

Let alone brave life-and-death dangers to delve into the wilds and slay a Wild Beast comparable to a True Spirit.

But Fang Xi raised another doubt, "If there’s an opportunity at the Mahayana level, why not invite Mahayana monks from your own clan? If Individual Immortals at the Mahayana level join the fray, slaying a True Spirit level Wild Beast would be much safer, and it would also add a Mahayana Individual Immortal to your clan, so why not do it?"

Lady Zi’s smile turned somewhat awkward, then she sighed and shook her head, "Mr. Fang must be unaware, being newly advanced to Integration... The heavenly tribulations of those Mahayana Individual Immortals are not triggered by breaking through realms, but occur as time passes... The older the Individual Immortal, the more they focus on seclusion and preparing to resist the Heaven Tribulation... Currently, among us humans, there are only three active Mahayana Individual Immortals. Mr. Che was gravely injured after a battle with a True Spirit of the Monster Clan and is still recuperating. Master Bu is in charge of extermination affairs, and it was he who killed Fu Youzi... he is too busy to make a move now."

"As for the last, Mr. Meng, he comes from the Demon Path and is very close to Wu Xingzi, who happens to be in league with Changqingzi. Therefore, he does not get along well with Jin Gangzi..." the man surnamed Lei lowered his voice to share a secret, "When Fang Immortal Taoist Master challenged Wu Xingzi, Mr. Meng was a witness..."

He stopped there, giving Fang Xi a look that suggested he understand the rest.

’Indeed, cultivators are no fools... The reputation of Mr. Meng from the Mahayana is not favorable, Master Bu is unable to free himself, and Mr. Che is recovering from injuries, indeed leaving no choice...’

Fang Xi sighed inwardly, feeling the predicament of Jin Gangzi.