adbindia Chapter 303 - 243: 3 Years of Changes
Chapter 303 - 243: 3 Years of Changes
Du Feng Cliff was still some distance from Fang Qingyuan’s Evergreen Garden. Fang Qingyuan stood atop the head of the seventy-foot Three-Clawed Black Dragon, flying at top speed.
Although this Three-Clawed Black Dragon was formed from water currents, Fang Qingyuan had been continuously pouring Spiritual Power into it. Its might was now at its peak, and its power was fast approaching that of a Twelve Primordial Daoist Technique.
In the classification of Daoist technique power, even a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would find it strenuous to use a Twelve Primordial-level Daoist technique.
Due to his cultivation of the *True Manual of Five Spirit Form-Refining*, each of Fang Qingyuan’s Spirit Beasts provided him with Magical Power equivalent to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator of the same realm. Thus, his current Magical Power was five times that of a cultivator at the same stage.
Furthermore, because his Wood Spirit Fish Dragon and Water Spirit Xuanwu had advanced in rank, the Magical Power they could provide Fang Qingyuan was already equivalent to that of a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
A normal Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator’s total Magical Power was only a little more than a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s—not quite double.
Based on his total Magical Power alone, Fang Qingyuan could now suppress a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
However, even though Fang Qingyuan felt ’I’m very strong,’ he had no desire to get into a pointless, bloody fight with that person from the Demon Sect.
’The rewards for winning are unknown, but the price for losing is my life. I’m not interested in that kind of high-risk business.’
So, he made a snap decision and flew away, simply wanting to avoid the potential battle.
’Demon Cultivators use bizarre methods, and they’re all insane. They’ll even self-destruct if they can’t win. Generally, cultivators of the same realm are no match for them.’
Thinking of the Demon Lord that had appeared in the Demon Cultivator’s mind, Fang Qingyuan’s mood soured even further.
’For a being to be called "Demon Lord" by a Foundation Establishment Cultivator... if he’s only at the Golden Core Realm, I don’t think he’d deserve the title. He must be at least at the Nascent Soul realm.’
’In a worst-case scenario, it could even be a Divinity Transformation Cultivator on his last legs, one who entered a feigned death-like slumber to avoid a Celestial Tribulation. That’s not impossible.’
’Always prepare for the worst.’ Fang Qingyuan’s expression was as placid as water. He steered the Three-Clawed Black Dragon for about seven or eight minutes, and once they were far from Du Feng Cliff, a thought crossed his mind, and he dropped Wan Sancai from the dragon’s claws.
"Brother Wan, I seem to have run into an old enemy and don’t want to involve you. Let’s part ways here. Wait for me at the Spring Flower Building in ten days."
Fang Qingyuan quickly delivered these words. By the time the last syllable was still echoing in Wan Sancai’s ears, Fang Qingyuan, riding the Three-Clawed Black Dragon, had already vanished from sight, becoming nothing more than a blurry black dot.
Left behind, Wan Sancai’s jaw dropped. He watched Fang Qingyuan’s rapid departure, wanting to say something, but in the end, no words came out.
Recalling the feeling of being dangled by the Three-Clawed Black Dragon, Wan Sancai flinched. After glancing around, he chose a different direction from Fang Qingyuan, summoned a Flying Boat, and quickly fled.
A moment after Fang Qingyuan and Wan Sancai had successively departed, the Demon Cultivator who had originally been on the shore of Du Feng Cliff suddenly appeared at this very spot.
Beside him were two other Foundation Establishment Cultivators wearing black cloaks. Judging by their auras, they were clearly much stronger than the first Demon Cultivator.
"Are you sure that person didn’t discover us?"
One of them spoke, his tone icy. He exuded a putrid stench.
"Replying to the Master, this disciple is certain. The Water Element Cultivator never once glanced in my direction. I was seven to eight hundred zhang away from him. No matter how powerful his Divine Sense is, it’s impossible for him to have discovered my disguise from such a distance."
The disciple who reported was terrified and immediately tried to exonerate himself. His analysis was actually quite logical. The Divine Sense of an Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator could, at most, extend thirty to forty zhang from their body. Within that range, a cultivator is extremely sensitive to their surroundings.
The slightest abnormal change would attract a cultivator’s attention. But he was seven to eight hundred zhang from Fang Qingyuan. At such a distance, even a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would have found it difficult to see through his disguise.
After all, the Divine Sense perception of a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was only about three hundred zhang.
A cultivator’s soul, like their cultivation base, strengthens with each increase in realm. A Foundation Establishment Early-Stage Perfection cultivator’s Divine Sense could extend outwards to a range of fifty zhang. For a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, it was one hundred fifty zhang, and for a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, it was around three hundred zhang.
This effective range of Divine Sense detection was known as a cultivator’s True Knowledge Circle.
Beyond the True Knowledge Circle, there was also a "remote sensing circle" that could perceive things thousands of zhang away, with a radius of ten to twenty li.
However, this remote sensing circle could only roughly perceive significant changes in qi within its range—for instance, remotely sensing how many Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining Cultivators were in the area, detecting intense combat, or identifying beasts with obvious hostile intent.
The True Knowledge Circle and the remote sensing circle were a cultivator’s eyes for observing the outside world. It could be said that a Cultivator would rather go blind than lose the ability to observe the world with their Divine Sense.
But this reporting Demon Sect Foundation Establishment Cultivator had failed to see through Fang Qingyuan’s true cultivation level, nor had he anticipated Fang Qingyuan’s trump cards.
What was a remote sensing circle for others had, when fused with the Bee Queen’s Innate Divine Technique, the Voice of All Things, gradually taken on some of the capabilities of a True Knowledge Circle.
Some of its qualities were even more miraculous than an ordinary cultivator’s True Knowledge Circle.
By perceiving emotions, he could discern others’ attitudes toward him. The Fire of the Soul was projected onto a cultivator’s soul and couldn’t be hidden without special techniques.
Moreover, Fang Qingyuan’s current True Knowledge Circle was also considerably larger than that of a typical Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Two souls merged into one, a profound total soul-mass, years of practicing Soul Daoist Techniques in the Immortal Mansion, absorbing phantoms, and endlessly strengthening his own soul...
Due to all these reasons, Fang Qingyuan’s True Knowledge Circle now had a radius of three hundred seventy-eight zhang, already exceeding the average for a normal Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Although even such a powerful True Knowledge Circle had not detected the Demon Cultivator’s tracks, who could have guessed that Fang Qingyuan was a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect and possessed a miraculous Companion Beast?
Otherwise, without the Bee Queen’s Divine Technique, Fang Qingyuan would likely have been completely oblivious, and by now he would have been cornered and forced into a defensive battle.
’And judging by the cultivation of the three of them, even if I went all out, it would be a huge hassle. Two of them are Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.’
"Corpse Slave, don’t be too harsh on him. This wasn’t our mistake. The target was lucky; he probably ran into something unexpected. Besides, after capturing a Tier Two Lower Grade sea beast, of course he’d be in a hurry to sell it at the Marketplace. A sea beast that large won’t even fit in a Ten-direction Storage Bag. It’s best to leave it to the professionals."
The one who spoke was the other person in a conical hat. His voice was calm and magnetic, and his words were gentle, but as they fell upon the ears of the reporting Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivator, the man quickly lowered his head, afraid the speaker would see the terror in his eyes.
"Corpse Slave understands. The Secret Master’s words are reasonable. However, the Venerable has given the order to gather the Five Elements Spirit Body. We are still missing the Water and Wood ones. It was so hard to find a lone Water Spirit Foundation Establishment Cultivator with no backing. We can’t just let him go."
The Secret Master chuckled.
"I’ve already collected the aura of his Magical Power. As long as he doesn’t use a Teleportation Array to leave the Iron Wind Islands, he won’t escape our grasp. The moment he steps out of the Marketplace, that will be our chance. After all, we still have two years until the Venerable’s deadline. I don’t believe he’ll stay inside the Marketplace forever."
After saying this, the Secret Master glanced at the reporting Demonic Cultivator and casually tossed him a bottle of Elixir Pills.
"Consume this pill, and you will be one step closer to my Lord. I hope you can return to my Lord’s vessel soon and enjoy boundless blessings."
"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!"
As the Demonic Cultivator was bowing in thanks, Corpse Slave and the Secret Master vanished without a trace.
...
Seeing the familiar signs of civilization ahead, Fang Qingyuan’s spirits lifted. He quickly dispelled the body of the Three-Clawed Black Dragon beneath his feet, summoned his Magic Sword, and flew rapidly forward.
The journey was uneventful. Fang Qingyuan had stood atop the Three-Clawed Black Dragon’s head, on alert the entire way, but the anticipated attack from the Demon Sect members never came.
The Three-Clawed Black Dragon’s speed wasn’t as fast as flying directly on a Magic Sword, but it wasn’t much slower. For the sake of this powerful water dragon’s combat strength, Fang Qingyuan had forcefully used his Magical Power to maintain its body and prevent it from collapsing.
If a battle had truly broken out, this Three-Clawed Black Dragon could fight with the power of more than half a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. In comparison, the Magical Power consumed was nothing.
But now that he had reached the entrance to the Marketplace, there was no need to maintain the Three-Clawed Black Dragon. Disciples of the Iron Wind Beast Taming Sect patrolled inside the Marketplace. No matter how powerful those Demon Cultivators were, they wouldn’t dare to directly attack a Beast Taming Sect property.
Because no matter if you were backed by a Divinity Transformation Cultivator, you wouldn’t dare provoke the Beast Taming Sect.
Upon arriving in the Marketplace, Fang Qingyuan changed his appearance and walked inside with ease. Only when he was truly inside did Fang Qingyuan’s taut nerves finally relax.
The massive, thirty-foot-long Cyan Stone Bone Fish was now inside the Immortal Mansion, being gawked at by the little guys, Jinbao and Yinbao.
Not long after leaving Wan Sancai behind, Fang Qingyuan had moved the fish into his Immortal Mansion. Otherwise, fleeing with such a large catch would have been extremely troublesome.
Fang Qingyuan was in no hurry to sell the fish. ’For now, I need to lay low and see how things develop.’
So, Fang Qingyuan found a relatively large elixir pill shop, offloaded eighty bottles of Blood Qi Pills, then quickly returned to his residence, shut the door, and entered seclusion.
「Ten days later.」
Fang Qingyuan had someone deliver twenty bottles of fish bait mixed with Blood Qi Pills, along with a letter, to Wan Sancai at the Spring Flower Building.
「Twenty days later.」
A mysterious new fish bait quietly grew popular among the fishermen of Du Feng Cliff.
「Half a year later.」
Shen Wan Jun of the *Tufeng* had to borrow Sea Beast Essence Blood from other Beast Hunting Ship crews to satisfy Fang Qingyuan’s ever-growing demand.
「One year later.」
A grocery store specializing in all kinds of fish bait opened for business. Wan Sancai was the shopkeeper.
「Two and a half years later.」
A Demon Tide erupted in the Outer Sea, and many cultivators were killed or injured. The Iron Wind Beast Taming Sect urgently requested aid from Zongshan. In response, the Beast Taming General Mountain sent two Nascent Soul Cultivators, and the Great Zhou Academy sent one.
It was only then that Fang Qingyuan finally stepped out of his small courtyard, preparing to go have a seat at the Spring Breeze Building.