roccoschili Chapter 264 - 208: Obtaining the Spirit Fish
Chapter 264 - 208: Obtaining the Spirit Fish
Fang Qingyuan took the jade slip and immersed his consciousness in it. Beside him, Lechuan just watched with a smug, knowing smile.
He knew Fang Qingyuan cultivated the *Five Elements Smelting and Shaping True Solution*, so he had specifically sought out this technique—a Body Refining Technique also related to the five elements.
The *Five Elements Undying Body* was an Earth Tier Upper Grade Body Refining Technique, just one step away from advancing to a Heavenly Rank Technique.
With his current power, Lechuan couldn’t obtain a Heavenly Rank Technique from the Beast Taming General Mountain. So he took a clever shortcut, choosing this Body Refining Technique that could be upgraded to Celestial Tier Upper Grade in the future.
Even among the many Earth Tier Upper Grade techniques, the *Five Elements Undying Body* was considered one of the very best.
Therefore, even though it was an Earth Tier Upper Grade Body Refining Technique, Lechuan had to call in quite a few favors to get it.
After a long while, Fang Qingyuan finally came to his senses. He looked at the jade slip in his hand, his heart filled with joy.
The *Five Elements Undying Body* was a perfect match for the *Five Elements Smelting and Shaping True Solution* he was currently cultivating. It would allow him to achieve twice the results with half the effort.
Furthermore, although the *Five Elements Undying Body* was only an Earth Tier Upper Grade Body Refining Technique, this was not its final form. The jade slip explained that after cultivating the *Five Elements Undying Body* to the Perfection Realm, one could comprehend the Path of Yin and Yang from the five elements, ultimately achieving the *Yin Yang Five Elements Immortal Dao Body*.
And the *Yin Yang Five Elements Immortal Dao Body* was, without a doubt, a Heavenly Rank Technique.
However, according to the records, countless Cultivators had practiced the *Five Elements Undying Body*. Yet, not even one in ten thousand could cultivate this Body Refining Technique to the Perfection Realm, let alone comprehend the Path of Yin and Yang from the five elements.
Cultivating a Body Refining Technique was tantamount to burning through Spirit Stones. If you wanted a powerful physique without enough Spirit Stones or substantial wealth, it was nothing but a pipe dream.
"Are you satisfied with this *Five Elements Undying Body*?"
Hearing Lechuan’s question, Fang Qingyuan replied with genuine sincerity:
"Disciple is more than satisfied. Once the *Five Elements Undying Body* reaches the Perfection Realm, I’ll be able to transform my body into the five elements, be reborn from a single drop of blood, become undying and indestructible, and even master the Five Elements Escape Technique. With that, I could go anywhere in this world."
Lechuan laughed heartily and reminded Fang Qingyuan,
"Don’t get carried away with such wishful thinking. The *Five Elements Undying Body* is excellent, but mastering it is incredibly difficult. Even the Nascent Soul Ancestors in the Zongshan who cultivate this technique struggle to break through to the final level, to say nothing of comprehending the Path of Yin and Yang to transcend to the next."
Lechuan made it sound daunting, but Fang Qingyuan wasn’t too concerned. ’Even if I can’t reach the final realm, being powerful enough in the early stages is fine.’
’Besides, compared to other Cultivators who practice this technique, I have an unparalleled advantage.’
’Other Cultivators’ Five Elements Spirit Roots are essentially fixed. Trying to improve them later on is next to impossible.’
’But with my Immortal Mansion, I can continuously upgrade my Five Elements Spirit Root until all five elements reach the level of a Celestial Spirit Root. With that, how could I possibly fail to cultivate the *Five Elements Undying Body* to the Perfection Realm?’
The *Five Elements Undying Body* was divided into four levels, each corresponding to a Cultivator realm: the first level for Qi Cultivation, the second for Foundation Establishment, the third for Golden Core, and the fourth for Nascent Soul.
Once the fourth level was perfected, one had to comprehend the Yin Yang Five Elements Dao to break through to the fifth level, the Divinity Transformation Realm.
Of course, all of this was still a distant goal, and Fang Qingyuan didn’t dwell on it. Right now, he just wanted to find a quiet place to study this Cultivation Technique thoroughly.
Seeing Fang Qingyuan’s eagerness, Lechuan didn’t keep him. With a wave of his hand, Fang Qingyuan quickly expressed his thanks and departed.
「....」
After leaving Lechuan, Fang Qingyuan handed off all miscellaneous tasks to his subordinates and devoted himself entirely to the *Five Elements Undying Body*.
With Lechuan present and holding down the fort, Fang Qingyuan could afford to slack off a little. In the battle a few days prior, Fang Qingyuan had discovered many of his own shortcomings.
’First of all, I don’t have a decisive, finishing move or Divine Technique. Aside from the "God-Slaying Intent" and "Five-Colored Light," which consume Innate Primordial Qi, my methods for dealing with enemies are sorely lacking.’
’Right now, my greatest asset in combat is still that swarm of Scorpion-tailed Poison Bees, and they were born from a Bee Queen that was only at the Profound Lower Grade.’
’The swarm is very effective against weaker enemies, like Qi Cultivating Demon Beasts and Cultivators. But against a powerful foe, they can’t even penetrate their protective shields.’
’That Hedgehog Demon from the other day was covered in bees but was completely unharmed. Besides the Hedgehog Demon’s immense Magical Power, the main reason was that my bees’ attack power is just too low.’
’Second, I don’t have any powerful Magical Artifacts. Except for the Ten Thousand Beasts Qiankun Banner that Lechuan gave me, none of my other Magical Artifacts are particularly strong.’
’And the main function of the Ten Thousand Beasts Qiankun Banner is to capture Spirit Beasts. It has a large internal space, making it a type of Spatial Magical Artifact, but its own combat capabilities are lacking.’
These two points alone were hard for Fang Qingyuan to accept. He had entered the Foundation Establishment Stage less than a year ago and hadn’t had the chance to properly equip himself before Lechuan pushed him into the role of Vice Master, a position he wasn’t ready for.
In this position, Fang Qingyuan had little mental energy to spare for his own affairs. This led to a situation where his collection of Magical Artifacts, which was considered luxurious during his Qi Cultivation Stage, had now become mediocre in the Foundation Establishment Stage.
He had the money but no spare time to search for suitable Magical Artifacts. Fang Qingyuan hadn’t cared much before, but after the recent battle, he felt he needed to arm himself as much as possible.
Therefore, Fang Qingyuan made a decision. Once he returned to Celestial Gate Mountain this time, he would have to make some serious plans for himself to avoid facing such an embarrassing situation again.
’The "God-Slaying Intent" is good, but I have to keep it as a trump card. If I use it too often and someone figures out its origins, I’ll be in grave danger.’
’The Cultivators who saw this Divine Technique that day were inexperienced, so I managed to fob them off by claiming it was a high-powered Talisman. But it won’t be so easy to fool a Golden Core Cultivator.’
’The "Five-Colored Light" is even more spectacular when used, so I don’t dare use it at all right now. I’ve decided that these two Divine Techniques must be my ultimate life-saving measures. It’s best if no one knows about them.’
He was subconsciously hiding them even from Lechuan. He still remembered how the news of his Lifebound Talent, ’Innate Qi’, which was revealed when he broke through to Foundation Establishment, had been leaked to Chu Duo in the blink of an eye.
For this, Fang Qingyuan had suspected Zhang Yuan, Zhao Liangde, and even Lechuan. But as things stood, Zhao Liangde was the most likely suspect.
The feeling of being forced into a corner was not pleasant, and Fang Qingyuan didn’t want to experience it again. Therefore, he would hide the "God-Slaying Intent" and "Five-Colored Light" for his entire life, telling no one.
’The only people who should ever know about my two Divine Techniques are dead men.’
「....」
「Four days later」, Huo Bai returned. He was covered in injuries and brought with him the unconscious Luo Kun, as well as several dozen Purple Spirit Crystal Fish.
Upon hearing of Huo Bai’s return, Fang Qingyuan temporarily set aside his research on the *Five Elements Undying Body*. With Spirit Fish that could boost his cultivation right in front of him, he didn’t want to miss out on his share.
They were in the familiar Quiet Chamber. The difference was that now, a strong medicinal scent clung to Huo Bai.
"Junior Brother Huo, was your trip successful? How many Purple Spirit Crystal Fish did you manage to snatch?"
Huo Bai’s aura was like that of a wounded tiger. Beside him lay his listless white Demon Tiger.
He stroked his Companion Beast and took out a bowl-shaped Magical Artifact. The bowl wasn’t large and contained only half a bowl of water, in which dozens of tadpole-sized purple fish swam.
But with Fang Qingyuan’s discerning eye, he wasn’t foolish enough to believe the Purple Spirit Crystal Fish were actually that small.
This bowl was clearly a rare storage-type Magical Artifact, and a high-end one at that, capable of holding living Spirit Beasts. The tadpole-sized purple fish were merely illusory projections. ’Who knows how big their real bodies are?’
"Forty-nine in total. I had a fierce battle with that Late-stage Golden Core Demon Beast. Luckily, my Cultivation Technique countered it, or I wouldn’t have been able to snatch so many so easily. But after this, that Demon Beast will probably guard them much more strictly. I doubt we’ll be able to catch it off guard and steal more."
Listening to Huo Bai, Fang Qingyuan understood. ’The Golden Core Demon Beast must have been careless. It never expected that Huo Bai, an Early-Stage Golden Core Cultivator, could fight it to a standstill. If Huo Bai’s cultivation were any higher, the Demon Beast would have certainly chosen to eat all the Spirit Fish and flee.’
’I guess you could call it catching it by surprise.’ Just as Huo Bai finished speaking, Fang Qingyuan turned to stare eagerly at his master. Lechuan, feeling Fang Qingyuan’s gaze, cleared his throat and said:
"Junior Brother Huo, let’s talk about how to divide these Spirit Fish, shall we? Can’t you see someone here is already drooling with anticipation? Haha."