Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 133 Where Everyone Went: Poor Relatives Visit

The expressions of the people in the room, after a slight change, were not joyful, but rather wary and apprehensive.

Fang Shu, in particular, lowered his gaze, his muscles tensing unconsciously as he adopted a defensive posture.

Before he went up the mountain, not only did he have the example of Xiao Lili, but the master of the pavilion also specifically instructed him that planting spiritual roots was like training soldiers. Whoever did it was responsible for planting the roots, and it could not be entrusted to outsiders.

Of course, besides Fang Shu and a few others who were deeply wary, there were also some people in the room who showed hesitation and spoke up:

"Does your brother possess any spiritual root cultivation techniques? Aren't you born with spiritual roots?"

The speakers were Mai Sheng'er and Hua Xiaqing. Their eyes held a mixture of expectation and hesitation, flickering uncertainly.

The white wolf turned its gaze to the two women and grinned:
"How could someone like me, in such a wretched state, be worthy of being born with spiritual roots? To tell you the truth, it was only because I received the grace of my master before going up the mountain that my spiritual roots were planted in advance. As for the methods, of course I have them."

Whispers broke out between Mai Sheng'er and Hua Xiaqing, while the others remained silent.

In the end, both women chose to give up.

They forced a smile and politely declined, saying, "Fellow Daoist, now is the time to strike while the iron is hot and consolidate your cultivation. We won't trouble you any further."

Ling Bailang nodded, showing no disappointment on his face. It seemed he was just taking a chance, or perhaps he was simply offering a friendly suggestion.

He then added on his own initiative:

"Since there is no need for my help, why don't we hold a small discussion in the room today?"

I've come to exchange experiences with you all regarding cultivating spiritual roots and transcending tribulations. This will also serve as a gift from me. After all, we are all roommates and have a special connection; let's leave a good impression."

These words caused everyone in the stone house to change their expressions again, this time showing a hint of interest.

Fang Shu also stood up and bowed to the other party without any apparent change in expression:

"Thank you for transmitting the Dharma, Fellow Daoist!"

Then, the group sat in a circle in the stone house, exchanging their cultivation experiences and raising some questions.

This one talks about demon blood entering the body, discussing legal cases and analogies; that one discusses the external appearance of the foreskin, pondering the cultivation of the four kalpas.

The night passed in the blink of an eye.

As dawn broke, Ling Bailang, accompanied by Fang Shu and his five companions, swaggered away from the stone house, the atmosphere quite harmonious.

Some of the nearby immortals, who seemed to have witnessed Steward Sun's visit last night, and now seeing this scene, immediately began to discuss among themselves, their eyes filled with envy. They must have already guessed that the white wolf had successfully cultivated its Qi.

After seeing Ling Bailang off, the five returned to the house, and one of them couldn't help but sigh softly:
“Your brother is a kind and honest man.”

"Such a virtuous connection in spreading the Dharma should be remembered."

Fang Shu landed among them, and he nodded in agreement without making it obvious, but inside he was tense, a feeling of tension, or even anxiety, was rising.

It should be noted that while others had no enmity with Ling Bailang, he had a blood feud with Ling Bailang for killing his brother.

Although Ling Bailang showed no concern for his brother Baiquan and even wanted to join him in killing Ling Laohan, Fang Shu dared not gamble on the other party's character.
Or rather, such a disrespectful and contemptuous fellow, coupled with his mental instability, must be extremely cruel and not to be trifled with. If you have already provoked him, you must be vigilant and not give him any chance to strike.

Suddenly, while everyone in the room was still reeling from the news of the white wolf's departure, a clear voice rang out again:

"Fellow Daoists, now that your brother is leaving, I would like to take this opportunity to bid you farewell as well."

The other four looked in the direction of the sound and saw that it was Erdaiyuan, the woman wearing a crown, who was bowing to them.

Hua Xiaqing exclaimed in surprise, "Fellow Daoist Er, you...you've also reached Qi Refining!?"

Erdaiyuan smiled and shook her head:

"No, no, there are only about twenty days left until we descend the mountain in a hundred days. If we don't go down the mountain, we'll have to take on menial tasks."

"I'm going to rent a quiet room and try my luck; I never want to come back here again."

These words made Hua Xiaqing secretly breathe a sigh of relief, but her face still showed immense envy, and she said with a hint of sourness:

"If you can cultivate in seclusion, then naturally you must have prepared the methods and materials. Fellow Daoist, your background is quite impressive; you've kept it a secret from us for quite some time."

Erdaiyuan smiled but offered no explanation.

She bowed to Fang Shu and the others, then left gracefully.

All of a sudden.

In the stone house for seven people, including Wu Dan, three people had already left, leaving only four people, two men and two women.

The group remained inside the stone house, looking at each other in bewilderment.

The smiles that had been on their faces vanished silently, and even Hua Xiaqing, who was usually the most eloquent, lost her will to speak.

We were all roommates who arrived on the same boat, went up the mountain in the same batch, and were all around the same age.

Suddenly, two people were either cultivating Qi or about to begin cultivating Qi. Even if they were true friends, they would be taken aback to learn of this.

Suddenly, Mai Sheng'er, seeing the others remain silent, muttered to herself:

"It's good that they left. Now, the four of us can each have a small stone house, which saves us the trouble of taking turns."

These words reached Hua Xiaqing's ears.

The woman's expression turned displeased, and she immediately retorted with a cold laugh: "This little shabby stone house, as if anyone cares about it."

Mai Sheng'er remained silent and did not argue with the woman.

The four of them stood awkwardly in the room for a long time before finally dispersing.

Fang Shu walked into the small stone house in the corner, closed his eyes slightly, and breathed deeply.

However, after a hundred breaths, he was still unable to immerse himself in meditation, his mind filled with all sorts of distracting thoughts.

With a soft sigh, he opened his eyes, leaned against the stone wall, and stared blankly at the stone slab two feet in front of him.

Before going up the mountain.

He originally thought that with the solid foundation he had laid and the Daoist talisman he possessed, he would surely be able to make a fortune and rise above others on the mountain, and complete the hundred-day Qi Refining process.

Now, finding himself cramped in the mountains, he realized that among all the immortal species, he was, while not quite mud or sand, still millet.

Leaving aside him, even the Black Tiger Hall disciple nicknamed "Rat Master," who ranked first in the imperial examinations, is now just like him, "fading into obscurity" with no improvement whatsoever.

As he pondered, Fang Shu stroked the gold-seeking beetle on his forehead, his expression shifting.

He muttered to himself, "How can I accept my fate so easily? If I can't cultivate Qi within a hundred days, and I end up as a menial laborer, I'll have to endure at least three years of torment..."

Moreover, every extra day spent as a servant increases the risk of physical damage and jeopardizes one's path to immortality. Furthermore, servants are not the same as those destined for immortality; the latter at least enjoy some status and are protected by their sect.

The former is a genuine consumable; if the Qi Refining Immortals have any excuse, they can kill it and pay some money to the sect to redeem it.

Although the sum of money was considerable, the remains of the servants would be taken away by the sect's miscellaneous hall. Generally speaking, no Qi Refining Immortal would be so capricious.

However, Fang Shu didn't want to take any risks, especially now that Bai Lang was the first to cultivate Qi.

Gradually, his face tensed, and a glint of fire rose in his eyes.

Within a hundred days, you must practice Qi cultivation; even if you fail, you must at least give it a try.

Otherwise, if you fall behind at one step, you'll fall behind at every step!

………………

Although he had already made up his mind, Fang Shu did not wander around Toad Beach like a headless fly, asking about the notices and missions.

Instead, he continued his cultivation methodically, refining his qi and blood. In his spare time, he would go to Toad Street to buy odds and ends and brew or refine something in his small stone house.

Seeing this, Hua Xiaqing and the others asked him curiously if he was preparing rouge and powder for someone.
Because the thing he was cooking was made from cochineal insects, and its bright red color made it look like something a woman would use.

Fang Shu casually mentioned that this was a prescription from his own martial arts school, and he planned to prepare some and test the waters on Toad Street.

Seeing that he was unwilling to answer, Mai Sheng'er and Black Rat did not ask any further questions.

Only Hua Xiaqing didn't believe it; instead, she laughed and joked.

“Brother Fang, it’s too late for you to think about giving gifts now. All the immortals in the various rooms are vying to give gifts, and the threshold of Steward Sun’s place is almost worn down by people.”

Seeing that Fang Shu remained unmoved and ignored her, the woman narrowed her eyes, shook her head, and sighed.

“I warned you all a month ago. But you all just thought I was a shameless woman who sold smiles, that I was from the lowest class, and that no one looked down on anyone else.”

Hua Xiaqing, like Wu Dan, has been frequently going out since she came up the mountain.

Wu Dan was looking for a good remedy to fix his physical defects, while Hua Xiaqing was dressed in a flamboyant manner and was very active, claiming that she was developing her network and building good relationships.

The atmosphere inside the stone house was somber.

My roommate, Mai Sheng'er, suddenly spoke in a low voice:
"Sister Hua is indeed farsighted."

But a month ago, we were all diligently practicing and really couldn't find the time to spare.

She seemed to be explaining herself, and also trying to exonerate Fang Shu.

Hua Xiaqing saw this.

She crossed her arms, glanced sideways at Mai Sheng'er, and said with a smile, "Time is like a ditch; you can always squeeze some out."

The woman looked at Mai Sheng'er, her eyes brightening slightly, and said gently, "Sister Mai, we are different from others; we have something to offer."

If you want to seize this opportunity, I know some people who can introduce you. At the very least, we need to finalize the miscellaneous tasks we'll be assigned to, so we don't end up in some random, backwater job.

Upon hearing this, Mai Sheng'er hesitated for a moment before raising her pretty little face.

Although her appearance and figure were not as charming and seductive as Hua Xiaqing's, she possessed a delicate and untainted air.

However, this woman surnamed Mai did not go out often and was not well known to outsiders among her fellow immortals.

Just then, Fang Shu, who had been too lazy to pay attention to Hua Xiaqing, finally spoke up:

“Fellow Daoist Mai, weren’t you curious before about what my spell is called?”

Mai Sheng'er looked up at the sound, her face blank.

Before she could speak, Fang Shu stuck out his tongue with a smile and said, "This is the secret sword technique of the mouth and belly, which specializes in cold and sinister knife-throwing and is difficult for outsiders to know."

Upon hearing this, Mai Sheng'er's eyes flickered, and she vaguely understood something.

Hua Xiaqing's face turned cold, and she immediately glared at Fang Shu.

However, when she saw Fang Shu staring at her with a straight smile, her eyelids twitched, and she took the initiative to look away, not daring to meet Fang Shu's gaze.

With a light laugh, Fang Shu picked up his belongings, ignored the person inside, and walked out of the stone house, disappearing into the mist outside.

Subsequently.

Mai Sheng'er politely bowed to Hua Xiaqing before entering the small stone house and sealing the stone door behind her.

Only the black rat remained in the room, sitting on the bed, continuing to play with its own mice as if no one else was around, without even glancing at anyone else.

Hua Xiaqing was in the room.

She realized she had been suddenly ignored and cursed inwardly, "They don't appreciate kindness."

Suddenly, the woman's eyes lit up. She went to the small stone house where Fang Shu made medicine and bent down to wipe the remaining red ointment in the pot.

Picking up a bronze mirror, the woman's eyes lit up as she looked at her radiant reflection.

Immediately, Hua Xiaqing demurely pushed open the door and continued to plan and work on her path to immortality.

the other side.

Fang Shu was indeed as Hua Xiaqing had said; he had prepared rouge and face powder, and it was specially prepared for someone.

This item is not very valuable, but it takes a lot of time, especially the cochineal insect, which can only be bought by chance on the street.

So although he had the idea a long time ago, he was only able to start now due to limited energy and materials.

After traveling around for a while, Fang Shu even spent spirit stones to ask someone to make an exception for him.

He finally arrived at a valley with flying eaves and brackets, and knocked on the door of a refined house.

He came here to seek advice from his senior sister Fang Lu of his family's martial arts school, and preferably to get some financial assistance.

Luckily, there happened to be someone in the study.

A lazy voice rang out:
"Who is it?"

Fang Shuyang said:

An old friend visits.

"An old friend! An old friend, 20% off."

(End of this chapter)