Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 148 Deceiving the Enemy and Inquiring into Qi Refining
Upon hearing this, the young immortal who had guided Fang Shu here twitched his eyelids and glanced at Fang Shu again.

Upon hearing this, Fang Shu's heart skipped a beat, clearly sensing the displeasure of the Dragon Maiden's family. However, he pursed his lips, wisely refraining from saying anything rash.

In the main hall, the Dragon Maiden Immortal stared intently at Fang Shu, then glanced at the golden talisman in her hand a few more times, and spoke:
"This item states that you have already mastered the crafting of Four Tribulation Gu worms and have some connection with the Old Mountain Lord of Guling. Tell me the truth about the specifics. If I find out that you are hiding something, you will be sent back to where you came from."

A cold, damp, and slippery feeling spread across Fang Shu's body once again.

His expression was solemn, and he immediately cupped his hands in greeting: "Yes."

However, Fang Shu was not intimidated by the Dragon Maiden Immortal. Apart from the Four Tribulation Gu worms he had refined, which he claimed were his natal Gu, he still braced himself and said that he was able to go up the mountain to seek immortality entirely thanks to the Old Mountain Lord's support.

"Master, you are wise to judge. Everything I have said is true. If I have dared to lie, I am willing to accept punishment and be expelled from the hall." He gritted his teeth and even made a small oath.

Upon hearing this, the Dragon Maiden Immortal pondered for a moment and then calmly said:

"Release your spiritual root so that I may examine it."

Fang Shu paused for a moment, then bowed in agreement.

But just then, he heard the Dragon Maiden in front of him speak in an unpleasant voice: "Why are you still here? Do you want me to personally escort you out?"

These words were not spoken by the other party, but rather to the young immortal beside him.

"This disciple dares not!" The man's expression changed.

The young immortal immediately bowed to the Dragon Maiden, turned around quickly, and slunk away from the main hall.

Soon, only the master and his apprentice remained in the main hall.

With everyone else gone, Fang Shu felt a slight sense of relief.

It is said that the spiritual root of immortals is related to the foundation of immortals. Although it is not something that outsiders cannot know, it is best not to reveal it to strangers.

In particular, the current Dragon Maiden Immortal is going to examine his spiritual roots, not just give him a "name and type".

Fang Shude released his spiritual root without any defenses. By exposing it like this, he could reveal more about himself and make it easier for others to see through his background at a glance.

However, his spiritual root was nothing to a sect leader, especially to his future master.

Buzzing!
Cordyceps spiritual roots wriggled and emerged from Fang Shu's forehead, as if an eye had opened, and the surrounding spiritual energy surged in instantly.

Fang Shu could feel that the cold, damp divine sense focused on his forehead, and then glanced at the hairpin in his hair, before carefully examining his spiritual root.

Just as he was about to obediently release his own spiritual root and divine threads, Long Gu suddenly withdrew her divine sense.

The other person spoke calmly, beginning:
"Indeed, you used Gu worms to refine Qi, but the technique was crude. It must have been your own doing, and it was even a Cordyceps spiritual root. It seems you do have some connection with the Old Mountain Lord, which is why you planted this spiritual root."

"In that case, I won't bother investigating your Gu-refining skills."

Fang Shu was slightly taken aback when he heard this.

He pondered for a long time before connecting cordyceps and the old mountain lord, both of which are fungi.

The Dragon Maiden Immortal must have thought that this was why he deliberately chose Cordyceps and successfully planted it as his spiritual root.

This... is a complete misunderstanding.

How come I didn't think of that before!
Without making a sound, Fang Shu bowed and said, "Thank you, Master."

Then, the fairy Long Gu turned around, leaving only her slender back to Fang Shu.

The other person held a jade ruyi and tapped among the densely packed medicine boxes in front of him. Suddenly, a book flew out from the bottom box and landed in Fang Shu's hand.

"Do you know the rules of the temple? Although you have come to the Gu Hall, you are all just nominal disciples. You can only call me Master. I don't have much time to teach you the Dao."

For the first nine years, you will need to complete the basic knowledge of the nine subjects of immortal studies in the temple's lecture hall. After nine years, if you are fortunate enough to be promoted to inner disciples, I will test you. Only if you pass will I formally accept you as my disciple, and we will address each other as master and disciple.

The other party said a few words, the gist of which was that Fang Shu should stop bothering her and take good care of himself.

"You have already cultivated Qi. This booklet contains a catalog of the True Qi cultivation methods available in this hall, listing the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Once you have made your decision, you can ask your second senior brother for the method. If you wish to learn a method not listed in the catalog, you can also have him take you to the scripture hall to request it."

However, for the other methods, there is no one practicing them in the hall, nor are there any notes on their cultivation. You will have to explore them on your own, or later spend your spiritual energy to go to the scripture hall and read the insights of those who came before you.

Although the Dragon Maiden Fairy had a cold expression and her words implied that Fang Shu should not bother her, she was still quite responsible when it came to giving instructions.

After explaining everything, the other party paused for a moment, then spoke:
"You've just started your training today, so you may ask me for guidance, whether it's on cultivation or Gu techniques. If not, you may leave."

This opportunity to consult with a Foundation Establishment Immortal is extremely rare and precious, so Fang Shu would certainly not give it up.

He immediately spoke up: "This disciple has a problem."

After pondering for a moment, he examined the outline of true qi in his hand, and then changed his words accordingly:

"Please trouble Master to explain again what the main cultivation of the Qi Refining realm is. There are many rumors circulating, making it difficult for this disciple to distinguish. Also, if this disciple wants to establish the Foundation, what kind of true qi should be cultivated, or what type of true qi is best?"

The immortal Longgu paced back and forth a few times, then chuckled and spoke:
"Qi cultivation, the main thing to cultivate is naturally Qi. However, you've just started, so you've asked the right question. It's not as simple as just spiritual Qi or true Qi."

Specifically, there are four types of true qi, five types of evil qi, and six types of protective qi.

This is a progressive ladder, with each step interconnected. Not only do they work well together, but cultivation becomes twice as effective with half the effort, magical power is stronger, and the success rate of foundation building is higher. The reverse is also true.

Then, this person proceeded to explain to Fang Shu the differences between true qi, evil qi, and qi in detail, especially true qi.

It turns out that after entering the Qi Refining stage, the true Qi obtained by immortals can be used to cast spells and is somewhat strange, but it is actually just primordial true Qi and has not yet been nourished by the three elements of heaven, earth and man.

The next level, or rather, the more sophisticated true energy, is called resentment energy, fierce energy, yin energy, lustful energy, thunder energy, fire energy, water energy, miasma, death energy, and life energy, among others.

Furthermore, the true energy cultivated by different methods within the same category will also be different, each with its own more specific names, such as the aroma of the Kitchen God, the smoke of incense, the radiance of pearls and jewels, the aroma of grains and medicine, and so on. In the cultivation process of these four tribulations, in addition to breathing in spiritual energy, immortals also need to collect these energies between heaven and earth, refine them into their true energy, until they are pure and have obtained the taste of "human energy".

The subsequent evil energy and fierce energy require the acquisition of earthly evil energy and heavenly fierce energy respectively, and must be mastered one by one.

Only when one obtains the essence of Heaven, Earth, and Man, and all three are complete, can an immortal begin to refine the spiritual veins of Heaven and Earth in order to establish a foundation, ascend to the Dao, and become an Earth Immortal!
In addition to the three Qi, the Dragon Maiden Immortal also gave a brief description of the three tribulations of Qi Refining.

These are respectively the fourth kalpa of no hunger and no defilement, the fifth kalpa of warding off evil and no harm, and the sixth kalpa of water, fire, and weapons.

After each immortal has passed through one of these tribulations, they each possess their own unique wonders. If one does not aim to establish a foundation, one can focus solely on these three tribulations. As for the combination of the three energies, there is no need to worry too much; having them is sufficient.

Fang Shu stood in the hall, listening with rapt attention.

Before he began cultivating Qi, he had occasionally heard about true Qi and evil Qi, and had chatted with Steward Sun on the way, but he had never heard anyone analyze it in such detail.

More importantly, the Dragon Maiden Hall Master is a Foundation Establishment Immortal, and what she says personally is certainly more profound and gets straight to the heart of the matter than what is said in the marketplace!
Finally, seeing that Fang Shu was in a daze, seemingly digesting the information, the Dragon Maiden paused for a while before speaking softly:
"Did you understand? If not, you can ask again."

Fang Shu immediately came to his senses and responded with his hands clasped in greeting:
"Yes, Master."

He concluded: "Those who do not aspire to Foundation Establishment only need to pass through the three tribulations; those who aspire to Foundation Establishment must focus on the three energies."

The Immortal Dragon Maiden nodded, but did not investigate further, and continued:

"The combination of the three elements can be described as ever-changing and unpredictable, especially the two elements of Gang and Sha."

In ancient times, there was a so-called ranking of the Heavenly Stars and Earthly Fiends, but later, when someone discovered the methods of merging the Fiends and combining the Stars, there was no longer a specific ranking. Instead, a three-tiered system of secret methods was used to divide the system into upper, middle, and lower grades.

If you prove yourself truly capable in the future, you can refer to the secret methods of your predecessors to fuse evil and vital energies on your own, refining your own unique evil and vital energies... Things will work themselves out in the end; we can discuss these things later.”

The woman paused:
"However, the Four Tribulations True Qi aspect mainly relies on the attributes of the spiritual root, and I can indeed give you some pointers on that."

As she spoke, the Dragon Maiden turned around, squinted at Fang Shu, and her divine sense spread to Fang Shu's forehead.

Fang Shu stopped and allowed the other person to scrutinize him.

After a long while, he noticed that his nominal master's voice finally carried a hint of amusement, a playful tone:
"Your cordyceps spiritual root is quite interesting. Although the materials used are not top-grade, they are rather ordinary."

But after planting it, you can barely be considered to have grasped the essence of life and death, existing between yin and yang. As for which kind of aura suits you best… come here, let me take a good look at you again.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Shu couldn't help but step forward.

As he got closer, the terrifyingly beautiful face of the Dragon Maiden Immortal, half-yin and half-yang, half-life and half-death, stared straight at him.

The other person's face was both delicate and flawless, with skin peeling off like scales, revealing every detail. This sight was quite striking to Fang Shu.

Fortunately, Fang Shu kept his composure and remained motionless, allowing the other party to admire his spiritual root...

After a long time.

A figure emerged from the main hall.

The golden talisman in the other party's hand had already transformed into a dark gold waist token, and he was also clutching a booklet.

This person was Fang Shu.

This scene was witnessed by those outside the hall, especially the young immortal who had brought Fang Shu in. He immediately knew that Fang Shu had passed the test, successfully settled in the Gu Hall, and become a disciple of the Dragon Maiden Hall Master.

A variety of envious, jealous, longing, or fearful gazes fell upon Fang Shu.

Fang Shu had no time to pay attention to those people; he was still digesting the words of the Dragon Maiden Immortal and pondering what kind of true energy he should refine.

Suddenly, laughter rang out in front of him:
"Junior brother, may I call you that now?"

Looking up, he saw the young immortal who had led the way, who took the initiative to come forward and greet Fang Shu.

The other party also introduced himself, saying that his surname was Gou and his given name was Yandi.

For some reason, Fang Shu keenly noticed that the smile on this person's face seemed much more amiable than before, as if he had breathed a sigh of relief.

After thinking for a moment, Fang Shu guessed that the change in this person's attitude was probably related to knowing the quality of his spiritual root.

However, the other party's sudden display of genuine friendliness did not make Fang Shuxin happy; instead, it made him grit his teeth inwardly.

Fang Shu remained composed, politely dealt with the man for a while, and then left the Gu Hall.

Sure enough, although the young immortal escorted him all the way out of the Gu Hall, after Fang Shu had gone far away, the immortal stood on the high steps and looked down at his back.

The other person's smile widened: "Tch! Just a fake spiritual root, all that effort I put in was for nothing."

With a smile, Gou Yandi flicked her sleeves, turned around with her hands behind her back, and stepped into the Gu Hall with a reserved yet light step.

Leave the territory of the Gu Hall.

Before long, Fang Shu returned to the hermitage.

At this moment, the doors of the hermitage were closed, but the windows were wide open, and a sign saying "No guests allowed" was hung up.

It's obvious that Senior Sister Fang Lu has returned.

He quickened his pace, casting aside the jumbled thoughts in his mind, and was filled with joy.

My senior sister has returned home; I can share in her joy.

There was a loud knock on the door. Fang Shu stood outside the study and spoke in a clear voice:
"Senior sister, I've come to repay your kindness."

　Last night's. I'll update again this afternoon to make up for it!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)