Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 151 Choosing a Cave Dwelling Site and Seeking Spirits with Divine Silk
Fang Shu leisurely arrived at the Beast Hall.

According to the rules of the Five Internal Organs Temple, any disciple who successfully cultivates Qi can choose a spot in the temple, outside of important locations and halls, to create their own cave dwelling.

The specific methods are varied, including opening up mountains and carving out caves, building huts, creating forests and gardens, and so on, and can be done as one pleases.

However, the mountains that disciples can choose at will are not places with abundant spiritual energy.

Because wherever spiritual veins converge, they will first be occupied by various sects, then by various families and merchants, who will build them into various exquisite residences. Furthermore, year after year, predecessors will independently open up cave dwellings.

As a result, the remaining areas are either dangerous or too remote and desolate, with very little spiritual energy.

Fortunately, Fang Shu had another option: he could find a small hill near the Gu Hall and build a cave dwelling there.

In this way, his cave dwelling would not only be closer to the Gu Hall, making it convenient to travel, but the valley where the Gu Hall is located is also rich in spiritual energy. Even outside the valley, the spiritual energy is 20-30% higher than that of Toad Beach.

While the outer areas of such a certain hall are nominally available for disciples to establish their own cave dwellings, no one dares to establish such areas unless they have become disciples of the hall master. Even if the person involved dares, no one will come to help build it, lest they incur the bad luck of the hall.

But precisely because of this, when Fang Shu arrived at the Beast Hall and claimed that he wanted to ask a spirit beast from the sect to help him dig a hole and level the ground, the Beast Hall staff did not take it seriously at first. But when they heard that he wanted to stay outside the Gu Hall, and when they looked up and saw the sign hanging on his waist, they immediately perked up.

"Fellow Daoist, you've... joined the Gu Hall and even become an apprentice?" the Beast Hall waiter inquired.

Fang Shu nodded with a smile.

"Oh dear, fellow Daoist, come quickly."

"You've come to the right place. According to sect rules, newly recruited disciples can hire a strongman, a puppet, or a spirit beast to assist in opening their cave dwelling. And the spirit beasts in our Beast Hall have a unique advantage over so-called strongmen and puppets."

The shopkeeper at the Beast Hall was quite enthusiastic. After exchanging a few words and names, the two asked to bring out one of the treasure-hunting rats from the hall.
"This rat is skilled at finding treasures and sensing auras. Putting aside everything else, its ability to choose a location will surely satisfy you, fellow Daoist. When it comes to building a cave dwelling, location selection is the first priority."

While queuing, Fang Shu saw some people wanting to hire the Treasure-Seeking Rat, but the Beast Hall staff either said the Treasure Rat had heatstroke or that it had caught a cold last night and its nose was blocked.

When it was his turn, the other party immediately tried to use the item as a favor, acting as if they were trying to force it on him.

Fang Shu couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

However, his visit to the Beast Hall was not because he was eyeing the treasure-hunting rat there. Although the rat was remarkable, he already possessed the Dragon-Seeking Gold-Touching Insect and could also find a treasure-hunting spot by talking about qi, so he could find an auspicious location on his own and didn't need to trouble this creature.

Fang Shu cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, fellow Daoist. However, I have come here today because I have heard that your esteemed hall has other spirit beasts that are skilled in construction."

It can directly create the outline of a cave, providing water supply, drainage, and ventilation, and the cost is quite simple, so I'd like to acquire one.

Upon hearing this, the Beast Hall waiter gave Fang Shu a strange look. If it weren't for the fact that Fang Shu's waist token was genuine, he would have suspected that Fang Shu was a poor disciple.

It should be noted that apart from the treasure-hunting rat, the other spirit beasts used by the Beast Hall to open up caves are only good in terms of quality, low price, and clumsiness. Only disciples who want to make do with what they have will ask for such spirit beasts.

Although he was inwardly complaining, the Beast Hall employee immediately praised him, saying, "Fellow Daoist, you have a good eye for choosing. That's right, any spot on the mountain outside the Gu Hall would be fine. Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist."

Not long after.

After Fang Shu handed over the token to the other party, he took away a pangolin.

According to the other party, this creature has not yet developed intelligence, but it can understand commands and is easy to feed, even eating mineral soil.

If Fang Shu is allowed to survive, then use him to the point of death; he is extremely resilient.

In addition, according to the rules, Fang Shu could only be used for free for three days, but the other party told him not to worry about the time limit and to return it after the cave was completely excavated.

The pangolin, a mythical beast, was quite large, measuring half a zhang in length. Fang Shu, holding the beast token, simply sat on the pangolin's back.

He fed it half an ounce of spirit stones, and the other's short legs darted off quickly, and it immediately ran out of the hall.

When Fang Shu rode the pangolin and dashed out of the beast hall...
In the corner of the Beast Hall's entrance, a figure stood still.

Upon seeing Fang Shu's figure, the other party immediately looked up, then stared at the departing figures of the man and beast for a long time without saying a word.

This person was an acquaintance of Fang Shu's—his roommate, Black Rat.

However, the Black Rat no longer wears a black robe, and his behavior is no longer mysterious; instead, he is extremely low-key.

The man's face was sallow and thin, and his body reeked of animal dung. His hands were also very rough, clearly the result of being frequently corroded by the excrement of spirit beasts.

"Squeak!"

Suddenly, a rat emerged from the black rat's chest. This rat was so thin you could see its bones, but its two black eyes were bright and gleaming, revealing a cunning nature.

Noticing the movement of the rat in his chest, the black rat frowned and whispered, "Didn't I tell you to hide well and not let anyone see you?" The skinny rat squeaked aggrievedly and quickly burrowed back into his chest, clinging to his chest and abdomen like a child, hiding itself.

Black Rat touched his chest, recalling Fang Shu's confident and spirited demeanor just moments before, and murmured to himself:

"This place is a real monster for the menial servants; it's just the two of us left to depend on each other for survival."

But don't worry, if I was able to lead you into Guling Town back then, I'll definitely be able to lead you into the Beast Hall this time too..."

The skinny rat on its chest and belly wriggled a bit upon hearing this, as if to say it believed him.

Noticing the commotion, a warm feeling appeared in Black Rat's eyes. He lowered his head, picked up the two large vats of animal dung on either side, and walked discreetly along the roadside, stopping and starting, avoiding the crowds, towards the composting area outside the hall.

Even so, every time someone passed by, they would cast a disgusted look at the black rat and cover their nose while cursing under their breath.

When he finally arrived at the composting site, he took a bamboo pole and vigorously stirred the animal dung, adding acidic water and other additives to make it even.

As a result, some old servants passed by, and one of them, who seemed drunk, suddenly stretched out his foot and kicked him directly into the latrine.

A bloodcurdling scream immediately rang out from the black rat's mouth.

When he struggled out of the latrine and rushed to the pool, the first thing he did was not to wash off the acidic animal dung that had corroded his face.

Instead, he quickly splashed water on his chest and abdomen.

"Hahaha!"

The old handymen all burst into laughter upon seeing this:
"Young man, let me teach you a trick: stirring with a stick is too slow. The fastest way is to go down and stir it yourself, splashing around a few times."

Black Rat ignored the man and simply turned his back to examine the inside of his chest and abdomen.

The skinny rat was trembling from the corrosive acid of the animal dung, but it didn't make a sound; it just lay there tightly.

Its owner only has one left, and it absolutely cannot be discovered, nor can it abandon its owner like its other brothers and sisters.

………………

the other side.

Fang Shu rode the pangolin, traversing mountains and valleys, exploring hidden places and mysteries.

He used his ability to observe the aura of the Dragon-Seeking Golden Insect and had the Daoist talisman help analyze the records, and soon he had thoroughly searched the entire outer perimeter of the Gu Hall.

After wandering around for several more hours, just as he was about to decide where to stay, he suddenly had a brilliant idea.

He chose to sit cross-legged on the ground, spreading his divine threads, allowing them to either spread along the cracks in the rocks or directly burrow into the soil, continuously extending outwards.

Thirty zhang, fifty zhang, one hundred zhang!
In one breath, he extended his divine sense to 150 feet underground, and accurately figured out the distribution of spiritual energy below.

But he didn't stop. Instead, he took out some pills and spirit stones, took a good breath, and then continued to spread his divine sense, sweeping it around.

Taking this opportunity, he also wanted to explore the limits of his own divine silk and see how far it could spread.

As a result, he tried and tried, and a whole day passed. He had used up half of the pills he always carried, and several kilograms of spirit stones. The two nearby mountains were completely covered by his divine sense, but his divine threads still had no limit!
However, once the area covered by the divine silk becomes larger, the range that his mind can bear is limited, and he can no longer observe the whole picture at all times. It is like a human eye, which has a wide field of vision, but can only focus its attention on a point in the field of vision.

Fortunately, within the coverage area of ​​the divine threads, any movement will be recorded and identified by the Daoist talisman, assisting him in controlling the divine threads.

"This item is truly extraordinary!"

For a moment, Fang Shu was even more amazed by his own talent, which was even more remarkable than the talent of observing the aura of the dragon-seeking and gold-touching insects.

At the same time, he was even more reluctant to leave.

The divine silk is fragile; if he leaves this place and the connection is interrupted for a long time, it will decay on its own. In that case, all the spirit stones and pills he just consumed would be wasted.

"We need to expand to at least two more hills. This way, we can thoroughly explore all the nearby hills, which will make it easier for me to manage this place in the future and arrange escape routes."

With gritted teeth, he continued to expend his true energy, spreading his divine threads.

Suddenly, as Fang Shu's divine sense probed to an unknown depth underground, a wisp of spiritual energy surged into his perception...

(End of this chapter)