Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 265 Digestion and Qi Refining Perfection
When Fang Shu took something out of his sleeve, Du Yu'er and Xiao Lili looked on curiously.

Shen Yin's storage bag was opened right in front of them.

Fang Shu did not conceal any of the items inside, so everyone knew perfectly well that the female Taoist Shen Yin only had two thousand-year-old spiritual herbs on her body.

Fang Lu himself looked surprised and said repeatedly, "No need, no need. I am already grateful to Brother Shu and my two junior sisters for being able to escape their clutches."

"Why are you being so polite with me, elder sister?"

Fang Shu shook his head, and a jade box appeared in his hand. He opened it and showed it to everyone.

The box did not contain medicine, but rather a type of Gu worm sealed within an amber-like medicinal shell.

Although it was not a thousand-year-old spiritual medicine, the Gu worms inside were clearly extraordinary, and a pure Foundation Establishment aura was emanating from it, which surprised the people around.

Fang Shu then flicked another wisp of true energy into it, causing the Gu worms inside to flap their wings within the medicinal shell.

Buzzing!
At the top of the secret realm, the sound of wind and thunder immediately arose, and the force was considerable.

"This is a Foundation Establishment Gu worm that Master Long gave me before I entered the secret realm. I have already checked it, and Master Long should not have done anything else to it."

Fang Shu spoke up: "With this item in hand, Sister should be able to protect herself within this secret realm."

Seeing the aura of the Gu worm and hearing Fang Shu's words, the three women, including Fang Lu, all had bright eyes.

Although the value of such a Foundation Establishment Gu worm cannot be compared with that of a thousand-year-old spiritual medicine, its value within this secret realm is subtly even greater than that of a spiritual medicine!
After all, once you possess a Foundation Establishment Gu Worm, you can freely harvest spiritual herbs within the secret realm, or even forcibly take them from others!

Du Yu'er and Xiao Lili looked at Fang Lu with envy.

However, the two women did not have any objections, since this item was taken from their own hands by Fang Shu and could not be considered a spoil of war.

Moreover, Fang Shu had come specifically to rescue Fang Lu, so the two women didn't need to think much to understand that the relationship between Fang Shu and Fang Lu must be extremely close.

"What...what should we do..."

Fang Lu hesitated for a moment, then pushed the Gu worm back. She closed her eyes and said aloud:
“Since these items were bestowed upon you by the Dragon Master for protection, how can you hand them over to me? Besides, the Gu worms are far more powerful in your hands than in mine.”

She exhaled and looked at Fang Shu with a slight smile.

Since Shen Yin was dead, the three women felt that since the four of them had finally come together, they should naturally join forces to explore this secret realm thoroughly.

But the next moment, Fang Shu shook his head.

He seemed to have read the three women's thoughts and said in a deep voice, "Once this matter is settled, I hope the three of you will help each other out, so that you won't have to continue fighting alone and become slaves to others again."

As for Fang, he has more important matters to attend to, and will not involve the three of you, lest you be put in danger again.

These words startled the three women.

Among them, Du Yu'er looked towards the Blood Lake as if she knew something and asked, "Shu Ge'er, are you going to search for treasure in that Blood Lake?"

The other two women snapped out of their daze and stared intently at Fang Shu's face.

“Not bad.” Fang Shu nodded and replied:

"It is said that there is a treasure in this lake that can enhance one's spiritual roots. For me, this treasure is more important than all the spiritual herbs in the secret realm."

Given such an opportunity, whether it's real or not, it shouldn't be missed.

The voices of the three women immediately rang out:
"If that's the case, then let's go together."

"Such a treasure must be sought after by many, and it seems that Shen Yin also has such a purpose."

"Exactly! More people mean more help!"

Seeing that Du Yu'er and the others showed no fear whatsoever, but instead vied to accompany him, Fang Shu couldn't help but smile.

But he still slowly shook his head:
"Although having more people means having more help, if a crisis occurs, I, Fang, will find it difficult to take care of everyone."

I intend to go alone this time, so that if anything unexpected happens, I can easily retreat and escape.

He paused, then added, "I also hope that the three of you will not think about going to the Blood Lake to retrieve the treasure."

Fang Shu briefly recounted all the information he knew about the Blood Lake.

After listening, Du Yu'er and the others calmed down and looked troubled.

Indeed, as Fang Shu said, there are definitely many people who covet such treasures that can enhance spiritual roots and repair the physical body.

Moreover, this news has spread quite widely, and if the women were to accompany Fang Shu, they might not only fail to help him but would also become a burden.

If Fang Shu is prevented from obtaining the treasure, that would already be a grave mistake. But if everyone's lives are also lost, that would be even more ridiculous.

The three women looked at each other, unsure how to respond.

In the end, it was Fang Lu, the eldest, who stepped forward and sighed:
"In that case, the three of us will not make things difficult for Shu Ge'er. Be careful in the Blood Lake. If anything happens, remember to send us a message immediately."

After saying that, she pushed the Foundation Establishment Gu worm in front of her towards Fang Shu again.

“That’s right, you just keep busy. We’ll gather herbs near Blood Lake from now on, but we won’t enter Blood Lake.”

That way, if you need anything, we can provide timely support.

The three women were present, discussing and devising a plan.

Upon hearing this, Fang Shu couldn't help but chuckle, feeling a slight warmth in his heart.

He shook his head and didn't explain further, only instructing, "Do not linger near the Blood Lake. The three of you should go as far away as possible, especially Senior Sister Fang Lu."

Fang Lu was somewhat bewildered by these words.

But then she saw Fang Shu glance at the Foundation Establishment Gu worm in front of her.

Fang Shu's lips moved slightly, transmitting a few words telepathically.

Fang Lu's expression showed slight surprise. After a moment's thought, she immediately stopped refusing and nodded emphatically, saying:
"In that case, I'll keep this for you, sister."

Just now, Fang Shu expressed his apprehension about the Dragon Maiden Immortal Clan.

"good."

Fang Shu nodded, and without further delay, he leaped up, and Gu worms surged beneath his feet.

"By the way, I heard that the Blood Lake is not always open. It only becomes active when the treasure within appears in the world."

In the coming days, Fang would need to find a hiding place and properly process what he had gained.

He stood in mid-air and bowed to the three women: "Fellow Daoists, we'll meet again in the future."

After saying this, he waved his sleeves, showing no more lingering attachment, and leaped away.

Seeing Fang Shu leave so decisively, the three women felt a pang of sadness, especially Fang Lu and Xiao Lili.

The former was suddenly rescued by Fang Shu and went to heaven, while the latter had not seen each other for many years and was finally reunited now. It can be said that both of them had a lot to say to Fang Shu.

But now, with Fang Shu's decisive departure, many of their unspoken words turned into a soft sigh, drifting away into the wilderness. Only after Fang Shu's figure had completely disappeared did the three women withdraw their gaze.

Among them, Du Yu'er and Xiao Lili suddenly looked at Fang Lu with curiosity and began to inquire about Fang Shu's past in Wuzhan Temple.

Soon, both women showed expressions of surprise.

Although they knew through correspondence with the Dugu Sect at the foot of the mountain that Fang Shu had obtained the status of an inner disciple within the Five Internal Organs Temple, they also learned that many of their fellow disciples in the sect had benefited from this good fortune.

But they knew nothing of the more specific details.

After listening, both Du Yu'er and Xiao Lili had deep doubts on their faces:

"How come Brother Shu is so talented, yet he's remained unknown in the entertainment industry all this time?"

the other side.

After rescuing the three women, Fang Shu left immediately not only because he didn't want to get involved in any entanglements that would hinder his journey to the secret realm, but also because, as he said, he needed to find a place to wait for the blood lake to open while he processed what he had learned.

In less than half a day, Fang Shu arrived at the Blood Lake that everyone had been talking about.

Ahead appeared a vast, dark red fog.

It lay across the lake, its height unknown, but it directly blocked Fang Shu's view, and the surrounding sky was also gloomy, tinged with blood.

Beneath the mist lay a crimson marshland, the lake utterly still, devoid of even a breeze—clearly not a benevolent place.

If it weren't for the fact that there was treasure inside, Fang Shu's first choice upon seeing such a strange place would definitely be to avoid it.

Even though he was tempted by the treasures inside the Blood Lake, he didn't rush in to investigate.

With a flick of his sleeve, Fang Shu released a handful of Gu worms, sending them to probe the surface of the misty lake.

呲呲!

Several Gu worms burrowed into the dark red mist, and after a short while, they lost contact with him.

"As expected, this thing can isolate divine sense, it is definitely not ordinary mist," Fang Shu thought to himself.

He waited for a while longer, but the lost Gu worm never flew back on its own.

This convinced Fang Shu that there were probably other, more dangerous things inside the fog, or that the fog could obscure the senses of those who entered, making them feel like headless flies once inside.

With a sudden thought, Fang Shu took out a talisman, lifted himself up, and flew as high as possible towards the top of the secret realm.

When he had risen several hundred feet and could faintly feel the pressure of the secret realm above his head, he looked up again at the location of the blood lake.

The rugged lake boundary, the scarlet lake water, and the dark red mist on the lake surface all reflected in his eyes, making him marvel at the sight.

Such a sight, in the eyes of this half-master of array formations, immediately made him realize that this place was clearly an array formation.

Using the Daoist scriptures in his mind to firmly memorize the appearance of the blood lake, he wondered, "I wonder if this formation is a creation of nature, or purely a creation of man?"

After pondering it several times and finding no clear answer, he put the question out of his mind.

Then, by looking down at the blood lake, he confirmed that the formation here had indeed not yet been activated.

Fang Shu slowly lowered himself and retreated, eventually finding an inconspicuous spot on the edge of the long blood lake, where he burrowed underground and hid inside.

After setting up a temporary resting place, he took out the bronze pot he had obtained from Dai Jintong with anticipation in his eyes.

Several days passed, and the residual poison in the thousand-year-old medicinal herb inside the bronze pot became increasingly diluted.

Furthermore, after several days of contemplation, Fang Shu also discovered that he could use his true energy to accelerate the purification of the spiritual herbs in the pot.

He estimated that the thousand-year-old elixir would be completely purified in less than two days.

Holding up the bronze kettle, Fang Shu's eyes shone brightly as he muttered to himself:

"Perfect timing. Since the Blood Lake hasn't opened yet, I can wait outside while refining this medicine to increase my true energy."

In this way, once the Blood Lake opens, I will have more confidence to fight for my own interests within it.

Immediately, he extended the divine silk and deployed some Gu worms as a precaution, then began to accelerate the purification of the spiritual medicine.

A day and a half passed.

The thousand-year-old elixir in the copper pot was indeed so pure that there was no trace of evil in it.

Without hesitation, he took out the medicine and replaced it with the medicinal herb he had picked.

Immediately afterwards, Fang Shu began to formally collect the millennium-old spiritual herbs.

The pure spiritual energy surged into his body, instantly invigorating him, and every inch of his flesh seemed to cheer.

This wonderful feeling made Fang Shu unconsciously moan:

"Excellent! As expected of a treasure that even Foundation Establishment Immortals rarely see."

However, what pained him most was that directly harvesting the medicinal properties was a real waste.

This not only fails to bring out the medicinal properties of the thousand-year-old herb, but also causes much of the pure medicinal power that was harvested but not yet digested by Fang Shu to dissipate and become ordinary spiritual energy.

It's safe to say that if a Foundation Establishment Immortal saw this scene, they would be furious and wish they could kill him with a single spell.

After all, the crudest way to consume a medicinal elixir is to swallow it whole.

Their most common method is alchemy and medicine making, which involves blending various medicinal herbs and refining them into pills for consumption.

But Fang Shu clearly didn't have that kind of opportunity right now. He only felt a pang of regret for a few moments, then stopped feeling heartbroken.

After all, although this is a waste, at least it gets eaten.

If you're reluctant to eat it and just leave it, once you leave this secret realm, this kind of spiritual medicine will all benefit others.

One day, two days, three days...

Fang Shu lay hidden on the outskirts of the Blood Lake, diligently cultivating his inner energy, which was rising at an unprecedented rate.

In just one day, he was able to accumulate nearly a toad's worth of true energy!

Such a speed of cultivation left even Fang Shu himself speechless with astonishment, and he even felt a sense of dread, wondering if he had gone astray in his cultivation.

Soon enough, his true energy reached a level of over ninety toads. In the realm of Qi Refining Immortals, this level was already considered the pinnacle of Qi Refining!
Although Fang Shu felt that his true energy still had room for improvement because he also practiced the Dragon Whale Nourishing Method.

But he suppressed such an impulse and instead used the remaining medicinal power of the elixir to repeatedly wash his body, cleansing his flesh and soul, and eliminating the fire.

During the time Fang Shu was in seclusion, the secret realm was in turmoil.

Various groups of immortals arrived near the Blood Lake, some advancing, some retreating, and some staying, causing frequent clashes.

If Fang Shu were outside, he would recognize some of the faces as quite familiar.

(End of this chapter)