Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 77 Elite Gathering: Second Tribulation - Tongue Sword, Second Tribulation Insect

Fang Shu was slightly startled when he heard the call, and immediately turned his head to look.

He saw Qin Min standing at the entrance of the council hall, nodding at him with a smile on her face.

Beside the female Taoist boy was another unfamiliar face, also a woman. She possessed remarkable vitality and should also be a Taoist immortal.

Fang Shu stopped and politely replied to Qin Min, "Junior Sister Qin Min, what is it?"

When Qin Min saw that Fang Shu's reaction to her greeting was indifferent, unlike the other fellow disciples who were enthusiastic and cheerful, a hint of displeasure arose in her eyes.

However, she still smiled and first introduced the woman beside her: "This is Hua Xiaqing, an inner disciple of the Green Bamboo Pavilion in the town."

Fang Shu nodded to Hua Xiaqing, who also nodded slightly in acknowledgment: "Greetings, Fellow Daoist Fang."

After introducing the two, Qin Min said with a reserved expression, "When you entered the hall just now, I happened to hear that you have now passed the second tribulation and become a second-tribulation human immortal."

Sister Hua also came looking for me, wanting to go with me to the elite gathering of disciples from various schools in town. Senior Brother, you can also come with me; I'll introduce you, so we can exchange skills, compete, and broaden our horizons.”

She paused briefly, then added a touch of enticement to her tone: "I've heard there are prizes at the event, but winning or losing is secondary. If you can use this opportunity to make friends with people from different schools, you can look out for each other when you join the Immortal Sect in the future."

To everyone's surprise, Fang Shu's face did not show any interest upon hearing this; instead, he frowned slightly: "A friendly sparring match?"

Fang Shu was calculating in his mind when he suddenly remembered what the sect leader had just mentioned about the early selection for joining the sect.

He wondered if this so-called elite dojo gathering was also related to this matter.

But after thinking about it, he became too lazy to ponder it anymore.

This wasn't ordered by the sect leader; it was just a private gathering of disciples. While sparring with others might broaden their horizons, it could also expose their own skills and make them look like supporting characters to others.

Fang Shu had absolutely no motivation to get involved in trivial matters, let alone have the time to try and gain some so-called applause and attention.

"I'm sorry, but this is a gathering of elites. I've just broken through to a higher level and my knowledge is limited. I'd better not go and make a fool of myself." He politely declined.

Upon hearing this, Qin Min's expression stiffened slightly, completely unprepared for Fang Shu's rejection.

In particular, this wasn't the first time she'd been rejected at the museum. Yesterday, when she excitedly went to ask Du Yu'er to accompany her, the other woman politely declined the offer with a smile.

Qin Min looked displeased and said in a deep voice, "Senior brother, I did not invite anyone else to this matter. In the entire hall, only senior brother and I are worthy of Senior Sister Fang Lu's attention."

Both of us are considered exceptional talents. If we support each other at this gathering, we will surely avoid falling behind and prevent others from saying that my Gu Pavilion has no one to rely on.”

Despite the woman's use of the word "family" in her words, Fang Shu remained unmoved and unaffected by her words.

He smiled, cupped his hands in greeting, and remained silent, offering no further explanation. He simply added, "Whether this institution has people or not is not something that person can decide."

As a result, Qin Min's expression became even more embarrassed.

Especially since there were people outside the dojo watching her. Their gazes occasionally fell on her face, making Qin Min feel a bit hot.

"Hmph!" Qin Min couldn't help but feel annoyed, and she said coldly again:
"If you don't seize the opportunity I gave you, don't blame me later, senior brother."

Upon seeing this, Fang Shu nodded to the two of them and then left on his own.

As he passed the two women, without turning his head, his voice drifted lightly into their ears:

"By the way, Junior Sister Qin Min, you can call me 'Senior Brother Fang Shu' from now on."

After saying this, Fang Shu left the council hall and slipped away towards the front yard.

Qin Min was left standing there, her already sullen expression becoming even more stiff.

Suddenly, the woman remembered that she seemed to have been "instructed" by the other party before, and she didn't expect that he still remembered it now.

She became even angrier and muttered under her breath, "What a petty and cunning person."

Hua Xiaqing, a disciple of the Bizhu Martial Arts Hall, stood to the side with her chest puffed out. She saw this scene in the Dugu Hall and a hint of amusement appeared in her eyes.

But once Fang Shu had walked away and she was sure he couldn't hear her, the female Taoist priest quickly whispered a few words of criticism against him:
"He is indeed a short-sighted person. My sister is a person with spiritual roots. He is not willing to accept my sister's kind invitation."

"With such a demeanor, it seems unlikely he'll be able to join a celestial sect in the future."

Hearing her best friend's words of comfort, Qin Min's expression improved somewhat.

After a few more words, she suddenly felt that every word Hua Xiaqing said resonated with her.

The other person neither ridiculed what had just happened nor offered any so-called comfort; they simply went along with her words and subtly criticized Fang Shu.

Hua Xiaqing smiled and then suddenly said, "However, my sister also missed a point just now."

Qin Min was puzzled by what she heard.

Hua Xiaqing immediately added, "In my opinion, among all the disciples of the Dugu Sect today, only you, sister, possess the talent of a celestial sect. No one can surpass you."

These words made Qin Min blush slightly. Her expression brightened, and she was filled with confidence, saying:
"Thank you for your kind words, sister. Even if I am the only one from our school attending this meeting, I will still give the disciples of all the other schools in town a run for their money today!"

“Good.” Hua Xiaqing’s expression showed anticipation at the opportune moment.

The two women then stepped out of the gate of the Dugu Pavilion together and headed straight for the so-called "Elite Gathering".

the other side.

Fang Shu had already put the little incident from his mind.

He quickly arrived at the boundary between the front and back yards, greeted the snake master who guarded the basement, and then, with his hair standing on end, bent down and crawled into the basement.

As he walked, he thought to himself, "This snake master still sends chills down my spine. It seems that even if he is not a Qi Refining demon, he must be on the verge of Qi Refining."

Soon, the books, stone tablets, boxes, medicine boxes, and other items on the basement shelves caught his eye and drew his attention.

The chill in Fang Shu's heart vanished, replaced by a deep sense of anticipation.

His gaze swept over the treasures on the shelves and he discovered that the items in the storeroom that the owner of the storeroom had allowed him to enter were all of the second-level tribulation quality!

After some deliberation, he was the first to abandon those spells and secret techniques.

Now that he has both Gu magic and fire knife magic to protect him, even if magic is not enough, he can go to the demon market to find good deals on high-quality items at low prices.

On the other hand, when it comes to medicines, those that catch the eye of the expert are not necessarily all excellent, but they are certainly not likely to be a dud.

Sure enough, any medicine on the shelf that carries a risk has a clear label on the yellow paper attached to the box.

Fang Shu's gaze wandered among them, and after some thought, it swept over the various pills and ointments for nourishing the body, finally settling on all sorts of strange and unusual medicines.

Suddenly, his gaze fixed on the six characters "Hundred Spirits Secret Refining Oil," which came into his view.

According to the description on the medicine bottle, this bottle of artifact oil is refined from the bodies of hundreds of spiritual beasts. It can be applied to magical artifacts to nourish them and enhance the spiritual quality within them.

When applied to weapons such as swords, spears, and halberds, it has even more remarkable uses, increasing the strength and toughness of the weapons and repairing some damage.

Fang Shu immediately took down the oil bottle, which was about the size of a baby's fist, and thought to himself, "It's perfect for using as sword oil. Let's see if it can help my tongue sword enter the second tribulation."

After the incident at the Burning Tail Pavilion, Fang Shu possessed the complete manual for the Long Tongue Sword and was able to forge the Three Tribulations Tongue Sword in one go.

Even after absorbing some more precious blood, the Tongue Sword still failed to advance and was still short. Fang Shu originally planned to use his current Second Tribulation Qi and Blood to properly nurture it, thereby promoting the Tongue Sword's advancement.

But now it seems that this bottle of oil can be used for gentle nourishment, saving time and conserving energy.

Having made up his mind, Fang Shu took the artifact oil, turned around and left, no longer looking at the other treasures on the shelf.

Back at the entrance to the underground parking garage, after the snake master flicked his tongue and sniffed at him all over, he left peacefully.

Next.

Fang Shu then found his second uncle, Yu Le, in the Dugu Pavilion and told him the good news about his breakthrough in cultivation.

Second Uncle Yu Le was overjoyed. He secretly prepared a few free side dishes and pulled Fang Shu to eat right there in the kitchen.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Fang Shu reminded his second uncle that he had already informed the master of the Du family about his breakthrough in cultivation, but if it was not necessary, he should not tell the others in the family, so as not to arouse jealousy and hatred.

When my second uncle, that old fox, heard this, he looked disgusted and said, "Go away, do I need you to explain to me?"

Fang Shu smiled but remained silent.

He casually slipped the half-finished bottle of spirit wine into his sleeve, and seeing the pained expression on the other person's face, he leisurely took his leave.

a few days later.

Fang Shu applied the "Hundred Spirits Secret Refining Oil" to the Long Tongue Sword and refined the sword again and again.

When there was only a little less than half a bottle of oil left, he successfully refined the Tongue Sword into a second-level tribulation artifact!

After the second tribulation, the Long Tongue Sword's blade is at least twice as tough as before; even though it's made of flesh and blood, it can cut through iron like mud.

Fang Shu further enhanced the sword with the Fire Blade Technique, making it glow red and radiating even more intense heat, like a fire poker just taken from an iron furnace. The secret runes of the Blade Technique on the sword also circulated more smoothly.

Overjoyed, Fang Shu became somewhat carried away. Holding his sword, he thrust it into the wall of the quiet room again.

Pfft!

This time, not only were the bricks and stones of the quiet room pierced, but the inner iron and steel pillars were also pierced by half a foot, emitting a trembling sound.

He sheathed his sword, turned around, and transformed it into a long whip, which he swirled around.

After some calculation, the length of the tongue sword has more than doubled compared to before. Now it can easily kill thieves and pluck their hearts within a range of 27 feet.

Its longest leap is over 37 feet, but it is somewhat stiff and lacks agility.

Clang!

Fang Shu flicked his long tongue sword, shrinking it to three feet in size, and flicked it with his hand, producing a trembling sound.

He couldn't help but exclaim, "What a fine ritual implement!"

With this magical artifact by his side, his magical power would undoubtedly be even more formidable.

Combined with his solid qi and blood, and his ghostly Gu techniques, he might even be able to put up a fight against ordinary three-tribulation immortals.

Immediately, Fang Shu was moved and wanted to continue practicing the Two Tribulations Tongue Sword in the quiet room to explore its upper limit of power.

But suddenly, he noticed the hole he had casually poked in the wall earlier, and immediately realized that he had almost started to demolish the house again in the quiet room.

He looked embarrassed and quickly stepped forward to examine the area, thankfully saying, "It's alright, a little dusting will do."

Fang Shu pondered, his eyes narrowing slightly, and suddenly thought of a good place to test his swordsmanship and skills.

That is the lead mine outside the town!
It just so happens that he has now broken through to the second tribulation and has also mastered the Fire Blade Technique and the Second Tribulation Tongue Sword. It is time for him to go to the mine outside the town to search for the Purple Lead Cloud Mother Milk to facilitate his next cultivation.

Even if you can't find it, or the harvest is too little.

On his return, he could also, as the innkeeper suggested, take the opportunity to rip off the mine owner surnamed Cao.

Upon realizing this, Fang Shu's mind became even more agitated.

However, he did not rush out, but stayed in the quiet room and slowly applied the remaining weapon oil to the long tongue sword.

When the oil in the vessel was completely used up, he held the tongue sword and was able to pluck leaves and flowers within a three-zhang radius and leave sword marks within a four-zhang radius.

At this moment, Fang Shu finally wiped his mouth, sheathed his sword, and leaped out of the quiet room to prepare for going out.

Because he might need to seclude himself in the mine or encounter a landslide, he prepared a full hundred Bigu pills.

In addition, he had prepared all sorts of other talismans, such as talismans for purifying clothes, talismans for purifying water, talismans for drawing water, and talismans for guiding the way.

Even so, after careful consideration, he still did not go out immediately, but instead locked himself in his room again for another period of seclusion.

This time, Fang Shu was not practicing martial arts or crafting weapons in seclusion, but rather refining Gu poison.

After a series of repeated attempts, he struck while the iron was hot and successfully refined a "Second Tribulation Breath-Sealing Insect" in one go. Only then did he feel relieved and completely calmed down, ready to go out.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that he had almost exhausted his wealth, he would probably still refine "Sleepy Bug" and "Follower Bug" into second-tribulation Gu worms before considering going out again.

This made Fang Shu sigh in his heart:
"Although the sciences of immortality are excellent, they are also very expensive. I wonder how expensive the refining of that natal Gu worm will be..."

But this also made him even more eager for the treasure hunt.

After calming himself down, he even checked the almanac and picked out a day that was "auspicious for travel, but inauspicious for opening graves."

And so on this day.

Fang Shu changed his appearance, left a note in the room for future reference, and then left Guling Town in a low-key manner.

Although he left the town discreetly, he found a large group of companions.

Fang Shu successfully blended in with a group of miners who were going out of town to mine, thanks to the effect of the breath-holding insect, so that the leading immortal did not notice anything amiss.

Upon arriving at the lead mine, they encountered dog demons, pig demons, and other creatures with keen senses of smell, but none of them noticed anything amiss.

This immediately made Fang Shu realize that the "breath-holding bug" truly lived up to its reputation as a top-tier Gu formula, comparable to the sleep bug and the follower bug. Its effects were excellent, allowing him to conceal his aura, blend in with others, and remain unnoticed.

Next.

Fang Shu lived like any other miner, honestly making a living by mining in the Qianshan mine.

The only difference between him and the other miners was that he seemed too restless and impatient, changing mines several times in a row, and dreaming every day about "getting rich".

This drew sneers from many veteran miners.

Finally, one day...

To outsiders, his whereabouts were completely unknown, and his fate was uncertain.

In reality, he skipped work and followed the mine map left by Cheng Guanzi to a mine that had been abandoned for ten years.

　I'm busy today and getting home late. I'm posting this as a combined chapter now, and I'll add another chapter tomorrow!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)