Mortal: I have a gathering technique

With the help of Rongyun Pill, Fang Qing's cultivation speed increased once again.

In less than a year, his cultivation level had risen to the peak of the eleventh level of Qi Refining.

In Huangfeng Valley, as long as one's cultivation reaches the tenth level of Qi Refining, one can move to a place called "Xuankun Mountain" and open up one's own cave dwelling.

Fang Qing was no exception.

That day, he was studying the principles of array formations in his own cave dwelling when suddenly, a wisp of fire appeared on the light screen of the cave dwelling's defensive array.

Fang Qing put down the jade slip, reached out and grabbed the flames, drawing them towards him.

This flame was a sound transmission talisman. Fang Qing rubbed it in his hand, and a deep voice came out:

"Liu Jing, a disciple of Master Li, has come to pay a visit and requests that Junior Brother Fang come out of the mansion to meet him."

Liu Jing?

Fang Qing squinted, subconsciously pondering Liu Jing's purpose in coming.

This man was Li Huayuan's third disciple. He was an upright man who hated evil and was eventually killed by Yue Huang, the leader of the Black Fiend Cult.

"I have never met Liu Jing before. Although there are rumors within the sect that Li Huayuan will take me as his disciple once I successfully establish my foundation, given his character, he shouldn't be trying to curry favor with me beforehand."

"So, it's most likely Li Huayuan who contacted me..."

Fang Qing's eyes flickered, and he quickly guessed why Li Huayuan had come to find him.

……

Outside the cave.

Liu Jing stood with his hands behind his back, carefully examining the cyan light screen in front of him, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"This Junior Brother Fang is clearly only a Qi Refining cultivator, yet the power of his cave's defensive array surpasses that of me, a Foundation Establishment cultivator. I wonder where he gets such wealth..."

Liu Jing stared wide-eyed and clicked his tongue in disapproval.

Little did he know that Fang Qing's defensive array was not bought, but rather personally crafted by him.

With Xin Ruyin's talent in array formations and her memory and experience, Fang Qing's skills surpassed those of ordinary array masters, even though he only occasionally pondered array formations.

Although his current defensive formation is far inferior to the "Inverted Five Elements Formation", it would still take a Foundation Establishment cultivator quite a while to break through it.

Just as Liu Jing was marveling at Fang Qing's wealth, the cyan light screen trembled, and a passage about ten feet high slowly appeared.

A handsome young man stood at the back of the passage. Upon seeing him, Liu Jing immediately stepped forward and said:

"You must be Junior Brother Fang Qing. I am Liu Jing. Master needs to speak with you. Please come with me."

In Liu Jing's eyes, Fang Qing, who possessed an extremely yang physique, would definitely be accepted as a disciple by his master. That's why he always called Fang Qing his junior brother and addressed himself as his senior brother.

Fang Qing saw this and, too lazy to explain, upon hearing that it was indeed Li Huayuan looking for him, simply cupped his hands and said:

"Please lead the way, Senior Brother Liu."

……

The two flew along on their magical artifacts, and after a short while, they arrived at the eastern part of the Taiyue Mountains, in front of a lush and verdant mountain peak.

This mountain is not very high, but there is a very wide waterfall cascading down to the foot of the mountain halfway up.

Fang Qing followed Liu Jing to the waterfall, where the latter cast a spell, and the waterfall immediately split open to reveal a passage about ten feet high.

"This is Master's cave dwelling, Green Wave Cave. Please come in."

Liu Jing explained briefly and then stepped into the passage first.

Fang Qing followed closely behind, and the moment he stepped out of the passage, a lush and vibrant natural valley appeared before him.

The valley is not only lush with green trees and filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, but also has some very rare little animals that hop around.

Seeing that Fang Qing's gaze was drawn to the small animals, Liu Jing immediately laughed:

"How about that? Surprised? Haha, don't misunderstand, these cute little things are actually raised by my master's wife."

As Liu Jing explained, he led Fang Qing inside, and they soon arrived at a stone hall.

The hall was very spacious, with various potted plants and flowers around it. In the center was a row of stone tables and chairs, with the chairs covered with the fur of unknown monsters.

At this moment, Li Huayuan was sitting on the stone chair in the middle.

"Third brother, this is none of your business. Get out."

Upon seeing Fang Qing and Liu Jing enter, Li Huayuan waved his hand, dismissing the latter.

"Disciple Fang Qing pays respects to Patriarch Li."

Fang Qing did not treat Li Huayuan as an equal just because he was valued by Linghu Laoguai; he still bowed respectfully.

Li Huayuan nodded slightly, remained silent for a moment, then suddenly frowned and asked:

Do you know why I called you here?

Fang Qing raised his head, met Li Huayuan's gaze, and calmly said, "This disciple dares to guess that it should be about Foundation Establishment."

Li Huayuan's expression turned serious:

"Indeed, with your aptitude, you could have taken pills and established your foundation at the ninth level of Qi Refining. Even if you wanted to play it safe, the tenth level would have been enough. Why have you been dragging it out until now?"

Given Fang Qing's exceptional talent, no one dared to even consider taking his Foundation Establishment Pill.

In fact, when the sect distributed Foundation Establishment Pills, it was Sect Leader Zhong who personally delivered Fang Qing's Foundation Establishment Pill to him.

At this moment, Li Huayuan suddenly asked about Foundation Establishment, and Fang Qing no longer concealed his thoughts, speaking frankly:

"This disciple wishes to participate in the next Blood Forbidden Trial."

Li Huayuan seemed to have anticipated Fang Qing's thoughts, and was not surprised at all; instead, he laughed.

"What, are you worried that you won't succeed with just one Foundation Establishment Pill?"

Fang Qing shook his head. "No, what this disciple actually wants are the spiritual herbs from the forbidden area."

Upon hearing this, Li Huayuan's face flashed with a look of sudden realization, followed by a chuckle:

"You've miscalculated. All disciples who participate in the Blood Forbidden Trial must hand over any spiritual herbs they collect to the sect. Even if you don't want to exchange them for Foundation Establishment Pills, the sect will not return the spiritual herbs to you. They will only convert them into spirit stones and distribute them to you."

Fang Qing's smile remained unchanged, and he answered irrelevantly:

"I have heard that there is an unwritten rule in the sect that in any relationship with a master and disciple, the master has the right to take half of the offerings that the disciple submits to the sect as a thank-you gift."

At this point, Fang Qing couldn't help but glance at Li Huayuan. He had to thank this Master Li for coming up with this reason.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Li Huayuan's face immediately lit up with interest, but he remained stubbornly defiant.

"You do have some cleverness!" Li Huayuan said with a smile, pointing at Fang Qing.

After speaking, he pondered for a moment, then suddenly sent someone away:

"Alright, I understand. You can go back now."

"Yes, disciple takes his leave."

Fang Qing bowed respectfully, then turned and left.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Xuankun Mountain Cave.

After Fang Qing returned, he continued to practice magic and study the art of weapon crafting and array formation.

Half a month later, Liu Jing visited again. This time, the other party was not there to invite someone, but to deliver something.

The items were packed in a storage bag; there were three items in total: a brand-new ruler-type talisman, a Heavenly Thunder Stone, and three Wood Escape Talismans.

Although the items were delivered by Liu Jing, Fang Qing knew that it must have been at the behest of Elder Linghu.

I have to say, it's really great to have mountains to lean on!

However, Fang Qing felt he needed to think carefully about how to repay this kindness.