Mortal: I have a gathering technique

Chapter 53 Little Huan Island and the Gold-Eating Insects

Before long, the giant ship docked at the pier.

Led by the boat owner, Fang Qing passed through the bustling harbor and arrived at a nearby stone house.

This is where you get your temporary identity card.

There were five or six Qi Refining cultivators queuing in front of the stone house. Hearing the commotion, they all turned around, and after looking at each other, they all lowered their heads and respectfully made way for each other.

"Please go first, senior!"

Thank you.

Fang Qing smiled slightly, cupped his hands in greeting, and stepped into the stone house.

The room was simply furnished, with only a wooden table, a chair, and an old man with a sallow complexion, who was at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

The old man had heard the commotion outside long ago, but initially paid no attention. Only after Fang Qing entered did he realize that Fang Qing was also a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. He quickly stood up and greeted him with a beaming smile.

"I am Yang Xiuyuan. May I ask how you address me, fellow Daoist?"

"My name is Fang Qing. I have just met Fellow Daoist Yang."

Fang Qing smiled and returned the greeting with clasped hands.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Fang. You look unfamiliar; is this your first time visiting my Kui Xing Island?"

The elderly man surnamed Yang took out a green jade pendant and chatted with Fang Qing while making an identity card for him.

Fang Qingnian has already reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage at a young age, and he will definitely be able to break through to Core Formation in the future. Most people would want to befriend such a promising cultivator.

The old man surnamed Yang was no exception. Unfortunately, he didn't know that Fang Qing had concealed his cultivation level, otherwise his attitude would probably have been even more enthusiastic.

Fang Qing could naturally see through the other party's intentions, but his expression remained unchanged, and he casually replied:

"Mr. Fang has traveled extensively, and this is indeed his first time setting foot in the southwestern sea area."

"I see."

The elderly man surnamed Yang nodded slightly, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his eyes. He had also traveled extensively in his youth, and he felt somewhat emotional upon hearing this.

As they spoke, the jade pendant was completed and handed to Fang Qing by the elderly man surnamed Yang.

"Fellow Daoist, please keep this safe. If you accidentally lose it, you can come to me for a replacement. If you encounter any problems on the island, you can also consult this old man."

Hearing the other party's friendly words, Fang Qing smiled and cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you very much."

"Of course, of course..." The old man stroked his long gray beard and laughed heartily.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Fang Qing took his leave.

Upon exiting the stone house, the middle-aged boat owner immediately came forward, holding a scroll of silk in both hands, and respectfully presented it to Fang Qing:

"Sir, these are the guarantee documents I just completed. Please take a look."

Fang Qing took the dark brocade, casually unfolded it, glanced at it, and put it in his pocket. Then, with a flick of his finger, he tossed out a small jade bottle.

"The elixir inside this bottle can strengthen your constitution and prolong your life, which is your reward."

After saying that, without waiting for the other party's reaction, he released the Divine Wind Boat and flew away.

Behind him, the middle-aged boat owner tightly gripped the small jade bottle, feeling both regret and immense joy.

…………

After leaving the port, Fang Qing steered the Divine Wind Boat straight to the central area of Kui Xing Island.

After flying for about half an hour, the outline of a continuous mountain range gradually appeared on the distant horizon.

Soon, a towering, majestic mountain came into view.

In the middle of that giant mountain are three towering peaks that pierce the clouds. Surrounding these peaks are other mountains, shrouded in mist and clouds, creating a scene of otherworldly beauty.

"This should be the core of the spiritual vein of Kui Xing Island."

Fang Qing pondered as he recalled the information he had gathered along the way.

The majestic mountain in front of us is called Qingyun Mountain, and the three peaks in the middle are Tianzhu Peak, Tianxiao Peak, and Tianmen Peak.

The surrounding mountains number over three hundred with names and countless without, in addition to various caves and valleys of all sizes.

Beneath the three main peaks lies a spiritual vein of extremely high quality, which is the most concentrated with spiritual energy and is thus occupied by the three island lords of Kui Xing Island respectively.

Among them, the island master, Master Mulong, is at the mid-stage of Core Formation, while the two deputy island masters are not only at the early stage of Core Formation, but also a pair of cultivation partners.

Below the three main peaks, there are thirty-six smaller peaks classified according to the concentration of spiritual energy.

The so-called "Spiritual Land Challenge" tournament on Kuixing Island is a competition for these thirty-six small peaks.

Fang Qing's cultivation mainly relies on elixirs, and he doesn't have high requirements for spiritual energy. In addition, he needs to be discreet, so he has no interest in that small peak.

He then crossed many mountains and finally landed on the top of a relatively high hill.

At the summit of this peak stands a two-story pavilion with a plaque in front that reads "Dengxian Pavilion," which is the place where people settle down.

Fang Qing strolled in, his gaze sweeping around before finally settling on the cloud bed in front of him.

The cloud bed was covered with an unknown, fiery red animal hide, on which lay a haggard-looking middle-aged man.

This person was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. When he saw Fang Qing enter, he merely raised his eyelids and remained completely indifferent.

Seeing this, Fang Qing didn't mind. He directly took out the guarantee document and his identity jade token, placed them on the counter, and said:

"Apply for permanent residency."

The middle-aged man remained in a lazy state. Upon hearing this, he reached out and took the documents and jade token. After casually flipping through them, he took out a golden book and began registering.

The green identity jade pendant was taken away and replaced with a blue jade pendant.

After doing all this, he took out a silver picture book and tossed it to Fang Qing, saying:

"This album is a map of the cave dwellings. All the places with golden light on it have owners. As for the remaining white ones, you can choose them yourself."

Fang Qing took the album and slowly unfolded it. On it was a complete map of Kui Xing Island, with gold and white light reflecting off it.

Fang Qing pretended to observe for a while, a look of weighing his options flashing in his eyes from time to time. After a long while, he suddenly pointed to a spot:

"This is it!"

The middle-aged man glanced at Fang Qing casually, then looked at him with a surprised expression:

"Fellow Daoist, are you sure? This small island is isolated, but the spiritual energy on the island is very thin. In addition, cultivators who choose this island must also bear the cost of spirit stones for the island's protective array, which is a considerable expense."

Fang Qing pretended to hesitate for a moment, but ultimately still chose this place.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man stopped trying to persuade him, picked up his brush, and made a stroke on the painting album, turning the white light into gold.

Then, he took out a jade slip and tossed it to Fang Qing.

This jade slip is proof of our settlement on Xiaohuan Island.

Fang Qing put away the jade slip, turned around and walked out of the pavilion, then headed straight for Xiao Huan Island.

Xiaohuan Island is a long and narrow island, with a maximum length of sixty or seventy li and a maximum width of more than twenty li.

The islanders live in the eastern part of the island, and in the center of the island is a mountain range that stretches for more than 20 miles, which is the location of the spiritual vein.

After landing on Xiaohuan Island, Fang Qing briefly informed the island's residents before venturing into the mountain range in the middle.

There are two peaks in the mountain range, one tall and one short. The taller one has more abundant spiritual energy and has a cave dwelling left by a previous cultivator.

Fang Qing glanced around, then turned and flew to another low peak. He took out his flying sword and, following the style of the cave dwellings in Huangfeng Valley, carved out a new cave dwelling.

After doing all this, he took out the Five Elements Sealing Array and the Reversed Five Elements Array and covered both mountain peaks completely.

Inside the new cave dwelling, Fang Qing glanced around and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.

With a nod, he made a hand gesture, and a yellow light enveloped his body. Then, his body sank and disappeared into the ground.

As Fang Qing sank underground, he used his divine sense to scan his surroundings.

Soon, his eyes lit up, and he used earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a type of magic that allows one to escape quickly) to swim towards a certain place.

A moment later, a dark, silvery sphere appeared in Fang Qing's field of vision.

The small silver ball was about the size of a fist, with countless tiny bumps the size of mung beans on its surface, making it look like silver scales.

The entire silver sphere was deathly silent, but Fang Qing could sense a faint life force by examining it with his divine sense.

This silver sphere is none other than a cluster of numerous gold-devouring insects.

For unknown reasons, these gold-eating insects are currently in a dormant state.

After examining it for a few moments, Fang Qing took out a jade box, carefully moved the silver ball into the box, and then quickly returned to the ground.

After returning to his cave, Fang Qing did not linger. He immediately used earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a type of magic that allows one to escape from an island and enter the sea) to leave the island.

Afterwards, they swam underwater for a distance until they were completely away from Xiaohuan Island before emerging from the sea and heading straight for the deserted island where the teleportation array was located.

Good books and good stories accompany you every day.