Chapter 401 - 309: Core Formation Spiritual Land (2)
Meanwhile, deep within the Barbaric Wilderness, Nanli stood beside the Golden Core Demon Beast, the Great White Bear. She watched it snore away after eating the fragments of the golden light barrier, then glanced at the numerous fierce-looking Foundation Establishment Demon Beasts surrounding them. She wanted to cry but had no tears.
After she had delivered the message, Fang Qingyuan never came to get her. Instead, she was detained by the Great White Bear, which now took her everywhere it went. Compared to the stupid demon beasts of the Barbaric Wilderness, Nanli was far more intelligent. Although neither could speak, they could communicate through gestures without much difficulty.
As a result, Nanli’s status at the Great White Bear’s side rose dramatically. Some Foundation Establishment Demon Beasts would even bow and scrape when they saw her, exposing their bellies to curry favor.
But Nanli longed for her life back in the Immortal Mansion. The environment of the Barbaric Wilderness was just too wretched, especially these clumsy bears. The foul, fishy stench coming from each and every one of them was unbearable for the prim and proper Nanli.
However, she didn’t dare try to sneak away. After much hesitation, Nanli chose to lie low for the time being, hoping that one day, Fang Qingyuan would appear by her side again and take her away from this place.
And so, in the days that followed, the local demon beasts saw a fiery red figure appear beside their boss, swaggering around the territory and borrowing the tiger’s might.
.....
Time flew by. Within the Qingyuan Sect, the leaves withered and grew green, then withered once more. In the blink of an eye, another year had passed.
This year, Fang Qingyuan turned ninety-eight. His cultivation realm was still the Foundation Establishment Seventh Layer, but he was more than halfway through. In a little over three more years, he would be able to advance to the Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer.
During this year, his progress in deducing the Infinite Evolution Path had greatly improved compared to when he first started. At the very least, Fang Qingyuan could now deduce the post-creation visualization to the point where the heavens were clear, the earth was turbid, and the universe was in its primordial state.
Although it was still rudimentary and far from complete, it was no longer as difficult to sustain as it had been at the beginning. However, at its current stage, it was far too early to use this core thesis to face the Celestial Tribulation.
According to Fang Qingyuan’s calculations, he had over twenty years before he would undergo Core Formation, but he needed to start preparing for it now.
Core Formation required a Tier Three Spirit Land, and the higher the Spirit Land Grade, the better. Although the Qingyuan Sect was located on a Tier Three, low-grade Spiritual Land, it was insufficient to support Fang Qingyuan in achieving his Golden Core. Therefore, he needed to find another Core Formation Spiritual Land.
A Fourth-rank Spiritual Land would be best. Fang Qingyuan felt that the concept behind his core thesis was quite advanced, and the amount of Spiritual Qi he would need to absorb during Core Formation would likely be immense. If the Spirit Land Grade was insufficient, he feared something unexpected might happen.
Fang Qingyuan had a few ideas for where to find a suitable Spiritual Land. White Mountain had Fourth-rank Spiritual Lands, but they were all controlled by major powers. The White Mountain Beast Taming Sect’s own Spiritual Land was not Fourth-rank.
Considering the animosity the Spirit Wood Alliance and the Li Huo Alliance held toward his sect, Fang Qingyuan was extremely reluctant to undergo Core Formation in White Mountain.
According to his plan, he could either go overseas to a place like Sea Gate Island or Hai Feng Island, spend Spirit Stones to rent a cave residence, and use it as his Core Formation Land.
Or, he could go to the Beast Taming General Mountain, select a Fourth-rank Spiritual Land, and undergo Core Formation there.
Both options had their pros and cons. Going to the Outer Sea for Core Formation would be hassle-free, but it wasn’t secure enough and would cost a large amount of Spirit Stones. On the other hand, undergoing Core Formation at the Beast Taming General Mountain would be very safe and wouldn’t require many Spirit Stones. The only thing it would cost was a favor from Lechuan.
Lechuan had already returned to the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect. After being away for a year and a half, he finished handling the accumulated sect affairs and sent a letter to Fang Qingyuan, asking him to come over for a discussion.
Upon receiving Lechuan’s message, Fang Qingyuan, who had been planning to discuss the matter of his Core Formation with him anyway, happily set out with Jinbao.
When he arrived at the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect, Fang Qingyuan noticed that there were many more new faces among the disciples than usual, and their cultivation levels were quite high.
Arriving at Lechuan’s residence, Fang Qingyuan let Jinbao play outside by himself. He straightened his robes and stepped inside.
When he saw Lechuan, the man’s expression was desolate and his spirits were low. After a moment’s thought, Fang Qingyuan guessed, ’Lechuan’s trip must not have yielded a satisfactory result.’
Seeing that Fang Qingyuan had arrived, Lechuan pointed to the side, indicating for him to take a seat. Then, he sighed and said,
"Your Senior Brother Liang De has passed away."
Hearing this news, Fang Qingyuan fell silent. He had thought Lechuan would bring back good news from his trip, but he never expected to be met with the news of Zhao Liangde’s death.
He recalled how happy Zhao Liangde had been when he received the Spirit Stones Fang Qingyuan had given him, and a wave of sorrow washed over him for the little old man.
In the end, no miracle occurred. Thirty-six years after a piece of his soul went missing, Zhao Liangde finally died of old age in his bed.
"Liang De couldn’t wait for his soul to be made whole again. After that Evil Cultivator was captured by a Nascent Soul Cultivator from the Great Zhou Academy, he never appeared before us again. We returned to Zongshan and begged a martial uncle for help to demand the man from the Northern Inspection Bureau. Under pressure, they let us see the Evil Cultivator, but it was useless. The piece of Liang De’s soul he lost had already been refined by that man. We were too late."
As he spoke of this, Lechuan seemed to blame himself, clearly believing that he had started the investigation too late.
In response, Fang Qingyuan could only offer some words of comfort:
"Master, you mustn’t blame yourself too much. Evil Cultivators are notoriously difficult to apprehend. If you hadn’t pursued this relentlessly, who knows how long that Golden Core Evil Cultivator would have remained at large. In a way, this can be considered revenge for Senior Brother Liang De."
"I just pity Liang De... lying in bed for so many years, only to meet such an end. Perhaps I never should have gone to investigate that ruin and its Secret Treasure back then..."