Chapter 485 - 353: Why Is He Here?
With his safety assured, Fang Qingyuan was naturally in a good mood. But what truly made him happy was that he had obtained the longbow from the Bow-holding Nascent Soul Cultivator.
Right now, Nanli was inside the Immortal Mansion, enjoying Fang Qingyuan’s reward by endlessly eating the finest Spirit Fruits. A brilliant longbow lay quietly before the three Companion Beasts, left for the Bee Queen and Jinbao to study.
This longbow, a Magical Artifact, had been able to withstand that sudden impact. Even the normally durable storage bag had been blasted to smithereens, yet the longbow held strong. It was definitely a remarkable treasure.
The Bee Queen was now poring over jade slips, searching for any records of longbow-type Magical Artifacts. Renowned longbows were rare in this world, so as she cross-referenced the information, there was a high chance she would find a match.
Fang Qingyuan had collected all these jade slips from various Marketplaces. They contained a wealth of common cultivation knowledge, biographies, and scandalous rumors. The Bee Queen usually used them to pass the time whenever she was bored in the Immortal Mansion.
After a long while, the Bee Queen beamed with delight and transmitted the information from the jade slip to Fang Qingyuan.
Upon receiving the information, Fang Qingyuan’s expression twitched. He was inwardly stunned. He had anticipated the bow had a significant background, but he never imagined it would be *this* extraordinary.
The bow was called the Taihao City-Breaking Bow. It was said to gather the power of heaven and earth to shatter even the cities of gods. As long as it was charged with enough power, it could pierce through even an Immortal City like Baiyu City or Lingxiao Hall.
Of course, this was an exaggeration, but it still spoke to the immense praise cultivators had for the bow.
However, there were always trade-offs. Though the bow’s power was world-shaking, it was incredibly difficult to charge. A Golden Core Cultivator flying at full speed could cover a dozen-plus li in just ten breaths. By the time the bow was fully charged, their target would be long gone.
Thus, the bow was best suited for use against cities or other inanimate, immobile targets. To use it for assassinating a person was a complete waste of its capabilities.
Fang Qingyuan sent a wisp of his spiritual sense into the Immortal Mansion and began to inspect the Taihao City-Breaking Bow’s refinement level.
He discovered that due to the death of its original owner, the bow’s refinement had dropped from the seventeenth Celestial Spirit level to the thirteenth, a loss of four entire levels.
This was because the collapse of its original owner’s aura brand had undone most of the several hundred years of nurturing.
’What a shame,’ Fang Qingyuan thought. The higher the refinement level, the greater the power a Magical Artifact could unleash. Still, a refinement at the thirteenth Celestial Spirit level was more than sufficient for his current needs.
A higher refinement level would cause the Magical Artifact’s demand for Dan Qi to skyrocket. Fang Qingyuan was only at the Early-stage Golden Core. Despite his incredibly deep foundation, he still wasn’t up to the task of handling a Celestial Spirit Magical Artifact, something that typically only a Nascent Soul Cultivator could refine.
Fang Qingyuan decided to store the Taihao City-Breaking Bow away for a while. He would only take it out again after the current storm had blown over.
Besides, given the bow’s major flaw, Fang Qingyuan had no plans to make it his Lifebound Magical Treasure. He wouldn’t refine it, either. As long as he could pull it out when he needed it, that was enough.
After storing the bow away, Fang Qingyuan withdrew his spiritual sense. Just then, a disciple arrived at the door with a report.
"Nangong Zhi of Qinan City is here and wishes to see Sect Leader Chu. He’s currently being stalled by Uncle Grandmaster Yuan, who sent me to ask Sect Leader Le and Sect Leader Fang to head over."
Hearing this, Lechuan and Fang Qingyuan exchanged a surprised look. ’Why would Nangong Zhi come now? And how did he get here so fast?’
After all, it was only the second day since the army had withdrawn from the Barbaric Wilderness. Barely more than twenty-four hours had passed since that great battle.
Fang Qingyuan’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’Why is Nangong Zhi the first one here?’ he wondered.
Qinan City wasn’t considered far from White Mountain, but the journey was still tens of thousands of li. ’And how did he know to come straight here?’ The fact that Chu Hongshang had come to lend her aid was supposed to be a secret. Initially, the only ones who had seen her true form were the six Golden Core Cultivators on his side.
Fang Qingyuan didn’t know if this was long-premeditated or a spur-of-the-moment decision. But he understood one thing clearly: Chu Hongshang could not be seen by Nangong Zhi. At the very least, she could not be allowed to fall into his hands.