Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists

Chapter 23: Chapter 23 Mingqing Loft (Seek Collection)_1 Chapter 23: Chapter 23 Mingqing Loft (Seek Collection)_1 Green Bamboo Mountain.

Fang Xi’s silhouette emerged in the cellar, casting a vigilant glance around.

Upon noticing that the Protection Talisman on one of the walls was still intact, albeit with its spiritual glow significantly weakened, he instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

“I can return, so it seems I can easily escape from that dangerous place.”

As for the thought of taking someone else through the transmigration?

Such an idea was currently nowhere to be found in Fang Xi’s mind!

His cheater was of utmost importance; even if everyone in Black Stone City died, he would never compromise on this point.

He had used the pretext of searching for supplies to slip away to an uninhabited corner and transmigrate.

At this moment, Fang Xi’s expression gradually became serious as he took out a small jade bottle from his chest.

Inside the bottle was the blood of the cursed!

“The demons of the Da Liang World are not the same thing as the Demon Cultivators of the Cultivation World, at least, I haven’t sensed a trace of Demon Qi. However, based on its behavior, it is rather peculiar…”

After pondering for a while, Fang Xi took out a jade disc and tipped the jade bottle, allowing a drop of dark black blood to roll onto it.

Ding!

When the blood bead landed on the jade disc, it emitted a sound akin to that of a pearl, seemingly solidified on the spot.

Fang Xi remained expressionless and directed strands of the Power of Qi and Blood into the disc.

The surface of the jade disc instantly displayed a plethora of vein-like lines that wound their way towards the blood bead.

Sss! Sss!

Fine wisps of white smoke appeared, and as the blood tendrils touched the bead, they evaporated into nothingness, clearly vaporized completely!

Seeing this scene, Fang Xi’s expression did not change as he switched the power flowing into the disc to True Power.

Hum! Hum!

Light from the blood tendrils within the jade disc suddenly surged massively!

Thread by thread, they wrapped around the blood bead.

The blood bead started to dissolve as it was half-encased, but then a shocking scene occurred—the interior of the blood bead began to seep out incomplete, black tadpole-like symbols.

The True Power-transformed bloodlines encountered these symbols and immediately emitted sounds of unbearable strain, slowly corroding to nothing.

Watching this, Fang Xi’s expression grew solemn.

“Let’s not even mention the Power of Qi and Blood first; even the True Power of a Martial Artist is eroded upon encountering the diluted, low-grade curse power?”

After testing with the methods of Immortal Cultivators, Fang Xi immediately gained insight into Mu Canglong’s condition.

The Martial Arts School Principal had previously said he could withstand it with a large amount of True Power, but now it seemed that his death was not far off!

“Curse power… the power of demons… it surpasses the force of Qi and Blood Martial Arts?”

Fang Xi thought for a moment, then began to operate a cultivation technique.

But this time, what he was channeling was the “Eternal Spring Skills”!

Streams of cool Magic Power seeped into the jade disc, transforming into green threads that continuously prodded at the blood bead.

This time!

Even as the black tadpole script emerged again, the green threads pierced through them effortlessly.

Subsequently, the blood bead slowly melted and abruptly turned into a puff of green smoke that dissipated…

“Can an Immortal Cultivator’s Magic Power suppress curse power?”

Fang Xi’s eyes brightened.

This was indeed good news.

At least, to Immortal Cultivators, demons might not necessarily be immortal.

“Mu Canglong is about to die; I wonder if the Clear Spirit Pill in my hand will work?”

As he pondered this, Fang Xi stepped out of the cabin.

Above the door, a sticky note was prominently attached.

He picked it up and read it, suddenly becoming a bit excited: “It’s Chen Ping…”

Previously, he had asked the latter to introduce him to some circles, and now it seemed that he finally reaped the rewards!

…

Half a day later.

Green Bamboo Mountain Market.

Chen Ping and Fang Xi arrived one after the other in front of a tall teahouse.

Chen Ping wore a slightly smug look, “Mr. Fang, please rest assured, Sir Shen and Fairy Yun Meng are amiable people who never put on airs.”

Fang Xi gave a wry smile, “I’m not worried about that, it’s just…”

He raised his head to look at the signboard.

The teahouse was named ‘Mingqing Loft,’ famous for selling Spiritual Tea.

Such high expenditure places were not even considered by the original Fang Xi.

Nevertheless, he had thickened his skin and come, as making some acquaintances could be quite beneficial after all.

Of course, this was also because Chen Ping mentioned that the meeting place was within the market. Had he dared to choose a location outside Bamboo Mountain, Fang Xi would have turned and walked away without a word, then cut off all ties with him.

“Oh, don’t worry, Fairy Yun Meng has already settled the cost of the private room,” Chen Ping reassured Fang Xi when he noticed what was on his mind.

“Is that so? Then what are we waiting for?”

Fang Xi immediately pulled Chen Ping and entered Mingqing Loft.

The pavilion was simply and gracefully furnished, equipped with an open terrace where a pianist was strumming the qin with her bare hands.

A fragrant incense rose from the censers around, soothing the mind.

There were some customers, but their conversations were extremely soft, truly a place of utmost refinement.

Chen Ping seemed a bit tense too as he recognized the way and entered a private room.

Inside the room, two cultivators, a man and a woman, were already sitting on meditation cushions, both possessing mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation.

One of the male cultivators was strikingly handsome with a spirited and elegant demeanor, dressed in a blue fox fur coat and wearing a jade crown, exuding an extraordinary presence.

Another female cultivator, probably only about fifteen or sixteen years old, was dressed in a light pink dress, with skin so delicate it seemed it might break from a mere puff of air, her brows and eyes gentle like water, and her disposition dreamy and mist-like.

“Let me introduce to you, this is Shen Haoran, Sir Shen, and this is Fairy Yun Meng…”

Chen Ping introduced the three, “This is Fang Xi, Mr. Fang, a good brother who lives next to me.”

“Greetings to both of you.”

Fang Xi was somewhat surprised. Originally, he thought that Chen Ping’s connections were just some fellow Qi Refining early-stage cultivators, but he did not expect there to be such resources.

“Greetings, Mr. Fang.”

Shen Haoran was sipping spiritual tea, casually saying hello, appearing quite indifferent.

However, Fairy Yun Meng stood up, curtsied gracefully, showing good manners and upbringing.

But Fang Xi could see that the more impeccable the manners were, the more distant they seemed.

“Today, we are fortunate; not only do we get to taste this ‘Cloud Mist Spirit Tea,’ but we also have the opportunity to listen to Pianist Feng’s performance.”

Chen Ping and Fang Xi sat down, and then Chen Ping laughed and said, “We also have to thank Fairy Yun Meng.”

“It was beyond my expectations that Pianist Feng would come here…”

Fairy Yun Meng smiled with her lips pursed.

Fang Xi did not join in on the conversation, focusing solely on drinking tea and eating pastries.

He was well aware of his status, merely a backdrop and foil.

This Fairy Yun Meng and Shen Haoran were obviously not bottom-level individual cultivators. The reason they valued Chen Ping might possibly be due to his innate talent for making talismans.

In comparison, he, who lacked any notable skills, was better off just being an invisible presence.

For example, this spiritual tea was quite good, refreshing the body and soul with just one sip.

And then there were the spirit food pastries, which not only left a lingering fragrance in one’s mouth but also enhanced one’s cultivation.

Fang Xi even felt that if he could enjoy such spiritual objects every day, he might reach the peak of Qi Refining third layer within a month.

“Pianist Feng is coming! And there’s another distinguished guest.”

Just at that moment, a voice transmission talisman flew in from outside.

Shen Haoran took it, his face lighting up with delight, and at the same time, he looked at Fang Xi.

Fang Xi glanced around and saw that the private room seemed spacious with four people, but with five, it would appear slightly cramped.

As the one with the lowest cultivation level and weakest background, he needed to be tactful, and he immediately stood up, “Everyone, I just remembered I have some urgent matters at home, so I’ll take my leave first.”

“But Pianist Feng is about to perform, and her music is quite rare…” Fairy Yun Meng expressed her pity but did not insist on him staying.

Fang Xi bowed and walked out of the private room.

In the distance, he could still hear Shen Haoran saying to Chen Ping, “Mr. Chen, you’ll be a Talisman Master in the future, which comes with a certain status… Let me tell you, the distinguished guest who is about to arrive is a great expert who is in the late stage of Qi Refining…”

“Oh? Then I’ll have to ask Brother Shen for an introduction,” Chen Ping’s surprised voice rose at the same time.

…

When Fang Xi left ‘Mingqing Loft,’ he could vaguely hear the strands of qin music coming out from the upper floors.

Upon that high platform, there seemed to be an additional graceful figure.

Unfortunately, such refined and elegant events had nothing to do with him.

‘Without enough strength, don’t enter too high circles…’ he quickly adjusted his mindset and returned to his shack.

Bang!

A gust of palm wind burst out, striking hard against the door and windows.

White Cloud Palm!

Although he missed the opportunity to hear Pianist Feng’s performance, he fortunately enjoyed the spiritual tea and pastries.

Now was a good time for cultivation!

Fang Xi had just had a breakthrough with his Red Snake Leg, advancing to the Master Realm, but the White Cloud Palm was still lacking.

Crackle and pop!

His palms struck out in rapid succession, creating a whirlwind of strikes, and then he consolidated nine major handprints.

In a flash, Fang Xi’s palms turned a shade of greyish black.

What was eerie was that the grey color was retreating while the black color was expanding wildly.

“Hu!”

Fang Xi let out a long breath, and the white air he exhaled shot several feet.

He looked at his hands, confirming that both palms had fully entered the Black Cloud realm, reaching the status of a real strength warrior!

The White Cloud Palm’s real strength mainly reinforced the hands, the rest of the body did not benefit as much as the previous time.

“Such a simple breakthrough…”

“Sigh… If only my talent in the Immortal Path was the same as it is in Qi and Blood Martial Arts.”

The low-grade spiritual root of this body was always a thorn in Fang Xi’s heart.

The next moment, feeling the changes in White Cloud Palm’s real strength, his expression gradually turned serious.

With spirit sense, he could observe the circulation of qi and blood throughout his body, now with several vortices appearing, mainly located at his legs and palms.

What was more alarming was that these qi and blood vortices seemed to pull on each other, causing some disruption in the circulation of qi and blood.

“Is this the drag Lu She mentioned?”

“Alas… I’ve already had a breakthrough with Red Snake Leg, with my qi and blood deeply mixed. There’s nothing I can do about training in another technique.”

Fang Xi looked at his palms.

White Cloud Palm could extend or withdraw its power. After retracting the real strength, his hands at this moment were white as jade, delicate like the gentle hands of a sheltered young lady.

No one could imagine the strength contained within these palms, which could now be compared to some monster beasts.

“There is indeed a conflict between the true power of White Cloud Palm and Red Snake Leg, which must be resolved…”

“And for the subsequent realms…”

Being merely equivalent to the initial stage of a body cultivator wasn’t much. Fang Xi valued the progress and hope that came afterward!

“Fortunately… I heard that the trip to Yuanhe Mountain hasn’t been skipped…”