章節 23: Demon Pellet
編輯: celllll, Nou
"Shixiong, I don’t mean this in a bad way, but asking someone to exchange their Ore Essence Powder for the sake of a Demon Pellet really is a bit much. Ore Essence Powder is an essential ingredient for the
"I just came to try my luck. I wasn’t expecting to find it anyway, but if I never came, I wouldn’t have the chance to get lucky. Worst-case scenario, I’ll have my contacts in the inner court try to see what they can do for me. Besides, this Demon Pellet is many times better for cultivation than Spirit Stones, so even if I don’t end up exchanging it for what I want, keeping it isn’t a major loss."
Although Hou Qing stood his ground as though nothing could change his mind, the other person was clearly reluctant to give in. "Well, does it matter even if you get your hands on the powder? A Poji Pellet needs more than just Ore Essence Powder to be made, and there are over a dozen more ingredients you’ll need on top of it. Even if you do manage to gather all of the ingredients, you won’t find an alchemist to help you make it…."
"That’s none of Shixiong’s concern. Aside from the Ore Essence Powder, the other ingredients are rather easy to buy," Hou Qing said before showing a faint smile. "As for an alchemist, there are some I’m familiar with; no need to worry."
"Ah, well, if that’s the case!" Seeing he was getting nowhere, the other man gave a heavy sigh and left.
After hearing the exchange between the two, Fang Xing immediately understood what all of it meant. ‘The rumors in the outer court said Hou Qing has already reached the peak of tier three, but it seems he desperately needs Ore Essence Powder to make a Poji Pellet to break through his bottleneck. Since the sect has strict control over the pellet, the only way to obtain it is through crafting it from scratch or successfully completing sect missions….’
Ore Essence Powder was fine powder refined through special methods—known only to a few large sects and clans—from Spirit Stones. It was an excellent raw material and was used to craft various pellets, the Poji Pellet in particular.
For the first stage—the "Spirit Stage"—of cultivation, the primary bottlenecks were between tiers three and four, between six and seven, and then finally for the mastery of the ninth tier. The easiest and most successful method of breaking through was by taking a Poji Pellet at each of the bottlenecks, but all of the pellet’s raw materials were under strict control by the sect. Those who wanted the materials had to come up with a lot of money or do specific jobs to receive them as rewards.
This was the method used by the sects and large clans to control the fate of all cultivators throughout the world. The sect might turn a blind eye on the Black Markets, but they would never allow such a crucial ingredient for the Poji Pellet to be leaked outside sect doors. It could be said that if there was even a hint of Ore Essence Powder being sold here, the Black Market would instantly be shut down. Yet Hou Qing clearly didn’t want to give up, and was even willing to exchange a rare Demon Pellet for it. Of course, it was almost guaranteed he’d return home empty-handed at the end of the day; something like Ore Essence Powder couldn’t be obtained by ordinary people.
As Fang Xing observed from afar for an hour, he saw about five people come up to Hou Qing to suggest trades of their own. Some of the items had even Fang Xing feeling envious, yet Hou Qing was unmoved no matter the offer. When it seemed as though Hou Qing had given up and was about to leave, Fang Xing finally rose to his feet, walked over, and said in a low voice, "I will need to verify the Demon Pellet first."
Hou Qing’s eyes suddenly grew wide. "Shixiong has Ore Essence Powder?"
Fang Xing deliberately put on a scowl and angrily whispered, "I’ve never seen such an idiot like you before. Even in the Black Market, who the hell dares to show off Ore Essence Powder? The second it was found out, the sect would search each and every last one of us!"
Hou Qing hesitated, but his eyes showed a glimmer of hope. "My apologies, Shixiong, for being so impatient and reckless. Yet I dare to ask, does Shixiong really have such a thing?"
"Heh, Ore Essence Powder is some seriously precious stuff; how could I have it?" Fang Xing ridiculed with a sneer.
Hou Qing took a few moments to suppress his anger before continuing, "Are you toying with me?"
"I’ve been here listening to your conversations most of the day. Even if you wanted me to toy with you, I wouldn’t waste so much effort!" Fang Xing replied in a profound manner.
It was true that Hou Qing had noticed the man sitting on the side listening for quite a while, and hope sprouted within him once more. "What does Shixiong mean?"
Fang Xing sighed. "I can get my hands on the powder, but it’s very risky!"
Feeling some relief, Hou Qing quickly added, "Your shidi here has a Demon Pellet, crafted from a beast core of a third-tier beast and equivalent to one hundred Spirit Stones when used for cultivation. If Shixiong is able to get me three ounces of the powder, this pellet will be the payment!"
‘One hundred Spirit Stones? I need this!’ Fang Xing shouted within his heart, but on the surface he seemed to be completely unfazed.
"Is this too little?" Hou Qing nervously asked. He’d been waiting here all day, and Fang Xing was the only one who said he could get his hands on the powder. It was not easy for an ordinary outer court disciple to get their hands on it.
"A Demon Pellet… no, that’s definitely a fair trade. But… to be quite honest with you, although I can get my hands on it, there’s way too much risk. If any of this discussion ended up leaking, it wouldn’t just be me, but even my father would…. Well, there’s no reason telling you that. I’ll tell you what, I can get the powder, but you have to sweeten the deal a little…."
When Hou Qing’s eyes glistened and was about to speak, Fang Xing suddenly raised his hand to cut him off before fiercely continuing, "And I must warn you, if I get the powder for you, you better keep that mouth of yours shut. If there’s so much as even a hint otherwise, I’ll make sure you regret it. At the very least, you won’t be seen in the Qing-Yun Sect anymore!"
Although Fang Xing hadn’t even waited until after establishing the price to start making threats, this actually put Hou Qing more at ease. He couldn’t help but to think, ‘He mentioned his father the moment he opened his mouth. It seems his father is also in the Qing-Yun Sect and might even be in a high position of power. He’s probably a second-generation
"Of course, Shixiong, my lips are forever sealed. Besides, my clan does have some power as well; if someone were to ask where I got the powder, I can just tell them my clan got it for me. This won’t cause Shixiong any problems," Hou Qing quickly vowed.
"As long as you know what to do. Also, and price needs to be discussed!"
After some time of thought, Hou Qing answered, "On top of the Demon Pellet, how about another thirty Spirit Stones?"
Although Fang Xing cried with happiness within, he deliberately bit his lip with dissatisfaction. "Make it forty!"
"Thirty-two?"
"Thirty-eight?"
"Thirty-five?"
"Deal!" Fang Xing agreed with a wave of his fist.
Hou Qing let go of a long breath. "When can you get it?"
Fang Xing appeared to think hard on that one before answering, "Nine days from now. Go to the hills outside Hualin Valley before midnight. Wait for me there and only show yourself at the sound of three claps. Bring everything."
"Okay. Thank you, Shixiong." Hou finally relaxed and gratefully cupped one fist in his other hand.
Fang Xing nodded his head before suddenly commanding, "What the f*ck are you still doing here?"
Confused at such a change, Hou Qing unhappily asked, "Why are you cursing at me?"
"Not only that, I want to strangle you to death! Are you going to continue sitting here like an idiot and tell the whole world you’re looking for Ore Essence Powder? Since I’ve already promised to get you some, you’d better not let another person know that you’re after it. If I hear anything about our trade—even a whisper—the deal is dead!"
Suddenly understanding what Fang Xing meant, Hou Qing wiped the sweat from his forehead and whispered, "Thank you for the reminder, Shixiong. I’m leaving!"
Fang Xing hadn’t purchased anything himself, but the thought of scamming Hou Qing had left Fang Xing in extremely high spirits. He hummed a song to himself as he left the Black Market and began to work on his scheme.
After discovering how desperate Hou Qing was to find Ore Essence Powder, Fang Xing’s earlier interaction with Hua Qianzhi had become all the more meaningful. Ore Essence Powder was truly hard to get, so how could someone like Fang Xing offer it in exchange? But that was only true for real Ore Essence Powder, and he had a counterfeit master!
That same night, Fang Xing rested his head in his arms and devised a plan.
—
In the early morning of the next day, Fang Xing took out the robes he wore as a daotong and placed them on together with the Mask of Wanluo to change into a suitable appearance. Rather than transforming into an adult as he had last time, this time he changed himself to look like a child only slightly older than he was. He picked up a bronze mirror and studied himself making different faces before deciding on one that was most suitable: shy and bashful, almost like a little girl. Once everything was ready, Fang Xing hummed some light tunes and walked towards the cottage entrance with exaggerated sways of his hips.
With only a few steps, however, he suddenly remembered he was supposed to be playing the part of a shy daotong; there wasn’t a need to move like this, was there? He settled for a normal walk instead.
章節 24: Accumulation and Breakthrough
編輯: celllll, Nou
Black-Rock Valley was located ten miles away from where Fang Xing’s own cottage was located. Despite Fang Xing’s young age and the fact he was only at the second tier, it took him around a mere half an hour to arrive. A few people were using the early morning sun to train as he swaggered into the valley, but everyone only saw him as a young daotong and didn’t pay him a second glance.
Fang Xing casually strolled around the area to find Hua Qianzhi’s cottage before walking up and knocking on the door.
"Who is it?" a muffled voice rose up from within.
Fang Xing cleared his throat, coughed, and lowered his voice. "I… I am Little Snivel…. I’m here to send a message…."
"Send a message?" a whisper came from within before the speaker opened the door. The voice belonged to a surly-faced man in his thirties with a solid stature, long spindly fingers, and a pair of eyes and brows that perfectly matched the counterfeiter from the Black Market. As he looked at the child in front of him, the man asked in a low voice, "What message?"
Fang Xing put on a deliberately scared expression and stuttered out, "It was a tall shixiong with very narrow eyes…." Once Fang Xing had described the general features of the disguise he’d used last night, Hua Qianzi’s face immediately grew dark. He grabbed onto Fang Xing’s arm, pulled him into the cottage, and gave him a sharp stare before coldly demanding, "What is that person’s name? Where does he live? Tell me everything, and if you dare to miss any details, I’ll make sure you suffer…."
Fang Xing continued to show a fearful expression as his body shivered. "I— I don’t know. I was just carrying s— some water, he came up to me and told me to send you a message…. He— he also said that once you listened, you w— would give me a reward…." Fang Xing’s performance was really quite vivid, and he looked every bit like a child scared out of his wits. Then again, he himself was still a child; perhaps this was simply another side of him.
Hua Qianzhi asked a few more rounds of questions, but Fang Xing answered each one without any mistakes. It was only then that the man let out a sigh and finally believed this daotong was nothing more than a messenger. He wouldn’t get anything useful from him.
"What message did he want you to send?"
"He said he wanted Ore Essence Powder!"
"Ore Essence Powder?" Hua Qianzhi’s eyes glimmered with anger as he shouted out, "Where the hell does he expect me to get…." He suddenly stopped halfway through as he came to a realization—he wasn’t being asked for the genuine item, but a counterfeit. He calmed down at this and began to collect his thoughts. ‘Ore Essence Powder is used to break through into higher tiers and the sect has tight control over it. I’ve fortunately seen it during my work at the alchemy mill, but even then I’ve only seen it a few times. Hmm, how to make it realistic….'
Although he had such thoughts, Hua Qianzhi still didn’t want to actually do this. Just as he was trying to think of an excuse to get out of it, Fang Xing added, "The shixiong also said that if you don’t decline, I’ll have to give you this."
"‘This’?" Hua Qianzhi asked while the boy pulled out a small cloth bag that seemed a bit heavy. When he took a look inside the bag, his pupils suddenly shrank as he saw what was inside: ten bright red Spirit Stones and a gold leaf.
"The shixiong said th— that this is just an advance payment. Once it’s finished, there’ll be twenty more…" Fang Xing stammered out, as though doing his best to remember the details of the message.
Hua Qianzhi’s breathing grew more hurried as he stared at the Spirit Stones in front of him, far more convinced with this than with words. Thirty Spirit Stones was a very good deal for him, especially since making counterfeit Ore Essence Powder only needed a few worthless materials; crafting even the most realistic fake would cost him only a single Spirit Stone.
Hua Qianzhi considered it for a long while before retying the bag and grasping it tightly in his hand. "Did he say anything about what he plans to do with the powder?"
Fang Xing carefully shook his head. "He didn’t, but…."
"But what?"
"He said.... If you don’t have Ore Essence Powder, he’ll tell people something…."
Hua Qianzhi immediately covered his forehead with his other hand and released a heavy sigh. He was being forced into this! He realized rather quickly that he didn’t have a choice in the matter and released another long sigh. "I’ll take the Spirit Stones. You go back and tell him to send someone here in seven days to collect the powder!" After finishing, he noticed the daotong was looking at him longingly without budging an inch, and he recalled what he’d been told—the boy was expecting a reward. With this, he realized what the extra gold leaf inside was for and passed it over with a wave of his hand. "You can go now!"
The daotong held on to the gold leaf with a face full of excitement. "Now I can tell you the last part. That shixiong also said he won’t show up if you planned to find him by following me…."
Hua Qianzhi had actually planned to tail behind the boy, but hearing these words left him taken aback at just how meticulous the person he was dealing with was. He waved his hands once more, signaling for the boy to leave. His plan had been to follow the boy to find out who this mysterious man actually was, but with his intentions laid bare, he had to give up on it in the end.
—
Fang Xing felt rather proud of himself after leaving Hua Qianzhi’s cottage. He grew up in a bandit nest, after all, and he’d tagged along with his seventh and eighth uncle in the shady businesses of kidnapping and ransoms by the time he was seven years old. It had left the town officials angry and confused without any leads, and all of the tricks his uncles had used were imprinted in that little brain of his. All Fang Xing had to do today was alter it slightly to suit the situation, and Hua Qianzhi had been turned into a sheep waiting to be butchered.
Trusting there wouldn’t be any problems from Hua Qianzhi, Fang Xing returned to his cottage in high spirits. Fang Xing wasn’t worried since Hua Qianzhi had said it would be ready in seven days, and he’d just return once it was finished. In the time before then, he became even more diligent in practicing his cultivation in order to prepare for the days to come.
It became clear, however, that after Fang Xing had stepped into tier two, using the same methods from before had grown many times more difficult. In a way, it was as though a streamlet had turned into a full-sized stream, and the amount of water that was required to fill it was many times larger. Similarly, practicing his cultivation using Spirit Stones of the same size as before was like using the exact same spoon to fill streams of differing sizes—the time and effort it would take was vastly different.
Under normal circumstances, a person who had an abundance of resources would typically need around two months to go from the beginning of tier one to the peak. From the beginning of tier two to its peak, it would take around half a year under the same conditions.
Once someone reached the peak—or the mastery of the tier—they would then have to try to break through into the tier above. This process also required time, but the amount necessary varied considerably based upon luck and talent. Some would find this "breakthrough" effortless and require no more than a couple of days, while those with less talent would need much longer. One year, two years, ten years, the rest of their lives… sometimes those without talent ended up dwelling at the peak without ever going higher.
A cultivator would need and consume resources to increase and accumulate Qi through practice, but a combination of talent, willpower, and assistance from powerful helpers were the deciding factors for breaking through a bottleneck.
Accumulation and breakthrough: cultivation’s quantity and quality. Only when both conditions were met could it be said that cultivation was truly practiced.
Naturally, every breakthrough carried with it great benefits.
Fang Xing hadn’t learned any spells yet, but he could feel the abundance of energy and vitality within him. He was far more agile and stronger than he was before, and he could even spend fewer hours on sleep without sacrificing his physical strength and health.
Although he practiced his cultivation for a while, Fang Xing felt it was progressing too slowly and instead got out of bed to practice some martial arts. He stood up inside his wooden cottage, took out his dagger, and tucked his long robe into his pants.
Wherever the dagger could be seen passing by, rays of white light would follow. The dagger swished from one side of the room to the other, his figure closely resembling that of a nimble animal as he jumped high into the air to pierce areas far beyond his reach.
His imaginary enemies were all adults. Every enemy he’d faced up to now had been an adult, even back when he was at the bandit nest.
At age four, he was thrown into a house filled with mad hounds.
Age five, he faced off against a one-year-old wolfling with his bare hands.
Six, he was taken away by town officials, hanged on a tree by his feet, and then given seventeen lashes until he was dripping with blood.
Seven, he single-handedly poisoned a traitor of Guiyan Valley who wanted to take him as a hostage to threaten his uncles.
Eight, nine, and ten, many terrible things happened, things he had nightmares about to this very day.
Every one of his nine uncles had been good to him, but they were not good people!
Fang Xing believed there was no injustice in the murder of his nine uncles. Even if he himself were to be killed, there wouldn’t be any injustice.
Their deaths weren’t unjust, but they had raised him like their own. As long as he was alive, he had to grow—he had to take their revenge.
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