From the golden crow, Fang Xing learned the Qingqiu Tomb was the most peculiar existence within all of Bohai Kingdom. Legend had it that it was a neglected tomb with years of accumulated Demonic Qi, and some even said all the spirit beasts within the Bohai Kingdom had been nurtured by the Demonic Qi from this place. Those who had personally seen the tomb were very rare, however, as the Myriad Beasts Sect viewed it as their private property—it was the tombstone of their founder and not to be seen by outsiders.

　　This Qingqiu Tomb and the Myriad Beasts Sect were linked in countless ways even beyond that. The sect master of the Myriad Beasts Sect would often sacrifice the blood of rare and unusual spirit beasts for the Qingqiu Tomb, and he would receive something good in return after every sacrificial ceremony. Based on hearsay within the sect, a Myriad Beasts Sect ancestor was still in seclusion within the tomb, and—after receiving the offerings from the younger generations—they would send out rewards in exchange.

　　The golden crow expressed great disdain towards this hearsay. He speculated there wasn’t anybody living inside the Qingqiu Tomb, and that such a thing was actually impossible. Instead, he believed it had simply been used as a cave estate by an ancient cultivator, and offering blood would cause some sort of formation within the cave to activate and send out spirit treasures or secret manuals. It might occasionally even project a hint of incomplete Spirit Sense, which would be nothing more than a likeness of the ancient cultivator before their passing. He’d originally planned on checking the place out, but he’d decided against it out of worry towards the gloomy diabolic smog inside.

　　The Myriad Beasts sect master had chosen to have the three candidates offer their sacrifices for the Qingqiu Tomb because of how extremely difficult this decision was, and he hoped the tomb would offer him some advice. However, the Qingqiu Tomb wasn’t always available for the sacrificial ritual, and it could only take place during the full moon. Since it was currently the beginning of the month, it meant the next ceremony would be half a month from now, and the plump Daoist would still be safe until then.

　　After finding out about this, Fang Xing wasn’t in a rush, either, and he had Zhang Seven continue scouting for information while he himself secretly left Sea Beast City. He found himself a rather secluded and hidden location within a nearby forest and—using his Flying Sword—carved out a cave for himself.

　　Afterwards, he surrounded the cave with the superior-quality protective spirit tools he’d stolen from Xiao Shanhe and made a secret cave estate that others couldn’t easily find. From a distance, they would only be able to see that the area was covered in a heavy smog, and even if they were to come closer by accident, they would be inexplicably drawn back out again and unable to draw closer.

　　‘The inheritance of the Myriad Beasts Sect is very special, and the abundance of beasts within the Bohai Kingdom has allowed them to start up beast pellet businesses. Without a lack of cultivation resources, there’s an abundance of Spirit Stage disciples, but the techniques are so rare that relying only on the ones within the sect means there will only be three people able to break into the Foundation Stage—those who inherit the spirit forms of the Nine-Headed Lion, Yinglong Dragon, and the Ganglie….

　　‘The entire sect currently only has two in the Foundation Stage, one of them being Ying Shihou who inherited the Nine-Headed Lion, and the other being Elder Moye who chanced upon a Foundation Pellet while traveling. Those in the Spirit Stage, however, are just too many. Based on what the golden crow and Zhang Seven said, there are at least four or five Spirit Stage tier nine disciples within the Myriad Beasts Sect, and there are countless numbers in tiers eight and seven. They’re still a bit dangerous to me, so it’s best I improve my cultivation level first!’

　　To have an abundance of resources but a lack of technique manuals was the primary reason such a peculiar inheritance system had developed in the Myriad Beasts Sect. Since Fang Xing had decided to help the plump Daoist, he had to first make some preparations. He’d already accumulated a large amount of resources, so now it was time to focus on improving his cultivation once again.

　　While most cultivators improved their tiers through breathing exercises, Fang Xing used Spirit Wine to maintain the abundance of Qi within his meridians. Then, once he’d accumulated enough, he’d simply need to refine it all at once to break through into the next tier.

　　While sitting inside the stone cave, Fang Xing took out the white jade case containing the Spirit Growth Pellets and opened it, revealing all twelve of the pure white pellets neatly placed inside. The distinct smell of incense was present, and there were even hints of a mystical light shimmering like a small cloud atop the jade case. Even just inhaling the sweet scent caused the Qi within his body to gradually increase in a peculiar fashion.

　　‘These are good pellets, indeed. Once all twelve of these Spirit Growth Pellets have been completely absorbed, my cultivation level should also reach about the peak of tier nine, right?’ After a short while considering it, Fang Xing grinned, picked up one of the Spirit Growth Pellets, and threw it into his mouth like a candy. The medicinal properties within soon began to disperse throughout his body towards the meridians, and he quickly activated the Scripture of Revered Spirit.

　　The Qi that filled his meridians was so pure as to not even require tempering from the True Samadhi Fire—it could be directly absorbed by his body. This characteristic alone showed how truly extraordinary they were.

　　Fang Xing finished absorbing the first Spirit Growth Pellet seven days later, and he opened his eyes while releasing a long exhale. A heavy herbal scent followed the breath, covering the entirety of the cave and making it so abundant with Qi it was like a paradise.

　　“This pellet is truly amazing, it’s just that it takes too long to dissolve; for a single Spirit Growth Pellet to be completely absorbed would take around a month. It was probably intentionally crafted this way taking into consideration an ordinary cultivator’s maximum absorption limit. I’ve got the Scripture of Revered Spirit, but at most I can only increase the absorption to finish one pellet within seven days, and I’d need almost three months’ time to completely absorb all twelve pellets. But it’s not as though I can’t spend the time doing this, and it’s true these pellets have very amazing properties…. When I’ve completely absorbed all twelve, I can probably begin thinking about breaking into the Foundation Stage…” Fang Xing muttered to himself, certain he’d found a rare treasure.

　　He popped the second pellet into his mouth to continue the process.

　　—

　　While Fang Xing had been focusing on absorbing these twelve Spirit Growth Pellets, within a grand hall in the Myriad Beasts Sect, an arrogant-looking Ye Gu’yin was looking at the sect master’s daughter—Ying Qiaoqiao—without emotion. “Your father thinks you’re extraordinarily talented and doesn’t wish for you to waste away within the Myriad Beasts Sect. The highest you’ll reach if you stay behind is the Foundation Stage, but he believes you have the potential to break through into the Golden Core Stage and wishes for you to join our Melodic Ice Palace. My esteemed shifu has already accepted you and I’ve been ordered to come pick you up. Why, then, are you unwilling to come with me?”

　　Upon hearing this, a red-clothed Ying Qiaoqiao—the little girl who’d been kidnapped by Fang Xing before—lowered her voice. “Shijie, please accept my apologies. It is not that Qiaoqiao is unwilling to come with you, it is just that I wish to leave after the successor of the Ganglie form has been determined….”

　　Ye Gu’yin’s voice was calm. “It is nothing more than a beast spirit that will allow a breakthrough into the Foundation Stage. What is there to determine?”

　　Ying Qiaoqiao became quiet before answering, “I just don’t want that stupid fatty to get the inheritance, that’s all!”

　　Ye Gu’yin raised her gaze to the girl and asked, “Why’s that?”

　　“Because he’s friends with Fang Xing of the Qing-Yun Sect. I can tell; even though he says he’s the one with the biggest grudge against Fang Xing, he’s in fact Fang Xing’s friend. And that guy… he….”

　　Ye Gu’yin nodded with a bit of surprise. “So the one you hate is called ‘Fang Xing’. In that case, you’ve been spending a lot of thought on this, but I’m afraid that person won’t be able to wait for you to strike him down!”

　　Confused, Ying Qiaoqiao’s eyes reddened. “Why?”

　　“Because I’ll be the one to kill him.”

　　Dumbstruck, Ying Qiaoqiao raised her head and looked to Ye Gu’yin in a daze.

　　“This isn’t a secret or anything, so it doesn’t matter if I tell you the reason. Many years ago, my father and the younger brother of the Qing-Yun Sect’s Xiao Shanhe—the father of Xiao Jianming—were friends. My father also owed the Xiao family a favor, since Xiao Jianming’s father died because of mine, so the Ye family has always felt we owed them a lot.

　　“Yet this Xiao uncle-nephew pair used this to their advantage to grab as many benefits for themselves as they could. They even once asked my father to have me wed Xiao Jianming, which was rejected by my esteemed shifu. However, because of this, the Ye family felt even more indebted to the Xiao family and has been trying to make up for it in other ways, and this uncle-nephew pair has always happily accepted. They even arranged a fake duel between me and Xiao Jianming to raise his name and status. Or else, with that lousy iron sword, did you really think he’d be considered on the same level as me and Hou Guimen? That he’d become the one of the top three young talents of Chufung?

　　“Heh, now that my father has also passed on, others in my clan cannot control me anymore, and I no longer wish to befriend the Xiaos. It just happened that things have recently changed quite drastically within the Qing-Yun Sect, and the person called ‘Fang Xing’ happened to kill Xiao Jianming inside their Thousand Cliff, becoming the Xiao family’s biggest enemy. I’m planning on killing that Fang Xing—it’ll be considered vengeance for the Xiaos and I’ll forever have nothing to do with them”

　　After finishing, Ye Gu’yin turned to Ying Qiaoqiao. “Do you think you can win over me?”

　　Ying Qiaoqiao quickly lowered her head. “I—your shimei—do not dare. To have Shijie kill him is the same as me killing him. I just hate him for killing my Xiongnu for no reason at all and want him to repay with his life, is all….”

　　Ye Gu’yin let out a cold laugh and turned to leave. She was a proud woman, and she naturally had thoughts she wouldn’t speak aloud. She held the same title as Xiao Jianming and Hou Guimen, and for Fang Xing to kill Xiao Jianming was like a declaration he was stronger than her—something difficult for her to accept. She’d kill Fang Xing not just to avenge Xiao Jianming, but to also prove to others she wouldn’t lose to anyone by any means.

　　—

　　With seven days required for a single Spirit Growth Pellet, half a month had already passed by the time Fang Xing had completely absorbed the second one.

　　It was just before dawn of that same day, and within a strange mountain valley covered in a purple smog towards the west of the Myriad Beasts Sect, a strange energy suddenly rose up and shot right into the clouds. The Bohai Kingdom had been soaked in another downpour, but once the energy rose upwards, all of the dark clouds in the sky strangely began to retreat to reveal a clear and bright moon. The moonlight was like strings of silk that gradually lowered one at a time into the mountains and its valleys.

　　Within the stone cave, Fang Xing also opened his eyes. “Is it time?” At that moment, the fluttering of wings could be heard outside the cave, and the golden crow—appearing as a dull-colored roc—arrived at Fang Xing’s place of seclusion just as they’d agreed. The crow lowered his voice and called out, “Hey kid, it’s time for the Qingqiu Tomb….”

　　“I’ve been waiting….” As the voice rose, Fang Xing—wearing the Water-Fire Spirit Robe—stepped out from the cave and sat atop the golden crow’s back with crossed legs. Once he’d walked out, the strange phenomenon surrounding the cave was all sucked back into a jade pendant hanging on his waist. “Let’s go and see what that lousy grave of the Myriad Beasts Sect is actually all about!”