For a rogue cultivator, the most precious resource wasn’t spirit tools, talismans, or even technique manuals—it was Poji Pellets.

　　This man was a good example why. Although he’d saved up quite an ample amount of resources for himself by robbing other rogue cultivators and he’d done all sorts of shady things to forcibly improve himself to Spirit Stage tier six, he’d still been stuck at tier six for many years because he didn’t have a Poji Pellet. He’d begged his cousin many times and sent plenty of gifts, yet he still hadn’t managed to get his hands on one.

　　Poji Pellets were rare. To a certain extent, a Poji Pellet was an opportunity for someone to enter a new level, and the various sects and clans had seemingly agreed to take strict control over how many Poji Pellets there were, making it hard for outsiders to obtain them.

　　For a sect disciple, a Poji Pellet might just be a bit expensive, but for a rogue cultivator, it couldn’t even be bought. Of course, this wasn’t absolute; someone could still purchase it if they were willing to spend a fortune, although the price for them would typically be ten times greater. It was also because of this that when the man saw the pale yellow pellet in Fang Xing’s hand, his breathing had become momentarily hurried.

　　“This pellet…. Are you really going to give it to me, Sir?” The man’s voice even shook as he took short, rushed breaths.

　　“That would depend on whether your information is satisfying or not!” Fang Xing coldly laughed before putting his pellet away. “These kinds of pellets aren’t anything to me anyways, but to you….” He didn’t finish his sentence, and instead just folded his hands behind his back while raising his head towards the sky.

　　The man’s eyes glistened and he didn’t hesitate at all. “I am willing to work beneath you, Sir!”

　　Fang Xing smirked with a wink. “Don’t call me ‘Sir’. Call me your uncle!”

　　Slightly stunned by this, the man immediately replied, “I am willing to work beneath you, Uncle…”

　　“Off you go, then, and take this Message Talisman with you. If there’s any information, fill it with Qi and I will naturally be able to hear you. Deliver any information about that fatty to me without delay.” Fang Xing then nodded in satisfaction before continuing, “Oh, by the way, you might want to sort these two corpses out…. I’ve killed two of your comrades, you don’t have a problem with that, right?”

　　The man spat on the ground. “They deserved this! These two sons of turtle egg bastards broke the law numerous times and committed all sorts of atrocities! They should have been killed ages ago!”

　　It was Fang Xing’s turn to be stunned, but he soon grinned once more. “What’s your name?”

　　The man showed an ingratiating smile. “My surname is Zhang. I’m the seventh child, so Uncle can call me Zhang Seven…. Did esteemed uncle have any more instructions?”

　　Fang Xing cupped his hands. “No, no. You just impressed me, that’s all….” Fang Xing then left in a daze. After meeting someone who was even more shameless than he was, he felt a little gloomy.

　　After leaving, Fang Xing repeated the same process and forced a few more resourceful-looking people to help him find the same information. Once that was all done, he changed into a different set of clothing and found himself a lodge located in a quiet area in the eastern district. He rarely left his accommodations and simply waited for his scouts to deliver more information.

　　As for why he hadn’t decided to stay in the central portion of the city, it was because he’d already seen through it with his Book of Revelation. Within Sea Beast City, the central area had a defensive formation that made it easy to enter but difficult to leave, while the four districts surrounding it did not.

　　Fang Xing didn’t waste time during this period and chose to quietly focus on practicing his cultivation to raise his tier. During his travel to the city, he’d already appraised in detail all of the resources he’d gotten from the Danxia, Shanhe, and Shuwen valleys, and he’d sorted them into different categories based on their use. Among these items, the one he was fond of most of all was the twelve superior-quality Spirit Growth Pellets, which were particularly good for improving cultivation level. These Spirit Growth Pellets were crafted by mixing a number of beast pellets together, and its medicinal properties were extraordinary; for someone in Spirit Stage, it could only be considered a priceless treasure.

　　It made one wonder why Qin’nyao had kept such great stuff and hadn’t given them to Xu Linyun or Xiao Mahn to use. Perhaps these twelve Spirit Growth Pellets were simply too precious and she must have been reluctant to give them out, yet now all twelve of these pellets she’d saved for so long all belonged to Fang Xing, just perfect for him to use for himself. After absorbing nearly thirty years of Xiao Shanhe’s lifespan, Fang Xing’s cultivation level had already reached the early stages of Spirit Stage tier eight, and the most precious part of these twelve Spirit Growth Pellets was that these alone would be enough for him to reach tier nine—all he needed was some time to start the process.

　　In truth, Fang Xing’s extremely slow rate of improvement in cultivation tiers was entirely because of his method using the True Samadhi Fire to purify his Qi and the extremely terrifying amount of resources he had to waste to do so. If it was an ordinary cultivator, let alone twelve Spirit Growth Pellets, even just the thirty years from Xiao Shanhe would have been enough to bring them from tier seven to the peak of tier nine, or even a half-step away from Foundation Stage.

　　Fang Xing leaving the Qing-Yun Sect had actually been an inevitable conclusion. Once his cultivation level had increased to a certain point, the Qing-Yun Sect wouldn’t have enough resources to actually afford supporting him.

　　By the third day staying in the city, Fang Xing’s scouts had all gradually delivered him the information he’d been waiting for, and this helped him have a basic understanding of the plump Daoist’s current situation. It could indeed be said the plump Daoist had stumbled upon a great opportunity; not even Fang Xing had expected a plain manual he’d given away—one that had been left in the sack purely by accident—would stimulate the plump Daoist’s special talent, who had followed the instructions in the Spirit Beast Metamorphosis manual and mastered the Ganglie’s spirit form rather easily.

　　The Myriad Beasts Sect’s inheritance involved many different beasts, but there were three extremely powerful beast spirits of note. As long as someone was able to inherit one of the three beast spirits, their cultivation level and battle prowess would increase exponentially, making breaking into the Foundation Stage a breeze. The form the plump Daoist had practiced was precisely the prerequisite required to inherit the Ganglie’s beast spirit, and for someone to reach mastery in it showed they possessed a great talent to do so.

　　The three most powerful spirit beasts were the Spirit of the Nine-Headed Lion, the Spirit of the Yinglong Dragon ¹ , and the Spirit of the Ganglie. At present, the Nine-Headed Lion had been inherited by the sect master of the Myriad Beasts Sect, while the Yinglong Dragon had been inherited by the sect master’s only daughter. The only one yet to be inherited was that of the Ganglie, and inheriting it meant reaching the heavens with a single step and becoming the third most powerful person within the Myriad Beasts Sect.

　　Another important thing to note was that not only did these three spirits have a hand in one’s status, but also in breaking through into the Foundation Stage.

　　The Myriad Beasts’ Sect inheritance was extremely peculiar. Due to trading beast cores and beast pellets, the sect disciples didn’t lack resources, and quite a number of powerful youths had been produced within the younger generation—all at Spirit Stage tier nine at a very young age. However, the Myriad Beasts Sect didn’t have any Foundation Stage manuals, let alone alchemists who could craft Foundation Pellets, and so it was extremely difficult for those within the Myriad Beasts Sect to break into the Foundation Stage.

　　These three beast spirits that allowed the inheritor to break through were akin to three opportunities to step into Foundation Stage. Since the Nine-Headed Lion and Yinglong Dragon had already been inherited, the only remaining chance was for the Ganglie; it was only natural for quite a few people to have their eyes on it.

　　At least for now, there were currently two people in the Myriad Beasts Sect who wanted to inherit the Ganglie. Of these two, one was the head pupil and core disciple of the Myriad Beasts Sect—Chu Zhaoyang—and the other was the son of the Qi clan of the Bohai Kingdom—Qi Heng. These two hadn’t yet mastered the Ganglie form and were only able to display seventy percent of its potential if they forced themselves to inherit it. Since the plump Daoist had already mastered the Ganglie form, it meant this person and spirit had been brought together by fate; as long as he studied diligently, there was a high chance he’d be able to display the full one hundred percent of its power should he inherit it.

　　Such a person would undoubtedly become a huge benefit to the Myriad Beasts Sect in the future.

　　That being said, the other two had either a special background or status. One was a core pupil studying under the sect master, and was assuredly loyal towards the sect; the other was backed by one of the most ancient and wealthy clan of the Bohai Kingdom, with such vast wealth and deep connections that even the sect master had to consider the matter carefully. Besides, although the plump Daoist had been all too willing, whether he would actually stay true and loyal to the Myriad Beasts Sect was unknown—he was an outsider, after all. As such, the sect master still had his reservations.

　　For a matter like this, the final decision wouldn’t be made until seven days from now. The Sect Master of the Myriad Beasts had decided these three would visit and offer sacrifice to the Qingqiu Tomb to ultimately decide on the final successor.

　　According to Zhang Seven, the Qingqiu Tomb was a location in the Bohai Kingdom so mysterious, it was impossible for someone of his level to find out any specific information. Rather than question Zhang Seven further, Fang Xing just turned and asked the golden crow once the man had left. The crow was rather familiar with the area since he’d been involved with the Myriad Beasts Sect for some time in the past, so he could only coldly laugh. “Seems like the sect has given up on that fat friend of yours!”

　　Fang Xing raised his brows. “What sort of crap place is that whatever-it’s-called tomb?”

　　“I don’t know the exact location, but I know it’s a very important place to the Myriad Beasts Sect. It has always been heavily guarded, and every once in a while, the Myriad Beasts sect master would collect all sorts of rare beast flesh and blood to use as sacrifice for the Qingqiu Tomb. If he decided to use the Qingqiu Tomb to determine who out of these three will become the successor of the inheritance spirit, then it will undoubtedly be through blood sacrifice. It’s a competition to see who can collect the rarest type of blood or—to be frank—a competition on who is richer. How could that fatty compete with them?”

　　Slightly surprised, Fang Xing sighed. “Very true. I knew this was too good to be true…. It’s a good thing I followed along….”

　　“You’ve got plenty of money now, though. Are you thinking of helping out that friend of yours?”

　　“I don’t have money! I’ve only got this much; I have to be careful with how I spend it!”

　　“You penny pincher, how do you plan on helping him, then?”

　　Fang Xing let out a loud laugh. “There are only three candidates. Wouldn’t it all be over if the other two are killed off?”

　　—

　　Notes

　　[1] Yinglong Dragon: 应龙 (ying4 long2), literally ‘responsive dragon’, also known as the Winged Rain Dragon.