Star Sky Professional
Chapter 311 - 255: Fourth Rank Mid-grade (Please Subscribe)

Chapter 311: Chapter 255: Fourth Rank Mid-grade (Please Subscribe)

"Little Yuan Mountain, mineral vein."

Mu Wandao had vacated his own cave mansion for Mu Wanlong to recuperate.

At this moment, Mu Wanlong was silently operating his cultivation technique, his face showing an abnormal flush.

After a long while.

His complexion changed, and he spewed out a mouthful of essence blood.

Within the essence blood, there seemed to be a white needle of light.

"Life-taking Needle... the life-taking scholar..."

Mu Wanlong’s expression was fierce, "I originally thought this person was merely an ordinary loose cultivator, but it turns out he really has some tricks up his sleeve... one day..."

As the family head of a Core Formation Family, the resources and manpower he could mobilize were beyond the imagination of a loose cultivator.

Although now was not the time, having suffered such a great loss, he was determined to seek revenge in the future!

Just then.

The expression on Mu Wanlong’s face changed again, and beneath his cushion, four pitch-black palms suddenly emerged, grabbing fiercely toward him.

Clang!

Inside Mu Wanlong, his lifebound magical treasure roared, automatically protecting its master and emitting a blaze of fiery red protective treasure light.

This treasure light, together with the fiery flame, burned on the pitch-black palms and hardly left any damage.

Subsequently, a pitch-black aberration with four arms emerged, wearing a mask with the character ’earth’ inscribed on it.

"A third-rank mid-grade body cultivator?"

"No, it’s corpse refining!"

Mu Wanlong let out a long howl, attempting to warn the Mu family’s disciples outside.

Yet, his voice could not penetrate the cave mansion at all.

As if this place had already been sealed by an array!

A white-haired scholar appeared, giving him a slight smile. A torrent of overwhelming mana surged towards him.

"The life-taking scholar... you’re actually a Nascent Soul? No, you’re Fang Xing!"

Mu Wanlong’s eyes were about to burst, but he could only send a message, as the Great Freedom Mysterious Gold Sword Qi penetrated his dantian qi sea, and he slumped to the ground, his strength depleted.

Fang Xing pinched a hand sign with both hands, and the green Nine Infant Pearl flew out, with the Nine Infant Illusion appearing.

A head, resembling both a dragon and a snake, drooped slightly, devouring Mu Wanlong’s essence blood voraciously.

Immediately after, he began to use the Dream Soul Searching Skill on Mu Wanlong.

Not only that, but after the soul search, Fang Xing casually pointed, and a ray of sword light fell, immediately piercing into Mu Wanlong’s sea of consciousness, causing the old man to let out an inhuman scream.

"A forced division of the divine soul is very painful... if it wasn’t for my powerful Nascent Soul divine sense performing the operation, perhaps your divine soul would have collapsed..."

"Of course, you’re not much better off now..."

"After searching your soul once, I’ve obtained the mnemonic for the sacrificial refining of the Jiao Wei Zither, not bad, not bad..."

Watching a red light orb emerge from Mu Wanlong’s nose and be devoured by the Nine Infant Illusion, Fang Xing nodded.

Having lost so much divine soul and a great deal of essence blood, Mu Wanlong, even if alive, was no more than a vegetative person, barely clinging to life.

"Take this person away. Your greatest task now is to guard him well!"

Fang Xing ordered the Five Mixed Demons.

The Earth Demon immediately grabbed Mu Wanlong, using the Earth Tunneling Technique, and disappeared from view.

Fang Xing, however, stretched lazily, refined the Nine Infant Pearl into his body, and in an instant, transformed into the likeness of Mu Wanlong.

"The face is a bit old, never mind..."

Fang Xing touched his own face, then suddenly pinched a hand sign, using the Concealing Breath Skill to reduce his mana fluctuations to the early stage of Core Formation.

Then, he withdrew the array he had originally set up and let out a long howl.

"The Family Head!"

It wasn’t long before Mu Wandao burst in and saw the ’severely injured’ Fang Xing, he started in fright: "Your realm..."

"That damn life-taking scholar, I underestimated him... Although I’ve expelled the Life-taking Needle, it has greatly damaged my primordial qi, causing my realm to fall..."

Fang Xing mimicked Mu Wanlong’s tone, his face showing a color of utter discouragement.

"Ah... how should we deal with this?"

Mu Wandao was terribly shocked.

"First, seal the news... I have repelled this probing attack, so the Little Yuan Mountain mineral vein shouldn’t be much of a problem; I will return to the clan land to heal..."

Fang Xing waved his hand, appearing dejected: "Also... remember to keep the news secret."

"Yes!"

Mu Wandao was nearly in tears as he watched Fang Xing leave.

...

Baihua Mountain.

"The Myriad Flower Illusion Array?"

Fang Xing looked at the fluttering petals in the sky, took out a token from Mu Wanlong’s storage bag, and gently waved it at the array.

Immediately, countless petals separated, revealing a path.

He swaggered up Baihua Mountain and came to the Mu family’s ancestral hall.

Glancing over, he saw three Jiedan cultivators and seven Fake Cores.

Basically, apart from the high-level cultivators in seclusion, all were present here.

’This Mu family’s ancestral hall should also have a bloodline verification function...’

’If the Nine Infant Pearl can’t hide from it, then I’ll just kill all these cultivators...’

Fang Xing was very relaxed in his heart as he walked into the ancestral hall.

"Wanlong brother!"

Mu Wanlu came forward to greet him, his face filled with concern, "Is everything alright?"

"Cough cough... I fell victim to the ruse of that life-taking scholar, truly, the Life-taking Needle is formidable. To force out the residual poison, my primordial qi has been greatly damaged," Fang Xing waved his hand dismissively.

"No wonder... Family Head, your soul lamp dimmed once before, and then it dimmed again..." Mu Wanqing’s face was full of lingering fear.

In fact, he suspected Mu Wanlong was almost at the end of his tether.

"My primordial qi is greatly damaged, I must immediately go into seclusion and refine healing spirit pills," Fang Xing declared solemnly, "Starting from today, Mu Wanlu will take temporary leadership of the family head position..."

"Brother Wanlong, my knowledge and abilities are shallow..." Mu Wanlu hastily waved his hands in protest.

"Sigh... Now that I am incapable, if I do not go into seclusion, I might not even be able to maintain my True Core. You needn’t worry too much."

Fang Xing spoke with gravity, within the Mu family right now, only a few Jiedan cultivators are of decisive capability.

Mu Wanlu, whose cultivation was the highest, with decent wisdom and strategy, and belonging to the ’Mu Wanlong’ faction, naturally had to be supported.

Although, this person seemed somewhat unreliable, what did it have to do with Fang Xing?

"That’s settled then."

After speaking, he didn’t give anyone from the Mu family the opportunity to object and headed to the Fourth Rank Cave Mansion where spiritual energy was most abundant.

The ancestral hall immediately fell silent.

A moment later, Mu Wanqing smiled, "Brother Wanlu is truly remarkable... this time the family head has taken the brunt for you."

Even Mu Wanlong, a peak cultivator in the middle stage of Core Formation, had fallen to such a state that his True Core was on the verge of collapsing. No wonder the soul lamp was so dim, it looked like a candle flickering in the wind.

If Mu Wanlu had gone, his fate would surely have been even worse.

"Sigh... I am but taking the command in face of an emergency."

Mu Wanlu said, "The urgent task at hand is to abandon some peripheral interests and focus on defending our core interests... In addition, we should seek aid from several families with marital alliances..."

"Humph, they’re called marital alliances, but only the Wang Family is somewhat reliable. The other families probably won’t kick us while we’re down..." An elder Jiedan cultivator who had been silent till then spoke up.

"Indeed, I think we can first..."

Mu Wanqing also spoke, causing Mu Wanlu’s eyebrows to slightly furrow, aware that he was not Mu Wanlong, with centuries of prestige.

With managing the family now, compromises must be made, and matters handled through discussion.

...

Baihua Peak.

In a valley.

Unlike the rest of the place, awash with colorful flowers, this spot lay bare, even emanating waves of burning heat.

Fang Xing flew into it and with a wave of his hand, opened a Cave Mansion.

Inside the Cave Mansion, rich spiritual energy twirled and curled, which he absorbed into his body, "Fourth Rank Spirit Vein... truly not bad, I couldn’t even mingle with such resources within the Heavenly Sword Sect."

After all, his identity within the Heavenly Sword Sect was merely that of a Foundation Establishment True Inheritor; it would have been good to have access to a Third Rank Spirit Vein.

"This Mu Wanlong knew quite well how to enjoy himself."

As he roamed within the Cave Mansion, especially upon seeing a spirit pond hot spring, Fang Xing felt highly satisfied.

The liquid in this spirit pond carried a rich spiritual energy, immensely beneficial to the cultivator’s body with regular immersion.

Of course, apart from enjoyment, there were various chambers for practice, beast pens, and Spiritual Medicine Gardens, all well prepared.

What pleased Fang Xing more was that Mu Wanlong was a Third Rank Alchemist, and this particular Cave Mansion had its own underground fire vein connected to the Alchemy Room!

Inside the Alchemy Room, there was an Alchemy Cauldron of Magical Treasure level. While it couldn’t compare to the Ten Thousand Transformation Cauldron, it was still quite excellent.

"Mm, after getting a bit familiar with it, I can start refining the ’Ganoderma Pills’."

After surveying the environment, Fang Xing expressed his satisfaction, preparing to delve into seclusion and cultivate for a period of time.

Even better, he could remain sequestered until reaching Nascent Soul, with no need to emerge.

He was not that Mu Wanlong, wholly committed to the prosperity of the family.

As long as Baihua Mountain remained his and nobody disturbed him in the Cave Mansion, he couldn’t care less about external cultivators vying for power or wealth.

Outwardly it would be perfect to claim that Mu Wanlong was gravely injured and on the brink of death, requiring a secluded retreat to heal!

’Later on, when I find the opportunity, I’ll have the Five Mixed Demon Generals bring the real Mu Wanlong into the Cave Mansion, set up an Array to imprison him, then it’ll be truly foolproof...’

Fang Xing took a deep satisfied breath and went to soak in the spirit qi hot spring.

If it weren’t for the image of the Mu family head as a hardworking cultivator, he would’ve liked to call in a few beautiful maids for a massage to relax his sinews and bones...

After the hot spring soak, Fang Xing, dressed in a loose green robe, sat cross-legged in a quiet chamber.

The cushion in this chamber was a light purple color, woven from Third Rank Spirit Grass and blessed with a spell by a Master from the Bodhi Sect made it a quasi Third Rank Magical Treasure. It had a calming effect when meditating, and could even help dispel inner demons to some extent.

Even for a Jiedan cultivator, it would be considered somewhat luxurious.

But the Mu family, after all, stood as the foremost family on the Righteous Path and once a Nascent Soul immortal clan, naturally had the confidence.

"Not only this, the Mu family also has its own Spiritual Food Hall, Spirit Testing Platform... Not only is there a greater chance for offspring to possess a Spirit Root, the testing is also much more accurate compared to ’Spirit Testing Talisman’... This is the foundation of cultivation."

"We of small sects truly cannot learn, cannot learn..."

Fang Xing shook his head as an ancient zither appeared in his hands.

The zither was red with a burnt black tail, equipped with seven strings; it was the Spiritual Treasure, the ’Jiao Wei Zither’!

Previously, this Spiritual Treasure stubbornly resisted Fang Xing’s attempts to refine it, but now as ’Mu Wanlong’ touched it, there was no resistance felt.

’Bloodline verification passed?’

’Damn, the intelligence of this Spiritual Treasure really is like an idiot...’

’Well, better to be a bit foolish, means I just have to maintain Mu Wanlong’s appearance when using the Spiritual Treasure...’

Fang Xing’s eyes twinkled, and his hands formed a spell, imprinting complicated and profound runes into the interior of the Jiao Wei Zither.

This was the Sacrificial Refining Mnemonic obtained from searching Mu Wanlong’s soul; Mu Family’s bloodline combined with the Mnemonic was the key to unlocking the Jiao Wei Zither.

Fang Xing could distinctly feel the resistance emanating from the Jiao Wei Zither disappear, allowing him an easier time refining the Spiritual Treasure.

"Actually a Mid-grade Fourth Rank Spiritual Treasure?! Good, very good..."