Novel11 Chapter 291 - 232: Iron Wind Islands 2
Chapter 291 - 232: Iron Wind Islands 2
The conflict with the Spirit Wood Alliance had concluded half a year ago. Lechuan sent the Cultivators from the five allied sects home after giving each sect a hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones for their assistance.
Situ Jingyu had also returned to her sect. Over the past five or six years, she had fought endlessly, accumulating a considerable fortune through her battle merits.
Coupled with the experience and inspiration she’d gained, Situ Jingyu told Fang Qingyuan before she left that she was very confident she could break through to the Late-stage Foundation Establishment this time.
She hoped that by the next time they met, her cultivation progress would put her a step ahead of Fang Qingyuan. The fact that his realm was currently the same as hers left a sour taste in her mouth.
A slight smile touched Fang Qingyuan’s lips as he recalled Situ Jingyu’s defiant expression.
"Qingyuan, it’s time for you to go."
Lechuan’s voice reached Fang Qingyuan’s ears. He glanced at Lechuan’s back, then patted the head of his mount, Yinbao.
Receiving Fang Qingyuan’s signal, Yinbao quickly broke away from the main group. A lone ray, it flew south.
Watching Fang Qingyuan depart, Ling Ziqing asked Lechuan, who stood beside him,
"Master, where is Junior Brother going? Aren’t we headed for the depths of White Mountain?"
Lechuan glanced at Ling Ziqing, his gaze following the distant Fang Qingyuan. His voice was filled with hope as he said,
"I have given him a mission. A mission that could allow us to turn the tables and claim victory!"
....
Above the vast, boundless Death Swamp, Fang Qingyuan sat cross-legged on Yinbao’s head.
His fiery-red magical robes whipped about in the fierce headwind, rustling loudly, but Fang Qingyuan paid it no mind.
According to Lechuan, when Zhao E Lian had left all those years ago, he cut a sorry and impoverished figure. Despite being a Golden Core Cultivator, his entire fortune amounted to just over a thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones.
This was because Zhao E Lian’s Golden Silk Silver-backed Manta Ray had an insatiable appetite.
The Golden Silk Silver-backed Manta Ray was enormous and consumed a massive amount of food every day. For years, Zhao E Lian had constantly worried about how to feed his Companion Beast.
Furthermore, back then, Zhao E Lian had been exiled to a remote post because Jiang Kui’s uncle, Elder Dean Jiang, had reported him. The place was barren and desolate; even if Zhao E Lian scraped the land three feet deep, he couldn’t wring out many Spirit Stones.
’How, in a mere thirty years, did Zhao E Lian become so fabulously wealthy? He even had enough resources for his Companion Beast to successfully break through.’
According to their intelligence, his Companion Beast had only managed its breakthrough because Zhao E Lian had struck it rich and purchased a massive amount of resources for it.
It wasn’t the other way around, where the beast’s breakthrough was what provided Zhao E Lian with his abundant Spirit Stones.
’This distinction was crucial, as it held the key to Zhao E Lian’s true secret.’
Although Zhao E Lian had only snatched the prize at the behest of higher-level Nascent Soul Cultivators, he had still played a disgraceful role in the affair.
That was why Lechuan wanted to uncover the true story behind Zhao E Lian’s sudden fortune. Perhaps he could use it as an opportunity to reclaim the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect.
And Lechuan had entrusted this very task to Fang Qingyuan.
That was why Fang Qingyuan had broken away from the main group to travel alone, preparing to head for the place where Zhao E Lian had made his fortune: the Iron Wind Islands enclave.
This region was far from human civilization, situated at the very edge of the Chaotic Star Sea. How Zhao E Lian managed to rise in such a place was nothing short of miraculous.
And this time, Fang Qingyuan’s goal was to put himself in Zhao E Lian’s shoes, to try and uncover the secret he so desperately concealed.
....
The Iron Wind Islands were no less than 300,000 li from the Southern Border, a journey that crossed the territories of both Qi Yun and the Beast Taming Sect. On Yinbao alone, the trip would likely take three years.
So, using the funds Lechuan had provided for the mission, Fang Qingyuan traveled to an Immortal City in the Qi Yun Territory, preparing to use its Super Long Distance Transmission Array.
After a month of dusty travel, Fang Qingyuan sat atop Yinbao, gazing at the enormous Immortal City that towered a hundred zhang into the air. The sight left him utterly awestruck.
This was Qinan City, a super Immortal City presided over by a Divinity Transformation Cultivator. Its patriarch, Nangong Wood, was one of the most powerful figures of the age.
Rumor had it that the city’s core Spiritual Land was Tier Five. The Immortal City spanned several hundred li, encompassing a vast range of mountains and ley lines. Countless Cultivators lived here; some never left the city their entire lives, for it contained everything one could possibly need.
Here, Foundation Establishment Cultivators were commonplace and Golden Core Cultivators were a frequent sight. One could even spot a Nascent Soul Cultivator from time to time. It was said that the patriarch, Nangong Wood, even made an appearance once every hundred years.
Just outside the Immortal City, Fang Qingyuan found a secluded spot. With a flick of his wrist, he unfurled the Ten Thousand Beasts Qiankun Banner and drew Yinbao into it.
In truth, Yinbao only passed through the Ten Thousand Beasts Qiankun Banner for a moment before being transferred into the Immortal Mansion.
Fang Qingyuan walked to the main gate of the Immortal City, paid the entrance fee, and followed the throng of Cultivators inside.
The moment he stepped into the city, a dense wave of Spiritual Power washed over him. Upon careful inspection, Fang Qingyuan was astonished to discover that the Spiritual Power near the city gate alone was already at Tier Two Lower Grade.
To put that in perspective, in the Southern Border, the Spirit Mountains of some Cultivation Clans only had Tier One Middle-Upper Grade Spirit Veins. Even Celestial Gate Mountain was merely Tier Three Upper Grade, which in Qinan City would be considered nothing more than a small hill forty or fifty li from the core peak—hardly a famous mountain at all.
His moment of awe passed. Drawing confidence from the pile of Spirit Stones in his Immortal Mansion, a faint, self-assured smile touched his lips as he made his way toward a shop that sold magical artifacts and talismans.
....
「Ten days later.」
Fang Qingyuan looked pale. He never expected that the more than three thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones he had painstakingly saved would be spent so quickly.