novelzi Chapter 164 - 141: Fish Dragon of Creation
Chapter 164 - 141: Fish Dragon of Creation
Standing atop Yuanling Mountain, Fang Qingyuan looked down at the Yuanling Scripture Institute at its base, hearing the melodious sounds of recitation, and felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
In the Southern Border, Yuanling Mountain had now earned quite a reputation. This fame came not from the Yuanling Square Marketplace, nor from its status as a branch of the Beast Taming Sect, but from the institute at the mountain’s foot.
Though only established for three years, the Yuanling Scripture Institute was already highly regarded by the numerous Loose Cultivators of the Southern Border for its philosophy of teaching students based on their individual aptitudes, breaking from rigid conventions.
These Loose Cultivators often had large mortal families. Was there any Loose Cultivator who wasn’t the sole pillar of support for a clan of a thousand mortals? The very reason they were Loose Cultivators was their unwillingness to join other families or sects, only to become a low-ranking subordinate at someone else’s beck and call.
Lacking the resources of a Sect Clan, Loose Cultivators couldn’t afford the time and effort to educate their many descendants on their own. Thus, when word of Fang Qingyuan’s institute spread, some resourceful Loose Cultivators came bearing Spirit Stones, seeking nothing more than a good educational environment for their offspring.
A parent’s love doesn’t diminish whether or not their child can cultivate. Unlike the great clans, Loose Cultivators generally didn’t let such things affect their affection.
Of course, truly wealthy Cultivators’ first choice was to send their children to the Qi Yun Territory; Fang Qingyuan’s institute was merely the next best alternative.
But even so, spots at the Yuanling Scripture Institute were hard to come by. Fang Qingyuan had decreed that the institute would enroll a thousand students annually, with students starting at age eight and graduating after seven years. However, Yuanling Mountain’s own people filled six to seven hundred of those slots, leaving few for the Loose Cultivators of the Southern Border.
This, however, only made the Loose Cultivators even more eager. The price for a single spot was driven up to over sixty Low-grade Spirit Stones, and it showed no signs of stopping.
Even She Xi Yu, the Patriarch of the She Family, had approached Fang Qingyuan to ask for a dozen or so spots for some of the junior members from his family’s branch lineages.
’I never expected the institute to be this popular.’ His original intention had simply been to ensure the mortals on his mountain could read and learn a trade. He’d never imagined it would evolve into this.
Pulling his gaze away from the institute, Fang Qingyuan focused his thoughts on himself. ’Ever since my cultivation broke through to the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation last month, my daily progress has accelerated by leaps and bounds. At this rate, it probably won’t even take three years for me to reach Qi Cultivation Ninth-Layer Perfection.’
Fang Qingyuan had a clear understanding of the reasons. First, it was due to his Earth Tier Upper Grade Cultivation Technique. Second, his Spirit Root’s aptitude had improved slightly. And third, it was because of a Wood Element Spiritual Material he had recently acquired from the Yuanling Square Marketplace.
As the Workshop Master of Yuanling Square Marketplace, it was natural that no treasure could escape his notice. Even if he was too busy to look, others would be sure to bring it to his attention first.
This particular spiritual material had been found by a Loose Cultivator deep within the Wilderness Forest. Since Yuanling Square Marketplace was the closest trading hub to the forest, the cultivator had brought the item there, hoping to sell it for Spirit Stones.
Fang Qingyuan had just broken through to the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation when his subordinates informed him of the matter. He set aside the task of consolidating his new realm and immediately rushed to the marketplace to personally receive the Loose Cultivator.
And as it turned out, Fang Qingyuan had truly hit the jackpot this time, because the item the Loose Cultivator presented was exactly what he needed.
It was a worm as fine as a human hair, hidden within the body of a plant resembling a century-old ginseng root. The moment Fang Qingyuan saw it, his Wood Spirit Dragon Form couldn’t contain itself. It manifested as a three-inch dragon, shaking its head and wagging its tail in extreme excitement.
According to the Loose Cultivator, he had obtained this herb from a cliff face deep within the Barbaric Wilderness. At the time, he was being pursued by a Demon Beast and had nowhere left to run, so in desperation, he leaped from the cliff—and unexpectedly discovered the plant.
Why not fly up? Because the skies above the Barbaric Wilderness were thick with poisonous miasma and teeming with all kinds of Demon Beasts. Flying up would only have led to a quicker death.
The Wood Spirit Dragon Form, cultivated through the "True Art of Five Spirits Form Refinement," was forged from Spiritual Power, yet it possessed the characteristics of a living being. This was one of the primary reasons the technique was classified as Earth Tier Upper Grade: the incredible feat of creating life from nothingness.
His Wood Element Dragon Form was practically drooling over the tiny worm hidden inside the herb. Clearly, the worm was a high-tier, Wood-attribute spiritual material, but with his limited knowledge at the time, Fang Qingyuan couldn’t identify it.
Regardless, Fang Qingyuan knew he had to have it. He offered a high price of ten thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones, completely stunning the Loose Cultivator and securing the item.
Bless his heart, the Loose Cultivator’s hard work had previously only earned him a dozen or so Spirit Stones a month. Ten thousand Spirit Stones was a fortune he couldn’t have amassed even in a century.
It was a classic rags-to-riches story. Ever since the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect had opened up a thousand miles of the Barbaric Wilderness, such tales had become increasingly common.
After obtaining the item, Fang Qingyuan took it to Wan Bochong at the Treasure Pavilion. Wan Bochong hailed from a major sect in Qi Yun, possessed a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation, and had a century of experience. His breadth of knowledge was leagues beyond Fang Qingyuan’s, and he identified the object with a single glance.
To this day, Fang Qingyuan could still recall Wan Bochong’s expression: a mixture of shock, elation, and a hint of greed.
But in Fang Qingyuan’s presence, Wan Bochong chose not to hide the item’s origins, instead revealing everything he knew. According to Wan Bochong, all things in creation are born from the confluence of energies, each with its own innate properties. In a place like the Barbaric Land, where these energies constantly clashed, the local flora and fauna often developed incredible characteristics.
The herb hosting the worm was one such example. Though it resembled a century-old ginseng, it wasn’t a ginseng at all; it was called Dragon Beard Grass.
By grade, Dragon Beard Grass is merely a Tier One Upper Grade spiritual material. Its roots are unusual, however, making it difficult for the plant to absorb energy from the earth to survive. It must live as a parasite on trees. After maturing, these same peculiar roots make it highly sensitive to others of its kind, and it will often absorb their life force to nourish itself.
Once it has absorbed enough life force, the Dragon Beard Grass undergoes a complete transformation and becomes a different herb: Fish Dragon Grass. At this point, the Fish Dragon Grass has advanced a full grade, reaching Tier Two Upper Grade.
After the Fish Dragon Grass forms, influenced by its innate disposition, it continues to absorb the life force of its kin, slowly altering its very essence. When it transforms once more, it evolves from a plant spirit into a being of flesh and blood.
At this stage, the Fish Dragon Grass becomes a Fish Dragon, breaking free from its botanical constraints. Its grade rises again to Tier Three Upper Grade. Once this tiny worm grows larger and develops fused scales and a crest-like horn, it will leap from Tier Three Upper Grade to become a Tier Four Spiritual Material—a treasure that even Nascent Soul Cultivators would pursue.
However, the one Fang Qingyuan had acquired was innately flawed and lacked any consciousness. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been hiding mindlessly inside a Dragon Beard Grass, waiting to be discovered by a mere Qi Refining Loose Cultivator.
Even if this Fish Dragon had no potential for further advancement, it was still an exceedingly rare treasure for a cultivator practicing a Wood Spirit Technique. If it were used in alchemy, the resulting Elixir Pills would have a high probability of enhancing the aptitude of one’s Wood Spirit Root.
This was a Spiritual Object that all Wood Spirit Root Qi Cultivation Cultivators, and even Foundation Establishment Cultivators, would desperately covet. For this reason, Wan Bochong offered the astronomical price of one hundred fifty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones, hoping Fang Qingyuan would agree to sell it to him.
However, Fang Qingyuan had no intention of selling. First, he was not short on Spirit Stones. The annual dividends from Yuanling Square, the Crimson Iron Ore mine, and Yuanling Mountain provided him with an income of nearly fifty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.
For an ordinary Qi Cultivation Cultivator, one hundred fifty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones was an astronomical sum. But for Fang Qingyuan, it was merely three years of net income.
Second, and most importantly, Fang Qingyuan had a gut feeling that this Fish Dragon was the perfect opportunity to complete his Wood Spirit Dragon Form.
Although he had cultivated the "True Art of Five Spirits Form Refinement," gathering all his Wood Spiritual Power into a three-inch dragon form and imbuing it with some characteristics of a living being, it still fell short when compared to the Fish Dragon, which had transformed from a plant into a creature of flesh and blood.
The Fish Dragon’s evolution was a work of nature, a miracle of creation itself—not something that could be emulated by a mere Acquired Technique. ’Perhaps,’ he thought, ’this Fish Dragon can provide what my own technique is lacking.’
With this in mind, Fang Qingyuan ignored Wan Bochong’s resentful glare and flatly refused him. Then, right in front of the man, he had his Wood Spirit Dragon Form swallow the hair-thin Fish Dragon in a single gulp, extinguishing any lingering hope Wan Bochong might have had.
Once his Wood Spirit Dragon Form had finished its meal, Fang Qingyuan left a hundred Spirit Stones for the crestfallen Wan Bochong as an appraisal fee and calmly departed from the Treasure Pavilion, bringing the matter to a close.
Only upon returning to Yuanling Mountain did Fang Qingyuan realize the immense change in his Wood Spirit Dragon Form. Before, though mystical, its body had been illusory. It possessed a spirit, but one without a foundation, like rootless water. Now, having devoured the Fish Dragon, it had absorbed a trace of the true essence of evolution from plant to creature. It had gained substance, becoming like flesh and blood.
Now, although the Wood Spirit Dragon Form was still only three inches long, intricate patterns had materialized on its tiny scales. As it roamed and soared by Fang Qingyuan’s side, it radiated the vibrant sheen of life. Anyone who saw it would assume it was a living creature, not something Fang Qingyuan had forged from Wood Spirit Power.
Even the Wood Spirit Dragon’s eyes were now perpetually half-open, a glimmer of Spiritual Light occasionally flashing within them. It looked incredibly spirited, completely shedding its former lifeless, dull appearance.
After such a great blessing, how could his cultivation speed not soar? ’Saying I’ll reach perfection in three years... that now seems like a conservative estimate.’
However, every gain has its cost. While his Wood Spirit Cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, his Fire Spirit Root remained stuck at a mid-tier aptitude. He had originally thought he had seven or eight years to slowly improve it, but now, it seemed even three years might not be enough time.
At this thought, Fang Qingyuan sighed. ’The only thing to do now is to resort to my ultimate technique: brute force it with Spirit Stones. If Tier Two Spiritual Materials aren’t enough, I’ll use Tier Three. No matter what, I have to raise my Fire Spirit Root’s aptitude before my Wood Spirit Cultivation reaches perfection.’
’Otherwise, what if the Foundation Establishment Opportunity arrives right on schedule after my Wood Spirit cultivation is perfected? Should I pursue it, or let it go?’