Chapter 103: You're Really Generous, My Lord
"How long did it take you to condense your first immortal vein?" Fang Chen suddenly asked Li Daoye, who was momentarily stunned. When he realized that Fang Chen was talking to him, hesitation appeared on his face, and after a few breaths, he whispered, “Probably a little over a year? I can’t really remember exactly.”
A little over a year? Fang Chen was slightly surprised; Li Daoye was not some wandering cultivator. His father was the head of the Eight Trigrams Sect, which meant he had a powerful family and sect as his backing, so It was likely that he had access to many precious resources from a young age.
Even so, it took him a little over a year to condense his first immortal vein; no wonder Fang Chen was so astonished.
Seemingly reading into Fang Chen’s thoughts, Li Daoye said, "Lord Fang, I suspect that your family is not as simple as it seems."
Fang Chen's gaze flickered. "What do you mean?"
"You see, your cultivation is pretty outstanding for your age. You’d be considered a top-notch genius even at the Flame Empire. And your old patriarch is even more outrageous; condensing an immortal vein in a single day....” He sucked in a deep breath before he continued, “He had never come into contact with any sort of cultivation method before, yet just reading through the Purple Qi Manual, he’d been able to understand it well through his own comprehension alone and was able to achieve such results. Tell me; can the bloodline of your Fang Family be simple?" said Li Daoye. "I suspect that your Fang Family is related to a great cultivation clan that unfortunately fell, and its people wandered into this desolate land.”
Fang Chen shook his head with a smile. "Let it be. That has nothing to do with our Fang Family now. It's been so long, and it's difficult to trace our ancestry.” He didn't take Li Daoye's words to heart.
Shortly later, Fang Canghai and the others approached Fang Chen.
"Chen'er, did the old master succeed?" asked Fang Canghai softly.
Fang Chen nodded. "Yes, the old patriarch has condensed his first immortal vein, officially becoming a cultivator. It might not be much for now, but it’ll extend his lifespan a little.”
The members of the Fang Family were overjoyed. As long as the old master could extend his life by even a little bit, it was a tremendous boon for the Fang Manor!
To the side, Fang Zhixue seemed a bit disheartened. "Big Brother, do I lack the talent for cultivation?" she asked. "I practiced with grandfather and uncle for the whole day, but I didn’t feel anything."
Fang Chen chuckled. "Condensing an immortal vein is not some easy task," he pointed out. "What happened today was a rare occurrence. Even Li Daoye, a disciple of the Eight Trigrams Sect in the Flame Empire who had consumed many treasures to reach that level, had spent nearly a year condensing his first immortal vein. There's no need to rush."
Hearing that, Fang Canghai and Fang Cangyou nodded slightly; that made sense. If cultivating was easier than practicing martial arts, everyone in the world would be a cultivator.
Fang Chen's mother didn’t seem too enthusiastic about cultivation and she couldn’t help but rub Fang Zhixue’s head lovingly when she saw how disappointed her daughter was. "Don't worry, your big brother is already a cultivator, and your grandfather too. In the future, you will definitely become a cultivator alongside them."
Fang Zhixue was a little downcast, but she nodded heavily. "Okay." A strong fighting spirit started gleaming in her eyes.
It was then that the spiritual energy that had been around Fang Zhentian eventually settled down. The moment he opened his eyes, everyone saw a flash of brilliance in them.
Fang Zhentian looked down at his palm, a smile on his face. "Interesting; so this is spiritual energy. It is indeed much stronger than a martial artist’s internal energy. Looks like it has some special effects, too. It’s cleansing my hidden injuries while nourishing my body. It won’t be long before they’re fully healed.”
"Old Patriarch, are there any aspects of the Purple Qi Manual that you find confusing?" asked Fang Chen.
"It’s alright.” Fang Zhentian nodded faintly. “The explanation is clear enough, and there's nothing obscure or difficult to understand."
Everyone couldn't help but sigh. The old master's comprehensions was truly extraordinary. Faced with the complicated path of cultivation, he could easily grasp its intricacies.
"Do what you need to do,” declared Fang Zhentian proudly while looking at Fang Chen. “I’ll help them with their cultivation.”
Fang Canghai was hesitant. "Dad, I still have to attend to my official duties, I'm afraid..."
"Why even bother with your official duties? Is attending to your ‘duties’ more important than cultivation? If you can step into the immortal path, the benefits you can obtain far surpass your imagination. Go and inform the emperor. You're resigning right now," said Fang Zhentian casually.
Resigning?
Everyone was shocked.
Fang Chen's mother, however, showed a hint of joy and looked at Fang Canghai. “Since the old master has spoken, I think you should listen to him."
"Father, what the old patriarch said is correct. Whether or not you hold an official position is no longer important. The current situation in Grand Xia isn’t something that can affect our Fang Manor," Fang Chen said.
Fang Canghai wasn’t someone who was obsessed over power, and he nodded. “Alright. I’ll hand in my resignation immediately.”
“Right... Looks like there’s nothing more for me to take care of over here with the old man taking the lead. I’ll go look for the little nun for a chat!” declared Li Daoye all of a sudden, preparing to run away.
Fang Chen doused his good mood with a chuckle. “Right, about that... Abbess Qing He returned to the Flame Empire.”
"What?!" Li Daoye couldn't believe it. "She returned to the Flame Empire? Wasn't she supposed to stay and help you deal with the Spirit Blood Sect?"
"That’s exactly why she went back temporarily. I have eliminated most of the Blood Spirit Sect's cultivators in Grand Xia. She's afraid that Foundation Establishment experts will be brought into the picture sooner or later and has gone to ask her master for help,” explained Fang Chen.
A hint of realization flashed through Li Daoye’s eyes, followed by a deep sense of sorrow. "How can you be so muddle-headed, my lord! Why didn’t you let me bring her back to the Flame Empire? With that brain of hers, not to mention cultivators, even running into cunning mortals could prove dangerous!”
"With Tie Ma by her side, nothing will happen. At least, until he dies, she won't be in danger," Fang Chen said casually.
"Tie Ma?" Li Daoye recalled his perpetually grim face and sighed in relief. "That guy is quite cunning. With him around, she should be safe.”
“Anyway, she brought a bunch of Purple Lightning Talismans back. Even if she ran into cultivators, she should be able to handle them.”
"Purple Lightning Talismans?” Li Daoye seemed to have remembered something at the mention of Purple Lightning Talismans, and he hurriedly said, “By the way, lord, I’ve spent quite a few spirit stones buying materials for you that one time. You have to give me a few talismans for protection, don’t you think so?”
Fang Chen smiled. He had already planned to give Li Daoye some Purple Lightning Talismans. He casually pulled out a stack and handed it to Li Daoye. There were fifty in total.
Li Daoye glanced at the stack, and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "This...this...How are there so many?!” he voiced, his hands trembling as he accepted them. He then looked at Fang Chen with disbelief.
Purple Lightning Talismans were highly valuable. They could easily go for five or six low-grade spirit stones each. The higher the quality, the higher the price. After all, these were trump cards that could turn the tide of any battle in a critical moment. If a cultivator in the Qi Refining Realm had some on them wherever they went, their safety would be greatly assured.
Fang Chen only nodded with his usual smile. "It's only fair,” he said.
Li Daoye was slightly moved, but that was enough for him to re-evaluate his opinion about following Fang Chen. Following this madman isn’t that bad of an idea as I’d thought...!
Even the Eight Trigram Sect couldn't produce something like Purple Lightning Talismans!
Li Daoye felt extremely grateful. "My lord, you are really generous."
Fang Chen chuckled, then asked, "By the way, did you happen to see anyone selling Bone Tempering Pills in Dragon Ridge when you were there?”
Li Daoye shook his head. "Bone Tempering Pills? You rarely come across something like that. No cultivator would deliberately refine such pills. I didn't see anything like that when I went over..."
"Luckily, I bought all the Bone Tempering Pills there last time," Fang Chen muttered to himself.
He bade farewell to Fang Canghai and the others before selecting a group of guards for the upcoming military exercise.
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