Chapter 107: Let's Welcome Them
Fang Chen arrived at the small courtyard where Fang Zhentian resided. He clasped his fist at the old man, and when he saw the frown on his face, he couldn’t help but smile and ask, “Are you facing any obstacles in your cultivation, Grandfather?”
The creases on Fang Zhentian’s forehead deepend, and he said, "Li Daoye said that cultivation requires an enormous amount of resources, including something called ‘spirit stones,’ but it seems that Grand Xia lacks such a thing. I presume that’s not just us, too. I’ve never heard of any ‘spirit stones’ in the Guhe, Longdu, or any of the other empires. Do you have a solution?"
With Fang Zhentian’s temperament, now that he had stepped onto the path of cultivation, it wasn’t that strange that he wished to be so committed and devoted to it in order to protect Grand Xia. They would have to confront the Spirit Blood Sect eventually, after all. He had to prepare himself for the inevitable. If the cultivators of the Spirit Blood Sect had spirit stones to assist them in their cultivation and the Fang Family didn't, it would not only be a concern for him but also for future generations, like Fang Zhixue.
Moreover, if the Fang Family was able to produce a few more cultivators, it would be recognized as a cultivation clan. As Li Daoye had mentioned, the world of cultivation was all about the survival of the fittest; the law of the jungle. It would be fine if no one discovered their presence; however, disaster would befall them once other cultivators laid their eyes on them.
Under such circumstances, Fang Zhentian already started calculating ahead, formulating a plan to cement the future of the Fang Family as a cultivation clan.
Suddenly, Fang Chen slapped his forehead. "I almost forgot about this."
There were well over four hundred low-grade spirit stones laying around in his storage ring...
He took out a hundred and handed them to Fang Zhentian. "Grandfather, these are low-grade spirit stones. You can use these for now. Let me know if they’re not enough.”
He didn't need spirit stones for his own cultivation, so he forgot about them. Now that the Fang Family had stepped onto the path of cultivation, they would be able to progress much faster with the assistance of spirit stones.
"A hundred?" Fang Zhentian was first moved, then annoyed. "That brat Li Daoye was definitely messing with me. He told me that, normally, even the cultivation sects would allocate their disciples with only one low-grade spirit stone per month. I thought this was supposed to be some precious item!”
Fang Chen showed a smile. "Well, Grandfather, you’ve misunderstood him." he said, then explained the origin of his spirit stones.
When Fang Zhentian heard Fang Chen’s explanation, he burst into hearty laughter. "I see, I see!" he beamed as he patted Fang Chen's shoulder gleefully. "You are my good grandson, indeed! Took care of all the problems the moment you became a cultivator! With hundreds of spirit stones, we won’t have to worry about cultivation expenses for several years!”
What Fang Zhentian didn’t know was that Li Daoye had been speaking the truth; even in the Eight Trigrams Sect, each disciple would only be given one low-grade spirit stone per month. Li Daoye was no exception. If one wanted more, they had to earn them through their own merit. Or steal them off other disciples.
Resources in the cultivation world were just that scarce. Without enough strength, one could only watch in helplessness as others benefited at one’s expense. As such, cultivators would prioritize themselves the best they can. They would be even more calculative than mortals when spirit stones were involved
With that done with, Fang Chen retrieved the jade pendant from his storage ring and proffered it to his grandfather. He had already wiped away his own soul mark off of it. "Here, take this, Grandfather. You can use your spiritual energy to refine it later."
Fang Zhentian took it and played around with it in his hand. "This is a ‘treasure,’ right?" He felt the dense spiritual energy it contained, and he could even see several Soul Imprints flashing within. If a martial artist was in his place, they wouldn’t have been able to see how extraordinary it was even if they smashed it open to take a closer look.
Fang Chen nodded with a smile. "Yes, it's a protective treasure," he confirmed. Then, he took out the sword he had pilfered from Zhou Yiseng. "I got this sword from a cultivator of the Spirit Blood Sect. It has eight Soul Imprints. It’s pretty good. Try refining it, Grandfather.”
"Good, good!" Fang Zhentian accepted the long sword with a smile. He seemed reluctant to even put it down after he took it from Fang Chen.
Suddenly, Xu Ge appeared and made a report. "There's urgent news, my lord!”
When Fang Zhentian saw that, he laughed, then said, "Go and attend to your matters. This old man will continue cultivating."
Leaving the small courtyard, Xu Ge whispered a few words in Fang Chen's ear, looking somewhat excited.
"Oh? The third prince was released from the Qingsong Empire?” Fang Chen's lips curved upwards slightly. "Let's go and welcome him back, then."
*
Meanwhile, Goddess Xiao had been keeping an extremely low profile in the Fang Manor to the point that only very few people knew of her true identity. Every time she recalled what had happened in the Hall of Supreme Harmony the other day, her mood would fall into a quite complex state.
Suddenly, Fang Chen appeared. "What are you thinking about, Goddess Xiao?" he asked as he strode toward her with a smile on his face.
Goddess could only force a smile in return. "Fan—Lord Fang...."
She had come to the realization that Grand Xia was no longer the same Grand Xia that her Qingsong Empire could easily manipulate anymore. Li Daoye was a man who hailed from the sixth-tier Flame Empire, and most importantly, he was a cultivator. He alone would be enough to deter Qingsong from making any rash moves.
"The third prince has left the Qingsong Empire. Considering you've been staying in the Fang Manor for quite some time now, it’s time for you to return as well," said Fang Chen casually.
"I...I don't want to go back..." replied Goddess Xiao subconsciously.
"You are the daughter of Marshall Xiao. If you don't go back, he might think that I’ve killed you,” he said, a smile tugging at his lips.
"I can write to my father," she suggested. "I can explain to him and then—”
“—then continue to stay in the Fang Manor? See if there’s a chance for you to learn more about cultivation?"
Goddess Xiao’s face was suddenly aflame with shame. He had seen right through her thoughts....
But moments later, she steeled herself; this was a rare opportunity, one she really didn’t want to miss.
Fang Chen turned serious. "For one, it’s extremely rare to get a chance to step onto the path of immortality. Secondly, you’re from the Qingsong Empire; even if you had talent, I still wouldn’t allow you to come into contact with cultivation,” he said. "You should be able to understand where I’m coming from. There’s no reason for you to stay in the Fang Manor. It's better for you to go back to the Qingsong Empire and have a good talk with your father. I don’t want any more involvement with the Qingsong Empire. I have more important things to do."
"But..."
"No buts, it’s time for you to go."
Fang Chen didn't give Goddess Xiao a chance to press anymore and had Xu Ge take her away.
After she left, Fang Chen put on a simple disguise and with a bit of coordination with the Grand Xia Hidden Guards, he was able to leave the capital city in the dead of the night without the notice of anyone. There were just too many factors at play. Not to mention the amount of people keeping an eye on the Fang Manor, especially Ji Lengyue. Fang Chen didn’t want anyone to know that he was leaving the city.
Several days later, outside the Tiger Pass.
A handsome young man in white clothes held a long sword as he rode astride a stead that galloped across the land, a storm of dust trailing behind him as a hundred elite soldiers from the Wolf Army chased him closely behind.
If there were veterans of the Great Xia Army present, they would surely be shocked by the identity of the commander leading the Wolf Army right now.
The man appeared to be in his forties, and he seemed to be a seasoned man who had been through a lot. He had thick eyebrows, and a pair of determined eyes that occasionally flashed with cold, sharp light.
He was none other than the renowned Wolf General who had once defeated Fang Chen at the Three World Mountain—Marshall Xiao Lang.
"Hahaha. Marshall Xiao, why pursue me so desperately? If I want to leave, I'll leave. If I want to stay, I'll stay. You can't stop me!"
The young man clad in white’s laughter was forthright.
The subordinates of Marshall Xiao were furious at that, but the marshall’s face was as expressionless as can be. He coldly snorted. "For you to be a Qi Core Stage expert has indeed exceeded my expectations, but it matters not. Your warhorse has been running day and night without rest, and it's about to give in. Stopping you is not going to be difficult.”
As if to prove the man right, the young man in white’s horse’s knees buckled and it fell heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust. The youth was thrown into the air and down at the ground, but his exceptional agility allowed him to make a graceful landing.
"Bah.” The young man spat. Knowing he couldn’t outrun their horses, he gibbed as he whipped around. “You and your cursed mouth. Did you rely on that mouth of yours to defeat Fang Chen back then?”
The soldiers of the Wolf Army surrounded him in an instant.
Glaring at the young man in white, Marshall Xiao growled, "Fang Chen has killed my daughter during her visit to Grand Xia. For that, you’ll have to leave your life behind.”
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