Chapter 212

Several months later.

Ice Heaven Market, Inner Third Layer.

“Congratulations, Young Master... on acquiring an entire marketplace!”

Uncle Fu stood behind Shang Yuanxin and offered his praise. “Even the master back in his day, at your age, could never have orchestrated such a grand undertaking...”

“It was merely a fortunate convergence of circumstances. And I also had the support of the clan. Without that, I would be nothing at all.”

Shang Yuanxin appeared remarkably modest.

“Now that we have absorbed the assets belonging to Ice Heaven True Personage’s faction, sixty percent of the entire marketplace is under our control. It is time to revitalize the market.”

During this process, several other factions had entered the game as well, but they were merely drinking soup.

The ones truly eating meat were still the Merchant Alliance!

Shang Yuanxin’s spirits were soaring. He turned to Uncle Fu and said, “Begin.”

“Rise!”

Uncle Fu immediately formed hand seals.

Rumble!

The grand formation within Ice Heaven Market activated on its own.

Countless strands of starlight descended, gathering atop the Merchant Alliance’s octagonal tower.

The octagonal merchant building immediately rose from the ground like a mountain, flying steadily into the Inner Third Layer. The dried-up blood pools below were completely covered and crushed into powder beneath it.

And that was not all.

The octagonal structure continued expanding, gradually transforming into an exquisite octagonal treasure pagoda that towered above the entire marketplace as its tallest building.

“Young Master, please.”

At the highest level of the exquisite octagonal pagoda, Uncle Fu bowed slightly.

“From this day onward, the Merchant Alliance officially takes control of this marketplace. Its name shall henceforth be changed to Yuanxin Market!”

Though Shang Yuanxin’s heart surged with excitement, his voice remained perfectly calm and steady.

Through the power of the formation, his voice echoed throughout the marketplace and beyond.

The cultivators who had remained behind upon hearing this immediately revealed delighted expressions.

“The Merchant Alliance? Wonderful! We’re saved!”

“Merchant Clan Island is one of the nine great powers of the Eastern Sea cultivation world. Their reputation has always been impeccable!”

This was the true golden signboard of commerce!

The reason Shang Yuanxin announced this first was precisely because of that reputation.

“Yuanxin Market will open the Inner Third Layer for public use. Cave dwellings and shops may now be rented freely.”

This was effectively yielding benefits to the lower cultivators.

Previously, the areas within Ice Heaven Market possessing the densest spiritual qi had always been monopolized by Ice Heaven True Personage’s lineage.

But now, all of it had fallen into Shang Yuanxin’s hands.

“Aside from the properties belonging to Ice Heaven True Personage’s faction, Yuanxin Market will not infringe upon any existing assets whatsoever. All prior contracts, leases, deeds, spirit agreements, and land accords established within the market shall continue to be recognized.”

The moment these words were spoken, quite a few cultivators looked as though they had lost their parents.

“This is bad... my cave dwelling? My shop?”

At the marketplace gates, True Personage Xuanqi had already sold off his entire fortune and was preparing to leave. Hearing this announcement, his vision immediately darkened.

Of course, even more people erupted into cheers.

People naturally preferred stability and despised turmoil.

Many cultivators whose families had lived within the marketplace for generations were even more unwilling to leave.

These Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators might seem insignificant, but in truth they formed the very foundation sustaining the marketplace’s existence.

“Yuanxin Market will also host a grand auction once every ten years. For the next thirty years, each auction will include a Core Formation Pill! Only those holding long-term residency credentials for the marketplace will qualify to bid!”

Shang Yuanxin’s final announcement completely ignited the enthusiasm of the entire marketplace.

“Hahaha...”

Inside a restaurant, Zhong Lingxiu burst into loud laughter.

At the same time, he inwardly said, ‘Congratulations, Young Master.’

‘Exactly as expected. There is nothing worth congratulating.’

More than ten thousand li away, Fang Qing smiled faintly before once again calculating with his fingers.

‘Now then, where should I go have some fun?’

‘Perhaps I should go look for Zhan Hongxiu? Hmm? That woman seems to be preparing for Core Formation. Should I go steal her Core Formation spiritual object?’

‘Wait. Why call it stealing?’

‘It should be seeing whether this item shares karmic affinity with me.’

‘Though Core Formation spiritual objects are no longer useful to me.’

‘Still, I should properly investigate whether the Eastern Sea cultivation world possesses any [Ji Water] spiritual objects suitable for breaking through to Purple Mansion.’

Several months later.

Qi Ingestion world, Ancient Shu.

Wushan Commandery.

Fang Qing stretched lazily, feeling completely at ease as he muttered inwardly:

‘The Eastern Sea cultivation world truly is vast. Even traveling through the void, I still cannot fully explore all those pleasure districts and brothels in such a short time. Every region has its own unique charm too. Merfolk, dragon maidens, and so on.’

‘Calculating the time, it has been quite a while since I last improved the Wrathful Stage of the Horse-Headed Wisdom King and the Dragon Elephant Golden Body Attainment Method... My current third-rank low-grade qi-blood and physique are still limiting me, preventing me from fully enjoying life. Once I reach third-rank late stage, or even third-rank perfection, I’ll surely witness an entirely different world.’

‘Still, the White Principle Grotto Heaven in Wushan Commandery has reached a critical stage now. I should come take a look.’

Without the slightest concealment, he openly extended his hand and began calculating karma.

This time, the heavenly secrets within Ancient Shu, that cesspit of heavenly calculation, no longer rejected him as strongly as before. He could finally glimpse fragments of truth.

Although calculations involving Purple Mansion cultivators still resembled digging through a cesspit, deducing the fate of Qi Ingestion and Dao Foundation cultivators had become effortless.

‘As expected, no matter how much of a disgrace Duzi may be among Purple Mansion cultivators, they are still a Purple Mansion cultivator!’

‘For Purple Mansion Spiritual Master of Ancient Shu, calculating the affairs of lower cultivators was originally as easy as taking something from one’s pocket.’

‘Besides, my divination arts should have improved considerably by now as well, shouldn’t they?’

A sense of utter exhilaration rose within Fang Qing.

The Dao-Genesis Pearl was undoubtedly of an unimaginably high level, but the problem was that it was too high!

So high that under normal circumstances, he could barely draw upon even a trace of its authority except during divination or moments of mortal danger.

In everyday combat and calculations, it was actually far less convenient than the bit of “divinity” he borrowed in reverse through the Vajra Strength Duzi status.

“Eh?”

“So the children of destiny have appeared again? And this time there are quite a few.”

Out of habit, Fang Qing formed hand seals and performed a calculation. His eyes immediately brightened.

“One of them… actually has ties to the Fang Family again?”

“No, that’s not quite right. All of the destined children are connected to the buddhist soldiers, because most of them bear blood-deep grudges against the White Bone Dao for the destruction of their families and sects!”

His thoughts stirred. He once again calculated the karmic ties of this body’s bloodline, and a trace of melancholy surfaced in his heart.

‘As expected… Old Uncle’s fate matches what I learned earlier while interrogating Luo Dacheng. He already died at the hands of the Tianshui Luo Clan. He lived alone and left behind no descendants. Within the Fang Family, only Fang Jingchun and Fang Yixin’s branch shared somewhat closer ties with him.’

In Fang Qing’s eyes, the advance of the White Bone Dao had been proceeding incomparably smoothly.

But for those budhhist soldiers, every inch of land had been paid for in blood.

“Kill!”

Yue Mingxue swung her Xuanqing dharma sword, its blade slicing across the throat of a Qi Ingestion cultivator.

Not far away, dozens of Qi Ingestion cultivators battled chaotically together, forming yet another small battlefield.

“Amitabha.”

Monk Fayuan continuously chanted Buddhist prayers as he raised his Vajra Zen Staff, smashing apart one cultivator’s skull after another.

After the fierce battle ended, Fang Wujiu wiped the blood from his face and body and looked toward Monk Fayuan.

“Master Fayuan, didn’t you say the Purple Mansion sect of this region, the Xuanwu Sect, had already withdrawn? Why are the local cultivators resisting so fiercely?”

Monk Fayuan’s face was pale. Pressing his palms together, he replied softly, “The Buddha says: it cannot be spoken.”

Fang Wujiu immediately understood.

“So the higher-ups are forbidding these cultivators from retreating? An entire commandery’s worth of Qi Ingestion factions and Dao Foundation clans… treated like ants, dying without the slightest meaning.”

“Though the Xuanwu Sect withdrew, many of their disciples refused to leave. After all, their families and inheritances are rooted here.”

Yue Mingxue finished tending her injuries and walked over. “These sect disciples may possess cultivation realms similar to ours, but their spell arts are vastly superior. If you encounter them, you absolutely must be careful.”

“Don’t worry, Sister-in-law…”

Fang Wujiu laughed lightly. “I may not compare to my father, but I still know how to judge the situation.”

Yet inwardly, he sighed.

‘What I fear is the situation collapsing all at once, leaving no time at all to react.’

“Oh Buddha above!”

At that moment, Monk Fayuan suddenly cried out in alarm.

“Something’s wrong!”

Yue Mingxue and Fang Wujiu both felt their hearts sink. They hurried over and saw Monk Fayuan pointing toward the piled corpses.

“Something is not right…”

Fang Wujiu swept his gaze over them and immediately felt a chill in his heart.

At some unknown moment, layers of gray-white airflow had begun gathering atop the corpses.

As the currents circulated, the bodies rapidly decayed, flesh rotting away until only piles of white bones remained.

“Corpse becoming white bone, accumulating and giving birth… this is Corpse Accumulation Qi!”

The instant Monk Fayuan finished speaking, his expression changed drastically.

He suddenly opened his mouth and vomited out black insects one after another.

The insects writhed madly across the ground, gathering together before transforming into fragments of internal organs.

“Heh heh… you secret monks truly love to see through things yet refuse to say them aloud. Why bother?”

Above the battlefield stood a cultivator dressed like a shaman, holding a black jade ritual tablet as he looked down coldly.

“A… a Dao Foundation great cultivator?”

Despair instantly filled Fang Wujiu’s eyes.

At that moment, Monk Fayuan had already collapsed onto the ground, barely breathing.

This was the reality of Qi Ingestion cultivators facing a Dao Foundation great cultivator. They possessed no ability whatsoever to resist.

“With these added in… it should finally be enough, right?”

The Xuanwu Sect Dao Foundation cultivator slowly descended, glancing toward Yue Mingxue and the others while silently calculating inwardly.

‘This Corpse Accumulation Qi should finally be sufficient.’

“Oh? And what exactly is this ‘Corpse Accumulation Qi’ used for?”

At that moment, a young man’s voice suddenly sounded from nearby.

“Corpse Accumulation Qi…”

The Xuanwu Sect Dao Foundation cultivator answered instinctively, “The White Luminary corresponds to [Ghost Metal]. And [Ghost Metal] possesses two symbolic manifestations. If it is metal used for adornment, then it becomes ‘Hairpin Gold,’ skilled in artifact refinement. But if it is tied to ghosts and sacrificial rites, then it becomes ‘Corpse Accumulation Gold,’ within which a mass of Corpse Accumulation Qi is nurtured…”

“Our Xuanwu Sect cultivates the [Di Earth] lineage. Under normal circumstances, it is difficult for us to resonate with the White Luminary Heaven created by the [Ghost Metal] True Lord. However, [Di Earth] coils and winds, carrying the image of hidden underworld depths. Shamans stand beneath the wilderness sky, draped in moonlight and stars, holding black jade ritual tablets in sacrifice…”

“Shamanic arts communicate yin and yang, linking the hidden and manifest. Using Corpse Accumulation Qi as a medium, we can break through the separation between stellar domains, allowing yin and yang to resonate and hidden and manifest to connect. Thus, through shamanic arts, [Di Earth] can remotely link with [Ghost Metal], deriving profound transformations of heaven and earth.”

“I was abandoned by my sect and only barely managed to establish my Dao Foundation. I have spent all this time gathering Corpse Accumulation Qi and refining it through shamanic artsm”

“And now I’m preparing to open the Grotto Heaven and deliver a vicious blow to those Buddhist Soldiers.”

The Xuanwu Sect Dao Foundation cultivator grew more excited the longer he spoke.

Meanwhile, Yue Mingxue and Fang Wujiu felt their teeth clench and coldness flood their hearts.

When they first saw the arrival of a Dao Foundation cultivator from the Xuanwu Sect, they had assumed death was inevitable.

Yet unexpectedly, a short-haired youth in blue robes had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

And after the youth asked a single question, the Dao Foundation cultivator behaved as though meeting an old friend, revealing everything without the slightest reservation.

“I see now…”

Fang Qing nodded slightly.

Using the identity of the Vajra Strength Duzi to crush weaker opponents truly worked flawlessly.

Against this Xuanwu Sect Dao Foundation cultivator, whether calculating karma, listening to his inner thoughts, or forcibly compelling answers through the “Power of Speech,” everything came effortlessly.

‘This is far too overpowered…’

‘Without possessing position of divinity in Ancient Shu, one can hardly even be considered human.’

He performed another calculation and immediately understood even more.

“So that’s how it is. This so-called ‘Xuanwu Sect’ is merely an inheritance casually propped up by Cloud Grazing Cliff. Its entire purpose is to cultivate shamanic arts and serve as the key for opening the White Luminary Heaven.”

As for the idea that opening the Grotto Heaven could deal a devastating blow to the White Bone Dao? That was nothing more than a carrot dangling before a donkey’s eyes.