togophonebook Chapter 17: Taking root in Fang City
Chapter 17: Taking root in Fang City
The ship roared as it rose from the ground of Ziqing Lake, stirring up a gust of wind, and began its journey toward Liuyun Market.
Fang Yun stood on the deck, with Fang Yaosheng and their three children, who had come out to see the world, standing beside him.
At eleven years old, Fang Shiyu was tall and strong, with bright eyes, and his cultivation had already reached the second level of Qi Refining.
Fang Shilan was dressed like a little princess, and with her cultivation at the first level, she looked around and touched everything with great curiosity.
Fang Shiping was the quietest, dressed in a blue brocade robe. He was born out of wedlock and was ten years old. He had just undergone Qi cultivation a few days ago.
If it weren't for the completion of the monster "figurine" customized by his senior brother, which accompanied him...
Fang Yun definitely won't bring these three little guys out.
"Ping'er, have you encountered any difficulties in your cultivation techniques?"
Fang Yun patted the little guy's head. Compared to his two biological children, his personality was really too dull.
"Father, I do have some doubts..."
Fang Shiping pulled out a small notebook, which was filled with writings and even drawings of human meridians.
He possesses a wood elemental root and cultivates the same "Yi Wood Azure Armor Technique".
Fang Shiyu glanced at it, then took his sister's hand and went to play with Uncle Yaosheng.
The space was left to the father and younger brother.
Fang Yun was very patient and began to explain the Wooden Armor Technique to his son, imparting his own insights and experiences.
Once all of Fang Shiping's questions were answered, they arrived at their destination.
The streets and markets were bustling with activity, countless magical artifacts shone with spiritual light, and unknown beast mounts roared and howled.
Caravans from all directions converged, stretching to the horizon, swarming into the buildings like ants.
The three children had never seen such a sight before, and they were all stunned as they looked down at the Liuyun Market below.
Fang Yun led them to the family's Purple and Green Pill Pavilion to retrieve the letter of recommendation from the Fifth Elder.
The whole process went very smoothly. The person currently in charge of the Dan Pavilion is his second senior brother, Fang Yaozhuo, whom he had met a few times during the year-end.
Fang Yaozhuo was delighted with the arrival of his two junior brothers. He immediately allocated a cave dwelling for Fang Yun and arranged a welcoming banquet.
Besides, all the other senior brothers and sisters from Liuyunfang were also present.
Drinking and toasting, the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely.
The next day, Fang Yun slowly woke up in his cave and prepared to accompany Fang Yaosheng to retrieve the monster specimen.
Liuyun Market is very large, divided into five areas, and it is crowded with people everywhere.
The four regions—east, west, south, and north—are the residences of four Foundation Establishment families, including the Fang family.
The busiest central district belongs entirely to those independent cultivators and small families.
There was even a spacious square where monks could freely set up stalls and trade.
The puppeteer whom Fang Yaosheng asked to help lives here.
Yes, a puppeteer.
To turn a monster's corpse into a lifelike specimen is not something just anyone can do; the skill must be extremely refined.
This puppeteer surnamed Wang is very skilled at crafting battle puppets in the shape of demonic beasts, and is quite famous in the market.
The noble puppeteer has been reduced to a figure enthusiast, creating these toys for people to admire.
There was no other way; Fang Yaosheng had given them far too much.
Fang Yun was very interested in puppets.
This powerful combat force can be controlled by relying on magical artifacts.
It was very useful to him, the reincarnated one.
After Senior Brother Yaosheng completed the transaction, he also exchanged names with the puppeteer, preparing to come and take a look in the future.
Fang Yun led the children to play in the market for three days.
Each person bought a Qi-refining artifact as a gift for entering the world of cultivation.
Fang Shiyu, being the eldest and most talented, chose a mid-grade sword.
Its shape is that of a broadsword, like a black rock boulder, looking heavy and cumbersome, unlike the small and agile flying swords of ordinary flying swords.
Fang Shilan, that girl, is so picky.
Finally, they chose two slender, ice-blue swords, carved with ice-cracked lotus patterns, which exuded a chilling aura.
What's peculiar is that the ends of the hilts of these two flying swords are connected by chains, which requires a high level of skill from the user.
Fang Shiping didn't skimp on spirit stones for his father either, and directly bought him a cyan ruler, which was probably made of some kind of spirit wood.
Although its attack power is average, it has special functions: it can distinguish the hot and cold properties of various herbs and can also be used to detoxify.
It's clear that Fang Shiping is very interested in alchemists, which is why he specifically chose this low-grade magic artifact.
……
A light drizzle was falling, but a sun was shining in the sky.
At the caravan's encampment, a large ship belonging to the Fang family roared as it prepared to set sail back to Ziqing Lake.
Fang Yun gave instructions to her three children, who were reluctant to part, all feeling that they hadn't had enough fun.
On the way back, their senior brother will look after them and will send a talisman to report that they are safe.
Fang Yaosheng still had that carefree and irresponsible demeanor, but in reality, his cultivation level was quite high, already at the seventh level of Qi Refining.
He was bored, watching his junior brother Fang Yun say goodbye to the children, his eyes wandering around.
Suddenly, Fang Yaosheng noticed a woman in yellow with a snow-white sable perched on her shoulder and exceptionally bright eyes.
She stepped off a merchant ship, holding an oil-paper umbrella with a painting of a red plum blossoming in the snow.
The rain fell in fine threads, and our eyes met in that instant.
An indescribable feeling swept over Fang Yaosheng, and his heart fluttered.
For the first time, he felt that something entirely new had entered his world, apart from those monster specimens.
Unfortunately, the woman in yellow disappeared in an instant, vanishing into the crowd.
"Senior brother, senior brother?"
Fang Yun waved in front of him and noticed that something was wrong with his senior brother.
"I'm fine, junior brother, stop here. I'll send you a message when we arrive at the clan."
Fang Yaosheng withdrew his gaze and looked at the merchant ship from which the woman had stepped out, recognizing the flag pattern fluttering on the deck.
Huangfengling, Tangjia.
The pavilion on Ziqing Lake soared into the sky, bathed in the glow of the sunset, breaking through the clouds and leaving Fang Yun all alone.
He felt that something had happened, but he couldn't find anything unusual.
In the days that followed, Fang Yun settled down in the market, spending almost every day in the Pill Pavilion refining pills and cultivating.
In the first few months, he wasn't very skilled and could only earn twenty spirit stones each month.
Once things stabilized in the second half of the year, Fang Yun's income had increased to thirty coins.
Aside from what's sent home, there are also the daily cultivation expenses, which allow them to accumulate two hundred low-grade spirit stones each year.
Once you've saved up for a hundred years, you can go to the Green Wood Sect to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
Fang Yun was naturally dissatisfied with this speed.
After much thought, the only options were to refine more profitable pills or attempt to become a first-grade high-level alchemist.
Ultimately, Fang Yun set his sights on bitter bamboo peony.
This elixir can help cultivators break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining. It is expensive and is among the most difficult to refine of mid-grade pills.
You must at least cultivate the Green Bamboo Fire Control Technique to the level of six hundred leaves.
Two and a half years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Fang Yun's cultivation level has been stuck at the sixth level of Qi Refining.
The art of alchemy is also facing a bottleneck; the Fire Control Technique can only condense a maximum of five hundred bamboo leaves, as if it has reached its current limit.
Becoming a top-grade alchemist is an even more distant prospect.
Breakthroughs in any area require a significant amount of time.
This is precisely the helplessness of 99% of cultivators: with limited talent, they can only rely on a large amount of resources to force their way through the cultivation process.
As the year draws to a close, Liuyunfang Market is bustling with activity.
The four major families took turns hosting the auctions, bringing out many valuable items.
Fang Yun finally made up her mind.
He sold all the items in his storage bag and, together with his savings over the years, managed to gather enough spirit stones.
Successfully acquired a top-grade breakthrough pill at an auction!