Plundering the Heavens

Chapter 186: Inheritance of the Beast Spirit

For a rogue cultivator, the most precious resource wasnt spirit tools, talismans, or even technique manualsit was Poji Pellets.

This man was a good example why. Although hed saved up quite an ample amount of resources for himself by robbing other rogue cultivators and hed done all sorts of shady things to forcibly improve himself to Spirit Stage tier six, hed still been stuck at tier six for many years because he didnt have a Poji Pellet. Hed begged his cousin many times and sent plenty of gifts, yet he still hadnt managed to get his hands on one.

Poji Pellets were rare. To a certain extent, a Poji Pellet was an opportunity for someone to enter a new level, and the various sects and clans had seemingly agreed to take strict control over how many Poji Pellets there were, making it hard for outsiders to obtain them.

For a sect disciple, a Poji Pellet might just be a bit expensive, but for a rogue cultivator, it couldnt even be bought. Of course, this wasnt absolute; someone could still purchase it if they were willing to spend a fortune, although the price for them would typically be ten times greater. It was also because of this that when the man saw the pale yellow pellet in Fang Xings hand, his breathing had become momentarily hurried.

This pellet. Are you really going to give it to me, Sir? The mans voice even shook as he took short, rushed breaths.

That would depend on whether your information is satisfying or not! Fang Xing coldly laughed before putting his pellet away. These kinds of pellets arent anything to me anyways, but to you. He didnt finish his sentence, and instead just folded his hands behind his back while raising his head towards the sky.

The mans eyes glistened and he didnt hesitate at all. I am willing to work beneath you, Sir!

Fang Xing smirked with a wink. Dont call me Sir. Call me your uncle!

Slightly stunned by this, the man immediately replied, I am willing to work beneath you, Uncle

Off you go, then, and take this Message Talisman with you. If theres any information, fill it with Qi and I will naturally be able to hear you. Deliver any information about that fatty to me without delay. Fang Xing then nodded in satisfaction before continuing, Oh, by the way, you might want to sort these two corpses out. Ive killed two of your comrades, you dont have a problem with that, right?

The man spat on the ground. They deserved this! These two sons of turtle egg bastards broke the law numerous times and committed all sorts of atrocities! They should have been killed ages ago!

It was Fang Xings turn to be stunned, but he soon grinned once more. Whats your name?

The man showed an ingratiating smile. My surname is Zhang. Im the seventh child, so Uncle can call me Zhang Seven. Did esteemed uncle have any more instructions?

Fang Xing cupped his hands. No, no. You just impressed me, thats all. Fang Xing then left in a daze. After meeting someone who was even more shameless than he was, he felt a little gloomy.

After leaving, Fang Xing repeated the same process and forced a few more resourceful-looking people to help him find the same information. Once that was all done, he changed into a different set of clothing and found himself a lodge located in a quiet area in the eastern district. He rarely left his accommodations and simply waited for his scouts to deliver more information.

As for why he hadnt decided to stay in the central portion of the city, it was because hed already seen through it with his Book of Revelation. Within Sea Beast City, the central area had a defensive formation that made it easy to enter but difficult to leave, while the four districts surrounding it did not.

Fang Xing didnt waste time during this period and chose to quietly focus on practicing his cultivation to raise his tier. During his travel to the city, hed already appraised in detail all of the resources hed gotten from the Danxia, Shanhe, and Shuwen valleys, and hed sorted them into different categories based on their use. Among these items, the one he was fond of most of all was the twelve superior-quality Spirit Growth Pellets, which were particularly good for improving cultivation level. These Spirit Growth Pellets were crafted by mixing a number of beast pellets together, and its medicinal properties were extraordinary; for someone in Spirit Stage, it could only be considered a priceless treasure.

It made one wonder why Qinnyao had kept such great stuff and hadnt given them to Xu Linyun or Xiao Mahn to use. Perhaps these twelve Spirit Growth Pellets were simply too precious and she must have been reluctant to give them out, yet now all twelve of these pellets shed saved for so long all belonged to Fang Xing, just perfect for him to use for himself. After absorbing nearly thirty years of Xiao Shanhes lifespan, Fang Xings cultivation level had already reached the early stages of Spirit Stage tier eight, and the most precious part of these twelve Spirit Growth Pellets was that these alone would be enough for him to reach tier nineall he needed was some time to start the process.

In truth, Fang Xings extremely slow rate of improvement in cultivation tiers was entirely because of his method using the True Samadhi Fire to purify his Qi and the extremely terrifying amount of resources he had to waste to do so. If it was an ordinary cultivator, let alone twelve Spirit Growth Pellets, even just the thirty years from Xiao Shanhe would have been enough to bring them from tier seven to the peak of tier nine, or even a half-step away from Foundation Stage.

Fang Xing leaving the Qing-Yun Sect had actually been an inevitable conclusion. Once his cultivation level had increased to a certain point, the Qing-Yun Sect wouldnt have enough resources to actually afford supporting him.

By the third day staying in the city, Fang Xings scouts had all gradually delivered him the information hed been waiting for, and this helped him have a basic understanding of the plump Daoists current situation. It could indeed be said the plump Daoist had stumbled upon a great opportunity; not even Fang Xing had expected a plain manual hed given awayone that had been left in the sack purely by accidentwould stimulate the plump Daoists special talent, who had followed the instructions in the Spirit Beast Metamorphosis manual and mastered the Ganglies spirit form rather easily.

The Myriad Beasts Sects inheritance involved many different beasts, but there were three extremely powerful beast spirits of note. As long as someone was able to inherit one of the three beast spirits, their cultivation level and battle prowess would increase exponentially, making breaking into the Foundation Stage a breeze. The form the plump Daoist had practiced was precisely the prerequisite required to inherit the Ganglies beast spirit, and for someone to reach mastery in it showed they possessed a great talent to do so.

The three most powerful spirit beasts were the Spirit of the Nine-Headed Lion, the Spirit of the Yinglong Dragon 1 , and the Spirit of the Ganglie. At present, the Nine-Headed Lion had been inherited by the sect master of the Myriad Beasts Sect, while the Yinglong Dragon had been inherited by the sect masters only daughter. The only one yet to be inherited was that of the Ganglie, and inheriting it meant reaching the heavens with a single step and becoming the third most powerful person within the Myriad Beasts Sect.

Another important thing to note was that not only did these three spirits have a hand in ones status, but also in breaking through into the Foundation Stage.

The Myriad Beasts Sect inheritance was extremely peculiar. Due to trading beast cores and beast pellets, the sect disciples didnt lack resources, and quite a number of powerful youths had been produced within the younger generationall at Spirit Stage tier nine at a very young age. However, the Myriad Beasts Sect didnt have any Foundation Stage manuals, let alone alchemists who could craft Foundation Pellets, and so it was extremely difficult for those within the Myriad Beasts Sect to break into the Foundation Stage.

These three beast spirits that allowed the inheritor to break through were akin to three opportunities to step into Foundation Stage. Since the Nine-Headed Lion and Yinglong Dragon had already been inherited, the only remaining chance was for the Ganglie; it was only natural for quite a few people to have their eyes on it.

At least for now, there were currently two people in the Myriad Beasts Sect who wanted to inherit the Ganglie. Of these two, one was the head pupil and core disciple of the Myriad Beasts SectChu Zhaoyangand the other was the son of the Qi clan of the Bohai KingdomQi Heng. These two hadnt yet mastered the Ganglie form and were only able to display seventy percent of its potential if they forced themselves to inherit it. Since the plump Daoist had already mastered the Ganglie form, it meant this person and spirit had been brought together by fate; as long as he studied diligently, there was a high chance hed be able to display the full one hundred percent of its power should he inherit it.

Such a person would undoubtedly become a huge benefit to the Myriad Beasts Sect in the future.

That being said, the other two had either a special background or status. One was a core pupil studying under the sect master, and was assuredly loyal towards the sect; the other was backed by one of the most ancient and wealthy clan of the Bohai Kingdom, with such vast wealth and deep connections that even the sect master had to consider the matter carefully. Besides, although the plump Daoist had been all too willing, whether he would actually stay true and loyal to the Myriad Beasts Sect was unknownhe was an outsider, after all. As such, the sect master still had his reservations.

For a matter like this, the final decision wouldnt be made until seven days from now. The Sect Master of the Myriad Beasts had decided these three would visit and offer sacrifice to the Qingqiu Tomb to ultimately decide on the final successor.

According to Zhang Seven, the Qingqiu Tomb was a location in the Bohai Kingdom so mysterious, it was impossible for someone of his level to find out any specific information. Rather than question Zhang Seven further, Fang Xing just turned and asked the golden crow once the man had left. The crow was rather familiar with the area since hed been involved with the Myriad Beasts Sect for some time in the past, so he could only coldly laugh. Seems like the sect has given up on that fat friend of yours!

Fang Xing raised his brows. What sort of crap place is that whatever-its-called tomb?

I dont know the exact location, but I know its a very important place to the Myriad Beasts Sect. It has always been heavily guarded, and every once in a while, the Myriad Beasts sect master would collect all sorts of rare beast flesh and blood to use as sacrifice for the Qingqiu Tomb. If he decided to use the Qingqiu Tomb to determine who out of these three will become the successor of the inheritance spirit, then it will undoubtedly be through blood sacrifice. Its a competition to see who can collect the rarest type of blood orto be franka competition on who is richer. How could that fatty compete with them?

Slightly surprised, Fang Xing sighed. Very true. I knew this was too good to be true. Its a good thing I followed along.

Youve got plenty of money now, though. Are you thinking of helping out that friend of yours?

I dont have money! Ive only got this much; I have to be careful with how I spend it!

You penny pincher, how do you plan on helping him, then?

Fang Xing let out a loud laugh. There are only three candidates. Wouldnt it all be over if the other two are killed off?

Notes

[1] Yinglong Dragon:  (ying4 long2), literally responsive dragon, also known as the Winged Rain Dragon.