The Challenge of Advancement

Whole night of cultivation, Fang Xing unexpectedly completely refined the Yao Spirit Pill using the method that inexplicably appeared in his dream.

His cultivation soared once again, from the peak of the Lingdong Second Realm, directly breaking through to the peak of the Lingdong Second Realm, almost only a step away from breaking through to the third realm. This was because initially, he did not understand the method properly and wasted a lot of spiritual energy. Additionally, no matter how amazing the Yao Spirit Pill was, it was impossible to completely integrate the spiritual power of a third-order demonic beast into the pill. During the refining process, some loss was inevitable.

However, achieving the peak of the Lingdong Second Realm overnight was still an incredibly miraculous thing.

But the smell in Fang Xing's small room was truly unpleasant, with a strong stench permeating the air.

"Junior Brother Fang, I got a bottle of good wine today, specifically brought it to share with you..."

Early in the morning, as the sun rose in the east, the entire valley was bright, and the chubby Daoist arrived joyfully.

As soon as he pushed open the door, the chubby Daoist was immediately repelled a few steps back by the foul smell, covering his nose and exclaiming, "What is this smell? Junior Brother Fang, did you wet the bed?"

At this moment, Fang Xing was also awakened from a deep state of meditation and couldn't help but exclaim.

...

On the east side of Qingxi Valley, where the streams converged, formed a small lake with rippling blue waves, serene and pleasant.

At this moment, Fang Xing was swimming in the lake. With a sudden splash, he emerged from the water, spat out a mouthful of water, and looked up to see the chubby Daoist sitting by the lake, vigorously rubbing his clothes, while his small green eyes blinked, as if implying something. Seeing his mischievous expression, Fang Xing couldn't help but shout loudly, "If you dare to say I wet the bed again, I'll kill you..."

In the midst of his shout, he plunged his head back into the lake.

It was embarrassing, to be seen in such a humiliating situation by the chubby Daoist.

Fang Xing was sure he didn't wet the bed, but he also didn't know what was on his bed...

Thinking of the chubby Daoist's face saying, "I know you didn't wet the bed..." while smirking, Fang Xing felt like kicking him.

"Junior Brother Fang, I know you didn't wet the bed, but do you really need to take a two-hour bath?"

The chubby Daoist cleaned Fang Xing's Daoist robe, laid it out on the nearby grass, waved his chubby hands with a smile, and called Fang Xing ashore.

This robe had been washed three times by the chubby Daoist.

Meanwhile, Fang Xing had been bathing in the lake for a whole morning.

Even now, the chubby Daoist couldn't help but want to laugh when he remembered Fang Xing's embarrassed face.

Seeing this little rascal blush like that was really rare.

Finally, Fang Xing came ashore, gritted his teeth, and waved his fist at the chubby Daoist, "You fatty, if you dare to spread this, you're dead!"

"I won't say anything..."

The chubby Daoist suppressed his laughter, pretending to be understanding, and said, "Come over and have something to eat. The clothes still need some time to dry. You can't use the bedding and sheets in your room anymore. Get a new set. I've lit incense in your room, but it probably still won't be suitable for people to enter. Just wait here and let the clothes dry..."

Fang Xing picked up the wine jug, took a sip, tore off a chicken leg and put it in his mouth, then went back into the water, lying on the surface, lost in thought.

What exactly happened last night?

Waking up, he had unexpectedly reached the peak of the Lingdong Second Realm, and his mind even had a new cultivation method.

The Supreme Soul Transformation Scripture, was the method he obtained in his dream very powerful?

His mouth moved as he chewed on the chicken leg, feeling a warmth in his stomach.

The digestion seemed a bit faster, but there were no other unusual feelings.

Everything felt like a dream, except for the real increase in his cultivation!

The cultivation method was still vividly remembered in Fang Xing's mind, but even when he activated it again, he didn't find it useful...

After fooling around in the water for half an hour, Fang Xing finally came ashore, his body already turning pale from soaking, but his robe had dried.

He wrapped himself in the robe, finished the food and wine brought by the chubby Daoist, and then prepared to go back.

The other items in the room were discarded, and the bedding and sheets were replaced. The room was fumigated with incense three times before it could be habitable again.

When it was time for evening cultivation, Fang Xing felt that using spiritual stones to cultivate still had the same speed, without much change. He couldn't help but think of his transformation last night and couldn't help but speculate, "Could it be that using the Yao Spirit Pill for cultivation would be very fast?... Is this Supreme Soul Transformation Scripture specifically for refining demonic beast spirit pills?"

This made him scratch his head. Where could he find Yao Spirit Pills?

Helpless, he had to temporarily keep this little secret to himself and patiently continue his cultivation.

The consequences of being fooled still caused a small wave of repercussions. Among the outer disciples, a small piece of news began to spread that Hou Qing had already found the mastermind behind the robbery of the Ghost Market and even saw his true face, producing a sketch. At this time, Hou Qing was working with several senior brothers in the outer sect to investigate and apprehend that person...

This investigation naturally couldn't be conducted openly, but the stewards of various valleys still provided them with great convenience, and Hou Qing and the others went through almost every valley one by one.

Even Fang Xing's small house did not escape this rigorous inspection. However, when Hou Qing and the others pushed open the door and saw Fang Xing, a young boy, they quickly left. Hou Qing didn't even recognize him. After all, although it had only been half a year, Fang Xing was quite different from the beggar he had caught at the mountain gate...

This investigation ultimately came to nothing, and after about a month, the attention completely faded.

Meanwhile, Fang Xing's cultivation had been stuck at the peak of the Lingdong Second Realm, showing no signs of progress.

He had refined quite a few spiritual stones, but there were no signs of breaking through. This inevitably made him feel discouraged.

On the path of cultivation, breaking through each realm meant breaking through one's limits. The first time Fang Xing broke through, it was through sheer determination and forcibly colliding spiritual energy against his own restrictions. But now, as his cultivation increased, the spiritual energy in his body had become like a small river, no longer able to break through so easily as the first time. The difficulty had increased by at least three times.

To break through, it required a period of tempering the body or being washed by abundant spiritual energy like a great river, experiencing countless rushes before it was possible to break through the bottleneck and advance a level.

However, Fang Xing couldn't afford either of these methods right now. He could only endure and silently cultivate. Fortunately, he wasn't lacking in cultivation resources. With the spiritual stones he obtained from Hou Qing, he had thirty-five in total. After giving twenty to Hua Qianzhi, he had five left, plus some leftovers from before, which was enough for him.

This quiet cultivation life didn't last too long.

A month later, a visit from someone unexpected shocked Fang Xing!

Because this person turned out to be Hou Qing.

Seeing Hou Qing appear in his little wooden house, Fang Xing thought the truth was about to be revealed and was prepared to fight to the death. However, he quickly calmed down because he noticed that besides a few unfamiliar people, his old enemy, Liu Feng, was also there, looking somewhat stiff and not in good shape.

But at this moment, Liu Feng looked at Fang Xing with a menacing gaze, sneering coldly and indicating something.

"Senior Brother Hou, this is Fang Xing, a disciple with a talent of grade D. He fits the criteria you are looking for!" Liu Feng smiled as he spoke to Hou Qing.

Hou Qing glanced at Fang Xing and frowned, asking Liu Feng, "What is his cultivation level now?"

Cultivators at the Lingdong realm found it challenging to directly judge each other's cultivation level unless they cooperated with each other or allowed the other to investigate. Moreover, unless both sides were prepared to fight to the death, it was difficult to discern each other's exact level; usually, they could only roughly estimate each other's level based on appearance, which was not very accurate.

Although Hou Qing was at the peak of the Lingdong Third Realm, he couldn't directly see Fang Xing's current cultivation level.

"Liu Feng, this bastard, why did he bring Hou Qing to me? What does he want?" Fang Xing's gaze turned cold, but he didn't reveal it.

Facing Hou Qing's question, he seemed somewhat afraid and said cautiously, "Lingdong... Lingdong First Realm..."

Hou Qing's eyebrows furrowed, and he turned to Liu Feng, saying, "That's a bit low!"

Liu Feng smirked, looking at Hou Qing and said, "Senior Brother Hou, if you want to find help, of course, that's a bit low, but if..."

Hou Qing immediately understood his meaning, and with a slight smile, he said to Fang Xing, "I recently received a mission token from the sect and plan to go out on a mission. Are you willing to accompany me? There will be benefits for you. Besides the rewards from the sect, I will personally reward you as well!"

"A mission token?"

Fang Xing was stunned and immediately understood the situation.

Hou Qing, who was currently at the peak of the Lingdong Third Realm, needed to break through to the fourth realm. The only way was to swallow a "Breakthrough Pill." This was why he was so desperate to exchange the Yao Spirit Pill for the Stone Essence Powder. However, he was tricked by Fang Xing, and now that he had neither the Yao Spirit Pill nor the Stone Essence Powder, the only solution was to receive a mission token from the sect to exchange for Stone Essence Powder.

However, Fang Xing didn't believe in Hou Qing's "many benefits" nonsense. If the mission token was so simple, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to exchange the Yao Spirit Pill for the Stone Essence Powder. Besides, he had just said that he was only at the Lingdong First Realm, so what did Hou Qing want to do with him? Who knew what he wanted to bring him along for? Certainly, at the Lingdong First Realm, he would be of no help to him.

Moreover, this person was brought by Liu Feng. How could Liu Feng be so eager to introduce good things to him?

"Thank you, Senior Brother, for your kindness... It's just... I'm too weak, and I don't want to cause trouble..." Fang Xing pretended to be intimidated by Hou Qing's momentum, speaking cautiously.

"It's okay even if your cultivation level is low. Little guy, aren't you fierce? I'll take care of you on the road!" Liu Feng's sinister laughter made it impossible for Fang Xing to refuse.