Chapter 96: Spiritual Snake Armor


    At the Treasure Ship Market.


    Fang Xi disembarked from his ck Feather Boat at a distance, having transformed his appearance to resemble a rugged-faced man. He then stepped onto a mid-grade flying sword magical artifact and descended near the market entrance.


    “Sir Immortal, would you need a guide?”


    A group of mortals immediately surrounded him, their expressions eager yet respectful.


    “You’ll do!” Fang Xi casually pointed to one individual, who turned out to be Mo Qingyi!


    “Many thanks, Sir Immortal. Allow me to lead your way!”


    Mo Qingyi appeared much as before; after all, only a few years had passed since theyst met. Taking the lead, he asked, “May I inquire what information this Immortal Master seeks? I am exceedingly familiar with this market…”


    ‘Bullshit!’ Fang Xi silently scoffed.


    Mo Qingyi likely knew only the surface-level channels within the market, being just an ordinary mortal. In terms of resource connections, he paled inparison to Old Daoist Xiu Mu, who had been operating here for many years.


    The reason Fang Xi sought a guide was merely to maintain the facade of a neer. Experienced individuals wouldn’t fall for such obvious traps.


    “Your surname is Mo, and you belong to the ‘Qing’ generation. By any chance, are you rted to the Mo n of ck Sand Ind?” Fang Xi casually inquired, thinking about Mo Qingyu.


    Without concealing anything, Mo Qingyi straightened his posture instinctively and replied, “To be honest, Sir Immortal, my ancestors indeed hailed from the Mo n on ck Sand Ind!”


    “I see,” Fang Xi responded without probing further. Cultivators often had numerous descendants, so it was usible for one branch to end up on Treasure Ship Ind.


    Moreover, this could be part of those cultivator ns’ contingency ns! Even if their main family on ck Sand Ind were annihted, their bloodline would continue elsewhere.


    With some luck, they might return like Ruan Xingling, staging a triumphanteback… potentially reviving the n’s fortunes twice or even thrice over!


    Revitalizing the n!


    For cultivators within a family, aside from achieving Foundation Establishment, this aspiration was likely their most significant goal.


    “Who is the best artificer here? I need him to craft something!” Fang Xi dered boldly.


    Mo Qingyi pondered for a moment. “The finest local artificer should be Master Lu from Heavenly Crafts Workshop. He has been a tier-one high-grade artificer for many years, and his skills have only improved since then… Apart from him, there’s Guest Official Cui at Dragon Gate Pavilion and the rogue cultivator Gong Zhuzi, both possessing exceptional craftsmanship…”


    ‘<em>Not surprising, aligns with what I’ve heard before,’</em> thought Fang Xi.


    After considering, he said, “Let’s head to Heavenly Crafts Workshop first and find Master Lu!” <hr>


    The Heavenly Crafts Workshop consisted of two separate buildings - the front housed a typical magical artifact shop, while the rear contained multiple artificing workshops connected to earthme furnaces. Even through the walls, one could feel the intense heat emanating from within.


    As Fang Xi entered the shop, a greeter approached him, “What type of magical artifact is this esteemed guest interested in purchasing?”


    “Custom order, I’m here for Master Lu!”


    Fang Xi casually tossed out a low-grade spirit stone.


    The greeter’s eyes immediately lit up, “Please follow me to the private booth, honored guest. I’ll bring tea right away…”


    Naturally, Mo Qingyi waited outside the store.


    Momentster, inside the private booth, a burly man with well-defined muscles walked in. “What kind of custom-made artifact does this distinguished guest desire?”


    Fang Xi nced at the closed door and cleared his throat, “I require a tier-1 high-grade magical artifact crafted from mythical beast materials! Can you ensure confidentiality?”


    Master Lu furrowed his brow momentarily before rxing it. “Rest assured, guest. Our Heavenly Crafts Workshop has been established for over two hundred years and has even created spirit artifacts for Foundation Establishment cultivators… Very well, I can first swear a Xin Mo Oath to absolutely not disclose your privacy…”


    “Many thanks!” Fang Xi bowed courteously, watching closely as Master Lu uttered the oath. Satisfied, he tapped his bag of holding.


    A sh of light revealed a snake skin and arge quantity of snake bones. A faint aura of pressure emanated from the skin, scales, and bones alike.


    “A tier-1 high-grade snake demon indeed… Hmm? The quality seems exceptionally good.”


    Master Lu activated a cultivation technique, summoning a small me on his finger to burn a piece of snake scale.


    After quite some time, the scale showed no sign of damage whatsoever.


    His expression turned serious, “The serpent’s bloodline appears truly extraordinary!”


    “Indeed,” Fang Xi responded with a smile. “How much would it cost to craft a full set of spirit armor using these materials?”


    Master Lu pondered for a moment before replying, “Refining this mythical beast material requires more than ordinary mes; we must utilize the earthme vein behind the Heavenly Crafts Workshop. Crafting aplete set of spirit armor is a significant task, taking at least one month! As for the price… two hundred spirit stones!”


    Outside, even a single-purpose, high-grade magical artifact typically cost around a hundred spirit stones.


    “Agreed. I’ll pay half now as a deposit and the remaining amount uponpletion. Let’s formalize the agreement through a contract!”


    Fang Xi nodded as he watched Master Lu draft the contract. Both parties inputted a thread of their magical energy into it, then Fang Xi handed over one hundred spirit stones from his bag of holding, took his copy of the agreement, and departed from the Heavenly Crafts Workshop.


    Outside, he dismissed Mo Qingyi, blending seamlessly into the crowd before swiftly disappearing.


    Momentster, with a new set of clothes and transformed appearance, Fang Xi headed directly to the market and rented an immortal’s cave for a month, settling down temporarily.


    Each day, under different guises, he sold mythical beast materials and exchanged them for various items such as medicinal pills, paper talismans, and raw spirit ores.


    Time flowed like water, quickly passing by nearly twenty-five days.


    At the teahouse, Old Daoist Xiu Mu was long gone, but under new ownership, business remained brisk.


    asionally, Fang Xi would visit to enjoy a cup of spirit tea while listening to news from Wanhu Ind and the broader Yue Kingdom cultivation realm.


    On this particr day,


    he ordered his usual “Five Carp ying with Pearls,” watching the spiritual energy carp chase each other yfully. Suddenly, he heard the teahouse ownerment, “Have any of you heard… about the resurgence of demonic cultivators from the Situ n?”


    ‘Situ n?!’


    Fang Xi sighed inwardly; it had been ages since hest encountered that familiar name.


    Fang Xi looked up with a hint of a smile. “I must ask the proprietor to enlighten us; naturally, spirit tea and pastries will be plentiful…”


    “Many thanks, many thanks!” The teahouse owner chuckled heartily. His livelihood depended on sharing cultivation world secrets and thetest news, attracting patrons for their tea sessions.


    After acknowledging everyone present with sped hands, he began narrating like a storyteller, just short of using a gavel for emphasis. “Speaking of the Situ n, they were once among the seven great cultivator ns of Yue Kingdom. What constitutes a cultivator n? It requires producing Foundation Establishment cultivators generation after generation! In Yue Kingdom, aside from the Profound Sky Sect itself, there were these five major sects followed by the Situ n!”


    Red Leaf Valley had also been one of the original five major sects but waster annihted. A new Foundation Establishment sect called ‘Qiyang Faction’ subsequently rose to prominence, taking Red Leaf Valley’s ce.


    Fang Xi sensed that behind every power shift in Yue Kingdom, an unseen hand seemed to manipte events - this invisible force was none other than the Profound Sky Sect!


    The Profound Sky Sect controlled the most valuable third-order spiritual energynds within Yue Kingdom, along with its richest spirit stone mines and thergest markets.


    The remaining fragments, beyond their direct control, were distributed among subordinate Foundation Establishment ns and sects, maintaining the count of thirteen.


    Whenever any branch threatened to surpass the main trunk’s strength, it would swiftly be pruned - examples included the former Situ n and Red Leaf Valley.


    After pruning, new forces were nurtured to rece them, serving as loyal dogs for the Profound Sky Sect!


    As for the lowest tier, consisting of Qi Refinement ns and sects, they yearned to serve but never got the chance.


    “After the Situ n was annihted, many surviving members fled and turned into demonic cultivators. Thergest group among them formed the ‘Heaven Extinguishing Union’! This faction has beenbeled by the Profound Sky Sect as a demonic organization, with bounties ced on its key leaders. However, despite efforts, they have yet to be eradicated.


    “Recently, this ‘Heaven Extinguishing Union’ carried out a significant act - plundering a marketce under the Song n’s jurisdiction. Rumor has it that every member of the Song n present was ughtered, their heads hung from the market entrance, creating a gruesome scene… Little did they know, this enraged the Profound Sky Sect immensely. Consequently, a Core Formation patriarch from the sect personally intervened!”


    At the most thrilling part, the teahouse owner paused dramatically, taking a sip of his tea instead of continuing the tale.


    Impatient cultivators shouted, “Owner, why did you stop? Keep going… The Gold Core patriarch intervened, what happened next?”


    The teahouse owner smiled without responding.


    Only after Fang Xi led the group to order another pot of spirit tea did he cheerfully continue, “When a Core Formation great cultivator acts, the oue is self-exnatory. The Heaven Extinguishing Union was caught off guard, and it’s rumored that one of their Foundation Establishment members perished on the spot…”


    “Despite this setback, neither the Situ n nor the ‘Heaven Extinguishing Union’ werepletely annihted. Instead, they fled southeast and took refuge within the borders of the Wood Nation!” <hr>


    “The Wood Nation!” Fang Xi understood immediately. Just like the Profound Sky Sect, the Greenwood Sect there had a Core Formation patriarch overseeing it. In fact, due to past incidents involving the Spirit Seeker Envoy, tensions between the sects had escted nearly to the point of open conflict.


    For remnants of the Situ n to flee into that nation was indeed a sensible choice.


    “Why did the Heaven Extinguishing Union target the Song n’s market instead?” another cultivator asked a different question.


    “Ah… The Profound Sky Sect’s markets have stringent defenses, with at least second-order high-grade protective arrays and Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment experts guarding them. Even if given ten times their courage, the Heaven Extinguishing Union wouldn’t dare touch those,” the teahouse owner chuckled. “The Song n, on the other hand, is different…”


    “And let me tell you,” he continued, “when the Situ n was initially annihted, the Song n yed a leading role. Their mutual hatred runs as deep as the ocean! However, the Song n isn’t simple either; their patriarch is already in the great circle of Foundation Establishment, a significant figure with hopes of reaching Core Formation soon…”


    As the conversation shifted to repeatedly glorifying the actions of the Core Formation patriarch, painting vivid scenes of devastation, Fang Xi realized there wasn’t much new information being shared.


    He stood up and left the teahouse.


    “I didn’t expect to hear updates about old acquaintances… Situ n, Song n, well, well…”


    Neither n was particrlymendable; Fang Xi reveled as their rivalry intensified like dogs tearing at each other.


    Meanwhile, there had been no news about Chen Ping or Nine Profound Reverend, whom he had been closely monitoring.


    Perhaps due to their shallow cultivation and limited reputation, it wasn’t surprising that information remained scarce. Unable to gather more details, Fang Xi decided not to dwell on it further.


    Assuming the guise of a burly man with a square jawline, Fang Xi arrived at the Heavenly Crafts Workshop.


    Inside a private booth:


    “Perfect timing, guest! The armor isplete, please take a look!” Master Lu, his muscr arms bare,ughed heartily while opening a massive iron chest.


    Within the chesty an impressive set of spirit armor. It included inner and outer armor, arm guards, wrist protectors, knee pads, boots, gloves, a helmet… all seeminglyprehensive and radiating formidable spiritual light.


    “I’m d to fulfill my promise. This ‘Spiritual Snake Armor’ is tier-1 high-grade, equipped with formations such as ‘Sturdiness’, ‘Water Repulsion’, ‘Custom Fit’… Additionally, it inherently exudes amanding aura, deterring snakes and insects, providing some resistance against toxins. Its total weight is sixty-seven pounds!” Master Lu introduced enthusiastically, his face glowing with pride and eyes shining brightly.