Chapter 106: Sudden Upheaval and Decision
Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Sudden Upheaval and Decision
After Xiao Yunzhi stepped down from the stage.
One by one, Foundation Establishment Cultivators with Spiritual Objects to trade took the stage to state their needs.
Some cultivators got what they wished for, successfully exchanging for the Spiritual Objects they needed.
Others asked around for a long time to no response, and could only return to their seats in disappointment.
Soon, it was Li Ping’s turn.
Li Ping walked onto the stage and directly stated his needs.
He wanted to purchase a Tier Three Spiritual Fire, and the price was negotiable.
Upon hearing that Li Ping needed a Tier Three Spiritual Fire, a late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator did send him a voice transmission.
The man had a Tier Three Earth Core Fire, but he didn’t want Spirit Stones. Instead, he wanted a Core Formation Spiritual Object of any kind.
Li Ping, of course, had no Core Formation Spiritual Object, so the deal fell through.
In truth, the only reason that cultivator had sent Li Ping a voice transmission was that he had witnessed the transaction between Li Ping and Xiao Yunzhi.
That was why he assumed Li Ping had a powerful background and might possess a Core Formation Spiritual Object.
Otherwise, he never would have revealed that he had a Tier Three Spiritual Fire in the first place.
...
Soon, the exchange meet ended, and Li Ping was preparing to leave.
But just then, his expression shifted slightly. He sat back down in his chair, calm and composed, and waited.
Only after all the other cultivators had left the hall did Xiao Yunzhi walk up to Li Ping with a smile.
Li Ping stood up and asked with a placid expression, "Fairy Xiao, you said you knew where to find a Tier Three Spiritual Fire. Can you tell me now?"
Xiao Yunzhi smiled and nodded. "If I were to tell you where to obtain a Tier Three Spiritual Fire, Fellow Daoist, would you be willing to part with that thousand-year-old Demon-Attracting Grass?"
Hearing this, Li Ping’s expression changed, though no one could see it behind his mask and wide-brimmed hat.
Seeing him fall silent, Xiao Yunzhi quickly explained, "I only guessed that the Bloodline Fruit had been picked recently by observing its appearance. I had no intention of probing into your affairs, Fellow Daoist..."
"My apologies, Fairy Xiao, but I have no intention of parting with the Demon-Attracting Grass." Li Ping cut her off directly, then turned and walked out of the palace without hesitation.
But as he walked, his steps faltered for a sudden moment before he resumed his normal pace and exited the hall.
...
’Can I really find a Tier Three Spiritual Fire in the Yu Yan Kingdom’s Jiangyue Valley...?’ Li Ping mused as he walked the streets of the Immortal City.
That piece of information had been sent to him via voice transmission by Xiao Yunzhi just before he left, which had taken him by surprise.
He never expected that even after he had bluntly rejected her proposal, she would still be willing to give him the information.
This once again made Li Ping feel a sense of admiration: Xiao Yunzhi had a noble, old-fashioned integrity.
However, from what he understood, the Yu Yan Kingdom had been occupied by Demon Dao forces long ago and was now essentially Demon Dao territory.
So, even if he knew he could find a Tier Three Spiritual Fire in Jiangyue Valley, there was no way he was going.
For him, a Tier Three Spiritual Fire was not an absolute necessity. If he really couldn’t find one, he would just have to make do with inheriting the skills of a Tier Two Upper Grade Pill Master for now.
Although it was a great pity to have to give up on inheriting the skills of a Tier Three Pill Master after already gathering three thousand-year-old Spirit Medicines, all for the lack of a Tier Three Spiritual Fire.
But taking risks was impossible.
Not in this lifetime.
Only by laying low could he hope to continue his cultivation.
Returning to the Immortal City was like coming home. Once inside, he never wanted to leave. He loved it in there.
...
Back in his inn, Li Ping cultivated while also gathering information on Tier Three Spiritual Fires from various sources.
Of course, he had also prepared for the worst-case scenario. If he still hadn’t obtained a Tier Three Spiritual Fire by the new year,
he would give up without hesitation and return to Fenglan Immortal City.
He couldn’t afford to waste too much time on this matter.
...
After waiting for another two months, there was still no news about a Tier Three Spiritual Fire.
However, he did receive a notification from the Heart Refining Furnace: his Flying Needle Dharma Artifact had been forged and was ready for pickup.
Li Ping immediately went to the Heart Refining Furnace with his contract and presented it.
The master of the Heart Refining Furnace also smiled as he brought out the Flying Needle Dharma Artifact he had crafted for him.
A Jade Box, just over a foot long and two inches wide, was placed on the table. The master smiled and gestured toward it. "The Flying Needle Dharma Artifact is in this Jade Box. Fellow Daoist, why don’t you open it and see if it meets your satisfaction?"
Li Ping unceremoniously took the Jade Box and flipped open the lid.
The scene inside the box met his eyes. Within the foot-long box lay nine bone-white needles, neatly arranged. Each needle was only about an inch long and emanated a faint white glow, appearing quite spiritual.
After a moment’s thought, Li Ping made a slight gesture toward the nine needles in the Jade Box. With a flash of white light, all the flying needles levitated at once. Then, under Li Ping’s control, they began to shuttle at high speed around his body.
What surprised Li Ping even more was that after he injected Magical Power into them, the needles’ color gradually faded, becoming semi-transparent.
Combined with their extremely high speed, they became nearly invisible to the naked eye.
"Not bad, not bad at all," Li Ping nodded in satisfaction.
He was quite pleased with the craftsmanship of these nine flying needles.
If he were to engage in Magical Combat with a cultivator unfamiliar with him, he could use his Purple Shadow Flying Sword for a frontal assault while hiding the needles to the side for a surprise attack. It might prove to be remarkably effective.
"I’ll call you the Bone-Stealing Needle!"
...
After paying the final installment for the artifact refining, Li Ping leisurely took his leave.
The moment he left the Heart Refining Furnace, he eagerly submerged all nine needles into the Flower-Scaled Python venom he kept in his Storage Bag to poison their tips.
Due to their small size, flying needle-type Dharma Artifacts were exceptionally stealthy in their attacks.
But for the same reason, even if they hit their mark, it was difficult to inflict the same level of damage as a flying sword.
Coating them in poison was, in essence, a way of enchanting the flying needles to increase their lethality.
...
Time passed, and the end of the year was fast approaching.
After spending nearly a year in Jixia Immortal City, Li Ping still hadn’t obtained a Tier Three Spiritual Fire. But just as he was preparing to give up and leave, he learned of some earth-shattering news.
The four great sects of the Demon Dao had suddenly joined forces to invade the Yuan Kingdom, east of the Qi Kingdom.
As the primary barrier against Demon Cultivators in the eastern part of the Western Wilderness, and bordering the Qi Kingdom, the Daoist Guardian Alliance had long stationed a large number of cultivators in the Yuan Kingdom.
With the Demon Dao’s invasion, the two sides launched a great war across the vast expanse of the Yuan Kingdom.
Although the Qi Kingdom was not the battlefield, walking through the streets of the Immortal City, Li Ping could clearly feel the atmosphere growing tense.
The morale of the Daoist Guardian Alliance cultivators especially hit a low point after hearing that one of their Core Formation seniors had fallen for a Demon Cultivator’s plot, was surrounded by several Core Formation Cultivators, and perished in Magical Combat, his core shattered.
Fortunately, not long after, the Daoist Guardian Alliance retaliated in kind, employing their own scheme to kill a Core Formation Cultivator from the Demon Dao’s Nine Nether Sect.
They had evened the score and boosted the morale within the alliance.
In the many great battles that followed, both sides suffered casualties.
Although no more Core Formation Cultivators fell, many Foundation Establishment Cultivators died.
Of course, during this war between the Righteous and Demon factions, many cultivators also rose to prominence and gained great fame.
For instance, that Fairy Xiao Yunzhi, relying on the top-tier Fire Element Cultivation Technique she practiced, her many High-tier Dharma Artifacts, High-tier Spirit Talismans, and a formidable Tier Two Blazing Sun Bird Spirit Beast, had repeatedly slain Demon Dao Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
She had earned the title of "Crimson Flame Fairy."
Her stunning combat record also inspired other cultivators, who fought against the Demon Cultivators with even greater ferocity!
...
’I can’t stay here any longer!’ Li Ping returned to the inn, his heart heavy with worry after gathering the latest news.
He had heard that with the Daoist Guardian Alliance and the four Demon Dao sects at a stalemate in the Yuan Kingdom, the Demon Dao sects had already dispatched small elite teams of cultivators to infiltrate the Qi Kingdom and wreak havoc, attempting to disrupt the Daoist Guardian Alliance’s rear.
If he didn’t leave now, it would be much harder to do so when the situation inevitably worsened.
As a Loose Cultivator, he had no interest in getting involved in this war.
...
But plans could never keep up with reality. Just as Li Ping was planning to leave the Qi Kingdom and return to Fenglan Immortal City,
another event disrupted his plans.
Xiao Yunzhi, who had displayed such might on the battlefield and had slain five or six Demon Dao Foundation Establishment Cultivators in a row, was ambushed by several late-stage Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivators not far from Donghua Mountain while returning to Jixia Immortal City to escort a batch of supplies to the front lines.
Although the Core Formation Cultivator stationed in the Immortal City rushed to the scene in time to drive away the Demon Cultivators, he was still a step too late.
While Xiao Yunzhi’s life was saved for the moment, she was critically injured. She had lost consciousness and fallen into a coma, hanging on by a single thread, on the verge of death at any moment.
Her injuries were so severe that even the official Tier Two Upper Grade Pharmacists of Jixia Immortal City, working together, were powerless to save her.
Xiao Yunzhi was a cultivator with a Fire Element Celestial Spiritual Root, a descendant of the number one cultivator in the Western Wilderness, and had earned great distinction in the war against the Demon Dao!
For any of these reasons, the higher-ups of the Immortal City were determined to save her at any cost.
To this end, the Immortal City’s administration issued a public notice: anyone who could cure Xiao Yunzhi’s injuries could make one request of the Immortal City!
’The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. When you’re still weak, you really can’t afford to be in the spotlight!’ Not long after hearing of the Crimson Flame Fairy’s fame, news of her tragic fate had spread.
Li Ping constantly warned himself to keep his head down. He couldn’t let a little bit of insignificant skill make him arrogant and lose sight of his own limitations.
...
’But maybe I could try to save her,’ Li Ping fell into thought.
In truth, he held a rather favorable impression of Xiao Yunzhi.
Moreover, if he were to save her, he could legitimately use the reward to request a Tier Three Spiritual Fire from the Immortal City.
At this critical juncture in the war, it was unlikely the Immortal City would burn the bridge after crossing it.
Besides, while a Tier Three Spiritual Fire was precious to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, it was nothing to the Immortal City.
Of course, the most important reason Li Ping was considering treating Xiao Yunzhi was that his current identity was fake.
Even if the healing ability of his Nourishing Life Skill was exposed, it would be the secret of Yan Buping, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Yue Kingdom. It would be impossible for anyone to connect it back to him.
’I did get the better end of our last deal. If I treat her, not only can I repay that favor, but I can also get my hands on a Tier Three Spiritual Fire in the process!’ Li Ping quickly made up his mind.
’It’s getting more and more chaotic out here. Once I get the Tier Three Spiritual Fire, I’ll hurry back to Fenglan Immortal City and lay low.’