Chapter 114: Chapter 114 The Ancestor’s Son
 

The Golden Core Sect’s direct disciples and loose cultivators often didn’t see eye to eye, taking shots at each other from time to time.

Fang Chengfeng was decidedly a direct disciple, even one of the representative figures.

That Jiang Kang found the situation interesting was quite an achievement for someone of Zhou Yi’s status, but he didn’t immediately go to the Ziyun Association, preferring to wait as usual.

With time, anyone’s true nature would be revealed.

That Senior Brother Fang was already one hundred and thirty years old, with at least seventy years of life remaining, not to mention the life-extending spiritual medicine granted by the elders, which could add another thirty or forty years.

Zhou Yi wasn’t in a hurry to make contact and stayed hidden on the side to observe, assessing whether it was safe to sell elixirs and earn merit.

The sect’s minor competition was in full swing, bringing forth numerous disciples of formidable strength.

Zhou Yi witnessed first-hand many spirit bodies and exotic spirit roots previously mentioned only in records, taking note of their combat habits, which would allow him to anticipate their moves if they were to cross paths in the future.

Spirit bodies were physical transformations influenced by one’s spirit root, taking on mystical properties, such as Dai Zhi with the top ten popular fire spiritual body, who, when fighting, was engulfed in raging flames, appearing like a fire deity.

Exotic spirit roots referred to those beyond the five elements, with a representative figure being Li Qing, who could effortlessly wield various lightning methods.

“Spirit roots, one in ten thousand, not to mention spirit bodies and exotic types, are even rarer. To think that a dozen of them appeared just in this minor competition? Well, that’s possible if they’ve participated in several events. Otherwise, the Golden Core Sect must be overwhelmingly powerful!”

In the blink of an eye, a month passed.

On the day of the final round of the sect’s minor competition, over five thousand cultivators were present to witness the event.

Rumors had it that the Elders of the Eighteen Peaks were paying attention through their divine sense. In previous competitions, disciples would catch the eye of true monarchs and in one fell swoop be accepted as their direct disciples.

Zhou Yi noticed that Brother Shu, who had been darting around, was nowhere to be found; he had seen him eagerly promoting the betting jade slips a few days earlier, smiling brightly, undoubtedly having won a fair amount of spirit stones.

“The finals are when the action gets heated, and the betting is at its peak. How could that guy resist getting involved?”

Three days went by.

The final round of the competition slowly came to an end, and to Zhou Yi’s surprise, the victor wasn’t Li Qing, whom he had favored, but a disciple with a mundane dual spirit root.

Chu Feng.

Without a spirit body or an exotic spirit root, he was adept in the art of charms and formations, creating a situation with a dozen or so charms. His opponents would dash frantically within it while he stood afar, controlling the formation flags and replenishing any damaged charms until the opponent was drained of mana.

The use of high-quality or top-notch magic artifacts was prohibited in the sect’s minor competition. However, charms and formations were allowed, provided it could be proven that they were self-made.

“Using charms to set up formations, a dozen charms could trap a top Qi Refinement cultivator, and over a hundred could likely trap a prominent Foundation Establishment cultivator! If one could activate tens of thousands of charms to form a formation, could it trap a Golden Elixir True Monarch?”

“Perhaps it could, but it’s too difficult to achieve. First, one must be capable of activating tens of thousands of charms, and secondly, there aren’t many formations capable of trapping a true monarch!”

Zhou Yi marked this disciple for future reference, planning to seek advice from him once he achieved Foundation Establishment.

…

Reflection Cliff.

Zhou Yi carried two jugs of spiritual wine named Danxia Drunkenness, which he bought from a fellow sect member as directed by Brother Jiang.

One jug cost fifty spirit stones, and its price and potency were far superior to that of the Red Rainbow, capable of enhancing the mana of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Before the final round of the sect’s minor competition, the two had bet on whether the eventual champion would have an exotic spirit root or a common one. Naturally, Zhou Yi lost.

Zhou Yi entered the Black Wind Cave and discovered an additional person within the barrier, struggling to resist the onslaught of the Black Wind Poisonous Fire. Their aura of mana was almost akin to Jiang Kang’s, also in the late phase of Foundation Establishment, one calm and composed, the other gritting teeth and grimacing.

“Brother Jiang, I’ve brought the spiritual wine I lost to you.”

Zhou Yi maintained an indifferent expression in front of the others, showing no sign of familiarity with Jiang Kang.

Jiang Kang opened the jug and took a deep whiff, proudly saying, “This old Daoist has never missed a minor or major competition over the years, and in a hundred years, over seventy percent of the champions I’ve seen were regular spirit root disciples.”

Out of curiosity, Zhou Yi asked, “Why is that?”

Jiang Kang replied, “Spirit roots excel in cultivation, but combat is a different kind of talent. Go fight a few hundred bouts, and you’ll understand the mysteries within.”

Zhou Yi shrugged his shoulders, it seemed impossible within ten thousand years, and then picked up the jade slip on the stone table to check the background of the newcomer.

Fang Chengfeng, for assaulting a fellow disciple causing minor injuries, considering there was a reason behind the act, was sentenced to a month of reflection.

“The Ancestor’s own son!”

Zhou Yi’s eyes showed surprise, and his gaze swept over Fang Chengfeng unnoticeably. He looked quite ordinary, struggling hard to withstand the punishment and lacking the pride typical of top sect scions.

At that moment.

Seemingly exhausted, Fang Chengfeng shouted without regard for his image, “Zhu Junior Brother, please stop the punishment for a moment.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi took out his Identity Token and turned off the punishment, puzzled, he asked, “Brother Fang, how do you know my surname is Zhu?”

“That Old Shu guy, he said he recruited a new member for Ziyun Association and had someone look into it a bit.”

Fang Chengfeng said, “Junior Brother Zhu, your name is interesting, it’s exactly the same as that character in the novel co-authored by Pure True Monarch.”

“Just a coincidence.”

Zhou Yi kept his expression unchanged and changed the subject, “We haven’t seen Brother Shu these past few days, have we?”

“That guy was cheated out of more than five hundred thousand Spirit Stones, fearing my rage, he took off on an extermination mission the same night.”

While speaking, Fang Chengfeng did not forget to run his Cultivation Technique to recover his Mana, saying, “Winning and losing is common, even if it was an unexpected loss, it’s not a big deal. It’s just that someone conspired to trap me, betting a large sum of fifty thousand Spirit Stones at ten times the odds, and then his opponent conceded!”

Zhou Yi expressed his amazement, “With Brother Fang’s status, who would dare to play foul around you? Even if they won the Spirit Stones, they wouldn’t be able to keep them, right?”

“A mere five hundred thousand Spirit Stones, I paid it off right on the spot.”

Fang Chengfeng said resentfully, “And yet I couldn’t swallow my anger, I couldn’t hold back my temper and ended up giving that person a beating, that’s how I ended up here at Reflection Cliff!”

Zhou Yi found the story interesting, largely due to some schadenfreude at seeing a wealthy second-generation disciple being humbled.

“Brother Shu doesn’t suit this line of work with that surname.”

Fang Chengfeng said helplessly, “Old Shu is a gambling man, he’s always been in charge of these matters. Since he usually lost more than he won, I made him change his name, and who knew he would lose big time!”

Five hundred thousand Spirit Stones, Fang Chengfeng mentioned it lightly, but the tone of his voice showed he was quite upset about the loss.

Suddenly, Jiang Kang on the side said, “Instead of hustling every day, networking here, and courting there, it would be better to seclude oneself for hard cultivation, to reach the False Core realm sooner and increase the chances of condensing a Golden Core.”

“Brother Kang, you think too highly of me, in the few thousand years of our sect, there has never been a precedent of someone with a Five Element Spirit Root achieving Core Formation.”

Fang Chengfeng said with a bitter face, “And you know what my old man is like, you’ve heard of his temperament. He wouldn’t even give me Spiritual Objects for Core Formation, not to mention a Foundation Establishment Pill, I had to buy it myself with Spirit Stones, surely there’s no hope for me to reach Core Formation.”

Noticing Zhou Yi’s puzzled look, Jiang Kang explained, “Ancestor Jian Chen cultivates the Heartless Sword Art, which requires letting go of all emotions and desires… He doesn’t pay much attention to this son.”

Zhou Yi suddenly understood why Fang Chengfeng could be taken advantage of, and it was related to Ancestor Jian Chen.

Nascent Soul Ancestors have lifespans of a thousand years, and through the use of Life-Extending Spiritual Medicine and secret techniques, they could reach one thousand five hundred years. Their temperaments were beyond ordinary people’s comprehension; some were extremely overprotective, while others, like Jian Chen, were indifferent to family bonds.

Fang Chengfeng said, “That’s exactly why I need to rally a faction! Otherwise, when the old man passes, wouldn’t my few millions of Spirit Stones become a target for others?”

Jiang Kang said somberly, “Don’t worry, most likely it will be Ancestor Jian Chen who ends up grieving.”

“…”

Fang Chengfeng, flushed and holding back, said to Zhou Yi, “Junior Brother Zhu, I’ve already recovered my Mana, please open the restriction.”

Zhou Yi hurriedly complied. Jiang Kang, with his formidable strength and outstanding merits, could freely joke and tease, but Zhou Yi himself was certainly not in a position to do the same with Fang Chengfeng.

“Brother Fang, your energy is robust and pure, why is it so hard for you to withstand the punishment?”

“Ordinary disciples resist the Black Wind Poisonous Fire by simply not letting it harm their bodies, seeming to face their punishment with ease, but they are still subject to subtle erosion. After they leave, they need to refine their Mana to expel the wind and fire from their bodies, which takes at least three to five months.”

Jiang Kang looked towards Fang Chengfeng, who was struggling to resist the wind and fire, and a look of admiration flashed in his eyes.

“This guy is fully exerting his cultivation to resist; it seems tough now, but he’s actually saving his lifespan!”