As the two Golden Core Uncles entered the courtyard, the disciples at the gate began to disperse. The expressions on their faces had changed, however, puffing up with pride.
'Our Beast Taming Sect has sent people, and two Golden Core Cultivators at that! We've instantly become the greatest power near Celestial Gate Mountain. Even that Wei Family Patriarch has to come scurrying over to wait on them.'
Before, although the Wei Family of Celestial Gate Mountain had been polite, they were never truly convinced. After all, the strongest combatant in the branch courtyard was merely the late-stage Foundation Establishment Courtyard Head and his early-stage Golden Core Spirit Beast.
The Wei Family Patriarch, on the other hand, was a mid-stage Golden Core Cultivator. The difference in power was immense.
But now, things were different. With two Golden Core Cultivators and their two Golden Core Spirit Beasts, that made for four Golden Core-level combatants. Who in the lands of Celestial Gate Mountain could possibly stand against them?
Seeing the excited expressions on the other disciples, Fang Qingyuan felt a little heavy-hearted. He had, after all, lived two lives and possessed far more worldly experience than his peers who were solely focused on cultivation.
In his view, this turmoil was far more complex than the simple death of a Foundation Establishment Disciple. But with so little information, he couldn't figure out the hidden truth behind it.
So, he made a resolution: for the next six months, no matter what happened, it would have nothing to do with him. He had to lie low and safely survive this storm.
...
Unfortunately, not long after returning to his own courtyard, trouble came looking for Fang Qingyuan.
It all started with a casual remark from Uncle Zhao. Previously, Uncle Zhao had ordered someone to get some Pig Fish for his Golden Silk Silver-backed Manta Ray to eat.
But Pig Fish weren't something you could get on a whim; they had to be caught in advance from the Black River. Because Fang Qingyuan was raising a manta ray of his own, he kept a dozen or so in the pond in his courtyard. And now, someone had their eye on them.
"Junior Brother Fang, if you could do me a favor. The Grand Uncle's manta ray is waiting."
The speaker was an Inner Sect Disciple at the Eighth-Layer Qi Refining realm. She had a delicate appearance and a faint scholarly air about her.
Her name was Jiang Kui. She was a direct subordinate of the Courtyard Head, and when he gave an order, she naturally had to do her utmost to carry it out properly.
Hearing her words, Fang Qingyuan looked troubled. He didn't have many Pig Fish to begin with and hadn't had time to restock recently. If he gave them to her, what would his own manta ray eat?
'My manta ray might be a lazy glutton that throws little tantrums from time to time, but it's very obedient when it counts. If its Pig Fish are gone, who knows what kind of trouble the little guy will stir up.'
Seeming to notice Fang Qingyuan's predicament, Jiang Kui smiled faintly and took out a handful of Spirit Stones.
"One Spirit Stone for two Pig Fish. That shouldn't be too much of an inconvenience for you, right?"
Fang Qingyuan's expression stiffened. He said with difficulty,
"Senior Sister, you misunderstand. I'm not that kind of person."
"Then one Spirit Stone per Pig Fish. Help your Senior Sister out. Let's just get through today first."
Jiang Kui took out another handful of Spirit Stones and offered them to Fang Qingyuan with both hands. With her putting it that way, how could Fang Qingyuan refuse? He had no choice but to accept the Spirit Stones. He reached a hand out toward the Pig Fish in the courtyard, levitated a dozen or so out of thin air, and gave them to her.
Only after Jiang Kui left did an irrepressible smile spread across Fang Qingyuan's face. He went back into his house and began to count the Spirit Stones one by one.
There were fifteen Spirit Stones in total. Jiang Kui had been very generous. These Spirit Stones would solve Fang Qingyuan's most pressing problem.
He hadn't had a single Spirit Stone on him before. With his supply of Spirit Rice about to run out, he had even been considering whether he should pawn his Magical Artifact to get by.
Now, with these Spirit Stones, he could make it through the current stretch. Once next month's stipend was distributed, life would get easier.
'As for what my manta ray will eat,' Fang Qingyuan thought, 'I'll just have to let the little guy rough it for a bit. I can go to the river and catch some other fish to tide it over.'
After counting the Spirit Stones, Fang Qingyuan continued cleaning the Beast Cage. The manta ray inside was still frolicking about, completely unaware that its rations for the next few days had just been sold off by its master.
When he finished cleaning the Beast Cage, Fang Qingyuan returned to his room. He immersed his Divine Sense into the Immortal Mansion Space, preparing to study the Immortal Mansion's functions again.
He always felt that the Immortal Mansion Space was just big and not much else. It seemed a bit unworthy of the Immortal Mansion's prestigious status.
'There must be some other secrets I haven't figured out yet. I should probably keep experimenting with it whenever I have time.'
His soul entered the Immortal Mansion Space. The sight that greeted him was the same as before: a boundless, dark void shrouding a one-mu plot of Black Land. The entire environment felt oppressive.
'Maybe I should plant some flowers and grass in here. A little green would make it less monotonous.'
As Fang Qingyuan thought this, his gaze swept over his Eleven-sided Spirit Wood. Suddenly, his brow furrowed. He noticed something was wrong.
'Why is there less Spirit Wood?'
The Eleven-sided Spirit Wood had been piled in a corner. Now, with a single glance, Fang Qingyuan saw that the pile was noticeably shorter.
'Strange.'
Fang Qingyuan walked over to the pile of Spirit Wood and examined it closely. After a few breaths, his expression hardened. He waved his hand, brushing away the upper layers of wood, leaving only the few pieces at the very bottom.
He saw that the bottommost pieces of Spirit Wood were mostly sunk deep into the soil. Only a little residue remained, while the greater part had vanished without a trace, as if it had been devoured.
'It was actually absorbed by the land!' Fang Qingyuan was stunned at first, then overjoyed.
An inexplicable change had occurred. Although he didn't know why, any change was a good thing.
Fang Qingyuan began to wonder what the consequences of the Spirit Wood being absorbed by the land would be. 'There's a saying: "Fallen flowers are not unfeeling things; they turn to mud to nourish the next blooms." The Spirit Wood has also turned into nutrients for the Black Land... I just wonder what "flower" it's meant to nourish?'
'To make the land more fertile?'
Fang Qingyuan felt it wasn't that simple. Suddenly, he remembered that during his meditation over the past few days, he had felt a slight increase in the Spiritual Qi he absorbed. He immediately made a connection: 'Could it be that after the Immortal Mansion absorbs Spirit Wood, it can improve my own aptitude?'
At this thought, Fang Qingyuan's soul couldn't stop trembling from sheer excitement.
Every Cultivator's Spirit Root aptitude was determined in the womb. Without some heaven-defying opportunity, it would simply never change later in life.
And every single item capable of changing one's aptitude was astronomically expensive; even a Golden Core Cultivator might not be able to afford one.
If this Immortal Mansion could truly absorb Spirit Wood to change his aptitude, then it would truly be worthy of the name Immortal Mansion Grotto Heaven.
Overcome with urgency, Fang Qingyuan could no longer be bothered with the Spirit Wood. He immediately fled the Immortal Mansion, his Divine Sense returning to his physical body.
After a moment of slight dizziness, Fang Qingyuan stood up and went to a display cabinet filled with various objects, from which he retrieved a jade box.
Opening the box revealed a Token. It was a Magical Artifact used for testing Spirit Roots, and almost every Cultivator had one.
Fang Qingyuan reached out and picked up the Token. A faint suction force immediately emanated from it. Fang Qingyuan didn't resist, allowing it to absorb the Spiritual Qi from his body.
Once the Token began to glow faintly, Fang Qingyuan held his breath and carefully examined the information it displayed.
Earth Spirit Root: eighteen. Water Spirit Root: sixteen. Fire Spirit Root: thirteen. Metal Spirit Root: eight.
The sensitivity of these Spirit Roots hadn't changed at all. But Fang Qingyuan paid them no mind. He fixed his gaze on the Wood Spirit Root. He saw that the sensitivity of his Wood Spirit Root had gone from the original twenty-three to twenty-four.