Chapter 14: Xu Zhongshan Pays a Visit
Every ten to twenty minutes, Fang Yuan would pop another Supreme Qi-Nurturing Pill.
By the time his shift ended, he had already consumed twenty-five Supreme Qi-Nurturing Pills.
His Body Tempering progress had reached the peak of the Third Layer.
After returning to his Cave Dwelling, Fang Yuan continued taking Pills and focused entirely on refining their energy.
Four hours later, his cultivation reached the threshold of a breakthrough.
Turning his gaze inward, he could see that his bones had taken on a faint jade-white luster, his blood was pure and refined, and his flesh radiated a vibrant clarity.
He fixed his attention on one particular bone — three complete cloud patterns had already emerged upon its surface.
This was the hallmark of the Third Layer peak.
To break through to the Fourth Layer, he needed to connect these three cloud patterns together, forming a cloud-pattern formation.
This was a process that demanded experience, comprehension, and innate physical talent in equal measure.
For those with a powerful physique, they could first push their body to the strength of the Fourth Layer, then work backward to link the cloud patterns — greatly reducing the difficulty.
For those with sufficient experience, they could continuously circulate the Cloud Body Art and rely on gradual accumulation to force the breakthrough.
And for those with exceptional comprehension, they could grasp the hidden key within, condense the cloud-pattern formation on their own, and step directly across the threshold into the Fourth Layer of Body Tempering.
Fang Yuan, however, was different from all three. He had long since acquired Completion Stage insights into the Cloud Body Art.
So, driven by his Spiritual Sense, he channeled Spiritual Power into the cloud patterns — and those three cloud patterns linked together at a breathtaking speed, forming the state of a Three-Cloud Formation!
Fang Yuan seemed to hear a faint crack.
The bottleneck blocking the Fourth Layer of Body Tempering split open with a fracture.
His Spiritual Sense swept through every part of his body, and the cloud patterns on all his flesh, organs, and bones were connected one after another.
Just one minute later, Fang Yuan's body shuddered violently. The overall strength of his physical form officially crossed into the Fourth Layer of Body Tempering, reaching a level on par with Qi Refining.
With Essence, Qi, and Spirit synchronized, Fang Yuan had the illusion of being perfectly whole and without flaw — a sign that every aspect of his body was now in complete harmony.
"With a stronger body, my cultivation endurance has grown even longer!"
Fang Yuan probed the strength of his Meridians and found that they too had been tempered and reinforced.
The Cloud Body Art truly lived up to its reputation as a Heaven Grade technique — it elevated physical strength in every dimension. Unlike ordinary techniques, which only strengthened one particular aspect of the body and always left gaps, this one left nothing lacking.
Fang Yuan rested for a short while, then made his way to the Alchemy Chamber to refine Pills.
Two hours later, he had produced over two hundred Pills.
He then turned to Artifact Forging.
In one sitting, he forged four mid-grade Magic Artifacts — two offensive and two defensive.
Satisfied, he went to sleep.
* * *
Morning.
Fang Yuan strolled into the rear hall, stifling a yawn.
"Fang Yuan, you're late again!" Xiaobao materialized out of thin air, turning her head to glare at him with displeasure.
Fang Yuan waved a hand dismissively. "It's nothing. I'll be more careful from now on!"
Xiaobao sulked.
Fang Yuan's eyes darted around as an idea struck him. "How about I play a board game with you?"
"A board game? What's that?" Xiaobao asked curiously.
Fang Yuan searched through the treasures in the Treasure Hall and easily found a lower-grade Magic Artifact-level Go set.
He redeemed one for himself, then explained to Xiaobao, "This is called Gomoku — let me teach you. Like this, and like this — that's all there is to it!"
Xiaobao nodded thoughtfully. "I understand."
They set the board on a cabinet, and the man and the Artifact Spirit began to play.
In the first three rounds, Fang Yuan dominated completely, winning against Xiaobao with ease.
But starting from the fourth game, Fang Yuan fell into deep thought, deliberating over every single move.
He still lost in the end.
"Hey, hey — Xiaobao, you cheated, didn't you?" Fang Yuan said suspiciously.
Xiaobao replied smugly, "I am the Artifact Spirit of the Treasure Pavilion — of course I'm brilliant! I only lost to you before because I didn't know the rules! Are you scared? Next round!"
Fang Yuan cleared his throat, thinking it might be time to switch to a different game.
Knock! Knock!
A knock at the door rang out.
Fang Yuan looked over in puzzlement.
He saw a cultivator standing in the doorway, built like a mountain.
"Xu Zhongshan?" Fang Yuan said, surprised.
Xu Zhongshan caught sight of Fang Yuan and broke into a slight smile. "Fang Yuan, it's been a while."
Fang Yuan searched his memories and confirmed that he and Xu Zhongshan did indeed know each other — both had come from humble, impoverished backgrounds, so it was only natural they had grown close.
"Ha, I haven't even congratulated you yet on joining Zhenyue Peak!" Fang Yuan said with a grin.
"Just luck!" Xu Zhongshan laughed. "I came over to redeem some Pills, and I happened to hear you were working at the Treasure Hall, so I thought I'd drop by. Looks like you've got quite the easy life here?"
He glanced at the game board.
"Well, nothing much to do — this job is a bit on the leisurely side." Fang Yuan said casually.
Xu Zhongshan paused for a moment, then said, "Actually, I came to talk to you about something."
"What is it?" Fang Yuan asked, curious.
"It's about going out on missions. We both come from nothing — every resource we get, we have to fight for ourselves. So I came here to invite you to be my partner. When we go out on missions, we can team up and venture out together."
Fang Yuan listened, then replied, "What do you think is the fundamental purpose of going out on missions?"
"Huh?"
Xu Zhongshan had imagined Fang Yuan would either accept or decline — he hadn't expected to be turned around with a question like that.
He thought for a moment, then said, "To gain resources, broaden experience, sharpen combat ability, expand one's horizons, learn teamwork, and temper one's state of mind — I suppose those are the main reasons."
"Mm, you've listed many reasons. But what is the most fundamental one?"
This time, Xu Zhongshan thought for even longer before answering, "To advance one's cultivation?"
"Exactly!" Fang Yuan said. "Going out on missions and tempering oneself — the most fundamental goal, at its core, is to help disciples break through to higher realms faster and more effectively!"
Xu Zhongshan nodded, then frowned. "So my proposal makes perfect sense, doesn't it?"
"But I don't need it!" Fang Yuan said with a cheerful smile.
"Why not?" Xu Zhongshan asked, puzzled.
Fang Yuan smiled. "Truth be told, I have quite a talent for Artifact Forging and alchemy! So I'm not short on resources for the time being, and my cultivation isn't hitting any walls either. Given that, why would I need to go out on missions? Wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?"
Xu Zhongshan stared in disbelief. "You know Artifact Forging? You know alchemy? Didn't we both come from poor backgrounds?"
Fang Yuan smiled. "That's what talent is for!"
Xu Zhongshan fell silent, but still spoke up. "I understand what you mean. But as I said before, going out to train isn't only about resources — it's also about tempering your state of mind and seeing a wider world. Many alchemists and artifact forgers hit a wall once their strength reaches a certain level. They don't lack resources, yet they still stagnate. I hope you'll at least consider my suggestion."
Fang Yuan said sincerely, "You make a very good point. But for now, I simply don't need it."
Xu Zhongshan gave him a long, searching look. "I hope you'll come to see it one day. Once my cultivation surpasses yours, perhaps that will serve as a wake-up call. I still look forward to the day we team up together!"
He cupped his hands in farewell. "Until next time!"