Chapter 243: Diviner (Bonus Chapter—Request Subscription)

"The Divine Infant Fruit… reportedly, even eating it raw has a slight effect in aiding the formation of the Nascent Soul—a rare heavenly spirit herb in the Great Wilderness…"

"The only place with a confirmed source is the Linlang Linlang Fudi!"

Fang Xing suddenly thought of something, his eyes brightening.

He silently added "refining the Nascent Soul Pill" to his schedule and continued inventorying the spoils.

The main items were Huo Huo Moqing's magical artifacts.

"These two 'Xuan Ice Shields' are somewhat regrettable—cut in half, they can only be sold as materials…"

"Ten Thousand Souls Banner? Full of demonic aura—not my sword cultivator's style… Huh? This is indeed a formation artifact, usable as the main flag to enhance a formation's power…"

Fang Xing finally picked up the 'Nine Infant Pearl'.

At this moment, the nine infant shadows within the spirit pearl had grown significantly fainter, and the seven lit heads hung limply, devoid of energy.

"This item… seems to be the original owner's core magical artifact."

"A core magical artifact cannot be cultivated by another while the original owner lives; after the owner's death, it permanently loses several tenths of its power and can never regain its peak."

This 'Nine Infant Pearl' had already been slashed by his Nascent Soul-level sword qi, then suffered the change of its original owner's death.

Its foundation was severely damaged, its spiritual radiance dimmed—this was understandable.

Fang Xing felt no sorrow; he slightly opened his mouth, and a thread of infant fire—green with specks of crimson—emerged, beginning to refine the 'Nine Infant Pearl'.

Under the infant fire's burn, even a top-grade artifact flickered instantly, showing clear signs of being cultivated.

Moreover, as the Nascent Soul fire shattered layer after layer of seals, fragments of the artifact's general information spontaneously surfaced in Fang Xing's mind.

"Nine Infant Pearl: unified offense and defense, can manifest the 'Nine Infant Phantom', protecting the spirit—its applications are boundless."

"It possesses nine heads; within each, one can imprison a cultivator's soul and essence blood, perfectly mimicking that cultivator's spiritual power, soul fluctuations—even bypassing most bloodline detection…"

"Unfortunately, as a core artifact, after the original owner's death, the Nine Infant Pearl permanently lost part of its power—now only eight heads can store soul and essence blood…"

"Good news: these stored souls and essence blood can be replaced or swapped…"

"For me, its offensive power is negligible, but its disguise capability is extremely useful."

Fang Xing knew his own limitations—he could manage disguise well, but suppressing his aura was difficult.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been exposed during his last visit to the Immortal City fair, leading to countless innocent deaths.

Strictly speaking, the Three Python Mountain massacre began because someone's disguise was inadequate.

But sword cultivators are naturally like this—specializing in one path, devoted solely to the sword, pure and single-minded.

"Now, with this 'Nine Infant Pearl', my disguise and aura suppression should be undetectable to anyone below the Nascent Soul realm."

Fang Xing felt the seven lit heads of the Nine Infant Pearl, then suddenly shifted his expression, his soul sense brushing against one of them.

In an instant, a cloak of soul energy emerged from the pearl, draping over him, concealing his original spiritual power and soul fluctuations.

Then, Fang Xing realized he had become someone familiar.

"That Profound Heaven Sect elder… he really died. After being killed, even his soul and essence blood fell into the enemy's hands—and now they're disguising themselves as a righteous cultivation elder to kill me?"

Fang Xing deeply felt the demonic cultivators' twisted sense of humor: "If my cultivation were slightly weaker, I might have truly been 'purified as a demon'—and the Profound Heaven Sect wouldn't escape unscathed either; at the very least, their reputation would be ruined…"

"Hm?"

Suddenly, he touched his Lower Dantian.

In his soul sense, the white-golden Jin Dan within, the Rusty Sword, suddenly emitted a sharp, urgent sword cry.

"This… is Sword Heart warning?!"

"An enemy capable of making even me sense danger—could it be a Nascent Soul True Sovereign personally tracking me? How is that possible? No, it's not impossible."

Fang Xing's expression shifted.

The Profound Heaven Sect's Nascent Soul True Sovereigns may have previously ignored such matters, but after the death of one of their late-stage Jin Dan True Dan cultivators, they might very well act.

"Since the killer effortlessly slew a late-stage Jin Dan cultivator of True Dan quality, his cultivation must be extraordinary… The Profound Heaven Sect wishes to investigate—either dispatch several late-stage Jin Dan cultivators, or send their Nascent Soul seedling, 'Zhengqi Zi', personally… Either option risks falling into an ambush."

"The most solid approach is for a Nascent Soul True Sovereign to act personally, using absolute power to sweep away all demons and specters…"

He silently analyzed and found the probability of a Nascent Soul True Sovereign acting was over fifty percent.

"This is called a mountain crushing an egg—no matter the enemy, it's straightforward, righteous…"

Fang Xing sighed, preparing to lie low.

He was a false Nascent Soul—ultimately not a true Nascent Soul.

Though he believed he could fight a Nascent Soul beginner thanks to his many divine arts and artifacts, he had no need to test it recklessly.

What he loved most was crushing the weak.

"First, lay a trap, then see how things develop…"

Fang Xing flicked his finger, and countless sword shadows emerged, sinking into the cave walls, vanishing instantly.

Then, with a sweep of his sleeve, he gathered all items within the cave, transforming into a streak of sword light that vanished into the horizon.

More than half an hour later.

A green light appeared, from which stepped a plain-looking green-robed female cultivator.

She appeared no more than twenty or thirty, yet her eyes held a detached calm, as if she had seen through the world.

Now entering the cave, her jade-like hands formed a seal—clearly preparing to use some secret technique to trace residual qi.

Shiiii!

At that moment, sword shadows flashed within the cave, coalescing into a sword formation!

A torrent of sword light surged skyward, cleaving the entire mountain peak in two.

A chilling, razor-sharp sword domain appeared, filled with countless floating sword lights—each transforming into a scale, ultimately forming a silver dragon!

The silver dragon roared, suddenly descending upon the green-robed woman.

BOOM!

The mountains trembled, making nearby villagers believe the earth dragon had turned over.

A light breeze passed, and the already crumbling peak turned to dust, vanishing instantly.

Only the green-robed True Sovereign remained, holding a lotus flower, seemingly unharmed by the silver sword dragon's assault.

"Indeed a Nascent Soul True Sovereign… and a Nascent Soul Sword Sovereign… Beyond Elder Chu of the Heavenly Sword Sect, is there another Nascent Soul sword lineage?"

The green-robed girl's eyes flickered; suddenly, she bit her lip and withdrew three copper coins from her sleeve.

Then she took out a bamboo tube, placed the three coins inside, and tossed them into the sky.

This was the Diviner's art—consulting Heaven!

Diviners, like Feng Shui masters, were a fringe art among the hundred arts of cultivation.

After all, fate and fortune were too elusive; forcing them often backfired.

Thus, high-level Diviners were exceedingly rare in the cultivation world.

Yet this green-robed female True Sovereign was one of them.

Instantly, she caught the bamboo tube and poured the three copper coins into her palm.

"Impossible to calculate?"

A flash of green light passed through her eyes, followed by disbelief.

Previously, she had faintly sensed the direction of the key figure—though blurred, indicating either his cultivation was strong enough to suppress her fate, or he possessed a treasure masking heavenly fate.

But now, it was pure chaos—utterly uncalculable.

Forcing deeper even caused her a slight backlash!

"Enough…"

The green-robed True Sovereign stood silently for a long while, then sighed and headed toward the Profound Heaven Sect's mountain gate…

…

Blue Star.

Blue Sea District 69.

Fang Xing looked at his cultivation avatar and nodded: "Stay hidden here for now… Heh, I now have an Eighth Stage combat force stationed in my villa—even a Martial Saint couldn't easily take me down… Hmm, maybe he could, but at least he'd make a huge commotion…"

Eighth Stage combat force!

Even in the Blue Star Federation, that's solidly top-tier.

With such a powerful force guarding my home, safety is no longer an issue.

After handling his cultivation avatar's affairs, Fang Xing went to the front door and saw several packages.

Checking the senders, they were from Blue Star University or the Federation Holographic Universe Corporation—he immediately knew what they contained.

He carried the packages into the living room and opened them one by one.

Whoosh!

A small pile of demonic energy crystals mixed with Tian Gang stones scattered across the coffee table.

"Good stuff, no doubt—but useless to me now…"

"Hmm, at least now I have explanations for my cultivation breakthroughs."

"Though I've withdrawn from the Interstellar Martial Arts Tournament, it hasn't ended yet—when it finally concludes and final rankings are announced, there should be another round of rewards…"

"That should be enough to push me to the peak of Martial Jin Dan?"

"With a bit more refinement, before my graduate program ends, I can ascend to the Jin Gang realm and continue for my Ph. D.!

"And the simplified version of the Buddha's Palm—third form, I've already got a clue; I just lack the realm—Jin Gang will be enough…"

Fang Xing silently planned his cultivation path.

Such plans aren't fixed—they can be adjusted anytime, emphasizing flexibility.

"Little Blue!"

Fang Xing spoke, and a holographic projection immediately appeared—a fairy with azure wings: "Master, what is your command?"

"Pull up the latest martial arts competition videos..."

Fang Xing planned to skim through them first, mark the fights he wanted to watch, then dive deeper into the holographic universe.

This was incredibly impressive!

To advance in martial arts, one absolutely needed this kind of "immersive experience."

That was precisely why, after the emergence of virtual universe technology, Fang Xing predicted a major surge in Blue Star's martial arts development.

"Understood."

Xiao Lan smiled faintly, raised her hand, and a screen instantly materialized.

The screen split into over five thousand panels, each containing a match.

To an ordinary person, viewing such a video would cause dizziness.

But Fang Xing was perfectly suited—he scanned briefly and memorized several match IDs: "These martial artists are definitely Blue Star University graduates; their fights are worth watching... and the mech pilot with the codename 'White Falcon'..."

"Of course, Master. Deep-view mode requires copyright fees—360,987 Star Credits have been deducted. Virtual video purchase successful."

Xiao Lan replied with a cheerful smile.

"Damn..."

Fang Xing muttered irritably: "The Federation Holographic Universe Corporation really knows how to make money..."

But they had advanced tech—they deserved to profit.

Moreover, before entering the competition, participants had already implicitly agreed to sell video copyrights.

The Federation Holographic Universe Corporation didn't take it for free either—the rewards of aura crystals and Tian Gang stones could be seen as advance payments to top competitors.

Fang Xing could only curse a couple times, then pay up without hesitation.

"I don't have much Star Credit... but I have many channels."

He suddenly remembered the master of the Men Sect.

That man had numerous arrangements—like anonymous accounts holding astronomical sums of Star Credit.

And on the surface, he had no connection to the Cult of the Evil God.

But could Fang Xing dare to take it?

In this world, anything done leaves traces.

Especially with a behemoth like the Blue Star Federation—if they decided to investigate, they'd inevitably uncover something.

Then he'd end up shooting himself in the foot.

Precisely because of this, Fang Xing held many leads on core believers of the Men Sect, yet never tried contacting them—or turning them in to the Security Bureau.

"In interstellar society, lacking a false identity is too troublesome..."

Fang Xing sighed inwardly, then suddenly thought of his cultivation clone.

This cultivation clone differed from him entirely—in appearance, aura, strength...

Even in the Blue Star Federation, he was an illegal resident—perfect as a temporary white glove.

First, use the master of the Men Sect's memory channels to obtain a legal identity, then access those funds.

Then, contact the Men Sect believers and net them all at once!

Along the way, he could also gather items related to the Men Sect.

Fang Xing had already left the demon god world; the Celestial Gate had entered recharge mode.

Without other sources of replenishment, he didn't know how long he'd have to wait before opening the next world.

"This idea is good—even if something goes wrong, it won't touch me..."

"And my cultivation clone is strong enough."

The more he thought, the brighter his eyes grew—he was almost eager to get started.

Fang Xing's gaze drifted, casually browsing the five thousand panels, seeking to absorb the strengths of a hundred schools to perfect his own martial path!

This was the process of continuous accumulation.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, his eyes flickered: "Xiao Lan, enlarge video #3961!"

One panel instantly expanded, filling most of the screen.

On screen was a battle taking place atop a glacier.

One combatant, merely at the peak of Outer Realm, had chosen anonymity, wore a mask, and wielded a "Magnetic Field Martial Art"!

Every movement drew upon the celestial magnetic field, allowing his domain to rival a Jin Dan's spiritual domain.

"Kill!"

The masked man manipulated the magnetic field, leveraging terrain to trigger a magnetic storm, unleashing a "Yin-Yang Annihilation Magnetic Light Blade" that swept across the Jin Dan martial artist's neck.

"Outer Realm attempting to slay a Jin Dan? This is defying heaven..."

Fang Xing's eyes narrowed: "More importantly... why does this man feel vaguely familiar to me?!"

In the video, the martial artist struck by the magnetic blade bled profusely—but instantly, golden light surfaced, swiftly stopping the bleeding and healing the wound.

That golden light was unmistakable: the "Dragon-Elephant Golden Immortal Body Technique"—though only slightly perfected, far inferior to his own full mastery.

"Not bad—but you've met me!"

The Jin Dan martial artist roared, his entire body glowing golden, like a miniature golden statue. Jin Dan energy converged into a single punch.

The masked man's magnetic field shattered; his body tumbled like a ragdoll across the glacier.

He lost.

The gap between Outer Realm and Jin Dan was like a chasm.

To have wounded a Jin Dan while still in Outer Realm—he could already be proud.