Chapter 36: Purple-Winged Scorpion

“Wan brother, why so upset?”

The newcomer was elderly, and more importantly, Fang Xing recognized him—he was Chen Yi, the eldest of the Five Righteous of Cangshan.

Seeing Wan Dan’s expression, he couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

The Wan surname alchemist merely snorted a few times: “Today you saw that brat scouring the marketplace for Ningshen Pills and reported it to me. I followed your tip and issued an invitation—but he didn’t even glance my way, making me lose face big time. What do you say we make this right?”

Chen Yi was left speechless, yet he knew this alchemist Wan Fenglin was notoriously stingy and always scheming for petty gains.

The key issue was—he simply couldn’t afford to offend an alchemist. He immediately forced a bitter smile and bowed: “I’m at fault. I’ll make amends to you, Wan brother, in the days to come…”

“No need for apologies—but the share of medicinal herbs from this operation must be revised…” Wan Fenglin revealed his true intent.

“This… I must discuss it thoroughly with my four sworn brothers.”

Chen Yi showed a flicker of hesitation.

“Hmph, I still don’t understand why you’re trying to court some post-heaven martial artist… He doesn’t even look like a cultivation prodigy…”

Wan Fenglin was curious.

“Sigh… This man’s origins are mysterious. I originally had no desire to get involved, but he recently moved in next to my fourth and fifth sworn siblings. I had no choice but to probe him. Wan brother, don’t underestimate him—he possesses at least one blood-refined artifact!” Chen Yi sighed: “That’s precisely why I thought he could be of great use in this operation. But I never expected… he seems utterly indifferent to Ningshen Pills.”

“Blood-refined artifact?” Wan Fenglin’s greed flashed briefly, then he said: “That’s truly a pity. He should be immensely helpful against the Purple-Winged Scorpion.”

Whether he intended to befriend him or kill him and seize his wealth—that remained unknown.

In fact, Wan Fenglin believed Chen Yi now shared the same mindset.

Anyone who has survived as a lone cultivator isn’t a fool.

If the brat truly has powerful backing, they’ll pamper him, flatter him, hoping he’ll drop some crumbs from his fingers.

But if he has no protection and falls into danger during a beast hunt, there’s no need to hesitate—strike while he’s down!

“So it seems Wan brother is preparing to act soon?”

Hearing this, Chen Yi’s eyes lit up.

“Of course. Not to mention the ‘Illusion Heart Orchids’ are nearing the end of their bloom—even the scorpion venom from the Purple-Winged Scorpion alone is top-grade alchemical material. How could I possibly pass this up?”

Wan Fenglin gave Chen Yi a deep glance: “I’ve long heard of the fame of the Five Righteous of Cangshan. This time, I rely on you.”

“No problem, no problem…”

Chen Yi agreed, then turned and left.

Wan Fenglin watched him depart, then sat down slowly and sipped his spirit tea.

The beetle remained utterly still, like a lifeless object.

Since Fang Xing wasn’t worried about losses, he directly ordered it to lie low.

Half an hour later, another figure pushed the door open: “Master Wan…”

Seeing the newcomer, Wan Fenglin’s face instantly lit up with a smile.

…

“These cultivators—six men, seven hearts…”

Inside the shed.

In the basement.

Fang Xing stared at the surveillance screens, his expression turning blank.

For besides the alchemist Wan Fenglin scheming in secret, Chen Yi had immediately gone elsewhere after leaving Wan’s residence—secretly conspiring with other cultivators!

Though afraid of being detected, Fang Xing had ordered his surveillance hummingbirds to keep their distance—but he knew perfectly well what they were plotting!

“Thank goodness I didn’t agree to go. Otherwise, playing mind games with this bunch of old schemers—I might not even win!”

“As for now? Let each of them pay me in coins!”

Fang Xing believed his actions were always prudent, and above all, he had self-awareness.

At least within the marketplace, there was still some order—and with his interdimensional portal ability, he could slowly rise to the top!

To risk leaving the marketplace for a single bottle of pills? That would be idiotic.

A man of wealth doesn’t sit beneath a perilous eave!

Disguising oneself as a commoner invites trouble!

Therefore, he remained unmoved.

For Fang Xing, the worst outcome was simply failing to obtain the pills and being unable to enter the Ghost God Blade technique.

If that happened, he’d merely slow his plans and wait until next semester to learn “Crazy Eighteen Strikes” from Teacher Xia Long—still an A-rank martial art!

Even if it delayed his cultivation a bit, he’d still get into a good university. That was enough!

If he encountered danger on this expedition—even died and lost his Dao—it would be the greatest loss!

“These alchemists, the Five Righteous of Cangshan, and whoever’s behind them… truly fascinating. For a few beast materials and a handful of Illusion Heart Orchids, they scheme this deeply. Cultivators in this world really have it hard…”

Fang Xing sighed and prepared to watch the show.

Though he wouldn’t leave the marketplace, he still had the nerve to deploy a few drones to secretly tail them.

…

The next day.

Fang Xing stood in the courtyard enclosed by bamboo fencing, silently practicing the Twelve Forms of Military Boxing.

At some point, a small child climbed onto the neighboring fence, eyes gleaming: “Uncle… are you practicing martial arts?”

“Zi Jin, how rude of you!”

Meng Yi pulled his son aside. The boy had been terrified at first, but ever since eating the grilled meat, he’d been desperate to visit the neighbor’s house every day—it drove him mad.

He looked at Fang Xing and offered an apologetic smile.

Fang Xing ignored him entirely, his blood qi swirling through his body, each movement radiating immense force.

His blood qi circulated fully, gradually shifting from skin and muscle to tendons and bones.

After completing the set, he glanced at his status bar:

【Military Boxing Twelve Forms: 61/100 (Proficient)】

‘Proficiency has increased again—good…’

Since the Ghost God Blade proved difficult to master, Fang Xing had continued pouring most of his energy into Military Boxing.

Now, this martial art had progressed at an astonishing pace.

This was likely due to his advancement into the Second Martial Realm—many previously obscure aspects of Military Boxing now became crystal clear.

The higher one’s realm, the easier martial arts become to cultivate.

As for being seen?

Never mind that martial artists here despise martial arts—if a Blue Star Federation martial art could be mastered by merely watching a few times, Teachers like Xia Long would all be unemployed…

“Meng brother!”

Fang Xing greeted Meng Yi: “Leaving soon?”

“No, just going to set up a stall…”

Meng Yi waved his hand casually: “My wife took Zi Jin. As the head of the household, I’ve got to earn some spirit sand…”

“Understood. Wishing you great business.”

Fang Xing offered sincere wishes, though internally he scoffed—this man was lying through his teeth!

According to his external surveillance footage, Shen Yu had sneaked out late at night.

Clearly, the Five Righteous of Cangshan and the alchemist were preparing to mobilize fully to harvest the Illusion Heart Orchids!

Yet Meng Yi was putting on this act to deceive him—clearly, he didn’t trust his neighbor!

‘But that’s normal. In a world where everyone’s a master schemer, failing to stay alert means dying without even leaving bones behind…’

Fang Xing understood, and watched Meng Yi depart.

Meng Zi Jin returned home, shut all doors and windows, and acted unusually well-behaved.

‘So well-behaved it’s heartbreaking.’

Fang Xing sighed inwardly, returned to his basement, and watched the surveillance screens.

In the wild, dozens of beetles, lizards, and hummingbird-type drones stood ready.

‘Though I won’t go, I’ll watch every moment—cheering you on…’

…

Deep in the Wilds.

Several hummingbirds flew through the forest.

Through their tiny lenses, faint outlines of a cultivator squad could be seen advancing ahead.

Fang Xing watched the footage on his screen and nodded silently: “All of them are amateurs—they can’t even detect my hummingbird drones. But I can’t blame them; this kind of reconnaissance is beyond their comprehension!”

One cannot earn money beyond one’s cognitive limits—nor detect enemies beyond one’s understanding.

Based on his time in the cultivation marketplace, he now understood cultivators better.

Most Qi Condensation cultivators lack ‘spiritual sense’—they cannot project it outward to lock onto targets.

What they possess is ‘spiritual awareness’—only capable of internal observation and reading jade slips.

Though this ‘spiritual awareness’ already made Fang Xing, a lowly martial artist, envious enough to turn his eyes red.

Being able to see one’s own body in perfect detail meant absolute control over it.

To a martial artist, that was the mark of a supreme genius!

Yet since spiritual awareness couldn’t be projected outward, it couldn’t detect distant, tiny enemies.

Moreover, in cultivator logic, even the smallest puppet should be operated by spiritual energy, leaving detectable spiritual traces.

But the interstellar-era simulation drones clearly had no spiritual energy or aura whatsoever—easily overlooked.

“Their destination…”

Fang Xing ordered a hawk-shaped drone to soar high, and saw a valley more than ten li ahead.

The valley’s surroundings were steep beyond measure; the black rocks on the cliffs emitted a metallic sheen, as if carved by knife and axe, with only one winding path leading in.

Calling it a “path” was misleading—it was merely a gap in the gorge, riddled with perilous hazards.

“This must be it…”

A hawk drone descended, revealing a thin mist shrouding the valley.

As it moved closer, suddenly a rustling sound arose.

Then…

A purple shadow flashed—and the hawk-shaped drone plummeted from midair.

Hssst!

The drone’s wreckage hit the ground and immediately began hissing as it corroded.

The simulated feathers fell off entirely; even the mechanical skeleton emitted tiny bursts of electric sparks, beginning to dissolve…

The final screen image showed only a purple scorpion silhouette!

“Purple Wing Scorpion? Powerful poison!”

Fang Xing deployed computational power to reconstruct the blurred image, revealing a purple scorpion the size of a washbasin.

It bore twin wings on its back, its entire body encased in a layer of purple armor, flying with terrifying speed.

“Purple Wing Scorpion, a mid-grade Rank One beast; an adult can rival a Foundation Establishment cultivator, possesses potent venom, prefers to dwell in groups—once encountered, even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator dares not provoke it lightly…”

Fang Xing murmured the basic intel on the Purple Wing Scorpion, a hint of anticipation crossing his face: “Wan Dan, the Five Righteous of Cangshan… push harder.”