Chapter 430: The Way of Evolution

"If that's the case, aren't you going to give me something extra..."

Fang Xing grinned, revealing a row of sharp, icy white teeth.

"What do you want? I'm not the master—I don't have anything valuable..."

The snake woman's expression immediately turned wary.

"Nothing much—just some Yuan Stones. You probably don't need them anyway... Besides, I originally planned to join the Green Emperor Palace, but because of my master, I had to abandon that option... Without a major sect's backing, my cultivation speed will be painfully slow..."

Fang Xing looked at the snake woman and spoke slowly: "You don't want any setbacks in your master's resurrection, do you?"

The snake woman bit her lip: "Fine... You are the True Disciple of Her Majesty, so you truly shouldn't join the Green Emperor Palace."

She reached out and grasped forward—a simple iron ring materialized: "This is a personal gift I'm giving you."

Fang Xing took it, refined it with his consciousness, and was instantly stunned: "Such a vast space..."

The iron ring was clearly a storage treasure, its internal space immensely expansive—even surpassing the Wuji Demon Palace!

Inside, several towering piles of Yuan Stones lay stacked like mountains.

"I'm poor, so these are all I can give you..."

The snake woman looked pitifully at him: "And this—'The Unbounded Token'!"

She pulled out another withered, yellow token: "After my master left the Green Emperor Palace, she joined the Unbounded Mountains—a neutral force that once sheltered her. It likely harbors beings of Demon Emperor rank... though my master never met them."

Without a Chaos Realm existence, there could be no true neutrality, let alone sheltering Lady Qinghua under the Green Emperor Palace's pressure.

"My master had a close friend in the Unbounded Mountains—an ape emperor known as 'The Great Holy Chaos Sky.' Take this token, and you'll surely be introduced and admitted into the Unbounded Mountains."

The snake woman explained.

"Oh? This is excellent!"

Fang Xing immediately tucked away the Unbounded Token: "I should take my leave now..."

"Yes. After you leave, you must sever your karmic ties... Also, cultivate the 'Candle Dragon Soul Spirit.' When you reach the Soul Spirit Realm, and again after becoming a Heavenly Demon, return once more... Her Majesty will grant you more."

The snake woman gave him a solemn warning.

"More grants at the Soul Spirit and Heavenly Demon realms?"

Fang Xing couldn't help but marvel: "My master is truly both kind and generous..."

This staged investment was a way to reduce risk.

After reaching the Heavenly Demon realm, he could inherit nearly all of Lady Qinghua's legacy.

"Naturally!"

At the mention of her master, the snake woman's face glowed with pride: "Her Majesty's fortune is astonishing—she once explored the tomb of a Demon Emperor. Do you think the 'Candle Dragon Blood' just appeared out of nowhere? At the Soul Spirit Realm, she might grant you a few Imperial Weapons... but if you return after becoming a Heavenly Demon, you'll receive one 'Imperial Weapon'!"

"Imperial Weapon?!"

"A treasure forged by a Demon Emperor?"

Outside the Qinghua Minor Realm.

A silver flash appeared—Fang Xing materialized, shaking his dragon head: "It's truly tempting... but I wonder if it's just a carrot dangled before a donkey."

He oriented himself, then instantly teleported to another desolate mountain.

"Master!"

Song Zhong waited, and upon seeing Fang Xing, immediately bowed respectfully.

"You may return to the Seven Kill Demon Palace and directly break through to the Soul Spirit Realm... Your talent is already half-ruined; better to cash in your remaining potential and rise in status."

Fang Xing ordered.

He had no intention of taking this pet along.

Song Zhong's return and breakthrough to Soul Spirit would serve as a countermeasure against Ning Qian.

"Yes, Master! I'll work hard to uncover the Seven Kill Demon Palace's secrets!"

Song Zhong nodded, his expression resolute.

"Good."

Fang Xing knew his master was merciful—failed inheritances didn't mean death.

Even the realm spirit, the snake woman, was bound not to help him kill the demonic prince.

Even without the inheritance, the prince must have already left the Qinghua Minor Realm.

"Enough... It's my own grudge. I must settle it myself."

Fang Xing shook his head. Though the karmic thread pointed to Song Zhong, as his master and the one who gave the order, the karmic link wouldn't vanish when Song Zhong died.

This was the terrifying nature of the Karmic Dao!

Thus, he must quickly learn the secret art of "Severing Karma" to conceal his own heavenly fate.

Otherwise, in such a vast world, survival would be extremely difficult.

Several days later.

A temporary cave dwelling.

Fang Xing lay on the ground, silently studying the "Three Scrolls of Qinghua."

This Heavenly Demon inheritance had been directly implanted into his mind by Lady Qinghua, always accessible.

Even reading it felt like contemplating a Dao-enlightening treasure—its power was unimaginable.

"Secret Art of Severing Karma..."

"And the 'Serpent Flame' technique—burning spiritual energy to instantly boost its quality... Also, the Body Tempering art..."

He studied the third scroll of the Qinghua Texts, selecting three secret arts he needed to cultivate.

"Of these, Severing Karma is most critical—life or death."

"If the demonic prince can't find me, he might summon a Heavenly Demon... unlikely, but if powerful Soul Spirit Ninth Layer demon kings arrive, I won't stand a chance."

"The 'Serpent Flame' technique could massively boost my power—but it's the hardest to master..."

"Lastly, the Body Tempering art—perhaps I can merge it with my original 'Nine Sources Star Body Tempering Art'..."

In this world, cultivation relied primarily on heavenly spiritual energy; Fang Xing wasn't sure if such techniques would work back home.

Thus, he dismissed most spiritual energy-based arts.

He still focused on the 'Nine Sources Star Body Tempering Art'—the most universally applicable.

Now that he'd gained abundant Body Tempering transmissions, he intended to refine and elevate his own art using the resources of the Qing Yuan Great Realm.

Several days later.

Fang Xing took a small mirror from the iron ring on his dragon claw—it was the 'Yuan Dao Mirror'!

"With this mirror, I can instantly perfect a secret art—though it has limits: cannot exceed Heavenly Demon rank..."

Over these days, he'd figured out the mirror's usage.

Now, he glanced at his attribute panel:

【Severing Karma: 1/100 (Beginner)】

"Since it's already on my panel, I can level it up myself..."

"Song Zhong hasn't died yet, and after his breakthrough to Soul Spirit, his power rivals Ning Qian's—though his status is lower, he can become a senior elder of the Seven Kill Demon Palace. He won't die anytime soon. As long as he lives, I won't be exposed."

"Rather than investing in 'Severing Karma,' better to strengthen what's already strong..."

After all, if the demonic prince came, Fang Xing might not win—but he could escape.

His instant teleportation wasn't a joke.

Moreover, now that he'd refined the Candle Dragon Blood, granting him time acceleration, he might not lose in a desperate fight.

He might even win!

He merely restrained himself, fearing that killing the prince would draw the wrath of the Green Emperor Palace's elders.

"Then..."

"Which to prioritize—the 'Serpent Flame' technique or the Body Tempering art?"

The 'Serpent Flame' technique was extremely difficult; Fang Xing hadn't yet mastered it.

But he wasn't in a hurry.

His Black Water spiritual energy suited him well, and after refining the Candle Dragon Blood into Imperial Blood, he felt his superior-grade spiritual energy constantly purifying.

Soon, at the latest by his Soul Spirit breakthrough, he'd shed one layer of spiritual energy and officially enter Immortal-grade.

'The 'Serpent Flame' technique boosts my output, but its principle is the same as enhancing spiritual energy quality—just temporary. As for raw power surge, it's less useful now—I can delay it...'

'Though this choice seems wasteful, if the Black Dragon isn't my true body, then choosing the 'Nine Sources Star Body Tempering Art'—most useful for the Main Universe—is the best outcome...'

Fang Xing made his decision, extended his dragon claw, shattered a scale, and let a drop of Black Dragon blood fall onto the 'Yuan Dao Mirror' surface.

The previously dark mirror instantly shimmered with starlight.

It was the 'Nine Sources Star Body Tempering Art' he'd inscribed—now, the art transformed into nine stars, each blazing brightly within the mirror's universe, drawing in dimmer stars to form a vortex.

Those dim stars were other Body Tempering arts recorded in the "Three Scrolls of Qinghua"—many of higher rank than the 'Nine Sources Star Body Tempering Art,' but with cultivation conditions too strict; Fang Xing feared they couldn't be satisfied in the Main Universe.

Just as in the Great Xia world, many Body Tempering arts existed, but most required rare local materials to even begin—total traps.

Whoosh!

After the nine stars absorbed the starlight from the heavens, Fang Xing linked his spirit with the 'Yuan Dao Mirror' and infused his intent into it.

Shhh!

Inside the Yuan Dao Mirror, nine radiant beams erupted—like nine pillars of stars.

Each star pillar shimmered with seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet.

At that moment, three of the star pillars suddenly froze, their light halting at the red-orange stage.

"Only Foundation Establishment? After incorporating so many body-refining techniques, it actually dropped? Is it because the initial stage requires a rare artifact to establish the foundation, which doesn't match my conditions?"

Fang Xing sighed and turned his gaze to the other six star pillars.

These six pillars represented six distinct evolutionary paths, all capable of reaching the Nascent Soul realm.

After breaking into the Nascent Soul realm, the new body-refining techniques again diverged in quality; several pillars' colors stagnated at the yellow-green stage, indicating they could not rival a Nascent Soul seventh-layer cultivator, or had hit a bottleneck—still requiring special resources from the Qingyuan Great Realm to break through…

In the end, only three star pillars remained. Two of them glowed emerald and blue, representing cultivators capable of rivaling Nascent Soul eighth- and even ninth-layer masters, comparable to the neutron-star body of the Great Xia world.

The final star pillar began to nurture a faint violet hue, which ultimately settled at the center of the Yandao Mirror.

"Violet?"

Fang Xing's heart leapt—the Yandao Mirror's simulations rarely surpassed Heavenly Demons; violet signified a possibility.

Using starlight as the core, cultivating the body-refining art could, in the end, rival the Heavenly Demon realm!

"This is a black hole-level body!"

"Was it worth adding so many techniques and consuming a rare artifact? Has the 'Nine Sources Star Body Refining Art' finally been simulated to black hole level?"

(End of Chapter)