Chapter 486: Exploration

Fang Xing shifted his gaze to his profession again:

"My profession has changed again… I wonder what abilities this 【Master of the Esoteric Sect】 has?"

The previous 【Immortal Martial Artist】 profession had helped him greatly in the early stages.

And 【Master of the Esoteric Sect】 is undoubtedly well-suited to this world—it won't suffer the sealing issue that 【Star Martial Artist】 did.

As Fang Xing's gaze settled on 【Master of the Esoteric Sect】, a series of annotations automatically surfaced in his mind:

【Master of the Esoteric Sect: You are the founder of the Esoteric Sect and its highest achiever! You have imprinted unique knowledge into all Esoteric Sect martial arts, and bound all disciples through initiation and precepts… Every disciple's progress strengthens your foundation; you hold absolute life-and-death authority over all Esoteric Sect disciples—you can, with a single thought, strip them of their lifetime cultivation and transfer the true seed of their Esoteric Sect martial arts to another disciple…】

…

"Hmm… the constraints seem a bit too strong, too many hidden traps."

"But as long as my disciples don't plan to betray me, it's not a big deal."

Fang Xing focused on the 【Master of the Esoteric Sect】 profession, glanced over it a few times, and dismissed it.

As for traps in the transcendent path, the native transcendent paths are full of them too!

He sat cross-legged and continued playing with the 【Miracle Hand】, through this sacred relic, he could sense a specific coordinate in the Aether Realm.

"Though this world's technology is backward, when combined with Aether's transcendent power, it still achieves certain localized breakthroughs…"

"But the Aether Realm region linked to this mechanical hand is ninety-nine percent related to 'machinery'—I'm not very interested…"

Fang Xing sat cross-legged and immediately entered meditation.

The martial meditation technique, modified from 【Dream Entering Art】, allowed him to enter the Aether Realm in a single thought.

For ordinary Esoteric Sect martial artists, meditation was equally vital.

After all, apart from physical cultivation, martial artists primarily trained their martial will!

If one's martial will isn't strong enough, how can one face this bleak life, or the endless terrors of the Aether Realm?

"I should go and quickly gather a batch of secrets from the other four sects—my Esoteric Sect martial arts are still empty…"

Fang Xing shifted his intent and was once again in the Aether Realm.

…

The sky was dark.

Before him stretched what appeared to be a stone forest.

Gray-white stone covered the ground, seeming fragile yet seemingly eternal.

Fang Xing walked through the stalactite-like stone forest when suddenly his expression changed and he punched out.

Boom!

A stalactite shattered, revealing an odd, irregular white stone within.

On the white stone were several crimson symbols.

He picked up the stone, and his thoughts scattered; his body grew sluggish, unwilling to move, as if turning into a stone statue.

In that instant, gray-white stone skin surfaced across his body, as if trying to encase him.

Wuuu!

His heart pounded, pumping out massive steam; his pores opened, and layers of stone skin peeled away.

He looked again at the irregular stone—it had become a book with a gray-white cover; at the beginning of the secret transmission, a line of crimson text read:

【I turned to stone, yet even my mistake remains incomprehensible…】

"A 'Stone Secret Transmission'? The Stone Sect's martial arts have a lead—perhaps I can name it 【Stone Statue Art】?"

Fang Xing nodded, then shook his head—he now understood how the original mystics came to be.

In the Aether Realm, there were countless forms of 'opportunities' or 'dangers'.

Occasionally, mortals wandered into it; those who survived always gained fragments of knowledge.

For instance, this stone forest was extremely dangerous—it could petrify a person.

Yet a little searching yielded a 'Stone' secret transmission.

He walked farther, leaving the stone forest behind, arriving at a starlit meadow.

The ground was covered with knee-high wormwood, and tiny starlike points fluttered between the blades like fireflies, beautiful beyond dreams.

"Such beauty is rare in the mortal world."

Fang Xing stood with his hands behind his back, as if admiring the scenery.

Suddenly, his ears twitched—he heard a rustling sound.

It resembled an insect flapping its wings, reminding him of the mysterious moths he'd seen on the Deep Sea Gate.

Whoosh!

He moved instantly toward the source of the sound.

For Fang Xing, in the Aether Realm, he was the true danger!

After crossing a hill, he saw two groups of mystics chasing and killing each other…

The one fleeing ahead was a girl dressed in a black dress, delicate like a doll.

A pair of moth-like wings extended from her back, their vivid eye patterns fluttering with the air currents, lifelike.

With these moth wings, the girl could fly and glide after running a distance, keeping her just out of reach of the monsters behind.

The three monsters chasing her were cocoon-like, their bodies massive cocoons with six abdominal legs extending from the base, moving rapidly in alternating steps.

As Fang Xing spotted them, they noticed him too.

The moth-winged girl opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly saw him clench his fist and aim at her from afar.

"Steam Release!" Fang Xing fired a burst of steam—his mastery of this 'Steam Martial' technique far surpassed Shi Lei's.

The scalding steam struck the girl like a cannonball; she screamed and fell from midair.

Zhi-zhi!

The three cocoon monsters behind, thrilled, raised their abdominal legs—sharp as blades—and lunged to strike her.

Plop!

At that moment, the three cocoons shrieked and flew backward at greater speed; their cocoons split open midair, turning scalding hot, and three black-clad men scrambled out, frantically peeling off their 'cocoon skins'.

In an instant, the three cocoon monsters became three Deepeners.

"They're not hostile to me—he attacked both sides?"

The girl, rising to her feet, stared at Fang Xing approaching, a flicker of suspicion crossing her face.

"You all made it here—you're all Deepeners… Good, very good."

Fang Xing's earlier steam cannon and follow-up Steam Press Palm had been meant to capture all four.

As everyone knows, questioning one person alone risks concealment.

But when both sides turn on each other, hiding anything becomes nearly impossible.

"M-Master… why do you ruin our 'Mind Research Society's' plans?"

One of the three mystics, the leader, asked nervously.

He suspected he faced a Dawnbringer—or even a 'Longevity'.

Otherwise, how could he casually overpower them?

"Now, I interrogate you—not you me."

Fang Xing chuckled: "The cocoon skin and moth wings are quite interesting…"

"Sir, I'm from the Mind Research Society—these are traitors…"

The doll-like girl's eyes darted, assessed the situation, and volunteered: "These cocoon skins and moth wings are part of our 'Mind Path' ritual—the 'Cocoon-Clad'—our Mind Path transcenders excel at exploring the Aether Realm and fighting within it…"

As she spoke, she glanced at Fang Xing in surprise.

This great figure clearly wasn't from the Mind Path—otherwise, he wouldn't be unfamiliar with the 'Cocoon-Clad' ritual.

Yet to capture four Mind Path Deepeners in the Aether Realm—his power was unimaginably high.

At minimum, a high-rank Dawnbringer, possibly a Longevity!

"I see."

Fang Xing nodded—he now understood how miserable ordinary transcenders were in the Aether Realm.

Even Deepeners had physical strength comparable to mortals.

In extreme Aether cold, they could freeze to death!

If a transcender's primary consciousness was damaged in the Aether Realm, their body would manifest identical injuries—possibly leading to death!

Of course, this didn't include Esoteric Sect martial artists.

Additionally, Mind Path transcenders could strengthen their Aether Realm bodies through rituals, talismans… making them immensely powerful there.

Yet in Fang Xing's eyes, this 'power' was pitiful.

Like an ant in a colony that mutates and grows a pair of wings.

Compared to other ants, it's indeed stronger.

But to him, it's still weak.

In contempt, Fang Xing was always fair—he equally despised every transcender of this world!

"Mind Research Society? Sounds tied to the Mind Path… Fine. Now, I ask, you answer. Fail to answer, you die immediately."

Fang Xing smiled, then noticed one transcender's body beginning to fade—he leapt instantly, bringing down a Steam Press Palm from above.

Boom!

The man screamed, his body exploding into scattered starlight across the meadow.

"Don't think of fleeing—I can erase your consciousness the instant you try."

Fang Xing killed one to warn the others.

"Respected sir... feel free to ask whatever you wish."

The leader silently cursed his companion's stupidity, forcing a smile onto his face.

"I wish to purchase some secret transmissions; in the real world, I have no good means to obtain them—what about here?"

Fang Xing asked.

"I know this. Our Exalted ones have outposts in the Aether Realm, including a large trading market... the coordinates are here."

The doll-like girl quickly pulled a small white flower from her pocket.

The Aether Realm resembles the Illusory Void Realm—it lacks stable spatial concepts, so "directions" are impossible; at best, one can provide coordinates.

Such coordinates generate a kind of gravitational pull, drawing one toward the marketplace regardless of direction.

"Good."

Fang Xing took the white flower coordinate and smiled: "Now... hand over one 'Heart Path' secret transmission each, and you may leave..."

'So I've run into bandits.'

The girl silently groaned: 'Good thing... when those insect-men attacked me, I sent out a signal—Father should be arriving soon...'

(End of Chapter)