Chapter 569: The Floating Cloud Five Friends

Inside the cave.

Fang Xing silently sensed the essence of plants and trees; his internal energy suddenly surged by several tenths, carving out a new pathway.

"Second stage of Sensing Qi—achieved…"

He opened his eyes and murmured softly.

After all, he had long since reached the peak of First Stage Sensing Qi; with the cultivation method now in hand, the breakthrough was merely a natural progression.

He even took the opportunity to optimize a few minor areas.

"The cultivation of Sensing Qi's nine stages is fundamentally a process of laying foundations… the most critical step is the initial choice of essence to sense."

"Plant essence is already decent; if one chose impure or stagnant energies instead, they'd never have a chance to forge a Dao foundation."

"At the Second Stage of Sensing Qi—Qi Refinement—one further refines the plant essence to nourish the self…"

"Above the Fourth Stage, one continuously thickens the plant essence…"

"Then, at the Seventh and Eighth Stages… it's a gradual process of tempering the plant essence, until Yin and Yang merge into a primordial whole—this is the foundation of the Dao base."

"Thus, every step is crucial—it determines the quality of the Dao foundation one will later attain."

"Though plant essence ranks ninth in the Green Wood Art, if one executes the steps involving Yin and Yang energies well, the primordial energy forged may rival even the top three tiers of essence…"

Fang Xing silently sensed his own energy: "Hmm, after the breakthrough, my energy has thickened considerably—I can now extend my daily practice of the Ten Thousand Hands technique… and I can also learn other combat methods."

He planned to pause the Paper Folding Art, but there were many techniques from beyond the ordinary world.

Methods like corpse cultivation, flying swords, spirit invocation, talisman drawing, and spirit travel were especially common—he'd seen them all at the Cloud Arrival Bazaar.

Yet compared to his own Druidic heritage, they were not only bloody and eerie, but held little potential for growth.

After all, what good could come from crude, publicly circulated techniques?

Even if there were any, they were like the Paper Folding Secret Art—only the beginning, with the full text locked behind sect initiation.

…

Several days later.

Cloud Arrival Bazaar.

"Hehe, young sir, you truly are a man of your word…"

Old Lv grinned toothlessly and handed over his waist-hung wine gourd: "Care for a sip?"

"No need. I've got my own!"

Fang Xing pulled out a yellow-skinned gourd from his waist, uncorked the wooden stopper, and a rich fruit-wine aroma instantly spilled forth.

"Is this… monkey wine? No… this vintage seems older than mine?"

Old Lv nearly tore out his own beard: "Where… where did you get this?"

"While playing in the woods, I happened upon a migrating troop of spirit monkeys. I healed their injuries and traded them berries in return."

Fang Xing spoke plainly.

The Druid's "Nature Affinity" talent was indeed a divine skill in the wilds.

No matter how fierce the beast, upon first seeing him, it would never feel hostility—and many were even willing to communicate and interact…

Old Lv was instantly deflated. He cleared his throat twice, staring longingly at Fang Xing's gourd: "A hundred-year monkey wine… I've never even tasted it."

"This monkey wine would sell for five talisman coins elsewhere, but since you supported my business last time, consider it my gift to you."

Fang Xing smiled and handed over the gourd.

The monkey troop had gifted him an entire barrel of such fruit wine.

This single gourd meant nothing.

He enjoyed wine but never drank to excess—just a few sips daily, to vary his taste.

"Thank you!"

Old Lv took the gourd, cradling it lovingly, then added: "Come to think of it… I owe you thanks too. This time, if I hadn't happened to carry a few healing berries, I and several fellow cultivators might have perished out there…"

He then pulled out talisman coins, slightly embarrassed: "Do you still have those berries? I'd like to buy some."

"Of course I do."

Fang Xing smiled warmly.

Once word spread, he no longer needed to seek customers—business came to him.

After a morning's work, he sold all his goods and earned fifty-three talisman coins.

Old Lv's sales were modest; he merely watched with a smile beside him.

When Fang Xing rose to leave, Old Lv said: "I notice you're quite skilled in spirit plants… could your healing berries be fermented into wine? How much of their vital energy and healing power would remain?"

"That's a good question, but I'm currently cultivating in the wilds, with no fixed abode—I'll study it once I settle down…"

Fang Xing deflected.

"Oh? You still haven't secured a cultivation haven?"

Old Lv's eyes lit up thoughtfully, but he said no more.

He glanced aside as several cultivators approached and said: "Let me introduce you to a few fellow cultivators!"

Fang Xing looked over and saw a woman in a pink dress, roughly twenty to thirty, with a wooden hairpin in her hair, holding a doll-like little girl.

"This is Daoist Song Yunqian, and her daughter, Yunyun."

Old Lv pointed to a sultry woman beside Song Yunqian: "This is Hu Liuniang, a close friend of Daoist Song…"

"Sixiang, greetings, Daoist. Were those spirit berries you sold earlier?"

Hu Liuniang stepped forward gracefully, bowing: "I was wounded before, and it was thanks to your berries that I survived—I must thank you for saving my life!"

She bowed deeply. Fang Xing stepped forward to lift her, feeling her fingers lightly scratch his palm—his heart stirred: 'This woman… radiates a worldly air. Not a proper cultivator.'

"It was merely a transaction—no need to speak of gratitude. You overstate it…"

His expression remained calm, his tone indifferent.

"And these two are Iron Luo Hermit Ji Luding and the Azure Cloud Young Master Lin Xu…"

Old Lv smiled: "We five have always stood together in the Cloud Arrival Bazaar—we're known as the 'Floating Cloud Five Friends.'"

'This old man… is he trying to recruit me into the Floating Cloud Six Friends?'

Fang Xing's expression turned slightly odd: "A great honor, truly."

"Since we've met today, let me treat you all to a feast at the Four Seasons Pavilion!"

Old Lv chuckled.

"Oh? Of course, but I still plan to buy a few things in the bazaar…"

Fang Xing had no pressing matters—he agreed casually.

!. Read

He observed the Floating Cloud Five Friends—they had the air of disreputable companions. Iron Luo Hermit was tall, radiating faint lethal energy—likely their combat anchor.

The Azure Cloud Young Master Lin Xu, however, appeared refined and elegant on the surface.

'So, alcohol, beauty, wealth, and lust are all accounted for—definitely a band of disreputable companions, a small group of lone cultivators banding together…'

Fang Xing silently mused: circles existed everywhere.

More crucially, if you didn't form a circle, others would form one to encroach upon you, forcing you to join one.

…

He bid farewell to the Floating Cloud Five Friends and wandered the marketplace.

Soon, he stopped before a stall.

The vendor was a man in a gray robe, his face covered with a cloth; on display were lingzhi mushrooms, huangjing, ginseng, and various seeds.

'He's practically a half-colleague…'

Fang Xing reached out, sensing the vitality of each herb, then asked: "Do you have any oak saplings or acorns?"

As a Druid, he sometimes felt the urge to plant trees.

And the tree most suited to a Druid was, naturally, the oak.

"Common acorns? They grow everywhere—people even grind them into flour…"

The vendor shook his head with a light smile.

"I know that. I'm seeking rare seeds—preferably ones that can grow into spirit plants."

Fang Xing spoke gravely.

"Oak nuts? I do have a few—five talisman coins each. These are seeds of the 'Three Holy Oaks,' smuggled from the Zhou Shenchao…"

The gray-robed man said: "If they take root, the results are extraordinary…"

"Let me see."

Fang Xing took one acorn—it was also called an "acorn nut," resembling an oval chestnut with a hard shell at the base.

Using "Nature Affinity," he sensed briefly—there was no latent life force left; it was a dead seed.

Fang Xing showed no reaction, scanned a few more, then picked one: "I'll take this one…"

"So you're quite discerning, Daoist."

The gray-robed man paused, bowed slightly, took the talisman coins, and handed over the acorn.

Fang Xing took the acorn, said nothing, and pondered inwardly:

'After reaching high-level Druid, there are different branches and advanced paths… one focuses on plants, greatly enhancing tree-planting expertise…'

'Should I pursue this path?'

'But then I'd be tied to a fixed foundation—I couldn't roam freely anymore…'

'The animal path, by contrast, requires deeper mastery of transformation forms—deeper immersion in the wilds.'

'Either way, securing a private territory and gathering spirit seeds in preparation is never wrong.'

……

Four Seasons Tower.

Orchid and Zhi Chamber.

"Hah! We are gentlemen in friendship, like the chamber of orchid and zhi—perfect for this scene."

Old Lu's side still held that gourd of hundred-year monkey wine; he raised it and said, "Friend, please partake…"

"Mmm…"

Fang Xing raised his cup and drained it, then gazed at the fine dishes on the table.

Especially one carp, beautiful as red jade, slightly translucent, its flesh carrying a faint spicy taste in the mouth.

This spiciness was not from seasoning—it came from the ingredient itself, making it all the more rare.

"To prepare today's feast, it must have cost at least twenty talisman coins. You gentlemen are truly too generous…"

"Hehe… Fang Daoist, just from selling your healing berries, you could afford this every day."

Hu Liuniang, draped in a purple-red shawl, revealed glimpses of a green embroidered duck-and-lotus bellyband and a flash of pale skin—she was today's main drink-pusher: "Come, friend, have another cup."

Fang Xing toyed with his cup, his expression half-smiling, but he didn't mind—he kept drinking and eating, waiting to see what the Five Cloud Friends were up to.

(End of Chapter)