Chapter 590

The night was deep.

Qingyu Garden, in the wooden house where the disciples rested.

A door opened quietly, and then a figure flashed out, arriving under the Ten Thousand Year Evergreen Tree.

The moonlight was hazy, reflecting the figure of this person, who was a clumsy-looking servant woman—it was the medicinal garden elder, Hua Qing!

"Ten Thousand Year Evergreen Tree... This tree is extremely hard, and cultivators below Dao-foundation can hardly cut it down... But wood-type spiritual plants are naturally restrained by fire poison. As long as you sprinkle a bottle of 'Xuanyuan Fire Poison Liquid', you can destroy its root system... Medicine and stone cannot save it."

Hua Qing seemed to be talking to herself, taking out a pitch-black jade bottle from her bosom.

"Sigh..."

Suddenly, a low voice sounded.

"Who is it?"

Hua Qing was startled, her eyes flashing with all kinds of vicious light, and a shadow puppet turned into a demon fox, landing and walking.

Pu pu!

The ground cracked, and strands of thorny vines, like pythons, bound the shadow puppet fox tightly.

A figure walked out of the darkness, dark-skinned with honest features—it was Fei Fei Changqing!

Only at this moment, Fei Fei Changqing had a protective aura, and seemed to be using some secret technique, his magic power full and vigorous, comparable even to the Gang Qi stage.

"Fei Fei Changqing? Impossible... I clearly put it in the food..." Hua Qing seemed to think of something, her face becoming extremely ugly.

"You put 'You Tan Fragrance' in the food. This spice is non-toxic to the human body and has a sleep-aiding effect... That's why old medicinal farmers like Meng Tiandong didn't suspect it, but unfortunately, you couldn't hide it from me..."

Fei Fei Changqing shook his head: "Are you a spy for the Blood Shadow Gate? It seems the real Hua Qing is already dead... It's a pity, why do you want to harm this Ten Thousand Year Evergreen Tree? This is my... foundation for achieving the Dao..."

When he finished speaking, his voice was so low it was almost inaudible. He flicked his hands repeatedly, and strange little flags were inserted all around.

These little flags were all made of spiritual wood and spiritual silkworm silk, mixed together, turning into a set of formations.

Shadows of green trees appeared, with effects like defense and soundproofing, completely enveloping this area.

"This is... a formation?"

"No, this is the 'Twelve Elder Qingmu Spirit-Controlling Flags'. Although the quality is average, it is definitely not something an ordinary Sensing Qi disciple can refine or use... Who, who exactly are you?"

'Hua Qing's expression changed greatly, and she took out a skin-painting mask and put it on her face.

In an instant, she turned into a demon!

This demon was two meters tall, with three heads—sheep, cow, and pig—but below it was a human body, covered in pitch-black velvet and scales, and its hands were like bird claws.

It looked as if various demon beasts and human bodies were spliced together at will.

"Hundred-Phase Shadow Puppet... You can be considered a core disciple in the Blood Shadow Gate."

"Go!"

Fei Fei Changqing pointed repeatedly, urging the 'Twelve Elder Qingmu Spirit-Controlling Flags', and strands of illusory green vines appeared, like chains, winding toward the Hundred-Phase Shadow Puppet demon.

At the same time, he reached into his flying mouse bag and took out a handful of bean seeds.

These bean seeds took root upon landing, quickly growing into bean puppets.

Rumble!

Inside the formation, the Hundred-Phase Shadow Puppet demon roared constantly, but not a single sound leaked out of the formation.

A moment later, a scream appeared.

"You... you are not Fei Fei Changqing at all!"

"You are 'True Lord Xuanmu'!"

The Hundred-Phase Shadow Puppet demon had two of its heads cut off, but the remaining pig head made a mocking sound: "Haha... You were killed by our sect's True Lord, yet you were able to escape a bit of Yin Spirit and possess a body to be reborn... But you didn't dare to return to the sect, which clearly shows that the infighting in Elder Qingmu Ridge has intensified beyond imagination. This battle, our sect will surely win. I'll wait for you below..."

Pu!

Before the words were finished, a green wooden flying sword slashed across, cutting off the pig head.

The entire shadow puppet collapsed like a deflated ball, turning into a pool of foul-smelling skin.

Strands of blood seeped out from the skin.

Fei Fei Changqing sighed, put away the formation flags, and skillfully cleaned up the battlefield without leaving a trace.

"Xuanmu is already dead. Now I... am just Fei Fei Changqing."

He came under the Ten Thousand Year Evergreen Tree, reached out to touch the giant tree's skin, and silently operated his cultivation technique.

Strands of wonderful aura were absorbed by him.

"The aptitude of this body is still too poor. If I cultivate step-by-step, I won't be able to break through to Dao-foundation even until I die..."

"Only by cultivating the 'Eternal Technique' and absorbing the 'Aura of the Years and Rings' of the Ten Thousand Year Evergreen Tree can I have the certainty to forge a superior Dao foundation—'Age Sui Mu Qiu'. Then, by using the 'Technique of Stealing the Dao and Swallowing the Foundation', I can swallow a cultivator who has forged the 'Water Linglong' Dao foundation, and I can achieve the 'Water Wood Years' supernatural power, and regain the position of True Lord..."

It was precisely because the Ten Thousand Year Evergreen Tree was related to his own cultivation that Fei Fei Changqing took the risk to act.

He had too many abnormalities on him, and he didn't dare to report this to the Dao-foundation manager here.

After a round of daily cultivation, he whistled, and a green bee-bird landed on his arm.

"Hmm... That person has been in the treehouse and hasn't come out? Very good..."

Fei Fei Changqing fed the bee-bird a pill, a look of satisfaction appearing on his face, and returned to the wooden house to rest.

A moment later.

A flash of light appeared on the ground, and a pangolin drilled out. The bee-bird didn't care, but instead went forward affectionately, cuddling with this new friend, seemingly greeting it.

"What a cute little guy..."

Fang Xing waved his claw casually, and a ball of green light the size of a soybean entered the bee-bird's body.

If Fei Fei Changqing saw this scene, he would likely vomit blood.

The bee-bird he had cultivated with secret techniques specifically to monitor Fang Xing seemed to have directly defected...

'If it weren't for this bee-bird... I probably could only perceive that Hua Qing had a problem. I didn't expect this Fei Fei Changqing—no, True Lord Xuanmu—to have an even bigger problem... A Yin Spirit True Lord possessing a body to be reborn? What kind of storybook development is this?'

Fang Xing came under the Ten Thousand Year Evergreen Tree and, with the Druid's natural affinity, perceived this ancient tree.

Then, the scenes that happened under the tree appeared before his eyes as if they were a movie.

'Hmm... This Fei Fei Changqing, worthy of being a Yin Spirit True Lord reborn, actually refined a set of formations for self-protection at the Sensing Qi stage?'

'And these bean puppets, flying swords... The means are truly astonishing; ordinary mixed-element aura cultivators are definitely not his opponents.'

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'Actually absorbing the aura of the rings to cultivate? This forged Dao foundation will clearly be extraordinary... So this person came to Qingyu Garden for this purpose?'

Although Fang Xing couldn't see too much, he knew that the cultivation technique Fei Fei Changqing practiced seemed to require absorbing some special aura from the Ten Thousand Year Evergreen Tree, which probably had something to do with time and years. In other words, he had to stay in the medicinal garden for a long time.

He didn't know that the 'Age Sui Mu Qiu' Dao foundation was a secret transmission of Elder Qingmu Ridge. When at the early and mid Sensing Qi stages, one could cultivate by absorbing the aura of hundred-year or thousand-year Evergreen Trees.

But at the late Sensing Qi stage, especially when breaking through to Dao-foundation, one must absorb the aura of the rings of a Ten Thousand Year Evergreen Tree.

More importantly... the aura of the years and rings cannot be achieved overnight; it must go through a complete spring and autumn for the rings to grow larger.

And after choosing a Ten Thousand Year Evergreen Tree, it is very difficult to change.

Otherwise, the Blood Shadow Gate spy wouldn't have been so anxious to destroy the Ten Thousand Year Evergreen Tree, and Fei Fei Changqing wouldn't have acted so urgently.

"No need to rush to show my hand..."

"First, investigate thoroughly, then find a few soul-searching and interrogation techniques, and cultivate them to a profound realm before talking..."

Fang Xing lay on the ground, and the pangolin disappeared immediately.

Several months later.

"Recently, spies from the Blood Shadow Gate seem to have mixed into the sect. Junior Brother Fang must be careful..."

Fei Changnong personally escorted a batch of supplies over, and while handing them over, he said solemnly to Fang Xing.

"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother. Since the incident with Hua Qing, I have already strictly investigated..."

Fang Xing bowed.

Several months ago, Hua Qing went missing, and he naturally reported it.

Then Fei Changnong came to investigate, found nothing, and could only randomly close the case as encountering Blood Shadow Gate spies and leaving no corpse.

In fact, it was a lucky hit.

After Fei Changnong left, Fang Xing looked at the somewhat uneasy disciples: "What are you still doing? Why don't you continue working? You should learn from Fei Fei Changqing, this ability to remain calm even when the mountain collapses before him..."

He gave a long speech there, while Dong Dong Meier complained inwardly: 'That Fei Fei Changqing is just a fool...'

At this time, Fei Fei Changqing, who was still weeding in the field, looked up and smiled honestly.

It was just that for some reason, when his gaze swept over Fang Xing, Fei Fei Changqing felt a sense of heart-palpitating fear...

Fang Xing lay on the soft chair as usual, with spiritual tea and snacks by his side, and began to supervise these disciples at work.

After finishing his tea and snacks, he picked up an ancient thread-bound book and looked at it pretentiously.

The book cover was titled "Biographies of Elder Qingmu Heroes", which wrote about the stories of various outstanding talents in Elder Qingmu Ridge.

Fang Xing flipped through it and turned to the entry for True Lord Xuanmu:

"True Lord Xuanmu, secular name 'Ye Ye Xuanqing', was born with strange signs, joined Elder Qingmu Ridge when young, forged his Dao foundation at forty-six, and ascended to True Lord at one hundred and fifty-seven..."

"Since his debut, he has killed countless demons and evil people, is good at formations, and refined a set of True Lord-level 'Twelve Elder Qingmu Spirit-Controlling Flags' as his life-bound magical treasure, with monstrous power..."

Fang Xing saw the later parts and found that they were all praises for this ancestor, without any record of his fall.

Before, when he probed, Fei Changnong only said that the situation at the sect's front line was excellent, winning battle after battle, and even Dao-foundation cultivator casualties were extremely rare, let alone Yin Spirit True Lords...

'Sigh... If I really believed it, I might be pitted...'

Fang Xing complained secretly and picked up another miscellaneous book.

This contained introductions to sects in the Outer Lands, and even some sects of the Great Zhou Zhou Shenchao.

Among them was the 'Life-Killing Sect'!

'According to the contempt chain of the Outer Lands, those from the Great Zhou Zhou Shenchao are all good things... Therefore, the longer they can persist, the stronger they are...'

'In other words, the sects that couldn't stand it and were forced to migrate are the weakest... And the Life-Killing Sect, which can support itself until now, is even more powerful than the Flying Sword Gate!'

'As for Elder Qingmu Ridge? Sorry, this sect has always boasted of its long history... It seems that among the Ten Great Orthodox and Evil Sects, it was one of the first forces to move to the Outer Lands...'

(End of chapter)