Free Web NovelChapter 347: Obtaining the seven-colored moon orchid
The seven-colored halo leaking from the gap of the jade box, although extremely faint, was as conspicuous as a firefly in the night to a pill refiner like Fang Hao, who was extremely sensitive to Spiritual Qi and medicinal properties.
"No mistake, it is definitely the seven-colored moon orchid!" Fang Hao’s heart thumped wildly against his will.
This item was one of the nine main ingredients for refining the nascent soul forming pill; it loved shade and mostly grew in extremely cold places.
In a place filled with miasma like the Ancient Elephant Mountain Range, it was a rare treasure that could be met by chance but not sought!
He had been worrying about where to find it before, but he didn’t expect it to be delivered to his doorstep.
The battle situation in the valley below was already one-sided.
The Bald Big Man was obviously a ruthless character who licked blood from the blade’s edge; his blade technique was open and heavy, carrying a type of reckless, fearless brute force.
Coupled with two Fourth-Rank Demonic Beast Iron-backed Gray Wolves harassing from the side, the sword formation composed of the three young Yunlan Sect Disciples was on the verge of collapsing.
"Senior Brother Wang, what should we do? This villain is too powerful!" The Female Disciple’s face was pale; the long sword in her hand was vibrating with a buzzing sound, and the webbing between her thumb and index finger had already split, with blood flowing freely.
The lead man in green robes gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead: "Form the Three Talents Defensive Formation, protect Junior Sister first! This villain is a bandit from the Qingfeng Stockade, a mass murderer; I’m afraid we are in dire straits today!"
Qingfeng Stockade? Fang Hao, hiding in the cave on the rock wall, raised his eyebrows slightly.
He had inquired about the surrounding forces in Myriad Laws Immortal City before and had some impression of this Qingfeng Stockade.
It was said to be a gang of fierce bandits entrenched in the outskirts of the Ancient Elephant Mountain Range, specializing in robbing passing Cultivators and small Sect teams.
The stockade leader was an Early Nascent Soul Stage Body Cultivator, ruthless and vicious, with quite a fierce reputation in this area.
It seemed this Bald Big Man was a small leader of the Qingfeng Stockade.
"Hehe, little beauty, stop struggling, obediently hand over the item, and keep me company for a while, maybe if I’m in a good mood, I might spare your lives!" The Bald Big Man leered, his blade strikes getting heavier, specifically targeting the Female Disciple.
The Female Disciple was both ashamed and angry, tears swirling in her eyes, but she could only desperately defend.
Fang Hao’s eyes turned cold.
Although he didn’t want to cause trouble, he was determined to get this seven-colored moon orchid, and the conduct of this Bald Big Man was truly despicable.
"Consider yourself unlucky." Fang Hao thought to himself.
He originally wanted to wait for them to both suffer and then swoop in to pick up the spoils, but now it seemed he couldn’t wait.
He took a deep breath, restrained his aura to the limit, and slid down the rock wall silently like a gecko, using the dense bushes as cover to sneak near the battle circle.
At this moment, the three Yunlan Sect Disciples were at the end of their rope, the sword formation’s light was dim, and it was about to be broken.
The Bald Big Man showed a cruel smile on his face, intending to deal a lethal blow.
Now!
Fang Hao moved!
He did not summon his Flying Sword, nor did he use any flashy Spell; he simply stepped out of the bushes, his right fist clenched tightly, a platinum light flashing and disappearing on his body surface, carrying a shrill whistle that tore through the air, directly targeting the back of the Bald Big Man’s heart!
This punch was fast! Accurate! Ruthless!
It contained the strength of Fang Hao’s "Golden Qi Marrow Cleansing" Perfection Physical Body, as well as a trace of the sharpness characteristic of Chaos Spiritual Power; although he didn’t use the golden puppet, the power was enough to split stones and shatter monuments!
The Bald Big Man was, after all, a veteran of many battles; he sensed danger the moment Fang Hao made his move, his expression changed drastically, and he twisted his body forcibly, placing his ghost-head blade horizontally in front of his chest.
"Clang—!"
A deafening loud noise!
Fang Hao’s fist slammed heavily onto the broad blade of the ghost-head blade.
That High Grade, decent quality Magical Artifact was actually bent into an exaggerated arc by this punch.
The Bald Big Man felt an irresistible huge force coming, his webbing split, blood sprayed wildly, and his whole body was like being hit by a wild elephant, flying backward for dozens of zhang, slamming heavily into the rock wall, and becoming embedded in it!
"Pfft!" The Bald Big Man vomited another mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with shock and horror.
He was a Late Golden Core Stage Body Cultivator with a powerful Physical Body, yet he was sent flying by a punch from a kid who looked like he only had Middle Golden Core Stage aura?!
"You... who are you?!" The Bald Big Man struggled to free himself from the rock wall, looking at Fang Hao in terror.
The three Yunlan Sect Disciples were also stunned, looking at Fang Hao who had suddenly appeared and sent the powerful enemy flying with one punch, as if they had seen a savior.
Fang Hao ignored the Bald Big Man, his gaze falling on the jade box at the Female Disciple’s waist, and said indifferently: "Give me the item, and you can go."
The Female Disciple subconsciously covered the jade box, looking at Fang Hao vigilantly: "We found this first!"
"Junior Sister!" The lead man in green robes quickly pulled her back, bowed to Fang Hao, and said respectfully, "Many thanks to Fellow Daoist for saving our lives! If you need this seven-colored moon orchid, just take it; we only ask that Fellow Daoist can protect us and let us leave this place safely."
He could see clearly that although the young man in gray clothes in front of him seemed to have low cultivation, his strength was unfathomable and definitely not something they could contend with.
It was worth it to exchange a Spiritual Plant for a chance to survive.
Fang Hao nodded; this man was sensible.
Just as he was about to step forward to take the jade box, the Bald Big Man shouted sharply: "Kid! You dare to meddle in the affairs of our Qingfeng Stockade? If you’re smart, get lost immediately, otherwise, when our leader comes, I will definitely make you wish you were dead!"
Fang Hao paused, slowly turned around, looked at the Bald Big Man, his eyes cold: "Qingfeng Stockade? Is it that impressive?"
The Bald Big Man felt his scalp tingle under Fang Hao’s cold gaze, but relying on the reputation of his leader, he still braced himself and said: "Humph! Our leader is a Nascent Soul Ancestor! Killing you is like killing a chicken! If you kneel down and beg for mercy now and cut off one of your arms, I might still spare your life!"
"Nascent Soul Ancestor?" Fang Hao hooked his lips into a mocking arc, "I’m so scared."
Before the words fell, his figure flashed like a ghost, instantly appearing in front of the Bald Big Man.
This time, he didn’t hold back anymore, the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art was fully activated, the platinum light on his body flourished, and he punched again!
This punch was faster! And more ruthless than the last one!
The Bald Big Man was terrified to the soul, desperately driving his Spiritual Qi, the ghost-head blade erupted with dazzling blood light, slashing towards Fang Hao with all his might.
"Crack!"
The ghost-head blade snapped in response!
Fang Hao’s fist continued forward without losing momentum, landing solidly on the Bald Big Man’s chest!
"Bang!"
A muffled sound.
The Bald Big Man’s chest collapsed at a speed visible to the naked eye, it was unknown how many ribs were broken, his internal organs were shattered, and his whole body flew backward like a broken rag sack, breaking several large trees before falling heavily to the ground, with no signs of life.
Seeing their master killed, the two Iron-backed Gray Wolves let out a mournful howl and turned to run.
Fang Hao’s eyes turned cold, he flicked his finger, and two strands of Earthly Fiend Golden Flame as thin as hair shot out, instantly merging into the bodies of the two Demon Beasts.
"Awoo—"
A shrill scream rang out, and the two Fourth-Rank Demonic Beasts struggled a few times in the dark golden flames before turning into two piles of ashes.
Silence.
A deathly silence.
The three Yunlan Sect Disciples, looking at this scene, were trembling all over, looking at Fang Hao as if they were looking at a demon god.
Punching a Late Golden Core Stage Body Cultivator to death, burning two Fourth-Rank Demonic Beasts to ashes with a flick of a finger, this... is this really something a Golden Core Cultivator can do?
Fang Hao was expressionless, walked to the corpse of the Bald Big Man, took off his Storage bag, and flicked a spark to incinerate the corpse.
Then, he walked to the Female Disciple and reached out his hand.
The Female Disciple shuddered, quickly took off the jade box at her waist, offered it with both hands, her voice trembling: "Fellow... Fellow Daoist, please... please accept it."
Fang Hao took the jade box, opened it a crack, and confirmed that it was indeed a moon orchid full of Spiritual Qi with seven-colored petals, of excellent quality, so he nodded with satisfaction and put it into his storage ring.
"This place is not suitable for a long stay, people from Qingfeng Stockade might come at any time, you should leave quickly." Fang Hao glanced at the three of them and said indifferently.
"Many... many thanks, Fellow Daoist!" The man in green robes felt like he had been granted an amnesty, quickly pulled his still-dazed Junior Sister and Junior Brother, bowed deeply to Fang Hao, and then fled towards the outskirts of the mountain range without looking back.
Fang Hao looked at the backs of the three leaving, then looked at the Storage bag he got from the Bald Big Man, probed it with his Divine Sense; inside, besides some Spirit Stones and miscellaneous items, there was a token engraved with the word "Qingfeng", as well as a rough map marking the approximate location of the Qingfeng Stockade and some known resource points.
"Qingfeng Stockade..." Fang Hao rubbed the token, a trace of thought flashing in his eyes.
This gang of bandits had been entrenched here for many years and must be more familiar with the situation of the Ancient Elephant Mountain Range than him; perhaps there were other Spirit Medicines he needed in the stockade, such as... that equally rare "nine-leaf star grass".
Moreover, the Bald Big Man mentioned a Nascent Soul leader before he died.
An Early Nascent Soul Stage bandit leader should have considerable wealth; perhaps he could find some Materials to repair the golden puppet.
"Wealth is sought in danger..." A trace of ruthlessness flashed in Fang Hao’s eyes.
He was in urgent need of resources to improve his strength, and this Qingfeng Stockade might be an opportunity.
However, barging in directly would definitely not work; he had to think of a way.
He put away the token and the map, his figure flashed, and he disappeared into the dense forest.
Half an hour later, Fang Hao returned to the cliff cave.
He set up a Restriction, took out the seven-colored moon orchid, and carefully transplanted it into a specially made jade box, using cold jade marrow to maintain its vitality.
"seven-colored moon orchid obtained, still missing the nine-leaf star grass, and those dozen or so auxiliary medicines." Fang Hao calculated.
Auxiliary medicines were easier to deal with; most could be bought in the market or slowly searched for in the mountain range.
But this nine-leaf star grass had to grow on the top of a ten-thousand-zhang high peak, absorbing the Power of the Stars, and was extremely rare.
"It seems I have to take a trip deep into this Ancient Elephant Mountain Range." Fang Hao looked at the rolling, cloud-shrouded mountains outside the cave, a trace of determination flashing in his eyes.
In the following days, Fang Hao continued to nourish and repair the golden puppet while going out to gather information.
He changed his appearance, suppressed his cultivation to the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, mixed into a small market on the outskirts of the mountain range, and learned a lot of information about the Qingfeng Stockade and the Ancient Elephant Mountain Range from some Loose Cultivators.
The leader of the Qingfeng Stockade was named Tiger Zhao, with Early Nascent Soul Stage cultivation, possessed infinite strength, and was proficient in an evil blade technique called the "Frenzied Demon Blade Technique", which was said to be reckless and fearless when unleashed, and had even killed Cultivators of the same rank.
Besides him, there were five or six Golden Core Stage leaders in the stockade, as well as hundreds of minions, and their strength could not be underestimated.
And in the depths of the Ancient Elephant Mountain Range, there were indeed several peaks that were ten thousand zhang high; on the top of one called "Heavenly Pillar Peak", it was said that one could occasionally see the vision of starlight gathering, and perhaps nine-leaf star grass would grow there.
But powerful Demon Beasts were entrenched there, and there were even Fifth-Rank Yao Kings, which was extremely dangerous.
"Heavenly Pillar Peak..." Fang Hao noted down the name.
No matter how dangerous it was, he had to go there.
He was determined to get the nascent soul forming pill.
On this day, Fang Hao was Cultivating in the cave when suddenly, the communication talisman at his waist vibrated slightly; it was a message sent by the Yunlan Sect man in green robes from before.
"Fellow Daoist Ning, be careful! The Qingfeng Stockade leader Tiger Zhao, upon learning that his subordinate leader was killed, was furious and is currently leading people to search for the murderer in the mountains; it is said... he even hired a Loose Cultivator good at tracking, Fellow Daoist must be careful!"
After reading the message, Fang Hao’s face darkened slightly.
It seemed that trouble had found him after all.
"Very well, since you delivered yourselves to my doorstep, don’t blame me for being impolite." A cold light flashed in Fang Hao’s eyes, he put away the communication talisman, and stood up to walk out of the cave.
This Ancient Elephant Mountain Range would be the first stop for him, Fang Hao, to stir up the winds and clouds!
