Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 348: Sneaking into Qingfeng Stockade

Fang Hao received the message from that Yunlan Sect Disciple, but instead of panicking, he felt that an opportunity had been delivered to his door. He had originally been wondering how to sneak into Qingfeng Stockade, but now things were perfect; the stockade master, Tiger Zhao, had personally led his men out. The stockade’s defenses were empty, making it the perfect chance to strike where they were weak.

However, he couldn’t be reckless. Since Tiger Zhao dared to go all out, there were bound to be backup measures left in the stockade, and that Loose Cultivator who excelled at tracking was also a problem. Fang Hao decided to first scout the situation before making any plans.

He changed into unremarkable gray cloth clothes, suppressed his cultivation to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, and used a method recorded in the hundred solutions of heavenly craftsmanship to apply a juice mixed from several herbs to his face. This made his skin sallow and coarse, making him look like an herb gatherer who spent all year in the mountain forests. Then, following the markings on the map from the Bald Big Man’s Storage bag, he moved toward the general location of the Qingfeng Stockade.

Qingfeng Stockade was located in a strategically important valley on the outskirts of the Ancient Elephant Mountain Range, surrounded by mountains on three sides, making it easy to defend and hard to attack. It took Fang Hao half a day to find a position on a hidden ridge that overlooked the entire stockade.

In the valley, he saw a stretch of wood and stone buildings built against the mountainside, surrounded by tall watchtowers and wooden walls. Trenches were dug outside the walls, and simple Formations were laid out. At this moment, the stockade gates were wide open, and squads of lackeys wearing leather armor and holding weapons were coming and going, looking quite busy. He could vaguely sense several Golden Core Stage auras within the stockade, but the strongest was only at the Middle Golden Core Stage, and they were few in number. It seemed the main force had indeed been taken away by Tiger Zhao.

Fang Hao observed carefully for half the day, figuring out the stockade’s patrol patterns and the general locations of the Formations. The defenses of this Qingfeng Stockade were more than enough to handle ordinary Loose Cultivators and small Sect teams, but in the eyes of a "professional" like him, they were full of holes.

"I need to find a way to sneak in and locate the warehouse and the medicinal garden," Fang Hao thought to himself. The nine-leaf star grass and other auxiliary medicines he needed were most likely stored in those two places.

Just as Fang Hao was calculating how to infiltrate, a commotion came from the stockade gate. A group of men and horses emerged from the stockade, led by a fierce-looking Middle Golden Core Stage man riding a tall horse; he was the Second Master left in charge. Behind him followed dozens of lackeys, escorting several large carts filled with supplies, looking as though they were heading out to rendezvous with Tiger Zhao.

"The opportunity is here!" Fang Hao’s eyes lit up. He silently slid down the ridge and, using the bushes as cover, circled around to a dense forest along the convoy’s necessary path.

When the convoy passed by, Fang Hao flashed out from the forest like a ghost. With lightning speed, he knocked out a stray little lackey at the back of the line who only had Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivation and dragged him into the woods. He quickly changed into the lackey’s clothes and used the Disguise Technique recorded in the hundred solutions of heavenly craftsmanship to roughly mimic the lackey’s appearance. Then, he tied the lackey up, stuffed him into the hollow of a tree, and covered it with dead branches and leaves.

After finishing all this, Fang Hao lowered his head, quickly caught up with the convoy, and blended into the crowd.

"What are you dawdling for? Hurry up!" a Small Leader in front turned back and shouted.

Fang Hao quickly responded, keeping his head down as he pushed the cart and followed the convoy forward. His aura concealment was excellent, and with the crowd being large and disorganized, no one noticed anything unusual.

The group walked for about an hour until they reached a relatively open mountain hollow. The Second Master ordered a short rest there to set up pots and cook food.

While everyone was busy, Fang Hao used the excuse of needing to relieve himself to quietly slip into a secluded corner. He took out several high-grade Concealment Talismans he had obtained from Mo Yunhe and stuck them on himself. Then, his figure flashed, and like a ghost, he sneaked back toward the direction of the Qingfeng Stockade.

This time, he didn’t go through the main gate but circled to a cliff at the back of the stockade where the defense was relatively weak. There was a subtle flaw in the Formation here that Fang Hao had spotted long ago. He climbed the cliff like a gecko, stopped before the light screen of the Formation, formed hand seals, and struck out with a burst of Chaos Spiritual Power.

Chaos Spiritual Power possessed the properties of inclusion and evolution, making it exceptionally effective for cracking Formations. The light screen of the Formation fluctuated slightly, like a pebble dropped into water, creating a circle of ripples. Fang Hao seized this fleeting opportunity, his figure flashing as he passed through like a film of water, silently infiltrating the interior of the stockade.

Inside the stockade, most of the remaining lackeys were gathered in the front, leaving the back stockade quite deserted. Following the map’s guidance, Fang Hao quickly found the location of the warehouse. The warehouse entrance was guarded by two Late Foundation Establishment Stage lackeys and was protected by a layer of simple Restrictions.

Fang Hao did not alert the guards but instead circled to the side of the warehouse and found a vent. Using Chaos Fire, he silently melted the iron bars of the vent, shrank his body, and crawled inside.

Inside the warehouse, various supplies were piled high. There were grains, cloth, Ores, and some low-grade Magical Artifacts, Talismans, and Medicinal Pills. Fang Hao had no interest in these things; he went straight to several large wooden shelves at the very back of the warehouse. Many jade boxes and wooden cases were placed on the shelves, containing various sealed Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicines.

Fang Hao’s Divine Sense swept over them, and he felt a surge of joy. There were indeed many auxiliary medicines he needed here! He was not at all polite, opening the jade boxes and wooden cases one by one and pocketing all the auxiliary medicines required for refining the nascent soul forming pill. Among them were even a few quite rare Fourth-Rank Spiritual Plants, which were of significant value.

"A pity there’s no nine-leaf star grass," Fang Hao felt a bit disappointed. A Spiritual Plant of that level was likely carried by Tiger Zhao himself or hidden in a more secret place.

After collecting the herbs, Fang Hao found the area where Artifact Refining Materials were stored. There were many bones, furs, and inner cores of Fourth-Rank Demonic Beasts, as well as several Ores of decent quality. Fang Hao selected some Materials useful for repairing the golden puppet, such as a head-sized "Earth Dragon Beast Bone" and several bottles of "Iron-back Gray Wolf Essence Blood," and took them all.

Having finished all this, Fang Hao was preparing to leave when his gaze was suddenly drawn to an unremarkable, dust-covered iron box in the corner. The box looked ordinary, but when Fang Hao’s Divine Sense swept over it, he discovered a very subtle layer of Restriction on the surface, and the material was special, capable of blocking Divine Sense probes.

"There’s something fishy here." Fang Hao stepped forward and attempted to crack the Restriction. The Restriction was quite ingenious, but for Fang Hao, who possessed Chaos Spiritual Power, it wasn’t too difficult. He spent half an incense stick’s time before finally unraveling the Restriction.

Opening the lid, there were only two items inside. One was a pitch-black token, neither metal nor jade, engraved with strange patterns; the other was an extremely ancient-looking scroll made from some kind of beast skin.

Fang Hao picked up the token; it was cold to the touch, and when his Divine Sense tried to enter, it was actually repelled by an invisible force. "This thing... isn’t simple." His heart stirred as he put the token away.

He then unfurled the beast-skin scroll. On the scroll, information was recorded in densely packed ancient script, accompanied by some simple maps. As Fang Hao identified the text carefully, he became increasingly shocked.

This scroll was actually a record of an ancient ruin deep within the Ancient Elephant Mountain Range! The scroll mentioned that on the summit of a mountain named "Heavenly Pillar Peak," there was not only the possibility of finding nine-leaf star grass but also a hidden Immortal Cave left by an ancient Cultivator called the "Tian Zhu True Persons Mansion." Within the Immortal Cave, it was said to hold the Legacy of that True Man Tianzhu, as well as... a ten-thousand-year star wood!

"ten-thousand-year star wood!" Fang Hao’s breath hitched. This item was a rare treasure of heaven and earth a hundred times more precious than nine-leaf star grass! It was said that this wood could spontaneously absorb the Power of the Stars and was a core material for refining top-tier wood-attribute Magic Treasures, Puppets, and even certain Heaven-Defying Formations. If he could obtain this wood, the success rate and quality of repairing the golden puppet would be greatly enhanced!

"It seems I absolutely must go to this Heavenly Pillar Peak!" A flash of excitement crossed Fang Hao’s eyes. He carefully tucked the scroll away, restored the iron box to its original state, erased his traces, and then followed his original path to silently leave the warehouse.

Next, he prepared to check the medicinal garden. Although the hope of finding nine-leaf star grass was slim, what if it was there?

The medicinal garden of Qingfeng Stockade was located on a slope with relatively dense Spiritual Qi on the west side of the stockade, protected by Formations. Fang Hao followed the same method to sneak in again. Most of the plants grown in the garden were second or third-rank Spiritual Plants of little value. However, in a greenhouse in the corner of the medicinal garden, Fang Hao discovered several carefully tended Spiritual Plants with pale blue petals.

"you tan flower?" Fang Hao was somewhat surprised. This you tan flower was the main ingredient for refining a Medicinal Pill called the "Nether Epiphyllum Pill," which could briefly enhance a Cultivator’s Divine Sense strength and was quite precious. Although it wasn’t needed for the nascent soul forming pill, it was an unexpected boon. Fang Hao was not polite at all, digging them up along with the soil.

Just as Fang Hao finished digging up the you tan flowers and was about to leave, suddenly, a rapid ringing of a bell sounded from the watchtower in the center of the stockade!

"Dang! Dang! Dang!"

"Not good! I’ve been discovered!" Fang Hao’s expression changed. He hadn’t expected that an extremely hidden trigger Restriction was concealed within the greenhouse of the medicinal garden; he must have accidentally triggered it while digging up the flowers!

"There’s a spy! In the medicinal garden!" The shouts of lackeys came from outside, and the sounds of footsteps and breaking air rapidly converged toward the medicinal garden.

Fang Hao dared not delay and immediately activated the high-grade Concealment Talisman on his body. His figure turned into a faint phantom as he sped toward the back of the stockade.

"There he is! Stop him!" A Middle Golden Core Stage leader left in charge discovered Fang Hao’s trail and shouted sharply, manifesting a Flying Sword to slash toward Fang Hao.

A cold light flashed in Fang Hao’s eyes as he no longer hid his cultivation, and the aura of a Perfected Golden Core erupted! He formed a sword hand, and a dark-gold Chaos Sword Qi shot out, instantly knocking the Flying Sword away!

"Perfected Golden Core?!" The leader’s face changed drastically, and terrified to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, he turned and ran.

Fang Hao had no desire for battle. His figure was like lightning as he reached the cliff at the back of the stockade in a few bounds. Without hesitation, he leapt down the cliff while simultaneously manifesting the azure spirit boat, which turned into a streak of green light as he fled for his life toward the depths of the Ancient Elephant Mountain Range!

Behind him, the lackeys of Qingfeng Stockade were in a state of chaos, only able to watch helplessly as Fang Hao disappeared into the clouds and mist.

"Pursue him! Quickly notify the stockade master!" that Golden Core leader roared in exasperation.

Standing on the azure spirit boat, Fang Hao looked at the receding Qingfeng Stockade and let out a long sigh of relief. Although the process had been somewhat thrilling, the harvest was plentiful. Not only had he gathered most of the auxiliary medicines for the nascent soul forming pill, but he had also obtained important clues regarding Heavenly Pillar Peak and the ten-thousand-year star wood.

"Next, it’s Heavenly Pillar Peak..." With a determined gaze, Fang Hao controlled the azure spirit boat and sped toward the depths of the mountain range, toward that massive peak that towered into the clouds as if propping up the heavens.

As for Tiger Zhao’s pursuit? Fang Hao sneered. In this vast Ancient Elephant Mountain Range, finding him would be no easy task. Even if he were found, who would be the one killing whom was not yet certain!