「The eighth year of Tiande, Autumn,」
「Four years passed in a blink of an eye.」
Folding Mountain Island, Island Master's Mansion, Cultivation Room.
On a bookcase, three jade boxes were placed, all with their lids open.
The first jade box contained a thumb-sized, red, round fruit, which looked utterly ordinary with no trace of Spiritual Energy.
The second jade box held two pieces of dark green deadwood, similar in size.
The third jade box contained several stones that resembled molten lava.
Thousand-year Ganoderma Fruit!
Two pieces of hundred-year Lisang Wood, withered yet containing life!
And some of the Fire Melting Wood I bought from Fengping Valley!
As Xu Xing gazed at the three Jade Boxes, his mind stirred with excitement.
The Fire Melting Wood in the third Jade Box was not a major issue. He had acquired it easily from Fengping Valley for a small sum of money, so it wasn't a difficult purchase.
But the Thousand-year Ganoderma Fruit in the first Jade Box and the Lisang Wood in the second were completely due to luck.
In the first two of those four years, his "other me" in the Instance World had finally deciphered the method for setting up a Second Level Spirit Gathering Array and refining its Array Eye.
Although a Second Level Spirit Gathering Array was a Returning Core-level array technique and required an Array Eye imbued with the power of the Heavenly Star Counts, he had managed it. After spending more than seventy years in the Instance World studying only this one array technique, no matter how difficult, he had finally grasped it and systematically completed the refining of the Second Level Spirit Gathering Array.
Aided by the Second Level Spirit Gathering Array, the Thousand-year Ganoderma Fruit had ripened ahead of schedule, and he had harvested it.
As for the hundred-year Lisang Wood, withered yet containing life, that was thanks to the Folding Mountain Island Marketplace. Through the Marketplace, he spread the news that he was collecting wood-attribute spirit materials that were withered yet contained life. By offering a price 10% higher than elsewhere, he successfully acquired these two pieces of Lisang Wood within a year.
The Withered Wood Sword Scripture required the refining of a Lifebound Flying Sword. This Lifebound Flying Sword had to be refined from a wood-type Spirit Material that showed signs of both death and life, and the Spirit Material needed to be at least eighty years old. The hundred-year Lisang Wood was therefore considered a high-quality Spirit Material.
As for the Fire Melting Wood… Xu Xing had purchased it from Fengping Valley as a cultivation resource for simultaneously cultivating the Great Sun True Scripture and the Withered Wood Sword Scripture. When cultivating two major Cultivation Methods, fire (yang) and wood Spirit Materials could help refine the quality of his Magic Power.
I am going to enter secluded cultivation...
I aim to emerge after five years...
Xu Xing opened his mouth, placed the Ganoderma fruit inside, and began to slowly refine its medicinal properties with the saliva under his tongue.
Such a heaven-sent treasure would yield maximum value if refined into pills. However, he couldn't gather the necessary spirit materials for pill refining. Moreover, revealing the Ganoderma fruit's existence would make him a target, which would be counterproductive. Besides, his future opportunities wouldn't be limited to this single Ganoderma fruit.
With the Ganoderma fruit in his mouth, Xu Xing then began to use his Magic Power to temper the two pieces of Lisang Wood.
In this state of consumption and replenishment, his Magic Power grew rapidly.
「The twelfth year of Tiande.」
Xu Xing emerged from his secluded cultivation a year earlier than planned.
The medicinal power of the Ganoderma fruit had not been completely refined by him but was stored in his body; it could support his cultivation through at least the first two minor realms of the Immortal Foundation Middle Stage.
At the same time, his cultivation realm had reached the initial stage of the third layer of Immortal Foundation.
He had made progress in both the Great Sun True Scripture and the Withered Wood Sword Scripture, his two major Cultivation Methods.
Two Lifebound Flying Swords made from the Lisang Wood had been successfully refined. One symbolized death, the other life, and together they embodied immense destructive power. They compensated for Xu Xing's weaknesses.
I've also made some progress with the Hexagonal Black Jade Array Platform in the Instance World. After many attempts, I can finally, albeit with difficulty, push the spoon to transfer to a specified world...
But now is not the time to think about this.
I need to focus all my energy on dealing with the other world. I have more important things to do now.
Xu Xing's gaze fell upon the Message Jade Tablet placed in the Cultivation Room.
[Yang Shao is challenging the 36 Layer Heavenly Gate Array. Come quickly!]
This was the message left for him by Minister Zheng from the Great Hall.
After more than eight years, Yang Shao finally felt confident enough to challenge the array technique puzzle set by Kuimen Daoist Lord—the 36 Layer Heavenly Gate Array. This 36 Layer Heavenly Gate Array consisted of numerous interlocking array techniques. To break through it, one had to master several third-level array techniques just to have a slight chance of success.
I have been studying array techniques for more than three hundred years.
My comprehension... is better than yours.
I'm claiming this opportunity!
Xu Xing scoffed. With a flick of his sleeve robe, the door of the Cultivation Room burst open. Then, he transformed into a streak of Escaping Light, piercing the clouds and heading straight towards the Sealed Demon Pan Palace.
During his eight years of secluded cultivation, his "other me" in the Instance World had been almost entirely preoccupied with array techniques. Added to that was the year he had spent studying array techniques with Yang Shao. Nine years in Reality equated to over three hundred years in the Instance World. The lifespan in the Immortal Foundation Realm was about four hundred years. No matter how diligently Yang Shao studied array techniques, could he possibly have spent more time on them than Xu Xing?
Sealed Demon Pan Palace.
Inside the Great Hall, Minister Zheng greeted Xu Xing with a cheerful smile, "Junior Brother Xu, you and Brother Yang have known each other for less than ten years, yet you share such a close friendship. I'm truly envious."
Using the Message Jade Tablet, Xu Xing had asked Minister Zheng to help him inquire about Yang Shao's news… The reason he gave was that he couldn't bear to see his good friend suffering so miserably and struggling, but Yang Shao was very proud…
Minister Zheng was somewhat skeptical about this. However, after seeing the benefits Xu Xing promised, he passed on non-confidential information to Xu Xing, this so-called "good friend," without divulging Yang Shao's actual secrets. He wouldn't dare to carelessly spread information about Yang Shao's true movements.
But the news about Yang Shao challenging the 36 Layer Heavenly Gate Array, set by Kuimen Daoist Lord, was not a top-secret matter. Even if it came to light later that he had shared this, such a minor thing wouldn't be enough to incriminate him.