Chapter 145 You do not know you were wrong; you only know you are about to die

Soon, Fairy Lianyu returned.

When Qian Xiaoyue left, her head was still buzzing.

The impact Zhou Changwang had on her was simply too great.

And the things he gave her were far too many.

Through a rough estimation alone, she realized that the total value of those spiritual talismans was at least thirty thousand lower-grade spiritual stones... yet, in her eyes, the weight of the sentiment behind them was far heavier.

It filled her with boundless joy and contentment.

In contrast, Zhou Changwang was remarkably calm.

After all, these talismans were all drawn by his own hand, and their actual production cost was extremely low.

As for the sealed spells? They were simply the lightning spells he had mastered himself. Since he practiced casting them every day anyway, doing this was just a natural extension of his routine, amounting to nothing of significance.

"Immortal cultivation is, at its core, a journey of cleaving through thorns and thistles, defying the heavens. It demands ceaseless effort, time, and boundless energy. Where would I find the leisure for lingering romantic attachments?"

Zhou Changwang stood rooted in place, lost in thought for quite a while, before his mind finally settled into absolute calm.

Afterwards, he walked out into the courtyard and began his daily routine of spellcasting and nurturing.

Then, he made his way over to the cleared patch of spiritual fields, flipped his hand, and produced ten Thunder Spirit Rice seeds.

These particular seeds were the third generation, carefully cultivated through rigorous selection from the best of the best.

Each grain was crystal clear, plump, and brimming with a vitality and spiritual energy that far surpassed the previous batches.

Even in size, they were a full circle larger than the first generation of Thunder Spirit Rice.

Zhou Changwang then drew some spiritual spring water to soak them, further accelerating their growth with the Quickening Spell.

As soon as tender sprouts broke through, he promptly planted them into the soil.

Spell after spell was cast—first the Tree Ring Spell, followed by Thousand Lightning Flashes and the Spirit Rain Spell. After several rounds of nourishment, the grains of Thunder Spirit Rice grew tall and strong.

"Hm?

These few..."

A subtle ripple stirred in Zhou Changwang's heart.

Once he had brought this batch of Thunder Spirit Rice to maturity, he harvested these specific grains separately.

"First-grade superior spiritual rice.

It has finally broken through its limits, advancing from first-grade intermediate to first-grade superior."

Zhou Changwang closely inspected these particular grains, which were visibly larger and plumper than the rest.

In particular, the vitality and spiritual energy contained within them were exceptionally abundant, and faint wisps of lightning power seemed to dance about them.

First-grade superior Thunder Spirit Rice.

It had finally been successfully cultivated.

Though, strictly speaking, only five grains had reached the first-grade superior level.

Still, this was a promising beginning.

He believed that if he replanted these five Thunder Spirit Rice seeds, he would inevitably harvest an even greater yield of first-grade superior spiritual rice.

The next day.

Zhou Changwang smoothly planted those five first-grade superior Thunder Spirit Rice seeds.

Three hours later.

Gazing at the spiritual rice weighing down the branches of the Thunder Spirit Rice tree, a smile involuntarily surfaced on his face.

"Indeed.

Once the grade of the Thunder Spirit Rice increased, the difficulty of cultivating it also grew significantly.

The previous Thunder Spirit Rice trees had a half-year maturation cycle, but this time it took a full year and a half of tree-ring cultivation before they finally produced grains.

Furthermore, the harvested rice wasn't entirely first-grade superior; the majority of it remained at the first-grade intermediate level. Those truly belonging to the first-grade superior rank accounted for only about thirty percent."

As Zhou Changwang looked over the individual grains before him and silently compared them, he felt no disappointment in his heart.

This was entirely normal.

As any spiritual plant's grade rises, the spiritual energy, environment, and time required for its growth will inevitably increase.

As for why the majority of the harvested grains were still first-grade intermediate, it was simply because the 'spiritual seeds' had just evolved and were not yet fully mature.

He estimated that in another few generations, they would stably yield first-grade superior Thunder Spirit Rice, eliminating the current phenomenon of producing first-grade intermediate grains alongside them.

At the very least, the quality of this batch of spiritual rice was exceptional.

Over the past few days, eating meals made from this Thunder Spirit Rice had reduced even his 'appetite'; after consuming just four pounds, he felt thoroughly satisfied and could not eat another bite.

This was entirely due to the fact that the energy and spiritual energy contained within the Thunder Spirit Rice were far more abundant.

Following that, Zhou Changwang gathered up the entire batch of Thunder Spirit Rice.

He then used the Life-Draining Finger on the remaining Thunder Spirit Rice stalks to extract their vital spiritual fluid, infused it into the Star Source Spirit Fruit tree, and accelerated its growth using the Tree Ring Spell.

The third day.

Zhou Changwang rose at the crack of dawn and hurried towards the Divine Wind Valley Market.

He finally arrived at the Water Cloud Pavilion just before Qian Xiaoyue was set to depart.

"Didn't I tell you not to see me off?"

Though Qian Xiaoyue said this as she looked at Zhou Changwang, her heart was overflowing with joy.

"I was a bit worried."

Zhou Changwang said, then asked, "I forgot to ask last time—who is leading your group this time?"

"Senior Sister Hongmei.

However, we aren't traveling alone; we're accompanying a trade caravan.

I heard there is a Foundation Establishment expert holding down the fort within this caravan, along with five late-stage Qi Condensation guards. We don't really need to worry too much about safety."

Qian Xiaoyue replied.

Zhou Changwang nodded.

He was well aware that various regions had always maintained connections, with trade caravans traveling back and forth regularly.

However, because the markets were quite distant from one another and required passing through hazardous areas along the way, the frequency of these caravans was relatively low—roughly once every ten days or half a month.

The fact that Qian Xiaoyue and her companions were able to hitch a ride with a caravan led by a genuine Foundation Establishment expert could already be considered fortunate. At the very least, a caravan familiar with the route, backed by a Foundation Establishment master, would offer a much higher degree of safety.

Not to mention, Qian Xiaoyue still had that entire stack of spiritual talismans he had given her.

This time, apart from Zhou Changwang, her good friend Lu Weier had also come, accompanied by Fang Shitong.

Seeing the affectionate demeanor between the two, Zhou Changwang felt only a slight surprise rather than shock.

The two had previously held mutual affection for one another, and now that they were cohabiting and interacting daily, becoming cultivation partners was a natural progression of events.

"I heard Fellow Daoist Fang is currently working for the Gong family?"

Upon seeing Fang Shitong, Zhou Changwang casually asked.

"Miss Gong invited me to join the Gong family last time, but I didn't agree then. Shortly afterwards, I ran into Miss Gong again, and that's when I agreed.

Now I work in the Gong family's guard unit, making a little over a hundred lower-grade spiritual stones a month. It's enough to get by."

Fang Shitong replied with a smile.

Hearing this, Zhou Changwang nodded.

Fang Shitong had previously been a bounty cultivator; though the spiritual stones he earned back then far exceeded his current income, it had been fraught with extreme danger.

Now that he was no longer alone and had Lu Weier to consider, choosing to join the Gong family's guard unit to seek stability was a perfectly normal choice.

This, in fact, was the choice made by many middle-aged cultivators who had lost hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment realm.

In their youth, they chased their dreams, traveling the world with a sword in hand.

Yet once they realized they were not favored by destiny and understood the gap between themselves and true geniuses, they would silently bow their heads and relinquish all unrealistic ambitions.

Fortunately, he had not lost his resolve, nor would he ever abandon his quest upon the Dao of Immortality.

Before long, the various cultivators of the Water Cloud Pavilion who were scheduled to head to the Water Cloud Immortal Sect all appeared.

Even the master of the Water Cloud Pavilion, Tang Yuyan, made an appearance.

Today's Zhou Changwang could also be considered part of the inner circle, so she rarely displayed a hint of closeness, walking over to greet him. "Is Fellow Daoist Zhou adapting well to the Little Peak Mountain spiritual land?"

"I am adapting very well.

Thank you for your care, Pavilion Master. I am quite satisfied with that spiritual land."

Zhou Changwang replied promptly.

"That's good to hear.

Did you come today to see Xiao Yue off?

Rest assured, among this batch of prospective disciples, while she may not have the best natural talent, she is the most diligent in her cultivation and has made the greatest progress.

Coupled with the recommendation token from my junior sister, passing the Water Cloud Immortal Sect's entrance examination shouldn't be too difficult.

If she is fortunate enough to be taken under the wing of an elder, her chances of advancing to Foundation Establishment might even surpass our own."

As she spoke, a trace of melancholy involuntarily crossed Tang Yuyan's face.

She was no longer young.

In less than ten years, she would face her sixty-year limit.

Once a cultivator passed the age of sixty, all physical functions would begin to decline, making a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment realm many times more difficult.

And while she had already reached the peak of the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, she still lacked even a shred of certainty regarding a breakthrough.

Above all else, Foundation Establishment Pills were exceedingly hard to come by.

As a sect cultivator, although her chances of acquiring a Foundation Establishment Pill were somewhat higher, she still needed sufficient resources and sect contributions to trade for one.

"She is indeed hardworking enough."

Zhou Changwang nodded in deep agreement.

In just a few months, she had advanced from the fourth layer of Qi Condensation to the fifth.

Without immense diligence, given her three-element spiritual root aptitude, this would have been exceedingly difficult to achieve.

Yet not everyone possessed the assistance of an attribute panel like Zhou Changwang did.

Shortly afterwards, as Senior Sister Hongmei, who was leading the group, gave the signal, the group of cultivators bid farewell to their respective friends and family and headed out of the market.

Zhou Changwang accompanied them all the way to the market gates, watching as Qian Xiaoyue and the others, under the guidance of Senior Sister Hongmei, merged into a large trade caravan of over a hundred people, before finally stopping.

"There is no banquet in this world that never ends.

I hope that when we meet again next time, both of us will have a much brighter future."

Zhou Changwang murmured softly, then turned and walked back into the market.

Since he had made the trip out to the market today, he naturally had no intention of leaving in a rush.

Finding a secluded corner, he employed the Art of Facet Changing and Bone Shrinking to alter his physique and appearance, donned a set of spare garments, and then began making frequent visits to various shops to purchase large quantities of vital spiritual fluid.

Naturally, besides the vital spiritual fluid, he also bought various spiritual mineral ores.

Cold iron ore, earthly spiritual greenstone ore, stalactite spiritual ore... these were all materials he needed for cultivating the Star Source Spirit Fruit tree.

A bottle of vital spiritual fluid cost fifty lower-grade spiritual stones, and a single shop could generally supply around a dozen bottles. Zhou Changwang visited over a dozen shops back-to-back, virtually buying out all the vital spiritual fluid in the entire Divine Wind Valley Market.

Additionally, he bought a mountain of various low-grade spiritual mineral ores, almost filling an entire storage bag to the brim.

By this point, however, the spiritual stones on his person were practically exhausted.

"This trip can certainly be considered a massive procurement spree.

I bought one hundred and ninety-five bottles of vital spiritual fluid, along with a mountain of spiritual mineral ores, spending a total of over fifteen thousand lower-grade spiritual stones..."

Zhou Changwang felt a pang of helplessness. Who wouldn't want to be rolling in wealth, carrying a massive fortune of spiritual stones in their storage bag?

Yet the Star Source Spirit Fruit was simply too crucial to him.

Such expenses were entirely worthwhile in his eyes.

After all, spiritual stones could always be earned back if lost, but an opportunity to elevate one's spiritual root aptitude was not something one encountered every day.

The earlier he improved it, the greater the benefits would be.

"Besides, in terms of cultivation, I have Yuhua Pills and the first-grade intermediate Thunder Spirit Rice, and the spiritual energy density of my spiritual land is quite sufficient. For a short while, I won't have any major expenses anyway."

Muttering these calculations to himself, Zhou Changwang calmly walked out of the market.

However, as soon as he stepped outside the market boundaries, he quickly sensed a few shadows trailing far behind him.

To this, Zhou Changwang had long been prepared.

Such a massive procurement spree was bound to attract the attention of certain individuals.

After all, spending over fifteen thousand lower-grade spiritual stones in a single go was extremely rare, even within this market.

In the eyes of those with ulterior motives, it was naturally glaringly obvious, bound to stir greed in the hearts of some cultivators.

Not to mention his cultivation level.

Even though he hadn't deliberately concealed it, his sixth-layer Qi Condensation cultivation realm certainly didn't amount to much in the Divine Wind Valley Market.

Sure enough, after Zhou Changwang had traveled a short distance away from the market, he immediately sensed two cultivators abandoning their concealment and rapidly charging in his direction.

There were two of them: one at the sixth layer of Qi Condensation, and the other at the seventh layer—a male and a female.

Maintaining a full-speed pursuit, they had already swiftly drawn their respective magical instruments.

"It's the Male and Female Fiends.

I wonder which poor fellow is so unlucky this time, being targeted by them?"

Since it was daytime, there were quite a few cultivators moving about outside the market.

From afar, someone spotted the two cultivators and recognized their signature magical instruments—one was a war-hammer-like artifact, while the other was a strip of red silk.

The two clearly enjoyed a certain level of notoriety within the market, as they were recognized instantly.

Zhou Changwang had naturally noticed these two cultivators long ago. Seeing this, he simply turned around, his eyes darkening slightly as he said, "Fellow daoists, charging over in such a rush—is there something you need?"

"Indeed, there is a small matter we'd like to discuss with you, Fellow Daoist."

Seeing that Zhou Changwang bore no trace of fear on his face, the male cultivator felt a trace of surprise and instinctively exercised caution, coming to a halt as he spoke.

"Oh?"

Zhou Changwang merely stared at him.

"I simply wish to borrow something of yours."

The male cultivator said with a smile.

"Stop wasting breath, let's finish this quickly."

The middle-aged female cultivator beside him, however, was of an impatient temperament and swiftly flicked her red silk ribbon.

In an instant, the red silk transformed into a sharp blade, hurtling towards Zhou Changwang at extreme speed.

Seeing this, though the male cultivator felt something was amiss, he had no choice but to follow suit. He swung his war hammer heavily, and the weapon instantly expanded against the wind, transforming into a massive iron mallet that smashed fiercely towards Zhou Changwang's position.

Only as he swung his hammer did he speak, as if he simply had to voice the thought: "Borrowing your storage bag for a use."

The two launched their assault swiftly and without the slightest hesitation, their speed astonishingly fast.

Yet, fast as their speed was, Zhou Changwang's was even faster.

Almost the instant they closed in, a layer of defensive golden armor had already materialized around him—it was the Supreme Golden Armor Spell.

He had long since cultivated this spell to the realm of Great Accomplishment; its defensive power far surpassed his previous protective spells.

Following that, he flicked his wrist and tossed out two talismans.

In mid-air, layers of dark clouds instantly condensed, shrouding the heavens and earth in gloom.

Then, a thunderous crash rang out.

Two consecutive bolts of lightning fell with a speed that reached the absolute extreme.

"What?!"

The expressions of the Male and Female Fiends shifted drastically, and they hurriedly flung out their defensive artifacts.

The male cultivator tossed out a black heavy shield, while the female cultivator threw a circular hand-kerchief.

Both defensive artifacts were at the superior-grade magical instrument level. Once deployed, they radiated a hazy glow that enveloped both of them within.

Boom! Boom!

Two successive thunderous impacts echoed out.

The two of them felt a momentary wave of relief.

They had blocked it.

Though blocking this strike had scattered their spiritual energy, requiring them to supply more spiritual power anew to restore the full defensive power of their artifacts.

The female cultivator in particular, owing to her weaker cultivation base, had her handkerchief sent flying completely, suffering a massive drain of spiritual energy.

They then immediately looked across.

Their own attacks had likewise landed squarely upon Zhou Changwang's defensive golden armor.

Clang! Clang!

Two more clashing rings reverberated.

Yet to their utter shock, their attacks, upon striking the opponent, merely caused the defensive golden armor on his body to tremble slightly, consuming a mere thirty percent of its spiritual energy.

In other words, they would need three consecutive attacks just to shatter the opponent's defense.

"How is his defense so tough?!"

Shocked, the two hurriedly struck again, once more controlling their artifacts to attack.

However, this time, their assault struck empty air.

For by then, Zhou Changwang had already executed the Light-Splitting Phantom Shadow Spell.

A phantom image suddenly materialized before Zhou Changwang, deceiving the two and causing their attacks to land entirely upon the 'illusion'.

His true body remained completely unaffected.

A jolt ran through the hearts of the pair, and just as they were about to react, they sensed that the sky had darkened once more.

With a change in expression, they looked up—surely enough, lightning power was rapidly brewing within the dark clouds overhead.

Why did he have so many high-grade talismans on him?

Panic welled up in their hearts.

The male cultivator hastily redeployed his heavy shield, pulling the female cultivator behind him.

For at this precise moment, the female cultivator had no time to recall her handkerchief for defense; she could only hurl out several talismans and rapidly activate the defensive robe upon her own body.

Her robe was also a medium-grade magical instrument, sufficient to withstand a full-force blow from a mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivator.

Yet as Zhou Changwang's lightning strike descended—

Boom! Boom!

The third bolt of lightning once again blasted the male cultivator's defensive artifact flying.

Then the fourth bolt fell, and the pair frantically tossed out multiple defensive talismans while activating their robes together, joining forces to block it.

Puff, puff, puff~!

Layer after layer of defensive spiritual light rapidly disintegrated beneath that lightning bombardment.

The lightning power, brimming with an aura of destruction, cleaved through their defenses like a hot knife through butter, tearing away layer after layer until finally striking their protective robes.

"We blocked it again..."

Gazing at the threadbare layer of defensive spiritual light remaining on their bodies, the two felt a wave of elation at having cheated death.

Yet they quickly realized that this was no time for rejoicing.

It was glaringly obvious that their outing today had gone poorly—they had kicked an iron plate.

This fellow was truly formidable.

Though his cultivation realm might not be high, his arsenal of techniques was by no means simple.

Hling out those high-grade talismans one after another—which seventh-layer Qi Condensation cultivator could withstand that?

This wasn't spellcasting; this was throwing money, tossing spiritual stones away into the void.

A first-grade superior talisman had a market price of one thousand lower-grade spiritual stones, but that was just for ordinary attack talismans whose power merely equaled a full-force strike from a sixth-layer Qi Condensation cultivator.

Yet every single one of these four talismans possessed power no weaker than a full-force strike from a seventh-layer Qi Condensation cultivator!

Moreover, they were tyrannical and terrifying lightning-type talismans; priced at fifteen hundred or even eighteen hundred lower-grade spiritual stones each, people would still snap them up.

Four talismans meant six thousand lower-grade spiritual stones...

Utterly devoid of human-like thrift—an absolute spendthrift!

And they simply lacked the means to withstand another strike from him within such a short timeframe.

Years of tacit understanding allowed them to reach a decision in the span of a single breath.

Flee.

Flee as far away as possible.

Puff!

Yet the next moment, they felt that thin layer of defensive spiritual light shatter completely.

Then, the female cultivator watched as a hole appeared right between the eyebrows of her cultivation partner.

Gushing blood, along with whitish matter, poured out through that single aperture.

Her soul nearly fled her body in sheer terror.

"No, spare me! I beg you to spare my life, I'm willing to be your beast of burden, I swear to serve you for the rest of my life..."

The female cultivator shrieked in terror, her body and mind turning icy cold, plunged into utter despair.

"Spare you? If I weren't strong, would you have spared me?"

Zhou Changwang flicked his finger once more, unleashing a Gengjin Finger beam.

"Don't! I know I was wrong... I truly kno—"

Puff!

The female cultivator's desperate cries were cut short as she swiftly followed in her partner's footsteps, a similar hole appearing right through her head.

"You don't know you were wrong—you just know you're going to die!"

With a cold snort, Zhou Changwang closed the distance rapidly, reaching out with a wave of his hand to gather the storage bags and magical instruments from the two corpses.

The reason he hadn't immediately sought to flee or escape earlier was simply because Qian Xiaoyue's departure had indeed unsettled his state of mind slightly.

He felt pent-up melancholy and wished to vent it.

Crucially, these two had been far too arrogant; before he even left the market, he had already sensed their pursuit, and later they hadn't even bothered to conceal themselves.

He now felt confident that his strength was no longer weak, having driven all his spells and techniques to the realm of Great Accomplishment and Perfection.

He had long wanted to find someone to cross blows with in order to test his methods.

Thus, this was his first time proactively taking the initiative to attack.

It was just a pity that these two individuals were still far too weak.

Their strength was roughly on par with that cultivator named 'Fu Hongyue' he had encountered right after the black market ended.

He also recalled how back then, a single strike of his had turned that fellow into charcoal, shattering the man's storage bag in the process and causing massive losses.

Bearing that in mind, he had exercised control this time, sequentially deploying four talismans before finally concluding the battle with a Gengjin Finger.

As he drew closer, Zhou Changwang quickly collected the two storage bags, cast a Fireball Spell to incinerate their corpses and destroy the evidence, and then tossed their protective robes into his storage bag as well.

Finally, a flash of spiritual light enveloped him as he executed the Lightness Spell, combining it with the Seven-Star Treading Moon technique to move with the speed of a startled swan, rapidly hurtling off into the distance.

Before departing, he cast several consecutive Cleansing Spells upon himself.

Not only did this calm his fluctuating spiritual energy, but it also completely washed away the spiritual tracking markers left upon him.

He had no desire to attract any further curious cultivators trailing after him.

Though, in truth, after he had displayed such overwhelming force to obliterate the Male and Female Fiends, not a single cultivator dared to pursue or approach him again.