Fang Xi transmigrated, but not completely.
Or rather, he transmigrated twice!
Thinking back to the first time he underwent a second transmigration, Fang Xi still felt a lingering fear.
That was on a night six months ago, when Fang Xi—like a vigilant little beast—was cautiously extending his feelers to probe the situation at the Green Bamboo Mountain Market after several months of transmigration.
Unfortunately... with low cultivation and without fully mastering the inheritance of the original owner of his body, he might not even be able to beat Old Mai of the Qi Refining second level!
And on that night, cultivation-robbers attacked the slum area!
After all, the slum area was not protected by a Great Array, and most of the Spirit Farmers had low cultivation levels.
Even though they were all poor ghosts, some damned cultivation-robbers robbed even them!
After all, the bodies—and even the flesh, bones, and souls—of cultivators were very valuable.
At that time, hearing the shouts and killings outside and watching several black-robed, masked cultivators begin to slaughter household by household, Fang Xi trembled with fear, like a fish on a chopping board. This feeling deeply stimulated him and awakened his golden finger!
This golden finger had no external manifestations or prompts, but he discovered that he could transmigrate to another world!
Without hesitation, Fang Xi immediately chose to transmigrate.
Then, he arrived in this world called "Da Liang."
He stretched lazily toward the sun and secretly vowed in his heart that he never wanted to experience that feeling, which was so close to death, a second time.
But for now, it was time to enjoy himself properly.
A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Fang Xi's mouth.
According to his exploration during the previous few transmigrations, this world named "Da Liang" had no Immortal Cultivators!
Moreover, the flow of time between the two worlds was about one to one, with just some differences in day and night cycles.
In other words, the night over there was exactly the daytime in the Da Liang World.
Here, everything was ruled by the kingdom of an ordinary human Emperor.
And in the wilderness, there lived a group of creatures known as "Demonic Beasts!"
In Fang Xi's opinion, these were just some impure-blood Monster Clan members, and perhaps some hidden creatures.
As cautious as he was, he did not go out to hunt Demonic Beasts but instead found a human city—Black Stone City—and hid himself there.
Ordinary gold and silver in the Southern Wilderness Cultivation Realm were just the most common raw materials, and a Spirit Crystal could be exchanged for a lot of it. But in the Da Liang World, it turned out to be unexpectedly useful.
It wasn't long before the wealthy district of Black Stone City gained a wealthy "Mr. Fang."
"The master has awakened, congratulations to the master for coming out of seclusion!"
At this moment, a pleasant voice like that of a yellow oriole rang out.
Several gorgeously dressed maids, led by a girl in a yellow dress, came before Fang Xi, bowed, and paid their respects.
A fragrance wafted over, making Fang Xi involuntarily rub his fingers together.
He had bought a large mansion in Black Stone City and also many maids and servants.
Among them, twelve senior maidservants were named by him as Shuixian, Hui Lan, Jaiomei, Mei Ji, Qiangwei, Lotus, Yulan, Laurel, Jin Ju, Cuizhu, Shao Yao, and Baihe.
The one in the yellow dress was Laurel, the head maid in charge, with skin so delicate it seemed it could break with a blow, truly a little beauty.
"Mm, give the orders to prepare the banquet."
Faced with the admiring and respectful gaze of many women, Fang Xi casually gave an order.
He didn't have any moral qualms about telling the maids and servants that everyone was equal and not to kneel.
On the contrary, upon arriving in ancient times, slightly influenced by the memories of the original owner of his body, he believed in the law of the survival of the fittest.
As maids and servants, if they dared not to kneel, it meant they lacked respect and were disobedient, and they could be beaten to death!
Fortunately, these maids and servants were all thoroughly trained by a human trade middleman, without any such troubles.
Or rather, for women like Laurel, such treatment from a master was normal, as if it were right and proper.
...
Half an hour later, in a side hall of the Fang Residence.
Fang Xi lay in a soft chair, with delicacies on the table before him.
Bear paw, shark fin, bird's nest, roast duck, stewed chicken...
All kinds of pure natural ingredients, expertly seasoned by the chef, were aromatic and tempting.
Fang Xi was enjoying the evil life of a feudal landlord, where he didn't need to lift a finger to eat. With a hint in his eyes, a maid would bring delicacies to his mouth.
He beckoned Shao Yao over and lay in her ample and profound bosom. Then he signaled Mei Ji to bring another bite of venison.
Sigh, such a happy life was also a trouble—men should always nourish themselves...
Fang Xi then took a sip of wine handed to him by a beautiful maid and exhaled a long breath of satisfaction.
After all, these charming maids were all thinking of various ways to climb into his bed—it was quite difficult for him!
...
The meal lasted almost an hour.
For Fang Xi, although the nutrition was nowhere near that of Spirit Rice from the Cultivation World, it was a significant indulgence for his senses.
Such enjoyment—he would indulge in it every ten days or half a month.
It was a small adjustment in his hard Cultivation life.
After the servant had cleared the dinnerware, Fang Xi went to the living room, where he drank the fine tea that Laurel had prepared and listened to the house steward Fu's report.
"Master, I have ascertained the information, regarding the materials from Demonic Beasts, it has always been controlled by the Great Liang authorities, strictly forbidding private circulation. However, there are always some channels, such as the martial arts schools!"
Fu was an image of an elder with a flowing white beard, seeming to possess the air of a reclusive expert.
But Fang Xi knew that the other party was just an ordinary old man who had almost starved to death by the roadside with his grandson and had voluntarily sold himself into servitude.
"Oh, the martial arts schools?"
Upon hearing this, Fang Xi stroked his chin, lost in thought.
Great Liang was likewise a world with extraordinary forces. Not to mention those Demonic Beasts, the extraordinary power within the human race was martial arts!
Those formidable martial artists, able to shatter Green Rock with their fists and split stone slabs with their feet, made it all seem as simple as eating and drinking.
Even within Black Stone City, there were quite a few such martial artists.
Fang Xi had a good deal of interest in the extraordinary paths of this world.
Although the spiritual energy of this world was extremely thin, making cultivation difficult, it was still barely sufficient to maintain his own cultivation level.
And the path of martial artists in Great Liang, there might be something worth learning… Well, if one could obtain profound cultivation techniques and spells in the Southern Wilderness Cultivation Realm, who would want to delve into martial arts?
Wasn't it because there was no other choice?
The Eternal Spring Skills he was cultivating was merely mediocre, and even slightly better cultivation techniques in the market demanded several to more than a dozen Spirit Stones…
A profound light flickered in Fang Xi's eyes:
'Based on the intelligence gathered in recent days, the martial artists of this world practice Qi and Blood Martial Arts... Their destructive power should not be underestimated. Although it is only relevant to those at the Qi Refining Stage of Immortal Cultivators, there is a flavor of Body Refining techniques…'
Body cultivators were a minority and less popular among Immortal Cultivators, not only taking a long time to practice but also consuming a lot more resources.
But Fang Xi didn't care, with two worlds to draw from as his resource base, he hardly worried about what amounted to a drop in the ocean.
Moreover... there was no other choice!
'Even low-level body refining techniques for the Qi Refining Stage are valued at over five Spirit Stones in the Green Bamboo Mountain Market, which I can't afford... But here, there's a way to practice the Qi and Blood Martial Arts. Just right, I'd also like to get some materials from Demonic Beasts to research...'
With these intersecting goals, Fang Xi's interest grew even more.
"Martial arts schools? Explain in detail…"
Fu continued with a steady voice: "…Within the martial arts schools, there's naturally a legacy of Qi and Blood Martial Arts. According to market rumors, those Qi and Blood Martial Teachers, when cultivated to a profound depth, find ordinary meat insufficient for their needs, therefore requiring all kinds of rare treasures, or the flesh of Demonic Beasts to provide nourishment! Hence, the martial teachers' forces in the city each have their own channels for Demonic Beast meat…"
"And in Black Stone City, apart from those noble families, the other forces recruiting disciples are Yuanhe Mountain and the Martial Arts Alliance!"
"Yuanhe Mountain?" Fang Xi's expression changed subtly.
"Yes, Yuanhe Mountain is one of the top-ranked Sect forces within a hundred miles of Black Stone City, even the government has to give it some respect," said Fu, his voice involuntarily becoming more solemn when he mentioned Yuanhe Mountain.
It was clear that Yuanhe Mountain was indeed renowned far and wide, at least in the hearts of the citizens of Black Stone City.
"Such martial arts sects must teach more profound skills."
Fang Xi pondered briefly, "I wonder how strict their disciple recruitment is? Can I use money to ease the way?"
Sir Fang, since coming to Black Stone City, opened paths with gold and silver and was not stingy about spending.
In this process, of course, it was inevitable to be seen as rich prey, but as a third-layer Qi Refining Immortal Cultivator, even if he could not afford the most inferior magical artifact, his acute senses combined with the expensive Talismans he had bought were enough for self-protection.
Fu pondered for a moment and answered, "Yuanhe Mountain often recruits the children of city nobles; this should not be a problem."
"Then we should act without delay and finalize this matter," Fang Xi made his decision.
The flow of time was consistent between both worlds, but in the Southern Wilderness Cultivation Realm he could at most claim to be in seclusion for a few days for cultivation purposes, after which he must show himself; otherwise, others might assume he died and divide up his farm and house, which was another form of complete family annihilation.
...
Yuanhe Mountain.
Its headquarters was located in Ding State, with only a branch in Black Stone City.
Even being a branch, it was still luxurious and grand, occupying a large cluster of buildings, demonstrating extraordinary style and vigor.
In the depths of this building complex lay a vivid green lake, within which bloomed a stretch of lotuses.
A flat boat was floating amidst the lotus flowers, drifting with the waves.
On the boat, there appeared to be someone lying down.
Suddenly, the boat stopped at the shore, and a white-dressed woman with a cold appearance came gracefully: "Paying respect to Uncle-Master…"
"What is it?" The person on the boat opened their eyes, yawned, and showed a hint of impatience.
"A wealthy household in the city is willing to offer two hundred taels of silver to ensure someone is accepted as an inner sect disciple," said the white-dressed woman as she gave a bow.
"Who is it?" The person on the boat, who looked quite young, perhaps around twenty, took a reporting slip and immediately sneered, "Fang Xi? A nouveau riche with an unknown background? Do they take Yuanhe Mountain for a martial arts school where anyone who gives money gets in?"
One must know, as the dominant force within a hundred miles, Yuanhe Mountain's influence was exceptional; even when accepting disciples, it didn't care much for money, still prioritizing aptitude first and foremost.
Previously admitting some children from noble families was to establish connections.
And Fang Xi... he was so poor all he had was money.
"Then Uncle-Master's intention is?" The white-dressed woman asked; she was indifferent either way, having only agreed to pass on the message due to someone asking for a favor.
"What's his aptitude like?"
"I have seen him once, quite ordinary," the woman replied.
"Then reject him." The boat gently set off.
The white-dressed woman gave a bow and did not persuade further.