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    Starry Sky Professional Directory 35

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    Chapter 35: A Solution (Seeking Recommendations)

    June 29, 2024

    Chapter 35: A Solution (Seeking Recommendations)

    “Sigh…”

    Fang Xing opened the door, letting out a sigh.

    The ‘Ghost God Blade’ was proving difficult to master, meaning his combat strength wouldn’t surge in the near future, leaving him feeling rather insecure.

    What’s more, the revenge he’d meticulously documented still remained unfulfilled!

    “Brother Fang…”

    At that moment, Meng Yi from the neighboring room came out, giving a greeting: “Long time no see…”

    “I saw that demonic bird was quite formidable, so I chose to close myself off for a while. How did things turn out?” Fang Xing didn’t feel the slightest bit embarrassed, asking directly.

    “That demonic bird has already been subdued by the Zheng family patriarch… A Foundation Establishment cultivator’s strike, truly extraordinary. It’s a pity you didn’t see the scene, Brother Fang.” Meng Yi replied, still seeming somewhat exhilarated.

    ‘I bet you’re not excited about seeing a Foundation Establishment cultivator in action, but rather excited about the sizable loot you snatched up, right?’

    Seeing this, Fang Xing couldn’t help but inwardly scoff.

    When they encountered the demonic bird that day, Meng Yi had sent his wife to hide in the market while he excitedly charged out – certainly not to help fight the bird, but to pick up the scraps!

    He chatted with Meng Yi for a while more, eventually turning to the topic of martial arts.

    After all, this different world had many things to learn. Combining the strengths of both worlds was the clever use of his cheat code!

    “Oh? So Brother Fang is cultivating a demonic skill, but is stuck due to distracting and malicious thoughts?” Meng Yi’s expression remained calm.

    After all, he was also a martial artist, and he had cultivated some worldly so-called ‘demonic arts,’ so he held no prejudice against it.

    “Brother Meng, do you have a solution?”

    Seeing Meng Yi’s expression, Fang Xing’s eyes lit up, and he sincerely said, “Please don’t hesitate to offer your advice…”

    “Haha, you must know that our martial arts, in the eyes of cultivators, are mostly incredibly crude… Even the most domineering demonic arts in the martial world are like this.”

    Meng Yi smiled: “A cultivator’s inner demons are far more terrifying than the distracting thoughts we encounter when cultivating demonic arts. There are even rumors that high-level cultivators, when breaking through to a higher realm, will face extraterrestrial demons manifesting and obstructing their path… Therefore, cultivators have far more experience in dealing with such situations, whether it’s through cultivating special techniques and secret arts, or searching for related pills and magical artifacts… All have some effect. Brother Fang can search for these, and should find something. After all, we are merely martial artists; pills and artifacts that are effective against Qi Condensation Stage cultivators, or even those with less pronounced effects on them, are more than enough for us…”

    “So cultivators are the most adept at handling this sort of situation? Thank you!”

    Fang Xing bowed his hands in gratitude and immediately headed towards the market.

    He naturally wouldn’t entirely believe Meng Yi’s words, so he planned to ask others as well.

    That old man Ding Busan was a good candidate.

    Several hours later.

    Qing Dan Pharmacy.

    Fang Xing looked up at the signboard and the green leaf insignia, striding into the establishment.

    He had also just visited Ding Busan, using the pretense of buying spirit rice to indirectly inquire about things.

    According to this Qi Condensation Mid-Stage cultivator, cultivators indeed had many ways to deal with inner demons.

    But most were beyond the reach of ordinary Qi Condensation cultivators.

    As for martial artists?

    That was even more out of the question.

    But Fang Xing was still going to try.

    ‘Cultivators’ secret arts, special artifacts that protect the mind… Even if I had them, I wouldn’t be able to use them. It’s just because I don’t have spiritual roots… And they’re not easy to find, and the prices are incredibly expensive…’

    ‘As for talismans, there’s a ‘Quiet Heart Talisman’ that’s particularly suitable for this situation, but unfortunately, it requires at least innate true energy to use…’

    ‘The only thing left to try is pills…’

    While pondering, Fang Xing looked at the girl who greeted him.

    His luck was good; this time, it was the girl he met on his first visit to Qinglinfang City; she had a pleasant personality.

    “Sir, what kind of pill are you looking for?”

    The girl said with a charming smile.

    “For a martial artist, to deal with distracting thoughts while cultivating martial arts…”

    Fang Xing stated his requirements.

    The girl listened, then pondered for a moment: “For the sir’s situation, only the ‘Cultivation Pill’ in our store is relatively suitable. This pill can slightly enhance the spiritual awareness of Qi Condensation Stage cultivators and has the effect of clarifying the mind… But…”

    “Price is no object; how many spirit stones?”

    Fang Xing adopted the air of someone who didn’t lack spirit stones.

    And it was true; he had the drone for gathering herbs; even if he lacked spirit stones, he could simply gather more herbs to sell.

    Furthermore, due to the recent beast tide, the danger of going out to gather herbs had increased significantly, causing the price of spirit herbs to rise.

    Currently, Fang Xing could easily pull out dozens of spirit stones.

    If he didn’t need the ‘Cultivation Pill,’ he would have already prepared to buy a ‘先天丹’ (Primordial Pill – a hypothetical pill, details not provided) for storage.

    He just wondered if the pills in the cultivation world had an expiration date?

    “The Cultivation Pill is usually sold at thirty spirit stones per bottle… But currently, our store is out of stock…”

    The girl smiled apologetically.

    “What? Out of stock?”

    Fang Xing was slightly surprised: “Why is that?”

    “To refine the ‘宁神花’ (Ning Shen Flower – a hypothetical herb, details not provided) requires a spirit herb called ‘幻心兰’ (Illusion Heart Orchid – a hypothetical herb, details not provided). The shop used to occasionally receive a few stalks, but now, with the rampant beast tide, and the Illusion Heart Orchid having very high requirements for its growing environment, mostly located in the depths of the Great Wilderness, no herb gatherers can go there anymore, so it has gradually become unavailable…”

    The girl explained carefully: “Perhaps after the beast tide, sir can come back and check again…”

    “Thank you. May I ask your name?”

    Fang Xing, somewhat disappointed, prepared to leave, but looking at the girl, he felt that maintaining a good relationship with her would be beneficial.

    After all, he was now appearing in his true form, and to fully exploit the potential of this world, cultivating every relationship was crucial.

    Cultivation wasn’t just about fighting and killing!

    “My name is Xiao Rui!”

    The girl smiled brightly: “If the sir comes again, you can directly ask for me…”

    “I will. I remember.”

    Fang Xing nodded seriously.

    Even knowing this, Fang Xing still wasn’t entirely giving up.

    Although the Cultivation Pill was unavailable at the pharmacy, there might be some remaining stock sold by individual vendors in the market.

    But after scanning around, he felt disheartened.

    Based on the nature of independent cultivators, once they obtained pills beneficial to their cultivation, they would usually consume them to enhance their strength; few would remain.

    Furthermore, even if there were one or two pills at the stalls of independent cultivators, Fang Xing wouldn’t dare use them.

    He would have to buy enough for a full course of use, test them on a test subject first, and then try them himself, right?

    Of course, if the original jade bottle was unopened, it would be even better.

    The pills from independent cultivator stalls, if they were unbranded and of unknown origin, would definitely be much cheaper than unopened, authentic goods.

    In Qinglinfang City, there were very few stalls selling pills.

    The Four Arts of Cultivation – formations, pills, artifacts, and talismans – with pill refinement ranking second, not only were the inheritances rare, but the consumption was also terrifying.

    Basically, no independent cultivator would go through the trouble of learning pill refinement without much reward.

    Even if there were one or two ‘alchemists’, they would specialize in one or two kinds of pills, very niche.

    And their competitiveness would often be lower than larger pharmacies.

    Because of this, stalls selling pills were extremely rare.

    Fang Xing searched for half a circle before finding a few stalls, with only a few pills on display.

    “Excuse me, do you have ‘Cultivation Pills’ for sale?”

    He came to a stall; the vendor was an old man, his hair tied up with ebony, wearing a glittering robe.

    Hearing Fang Xing’s question, the old man’s eyes lit up, and he smiled: “Friend, you’ve asked the right person. In this market, there are very few who have access to ‘Cultivation Pills,’ but I am one of them…”

    “Oh? You have Cultivation Pills? What is the price?”

    Fang Xing perked up.

    “They are still in the furnace…”

    The old man stroked his beard, with the demeanor of a perfected sage.

    Fang Xing turned to leave.

    “Hey, wait… Young brother, wait!”

    The old Taoist immediately jumped up: “Let me finish! I am indeed an alchemist. In my early years, I obtained the formula for ‘Cultivation Pills,’ and have a 60-70% chance of refining them. I don’t believe you wouldn’t have heard of my name, Wan Fenglin, in Wanfeng Forest!”

    Fang Xing paused slightly: “So… do you have any pills?”

    “This…” Alchemist Wan chuckled: “I’ve teamed up with a few other friends and have gathered enough materials for several batches of ‘Cultivation Pills.’ We are only missing one ingredient, the ‘Illusion Heart Orchid’…”

    “That’s just the same as saying nothing…”

    Fang Xing turned and continued walking.

    “Why are you in such a hurry, young brother? I’ve already discovered a place where ‘Illusion Heart Orchids’ grow, but it’s slightly dangerous; there’s a group of ‘Purple Winged Scorpions’ there… I’m preparing to invite fellow cultivators to eliminate this menace. Once we have plenty of ‘Illusion Heart Orchids,’ wouldn’t ‘Cultivation Pills’ become readily available?”

    “Then I will come back to buy them when you’ve refined them… The price is negotiable.”

    Fang Xing nodded, giving the old man a deep look.

    “This… young brother, are you interested in lending a hand? If we succeed, I can reduce the cost significantly…” Alchemist Wan tentatively said.

    “I’m just a mere Post-Heaven martial artist; what kind of help can I provide?”

    Fang Xing scoffed, turning to leave without hesitation.

    “…”

    The old man watched Fang Xing’s back, wanting to retain him, but couldn’t bring himself to speak, only letting out a soft sigh.

    He continued to run his stall, selling some low-grade pills like ‘辟谷丹’ (Pills of Hunger Repression – a generic pill that suppresses hunger), until sunset before slowly closing up and returning to his hut.

    Alchemist Wan didn’t notice that in the corner of the hut, a beetle the size of a fingernail had appeared sometime earlier, quietly lying there.

    Due to its small size, it was more like a dead thing, without any spiritual energy.

    This beetle-shaped eavesdropping device, in Fang Xing’s opinion, was a divine artifact.

    The old man’s actions today were suspicious; if he were merely trying to sell pills, he should have asked Fang Xing to come back in a few days.

    Why would he try to recruit a Post-Heaven martial artist?

    Unless the other party knew he wasn’t simple!

    Therefore, after leaving, Fang Xing immediately sent out the beetle eavesdropping device.

    The old man returned to his hut, meditated for a while, took a Pill of Hunger Repression, before going to the adjacent workshop to process some herbs.

    Everything seemed very ordinary.

    Until late at night, there was a knock on the door, three long and two short knocks.

    The old man immediately got up and went to open the door.

    The wooden door creaked open, revealing a figure.

    “You’re here?”

    Seeing the visitor, the old man’s face immediately showed a trace of displeasure.
    (To be continued)

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