Chapter 647 - 442: Aftermath of the Battle 2

"Furthermore, all the major powers around us—Nine Stars Square, Spirit Leaf Square, Giant Wood Square, Bo Yuan City, Bosen City, Li Huo City, and others—have expressed their willingness to lower the cargo tax rates for our Qingyuan Alliance. They’ve also offered a series of other benefits and are open to renegotiating our terms."

Liu Xun continued to deliver the good news. This was the chain reaction after Fang Qingyuan demonstrated his power. As long as you were strong enough, other factions would spontaneously show you goodwill without you even having to ask.

In truth, these negotiations should have started after Bear Wind’s faction joined the Qingyuan Alliance. However, because Fang Qingyuan had challenged Chunyu Hua to a duel, everyone wanted to wait and see the outcome. If Fang Qingyuan had been defeated and killed, rushing to negotiate would have put them in an incredibly awkward position.

But now, Fang Qingyuan had proven himself. He wasn’t just riding on Bear Wind’s coattails. Even without Bear Wind, he stood at the apex of the Golden Core Cultivator level, capable of suppressing three or four Golden Core Cultivators in a fight all by himself.

"Then go negotiate," Fang Qingyuan instructed. "You’ll be in charge of this. If you run into trouble, have Qiqi and the others accompany you. In any case, do not diminish the Qingyuan Alliance’s prestige."

Hearing Fang Qingyuan’s command, Liu Xun nodded vigorously. ’From this day forward,’ he thought, ’I’ll finally be standing in the inner circle of power among all the factions on White Mountain.’

"Congratulations, Sect Leader Fang! You are truly as reliable as they come. My father said long ago that you are a dragon among men. To be in a place like the White Mountain Land Realm is a waste of your talents."

The one who came forward to speak was Yan Muyun. He was actually older than Fang Qingyuan, but he adopted a very humble posture before him. Both were Golden Core Cultivators and Sect Leaders in their own right, yet no one was surprised by Yan Muyun’s deferential words.

"Ah, Mu Yun," Fang Qingyuan said. "When did Brother Yan ascend White Mountain?"

A genuine smile appeared on Fang Qingyuan’s face when he saw Yan Muyun. He had a good relationship with that old friend of his, Yan Nanxing, and had promised back then to look after the Yan Gui Sect. Therefore, in front of Yan Muyun, Fang Qingyuan naturally adopted the air of an elder, completely unconcerned by the fact that Yan Muyun was actually older than him.

"My father was escorted up White Mountain by a Golden Core Cultivator from the Star-Picking Pavilion nine months ago. He wanted to see you before he left, but he heard you were traveling and decided not to disturb you."

Nine months ago, Fang Qingyuan had been in the Abyss of Black Soil collecting its unique earth. By that timing, he had indeed missed him.

"That’s no matter. When Brother Yan reaches the Nascent Soul Realm, we will be able to meet again. When you have time, you should visit the Qingyuan Sect more often. I promised Brother Yan that our two families would maintain good relations for generations to come."

Fang Qingyuan’s mood lifted as he looked at the respectful Yan Muyun. He glanced around and saw the entire crowd bowing their heads. Even more people were surging forward, hoping for a chance to speak with him.

This was his moment of glory.

* * *

Time flew by, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye. By now, few in the White Mountain Cultivation World still spoke of the duel between Fang Qingyuan and Chunyu Hua.

It was, after all, just an interlude. The main theme on White Mountain was still war and slaughter, and people had little energy to spare on the feud between Fang Qingyuan and Chunyu Hua.

For the past six months, Fang Qingyuan had been in secluded cultivation within the Qingyuan Sect. He was waiting for Chunyu Hua to make his move.

Now that half a year had passed, Fang Qingyuan no longer wanted to wait. The matter of Hao Shi and the Great White Bear had already consumed too much of his energy. He was determined to resolve it this year and begin a new Chapter.

On this day, Fang Qingyuan slowly opened his eyes in his Quiet Chamber. A message had arrived from Chunyu Hua.

After reading what Chunyu Hua had written, Fang Qingyuan’s expression remained impassive. He put the letter away, but instead of departing immediately, he first entered his Immortal Mansion to check on his little companions.

The Purple Extreme Divine Thunder from Chunyu Hua’s attack that day had all been collected by Fang Qingyuan into his Immortal Mansion to evolve the Purple Crystal Spirit Fish. The approximately five to six thousand fish that failed the evolution were all fed to his four little companions.

This was not a waste. If the flesh of the failed Spirit Fish wasn’t consumed immediately, preserving it would lead to a severe loss of Spiritual Qi. Only living Spirit Fish had the effect of increasing a Cultivator’s cultivation level.

After eating the Spirit Fish, three of the four Companion Beasts—all except for the Bee Queen—immediately fell into a deep slumber. From the looks of it, they were about to advance in rank.

However, Fang Qingyuan wasn’t sure if this advancement would allow the three of them to reach the Golden Core Realm. A lack of cultivation insight meant that eating the Spirit Fish could only increase their Cultivation and Magical Power, or perhaps awaken a few more Lifebound Talents. Reaching the Golden Core Realm wasn’t something that could be achieved just by having enough magical power.

It was similar to how human Cultivators needed to condense their own "Core Theory" to achieve the Golden Core. Although Spirit Beasts didn’t need a Core Theory, they had to tap into their bloodline’s potential to form their true "Lifebound Core." This core was a foundation capable of bearing the status of the Golden Core Realm, much like "Destiny" for the Bee Queen, or the "Yin-Yang dual Qi" for Jinbao.

Fang Qingyuan wasn’t too worried about Jinbao. As the offspring of a Divinity Transformation expert, Jinbao lacked nothing in terms of Talent; he only needed more cultivation and magical power. The Spirit Fish were the perfect remedy for his short training time.

The prospects for Yinbao and Nanli, however, were not as promising. Yinbao came from a common background, having been bred as a simple Transport Beast for hauling cargo. The only reason it had managed to reach the Late-stage of Foundation Establishment was due to Fang Qingyuan constantly feeding it resources.

But Fang Qingyuan worried that Yinbao had reached its limit. Even this massive quantity of Spirit Fish might not be enough to help it break through.