Chapter twenty-three: Revenge

In Qinglin Square City.

A seemingly ordinary, slightly plump young man strode in.

This man was Fang Xing!

Ever since breaking into the "Muscle and Bone Realm," Fang Xing discovered he could adjust his body shape, altering his weight at will. He believed that once he reached a deeper level of this realm, he could even change his height and skeletal structure.

Thus, he had changed his appearance and re-entered the marketplace for cultivators.

"Golden Spirit Fruit! Delicious Golden Spirit Fruit, only one spirit sand per piece!"

"Buy talismans, any talisman you need, thirty percent cheaper than shops!"

"Magical weapons! We have magical weapons!"

The marketplace buzzed with excitement as always.

Fang Xing even spotted a crowd gathered around a stall, staring at a vendor exuding an air of danger.

Or rather, they were fixated on a flying sword in front of him, their faces filled with eagerness.

"Is this... a magical weapon?"

Fang Xing glanced over and saw a small, dark iron sword, about the length of a palm, with visible signs of wear.

"Second-hand low-grade magical weapon 'Black Feather Sword'... only twenty spirit stones!" 

The vendor crossed his arms, impatience flashing across his face. "Poor folk shouldn't bother!"

Perhaps due to his high cultivation level, the surrounding crowd naturally stepped aside, not daring to confront him.

"What a pity; if only it were a 'Blood Refined Magical Weapon'..." 

A congenital warrior sighed, looking at the black sword.

Compared to talismans, using magical weapons required more skill!

Even congenital warriors couldn't wield low-grade magical weapons—unless they were specially refined "Blood Refined Magical Weapons" that could be activated with one's true energy or even blood.

"Blood Refined Magical Weapons, though low in power, are comparable to regular low-grade magical weapons, but they're difficult to make and require rare materials... at least over one hundred low-grade spirit stones. Don't dream about it." 

A nearby cultivator scoffed.

Fang Xing watched the commotion for a while before departing.

After all, he couldn't afford it...

In the Qingdan Square.

Last time there was a maid, but this time a girl in her twenties greeted him.

Wearing a peach-colored daoist robe, she had a vibrant aura. Upon seeing Fang Xing, she smiled before speaking, "Dear customer, how may I assist you?"

"I'm selling herbs!"

Fang Xing responded succinctly, taking out a white fruit.

This fruit was about the size of a baby's fist, covered in serpentine patterns, with a faint smell of blood.

"This is... a Snake Orchid Fruit? Quite rare! I can offer two spirit stones for it."

The daoist girl's eyes lit up. "How many do you have?"

"Only two, both obtained at great risk..." 

Fang Xing pulled out another Snake Orchid Fruit, sighing. 

In truth, he had a whole box of them! The harvesting place was dangerous; it was home to a giant python that had swallowed several imitation birds!

Just from the observations, that python was far stronger than wild boars, indicating it was even more perilous, and the herbs near its lair were likely rarer and more valuable.

Testing this theory proved fruitful!

After receiving four low-grade spirit stones, Fang Xing bought a bottle of "Vitality Pills." Upon exiting Qingdan Square, he spotted the sign for the Small Talisman Shop and instinctively walked in. "Give me a Measurement Talisman!"

"Perhaps... this Talisman Shop's talismans have issues."

"If I don't test a few more times, I can't be sure!"

Exiting the Small Talisman Shop, Fang Xing strolled around, intending to purchase another Measurement Talisman. If three results were the same, he'd have to accept it.

"Dear customer, would you like some Spirit Rice?"

As he searched for a talisman vendor, a timid voice suddenly interrupted.

He turned to see a Spirit Rice stall.

A girl in a red dress looked at him with wide, anxious eyes.

"This is low-grade Spirit Rice?" 

Fang Xing stepped forward, picking up a handful of rice and casually asking.

This Spirit Rice was significantly larger than regular white rice, carrying a scent reminiscent of lotus leaves, making one's mouth water just by smelling it.

"Yes, it's just one spirit sand per pound!" 

The girl quickly flashed a charming smile. "Cultivators eat this regularly! It's said that if mortals eat too much, they might give birth to offspring with spirit roots!"

"Oh? So if I eat a lot, I could develop spirit roots myself?" Fang Xing became interested.

"That's impossible! There are no cases of mortals developing spirit roots after birth!" The girl shook her head vigorously, stating it as a common fact.

Fang Xing felt a bit downcast. "Then I won't buy it. I'm not a cultivator; it's not useful for me!"

"Who says it's useless? Those powerful warriors buy Spirit Rice too! It can enhance vitality, and it's completely natural—no pill toxins!" The girl insisted.

"Pill toxins?"

Fang Xing paused in his tracks.

"Yes! Frequent pill use can lead to toxins, and if accumulated, it can harm the body and even hinder potential, trapping cultivators at a bottleneck without progress... That's why they consume Spirit Rice for daily cultivation, only using pills during critical breakthroughs." 

The girl added, "That's what my grandpa says."

Fang Xing grew interested; the girl seemed naive. He chatted with her a bit longer.

He learned that while pill toxins existed, it wasn't a big deal for cultivators.

After all, many loose cultivators had long been stuck at various stages without advancing.

Plus, with advancements in skills and breakthroughs to higher realms, there would be a cleansing process to expel toxins from the body.

Moreover, the human body naturally detoxifies; as long as the toxins didn't exceed a certain limit, there was no major issue.

"Thanks, little girl! I'll buy... ten pounds of Spirit Rice. By the way, what's your name?"

Feeling a bit guilty about getting a good deal, Fang Xing proactively pulled out spirit stones.

"My name is Ding Hongxiu. The lotus fragrance Spirit Rice from my family is the best among low-grade Spirit Rice!" Ding Hongxiu proudly puffed out her small chest.

"Got it, I'll remember that." 

With a bag of rice slung over his shoulder, Fang Xing waved goodbye and blended into the crowd.

Moments later.

"Hm?"

After comparing prices, Fang Xing finally found another Measurement Talisman for a cheaper price. His gaze suddenly sharpened at a nearby herb stall.

There, the vendor was none other than the old man with the pipe who had followed him before!

However, he clearly didn't recognize Fang Xing in his disguise.

'Perfect timing; I've broken through in strength. Time to repay grudges and get revenge!'

Fang Xing thought for a moment, then turned down a side street, rubbing his face.

As his flesh shifted, his features transformed into a simple, honest-looking guise he had used before.

'I don't need to confront that old man directly; I just need him to see me by chance…'

Fang Xing quickly devised a plan: 'The martial artists here max out at the congenital level; this old man is not a cultivator, at most congenital… he likely has some hidden tricks up his sleeve, so I need to prepare a bit.'

...

Several hours later.

Fang Xing swaggered out of Qinglin Square City, heading straight into the wild.

Behind him, the old man with the pipe squinted his eyes, closely following.

'Hm? So he really followed me?'

Fang Xing maintained a steady pace, keeping a distance while running for over ten miles.

He activated his watch, revealing a bird-shaped drone monitoring from above.

'And… there's no one else around; he likely has no backup.'

'Based on his movement and speed, I can confirm he's telling the truth; he's just a martial artist…'

'In that case...'

Fang Xing pressed his chest, and a layer of silvery nanofabric cloaked his body, an electric baton appearing in his right hand.

"Hm? Where is he? Did the fat sheep escape again?"

The old man entered a dense forest, not seeing Fang Xing anywhere, a hint of frustration appearing on his face.

As a lowly figure in Qinglin Square City, his choices for targets to rob were limited.

He had rare opportunities to encounter a suitable target, only to have it slip away twice—this was particularly infuriating...

Just then, his ears perked up, and he suddenly looked up.

A small bird, like a yellow sparrow, perched on a branch, its eyes locked on him.

"Am I getting old? How can a mere ordinary bird feel dangerous?"

The old man sighed to himself.

In his youth, he was a formidable figure, a supreme master in the martial world.

If not for being misled by a ghost, following a celestial master in search of the mortal path to cultivation, he wouldn't have ended up in this desolate place, eventually losing the master he followed and struggling to survive...

Suddenly!

As the old man lost focus, the yellow sparrow flapped its wings and dove down.

It seemed to clutch a talisman in its claws, the bright red ink on it radiating a dangerous aura.

"No way, that's... a Fireball Talisman?!"

The Fireball Talisman! One of the few talismans ordinary people could use without needing a cultivator's power to aim.

However, without the magical guidance of a cultivator, it was