Chapter 759

Chapter 759: Old Thousand Souls

In the following time, Fang Lie’s clone stopped wandering around and stayed quietly in Star Loss City.

Usually, Fang Lie earned treasures from various powerful individuals in this place by making spirit pills. Because Fang Lie’s pills were of very high quality and made quickly, their prices were often very high, rarely falling below the price of an Eighth-rank Treasure.

To maintain this high price, Fang Lie didn’t work himself to the bone making pills. Instead, he kept to producing them once every six months and only for those who offered the highest price, forcing them to compete against each other.

As time went on, Fang Lie lost interest in Eighth-rank Treasures and wouldn’t touch anything unless it was a truly treasured item, which allowed him to amass considerable wealth.

The most abundant item was undoubtedly Immortal Crystals. Fang Lie’s main body required a massive amount of these crystals for his cultivation, so he knew he was at a disadvantage but had to trade away most of his spirit pills for Immortal Crystals. Each pill fetched a high price, with some exchanges yielding over a hundred smaller Immortal Crystals.

With the help of the vast number of Immortal Crystals, Fang Lie’s Magic advanced rapidly. Especially after refining the Weak Water Nascent Fetus and the Glazed Nascent Fetus, Fang Lie’s "Innate Great Five Elements Nascent Fetus Scripture" reached perfection. His body’s five elements were balanced, and his cultivation speed significantly increased, even rivaling that of Talents like Mo Lanyun.

In just ten years, Fang Lie’s Magic reached a level of ten thousand miles.

However, at this point, Fang Lie became frustrated as he realized that Immortal Crystals no longer had any effect on him. Ten thousand miles seemed to be the limit for Qi Sea cultivators. No matter how hard he tried, he could not expand his Qi Sea, as if an invisible barrier was blocking him.

It then dawned on Fang Lie that, even in ancient times, despite the emergence of many talents and abundant resources, no one could break the ten-thousand-mile limit of the Qi Sea. That is why the ten-thousand-mile Qi Sea was considered a strict law!

Fang Lie had to challenge this limit due to the Locked Qi Linglong Tower. If he failed, it would mean exhausting his lifespan and dying!

Fang Lie would never allow himself to die so miserably, so he came up with several plans. For instance, he tried refining the rarer Blood Crystals, but to no avail. He also took precious Ninth-Rank top-grade spirit pills and tried various methods, yet nothing worked.

Then, Fang Lie had to turn his attention to other super talented rare treasures, at least items on par with Dragon Soul Grass. However, such items are hard to come by, and even though Fang Lie was wealthy, he couldn’t purchase them.

To be cautious, Fang Lie decided to give it a try. Thus, he issued two missions in Star Loss City—one seeking various super treasures that could increase Magic, and another looking for a way to break through the ten-thousand-mile Qi Sea barrier.

Anyone who could help Fang Lie succeed would have one wish granted, within Fang Lie’s ability to fulfill, even a Ninth-Rank Treasure was not out of the question.

In truth, Fang Lie was pushed to the brink, having to offer a Ninth-Rank Treasure as a reward. Obtaining a Ninth-Rank Treasure wasn’t too difficult for him, but he only had one life, and the choice was clear!

The bounty on the Ninth-Rank Treasure shocked the entire Star Loss City and even the world!

After all, this place gathered top-tier experts from everywhere, and facing such an enormous reward, they naturally felt envious. If they couldn’t solve it themselves, they would report it to their respective sects.

In no time, the entire world learned of it. People debated fiercely; some expressed shock at Fang Lie’s ambitions, while others chastised him for being reckless, offering a Ninth-Rank Treasure as a bounty, which was considered irresponsible!

More people focused on the Ninth-Rank Treasure, speculating if it was the Mo Sect’s Benevolence Token. If it truly were that treasure, the Mo Sect would be stirred up like never before.

Indeed, upon learning of Fang Lie’s reward, the higher-ups of the Mo Sect were livid, demanding that Mo Qianxun punish Fang Lie for such wasteful behavior. How could he use a sect’s treasure for personal bounties?

However, Mo Qianxun nonchalantly replied that Fang Lie was offering his own Ninth-Rank Treasure for the bounty, which was fair and no one could question it!

This revelation stirred a hornet’s nest, leaving countless people shocked. How could this kid, who had only been around for a few years, already have access to a Ninth-Rank Treasure?

It is known that only the most prestigious sects possess ancestral Ninth-Rank Treasures, and those who acquire them through their own efforts are only a handful!

Faced with the lure of the Ninth-Rank Treasure, many could hardly contain their excitement, rushing to Star Loss City, hoping to trick Fang Lie into giving it up.

They clearly thought Fang Lie was naive and could be easily deceived with some deep theories.

But they tragically underestimated Fang Lie, who had an old bird guiding him—a monstrous creature that had lived for hundreds of thousands of years. Trying to fool it would be utterly impossible!

In any case, all the scammers were easily dismissed, but it left Fang Lie feeling exasperated. He had to set limits: anyone without Thunder Tribulation level cultivation should not even dream of seeing Fang Lie; he had no time for them.

On this day, however, a Semi-Immortal visited Fang Lie, claiming he could solve Fang Lie’s problem.

Since he was a Semi-Immortal, Fang Lie did not dare to be dismissive and hurriedly went to welcome him. He found the visitor was a thin old man with a gloomy face, but his imposing presence made it clear he was a powerful Semi-Immortal.

"Mo Sect’s Fang Lie, I greet you, senior!" Fang Lie said promptly, "May I ask your name?"

"I am from the Soul Split Sect, Old Thousand Souls!" the old man replied coldly.

"Hmm?" Fang Lie’s brows furrowed instantly upon hearing this; he didn’t expect to meet this demon.

Old Thousand Souls was notorious in the jianghu for practicing evil special techniques, and he had killed numerous Righteous Cultivators, including Thunder Tribulation Immortals, to devour their souls and enhance himself.

He was called Old Thousand Souls because he had refined the souls of over a thousand experts, granting him more than a thousand Soul Fragments. In terms of soul strength and divine sense, he could easily overpower others of his kind. Thus, ordinary Semi-Immortals avoided such a freak.

Although Fang Lie hadn’t set the requirement that only Righteous Cultivators could approach him, he instinctively felt hostility towards this villain.

Old Thousand Souls noticed Fang Lie’s displeasure and chuckled, "You think I want to help you? I’m only here for the Ninth-Rank Treasure. Kid, don’t tell me you want to take that back!"

"Hmph, I’m not as shameless as a Demonic Path Cultivator!" Fang Lie snorted coldly and then beckoned, "Come in!"

Afterward, Fang Lie led Old Thousand Souls to the living room. Once seated, he skipped the tea and bluntly asked, "Speak, what solution do you have for my problem?"

"Hey hey~" Old Thousand Souls grinned slightly, "Before I share the solution, how about you show some sincerity? Don’t try to fool me with trash treasures!"

"Hmph!" Fang Lie scoffed and pulled out a bronze cicada, saying, "Ninth-Rank Treasure Spring and Autumn Cicada, a time-type treasure, is this enough?"

This treasure had already been refined by Fang Lie, and its item spirit was a cute little cicada that usually lazed around. Although it seemed silly, its power was immense, releasing terrifying Immortal Light, truly capable of achieving a time span of nearly a thousand years.

Old Thousand Souls scanned it with his divine sense and exclaimed in shock, "Good item! I didn’t expect you to have such a treasure! Are you really willing to give it to me?"

"As long as you can solve my problem, I, Fang Lie, still have some credibility!" Fang Lie replied solemnly. "But if you try to trick me, don’t blame me for kicking you out!"

"Haha, you can rest assured, how could I, an old senior who has lived for thousands of years, deceive a junior like you?" Old Thousand Souls exclaimed cheerfully. "Actually, your problem isn’t that difficult. Tell me, your Magic is almost on par with a Semi-Immortal, about at the peak of Thunder Tribulation. What do you think you’re missing compared to a Semi-Immortal? As long as you fill that gap, you can definitely break through the limit and continue to raise your Magic level to be equal with Semi-Immortals!"

"What am I lacking compared to Semi-Immortals?" Fang Lie asked, frowning.

"Of course, it’s the Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulations!" Old Thousand Souls replied seriously. "The wind, fire, and thunder tribulations in the Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulations target the body, but your Magic has reached the ten-thousand-mile Qi Sea level, so your body must be quite strong. The only thing you’re lacking is the strength of your soul. Until you overcome the Heart Demon Trial, your soul strength will be slightly weaker than a Semi-Immortal. That’s the shortcoming in your entire cultivation; it determines that your cultivation level can only stagnate at ten-thousand miles in the Qi Sea!"

"Is that so?" Fang Lie pondered with furrowed brows while silently consulting the old bird.

The old bird thought for a moment and said, "What he said seems to have some truth. So, ask him how to solve it! If he can’t resolve this issue, he can’t take the Spring and Autumn Cicada! After all, your bounty is to solve the problem, not the reasons behind it."

"Understood!" Fang Lie nodded and then addressed Old Thousand Souls, "What you said makes some sense. So, how do I solve this? The soul is a person’s main consciousness, the collection of three souls and six spirits; it’s not something that can just be enhanced!"

"Simple! Just overcome a Heart Demon Trial!" Old Thousand Souls declared proudly. "The Heart Demon is the opposite of your true self. Defeat the Heart Demon, devour it, and your soul will double in strength! Then, breaking through the ten-thousand-mile Qi Sea barrier will be a piece of cake!"

"What you say sounds easy, but how do I trigger a Heart Demon Trial?" Fang Lie replied irritably, "I’m only at the Qi Sea level, ten thousand miles away from the Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulations!"