Volume 1 Volume 7 Chapter 12

Volume 7 Chapter 12: Secret Discussion (Part 1)

Thinking of Wang Li’s experiences and recalling his own first days in the cultivation world, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but sigh. In terms of experiences, this person was very similar to him; the only difference was that the Xu Qingfan of those days was not as extreme and stubborn as Wang Li is now.

Xu Qingfan naturally knew the pain of being unable to take revenge himself. Otherwise, when Lu Huayan took him as a disciple, he would have begged Lu Huayan to help him kill that Blue-eyed Cloud-hoofed Beast. Unfortunately, fate plays tricks on people. Wang Li may have the diligence and willpower to cultivate and the desire to become stronger, but he lacks any talent for cultivation.

"Congratulations, Taoist Friend Xu! That Shen Gang has a good nature. Although he hasn’t cultivated yet, it is easy to see that in the near future, Taoist Friend Xu will have another capable warrior under your command."

Liu Ziqing said with a smile.

Xu Qingfan glanced at Liu Ziqing lightly and replied, "I haven’t decided yet whether to take him as a disciple. A person’s character cannot be seen in such a short time. Whether to take him as a disciple requires more understanding. Moreover, even if I do take him as a disciple, I cannot guarantee how he will turn out in the future. Ultimately, it all depends on him."

Liu Ziqing shook his head and laughed, "You are just too cautious. Can’t you think of it in a more positive way?"

Xu Qingfan smiled and said, "I am speaking the truth."

Listening to the conversation between Liu Ziqing and Xu Qingfan, the people behind them had strange expressions. Haven’t these two always been at odds? Although Liu Ziqing seems to have sided with Xu Qingfan now, the sudden shift to a friendship like old pals gave everyone a feeling of confusion.

Thus, under Xu Qingfan’s guidance, everyone explored the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands one by one. However, just the beautiful but resource-scarce Tianxuan Island, where the spiritual energy is quite thin, drove those who were new to the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands, especially the Medicine Pill Masters and Alchemy Masters, absolutely crazy.

"This is Tianshu Island, the largest of the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands, with the most beautiful scenery. It was where I lived with my fellow Taoist friends before. If you all like this place, you can settle here in the future. After all, living together makes it easier to take care of each other."

"This is the ‘Clear Heart Hall,’ where we will gather to discuss ideas in the future. It is arranged quite elegantly. The small pavilion by the lake is called ‘Nurturing Heart Pavilion,’ a cool and peaceful place, perfect for relaxation…"

While wandering around Tianshu Island, Xu Qingfan, as the host, pointed out the layout and purposes of Tianxuan Island to everyone. As Xu Qingfan spoke, all the newcomers to Tianshu Island nodded in agreement. They had already found this place beautiful from outside, but now that they were on Tianshu Island, they realized it was even more stunning. The thought of settling down here in the future filled everyone with anticipation.

However, not everyone was focused on the beautiful scenery of Tianshu Island.

Just as Xu Qingfan was speaking, he was suddenly interrupted by the Old Beggar’s exclamation.

"Is that black stone next to the green pine the ‘Sky Spirit Stone’?"

When the Old Beggar finished speaking, the other six Alchemy Masters were all taken aback and looked in the direction the Old Beggar mentioned. Their eyes were filled with excitement as they rushed towards the black stone.

Seeing this scene, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but smile wryly. Although ‘Sky Spirit Stones’ are not rare in the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands, they are not common either. Since they are materials from ancient times, Xu Qingfan found them mysterious but didn’t know how to use them. He had simply left them there, not expecting the Alchemy Masters to be so enthusiastic about them.

After a chaotic fight without regard for their identity, the Old Beggar, at the cost of a cut on his nose, successfully tucked the ‘Sky Spirit Stone’ into his sleeve. He proudly comforted the other six, saying that having this ‘Sky Spirit Stone’ was enough for him, and they could collect any other materials they found. His expression was so smug and full of himself that it was quite infuriating.

Perhaps due to attracting the wrath of heaven and people, the Old Beggar soon faced consequences and deeply regretted it.

"’Yuxian Stone’! That is the ‘Yuxian Stone’!"

Before long, the other six found even more precious materials, leading to another round of fighting. In the end, the Yuxian Stone was obtained by a master craftsman named Old Li, while Old Beggar, due to his earlier words, could not participate and looked anxious.

"Treasure Dragon Jade Bamboo!"

"’Hailong Jade’, that’s ‘Hailong Jade’!"

As more precious materials were discovered, the earlier pride and regret between the seven Alchemy Masters completely reversed. Old Beggar’s expression grew more anxious, and he eventually glared fiercely at Xu Qingfan, as if blaming him for not collecting these materials earlier.

Sensing Old Beggar’s anger, Xu Qingfan could only manage a wry smile. If he had realized the value of these materials, he wouldn’t have tried to trick Old Beggar and the others into coming. Because he knew nothing about crafting and could only recognize one or two materials, he wanted to invite masters like Old Beggar and Scholar Beihai. Only with their help could the resources of the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands be fully utilized, allowing Xu Qingfan’s strength to rise quickly.

Unfortunately, the situation was far from over.

When Old Beggar saw the jade stones being used to pave the road on Tianshu Island, after several attempts to snatch the materials only to be chased away by the other six united against him, he finally erupted. He rushed up to Xu Qingfan and shouted, "Those are spiritual jade stones! If used properly, they can be turned into Earth-level magic tools. How could you use them to pave the road? What were you thinking? To show off?"

Seeing Old Beggar like this, it seemed that if he did not consider that he couldn’t defeat Xu Qingfan, he would truly beat Xu Qingfan up.

Xu Qingfan said with a bitter smile, "Such materials are everywhere on Tianji Island. Senior, please do not worry."

Old Beggar was taken aback and asked, "Tianji Island? Which one is that? Take me there quickly!"

When they discovered a jade tree laden with Vermilion Fruits, the previously restrained Scholar Beihai and others could no longer hold back and rushed towards the tree. In the blink of an eye, all the ripe Vermilion Fruits were collected, and then, without hesitation, they rushed towards various rare alchemy materials they had seen before.

Although the resources on Tianshu Island were being crazily plundered by these masters of refining and alchemy, as Xu Qingfan led everyone around Tianshu Island, all the materials were collected. Yet Xu Qingfan felt no regret. First, all the truly precious materials were on Tianji Island and Tianxuan Island. Second, Xu Qingfan knew that these Medicine Pill Masters and Alchemy Masters collected these materials just for the joy of refining. Once the magic items and spirit pills were created, they would not care how precious they were, and at that time, all the refined magic items and spirit pills would return to Xu Qingfan’s hands.

After Xu Qingfan led everyone to completely explore Tianshu Island, all the usable resources had been gathered by Old Beggar, Scholar Beihai, and others. Xu Qingfan then took everyone to fly towards Yuheng Island.

"This is my home," Xu Qingfan said, pointing to the only two small wooden houses on the island. "I often close myself off to practice and dislike disturbances, so I have lived here alone."

As Xu Qingfan’s voice fell, Old Beggar, Scholar Beihai, and others had already crazily pounced down, snatching up all the usable materials.

After Old Beggar, Scholar Beihai, and others seemed to gather all the resources from Yuheng Island like locusts, Xu Qingfan took them to explore Kaiyang Island, where they also collected all the resources.

However, when Xu Qingfan brought everyone to Tianxuan Island, which was abundant with lush plants and a perfect blend of Wood, Water, and Earth Spirit Qi that nurtured many spiritual herbs, Scholar Beihai and the five Medicine Pill Masters went completely wild. They saw precious spiritual herbs that had been growing for thousands of years all around them. They wanted to collect them, but didn’t know where to start. In the end, they decided to transplant various herbs they had collected from other islands to Tianxuan Island. According to them, spiritual herbs were meant to grow here, and the herbs that grew here would have stronger properties than ordinary ones.

When Xu Qingfan brought them to Tianji Island, which was filled with many refining materials and had extremely rich Spirit Qi, Old Beggar and the seven Alchemy Masters also went crazy, just like Scholar Beihai and his group. They wanted to collect all the refining materials on this island, but there were so many materials, they didn’t know where to begin. Unlike Scholar Beihai and his team, Old Beggar and others complained to Xu Qingfan about why he had not brought them here sooner. The Spirit Qi was so rich that even an ordinary stone would become excellent refining material after soaking in it for thousands of years.

However, the twelve Jiuhua disciples were also crazy about Tianji Island. They believed that meditating here for one year was worth twenty years in other places, making it the best place to improve their strength.

When everyone arrived at Tianquan Island and saw the volcano there, Old Beggar and Scholar Beihai were collecting resources from it and began to argue about who would have the rights to use the volcano. In their eyes, if the volcano was used properly, it could be a perfect refining furnace or alchemy furnace. After much discussion and Xu Qingfan’s mediation, they decided that Tianquan Island would be shared by both sides. From then on, the seven Alchemy Masters and five Medicine Pill Masters would settle on Tianquan Island. Although Tianshu Island had beautiful scenery and a pleasant climate, nothing could compare to the importance of refining and alchemy.

From that moment on, the rich resources of Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands were finally developed and utilized by Xu Qingfan.

What this meant, everyone present, including Xu Qingfan and Liu Ziqing, did not realize at that moment.

"Tianshu, Tianquan, Tianxuan, Tianji, Kaiyang, Yuheng—these Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands are named after Bei Dou, but why are there only six? Where is Yaoguang?"

Liu Ziqing counted on his fingers the islands Xu Qingfan had taken them to visit and suddenly asked.

Hearing Liu Ziqing’s words, everyone was taken aback. At that moment, everyone was flying high in the sky, but when they looked around, they could only see six small islands. Where did Yaoguang Island go?