Once Fang Xing had visited all of the disciples on the list, he returned to his own cave and—after some thought—found himself a large board, some ink, and a writing brush. After a short period of time and a great amount of effort, words had been written on the board, although they were large and not written neatly whatsoever.
Early deliveries will be rewarded. Deliberate sabotage will be punished with saber. —Fang Xing
After that was finished, Fang Xing visited Qing-Mu Hall to exchange five of his mid-grade Spirit Stones into five hundred low-grade Stones, enough to fill up an entire bucket. The radiant red shine was dazzling as he placed the entire bucket on the left side of his cave entrance, while the [Saber of Azure Dragon] was impressively embedded into the ground on the right side. Fang Xing himself sat leisurely on a rattan chair in the middle of the two, occasionally taking out one of the copied jade scrolls to study.
Fang Xing's demeanor was assuredly attracting the gazes of those within the Duanzhen Valley, and that bucket full of red Spirit Stones was even more enticing. Even if someone were to make it into the inner court, their monthly allowance from the sect was a mere ten low-grade Spirit Stones. If anyone wanted to obtain more, the main method was to take advantage of their specialization, such as alchemy, smithing, talismans, or formations.
When it came to inner court disciples, those from a poor background were rare; such disciples would most likely never have enough resources to reach the minimum level required to join the inner court in the first place. Even with a decent amount of wealth, however, cultivation was like a financial black hole and not everyone would always have that extra money lying around. People that were extremely wealthy—like Murong Ying or Qin Xing'er—or had an extreme talent to earn a great amount of fortune—like Xu Linyun—were exceptions, not the norm.
Only exceptions like them would be able to easily bring out mid-grade Stones while not caring about the low-grade ones, and a bucket filled with low-grade Spirit Stones would be a large fortune for quite a lot of people. The board that Fang Xing hung to the side of the bucket further raised the interest of many, and some even came up to him to ask, "Little Shixiong Fang, why are you not keeping these Spirit Stones safe? Why do you have them out like this?"
Fang Xing let out a long sigh in response. "Aiii, our dear shifu has asked me to collect Refined Iron this month. I was worried that some might not want to give me face, so I was left with no other choice but to spend large amounts of money in the hopes a reward of ten Stones will get them to deliver on time."
Those that had asked were all surprised by this. "The three pounds of Refined Iron is a monthly obligation for the Duanzhen Valley's new disciples. There are no Spirit Stones in return for it."
"Sect is sect, Fang Xing is Fang Xing. Your grandfather Fang has nothing but money. Whoever gives me face is rewarded, but hmph, as for whoever doesn't give me face and intentionally sabotages my task? See that sword over there? It's there for a reason!"
Everyone who saw the scene praised Fang Xing before waving goodbye, and the entire Duanzhen Valley soon knew about this. Under normal circumstances, whenever a new disciple of the Duanzhen Valley delivered their obligatory Refined Iron to the sect, there would be no benefits for them. Now, however, there was a little rich wastrel with such generosity handing out large amounts of Spirit Stones; among these disciples who did not have many resources to spare, who would not be moved by this?
That same night, a dozen of the disciples on the list gathered together for a bit of discussion. "It's not that I'm not on the same side as everyone, but this Fang Xing is just too generous! As long as we hand them in on time, we'll receive ten Spirit Stones in return, which isn't a small amount. The sect only gives us ten Stones a month. Where else could we find such a chance again?"
Another person quickly agreed, "He's right. Even though the boy offended Shixiong Murong even before joining our branch, and even though we all banded together to teach him a lesson that the Duanzhen Valley isn't a pushover… after seeing the ten Spirit Stones, it's not wise to let that go, either. We all have tight budgets and are living month to month, after all…."
As everyone spoke their own thoughts, it seemed that they had all been moved by such allure and were now willing to hand in their Refined Iron in exchange.
Within the group was a thin man with a chevron mustache. "We discussed how to avenge Shixiong Murong that night. We agreed that we'd do everything he'd asked, but would delay the delivery to the twenty-fourth instead of the twenty-third so he couldn't complete the task our dear shifu asked of him. Even if he really wanted to use brute force against us, there's so many of us but only one of him and we would still have the upper hand. Even if he complains to Shifu about us, it would still be his fault. But what is this? A mere ten low-grade Spirit Stones has moved all of you? Who knows, perhaps if we help Shixiong Murong, he might give us even better rewards?"
These words made everyone else look to each other in dismay. The original purpose of their gathering had precisely been to show Fang Xing who was in charge of the valley. It was an idea originally suggested by the man with the chevron mustache, and he had also mentioned that Murong Ying would reward them handsomely once they had managed to teach the boy a lesson. However, on one hand was nothing more than a verbal promise from a third party, and on the other was an entire bucket filled with dazzling red Spirit Stones that could be collected the moment the Refined Iron was exchanged. Anyone with a brain would know which side to choose.
"Shixiong Zhushu, the original plan is no longer possible. The boy already moved the collection date to ten days earlier, probably for the express purpose of countering plans like ours. If we really wait until after the thirteenth, he will probably come and beat us…."
"Yes, yes, even though we have the numbers and are not necessarily afraid of him, he was taken into our branch directly by our dear shifu. If we overdo it, wouldn't that also anger him? Besides, considering how strong the boy is, it would not be easy even if we try to take him down all at once, and if any one of us is injured, it'll be another expense to buy medicine!"
With their current concerns, even if the man with the chevron mustache spoke on behalf of Shixiong Murong to form these plans, no one would be willing to go along with it anymore if they couldn't see any benefits in doing so.
The chevron-mustached man was helpless. Although Murong Ying was indeed rich, he had just lost his [Saber of Azure Dragon] and ten mid-grade Spirit Stones to Fang Xing; there wasn't much of anything left and it was indeed difficult for him to give away anything worthwhile. For the mustached man, the current situation was the embodiment of how even the most clever of housewives cannot cook without rice—without something as fundamental as benefits to offer, what could he do? Fortunately, however, he had another clever idea. "Fine. Since the boy moved the collection date to ten days earlier, it is indeed impossible to execute our previous plan. How about we use this new plan, with my promise that not only will we be able to have his Spirit Stones, but we will also avenge Shixiong Murong. Not only would we have ten stones from the boy, but also the rewards from Shixiong Murong. What do you all say?"
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes glistened as they moved in closer. "Please advise us on this…."
"Mystic Eye…."
"Closed Aegis…."
"Oversense…."
Within the Duanzhen Valley, Fang Xing did not waste even a second of his time and diligently studied the foundational spell copies he had received from the Grand Hall of Scriptures.
These low-level spells were called foundational spells due to their simplistic yet useful nature. In the case of [Gravitational Force], for example, it had the ability to control items without physical contact and could also be used as a form of barrier. Although it might be one of the easiest spells, not only was it still used by those in the Golden Core Stage, but even those in the Budding Soul Stage would find it useful. It was said that such skills would find use even to the end of a cultivator's life.
[Gravitational Force], [Mystic Eye], [Closed Aegis], and [Oversense] were called the four mandatory foundational spells for all cultivators.
The purpose of [Gravitational Force] didn't need to be further explained.
[Mystic Eye] used Qi to boost the user's eyesight, to the point that not only would it allow its user to see things with more clarity even from farther away, but it would also allow the user to discern some illusions.
[Oversense] used Qi for sensory exploration. If an object was inside a closed crate, for example, even [Mystic Eye] would not allow the cultivator to see what was contained inside, but [Oversense] could be used to "see" what was hidden within. This skill could also be used to read the information of an unopened book, and could furthermore be used to feel the flow of Qi inside another person's meridians via touch. This was the exact skill Sect Master Chen Xuanhua had used to detect Fang Xing's cultivation levels in the past.
As for [Closed Aegis], it was exactly as the name implied. When the spell was activated, an aura of protection was formed around the user. As long as the aura remained unbroken, the cultivator inside could not be physically harmed.
All of these spells were built on the basis of Qi; the stronger the user's Qi became, the more pronounced the spells' effects. Of course, repeated usage and proficiency would also improve the end result.
While Fang Xing studied the theories of these foundational spells, ten days passed in the blink of an eye. The little "booth" that Fang Xing had set up in front of the entrance to his cave had also seen the first group of disciples with their Refined Iron.
"Little Shixiong Fang…." In the lead happened to be Liu Huazhang—the first person on the list—and he took a covetous look at the bucket of Spirit Stones before continuing, "I heard that if we deliver the Refined Iron on time, Little Shixiong Fang will reward us with Spirit Stones?"
Fang Xing put his jade scroll aside and yawned. "Of course. Your grandfather Fang always means what he says. If you deliver them in advance or on time, you get ten Stones. If you cause any trouble, you pay me twenty!"
Liu Huazhang was slightly taken aback before he smiled. "I wouldn't dare. When Little Shixiong Fang asked us to deliver them ten days earlier, a group of us began refining day in and day out, even putting our cultivation practice to the side in order to have it ready for you on time." Liu Huazhang then placed a shiny, ink-black piece of Refined Iron in front of Fang Xing. "This is the Refined Iron that I have produced for this month, weighing a total of three pounds and one ounce. The extra ounce need not be counted, please hand it in to the sect on my behalf."
Fang Xing gave a quick glance at the metal and directed without emotion, "Take ten Stones for yourself. Next!"