CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 44: QILIN INNER ARMOR, SPIRIT GATHERING TREE

Fu Changsheng squatted down, touching each corpse on the ground. Perhaps they fled too hastily, as he found not even half a Spirit Stone. On this journey, he had even lost both his Profound Turtle Shield and Cyan Wood Vine Armor. Just as he was feeling disappointed, his eyes lit up as his hand rested on the chest of the black-robed cultivator.

There was a tearing sound.

He ripped the black robe apart.

And found that underneath, the other party was wearing a Qilin Armor.

The armor seemed to have been hastily donned, without even having undergone sacrificial refinement:

"No wonder this black robe could withstand the power of Thousand Layers Peak and the Fire Dragon; it turns out there was a Tier Two Low-Grade Protective Spiritual Artifact underneath!"

Qilin Armor is a treasure meant for Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Fu Changsheng was pleased.

The pain of losing the Profound Turtle Shield and Cyan Wood Vine Armor vanished instantly. With this Qilin Armor, even when facing an Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he could still have a thirty percent chance of escaping if he was cautious.

He immediately tucked it into his bosom.

"Hiss hiss hiss"

At this moment.

The Little Cyan Snake, which had been waiting impatiently, flicked its tongue in and out.

Obviously, it couldn’t wait any longer.

Fu Changsheng smiled:

"Xiaoqing, okay, you can eat now."

The Little Cyan Snake let out a delighted hiss, opened its mouth, and a whirlpool of suction formed, instantly swallowing the ten corpses on the ground into its belly.

However.

Unlike Autumn Cicada,

Xiaoqing had just reached the Tier One Late Stage not long ago, and breaking through to the Tier One Peak would likely require consuming a considerable amount of the flesh of cultivators and demon beasts.

Fu Changsheng’s gaze fell on the inner side of the cave.

The Spiritual Qi was densest there.

With the previous lesson learned, Fu Changsheng had the Silver-Spotted Poison Snake scout the path first. Once there were no issues, he proceeded and saw the end of the stone cave.

A ten-zhang-high Spirit Gathering Tree came into view.

Surrounding the Spirit Gathering Tree were strands of five-colored Spiritual Qi twining around it. Standing beneath the tree, without conscious effort, his cultivation technique started operating on its own:

"It’s indeed a Tier One Top-Grade Spirit Gathering Tree; its effect is more than twice as effective as cultivating in the Spiritual Spring Well!"

What a treasure!

In their clan, they had only one Spiritual Spring Well, and even taking turns using it was exceedingly difficult. Having this Spirit Gathering Tree would greatly alleviate that problem.

Fu Changsheng immediately sat cross-legged beneath the Spirit Gathering Tree.

He planned to first perform a preliminary sacrificial refinement on the Qilin Armor before heading out again.

At the moment, he had no Protective Spiritual Artifacts on him, which made him feel very insecure. Moreover, the remnants of the Celestial Dragon Tribe were desperate individuals; if he wasn’t careful, he could end up dead.

.....

Main Hall of the Celestial Dragon Tribe.

Shangguan Clan Leader sat at the head of the hall.

The Qi Cultivators who had come with the group were holding heads, one by one, registering their achievements. Each person took their turn and then stood behind the Foundation Establishment cultivators on either side of the lower part.

Shangguan Clan Leader glanced over the group of Qi Cultivators but didn’t see Fu Changsheng. He frowned and looked toward Shangguan Hongyu, saying, "Hongyu, contact Fu Clan Leader. The cleanup operation has concluded; have him return to the group."

Shangguan Hongyu shook her head with a face full of worry:

"Clan Leader, I tried contacting Fu Clan Leader an hour ago, but I couldn’t reach him. I also went to Chanting Flower Tower for a look around but found no trace of him."

On the right side, Shangguan Hui’s eyes lit up upon hearing this, pretending to sigh:

"Alas, it’s a pity, he just made a great contribution, and now he’s gone."

Shangguan Hui felt extremely pleased.

The Inner City isn’t that large, and since Hongyu said she couldn’t find him, it likely means Fu Changsheng has been killed by the remnants of the Celestial Dragon Tribe.

Good riddance!

Shangguan Hui wanted to mock a bit more, but just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the door. Everyone looked out, and it was the long-missing Fu Changsheng.

Shangguan Hui’s expression froze.

His previously good mood vanished in an instant, and he cursed under his breath:

"A scourge indeed lives a thousand years!"

Feeling unbalanced.

Shangguan Hui spoke with irritation:

"Fu Changsheng, everyone is busy clearing out the remnants of the Celestial Dragon Tribe; where have you been hiding for a break?!"

Fu Changsheng appeared full of energy, with no traces of Dharma Combat or killing on his body, looking as if he had just come out of closed-door cultivation, and he wasn’t carrying any heads.

This inevitably led to misunderstanding.

However.

Before Fu Changsheng could speak.

Shangguan Clan Leader smiled and said:

"This time, we were able to smoothly take down the Celestial Dragon Tribe, thanks to Fu Clan Leader. A bit of extra rest is deserved for Fu Clan Leader."

"What the Clan Leader says is indeed so. If it weren’t for Changsheng enabling us to appear in the Inner City without them knowing, and launching a surprise attack when the Celestial Dragon Tribe’s Foundation Establishment cultivators were unprepared, we would have had to put in much more effort to kill those six Foundation Establishment cultivators."

Shangguan Feng immediately echoed.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators slightly nodded in agreement.

Shangguan Hui frowned, wanting to separate facts.

The next moment.

They saw Fu Changsheng make a respectful salute, and with a pat on his storage bag, a flash of dawn light emerged, suspending ten heads in mid-air.

Shangguan Hongyu glanced at them and exclaimed with joy:

"Clan Leader, these are exactly the ten remnants from the Celestial Dragon Tribe we couldn’t find on the list. It seems they didn’t escape the Celestial Dragon Tribe; Fu Clan Leader killed them."

Three Late Stage of Qi Cultivation, three Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation, four Early Stage of Qi Cultivation.

Fu Changsheng was only at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer.

Not only the Qi Cultivators on either side,

even the Foundation Establishment cultivators present cast admiring looks at Fu Changsheng.

Shangguan Hui looked as if he had swallowed a fly and felt discomfort.

Shangguan Feng found Fu Changsheng increasingly pleasing to the eye.

Shangguan Clan Leader smiled and said:

"Truly worthy of being Fu Clan Leader, well done, for dealing with those few who slipped through the net. Now, all the cultivators of the Celestial Dragon Tribe have been completely wiped out."

"The next step is to figure out how to attack the Niuteng Tribe."

Fu Changsheng made a respectful salute and stood side by side with Shangguan Hongyu. Shangguan Hongyu gave him a thumbs-up and whispered:

"Fu Clan Leader, I didn’t expect you to be so strong in combat. Next time we have the chance, let’s go hunting together."

"It’s a deal."

Fu Changsheng’s eyes lit up.

Shangguan Hongyu was at the Peak of Qi Cultivation, and if she was willing to take him along, he certainly would be more than willing.

Sitting in front, Shangguan Feng overheard their whispered conversation and had a slight smirk on his lips.

The discussion on how to attack the Niuteng Tribe lasted the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea before a plan was set.

The Niuteng Tribe is located on Niuteng Mountain. Unlike the Celestial Dragon Tribe, which built an Inner City and an Outer City, they modeled themselves after the noble families within the pass, and set up a Tier Two High-Grade Mountain Protection Array on Niuteng Mountain.

To get in,

they’d first have to break the array.

Shangguan Clan Leader said:

"We have two Forbidden-Breaking Pearls at hand. As long as we find the flaw in their Mountain Protection Array and breach a gap, it won’t be much of a problem. Moreover, we’ve chosen the timing of this operation well, coinciding with both tribes being weakened after their battle, leaving the Niuteng Tribe with only five Foundation Establishment cultivators, of whom two are heavily injured. Once everyone is sufficiently rested, we’ll set out right away."

After a pause,

Shangguan Clan Leader turned to Shangguan Chen and said:

"Elder Chenn, we’ll count on you to remain and guard the array of the Celestial Dragon Tribe."