Cultivating Immortality: Starting from Ferrying Passengers

Chapter 123 I Want to Double-Edge

A few days later, in the wilderness, a caravan of monks was slowly making its way forward.

Several enormous spirit beasts, pulling a heavy cart frame behind them, were exerting their strength in anger.

Fang Jingxuan saw that the wheels of the cart were digging deep into the mud, turning the hard ground into a muddy mess, and he knew that the goods inside the cart must be quite heavy.

The frame of the vehicle contained at least tens of thousands of kilograms, most likely various metal ores.

These five spirit beasts, each capable of pulling tens of thousands of kilograms of metal spirit ore, can travel continuously for thousands of miles, truly working tirelessly without complaint.

Fang Jingxuan walked slowly to the side. Tuoyuan was not released but stayed in the spirit bag.

After his failed attempt to rob a cultivator in the Red Leaf Pavilion, Fang Jingxuan turned to a merchant caravan and became a hired combat cultivator.

Fang Jingxuan concealed his Tuoyuan aura and his cultivation level, only revealing his Qi Refining Level 5.

Apart from these, all his other information is true. However, in the eyes of outsiders, Fang Jingxuan is just a minor cultivator who has only recently broken through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

The difference between the fifth and seventh levels of Qi Refining may seem small, but the gap between them can be devastating.

This is reflected in the price of hiring: a Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator receives only ten low-grade spirit stones per day, while a Qi Refining Level 7 cultivator receives fifty low-grade spirit stones.

Fifty a day may seem like a lot, but first and foremost, it's money earned by risking one's life.

Secondly, these kinds of jobs don't come every day; it depends on luck. Sometimes, you might not get an escort mission for half a month straight.

Therefore, the income is unstable. Even a Qi Refining Level 7 cultivator can only earn three or four hundred low-grade items a month. Moreover, this will delay their cultivation. They have to travel around and have no time to meditate.

Fang Jingxuan was just here to experience it; it would be even better if he could encounter a Tribulation Cultivator on the way.

This trip is expected to take six days, and Fang Jingxuan has agreed on a total reward of sixty low-grade pills.

The host does not provide food and lodging; all expenses must be covered by the guest.

There are too many idle cultivators in the market now, and the price of guards has been dropping. Fang Jingxuan knows the market price; five years ago, he could have negotiated at least eighty low-grade guards on this trip.

Halfway there, Fang Jingxuan relaxed his mind. After stepping into the seventh level of Qi Refining, he appeared more calm and composed, which was the inner strength brought about by the improvement in strength.

"Stop, it's getting late. Let's rest here tonight and set off again tomorrow morning. Fellow Daoist Fang, go and scout out the surrounding terrain and check for any dangers."

At the command of the caravan manager, the group of a dozen or so people slowly came to a stop.

The oxen and horses, now able to catch their breath, exhaled thick white smoke from their nostrils, clearly exhausted.

The drivers reluctantly took out the food they had prepared and stuffed it into the mouths of the spirit beasts to replenish their strength.

Traveling in the dark in the wild is not a good choice. At night, the chances of monsters appearing increase significantly. It's not so bad for cultivators, but the key is these pack animals. If they get startled and run away, the losses will be huge.

Since they couldn't afford to use spirit boats and shuttles to transport supplies, these pack animals were their most valuable assets. To be on the safe side, they naturally had to be handled with utmost care.

After receiving the instructions, Fang Jingxuan went to survey the terrain within a few miles of the surrounding area. The remaining four combat cultivators also had their own tasks.

Once away from the crowd, Fang Jingxuan relaxed and found his greatest pleasure in slacking off at work.

Half an hour later, Fang Jingxuan returned leisurely. After he reported the situation around the caravan to the caravan manager, everyone relaxed.

It seems that tonight will be another Christmas Eve, just like any other.

In the middle of the night, Fang Jingxuan, who was sitting cross-legged under the tree, gently opened his eyes.

At this moment, his [Spur of the Moment] talent was inexplicably triggered again.

Fortunately, based on the severity of the crisis, it was only minor.

Of course, this is true for Fang Jingxuan, but it may not be the case for other fellow cultivators.

"what!"

A piercing scream shattered the night, and the battle cultivator on guard duty in the distance was clearly in grave danger. Fang Jingxuan swiftly pulled the Zhenyue Mace from his storage bag, held it in his hand, tightened the bronze bell, and strode towards the direction from which the scream had come.

The journey of several miles was completed in a dozen breaths after the spell talismans were added. Fang Jingxuan's gaze swept over and saw several creatures that looked like shadow leopards tearing apart the remains on the ground.

A pack of wild animals attack?

Fang Jingxuan felt that it wasn't that simple. At this moment, he sniffed the air and found that there were a few unusual smells here.

It has a faint milky aroma, and a slight fishy smell.

Instantly, he unleashed his full power, his divine sense covering an area of ​​130 feet in radius.

Only then did he notice that a lifeless leopard cub was buried under the roots of a tree not far away.

Luring the tiger away from the mountain, using someone else to kill?
Fang Jingxuan immediately understood why the Shadow Leopard had come to ambush him. Generally speaking, these wild beasts would avoid human cultivators when they saw them.

These are memories passed down from generation to generation: two-legged monkeys, not to be trifled with.

But at this moment, the Shadow Leopard, grieving the loss of its cub, directly attacked the human cultivator. With each of them possessing strength equivalent to the sixth level of Qi Refining, this combat cultivator who was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining was clearly no match for them.

After figuring this out, Fang Jingxuan immediately turned back. When he arrived in front of the caravan's wagons, the caravan manager was nowhere to be seen.

"What about people?"

Fang Jingxuan casually grabbed another combat cultivator. The man was about to get angry, but at this moment, he was shocked to find that the pressure Fang Jingxuan exerted on him was enormous.

"I don't know, I wasn't paying attention. I was just dealing with the attacking monsters."

Fang Jingxuan sniffed again, spreading his divine sense and discovering traces of snake-like demonic beasts crawling here.

Did it attract several monsters all at once?

Fang Jingxuan realized that the other party seemed to be a cultivator skilled in beast taming, but unlike himself who raised spirit beasts, this person's approach was unique.

"You few stay put, I'll go find someone. Without a caravan manager, who's going to pay our salaries?"

After saying that, Fang Jingxuan followed the trail of the departing demon snake that he sensed with his divine sense and tracked it down.

After he left, the combat cultivator finally came to his senses.

Strange, why have I become so timid and submissive in front of him?

Half an hour later, Fang Jingxuan arrived at a stream cave.

Seeing the underground river gushing out of the cave, Fang Jingxuan was overjoyed and released Tuoyuan with a wave of his hand.

In places with water, one's combat power can be increased by at least 50%, which makes things much safer.

Fang Jingxuan kept chasing him all the way here without giving up, not only for the reason mentioned earlier, but also because he wanted to take advantage of the chaos.

The most likely reason the other party kidnapped the caravan manager, besides seeking revenge, is that the manager was carrying other valuables.

It was only after the news leaked that this person robbed them; otherwise, it would have been nothing more than some metal ore, and there would have been no need for such elaborate schemes.

According to professional ethics, even if Fang Jingxuan knew that the steward was carrying a treasure, he would not take action.

But if you obtain it from this cultivator, you won't have any psychological burden.

Thinking of this, Fang Jingxuan took out a cloak, put it on, and rushed inside with Tuoyuan.

A dozen or so breaths later, the cave opened up into a bright and spacious area, where a man in black was interrogating a fat monk.

Then Fang Jingxuan suddenly appeared, and the scene became somewhat awkward for a moment.

(End of this chapter)