Cultivating Immortality: Starting from Ferrying Passengers

Chapter 198 Escape in embarrassment
On the cargo ship, Fang Jingxuan's expression was solemn. The attack by five Foundation Establishment cultivators was not to be taken lightly.

Bai Zhu, on the other hand, remained calm and composed. Even after Fang Jingxuan had told him about this, he still acted as if nothing had happened, which Fang Jingxuan found truly admirable.

“Brother Xuanming, I guess these Foundation Establishment cultivators are from the Thousand Sun Sect and the Four Seas Society. To be honest, I don’t take their Foundation Establishment cultivators seriously. Please help me hold off one or two of them while I kill them and then I will come to help you.”

Hearing Bai Zhu say this, Fang Jingxuan nodded. Bai Zhu's impression of him now was that he was very good at defense. With Tuo Yuan around, many cultivators regarded him as a beast-taming cultivator who relied on his spirit pet but whose own strength was not that great.

Fang Jingxuan was naturally happy to leave such a stereotype and wouldn't offer any explanation.

“Brother Baizhu, after all, the other side has five Foundation Establishment cultivators. If we can’t hold them off, then we will have no choice but to abandon this large ship. Our Elder Xiao once said that Foundation Establishment cultivators are the most valuable. We cannot lose people because of a ship, or lose the big picture for the sake of a small thing.”

Whether Xiao Yan actually said such a thing is impossible to verify. Fang Jingxuan's statement was merely an excuse for his decision to retreat in defeat when things went wrong.

"It's alright. If I am also no match for them, I will naturally abandon ship and flee. I am not loyal enough to die with this cargo ship."

Immediately, Fang Jingxuan and Bai Zhu exchanged a smile, reaching a tacit understanding. Then, the two of them stood one in front of the other, waiting for the enemy to appear.

At this moment, the dozens of Qi Refining cultivators on the large ship were unaware of what was about to happen.

Soon, a black dot flew in from afar, rapidly approaching the ship. When it was about ten miles away, five figures flew out from above, surrounding it.

Bai Zhu naturally did not want to see the other party act so easily, so he patted his storage bag, sent out a magic artifact, and flew to the sky above the big ship.

"Hmph, I've been waiting for you all for a long time. Enough with the nonsense, come at me all at once!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the phantom of a towering golden bamboo materialized from the hundred bamboos. Its branches and leaves trembled and rustled, and each friction stirred up bursts of rumbling thunder that echoed throughout the area.

‘Boom! ’

With a loud bang, accompanied by a dazzling bolt of lightning, the attack struck the group in front of them. Faced with such an attack, the five people all paled.

"This is Golden Bamboo Thunder Light, Bai Zhu's signature supernatural power. Everyone be careful and proceed as previously agreed."

Li Guanxiang shouted loudly, turned around, and retreated behind the four people. As agreed before, Baizhu was left to the four of them, while he himself would go to restrain Xuanming.

The atmosphere of the battle instantly intensified. There was no excessive probing or verbal exchange, only a contest of unpretentious supernatural powers, magical artifacts, and talismans.

Ignoring the imposing scene behind him, Li Guanxiang charged straight at the large ship in front of him. He then unleashed his magical weapon, a golden blade, which he activated to its fullest extent, transforming into a blade shadow over ten feet long. He slashed down at the large ship with this blade.

Faced with such a full-force attack from a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the Qi Refining cultivators on the cargo ship panicked and frantically activated the ship's protective formation in an attempt to stop the attack.

At that moment, Fang Jingxuan activated the "Mysterious Abyss True Explanation" on the ship, used the Foundation Establishment chapter's techniques to summon a three-headed white crystal battle puppet, and sent it to take the lead.

The white crystal puppet, over two zhang tall, wielded a huge sword and shield and directly faced the golden blade shadow, swinging its sword to slash. However, under the blade shadow, its entire body shattered, then scattered into powder, and finally turned into water vapor and vanished without a trace.

The second white crystal war puppet fared slightly better. It did not immediately turn into water vapor and dissipate. Instead, it struggled to hold on for a few breaths before following in the footsteps of its predecessor.

As for the third white crystal battle puppet, it barely managed to withstand the downward slash of the golden blade, preventing it from falling.

Seeing that the golden sword magic weapon had failed, Li Guanxiang simply put it away and said to Fang Jingxuan, who had revealed his presence through the casting of the spell:

“Xuanming, I know you have no loyalty to the Holy Infant Sect. You joined it only to find a place to stay. Now that the sect leader of the Holy Infant Sect has failed to form his core and died, the sect will be attacked by everyone. If you are reasonable, you should abandon the darkness and join the light and rebel directly.”

Fang Jingxuan appeared on the deck of the large ship and slowly walked out, accompanied by Tuoyuan, who was about ten feet tall.

As he listened to Li Guanxiang's words of persuasion to surrender, Xiao Yan's words came to mind. Before this trip, Xiao Yan had instructed Fang Jingxuan that this trip to the Lianshui Alliance was intended to find a spiritual place to settle down and also to find a way out in advance.

Dispelling these distracting thoughts, Fang Jingxuan looked at Li Guanxiang. This person's cultivation was not low; he had already reached the third level of Foundation Establishment and was only one step away from entering the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

Fang Jingxuan largely agreed with Li Guanxiang's explanation, but he wouldn't immediately back down just because of those few words. Even if he were to jump ship, he would want to get a good price.

The basis for negotiation is strength; both morally and logically, this battle is inevitable.

"You know I am Xuanming, but I don't know your name. That's not fair to me. Or are you afraid to reveal your name?"

Fang Jingxuan casually made a few remarks, but part of his mind was focused on Bai Zhu in the distance. The key to this battle was not himself, but Bai Zhu, who was fighting four against one. If he lost, then everything would be over.

Fortunately, even when facing an attack from four people, Bai Zhu remained calm and showed no signs of defeat.

"My name is Li Guanxiang, a steward of the Xuanshui Society. If you come to join me, I will guarantee you a steward position, so that you can be my equal."

At this point, Li Guanxiang continued to try to persuade Fang Jingxuan, but both of them knew that this was a delaying tactic.

Li Guanxiang wanted to stall Fang Jingxuan and prevent him from helping Baizhu, while Fang Jingxuan was thinking that if he didn't fight this person, with so many people watching, it would be difficult to explain to the Holy Infant Sect.

"I appreciate your kindness, fellow Daoist, but as long as I am in the Holy Infant Sect, I must live up to this treatment. In any case, let's settle this matter first."

As soon as Fang Jingxuan finished speaking, he instructed Tuoyuan to do something. Tuoyuan let out an excited roar, enlarged his body, and used the Zhenhai Triple Amplification Divine Power.

Seeing Fang Jingxuan's attitude, Li Guanxiang also suppressed his own thoughts and took the matter seriously.

"Xuanming, I can't hold on any longer. I can only hold on for another dozen breaths, then we'll all escape for our lives."

A moment later, amidst the chaos, Bai Zhu suddenly sent a secret message to Fang Jingxuan. Fang Jingxuan then saw that Bai Zhu, who had just displayed great power, was now quite disheveled.

Two enormous fire dragons raged around Bai Zhu, while a Foundation Establishment cultivator manipulated a magic array to firmly trap him.

The last Foundation Establishment cultivator actually engaged in close combat, wielding a magic sword that completely deflected the lightning summoned by Bai Zhu, unleashing it onto the sea below and killing countless fish and shrimp.

Sure enough, one against four is not something an ordinary genius can do; even with Bai Zhu's talent, it seems impossible.

With things having come to this point, Fang Jingxuan had no better options. As for unleashing the full power of the Yellow Springs Domain and revealing Liu Gu's whereabouts to fight five opponents alone, Fang Jingxuan would never even consider doing that.

At this moment, the only thing that could give Fang Jingxuan some pause was his newly recruited alchemist, Lin Xiaoqian.

Fang Jingxuan had wanted to take her to the Artifact City to learn the art of refining Moon Essence Dew from the alchemist Wang Xuan, but now it seemed that was out of the question. Unless he could take her with him, but facing the pursuit of these Foundation Establishment cultivators, Fang Jingxuan wasn't confident he could shake them off with just Tuoyuan. Although reluctant, he had no choice but to abandon this alchemist he had painstakingly trained.

Compared to one's own safety, everything else can be temporarily abandoned.

After figuring this out, Fang Jingxuan quietly released Liu Gu, then feinted by using several white crystal battle puppets to distract Li Guanxiang, and then used Tuoyuan to hold him back.

Fang Jingxuan himself flashed into the cabin.

Lin Xiaoqian was waiting anxiously. When she saw Fang Jingxuan, her expression relaxed, but then she sensed Fang Jingxuan's gloomy mood and her heart immediately tightened again.

"Lin Xiaoqian, time is limited, so I'll get straight to the point. Five Foundation Establishment cultivators have arrived. Baizhu and I are no match for them, so we have to retreat temporarily. Since you are an alchemist, they are reluctant to kill you."

But you also need to know what you can say, what you can't say, and what you can choose to say selectively. Considering the years you've worked so diligently for me, I'm sparing your life. That's all I have to say; you'd better think carefully before you act.”

After saying this, Fang Jingxuan rushed into a warehouse on the cargo ship and began to fill his storage bag with spirit ore.

The spirit ores loaded on this large ship naturally vary in value, but the one Fang Jingxuan chose contained only the highest quality goods.

In just seven or eight breaths, Fang Jingxuan filled his ten-zhang storage bag completely. Then, ignoring the gazes of the Qi Refining cultivators, he flashed and returned to the deck.

At this moment, Li Guanxiang was still locked in combat with Tuoyuan. Perhaps he believed that Fang Jingxuan was already trapped, so he did not seem to be in a hurry to end the battle.

Indeed, this sea area had been sealed off by a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Four Seas Society using an array without anyone noticing.

This formation is not difficult to break, but it takes time, and the person who set it up obviously won't give Fang Jingxuan that much time.

Fang Jingxuan used his divine sense to investigate Bai Zhu's situation again and found that he was struggling to hold on. However, Bai Zhu obviously had a backup plan and did not show any worry about his current situation.

With the situation having reached this point, Fang Jingxuan had nothing else to say. Everyone wanted to get off the ship of the Holy Infant Sect, so his decision to go first was out of necessity.

Fang Jingxuan was grateful for Xiao Yan's generosity, but most of it was earned through his own life-or-death duel.

Fang Jingxuan had originally planned to stay in the Holy Infant Sect and enjoy a few more years of peaceful development, but unexpectedly, the sect leader failed to form his core. This was fate, which could not be defied. The Holy Infant Sect had become a vortex, and it was unknown how many cultivators' lives it would devour next. Naturally, Fang Jingxuan would not stay in this dangerous place.

Right now is a good opportunity to get out of this mess; two against five, no one can blame them.

Having figured this out, Fang Jingxuan smiled gently at Li Guanxiang, leaving the latter completely bewildered.

But a moment later, he understood.

As Tuoyuan's body rapidly shrank and was eventually put into the Spirit Control Bag, Fang Jingxuan suddenly transformed into a streak of rainbow light, instantly passing through the formation set up by the Foundation Establishment cultivator and escaping.

Seeing this, Li Guanxiang's expression changed drastically. He had never witnessed such supernatural power before.

That wasn't all. Ten miles away, as soon as Fang Jingxuan's figure appeared, it transformed into a streak of rainbow light again. After two such instances, it was already thirty miles away.

This sudden turn of events immediately drew the attention of all six Foundation Establishment cultivators present, though five of them looked quite grim.

"Very well, very well. Xuanming had indeed been hiding a trick all along. I knew I hadn't misjudged him. In that case, I won't hold back anymore. I'm off."

Bai Zhu laughed a few times. Under the strict defense of the four Foundation Establishment cultivators, he actually transformed into a bolt of lightning and instantly fled seven or eight miles away. However, compared to Fang Jingxuan's "Rainbow Light Escape" technique, his technique consumed more energy.

Fang Jingxuan relies on the supernatural power of the Six Bones, which consumes the magical power of the Six Bones. As long as the Six Bones can withstand it, he can use it indefinitely.

Bai Zhu, having already expended a great deal of energy in the previous battle, found it somewhat difficult to unleash such a powerful ability again.

Originally, if it weren't for Fang Jingxuan's move, Bai Zhu's supernatural ability would have been absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, as soon as Fang Jingxuan escaped, the remaining five people became more vigilant.

So, just as Bai Zhu was about to escape a second time, some Foundation Establishment cultivator threw out a talisman.

"Spirit-Trapping Lock!"

As soon as the talisman was released, it transformed into countless transparent chains that merged into this space, covering a vast area.

Just as Bai Zhu was about to activate it, he felt the surrounding space change from being loose like sand and gravel to being as solid as steel and rock.

Even if it is barely activated, the range is very limited, and the mana consumed is more than three times higher.

At this moment, Bai Zhu's expression changed completely, and then the five Foundation Establishment cultivators also rushed over quickly.

After using the 'Rainbow Light Escape' three times in a row, Fang Jingxuan escaped to a distance of more than thirty miles. At this distance, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would need more than ten breaths to catch up.

Fang Jingxuan naturally wouldn't wait in place. He immediately released Tuoyuan from the spirit bag, signaling it to move forward quickly and shake off the pursuers behind them at top speed.

Only after Tuoyuan flew forward quickly did Fang Jingxuan have time to observe the condition of Liu Gu.

After several years of cultivation and nourishment, Liu Gu's cultivation has also improved. Now, after using the 'Rainbow Light Escape' three times in a row, Liu Gu still has energy left. It seems that he can do it three more times without any problem.

However, Fang Jingxuan speculated that it would be at most eight times. Beyond that, the Six Bones would definitely be overdrawn, and in severe cases, it would damage the source of life.

At this moment, Fang Jingxuan fed Liu Gu half a bottle of Moon Essence Jade Dew to help it recover as quickly as possible in order to cope with the upcoming pursuit.

However, to Fang Jingxuan's surprise, Li Guanxiang and the others did not follow.

It wasn't until Fang Jingxuan had traveled thousands of nautical miles with Tuoyuan that he was finally at ease, certain that the other party wouldn't pursue him.

At this moment, Fang Jingxuan realized that he might have run too fast and sold Bai Zhu out.

Forget it, better to die than to die. Bai Zhu is so powerful, he should be fine.

But what about myself? After this incident, what should I do?
(End of this chapter)