Cultivating Immortality: Starting from Ferrying Passengers

Chapter 217 Human-faced Serpent
"Gah!"

As the crow cried out in confusion, a slightly childish voice echoed in Fang Jingxuan's mind, like that of a four or five-year-old girl, and the meaning it conveyed was somewhat incoherent.

"That turtle. You guys together. You're a water monkey. Never seen one before. You're hairless and ugly."

Fang Jingxuan looked at Tuoyuan beneath him and exhaled softly. He had signed a soul contract with Tuoyuan, which resulted in a part of his soul containing Tuoyuan's essence.

In addition, having spent so many years living and breathing Tuoyuan, it has absorbed its essence.

He himself cultivates the water-based technique "Xuanyuan Zhenjie," possessing immense magical power and a mysterious aura. Considering this, it's absurd that this incredibly powerful crow would mistake him for a water monkey, given that he has never seen a human before. Yet, there's some truth to it.

Is this why it killed Kuai Wuliang right away, instead of opening its own skull as well?

It was able to instantly kill Kuai Wuliang, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, without even giving him the chance to retaliate. Based on this, it can be deduced that this crow, although it looks ordinary, is definitely at the Golden Core stage in terms of cultivation.

It's not even a simple early stage of Golden Core; could it be the middle stage of Golden Core?
The thought flashed through Fang Jingxuan's mind, and he was immediately terrified. If he didn't handle it well, Kuai Wuliang's fate would be the same as his own.

Therefore, Fang Jingxuan quickly communicated briefly with this external consciousness in his mind. This method of communicating with his soul allowed him to clearly convey his meaning to the other party, making written language less important.

"I am a water monkey, a hairless water monkey. I have something delicious for you to eat."

Fang Jingxuan clearly expressed his meaning: the best way to show goodwill to an unfamiliar spirit beast is to offer food and show that you are willing to share.

This trick usually works, unless the food you take out is really unpalatable.

However, this did not stump Fang Jingxuan. Before he escaped from the Kuai family, he had stopped watering the Green Gourd Sword Vine with Moon Essence Dew. He still had three drops saved up in his storage bag.

Such spiritual items are effective even against a mid-grade fourth-tier Azure Gourd Sword Vine, so this Golden Core Crow should surely like them too.

Sure enough, after learning that Fang Jingxuan had something delicious to share, the Golden Core Crow disdainfully flew down from Kuai Wuliang's head and landed on Fang Jingxuan's head.

Sensing those sharp claws, Fang Jingxuan's heart suddenly raced. He slowly raised his hand, indicating that he was about to cast a spell.

After sensing that the golden crow above his head did not object, Fang Jingxuan quietly took out a small jade bottle from his storage bag. Upon opening it, a rich fragrance wafted out, the scent of Moon Essence Dew filling the surroundings.

"Ah, heavenly liquid!"

This time, the Golden Crow clearly recognized what it was; it seemed she had eaten something like this before.

The next moment, the Golden Crow placed its beak on the jade bottle, took a gentle sniff, and then began to sway its head in ecstasy.

"So sweet and fragrant."

Fang Jingxuan heard the Golden Core Crow's evaluation in his mind, which put Fang Jingxuan at ease. Since he had eaten this offering, he couldn't eat me anymore, right?
"No, I have to leave some for my sister, but I really want to have another bite."

After a brief exchange, the Golden Crow's communication skills improved rapidly, and in just a short while, the meaning it conveyed became very clear.

"Hairless water monkey, you're so clever! Unlike the other guys, who are all dumb and can't talk at all. Perfect to take you back and cheer up my sister. You two, come back with me." Sensing the Golden Core Raven's meaning, Fang Jingxuan felt bitter. Could it be that he had just escaped one danger only to fall into another? If he knew this was the outcome, he would rather have stayed in the Kuai family. After all, it was human society.

However, at this moment, Fang Jingxuan looked at Kuai Wuliang, who had already died completely. He knew in his heart that now he and the Kuai family had become mortal enemies. One Green Gourd Sword Vine was enough to enrage Kuai Tong, and with the life of this late Foundation Establishment stage Kuai family cultivator added to that, he would eat him alive the next time they met.

"Can I not go? I need to go home."

Fang Jingxuan cautiously indicated, but with the cry of the golden crow, Fang Jingxuan felt a throbbing pain in his scalp.

"Go, go, I'll go right now, but let me deal with this dead water monkey."

"Do you want some? It's not very tasty, it's quite sour."

The Golden Crow kindly offered its assessment, but clearly, Kuai Wuliang's flesh did not meet its approval.

"I don't eat my own kind, I only want his food."

"Oh, then take them. These are useless to me."

After receiving the Golden Crow's nod, Fang Jingxuan stripped Kuai Wuliang of all his equipment, leaving him with nothing but clothes.

Then Fang Jingxuan took the naked Kuai Wuliang into the [Qingmu Treasure Garden] and buried him in the soil, so that he could become the nutrients for the Enlightenment Vine and the Green Gourd Sword Vine.

"You've always wanted this Green Gourd Sword Vine, and now that you can become a part of it, you've finally gotten what you wanted."

Fang Jingxuan silently let the thought pass through his mind, and then he felt his body lighten. The scenery before his eyes flashed by quickly. It turned out to be the Golden Core Crow, which had picked him up and Tuoyuan and was flying quickly in a certain direction.

Along the way, Fang Jingxuan caught a glimpse of many ferocious beasts and spirit beasts in the places he passed. After the golden crow flew by, they were all so frightened that they quickly retreated back to their nests.

Clearly, this golden crow is the lord of this place. But given its strength, it's unknown what kind of being the "sister" it speaks of is.

After about a quarter of an hour, Fang Jingxuan felt that he had traveled nearly a thousand miles before being put down in front of a tall mountain range.

Ahead was a huge cave nest. After landing, Fang Jingxuan sensed the spiritual energy here and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually a third-grade high-quality spiritual energy.

Spirit beasts, ferocious beasts, and even ancient beasts do not care about the grade of the spiritual land they inhabit as much as human cultivators do.

There is often a third-tier spiritual land, even if it is of low grade, which is enough for a spirit beast at the Golden Core stage to live in, because their lifespan is longer, and their cultivation method, because they do not have cultivation techniques, does not focus on absorbing spiritual energy, but relies entirely on instinct and on resonating with the world to advance.

"Sister, look what fun things I brought!"

The golden crow kicked Tuoyuan inside. A muffled, loud scraping sound came from the depths of the cave. A thick, human-faced snake slowly crawled out of the cave, opened its sleepy eyes, and looked at Fang Jingxuan.

"How ugly!"

(End of this chapter)