The Legend of Fangren

"I never knew I could eat so much."

Fang Shi, who usually boasted of his pig-like appetite, fell into self-doubt when faced with this pile of bowls and chopsticks.

By noon on the second day, he had already eaten three gray fish. You should know that those were big, fat fish with legs as thick as his calves. Once a pot of boiled fish was cooked, he could easily eat two or three bowls of rice with it.

So, in one morning, he ate three pots of boiled fish and eight bowls of rice without distinguishing between regular and non-regular meals.

"..."

Now that's good, there's really no pig left to eat.

And all he did that morning was eat; he didn't get any exercise, and he didn't do any farm work in the vegetable garden behind the house.

Oh, and there are also my fellow disciples who came to buy spiritual items...

"What's going on? What's going on? Junior Brother Fang, why didn't you set up your vegetable stall today?"

As soon as Fang Shi stepped outside, he was surrounded by a group of people who questioned him repeatedly.

You should know that his vegetable market provides many disciples with the fresh spiritual items they dream of. The quality is guaranteed, and the prices are not high. Cultivation depends on this.

"stop!"

Fang Shi had accumulated some prestige through his vegetable garden, and everyone fell silent as soon as he spoke.

Then he announced loudly, "Dear senior brothers and sisters, from today onwards, I will store the fruits and vegetables from the garden in the Heaven and Earth Pavilion. If you want to buy them, please go to the pavilion. From now on, the prices will return to the standard levels."

"Huh?" The disciples immediately turned into bitter faces.

Does that mean we won't be able to make any more money this way in the future?

Someone immediately asked, "Junior Brother Fang, what happened? Why did you make such a decision? What's the logic in not making money when you can?"

For the past month, Fang Shi has been making a fortune by buying and selling without going through the Heaven and Earth Pavilion or having any middlemen taking a cut.

Even Elder Qu Yang turned a blind eye to this and did not interfere. The disciples also wisely kept quiet and enjoyed the benefits.

Now that Junior Brother Fang has taken these actions, isn't it a lose-lose situation for both sides?

Fang Shi also had his own explanation for this. He said loudly, "I know that you come here often, senior brothers and sisters. It's just that my garden produces a lot of wood-type spiritual items, so most of the cultivators with water and wood attributes come here. If you buy things from me, you won't go to the Heaven and Earth Pavilion."

"That's natural." Everyone thought to themselves, isn't this perfectly normal?

"But…"

Fang Shi paused, then said seriously, "My actions have already caused the Heaven and Earth Pavilion to lose a lot of business. As a result, the Heaven and Earth Pavilion's income each quarter will definitely decrease. Senior brothers and sisters, our sect is so large, with thousands of cultivators. Besides those of the Water and Wood zodiac signs, there are many other brothers and sisters who still need to buy the spiritual items they require from the Heaven and Earth Pavilion. In turn, the Heaven and Earth Pavilion has to go down the mountain to buy the spiritual items. If I continue to rob the Heaven and Earth Pavilion of its business, how will the Heaven and Earth Pavilion purchase spiritual items for the other zodiac signs in the future?"

These words demonstrate a breadth of vision that leaves no room for rebuttal.

He continued, "Everyone, although I have put the items in the store, the prices are still the standard. They have not increased because of their superior quality. Compared with previous years, they are still of good quality and low price... If any of you senior brothers and sisters need them, you should go and buy them as soon as possible, lest they be sold out and there will be nothing left to sell."

Upon hearing this, everyone reverted to the state of scrambling for vegetables as they had the day before.

Yes, it's just that we've enjoyed too many benefits this month. But compared to the past, isn't it a good thing that the pavilion has such high-quality spiritual items? We've already enjoyed a month more benefits than our fellow disciples of other zodiac signs, so what more could we ask for?

Let's hurry up and grab some fruit.

Then the group rushed into the pavilion and stopped bothering Fang Shi.

At this moment, Qu Yang walked over and said, "You're quite sensible, kid, you know to take care of your master's business."

"Hehe." Fang Shi immediately smiled ingratiatingly, "It's still Master who takes care of his disciple, indulging me for a month so that I can save up some money."

"Hmm, it seems you're quite clever, able to understand your teacher's intentions and know your limits... Hey, this cultivation method is something I found for you last night, I suppose there aren't any other suitable ones within the sect."

"Ah? Thank you, Master!" Fang Shi happily accepted the manual and eagerly opened it to read.

But all I found were records of strange and mysterious creatures.

"What's wrong? This feels really strange."

"Yes, Master."

Upon hearing this, Qu Yang smiled and said, "It's because your physique is special. The profound energy is hidden inside your body, so even you can't feel it."

"Then what is this...?" Fang Shi scratched his head.

With so many notes in the book, it would be quite interesting to read it as an encyclopedia.

In response, Qu Yang said, "Last night I discussed this with a friend. After much thought, we concluded that your aptitude is extremely remarkable. Since your Qi and blood vessels are highly integrated and fused with your body, you should simply follow the natural way and do as your body requires: eat, drink, sleep, and practice."

"But Master, the so-called Breath Nourishing Method is a method of breathing exercises. It's because cultivators in the Breath Nourishing Realm need to consume spiritual flesh to refine more ferocious profound energy. However, the energy of these spirit monsters and mystical beasts is mixed and cannot be fully utilized by cultivators. Therefore, even after refining the refined parts, there is still turbid energy left that needs to be expelled from the body. If I don't practice this technique, how can I expel that turbid energy?"

Fang Shi listened to lectures on the principles of cultivation every evening, and he had already understood some of the principles.

However, Qu Yang said, "Last night I was going to explain this principle to you... The so-called stagnation of turbid qi is entirely due to the fact that the qi pathway and the blood pathway are different, and turbid qi tends to stagnate in this area. However, where the qi pathway and the blood pathway overlap, the turbid qi will flow with the body and be transported to the lungs to be exhaled through breathing. The so-called breathing method is to push the turbid qi in the qi pathway that does not overlap with the blood pathway, transport it to the blood pathway, and finally exhale it from the lungs."

"Then my energy pathways and blood pathways will completely overlap..."

"That's right," Qu Yang nodded. "The Nourishing Breathing Method is completely unnecessary for you."

"Wow!"

Fang Shi suddenly felt superior.

They're all this awesome, I guess I'm the main character.

To everyone's surprise, Qu Yang immediately warned him when he saw him being smug: "Don't be too happy. Don't forget that the efficiency of your 'Innate Primordial Form' in refining profound energy is outrageously low. Compared to that, this little benefit is just a drop in the ocean. You must not become arrogant and complacent."

"Yes, Master..." Fang Shi hurriedly bowed his head in respect, showing humility and restraint.

"Hmm." Qu Yang nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave.

However, little did he know that Fang Shi's mouth was practically stretched to the sky at that moment.

Hehe, hehe, hehe~

Master, even you don't know that my method of refining profound energy has long since diverged from that of cultivators in the Xuan Realm.

Cultivation techniques? Hmph, such inconvenient things are better left unused.

The right hand of God, possessing the power of dispelling, is the true path!

Fang Shi raised his fist to the sky, looking incredibly smug, which attracted strange looks from passersby.

Uh, cough cough... Stop acting crazy, let's hurry up and find Hezi, otherwise lunchtime will be almost over.