"It's not even a thousand years since the last time. Why have they made an appearance so quickly?" Liang Li asked, though he knew he wouldn't get an answer.
Tao Hai sighed. Like Liang Li, he had also lived during the last corrupted demon beast outbreak. Almost half of the cultivation world in the Five Empire Region had perished to protect their turf.
"Forget about it. We should still have a few years to prepare," Tao Hai said, before pointing toward an attendant who was fighting the lightning bluebirds with his bare hands. "Isn't that one very strong? I've never seen a person without cultivation fight a demon beast with just their bare hands."
Because Fang Mo didn't have immortal spiritual roots, nor was he using any cultivation technique to fight, other cultivators couldn't tell his cultivation realm. Despite already stepping onto the cultivation path, he looked no different from a mortal.
"Oh." Liang Li's gaze hovered over Fang Mo. "He fights like a demon beast himself, absorbing the attacks with his body, then striking back. I've never seen such a reckless way of fighting from a human."
Unlike the other fighters, who did their utmost to avoid getting hit, Fang Mo—the person being discussed—was continuously receiving lightning attacks and punching the lightning bluebirds, trading injury for injury. Even cultivators wouldn't dare to endure lightning attacks like that, unless they possessed a lightning-type physical body capable of negating most of the damage caused by the bluebirds' elemental strikes.
"His injuries are piling up. He doesn't seem to have an innate body. How is he still alive and able to fight after taking so much damage?" Liang Li asked, caressing his chin, his face full of questions.
Tao Hai, by his side, smiled. "The younger generation is full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. With a strong willpower like his, as long as this one has immortal spiritual roots, he's worth cultivating."
After Fang Mo killed another lightning bluebird, Liang Li jumped down from the room and stood by his side. "Young man," he said, his face full of smiles as he looked at Fang Mo. "Let me check your spiritual roots."
Before Fang Mo could react, Liang Li caught his wrist and sent his spiritual senses toward Fang Mo's spiritual roots. A moment later, he sighed at the results.
"Alas, mortal spiritual roots. What a pity." With a disappointed expression, he stared at Fang Mo. "I'm sorry, but you have no fate with immortal cultivation."
As quickly as he had come, he left, leaving Fang Mo behind, staring at Liang Li's back with a bitter smile. It seems that it doesn't matter whether I've broken through or not. Immortal masters only care about my spiritual roots.
Fang Mo had once thought that, after stepping onto the immortal path, others might judge him by his cultivation instead of his roots. But now he understood that wasn't the case. He clenched his fist and injected yet another shot of Opening Meridian Solution into his body.
With bloodshot eyes, he fixed his gaze on his next prey. I just have to keep getting stronger. Everything else... doesn't matter.
***
When the last lightning bluebird finally died, Fang Mo broke its neck and drank its blood, restoring his body to its peak.
Initially, many people had paid attention to him because of his powerful combat abilities, hoping to make connections. Unfortunately, after Liang Li's words, that interest vanished. It didn't matter how strong a mortal was—only those with talent in cultivation were considered worth befriending.
Xiao Meihui didn't think so. Seeing Fang Mo drinking a demon beast's blood, she furrowed her brows and approached him. "Brother Mo, you shouldn't drink demon beasts' blood."
Fang Mo looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Why not?"
"They may seem useful at first, since they can quickly heal most injuries, but they also affect your mental state. Most people who drink demon beast blood end up losing themselves, sooner rather than later. Even people from the demon path don't drink it raw. Only after being processed by an alchemist is it safe for consumption."
Fang Mo wasn't surprised by the information Xiao Meihui shared, but by the fact that she knew it. Even he, who had purchased expensive books on alchemy and spiritual plants using a large number of spiritual stones, hadn't come across this detail.
"Xiao Meihui, where did you hear about this?"
Xiao Meihui blushed at Fang Mo's handsome face, now only a few centimeters from hers. "My brother is from a cultivation sect, so I picked up a few things from him."
"Ah!" Realization struck Fang Mo. "No wonder you know so much. But why did you come here, then? Shouldn't you have entered the same sect as your brother?"
Xiao Meihui waved her hand. "My brother is only an outer disciple. He taught me many things about the cultivation world, but whether I can enter a sect or not, that depends on my own abilities."
Fang Mo nodded. Even in this world, making useful connections was difficult. If outer disciples aren't that valuable, what about servant disciples? He thought about his future position. Without immortal spiritual roots, the best he could hope for was becoming a servant disciple, though even that might not be of much help.
"Thank you for your warning, Xiao Meihui," Fang Mo said, clasping his hands in gratitude. Whether I'll listen to her or not… that's another matter.
"Good job, everyone. I congratulate those who survived. You may now rest until we arrive at our destination," Liang Li's voice interrupted Fang Mo's conversation with Xiao Meihui.
Nearly half of the attendants had died, yet Liang Li didn't seem to care much about their lives. It had been their choice to come here, and they had known the risks.
Together with Xiao Meihui, Zeng Chonglin, and Guo Qingsheng, Fang Mo returned to his room. By some stroke of luck, all three had survived with minor injuries. But what truly made Fang Mo happy were the three additional, fully opened meridians now flowing within his body.
During the two days of travel inside the flying vessel, Fang Mo cultivated using his now six opened meridians. It still wasn't enough for him to break through to the second level of the Opening Meridian Stage, but he could feel that with just one more meridian, he would be able to advance.
***
"Your Highness, the elders want us to descend the mountain and oversee the disciple selection at the annual Winter Immortal Conference," Qian Fan said, looking at Xu Yan with expectation. For the past few months, they had been holed up on the mountain, doing nothing but cultivating.
Qian Fan was a young woman who longed to leave the house, meet young heroes, fall in love, and live out a romantic tale. But how could she do that when her master was a recluse who disliked leaving her abode?
And just as Qian Fan expected, Xu Yan frowned. "You go. I'll stay here. Leaving is too troublesome. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry from the sect starts harassing me the moment I step outside."
Qian Fan sighed. "Your Highness, you can just ignore them. How is that so troublesome?"
Xu Yan shook her head. "Their stares make me want to poke their eyes out. Since Master won't let me do that, I'd rather stay here and cultivate."
Knowing Xu Yan was too stubborn to be persuaded, Qian Fan decided to go without her. Xu Yan's master knew her disciple well and wouldn't blame her for it. "Since that's the case, I'll take my leave, Your Highness."
Leaving Xu Yan behind, Qian Fan made her way down the mountain to prepare for the assessments that were soon to take place.
***
It had been five days since Fang Mo arrived. Because the flying vessels were still bringing people from the five empires, everyone was forced to set up camp outside the Dao Seeking Sect's gates and wait.
The number of people present when Fang Mo arrived—and those arriving each day—was staggering. He had long since lost count, but the crowd definitely numbered over one hundred thousand.
"Thank you for waiting, young heroes."
A booming voice echoed across the land, drawing the attention of everyone gathered for the annual Winter Immortal Conference. Fang Mo knew the time had finally come. He left his tent and looked in the direction of the voice. His eyes widened, stunned by the sight before him.
A few hundred meters away, hovering above the Dao Seeking Sect's gates, a middle-aged man was flying. How strong must one be to defy the laws of physics and fly? Fang Mo stared at the smiling man with awe and expectation. He, too, wanted to soar through the skies.