Chapter 55

"Your humble servant is Zhu Wentai, many thanks for saving my life, young brother!" After a moment of hesitation, Zhu Wentai respectfully said to Fang Ling.

At this time, Fang Ling had already been observing Zhu Wentai for a while. He was a man in his forties or fifties, with a cultivation level of the sixth stage of Qi Refinement, and he gave off an impression of loyalty and honesty.

Fang Ling smiled at Zhu Wentai and said, "Such a despicable person, if he is killed, then he is killed. However, Brother Zhu, you must be cautious of such people in the future."

"Alas, I never thought that a partner of many years would actually..." Zhu Wentai touched his injured abdomen, his face filled with regret.

Fang Ling did not speak, but looked at Zhu Wentai with a calm expression.

Zhu Wentai, who carried medicine with him, took two pills and then began to circulate his internal energy. After half an hour, his injuries were mostly healed!

After thanking Fang Ling again, Zhu Wentai took out a Hawk Snake Fruit from his storage bag and respectfully said, "Young brother Fang, I have no way to repay your life-saving grace. This Hawk Snake Fruit may not be worth much in spirit stones, but it represents my gratitude."

Fang Ling, who had plenty of Hawk Snake Fruits, naturally did not want it.

He waved his hand and said, "Since Brother Zhu picked this Hawk Snake Fruit, you should keep it for yourself!"

Zhu Wentai declined several times, but seeing Fang Ling's serious expression, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This Hawk Snake Fruit was of great value to him; otherwise, Lu Sanjin would not have tried to harm him for it.

The reason he took out the Hawk Snake Fruit to give to Fang Ling was not only because of Fang Ling's life-saving grace but also out of fear of Fang Ling's strength.

Although the Hawk Snake Fruit was good, compared to his own life, Zhu Wentai naturally valued his life more.

Seeing that Fang Ling really did not want the Hawk Snake Fruit, he carefully put it back into his storage bag.

After Zhu Wentai had put away the Hawk Snake Fruit, Fang Ling got straight to the point, "Brother Zhu, I heard Lu Sanjin mention the Golden Luo Fruit. I am in need of the Golden Luo Fruit now. If you have it, I am willing to buy it at a high price."

"Little brother Fang, if I had the Golden Luo Fruit, I would certainly give it to you. Unfortunately, the Golden Luo Fruit does not belong to me."

Zhu Wentai, seeing that Fang Ling might not believe him, quickly added, "Little brother, don't worry. Although the Golden Luo Fruit is not in my possession, you still have a chance to obtain it."

"I mentioned the Golden Luo Fruit to Lu Sanjin because half a year ago, I entered a small space to gather herbs and happened to meet a friend who had picked a Golden Luo Fruit."

When Fang Ling heard the words "small space," his expression changed. With the use of the travel map in his hand, he was quite interested in such places.

"Small space?"

Zhu Wentai, hearing Fang Ling's words, showed a look of difficulty on his face and said, "Please forgive me, little brother Fang. This small space is a shared secret among several families of the Zhu family. As a disciple of the family, I cannot reveal this to you."

"Moreover, the entrance to this small space is guarded by four experts at the eighth stage of Qi Refinement from our families, and no one else is allowed to enter."

Fang Ling felt a bit regretful but did not take it too much to heart. After all, the most important thing for him now was the Golden Luo Fruit.

"My companion does not need the Golden Luo Fruit very much, so he plans to exchange it." Seeing that Fang Ling did not mention the small space again, Zhu Wentai quickly continued.

Fang Ling's expression changed and he asked, "What kind of item does your companion want to exchange for it?"

"Preferably a spirit herb, but spirit stones are also acceptable." Zhu Wentai smiled and said, "In ten days, our three families will have an exchange fair at the foot of Qingfeng Mountain, and my companion will be there."

Three families?

Although Fang Ling had some doubts, he just nodded and agreed.

After discussing the matter of the Golden Luo Fruit, the two of them went down the mountain together. During this process, to avoid revealing his secrets to Zhu Wentai, Fang Ling pretended to be cautious and followed Zhu Wentai down the mountain.

Although they had a map to guide them, they still encountered several dangerous situations, and once, Zhu Wentai almost fell into a sudden pit.

However, in the midst of these dangers, Fang Ling also gained some unexpected insights, such as the background of Zhu Wentai and the three families.

The three families that Zhu Wentai mentioned were the top three cultivation families in the entire Lu Kingdom. These three families not only had Golden Core Real People as their backing but also had Foundation Establishment cultivators sitting in their respective families.

Zhu Wentai was a member of the Zhu family among the three families.

However, Zhu Wentai, who had no hope of breaking through to the seventh stage of Qi Refinement, could not be a core disciple of the Zhu family. His identity was just a herb gatherer for the Zhu family.

With Zhu Wentai's cultivation level of the sixth stage of Qi Refinement, he would live well in a place like Dingfang City. However, having grown up in a cultivation family, Zhu Wentai did not want to live like an ordinary cultivator at the sixth stage of Qi Refinement.

The reason he chose to become a dangerous herb gatherer was that he wanted to cultivate his daughter into a cultivator.

"Little brother Fang, I asked an elder of the family to examine my daughter Qingying, and the elder said that Qingying has a great chance of breaking through to the seventh stage of Qi Refinement." Speaking of his daughter, Zhu Wentai's face was full of pride.

A hint of envy flashed across Fang Ling's face. After all, he had tried to break through to the seventh stage of Qi Refinement nine times and had never succeeded.

This hint of envy, seen by Zhu Wentai, made him laugh even more joyfully.

The two parted ways at the foot of Lashan. After Zhu Wentai left like a flying bird, Fang Ling focused his attention on a green jade talisman.

Boundary-breaking Talisman!

This was what Zhu Wentai gave to Fang Ling when he left.

These herb gatherers from the major families relied on such boundary-breaking talismans to open barriers. The one Zhu Wentai gave to Fang Ling was the lowest level of boundary-breaking talismans.

According to Zhu Wentai, this boundary-breaking talisman could barely open the barrier of the Lashan secret realm.

Putting away the boundary-breaking talisman, Fang Ling hesitated for a moment and then headed toward Dingfang City.

The ten days passed quickly. When Fang Ling met Zhu Wentai again, Zhu Wentai was wearing a clean robe and looked much more spirited than when they met in the Lashan secret realm.

Beside Zhu Wentai stood a charming young girl, smiling at his side.

The girl was about fourteen or fifteen years old, dressed in a green robe, and gave off a warm and friendly impression.

However, what caught Fang Ling's attention was that this young girl also had a cultivation level of the fifth stage of Qi Refinement.

He had broken through to the sixth stage of Qi Refinement by chance, but for this girl to reach the fifth stage of Qi Refinement at such a young age, she must have good potential.

"Little brother Fang, this is my daughter, Zhu Qingying. She insisted on coming to this exchange fair." As Zhu Wentai spoke, he turned to the girl by his side and said, "Qingying, why don't you greet your Uncle Fang?"

"Uncle... Uncle Fang, hello!" The girl hesitated for a moment before finally calling him "Uncle."

However, she did not call it smoothly, and Fang Ling did not feel comfortable hearing it.

Although his actual age was seven or eight years older than he looked, he did not want a young girl to call him "Uncle."

Fang Ling touched his nose and said with a hint of helplessness, "Brother Zhu, I think we should just call each other by our names."

Zhu Wentai laughed and said, "Little brother, it's just a formality, don't take it too seriously. Come, let's go to the market and see if my friend has arrived."

Zhu Wentai was clearly familiar with the exchange fair. He quickly led Fang Ling and Zhu Qingying to the entrance of a valley and loudly said, "I am Zhu Wentai of the Zhu family. Here is the token, please let us in."

A man in yellow clothing walked out of the valley and took a white jade token from Zhu Wentai, looked at it for a moment, and then smiled and bowed, "Brother Zhu, please come in."

After bowing in thanks, Zhu Wentai turned to Fang Ling and Zhu Qingying and said, "There is a protective formation outside the market. Even a cultivator at the ninth stage of Qi Refinement would find it difficult to escape. Follow me closely."

The formation caught Fang Ling's attention!

Although the array formation techniques given to him by Master Zhao included over a dozen formations, the only one he could currently use was the Five Elements Reversal Formation.

Without the infusion of spiritual energy, the Five Elements Reversal Formation could only trap cultivators at the sixth stage of Qi Refinement and was not very effective against those who had broken through to the seventh stage.

If the formation in this valley could trap cultivators at the ninth stage of Qi Refinement, moving it into his Western Suburb Dust Map would give him another means of self-preservation.

Following Zhu Wentai for a few steps, Fang Ling felt the surroundings were lush with green grass and trees, and a clear stream flowed nearby, showing no signs of a formation. He casually asked Zhu Wentai, "Brother Zhu, this doesn't seem like a formation at all."

"Little brother, we are currently on the correct path of the Concealment Formation, so we don't feel its power. If we step off this path, the surroundings will be very different."

At this point, Zhu Wentai turned to Zhu Qingying, who seemed about to deviate from the path, and said, "You little rascal, don't try to test it. Last year, a young man underestimated this formation and was trapped for three days before being rescued."

"Of course, this formation is mainly to prevent ordinary people from disturbing the market, and it doesn't have much offensive power."

After about fifteen minutes of walking, the view suddenly opened up. On a flat area covering a thousand acres, hundreds of people were setting up stalls and trading.

Some were shouting, "Fifty-year-old black snake gallbladder, good for eyesight and mental clarity. If you want to refine Clear-Eye Spirit Liquid, this is a must-have. Thirty spirit stones each!"

"Three-leaf treasure, a hundred-year-old three-leaf treasure! Don't miss it! Fifty spirit stones!"

"Fire copper, a hundred spirit stones!"

...

This scene left Fang Ling a bit surprised. However, he quickly turned to Zhu Wentai and said, "Brother Zhu, let's quickly find your friend. If someone else buys the Golden Luo Fruit, it will be troublesome!"

Zhu Wentai nodded and said, "Alright, let's go."

As they spoke, the three of them walked forward. After a few steps, someone called out, "Oh, isn't that Qingying?"

PS: Fellow readers, the early bird gets the worm. I got up early today, and the new chapter is out early. Please give me votes, favorites, and support!