Chapter 31: The Five Ghosts' Copper Rings

  Since breaking through to the sixth level of Qi refining, it has been convenient for him to think about tempering his actual combat ability. However, Yan City is relatively peaceful, making it difficult to find a suitable opponent. Even if he finds one, he can only exchange blows briefly, otherwise, he will stir up big trouble.

  Fang Li always felt that true combat ability can only be honed in the midst of life and death, and staying in Yan City obviously cannot satisfy his wishes.

  However, in the deep mountains and ancient forests, there are many demon cultivators. These are all plants and animals that have been nourished by spiritual energy and transformed into demons. In terms of talent, they may not be as good as humans, but they have a long lifespan. If they are transformed from a divine turtle, they will have thousands of years to cultivate, even if their talent is poor, it will be made up for, and their final achievement will definitely not be lower than that of humans.

  Of course, a true demon cultivator is absolutely not someone that Fang Lin can currently contend with. With his current strength, he could only find some demonic beasts that have not yet opened their spiritual wisdom to spar with.

  The demon beast is the lowest level of demon cultivator, corresponding to the Qi Refining stage of human cultivators. The demon beast is divided into ten levels, each corresponding to the ten realms of the Qi Refining stage. Fang Li wants to hone his actual combat skills, this will be his best choice.

  After repeated consideration, Fang Li decided to go to the Misty Mountains east of Yanjing City for a month and a half of training.

  The Misty Mountains may not be large, but they have been around for some years and are home to many demonic beasts, ranging from first-tier to tenth-tier, and it is even said that the deepest part of the mountains has a number of demonic cultivators who have broken through the tenth tier, not only opening up their spiritual wisdom but also possessing strength comparable to that of ordinary foundation-building cultivators.

  Having packed his clothes, Fang Li took a Xuan Tie sword and bid farewell to his mother and sister before stepping out the door.

  Fang Li's Xuan Tie sword was no ordinary object, but a fake artifact he carefully crafted, with power equivalent to that of a 7th-grade mortal instrument. Although it also had the water and fire two-instrument ban, compared to what he had made before, its power was much stronger. Of course, the main reason was that the original material Fang Li used was actually a Xuan Tie sword that had reached the level of a 4th-grade mortal instrument.

  This Xuan Tie sword was obtained from the Elder Above, and since the Elder Above was severely injured to obtain the Dragon Bone Purple Gold Pill for Fang Li, their relationship has become much closer. Even the Elder Above had handed over the jade card with the Two Instruments Micro Dust Illusion Array in advance. Fang Li also accepted it gladly.

  However, when Fang Li was delighted to comprehend the jade token, he found that the two arrays of micro-dust fantasy required at least a fifth-order divine sense to set up, and currently Fang Li's divine sense had only barely reached third-order, still far from it.

  Helpless, Fang Li had no choice but to put the jade plate into the Qiankun bag, and wait until his divine consciousness became stronger before studying it again.

  Before heading to the Misty Mountains for training, Fang Li had already repaid the debt he owed to Mu Yunyan. However, what he repaid wasn't crystal stones, but eight ordinary Water and Fire Twin Instruments Swords. Fang Li still remembered the look on Mu Yunyan's face when he placed the eight swords in front of her - it was a mix of shock and astonishment.

  After leaving home, Fang Li quickened his pace and hurried along the road.

  Before sunset, Fang Li arrived at a small town on the outskirts of the Misty Mountains. The town was not big, but there were many people coming and going, probably also cultivators who had come to practice in the Misty Mountains.

  It was almost night, Fang Li casually found an inn and walked in, wanting to eat something and sleep, waiting until the next morning when he was refreshed before going to the Misty Mountains.

  Ordered a few small dishes and a plate of steamed buns, Fang Lifeng devoured them like a whirlwind. Although this inn was not luxurious, the food was still good, even the steamed buns were softer than what Fang Lifeng had eaten before.

  In the inn, apart from Fang Li, there were many cultivators, each wearing swords and looking like heroes of the rivers and lakes. However, when Fang Li glanced around, he found that most of them had cultivation levels of Refining Qi 4th or 5th stage, with only a few being as strong as Refining Qi 6th or 7th stage, and they were all over thirty years old.

  "Have you guys heard? Yesterday, someone found the body of 'Thunderclap Palm' Du Renshan in the Misty Mountains. It's said that he was killed by the Dark Ghost Wanderer."

  "'Thunder Palm' Du Renshan! Impossible, this man is a Seventh-Order Qi Refining expert, although he's only thirty-five years old, but his combat experience is rich, how could he be killed by Yin Gui San Ren? Yin Gui San Ren only has Sixth-Order Qi Refining cultivation, right?"

  "Brother, I suppose you don't know much about Yin Gui San Ren. This person was originally unknown and nameless, and at over 40 years old, he had only reached the sixth level of Qi Refining cultivation. But a year ago, he somehow accumulated some kind of virtue and obtained a treasure called the Five Ghosts Copper Ring."

  These five copper rings were also unknown to anyone who refined them, and they could actually detain the soul. In this year, Yin Gui San Ren relied on sneak attacks, poisoning and other despicable means to kill five fellow cultivators in the same realm, and then trapped their souls in the Five Ghosts Copper Rings, controlling them to fight against enemies.

  It's strange to say, but the five ghostly copper rings also don't know what kind of secret they hold. Although those monks who were killed only had their souls left, after being released by the copper ring, they also had no less than their original strength. From then on, as long as the Yin Ghost Wanderer encountered someone, he would throw out the copper ring and summon five ghostly spirits with six layers of refinement. With this six-to-one ratio, killing monks with seven layers of refinement was naturally easy."

  "The Five Ghosts' Copper Ring is so formidable!"

  "Of course, the title of Yin Gui San Ren was given to himself after he obtained the Five Ghosts Copper Ring. Now, he is quite famous in this area."

  Fang Li's expression changed slightly as he overheard the conversation between the two, and five words involuntarily flashed in his mind: "Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Formation".

  Fang Li had never heard of the Five Ghosts Copper Ring, but the man's description of its ability to trap and control souls made him think of the "Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Formation". This formation was also introduced by his master, Shang Xuzhenren, as a demonic array with great power, using soul control to ward off enemies, just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine.

  However, the Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Formation is a fifth-grade formation method that requires a fifth-grade formation master to set up. In the Cultivation Realm, the status of a fifth-grade formation master is no lower than that of an average Golden Dan period expert. Anyway, Fang Li currently does not have the ability to set it up.

  Wu Gui Tong Huan? Could it be that some Array Master senior had carved the Wu Gui Ban Shan array onto a copper ring to form a magical artifact? Fang Li secretly suspected, but the more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed.

  Fang Li shook his head and smiled lightly: "If there's a chance in the future, I hope to meet this mysterious hermit."

  Although Fang Li was talking to himself, he was overheard by a monk at the next table. The monk burst out laughing and said: "Whose child is this? How did you sneak into the Misty Mountains alone? Don't you know that curiosity can kill the cat? I advise you to hurry back, as the evil spirits and scattered people often hide in the Misty Mountains. If you encounter them, you will certainly have no chance of survival."

  That monk may have spoken harsh words, but he was kind and well-intentioned, unable to bear the thought of this child, who looked only fifteen or sixteen years old, encountering danger.

  Fang Li smiled slightly, carefully sizing up the man. He found that this cultivator was about thirty years old, slender, with very long hair and a scholarly air. However, his cultivation level was similar to Fang Li's own, only at the sixth level of Qi Refining Realm. Fang Li couldn't help but feel a little amused in his heart.

  However, this is not the fault of the monk, but rather the fault of Fang Li's cultivation method being too unusual. If he doesn't actively circulate his energy, it will stagnate in his dantian like dead water, making it difficult for others to gauge his level of cultivation. The monk, following his own habitual way of thinking, guessed that Fang Li was at most a fourth-level Qi Refining cultivator, which is why he spoke up to remind him.

  "Does this senior fellow usually hide in the Misty Mountains all year round?" Fang Li asked with a smile, nodding his fist.

  "That's only natural, he got the Five Ghosts Copper Ring, such a good treasure, I don't know how many people are after it. If he didn't hide in the Misty Mountains, he would have been killed by someone long ago. And I'm telling you, little ghost, hurry back home, don't run around in the Misty Mountains, this place is not only full of ferocious beasts, but also malicious cultivators, didn't your master tell you?" said the scholar-like cultivator.

  "Thanks for reminding me." Fang Li smiled slightly, but didn't seem to be moved at all. After finishing the last bun, Fang Li asked the shopkeeper for an empty room and walked in leisurely.

  The monk with a bookish appearance saw him, shook his head in displeasure and sighed: "Not listening to the old man's words, trouble is right before your eyes. I hope you're lucky, kid, and don't run into any bad people."