Starry Sky Professional

In the blink of an eye, a semester had quietly passed by.

Fang Xing gazed at the scenery outside the window, letting out a sigh involuntarily.

Due to concerns about the Foundation Establishment cultivator in the area, he couldn't hunt freely as he wished... Moreover, with his greatly increased appetite, the replenishment of spiritual grains and demonic beast meat was not timely, resulting in a noticeable decrease in his martial progress over the past few months.

Nevertheless, even so, his growth rate was something that an ordinary genius of the Federation could not even fathom.

He extended his right hand, its skin glistening like yellow jade, the five fingers incredibly long and without a trace of aging, hardly believable that this was a martial artist's palm.

At this moment, as his mind stirred, a faint dragon's roar echoed through the void.

Centered on him, an aura of dragon majesty spread outward, forming a 'domain nascent form' filled with authority!

If anyone were standing here, they might find themselves in a daze, believing they had glimpsed the faint traces of a celestial dragon...

"Indeed, once the Grand Dragon Stance reached its halfway point at the master level, I comprehended the nascent form of a domain..."

Fang Xing murmured to himself.

The fifth realm of martial arts requires the mind to influence matter, turning inner visions into outer manifestations!

Direct mental influence on matter requires the psychic force in the Niwan Palace to be completely filled and naturally overflowing.

Transforming the inner vision into an outer manifestation is achieved through the domain!

Throughout history, the first step in comprehending the nascent form of a domain has stumped countless martial artists.

But for Fang Xing, after grinding the Grand Dragon Stance to over 200, he naturally grasped the nascent form of the Dragon's Domain.

"Isn't this progress quite normal... After all, that Huang Mei kid had already understood the nascent form of the Light Domain during the Federation Star Exams, and combined with his light transformation abilities, he could even fly... I, on the other hand, still can't fly."

Of course, Fang Xing knew that Gu Jiantong was extraordinarily gifted and, due to awakening top-tier abilities, had a natural advantage in developing the Light Domain.

He himself only needed to reveal his proficiency's health bar to enjoy unparalleled advantages in any domain!

This difference was akin to the gap between a scholarly genius and a specialized science nerd.

Without a doubt, Huang Mei was the latter!

After pondering a bit, Fang Xing picked up his phone and called Lan Fei: "Lan Fei... I plan to focus on intense training during the winter break. Could you buy a batch of New Year gifts for me and deliver them to Principal Lu Guangming, Teacher Xia Long, and classmate Gu Yun as my proxy..."

"Alright."

On the other end, Lan Fei immediately agreed and then got to work.

Fang Xing chuckled lightly and entered the secluded chamber.

With a flash of silver light, his figure vanished…

…

In the world of cultivation.

A silhouette moved swiftly through the Great Wilderness forest.

A few wolf-shaped demon beasts seemed to notice this figure, just as they were about to react.

Roar! Roar!

A nascent domain spread out, and in the void, a faint dragon shape emerged.

“Whimper!”

Those demon wolves seemed to sense an immense danger descending upon them, and immediately tucked their tails and fled.

“A nascent domain… how exactly should it be utilized? At present, I can't solidify the dragon form into a tangible entity… but with a single wave of my palm, one can frighten with a dragon; that doesn’t seem to be much of a problem now...”

Fang Xing pondered silently, while finding an ancient tree he had marked.

His hands moved like the sharpest iron spades, rapidly digging through the earth. It wasn't long before he unearthed a three-meter deep pit.

Clang!

A crisp metallic sound echoed out.

With his right hand, he grabbed hold of a silver-white metal box and pulled it out.

After inputting the password, the box automatically opened, revealing a screen inside.

On the screen were surveillance logs from recent times!

With a Core Formation expert arriving, Fang Xing naturally intended to be more cautious, but he couldn't forsake his advantage of a sky-eye view.

Hence, although many of the drone puppets were recalled, there were still some stationed at critical locations.

For instance, Qinglin Market, Five Scorpions Valley, and areas near the underground camp.

Learning from past experiences, he kept the surveillance at a distance of several miles, maintaining routine monitoring of activity.

Each puppet had its own specialized monitoring box, buried deep, far from the underground camp, ensuring no one could trace them back to his lair.

At this moment, on the screen, as the footage fast-forwards, everything in the Valley of the Five Scorpions comes into clear view.

"Indeed... ever since that discovery, a Core Formation expert entered the Valley of the Five Scorpions... and after three days, there was a result..."

Fang Xing murmured to himself, fully focused on the surveillance video.

Due to the distance, he could only see two streaks of light darting out from the Valley of the Five Scorpions, intertwining...

"Is this... an internal conflict?"

Fang Xing was somewhat surprised, yet not entirely: "Originally there were three streaks, why are there only two now? Could the secret realm be so perilous... that even Core Formation cultivators perish within?"

ROAR!

The entanglement of the two major streaks of light seemed to catch the attention of a third-tier demon beast, as an unusual beastly roar echoed from afar.

And then...

A massive shadow loomed across the sky...

Within those two streaks, silhouettes flashed, countless spells surged like a flood, and a peculiar flying hairpin artifact suddenly transformed into a phoenix engulfed in divine flames, colliding with that immense shadow...

A pitch-black claw abruptly emerged, grasping the divine fire phoenix.

"Brilliant! Truly brilliant!"

The breathtaking battle between these Core Formation experts held little impact on Fang Xing, as it was just on a screen after all.

Furthermore, this had occurred several months ago.

But being able to safely watch a life-and-death struggle between Core Formation experts and a third-tier demon beast was applause-worthy enough.

Watching the surveillance video, Fang Xing deduced the situation roughly: "Three Core Formation cultivators explored the secret realm, one got trapped within, the other two came out and clashed with each other... eventually, the power fluctuations at the Core Formation level drew in a third-tier flood dragon... and while these two Core Formation cultivators were fending off the demon beast, they even went at each other's throats..."

Continuing, Fang Xing saw an elderly woman with white hair and youthful features let out a terrible scream as a flood dragon bit into her, her spiritual light dispersing, countless flesh and bones dripping from the flood dragon's teeth.

Faced with this scene, the rugged man also showed great fear, chanting incantations repeatedly, and suddenly, one of his arms exploded.

He transformed into a bloody light and fled at extraordinary speed...

"Did he use some kind of self-destructive secret technique... to escape?"

Fang Xing adjusted his perspective, connecting to other drones.

Sure enough, just around the same time, the surveillance set up outside the Qinglin Marketplace captured a bloody streak of light shooting through the sky, showing no signs of stopping at the marketplace, swiftly disappearing into the distance, followed closely by a pitch-black flood dragon...

“It’s finally over... After monitoring everything, it seems no other Core Formation cultivators have shown up...”

Fang Xing let out a deep breath.

Three Core Formation experts: one got trapped in the secret realm, one was killed by a monster, and only one managed to escape despite serious injuries.

The locals' death rate during this venture was staggeringly high!

He couldn't help but secretly commend himself for not impulsively exploring the secret realm—it turned out to be the wisest decision!

“But now... is it possible to gather some remnants nearby?”

Fang Xing touched his chin thoughtfully. He carefully reviewed the surveillance to the point when the elder from the Qingxuan Sect was ambushed and lost his life.

That powerful artifact, a flying hairpin, let out a mournful sound and fell to the ground, its master gone.

The rugged man was too busy saving his own skin to bother picking it up in time!

As for the third-tier flood dragon, it seemed uninterested and continued its pursuit of the rugged man...

“So this means... a third-tier magical treasure is waiting for me to claim it?”

Fang Xing's eyes lit up.

First-tier magic tools, second-tier spirit instruments, third-tier magical treasures!

Treasures meant for Core Formation experts, crafted with rare third-tier materials, held immense value.

Even a grain-sized fragment could surpass the value of his own Azure Rainbow Sword!

“Especially since so much time has passed and it’s not in the secret realm... there's little danger.”

“Just collecting it on the side... should be feasible, right?”

“If the storage bag from the Core Formation expert is also nearby, it would be a great haul...”

...

Days passed.

“Ugh... how could I be so foolish?”

Fang Xing rubbed his temples, feeling a throbbing pain in his head.

He had finally arrived beneath the battleground where it all unfolded.

Overhead, a hairpin fell, prompting the question of how vast an area lay beneath.

In any case, Fang Xing felt like he was searching for a needle in a haystack.

Without his innate mental powers and the assistance of drones, he would have almost lost all hope.

Even so, after an intense search, he couldn’t escape the feeling of a splitting headache.

“It’s clear now—though martial artists’ mental powers are a bit stronger than spiritual senses and can be extended externally, they’re ultimately not divine senses. It’s still too much of a stretch…”

If not for knowing that a third-tier magical treasure was indeed extraordinary and emitted strong waves, Fang Xing might not have bothered searching at all.

A complete magical treasure, its value unknown in spirit stones, must certainly equate to a fortune.

Even if he couldn’t use it now, auctioning it later would surely bring a handsome return.

Fang Xing decided to pace his efforts, planning to rest a bit before resuming.

“That Core Formation expert’s remains were scattered on the ground, mostly devoured by monsters… What a pity. I had hoped to conduct an autopsy—even just a blood test would have been great…”

He mused aloud, his expression suddenly shifting: “Monsters? Monsters!”

Roaring!

As Fang Xing was contemplating, one of his drones detected a second-tier monster!

It was a golden-furred ape, five meters tall with four arms!

Standing upright, its two canine teeth jutted out, while its eyes gleamed with a mischievous light.

With a swish, a shadow flew past, and a massive golden hand seized the drone.

The last image Fang Xing saw was the creature’s grotesque face and its drooling, crimson maw.

The screen turned to static, prompting Fang Xing to stand decisively as the Azure Sword at his waist rang with a clear sword cry.

“Perfect timing to try my skills against a second-tier beast… besides…”

With a flash, Fang Xing sped toward where the four-armed ape was spotted.

]

(End of Chapter)