Chapter 489: Taiyi Green Wood Spirit Body
The person writing the letter was Xiao Yin, one of the two inspectors sent by the Righteous Alliance to investigate the Male Right Association last time.
Fang Zhou had a good rapport with Xiao Yin, and they got along well, but they hadn't been in touch since. He didn't expect to receive a letter after more than a month.
Perhaps it's because of Ming Aoshuang.
Fang Zhou guessed in his heart and continued reading; sure enough, it was related to Ming Aoshuang.
Ming Aoshuang decided to resolve the conflict between her and Fang Zhou in Refining Immortal City, and Fang Zhou took the opportunity to trick her into giving him a Refining Immortal City slot.
Fang Zhou was unsure if Ming Aoshuang could really find a slot for him. That's what Xiao Yin mentioned in the letter.
She first emphasized the rarity and importance of the slot in her mind and then praised Ming Aoshuang for how painstakingly she obtained it, ultimately enduring numerous hardships to secure a new slot for Fang Zhou.
After reading it, Fang Zhou couldn't help but laugh. Since Refining Immortal City is managed by the Righteous Alliance, and given Ming Aoshuang's high status within the alliance, getting a slot is significantly easier for her than for an outsider.
Given that Ming Aoshuang handed out the Refining Immortal City slot so casually to entice him, it was clear that the slot wasn't of great value to her; otherwise, she wouldn't give it to an enemy like Fang Zhou.
The letter also reminded Fang Zhou that Refining Immortal City would open in over three months and advised him to prepare soon.
After reading the letter, Fang Zhou found a jade token in the envelope.
This jade token represented the slot for Refining Immortal City. When the city opens, holding the token allows entry.
The jade token was specially made by the Righteous Alliance, making it difficult for others to counterfeit.
After Wang Xiuzhu left, Fang Zhou began contemplating how to best utilize this slot.
Ming Aoshuang didn't care much for the slot, mainly because she was both a disciple of the Five Constants and held a significant position in the Righteous Alliance.
But for others, a slot for Refining Immortal City is indeed precious, something money can't buy.
Fang Zhou saw only two uses for this precious slot: give it to someone else or sell it.
He already had one, so he didn't need another.
Yu Qing and Gou Cheng, as core disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect, would naturally have their sect arrange for a slot, so they didn't need Fang Zhou's.
Wu Lin was too weak to gain anything from entering Refining Immortal City without someone to look after him.
The Calabash Brothers were also ruled out; with only one slot, it wouldn't be fair to give it to just one of them.
He considered giving it to Cheng Xing, but Cheng Xing was even weaker than Wu Lin.
Members of the Alliance of Avenging Women faced the same dilemma; giving just one slot to anyone would cause issues, so it was simpler to give it to no one.
The remaining option was to sell it, but Fang Zhou was already making money hand over fist, and money was just numbers to him. However expensive the slot, how much could it really fetch?
Fang Zhou looked at the jade token, realizing that this precious slot seemed as useless to him as a chicken rib.
After pondering while holding the jade token for a long time, a light bulb suddenly went off in Fang Zhou's mind.
In the Cultivation World, many things are priceless, and no matter how much money you offer, they are hard to buy. Such valuable items are often exchanged for other goods rather than sold.
The slot for Refining Immortal City could also be considered one of these items; rarely does anyone sell it for cash, and thus, there's no clear market value.
But converting the slot into other valuable items through barter is not uncommon.
Fang Zhou thought he could easily exchange the slot for some precious items that are otherwise hard to purchase with money.
So, what did he need most right now?
Undoubtedly, it was to resolve the problem of Aya's energy depletion.
He hurriedly returned to Moon Viewing Peak with the jade token and found Cheng Xing, who was busy drawing comics.
Cheng Xing, having written "Ten Thousand Magical Treasures" based on the Treasure Atlas, had a far broader knowledge of such things than Fang Zhou, so it couldn't hurt to ask her.
After Fang Zhou explained his situation, Cheng Xing, with her good memory, quickly thought of something that matched Fang Zhou's needs.
The Taiyi Greenwood Spirit Body.
A supplementary magic treasure manufactured using a combination of Alchemy and Artifact Refining Technique.
Its main function is to provide a body for those cultivators who have lost or damaged their physical bodies but still have their Divine Souls.
The wood attribute represents vitality and endless regeneration, and the Taiyi Greenwood Spirit Body could be seen as a living dead person; the body is alive, but it has no soul.
After Cheng Xing's description, Fang Zhou remembered that the True Mother God Sect's incomplete version of the Secret Technique of Substitute Messenger required a soulless living body to be used as a substitute. Was it possible that they used the Taiyi Greenwood Spirit Body?
Fang Zhou went to investigate the price of the Taiyi Greenwood Spirit Body and then dismissed this hypothesis.
Because it was insanely expensive to make, with rare materials, each spirit body was priceless. If the True Mother God Sect used them as experimental substitutes, they might go broke after a few of these.
Ordinary people had no way of purchasing the Taiyi Greenwood Spirit Body, and Fang Zhou himself didn't, as he had no connections in the Cultivation World.
Initially, Fang Zhou intended to hand the matter over to Wei Yuanling since each major sect had its sources of intelligence and connections, an enormous advantage compared to solitary cultivators and smaller sects.
But after some consideration, he decided against it. He had already burdened Wei Yuanling with too many tasks. Additionally, any curious party could easily investigate what Fang Zhou had done through her, posing a significant risk.
Although Wei Yuanling had always faithfully fulfilled his requests, she was ultimately a member of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
Fang Zhou had long considered establishing his own intelligence network, not wanting to leave such matters always to others.
However, he had no experience and didn't know how to begin, so the idea had been shelved.
After deciding not to involve Wei Yuanling, Fang Zhou had Lu Qiuling commission merchants in Taobao Mall to help find channels for purchasing the Taiyi Greenwood Spirit Body on her behalf.
Within three days, several sellers were identified, all willing to sell the Taiyi Greenwood Spirit Body.
However, they were not interested in money but in other Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.
So Fang Zhou clearly stated that he was willing to exchange the Refining Immortal City slot, and ultimately only one seller agreed to the trade.
The seller was a bit far, and they were in a hurry, requiring Fang Zhou to arrive within Wu State within three days to complete the transaction, or else the offer would be off the table.
The Five Countries of the Central Plains are Chu, Qi, Wu, Yan, and Zhao, which occupied the best farmlands in the Central Plains.
Wu State is in the northwest part of the Central Plains, near the highlands, and it's the farthest from the Heavenly Sword Sect of the five. Even with a Flying Sword, it might take two days of nonstop travel.
Because the transaction location was distant and the matter significant, Fang Zhou didn't feel comfortable letting someone else handle it, so he decided to go himself.
He returned to Moon Viewing Peak and informed the Calabash Brothers and Aya that he would be away for a few days.
The Calabash Brothers were already used to Fang Zhou running around, while Aya wanted to accompany him.
"I'll be back in a few days, so isn't it unnecessary for you to tag along?"
Fang Zhou looked at Aya in surprise; it wasn't in the nature of this queen to be clingy. How could she not bear a separation of just a few days?
"Since it's only a few days, there's no problem if I come along, right? Or are there some inconvenient matters?"
Fang Zhou is the Savior Aya waited for many years, so naturally, she wanted to keep a close watch and not let him out of her sight to prevent any accidents.
"It's nothing inconvenient..."
Seeing Aya's insistence, Fang Zhou didn't refuse any further.