Fang Chen spent about half an hour reminiscing with Langya Wenqiu and the others. Even Qin Hucheng came over to join in the conversation, inquiring about Fang Chen's experiences over the past few years. Fang Chen simply mentioned that he had been traveling and reflecting on his state of mind, and Qin Hucheng did not press further.

After sending them off, Bai Qingming walked in from outside and placed a full thousand mid-grade spirit stones on the table.

He smiled and said, “Little Fang, I’m now a powerful cultivator at the Dao Union Realm. I can already tell you that if I didn’t spend that sort of amount on buying pills or spiritual treasures, it would take me quite a few years to spend them all. What are you intending to do with them?

“I won’t hide it from you, Senior Brother. Having these mid-grade spirit stones allows me to sleep a bit more soundly,” Fang Chen replied, discreetly putting away the spirit stones while giving Bai Qingming a slight smile.

“Are you turning into a little money-grubber?” Bai Qingming asked, his expression odd as he looked Fang Chen up and down.

After a moment, he nodded. “Since these spirit stones are yours, I won't interfere with how you use them. But remember, don’t waste them! The elders would be quite upset.”

After giving Fang Chen’s shoulder a pat, Bai Qingming turned to leave.

As soon as he left, Fang Chen was about to take out the mid-grade spirit stones to enter the Three Thousand Dao Realm when the voice of Mirror of the Universe echoed in his mind. “

Little brother, your first calamity hasn’t arrived yet. Even if you enter the Three Thousand Dao Realm, you won’t be able to refine your Nascent Soul. Don’t waste the spirit stones.

”

“Oh, right….”

Fang Chen suddenly realized, almost forgetting about this detail. The first disaster of the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations would occur during the Golden Core Realm, but now he was at the peak of the Golden Core and still hadn’t sensed any calamity or tribulation approaching.

“Little Mirror, when will the first calamity come? Is there any pattern to it?”

“There’s no pattern; you can only wait. When the time comes, it will arrive. So, you must always be prepared. Don’t be like some Golden Core cultivators who, due to a moment of negligence, find themselves facing a calamity when they had just been dual cultivating with their Dao companions just moments ago, or had been attending to their personal needs, or even in the midst of a fight.

“Those people find themselves dead without a chance to even close their eyes.”

“Wait? The situation of the Sword Sect is not looking good. Usually, it wouldn’t matter if we had to wait for several years…” Fang Chen frowned slightly, pondering for a moment before letting out a gentle sigh. “I guess I’ll have to use the Blessing Disaster Technique.”

“The Blessing Disaster? You know this technique? But it cannot be used on oneself. The person casting it must have a higher cultivation level than you, and they also have to burn their essence blood, which can cause significant harm to themselves….”

Fang Chen smiled. “I don’t know how to, but someone else does.”

As long as he could hand Xu Qingsong a strand of his hair, the latter would eagerly use the Blessing Disaster Technique to help him get through the first calamity. The only thing he needed to manage was the timing; when the calamity approached, he had to be in a very safe environment. He wondered if being in the Three Thousand Dao Realm at that time would affect anything….

Perhaps it's worth a try.

At that moment, Jing Yuehan’s voice came from outside. “Junior Brother Fang, may I come in?”

Hearing her voice, Fang Chen got up and opened the cave door for her. Surprised, he asked, “Senior Sister Jing, do you have something to discuss?”

“Earlier, there were too many people around, and there were some things I couldn’t discuss with you. But I think you should be aware of this matter,” Jing Yuehan replied.

“What’s the matter?”

“Xia Ji is in the capital.”

“Xia Ji is in the capital?” Fang Chen was somewhat surprised. “Senior Sister Jing, are you talking about the capital of the Central Continent Empire?”

“Of course. He is now the adopted son of the Corrosive Dragon King from the North, ranked seventh among his adopted children. Since the events in Grand Qian, we haven’t seen him. I didn’t expect he would catch the attention of the Corrosive Dragon King,” Jing Yuehan said softly.

Fang Chen was surprised. “Adopted son of the Corrosive Dragon King?”

Li Daoye had divined that Xia Ji was in the north, and it seemed that was indeed the case. However, he could not imagine why Xia Ji would become the adopted son of an Immortal King.

What did the Corrosive Dragon King see in Xia Ji? Was he planning to use him, or…?

Seemingly sensing Fang Chen's thoughts, Jing Yuehan said, “The Corrosive Dragon King has a penchant for adopting children. He has many adopted sons and daughters but no children of his own.

“His acceptance of Xia Ji might just be a matter of personal liking, so there’s no need to overthink it. Now that Xia Ji is working in the capital, his prospects are good. He will eventually serve in the court, which might even be better than joining various immortal sects. You only need to know about this; I’ll take my leave now.”

After Jing Yuehan left, Fang Chen pondered for a while before heading to find Bai Qingming.

Bai Qingming looked surprised. “Little Fang, you missed me this soon?”

Fang Chen smiled. “I heard that Brother Bai just returned after traveling for many years. Are you interested in going to the Innate Dao Sect for a spar?”

“You want me to be your bodyguard, don’t you?” Bai Qingming rolled his eyes. He casually said, “Fine, I was also planning to stretch my muscles. I’ll go with you.”

“We’ll head to the capital after,” Fang Chen added.

“What do you want to go to the capital for?” Bai Qingming frowned slightly. “That place isn’t worth visiting. It’s small but has a lot of rules.”

“To see a friend.”

“To see a friend, huh… Fine, I happen to have a few friends I haven’t seen in years who are also in the capital. I can accompany you. But… this is a favor, so you’ll owe me one later.”

Fang Chen smiled and nodded. “We’ll talk about it later.”

Although the two left the Void Immortal Sword Sect quietly without making a sound, they couldn’t escape the notice of the elders who were discussing important matters in the main hall.

One of the peak masters frowned. “Bai Qingming took Fang Chen out; what shit is he up to this time?”

The Sect Leader glanced at him and said, “How do you know it’s not Fang Chen taking him out?”

“As long as Martial Nephew Bai is with Fang Chen, it shouldn’t be a problem. With Martial Nephew Bai’s cultivation, he can serve as Fang Chen’s protector.” The bearded sword cultivator smiled lightly. After a pause, he added, “As long as Martial Nephew Bai doesn’t cause any trouble, should we inform the ancestor?”

“I’ve already told him to keep an eye on Fang Chen. It’s for the best; Fang Chen has 1000 mid-grade spirit stones on him, so having Bai Qingming around will prevent him from being robbed,” the Sect Leader said calmly.

Zhang Ling suddenly spoke up. “Fang Chen’s cultivation has already reached the grand completion stage of the Golden Core Realm. It hasn’t been long since he refined his Golden Core, right?”

The others exchanged glances and nodded slightly. Although Fang Chen was a White Core, they knew he hadn’t been cultivating for many years.

His rapid advancement in cultivation was clearly related to the hidden cards from the Daoist sect, which was one reason they agreed to let Fang Chen advance the ten years of support.

“Going out for a walk is fine. Staying in the Sword Sect is too comfortable; he won’t meet his first calamity that way. After he overcomes it, we can help him refine his Nascent Soul.”

The others nodded gently. Although their intervention would come at a cost, it was clearly more important to have a Sword Leader.

They weren’t too concerned about the small price they had to pay.