Plundering the Heavens

Chapter 43: Returning With a Toad Leg
Translator: ActiasMyriea 
Instead of standing up immediately, Fang Xing remained seated and familiarized himself with
the enormous amount of Qi added to his body.
After the beast core of the Python Toad had been absorbed and transformed by the [Scripture of
the Revered Spirit], the resultant Jing was like that of an ample well, as though Fang Xing was
inside a giant gold mine digging up all of the gold—or in this case, Jing—all for himself. It had
not only allowed for an easy breakthrough to the third-tier bottleneck, but had also increased
the flow of Qi within his meridians until it was akin to a surging river.
In stark contrast, when he had practiced fluctuations with a Spirit Stone, only a trickling
sensation of Qi could be felt even when using the utmost effort.
Only after another hour had passed did Fang Xing opened his eyes in contentment. He had
succeeded. The payoff for this adventure was the sudden advancement from the peak of tier
two to the mid of tier three, and with this advancement he had even passed through two
bottlenecks between tiers! It was important to understand that to break through each
bottleneck was to forcibly exceed one’s own physical and mental limitations, and this was the
most difficult roadblock on the path of cultivation. In other words, a cultivator had to be
physically and mentally reborn at every bottleneck to keep progressing.
‘Sh*t, it’s that stench again….’ Fang Xing’s eyebrows cringed as he smelled the revolting stink
clinging to his body before searching for a clear pool of water. Once he had confirmed that the
water did not have dangerous creatures and beasts with the [Book of Revelation], he jumped in
for a good wash.
It could also be said that he was already experienced in this and was thus not in such a panic as
he had been last time. He knew that the stench and the black waste that oozed out of his pores
were toxins and impurities his body had accumulated over the years; this process was like a
very deep cleansing.
‘Hrm? It’s almost sunset. Have I been here for an entire day and night?’ As he swam in the pool
of water, Fang Xing only noticed so much time had passed after the sun had begun to fall
behind the horizon. It must have been the fact that the Qi found within the toad’s beast core
had been well beyond his own limit; even though the [Scripture of the Revered Spirit] had
miraculous abilities, the process still could only be done one step at a time. It had taken an
entire twenty-four hours to finally absorb all that he could for his own use.
Of course, the benefit was more than clear. To be able to skip right into the mid of third tier
from where he had started from would have easily taken at least one or two years even with an
unlimited supply of Spirit Stones, yet a single day and night had allowed him the equivalent of a
couple years of hard work. This was definitely a very profitable trade!
‘With the Scripture of the Revered Spirit and plenty of beast cores, I’ll potentially be able to
cultivate using this method all I want, all without harming myself in the process, too! It’s just
like another large door has opened up just for me. It’s as though others need to make money a
little at a time, while I have a massive cave of treasures and all I have to do is move them

This is so much faster than everyone else….’ Fang Xing thought to himself, and the
more he pondered on it, the more pleased he became. At one point, he even let out a loud laugh
while his eyes glistened with a light that was cold, yet bright.
—
“I’m finally back, Qing-Yun Sect! I’ve barely made it through alive….”
Ten days later, a miserable beggar-like boy walked up to the entrance of the quiet and secluded
Qing-Yun Sect. His clothes were tattered, his face full of mud and soil, and behind him was a
beast leg nobody could identify that was even larger than he was. Before the sect guards could
react, the boy could already be seen crying at the top of his lungs.
A few of the guards hurriedly ran up for questioning before the little beggar showed them a
small woodblock. “I am an outer court disciple, Fang Xing. Half a month ago, I accepted a Duty
Talisman with Shixiong Hou Qing to kill the Python Toad on Mount Miasma, but—” Fang Xing
began to sob even louder, “—all the shixiong have died except me…. I somehow made it alive,
and I’m finally back….”
The little beggar was none other than Fang Xing. After he had spent a few more days at Mount
Miasma, he finally began to make his way back. Being the cautious type, he had even crafted a
backstory to go along with his current state.
“Shixiong Hou Qing is dead?” The sect guards were surprised. They were also outer court
disciples who had heard of the famous A-rank disciple, Hou Qing.
The guards quickly sent someone to report to the elders at the Duty Talisman Hall while the
rest helped Fang Xing into the sect. One of them saw the toad leg Fang Xing had been carrying
and offered to throw it away for him, but Fang Xing refused, “Don’t touch my leg! I survived on
this leg. Without it, I would have starved to death. Besides, it’s also the proof that we’ve killed
the beast, so no one touches it!”
Without knowing whether to laugh or cry, the guards let him be. At the sight of Fang Xing’s
misery, however, most of them then felt a sense of despair and fear; in order to become an inner
court disciple themselves, they would also one day be faced with a Duty Talisman mission
unless their clan paid a fortune for their own Poji Pellet.
“Where is the disciple that has returned from the beast-slaying mission?” Soon, an elderly man
dressed in a cyan-colored robe hurriedly flew over on his Flying Sword. From afar, Fang Xing
could see that this man was in the seventh tier.
“All of them died…” Fang Xing once again burst into uncontrollable tears, giving the old man a
fright.
“Who’s ‘them’?” It was not the answer the old man was looking for, as he knew what must have
happened and he creased his eyebrows. Besides, Fang Xing was still carrying a toad leg with
him.
“Besides me, Shixiong Hou Qing, Shixiong Lyu San, Shixiong Qian Tong, and Shixiong Zhao Zhi
have… they’ve all died….” Fang Xing appeared to be in a state of extreme sorrow with a hint of
fear, as if he had been mentally defeated by what had happened.
“Come with me.” With a grave expression, the elder picked Fang Xing up onto his Flying Sword
and flew towards a mountain peak within the sect.

Four deaths in a low-grade Duty Talisman of Extermination mission was not exactly a small
matter.
There had been plenty of instances where both outer and inner court disciples—even core
disciples—had never returned after accepting Duty Talismans, and the total wipeout of an
entire team was not unheard of. However, it was a rare sight for a low-grade Duty Talisman of
Extermination to have this many casualties.
It didn’t take long for the elder to arrive at the great hall on top of a mountain peak hiding
behind a group of clouds. This was the Duty Talisman Hall, and instead of walking directly
inside, the elder took Fang Xing to a small garret room beside it, asking Fang Xing to sit atop
one of the praying mats to wait. He then sent a Message Talisman for the remaining two elders
in charge of the hall to join them.
Fang Xing’s curious gaze wandered about the entire room. To say it was a small garret room
was perhaps not accurate, as its interior was rather spacious and it was more like a study. Large
sandalwood bookcases filled with numerous jade plates were placed on either side of the room,
and in the middle were three old-fashioned armchairs. The cyan-robed elder sat on the
leftmost armchair while waiting for the other two to arrive. Thirty feet in front of the
armchairs, a total of seven neatly-placed praying mats had been laid on the floor, and Fang
Xing sat on the one right in the center.
This place would be the room that housed the council of elders who were in charge of any
matters relating to the Duty Talisman Hall. Fang Xing sat quietly and well-behaved while
plotting what he would say to them shortly.
Two elderly men arrived not long after, both of them in their seventh or eighth tier. Fang Xing
knew that these elders had been inner court disciples when they were younger only to be
promoted to sect elders once they’d reached a certain age. It was usually these lowest-ranked
elders who would be the head of each department and hall.
Elders like these who had chosen to stay within the sect were in the minority. Most of the inner
court disciples that reached a certain age without achieving higher levels would usually choose
to return to their clans or families in the mortal realm for marriage and children. They hoped
that one day, a child born from their blood would be endowed with great zi’zhi and luck to
continue the path of cultivation on their behalf.
“Young one, what might your name be?” one of the elders asked in a heavy voice once all three
had been seated.
“Outer court disciple, Fang Xing. Please accept my sincere respect,” Fang Xing answered.
The cyan-robed elder gave a nod. “Tell us the entire course of the mission, in detail.”
“As you wish, sir.” Bitterly, as though he was being forced to remember something so painful
once more, Fang Xing began the story that he had fabricated in great detail. “Shixiong Hou Qing
along with the four of us made our way to Mount Miasma for a beast-slaying mission. There
was originally a very precise set of plans, but they didn’t tell me all of the details because I’m
young. Basically, we were to set up a trap for the beast toad, then we would use a bait to lure it
towards our trap….”
The elders exchanged looks with each other; they were all too clear on the score. They’d been
through it all, and upon hearing what Fang Xing said, they immediately knew what the plan had
entailed.

“They did not tell you what the bait was?” an awe-inspiring elder asked.
“Shixiong Hou Qing did not say anything. Shixiong Qian Tong, however, did tell me that I would
know soon….” At this moment, all three elders once again looked to each other in unison before
beckoning for Fang Xing to continue.

Chapter 43: Returning With a Toad Leg

Translator: ActiasMyriea 

Instead of standing up immediately, Fang Xing remained seated and familiarized himself with

the enormous amount of Qi added to his body.

After the beast core of the Python Toad had been absorbed and transformed by the [Scripture of

the Revered Spirit], the resultant Jing was like that of an ample well, as though Fang Xing was

inside a giant gold mine digging up all of the gold—or in this case, Jing—all for himself. It had

not only allowed for an easy breakthrough to the third-tier bottleneck, but had also increased

the flow of Qi within his meridians until it was akin to a surging river.

In stark contrast, when he had practiced fluctuations with a Spirit Stone, only a trickling

sensation of Qi could be felt even when using the utmost effort.

Only after another hour had passed did Fang Xing opened his eyes in contentment. He had

succeeded. The payoff for this adventure was the sudden advancement from the peak of tier

two to the mid of tier three, and with this advancement he had even passed through two

bottlenecks between tiers! It was important to understand that to break through each

bottleneck was to forcibly exceed one’s own physical and mental limitations, and this was the

most difficult roadblock on the path of cultivation. In other words, a cultivator had to be

physically and mentally reborn at every bottleneck to keep progressing.

‘Sh*t, it’s that stench again….’ Fang Xing’s eyebrows cringed as he smelled the revolting stink

clinging to his body before searching for a clear pool of water. Once he had confirmed that the

water did not have dangerous creatures and beasts with the [Book of Revelation], he jumped in

for a good wash.

It could also be said that he was already experienced in this and was thus not in such a panic as

he had been last time. He knew that the stench and the black waste that oozed out of his pores

were toxins and impurities his body had accumulated over the years; this process was like a

very deep cleansing.

‘Hrm? It’s almost sunset. Have I been here for an entire day and night?’ As he swam in the pool

of water, Fang Xing only noticed so much time had passed after the sun had begun to fall

behind the horizon. It must have been the fact that the Qi found within the toad’s beast core

had been well beyond his own limit; even though the [Scripture of the Revered Spirit] had

miraculous abilities, the process still could only be done one step at a time. It had taken an

entire twenty-four hours to finally absorb all that he could for his own use.

Of course, the benefit was more than clear. To be able to skip right into the mid of third tier

from where he had started from would have easily taken at least one or two years even with an

unlimited supply of Spirit Stones, yet a single day and night had allowed him the equivalent of a

couple years of hard work. This was definitely a very profitable trade!

‘With the Scripture of the Revered Spirit and plenty of beast cores, I’ll potentially be able to

cultivate using this method all I want, all without harming myself in the process, too! It’s just

like another large door has opened up just for me. It’s as though others need to make money a

little at a time, while I have a massive cave of treasures and all I have to do is move them

This is so much faster than everyone else….’ Fang Xing thought to himself, and the

more he pondered on it, the more pleased he became. At one point, he even let out a loud laugh

while his eyes glistened with a light that was cold, yet bright.

—

“I’m finally back, Qing-Yun Sect! I’ve barely made it through alive….”

Ten days later, a miserable beggar-like boy walked up to the entrance of the quiet and secluded

Qing-Yun Sect. His clothes were tattered, his face full of mud and soil, and behind him was a

beast leg nobody could identify that was even larger than he was. Before the sect guards could

react, the boy could already be seen crying at the top of his lungs.

A few of the guards hurriedly ran up for questioning before the little beggar showed them a

small woodblock. “I am an outer court disciple, Fang Xing. Half a month ago, I accepted a Duty

Talisman with Shixiong Hou Qing to kill the Python Toad on Mount Miasma, but—” Fang Xing

began to sob even louder, “—all the shixiong have died except me…. I somehow made it alive,

and I’m finally back….”

The little beggar was none other than Fang Xing. After he had spent a few more days at Mount

Miasma, he finally began to make his way back. Being the cautious type, he had even crafted a

backstory to go along with his current state.

“Shixiong Hou Qing is dead?” The sect guards were surprised. They were also outer court

disciples who had heard of the famous A-rank disciple, Hou Qing.

The guards quickly sent someone to report to the elders at the Duty Talisman Hall while the

rest helped Fang Xing into the sect. One of them saw the toad leg Fang Xing had been carrying

and offered to throw it away for him, but Fang Xing refused, “Don’t touch my leg! I survived on

this leg. Without it, I would have starved to death. Besides, it’s also the proof that we’ve killed

the beast, so no one touches it!”

Without knowing whether to laugh or cry, the guards let him be. At the sight of Fang Xing’s

misery, however, most of them then felt a sense of despair and fear; in order to become an inner

court disciple themselves, they would also one day be faced with a Duty Talisman mission

unless their clan paid a fortune for their own Poji Pellet.

“Where is the disciple that has returned from the beast-slaying mission?” Soon, an elderly man

dressed in a cyan-colored robe hurriedly flew over on his Flying Sword. From afar, Fang Xing

could see that this man was in the seventh tier.

“All of them died…” Fang Xing once again burst into uncontrollable tears, giving the old man a

fright.

“Who’s ‘them’?” It was not the answer the old man was looking for, as he knew what must have

happened and he creased his eyebrows. Besides, Fang Xing was still carrying a toad leg with

him.

“Besides me, Shixiong Hou Qing, Shixiong Lyu San, Shixiong Qian Tong, and Shixiong Zhao Zhi

have… they’ve all died….” Fang Xing appeared to be in a state of extreme sorrow with a hint of

fear, as if he had been mentally defeated by what had happened.

“Come with me.” With a grave expression, the elder picked Fang Xing up onto his Flying Sword

and flew towards a mountain peak within the sect.

Four deaths in a low-grade Duty Talisman of Extermination mission was not exactly a small

matter.

There had been plenty of instances where both outer and inner court disciples—even core

disciples—had never returned after accepting Duty Talismans, and the total wipeout of an

entire team was not unheard of. However, it was a rare sight for a low-grade Duty Talisman of

Extermination to have this many casualties.

It didn’t take long for the elder to arrive at the great hall on top of a mountain peak hiding

behind a group of clouds. This was the Duty Talisman Hall, and instead of walking directly

inside, the elder took Fang Xing to a small garret room beside it, asking Fang Xing to sit atop

one of the praying mats to wait. He then sent a Message Talisman for the remaining two elders

in charge of the hall to join them.

Fang Xing’s curious gaze wandered about the entire room. To say it was a small garret room

was perhaps not accurate, as its interior was rather spacious and it was more like a study. Large

sandalwood bookcases filled with numerous jade plates were placed on either side of the room,

and in the middle were three old-fashioned armchairs. The cyan-robed elder sat on the

leftmost armchair while waiting for the other two to arrive. Thirty feet in front of the

armchairs, a total of seven neatly-placed praying mats had been laid on the floor, and Fang

Xing sat on the one right in the center.

This place would be the room that housed the council of elders who were in charge of any

matters relating to the Duty Talisman Hall. Fang Xing sat quietly and well-behaved while

plotting what he would say to them shortly.

Two elderly men arrived not long after, both of them in their seventh or eighth tier. Fang Xing

knew that these elders had been inner court disciples when they were younger only to be

promoted to sect elders once they’d reached a certain age. It was usually these lowest-ranked

elders who would be the head of each department and hall.

Elders like these who had chosen to stay within the sect were in the minority. Most of the inner

court disciples that reached a certain age without achieving higher levels would usually choose

to return to their clans or families in the mortal realm for marriage and children. They hoped

that one day, a child born from their blood would be endowed with great zi’zhi and luck to

continue the path of cultivation on their behalf.

“Young one, what might your name be?” one of the elders asked in a heavy voice once all three

had been seated.

“Outer court disciple, Fang Xing. Please accept my sincere respect,” Fang Xing answered.

The cyan-robed elder gave a nod. “Tell us the entire course of the mission, in detail.”

“As you wish, sir.” Bitterly, as though he was being forced to remember something so painful

once more, Fang Xing began the story that he had fabricated in great detail. “Shixiong Hou Qing

along with the four of us made our way to Mount Miasma for a beast-slaying mission. There

was originally a very precise set of plans, but they didn’t tell me all of the details because I’m

young. Basically, we were to set up a trap for the beast toad, then we would use a bait to lure it

towards our trap….”

The elders exchanged looks with each other; they were all too clear on the score. They’d been

through it all, and upon hearing what Fang Xing said, they immediately knew what the plan had

entailed.

“They did not tell you what the bait was?” an awe-inspiring elder asked.

“Shixiong Hou Qing did not say anything. Shixiong Qian Tong, however, did tell me that I would

know soon….” At this moment, all three elders once again looked to each other in unison before

beckoning for Fang Xing to continue.