Xiao Yuwei didn't expect that the first question from Fang Yuan was this. She answered honestly:
"My transformation technique can only change my own appearance, so I can only be naked..."
To be honest, being in front of a handsome young man while not wearing a stitch of clothing made Xiao Yuwei lower her head slightly, feeling incredibly shy.
Apart from the embarrassment, she also vaguely felt some excitement.
However, all of these feelings were suppressed by another emotion in her heart—fear of death.
Feelings of shame and dignity no longer mattered.
Upon hearing this, Fang Yuan's expression became strange. Wasn't this just like a shape-shifter?
Sure enough, the talents in this world were truly all kinds of strange.
This made him feel somewhat embarrassed as he had unintentionally taken advantage of her.
He quickly took out a set of clothes from his waist pouch and tossed them to her. "Get dressed first."
These were the clothes he had prepared for himself, as it was quite common for clothes to be destroyed during battle.
"Yes..." Xiao Yuwei obediently began putting on the clothes.
"Now, tell me the purpose of your mission," Fang Yuan asked again.
Xiao Yuwei then explained her task to investigate Mo Yu, speaking honestly.
"I never expected that, after finally locating him, I would arrive here and see you, senior, slaughtering all of Mo Yu's demons..."
At this point, Xiao Yuwei couldn't help but ask, "Senior, what about Mo Yu?"
"Dead. He died before his subordinates," Fang Yuan replied.
Xiao Yuwei's heart trembled. Even though she had guessed this possibility, hearing it from him still felt unbelievable.
Mo Yu was the fastest among the Demon Lords, making him one of the most troublesome ones to deal with. A demon that had caused the entire Yongnan Province to live in fear... yet he died shortly after leaving the province. It was simply too surreal.
"Thank you, senior, for removing this major threat to the military and civilians of Yongnan Province!"
Thinking of this, Xiao Yuwei half-knelt.
"Get dressed," Fang Yuan said. "Also, don't call me senior anymore."
"My name is Fang Yuan. I'm a disciple of Chongwu Hou and now the new master of the Jianghai Palace."
Xiao Yuwei was stunned for a moment before quickly changing her address. "I pay my respects to General."
"General?"
"Yes, although Jianghai State is just a single state, it was granted to Chongwu Hou by the court, and its status is equivalent to that of a province. So calling you General is fitting."
Xiao Yuwei explained while marveling at the strength of Fang Yuan, the disciple of the famous Chongwu Hou.
Moreover, this disciple was incredibly young!
He looked to be just in his teens, yet he had already become the ruler of a state. And the way he slaughtered demons like it was nothing...
This strength was perhaps even more outrageous than the so-called number one genius of Yongnan Province!
Fang Yuan stroked his chin and accepted the title.
"Well, Xiao, do you have anything to do now?"
"Now?" Xiao Yuwei smiled wryly and shook her head.
"The target I needed to track is gone, so I only need to report back."
"Don't rush back," Fang Yuan said. "Please help me watch over the borders of Jianghai State for now."
He needed to return to the Jianghai Palace to cultivate, and there would be a brief vacancy at the borders, so he needed someone to keep watch.
Xiao Yuwei's cultivation at the Fourth Boundary was already quite strong in Jianghai State.
There was no choice; Jianghai State relied entirely on Fang Yuan alone, which was exhausting...
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuwei's beautiful face revealed some hesitation.
She remembered that Fang Yuan had used illusion magic to trick that pigeon demon into bringing the Red-Faced Mountain Lord over, right?
That was a Sixth Boundary demon!
So, he wanted to lure the Mountain Lord over, and then leave, asking me to stay behind and watch...
At this moment, Xiao Yuwei felt like a big fool.
But she still nodded and agreed. "Understood!"
Fang Yuan let her off. Her official rank was lower than his, so both in terms of emotion and reason, she had to follow his instructions.
"Don't worry. With my strength, I'll be able to return quickly."
Noticing her hesitation, Fang Yuan comforted Xiao Yuwei and then handed her a protective item. "Take this."
"What's this?" Xiao Yuwei looked at the statue in her hand, puzzled.
"If you encounter an enemy you can't handle, just place this item on the ground, and I'll arrive immediately."
"I see. Looks like this is a magical item," Xiao Yuwei replied. "Understood."
"Thank you," Fang Yuan said as he gave a final bow. His figure turned into a streak of light and disappeared into the sky.
Xiao Yuwei, with her mouth slightly agape, finally understood how he had managed to eliminate Mo Yu.
At the Jianghai Palace, in the mighty hall, a white shadow fell like a meteor from the sky.
Fang Yuan, lying on the ground, opened his eyes. He stretched and sat up straight.
Seeing Fang Yuan moving, Yin Shiwu, who had been guarding him, happily said, "Lord Fang, you're back! How's the situation at the border?"
Yin Shiwu knew that when the soul was separated from the body, the physical body was completely unprotected, so he had stayed by Fang Yuan's side to guard him.
"It's fine, nothing serious. A demon lord and some small demons came to cause trouble, but I've dealt with it," Fang Yuan said.
Yin Shiwu grinned. This didn't sound like a small issue—it was a demon lord, after all! But coming from Fang Yuan's mouth, it seemed like no big deal.
"But the border crisis is not over yet. I'll meditate for a bit first, and I may need to head back there again."
"Understood," Yin Shiwu nodded.
Fang Yuan then closed his eyes, and his consciousness entered the jade slip given to him by Chongwu Hou.
"Fifth Boundary: Build the Spirit River. Sixth Boundary: Nurture the River Spirit."
The next two characters were reversed, just like how great rivers and oceans nurture true dragons.
The Sixth Boundary involved borrowing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, combining it with the practitioner's own flesh, blood, and magical power to give birth to a River Spirit, or a Dao Embryo.
It was similar to pregnancy, where heaven and earth were the father, and the practitioner was the mother.
Though it sounded strange, who cared about giving birth to a child for the sake of growing stronger?
When he thought of this, Fang Yuan found the required technique in the jade slip: "Flying through the Whirlpool Cloud."
This was it?!
He remembered that Ye Chuan had used this technique before. With Ye Chuan's cultivation at the Fourth Boundary, it was clear he wasn't qualified to give birth to heaven's child. How could this be a technique to nurture the spirit?
After examining it carefully, Fang Yuan realized that "Flying through the Whirlpool Cloud" was indeed a very special technique. Nurturing the spirit was just one of its effects.
The technique had terrifying combat power even at the beginner level, making one's strength far exceed others in the same realm.
So, was "Flying through the Whirlpool Cloud" the only technique like this?
Fang Yuan then recalled another technique he had mastered, which was similarly strong at the beginner level but had high requirements for continued cultivation.
He immediately shifted his focus to the technique "Slash."
Sure enough, Fang Yuan discovered... "Slash" was also a spirit-nurturing technique.
This was amazing! If he practiced both, could he give birth to twins?