Jin Xi

"Are we safe?"

Ye Feixue said with lingering fear. Death had been so close.

"Temporarily safe," Lu Xuanji said. "I was only giving it a try. I never expected it to actually work."

"Why?" Ye Feixue asked.

"The White Tiger has a light attribute, while Nethergrass has a dark attribute. Smearing Nethergrass juice on ourselves was like getting a bit of shit on a pastry. The White Tiger found it disgusting and gave up on eating us."

Lu Xuanji voiced his speculation.

In the animal kingdom, every creature had its own way of surviving. He remembered that in his previous life, some animals, upon encountering danger, would hide directly in animal droppings. When their predators saw that, they immediately gave up hunting them.

He took out the rough map and began measuring the distance.

The conclusion was that they could not keep moving forward.

They were getting close to the mixed zone, where demon beasts had higher bloodline grades and the danger increased.

"Let's go."

Lu Xuanji began heading back, but as they walked, he gradually realized they were lost.

They had gone in the wrong direction.

In the vast mountains, getting lost with only a rough map was practically normal.

The only fortunate thing was that although the rough compass's direction might deviate, at least the general direction was correct. They would not walk and walk, only to enter the mixed zone.

They kept walking for about three days.

They were still among the mountain ridges.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

At that moment, Lu Xuanji sensed spiritual energy fluctuating violently as spells collided, wave after wave of Destructive Power surging forth.

"Not good. Top experts are fighting."

Instinctively, Lu Xuanji pulled Ye Feixue behind a boulder and waited uneasily.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The spell collisions continued. Wave after wave of force clashed as a gigantic bird wreathed in flames and a human cultivator battled in the sky more than a thousand meters above them.

It was as if low-yield nuclear bombs were colliding, their destructive ripples crashing into one another.

They were roughly ten kilometers away, yet when the destructive ripples struck the ground, trees toppled, ravines split open, and earth flew everywhere. Many demon beasts that had not fled in time were caught in the aftermath and instantly turned into pulp.

Countless demon beasts were running—Qi Refining demon beasts and Foundation Establishment Demon Beasts, moving in great herds to escape the battle's aftershocks.

He wanted to run too, but seeing the demon beasts stampeding all around him, he gave up on the idea.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The battle in the sky continued, and the slaughter did not stop.

The destructive fluctuations came one after another without end, surging like tides and erupting like flash floods. They stirred the spiritual energy within a radius of ten li into violent turmoil and caused the heavens to change.

High-level cultivators were fighting, and the scene was especially terrifying and shocking.

Amid the fierce battle, their battlefield shifted. A moment later, it had moved a hundred li away and vanished from sight.

"How strong are they?"

A trace of yearning flashed through Ye Feixue's eyes.

"They are Golden Core cultivators. They are far too distant from us," Lu Xuanji said with a faint sigh.

They were very powerful, but just how powerful, he did not know.

In the eyes of ants, wolves and tigers were equally powerful. They could not tell whether a tiger was stronger or a wolf was stronger.

"A true man should be like this!"

A trace of determination flashed through Lu Xuanji's eyes.

They continued walking out of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

About three days later, they finally left the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, but they had deviated badly from their intended route and were a thousand li away from Wu Family Market.

When they arrived at Wu Family Market and felt the crowds constantly coming and going, Lu Xuanji and Ye Feixue exchanged a glance. A trace of relief and joy flashed through both their eyes.

They had spent two months struggling through the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, often encountering danger. Even when sleeping, they had never felt secure.

Now that they had arrived here, they could finally sleep peacefully.

At the entrance to the market, Lu Xuanji took out his token. The guards at the gate looked at it and nodded.

Lu Xuanji and Ye Feixue entered the market.

At that moment, a Terrifying Aura spread through the air. Lu Xuanji looked up and saw a woman in white palace attire descending from the sky. She exuded noble elegance, while an aura of geng metal radiated from her, sharp and dazzling.

With only one glance, Lu Xuanji's heart trembled.

He was instantly stunned by her beauty, almost unable to look away.

Many Rogue Cultivators who saw her also felt their hearts tremble.

Even the Female cultivators looked utterly infatuated.

The next moment, sword intent radiated from the woman in white palace attire. The Rogue Cultivators present immediately felt a slight pain in their eyes and instinctively looked away.

She is a sword cultivator. Her attacks and killing intent are fierce and sharp, Lu Xuanji thought.

To become a sword cultivator, one had to possess a metal spiritual root, comprehend sword intent during the Qi Refining stage, and use that sword intent as a foundation to enter Foundation Establishment.

Sword cultivators were invincible in attack among those of the same realm.

At that moment, the Wu Family's Foundation Establishment Cultivator appeared. Bowing deeply, he said respectfully, "This junior is Wu Quan. Greetings, Ancestor Jin Xi. What brings you to Wu Family Market, Ancestor?"

"Just doing business," Jin Xi said.

"Ancestor, let us speak inside," Wu Quan said respectfully. He directly invited the ancestor into the Cave Dwelling and laid out spiritual tea to entertain her warmly.

"Brother, she's so beautiful."

A trace of longing flashed through Ye Feixue's eyes.

Lu Xuanji said, "You're just attracted by her looks. You're lusting after her body. You're shameless."

Ye Feixue giggled.

Once inside the Cave Dwelling, they opened their storage bags and sorted through their gains.

There were spirit herbs, spiritual grasses, demon beast corpses, and more. The corpses of some Qi Refining-stage demon beasts were worth at most one or two spirit stones, while spiritual grasses less than a hundred years old sold for three to five spirit stones. The most valuable item was still the Nether Cat's corpse. Though its combat power had been somewhat lacking, it was still a Foundation Establishment Demon Beast.

The corpse of a Foundation Establishment Demon Beast had many uses.

The Nethergrass in the box was also quite valuable.

After sorting the spoils, Lu Xuanji took only a small portion of the items and went to Wu Family Old Shop to sell them.

"This is Nethergrass."

Item after item appeared and was placed on the shop floor. At first, Wu Yueqin's expression remained calm, but when she saw the three stalks of Nethergrass, her gaze changed.

All three stalks of Nethergrass were five hundred years old, with dense medicinal potency and excellent quality.

Wu Yueqin looked at the three stalks of Nethergrass, a fiery gleam flashing through her eyes. Nethergrass was the main ingredient for refining Nether Pills. Consuming Nether Pills could increase a cultivator's Mental Strength, making them fairly good auxiliary pills.

Unfortunately, Nethergrass was extremely demanding about its environment. It not only required a place rich in spiritual energy, but also a dark, damp valley. Its growing conditions were harsh.

Only a few families cultivated Nethergrass artificially in certain special areas, and even then, the quantity was limited.

Wild Nethergrass was rare, especially specimens five hundred years old.

Moreover, where Nethergrass grew, Nether Cats often appeared. These cats were not particularly powerful, but they excelled at hiding and launching sneak attacks. Even many Foundation Establishment Cultivators had died there.

Yet this Lu Family cultivator had been incredibly lucky to pick three wild stalks of Nethergrass.

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