There were ten bottles of pills in all, most of them for Foundation Establishment Realm and Golden Core Realm cultivators. Pills for Qi Refining Realm cultivators were extremely scarce. What excited Xu Yang most was finding a bottle of Foundation Establishment Pills, though unfortunately there were only three inside, and Ling Feng had taken one.
Foundation Establishment Pills were essential for Qi Refining Realm cultivators advancing to Foundation Establishment Realm. They were extremely rare and seldom circulated in the markets. Whenever they appeared, they were sure to spark a scramble, and they were worth a fortune. To advance to Foundation Establishment Realm, a cultivator had to shed their mortal shell, cleanse their meridians, and replace their marrow; Foundation Establishment Pills helped them complete this process.
Only cultivators with a Heavenly Spirit Root could advance directly to Foundation Establishment Realm without taking Foundation Establishment Pills. All other cultivators needed to take them to advance. Of course, there were other ways to reach Foundation Establishment Realm, but they all came at too great a cost and were nowhere near as quick and convenient as using Foundation Establishment Pills.
Ordinary single-element Spirit Root cultivators, such as those with Fire, Metal, or Water Spirit Roots, only needed one Foundation Establishment Pill to advance successfully. Cultivators with mutant Spirit Roots, like Ice or Wind, were the same as those with a single-element Spirit Root and also needed only one pill.
But cultivators with mixed Spirit Roots were out of luck. Those with two elements needed two pills; those with three needed three, and so on. Cultivators with all five elements needed five pills. Foundation Establishment Pills were always in short supply—where could they find enough to squander?
That was why cultivation sects favored single-element Spirit Root cultivators. Not only did they cultivate quickly, but they also used fewer resources and needed fewer Foundation Establishment Pills. The sects could use the resources they saved to train more elite disciples.
Xu Yang was one of those unlucky cultivators. His Void Spirit Root was only a little better than a three-element mixed Spirit Root. To advance to Foundation Establishment Realm, he needed to take three Foundation Establishment Pills. To be safe, he would need to prepare one extra. Who knew whether three pills would be enough? Such cases had happened before.
Some unlucky souls failed to advance even after taking enough Foundation Establishment Pills, and could only succeed by taking one more. Xu Yang feared he might run into the same problem, so he naturally had to prepare an extra pill as a backup.
Now that he had obtained two Foundation Establishment Pills, he was overjoyed, but they still weren't enough for him. He would have to find another way to get two more. Xu Yang put the pills into his Qiankun Bag as he thought.
Besides the bottle of Foundation Establishment Pills, there was also a bottle of top-grade Qi Refining Powder and a bottle of top-grade Qi Recovery Pills, both for Qi Refining Realm cultivators. Xu Yang had gotten the Qi Refining Powder, while Ling Feng had taken the Qi Recovery Pills. Ling Feng was seriously injured, and these top-grade pills could help him recover as quickly as possible.
As for the other pills, Xu Yang put them all into an empty Qiankun Bag, planning to hand them over to Qin Shuang to deal with after they got out. Once they had divided up the pills, Xu Yang and Ling Feng immediately headed for the wooden racks holding the treasures.
They split up and swept all the treasures off the racks, then gathered to inspect them. After taking stock, Xu Yang found that there were very few true magic treasures among them—only two.
One was a green Flying Sword, and the other was a treasure mirror. Xu Yang didn't inspect either one closely, simply putting them into his Qiankun Bag. The remaining treasures included six Dharma Artifacts, all top grade: two Flying Swords, a Daoist robe, a treasure mirror, a Whisk, and a small mountain.
Xu Yang also found two Talisman slips. On inspection, he discovered that one was a Talisman Treasure, with a copper lock drawn on it. The lock was called the God-Sealing Lock. It could seal an opponent's spiritual sense, preventing them from controlling their magic treasures, but it was only effective against cultivators below Golden Core Realm.
The other Talisman slip was a Yin-attribute talisman that could release a Lunar Divine Light Ray to attack enemies. No cultivator below Nascent Soul Realm could withstand it. It had been personally made by that female cultivator.
The rest of the treasures were all spiritual materials used to refine magic treasures. Xu Yang recognized only a small portion of them, such as Heaven Star Gold, Flame Fire Stone, and Blue Water Tear. He didn't recognize most of the others, and figured they had probably been brought from Yong Province!
Once they had finished taking stock, Xu Yang's face lit up with delight. With these treasures, their combat strength would increase greatly. They no longer needed to fear Hu Xinrong and the other two; instead, they could wipe them out in one fell swoop and loot their belongings while they were at it.
At the thought, Xu Yang laughed heartily and told Ling Feng what he had in mind. Ling Feng said indignantly, "That's exactly what we should do. Let's get ready first, then go out and finish them off!" With that, Ling Feng took out the top-grade Qi Recovery Pills and went to a corner to tend to his injuries.
Seeing this, Xu Yang had no choice but to put the Dharma Artifacts, spiritual materials, and Talisman slips into his Qiankun Bag. He left out only the Talisman Treasure, the God-Sealing Lock, intending to use it to kill Hu Xinrong and the other two.
Time slipped by. An hour later, Ling Feng suddenly let out a long breath and opened his eyes. His eyes gleamed, and his face was rosy; clearly, his injuries had greatly improved.
Xu Yang was examining a cauldron in the hall. Seeing this, he was delighted and immediately flew over to Ling Feng. "Daoist Ling, how are your injuries? You look like you've mostly recovered!"
Ling Feng replied with delight, "I didn't expect these top-grade Qi Recovery Pills to be so potent. My injuries have completely healed. Now I have nothing to fear from Hu Xinrong and the others." At this, Ling Feng bowed to Xu Yang, his face full of gratitude. "I also have to thank you, Daoist Xu, for looking after me all this way. Otherwise, I would have been dead long ago."
"Daoist Ling, you're too kind. We're companions; how could I watch you die and abandon you? There's no need for such formalities. Let's go out and settle the score with Hu Xinrong and the others!" Xu Yang hurriedly helped Ling Feng to his feet.
Hearing this, Ling Feng rose and nodded to Xu Yang. He was about to say something when a rumbling crash suddenly sounded outside the hall. Xu Yang and Ling Feng were startled and hurried out of the side hall into the main hall.
The stone door of the main hall had opened again. The first person to enter was Hu Xinrong, but his appearance had changed drastically. His former layer of fat had vanished, replaced entirely by bulging muscles, turning him into a muscle-bound man with an imposing, awe-inspiring presence.
Behind Hu Xinrong, Liu Peng and Zhao Man stared at him in a daze, clearly shocked by his transformation. Xu Yang and Ling Feng exchanged a glance, then immediately went to stand before the three, blocking their way into the hall.
After Hu Xinrong's transformation, even his voice had become rough and booming. He called out to Xu Yang and Ling Feng, "I didn't expect you to run so fast, or that you'd manage to lift the stone door and enter the inner layer. I really miscalculated. But this is as far as you'll get. Under my Asura Yin Evil Technique, you'd better obediently accept your deaths!" With that, Hu Xinrong charged at Xu Yang.
Xu Yang didn't dare be careless. He immediately summoned the Yellow Heaven Bell above his head, and a yellow curtain of light shielded him. At the same time, the Sky-Severing Sword and Golden Wing Sword shot toward Hu Xinrong at blinding speed.
Seeing Xu Yang and Ling Feng attack, Ling Feng immediately went after Liu Peng and Zhao Man. Spears and arrows shot out in wave after wave. At the same time, Ling Feng raised his hand and took out a broad Flying Sword. He merged with the sword and shot toward Zhao Man at tremendous speed.
Zhao Man's expression changed. She hurriedly retreated behind Liu Peng and sent out a white Large Net toward Ling Feng. Liu Peng controlled a round mirror, first reflecting all the spells Ling Feng had unleashed back at him. Then he sent out a Flying Sword to attack Ling Feng in concert with the net.
Ling Feng, merged with his sword, charged straight ahead. He pierced through the net, knocked Liu Peng's Flying Sword aside, and swept toward Liu Peng with a killing blow. Liu Peng's expression changed in alarm. He hurriedly controlled the Heaven-Returning Mirror to block in front of him, pouring all his Gang Qi into it in an attempt to stop Ling Feng's deadly strike.
Behind Liu Peng, Zhao Man's expression also shifted. She hadn't expected Ling Feng to unleash such a fierce attack. It seemed his injuries had already healed.
Zhao Man didn't dare hesitate. She immediately took out a silver hairpin and thrust it at Ling Feng. This Silver Phoenix Hairpin was one of Zhao Man's trump cards. It was a top-grade Dharma Artifact, and with her cultivation, she could use it only twice.
Once the silver hairpin flew out, it shot toward Ling Feng at tremendous speed, piercing through the air with a series of sharp cracks. The two soon collided. With a clear ring, the hairpin was knocked aside, and Ling Feng's attack was greatly weakened as the Heaven-Returning Mirror sent him flying. Ling Feng was forced out of his merged state, separating from his sword. The three then continued their fierce exchange of spells, locked in a stalemate for a time.
On the other side, Xu Yang controlled two Flying Swords to attack Hu Xinrong, but Hu Xinrong simply ignored them. As he circulated the Asura Yin Evil Technique, his whole body turned blue-black, and his defense became monstrously strong. The Flying Swords struck him with a crisp clang and bounced away.
Hu Xinrong then reached Xu Yang, raised his blue-black right hand, and slammed it down. With a thunderous boom, the Yellow Heaven Bell was sent flying by a single punch, and Xu Yang was hurled away with it.
Xu Yang landed awkwardly on the ground and saw that the Yellow Heaven Bell had been punched inward, leaving a dent. He immediately sucked in a cold breath, shaken to the core. Then fury surged through him. A tiger that doesn't show its claws gets mistaken for a sick cat!
Xu Yang immediately recalled all his Dharma Artifacts, activated Iron Body, and crashed into Hu Xinrong. Hu Xinrong was startled. He hadn't expected Xu Yang to dare engage him in hand-to-hand combat. Xu Yang's body had also turned blue-black and looked much like his own. Could it be that Xu Yang had cultivated the Asura Yin Evil Technique too?
As these thoughts crossed Hu Xinrong's mind, he couldn't help but lose focus, and his movements slowed. Xu Yang immediately noticed. Furious but pleased, he thought, You bastard! You dare lose focus while fighting me? You really think nothing of me! I'll teach you a lesson right now.
With that, Xu Yang immediately sped up. Before Hu Xinrong could react, Xu Yang had landed three punches and two kicks on his broad face. Though Hu Xinrong's defense was powerful enough to keep his head from bursting, his face swelled up at once, turning into a pig's head.
Once Hu Xinrong came to his senses, fury filled him. He immediately swung at Xu Yang with all his strength, and the two grappled like wild beasts, pounding each other with their fists until their bodies boomed with every blow. Yet neither could get the better of the other.
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