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In the cultivation world, yang fire is more common, while yin fire is relatively rare.

However, whether it is yang fire or yin fire, they are rare and valuable items, and are extremely difficult to find at auctions.

After listening, Shen Duheng said, "Then let's set off tomorrow."

Yang Ji: "So fast?! Let me get ready."

Shen Duheng: "I'm not going tomorrow. You can go by yourself from now on."

"Hey, hey, no, we'll leave tomorrow then." Yang Ji immediately agreed when Shen Duheng said he was leaving. "So what are you going to do tonight? Stay here for the night?"

Shan Heyuan glanced at the unpaved mud floor, then at the spiderwebs by the window, and politely declined, "I won't bother you any longer. The nearest town doesn't seem too far from here."

Shen Duheng: "We'll stay in town, and meet at the village entrance tomorrow."

Yang Ji clicked his tongue. "Okay, but we can't leave until tomorrow afternoon. I have a lot of materials to prepare, and I definitely won't be able to finish by morning."

Shen Duheng nodded. "We'll come find you again this afternoon."

After the three made their agreement, Shen Duheng took Shan Heyuan to the town on his sword.

This remote town is not big; there is only one main street running from one end to the other.

At least this place is clean and tidy, and has suitable inns.

After the two checked in, Shan Heyuan asked Shen Duheng, "Is Senior Yang Ji a weapon maker?"

"Hmm. He's quite skilled at forging spirit swords, but he doesn't like to use them much."

Seeing his curiosity, Shen Duheng said, "I once ran into him in the wilderness. He begged me to save the lives of all twenty-one of his fellow disciples, and he owes me a huge favor."

Shan Heyuan's eyes widened. "He actually has fellow disciples? Isn't he Rogue Cultivator?"

"No. He's been stuck at a bottleneck for a long time, and now he's probably looking for an opportunity to advance."

"That's really not easy. Senior Yang Ji is at the Peak Core Formation now, right? How long was he stuck?"

"He was stuck there before I became Sword Spirit."

Shen Duheng clearly didn't want to talk about outsiders, and said to Shan Heyuan, "I said before that your opportunity to Core Formation wasn't through the Lightning Tribulation, try using spiritual fire."

Shan Heyuan was taken aback. "Spiritual fire?"

Shen Duheng nodded. "You have Chaos Spirit Root, and your body contains Fire Spirit Root, so you inherently possess the basic conditions to subdue spiritual fire. Apart from Lightning Tribulation, the five elements are the easiest way to break through bottlenecks and advance in cultivation. If spiritual fire doesn't work, we can try other elements."

Upon hearing this, Shan Heyuan felt a surge of pride. "Then let's give it a try, it'll definitely be fine."

The two rested for one night and went to meet Yang Ji the next afternoon.

Yang Ji was dressed quite neatly today, wearing trousers, a jacket, and armbands, and carrying a huge hammer.

He was fairly handsome, but his attire made him look like someone you didn't want to mess with.

Upon seeing Shan Heyuan and his companion, he tossed the hammer into the air and asked, "Shall we go over now?"

Shen Duheng pulled Shan Heyuan along. "Let's go."

Standing on Shen Duheng's flying sword, Shan Heyuan couldn't help but look back at Yang Ji's hammer.

He had seen people control swords, boats, and flowers, but this was the first time he had ever seen someone control a hammer, especially since the hammer was ridiculously large.

Yang Ji didn't sense anything was wrong at all. He sat cross-legged on the hammer, wielding it with great force.

The Sand Terrace Mine Area was not far from them, and they arrived in the evening.

The mining area was located among the huge rocks that Shan Heyuan had seen before.

From above, you can see that the rocks have been blasted into pieces, and the dark openings are staring straight up. You can see the jumbled rocks inside the cave from a great distance.

The three of them swooped down and landed in the mine.

Once inside the mine, Shan Heyuan felt a chill in the air, an indescribable coldness surrounding him.

He turned his head and looked around, only to see solid rock walls all around them, with the tops of the walls at least a hundred meters away.

The wind howled and wailed all around.

He was completely unaware of the presence of the spiritual fire.

Shan Heyuan looked up at Shen Duheng, wanting to ask if they had come to the wrong place and whether they should change the entrance.

Seeing his expression, Yang Ji explained, "The mine tunnels here are interconnected; you can enter from any entrance."

Shen Duheng for Shan Heyuan to walk beside him. "Let's go."

Shen Duheng chose one of the paths and led the way.

The mine shaft they entered was large and high. As they walked into the mine tunnel, the tunnel became much narrower, and the three of them had to line up and walk into the tunnel one after another.

Shen Duheng walked at the front, Shan Heyuan in the middle, and Yang Ji brought up the rear.

The mine was very quiet, with only the sound of the wind whistling through the air.

Their footsteps sounded very loud in the hollow.

Shan Heyuan walked between the two, still feeling quite uncertain.

He gripped the spirit sword he usually used for sword control tightly, his ears alertly listening to sounds from all directions.

A drop of water fell with a "plop," making a particularly loud noise inside the mine.

Shan Heyuan flinched nervously.

Seeing him like this from behind, Yang Ji smiled and tried to ease the tension, "Don't be nervous, Senior Shen and I are two experts here—"

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Duheng, who was in front of him, suddenly called out, "There's a sound up ahead."

Before Shen Duheng could finish speaking, a white figure pounced on them.

Shan Heyuan has participated in the academy's major competition before, so his combat awareness is still decent.

Realizing that Bai Ying was much stronger than him, he immediately grabbed his spirit sword and stepped back, pressing his back firmly against the stone wall to make room for Shen Duheng and Yang Ji to fight.

However, Shen Duheng only drew his sword lightly.

The spirit sword struck the white figure from the side, slamming it directly into the stone wall on the other side.

The white shadow crashed into the stone wall with a dull thud, and then slid down the wall.

Upon closer inspection, Shan Heyuan saw that it was a white monkey with a pointed head.

Its forelimbs are exceptionally long, and its black claws reflect light.

This monkey must be the Gang Heaven Monkey.

Its aura had indeed reached the Core Formation. If a cultivator of a slightly lower level had come, they would most likely have fared poorly after being ambushed like this.

Unexpectedly, he was killed by Shen Duheng in one move.

Yang Ji was also surprised. "Your swordsmanship is much better than before. You're not practicing 'Empty Sword' anymore?"

Shen Duheng: "This Gang Heaven Monkey is yours."

Yang Ji: "Alright, thank you very much, Senior Shen."

Yang Ji immediately stopped worrying about Shen Duheng's swordsmanship and ran over to pick up the corpse of the Gang Heaven Monkey: "I've wanted the Gang Heaven Monkey's claws for a long time, but I'm not strong enough to hunt them, and they're not available on the market either."

Shen Duheng nodded and said nothing more.

Yang Ji carefully laid down the corpse of the Gang Heaven Monkey, then said, "These Demon Beast always move in groups. The fact that one has appeared here means we're not far from their lair."

Shen Duheng listened intently. "There should be a lair of the Gang Heaven Monkey beneath this mine tunnel."

Yang Ji's spirits lifted. "They have a habit of collecting Heaven-Resembling Stone. If we go to their lair, we'll most likely find something."

As he spoke, Yang Ji gently nudged Shan Heyuan, signaling him to hurry up and move forward.

Shen Duheng reached out to stop him. "You guys wait here, I'll go by myself."

"Are you alone?" Yang Ji's face clearly showed disapproval. "Two hands can't fight four fists. The Gang Heaven Monkey have been dominating here for a long time and have killed many cultivators. You've only just entered the Nascent Soul; you might not be able to get the better of them."

Before Shen Duheng could speak, Yang Ji suggested, "How about I go with you? Young Friend Shan can stay here and we'll pick him up when we get back."

Shen Duheng: "I'm worried about leaving him here alone. You stay here and watch over him; I'll be back soon."

"Can--"

"Even if we can't kill those Gang Heaven Monkey, there won't be any danger."

"Alright, you have the highest cultivation level, so you're in charge."

Shen Duheng quickly picked up his sword and went downstairs.