"Although that's true, I didn't just buy this invitation to broaden my horizons. I've already inquired about it, and this time at the auction, Shengye Sect is going to offer an elixir called the Origin Transformation Pill. It can help break through the bottleneck at the Foundation Establishment stage. Its efficacy is said to be better than anything currently on the market, and it's extremely rare, with production so limited that only a few bottles are refined each year. Aside from the one bottle auctioned, they only accept orders from other Sects and don't sell to Loose Cultivators," said Yu Qingli.

"Eh? If I remember correctly, the last time we met, Qingli, weren't you still complaining about how slowly your Cultivation at the Foundation Establishment stage was progressing, unsure when you'd even reach the initial bottleneck? Now you're already planning to buy an elixir to help with the breakthrough; isn't it too early?" Zhang Zhi asked, puzzled.

"Hehe, Brother Zhang, what you don't know is that the Xuanhua Spirit Incense Shop in the city, I think it was the year before last, released a new product called Purple Mysterious Incense. Its effect is much better than Qingxuan Incense. I've been buying it frequently for the past two years. Combined with elixirs, my cultivation speed has indeed increased quite a bit. Now, my cultivation has already reached the peak standard of the early stages of Foundation Establishment," said Yu Qingli with a smile.

"Oh, really? I bought a stick of Qingxuan Incense before and felt it was too weak, only suitable for those in the Qi Refinement Realm. I didn't expect there to be something now that's also suitable for those in the Foundation Establishment stage. It looks like I have to buy a few sticks to use after I get back," said Zhang Zhi, quite pleasantly surprised.

"Wait until you get back? They sell their incense in limited quantities. If you go now, I'm afraid even the Qingxuan Incense will be sold out, let alone thinking of buying the Purple Mysterious Incense. Dream on!" Yu Qingli shook his head.

"It's that popular? Then when does their shop open? I can still go early," Zhang Zhi frowned.

"Their shop opens at 5 A.M., but since there are so many buyers, if you really want to line up, you should go at 3 A.M. to grab a few sticks. However, I have a way that doesn't require lining up, although I'm not sure if Brother Zhang would be willing," Yu Qingli said.

Zhang Zhi, seeing the sly grin on Yu Qingli's face, felt somewhat uneasy, but couldn't resist the temptation of the Purple Mysterious Incense.

"Brother Yu, don't beat around the bush; just tell me."

"Well, I've been a patron of their shop for quite some time now and have accumulated some points, which allow me to place an order a day in advance. However, there's a limit to how much Purple Mysterious Incense one person can buy in a day. If I give some to you, I'll have less for myself," Yu Qingli said meaningfully.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Zhi gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Yu, with the relationship we've had for so long, I naturally won't let you suffer any loss. In that case, for each stick of incense, I'll pay ten percent more. How about that?"

Yu Qingli nodded and agreed with a laugh.

However, just at this moment, Yuan Ming suddenly said, "Fellow Daoist Yu, I've heard that if the Xuanhua Spirit Incense Shop discovers someone selling incense by taking advantage of their points, they'll put that person on the shop's blacklist and never sell incense to them again. You should be more careful."

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingli was taken aback, and Zhang Zhi, catching on, immediately burst into laughter.

"Brother Yu, with our many years of friendship, how could I bear to see you suffer a loss? To be safe, I'll just buy them from you at market price. Otherwise, it would be bad if someone reported us."

A look of embarrassment and annoyance flashed across Yu Qingli's face; he glared fiercely at Yuan Ming but could only grudgingly agree to Zhang Zhi's proposal.

Yuan Ming didn't mind, knowing that regular customers with points get discounts when buying incense—it turned out that Yu Qingli was still making a profit.

The reselling business couldn't be banned, and Yuan Ming didn't have the time to meddle in everyone's affairs, but since it was happening right in front of him, he felt obliged to give a word of caution.

"Fellow Daoist Yu, since you're placing an order, could you also reserve a few sticks of Beauty Incense for me? You probably won't need that, will you? I'll pay you the market price," Hua Xianzi also said.

Seeing this, Daoist Lu stroked his beard and couldn't help but sigh, "Even Foundation Establishment cultivators have to reserve their purchase of incense. The business at the Xuanhua Spirit Incense Shop must be booming; the owner behind the scenes must be making a fortune, right?"

"Indeed, considering the prices of their incense and that they sell out every day, just sitting at home, there would be several thousand Spirit Stones coming into the account each month," said Cultivator Cui, nodding, with evident envy in his voice.

"How wonderful that would be! Even the top disciples of Chang Chun Temple don't get such treatment. If I could open a shop like that in my lifetime, I would be perfectly content," Zhang Zhi sighed.

"Come off it, you? You'd better stick to carrying out Scatter Alliance tasks honestly—with no unique business of your own, where would you get such profits?" Yu Qingli laughed.

"Making simple trades like those, how could it be so easy to lose money? Besides, compared to opening a shop, Scatter Alliance tasks are more dangerous, right? Not to mention the usual exploring Secret Realms and guarding against criminals—have you heard? Recently, some decayed Scatter Alliances have started dealing in the slave trade, specifically luring local cultivators to unfamiliar places, poisoning and entrapping them. Those who are somewhat lucky just get their cultivation sealed and are sent to mine Spirit Stones, but the unlucky ones are sold directly to Evil Cultivators as Blood Sacrifice materials," said Zhang Zhi.

"Really? That's terrifying!" Yu Qingli was surprised.

"I have a friend who encountered a similar situation. He was told the mission was to go to a forest in the northern part of Zhao Country. But the farther he went, the closer he got to the Northern Desert. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and realized something was wrong, so he immediately fled, barely escaping with his life," said Cultivator Cui.

Everyone looked shocked upon hearing this, and then Jiang Xiong, who was sitting at another table, leaned over.

"Fellow Daoists, I hail from the Northern Desert, and there are some things I really shouldn't mention. But just now, as several of you kindly offered your assistance, I would feel remiss if I didn't offer a word of caution. In recent years, the situation in the Northern Desert Cultivation World has been rather strange. Many cultivators have disappeared without explanation, and numerous individuals with little potential have suddenly risen to power. In the black market of Wangyue City's workshop, Qi Refinement slaves occasionally appear. If possible, it is best for you all to stay away from the Northern Desert, or if you must go, be sure to take every precaution," he said.

This pronouncement tightened everyone's expressions. It was only when Yu Qingli forced a few chuckles and changed the subject that the atmosphere lightened slightly.

After that incident, they no longer discussed other odd rumors and instead chatted about trivial matters. Yuan Ming joined in from time to time, staying for over half an hour longer before getting up to leave.

However, as he was leaving, he suddenly saw Hu Tu driving a horse cart rushing over and stopping in the alley behind the tea house.

Yuan Ming, noticing that Hu Tu seemed not to have seen him, became curious and quietly positioned himself at the entrance of the alley.

In the alley, Hu Tu jumped off the horse carriage and knocked on the back door of the Four Symbols Tea House.

"Who is it?" inquired a server clad in light blue, poking his head out.

"Xuanhua Spirit Incense Shop. I've arranged it with your steward, bringing the incense over," Hu Tu said, rubbing his hands together.

The server looked at him twice: "Wait a moment, I'll go call the steward."

Before long, a middle-aged male cultivator came out. Seeing it was Hu Tu, he gave a smile and a polite bow of his hands.

"Ah, Brother Hu Tu, for such matters you could have simply sent someone on my behalf, why trouble yourself to make a trip here?"

"Can't help it. The boss ordered me personally to come and notify you all. From now on, we'll provide a centralized supply of incense to you, with delivery on the first of every month. Also, don't forget to help us promote our shop when using it," Hu Tu explained.

"Of course, of course," the steward nodded, checking each item one by one, confirming the quantity. Then, he turned to enter the building and quickly came back out with a storage bag.

"Here's the payment for your shop's incense. Could Brother Hu Tu count it?"

Hu Tu took the storage bag, counted the spirit stones inside, and suddenly looked up: "Steward Xu, it seems you have given me too many spirit stones, haven't you?"

"Hehe, this is a small token I've specially prepared for Brother Hu Tu, a little extra for your troubles—it's the rule of the City Lord Mansion," Steward Xu said with a smile.

Hu Tu's eyes flickered, then without changing his expression, he pocketed the storage bag: "Given the friendship between you and me, for such a small favor, even if Steward Xu hadn't mentioned it, I would not have forgotten it."

After chatting a bit more, both men burst out laughing.

Outside the alley, Yuan Ming turned away and left.

...

After Yuan Ming returned home, he sat down cross-legged and pondered over the information he had gathered from his trip to the tea house.

News of Sha Hao's deeds was already well-known throughout the city, with even the deaths of Gu Qiulong and Xu Changqing attributed to him. Now, Yuan Ming had no idea how many people wanted him dead.

Yet, if they simply wanted to kill him that was one thing, but he dreaded the thought of someone coveting Sha Hao's Soul Cultivation Method, deliberately sparing his life, giving him an opportunity to reveal his identity as a Soul Cultivator.

Associating this with the reward for Pu Zhengqing on the Evil Cultivation list, and the words "alive" inscribed behind it, Yuan Ming's face darkened, and his desire to kill Sha Hao intensified.

Finding Sha Hao wasn't difficult for him; if necessary, he could use his Soul Seal a few more times, which should reveal some information regarding Sha Hao's whereabouts.

However, most of his magical tools were damaged, and considering Sha Hao's skill in illusion, if he didn't fully prepare, it would be hard to capture him.

Over the past few days, he had visited various shops in Little Lake City and hadn't found any top-grade magical tool to his liking. His only chance to acquire one would probably be at the Tianxiang Auction.

But a newly obtained magical tool might not perform as well as the one he was accustomed to using. Instead of buying a new one, he preferred upgrading his Black Needle to a top-grade magical tool.

After pondering for a moment, he took out the artifact refining books he had bought over the last few days and started to read them carefully.

These books, purchased at high prices, contained quite a bit about top-grade magical tools.

He had already learned the basic content in Biluo Cave, so he quickly skipped over it and focused his attention on the explanations and analysis of top-grade magical tools.

For Core Formation Stage cultivators, top-grade magical tools can also be referred to as "treasure embryos," considered as magic treasures that are not yet fully refined.

Unlike magic treasures, however, the runes on top-grade magical tools cannot be connected into a rune formation; they still exist independently.

Not all magical tools can withstand the inscription of a fourth rune to become a top-grade magical tool. Ultimately, this is due to differences in the spiritual materials used.

Most spiritual materials can bear only up to three runes. When attempting to add another, it conflicts with the existing balance of runes, leading to their shattering and the deterioration of the magical tool as the material cannot withstand the power.

Only a magical tool that has incorporated top-grade spiritual materials during the refining process can endure the engraving and enriching of a fourth rune. Even if it fails, the magical tool will drop only one quality level and will not be completely destroyed.

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