Your Spell Version is Too Low!

The Iron Sand slowly dispersed, like a receding black tide, returning to circle around Qi Yun.

A completely misshapen pile of flesh and gore fell to the ground with a wet SPLAT.

Qi Yun’s gaze shifted, his eyes landing on a faint, almost unnoticeable glint amidst the sand.

With a flick of his hand, a simple, unassuming ring, ancient in style and made of dark gold, flew out from the pile of gore and into his palm.

To have remained intact under the terrifyingly immense pressure of the Abyssal Iron Sand, without even a single scratch, this ring was clearly no ordinary item.

Qi Yun swept his Divine Sense over it, sensing a resilient and profound protective Dao Rhyme within. Its specific function was unclear for now, but based on its material alone, it was incredibly valuable.

He calmly placed the ring into his Storage Magic Bracelet, deciding to investigate it later.

This was not the time for a detailed examination.

Having eliminated the assassin from the Seven Kills Sect, a faint red glow appeared in Qi Yun’s eyes as he turned to look at the group of Yellow Springs Netherworld cultivators not far away.

His bizarre and ethereal Illusionary Body Concealment Technique, combined with the terrifying killing power of the Wood Element Command Skill and the Sand Iron Skill, was further bolstered by the dual recovery effects of his Devouring Essence ability and the Stealing and Swallowing Gu.

Qi Yun had brutally carved a path through the Yellow Springs Netherworld cultivators’ counter-encirclement.

In the end, under the shocked and furious gazes of the numerous Yellow Springs Netherworld cultivators, Qi Yun’s figure flickered, suddenly transforming into a wisp of ethereal Pure Qi and effortlessly passing through their not-yet-closed encirclement.

He vanished completely, melting into the denser fog and forests in the distance.

...

「Two days later.」

In a mortal county town hundreds of miles away from Ghost Wail Collection, Qi Yun had already changed his appearance. Dressed in a common blue-cloth long robe and concealing his entire cultivation aura, he looked like an inconspicuous traveling scholar.

Two days ago, not long after he had successfully shaken his pursuers, the Taixu Jade Order in his possession had transmitted a message from Yuan Zong.

The message was simple, its main point being that the Yellow Springs Netherworld had reacted quickly with powerful reinforcements, and they should temporarily avoid a direct confrontation.

It ordered everyone to hide their tracks and act as the situation dictated.

If they were confident, they were to head toward the next planned extermination target—a Yellow Springs Netherworld Marketplace stronghold—and regroup when the opportunity arose.

"The Yellow Springs Netherworld’s reaction was much faster than I expected this time." Qi Yun sat in a clean, elegant guest room of a tavern in the county town, tapping his fingers lightly on the desk in thought.

’Once bitten, twice shy. It seems the Holy Sect really did a number on them last time in the Peach Garden Secret Realm.’

’Now they’re seeing shadows everywhere, their vigilance has shot way up.’

He found this tavern in the county town and settled in safely, not in a hurry to continue his journey.

Although the continuous fighting and breakouts had advanced his cultivation, his Heart and Spirit had also been taxed, and he needed some rest.

He also needed to sort through his gains from the trip to Ghost Wail Collection.

To ensure his safety, he waved his hand and retrieved an item from his Storage Magic Bracelet.

It was an Array Disc, only the size of a palm, made of a material that was neither metal nor jade. Its surface was covered in countless fine points of light that shifted slowly, like a flowing Star River.

[Element Avoidance Array Disc]

Once activated, this Array Disc could quickly form a small isolation barrier that enveloped an area of about ten feet in radius.

It could effectively block all aura fluctuations and Divine Sense probes from within the barrier. Its effects were excellent, making it an essential item for concealment, closed-door cultivation, or handling sensitive matters.

Of course, such outstanding effects came at a steep price.

This Element Avoidance Array was a single-use consumable, and each one cost a staggering three thousand Holy Essence.

Even a minor tycoon like Qi Yun, who owned a "Talisman" production line and was far wealthier than his peers, felt a painful sting using it.

’Three thousand Holy Essence for one use... The Holy Sect is a fucking rip-off...’

After a soft sigh, Qi Yun hesitated no longer. He forced a wisp of True Qi from his fingertip and injected it into the Array Disc’s core.

VMMMM!

The starlight flowing on the Array Disc suddenly accelerated. An invisible, transparent ripple, like that on water, rapidly spread out from the disc’s center, gently enveloping the entire room.

In an instant, it was as if the inside and outside of the room had been separated into two different worlds.

All the noise and auras from the outside world were completely blocked.

Qi Yun felt the absolute silence and security within the barrier and nodded in satisfaction.

Only then did he sit down cross-legged, reassured, ready to start taking stock of his gains and properly examine the indestructible golden ring.

A dazzling array of items almost filled half the room.

The most numerous among them were all sorts of Talismans.

From low-tier Fire Talismans, Exorcism Talismans, Evil-Breaking Talismans, and Sword Energy Talismans, to middle-grade Vajra Talismans and Earth Escape Talismans, the types were numerous and their grades varied.

Although there were no particularly rare top-grade ones, their strength was in their sheer numbers.

There were enough to support his regular consumption for some time.

Next were some Elixirs and Spirit Grass Treasure Medicines, sealed in Jade Bottles and Jade Boxes.

Most were common types used for recovering True Qi and healing injuries, brimming with Spiritual Qi and of decent quality.

Qi Yun gave them a cursory inspection and found no Poison Pills or any signs of tampering.

He set them aside; they were all practical consumables.

Another pile consisted of various materials that shimmered with the luster of metal or jade.

There was "Cold Iron Essence," which could be used to temper a Flying Sword; "Soft Jade Marrow," which could enhance the resilience of Magical Artifacts; and some unnamed ores and crystals that faintly emitted different auras.

Although these things weren’t as precious as Celestial and Earthly Spiritual Objects, they were all common and valuable materials used in Artifact Refining and Talisman Making.

They would all be useful in the future.

Just as he finished his rough inventory and was about to put the items away, his gaze was drawn to an inconspicuous object mixed in with the pile of materials.

It was a scale, about the size of a baby’s palm, with a warm, aquamarine-blue color.

The surface of the scale wasn’t smooth but was covered in extremely fine, natural patterns like water ripples, which seemed to refract the indoor light into a shimmering glimmer.

Even stranger, when Qi Yun picked it up, he could almost hear the faint, soothing sound of a surging tide.

A cool but not biting aura, gentle as spring water, naturally emanated from the scale and wrapped around his fingers.

"This is... a [Jade River Scale]?"

Qi Yun picked up the scale and examined it closely, a look of surprise appearing in his eyes.

He had once read a description of it in an ancient book that chronicled strange and exotic treasures.

This item was not the scale of a Demon Beast, but an Exotic Treasure formed naturally in the deep seas of the Far North, nourished by the Essence of Water.

Its greatest magical property was its extremely powerful "Cold Resistance" effect.

It wasn’t simply for warmth; it could form an invisible barrier that insulated against the corrosion of extreme cold qi.

It even possessed considerable resistance to certain Cold Attribute Magic.

"Hm?"

With a soft sound of surprise, Qi Yun recalled the information the mysterious, imprisoned man, Situ Huaji, had told him from beneath Wanyan Building in his bid for freedom—information about a wild Foundation Establishment Object.

The location of that Foundation Establishment Object was a place of extreme cold, a desolate land known as the "Yinming Abyss."

According to Situ Huaji’s description, the cold qi there was so intense it could shatter Golden Stone and seal away one’s Divine Soul.

Ordinary Qi Refining Cultivators would find it nearly impossible to venture deep inside without special means.

Let alone search for treasure.

’So that’s how it is...’ A flash of understanding crossed Qi Yun’s eyes as he caressed the cool, smooth Jade River Scale.

’The Yellow Springs Netherworld probably didn’t imprison Situ Huaji just to torture him.’

’They must have forced the location of that Foundation Establishment Object out of him!’

’Perhaps they’ve already broken him. Even if they didn’t get all the information, they must know part of it.’

’This Jade River Scale is probably one of the fruits of their efforts. They just didn’t get a chance to use it before I came along and benefited.’

Having figured this out, some of the vague parts of Situ Huaji’s previous words now seemed to have an answer.

"Hmph, old fox," Qi Yun snorted, carefully putting away the crucial [Jade River Scale].

With this item, his confidence in exploring the Yinming Abyss and finding the Foundation Establishment Object increased severalfold.

This was undoubtedly the greatest unexpected boon from his trip to Ghost Wail Collection, aside from the Mysterious Iron Token and the upgrade to his Sand Iron Skill.

After re-inventorying, categorizing, and storing all his gains, Qi Yun let out a long sigh of relief.

The operation had been perilous, and he’d been counter-ambushed, but the rewards had far exceeded his expectations.

Not only had his cultivation advanced through the successive battles and devouring, but he had also obtained crucial items and information vital to his future path.

Waving his hand to dismiss the [Element Avoidance Array], Qi Yun felt the faint clamor of the mortal county town return from outside as he silently inspected his Dantian Purple Mansion.

The True Essence, which was originally just thin wisps of mist-like energy, had now gathered into a considerable swirling vortex of vapor, occupying nearly eighty percent of his Purple Mansion.

The vortex spun slowly, pure and condensed, emitting a much stronger and more stable aura.

’Eighty percent True Essence.’

A sharp glint flashed through Qi Yun’s eyes, and he felt quite satisfied.

During the great battle at Ghost Wail Collection, with the dual support of his White Bone Skeleton’s Devouring Essence ability constantly plundering the enemy’s Blood Essence Qi and the Stealing and Swallowing Gu in his shadow continuously absorbing and converting the dissipated energy from the battlefield, his progress in "Condensing Qi into Essence" had advanced by leaps and bounds.

He was only the final twenty percent of accumulation away from complete Perfection and stepping into the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

’At this rate, after one or two more battles of a similar scale, I can try to break through the bottleneck in one go!’

This significant increase in strength gave him more confidence for the actions to come.

After a moment of joy, Qi Yun’s mind raced, analyzing the current situation.

’Ghost Wail Collection has been attacked, so the Yellow Springs Netherworld is bound to be in an uproar. They’ll have strengthened the defenses of all their important Marketplaces and large strongholds.’

’Tough nuts to crack on the scale of Ghost Wail Collection are probably off-limits for the time being.’

’Otherwise, I’ll likely hit a steel plate and get surrounded.’

He didn’t let his recent victory go to his head.

The game of the Demon Dao was all about sizing up the situation, avoiding the strong and striking the weak.

’The large Marketplaces are obvious targets that draw too much attention. Now that the Yellow Springs Netherworld is on guard, they’ll be like porcupines—hard to get a handle on.’ His eyes flickered, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up.

’Which means... their smaller, less conspicuous strongholds might be temporarily ignored, now that all the attention has been diverted.’

’This is... a nice, juicy piece of meat I can try to sneak a bite of.’

Although the spoils from a single stronghold might not be as great as from Ghost Wail Collection, the risk was lower and the efficiency higher.

If he could take down several in a row, the accumulated gains would be substantial.

More importantly, in battles of this intensity, he could continue to hone his Magic, consolidate his cultivation, and accumulate power through Devouring Essence and the Stealing and Swallowing Gu.

This would help him condense that final twenty percent of True Essence.

’Looks like I need to find a way to get some concrete intel on the Yellow Springs Netherworld’s smaller, peripheral strongholds, either from Senior Brother Yuan or through other channels...’

Just as the thought crossed his mind and Qi Yun was about to consider how to acquire more information, the Taixu Jade Order in his possession vibrated with a familiar pulse once again.

It was a message from the team leader, Yuan Zong.

...