However, the continuous string of major battles over the past three years had already strained the higher echelons of the Taiyi Immortal Sect, the Demonic Heaven Sect, and the Cold Water True Spirit Sect to their limits.
While both sides relentlessly weakened each other, they were secretly accumulating strength, acutely aware that the time for a decisive final battle was fast approaching.
...
The Flying Dragon Shuttle sped through the air, carrying Wu Tao at its fastest pace. After an hour, Wu Tao finally appeared above the temporary camp established by the Taiyi Immortal Sect.
After passing through the immense defensive formations arrayed above the temporary camp of the Taiyi Immortal Sect, Wu Tao descended and walked into a chaotic cluster of buildings.
Dwellings of varying sizes, packed densely together, were faintly visible on the ground of Sangmu Divine Island, arranged in a haphazard and disorderly fashion.
These cave dwellings were temporary structures hastily erected by Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators who had arrived here, using wood-element or earth-element spells.
Of course, the cave dwellings of Core Formation cultivators were naturally far superior to those of Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Furthermore, for security reasons, cultivators with higher cultivation levels resided closer to the central core area of Sangmu Divine Island.
Wu Tao first proceeded to his own residence, a not-so-large cave dwelling.
After closing the door, Wu Tao used a set of miniature formation flags to temporarily seal off the surroundings of the stone cave dwelling.
...
Following this, Wu Tao emptied the contents of the storage bags he had acquired today and began to sort through them.
"As expected, a large pile of pure water-attribute magical artifacts and pure water-attribute talismans! Who would use these things except those who cultivate water-attribute techniques?"
"Alas, recently, such mediocre items have become even less valuable due to the escalating conflict, flooding the market of the Qingzhou cultivation world. They can only be sold as common materials at a low price to those junk collectors!"
"Oh, this advanced Sea-Escaping Talisman is quite good! I'll keep it for backup. This one, and this one, and this one..."
After muttering to himself amidst the pile of items, Wu Tao quickly set aside the useful magical artifacts and other belongings.
The worthless and unused items were separately placed into another storage bag.
Tucking this storage bag away, Wu Tao removed the formation flags and left his residence.
Winding his way through several turns, Wu Tao headed towards the most conspicuous building within the cluster of cave dwellings: a grand hall constructed entirely from fiery red coral.
This red coral hall covered a vast area, spanning seventy to eighty zhang. Its entire body was blood-red, shimmering brightly under the sunlight, resembling the fiery clouds in the sky.
Wu Tao unceremoniously pushed open the doors. The hall was bustling and vibrant, filled with several thousand outer and inner disciples of the Taiyi Immortal Sect, engaged in transactions with the stall owners.
Many fellow disciples were also haggling with each other or browsing the items on display.
Wu Tao, familiar with the layout, swiftly made his way to several stalls, quickly converting the miscellaneous items in his storage bag into spirit stones.
After disposing of all the items he had no use for, Wu Tao found himself holding several hundred spirit stones.
During this time, after exchanging greetings with a few fellow disciples he knew, Wu Tao headed towards the largest stall in the hall.
This stall was over thirty meters long, almost three to four times the size of other stalls. The stall owner was a cold and handsome young woman named Xu Yan.
Wu Tao stood before Xu Yan and, without a word, directly tossed the storage bag filled with spirit stones to her. Then, he said without reservation, "Sister Yan, I heard you refined a new batch of Qi Gathering Pills. I have gathered a thousand spirit stones. Give me two Qi Gathering Pills."
"Heh heh, it's Junior Brother Wu! That's impressive, you managed to get a thousand spirit stones so quickly!" The cold and handsome young woman's face immediately broke into a slight smile upon seeing Wu Tao. She then reached out her right hand, grabbed the storage bag, and immersed her divine sense into it to check the quantity of spirit stones.
"Very good, very good! It's indeed a thousand spirit stones! Here are two Qi Gathering Pills, keep them safe!" After verifying the amount of spirit stones, Xu Yan nodded and took out a jade bottle from her person, handing it to Wu Tao.
Wu Tao accepted the jade bottle, directly opened its cap, took a small whiff, and then put it away. He then continued to ask with anticipation:
"Sister, do you have any Profound Yuan Pills now? If you have them, I can even offer an extra point for the price!"
...
"Junior Brother, Profound Yuan Pills are absolute rarities. My alchemy skills have not yet reached the level required to refine them. Although we Foundation Establishment cultivators may possess some Profound Yuan Pills, we treasure them dearly. Especially in the current situation, who would dare to sell them?"
"You must understand that Profound Yuan Pills play a significant role when breaking through from the early to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. I've done my best, but I truly cannot obtain them!" Hearing Wu Tao's words, Xu Yan's face immediately turned bitter, and she poured out her woes to him.
Wu Tao felt a pang of disappointment but maintained a calm smile. "It's alright if you don't have them! Thank you, Sister Xu, for setting aside those two Qi Gathering Pills for me!"
Xu Yan giggled and said, "No need to thank me. If you hadn't found that five-hundred-year-old Illusory Gall Grass for me last time, how could this batch of Qi Gathering Pills have been successfully refined!"
As Xu Yan spoke, she couldn't help but feel a sense of sentimentality.
Wu Tao smiled faintly and said nothing more.
After chatting for a while longer, just as Wu Tao was about to bid farewell and leave, a faint floral fragrance of a young woman suddenly wafted from beside him.
Slightly startled, Wu Tao turned his head. He saw a spirited and capable-looking female cultivator, dressed and adorned in a remarkably efficient manner, who had appeared behind him at some unknown time.
Upon clearly recognizing the spirited and elegant figure, Wu Tao's expression remained outwardly unchanged, but his heart suddenly felt a sense of unease. A peculiar feeling arose within him.
It's her...
Truth be told, he and Xu Sheng had not seen each other for a long time since that battle. He wondered when the other party had also arrived at this place.
Furthermore, Xu Sheng had somehow also advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Cousin, here are the things you wanted!"
Xu Sheng casually appraised Wu Tao, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. However, she didn't say much more.
Xu Sheng stepped forward and came to Wu Tao's side, handing him a storage bag.
"Heh heh! Cousin Xu Sheng. You've come at just the right time. I've been eagerly waiting for this batch of medicinal ingredients to develop new pills!" Xu Yan said joyfully, her eyes shining as she looked at the medicinal herbs in the storage bag.
"Cousin?"
Wu Tao was stunned for a long moment by Xu Yan's address!
He never would have imagined that the alchemist he had known for over half a year was Xu Sheng's cousin.
...
After her initial glance at Wu Tao, Xu Sheng coldly ignored him, not looking in his direction again, nor saying a word.
This left Wu Tao feeling quite disheartened.
"Sister, Junior Brother will take his leave now. I'll visit again in the future!" Feeling somewhat dejected, Wu Tao did not wish to linger any longer.
After offering his polite words, Wu Tao turned and walked towards the exit of the marketplace.
Xu Sheng then looked at Wu Tao's receding back, her eyebrows furrowed, and asked Xu Yan, who was examining the storage bag,
"Cousin, was this fellow here to buy pills from you?"
"Huh? Cousin, you know him?"
Xu Yan's expression froze, looking utterly taken aback.
"Yes."
Xu Sheng nodded, and a hint of a smile suddenly appeared on her face.
Seeing this, Xu Yan blinked her eyes. A strange expression crossed her face, and the corners of her lips curled slightly upwards.
"Cousin, is something wrong?" Xu Sheng asked curiously, noticing the sudden change in her cousin's expression.
To be honest, Xu Sheng also harbored a certain degree of good feeling towards Wu Tao, for reasons she couldn't quite fathom.
Xu Yan fell silent for a moment, then suddenly sighed, her tone somewhat peculiar. "Cousin, feelings are actually very complex. There are some things I don't fully understand. Although I don't know how you two met, as someone with more experience, I must offer you a piece of advice."
"For us women, a man like him, with ambition and solely focused on the path of cultivation, is not a good resting place. You must think carefully about this!"
(The new book is being updated, seeking collections, recommendation votes, shares, and more support. Thank you, friends. Your support is my motivation!)