Chapter 176: Secret Realm of the Ancient Alchemist Master

Natal magic treasure, Five Elements Heavenly Thunder Sword!

The sword is three feet three inches long, its body is silver-white, the blade hides a golden arc light, the body hides five-colored flowing light, the hilt is milky white, and amid the blade's ring is mixed with thunder's roar.

After taking so many years, I finally managed to refine this natal magic treasure!

Yunhe's mouth corners turned up, unable to hide his smile.

Although he hasn't tested the power of this set of magic treasures, and he hasn't properly refined them with his primordial spirit and magic power, Yunhe almost can be certain that the power of any one of his five flying swords taken out at random is absolutely above that of the "Vermilion Bird Ring".

If he spends a little more time refining them further, it will surely become one of his trump cards soon.

"Normally, facing an enemy, one flying sword should be enough; the remaining four are kept as hidden trump cards for a surprise attack."

Yunhe sank his divine sense, feeling that within his qi sea dantian, the flying sword protected by five phantoms of spiritual bodies was being continually refined with magic power.

Suddenly.

His gaze narrowed as he looked toward a direction in the misty cloud sea.

Within the cloud sea.

Two figures stood suspended in the air.

"Brother Fan Dao, were you also drawn by that thunder?"

The speaker was an old man with the aura of an immortal, dressed as a Daoist, carrying a treasure sword on his back, holding a horsetail whisk in his hand, wearing an apparently ordinary gray-white Daoist robe that glowed faintly, stroking his snow-white long beard as he looked at the person beside him.

The other person wore a fiery red short robe, gripping a rod of unknown material in his hand, his muscles bulging with distinct lines, clearly indicating his physical quality is absolutely not weak.

"I thought there was a cloud beast undergoing its tribulation thunder, intending to keep my distance, but unexpectedly there was only a single bolt of lightning. Brother Li Dao, you are well-versed and knowledgeable—do you know the cause?"

The old Daoist paused his beard-stroking motion, thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"I don't know either. But I suspect it's likely that some treasure has appeared in the world; otherwise, why would a thunder penalty suddenly appear?"

The short-robed strong man nodded thoughtfully, "Makes sense."

Afterwards he slightly turned his eyes and smiled, "Brother Li Dao, since we've met, why not investigate together?"

The old Daoist narrowed his eyes, chuckled twice, and said:

"That's natural. However, I am old and my legs are inconvenient, so I'll just follow behind Brother Fan Dao."

Hearing that, the short-sleeved strong man silently cursed "old fox" in his heart, but kept a calm exterior.

Both were well aware.

If a treasure truly appeared, given the situation in the Cloud Exterior Realm, there would likely be a powerful cloud beast guarding it; although they both have Early Jie Dan Stage cultivation, they wouldn't dare act recklessly in the Cloud Exterior Realm, for they might provoke a Fourth Level Cloud Beast comparable to a Yuan Ying Cultivator.

Are there not many examples of being hunted down or even killed after provoking a Fourth Level Cloud Beast?

Although the Cloud Exterior Realm is rich in resources, it also comes with great danger; even Jie Dan cultivators cannot claim to be completely safe.

Just as the two hesitated, a voice transmission suddenly came from Cloud Island.

"Fellow Daoists, since you've come, why not descend and take a seat?"

Hearing that, the old Daoist and the short-robed strong man were somewhat surprised.

"A cultivator?"

The two exchanged glances.

They couldn't help but feel wary.

They are both Early Jie Dan Stage cultivators, their divine sense is not weak, but at their current distance from the island, they cannot sweep their divine sense onto it.

This is caution; because their divine sense cannot reach the island, it also means that if there is a cloud beast on the island, the beast's demon sense may not necessarily sweep them either; even if the opponent's cultivation is stronger and their demon sense is not weak and does sweep them, they still have enough time and distance to flee.

But now, the presence on the island is clearly a cultivator, yet their divine sense is far stronger than theirs, naturally leaving them no choice but to be careful.

"'Possibly Mid Jie Dan Stage.'"

"'Also possibly a Late Jie Dan Stage cultivator; be careful.'"

The two transmitted their thoughts and flew toward the island.

When the clouds cleared and the mist dispersed.

They saw a young cultivator wearing a cyan long robe, sitting at a stone table, holding a fragrant spiritual tea, smiling as he watched the two descend.

"Early Jie Dan Stage?"

The old Daoist and the short-sleeved strong man both noticed this person's cultivation yet felt a myriad of doubts.

Just now, their distance from Cloud Island was no less than twenty li.

Is this the range that an Early Jie Dan Stage cultivator's divine sense can sweep?

The old Daoist and the short-sleeved strong man exchanged glances again, descended to the stone table, their expressions turned solemn as they performed a salute.

"I am Li Yuanfan Daoist; I greet you, fellow Daoist."

"I am Fan Sanjin; I greet you, fellow Daoist."

Their solemn attitude left Yunhe stunned.

He originally wanted to see whether these two Early Jie Dan Stage cultivators drawn by the thunder were harboring thoughts of killing and seizing treasure, or merely observing; coincidentally, his "Five Elements Heavenly Thunder Sword" lacked someone to test its quality.

In his view, even if the two Early Jie Dan Stage cultivators couldn't defeat him, they couldn't possibly keep him, so he wasn't worried.

Yet he never expected their attitude to be unusually good.

"When did Jie Dan cultivators become so easy to talk to?"

Though he thought that in his heart, Yunhe still smiled and returned the salute: "I am Yunhe; I greet you two fellow Daoists."

After speaking, he gestured with his hand for the two to sit down and chat.

"Brother Yun Dao, are you cultivating in seclusion here?" Old Daoist Li Yuanfan took a spiritual tea sip, his eyes slightly brightened, then asked.

"Please excuse my inadequacy."

"Then that earlier bolt of lightning..." Fan Sanjin, seeing that Yunhe was still easy to talk to, also cautiously probed.

Upon hearing that, Yunhe waved his hand, apologetically blurting out: "I was merely trying a certain technique, never expecting the commotion to be this great."

Those words made Li Yuanfan and Fan Sanjin's hearts tighten.

Their preconceived notions made them truly believe it.

"I don't know what brings the two fellow Daoists here," Yunhe lightly rubbed the rim of his cup, asking with a meaningful tone.

This question made both of them show a bit of embarrassment.

However, the experienced Li Yuanfan quickly came up with an explanation; after a brief pause, he explained:

"I heard a few days ago that the Azure Wood Sect discovered an unexplored secret realm near Mixing Island and is selling quotas for it, so I intended to have a look. I hadn't expected to hear thunder while passing by, so I came over to see, and I hadn't expected to meet fellow Daoists—truly a fateful encounter."

"Huh? Fellow Daoist Li also heard this news? What a coincidence, I did as well." Fan Sanjin showed a look of surprise.

Li Yuanfan merely smiled at this; in his view, Fan Sanjin was just going along with his words.

"Mixing Island, a secret realm?" Yunhe wasn't particularly concerned with their explanation; instead, he was quite curious about this secret realm.

Speaking of which.

He had never entered a so-called secret realm in his cultivation thus far.

"The Heavenly Insect Sect Ruins" can only count as half, and moreover there is a powerful "Heavenly Corpse Gu" inside; he never dared to approach the main hall, merely loitering a few steps at the entrance.

Thus Yunhe immediately became interested.

"Yes. It's said to be the cave dwelling of a powerful ancient cultivator; the secret realm is spacious, and the first batch of cultivators who entered discovered many ancient elixirs, so this predecessor is likely an elixir master." Li Yuanfan continued.

Ancient elixirs, elixir master?

This made Yunhe's eyes brighten slightly.

Then why choose to make the secret realm public and sell its quotas?

At this moment, Fan Sanjin clicked his tongue and sighed:

"It's a pity that the secret realm was discovered in the Outer Cloud Realm; we have no choice but to sell quotas and make it public."

"That's right. The Azure Wood Sect is also a major sect, with a Nascent Soul elder holding the fort, but relying solely on the Azure Wood Sect to guard this secret realm is impossible; the forces in the Outer Cloud Realm are tangled and complex, and even the Palace Above the Clouds, the greatest power in the Middle Cloud Realm, would find it hard to exclusively occupy a secret realm there."

"Who let the Outer Cloud Realm be so rich in resources? The Middle Cloud Realm has already been taken by the Palace Above the Clouds; if the Outer Cloud Realm were also monopolized by it, other forces might as well just join the Palace Above the Clouds."

"Fan Dao friend, you shouldn't say that."

"Ah, sorry, sorry, I spoke too hastily."

"."

Yunhe silently sipped his tea without interrupting, but listening to their exchange also let him understand many things.

In the Middle Cloud Realm, the Palace Above the Clouds is undoubtedly the greatest power; many sects and organizations can only avoid its edge.

However, in the Outer Cloud Realm, the Palace Above the Clouds is not a monopoly; many forces here have joined together to break its monopoly, but to say they are colluding is not the case; they merely maintain consistency when facing major issues.

Afterward.

Yunhe chatted intermittently with the two, learning from them many interesting facts about the Outer Cloud Realm, including information on various forces and some of their connections or conflicts.

This largely made up for his deficiency in this area.

Finally.

Yunhe, who was quite interested in that ancient elixir master's secret realm, decided to go to Mixing Island together with the two.

He wasn't particularly eager to go to that secret realm.

He merely considered that if the secret realm truly was the cave dwelling of an ancient elixir master, he could probably find some ancient elixir formulas.

They might possibly be sold on Mixing Island.

Although he possesses Marrow Essence Elixir, he currently cannot confirm whether he has resistance to third-stage Marrow Essence Elixir the same as to second-stage Marrow Essence Elixir.

If so, seeking new elixir formulas is inevitable.

Even if not, the difficulty of raising cultivation at the Jie Dan Stage is undoubtedly much greater than at the Foundation Establishment Stage; relying on a single kind of elixir still cannot guarantee progress, so seeking more is always beneficial.

Thus.

The three each employed evasion techniques and hurried together toward Mixing Island.

And traveling together, their speed was undoubtedly much faster.

Three Jie Dan Stage cultivators traveling together would not even provoke a third-stage Cloud Beast lightly, let alone a second-stage Monster Beast, thus avoiding many unnecessary troubles and dangers.

Mixing Island.

This is a cloud island much larger than Fragrant Island, and perhaps because there are many active cultivators around, the mist shrouding this place is considerably thinner.

And on Mixing Island, there is also a sizable market.

Although it is merely a market on a cloud island, Yunhe discovered that the goods traded there are actually quite numerous, and most are of high grade.

After all, cultivators daring to come to the Outer Cloud Realm are at least mid-Foundation Establishment or higher; even early Foundation Establishment cultivators are rare, let alone Qi Refinement Stage cultivators.

The market determines supply and demand, so naturally the item tiers are not low.

Thus, after Yunhe, Li Yuanfan, and Fan Sanjin exchanged message-transmitting jade slips, they entered the market and began to sell the spiritual artifacts he had refined.

He casually found a spot and began to set up a stall.

Don't think that a Jie Dan Stage cultivator setting up a stall is losing face; in fact, there are not a few Jie Dan Stage cultivators in the market who set up stalls like him, selling mostly things harvested in the Outer Cloud Realm.

While manning the stall, he closed his eyes to refine his dharma treasure.

After reaching the Jie Dan Stage and successfully refining his natal dharma treasure, a Jie Dan Stage cultivator must choose between raising his cultivation and refining his dharma treasure.

Naturally.

With his current abilities, even while refining his dharma treasure, part of his energy can always keep track of various news in the market, as well as information concerning secret realms, elixirs, and elixir formulas.

Who would have thought, because there are many Foundation Establishment cultivators, and the spiritual artifacts he crafts are mostly of good quality—even some top-grade ones—buyers have been increasing.

For a time.

On Mixing Island, news appeared of a Jie Dan Stage cultivator selling high-quality spiritual artifacts, and it actually began to spread a little.

This caused Yunhe to have hardly any time to refine his dharma treasure, leaving him somewhat torn between laughter and tears.

Fortunately, this allowed him to quickly sell the spiritual artifacts he had accumulated over the years, exchanging them for a large amount of spirit stones.

He had to admit.

After refining them into equipment, the amount of Spirit Stones that demon beast materials can be exchanged for is more than double.

At the same time.

When selling Spiritual Artifacts, Yunhe also obtained a lot of information about the secret realm, and confirmed that the secret realm is indeed that of an ancient alchemist; already many cultivators have heard the news and come.

For some major powers, if they can obtain some useful ancient pill formulas, their value cannot be measured by Spirit Stones.

Therefore, Yunhe's difficulty in directly obtaining pill formulas by buying is undoubtedly much greater.

However, after selling most of the Spiritual Artifacts, Yunhe had to withdraw his attention from the secret realm.

After renting a cave dwelling within a market town, he moved in.

The reason is nothing else.

The Demon Beast Body finally fully accumulated the demonic power of three inner cores, and it's time to attempt a breakthrough to the third stage!

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PS: Today's 1.15w, please vote for monthly tickets!

Noticing some fellow cultivators mentioning the update time, uh. Since every day is raw code, I want to find a way to store a few chapters, try to make the update time earlier, and also fix it.

(End of chapter)