Oh no! I, the weakling, have become the villain!

"Alright, we should go back now," Xu He said, patting Xu Yao on the shoulder.

"Okay, let's go back quickly," Xu Yao said.

When they returned to their residence, Xu He took out all the spirit stones and put them into his storage ring.

Xu Yao and Xu He sold a total of seven flying swords and one spear.

They exchanged three thousand spirit stones, which was all the spirit stones they had.

"Master, we are still short 4,900 spirit stones," Xu Yao said with a bitter face.

They had already bought all the materials, but the remaining spirit stones were still a huge sum of money.

"I should have known better than to agree to those people's bets. It will probably take a long time to accumulate these spirit stones," Xu He sighed.

"Master, what do we do now?" Xu Yao asked.

"Let's let them off this time, but we absolutely cannot let them off so easily next time."

"Otherwise, they'll think we're easy to bully," Xu He said.

"Don't worry, Master, they definitely won't get away," Xu Yao said firmly.

Time flies, and three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

For the past three years, Xu Yao has been in seclusion, constantly refining magical artifacts.

He finally crafted a batch of magical artifacts and sold them all.

The lowest value among these magical artifacts is a second-grade artifact, while the highest value is even a third-grade artifact.

Although the number is not large, it is still quite considerable overall.

After all, all these magical artifacts combined amount to a considerable sum, and Xu Yao's speed was still the fastest.

If other blacksmiths were to forge it, they would probably be exhausted. Even a first-grade blacksmith would need to spend a lot of time.

Xu Yao's strength has improved significantly; he has now reached the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Moreover, due to his rich bloodline, his strength has already surpassed that of the Foundation Establishment stage.

This is also the main reason why Xu Yao chose to come here at this time; in his view, now is the time to improve his strength.

He planned to use this time to stabilize his cultivation level and then attempt to break through to the Golden Core stage.

However, at this moment, a letter was delivered to Xu Yao.

Xu Yao opened the envelope, glanced at it, and immediately frowned.

"Master, what's wrong?" Xu Yao asked with some concern.

He knew the letter was sent by his father, but he didn't know its contents, which made him very worried.

"It's alright, go and get ready. We'll be leaving Yunhai City soon," Xu He said.

Xu He and Xu Yao immediately packed their bags and headed towards the mountains outside the city.

"Master, shall we leave now?" Xu Yao asked.

“Of course, if we don’t leave, wouldn’t we have come all this way for nothing?” Xu He said.

"Master, is there any danger in Yunzhou City?" Xu Yao asked.

"There are definitely dangers, but compared to this place."

"The danger level here is much lower, so we must improve our strength as soon as possible."

“I’ve heard that there’s a hidden sect in Yunzhou County called the Qingyang Sect,” Xu He said.

"The Qingyang Sect sounds like a very powerful force, but Master, why don't we go and pay them a visit?" Xu Yao asked, puzzled.

"Do you know what the Hidden Gate means?" Xu He asked.

"Hidden sects are those immortal cultivation sects that live in seclusion deep in the mountains and forests," Xu Yao explained.

“Indeed, the Qingyang Sect is such a cultivation sect,” Xu He said with satisfaction.

"Master, if the Qingyang Sect is so powerful, why is it located in Yunzhou Prefecture?" Xu Yao asked again.

“Qingyang Sect is the largest cultivation sect in the entire Yunzhou. Their strength is so great that it’s beyond the reach of rogue cultivators like us,” Xu He said.

"Won't we get into trouble by going to such a powerful organization?" Xu Yao asked.

"No, I've heard that the Qingyang Sect is very kind," Xu He said.

"Oh." Xu Yao nodded thoughtfully.

The two boarded a passing carriage and headed north of Yunzhou City.

They arrived at the west side of Yunzhou City, where there was a city called Wangchuan City.

Wangchuan City is not large, only tens of thousands of square meters in size.

This is an ordinary ancient city, not a prosperous one.

In the southeast corner of the city lies a vast forest.

Moreover, the dense trees make it a favorite place for many practitioners.

As soon as Xu He and his companion arrived in Wangchuan City, they noticed that the surrounding cultivators were all hurriedly entering the forest.

Xu Yao and Xu He also entered the forest, where there was an ancient altar in the center.

There was a row of houses around the altar, and many coffins were placed around the altar, which looked eerie.

"Master, what are we doing here?" Xu Yao asked, puzzled.

"Never mind all that, just follow me," Xu He said.

"Okay." Xu Yao obediently followed Xu He toward the altar.

"Halt! Who are you two? What brings you here?"

Just as the two of them approached the altar, two men suddenly appeared from the side of the altar and blocked Xu He and Xu Yao's path.

Their cultivation levels were not high; they were all at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

"Fellow Daoist, may I ask if we are eligible to participate in the assessment?" Xu He asked respectfully.

"Hmph, do you think it's so easy to get into our Qingyang Sect? Let me tell you, besides being qualified, you also need to be qualified to enter our Qingyang Sect."

"You also need to hand over a jade token. Take it out now," the Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator said coldly.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yao handed the jade token to the man, cursing inwardly.

"What's going on? Can't we just bring them in?"

However, he also knew that what this person said was indeed true; their cultivation levels were too low.

Trying to force your way in based solely on your cultivation level is definitely not going to work.

"Since you're here to take the test, hurry up and come in. But you two better watch out."

The cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining looked at Xu Yao and Xu He and warned them.

"Alright, come with me." The cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining said this and turned to walk forward.

Xu Yao and his companion quickly followed.

"No matter what happens later, you must remain calm," Xu He instructed Xu Yao.

"I understand," Xu Yao nodded and said.

"There is a spiritual herb here. Whoever picks it wins, and the loser leaves the Qingyang Sect."

The cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining spoke up.

"Be careful, this spiritual herb looks very unusual. Not only is it full of spiritual energy, but it has probably been growing for hundreds of years."

Xu He whispered to Xu Yao.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful," Xu Yao said, and then the two of them began to collect the spiritual herb.

However, this herb seems really strange; it's impossible to touch it.

The two spent a long time, but all they managed to do was break the herb.