Journey to the West: A clone sacrifices to the heavens, possessing boundless magical power.

Over the next hour, Shen Feng repeated the process, changing his appearance four or five times, and in several different shops, he cleaned up the Black Fiend Alliance artifacts and some miscellaneous items containing spiritual energy in batches.

When Shen Feng walked out of the last shop, he had more than nine hundred low-grade spirit stones in his storage bag. In addition to the spirit stones he had plundered from the Black Fiend Alliance members, his net worth was now over a thousand.

For a rogue cultivator at the early stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation, this was a huge sum of money, but in Fan Yuan's view, it was far from enough.

"I have the Mountain-Crushing Force and the Samadhi Divine Wind for attack, but they consume a lot of energy. The Wind and Water Blade is suitable, but it is too one-dimensional. As for defense, the Weak Water Shield is not yet perfect. It is okay against cultivators of the same level, but if it is attacked by a high-level cultivator, I am afraid I will not be able to react in time."

Shen Feng walked down the street, secretly making plans in his mind.

The journey to Longevity Mountain was fraught with danger. It was the Daoist temple of the ancestor of the Earth Immortals. Even if he was only recruiting menial laborers, the competition would be fierce. He had to convert these spirit stones into immediate combat power to make up for his shortcomings.

Instead of going to those lavishly decorated large-scale magical artifact stores, he went into a second-hand magical artifact shop called Baibaolou.

The ritual implements here are mostly salvaged from ruins or dead people by independent practitioners. They are in poor condition and some are even broken, but you can occasionally find good, practical and cheap items.

Shen Feng wandered among the dazzling array of shelves, his gaze sweeping over the flashy but useless magical artifacts, finally settling on a black inner armor in the corner.

The inner armor was made entirely of an unknown black tortoise shell, its surface covered with fine cracks, clearly indicating that it had suffered severe damage, and its spiritual light was dim.

"Fellow Daoist has excellent eyesight."

The shop assistant at Baibaolou was a clever young man. Seeing Shen Feng staring at the inner armor, he immediately came over and said, "This is the Xuan Turtle Spirit Armor. Although it is a defective product of a mid-grade magic weapon, its foundation is excellent. It was made from the carapace of a Xuan Turtle with five hundred years of cultivation, and an automatic protective restriction of the Xuan Turtle Suppressing the Sea is engraved inside it."

"Automatic protection?" Shen Feng's eyes flickered slightly.

"Exactly!" the shopkeeper exclaimed enthusiastically. "As long as you infuse it with spiritual energy to nurture it, in the event of a fatal attack, this armor can instantly unleash a phantom of a Xuan Turtle, enough to withstand a full-force strike from a late-stage Refinement Spirit cultivator! Although, due to the damage, this protective function can only be used once every ten days, it's a life-saving divine skill!"

Shen Feng reached out and stroked the surface of the nail. A wisp of spiritual energy probed into it. Sure enough, although most of the restrictions had been destroyed, the core protective restriction was still intact and reacted extremely quickly.

This is exactly what he desperately needs.

His Weak Water Shield needs to be activated actively, and if he is ambushed, he often doesn't have time to react. However, the Xuan Turtle Spirit Armor can make up for this gap.

"How many spirit stones?"

"Originally it was eight hundred, but seeing your sincerity, fellow Daoist, you can take it for five hundred!"

"Three hundred." Shen Feng cut it down to more than half.

"Ouch, fellow Daoist, that knife is too ruthless..."

After a heated debate, Shen Feng finally won the Xuan Turtle Spirit Armor for 380 spirit stones.

Afterwards, he spent seven hundred spirit stones at the stall next door, reluctantly purchasing a perfectly intact mid-level flying sword magic weapon called Azure Wind.

This sword is entirely blue-green. Although it has no special supernatural powers, its strength lies in its tough material and excellent transmission of divine sense, making it suitable for long-distance control. Combined with the strength of his divine sense, it is enough to take a person's head from a hundred feet away.

He then purchased several more life-saving talismans, and by this point, he had already spent over a thousand spirit stones.

Shen Feng carefully put on the Xuan Turtle Spirit Armor and put the Azure Light Sword into his storage bag, feeling much more at ease. Afterwards, he went between pill shops and talisman shops, purchasing a batch of protective talismans and blood-restoring pills. This was originally a routine purchase, but it unexpectedly became a pleasant surprise on this trip. He was worried about the slow recovery of the essence and blood he had lost when condensing his clone, but now with this batch of blood-restoring pills, the recovery speed would be greatly improved.

It was already late, and the lights in the market gradually came on.

Shen Feng did not go straight back to the inn, but instead went to a bustling teahouse, the place where the best information was gathered.

He ordered a pot of spiritual tea, found a corner to sit down, and seemingly closed his eyes to rest, but in reality, his divine sense had already spread out, listening to the conversations of the cultivators around him.

"Have you heard? The earth spirit tide at Wuzhuang Temple is about to erupt!"

"That's for sure. This opening of the mountain gate, which happens once every 360 years, is the biggest event in our Longevity Mountain area. I heard that we urgently need a group of servants to take care of the medicinal herb garden."

"Moreover, I heard that this selection process is extremely rigorous, not only assessing qualifications but also testing character and methods..."

Shen Feng listened to these discussions and nodded inwardly.

Liu Qing's intelligence was indeed accurate.

In the next few days, the main body needs to adjust to its peak condition to prepare for condensing a new clone, while Shen Feng needs to refine the Xuan Turtle Spirit Armor and the Azure Wind Sword to perfection.

……

The teahouse was bustling with noise.

The scattered cultivators from all directions gathered in small groups, discussing the upcoming grand event at Longevity Mountain with great enthusiasm.

Shen Feng sat upright in the corner, the celadon teacup in his hand already slightly cold. He continued to lower his eyes, seemingly resting, but in reality, he was filtering out useful information.

Just then, the once noisy teahouse lobby suddenly fell silent.

Shen Feng's heart skipped a beat, and he slowly opened his eyes.

A figure in plain white walked into the teahouse.

She was a woman, who looked to be about thirty years old. She was wearing a spotless white silk dress, and her hair was styled in a high bun with an antique bone hairpin.

She was stunningly beautiful, exuding the gentle and dignified air of a well-bred lady, with a faint trace of melancholy between her brows, making her all the more endearing.

Behind her followed two imposing, but silent, men dressed in gray with their heads bowed.

"It's Madam Bai!"

"Madam Bai actually came to the market in person?"

After a brief silence, suppressed but excited whispers filled the teahouse. Many cultivators stood up, cupped their hands in greeting to the woman, and looked on with great respect.

Shen Feng did not get up, but simply watched coldly.

From the snippets of conversation around him, he quickly pieced together information about this Madam Bai. She was a well-known rogue cultivator within a thousand miles, known for her kindness and generosity. She often used pills to help injured fellow cultivators, and her cultivation was profound, reportedly reaching the Void Refining Realm. In this chaotic place, she was considered a breath of fresh air.

Madam Bai smiled gently and nodded slightly to those around her. Her smile was like a spring breeze, causing many young cultivators with weaker willpower to blush.

She walked straight to the center, looked around, and spoke in a soft, gentle voice that clearly reached everyone's ears:

"Fellow Daoists, I have come here today to offer you a fortunate opportunity."

Upon hearing this, everyone's breathing became heavier.

Madam Bai paused for a moment, then continued, "Years ago, I found a clue to an ancient cave in a fragment of a scripture. The cave was located at a hidden ley line node on the west side of Longevity Mountain. It was usually hidden by an array, and only when the earth spirit tide erupted and the ley lines shook did it have a chance to be opened."

"Ancient Cave Dwelling!"

Some people couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, because anything associated with the word "ancient" often signifies an extraordinary inheritance or magical treasure.