I am in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have a demonic beast clone!

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Huangfeng Valley Market.

Wanbaoge.

Zhou Ding stepped into the familiar shop, his eyes sweeping over the dazzling array of goods on the first floor before heading straight upstairs to the private room.

The lobby on the first floor was still bustling with activity. Several rogue cultivators in the Qi Refining stage were haggling at the counter, arguing heatedly over a spirit stone.

The shop assistant behind the counter had sharp eyes and recognized Zhou Ding at a glance. He immediately bowed and greeted him respectfully.

Zhou Ding nodded slightly in response, then stepped onto the stairs.

He was already a regular here and knew the place like the back of his hand.

Over the past few years, the medicinal herbs he has purchased from Wanbaoge have become extremely valuable.

Manager Wan treated him like a god of wealth, personally welcoming him and serving him the finest spiritual tea every time he came.

Pushing open the door to the private room, Manager Wan's familiar smiling face came into view.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, you've finally arrived!"

Manager Wan greeted him with a beaming smile, his small eyes gleaming with shrewdness.

He wore a dark blue brocade robe, with a bulging storage bag hanging from his waist, and exuded the shrewdness of a businessman.

He strode up to Zhou Ding, cupped his hands in a warm greeting, as if he were seeing an old friend he hadn't seen for many years.

Zhou Ding nodded and sat down in the chair.

Without wasting any words, Manager Wan took out several jade boxes from his storage bag and carefully placed them on the table.

Those jade boxes were pure white, carved from the finest mutton fat jade, with exquisite patterns engraved on their surfaces. These jade boxes alone were quite valuable.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, these are the spiritual herbs you need. I went to great lengths to gather them, even sending people from the Yuanwu Kingdom."

His tone carried a hint of boasting, but more than anything, it was full of enthusiasm.

As he spoke, he opened the jade boxes and showed Zhou Ding the medicinal herbs inside one by one.

This fellow Daoist Zhou is very generous. He has placed several large orders with Wanbaoge, requiring a large quantity of spiritual herbs. He is considered a major client among major clients.

Over the past few years, the value of the spiritual herbs purchased from him has exceeded 20,000 spirit stones.

Such a wealthy patron is not to be trifled with; one must serve him well.

Zhou Ding picked up the jade boxes, opened them one by one, and examined them carefully.

Ten plants of Qingling Grass, each three hundred years old.

The leaves are emerald green, the roots are intact, and it exudes a fresh herbal fragrance.

Eight 400-year-old Ganoderma lucidum plants.

It is entirely purple, with faint cloud patterns appearing, and has a strong medicinal fragrance.

There were also various auxiliary medicinal herbs, such as golden thread grass, black huang root, blood ginseng root... a table full of them, with as many as twenty or thirty kinds.

He examined each herb meticulously, picking it up to check if the roots were intact, the leaves were fresh, and the aroma was pure.

These are all for making elixirs, so we can't be careless.

The slightest mistake could ruin an entire batch of pills.

After a moment, he nodded in satisfaction.

"no problem."

He took out a bag of spirit stones from his storage bag and placed it on the table.

That bag was bulging, worth at least several thousand yuan.

"This is the final payment. Manager Wan, please count it."

Manager Wan took the bag of spirit stones, scanned it with his divine sense, and his smile widened, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, you're so kind! If you need anything again next time, just come find me!"

Zhou Ding nodded and then instructed, "Continue to collect these spiritual herbs for me, as many as you have. Price is not a problem."

Manager Wan nodded repeatedly, patting his chest to assure him.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, rest assured, leave it to me! As long as you can afford the price, I, Wan, will run my legs off to raise the funds for you! I have connections in the Tianxing Sect market of Yuanwu Kingdom, and even in the surrounding countries!"

Zhou Ding smiled slightly, stood up and took his leave.

……

After leaving Wanbaoge, Zhou Ding strolled along the streets of the market.

The market was as bustling as ever, with cultivators coming and going in an endless stream.

Zhou Ding remained calm and walked with unhurried steps.

With Xiao Jin's Earth Listening Technique and his powerful divine sense, even if he is a bit high-profile, he doesn't need to be afraid of being blocked by cultivators.

If there were ambushes by cultivators, he could sense them very early on.

Those thieves specifically target vulnerable, isolated individuals.

They hid in the shadows, observing every passing monk, searching for a suitable target.

But if they're foolish enough to come after me, they're asking for death.

With his current strength, ordinary cultivators who try to block his path would only be offering themselves up for death.

A cultivator in the early stages of Foundation Establishment can be instantly killed with a single Soul-Destroying Thorn, without a sound or even a scream.

Even those in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage cannot last more than three breaths.

As soon as the Golden Fiend Sword appeared, thirty-six flying swords instantly surrounded him, and no matter how powerful he was, he could not escape.

Even those in the late Foundation Establishment stage, or even those who are Pseudo Core cultivators, cannot gain an advantage in front of him.

He has many trump cards; any one of them would be enough to give those cultivators a hard time.

He walked out of the market, took out the Divine Wind Boat, and transformed into a white streak of light, flying towards the Taiyue Mountains.

The Divine Wind Boat sped through the air at an astonishing speed.

Below are rolling mountains, lush forests, and winding rivers.

Occasionally, a few birds can be seen flying by, accompanied by their clear chirping.

The late stage of Foundation Building is not far off.

……

A moment later, Zhou Ding returned to his cave.

Inside the cave, the air was filled with spiritual energy, and all was peaceful.

The Spirit Eye Spring gurgled in a corner, its misty spiritual energy permeating the entire cave.

The spiritual energy flowed slowly like white mist, and you could feel it circulating within your body with every breath.

Xin Ruyin was studying the formation in her quiet room. The door to the quiet room was tightly closed, but faint light could be seen flickering inside. It was the spiritual light that she generated when she was deducing the formation.

Xiao Mei was serving her from the side, and occasionally you could hear her asking questions softly and Xin Ruyin patiently answering them.

Zhou Ding did not disturb them and went straight to the alchemy room.

The alchemy room was a stone chamber he had specially built, about three zhang square, and surrounded by soundproofing and protective arrays.

In the center stood a purplish-red alchemy furnace with three legs and two handles. Its body was engraved with intricate cloud patterns. It was the top-grade alchemy furnace obtained from Qingyangzi's cave.

He took out the jade boxes one by one and placed them on the stone platform in front of him.

The large quantity of elixirs purchased this time were actually mainly auxiliary medicines.

He already had the main ingredient.

He had collected quite a few of those five-hundred-year-old tonifying and nourishing medicinal herbs during his years of treasure hunting in the Taiyue Mountains.

Blood ginseng, Ganoderma lucidum, Polygonum multiflorum, Polygonatum sibiricum... one rare medicinal herb after another is neatly arranged in a jade box, exuding a rich medicinal fragrance.

What he was going to refine was an ancient elixir formula called the True Profound Pill.

This pill is extremely helpful for cultivators in the mid-to-late stages of Foundation Establishment, and can greatly increase their cultivation speed.

The main ingredient for refining this elixir needs to be a small amount of a five-hundred-year-old tonifying and nourishing medicinal herb.

The older these kinds of medicinal herbs are, the better their effects become, but they also become increasingly rare.

Five hundred years old, it is already a rare treasure that is priceless and unavailable on the market.

Zhou Ding took a deep breath and began refining pills.

He sat cross-legged in front of the alchemy furnace, closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing. After a moment, he opened his eyes, which were clear and bright.

He raised his hand and sent a stream of true fire into the alchemy furnace.

The furnace heated up instantly, and its body glowed red.

He picked up a blood ginseng and carefully placed it into the alchemy furnace.

Under the scorching heat of the true fire, the blood ginseng slowly melted, turning into a pool of red liquid.

He then picked up a Ganoderma lucidum mushroom and put it into the stove in the same way...

The addition of each elixir requires precise control of the heat and time.

If it's a minute too early, the medicinal power won't be fully released; if it's a minute too late, the medicinal power will be lost. The slightest mistake will ruin the entire batch of pills.

Zhou Ding was completely focused and dared not be distracted in the slightest.

……

A month later.

Inside the alchemy room.

Zhou Ding sat cross-legged, with nearly ten bottles of pills placed in front of him.

Each bottle contains ten round [items/beads].