I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

After obtaining the Phantom Crystal Treasure Weasel, Lin Che stopped making moves.

The many treasures that appeared later drew gasps of amazement from the audience, but they were of little use to him or were not as valuable as he had expected.

He remained seated in the private room, calmly sipping his fine tea and observing from a detached perspective.

After the auction ended, Xiaodie gently knocked on the door again and gracefully entered, carrying a brocade tray.

On the plate were the green steel talisman sword and the specially made spirit wood cage that held the Illusion Crystal Treasure Weasel, with a storage bag next to it.

"Senior, here are the two treasures you purchased." Xiao Die's voice was clear and crisp, with a professional respect: "The three magical artifacts you consigned fetched a total of 27,000 low-grade spirit stones. After deducting the 5% handling fee and your bidding expenses, you have 20,250 spirit stones remaining. Please count them."

Lin Che slammed the jade fan shut, took the storage bag, and scanned it with his divine sense. The contents were exactly as described.

A gentle smile appeared on his face as he praised, "Your Chamber of Commerce is indeed efficient and decisive in its actions."

With that, he waved his sleeve, and the talisman sword and spirit beast cage on the table turned into streams of light and disappeared into his storage bag.

He carefully put the cage containing the treasure-hunting weasel into his special spirit beast bag.

After the auction ended, Lin Che didn't linger. He nodded slightly to Xiao Die, then waved his folding fan and calmly left the bustling auction house.

He first returned to the inn where he had stayed, quickly changed out of his eye-catching fine clothes, and reverted to his ordinary appearance as a plain-looking cultivator.

After confirming that no one was following him, he quietly left Burning Bone City.

In a desolate place outside the city, he changed his appearance again, even using a Breath-Changing Pill to completely alter his aura, before swaggering back into the city.

This time, he avoided the Fengxing Merchant Guild and instead visited the Jinshi Merchant Guild's shop in the city, with a clear goal: to purchase several Foundation Establishment stage spells.

Since we are preparing to fly on a sword, a sword technique is essential.

He carefully selected a sword-controlling technique called "The Flowing Light and Shadow Sword Art," which combines speed and unpredictability, just what he wanted.

In addition, two fire-based spells were selected: one is "Flaming Sparrow Soaring Strike," which is an area-of-effect attack, and the other is "Blazing Dragon Binding Rope," which is a crowd control spell.

Finally, a new escape technique to enhance mobility, "Flowing Fire Shadow Step," was added.

As for the trump card, it is naturally the innate divine power "Phoenix Blood True Fire". These spells are also selected to complement the Phoenix Blood True Fire.

Having acquired the spells, Lin Che no longer lingered. He found a secluded valley in an unnamed mountain range near the city, opened a temporary cave dwelling, and devoted himself to practicing the newly acquired spells.

During this period, he would change his identity every few days and sneak into the city to purchase rare fire-type spiritual items that the Burning Sky Sacred Sparrow needed every day.

After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, this little guy's "food expenses" skyrocketed, with daily expenses reaching 340 low-grade spirit stones and monthly expenses exceeding 10,000. Such expenses would be enough to bankrupt an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Time flies, and March has passed in the blink of an eye.

……

Inside a restaurant called "Yingxianju" in Chuyang City.

Lin Che ordered several exquisite spiritual dishes, among which the "Seven-Flavor Pearl Jade Chicken" was cooked to perfection and exuded a wonderful aroma.

He appeared to be leisurely enjoying his meal, but in reality, he was focused on intelligence gathering, chatting happily with the three weathered-looking rogue cultivators at the same table.

"According to you three, all the good places around Chuyang City have already been divided up?" Lin Che took a sip of spiritual wine and asked casually, his brows furrowing slightly.

A scarred man, gnawing on a beast leg, mumbled, "That's right! All the good spots have already been taken by those Foundation Establishment families. But, it's much safer here than at Burning Bone Pass. There are fewer and weaker demonic beasts, making it easier to earn a living."

A lean cultivator beside him shook his head and retorted, "It's stable, but the chances of getting rich are slim! Unless you're willing to become a guard for those families or rent their spiritual fields, if you want to earn a lot of resources, you'll have to risk your life at the main pass!"

He sighed, took a big gulp of wine, and said, "Isn't it because we're not good enough that we came here to make a living?"

Through a meal and drinks, Lin Che learned the general layout of Chuyang City from the three people.

This city is located 200 miles outside "Tingfeng Pass", the leftmost and most remote of the Five Passes of Burning Bones. It is backed by the foothills of the Fulong Mountain Range, where resources are relatively scarce and dangers are correspondingly less.

Chuyang City was built on the only third-tier spiritual vein, and the most valuable "Bloodthorn Forest" was also nearby, both of which were directly controlled by the Xuankui Sect.

This was originally the territory of the Stone Skin Mountain Demon Clan, which was destroyed by three Golden Core cultivators and five Golden Core puppets from the Xuan Kui Sect. Subsequently, Chu Yang City was established here.

After confirming that there were no other third-tier demonic beasts threatening the sect, the Xuankui Sect ceased further development and instead entrusted the task to independent cultivators to develop other areas on their own.

Among them are second-tier spiritual veins, and the best locations suitable for establishing a family have long been occupied by the five Foundation Establishment forces.

The remaining half of the area is still a dangerous place inhabited by monsters and has not been completely cleared. This is where many independent cultivators who practice Qi Refining explore.

After a hearty meal and seeing off the three rogue cultivators, Lin Che spread out a map made of animal hide on the table and began to study it carefully, comparing it with the information he had just obtained.

The five unexplored areas are marked on the map: Stone Forest Maze, Spirit Herb Valley, Black Tooth Swamp, Silent Woodland, and Shattered Star Lake.

He moved his fingertips slowly across the map, analyzing in a low voice:

"The flat valley of Spirit Herb Valley has been occupied by the Chen family, who specialize in alchemy. The remaining treacherous areas are inhabited by a flock of Azure-Eyed Eagles, including five Foundation Establishment level demonic birds, which are not easy to deal with..."

"The Stone Forest Maze and the Black Tooth Swamp are harsh environments and home to second-tier monster clans, making them unsuitable for establishing a clan."

"The Silent Forest has the richest resources and the largest area, but it borders the Fulong Mountain Range and is inhabited by a second-tier top-grade demonic beast clan like the Shadow Moon Wolf King. The risks are too high..."

Finally, his gaze fell upon the Shattered Star Lake area.

This place has the best environment, with abundant water vapor, lush vegetation, and abundant medicinal herbs due to the lakeside.

The main threat comes from the alligator snapping turtle population in the lake; as long as you don't actively approach the center of the lake, the danger is actually not great.

"Why is such a suitable place unoccupied?" Lin Che was puzzled at first, but after looking closely, he understood.

It turns out that the core area of ​​Shattered Star Lake doesn't even have a single second-tier spiritual vein!

Only a few barren first-order spiritual veins are scattered around the area around Shattered Star Lake. For Foundation Establishment families, a second-order spiritual vein is the foundation, so naturally no one establishes a family here.

"We're still a step too late." Lin Che sighed softly, his knuckles unconsciously tapping on the Shattered Star Lake on the map.

Nevertheless, he decided to go and investigate in person.

If the location is truly unsuitable, then the only option left is to consider the perilous and secluded woodlands.

About a mile from Chuyang City, Lin Che found a secluded corner. He moved slightly, his bones making a series of soft cracking sounds. His face rippled like water, revealing his original appearance: sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, handsome yet with a hint of determination.

Now that we've decided to settle here, there's no need to hide anymore.

He changed into a clean blue robe and carried the Azure Star Sword, which was stored in a jade sheath, on his back, looking every bit like a cultivator devoted to the way of the sword.

This move was intended to keep things hidden for now, as he had learned that there was actually a beast-taming family in this area, the Zhou family, and he didn't want to attract too much attention from them too early.

The magical artifact had been refined by Lin Che. With a thought, the long sword behind him seemed to sense it, emitting a clear and melodious sword cry, and automatically unsheathed itself three inches, its cold light flashing.

This Azure Profound Star Sword, upgraded from the Azure Steel Talisman Sword, is already a second-tier top-grade magic weapon!

The sword is now longer and more elegant than before, with starlight shimmering on its dark blue body. The original three basic runes have been transformed into the more profound [Breaking Army], [Chasing Shadow], and [Immovable] runes, making its power incomparable to what it was before.

"rise!"

Lin Che formed a sword incantation with his hands and let out a low shout.

The Azure Star Sword was fully drawn from its sheath in response, transforming into a dark blue stream of light flowing with starlight. It hovered steadily about a foot in front of him, its blade trembling slightly and emitting a pleasant hum.

He leaped and landed lightly on the sword.

With his mind connected to the sword spirit, his liquid true essence surged forth and poured into the flying sword beneath his feet.

"Whoosh—!"

The next moment, the sword light surged, carrying Lin Che into a streak of azure light that tore through the sky, reaching dozens of feet away in an instant.

A strong gust of air rushed towards him, but it was easily separated by the sword energy shield that automatically appeared around him.

The mountains and rivers rushed past beneath my feet, and the clouds and mist seemed within reach, filling me with an unprecedented sense of freedom and exhilaration.

Soaring through the skies on a sword—this was a dream I had in my past life, and now it has finally come true!

"This feels great!"

With a thought, he steered the Azure Profound Star Sword and sped towards the Shattered Star Lake.