I forge immortality with a pagoda.

Liu Fengyi interjected first, "What else can we do? The Yangquan Zhi we've painstakingly gathered isn't even enough for refining the pills. If we let that person compete with us for it, when will the Crimson Spirit Yang Pill be completed? Master's wife's life is hanging by a thread; we can't afford to delay even a moment!"

"In my opinion, it would be better to take direct action and kill that arrogant person on the spot, so as to avoid further trouble."

Upon hearing this, Xie Shiyuan frowned. Their group had ventured deep into the Fire Maple Forest precisely to collect Yangquanzhi mushrooms to refine the Crimson Spirit Yang Pill, which would counteract the cold poison in his master's wife's body.

This cold poison is extremely sinister and has plagued me ever since my master's wife returned from her travels. Now it is becoming increasingly severe and can only be cured by the Crimson Spirit Yang Pill.

He pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "Senior Sister's words are inappropriate. Since that person dared to release his aura and attract our attention, he must either be incredibly strong and fearless, or he has some other scheme. If we act rashly, we might fall into his trap."

Liu Fengyi scoffed, "Junior brother is being far too cautious! How do you know he's not just bluffing?"

Xie Shiyuan retorted, "What Senior Sister said is not impossible, but we cannot take that risk. If this person's cultivation is profound, not only will he not be able to cure Master's wife's cold poison, but we may also perish in this Fire Maple Forest. In my opinion, we should negotiate with that person first."

Liu Fengyi was about to refute further when the old man interrupted her.

"Alright, Feng Yi, stop talking. Shi Yuan is right. Yangquan Zhi is important, but we shouldn't make enemies over it. Let's negotiate with him first. If things don't work out, then we can take action."

When Liu Fengyi and Xie Shiyuan saw Wang Xuanxiu speak, they immediately fell silent and nodded in agreement.

The fiery red leaves in the maple forest blazed like fire, and a hot wind swept over us.

After walking for a short while, the three saw a giant yellow maple tree that would take ten people to encircle standing in the forest. Beneath it, a young man in a green robe sat cross-legged. He had a dignified appearance and an extraordinary demeanor; it was Shen Yu.

Seeing the three approach, Shen Yu did not get up, but simply looked them over.

The old man at the head of the group had his true qi contained and did not leak out at all. There was a balance of yin and yang in the shrine, and spiritual light appeared and disappeared. He was actually a master who had achieved the Foundation Establishment stage.

The man and woman behind him were slightly less powerful; their true qi was scattered and not condensed, suggesting they were probably in the early stages of qi cultivation.

"I presume you are the ones who harvested the Yangquan Ganoderma from the forest," Shen Yu said calmly. "I urgently need this medicine, so please name your price."

Wang Xuanxiu frowned and said, "Fellow Daoist, we also urgently need this Yangquan Zhi, and we really cannot give it up. The reason we came here is to discuss this with you, so as to avoid future conflicts that could damage our harmony."

Shen Yu chuckled lightly, raised his arm and waved his hand, "The Fire Maple Forest is but a small area, and you have already picked all the spiritual herbs. Where should I, Shen, go to search for more?"

Wang Xuanxiu pondered for a moment, then two golden lights shone in his eyes. He gave Shen Yu a deep look and suddenly sneered.

"Fellow Daoist, you must not have established your foundation yet."

"The old man is right. I am now at the fifth level of Qi Refining. What are you going to do about it?" Shen Yu raised an eyebrow.

"What?!" Liu Fengyi's eyes widened. "You haven't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage, yet you dare to be so arrogant, showing absolutely no respect for us!"

Xie Shiyuan's expression softened slightly, and the heavy look between his brows dissipated considerably.

"I misjudged you. If I hadn't used the Golden Eye of the Tan Che, I would have almost been fooled by you, fellow Daoist."

Wang Xuanxiu's words were already cold, and he flicked his whisk, about to unleash a spell.

But Shen Yu still didn't get up, remaining seated under the yellow maple tree, calm and collected, seemingly not taking the old Taoist priest seriously at all.

"bluff?"

Wang Xuanxiu was suspicious, and his movements slowed down involuntarily.

He couldn't believe that Shen Yu, a Qi Refining cultivator, would have the courage to confront him, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, head-on.

Liu Fengyi could no longer contain herself. The silver chain in her sleeve emerged like a dragon from its cave, swirling and turning in the air, transforming into a vast silver net that enveloped Shen Yu.

The silver net shimmered with spiritual light, revealing itself to be a talisman artifact approaching mid-grade quality.

Shen Yu sat still, only pointing with his fingers.

In an instant, sword energy pierced the air, silver light flashed, and a green light swept across the silver net, shredding it to shreds as easily as cutting paper.

"How is this possible!" Liu Fengyi's face turned deathly pale.

Although this fine silver net chain is not a supreme treasure, it has been refined over many years. Now it only needs one Heavenly Treasure Great Restriction to successfully advance to the ranks of mid-grade talisman artifacts, yet it was broken by a single finger.

Shen Yu smiled. He had been imitating Yue Jianxin's sword energy for a long time, but he had never quite grasped its essence. Now, as his cultivation level improved, he had finally grasped some of its form and meaning.

Wang Xuanxiu narrowed his eyes, not making a move, but his pupils shone with a bright golden light, as he tried to see through Shen Yu.

"Young friend, I'll ask one last time: would you be willing to give up the Yangquanzhi mushroom in this forest? If you agree, I will reward you handsomely."

Shen Yu slowly shook his head and said, "Senior, I'm saying this one last time: I only want ten Yangquanzhi plants. You can take the rest yourself. I will not bother you any longer."

"Hmph!! You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences!"

Wang Xuanxiu tossed the whisk forward, and it suddenly exploded. The whisk's tail, covered in hemp fibers, instantly stretched out like countless tiny white snakes, spreading across the sky and sweeping towards Shen Yu.

Shen Yu followed suit, and several sword energies surged forth from between his five fingers and palm.

However, these dust particles were exceptionally flexible and managed to completely neutralize the sword energy.

"Go!" Shen Yu shouted softly, and the Spirit Cry Sword was drawn from its sheath in response.

The sword light shimmered like autumn water, entangled with the dust motes in the sky.

That whisk was clearly a high-grade talisman; the whisk threads broke and then regenerated endlessly, gradually trapping the flying sword in the center and binding it tightly.

As soon as Shen Yu had a thought, true qi was generated from his dantian and poured into the sword.

The Spirit Sword hummed loudly, its blade radiating light, instantly swirling up layers of sword energy that severed large swathes of the surrounding dust threads.

With a whistling sound, the spirit sword broke free and struck Wang Xuanxiu's face like a thunderbolt!

The latter's pupils shrank sharply, as if he couldn't believe that his superior-grade talisman weapon was no match for that flying sword.

He took two steps back and quickly cast a spell. Suddenly, the ground cracked open, and a dark gold ancient vine burst forth from the soil, narrowly blocking the sword light.

The Lingming Sword had just broken free of its restraints, and before it could unleash its full power, it only penetrated three inches into the vines before its strength gave out.

Immediately, the dark gold vine transformed into a towering tree, its branches and leaves as solid as cast iron, unbreakable, completely blocking out the sunlight.

Shen Yu opened his mouth and spat out a fierce hurricane, carrying raging flames that instantly ignited some of the vines and leaves.

However, the flames burned for only a brief moment before going out all at once.

The usually invincible Fierce Wind Summoning Technique failed to work this time!

Shen Yu was startled. Before he could make a further move, the branches and leaves on the ancient tree, which looked as if they were cast from metal, fell off one after another, like a rain of swords.

The jade pendant he held in his palm suddenly emitted three rays of light, which transformed into a solid barrier above his head.

Dense leaves and branches slammed into the light shield, causing it to fluctuate violently, flickering and threatening to collapse.

......

......