Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

Qin Wan stepped straight into the largest shop in the market.

Because of her status as a disciple of Master Guyue and her role as acting manager, the shopkeeper dared not be negligent in the slightest and personally welcomed her into the quiet private room.

When Qin Wan neatly placed the stack of Wind Control Talismans on the sandalwood table, the well-informed shopkeeper examined them for a moment, and a hint of undisguised surprise flashed in his eyes.

These talismans not only have extremely neat spiritual patterns, but what is even more astonishing is that the spiritual power flowing within them is turbulent and solid, clearly indicating that they were recently made and were the work of the same person.

What kind of talisman master is working so hard?

After a moment of surprise, the shopkeeper did not ask any further questions.

After a meticulous and thorough negotiation, Qin Wan demonstrated the shrewdness and resourcefulness characteristic of someone from a merchant family.

These escape talismans, which were already highly sought after among low-level cultivators, eventually sold for a good price.

After taking stock of her gains, Qin Wan moved to another location and exchanged half of them for the cultivation supplies Xia Dong had requested.

The deal was done cleanly and efficiently.

...

...

It is still that pine-covered pavilion hidden in the clouds and mist.

Xia Dong watched as Qin Wan pushed the package towards him, then subtly scanned it with his divine sense, instantly recognizing its contents. With a gentle expression, he naturally took out three Qi Gathering Pills and fifteen spirit stones from the package and gently pushed it back to Qin Wan.

"Wan'er, the fact that this batch of supplies was sold so smoothly and without leaving a trace is all thanks to your mediation. This is your well-deserved reward, please accept it."

Seeing this, Qin Wan waved her hands repeatedly, hurriedly declining, "Brother Xia, since we have already become sworn siblings, this is just a small favor. How could Wan'er covet your cultivation resources?"

Xia Dong looked at her quietly: "Let's keep things separate. Over the past few years, without your and Senior Gu Yue's help, I, Xia Dong, wouldn't be where I am today. If you don't accept these things, how can I face you for help again when I encounter difficulties in the future?"

Qin Wan pursed her red lips slightly. She knew that if she declined repeatedly, it would only seem pretentious and distant.

Finally, she nodded. "Thank you, Brother Xia."

Holding the Qi Gathering Pill and spirit stone that exuded pure spiritual energy in her hand, Qin Wan couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions.

When they first met, Xia Dong was just an ordinary boy who needed her to secretly give him spirit stones out of her own pocket. But in just a few short years, this Brother Xia not only made rapid progress in his martial arts cultivation to the peak of the Bone Forging Realm, but now he is even able to help her on her path to immortality.

"Is this the foundation of the Daoist disciples...?" Qin Wan murmured to herself, her heart churning with emotion.

She knew very well that Xia Dong was able to take on this lucrative job of "smuggling" cultivation resources because of his "Daoist register" background, which had been personally verified by the Tongxuan Division.

The Great You Dynasty, which now dominates the world and is at its zenith, was ultimately established by the thirty-six Daoist families that founded it.

The original "Thirty-Six Thieves" were originally core figures with extremely high power in various immortal sects and demonic sects.

Even if they chose to betray their sect and support the mortal dynasty back then, could those countless threads of inheritance and bloodline really have been completely severed?

Perhaps, deep within the immortal sects and demonic sects today, they still harbor unimaginable influence.

This has always been the way of survival for powerful clans and aristocratic families.

The Great You Dynasty is indeed powerful at present. However, the wheel of fate turns, and fortunes are unpredictable. Who can guarantee that one day the immortal sects or demonic sects will not rise again and regain control of the rise and fall of this continent?

Moreover, although the Great You Dynasty is currently the overlord of this continent, it is not without external enemies.

In conclusion, Taoist families will most likely always have the qualifications and deep enough resources to calmly choose to stand on the side of victory.

Qin Wan sighed inwardly.

The two then said goodbye.

...

...

Xia Dong returned to the Changchun Medical Clinic without making a sound.

As night deepened, Xia Dong locked the door and skillfully slipped into the hidden chamber at the bottom of the well.

Sitting cross-legged on the cold stone slab, he took out and checked the supplies in his package one by one, his gaze finally landing on the jade bottle containing the "Qi Gathering Pill".

"Let me see just how miraculous these immortal pills, which cost ten low-grade spirit stones each, are."

Xia Dong uncorked the bottle and poured out a Qi Gathering Pill. The pill was only the size of a soybean, perfectly round, with a faint cloud-like pattern flowing across its surface. A refreshing and extremely pure medicinal fragrance instantly filled the entire secret room.

Without the slightest hesitation, he tilted his head back and swallowed the Qi Gathering Pill.

boom!

The moment the pill entered Xia Dong's mouth, it didn't need to be digested by the stomach; it directly transformed into an extremely pure spiritual energy that dissolved within Xia Dong's body.

Xia Dong's expression hardened slightly, and he immediately activated his divine sense, fully activating the Qi-refining method of the "Mysterious Yin Scripture".

The vortex of magical energy within his dantian began to spin wildly, like a greedy maw, desperately swallowing this pure spiritual power.

With the help of this medicinal power, Xia Dong could clearly feel that the magical power in his dantian, which was originally only as thin as a thread, was growing stronger and more solid at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Unfortunately, despite Xia Dong's best efforts to refine the medicinal power, he was limited by his innate spiritual root, which had not yet fully transformed into a "spiritual root." As a result, he could only barely retain and refine one-tenth of the spiritual power.

As for the remaining 90% of spiritual power...

hum.

Deep within the sea of ​​consciousness, the ancient bronze bell, seemingly bottomless, emitted a joyful hum.

It released an overwhelming suction force, swallowing up all the spiritual energy that was about to dissipate from the body.

Over the years, Xia Dong gradually figured out the temperament of the ancient bell.

This thing not only consumes a massive amount of spiritual energy when deducing cultivation techniques, but it also silently consumes spiritual energy while floating in the sea of ​​consciousness to maintain its own operation.

Xia Dong calmed his mind and completely transformed that ten percent of spiritual power into his own Xuan Yin magic power. He could feel that the ten percent of medicinal power from just this Qi Gathering Pill was equivalent to the effort he had put into meditating in this secret room for half a month.

Just as Xia Dong was about to finish his practice and get up, he habitually scanned the ancient bronze bell in his mind.

On the ancient bell's bronze surface, which is covered with the marks of time and has become dull and lackluster, a faint trace of gold has suddenly appeared!

The gold was extremely fine, like a speck of gold dust on a strand of hair, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

If Xia Dong hadn't become intimately familiar with every single texture on its body over the past few years, he might have thought it was an illusion.

"This ancient bell... could it be that after absorbing a sufficiently large amount of spiritual energy, it not only deduce cultivation techniques, but its physical form also undergoes some kind of transformation?"

This ancient bell was his greatest asset in this world of cultivation. If it could advance and transform, who knows what kind of heaven-defying divine abilities it would unlock.

But he quickly calmed down, as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water.

"It's been years... I've been using my divine sense to guide spiritual energy to nourish it day and night, and I've also poured in so many spirit stones. Now, with the addition of this extremely pure Qi Gathering Pill, I've barely managed to produce this tiny bit of gold, finer than a hair."

"If we want to wait for the gold to completely cover the entire bell and allow it to complete its transformation, we'd probably have to drain all the spirit stone mines in Lin Yuan Prefecture, right? When would that ever end?"

Xia Dong shook his head, deciding to stop thinking about it. Improving his own cultivation was the most urgent matter.