Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

Before setting off, Xia Dong decided to prepare some more trump cards for herself.

He rummaged through the depths of his storage pouch and pulled out a few scraps of snake skin left over from when the giant snake shed its skin.

Previously, he had not condensed a rune seed and dared not easily waste these good materials, so he had kept them unused.

Now that he had mastered the use of the "Netherworld" talisman, Xia Dong did not hesitate to force out his own pure Yang essence blood as talisman ink and tough snake skin as talisman paper to begin refining a batch of special concealment talismans, invisibility talismans, and several low-level attack talismans with extremely powerful killing force.

The result was exactly as he expected.

With the dual enhancement of snake molt and inner strength realm essence blood, coupled with the mystery of the talisman seed, the power of this batch of specially made blood talismans has directly jumped a big step, steadily reaching the level of mid-level Qi Refining stage talismans.

In the common knowledge of the cultivation world, talismans are also divided into different grades.

If the power reaches the Foundation Establishment stage, such a talisman is called a "True Talisman"; while talismans with power at the Core Formation stage and above are called "Divine Talismans".

In addition, there is a rumored "talisman treasure" that contains incredible and terrifying power. Once activated, it can even surpass the full-force attack of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator.

However, these legendary things are too far removed from the current Xia Dong, so he doesn't need to pay too much attention to them.

After securing this batch of specially made trump cards, Xia Dong set off back to Pingyang County the next morning.

Counting the days, there are still a few days until the full moon this month.

He planned that once he finished the important business of handing over the goods in the city, he would have just enough time to rush back to Tiger Hill Cave and take advantage of the lunar essence brought down by Brother Snake.

The thought of being able to use such a pure and rare treasure of heaven and earth to refine his magic power for free filled Xia Dong with a sense of ease and joy.

The only thing that bothered him slightly was that the ancient bronze bell in his sea of ​​consciousness remained lifeless.

But he quickly came to terms with it.

When and how the ancient bell will be revived is beyond his control right now, so he simply stopped thinking about it and focused on doing his job well.

"Why rejoice in gain or grieve in loss?" Keep a calm and peaceful mind.

Xia Dong silently comforted herself.

After returning to the city with a full load of talismans and pills, Xia Dong didn't rush to report to Zhao Ting, but instead went home first.

Xia Dong replaced all the concealment and invisibility talismans she wore close to her body with the latest specially made snakeskin blood talismans.

This new talisman not only has a better concealment effect and greater power, but also loses spiritual energy at an extremely slow rate.

Xia Dong also checked on Xiao Hong's progress in martial arts training.

During the inspection, Xia Dong discovered that Xiao Hong's progress in martial arts was indeed astonishing.

With the gentle Xuan Yin Gathering Qi Pill assisting her, and the Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian specially tailored for her to continuously improve her physique, at this rate, perhaps in just a few years, Xiao Hong will be able to naturally cultivate to the fourth level of martial arts, the "Inner Strengthening Realm".

After all, the cultivation resources and techniques she now possesses are far superior to those Xia Dong had when he was practicing alone, like a blind man trying to understand an elephant.

In fact, he possesses the "Mysterious Yin Refining Divine Technique" and the Yin Sha Pill refined from the ancient bronze bell. Theoretically, it is indeed highly possible that he could replicate the path he has taken to enhance the mortal potential of an ordinary person, allowing them to transform into a spiritual root and thus cultivate them into a "Qi Refiner".

However, the secrets involving the "Changchun Xingqi Jue" and the Yin Sha Dan are simply too great and too shocking. In the cultivation world, people would fight tooth and nail for resources. If even a fraction of his secrets about mass-producing spiritual roots or using Yin Souls to refine pills were to be revealed, he would be subjected to soul-searching, soul-refining, skinning, and bone-extracting as a light punishment if caught.

He could only keep these secrets to himself. Whether it was a regular Yin Sha Pill or a more effective Yin Ling Pill, Xia Dong kept them hidden deep in his storage pouch and carried them with him at all times.

Moreover, the jade bottles containing them were also equipped with mechanisms; if they were taken out incorrectly, they would be contaminated by the poison inside.

...

...

After taking care of the household chores, Xia Dong changed into casual clothes and went out with Xiao Hong.

Instead of rushing to the Hundred Household Office, he first took Xiao Hong to his family's Changchun Medical Clinic, several farmlands, and shops under his name.

Xiao Hong, a young woman, single-handedly manages such a large business under his name, while he, the true master of the house, has been in seclusion for a long time. It is inevitable that some ulterior motives will arise among the managers, employees, and even tenants under his command, and there will be an undercurrent of restlessness.

Now that Xia Dong has personally stepped forward and brought her here, it's not only to support her, but also to silently intimidate her.

Those undercurrents that were originally stirring will naturally be quelled instantly under the majesty of him, the commander of the Eagle Wolf Guard.

After giving them a dressing down and restoring Xiao Hong's authority, Xia Dong leisurely headed to the Eagle Wolf Guard's Hundred-Household Office.

Luckily, Zhao Ting was indeed in the yamen.

As soon as they met, Zhao Ting greeted Xia Dong with a smile and patted her shoulder familiarly: "Xueyi, you've come at just the right time. I just got back from the prefectural city."

Xia Dong bowed respectfully and said with a smile, "Thank you for your trouble, brother. Well then..."

Before Xia Dong could finish his question, Zhao Ting waved his hand and interrupted him, saying, "Things went very smoothly. The higher-ups have made the decision, and we don't need to confront the Wusheng Sect demons head-on anymore. Also, your reward has been issued and is on its way."

Upon hearing this, Xia Dong raised an eyebrow and said half-jokingly, "Brother, you're not going to keep me in suspense any longer, are you?"

Zhao Ting smiled slightly, pulled Xia Dong to sit down, and lowered his voice to say, "This reward is just something we took along the way. Next, we have a very important task."

"What mission?" Xia Dong asked curiously.

Zhao Ting straightened his expression and explained earnestly, "In a while, a distinguished guest will be coming to the prefecture city. He will likely be visiting the counties and prefectures under our jurisdiction. We will be responsible for his security during that time. This is also the exchange condition that allows us to avoid going to the front lines to suppress the Wusheng Sect demons."

He paused, noticing Xia Dong's slightly narrowed gaze, and then reassured her, "You don't need to worry about danger. This important figure's guards are far stronger than me; there's no need for us to risk our lives fighting. Besides, you two might even be relatives."

Xia Dong's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately thought of his own cryptic household registration book. He tentatively asked, "Could the other party also be from a Daoist family?"

"Not bad." Zhao Ting nodded, his tone filled with deep reverence. "But she doesn't have a Daoist certificate. However, she has a noble status, so we mustn't offend her. If we can get through this mission safely, we'll both benefit greatly."

Seeing Zhao Ting's serious expression, Xia Dong felt reassured.

It seems this important person's background is indeed astonishingly powerful, even a cultivator like Zhao Ting with a family background has to treat him with utmost care. However, as long as he can avoid the life-or-death battle with the Wusheng Sect demons and peacefully serve as a guard to get by, it would be a good thing for him.