Mortal: Starting with the Seven Mysterious Sects, I proved my Dao through sacrifice.

Having been in Huangfeng Valley for several months, Murong Fan's cultivation level steadily improved from the eleventh level of Qi Refining to the Foundation Establishment Realm. Although he had gained a lot during this time, he always felt that Huangfeng Valley was worlds apart from the Seven Mysteries Sect.

Back in the Seven Mysteries Sect, he was the last disciple of Sect Master Wang and was respectfully called "Young Sect Master" by everyone; but now, in the Yellow Maple Valley, he has to face countless complicated entanglements and human schemes.

Murong Fan had been in Huangfeng Valley for several months, but had not yet visited the market. Although daily seclusion for cultivation could indeed bring some improvement, cultivation inherently requires communication and exchange with others to make steady progress.

That day, Chen Qiaoqian brought him to the Huangfeng Valley Market, partly to search for treasure and partly to relax. They visited the Wanbaolou, Lingfuge, Xiancaoge, and Baiqiaolou, each with its own unique offerings. There was a venue for the annual auction, as well as stalls for smaller transactions by independent cultivators and lower-level disciples.

The stall area was bustling with people, filled with the sounds of vendors hawking their wares and haggling, a vibrant and lively scene typical of the marketplace. Unlike the orderly layout of large shops like Wanbaolou, the stalls here were more casual, displaying a dazzling array of rare treasures, cultivation manuals, jade slips, elixirs, and magical artifacts, some laid out on rough wooden planks, others arranged in simple cloth stalls, quietly awaiting discerning buyers.

With his hands behind his back, Murong Fan strolled slowly among the stalls like an ordinary cultivator, his sharp gaze sweeping over the items on the stalls, occasionally stopping to pick up an item and examine it carefully.

He stopped in front of a stall selling ores. The stall owner, a dark-skinned middle-aged cultivator, saw Murong Fan stop and immediately greeted him warmly, "Fellow Daoist, take a look at my 'Meteorite Iron,' it's an excellent material for forging mid-grade magic weapons. It was just mined from the depths of Black Wind Abyss, absolutely fresh!"

Murong Fan picked up a fist-sized piece of ore with a dark silver surface and faint star-like patterns. It felt heavy in his hand, and a cool, pure metallic aura wafted towards him. But it wouldn't be of much benefit to him.

Murong Fan put down the iron stone and went to look around, because for Murong Fan, who possessed a Heavenly Spiritual Root, what he needed at the moment were magical artifacts, pills, and talismanic treasures. That is, treasures such as the Azure Wood Boat, Heavenly Heart Pills, and Golden Light Brick Talismans.

With the blessing of the Heavenly Spiritual Root, he no longer needs to exchange for Foundation Establishment Pills. Compared to other cultivators, he can save a large amount of his previous monthly allowance to purchase or exchange for other cultivation items.

Although the stall area had the items he wanted to trade, for him, the more secluded the trading place, the better.

His gaze swept across the stalls, quickly drawing attention to one in a corner. The stall owner was an old man in a gray robe with a withered face, and his stall contained only a few inconspicuous items, a stark contrast to the bustling activity of the surrounding stalls.

Murong Fan approached, his gaze falling on an ancient token covered in cracks and grayish-brown in color. The token felt slightly heavy in his hand, and its surface seemed to be engraved with blurry runes, but the fluctuations of spiritual energy were extremely weak. If it weren't for his spiritual power being far beyond that of ordinary people, he would have almost mistaken it for a piece of scrap metal.

"Fellow Daoist, how much for this broken token?" Murong Fan picked up the token without making a sound, secretly injecting a wisp of spiritual power into his fingertip, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea, without any reaction.

The old man raised his eyelids slightly, his voice hoarse: "Give it to me as you see fit. I picked this up from the outskirts of an ancient cultivator's cave. I studied it for half a year but couldn't figure out what it was all about, so I'll just treat it as scrap."

Murong Fan's heart stirred. He had a vague feeling that this token was no ordinary object, especially given the faint aura of antiquity it exuded. Without making a sound, he took out ten low-grade spirit stones from his storage bag and placed them on the stall: "How about ten low-grade spirit stones?"

The old man glanced at the spirit stones, waved his hand noncommittally, and the deal was considered done. Murong Fan put the token into his storage bag, then casually looked at the other stalls but found nothing else. During his search, he learned that some rogue cultivators from the nearby Yuanwu Kingdom often came here to trade.

In the Yuanwu Kingdom, Murong Fan's consciousness was awakened once again; perhaps this is another inevitable journey on the path of cultivation.

Then Murong Fan went to Wanbaolou to purchase a green wooden boat, five bottles of Tianxin Pills, and a golden brick talisman.

"Senior Brother Murong, did you find anything?" Chen Qiaoqian asked curiously, holding a small jade box in her hand containing some auxiliary materials she had just bought for refining the Qi-stabilizing Pill.

Murong Fan smiled slightly, but did not answer directly. Instead, he said, "Let's go sit at 'Zhiweizhai' over there. I've heard that their spiritual tea is quite good."

The two arrived at Zhiweizhai and found a private seat by the window. A waiter brought over some spiritual tea, its fragrant aroma filling the air, refreshing and invigorating. Murong Fan then took out the ancient-looking token from his storage bag and placed it on the table: "Qiaoqian, what do you think of this?"

Chen Qiaoqian curiously picked up the token, examined it carefully for a moment, and then tried to probe it with her spiritual energy. Finally, she shook her head: "The material of this token is unknown, the runes are blurry, and I can't probe it with my spiritual energy. It really does look like a piece of scrap metal. Senior brother, why did you buy this?"

Murong Fan gently traced the cracks on the token with his fingertips, and said thoughtfully, "I can't quite put my finger on it, but I feel that it's not as simple as it seems on the surface. Perhaps it requires a specific method to activate."

He carefully probed the token with a wisp of wood-elemental spiritual energy, but there was still no reaction. After a moment of contemplation, he tried injecting a wisp of the special energy he had obtained after the sacrifice into it.

The moment that wisp of energy entered the token, the originally dull token suddenly trembled slightly, and a faint golden light shone through the cracks on its surface. The blurry runes seemed to come alive and slowly flowed.

Although the light was fleeting, both Murong Fan and Chen Qiaoqian clearly captured it.

"It moved! It moved!" Chen Qiaoqian exclaimed in surprise.

A glint of light flashed in Murong Fan's eyes; it seemed his intuition was correct. This token was indeed a treasure, but its uses and activation method still needed to be studied. He carefully put the token away, already having made up his mind.

"It seems this trip to the market wasn't a complete waste." Murong Fan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and looked out at the bustling crowd outside the window. He thought to himself: This Huangfeng Valley market is indeed full of hidden talents. Perhaps I can find even more unexpected treasures.

He decided that when he had time, he would carefully search the market, especially those seemingly inconspicuous corners, where true opportunities might be hidden. The Nine Heavens Altar within him seemed to resonate subtly with the appearance of this token, further fueling his interest in it.

Back in the Tranquil Cave, Murong Fan offered the treasures he had acquired from the market as a sacrifice.

"Altar, appear!"

At this moment, the purple-blue light screen began to scroll with subtitles again:

[Resources available for sacrifice detected. Convert them into cultivation opportunities?]

"Yes," Murong Fan silently replied.

Should all of them be sacrificed?

Slowly, Murong Fan snapped out of his reverie. He focused his mind, and at that moment, the purple-blue light screen displayed:

[The value of the sacrificial offerings is being determined...]

【Azure Wood Boat: Made of spirit wood, a flying magical artifact with extremely high speed, perfectly concealed in the forest】

[Two bottles of Heavenly Heart Pill: Restores divine consciousness, quickly replenishes excessively depleted spiritual energy, and strengthens divine consciousness.]

[One Golden Brick Talisman: Highly offensive, difficult to withstand with ordinary magical artifacts and protective shields, possessing immense power]

【Ancient Token: An ancient relic whose potential has not been unlocked, used exclusively with the altar】

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the ancient altar suddenly appeared, more solid than before, its surface shimmering with a profound, eerie light. One by one, the sacrificial offerings vanished. A short while later, a voice rang out:

"Buzz—"

The altar trembled, and the purple-blue light screen displayed:

The sacrifice yields one flying spaceship, one bottle of True Essence Pill, and one bottle of Qi Refining Powder.

The altar has been upgraded to 30%, granting the cultivator one chance to search for treasures in their cultivation cave using the Ancient Token.

Ten days later, after taking the True Essence Pill and the Qi Refining Powder and cultivating, Murong Fan had already undergone a complete transformation.

The purple-blue light screen displays:

[Host: Murong Fan]

[Spiritual Root: Heavenly Spiritual Root (Wood Attribute)]

[Strength: Peak of Early Foundation Establishment Stage]

[Magic Treasure: Altar of All Things, offering sacrifices to all things to exchange for the heavens]

Peak of early Foundation Establishment! These six words exploded in Murong Fan's mind like thunder. He could clearly feel that the spiritual power in his body was more abundant and solid than when he was in the early Foundation Establishment stage, and his meridians had also been widened. Every move he made carried an indescribable sense of power.

In just ten days, with the help of the True Essence Pill and the Qi Refining Powder, coupled with his Heavenly Spiritual Root talent and the subtle transformation of the altar, he actually broke through from the early stage of Foundation Establishment to the peak of the early stage, just one step away from the middle stage of Foundation Establishment! If such a cultivation speed were to spread, it would probably cause a huge uproar throughout the entire Yellow Maple Valley.

He clenched his fist, feeling the surging spiritual energy within his body, his heart filled with power. Now, he could be considered a figure among Foundation Establishment cultivators. At least he had the strength to fight against ordinary mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators, and he was even confident that he could defeat them by using the Crimson Sun Divine Light and the Golden Light Brick Talisman.