Gou Zai created a blessed land in the immortal abode

The crowd readily agreed and gradually dispersed.

While packing up his stall, Fang Yuan, who had just bought the Spirit Gathering Pill, did not go far. After the crowd dispersed, he returned.

"Fellow Daoist Li."

Fang Yuan lowered his voice, "You just said you were inquiring about chalcedony, were you serious?"

Li Chengming's heart stirred: "Of course I'll take it seriously. Do you have connections, fellow Daoist?"

Fang Yuan looked around, then leaned closer and said:

"Fellow Daoist Li, I do have some news."

As Fang Yuan spoke, he pulled a crumpled piece of animal hide from his sleeve, which unfolded to reveal a rough map.

"Three years ago, a rogue cultivator found half a piece of jade marrow in an abandoned cave in Cangwu Valley. He later sold it to the Da Chi Sect and exchanged it for a lot of spirit stones. Not many people know about this. I only heard about it by chance."

Li Chengming took the animal hide and examined it carefully. The markings were clear, indicating that the location was in the southwest, about 800 li away.

"Is that abandoned cave still being guarded?"

No, not at all.

Fang Yuan shook his head:

"However, it is said that almost everything of value in that cave has been looted. That half piece of jade marrow is probably something that slipped through the net. If you want to try your luck, I advise you not to have too high hopes."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengming seemed to understand something, then put the animal hide into his sleeve and took out a spirit stone, handing it to Fang Yuan:

"Thank you for telling me, fellow Daoist."

Fang Yuan accepted the spirit stone, a look of joy on his face, and then lowered his voice to say:

"Fellow Daoist Li is straightforward! Let me add one more thing: if you really want to go to Cangwu Valley, you'd better make some preparations in advance. There are often rogue cultivators who go there to try their luck, and battles often occur."

"Thank you for the reminder, fellow Daoist." Li Chengming bowed and expressed his gratitude.

.........

Back in his immortal abode, Li Chengming sat cross-legged in his quiet room.

He took out the animal hide map that Fang Yuan had given him and examined it carefully.

"Cangwu Valley..."

He had never heard of this place before, but Fang Yuan's words did not seem to be false.

The half-piece of chalcedony was found three years ago, which means that there was at least some chalcedony in that cave.

"It's worth a look, but there are often fights between rogue cultivators there..."

This presented Li Chengming with a dilemma.

The only killing spells he knew were the Water Serpent Technique; he had absolutely no magical artifacts or talismans.

"No rush. Even if we don't have magical artifacts, we should at least have some talismans."

Li Chengming doesn't have many spirit stones on him right now, and the way to earn more spirit stones is still through alchemy.

If one can refine high-quality pills, one can hand them over to the Kong family and receive greater benefits.

"We still need to improve our alchemy skills."

Li Chengming pondered to himself.

…………

Time flies, and June arrives in the blink of an eye.

For the past six months, Li Chengming has spent most of his time refining elixirs.

This allowed his alchemy skills to improve very rapidly.

Currently, each batch can produce an average of three to five Spirit Gathering Pills.

And these pills, especially those of slightly lower quality, would be sold at the market every month.

His reputation gradually spread throughout the city.

"The alchemist Li from Cuiyuan Peak offers fair prices and high-quality pills."

Such positive reviews circulated among the independent practitioners, causing Li Chengming's stall to be surrounded by people every month.

However, the high-quality Spirit Gathering Pills would be recycled by the Kong family.

This was also the promise he made to Kong Shaowen.

The best quality elixirs should be prioritized for the Kong family.

However, the Kong family did not treat him unfairly. They not only bought back the grass at the market price, but also increased the amount of spiritual grass they provided each month from one mu to two mu.

This saved him a large amount of spirit stones.

"I currently have over thirty spirit stones on me..."

Li Chengming calculated his savings.

"Don't rush to return Fellow Daoist Kong Chengli's spirit stones."

Since the other party hasn't been urging me to pay back, I'm not in a hurry to do so. I'll wait until I'm better off in the future.

As for these thirty-odd spirit stones, Li Chengming has his own uses for them.

That is to purchase ritual implements and talismans.

The small market at the foot of Cuiyuan Peak isn't enough for buying ritual implements and talismans.

We still need to go to the market town at the foot of Guangling Mountain, the main peak of the Kong family.

After thinking it over, Li Chengming immediately set off.

…………

At the foot of Guangling Mountain, there is a market town.

"Let's check the instrument first."

After circling around, Li Chengming made up his mind and headed straight for the middle of the street.

There was a shop called "Spirit Weapon Pavilion" there. The storefront was not big, but there were quite a few cultivators coming and going. He glanced at it and saw that most of the people inside were Qi Refining stage cultivators choosing items, so the prices must be reasonable.

So he strode over the threshold and went inside.

The shop was simply furnished, with various magical artifacts hanging on the three walls, including knives, swords, spears, and whips. Most of them were of low-grade quality, with one or two mid-grade artifacts displayed separately on a wooden shelf behind the counter, presumably as the shop's prized possessions.

"Fellow Daoist, what would you like to see?"

The shopkeeper behind the counter was a middle-aged monk in his forties, tall and with rugged features; he was a man.

Li Chengming looked around and asked:

"Shopkeeper, do you have any decent ranged magical artifacts?"

Li Chengming's choice of a ranged magical artifact was a well-thought-out decision, as it would not only avoid close-quarters combat with other cultivators.

Moreover, it can maximize the advantages of the Immortal Abode.

"Of course there are."

The shopkeeper walked to the left wall and pointed:

"This [Feather Dart] comes in a set of three. It is silent and designed to catch the opponent off guard. It costs fifteen spirit stones per set."

Li Chengming shook his head slightly.

Seeing this, the shopkeeper pointed to another item:

"The Black Gold Bow was forged from black gold ore over a period of forty-nine days, and its bowstring is made from the sinew of a mid-stage Qi Refining demon beast. It can pierce through rocks from several miles away, and it only requires thirty-five spirit stones!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengming was moved and said:

"Could I take a look at it?"

"Of course."

The shopkeeper then took down the black gold bow and handed it to Li Chengming.

As soon as Li Chengming got his hands on the black gold bow, he felt its heavy weight, so he placed his hand on the bowstring.

Infused with spiritual power, as the bowstring was drawn back, a flash of spiritual light appeared, and an arrow slowly materialized.

"What a fine bow!"

Li Chengming liked it very much; the more he looked at it, the more pleasing it became.

"Thirty-five spirit stones is enough to buy it, but if I buy this bow, most of my spirit stones will be gone..."

After a moment's hesitation, Li Chengming decided to take it.

After all, magical artifacts can be used for a long time, while talismans are disposable items.

"Shopkeeper, I'll take this bow."

After handing over the spirit stones, Li Chengming suddenly felt his pockets were empty. As he walked out of the store, he pondered to himself:

"Now that we have the weapons for killing, let's use the remaining spirit stones to buy some speed-traveling talismans and qi-concealing talismans."

He originally wanted to buy some offensive talismans, but these types of talismans were more expensive, and he couldn't afford many with the spirit stones he had left.

Therefore, the only option was to buy some cheaper talismans.

"With magical artifacts and talismans, plus the Qi-restoring powder I've ground and the Immortal Abode, I can now be considered both offensive and defensive."

Li Chengming mentally calculated his trump card.

The biggest trump card is undoubtedly the Immortal Abode.

As long as he has a celestial abode, he can be invincible.

At least Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators definitely wouldn't be able to catch him.

As for the Purple Mansion Immortal, he had never heard of him.