Cultivation begins with alchemy and collecting runes.

"this?"

Li Xiuyuan's expression changed drastically. He put everything into his storage bag, then rode the golden sword and soared into the sky.

Whoosh!

Swords flashing and shadows falling!

Strange, grotesque beams of light rushed toward the mining area, devouring flesh and blood. The mortals within the mine died off in waves, like wheat being harvested.

Li Xiuyuan looked closely and saw more than ten cultivators dressed in black robes leading a group of rogue cultivators into the mining area's formation.

"They're disciples of the Demon Flame Sect!"

Li Xiuyuan recognized them at a glance: these were elite disciples of the Demon Flame Sect, not those rogue cultivators who were just cannon fodder.

"How could this be?"

While Wu Wen and his companions were shouting and yelling as they fought their opponents, Li Xiuyuan was quite puzzled.

"There are no rare resources here, so why is the Demon Flame Sect going to such lengths?"

"Oh no, it's a disciple of the Demon Flame Sect!"

A parasol-shaped magical artifact flew out from Sophie's body, protecting her. Sensing the late-stage cultivation levels of the black-robed cultivators, her face turned ashen: "Why am I so unlucky!"

Li Xiuyuan was taken aback. "Everyone, they have come from afar and will certainly not be able to stay here. Let us use the power of the formation to delay them for a while. I have already sent a message to the sect, and the Foundation Establishment cultivators will arrive immediately."

With Li Xiuyuan leading the way, Wu Wen and Zhou Li steadied themselves and immediately summoned an array to defend against the enemy.

Buzz!

A layer of golden light shone up, enveloping the entire mining area, layer upon layer, dense and impenetrable.

First-tier formation: "Golden Light Formation!"

Li Xiuyuan scanned the surrounding cultivators with his divine sense and found that none of them had reached the peak of Qi Refining.

The strongest among them is only at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

"They really look down on us, do they really think we're pushovers?"

He pondered for a moment, noting that he still had the [Sword Shadow Splitting Technique] rune on his body.

Killing all of these people might be difficult, but killing one or two would not be difficult for him.

"If these Demon Flame Sect disciples are just here to cause trouble and plunder some ore... it's not a big deal."

Thinking this, the Demon Flame Sect cultivators opposite him were not just there to cause trouble.

The black-robed cultivators parted from the middle, and a man with silver hair, black eyes, and an extremely gentle face emerged, resembling a woman.

His cultivation was at the peak of Qi Refining, and he carried a terrifying spiritual pressure, with countless strange and mysterious lights surrounding him.

"The Demon Flame Sect, Zhong Shenxiu!"

Li Xiuyuan's eyes twitched, and he fled outside the formation without hesitation.

He went to great lengths to reprimand and appease Wu Wen and the others, all in order to buy them a chance to escape at the crucial moment.

The Demon Flame Sect clearly came prepared; even if he wanted to kill them, it would be futile!

When disaster strikes, everyone flees for their own lives. Wu Wen and his companions should pray for their own good fortune.

Zhong Shenxiu made a hand seal, and layers of dark shadow light enveloped his body, transforming into a dark flame dragon carrying some dark flame flying blades and roaring to the sky.

Immediately, the Dark Flame Dragon opened its mouth and exhaled, flying onto the Golden Light Array.

Splash!

A large amount of dark flames and light clashed with the golden shield, causing it to wear down. The golden array was instantly pierced by the dark flames, creating a gap.

Wu Wen, Su Fei, and the others' expressions changed drastically, and they spat out a mouthful of blood.

Li Xiuyuan had a sudden realization that something was wrong.

"Kill them all, leave no one alive!"

Zhong Shenxiu said coldly, glancing at Li Xiuyuan, "Wuhu, this man is yours!"

"Yes, young sect master."

A late-stage Earth Refinement Qi cultivator from the Demon Flame Sect rode a Demon Flame Flying Wheel in pursuit of Li Xiuyuan's escape route.

"Chung Shenxiu!"

When Wu Wen and the others saw Zhong Shenxiu, despair appeared on their faces...

……

Whoosh whoosh!

Just as Li Xiuyuan escaped the Black Wind Mine, riding his golden sword, he saw a Demon Flame Sect cultivator riding a pair of Demon Flame Flying Wheels charging towards him.

Before he could even react, several dark flame spikes flew towards him in an instant!

Click!

Li Xiuyuan dodged the attack with an extremely flexible movement.

Although with his physical strength, he could only suffer a minor scratch from this attack, he still needed to keep his trump card.

"Hmm? Eighth level of Qi Refining, and it even knows a first-tier high-grade fire spell. This flying wheel is quite good, a first-tier high-grade magic weapon?"

Li Xiuyuan's divine sense was comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, which greatly gave him the upper hand in battle.

He immediately summoned the Blood Butcher's Blade and made a hand seal with one hand.

The Blood Slaughter Blade instantly transformed into a streak of crimson light, hurtling towards the Demon Flame Sect cultivators like a shooting star.

"Um?"

This was the first time the disciples of the Demon Flame Sect had ever seen a cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refining instantly unleash a high-grade magic weapon, and they were quite taken aback.

He quickly took out a black flame shield from his storage bag and held it in front of him.

boom!

The Blood Butcher Blade collided with it, and apart from the Black Flame Shield swaying slightly, it had no other effect.

Upon seeing this, the disciples of the Demon Flame Sect felt a surge of pride.

The Dark Flame Wheel and Black Flame Shield beneath his feet were both top-grade magic artifacts, costing him most of his fortune.

Even with a high-grade magic weapon, a mere Qi Refining Level 7 cultivator couldn't possibly break through the defenses... Wait, how is that possible!

Before the disciples of the Demon Flame Sect could react, several azure sword shadows appeared above their heads, like a surging sea of ​​swords crashing down.

Several crimson fireballs were interspersed within the sea of ​​swords.

"A mere flash of sword light."

He was startled and instinctively cast a defensive spell, but ultimately his combat experience prevailed.

He immediately stopped the thought, made a hand seal, and cast an evasion spell.

"Trying to distract me? Hah, you underestimate me. Do you think I'm one of those lowly rogue cultivators?"

"Those unskilled rogue cultivators and clan disciples might have been caught off guard, but I've killed quite a few people!"

thump!

The sword light and fireballs struck the black flame shield, but they were equally difficult to break through its defenses.

Just as the disciples of the Demon Flame Sect were preparing to counterattack, a dark figure flashed before their eyes—it was Li Xiuyuan.

He released a [Sword Shadow Splitting Light Technique] mainly to conceal his figure and approach secretly.

These elite disciples of the sect are not as easy to kill as the spies of the Hundred Herbs Hall.

"A swift victory is best; we can't afford to delay, or we'll be in trouble if Zhong Shenxiu catches up."

With a thought, Li Xiuyuan refined a [Sleepless Confusion] in his sea of ​​consciousness, transforming it into an invisible hammer that smashed into the mind of the Demon Flame Sect disciple.

Although falling into a deep sleep can render demonic beasts unconscious, it is also effective against cultivators.

It instantly put him into a deep sleep, so that he didn't even have time to activate the talismans and spells in his hands.

Li Xiuyuan's blood and qi surged, and wearing a layer of protective blood-red robe, he clenched his fist and slammed it down.

boom!

The disciples of the Demon Flame Sect felt as if they had been struck head-on by a ferocious beast. Their black flame shields dented instantly, and they were sent flying far away. Their protective aura was also instantly shattered.

puff!

He coughed up blood, his face filled with disbelief, and exclaimed, "You are... a second-tier body refiner!"

Bang bang bang!

Li Xiuyuan's body swelled up as he moved forward, his fists clenched, and he unleashed ten consecutive punches, killing him instantly.

"I'm not at the second tier, but this body-refining energy that delivers punches with such force is really useful!"

He exhaled a breath of stale air, quickly destroyed the body and collected the spoils of war.

He activated his divine sense to secretly sense the bag and found that the mark on it was extremely faint. He then took it out in an instant.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"The Black Wind Mine has suffered a great calamity, so I'll just go into the mountains and hide for a while... I'll come out again after the great battle is over."

Li Xiuyuan rode the golden sword, transforming into a streak of fiery light, and sped towards the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains, intending to go into the mountains to avoid trouble.

……

They remained completely silent.

Half an incense stick later, a black light flashed and Zhong Shenxiu led his men in pursuit.

"Young Master, Zhong Wuhu is dead!"

The two Zhong family cultivators exchanged a glance, secretly alarmed.

Their strength is similar to Zhong Wuhu's. If they are the ones being pursued, wouldn't they also end up in the same boat?

"What a useless piece of trash! He can't even delay for a moment!"

Zhong Shenxiu, unwilling to accept defeat, said in a deep voice, "You dare kill a member of the Zhong family of my Demon Flame Sect? Let's see where you can escape to!"

He made a hand seal, and a black light mark instantly appeared in mid-air.

Given the young sect leader's speed, as long as this person doesn't escape back to the Blazing Fire Sect's mountain gate, he can capture him and extract his soul for refinement.

"Um?"

Suddenly, Zhong Shenxiu stopped, watching the spiritual light dissipate: "It failed? This person's escape speed is extremely fast, is he too far away? Or did a Foundation Establishment cultivator use magic to erase Zhong Wuhu's divine sense mark?"

……

The Second Heaven of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains.

Inside an underground cave.

"That was close!"

Li Xiuyuan picked up Zhong Wuhu's storage bag and took out a pile of spirit stones, talismans, and pills.

He picked up a few of the spirit stones and, with a slight probe of his divine sense, sensed the divine imprints on them.

If he hadn't cultivated a secret technique of divine sense, he wouldn't have been able to detect it at all.

"As expected of a prodigy of the Demon Flame Sect, to be able to cultivate such a powerful divine sense at the Qi Refining stage..."

With a wave of his hand, Li Xiuyuan destroyed the divine imprint on the spirit stone.

He could sense that this aura of divine consciousness was almost identical to that of Zhong Shenxiu.

"Want to track me? Unless you can cheat too!"

He sighed with relief, thankful that he had realized the situation was dire and had learned the Fire Release technique.

With the blessing of [Crimson Flame Mystic Light], the escape speed is comparable to that of a fully refined Qi cultivator.

With a powerful divine sense as a guide, it was not afraid of being investigated by cultivators.

After his initial reflection, he began to tally his spoils. "A first-tier superior-grade flying magic weapon, the Dark Flame Wheel? Hmm, and this first-tier superior-grade Black Flame Shield, although somewhat damaged, can still be used after some repairs... With this, including this superior-grade flying magic weapon, my defense, attack, and flying abilities are all superior-grade, making me one of the wealthiest late-stage Qi Refining cultivators in the sect."

This Dark Flame Wheel is of the fire attribute, making it extremely compatible with the cultivation technique practiced by Li Xiuyuan.

Li Xiuyuan then looked at the other items. Besides the three hundred spirit stones, there were some pills to enhance cultivation, a pile of first-tier talismans, and a few books.

"Hmm? Demonic Flame Technique? It seems to be the Zhong family's ancestral technique?"

"It's a pity that it requires the original demonic fire of the Demon Flame Sect as a catalyst to cultivate; it's too useless."

Li Xiuyuan tossed it aside and then looked at the other booklets.

"what?"

Li Xiuyuan flipped to a page in the book and muttered the incantation on it: "Is this the incantation for condensing a 'Earth Spirit Fire Essence'?"

Li Xiuyuan's spirits lifted, and he quickly began to ponder it, discovering that it was indeed so.

This "Earth Spirit Fire Marrow" is a renowned spiritual object. It is extremely yang in nature and can be used in many alchemy processes to greatly improve the quality of pills.

Moreover, this item is most famous for its use in refining magic.

For example, the infamous "Azure Sun Demon Fire" of the Demon Flame Sect!

"This item must have been prepared for Zhong Shenxiu? Was he leading his elite disciples to collect and refine 'Earth Spirit Fire Essence' to help him improve his cultivation?"

"This 'Azure Sun Demonic Flame' is considered a top-tier spell even among Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Demon Flame Sect. It is said that the Golden Core Ancestor of the Demon Flame Sect has already mastered the divine power of the 'Heavenly Sun Divine Flame.' Even though our sect's founder's cultivation is superior, he is still no match for him..."

This page of formulas is clearly copied from a higher-level cultivation method.

Having obtained the incantation, one can only refine spiritual essences; it is completely impossible to cultivate the "Azure Sun Demonic Fire," let alone upgrade and cultivate supernatural abilities.

"It's obviously a measure to prevent the leakage of cultivation techniques... It doesn't matter much to me. I just need to use the 'Earth Fire Spirit Essence' to improve my cultivation, refine pills in peacetime, and fight enemies in wartime."

Thinking back to the great effort he had put into sending the demon-hunting team to find fire-type spiritual materials, Li Xiuyuan felt that he had finally struck gold this time.

For cultivators, killing and arson still bring wealth and power; being a cultivator who has traversed mountains and rivers is truly exhilarating!