On the path to immortality, I can see destiny.

At dawn, as the sky began to lighten and the morning mist thickened, it enveloped the Yulin Mountains, creating a scene resembling a fairyland.

Yulin Mountain is nestled among towering peaks and deep valleys, rarely visited by humans. Legend has it that there is a celestial abode hidden in the mountains, where immortals occasionally fly by.

Although the legend is false, this place is indeed related to immortals.

On this Yulin Mountain, there is a market specifically for independent cultivators to trade, which opens once a month.

The owner of this market is a cultivator at the tenth level of Qi Refining.

The Qi Refining stage has twelve levels in total, with each three levels forming a stage, also known as the early, middle, late, and peak stages of Qi Refining.

Having reached the tenth level of Qi Refining, he has already entered the peak of Qi Refining, and among the many independent cultivators within a thousand miles, his strength is already quite remarkable.

Because of his guarantee, there were very few cases of extortion and robbery in this market, and gradually it became one of the few stable markets in Nanjun.

In the mountains, a young man wearing a tattered blue Taoist robe was struggling to climb.

This person's name is Zhao Fan. He is only eighteen years old this year, but he is already a cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

As a rogue cultivator, his cultivation level at this age is largely due to his superior metal, wood, and fire spiritual roots, which far surpass those of ordinary cultivators.

Having three spiritual roots, also known as true spiritual roots, is considered quite a talent among many independent cultivators.

It is far superior to those with useless five-element spiritual roots and pseudo-four-element spiritual roots.

In addition, he should also thank his master for teaching him the magical technique "Tian Yuan Gong". Although this technique causes unbearable pain in the brain when practiced, it also makes his practice twice as effective.

Then his master went to great lengths to find various medicinal herbs for him to cultivate, and also taught him alchemy.

In the end, he was seriously injured while searching for medicine to cultivate for him, and passed away in his cave.

After his master passed away, he lost all the resources for cultivating immortality and could only rely on himself.

He had always heard his master say that the outside world was dangerous, so he had never left the house.

He had been lingering in his master's cave for nearly a year, and without the aid of elixirs, he was still unable to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Left with no other choice, he left the cave to seek cultivation materials.

Today was the first time he had gone out alone, and he chose the safest place his master had mentioned.

The mountain was very high and quite difficult to climb, but with my cultivation, it wasn't too strenuous.

As they were climbing, a dark shadow suddenly flew across the sky at great speed, heading straight for the mountaintop.

It was a black flying boat, small and exquisite in design, with a streamlined shape and inscriptions that shimmered faintly on it, making it look quite mystical.

On the flying boat was a middle-aged cultivator with handsome features and a calm demeanor. He wore an exquisite white robe that fluttered in the wind, giving him an air of otherworldly elegance.

Behind him was a young man who looked to be about the same age as Zhao Fan. Like the middle-aged man, he was dressed in a white robe, but his eyes were curiously looking around.

As they passed over Zhao Fan's head, their eyes met briefly before they quickly parted ways.

The flying boat was extremely fast, causing the morning mist to swirl back and forth, disappearing into the mountains in the blink of an eye, leaving only a clear trace of the flying boat's passage, which was slowly wiped away by the surrounding mist.

Looking at the sky, a look of envy flashed in Zhao Fan's eyes.

Although he is also a cultivator, there are great differences between cultivators.

Those with neat makeup and uniform clothing, like the ones just now, are mostly members of a family.

Although cultivation families are not as prestigious as some major sects, they are still much better off than these independent cultivators.

For example, this flying boat is something that ordinary independent cultivators absolutely cannot afford.

Although it is only a low-level magic weapon, it is widely loved by low-level cultivators because of its flight ability.

Furthermore, only the Zhou family, the number one cultivation family in Nanjun, has access to purchase such magical artifacts, driving the price up to over sixty spirit stones.

Sixty spirit stones are enough to buy some excellent mid-level magic weapons.

Such luxurious magical artifacts are only available to and affordable to families that cultivate immortality.

Although his master left Zhao Fan some wealth, it was mostly magical artifacts and talismans, with only a dozen or so spirit stones.

What remained was a dilapidated small Five Elements formation outside the cave and a strange tortoise shell.

Thinking of this, Zhao Fan gently touched his chest.

This tortoise shell is very strange. It fell off his body after his master died, and when Zhao Fan touched it, it immediately stuck to his chest. Zhao Fan tried various methods, but he couldn't remove it.

But apart from that, nothing unusual was found, so I didn't pay much attention to it.

Compared to the wealth left by his master and that of cultivation families, Zhao Fan felt like a beggar and envied the disciples of those families even more.

After climbing for about half an hour, as the morning mist gradually dissipated, Zhao Fan finally reached the summit.

Here are several open platforms, each only a couple hundred feet in size, divided into several areas, one above the other.

The traces of human excavation are very obvious; it must have been created by flattening a corner of the mountain.

On each platform, there are several simply constructed wooden houses where people are displaying various cultivation materials for purchase.

These are all permanent residents of the market, and they have fixed stalls every time the market opens.

To secure a permanent stall, you need to prepay a year's worth of stall fees.

In addition, you can set up a stall in the surrounding open space, which only requires paying a stall fee of one spirit stone.

By this time, many cultivators had arrived and occupied the various platforms.

The stalls displayed a wide variety of items, including talismans, elixirs, animal materials, magical artifacts, and medicinal herbs.

After entering through the entrance, Zhao Fan paid a stall fee of one spirit stone, but did not rush to set up a stall. Instead, he wandered around the area.

After watching for a while, Zhao Fan stopped at a stall selling magical artifacts. As soon as he reached out and touched a mirror, the stall owner next to him began to lavishly praise his artifacts.

"This magical artifact is called the Mysterious Heaven Mirror. It possesses ultimate defense and can reflect all low-level spells. With your strength, young brother, it's just right to buy it for self-defense."

Listening to the stall owner's explanation, Zhao Fan became somewhat interested and asked about the price.

"What is the price?"

The stall owner across the street immediately spoke up.

"This item is inexpensive, costing only thirty spirit stones."

Upon hearing the price, Zhao Fan suddenly felt the mirror was too hot to handle and immediately put it back.

"Young friend, don't think it's too expensive. The cultivation world is extremely dangerous. With this item for self-defense, even ordinary Qi Refining Level 6 cultivators might not be your match. It's definitely worth the price."

The stall owner continued, as if he wanted to portray his magical artifact as invincible.

"Old Zhang, are you at it again? Trying to rip off customers just because they're new faces?"

At a nearby stall, a middle-aged cultivator who appeared quite upright spoke with a slightly sarcastic tone, which could be seen as a veiled reminder to Zhao Fan that this item was not worth the price.

"Young brother, don't be fooled by him. This item is called the Mystic Pattern Mirror, which is just a low-level magic weapon, worth at most ten spirit stones."

Upon hearing what the middle-aged cultivator said, Zhao Fan was shocked. So he was a shrewd merchant!

He secretly rejoiced, thankful that he was poor enough, otherwise he might have been fooled by these sweet words.

"Thank you, fellow Daoist, for speaking up for justice."

Zhao Fan immediately clasped his hands in thanks, and felt a greater sense of goodwill towards the middle-aged cultivator.

"Hey, you old bastard surnamed Lu, you dare to ruin my plans? Watch out, you'll die a horrible death in the wilderness once you leave Yulin Mountain!"

The original stall owner, his plans ruined, angrily spoke up, his words carrying a hint of threat, and his aura as a fifth-level Qi Refining cultivator burst forth.