Immortality begins with inheriting the myriad arts of cultivation.

Time passed day by day.

The fluctuations of spiritual energy within the cave gradually subsided.

The black mist enveloping the Earth Spirit Rat slowly dissipated, revealing the enormous spirit rat within. The aura emanating from the Earth Spirit Rat had clearly reached the third rank.

Before advancing to the next level, the Earth Spirit Rat was only about three feet long from head to tail.

Having successfully reached the third rank, its size expanded further, its body length exceeding ten feet. Lying there, it didn't resemble a spirit rat, but rather a mature wild bull, exuding a ferocious aura.

Its back is the most eye-catching feature.

The once dense clusters of golden spots have now merged into one, forming a golden line that extends from the neck to the tail, giving it a rather mysterious appearance.

However, although the Earth Spirit Rat's size has increased considerably after advancing, it is still far smaller than the Wildfire Sparrow.

When the Wildfire Sparrow first advanced more than 30 years ago, its upright height reached nearly 30 feet. Now, it has grown further, its bloodline is approaching the mid-stage of the third rank, and its size is approaching 50 feet.

Standing there, he looked like a small fighter jet.

However, this is an innate difference between different species of monsters. Even if the strength is the same, there will be huge differences in size between different species.

The Earth Rock Python, which was much larger than the Earth Spirit Rat and the Wildfire Sparrow, could only tremble in fear in front of the two beasts.

Whoosh!

The successfully advanced Earth Spirit Rat transformed into a black shadow and darted in front of Li Ping and Meng Wanjun, nuzzling them with its head and conveying joy to them.

"You're so great, little mouse!"

Meng Wanjun patted the earth spirit rat's head with a smile, her eyes showing joy.

"Squeak~"

Praised by its mother, the earth mouse let out a series of low chirps, clearly very pleased.

Li Ping stared at the earth spirit rat, which was the size of a bison, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

The Earth Spirit Rat has reached the third rank, equivalent to a Core Formation cultivator in the human race. It can use demonic fire to refine magic weapons. I should also consider refining a natal magic weapon for it.

The Earth Spirit Rat's treasure-hunting talent has played a significant role in his growth, and he can't afford to mistreat it.

Moreover, the combat power of a spirit beast with a natal magic weapon is on a completely different level compared to that of a spirit beast without a natal magic weapon.

As a spirit beast that is 100% under his control and extremely loyal to him, Li Ping naturally wanted to strengthen the Earth Spirit Rat's combat power as much as possible.

After all, the power of a demon beast's natal magic weapon mostly comes from the refinement of demonic fire. The earlier the magic weapon is made for it, the longer the time is spent refining it, and the more considerable its power will be.

But Li Ping was deep in thought about what kind of natal magic weapon to refine for the Earth Spirit Rat.

The Earth Spirit Rat and the Wildfire Sparrow have different roles.

The Wildfire Sparrow possesses extraordinary combat power, so the natal magic weapon crafted for it is the Vermilion Bird Fan, which can better unleash the power of its "Exorcising Fire".

However, although the Earth Spirit Rat has also advanced to the third rank, its combat power is limited by its own bloodline, which is only equivalent to that of an ordinary early Core Formation cultivator. It is completely incomparable to the Wildfire Sparrow.

Li Ping didn't expect it to be of any help in direct combat.

He positioned the Earth Spirit Rat as a support member of the team, responsible for tasks such as using earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic or escaping) to infiltrate and find treasure.

Should we send a treasure-hunting mouse into direct combat?

He wouldn't do something so unwise.

In this case, the natal magic weapon crafted for it should ideally focus on functionality rather than excessively pursuing destructive power.

The Lotus Mirror, similar to the one Xuan Yi is currently using, which came from Zhou Lingyan, a female cultivator from the Hehuan Sect, is actually quite good.

After thinking for a moment, Li Ping came up with a pretty good idea.

He inherited a method for crafting a magical artifact called the "Spirit Sealing Rope" from the weapon-crafting lineage of the Fiery True Man. The main function of this artifact is not to kill enemies, but to control them and the artifact itself.

It's considered one of the better auxiliary magic items.

Furthermore, the main material required for this magic weapon is the tendon of an earth-attribute spirit beast of at least the third rank, while the auxiliary materials are several metals, including magnetic materials.

They're not that hard to find; you should be able to gather them all within Lingxiao City.

Li Ping immediately assigned the task of collecting materials to Meng Wanjun. Meng Wanjun saw through his purpose in searching for these materials and readily agreed with a smile.

In fact, she wouldn't bother with these trivial matters. After returning to Caibaixuan, she would assign all the tasks to the two old cultivators, Chu and Chen.

Thinking of these two men, Meng Wanjun suddenly seemed to remember something and solemnly said, "Young Master, Chu Xiu and Chen Guang are both quite old and may pass away within ten years. Shouldn't we find some stewards to take over their work?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ping's expression slightly hardened.

After arriving in Lingxiao City of the Great Zhou Dynasty from the Western Wilderness via a teleportation array, he opened a shop to collect second-hand magical artifacts. Considering that Meng Wanjun was not versed in worldly affairs and that he himself needed to go into seclusion to cultivate, he decided to leave.

Therefore, Chu Xiu and Chen Guang were hired as Cai Bai Xuan's stewards, responsible for handling the store's daily affairs.

Therefore, Chu Xiu and Chen Guang were hired as Cai Bai Xuan's stewards, responsible for handling the store's daily affairs.

At that time, both of them were only in their eighties, a time when they were striving for success.

But more than thirty years have passed, and the two old cultivators are approaching 110 years old. Given the lifespan of Qi Refining cultivators, they really don't have much time left.

Meng Wanjun's suggestion is not without merit.

In the end, Li Ping shook his head: "No need."

Once the Wildfire Sparrow advances and removes the Soul-Devouring Restriction from Wei Yiling's soul, it will coincide with the time of the underground auction. After leaving Lingxiao City, he may never return.

The two old cultivators passed away peacefully, and Caibaixuan should have closed down by then.

Meng Wanjun was somewhat confused by Li Ping's words.

However, since the young master had spoken, she did not press him for his thoughts, but simply nodded slightly and said no more.

……

After instructing the Earth Spirit Rat to stabilize its realm, Li Ping checked the two bronze corpses he had been raising underground and found that they were already able to perform some relatively complex movements.

However, he still cannot perform any of the more difficult maneuvers such as flying, casting spells, or engaging in combat.

This progress left Li Ping speechless; he had underestimated the difficulty of raising corpses.

No wonder those demonic cultivators like to hide and raise their corpses in yin and evil places, and the zombies themselves also stay in places filled with yin energy.

In such an ordinary place, even if the body is buried underground, the process of raising a corpse is far too slow.

Li Ping couldn't help but consider whether he should go outside the city to find a suitable place to raise corpses and bury the two bronze corpses there.

At the current rate, even by the time he reaches the late stage of Core Formation, the two bronze corpses may still be unable to form a fighting force.

"Let's wait a little longer," Li Ping thought to himself, shaking his head.

Although he could no longer sense danger after sealing the Corpse King's natal corpse bead.

However, he did not fully trust the spiritual senses associated with the Nine Tribulations True Spirit Holy Scripture.

You only have one life, so you should be careful.

Even if he manages to raise two early-stage Tier 3 bronze corpses, they won't be as helpful as he imagines, so there's no need to rush.

"The third-tier bronze corpse is just a small fry. To truly unleash the power of the Corpse Refining Dao, we'll have to wait and see what the fourth-tier Corpse King can do."