Immortality begins with inheriting the myriad arts of cultivation.

Chapter 78 Critical Situation

A month later, the female cultivator sent by Meng Qingyi came to buy the spirit talismans.

At the same time, the other party also brought Li Ping a list of military merits to be exchanged.

Li Ping knew that in the past month, the Immortal City had been attacked by demonic beasts several times. In the most serious incident, the outer city was almost breached, and the Immortal City's protective formation had to direct most of its power towards the low-level demonic beasts.

This resulted in Fenglan Zhenren's green python losing its cover during the battle, being pounced on by the Fierce Arrow Eagle, whose sharp claws tore its scales apart, causing it to suffer some injuries.

If it weren't for Master Fenglan's timely rescue, the Azure Python would likely have been killed directly by the Fierce Arrow Eagle.

Li Ping couldn't help but feel a little worried about the situation in the Immortal City. After all, if the Immortal City were to be breached by demonic beasts, he might also be in danger.

Thinking that in case something happens, it would be best to have a high-level defensive magic weapon to protect yourself when you have to escape.

After handing over 15 second-tier low-grade spirit talismans to the female cultivator, Li Ping also picked up the jade slip she offered and carefully examined the items that could be exchanged.

Since the items that can be exchanged for military merits are updated in real time, the female cultivator helped Li Ping record 750 military merits while silently watching him check the items that could be exchanged.

After Li Ping finishes reading it, she will take the jade slip back and hand it over to the responsible cultivator for tallying, and then add or remove the exchangeable items.

The top item on the exchange list in the jade slip is the Foundation Establishment Pill. One Foundation Establishment Pill requires 3000 military merits to exchange.

point.

In addition to military merits, there are several restrictions on exchanging Foundation Establishment Pills.

This includes conditions such as the redeemed item being for personal use only and not allowed to be resold or given away, and the requirement that one must become a disciple of Master Fenglan once Foundation Establishment is successful.

The restrictions are fewer than those for Foundation Establishment Pills at auction, but they're still not much better.

However, Li Ping had already successfully established his foundation, so he only briefly checked the Foundation Establishment Pills before turning his attention to the high-level materials.

He quickly found his target.

Second-tier late-stage turtle demon shell: Requires 800 military merits to exchange.

The shell of a late-stage second-tier tortoise demon is more than enough to craft a high-grade second-tier defensive magic weapon like a shield. With the cost of auxiliary materials and labor, Li Ping estimates the total cost to be around 1300 spirit stones.

This is also the market price for custom-made high-grade magic artifacts. If purchased at an auction, a high-grade magic artifact can be sold for over 1500 spirit stones.

Because he didn't have enough military merits yet, Li Ping didn't rush to exchange for the tortoise shell, but instead continued to look at other exchangeable items.

In the end, he spent 400 military merits to exchange for a mid-grade second-tier talisman pen. The talisman pen he was currently using was a gift from the Talisman Alliance to congratulate him. Not only was it only a low-grade second-tier pen, but it had also become worn after several years of use, which affected its feel.

"Senior, someone will deliver the talisman pen later. Please check it!" After registering Li Ping's military merits and exchanged items, the female cultivator gracefully departed.

Li Ping instinctively called out, "Lin'er—"

He wanted to call Bailin to help him tidy up, but as soon as he said it, he realized that Bailin had already gone home.

Shaking his head, Li Ping ignored the mess and returned to his training room to cultivate.

As Fenglan Zhenren had predicted, things unfolded exactly as he had foreseen.

-

The siege of the city by the demonic beasts lasted for several months without dissipating. During this time, a battle would break out almost every few days, and the city's tall walls had been damaged by the demonic beasts' attacks.

Even Master Fenglan himself was injured in a battle with the Fierce Arrow Eagle.

According to Gu Musheng, many people witnessed the scene of Fenglan Zhenren being injured and vomiting blood.

This made Li Ping even more nervous. If Master Fenglan sensed something was wrong and ran away with the Qinglong Mountain lineage, the remaining rogue cultivators alone would not be able to deal with the beast tide.

Of course, Fenglan Zhenren wouldn't have given up such a vast foundation as the Immortal City unless there was absolutely no other way.

But it's better to be safe than sorry.

After seeing Gu Musheng off, Li Ping hurriedly went to another cave on Immortal Peach Mountain. The person living there was Wu Feng, a second-tier mid-grade weapon refiner. Li Ping had recently exchanged for a tortoise shell and asked him to refine it into a magic weapon.

They were all neighbors on the mountain, and their status and strength were about the same. After Li Ping sent out the transmission talisman, he soon met Wu Feng, the weapon refiner.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Guo Feng took out the magical artifact that Li Ping had asked him to refine and placed it on the table for Li Ping to inspect.

As Li Ping was inspecting the artifact, he explained with a smile, "Originally, with my crafting skills, I could only forge a mid-grade second-tier magic weapon. However, Fellow Daoist Li's tortoise shell is extremely hard, so there's no need to add too many auxiliary materials, greatly reducing the steps in the forging process. I also had a good feel for it while forging, so I finally lived up to Fellow Daoist's expectations and forged a high-grade second-tier magic weapon."

While speaking modestly, Wu Feng's expression was quite smug; clearly, he was very satisfied with his ability to forge a second-tier high-grade magic weapon.

Li Ping smiled and nodded, then began examining the small shield in front of him.

The small shield has a dark blue-green surface with faint traces of tortoise shell patterns. The edges are engraved with many exquisite patterns. It is only the size of a palm and looks quite miniature.

Li Ping took it in his hand and slowly infused it with magical power.

"Buzz~"

The small shield instantly glowed with a layer of blue light, and in the blink of an eye, it grew to the height of a person. It then flew out of Li Ping's palm, hovering in the air, trembling slightly.

With a little mental focus, Li Ping quickly became familiar with operating the small shield.

The shield can be made large or small, ranging from the size of a house to the size of a finger.

The ideal size is about the height of a person, which not only provides good defense but also maintains agility, allowing it to defend against attacks from all directions.

If you transform to your maximum state, although the defensive area is larger, it can only defend against attacks from one direction. With the movement speed reduced, you may not be able to block attacks from other directions in time.

After trying it out, Li Ping was very satisfied with the small shield.

"Let's call you Tortoise Shell Shield." With the Tortoise Shell Shield protecting him, his sense of security increased considerably.

After putting the tortoise shell shield into his storage bag and paying the remaining balance for the weapon refining, Li Ping didn't rush to leave but instead chatted with Wu Feng.

Like Li Ping, Wu Feng was also very worried about the situation in Immortal City, especially after True Person Fenglan was injured.

Wu Feng sighed, "I wonder how badly you are injured, Master. If you are seriously injured and unable to fight, the city's protective formation alone won't be enough to stop two third-tier demons."

Li Ping was also very worried about this. Of course, what he was most worried about was that Feng Lan Zhenren would see that things were not going well and lead his cultivators to retreat to the Western Wilderness.

However, he couldn't tell outsiders about this worry, lest someone report him to the Immortal City and accuse him of the crime of criticizing a Core Formation True Person, a crime he couldn't bear.

However, it is still very necessary to be prepared to escape.

"The power of a true master is beyond our comprehension," Li Ping said hesitantly. "With the aid of an array, we should be able to hold out."

Wu Feng sighed and then changed the subject: "Alas. I heard that the Immortal City has begun forcibly conscripting all rogue cultivators to guard the city walls against the demonic beasts. This shows how critical the situation is!"

Li Ping nodded in agreement, but did not offer any further opinion.

He is a talisman maker, and the higher-ups of the Immortal City are counting on him to make talismans to provide support, rather than sending him to the front lines to fight against the monsters.

After exchanging words with Wu Feng for a while, Li Ping returned to his own cave dwelling.

He feels very insecure right now.

To feel more secure, he decided to suspend his daily cultivation and spend all his remaining time, apart from completing the tasks in the Immortal City, making mid-grade second-tier spirit talismans.

The more mid-grade second-tier spirit talismans he had in his storage bag, the more confident he became.

The sky outside the immortal city.

Wearing a dark cloak, Protector Yan hid behind a cloud, watching the fierce battle below.

He was focused on the battle between the one man and the three demonic beasts in the sky. The number of demonic beasts gathering in recent days had been increasing, while the number of cultivators in the city could not be replenished, and various combat supplies were being consumed excessively.

To alleviate the pressure on these cultivators, the third-tier grand formation would occasionally unleash ice arrows and lightning bolts to annihilate large groups of demonic beasts.

With the formation no longer in the sky to assist them, Fenglan Zhenren and Xiao Qinglong naturally found themselves at a disadvantage.

Especially the little green dragon, it was naturally restrained by the Fiery Arrow Eagle, and could not even unleash 70% of its strength. Before long, it was covered in blood and looked extremely miserable under the female Fiery Arrow Eagle's sharp claws.

Fenglan Zhenren controlled the Jade Cone to fight against a male Fiery Arrow Eagle in the late stage of the third tier. Although her magic weapon had strange power, her own strength was one tier lower than that of the Fiery Arrow Eagle.

After repeated collisions, the Jade Cone Magic Treasure remained unharmed, but Master Fenglan's figure swayed precariously.

Protector Yan's eyes gleamed with eager anticipation: "Should we make a move?"

Although he was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage, his cultivation method was extremely special. It was a method of cultivating both body and mind, and he was confident that his combat power was stronger than that of ordinary late Foundation Establishment cultivators, comparable to sword cultivators.

Originally, he only wanted to wait for Dai Sangyu to make a move, then take advantage of the chaos to launch a surprise attack, killing or seriously injuring her.

But now, seeing Master Fenglan and Little Azure Dragon struggling, he couldn't help but have a different thought.

If he were to make a sudden move, he might be able to use the power of the demonic beast to kill either Feng Lan Zhenren or the Little Azure Dragon!

With one Core Formation cultivator gone, the remaining one is no match for the rest, and the destruction of the entire immortal city is foreseeable.

"If I could perform such a great feat—" Protector Yan couldn't help but get excited at the thought.

But just as he had this thought, his inner senses began to warn him frantically, jolting him awake from his beautiful dream.

"A Core Formation cultivator is still just a Core Formation cultivator!" Protector Yan glanced warily at the battle in the sky, abandoning any thought of dealing with a Core Formation cultivator.

His gaze swept across the battle lines between the immortal city and the demonic beasts, trying to find any indication of Dai Sangyu's actions: "My mission this time is to stop that sword cultivator from forming his core; everything else is none of my concern."

He knew that the higher-ups in the sect didn't really care about these remnants of the Heavenly Profound Sect, nor did they care about another Core Formation True Person in the Immortal City—as long as this Core Formation True Person wasn't a sword cultivator!

A peerless sword cultivator, if they form their core, can even successfully cultivate to the late stage of core formation.

In the Western Wilderness, it was an invincible existence, enough to overturn the entire power structure of the Western Wilderness.

>