Immortality begins with equipping a worn-out talisman pen.

Li Mufeng simply shook his head slightly, showing no joy whatsoever.

Over the years, he had always been a law-abiding mid-grade talisman master, spending his days cultivating, drawing talismans, and traveling between his cave and the Wanfuzhai, never showing anything that would warrant the Wang family's continued attention and effort.

It is only natural to abandon surveillance now.

What truly concerned him was another divine consciousness.

The Bai family truly lives up to its reputation as a Foundation Establishment family that dominates the market; they really have the energy to sustain themselves.

Over the years, every time Bai Lingxi returned to Black Stone City from Qingyun Sect, she would stop by Wanfuzhai for a while.

Ostensibly, they were discussing the Dao of Talismans, but in reality, they would subtly ask the same question each time.

—Has anyone broken through to become a high-grade talisman master?

In an effort to enlighten him, the young lady of the Bai family generously shared her sect's many insights and methods on talisman-making with him, including several mentions of the Heavenly Origin Qi talisman-making method, hoping to inspire his understanding.

Li Mufeng always appeared to have benefited greatly from this, nodding repeatedly and expressing his gratitude.

But apart from that, nothing else changed. Drawing talismans was still drawing talismans, and cultivation level was still cultivation level.

It seems that he truly lacks the necessary qualifications and has been unable to reach that level of understanding for a long time.

After several attempts, even Bai Lingxi became somewhat discouraged and stopped testing the waters as frequently as she had at the beginning.

However, although she came less often, the divine sense belonging to the Bai family was never withdrawn.

Li Mufeng took it all in stride.

There is ample time.

Being able to outlast the Wang family is already a pretty good result.

As for the Bai family's willingness to drag things out, then let them continue.

In any case, he is no less than a Foundation Establishment cultivator in terms of lifespan, and in terms of patience, he is even more serene.

......

A few days later, another piece of news came from Black Stone City.

Another mining accident has occurred at the Wangjia Mine.

It is said that this time it was more serious than the last time. The entire depth of the mine collapsed, killing and injuring hundreds of miners. Even several late-stage Qi Refining cultivators who were responsible for guarding the mine were unable to escape.

The news sent shockwaves through the entire market once again.

After all, two mining accidents in just a few years are unusual for anyone.

The Qingxuan Sect finally took this matter seriously.

Not long after, a Foundation Establishment elder personally came to Blackstone City and entered the mine to investigate.

However, after several days of investigation, no trace of the evil cultivators or any signs of demonic beasts were found.

In the end, the Foundation Establishment elder announced that the mining disaster was caused by the disorder of spiritual energy deep in the mine, which triggered the earth dragon to turn over. It was a natural disaster and not man-made.

With this conclusion, the matter is now considered completely settled.

However, for a long time afterward, the Wang family mine stopped mining and began to rearrange the array, reinforce the mine tunnels, and even spent a lot of spirit stones to invite array masters to re-survey the mine veins.

The independent cultivators in the market were discussing this extensively.

Some believe it was a natural disaster.

Some people also feel that the Wang family has been digging too hard over the years, unintentionally touching the mountain's spiritual veins.

Some well-informed people even privately spread rumors that before the Qingxuan Sect elder left, the head of the Wang family personally hosted a farewell banquet for him and presented him with a very valuable gift.

Whether it's true or false, no one knows.

Before long, the topic of the mining disaster gradually subsided.

At the entrance of the market, long queues still formed at the Wang family's stall recruiting miners.

Faced with the promise of generous rewards of spirit stones, there are always some rogue cultivators forced by circumstances who come to risk their lives.

……

In the backyard of Wanfuzhai, one could hear the two young apprentices, Liu Qinghe and Chen An, whispering about the gossip of the market.

Li Mufeng put down the talisman brush in his hand, his brows furrowing slightly.

Others might believe in the so-called "earth dragon turning over," but he always felt that things were not that simple.

The Xuan Yin Cult attacked the market.

The Wang family mine has been plagued by a series of accidents.

The Bai family secretly investigated the Jinquan Bay ruins.

In addition, he has now obtained the core map of the Tianyuan Sect ruins.

These seemingly unrelated events are connected by an invisible thread.

Li Mufeng had a vague feeling.

Although I have been acting cautiously, I have unknowingly gotten closer and closer to the center of this storm.

This feeling made him feel very insecure.

Thinking of this, he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

No matter what secrets are hidden behind it, strength is the greatest source of confidence.

Although his current strength is comparable to that of an ordinary early Foundation Establishment cultivator thanks to his body refinement cultivation, one can never have too many trump cards.

[Spirit Embryo - River of Oblivion] If it can complete its first advancement, both its power and foundation will undergo a tremendous transformation.

Li Mufeng opened the system panel and looked at Wangchuan's promotion requirements.

[Promotion Requirement 1: Infuse ten jin of Frosty Soul Black Iron.]

[Promotion Requirement Two: Personally kill a Tier 1 High-Grade Water-Attribute Monster in the River of Oblivion.]

[Promotion Requirement 3: Absorb Moon Essence Dew three times on the night of a full moon.]

He had never even heard of the two spiritual items, the Frosty Soul Iron and the Moonlit Spirit Dew, in Black Stone Market. He had hoped to find some information about them at the Bai family's auction, but the result was not satisfactory.

He walked toward another elegant room in the center of the backyard.

After listening to Li Mufeng's request, Liu Yan'er pondered for a moment.

"Frosty Soul Iron and Moonlit Dew?"

She gently shook her head.

"These two items are probably hard to find in Blackstone Market."

"These are all spiritual items that circulate among Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even if they occasionally appear, they will be bought up immediately by the major Foundation Establishment families and will never be available on the market."

"As for the auction..."

Liu Yan'er smiled.

"Blackstone Market is still too small. Even though the auction organized by the Bai family is a once-in-a-lifetime event, most of the items offered are still items needed by Qi Refining cultivators."

"Truly valuable Foundation Establishment spiritual items are rarely auctioned here, and even if they do appear, they rarely fetch a high price."

"Don't worry, when the Liu family's caravan goes to several nearby immortal cities to make purchases in a while, I will have them keep an eye out for you. If there is any news, I will let you know immediately."

Li Mufeng nodded.

I wasn't too disappointed.

After all, the Wangchuan River is a spiritual embryo nurtured by heaven and earth, so it is only natural that its growth conditions are somewhat demanding.

If advancement materials could be found easily, then this spiritual embryo would seem too cheap.

Thinking of this, a sense of emotion suddenly arose in his heart.

Without realizing it, my perspective has quietly changed.

There was a time when he was meticulously calculating every penny for a few spirit stones, and wouldn't even waste a single low-grade talisman.

Now, what he needs to find is a Foundation Establishment spiritual object that is hard to find even in Blackstone Market.

Looking across the entire market, the only cultivators who could reliably defeat him were probably the patriarchs of Foundation Establishment families.

After a moment of contemplation, a familiar figure suddenly appeared in Li Mufeng's mind.

Chen Jingyuan.

Now that the other party has joined Danxia Peak and has the protection of the chief disciple's elder brother, the resources they can access are far beyond what Black Stone Market can offer.

Perhaps he will know something about these two spiritual objects.

Thinking of this, Li Mufeng immediately took out a communication jade talisman and began to slowly inscribe his divine sense.

As for the top-grade first-tier demonic beast, we could ask the Liu family for help to see if we could capture one alive. Even if it costs more spirit stones, it would be better than going out on our own to take risks.