Treasure Gathering Immortal Furnace

"Although Fellow Daoist Fu didn't reveal our location, this matter is still quite troublesome," Lu Fan frowned, unsure of what to do.

He hasn't gathered all the materials he needs to form his core yet, so he can't go to Thousand Peaks City, and he probably can't go to the Misty Forest either.

"It's not just a little troublesome, it's very troublesome. What you stole is no ordinary top-grade magic weapon."

"The Dragon Pattern Greatsword and the Eight Treasures Mirror are both heirlooms of the Sword Pavilion, and their loss is of great importance."

Chi Mei said with a solemn expression.

Lu Fan was also in a real bind. He planned to go to Thousand Peaks City to buy some spirit beast bags and spirit beast pills he needed, and at the same time, he wanted to find out if there were any fifth-order demon cores for auction.

It can be said that in the entire Great Yan Dynasty, only Thousand Peaks City and Misty Forest can obtain high-level demon cores, making them places that must be visited.

"Master, what are the strengths of those two Core Formation cultivators?" Lu Fan asked.

"One is Gu Shuo, an inner elder of the Sword Pavilion. His cultivation has reached the mid-stage of Core Formation. His swordsmanship is fierce and domineering. It is said that he fought against two cultivators of the same realm and killed them both," said Chi Mei.

"To kill two people at once, that's truly terrifying strength," Lu Fan thought, feeling a headache coming on.

"The other one is a female cultivator who has reached the Core Formation stage, named Wang Qingzhu. Before she reached the Core Formation stage, I met her once in Thousand Peaks City. She was originally a steward of the Dao Sect, but I don't know why she joined the Sword Pavilion," Chi Mei recalled and said.

"Who!" Lu Fan's expression clearly showed surprise when he heard Wang Qingzhu's name.

"Wang Qingzhu, what's wrong?" Chi Mei asked in surprise when she saw Lu Fan's serious expression.

"It's nothing..." Lu Fan calmed himself down and replied.

Unexpectedly, Wang Qingzhu also got involved. Lu Fan had thought that Wang Qingzhu would be imprisoned after joining the Sword Pavilion, but it seems that this is not the case.

It's highly likely that Ancestor Gu Xin placed some kind of restriction on Wang Qingzhu. Before the True Treasure was fully formed, Wang Qingzhu, like the other Core Formation elders of the Sword Pavilion, also had to go on missions to assist the Sword Pavilion in handling some matters.

"Fellow Daoist Li, do you still insist on going to Thousand Peaks City?" Red Eyebrows asked.

"I have a lot of things to do right now, and I'm still short of a lot of materials needed for Core Formation. I can't just keep waiting," Lu Fan shook his head.

"That's true. Even if you find a place to hide for a few more years, given the Sword Pavilion's vengeful nature, there will still be resident cultivators in Thousand Peaks City to check on you. You can't escape it by hiding," said Red Eyebrows.

Lu Fan has already reached the peak of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. Next time he goes into seclusion, he will definitely enter the late stage. As long as he stabilizes his late-stage cultivation, he can immediately find a place to go into seclusion and break through to the Core Formation stage.

After all, he has no shortage of pills to break through to the next level; taking hundreds or even thousands of pills is no problem for him. Given the intensity of his seclusion, achieving the Core Formation stage is only a matter of the last ten years or so.

The reason why Lu Fan was so eager to reach the Core Formation stage was that the leap from Core Formation to Nascent Soul was extremely difficult.

Even with the strong support of their sects, the probability of those monstrous cultivators with heavenly spiritual roots reaching the Nascent Soul stage is less than 30%, let alone someone with his mutated mixed spiritual root.

Therefore, he should reach the Core Formation stage as soon as possible and have sufficient self-protection capabilities so that he can explore a wider world to search for cultivation resources, instead of staying in the Great Yan Dynasty in a corner of the country.

If he gets stuck at the Foundation Establishment stage for too long, by the time he forms the Core, Wang Qingzhu will probably be long dead and gone, so there's no point in talking about stepping into the Nascent Soul stage.

"Sigh, what a hassle," Lu Fan sighed.

"Going to Thousand Peaks City is not out of the question. I have a few Grade 2 Disguise Pills here, Fellow Daoist Li can take them."

"Although this kind of pill can only change one's appearance, ordinary cultivators cannot detect the disguise. I think there should be no problem staying in Thousand Peaks City for a short period of time."

Red Eyebrows took out three gray pills from his storage bag and handed them to Lu Fan.

"How could I possibly accept this? I'll exchange it with you using spirit stones," Lu Fan said, taking out a bag of spirit stones.

"Fellow Daoist Li, please don't be so polite. Second-grade pills aren't anything rare," Red Eyebrows raised his hand.

"Then thank you very much, Master," Lu Fan said, cupping his hands in thanks.

"Go on, I also need to find another cave to go into seclusion and fight it out," said Red Eyebrows.

Lu Fan released his flying sword and sped towards Thousand Peaks City.

Midway through, he took out the Qi-concealing jade talisman that he hadn't used in a long time, stuck it on his body, and suppressed his cultivation to the tenth level of Qi Refining.

Lu Fan often used this Qi-concealing jade talisman when he was in the Qi Refining stage; it could not be detected unless one had reached the Core Formation stage.

Now that he has reached the Foundation Establishment stage, his cultivation has increased, and it is generally difficult to detect his Core Formation, which provides an extra layer of protection.

Lu Fan then took out a disguise pill, examined it, and put it in his mouth.

In an instant, Lu Fan's appearance began to change rapidly. His face developed more wrinkles, and a goatee appeared on his chin.

He looked like an old man in his sixties, riding a low-grade flying sword, and looked like a penniless rogue cultivator.

"With this appearance, it shouldn't be easy for them to detect me," Lu Fan smiled, then sped up and headed straight for Thousand Peaks City.

three days later.

After a three-day journey, Lu Fan finally arrived at Thousand Peaks City. Before even entering the city, he keenly sensed three Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Sword Pavilion standing at the city gate, and there were seven or eight more Foundation Establishment auras lurking in the shadows.

There are no fewer than ten Foundation Establishment cultivators in total. If they get entangled with them, even with Zi Yuan's help, it will be extremely troublesome.

Moreover, they vigilantly checked the cultivators coming and going. Apart from some Core Formation experts, almost all low-level cultivators entering the city had to go down and be checked.

Strangely, Lu Fan did not detect the aura of any Core Formation elder from the Sword Pavilion.

"Could it be that this Core Formation elder is watching from somewhere?" Lu Fan frowned slightly, but he dared not recklessly release his divine sense.

However, with the Qi-concealing jade talisman and the disguise pill, he did not show any panic. Like other cultivators, he calmly landed in front of the city gate.

"Halt! Fellow Daoist, where do you come from and what brings you into the city?" a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator asked.

"This junior has come from the capital, intending to enter the city to purchase some talismans and magical artifacts to gather some spiritual herbs in the Misty Forest," Lu Fan said, then added, "Seniors, what has happened in Thousand Peaks City? Why are they conducting checks?"

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. Go inside," the Foundation Establishment cultivator said, raising his hand.

Lu Fan was surprised that he had gotten in so easily, so he bowed to express his gratitude and then walked in.

Just as he was mocking the Sword Pavilion for conducting such a thorough search, wondering how they could possibly catch him, the Foundation Establishment cultivator suddenly spoke up: "Fellow Daoist, if you want to leave the city, go through the west gate. This gate is for entry only, not exit."

Upon hearing this, Lu Fan was immediately startled, realizing that he had underestimated the Sword Pavilion.

There are actually two checkpoints? It seems this Core Formation cultivator is probably at the West Gate! I wonder if it's Gu Shuo or Wang Qingzhu.

If it were Gu Shuo, it would be dangerous. If even the slightest clue were discovered, there would be no way to escape. But if it were Wang Qingzhu, it would be better, as she would have a chance to escape.

However, he already had one foot in the city, and if he left now, he would most likely be hunted down.

"I've got it," Lu Fan could only feign composure, cupping his hands in greeting before quickly walking inside.

It seems the most urgent thing is to buy what we need first, and then decide what to do next.