Burial Furnace

Zhang Yuan lowered his head and mingled into the crowd as he entered the Spirit Weapon Pavilion.

The lobby on the first floor was extremely spacious, with smooth bluestone slabs on the floor and several fist-sized luminous pearls hanging overhead, illuminating the entire lobby as if it were daytime.

The four walls were inlaid with huge crystal cabinets, which displayed all kinds of weapons, magical artifacts, and spiritual objects, gleaming with various colors under the light. Swords, spears, halberds, armor, shields, bells, seals, and more—the dazzling array of items was overwhelming.

There were more than a dozen cultivators in the hall making selections. Some were talking in hushed tones, while others were haggling with the shop assistants. A faint spiritual energy rippled through the air.

Zhang Yuan didn't linger on the first floor and went up the stairs to the second floor.

The second floor was much quieter than the first floor, and there were fewer people.

The items displayed here are clearly of a higher grade than those on the first floor. Each item is placed individually in a crystal dome, with brocade underneath and a label next to it indicating its name, grade, and price.

His gaze swept over the labels, and he clicked his tongue inwardly in amazement.

The cheapest item is a low-grade magic weapon-level armor, priced at thirty high-grade spirit stones.

The prices of mid-grade and high-grade Buddhist artifacts have been rising steadily.

The price of those spirit-grade armors is outrageously high—the cheapest low-grade spirit-grade armor is priced at two hundred high-grade spirit stones.

If you exchange it for mid-grade spirit stones, that's 20,000. If you exchange it for low-grade spirit stones, that's 2 million.

but,

Unlike magical artifacts, spiritual artifacts can be stored in the dantian and nurtured. In critical moments, a single thought can cover the entire body, making their defensive power far superior to that of magical artifacts.

Two hundred high-grade spirit stones, though expensive, are worth it.

What's more, he had seen the man in blue who had pierced his throat with a sword today.

The man in blue who took Lin Qingxue away and stole all his wealth.

That person was staying at an inn in Aoki Town, less than three miles from his crematorium.

Although he now wears a mask and spends most of his time hiding in the crematorium.

But the opponent is at least a Nascent Soul cultivator. The formation cannot block his divine sense. If he is recognized one day, you can't expect to defeat him with the Fire Serpent Technique, can you?

Once you have armor covering your entire body, even if the opponent senses you multiple times, or even if you encounter them outside, they will absolutely not recognize you.

He gritted his teeth, walked to the crystal cabinet containing the low-grade spiritual artifact armor, and examined it carefully.

It is entirely black, made of neither gold nor iron, and looks like it was made from the scales of some kind of monster. Each scale is only the size of a fingernail, and they are arranged in layers, gleaming with a dark luster under the light.

Simple and streamlined, without any superfluous decorations, but the workmanship is extremely exquisite. The edges of each scale are polished as smooth as a mirror, and the joints fit together perfectly.

The label reads: Xuanlin Armor, a low-grade spiritual weapon, made primarily of the scales of the fourth-order demon beast Xuanshui Python, refined with century-old cold iron, capable of withstanding a full-force attack from a Golden Core cultivator in the early stages.

"You have a good eye, sir." A shop assistant walked over with a professional smile on his face. "This Xuanlin Armor has extremely strong defense, and it is also light and close-fitting. You can move freely while wearing it, and it will not affect the casting of any spells or martial arts."

"I'll take this one." Zhang Yuan lowered his voice, took out two top-grade spirit stones, and placed them on the counter.

They gleamed softly under the lights, a pure and clear light like solidified moonlight, exuding a captivating charm.

The shopkeeper behind the counter was looking at the account book when he caught sight of the two top-grade spirit stones out of the corner of his eye. His hand paused, and his eyes lit up.

Several cultivators around them also turned their heads, their gazes falling on the two top-grade spirit stones, their eyes flashing with a variety of complex emotions such as surprise, envy, and greed.

Those who can pay with top-grade spirit stones are definitely not ordinary people.

It should be noted that one top-grade spirit stone is equivalent to one hundred high-grade spirit stones, but few people are willing to exchange top-grade spirit stones for high-grade spirit stones—because the spiritual energy in top-grade spirit stones is purer, making them more effective for cultivation, and they are rare and have a high price but no market.

Even if a cultivator has top-grade spirit stones, they will keep them for their own use and will not easily spend them.

The old man wearing the bronze mask casually pulled out two top-grade spirit stones and bought a low-grade spirit weapon armor.

This can only mean one thing—this old man is either an elder of a major sect, the head of a powerful family, or a confidant of a big shot.

In short, they are definitely not someone to be trifled with.

The shopkeeper quickly produced the armor, his face beaming with smiles: "Sir, here is your armor."

Zhang Yuan took it and immediately forced out a drop of his essence blood, which he dripped onto the armor.

The essence blood instantly merged into the armor, and a faint blood-red light appeared on the surface of the armor before disappearing again.

A subtle connection was established between him and the armor, as if the armor had become a part of his body.

With a thought, the armor transformed into a stream of light and entered his dantian. True essence immediately enveloped the armor and began to nourish it.

The armor greedily devoured the true energy, like a hungry child suckling at its mother's milk.

Zhang Yuan could feel that the armor was slowly adapting to his aura and becoming one with him.

The surrounding cultivators, seeing him refine a spiritual artifact on the spot, felt even more apprehensive.

The fact that this old man could refine a low-grade spiritual artifact so easily indicates that although his cultivation level is not high, his spiritual power is definitely not weak, and it is very likely that a great figure helped him enhance his soul.

Zhang Yuan didn't linger any longer and immediately left the Spirit Weapon Pavilion.

By this time, it was completely dark.

The lanterns on the street cast a dim yellow light on the road, and a few figures could be vaguely seen moving in the distance.

Zhang Yuan didn't go straight back, but instead turned into a small alley.

In the shadows of the alley, he took out an invisibility talisman and a concealment talisman and affixed them to his body.

His body instantly became transparent, and his aura completely disappeared, as if he had never existed.

He wandered through the alleyways, passed through several narrow lanes, climbed over a low wall, and quietly returned to the backyard of the crematorium.

The whole process went unnoticed; not even the dog from the old man next door barked.

Back in the lounge, he removed his bronze mask, his heart bleeding.

It cost two top-grade spirit stones.

But when he thought about how the Xuanlin Armor was lying safely in his dantian and could be summoned at any time to protect him, he felt that the money was well spent.

After sitting for a while, footsteps sounded outside the door, and two male cultivators pushed the door open and entered.

He was dressed in an ordinary Taoist robe, with a bronze mask covering his face, revealing only his two eyes.

The two men's gazes swept around the hall before finally settling on Zhang Yuan, their expressions a mixture of scrutiny and sizing.

"Fellow Daoists, are you going to cremate the bodies?" Zhang Yuan stood up to greet them.

One of them nodded, his voice hoarse: "Exactly."

Zhang Yuan then led the two to the cremation hall. Just as he was about to explain how to use the furnace, the two suddenly looked at each other and exchanged a glance.

Immediately, two sword lights suddenly shone, like venomous snakes emerging from their holes, pointing straight at Zhang Yuan's throat.