Ascending from the mortal realm to become an immortal begins with taking charge of a grotto-heaven.

After a thrilling battle and the exhaustion of a long journey, once I relaxed, an overwhelming sense of fatigue washed over me.

Unable to do anything in his current state, Zhang Li could only wash up, take off his robes, and lie down on the bed to sleep.

He slept for seven or eight hours, and only slowly woke up the following evening.

He sat up, stretched, and his muscles cracked softly. "Phew! That feels good!"

After tidying up briefly, Zhang Li took out the spoils he had obtained in this battle.

A mid-grade magic weapon flying sword and a storage bag.

There's not much to say about the mid-grade magic weapon flying sword; he's already personally experienced its power. Whether he keeps it for himself or chooses to sell it, he won't lose out.

After storing the mid-grade magic weapon flying sword in his own storage bag, Zhang Li opened Wang Hao's storage bag and poured it onto the table, where several items immediately appeared.

Several low-grade magic artifacts, a little over two hundred low-grade spirit stones, and three jade bottles. Upon opening them, it was discovered that two of the bottles contained Qi Condensation Pills used by mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators to enhance their magical power, and the other bottle contained a colorless and odorless pale yellow powder, the purpose of which was unknown.

In addition, there were two or three spellbooks, some scattered spiritual herbs, a few pieces of low-grade white iron ore, and a pile of useless miscellaneous items.

Looking at the items on the table, Zhang Li couldn't help but sigh, "Indeed, murder and arson bring wealth."

Zhang Li guessed that Wang Hao had obtained those low-grade magic artifacts by killing people and stealing their treasures, because normal cultivators would not usually buy so many low-grade magic artifacts.

Having killed Wang Hao, he could consider it revenge for the tragic deaths of these cultivators. With that thought in mind, he felt at ease putting the low-grade magic artifacts, pills, and spirit stones into his storage bag.

Zhang Li preferred to follow the basic techniques manual; he hadn't forgotten that Wang Hao possessed an extremely sophisticated method of disguise.

If Wang Hao hadn't revealed his true identity, he really wouldn't have been able to see through Wang Hao's disguise at all.

Zhang Li reached out and grabbed two or three spellbooks, placing them flat on the wooden table before flipping through them one by one.

The first two books are common basic techniques on the market, one is "Stone Lock Technique" and the other is "Wind Control Step". After breaking through to the middle stage of Qi Refining, they can study them to increase their means of fighting enemies.

There was only one book left. The cover was bare and had no title. It looked tattered. Zhang Li's heart stirred, and he quickly opened it to read it carefully. After a moment, his eyes lit up.

It was that exquisite disguise technique!

"The Art of Changing Appearance and Shape? There's such a miraculous technique. This must be the method Su Mu used to change his appearance and aura."

Zhang Li quickly flipped through a few pages and immediately became interested.

According to the records, this secret technique was created by a cultivator named Hua Mantian. It was used in conjunction with an ancient treasure called the Thousand Illusions Bracelet. The two together could not only change one's appearance but also alter one's aura and conceal one's cultivation level.

"Ancient treasure? I've never heard of a magical artifact of this caliber..."

Zhang Li had never heard of such a magical artifact as an ancient treasure. The highest grade of magical artifacts currently available is called a spiritual treasure, followed by magic treasures, spiritual artifacts, and magical artifacts.

Unable to figure out the reason for the time being, he simply stopped trying to figure it out and secretly made up his mind to go to the sect's library to look up ancient books and find out what kind of ancient treasure it was.

But what he was certain of was that the ancient treasure called the Thousand Illusions Bracelet was not on Wang Hao.

Gently closing the book of spells, Zhang Li slowly calmed his mind and comforted himself: "Opportunities are hard to come by. To obtain a unique secret technique that can change one's appearance is already an incredible stroke of luck. How can I be greedy and ask for an ancient treasure that I have never even seen before?"

Being able to hold the "Transformation Technique" in my hands right now is already an unexpected joy.

Once this secret technique is mastered, even those of the same level will not be able to find any flaws in the initial stage. And once it reaches minor mastery, even those of a higher realm will find it difficult to detect the disguise.

Zhang Li chuckled softly, a calculating glint in his eyes: "This kind of secret technique is perfect for concealing oneself, escaping danger, and hiding. It can be called a life-saving skill for traveling around and changing one's identity. It can be said to be the number one self-defense technique for traveling all over the country and hiding one's name."

With this in mind, Zhang Li immediately sat down cross-legged and began to study and cultivate this secret technique.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

On the evening of the tenth day, Zhang Li had a thought and began to circulate his magical power.

"Click click click".

A cracking sound of bones being squeezed rang out.

All that could be seen in the simple water mirror in front of him was an ordinary-looking face.

His original facial features were subtly altered; the width of his eyebrows and eyes, the lines of his jaw were all slightly adjusted, and his figure was shortened by half a head, giving him the appearance of a middle-aged, down-on-his-luck rogue cultivator.

"Indeed, it's an excellent technique for changing one's appearance." Zhang Li raised his hand and touched his cheek, dispelling the spell, and his appearance instantly returned to normal.

After ten days of arduous practice, he has successfully mastered the basics of the "Transformation and Appearance Change Technique".

It can change its appearance with its own magic power alone. Although it lacks the Thousand Illusion Bracelet to completely conceal its cultivation level, it is more than enough for carrying out its mission outside and avoiding attention.

Remembering the questions still lingering in his mind about the "ancient treasure," Zhang Li set off for the outer gate's scripture pavilion.

……

In front of the outer gate scripture pavilion of Qingxuan Sect.

The outer sect's scripture pavilion has only two floors, and outer sect disciples can freely enter and exit the first floor.

The first layer mainly contains miscellaneous notes on feng shui and basic observations from the cultivation world. All disciples can browse it for free, but it is not allowed to take it out.

The second floor of the Scripture Pavilion houses various cultivation techniques and spells for the Qi Refining stage, all with clearly marked prices, ranging from one spirit stone to dozens of spirit stones. The higher the grade, the more spirit stones are required.

His main purpose this time was to find some information about "ancient treasures," so he didn't need to go to the second floor.

Behind the counter next to the entrance of the Sutra Repository sat two outer sect stewards. When Zhang Li showed his identity jade token, they simply nodded and did not question him further. In the outer sect, countless disciples came to browse the scriptures every day, and as long as they did not cause trouble, the stewards would never meddle.

After entering the library, Zhang Li specifically picked out and flipped through the books whose titles contained the words "ancient times" or "ancient artifacts".

Picking up a volume titled "Study of Ancient Artifacts," he found it clearly divided into four categories: spiritual treasures, magical treasures, spiritual artifacts, and magical artifacts, exactly as he had known before. The word "ancient treasure" was nowhere to be found in the entire book.

I flipped through seven or eight miscellaneous notebooks, most of which only recorded the quality of artifacts that had been passed down in the last ten thousand years, and there was not a single item about ancient treasures.

Zhang Li was slightly worried. Could it be that the classics collected by the outer sect were too basic and lacked relevant records?

He patiently continued flipping through the bookshelves, scroll by scroll.

After searching through all the relevant bookshelves, he finally found some records about "ancient treasures".

Ancient treasures are special artifacts crafted by ancient cultivators in the prehistoric and primitive eras using ancient methods and innate spiritual materials. They belong to the category of "magical artifacts" exclusive to the ancient times and can no longer be replicated in the current cultivation world. They can only be obtained from ancient secret realms and ruins, and the number of them still existing in the world is extremely small.

However, each one has its own unique abilities. While they may not be as well-balanced as the magical artifacts being crafted today, when it comes to the ultimate power of a single supernatural ability, no other artifact of the same level in the world can compare.

Zhang Li finished reading the tattered ancient book word by word, gently closed it, and sighed inwardly: "Well, just from these few words, I can understand that the ancient treasure is not something that a Qi Refining cultivator like me can even covet."

The lingering desire for the ancient treasure vanished instantly, and he put the book back in its original place.

"It wasn't entirely fruitless; I certainly broadened my horizons."

Silently comforting himself, Zhang Li turned and left the Sutra Repository.