"The efficacy of this demon core was greatly reduced because I couldn't control my strength at the time," Fan Yuqing sighed, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. In his opinion, the demon core was severely damaged, its remaining potency just a fraction, and its value had plummeted immeasurably. He doubted anyone would buy it unless it was sold at a steep discount, let alone trade it for more valuable pill fragments. Having spent a fortune over the years, his only assets of value besides this demon core were the corpse of a Crimson Feather Evil Tiger. While he possessed other wealth, its value was negligible for transactions at this level.
"If I add these, can I exchange them for the pill fragments in your hand?" Fan Yuqing waved his hand, and the corpse of the Crimson Feather Evil Tiger appeared on the empty ground beside him. The corpse of a fourth-tier demonic beast, if used sparingly, could serve as the core for two or three magic treasures, imbue them with immense power. Or, if one were extravagant, it could be used to forge over a dozen top-tier spiritual artifacts! Of course, this would also require a considerable amount of other spiritual materials.
"Deal!" Ji Yuan immediately tossed out a jade bottle and quickly collected the demon core and the corpse of the Crimson Feather Evil Tiger. His movements were so swift, as if he feared the other party would renege. Only after both items were safely stored in his Mountain River Pouch did he heave a sigh of relief, no longer needing to worry about being discovered. Seeing his haste, Fan Yuqing realized he had set too high a price and that the young Daoist had likely decided to trade the moment the demon core was presented. However, he was no ordinary person and had the resolve not to go back on his word.
"You are capable. In the future, you can let that girl Qian Nishang visit the Prefect's manor more often." Fan Yuqing observed Ji Yuan deeply before ascending into the sky, a streak of light returning to his residence. If he wasn't mistaken, he wouldn't see the Prefect again for a long time. When he reappeared, he would undoubtedly have broken through the bottleneck of the second realm.
"It seems avoiding those factions was secondary; your true goal was this demon core, wasn't it?" Fan Sulu said, looking at Ji Yuan with a strange expression after his father left. Ji Yuan shrugged. "Both!" He hadn't expected the transaction to go so smoothly. Without the Qian family's help, he had not only obtained the demon core but also the corpse of the Crimson Feather Evil Tiger. To others, the demon core was severely damaged, its value diminished even though it was still considerable. Its efficacy might not even be a third of its original strength. But for Ji Yuan, as long as the demon core wasn't completely destroyed, it made little difference. With the addition of the Crimson Feather Evil Tiger's corpse, even its one flaw could be compensated.
"In a little over a month, Vast Expanse Tower will be holding a grand trading fair," Fan Sulu suddenly announced, his expression solemn. He clarified that this fair would be different from the usual ones. Vast Expanse Tower held a trading fair annually, but every eleventh year, it would be a special event. This year marked another such eleven-year cycle, and the fair would feature precious items accumulated by Vast Expanse Tower over a decade. Some even hinted that even magic treasures would not be the highlight of this event. Many influential figures from various factions were already gathering in the prefectural city, and within ten to fifteen days, almost all the forces from the prefectures of Lingyang would send representatives.
"Magic treasures and cultivation techniques are important, of course, but rare heavenly materials and earthly treasures, which are usually hard to find, will also appear at the trading fair," Fan Sulu stated. For cultivators, powerful magic treasures and valuable cultivation techniques were indeed crucial, but elusive heavenly materials and earthly treasures were equally rare. These were not items that could be easily acquired with money; they were often priceless. While individually their value might not be astronomical, their scarcity made them incredibly desirable. Some cultivators might never encounter certain items in their lifetime. Heavenly materials and earthly treasures, in particular, were often essential for alchemy, artifact forging, and even cultivation techniques, and they could not be substituted by other spiritual items.
"After all, it's a gathering of cultivators from an entire prefecture and even surrounding areas, so it's natural that many rare wonders will appear," Ji Yuan nodded, sighing in agreement. He had heard about this trading fair before. Qian Nishang had even advised him to attend it before leaving. Missing it wouldn't just mean waiting another eleven years. The heavenly materials and earthly treasures appearing at each grand trading fair were different. An item that suited him might appear this time, but it might not be seen again for years, or even ever. If nothing unexpected happened, he would depart for the Nine Profound Sect after participating in this trading fair with Zhao Yuansong and others. In fact, even the third-realm elder from the Nine Profound Sect, who was guarding the spirit birds outside the city, was quite interested in attending.
As dawn broke, Ji Yuan took his leave, boarding an inconspicuous carriage and quietly arriving at the back entrance of the Qian family's residence, returning to his temporary courtyard. If he had left through the front gate, he would have been surrounded by the forces that had been staking out the place all night. Upon returning to the courtyard, Ji Yuan sensed a hidden gaze, which dissipated slowly after confirming his safety. If he wasn't mistaken, that must have been Elder Chen, the Qian family's only third-realm cultivator, who usually guarded the treasury. "It seems the master of this house truly cares about my safety!" Ji Yuan mused inwardly before opening the door and entering the quiet room. Before closing the door, he specifically instructed Xia Dong, who was guarding the room, that he would be entering a period of seclusion for at least a month. This was a pre-arranged plan to avoid entanglement with the various factions in the prefectural city, especially before reaching the third realm, as he needed to minimize his karmic entanglements. With all matters in the city settled, and the remaining issues being outside his expertise, he decided it was best to focus on cultivating his mind.
Seating himself cross-legged in the quiet room, Ji Yuan took out the Xuan Tian Tower. With a flip of his hand, he produced the fourth-tier demon core he had just acquired. After a moment of contemplation, he used his vital energy to activate the Xuan Tian Tower, drawing the demon core into its depths, where it faced the "Xuan" character rune. He then took several pills to restore vital energy, swallowing some and holding others in his mouth. With rapid hand seals, he performed eighty-one complex incantations. It took him a full three days and over a dozen vital energy restoration pills to complete the technique for refining magic treasures recorded in the Daoist Scroll, transforming the demon core into the core of the Xuan Tian Tower. Afterward, he took out the corpse of the Crimson Feather Evil Tiger. As a beam of light descended from the Xuan Tian Tower, it seeped into the corpse, drawing out its vital blood and essence. A vortex then appeared at the base of the tower, drawing everything in. In a short time, a dense bloody light enveloped the Xuan Tian Tower, filling the entire secret room with a bloodthirsty aura.
"Spirit Devour!" Ji Yuan changed his hand seals and uttered a low shout. A profound aura emanated from the tower. Deep within, a demon core spun rapidly, infusing its secret power into the entire structure. Not only the corpse of the Crimson Feather Evil Tiger but also the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth were voraciously consumed by the Xuan Tian Tower. Of this spiritual energy and the essence from the Crimson Feather Evil Tiger's corpse, a small portion was absorbed into the tower to enhance its quality, while the rest was channeled into the demon core. Seven days later, only a pile of residue remained on the ground before Ji Yuan, consisting of the Crimson Feather Evil Tiger's corpse and spiritual materials that had been completely drained of their essence. In just a few days, the Xuan Tian Tower had devoured spiritual materials that would normally take months to refine. The "Spirit Devour" characteristic, bestowed by the demon core as its central component, had effectively shortened the refinement process by several months. Now, only about ten days of nurturing and refinement were needed to completely transform this treasure, making it identical to the "Supreme Pure Spiritual Treasure Profound Heavenly Treasure Tower" described in the Daoist Scroll, with the addition of the "Spirit Devour" ability.
"From now on, I shall call you the Xuan Tian Spirit Devourer Tower!" Ji Yuan gazed at the seven-story small tower, mere inches in height, suspended before him, his eyes filled with irrepressible joy. With this treasure forged, he now possessed an additional trump card, compensating for his previous weaknesses in defense and suppression. Currently, for offense, he had Yuan Bao and Xiao Bai, one being the Ancestral Master's sword and the other his natal flying sword, along with thirty-six Heavy Water Pearls for group combat. For defense, he had the Xuan Tian Spirit Devourer Tower. He was now well-equipped in all aspects, with no apparent shortcomings. The only thing he lacked was his own cultivation, which, however, could not be rushed and required time for slow tempering.
In the following twenty-plus days, besides nurturing the Xuan Tian Spirit Devourer Tower and refining his natal flying sword and the thirty-six Heavy Water Pearls, Ji Yuan devoted his remaining energy to comprehending and cultivating two types of cultivation techniques. Both the Xuan Tian Sword Art and the Nine Yuan Heavy Water Sutra, owing to his exceptional talent and comprehension, coupled with his existing cultivation and realm, took him only eight days each to master the chapters corresponding to the Enlightenment Realm. In the remaining time, he continued to study the cultivation techniques of the Spirit Gathering Realm and deepen his understanding of those for the Enlightenment Realm. He was well aware that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and a thousand-mile embankment can collapse due to an ant's nest. To go further on the path of cultivation and eventually reach the zenith, regardless of external factors, the most crucial element was one's own foundation. Just as a ten-thousand-foot-high building needs a solid and reliable foundation, it is even more so for cultivators. Otherwise, the first three realms would not be called the Foundation Establishment realms. Even third-realm cultivators, who were considered significant figures, were merely laying the groundwork for forming a Golden Core. Only with a sufficiently strong foundation would the bottleneck during the future formation of a Golden Core be less formidable. And only then would each realm breakthrough bring about significant improvement, preventing one from becoming merely ordinary.
As Ji Yuan quietly cultivated, a month seemed to pass in the blink of an eye.