I planted the spiritual roots for my people, and they bestowed upon me a body inscribed with incense

After contemplating the future of the Li family, Li Yuan resumed his routine of cultivating during the day and descending the mountain at night, while also giving guidance to Li Daqiang, who was cultivating the "Five Elements Spirit Gathering Technique".

Three months passed in the blink of an eye. Just as Li Yuan was cultivating, a voice reached his ears.

"Yuan'er, I have generated my first wisp of magical power." As he spoke, Li Daqiang had already walked up to him.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanling scanned the area with his spiritual sense and discovered that Li Daqiang's aura had indeed changed, reaching the first level of Qi Refining.

Then Li Yuan slowly spoke:

"Good, Father, you have successfully broken through to the first level of Qi Refining."

Upon hearing this, Li Daqiang was overjoyed, his face beaming with uncontrollable joy.

After realizing he was going to participate in the treasure exchange, Li Yuan stopped cultivating and accompanied Li Daqiang down the mountain into the mansion. The Li family mansion was already large, and since the group was not used to living there, they bought a few maids and a few stewards in the city.

However, Xu, who couldn't stay idle, would still often take charge of cooking in the kitchen herself, and Li Yuan and Li Daqiang, unable to dissuade her, stopped interfering.

After Li Yuan came down, he quickly found Liu Yue'er taking a walk in the courtyard. Liu Yue'er's belly was now slightly protruding, which meant that she was pregnant.

Upon seeing Li Yuan arrive, Liu Yue'er happily stepped forward and hugged Li Yuan's arm.

"My husband, you've arrived?"

Li Yuan nodded and then said:

"Just give instructions to the servants, and never overwork them."

Liu Yue'er nodded, and then said:

"What you say is true, but I see you're on the mountain all day, so you must be much more tired than I am." Hearing this, Li Yuan patted Liu Yue'er's head and then pulled her into his arms.

At this time, Liu Yue'er had shed her former naivety and was gradually transforming into the matriarch of the household.

After spending some time with Liu Yue'er, Li Yuan greeted Li Daqiang and then headed towards Xu Qingfeng's courtyard in Luoshan City.

In fact, Li Yuan wasn't very interested in the treasure exchange gathering. His purpose in going was to get to know more cultivators. With his current knowledge, Li Yuan's understanding of the cultivation world was far from sufficient, and he could easily be killed if he made a wrong step.

Upon arriving at Xu Qingfeng's house, Li Yuan heard Xu Qingfeng's voice before he even knocked. Xu Qingfeng then emerged from the courtyard.

"If Fellow Daoist Li hadn't come soon, I would have gone looking for you myself." Upon hearing this, Li Yuan quickly waved his hand and said:

"Sorry, sorry, I was so engrossed in my cultivation that I forgot the time."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingfeng waved his hand and slowly said:

"No wonder Brother Li has made such rapid progress. I'm afraid it won't be long before Brother Li catches up with me."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan could only respond awkwardly.

Seeing Li Yuan's discomfiture, Xu Qingfeng smiled and then slowly said:

"Haha, just kidding, Brother Li. Another fellow Daoist has been waiting for quite some time. Let's hurry up and go."

As the two walked, Li Yuan spoke up:

"Is Brother Xu right?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingfeng slowly said:

"Hahaha, Fellow Daoist Li, you don't know this, do you? Our Qingshan County consists of three counties. Luoshan County is now occupied by your Li family, while Qingshan County has always been the territory of my Xu family. Now, a new immortal clan has been born in Suiyun County."

Although he wasn't personally appointed a prince like your Li family, he rose to that position through sheer merit.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan frowned, inwardly thinking:

"Why has another immortal clan suddenly appeared?" Li Yuan then remembered that the refined iron mine seemed to be located in Suiyun County. Instantly, Li Yuan realized that this must have been arranged by Da Qing.

However, all of this was just Li Yuan's speculation, and he dared not be sure.

After waiting for a while, a cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining arrived, looking travel-worn. Upon seeing this, Xu Qingfeng immediately stepped forward and introduced the man to Li Yuan.

"Fellow Daoist Li, this person is Luo Tong from Suiyun County whom I told you about. He is also a member of the immortal clan of Suiyun County."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan stepped forward with a smile and greeted him.

Seeing this, Luo Tong smiled and said;

"Haha, I've heard so much about Fellow Daoist Li, it's an honor to meet you." After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the three of them headed together toward the gathering place of the Treasure Exchange Gathering.

The treasure exchange event was held in Longling County. The three of them lived in Qingshan County, which was hundreds of miles away from Longling County. So it was not until several days later that they arrived at the Si family home in Longling County.

The Si family is different from the other families in Qingshan County. The Si family is actually built deep in the mountains. Apart from a small number of ordinary members of the Si family who go out, most of the Si family members live in seclusion.

The three arrived at the entrance of the Si family's residence. After Xu Qingfeng delivered the message, the three waited at the entrance for the cultivators from the Si family to arrive.

Soon, a handsome young cultivator dressed in a brocade robe and wearing a jade hairpin appeared before the three of them.

"Are you three fellow Daoists from Qingshan County? I am Si Nan from the Si family, and on behalf of the Si family, I welcome you all."

This Si Nan is about the same age as Li Yuan, but his cultivation level is a level higher than Li Yuan's, reaching the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

Upon entering the Si family's territory, Li Yuan was immediately struck by the family's prosperity. If what Xu Qingfeng said was true, then everyone in the village belonged to the Si family.

Li Yuan never imagined that the population of a single household could already form a village. Thinking of his own family's size, Li Yuan shook his head and smiled bitterly.

After welcoming the three into a large mansion, Si Nan took his leave and went into the mansion where the treasure exchange took place. The next step was for each of them to take what they needed.

Xu Qingfeng and Luo Tong bid farewell to Li Yuan one after the other and went about their respective business, while Li Yuan slowly walked towards the many vendors.

Li Yuan could easily distinguish the authenticity of most of the items displayed there. Most of them were just small objects imbued with spiritual energy, completely different from the treasures they claimed to possess.

Li Yuan browsed around and found nothing that interested him. However, he still bought two bottles of Huangya Dan. Of course, Huangya Dan was not very useful to Li Yuan at the moment; it was prepared specifically for Li Daqiang.

Although he didn't see the treasure, Li Yuan did get to know two cultivators. Both of them were from Huaihai County, which was next to Qingshan County, and each of them was in charge of a fairy clan.

After getting acquainted with the two for a while, Xu Qingfeng and Luo Tong bought their things and walked towards Li Yuan. Li Yuan could tell from the smiles on their faces that they were very satisfied with their purchases.

Xu Qingfeng, who had just walked over, slowly spoke to Li Yuan:

"Fellow Daoist Li, you can buy what you desire."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan shook his head, saying, "I'm just here to broaden my horizons; I don't need anything."

Knowing that Li Yuan had not bought anything he wanted, Xu Qingfeng slowly spoke:

"Haha, if Fellow Daoist Li cannot find what he wants, he can write down what he needs in the attic behind me, along with the price and main address. If someone has it and is satisfied with the price you offered, they should come to him on their own."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected there to be such a service. He then strode towards the attic.

Upon entering the attic, Li Yuan discovered that it was filled with a list of items for purchase and their corresponding rewards, as well as a considerable number of items for sale.

Li Yuan looked at them one by one and found that none of them contained the animal hides he needed. So Li Yuan picked up a brush and wrote down the animal hides he needed.

Not long after Li Yuan finished writing the words, he stepped out of the pavilion and was approached by a cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining with a full beard.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait! Fellow Daoist, please wait!"

Li Yuan sensed someone calling him from behind and turned around.

"Fellow Daoist, are you calling me?"

Upon hearing this, the man nodded and then said:

"I've come to Longyang County to serve my family and friends. May I ask if you require any ink beast hides, fellow Daoist?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan nodded and then said:

"It is I, sir. May I ask if you have any connections? Or perhaps...?"

Upon hearing this, the man nodded and said:

"I have the black beast hide right here, but isn't fifteen spirit stones a bit too low, fellow Daoist? You should know that the black beast hide has the effect of isolating divine sense."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan understood that the other party was trying to extort him, so Li Yuan slowly said:

"In that case, please name your price, fellow Daoist. If it's reasonable, I'll make the offer."

Seeing that Li Yuan spoke frankly, the man then said;

"How about adding ten spirit stones, making it twenty-five?" Upon hearing this, Li Yuan frowned and slowly said:

"Fellow Daoist, your asking price is a bit too high, isn't it?" "Since you're not being sincere, let's call off this deal." With that, Li Yuan prepared to leave.

Seeing this, Si Dong quickly called out to Li Yuan.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait. Why don't you name your price? If it's suitable, I'm willing to part with it."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan thought to himself, "My chance has come!" He then turned around and said:

"As you know, fellow Daoist, while this black beast hide is rare, it only has a few uses. I won't cheat you; it's a fixed price of twenty spirit stones. What do you think?"

Si Dong glanced at Li Yuan, not expecting that Li Yuan would offer a price he couldn't refuse. He could make about six yuan from these twenty spirit stones. If he didn't sell this time, he didn't know when the next opportunity would come.

A moment later, Si Dong took out the black beast skin with a pained expression.

"Fellow Daoist, you're really going to part with it." With that, he handed the ink beast skin to Li Yuan.

Seeing this, Li Yuan took the leather pouch and then handed twenty spirit stones to Si Dong.

Seeing that Li Yuan didn't even blink when he took out twenty spirit stones, Si Dong immediately changed his expression and said:

"I wonder if you need any other materials. If so, I can find most of them for you."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan waved his hand, but to prevent being unable to find an acquaintance when purchasing materials in the future, he then said:

"Haha, thank you very much, Fellow Daoist. I am Li Yuan from Luoshan City, Qingshan County. If I need anything again, I will definitely come to you, Fellow Daoist."

Upon hearing this, Si Dong nodded and then said:

"With your words of encouragement, fellow Daoist, from now on we'll address each other as brothers, without any distinction of 'fellow Daoist,' how about it?"

Li Yuan accepted with pleasure and slowly said:

"Then I'll call you Brother Dong from now on."

"Ah, Brother Li." After saying that, the two looked at each other and smiled.

After chatting for a while, the treasure exchange meeting was coming to an end. Xu Qingfeng, who was chatting happily, called Luo Tong and then came to Li Yuan's side.

"Brother Li, how is it? Looks like you've found what you need?" Xu Qingfeng said slowly.

Li Yuan nodded and then looked at the two of them.

"Brother Xu, Brother Luo, will you two leave now or rest for the night?"

The two looked at each other and then said:

"Haha, we were just about to ask you that. We're about to leave now, where's Brother Li?"

"Then let's set off now. I can see that you two are eager to go back and see the treasures you've exchanged."

Upon hearing this, the three exchanged a smile, and then slowly said:

"Haha, in that case, let's go."

And so, the three of them returned to Qingshan County together.