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

Another year passed slowly. At this time, Li Yuan was cultivating in the bamboo mountain when Li Daqiang slowly walked over.

"Yuan'er, we have news about the ink beast in Daheng Mountain." Upon hearing this, Li Yuan opened his eyes and then slowly said:

"Who told Father?" Li Daqiang asked slowly.

"Your Uncle Wang went up the mountain to look for medicinal herbs and encountered it." This time, your Uncle Wang was still knocked unconscious and did not come down the mountain until he woke up the next day. He then immediately informed his father of the news.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan got up and hurried down the mountain. The spiritual energy generated by the "Thousand Rivers Gathering Pulse Technique" set up by these array flags was distributed equally among the spiritual fields down the mountain. In addition, with three Qi Refining cultivators and the White Snake, the spiritual energy was clearly insufficient.

After waiting for a year, news of the Ink Beast finally arrived, and Li Yuan was determined not to let this opportunity slip by.

After Wang Tiezhu relayed the message to Li Yuan, Li Yuan, along with the White Snake and the Mo Dao, headed towards Daheng Mountain.

After a year of cultivation, Li Yuan's cultivation has reached the peak of the fifth level of Qi Refining. If the spiritual energy on Bamboo Mountain can be further improved, the time it will take for Li Yuan to break through to the sixth level of Qi Refining will be greatly shortened.

Upon entering Daheng Mountain, Li Yuan headed directly towards the location Wang Tiezhu had described. After a few incense sticks' worth of time had passed, Li Yuan finally arrived at the place Wang Tiezhu had mentioned. He then summoned the white snake.

The white snake understood Li Yuan's intentions. After sniffing around, it led Li Yuan toward a ridge. When Li Yuan saw the footprints on the ground along the way, he immediately perked up.

The white snake slowed down at the bottom of the ridge, and Li Yuan looked in the direction it pointed, and sure enough, he saw two ink beasts sleeping inside.

Seeing that the Ink Beast was completely unprepared, Li Yuan slowly walked forward and sensed its strength. After discovering that the Ink Beast's cultivation was equivalent to the mid-stage of Qi Refining, Li Yuan felt relieved.

With one Qi Refining stage mid-stage and the other Qi Refining stage early-stage, there's a high probability that he and the White Snake can defeat both Ink Beasts.

Immediately, Li Yuan and the White Snake each chose their targets and slowly moved towards the demonic beast, waiting for the optimal attack distance to deliver a fatal blow to the black beast.

Just as Li Yuan approached the ink beast within five meters, he swung his longsword horizontally and hurled it at it. The sound of the longsword cutting through the air startled both ink beasts awake.

However, it was too late to run away. The Mo Dao pierced through the belly of the mid-stage Qi Refining Ink Beast, and then the Ink Beast let out a mournful roar that filled the entire forest.

Even though Li Yuan's soul strength was now comparable to that of a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, he was still shaken by the shout and his head was spinning. It took him a long time to recover. The black beast struggled for a moment and then stopped.

As for the other ink beast, it was bitten hard by the enlarged white snake, making it unable to escape. After a while, the ink beast was also captured.

After killing the two ink beasts, Li Yuan skinned them on the spot, while the flesh and blood went into the white snake's belly.

Li Yuangu estimated that these two pieces of black beast hide could be used to refine about eight more array flags, bringing the total to twelve array flags. He estimated that the spiritual energy on Bamboo Mountain would at least double again.

Li Yuan plans that after he finishes making the array flags for the "Thousand Rivers Gathering Pulse Technique", he will go to Qingyang Market to purchase a set of concealment arrays for Zhushan. This way, he can be more at ease when cultivating and will also prevent some people from breaking in.

Carrying the black beast skin, Li Yuan and the white snake returned to the bamboo mountain without further delay. After resting for a day, Li Yuan left the bamboo mountain and headed towards Qingyang Market.

He currently has nearly 120 spirit stones in his storage bag, which is more than enough to buy materials for the formation.

Half a month later, Li Yuan finally arrived at the entrance of Qingyang Market. After entering the market, Li Yuan went to the same shop where he had bought materials last time. However, he did not see the maid who had given him the information last time.

Li Yuan casually picked up a maid and listed the materials he wanted to buy. The maid, seeing that he was a big customer, immediately called the manager over.

Soon, Wang Quan, the steward, arrived in the hall. Upon seeing that it was Steward Li Yuan, he quickly stepped forward.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Li, it's been a long time, Fellow Daoist Li."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan was surprised that Wang Quan actually remembered him.

"Haha, Manager Wang, it's been a long time."

"Manager Wang, prepare two sets of the same materials as last time."

After hearing this, Steward Wang prepared all the materials for Li Yuan in no time, and then said:

"Fellow Daoist is quite lucky. Apart from the black beast hide, you have all the other materials this time. You've also collected quite a bit of dragon spirit wood recently."

A smile appeared on Li Yuan's face. Originally, Li Yuan was going to search for the Dragon Spirit Wood in the same place as last time, but now that it was readily available, it saved Li Yuan a lot of trouble.

Li Yuan paid a total of eighty-six spirit stones this time. Looking at the remaining thirty-four spirit stones, Li Yuan didn't know if these spirit stones were enough to buy a set of concealment arrays.

Li Yuan then inquired about Wang Quan.

"Manager Wang, do you have any concealment arrays in the shop with good concealment effects?"

Manager Wang, aware of Li Yuan's financial resources, slowly said:

"Fellow Daoist Li, our shop does have a concealment array, but it can only cover a radius of two miles. If you need a larger one, you might as well go to the shops run by the royal family. Perhaps they have the ones with a wider range that you mentioned."

"How many spirit stones do you have?" Li Yuan asked curiously.

Wang Guanshi gestured the number three with his hand. "Thirty spirit stones will suffice."

Li Yuan thought for a moment. His bamboo mountain was less than a mile long, and the two-mile-long concealment array was obviously enough. If the array were too large, firstly, the spirit stones would not be able to support it, and secondly, if too much spiritual energy was consumed on the bamboo mountain, it would probably affect his cultivation.

Thinking of this, Li Yuan took out the remaining spirit stones.

"The person in charge is responsible for covering an area of ​​two li in radius."

Upon hearing this, Wang Quan's face lit up with joy, but he also couldn't help but wonder which family's young master was so generous.

Li Yuan didn't have time to observe Wang Quan's changing expression; he was already thinking about where to place the array flags of the "Thousand Rivers Gathering Pulse Technique".

After storing the materials, array plates, and array flags in his storage bag, Li Yuan left the Treasure Pavilion without lingering. Not long after leaving the Treasure Pavilion, he encountered a familiar face.

At this moment, Xu Qingfeng was standing in front of a small stall, haggling with a vendor, until Li Yuan came up to greet him, at which point he gave up on buying the spiritual plant.

"Hey, Brother Xu, I didn't expect to run into you here."

Xu Qingfeng was also somewhat surprised, but he was even more surprised when he sensed Li Yuan's cultivation level.

"Haha, Brother Li, I didn't expect your cultivation to increase so rapidly. It looks like you'll be making a breakthrough soon."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan quickly waved his hand. However, when he carefully observed Xu Qingfeng, he found that he could not see through the aura on Xu Qingfeng's body. In fact, he even felt a sense of danger. He had only seen this feeling on two other people: Ouyang Renhe and Ouyang Suiguan.

There was another person, the evil cultivator, but all three of them had reached the late stage of Qi Refining.

Seeing that Li Yuan was engrossed in the conversation, Xu Qingfeng immediately spoke up:

"Brother Li, what are you thinking about?"

Li Yuan then came to his senses, and involuntarily took a step back. Xu Qingfeng immediately noticed the abnormality, but he didn't make any move. Instead, he continued to ask with concern:

"Haha, what's wrong with Fellow Daoist Li lately? Why do you seem a little afraid of me? Is there something terrifying about you?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan bowed respectfully and then slowly said:

"Brother Xu, you're joking. I was just thinking about some old things and got a little distracted. Please excuse me."

Seeing this, Xu Qingfeng slowly nodded, and then spoke;

"Brother, you still need to purchase some supplies before returning home. May I ask what brings you here, Brother Li?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan quickly replied:

"Brother, I've bought everything. Now I must take my leave." After saying this, Li Yuan bowed and hurriedly departed.

Xu Qingfeng watched Li Yuan leave and couldn't help but mutter to himself;

"Has this kid discovered something?" After shaking his head in confusion, Xu Qingfeng went to the next vendor and continued to haggle with him.