Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Pharmacist Chen raised his head slightly, his voice still soft and gentle beneath the mask: "This time, I will not participate in the competition for the Bewitching Fox's essence blood, nor will I accept any distribution of it."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked surprised.

But her next words made everyone's hearts jump again: "However, I have a cousin who is a first-grade high-level alchemist. If we give her our essence blood, with the help of the sect's methods, we might be able to refine two 'Breakthrough Pills'."

She paused, looked around at everyone, and said, "I won't hide it from you all, refining the 'Breakthrough Pill' requires several precious auxiliary ingredients, which I can procure. After the pill is completed, I will take one of them."

Of course, if you don't trust this, or if you have a more reliable channel, then just pretend I never mentioned this.

The Hundred Herbs Sect, the leading alchemy sect in the Cloud and Mist Mountains, has a network of connections and alchemy channels that are far beyond what these cultivators can compare to.

If they had other options, why would they be fighting so desperately here?

In the end, all eyes turned to Gao Yuan. The captain's decisive action at the crucial moment had won everyone's trust.

Gao Yuan remained silent for a moment, then slowly opened his eyes and glanced at everyone.

Finally, he said in a deep voice, "In that case, according to the rules of Po Jun, in this situation, the highest bidder wins. The one who obtains the essence blood relinquishes the right to distribute all other spoils of war."

"Now make your bids, based on all the spirit stones you can immediately offer." With that, he closed his eyes again, as if no longer wishing to interfere.

The moment the rules were announced, the dejection on Cheng Jin's face was instantly replaced by a resolute expression! Competing with spirit stones? As a descendant of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Cheng Jin had never been afraid!

"I relinquish all rights to this allocation, plus three hundred spirit stones!" Cheng Jin said with almost no hesitation, his voice resolute. At the same time, he took out a bag of spirit stones from his storage bag and piled it in front of him with a "whoosh".

Old Wu's lips trembled a few times, but finally he let out a long sigh and slumped back down.

He was getting old, and he had younger generations in his family. He didn't dare to, and really couldn't, take out more spirit stones to gamble on a breakthrough opportunity, since the Breakthrough Pill wasn't guaranteed to lead to a breakthrough.

Chu Xin looked at Gao Yuan with her cold eyes, a hint of resentment and pleading in them.

She had just secretly sent a telepathic message, hoping to borrow spirit stones from Gao Yuan.

But Gao Yuan remained calm and showed no reaction.

At this moment, lending spirit stones to Chu Xin would be tantamount to openly favoring and suppressing Cheng Jin.

If he, as the team captain, wants the team to continue, he must maintain fairness within the team.

"Since no one else is bidding, the essence blood belongs to Cheng Jin." Gao Yuan opened his eyes, making the final decision. "Next, let's distribute the other spoils. Lin Zhao contributed the most this time, so he should be chosen first. Any objections?"

Everyone nodded in agreement; Lin Zhao had indeed made the greatest contribution in this battle.

Lin Zhao didn't stand on ceremony. His gaze swept over the spoils of war, finally settling on the thirty-odd bottles of sect pills. "I choose these pills," he said calmly.

Lin Zhao is now entering the state of "harmony between man and nature" more and more smoothly, and his need for and consumption of elixirs is far beyond that of ordinary people.

These high-quality sect-made elixirs, which also do not cause drug resistance, are exactly what he urgently needs right now.

With the aid of these pills, he is confident that he can reach the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining within a year. At that time, he can take the Breakthrough Pill and try to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining!

The subsequent allocations went much more smoothly.

Chu Xin voluntarily took nearly a thousand spirit stones and no longer participated in the distribution of other items.

Gao Yuan took the best quality crimson longsword.

Old Wu obtained the jade pendant that could automatically protect its owner.

Li Hao chose a protective inner armor.

The remaining magical artifacts, talismans, and other miscellaneous items were divided equally among Gao Yuan, Lin Zhao, Wu Laodao, and Li Hao, who were not involved in the competition for the essence blood.

Cheng Jin, Pharmacist Chen, and Chu Xin, who had taken the spirit stones, would no longer participate in this distribution.

Half a month passed quietly.

The crowd dared not return to the market, fearing they might encounter disciples of the sect.

The team moved like shadows in this desolate place, using Pharmacist Chen's "Purification Plate" to cleanse their traces daily and trying their best to avoid contact with other cultivators.

They found a naturally formed rock crevice as a temporary base, taking turns to guard it. Most of their time was spent meditating and refining newly acquired magical artifacts, or digesting the insights gained from previous battles.

On the surface, everything seemed calm, but anyone with a discerning eye could sense that the atmosphere within the team was quite different from before.

Ever since the incident with the sect disciples, everyone's eyes have been restless, and they no longer look down on ordinary demonic beasts.

That morning, before the fog had lifted, Cheng Jin crouched low and turned back, his voice low but unable to hide his excitement: "There's a lone armored rhinoceros in the valley ahead!"

Although he obtained the essence and blood of the Bewitching Fox, he felt a little uneasy seeing Chu Xin take out nearly a thousand spirit stones while he himself had to take out three hundred.

So he spent the entire month going out looking for targets.

The group quietly made their way up the high slope.

There was a huge creature lying by the stream, nearly ten feet long, covered in a thick, dark skin that gleamed with a cold metallic sheen, and a single black horn on its forehead that looked like it could pierce through rocks.

The spiritual energy emanating from its body remained steadily at the eighth level of Qi Refining, but judging from its iron armor, its defensive power was probably approaching the ninth level of Qi Refining.

"An armored rhinoceros," Old Wu said in a low voice, squinting. "Its hide is thicker than a city wall, and it's strong enough to overturn a small mountain. Its armor is excellent material for making top-grade magic robes, and its horn is a treasure."

He paused for a moment, then added, "It basically has no weaknesses."

Normally, they would definitely avoid such a tough nut to crack.

But now, everyone's eyes were shining, and they desperately needed to find a target to vent their restlessness.

Old Wu was the first to speak: "The [Trapping Dragon Formation] can't be set up, but we can use [Mysterious Light Returning to Formation] to buff Li Hao and help him hold on. The others can look for opportunities from the flanks and rear."

Chu Xin's fingers brushed across the sword's edge, the cracks on the Ice Soul Sword already completely repaired, and azure light flowed across the blade: "My ice seal can slow it down."

Gao Yuan squatted at the front, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper: "This guy is probably not easy to deal with. He has the cultivation of the eighth level of Qi Refining, but his defense is comparable to that of the ninth level of Qi Refining. With his iron armor and protective spiritual light, even we at our current level probably can't break through his defenses."

He swallowed the words he was about to say. His gaze swept over Cheng Jin's eager face, Chu Xin's tightly gripped sword hilt, and finally met Lin Zhao's eyes. They both saw the same worry in each other's eyes.

The previous events have ultimately affected the team. Now the team needs this battle, whether for resources or to bring everyone back to their senses.

"Alright." Gao Yuan took a deep breath and quickly arranged the tactics: "Li Hao, you hold the shield in front and attract their attention. Be careful and don't charge head-on."

"Old Wu, the formation is ready. Chu Xin, heed my command. Cheng Jin, you and I will harass and attack its joints from both sides."

He looked at Lin Zhao and said, "Your attack is the strongest. Perhaps only you have the ability to break through his defenses. Look for an opportunity to attack his vital organs in the abdomen."