I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

Book lovers are all in the discussion area, chatting about the charm of Xianxia novels.

(Sorry I'm late. The previous chapter was stuck in the review process, but thankfully the editor replied to me late at night, and it's finally out now...)

Having settled in Yuqi Peak for a long time, Zhou Yuan naturally established deeper connections with the island's high-ranking officials.

Besides the fact that the island lord, Master Mulong, still values ​​him and often commissions him to refine some precious pills, the two deputy island lords of Kuixing Island—Master Yuanjun and Master Kanqin (the two are Daoist partners, both at the early stage of Core Formation)—are also getting closer to Zhou Yuan.

They became his regular "clients" and, in a sense, friends.

When Zhou Yuan refined elixirs for them, he often only charged the cost price or even a symbolic fee.

He won their favor and trust.

Of course, beneath the surface, Zhou Yuan, as usual, secretly kept four to five tenths of the finished pills, making a fortune.

this day.

When Zhou Yuan returned to his cave, his storage bag contained more than 20,000 low-grade spirit stones.

These spirit stones were obtained by Zhou Tian, ​​who had been selling the Foundation Establishment pills he had secretly kept, during this period.

In recent years, although he has mainly refined pills for the Core Formation stage, he has also taken on quite a few Foundation Establishment stage tasks.

After all, Core Formation stage pills are too conspicuous, and it is risky to sell them in remote areas, while Foundation Establishment stage pills are in high demand, easy to sell, and a stable source of cash flow.

Of course, a small portion of these pills were also directly provided to Yuan Yao and Yan Li for their cultivation.

"Brother Zhou, you're back!"

Yanli greeted us like a joyful butterfly, smiling sweetly.

Twenty years have passed, but time has not left its mark on her face. On the contrary, thanks to her improved cultivation and the nourishment of resources, she has gained a more mature charm and bright radiance.

She wore a pale yellow dress, her figure was exquisite, her skin was as white as snow, and every smile and frown was captivating.

Yuan Yao remained in her quiet room, clearly at a crucial moment in her cultivation.

After twenty years of continuous resource allocation and the superior cultivation environment of Yuqi Peak Cave, Yuan Yao and Yan Li's cultivation progress has been remarkably rapid.

The two women originally possessed only ordinary three spiritual roots; without a fortuitous opportunity, the late Foundation Establishment stage might have been their limit.

However, with Zhou Yuan's full support as the "greatest opportunity," they both successfully broke through to the late Foundation Establishment stage several years ago!

His cultivation speed is in no way inferior to that of the inner disciples of some major sects.

Of course, the earth-shattering achievements and trials that Yuan Yao would experience in the future, as described in the original work, have not yet occurred. At this moment, her Dao heart is more dependent on the stability and opportunities brought by Zhou Yuan.

"Um."

Zhou Yuan responded and, after exchanging a few tender words with Yanli, returned to his main meditation room and activated the strongest protective and soundproofing barriers.

Inside the quiet room, Zhou Yuan sat cross-legged, a rare hint of excitement on his face.

With a wave of his hand, more than a dozen bulging storage bags appeared on the ground in front of him. His divine sense swept over them one by one, revealing mountains of low-grade spirit stones, each shimmering with various colored spiritual lights!

"Finally... finally I've collected a million low-grade spirit stones!"

Zhou Yuan let out a long sigh of relief, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.

Over the past twenty years, he has accumulated resources through various channels (profit sharing from the Six-Hall Alliance, selling pills in disguise, and "surplus" from refining pills for high-level cultivators, etc.), a process that has been somewhat difficult.

Of course, this difficulty was only in his opinion. For an ordinary cultivator, it would be impossible to raise a million spirit stones in a lifetime.

Moreover, Zhou Yuan also has a large stockpile of pills suitable for Core Formation cultivators.

If this batch of pills is sold, his total amount of spirit stones could double.

Over the years, Zhou Yuan's cultivation in the Core Formation stage has been a hundred times more difficult than that in the Foundation Establishment stage!

Even with all the advantages of his equipment and an almost endless supply of Core Formation stage pills, after twenty years of arduous cultivation, his "Azure Origin Sword Technique" was still stuck at the peak of the seventh level, unable to break through to the eighth level.

His cultivation level remained at the peak of the early stage of Core Formation, always just one step away from the middle stage.

However, Zhou Yuan remained calm.

He knew all too well that each advancement in a minor realm after forming the Golden Core was extremely difficult.

Many Core Formation cultivators remain stuck in the initial stage throughout their lives, unable to make any progress.

To have made this progress is already an incredible feat.

"The most urgent task is to upgrade the equipment slots!"

Zhou Yuan no longer hesitated and communicated with the system through his thoughts.

The next moment, the mountain of millions of low-grade spirit stones, like ice and snow under the sun, melted away silently and rapidly, turning into the purest spiritual energy, which was then completely absorbed by the system.

[Congratulations, host! You have successfully added a new equipment slot by consuming one million low-grade spirit stones!]

Current equipment slots: 6

"Cool!"

Zhou Yuan felt relieved, and his joy was evident in his words.

The addition of an equipment slot means he can equip one more treasure that enhances his cultivation, which will undoubtedly boost his cultivation efficiency to a new level!

He immediately took out an ancient-looking blue jade slip from his storage bag.

This is a high-level jade slip containing a wood-attribute cultivation technique he collected in his early years—the "Mysterious Heaven Longevity Technique".

This technique itself has little practical significance; it's a health-preserving and longevity-enhancing method that Zhou Yuan has no interest in. However, the wood-attribute Daoist principles and longevity concepts it contains are quite helpful and beneficial to him, as he mainly cultivates the wood-attribute "Azure Origin Sword Technique."

With a slight thought, he equipped the jade slip to the newly added sixth equipment slot.

[Equipment Slot 6: Jade Slip of the Mysterious Longevity Technique]

[Effect: Increases the speed of cultivating wood-attribute techniques! Increases comprehension of wood-type spells and magical abilities!]

In an instant, Zhou Yuan clearly felt that his efficiency in absorbing and refining the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the power of pills had increased by about 10% out of thin air!

The flow of magical power from the Azure Origin Sword Technique within his body seemed to become more harmonious and smooth, brimming with vitality.

"Very good!"

Zhou Yuan exited his cultivation state with satisfaction, removed the restrictions, and walked out of the meditation room.

"Brother Zhou, what makes you so happy?"

Upon seeing this, Yanli, who had been waiting outside, immediately moved closer, placing her slender hand naturally on Zhou Yuan's chest, tilting her pretty face up, her eyes alluring and seductive.

Looking at her beautiful face so close to his, her fair collarbone faintly visible through her clothes, Zhou Yuan felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Because of you... you're too much."

Having said that, before Yanli could react, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the side room while laughing loudly.

(Ten thousand words omitted here...)

After a thoroughly enjoyable time with Yanli, Zhou Yuan arrived at the alchemy room, looking radiant.

He took out a precious medicinal herb that Master Mulong had personally delivered some time ago, along with a matching jade slip containing a prescription.

This pill is called the Heavenly Origin Pill!

The main ingredient was the inner core of a level seven demon beast, supplemented by several level six demon cores with matching attributes and dozens of rare and precious spiritual herbs that had been around for a long time.

The cost of just this one batch of materials is estimated to exceed 100,000 low-grade spirit stones!

Its medicinal effects are similar to the Jade Spirit Pill of yesteryear. It is a top-grade pill that Master Mulong prepared for himself to try to break through the bottleneck of the late stage of Core Formation. It is extremely difficult to refine.

Zhou Yuan needs to first study the elixir formula.

However, with his current master-level alchemy skills, he had already mastered the art of alchemy and accumulated experience from countless practical battles over the past twenty years. In just a few days, he thoroughly understood this complex and profound formula and was more than 80% confident in his understanding.

A few days later, the alchemy furnace was opened, and the aroma of medicine filled the air.

At the bottom of the furnace lay six pills, each the size of a longan, pale gold in color, with flowing cloud patterns on their surface, exuding spiritual energy—the Heavenly Origin Pills, successfully refined!

Without hesitation, Zhou Yuan took three of them and carefully put them into his jade box.

This will be an excellent resource for his cultivation when he breaks through to the middle or even late stage of Core Formation!

He sealed the remaining three and personally delivered them to Tianzhu Peak, handing them over to the long-awaited Master Mulong.

Master Mulong examined the pills and found them to be of superior quality. Although three pills were not many, they were within his expectations and he was overjoyed.

They praised Zhou Yuan's alchemy skills highly.

Taking this opportunity, Zhou Yuan made a request to Master Mulong: "Island Master, I have a favor to ask. I have heard that high-grade spirit stones contain pure and abundant spiritual power and have excellent restorative effects. I wonder if the Island Master could help me keep an eye out and collect a few for me? They don't matter what attribute they are. I am willing to exchange them for market value or equivalent treasures."

This was a problem he had discovered long before he reached the Core Formation stage.

Once one's cultivation reaches the Core Formation stage, even with the support of equipment slots, it takes about ten breaths for one's mana to fully recover after unleashing a large-scale, high-consumption spell like the "Heavenly Fire Technique."

This could become a weakness in a rapidly changing battle.

The recovery effect of mid-grade spirit stones could no longer keep up with his consumption.

We urgently need higher-grade spirit stones as a backup method for quickly restoring mana.

According to the official exchange rate, one high-level spirit stone is equivalent to one hundred mid-level spirit stones or ten thousand low-level spirit stones.

However, in reality, because it contains pure spiritual energy, is easy to absorb, and is a key item for setting up high-level formations, driving large magic treasures, and even assisting in breakthroughs, it is often priceless and unavailable.

On the market, you might not be able to exchange three hundred mid-grade spirit stones for even one high-grade spirit stone.

Upon hearing this, Master Mulong pondered for a moment: "High-grade spirit stones... these are indeed rare. I had one in stock a few years ago, but unfortunately I used it up during my last seclusion to break through a bottleneck. However, since you need it, young friend Zhou, I will keep an eye out for it for you. If there is any news or opportunity, I will definitely let you know."

"In that case, I'll trouble the island lord to go to such lengths!"

Zhou Yuan bowed in thanks, a smile spreading across his face.

With the help of the local expert, Master Mulong, keeping an eye out, the chances are much greater than searching blindly on your own.