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

Stardust Pavilion.

As an official shop opened by the Tianxing Sect, its scale is far beyond that of ordinary shops.

The pavilion has nine floors, with flying eaves and brackets, and is very impressive.

As Zhou Yuan stepped inside, he immediately felt an atmosphere completely different from the outside world.

The lobby on the first floor was bustling with people. At least forty or fifty monks lingered there, either asking the shop assistants about prices at the counter or chatting quietly in small groups.

Based on Zhou Yuan's demonstrated Qi Refining Level 11 cultivation, he was told that his activity was limited to the first three levels.

The area above the fourth level is an area that only Foundation Establishment stage cultivators are qualified to enter.

Zhou Yuan didn't care about this. He mingled in the crowd and strolled around leisurely.

The goods on the first floor are mostly common elixirs and materials for magical artifacts.

It didn't arouse much of his interest.

He went up the stairs to the second floor.

There are noticeably fewer cultivators here, but the quality of the goods has improved significantly.

The counter displayed many high-quality magical artifacts, as well as several basic and advanced talismans.

Zhou Yuan strolled along, his gaze casually sweeping over the dazzling array of goods.

Suddenly, he stopped walking.

In an inconspicuous corner of a cabinet, a talisman lay quietly.

Calling it a talisman is a bit of a stretch.

It was a tattered piece of yellow paper, with severely torn edges, broken runes, and barely perceptible spiritual energy fluctuations.

But what caught Zhou Yuan's attention were the few remaining characters on it.

Its ancient strokes and vigorous style are far superior to the runes popular in the cultivation world today.

This is definitely an old item.

The label next to the counter reads: "Fragment of an ancient talisman, its power completely lost, for research and reference only."

Price: Fifty low-grade spirit stones.

A price that's not cheap, but definitely not expensive either.

For a true talisman maker or a cultivator who has studied ancient texts, spending fifty spirit stones to buy it and study it might yield some insights.

But for the vast majority of cultivators, this is just a piece of waste paper.

"purchase!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhou Yuan beckoned to the shop assistant beside him and decisively bought the broken talisman.

After receiving the items, he wandered around the second and third floors.

Unfortunately, no similar old items were found. The products sold here are all standard-issue goods. Although they are of high quality, they lack the "depth" of time.

That makes sense. Stardust Pavilion is a large and powerful organization with a huge volume of goods in circulation. Where would they find so many antiques with stories behind them?

His gaze involuntarily drifted toward the staircase leading to the fourth floor.

The truly good stuff should all be on there.

Zhou Yuan walked straight over, and as expected, he was stopped at the stairwell by a staff member at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

"Fellow Daoist, I'm sorry, but the fourth level requires Foundation Establishment cultivation to enter." The waiter's attitude was polite, but his stance was firm.

Without wasting any words, Zhou Yuan took out a new storage bag from his own and handed it over.

"There are 1,500 low-grade spirit stones here. Take them to the steward and see if I'm qualified to go up."

His movements were swift and decisive, and his hoarse voice carried an undeniable air of authority.

The shopkeeper was taken aback at first, then probed his storage bag with his divine sense. The next moment, his body trembled almost imperceptibly.

One thousand five hundred low-grade spirit stones!

This is an absolute fortune for a Qi Refining stage cultivator!

His attitude towards Zhou Yuan instantly changed from businesslike to respectful.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment!"

The waiter didn't dare to delay and quickly took the storage bag and hurried up to the fourth floor.

Rules are dead, people are alive.

In the world of cultivation, wealth is also a manifestation of strength.

The power behind a Qi Refining stage cultivator who can casually produce 1,500 spirit stones is something that a mere shopkeeper like him could never fathom.

A moment later, the waiter quickly came down, his posture becoming increasingly humble.

"Distinguished guest, the manager requests your presence."

Zhou Yuan retrieved his storage bag and, guided by the shopkeeper, ascended smoothly to the fourth floor, then made his way to the fifth floor.

The environment here is much quieter and more elegant than the lower floors. Each counter is carefully arranged, and the goods inside are dazzling and obviously extraordinary.

Without exception, all the cultivators present were at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Zhou Yuan's arrival attracted several curious onlookers.

However, after sensing that he only had the cultivation level of Qi Refining, they all lost interest and assumed he was just a junior brought by some Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Zhou Yuan ignored all of this; his purpose was clear.

Talismans.

Soon, he found what he wanted at the counter on the fifth floor.

Intermediate beginner level talismans.

Each talisman of this level is extremely valuable, and its power far surpasses that of a basic talisman.

After some deliberation, he finally bought two tickets.

One of them is the "Ice Rain Talisman," which, when activated, can unleash a wide range of ice spikes, making it a decent small-area group attack method.

The other one is the "Wind Killing Talisman," which can condense several powerful wind blades with extremely strong single-target killing power.

Having achieved his goal, he did not linger at Stardust Pavilion and quietly left the market.

Even after leaving the market, Zhou Yuan remained highly vigilant.

He sometimes circled east, sometimes turned west, and only after confirming that no one was following him did he determine the direction and transform into a streak of light, heading straight for the Yue Kingdom.

……

Several days later, night fell over the land.

Zhou Yuan's figure finally reappeared within the territory of Yue Kingdom.

Instead of returning to Huangfeng Valley, he flew straight into the depths of the Taiyue Mountains.

As he flew closer to an inconspicuous mountain peak, his powerful divine sense, far surpassing that of other cultivators of the same level, suddenly detected waves of magical energy emanating from the mountainside ahead.

It's the sound of cultivators fighting!

This place is already on the edge of Huangfeng Valley's sphere of influence. Is this a fight between fellow disciples in the dead of night?

He carefully sensed the intensity of the fluctuation and it seemed that there was no intervention from a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Zhou Yuan's heart stirred.

It's fine to just watch the excitement.

He immediately lowered his body, activated his concealment technique to its maximum, and suppressed his aura. Like a ghost, he silently crept towards the direction from which the commotion came.

……

On the mountainside, there was an open area.

Two figures were locked in fierce combat.

One of them was dressed in blue and held a large blue flag about ten feet long.

Every time he waved the banner, more than a dozen crescent-shaped cyan wind blades would whistle out from the tip of the banner, slashing down on his opponent.

The other person was a young cultivator dressed in yellow with an ordinary appearance.

This person was extremely cautious in combat, and his body was surrounded by three thick layers of protection.

The outermost layer is a giant, spiraling, steel ring-shaped magical artifact.

The middle layer is a shiny black shield.

Inside the innermost layer, there is a light blue protective shield.

Even more remarkable is that in the middle of the two's battle, there is a huge wind wall that is several tens of feet high and several tens of feet wide, which hinders their attacks.

Judging from the looks of it, the two have been locked in combat for quite some time.

In the open space not far away, a naked woman was lying.

The woman opened her eyes, but seemed to be bound by some kind of magic, remaining motionless.

At one point, the blue-robed cultivator seemed to have run out of patience and let out a low growl.

With a sudden burst of strength, he hurled the large blue flag into the air with a whoosh.

Immediately afterwards, he quickly flipped his fingers and made hand seals, pointed at the flag from a distance, and shouted loudly.

"Transform into a dragon!"

Suddenly, the Azure Dragon Banner shone brightly, its azure light shimmering, and in an instant, it transformed into a giant azure dragon several dozen feet long.