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

"So, you also knew he had two Foundation Establishment Pills!"

Han Li's face was ashen, his voice filled with suppressed surprise and anger.

This means that the mysterious person in front of us may have been lurking nearby for a long time and overheard the conversation between Senior Brother Lu and Senior Sister Chen.

And yet, after fighting with Senior Brother Lu for so long, he was completely unaware of the existence of a third person.

—This ability to conceal oneself is truly chilling.

"Haha, this junior brother..."

"Since we've come this far, don't even think about keeping these two Foundation Establishment Pills for yourself!"

Zhou Yuan chuckled lightly, his tone carrying a sense of composure as if he were in control of the situation.

"I can give you a Foundation Establishment Pill, but that Azure Dragon Flag magic weapon must belong to me."

"You saw the fierce battle just now. My talisman has exhausted its power and turned to ashes. There has to be some compensation."

Han Li took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent thoughts in his mind, his gaze fixed on his opponent, the spherical object in his palm still poised to strike.

"Okay, but the rest of the things in his storage bag belong to me."

Zhou Yuan answered very decisively.

The two men stared at each other for a moment in the dim night, the air thick with the smell of blood and an invisible tension. Finally, Han Li slowly nodded, reaching this fragile consensus.

He strode to Senior Brother Lu's mangled body, bent down to take the blood-stained storage bag, and probed it with his divine sense.

A moment later, he took out a beautifully carved wooden box, put it into his pocket, and then threw the storage bag to Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan reached out and caught it, then scanned it with his divine sense and took out a light blue jade bottle from the bag.

As soon as the cork was removed, a refreshing and unique fragrance wafted out.

At the bottom of the bottle lay a pill the size of a longan, with pale golden cloud patterns on its surface—undoubtedly the Foundation Establishment Pill.

"Haha, in that case, farewell..."

Zhou Yuan put away the jade bottle, gave Han Li a slight bow, and then floated backward before summoning a flying artifact and flying into the distant sky.

Only after seeing Zhou Yuan completely gone did Han Li finally let out a long sigh of relief.

His back was soaked with cold sweat.

"Fortunately, this person didn't really intend to make a move... If he had attacked when my magic power was depleted, I'm afraid I would have had no choice but to gamble with this Heavenly Thunder Particle and perish together..."

He looked down at the unremarkable black sphere in his hand, and carefully put it back into his storage bag with lingering fear.

He then quickly dealt with the traces at the scene—the remains of Senior Brother Lu.

However, at this moment, Senior Sister Chen, who had been restrained, suddenly walked towards him.

……

Zhou Yuan pushed his concealment technique to its limit, steadily suppressing his aura at the eleventh level of Qi Refining.

They quietly returned to their cave dwelling on Xuankun Mountain.

The stone gate slowly closed behind them, and several simple yet effective restrictions rose up.

Only now did Zhou Yuan's tense nerves finally relax.

He sat cross-legged in the center of the quiet room and first took out the Foundation Establishment Pill that he had obtained from Senior Brother Lu.

The pill rolled in his palm, its warm touch containing a powerful yet gentle spiritual energy.

This is the Foundation Establishment opportunity that countless Qi Refining cultivators dream of and are willing to risk their lives for.

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

"equipment!"

A pale blue light appeared in my mind, and the first equipment slot flashed slightly.

[Equipment 1: Foundation Establishment Pill (Second-Tier, Mid-Grade)]

[Effect 1: Improved Alchemy Talent.]

[Effect 2: Increased probability of Foundation Establishment.]

[Effect 3: Increased probability of refining Foundation Establishment Pills!]

[Note: This Breakthrough Pill, made primarily from several rare and precious medicinal herbs using a complex process, can significantly increase a cultivator's success rate in Foundation Establishment. The pill has excellent appearance and abundant medicinal power.]

"really!"

A surge of excitement welled up in Zhou Yuan's heart.

The equipment slots now explicitly state that the Foundation Establishment Pill has the effect of "increasing the probability of Foundation Establishment"!

Unfortunately, there was only one.

He clearly remembered the original plot: after the Blood Forbidden Land trial, the sect would reward the disciple who could bring back enough spiritual herbs alive with a Foundation Establishment Pill.

If I survive, I can get another one.

Moreover, the "bug" in the equipment slots—that there is no limit to the number of the same type of items that can be stored in the same equipment slot—is especially important at this moment.

This means that if he can collect the three main ingredients needed to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill in the Crimson Forbidden Land, regardless of the year, he can "equip" them all and take them out, and the sect's conventional detection methods will not be able to detect them!

At that time, I will have the opportunity to try refining the Foundation Building Pill.

With my current alchemy skills, plus the terrifying bonuses from my equipment slots, the success rate will definitely not be low.

The hope of building a foundation seems to have unfolded a clearer path before our eyes.

Suppressing his excitement, Zhou Yuan took out another item—the tattered talisman he had found at the Star Dust Pavilion.

The talisman paper was yellowed and the edges were severely damaged.

The runes depicted on it with some kind of ancient cinnabar are also incomplete.

But it was those few remaining, vigorous and archaic rune strokes that made him spend fifty spirit stones without hesitation.

"equipment."

He equipped the broken rune to the second slot.

The information on the screen refreshed again:

[Equipment 2: Torn Thousand-Mile Guiding Talisman (Tier 3, Mid-Grade)]

[Effect 1: Significantly enhances Runecrafting Talent.]

[Effect 2: Significantly increases the speed of understanding and practicing the "Thousand-Mile Guiding Talisman".]

[Note: This is a fragment of a high-level escape technique talisman left behind by an ancient cultivator. Its principles are profound, containing the wonders of spatial manipulation. Although damaged, it still contains some complete talisman-making methods and insights passed down within.]

"A Thousand-Mile Guiding Talisman!"

Zhou Yuan's pupils constricted slightly.

They vanished a thousand miles in an instant!

What does this mean?

Even a great cultivator in the late Nascent Soul stage, when fully extending their divine sense, can usually only cover a range of a few hundred miles.

If one can refine and master this talisman, activating it in a critical moment will be the ultimate life-saving trump card for turning the tide and escaping danger!

Those fifty spirit stones were totally worth it!

Equipping this talisman will not only enhance your overall talisman-making talent, but will also provide unimaginable assistance when you comprehend, learn, and even attempt to refine this "Thousand-Mile Guiding Talisman".

Given time, if one can truly master this talisman...

Zhou Yuan seemed to see an invisible yet incredibly sturdy protective talisman slowly taking shape.

Just as he was immersed in the joy of his harvest and contemplating his future plans, the security barriers set up outside the cave showed a slight fluctuation.

Someone has come to visit.

Zhou Yuan quickly composed himself, adjusted his breathing, got up and walked out of the meditation room, removing the restrictions at the entrance of the cave.

A middle-aged monk stood outside the cave.

It was Lin Xu, the Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Lin family who served as a steward in Yellow Maple Valley.

"Disciple Zhou Yuan greets Martial Uncle Lin." Zhou Yuan quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

Lin Xu nodded slightly.

"Zhou Yuan, you have been refining pills for Miaodan Pavilion for half a year. You have done a good job."

Lin Xu's voice carried a hint of approval, "The pavilion has a sufficient supply of pills of excellent quality, and the family highly regards you."

As expected, the Lin family's higher-ups were very satisfied with the results of his six months of frantic alchemy.

"It is my duty as a disciple, and I dare not take credit for it." Zhou Yuan's attitude was very respectful.

"Um."

Lin Xu said no more, raised his hand and took out a light purple jade slip from his storage bag, and handed it over, "Since you are skilled in alchemy, try to comprehend and refine this pill."

Zhou Yuan accepted the jade slip with both hands and immersed his consciousness into it.

A complex and profound stream of information flooded into my mind. The recipe described a pill called "Jade Condensation Pill," which had a complicated refining process and required extremely precise control of the heat and the timing of the fusion of medicinal properties.

Almost instantly after reading the data, he quickly made a judgment in his mind:

Second-tier elixir formula!

This is a pill meant for Foundation Establishment cultivators! Lin Xu is truly treating him as a tool for alchemy that can be cultivated.

They relentlessly squeeze out every last bit of value from themselves!