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

"Fellow Daoists, thank you for your hard work this time."

Zhou Yuan bowed to the three men in thanks, a warm smile on his face, seemingly oblivious to the fleeting fervor in their eyes.

He knew perfectly well what was going on.

It would be abnormal for the three of them to remain completely unmoved in the face of such a precious treasure as the "Wind and Thunder Wings".

If they can keep to their duties, take their pay, and part ways amicably, then there will be no problem.

If anyone harbors inappropriate thoughts… a cold glint flashed deep in Zhou Yuan’s eyes.

Although he was fighting three opponents alone, the three of them had been severely depleted after half a year of refining and were no longer at their peak strength, while he was in perfect condition.

And they have many cards to play.

Furthermore, with an equipment slot and numerous secret techniques, they are absolutely confident in suppressing these three here!

However, he didn't want to make enemies unnecessarily unless absolutely necessary.

Especially since these three people are backed by behemoths like the Tai Zhen Sect, the Tian Ji Sect, and the Hao Ran Pavilion.

"We dare not accept such praise. It is our honor to serve Fellow Daoist Zhou."

Qi Shu was the first to compose himself, suppressing the complex emotions in his eyes, and returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

He was a rather proud man. Although he was tempted, he knew that this item was made by Zhou Yuan with painstaking effort and materials, and that it was not the act of a gentleman to forcibly take it.

Furthermore, it would completely offend this unfathomable fellow Daoist Zhou, which would be a loss that outweighs any gains.

Fang Han and Fairy Shuiyun quickly returned the greeting, their awkwardness quickly concealed.

Those who can cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage are not fools; they can naturally weigh the pros and cons clearly.

Zhou Yuan said no more. He reached out and gently wiped his hand on the storage bag at his waist. On the smooth stone platform in front of him, a flash of spiritual light appeared, and four small piles of spirit stones neatly appeared.

Each pile contained exactly five hundred mid-grade spirit stones!

The spirit stones shimmered with light and were full of spiritual energy. When piled together, they formed a considerable fluctuation of spiritual power.

Five hundred mid-grade spirit stones are equivalent to fifty thousand low-grade spirit stones. For a Nascent Soul cultivator, this is not an astonishing fortune.

But it is definitely a considerable sum of money.

After all, the three of them had only spent less than a year in total.

This compensation is quite generous.

"This is the payment for the three of you, please accept it."

Zhou Yuan pointed to three piles of spirit stones, then to the last pile, "Please pass this on to Brother Lu Weiying, Fellow Daoist Fang."

"I am grateful to Brother Lu for making the connection so successfully with the three of you. I will remember this in my heart. This is just a small token of my appreciation."

Seeing this tangible reward of spirit stones, the last trace of distracting thoughts in Qi Shu and the other two vanished completely, replaced by joy.

This windfall was enough for them to purchase a lot of what they needed for cultivation.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, you're too kind! I will certainly convey my regards to Senior Brother Lu!"

A sincere smile appeared on Fang Han's honest face as he quickly made his promise.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou is so generous; I am truly unworthy of your kindness," Fairy Shuiyun said with a graceful bow and a gentle voice.

Qi Shu nodded and put away the spirit stones: "Fellow Daoist Zhou acted prudently, which I admire. If you ever need my help in the future, I will do my best to assist you."

His words carried a degree of sincerity; befriending a wealthy and capable mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator would not do him any harm.

"These mere spirit stones are nothing to worry about; you three fellow Daoists need not concern yourselves with them."

Zhou Yuan smiled faintly, appearing nonchalant. His words were not empty boasting.

Having access to the astonishingly abundant high-grade spirit stone mine on Biling Island, he possessed nearly ten thousand high-grade spirit stones in his storage bag. When converted to mid-grade and low-grade spirit stones, the amount was astronomical.

These rewards were nothing to him.

"With this matter settled, I have other important matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now. Farewell, fellow Daoists!"

Without further delay, Zhou Yuan bowed to the three of them again, and with a flicker of his body, he transformed into a streak of green and instantly passed through the cave's restrictions.

Qi Shu and the other two watched Zhou Yuan leave, and then spent half a day recuperating in the cave. Once their magical power had recovered somewhat, they put away their spirit stones, transformed into streaks of light, and departed in different directions.

Inside the cave, only the lingering echoes of spiritual energy fluctuations and faint traces of the complex magic array remained.

After leaving that desolate mountain, Zhou Yuan flew for a few days before finding an even more secluded valley. He set up a restriction and began to focus on refining the newly acquired treasure, the "Wind and Thunder Wings".

This treasure has acquired spirituality, but it has not yet established a close spiritual connection with him, so it cannot exert its full power, let alone be as easy to control as an extension of his own limb.

The refining process is not complicated; it mainly involves repeatedly nourishing and imprinting one's own essence and magical power with divine consciousness.

Several days later, a burst of intense blue-purple spiritual light suddenly erupted in the valley, then quickly subsided.

Zhou Yuan opened his eyes, a satisfied smile on his face.

The Wind and Thunder Wings have been successfully forged!

A thought subtly stirred within me.

A pair of blue-purple wings, each about ten feet long and shimmering with spiritual light, appeared behind him, fluttering gently and bringing with them wisps of breeze and arcs of electricity.

"Let's try out the power."

With a thought, Zhou Yuan channeled his magical power into the Wind and Thunder Wings, while simultaneously activating a wisp of the "Evil-Repelling Divine Thunder" on his natal flying sword!

"Crack!"

A soft yet crisp rumble of thunder sounded, and the purple lightning patterns on his blue-purple wings suddenly lit up, bursting out with dazzling lightning!

"Crack!"

A soft yet crisp rumble of thunder sounded, and the purple lightning patterns on his blue-purple wings suddenly lit up, bursting out with dazzling lightning!

The next instant, Zhou Yuan's figure blurred and disappeared from the spot!

Almost at the same time, two hundred feet away on the other side of the valley, a figure enveloped in faint lightning appeared out of thin air.

Lightning Release!

Two hundred feet in an instant!

This speed was so fast that it was almost beyond the reach of the naked eye and ordinary divine sense!

Even some late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators who are not good at speed are only so-so in terms of short-range burst damage!

"Wow, that's fast!"

Zhou Yuan was both surprised and delighted.

Of course, Lightning Release cannot be used as a regular means of travel for extended periods.

It is more suitable for use in critical moments of battle, such as for surprise attacks, evasion, or creating distance.

"With this treasure, my survivability and mobility have been greatly enhanced!"

Zhou Yuan stroked the gentle and harmonious wind and thunder wings on his back, unable to put them down.

With these wings, there is nowhere in the world that one cannot go.

After storing the Wind and Thunder Wings inside his body to nurture them, Zhou Yuan determined his direction and sped off towards the north, where the Xi Kingdom was located.

Several days later, when he entered the territory of the Xi Kingdom, he rested briefly in some markets or teahouses where cultivators gathered along the way.

Then I heard some of the latest rumors about Xi Kingdom, or rather, about the Yunmeng Mountains.

"Have you heard? A few days ago, after the sword-testing tournament of the three sects of Yunmeng, something terrible happened when they were distributing the pure liquid produced by the 'Spirit Eye Tree'!"

"It's not just hearsay! It's said that both the righteous and demonic paths had secretly infiltrated the three sects of Yunmeng, planting many spies. At the crucial moment of distributing the liquid, these spies launched a simultaneous attack, cooperating with the righteous and demonic experts who were there to provide support, and managed to steal the liquid right under the noses of the three sects! The Nascent Soul elders left behind by the three sects were caught off guard and suffered a great loss!"

"How utterly audacious! Although the Three Sects of Yunmeng are not as powerful as the Taizhen Sect and the Tianji Sect, they are still respectable sects of the righteous path. Their combined strength is considerable. How dare the righteous and demonic paths act so openly?"

"Aren't they afraid of starting a war?"

Zhou Yuan understood what was going on.

The reason why the righteous and demonic paths have joined forces in this rare event is because they have obtained a section of the root of the legendary "Mysterious Heavenly Vine"!

The Mysterious Heavenly Vine is said to have been born at the beginning of chaos, and is a supreme innate spiritual root containing a trace of the original laws of heaven and earth!

However, that root had already withered.

Both the righteous and the demonic factions tried every means, but could not revive it.

The purpose of this attempt to seize the essence of the Spirit Eye Tree was to use the abundant vitality and pure spiritual power contained within it to try to irrigate and revive that section of the Mysterious Heavenly Vine!

However, Zhou Yuan, who was familiar with the original plot, understood that both the righteous and demonic paths were destined to fail.

The roots of that section of the Mysterious Heavenly Vine had long since withered and could not be revived by the essence of the Spirit Eye Tree.

Their massive undertaking will ultimately be in vain, achieving nothing in the end.

Zhou Yuan had no interest in participating in this.

He didn't linger, quickened his pace, and flew towards the temporary cave where Mei Ning was.

Several days later, Zhou Yuan's figure appeared in the sky above that remote mountain forest.

He activated his escape technique and landed in front of the cave.

The cave's protective barrier sensed his presence and automatically opened a portal.

A slender figure in light blue quickly stepped out; it was Mei Ning.

It had been more than a year since they last met, and her cultivation seemed to have improved even more. When she saw Zhou Yuan, her beautiful eyes instantly lit up with surprise.

"Senior! You're back!"

Unable to contain her excitement, Mei Ning threw herself into Zhou Yuan's arms and hugged him tightly.

She buried her face in his chest, her voice choked with emotion, "Mei Ning misses you so much..."

Zhou Yuan was slightly taken aback, then reached out and gently patted her back, saying softly, "Yes, I'm back. It seems you haven't been slacking off lately; your cultivation has improved quite a bit."

After a moment of tenderness, Mei Ning blushed, let go of his hand, took a half step back, stood with her head down, and resumed her obedient demeanor.

Upon entering the cave, Zhou Yuan briefly inquired about Mei Ning's cultivation progress over the past year and offered a few pointers.

He then began to consider the next steps.

This temporary cave dwelling has mediocre spiritual energy and is not well-hidden, so it is definitely not a long-term solution.

He needs to find a true spiritual vein and open up a stable cave dwelling of his own.

Moreover, the level seven demonic beasts in his spirit beast pouch also need a suitable place with abundant spiritual energy to settle and cultivate, and even... he could consider letting a few of them try to trigger the transformation lightning tribulation.

If successful, he will immediately have several more Nascent Soul level warriors under his command.

He quickly filtered through information from all over the country in his mind and began to select the information.

finally.

He set his sights on Dongyu Kingdom.

Dongyu Kingdom is a rather unique country in the cultivation world of Tiannan.

It is not the kind of small, remote country that is ignored by the four major powers (the Righteous Alliance, the Six Demonic Sects, the Heavenly Alliance, and the Nine Kingdoms Alliance) because of its poverty and weakness.

On the contrary, this country ranks among the top ten in Tiannan in terms of both its territory and the spiritual veins, minerals, and other cultivation resources it possesses, making it quite wealthy.

The reason it has been able to maintain its independence and not be swallowed up by any party is entirely due to its awkward and delicate geographical location.

Any attempt by either side to monopolize Dongyu Kingdom will immediately provoke strong backlash and intervention from the other two sides.

The cultivation forces within the Eastern Yu Kingdom are numerous and intertwined due to historical reasons, with righteous, demonic, and neutral sects mixed together. No single sect can overpower the others, unify the voices within the country, and thus align with any one faction.

This has led to Dongyu Kingdom being in a strange balance of being "untouchable by three parties" yet "wanting to manage everyone."

Ultimately, after numerous open and covert struggles and compromises, the three major powers reached a vague consensus: none of them would directly send troops or high-level personnel to control Dongyu Kingdom, thus maintaining its nominal neutrality.

At the same time, the three major forces are secretly supporting and winning over sects within Dongyu Kingdom that are close to them, engaging in proxy-style power struggles.

This peculiar political landscape, ironically, attracted a large number of independent cultivators, small families, and minor sects who were unwilling to get involved in the conflicts between the four major powers or who wanted to play both sides to settle and develop their businesses.

This led to an exceptionally prosperous and active cultivation world in Dongyu Kingdom over the past century, with numerous markets and frequent transactions, making it a well-known "neutral land" and "adventurer's paradise" in southern China.

"This is it."

Zhou Yuan made a decision.

The Dongyu Kingdom has a relatively relaxed environment, complex power dynamics that make it easy to hide, and abundant resources, making it a perfect place for him to establish his cave dwelling and develop discreetly.

He will inform Mei Ning of his decision.

Mei Ning naturally had no objections.

She was willing to go anywhere as long as she could stay by Zhou Yuan's side.

After tidying up briefly, the two left the temporary cave dwelling.

Zhou Yuan, carrying Mei Ning, rode the escape light and flew towards the direction of Dongyu Kingdom.

The territory of Dongyu was indeed vast, much larger than that of Yue, from which Zhou Yuan originated.

Read Chapter 255, Mysterious Celestial Vine, now! Target: Dongyu Kingdom! :, to begin today's exciting chapter.