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

Chapter 27 Death Crisis! Nangong Wan's Threat!

"What a penniless wretch!"

Zhou Yuan examined the storage bag he had obtained from the man earlier, and a sense of disdain arose in his heart.

Besides the mid-grade spirit stone that the sect had distributed before departure, there were only seven or eight low-grade spirit stones in the bag.

The rest of the magical artifacts were all common, low-quality items; they probably wouldn't even sell for fifty spirit stones in the market.

"However, it is precisely because of poverty—"

He thought about it again, and his eyes turned slightly cold.

"Without a good enough magical artifact to protect you, and lacking strength, you died so easily, unable to even withstand a single move from me."

This was his first real fight involving killing someone since he embarked on the path of immortality.

The process was much simpler than he had expected, even somewhat—boring.

But he felt little emotionally stirred; he simply made a mental note of it.

Murder and then cleaning up the traces will likely become commonplace in the forbidden area from now on.

He flicked his finger, and a fireball flew out, burning the pile of flesh and ashes once again to ensure that no trace was left.

After doing all this, he focused his mind on his sea of ​​consciousness, where a pale blue light screen appeared.

He decisively removed the three pieces of equipment from his equipment slot and replaced them with the three mid-level spirit stones he had prepared beforehand.

【Equipment 1: Mid-grade Spirit Stone (Wood attribute, mid-grade Tier 2)】

[Effect 1: Mana regeneration speed is greatly increased.]

[Effect 2: Increases the speed and efficiency of absorbing spiritual energy from spirit stones.]

[Note: This is a pure wood-attribute spiritual energy crystal, rich in spiritual energy, a precious resource for cultivators to quickly replenish their mana.]

[Equipment 2: Mid-grade Spirit Stone (Earth Attribute, Tier 2, Mid-grade)]

[Equipment 3: Mid-grade Spirit Stone (Gold Attribute, Second-Tier Mid-Grade)]

With three mid-level spirit stones equipped simultaneously, with each breath, a vast and pure spiritual energy instantly surged into his limbs, bones, meridians, and dantian through some mysterious channel.

The little bit of mana consumed by the instantaneous use of the Golden Sword Technique and Golden Armor Technique was completely restored in almost a breath, and there was even a slight feeling of fullness in his dantian.

"This feels really good."

A slight smile appeared on Zhou Yuan's lips.

This means that in the upcoming battle, as long as his mana is not drained instantly, he can almost be regarded as a "perpetual motion machine," and he can cast spells almost without interruption. Combined with his advantage of instant-cast spells, he will have a great advantage in the entanglement of Qi Refining stage battles.

Without further hesitation, he determined the direction and continued heading towards the center of the forbidden area.

However, after what he had just experienced, he gave up on flying using his magical artifact.

Being too big a target in the air is like being a lighthouse in the dark, waiting to be used as a live target.

He concealed his aura, maximizing his concealment technique, his figure moving like a ghost across the gray-black, rotting ground.

We walked among the twisted, strange trees and murky puddles.

It moved faster than a galloping horse, yet made almost no sound, leaving only a faint afterimage.

Along the way, he passed through two more places where the air still held lingering magical energy fluctuations and a faint smell of blood.

The ground was covered with charred marks, broken fragments of magical artifacts, and even several pools of dark red blood that had not yet fully seeped into the soil.

"Traces of a battle—but no corpse; it seems the victor cleaned up very well."

Zhou Yuan's vigilance intensified, indicating that the survivors were experienced and far from easy to deal with. He carefully avoided these areas, not wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble.

After walking for about half an hour, the sight of a relatively dry pile of rocks ahead made him pause.

Two corpses, one on the left and one on the right, lay stiffly on the ground, no more than ten feet apart.

A person dressed in the attire of Yellow Maple Valley, with a broken blade stuck in his chest;

The other person was wearing the Greatsword Sect's clothing, and had a deep cut on his neck, the blood staining the rubble beneath him.

Both of their storage bags were still hanging from their waists, bulging and seemingly silently tempting past "lucky ones".

"To perish together?" This was Zhou Yuan's first thought as he watched from afar.

This is a good opportunity to snag a bargain.

Judging from their clothes and the strength that allowed them to get here, the contents of their storage bags should be much more abundant than those of the poor guy from before.

He cautiously released his divine sense and carefully scanned the surrounding area, which was several dozen feet wide.

Rocks, dead trees, puddles—aside from the two corpses, there was no sign of any other living creature, nor any fluctuations of formations or traps.

It seems—it really was just good luck?

Zhou Yuan slowly stepped forward and stopped about three zhang away from the corpse.

His gaze swept over the faces of the two corpses, and then he looked at the color and congealing of the blood flowing from their wounds.

Everything seemed perfectly reasonable.

But just as he was about to get closer and use his telekinesis to retrieve the storage bag...

A faint, almost instinctive sense of crisis pierced his soul like an ice needle.

"wrong----"

A scene from the original story flashed through Zhou Yuan's mind: there were probably other people around!

The fact that this concealer could perfectly deceive his current spiritual sense, which is comparable to the early stage of Foundation Establishment, shows that his methods are far beyond those of ordinary Qi Refining cultivators!

Upon thinking of this, Zhou Yuan broke out in a cold sweat.

Without any hesitation, he even abruptly pulled back the half step he had already taken, his body resembling a startled raccoon, retreating violently backward!

At the same time, the light of the Golden Armor Technique instantly covered his entire body, and the Bright Armor also showed a faint silver glow.

He didn't dare look in the direction the "hunter" might be hiding. He pushed his Wind Control Technique to its limit and ran as fast as he could in the direction he came from, without looking back!

With a few leaps, his figure disappeared behind a twisted, strange forest of trees, leaving only the withered grass swaying slightly in place.

Less than three breaths after Zhou Yuan's figure disappeared.

The air around the two "corpses" rippled slightly, like waves on water.

Then, a slender, exquisite white figure slowly appeared, like a phantom.

She was a girl who looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in white, with an exceptionally beautiful and pure appearance, like a secluded orchid in a valley, untouched by the world.

She was barefoot, with her delicate, jade-like feet, hovering about an inch above the ground, her skirt fluttering, without a trace of dirt on her.

It was none other than Nangong Wan of the Hidden Moon Sect.

She gazed in the direction Zhou Yuan had disappeared, a hint of surprise flashing in her clear, autumn-water-like eyes, which then transformed into a smile full of interest.

"Huh? This little guy—his spiritual sense is frighteningly sharp. Even though he's only at the Qi Refining stage and his divine sense couldn't detect me, he still sensed danger at the last moment and decisively retreated—"

Her lips parted slightly, and her voice, clear and melodious like pearls falling on a jade plate, carried a hint of maturity and languor that belied her age.

"Has he cultivated some kind of secret technique to enhance his spiritual senses? Or does he possess some extraordinary treasure? When did such an interesting junior emerge from Yellow Maple Valley?"

She shook her head slightly, seemingly a little regretful that she hadn't been able to "play" with it.

"Alright, I'll let you off this time. I'd better get back to my business."

She stretched, revealing her beautiful curves, but her eyes suddenly became deep and unfathomable. "However, little one, if we meet again next time, you won't get away so easily—"

As soon as she finished speaking, her figure vanished like a bubble, as if she had never existed.

Only the two corpses, still lying upright, and two bulging, tempting storage bags remained on the spot.