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

"pity……"

Han Li gazed at the faint fluctuations of the array outside the cave on the mountain wall and sighed softly.

He turned and left, leading the two-eyed mouse.

He had been full of expectations, thinking that the fact that the Twin-Eyed Rat had led him here so excitedly might mean that he could find a treasure trove of unclaimed spiritual veins.

But little did they expect that someone had already beaten them to it.

Judging from the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from the formation, it was not set up for long, and it was obviously opened up by a fellow disciple who had recently established his foundation.

Although Han Li felt a little regretful, he didn't dwell on it too much.

In the world of cultivation, opportunities are given out on a first-come, first-served basis. Since someone has already taken it, one should look for another.

He led the two-eyed mouse and continued his search in the northwest direction.

Although the two-eyed rat was not as excited as before, it still sniffed from time to time, searching for places with abundant spiritual energy.

After walking about a hundred miles, the thin rope in his hand suddenly tightened!

"Chirp!"

The two-eyed mouse became excited again, its little paws scratching at the ground, trying to dart off in a certain direction.

Han Li's spirits lifted, and he quickly loosened the rope slightly. The Twin-Eyed Rat immediately transformed into a gray shadow and ran towards an inconspicuous little mountain peak about seven or eight miles ahead.

Han Li followed closely behind on his magical artifact, and soon arrived at the foot of the mountain. The Twin-Eyed Rat had already scurried into a cave entrance half-hidden by vines, and turned back to chirp at Han Li, as if urging him on.

The entrance to the cave is small, only allowing one person to pass through at a time.

Han Li hesitated for a moment, then put away his flying artifact, summoned the Golden Cicada Mother-Child Blade for protection, and added a layer of sword and shield magic before carefully entering the cave.

Inside the cave is a winding natural passageway, dark and deep, with damp air and a faint fishy smell.

A bright flame rose from Han Li's palm, illuminating the path ahead. At the same time, he activated his divine sense, vigilantly probing his surroundings.

The passageway was quite long. After walking for about 15 minutes, the view suddenly opened up, and a naturally formed cave appeared before us.

The cave is about ten zhang square, with many stalactites hanging upside down from the dome, and the ground is uneven.

As soon as Han Li stepped inside, he felt a surge of spiritual energy that was nearly twice as dense as the outside world rushing towards him!

"This concentration of spiritual energy..." Han Li was delighted. No wonder the Twin-Eyed Rat was so excited. Although this place was not as good as the cave with the array protection as before, the spiritual energy was abundant. If properly arranged, it could be a good place for cultivation.

He held the flame and carefully surveyed his surroundings. There seemed to be more space deeper inside the cave, with an even narrower passage leading into the depths.

"Chirp!"

The two-eyed rat remained where it was, its small eyes warily fixed on the passage, its fur slightly bristling, emitting an uneasy low growl.

Han Li's expression hardened.

He immediately summoned the black iron shield in front of him, and the light from the sword and shield shone even brighter.

He slowly took two steps back, using all his spiritual sense to probe the deep passage.

At that very moment—

"call out!"

A dark shadow shot out from the passage at an astonishing speed, heading straight for Han Li's face!

"clang!"

The dark figure slammed into the black iron shield with a dull thud!

Han Li felt an immense force coming from him, and his feet involuntarily staggered back more than ten steps, his back slamming heavily against the rock wall, causing rubble to fall from the cave ceiling.

"Such powerful strength!" Han Li was secretly shocked and stared intently.

After landing, the dark figure coiled up at the entrance of the passage. It was a giant snake, about three zhang long, with a completely black body and dark scales!

The snake's body was as thick as a bucket, its triangular head held high, its scarlet forked tongue flickering, and its cold, vertical pupils fixed intently on Han Li.

A fierce aura belonging to a second-tier demon beast spread out, creating an oppressive atmosphere.

The two-eyed rat was already so frightened that it burrowed into Han Li's arms, trembling with fear.

"A second-tier demonic beast, the Black-Scaled Python!"

Han Li recognized the origin of the demonic beast, which reassured him somewhat.

If he were in the Qi Refining stage, he would only be able to run for his life if he encountered a second-tier demonic beast.

But now that he has successfully established his foundation, his strength is vastly different from before. He doesn't even consider a mere early-stage second-tier black-scaled python a threat.

"Perfect timing to test my skills after reaching Foundation Establishment!"

A cold glint flashed in Han Li's eyes, and the Golden Cicada Mother-Child Blade transformed into eight golden streams of light, attacking the Black Scale Python from different angles!

"Jingle bells!"

The golden blade struck the snake's body, sending sparks flying, but only left white marks on its black scales, failing to penetrate its defenses.

The black-scaled python hissed in pain, and its tail swept out like a steel whip, bringing with it a whistling sound!

Han Li swayed, using the Luo Yan Step to transform into several afterimages and evade the attack. The snake's tail swept across the rock wall, instantly scattering fragments of stone and leaving a deep dent.

"The defense is indeed formidable," Han Li thought to himself, but he remained calm.

He reached out and patted his storage bag, and a silver ring flew out, spinning in the air before transforming into a streak of silver light that ensnared the black-scaled python!

It was a superior magical artifact called the "Dragon-Trapping Ring" obtained from a certain battle trophy!

The black-scaled python sensed danger and tried to dodge, but the Dragon-Binding Ring was extremely fast and instantly wrapped around the middle of its body, tightening abruptly!

"hiss--!"

The black-scaled python was bound and struggled violently, its body twisting and slamming against the rock wall with a loud rumble.

The Dragon-Binding Ring shimmered with spiritual light. Although it creaked and groaned as it was struggled against, it remained firmly locked in place, making it difficult to break free for the time being.

Han Li seized the opportunity and took out the golden brick talisman without hesitation!

Han Li seized the opportunity and took out the golden brick talisman without hesitation!

He formed hand seals and frantically poured his inner energy into the talisman.

The talisman shone brightly with golden light, quickly rose into the air, and transformed into a giant golden brick the size of a house, radiating a terrifying pressure.

Sensing a deadly threat, the black-scaled python struggled even more frantically, and tiny cracks began to appear on the Dragon-Binding Ring.

"fall!"

Han Li gave a low shout and pressed his hands down!

The giant gold brick crashed down with tremendous force!

"BOOM—!!!"

A deafening roar echoed through the cave, the entire mountainside trembled violently, and rocks rained down.

As the smoke and dust cleared, a huge pit, over ten feet deep, appeared on the spot. The bottom of the pit was a bloody mess, and the black-scaled python had been smashed into a pulp, beyond any hope of survival.

Han Li took a breath and retrieved the talisman. This activation had consumed nearly 30% of his true essence, yet its power was still quite astonishing.

He waved his hand and sent out several moonstones, which were then embedded in the cave ceiling, illuminating the entire cave with a soft white light.

Han Li then saw the entire cave. Apart from the giant pit in the center, there were four or five herbs with faint spiritual light growing deep inside the cave, near the inner wall!

The two-eyed rat had already jumped out of Han Li's arms and excitedly darted to the few spiritual herbs, chirping and scratching at the ground with its little paws.

Han Li took a closer look, and his heart pounded wildly!

Those few medicinal herbs were just ordinary "Magnolia" and "Polygonatum", only about two or three hundred years old, and could not be considered precious.

What truly shocked Han Li was the spiritual energy emanating from the place where the spiritual herbs grew!

The concentration of spiritual energy there is several times higher than in other parts of the cave!

There seemed to be an invisible spiritual mist slowly flowing in the air, and each breath made people feel refreshed and their true energy circulation accelerated.

Han Li crouched down and reached out to touch the soil. The soil was warm and moist, with a faint spiritual energy seeping from the ground.

"This is... an invisible spiritual eye!" Han Li's eyes burst with uncontrollable joy.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth is unevenly distributed, and certain special locations have exceptionally rich spiritual energy, which are called "spiritual vein nodes" or "spiritual eyes".

Most spiritual eyes are formless and intangible, able to perceive but not see, yet their cultivation effects far surpass those of ordinary places.

What we see before us is clearly a naturally formed "invisible spiritual eye"!

Although it is not as materialized or effective as the "Fountain of the Spirit Eye".

But for Foundation Establishment cultivators, it is a cultivation paradise they have always dreamed of!

"Unexpectedly... this is truly a glimmer of hope!" Han Li clenched his fist excitedly.

Although this place is only a hundred miles away from the cave dwelling of his former fellow disciple, and they are practically neighbors, the temptation of discovering a spiritual eye is too great. Han Li made up his mind in an instant—to open a cave dwelling here!

"However, this place has just been the site of a battle, and the commotion was quite significant. We need to set up an array to conceal it as soon as possible."

Han Li immediately took action.

He first quickly dissected the black-scaled python's carcass, removing valuable parts such as scales, venom sacs, and fangs.

The scales are tough and can be refined into decent defensive magical artifacts;

The venom in the venom sac can be used to temper magical artifacts or make poisons; the sharp fangs are also good materials for crafting offensive magical artifacts.

After collecting his spoils, Han Li took out the five tracking flags bestowed upon him by Sect Leader Zhong Lingdao and arranged them near the cave entrance using a simple incantation.

After the tracking flag was activated, a thin layer of white mist rose and enveloped the cave entrance. From the outside, it looked like just an ordinary patch of mountain vines, making it difficult to spot the cave entrance behind it.

However, this small illusion array has limited power; it can only confuse mortals and low-level demonic beasts, and has little effect on cultivators.

Han Li knew that to protect this sacred land, he needed to acquire a truly powerful array.

"The Tianxing Sect of Yuanwu Kingdom is famous for its array formations. Let's go there and purchase a good set of array formations!"

Han Li didn't delay any longer. He put the Twin-Eyed Rat into his spirit beast pouch and summoned his flying magic weapon.

Then it transformed into a streak of light and sped off towards the Yuanwu Kingdom.

……

Inside a cave on another mountain peak a hundred miles away.

Zhou Yuan sat cross-legged in the quiet room, his body surrounded by a continuous flow of pale blue true energy.

A month ago, after receiving the complete "Qingyuan Sword Manual" from Li Huayuan, he began to cultivate in seclusion.

In his equipment inventory, the Miniature Spirit Eye Spring, the pages of the Azure Origin Sword Manual, and two other items were all active simultaneously, greatly accelerating his cultivation efficiency.

Furthermore, there are numerous elixirs to aid in cultivation.

His cultivation speed is so fast that it far exceeds that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators with true spiritual roots by several times!

Under such favorable conditions, Zhou Yuan broke through the fourth to the fifth level of the "Azure Origin Sword Technique" in one go, and his cultivation naturally entered the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment!

Both the quality and quantity of true essence have increased significantly, the liquid true essence in the dantian is more solid and surging, and the range of divine sense has also expanded considerably.