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

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"Mid-Foundation Establishment stage, as expected..."

Zhou Yuan opened his eyes, a flash of blue light disappearing from them.

He briefly sensed the changes within his body and nodded in satisfaction.

If he weren't worried about arousing suspicion by cultivating too quickly, he could have broken through in an even shorter time.

After breaking through his cultivation level, Zhou Yuan did not stop, but instead began to comprehend the "Thousand Blade Technique" bestowed upon him by Li Huayuan.

This intermediate-level metal-attribute spell is far more difficult to master than even a basic spell.

It requires exquisite control of true essence, strong divine sense support, and a profound understanding of metal-type spiritual energy.

Even for ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators with good aptitude, it would take at least several years of hard work to cultivate the Thousand Blade Technique to the minor completion stage (condensing a hundred sword lights).

However, Zhou Yuan had the advantage of his equipment slots—the Thousand Blade Technique Manual (containing the experience of predecessors and Li Huayuan's insights), plus his own profound mastery of metal-based magic...

A combination of factors gave him divine assistance in comprehending the Thousand Blades Technique!

In just one month, Zhou Yuan had already mastered the Thousand Blade Technique to the minor completion level!

"Let's test its power."

Zhou Yuan got up and went to a relatively spacious area in the cave.

With a slight thought, he formed hand seals, and his internal energy circulated according to the special route of the Thousand Blade Technique.

"Buzz—"

Pale golden true essence surged from his palm, rapidly condensing and differentiating in front of him.

One breath later—

"Thousand Blades Technique, activate!"

Zhou Yuan gave a low shout and pushed his hands forward!

In an instant, hundreds of pale golden sword lights appeared out of thin air!

Each sword beam was about three feet long, solid and sharp, with intricate runes flowing on its blade.

A hundred sword lights were arranged in a simple attack array, densely packed, almost occupying half of the cave space!

The moment the sword light appeared, a sharp sword aura spread out, and the air seemed to be cut with a soft "hissing" sound.

"go!"

With a thought, Zhou Yuan controlled the hundred sword lights, which shot forward in perfect unison, like soldiers receiving orders!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"

The sound of air being torn apart was continuous, and hundreds of golden lights bombarded the rock wall in front like a torrential rain!

"Boom boom boom boom—!"

A deafening explosion rang out, and the entire cave trembled!

As the sword light dissipated, countless sword marks, some a foot deep, appeared on the rock face ahead, with gravel falling down in a flurry.

If it were a defensive magic weapon or protective aura of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, it would probably collapse instantly under this attack!

"The power is indeed impressive." Zhou Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

This is only the Thousand Blade Technique at the minor completion level. If one cultivates it to the major completion level (five hundred sword lights) or even the perfection level (one thousand sword lights), its power will be even more terrifying.

More importantly, this spell has a wide range of coverage, making it suitable for dealing with multiple enemies or large monsters.

"With my current true essence, a full-force use of the Lesser Thousand Blade Technique consumes less than one-tenth of my mana. If I were equipped with three spirit stones, I could instantly replenish my consumed mana..."

Zhou Yuan was making plans in his mind.

He was pondering the practical application of the Thousand Blades Technique when suddenly his brow furrowed—

The array outside the cave was rippled as if it had been activated!

"Has someone broken into the formation?"

Zhou Yuan's expression hardened, and his divine sense immediately extended outward.

Of the three-tiered formation he set up, the outermost "Fleeting Light and Shadow Formation" is mainly an illusion formation to confuse perception.

The "Azure Sun Formation" in the middle is a defensive formation that blocks attacks;

The innermost layer, the "Wind Blade Sky-Splitting Array," is a killing array that actively attacks intruders.

At this moment, the information fed back by the formation showed that someone had silently passed through the outermost illusion formation and directly triggered the inner killing formation!

"To pass through the illusion array so easily, one must be at least a Foundation Establishment cultivator," Zhou Yuan thought warily. "But why was he so easily hit by the killing array? Could he be a reckless brute who doesn't understand array formations?"

After a moment's thought, he decided to go out and investigate.

Zhou Yuan did not rashly remove all the formations. Instead, he first shut down the killing formation, leaving the illusion and defensive formations intact. He then flashed to the outside of the cave.

Within the area covered by the formation, there was a complete mess.

The countless invisible wind blades unleashed by the Wind Blade Sky-Splitting Array shredded the area where the intruders were located beyond recognition.

The ground was covered with crisscrossing cutting marks, and rocks and vegetation were cut into pieces.

In the center of these fragments lay a mangled corpse, almost cut into several pieces.

Zhou Yuan approached, his brows furrowing slightly.

The corpse was dressed in the robes of an inner disciple of Huangfeng Valley, and its cultivation level was around the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. The death was extremely gruesome.

Judging from the route he took to break through the formation, this person did not seem to intend to attack the cave. Rather, it seemed that he was panicking and wandered into the formation by mistake.

"Could it be that they were being chased and fled to this place?" Zhou Yuan wondered.

He bent down to examine the body and found a storage bag in the tattered robe. The storage bag was in ordinary condition and stained with blood.

Zhou Yuan cautiously used his divine sense to investigate, and only after confirming that there were no restrictions or traps did he open it.

The bag contained few items: a few hundred low-grade spirit stones, a few bottles of ordinary pills, a few average-quality magic artifacts, some miscellaneous materials, and a few jade slips.

Zhou Yuan's gaze fell on one of the jade slips, which was pure white and had a warm, smooth texture.

"This is..." Zhou Yuan's heart stirred, and he picked up the jade slip, probing it with his divine sense.

The jade slip contained a cultivation technique called the "Great Evolution Technique"!

Although it is only the first four levels, the general outline at the beginning clearly points out that this is a top-level secret technique specifically for cultivating and strengthening one's divine sense!

"The Great Evolution Technique... Thousand Bamboo Sect... Senior Brother Lin!"

The clues instantly connected in Zhou Yuan's mind.

In the original novel, a former leader of the Thousand Bamboo Sect, known as "Senior Brother Lin," was hiding in Huangfeng Valley. He possessed the Great Evolution Technique and was later found by pursuers sent by the current leader of the Thousand Bamboo Sect. A battle broke out near Huangfeng Valley, and Han Li ultimately benefited from the situation.

"Unexpectedly, this Senior Brother Lin, in his panic, fled to the outside of my cave and even triggered the killing formation..." Zhou Yuan said with a strange expression.

This is truly a case of perfect coincidence.

"The Great Evolution Technique..." Zhou Yuan's eyes flickered.

This cultivation method, which focuses on developing spiritual consciousness, is extremely valuable!

The strength of a cultivator's spiritual sense directly affects their spellcasting speed, the number of magical artifacts they can control, their detection range, and even the difficulty of breaking through bottlenecks.

A powerful divine sense provides a significant advantage in various aspects such as combat, alchemy, weapon crafting, and formation.

Zhou Yuan's divine sense was already stronger than others of the same level, and if he were to cultivate the Great Evolution Technique, the strength of his divine sense would be further enhanced.

It greatly helped him cultivate the Thousand Blade Technique and unleash the Twelve Divine Thrusters.

"What a pleasant surprise!"

Zhou Yuan carefully put the jade slip away.

Just as he was about to examine the body and other items further, the formation outside the cave once again fluctuated violently!

This time, it wasn't someone who accidentally wandered in; someone was forcibly attacking the formation!

"Boom boom boom—!"

A dense barrage of bombardment came from outside the formation, causing the entire defensive light barrier to vibrate violently and ripple.

Zhou Yuan scanned the area with his divine sense and saw three cultivators standing outside the formation!

The leader was a burly, rugged-looking man in yellow robes, whose cultivation level was at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Beside him were a man and a woman; the man was tall and thin with a sinister face.

The woman was petite and charming, and both of them were at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

At this moment, the three of them were each controlling dozens of humanoid puppets, launching a fierce attack on Zhou Yuan's cave's defensive formation!

The burly man in yellow controlled the most puppets, numbering forty or fifty. Each puppet possessed the strength of the late-stage Qi Refining realm, wielding various magical artifacts and shooting out beams of light of different colors, which bombarded the defensive light barrier.

The other two also each controlled twenty or thirty puppets, and their attacks were equally fierce.

Hundreds of puppets attacked simultaneously, unleashing a barrage of colorful beams of light that caused the defensive light barrier to flicker wildly and emit a humming sound as it struggled under the strain.

"They're pursuers from the Thousand Bamboo Sect!"

Zhou Yuan's eyes turned cold.

It seems that although Senior Brother Lin is dead, his pursuers have not given up and have found this place by following his trail.

They clearly mistakenly believed that Senior Brother Lin had hidden in this cave protected by an array, and thus launched a strong attack.

"How dare you!" A hint of anger appeared on Zhou Yuan's face.

The cave dwelling is the foundation of a cultivator's life. To be attacked so blatantly is tantamount to a declaration of war.

What's more, the other side consisted of three Foundation Establishment cultivators, accompanied by hundreds of puppets, clearly intending to force their way in.

"Since you're courting death, then don't blame me."

A cold glint flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes as he formed hand seals and activated the formation with all his might.

Outside the cave, the burly man in yellow robes, while controlling the puppets to attack, shouted sharply:

"Senior Brother Lin, if you know what's good for you, get out here right now! Hand over the 'Great Evolution Technique,' and maybe we can spare your corpse!"

The sinister-looking man beside him sneered, "Why waste words with him! This formation won't last long. Once it's broken, we'll just kill them and take the treasure!"

The alluring woman chuckled and said, "Yes, let's finish this quickly to avoid any unforeseen complications."

The three intensified their attack.

The beams of light emitted by the puppet became more concentrated.

However, they did not notice that a figure was quietly disappearing on a hilltop several miles away.

Quietly observing the situation here.

It was Han Li, who had already purchased the formation from Yuanwu Kingdom and returned to his nearby cave!

When he saw the scene of hundreds of puppets surrounding the formation, he was shocked:

"The puppetry techniques of the Thousand Bamboo Sect! Who are these people?"

He was stunned when his gaze fell on the figure that emerged from the formation.

"Zhou Yuan? It's him!"

Han Li never expected this.

His mysterious neighbor turned out to be Zhou Yuan, who had fought alongside him in the Blood Forbidden Land and later became a disciple of Li Huayuan!

"When did he open up the cave?"

Han Li was puzzled.

But more than anything, it evokes vigilance.

The three cultivators attacking the formation clearly had ill intentions. Although Zhou Yuan was quite strong, facing three opponents and hundreds of puppets alone would likely put him under considerable pressure.

Han Li hesitated for a moment, then did not reveal himself immediately. He concealed his aura and observed from the shadows.

It wasn't that they were particularly concerned about Zhou Yuan's safety.

Instead, he was thinking.

There might be a chance to snag a bargain.