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

Not long after.

A person walked out of the hall.

It was Han Li.

Han Li's face showed a sense of relief, as if he had just unloaded a heavy burden.

"Junior Brother Han, how is it?"

Zhou Yuan stopped and asked with a smile.

Han Li nodded, took a few steps closer, and lowered his voice, saying, "I inform Master that I am single-mindedly devoted to the Dao and have no other thoughts for the time being. I humbly request Master to decline Senior Sister Hong Fu's kind offer."

My master was initially displeased, but after I explained the pros and cons and saw my resolute attitude, he finally agreed, saying he would speak with my senior sister Hongfu.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuan understood.

In the original story, Han Li handled it this way. Although Li Huayuan felt it was a pity, he wouldn't force his disciple.

However, Hong Fu is unlikely to give up easily, especially since she believes Han Li is suitable for Dong Xuan'er, and there may be further twists and turns in this matter.

"Junior brother, you made a good decision."

Zhou Yuan gave a noncommittal praise, "However, Senior Sister Hong Fu is stubborn by nature, and this matter may not be over yet. Junior Brother should be prepared."

Han Li frowned slightly and nodded, clearly understanding the trouble involved. He was about to say something more when Li Huayuan's deep voice rang out again in the hall:

"Zhou Yuan, come in here for a moment!"

Zhou Yuan frowned almost imperceptibly, gestured to Han Li, and then turned and walked back into the hall.

Inside the hall, Li Huayuan and his wife remained seated.

Upon seeing Zhou Yuan enter, Li Huayuan carefully examined him.

Those seemingly gentle eyes seemed to see through illusions.

"Zhou Yuan... In just a few years, you've gone from the early stage of Foundation Establishment to the peak of the middle stage. Your cultivation speed is truly impressive!" Li Huayuan spoke slowly, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

"It is all thanks to Master's excellent teaching that I dare not slack off."

Zhou Yuan bowed, his tone respectful and cautious.

"You don't need to be nervous."

Li Huayuan waved his hand, a faint smile appearing on his face. "We cultivators each have our own destiny, some opportunities, some secrets—that's perfectly normal. As your master, I have no penchant for prying into my disciples' privacy or stealing their fortunes!"

His words were blunt, both a reassurance and a warning—

As long as Zhou Yuan does not harm the interests of his sect or violate the sect rules, he will not inquire about the origin of the opportunity.

Zhou Yuan felt a slight sense of relief, but maintained a respectful demeanor: "Disciple understands, thank you for your understanding, Master."

"Um."

Li Huayuan nodded, no longer dwelling on the matter of cultivation, and instead said, "I called you in because I have a task for you to handle."

"Master, please give your instructions."

"Soon, the Yan family will be holding a 'Treasure Hunt Tournament,' inviting Foundation Establishment cultivators from Yue Kingdom and neighboring countries to participate. My Huangfeng Valley is among those invited. You will represent Huangfeng Valley and go to Yanling Fortress."

As Li Huayuan spoke, he took out a gold-embossed invitation from his sleeve and handed it over.

Zhou Yuan's heart skipped a beat.

The Yan Family Treasure Hunt!

He knew perfectly well what this meant. In the original story, this was a place of great calamity.

All the Foundation Establishment cultivators from Yue Kingdom who went to the conference, except for Han Li and Dong Xuan'er who managed to escape by chance, were all sacrificed by Wang Chan, the young master of the Ghost Spirit Sect, and his men to cultivate demonic arts!

That was a complete massacre!

Danger! Extreme danger!

However, he simply could not refuse the task personally assigned by Li Huayuan.

Making excuses? What reason could you give?

Saying you have a premonition of danger? That will only arouse deeper suspicion.

"Yes, disciple obeys."

Zhou Yuan suppressed the turmoil in his heart and calmly accepted the invitation, as if he were just accepting an ordinary sect mission.

"Alright, I'll leave this matter to you. You can stay here for now. Your senior brother Yu Kun seems to have some things he needs your help with. It's not too late to set off after that," Li Huayuan instructed.

"Yes."

For the next few days, Zhou Yuan stayed at Li Huayuan's Green Wave Cave.

As expected, Senior Brother Yu Kun came knocking, bringing several medicinal materials and formulas for refining pills to enhance cultivation in the Foundation Establishment stage, and begged Zhou Yuan to help him refine them.

Yu Kun smiled broadly: "Junior Brother Zhou, I've heard that your alchemy skills are superb. It wasn't easy for me to collect these materials. I hope you can help me. If you can make a few pills, I will be extremely grateful! There is a fire chamber on the west side of this valley, which is fully equipped and perfect for alchemy."

Zhou Yuan did not refuse.

Befriending Yu Kun would be beneficial, and secondly, he himself did need to refine some pills for future use, so this was a good opportunity to take action.

"You're too kind, senior brother. I'll do my best."

Zhou Yuan took the medicinal herbs and went to the Earth Fire Chamber.

Seven or eight days passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside the Earth Fire Chamber, Zhou Yuan sat cross-legged in front of the alchemy furnace, his expression focused.

With the terrifying boost from his equipment inventory (piling up pill recipes, jade slips, and pills), his success rate in refining this pill was almost 100%, and the success rate and quality of the pill far surpassed those of ordinary alchemists.

Four batches of elixirs were successively refined.

In the end, he obtained a total of 28 high-quality Peiyuan Pills from four batches.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhou Yuan placed two batches of fourteen pills into a jade bottle, which was the "result" he intended to give to Yu Kun.

He put the other two batches of fourteen into his storage bag.

As he stepped out of the underground fire chamber, Yu Kun was already waiting outside, his face filled with anticipation.

"Senior Brother Yu, I have successfully completed my mission."

Zhou Yuan handed over the jade bottle, his face showing a mixture of weariness and apology.

"It's just that my junior brother's skills are not good enough. With four sets of materials, I only managed to successfully complete two batches, producing fourteen pills. Please forgive me, senior brother."

"Fourteen were successful?!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Kun was not disappointed at all; on the contrary, he was overjoyed!

His original expectation was that it would be good if one batch of four materials could be successfully produced, and he would be satisfied if the success rate exceeded 20%.

Zhou Yuan has now given out fourteen, with a success rate as high as 50%!

This has far exceeded his expectations!

"Junior Brother Zhou, you're too modest! A 50% success rate is already extremely high! I'm incredibly grateful!"

Yu Kun took the jade bottle, scanned it with his divine sense, and felt the abundant and pure medicinal power in the pill. He couldn't stop smiling, thanking him repeatedly and patting his chest to say that Zhou Yuan could ask for help in the future.

Another day passed, and Zhou Yuan was recuperating in the guest courtyard when Li Huayuan's divine sense transmission arrived again, summoning him to come over.

Inside the hall, Li Huayuan explained some important points about the treasure hunt to Zhou Yuan, and then added:

"Zhou Yuan, it's getting late, you should set off. By the way, your junior brother Han Li will also be going to Yanling Fort this time."

Zhou Yuan felt a slight stirring in his heart and waited for what was to come.

A strange look appeared on Li Huayuan's face. He continued, "However, he won't be traveling with you. Senior Sister Hongfu... still wants the two juniors to get to know each other better. So, Han Li will be going with that girl Dong Xuan'er."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuan understood.

It seems that when Li Huayuan returned the letter, Hong Fu did not give up. On the contrary, she may have emphasized that Dong Xuan'er was a virgin and not as promiscuous as the rumors suggested. She insisted on letting Han Li and Dong Xuan'er "cultivate feelings" during this trip.

Li Huayuan was caught in the middle, probably with no other choice but to make this arrangement.

"Disciple understands."

Zhou Yuan didn't ask any further questions and respectfully agreed.

Leaving Green Wave Cave, Zhou Yuan steered the Divine Wind Boat, transforming into a white streak of light as he sped towards the outside of the Taiyue Mountains.

He held the gold-embossed invitation in his hand, the words "Yanling Fortress" and "Treasure Hunt" on it somewhat dazzling in the sunlight.

"Knowing there are tigers in the mountains..."

Zhou Yuan sighed inwardly, but his eyes gradually sharpened.

Since we can't avoid it, we can only face it head-on.

Knowing the plot in advance is his biggest advantage.

With proper planning, it's not impossible to snatch chestnuts from the fire, and even gain some benefits from it!

……

The Yan family is the number one cultivation family in the Yue Kingdom.

Renowned.

Surprisingly, their family's roots were not located in the prosperous and wealthy core prefectures of Yue, but in the inconspicuous "Linzhou" among the thirteen prefectures.

Linzhou is of average size, has moderate spiritual energy, and mediocre resources, making it almost invisible in the cultivation world of Yue Kingdom.

The Yan family's important ancestral home, "Yanling Fortress," is located in an ordinary mountain range called "Yanliang Mountain" within Linzhou.

Qingliang City is an ordinary little town in Linzhou.

The Yanliang Mountain outside the city is not particularly steep, nor is its scenery exceptional.

Aside from being the location of Yanjiabao, there is almost nothing else worth mentioning about it.

On this day, a white streak of light descended from the sky and slowly landed on the peak of Yanliang Mountain.

Zhou Yuan put away the Divine Wind Boat.

A moment later, a figure arrived.

"Fellow Daoist, are you here to participate in the Yan Family's Treasure Hunt? Please show your invitation."

The young man from the Yan family stepped forward, cupped his hands, and asked.

Zhou Yuan nodded and handed over the invitation given to him by Li Huayuan.

After verifying that it was indeed him, the disciple's smile became more sincere: "So it is Fellow Daoist Zhou from Yellow Maple Valley. My apologies for my rudeness! Please follow me."

Under the guidance of this member of the Yan family, Zhou Yuan flew using a magical artifact.

About an incense stick later, the view suddenly opened up.

A majestic and imposing ancient castle, like a giant beast crouching atop the mountain, comes into view!

The city wall is thirty or forty feet high, built of huge bluish-gray stone blocks, ancient and weathered, covered with traces of time and faintly flowing runes of defensive formations.

Banners fluttered atop the city walls, and the figures of patrolling monks could be vaguely seen.

Zhou Yuan piloted the Divine Wind Boat, slowly ascending into the air, passing over the city wall, and looking into the fortress.

The interior of Yanling Fort is extremely large, with well-arranged houses and crisscrossing streets, resembling a small city.

There are both tall and magnificent pavilions with carved beams and painted rafters, as well as ordinary and neat houses with blue tiles, and you can even see ordinary people walking and working in the streets and alleys.

Cultivators and mortals lived together, and the atmosphere of everyday life and the spiritual energy of immortals coexisted, creating a unique scene.

Since there were still several days before the treasure hunt officially began, there weren't many outside cultivators in the fortress at this time, and the streets were rather deserted.

Under the guidance of his disciple, Zhou Yuan checked into an inn called "Ke Yun Lai".

The inn has a quiet environment and simple soundproofing and security measures, making it a standard place for the Yan family to entertain distinguished guests.

After settling in, Zhou Yuan did not sit idly in his room, but strolled out of the inn and mingled into the streets of Yanling Fort.

He appeared to be strolling around casually, but in reality, he was subtly projecting his divine sense to observe the layout of the fortress, the distribution of guards, and the flow of spiritual energy, while also keeping an eye on other cultivators who had arrived earlier.

He already knew the rules of the treasure hunt from Li Huayuan and from the invitation.

Essentially, this is a martial arts tournament for cultivators below the Core Formation stage.

The ultimate winner will receive a talisman called "Qiankun Tower" as a reward.

This talisman was made by the Yan family by imitating the "Qiankun Pagoda," the treasure of the Hundred Crafts Academy. Although it is far less powerful than a true high-level magic weapon, the trace of the "Qiankun Pagoda's" divine power contained within it makes it remarkably effective in trapping enemies and defending against attacks.

For Foundation Establishment cultivators, it is an excellent trump card for survival.

With Zhou Yuan's current strength—peak mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation, perfect Thousand Blade Technique, powerful divine sense, the "Twelve Divine Thrustings" secret technique, plus a set of top-quality magic weapons (Black Dragon Snatch, Azure Fire Mist, White Scale Shield, Divine Wind Boat)—he might have a chance to become number one.

But he dared not!

Because he knew that the Yan family would soon join the Ghost Spirit Sect.

This will gather the Foundation Establishment elites from the seven sects of Yue Kingdom, making it convenient for Wang Chan, the young master of the Ghost Spirit Sect, to perform blood sacrifice cultivation!

At that time, all the Yue Kingdom cultivators who come to attend the meeting will be gathered in a specific area.

The Yan family and the Ghost Spirit Sect will activate the pre-arranged grand formation and carry out a bloody massacre!

In the original story, only Han Li and Dong Xuan'er escaped, while the other twenty or thirty Foundation Establishment cultivators from Yue Kingdom all perished!

Wang Chan was always accompanied by two Ghost Spirit Sect elders at the Core Formation stage as her guards!

Even though Zhou Yuan's strength far surpasses that of his peers, and he is even confident that he can compete with late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, he is still like an ant in front of Core Formation cultivators.

To escape with one's life from two Core Formation cultivators requires exerting all one's strength, relying on numerous trump cards and luck; as for confronting them head-on or even winning, that's just wishful thinking.

"Don't compete, don't stand out."

As Zhou Yuan walked on the cobblestone street, he repeatedly reminded himself:

"We must keep a low profile and plan our escape route in advance... We must get out of danger as soon as chaos breaks out..."