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

Zhou Yuan successfully returned to his cave dwelling on the outskirts of the Taiyue Mountains. The triple formation remained intact, concealing the cave dwelling perfectly.

Entering the quiet room and activating the restrictions, Zhou Yuan sat cross-legged, finally having time to properly assess the "windfall" he had gained from this trip.

First and foremost, the most important loot – three storage bags:

Wang Chan, the young master of the Ghost Spirit Sect; Lü Tianmeng of the Spirit Beast Mountain; and Xuan Le of the Hidden Moon Sect.

He opened them one by one.

Wang Chan's storage bag was the most luxurious, with a huge internal space filled with thousands of low- to mid-grade spirit stones, dozens of mid-grade spirit stones brimming with spiritual energy, and various bottles and jars of rare pills (including many holy items for improving cultivation and healing in the Foundation Establishment stage).

Several top-tier magical artifacts, radiating spiritual light and clearly of exceptional quality (unfortunately, many bore characteristics of the Ghost Spirit Sect or the Demonic Path, making them unsuitable for open use), and several jade slips recording demonic cultivation techniques (Zhou Yuan glanced at them briefly before putting them away).

There were also some miscellaneous but valuable materials and talismans.

Most eye-catching items were a black gold token engraved with the words "ghost spirit" and several small flags with a sinister aura, which seemed to be identity tokens and some kind of array device.

Although Lu Tianmeng and Xuan Le's storage bags were not as large as Wang Chan's, as elites of the late Foundation Establishment stage from their respective sects, they were still extremely wealthy.

Spirit stones, pills, and materials go without saying, but there were also a few magical artifacts that caught Zhou Yuan's eye.

From Lü Tianmeng's bag, Zhou Yuan found the powerful talisman "Flat Heaven Ruler" (a small blue ruler). Although it might not have many uses left, it was still a powerful trump card. There were also several beast-taming and beast-controlling magical artifacts unique to Spirit Beast Mountain, as well as some materials from demon beasts.

From Xuanle's bag, Zhou Yuan obtained the "Hidden Spirit Veil" that could conceal one's aura, and the yellow bronze bell "Covering the Sky Bell" that could be used for confinement and defense.

In addition, there are two talismans brimming with spiritual energy—one a "Wood Escape Talisman" and the other an "Earth Escape Talisman," both intermediate-level escape talismans, which are life-saving tools in critical moments.

"A very fruitful harvest..."

Zhou Yuan was satisfied with sorting and storing the items, keeping those that could be used.

Finally, his gaze fell on the five-colored skeleton he had collected from beside the teleportation array.

He carefully removed the bones.

The skeleton remained seated, its bones translucent, faintly shimmering with five colors: blue, yellow, red, white, and black, giving it an air of mystery and grandeur.

"Extremely dazzling... Heaven-Mending Pill..."

Zhou Yuan muttered to himself.

The time traveler's memories allowed him to know the origin of this skeleton.

This person is one of the disciples of Xiao Cha, the Xuan Gu Shangren of the Chaotic Star Sea, and his name is Ji Xuan.

Back then, his fellow disciples turned against each other over the treasure "Heaven-Mending Pill" in the Void Heaven Palace, and Ji Xuan was lucky enough to obtain one.

He was seriously injured, but escaped to Tiannan through an ancient teleportation array. He eventually succumbed to his injuries and passed away there.

Its bones are five-colored, which is due to the effects of the incompletely digested and absorbed medicinal power of the Heaven-Mending Pill.

The Heaven-Mending Pill is an ancient and miraculous pill. It is said to have the power to seize the creation of heaven and earth, and can cleanse and refine spiritual roots, enhancing a cultivator's innate aptitude!

This was undoubtedly a coveted treasure for Zhou Yuan, who possessed a pseudo-spiritual root!

Without further hesitation, he channeled his magic power and summoned a ball of pure Foundation Establishment True Fire, which slowly burned the five-colored skeleton.

Under the continuous burning of the true fire, the crystal-clear bones gradually turned grayish-white and brittle, and finally turned into ashes and fell down.

As the bones disintegrated, five five-colored beads, each the size of a longan, pure in color, and radiant with inner luster, rolled out from the ashes.

"The remaining medicinal essence of the Heaven-Mending Pill!"

A look of surprise flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes.

He carefully picked up one of the blue beads, and with a thought, tried to equip it into the empty equipment slot.

[Equipment Slot 4: Remnant of Heaven-Mending Pill (Tier 4)]

[Effect 1: Increased speed of absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth!]

[Effect 2: Slight improvement in spiritual root aptitude!]

The equipment inventory prompts are now clearly displayed!

"It really works!"

Zhou Yuan was overjoyed.

Although the message says "minor improvement", small improvements add up!

Moreover, this is a heaven-defying item that can directly improve his biggest weakness: his pseudo-spiritual root!

Without hesitation, he equipped the other five-colored bead as well.

Instantly, he felt as if the pores of his body were more open, and his ability to sense and absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was significantly improved!

Although it hasn't reached the exaggerated level of a Heavenly Spiritual Root, it's already worlds apart from the previous pseudo-spiritual roots!

When practicing the "Azure Origin Sword Technique", the circulation of true essence seemed to be smoother and more harmonious.

At this moment, his four equipment slots are: [Miniature Spirit Eye Spring] (accelerates mana regeneration and enhances the spiritual energy of the environment), [Azure Origin Sword Technique Golden Page] (enhances the comprehension and efficiency of cultivating this technique), [Remnant Heaven-Mending Pill], [Remnant Heaven-Mending Pill].

With the four enhancements combined, his cultivation speed is comparable to or even surpasses that of some dual-spiritual-root cultivators, and is even approaching that of heavenly-spiritual-root cultivators!

This is crucial for his breakthrough to the late Foundation Establishment stage, and even his future Core Formation stage!

Zhou Yuan carefully placed the remaining three five-colored beads into a specially made cold jade box and sealed them away.

He knew that this medicine was extremely potent, and with his current cultivation level and physical strength, he probably wouldn't be able to withstand directly consuming and refining it.

It might even backfire.

At least until the late stage of Foundation Establishment, or even when attempting to form the Golden Core, one must use a more powerful force to refine and absorb it in order to maximize its effectiveness.

"With such an extraordinary encounter, the path to greatness is within reach!"

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement.

Although the trip to the spirit stone mine was dangerous, the gains far exceeded expectations.

They not only found a way to escape the war, but also obtained a treasure that could improve their aptitude.

"It's time to leave."

Zhou Yuan looked around the cave where he had lived for several years.

Although there is a Spirit Eye Spring here, equipment can be taken away, and it is located within the territory of Huangfeng Valley. As the war intensifies, sects will conscript more and more people here.

He needs to find a more secluded and undisturbed place to retreat into seclusion.

He is working towards the late stage of Foundation Establishment and is beginning to collect materials to repair the teleportation array.

He began to methodically tidy up everything inside the cave.

Alchemy tools, leftover medicinal herbs, spare magical implements, miscellaneous items... everything was categorized and stored in the storage bag.

Finally, he arrived outside the cave and began to dismantle the three arrays set up there one by one—the Fleeting Light Array, the Azure Sun Array, and the Wind Blade Sky-Splitting Array. The array plates and flags were carefully retrieved, and the spirit stones embedded in the rock wall were also removed.

however.

Just as he removed the last array and was preparing to collect the array flags, a powerful aura approached rapidly from afar, flying towards the mountain where his cave was located!

Zhou Yuan frowned and paused slightly, but did not panic and flee.

A moment later, a figure landed, revealing a middle-aged cultivator dressed in the robes of a Yellow Maple Valley steward with a solemn expression, whose cultivation had reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

His gaze was sharp as lightning, quickly sweeping over Zhou Yuan and the slightly messy entrance to the cave, where the array had just been removed. A knowing glint flashed in his eyes before he looked at Zhou Yuan and spoke in a deep voice:

"So you are Zhou Yuan?"

Zhou Yuan cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, neither humble nor arrogant.

"Indeed. What brings you here, Senior Brother Deacon?"

The late-stage Foundation Establishment deacon didn't waste any words and directly revealed his identity and purpose:

"I am a steward of the sect's War Preparedness Division, currently in charge of the allocation and distribution of spirit stones at the front lines. Zhou Yuan, the sect has an urgent mission assigned to you!"

As he spoke, he raised his hand.

A gleaming token bearing the marks of Sect Leader Zhong Lingdao and the War Preparedness Department flew out and hovered in front of Zhou Yuan.

A line of text was clearly written in the Spiritual script above:

"I hereby order my disciple Zhou Yuan to lead the team immediately."

"Escort a shipment of vital spirit stones to the allied camp of the seven factions at Jingu Plain for handover!"

Jingu Plain Frontline!

The most intense battleground between the seven sects of Yue Kingdom cultivators and the six sects of the Demonic Path!

"I Have an Equipment Slot in Yellow Maple Valley!" is currently being serialized on Cola Novels and is not to be missed!