Cultivation begins with forming a bond with a spirit bee.

Two years later.

Inside Yumen Market, the auction at Tianxiang Pavilion had reached its climax.

"One hundred and twenty!"

"One hundred and twenty-five!"

"One hundred and thirty-five spirit stones."

Chen Rong surveyed the entire room, raising her long gavel high: "One hundred and thirty-five spirit stones. Is there a higher bid? If no one else makes a bid, this top-grade magic boot will belong to this fellow Daoist!"

The room was completely silent.

While top-grade first-tier magic boots are rare, the price of 135 already represents a premium. Those late-stage cultivators will have to save their spirit stones to buy the last few treasures.

"One hundred and thirty-five spirit stones, for the second time!"

"One hundred and thirty-five spirit stones, for the third time!"

The crisp sound of the gavel striking the ground rang out, and Chen Rong smiled broadly: "Congratulations, fellow Daoist, the Four Directions Wandering Cloud Boots are yours!"

The one who took the picture of the Four Directions Cloud Boots was Qu Ye.

Since acquiring the Iron Claw talent two years ago, Qu Ye has settled down and spent his days cultivating and spending time with Red Hare and the bee swarm.

In the second month after Wang Meng and his wife left, they sent a letter saying that the three of them had found a stable place to live in Qingxifang City, and attached details of their journey and their address.

After reading the letter, Qu Ye felt both joy at knowing that her relatives and friends were safe and sound, and a sense of security that she had made preparations for the future.

Once the duration of your spiritual contract expires, you can immediately leave and head to Qingxi Market without worrying about any unknown risks.

He wrote back, conveying the news that he was safe and sound.

After that, she returned to a regular and fulfilling life.

Red Hare spent its days frolicking and playing with the bees, growing taller day by day, and becoming increasingly close to Qu Ye.

It always looked forward to playing a game with Qu Ye, which Qu Ye named: throwing stones.

Well, it's actually similar to the game Qu Ye played in his previous life. You throw a frisbee out and have the dog fetch it.

This is because Qu Ye once threw a stone into the distance while practicing his Iron Pliers talent, wanting to see how strong his arm strength would be after the enhancement.

For some reason, Red Hare became interested in the flying stone and eagerly retrieved it for Qu Ye.

From then on, whenever Qu Ye practiced his Iron Pliers talent, Chi Tu would stand at a distance, excitedly acting as his "stone-collecting official."

Qu Ye was both amused and exasperated, feeling as if he wasn't raising a mid-grade first-tier spirit beast, but rather the village's big yellow dog.

But considering that this would both unleash Red Hare's energy and serve as a training exercise, they decided to let it be.

When Qu Ye had raised Red Hare for exactly two years, the steward newly sent by the Hou family to the Spirit Horse Farm came to their door, saying that the clan should take Red Hare away.

Although he was somewhat reluctant, Qu Ye understood that Red Hare was ultimately the property of the Hou family, and he was merely a spirit contract worker who raised horses for the Hou family.

Prior to this, he had inquired with Hou Yanke about the whereabouts of the previous Fierce Cloud Steeds while paying the spirit tax.

Hou Yanke did not hide anything, saying that the fine-quality Fierce Cloud Steed was mostly used to transport spiritual objects, for disciples to travel long distances, or as a mount for the clan's guard.

The casualty rate is not low.

Knowing that Red Hare was not safe, Qu Ye felt a mix of emotions.

He both longed to acquire the talent and felt a pang of reluctance because of their close daily interactions.

But he quickly suppressed it and returned to his usual calm.

In his interactions with Chitu, Qu Ye took meticulous care of him and treated him with sincerity, never owing him anything.

Fate brings people together and fate brings them together; he will experience this situation many more times in the future, so he needs to adapt as soon as possible.

When Red Hare was taken away by the Hou family disciples, Qu Ye stood on the mountainside and watched from afar for a moment before turning back into the courtyard.

Afterwards, the new manager informed Qu Ye that since Qu Ye and the others had been separated, he would have to wait until he was with everyone else to receive the spirit steeds next time.

Qu Ye was naturally happy to have some peace and quiet and did not refuse, but she was still cautious.

Previously, Hou Fangping could summon a Fierce Cloud Steed with a wave of his hand, but now he can't even spare a cub.

The most likely explanation is that the Hou family reduced the number of spirit beasts they were raising and focused more of their energy on other things.

So while cultivating in seclusion, Qu Ye made several trips to the market to buy talismans and recovery pills, storing them in his storage bag for future use.

Now, let's talk about the progress of cultivation.

Whether it was due to abundant cultivation resources or the long-term consumption of refined demon beast meat, Qu Ye broke through to the fifth level of Qi Refining half a year earlier than expected.

In the past six months, Qu Ye has not only stabilized his Qi Refining Level 5 cultivation, but has also made a small step on the road to breaking through to Qi Refining Level 6.

At this rate, he estimated that he would be able to break through to the sixth level of Qi Refining in four or five years at the latest.

Breaking through to the fifth level of Qi Refining, although not as significant as the initial or mid-stage breakthrough, still greatly increased Qu Ye's strength, allowing him to control 150 worker bees.

Combining his Iron Pliers talent and the Frost Pattern Sword, Qu Ye was confident he could kill the Sun family disciple at the fifth level of Qi Refining within thirty moves.

Even if you can't beat someone at the late stage of Qi Refining, there's a high chance you can escape.

In addition, after two years of diligent practice, his Golden Shield Technique has been mastered, and his shield is two feet thick, enough to withstand attacks from the sixth level of Qi Refining. His Sharp Golden Spike Technique has also been partially mastered and is not far from being fully mastered.

After mastering the Golden罡 Technique, Qu Ye felt that his own methods were still too few and not safe enough.

So he spent another ten spirit stones to exchange for two first-tier low-grade spells from the Hou family.

One is the "Spiritual Eye Technique," used to enhance one's perception; the other is the "Dust Removal Technique," which can not only clean clothes but also remove some unusual auras.

These auxiliary spells are quite easy to learn. Qu Ye mastered both spells in just three months.

As for bee colonies.

Over the past two years, all worker bees have been replaced, and the number has reached two hundred.

The other changes are minor, so I won't go into detail.

……

Back to the present.

As Qu Ye bought the Four Directions Cloud Boots, a maid in green respectfully approached him with a tray.

Qu Ye took out 136 spirit stones and gave one of them to the maid as a handling fee.

Qu Ye carefully put away the Four Directions Cloud Boots, his expression unchanged, and sat quietly.

After the auction ended, he walked up the steps, ready to leave the auction house.

A cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining had a glint in his eye and intended to follow, but after hesitating for a moment at Qu Ye's calm and composed demeanor, he decided to give up.

The fact that someone could calmly produce over 130 spirit stones and even buy a high-grade magic weapon suggests that they might be a late-stage cultivator hiding their true strength and setting a trap.

"Hmph, trying to fool me, 'The Mastermind' Wu Yong? No way."

Wu Yong's eyes darted around, and he set his sights on another person.

The man appeared to be at the fourth level of Qi Refining, dressed in a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, with a sword sheath hanging horizontally at his waist; his appearance was obscured.

This person previously spent forty spirit stones at the auction to buy a mid-grade first-level spirit plant, so he probably still has some left in his storage bag.

"This cultivator is covered up from head to toe, with a broken sword sheath hanging from his waist. He's dressed like a mortal martial artist. He's definitely trying to fool people."

"He's obviously a weakling who's pretending to be a sword cultivator but lacks real skill."

Wu Yong was secretly pleased with himself. He concealed his aura and slowly followed behind the cultivator in the straw raincoat.

This cultivator wouldn't dare to go against the three major families if he didn't leave the market.

But if you leave the market and walk a long distance, then…

the other side.

After leaving Tianxiang Pavilion, Qu Ye mingled with the crowd and began to walk around twice as he usually did.

Along the way, he subtly moved his senses to see if anyone was following him.

After finding nothing unusual, Qu Ye looked up at the sky; it was almost dusk.

He turned his head and headed towards the black market.