Mortal: I have a Spirit Gathering Cauldron

After his magical powers were restored, Lin Feng headed north.

The further we went, the thicker the fog became.

The fog and the poisonous miasma in the air grew increasingly dense. Lin Feng took a deep breath; the circulation of his spiritual energy was slightly disordered. He quickly swallowed a high-quality detoxifying and cleansing pill.

"No wonder it's the central district," he murmured.

As Lin Feng continued forward, the fog initially remained a thin layer, like the morning mist, not obstructing visibility. After half an hour, the fog thickened, transforming from a thin veil into cotton wool, and then into thick milk. Visibility decreased from a hundred zhang to fifty zhang, then to twenty zhang, and finally, he couldn't see anything beyond ten zhang.

Lin Feng stopped in his tracks, his brows furrowed.

Misty fog and poisonous miasma.

This is the poisonous miasma surrounding the core area described in the original work. The mist contains trace amounts of toxins; inhaling too much can numb the nerves, impair judgment, and even cause unconsciousness over time.

"We can't go any further." Lin Feng looked up at the road ahead.

The color of the fog was off. The fog on the outer edge was grayish-white, but the fog a few dozen feet ahead had a faint greenish tinge, a sign of increased concentration of poisonous miasma.

He began a horizontal search along the edge of the poisonous miasma.

The central area is temporarily inaccessible, but there are plenty of good things in the peripheral areas. Although the poisonous miasma is dangerous, it promotes the growth of spiritual herbs. The more dangerous the place, the easier it is to find good things—this is an ironclad rule in the cultivation world.

Lin Feng slowed his pace, fully unleashing his divine sense, and cautiously moved forward through the fog.

After walking for about an hour, he suddenly sensed a fluctuation of spiritual energy ahead.

It's not human, it's a monster.

And there was more than one.

Lin Feng immediately lowered his body, concealed his aura, and silently moved towards the direction of the spiritual energy fluctuations.

He passed through a patch of low bushes and spotted his target.

Ahead lay an open space, in the center of which grew two spiritual plants, each about half a person's height. The plants were entirely emerald green, with outstretched branches and leaves, each bearing a fist-sized fruit at its tip. The fruits were pale golden, with fine veins on their surface, and they shimmered faintly in the mist, like two small suns.

Heavenly Spirit Fruit.

Lin Feng's pupils contracted slightly.

The Celestial Spirit Fruit, a hundred-year-old spiritual herb, is one of the three main ingredients for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, alongside the Jade Marrow Mushroom. Two hundred-year-old Celestial Spirit Fruits can barely be exchanged for half a Foundation Establishment Pill.

But his gaze did not linger on the Heavenly Spirit Fruit for long; instead, it turned to the two figures beside it.

Two demonic beasts.

One of them was an Ironback Wolf, about ten feet long, with its gray-black fur standing up like steel needles, and the fur on its back being iron-gray and as hard as iron. It lay on the left side of the Heavenly Spirit Fruit, its copper bell-like eyes half-open and half-closed, as if it were dozing off, but its ears twitched from time to time, showing that it was very alert.

The other was a Crimson Flame Scorpion, six feet long, entirely crimson, with its tail hook raised high, the tip gleaming with a ghostly blue light. It was coiled to the right of the Heavenly Spirit Fruit, its eight legs gripping the ground tightly, its two pincers opening and closing occasionally, making a clicking sound.

Both are high-level level one demonic beasts, equivalent to the strength of the late stage of Qi Refining.

Lin Feng hid behind the bushes and observed carefully for a while.

The Ironbacked Wolf excels in close combat, possessing great speed and strength; its iron back can withstand attacks from mid-grade magic weapons. The Crimson Flame Scorpion specializes in venom attacks; the venom from its tail hook can easily kill a Qi Refining stage cultivator, and its carapace is incredibly tough.

The two demonic beasts, one on the left and one on the right, protected the Heavenly Spirit Fruit in the middle, cooperating to guard against it.

"This is troublesome." Lin Feng frowned.

Two demonic beasts fighting one-on-one would be easy for Lin Feng; he was confident he could handle it. However, these two demonic beasts were clearly cooperating to protect the Heavenly Spirit Fruit, and once the battle started, they would definitely attack simultaneously.

He thought about it and decided to test the waters first.

He took out a fireball talisman from his storage bag, infused it with spiritual power, and threw it towards the Crimson Flame Scorpion.

"boom--"

The fireball exploded, startling the Crimson Scorpion. It moved swiftly on all eight legs, charging towards the fireball. The Ironback Wolf also sprang to its feet, warily surveying its surroundings.

Lin Feng did not move.

The Crimson Scorpion circled around, found no enemy, and slowly crawled back to its original position. The Ironback Wolf also lay down again, but was noticeably more alert than before.

"No, we can't distract them." Lin Feng shook his head.

Both demonic beasts are highly territorial and will not easily leave the area around the Heavenly Spirit Fruit. It will be very difficult to defeat them one by one.

"Then let's all come at once."

Lin Feng took a deep breath and began to prepare for battle.

He took out the Xuan Turtle Shield from his storage bag, infused it with spiritual power, and the small black shield transformed into a three-foot-long giant shield, hovering in front of him. He gripped the Wind-Breaking Spear in his right hand, its tip surging with spiritual power, ready to be unleashed. The Mountain-Suppressing Pagoda was held in his left palm, ready to be used at any moment.

He had two uses left on the Ice Sword Talisman, and he couldn't bear to use them here. Two high-level level one demonic beasts weren't worth using the talisman on.

"Take out the Crimson Flame Scorpion first; its venom is the biggest threat." Lin Feng made up his mind and sprang up from behind the bushes.

He pushed the Qingfeng Banner to its limit, and his speed was as fast as a ghost. In just a few breaths, he rushed in front of the Crimson Flame Scorpion.

The Crimson Flame Scorpion reacted extremely quickly, its tail hook lashing out with a blue light as it aimed directly at Lin Feng's face.

Lin Feng dodged to the side, unleashing the Dragon Step, his body gliding like a fish. The tail hook grazed past his ear, sending a gust of foul wind through the air. He swung his spear in a backhand motion, the Wind-Breaking Spear aimed at the Crimson Flame Scorpion's head.

"bite--"

The spear tip pierced the Crimson Flame Scorpion's carapace, sending sparks flying. Only a faint white dot remained on the carapace; it hadn't been able to penetrate it.

"What a hard shell," Lin Feng cursed under his breath, drawing his gun and retreating.

Enraged, the Crimson Scorpion charged at him with its eight legs moving swiftly. Its tail hooks lashed out repeatedly, each strike carrying deadly venom.

Lin Feng retreated while parrying, his Wind-Breaking Spear flashing up and down, deflecting the attacks from the tail hook. But the Crimson Flame Scorpion's attacks were getting faster and faster, and he was gradually finding it difficult to keep up.

Just then, the sound of wind came from behind.

The Ironbacked Wolf also moved.

Instead of attacking Lin Feng, it circled around behind him, blocking his escape route. The two demonic beasts, one in front and one behind, sandwiched him between them.

"That beast is quite clever," Lin Feng sneered.

This is what he's been waiting for.

The Zhenyue Pagoda flew out from the left hand, transforming into a golden light that shot straight towards the Iron-Backed Wolf's waist. Caught off guard, the Iron-Backed Wolf was struck in the waist by the Zhenyue Pagoda, letting out a miserable howl as blood gushed out. Although its iron back was hard, its waist was a weak point.

The Ironback Wolf, in pain, lunged at Lin Feng in a rage.

Instead of retreating, Lin Feng advanced, thrusting out his Wind-Breaking Spear. The spear tip surged with spiritual energy, piercing into the gaping maw of the Iron-Backed Wolf.

"puff--"

The spear tip pierced through the back of his head, and Ironback Wolf's body stiffened before he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Seeing its companion killed, the Crimson Flame Scorpion went berserk, its tail hook lashing out wildly. Lin Feng didn't have time to draw his Wind-Breaking Spear, so he simply abandoned it, pointing both hands at the Zhenyue Tower and pouring all his spiritual power into it.

The Zhenyue Pagoda shone brightly, emitting a golden light like thunder, which suppressed the Crimson Flame Scorpion. Then, a small flying needle, gleaming with a cold light, pierced through the Crimson Flame Scorpion's mouthparts and exploded inside its body.

The Crimson Flame Scorpion suddenly arched its body, its eight legs twitched a few times, and then it remained still.

The battle is over.

Lin Feng, panting heavily, picked up the Wind-Breaking Spear and fired a final shot at each of the two demonic beasts' corpses to confirm they were dead before starting to collect his spoils.

The fur and bones of the Ironbacked Wolf were valuable materials for refining weapons, and the carapace and tail hook of the Crimson Flame Scorpion were also good items. He spent the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to strip all the useful parts from the two demonic beasts and put them into his storage bag.

Then, he walked toward the two Heavenly Spirit Fruits.

The fruit was ripe, golden in color, and emitted a faint fragrance. Lin Feng carefully picked the fruit, put it in a jade box, affixed a spirit-sealing talisman, and stored it in his storage bag.

"With two Heavenly Spirit Fruits, plus the previous five Jade Marrow Ganoderma and three spiritual herbs, I now have ten hundred-year-old spiritual herbs," Lin Feng thought to himself.

He looked around and, after confirming that there were no other monsters, turned and left.

As darkness fell, Lin Feng found a natural crevice in the rocks.

The crevice was at the bottom of a small hill, about three feet wide and ten feet deep, just big enough for a person to lie down. There were a few loose stones outside the crevice, which could block the entrance.

He crawled into the crevice and piled up rubble at the entrance, leaving only a small gap for ventilation. He then took out two talismans from his storage bag, attaching one concealment talisman to the stone wall and the other invisibility talisman behind the rubble.

Double insurance should be enough.

Lin Feng sat down cross-legged, took out a high-quality Yellow Dragon Pill and swallowed it to begin recovering his spiritual power.

Today's battle was quite taxing. Killing three disciples of Huadaowu consumed a lot of spiritual energy, and although I wasn't injured in the fight with the two demonic beasts, my spiritual energy was also reduced by 30-40%.

The pill entered the stomach, and its warm medicinal power spread through the meridians, slowly replenishing the consumed spiritual energy.

Lin Feng closed his eyes, extended his divine sense, and enveloped a radius of thirty feet around him.

Silence reigned outside the crevice in the rock.

There were no footsteps, no spiritual energy fluctuations, and nothing unusual.

Nighttime in the forbidden area is more dangerous than daytime because some demonic beasts are nocturnal. Fortunately, the location Lin Feng chose was well-hidden, and with the double cover of the Concealing Talisman and the Hidden Talisman, it would be difficult for anyone or any demonic beast to spot him unless they happened to walk right up to the crevice.

Time passed little by little.

Lin Feng's spiritual energy had recovered to about 70-80%. He stopped circulating his energy and opened his eyes.

Outside the crack in the rock, it was still shrouded in a hazy gray, making it impossible to tell whether it was night or day. But the fluctuations in spiritual energy were beginning to increase, indicating that it must be dawn.

"It's the fourth day," Lin Feng murmured.

He stretched his somewhat stiff body and crawled out of the crevice.

He put away the talisman, moved aside the rubble, and took a deep breath of the misty air.

In the distance, the green mist of the poisonous miasma seemed even thicker than yesterday.

Just then, a huge sphere of light rose from the ground and flew toward the towering, boundless ring mountain range hidden in the mist.

"Moonlight Pearl"