Mortal: I have a Spirit Gathering Cauldron

"Manager Zhou, how much is this Hidden Spirit Silk?"

"Seventeen hundred spirit stones."

Lin Feng quickly calculated in his mind. He needed exactly 1,700 spirit stones, and now that he had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, there was no need to be too cautious.

"I bought it."

Manager Zhou hurriedly went to the warehouse to retrieve the goods and returned shortly with a jade box in his arms.

Upon opening the jade box, inside lay a gauze scarf as thin as a cicada's wing, completely transparent, its color almost invisible. The scarf was embroidered with intricate patterns, shimmering with a spiritual light.

Lin Feng took the Hidden Spirit Veil in his hand, probed it with his divine sense, and quickly mastered how to use it.

He infused his spiritual energy, and the gauze transformed into a transparent film, covering his body. His form and aura vanished instantly.

"Good stuff." Lin Feng nodded in satisfaction.

"Manager Zhou, there are a few more things." Lin Feng took out a list from his sleeve and handed it to Manager Zhou.

The list includes several refining materials: Cloud Wind Stone, Heavenly Gold Sand, Cold Iron Essence, Spirit Rhinoceros Horn... all of which are materials needed to refine the Wind-Escape Shuttle.

He had bought the blueprint for the Wind-Diving Shuttle from Wanbaolou several years ago, but he had been too busy with Foundation Establishment to craft it. Now he could finally get started.

Manager Zhou glanced at the list and nodded, saying, "We have Cloud Wind Stone, Heavenly Gold Sand, and Cold Iron Essence. Spirit Rhinoceros Horn is temporarily out of stock. If Fellow Daoist Lin needs it urgently, you can try your luck at other shops in the market."

"Then let's buy what we have first."

Manager Zhou instructed the shop assistant to fetch the materials: a fist-sized piece of Cloud Wind Stone, a small bag of Heavenly Gold Sand, and a thumb-thick piece of Cold Iron Essence. The three items together cost six hundred spirit stones.

Then I bought two more bottles of Qi-integrating Pills, which are suitable for improving mana during the Foundation Establishment stage.

Lin Feng paid the spirit stones, put the Hidden Spirit Gauze and the materials and pills into his storage bag, and got up to take his leave.

After leaving Stardust Pavilion, Lin Feng did not rush to leave the market, but instead strolled around.

After buying some rhinoceros horn from a small stall, I found someone who looked like a hyacinth.

Seeing Lin Feng approaching, Hyacinth greeted him with a cheerful smile.

"Senior, what do you need? Pills, magical artifacts, materials—I know the market inside and out, and I guarantee fair prices."

Lin Feng glanced at him. He was a rogue cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining, tall and thin, dressed like a scholar, with a sharp eye. He looked like a gofer.

"I'm looking for a secret shop," Lin Feng said bluntly.

The scholar paused for a moment, then lowered his voice: "Senior, do you wish to participate in the Secret Shop Auction?"

Lin Feng nodded.

"Senior, you've come at the perfect time! There's a performance today. I'll lead the way for you right away!" The scholar said with a happy expression, taking the lead.

Led by the Confucian scholar, they wandered through many twists and turns until they arrived at a solitary, dilapidated hut. The door was tightly shut, and there were no markings on it; it looked very inconspicuous.

After Lin Feng followed the others inside, they passed through an underground passage and then through a stone gate, where a magnificent hall appeared before them.

The hall was oval-shaped, several tens of feet in diameter, and was magnificent, displaying the image of worldly wealth and nobility.

Lin Feng found a corner to sit down.

Before long, an old man in black robes came out from the back hall and stood on the high platform in front of the secret room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight's auction is now beginning." The old man's voice was hoarse and devoid of any emotion. "The rules remain the same: the highest bidder wins. No credit will be given for spirit stone transactions."

The first item auctioned was a top-tier flying sword, with a starting price of 500 spirit stones. After several rounds of bidding, it was finally sold for 780 spirit stones.

The second item up for auction was an alchemy furnace, with a starting bid of 1,200 spirit stones. The price quickly jumped to 1,800 spirit stones, and it was eventually bought by a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Lin Feng did not raise any signs throughout the process, as he currently did not have anything he needed.

When the fourth item appeared, Lin Feng's eyes lit up.

A set of array flags and array plates, a small-scale, high-quality defensive array, is called the "Minor Four Symbols Sealing Array".

The array consists of four array flags and one array plate. Once set up, it gathers the power of the four elements, which can withstand a full-force attack from a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator and can also withstand attacks from a late-Foundation Establishment cultivator for a period of time.

"Starting bid: 800 spirit stones," the black-robed elder announced.

Lin Feng raised the wooden sign in his hand.

"Eight hundred and fifty."

"Nine hundred."

"Nine hundred and fifty."

"one thousand."

There were only three bidders. Lin Feng raised the price all the way up and finally won the formation for 1,300 spirit stones.

He secretly rejoiced, thankfully there weren't many competitors. With this formation, he would have an extra layer of protection whether guarding his cave or setting up temporary camps while on the run.

The auction continued, but Lin Feng wasn't interested in the later items. He kept an eye out for anyone offering the "Inverted Five Elements Array" in exchange for the thousand-year-old spiritual herb.

In the original story, Qi Yunxiao used this formation to exchange for spiritual herbs to save Xin Ruyin's life. However, no one mentioned this until the auction ended.

"I wonder if Qi Yunxiao hasn't arrived yet, or if he didn't attend the auction," Lin Feng thought to himself.

After the auction ended, Lin Feng did not rush to leave, but instead went to find the hyacinth who had greeted him.

"Keep an eye out for anyone selling the 'Inverted Five Elements Array' array plate and array flags." Lin Feng handed him a few low-grade spirit stones.

The scholar accepted the spirit stone, his eyes lighting up, and nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, senior, I will definitely keep an eye out for you!"

Lin Feng nodded, turned around and left the secret shop.

Once outside the market, he unfurled the Qingfeng Banner, his figure transforming into a wisp of green smoke as he sped towards Huangfeng Valley.

After flying for half a day, we returned to our cave in the northwest of the Taiyue Mountains.

Lin Feng did not rush into the cave. Instead, he first set up the "Minor Four Symbols Sealing Array" according to the requirements of the array flags and array plates, so that his cave would have some security.

He then went into the cave and plopped down next to the Spirit Eye Spring.

"This trip was very fruitful."

He first took out the Concealing Spirit Veil from his storage bag and refined it. This top-tier concealment artifact could hide one's figure and aura. With it, going out to handle matters would be much more convenient in the future.

Next, take out the Cloud Wind Stone and put it into the Spirit Gathering Cauldron to upgrade it.

Then he took out the jade slip containing the diagram of the Wind-Escape Shuttle and probed it with his divine sense.

This top-grade flying magical artifact was extremely difficult to forge. The dense array patterns and material proportions on the artifact diagram made his scalp tingle. With his current artifact forging skills, the probability of successfully forging the Wind-Riding Shuttle was probably only 20% to 30%.

"Even two or three tenths of it needs to be refined." Lin Feng gritted his teeth. "Without a good flying magic weapon, I won't feel safe running away."

He studied the contents of the artifact diagram three times to make sure he had memorized every step before putting the jade slip away.

"I'll start practicing the Wind Shuttle tomorrow." Lin Feng stretched. "I'll start by cultivating tonight and get myself into top condition."

He closed his eyes, and his spiritual energy circulated through his meridians. Golden true essence slowly rotated in his dantian, and the spiritual energy from the Spirit Eye Spring continuously flowed into his body, merging with his true essence.