Seeking immortality begins with daily intelligence reports.

The rest were just some miscellaneous items.

One particularly noteworthy piece is a jade plaque with exquisite carving.

The front is engraved with the two characters "Changshan", while the back is engraved with a single character "Song".

Li Shen probed it with his spiritual power but found no abnormal fluctuations; it seemed to be just an ordinary identity token.

He sorted and put these things away neatly.

Then, he took out four items one by one from his storage bag:

A jade pendant, a bronze bell, a pile of shield fragments, and a Song family-style longsword with a broken blade.

These were all left behind at the scene during the battle.

The two magical artifacts that follow can be used to deal with Soul Slaves at the peak of the late stage of the first tier. Their materials and crafting techniques are far superior to ordinary magical artifacts.

These materials are perfect for feeding spirit-eating ants.

Li Shen summoned the spirit insects, and nearly a hundred ants climbed up and began to gnaw at them greedily.

A faint rustling sound filled the quiet room.

As for repairs, Li Shen had no intention of doing so.

Entrusting this matter to others will only create hidden dangers.

His gaze returned to the jade pendant and the bronze bell.

The moment the divine sense probed in, it was as if it had hit an invisible wall and bounced back.

"It seems they've already recognized their master, but it's not a big problem. We can just spend time wearing them down and then refine them again so we can control them at will."

Li Shen pondered for a moment, then put the two items away and began to circulate the Evergreen Technique, waiting for midnight to arrive.

Unfortunately, no valuable intelligence was obtained.

After days of mental strain, Li Shen simply lay down and got a good night's sleep.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already noon the next day.

Li Shen rarely slept for so long. When he woke up, he felt refreshed and full of energy.

He didn't rush to draw the talisman, but instead got dressed and went out.

There are three things to do on this trip.

Firstly, it is to prepare for breaking through to the sixth level of Qi Refining.

The sixth level of Qi Refining is the last level of the middle stage of Qi Refining. Once you break through it, you've already stepped halfway into the late stage of Qi Refining.

Although he had won a great victory in his first battle against the disciples of the Foundation Establishment Clan.

However, Li Shen was well aware that his advantage lay in the opponent's arrogance and underestimation of him, the difference in information, and his ability to seize the opportunities given to him, rather than in his own overwhelming cultivation level.

"The path of cultivation ultimately depends on one's own strength, proceeding step by step. External resources can be used, but they cannot be relied upon."

After this battle, he felt a greater sense of resolve.

Secondly, it is necessary to purchase a new talisman brush and replenish the talisman paper and spiritual ink.

The intense drawing over the past few months has rendered my old talisman brush completely unusable.

The original plan was to make purchases after returning from Fog Valley, but the encounter with the Song family has delayed the trip until now.

If you want to consistently draw a mid-grade first-tier Breath Concealing Talisman and break through to the next level, a good talisman brush is essential.

Finally, they prepared to inquire about the Song family's movements.

With such heavy losses suffered by its members, the Song family will certainly not let this go and will definitely search for the murderer everywhere.

Li Shen deliberately concealed his aura and blended into the flow of people in the streets and alleys of the market.

As expected, the Song family had already begun searching the market, and the number of Song family members active in the outer city area had visibly increased.

Li Shen squeezed through the crowd and saw the reward notice posted by the Song family, along with the other party's characteristics.

Looking at it from beginning to end, everything went as I expected.

The Song family's primary suspects were demonic cultivators.

The descriptions of the characteristics were mostly related to demonic cultivation techniques, and it was suspected that the murderer's cultivation level was around the tenth level of Qi Refining.

Therefore, the reward is very high. Providing a valid clue will earn you three hundred low-grade spirit stones. If you successfully catch the murderer, regardless of whether he lives or dies, in addition to three thousand low-grade spirit stones, you will also receive a Foundation Establishment Pill and the treatment of an elder of the Song family.

You should know that Li Shen only earns about 2,400 low-grade spirit stones a year from selling low-grade concealment talismans.

Of course, this was also due to Li Shen's deliberate control.

Li Shen shook his head secretly and quietly withdrew from the crowd.

A sense of absurdity welled up in his mind:

If the Song family knew that the "Qi Refinement Level 10 Demonic Cultivator" they were pursuing with all their might was actually just a rogue cultivator at the Qi Refinement Level 5, one wonders what their expression would be.

Li Shen arrived at Zhao's Talisman Shop and went directly to the shopkeeper.

Forty low-grade concealment talismans were given in advance, and most of the basic talismans on hand were sold.

He then mentioned that he planned to go into seclusion for a period of time to study talismans and try to draw a mid-grade breath-concealing talisman.

Upon hearing this, Han Mo's eyes flashed with understanding, and he stroked his beard and smiled:

"Young friend Li is diligent in pursuing the Way, that's a good thing, a good thing."

During the conversation, Li Shen purchased a second-hand talisman brush from Han Mo at a price slightly below the market price.

Although this brush has been used, Han Mo claims that he has only used it a few times. The brush handle is warm to the touch, the bristles are supple, and the energy transfer is smooth, making it a truly superior quality brush.

Afterwards, he ordered a large quantity of talisman paper and spirit ink at a discounted price, arranged the next delivery time with Han Mo, and then took his leave.

After Li Shen's figure disappeared, Han Mo, the owner of Zhao's Talisman Shop, stroked his beard, narrowed his eyes slightly, and asked the shop assistant beside him:

"I asked you to inquire with Elder Zhao Yue about the guest talisman master a couple of days ago. What was the elder's response?"

The waiter replied respectfully:

"Shopkeeper, Elder Zhao Yue said that if Li Shen can consistently draw a mid-grade first-level concealment talisman, he can be given the treatment of a guest talisman master."

Han Mo nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and spoke with an air of appreciation:

"This young man is calm and composed, and his talent in talisman making is also quite good. If he can become a guest talisman master, I will not have to worry about not having a successor to my talisman-making experience."

-

Three months have passed quietly.

Shen sat cross-legged, his body enveloped in a misty aura of spiritual energy that slowly flowed into his body.

He opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and piercing, and the spiritual energy within him was even more abundant than it had been three months ago.

However, it is still some distance away from reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining.

During these three months, apart from his daily unwavering practice of the "Evergreen Mantra" to accumulate spiritual power, he spent most of his time at his desk, accompanied by talisman paper, spiritual ink, and talisman brushes.

This newly acquired superior talisman brush is indeed extraordinary; when held in hand, the flow of spiritual energy is even more smooth and free.

In the first few days, he did not rush to achieve quick results, but repeatedly drew those already proficient low-grade and mid-grade talismans to hone his skills and strive to reach the state of perfect harmony between mind and hand and free movement of the brush.

Once he felt the time was right, he began his assault on the first-grade high-rank talisman.

Whether it's a basic offensive talisman like the Ice Cone Talisman or a high-level talisman with special effects like the Concealing Breath Talisman, the difficulty of drawing a superior one is far greater than that of a mid- to low-grade one.

Its requirements for the subtle manipulation of spiritual power, the strength of spiritual consciousness, and the understanding of the essence of runes have suddenly been raised to a new level.

Therefore, failure became the dominant theme for a long time.

The ink went out of control, the runes broke, and the uneven injection of spiritual power caused the talisman paper to spontaneously combust... a series of problems followed one after another.

Li Shen was not discouraged.

He meticulously reviewed each failure, and thanks to his divine sense, which far surpassed that of other cultivators of the same level, his control over the subtle aspects of spiritual energy gradually improved.

After using up nearly a hundred talisman papers, the first high-grade ice cone talisman finally took shape under his brush, its spiritual light shining within.

After that, it was a long process of improvement, and he began to try to draw a first-class high-grade breath-concealing talisman.

The discarded talismans piled up like mountains, but Li Shen remained calm and unhurried, like an ancient well.

He constantly adjusted the rhythm of his spiritual energy output, trying to comprehend the ineffable "intention" and "momentum" between the strokes of the runes.

By the beginning of the third month, the success rate of his high-quality talismans began to steadily increase.

At this moment, three talismans were neatly arranged on the table in front of him.

It is a first-grade superior concealment talisman.

He got up and stretched his slightly stiff limbs, his gaze sweeping towards the corner.

There, the Soul-Devouring Ants lay quietly on a specially made cultivation bed, their carapaces faintly gleaming with a dark metallic luster. Their aura was noticeably stronger than it had been three months ago, but they still seemed to be a little short of growing wings and taking flight.

The Song family's standard magical artifacts had long been devoured by them.

As for the jade pendant and the bronze bell artifact, Li Shen would set aside a fixed time each day over the past three months to slowly erase the divine imprint on them with his own spiritual power and divine sense.

Today, the mark has been completely erased, and it is only waiting for a suitable opportunity to be refined again before it can be used.

The little seven, which was entrenched in one place, had grown to more than three zhang in length. Its red patterns were very clear on its body, and it exuded a pressure comparable to a mid-stage first-order demon beast.

Finally, there's the Soul Slave, which was the biggest surprise of the past three months.

After Li Shen mastered the "Slave Exorcism Manual," the connection between the two became even closer.

He could clearly sense the accumulation and changes in the power within the Soul Slave's body.

By devouring the souls accumulated within the Yin Soul Banner, the barrier to breaking through to the second tier is as thin as a windowpane, only one final step away.

Everything was progressing steadily, and then, at midnight, valuable intelligence finally emerged.