Seeking immortality begins with daily intelligence reports.

Liu Rou observed quietly from the side, seemingly noticing Li Shen's bravado and exhaustion, and spoke softly at the opportune moment:

"Alright, Xiaoxiao, it's best that Fellow Daoist Li has returned safely. It's late at night and the dew is heavy. Fellow Daoist Li has just gone through a lot of travel, so it's important for him to go back to his room to recuperate. We can talk about it later."

Lin Xiaoxiao nodded quickly upon hearing this:

"Yes, yes, Fellow Daoist Li, you should go back and rest quickly, take the Qi-stabilizing pill, and recover."

Li Shen nodded to the two men, said no more, and turned to go back to his room.

He closed the door, activated the defensive array on it, and let out a long sigh of relief. He hadn't expected acting to be so tiring.

He walked to the table and sat down, putting away the small jade bottle in his hand. Then, with a wave of his hand, three storage bags and the crimson longsword of the leader of the tribulation cultivators appeared on the table.

At this time of year, I can't help but feel a little excited.

But after searching the area thoroughly, he couldn't help but shake his head.

The two basic spells, Water Arrow and Fireball, are the most valuable among them.

The total amount of spirit stones was no more than sixty, the talismans were only a few low-grade fireball talismans, and the pills were only hemostatic powder and fasting pill.

Li Shen sorted and put these things away, his gaze falling on the crimson longsword.

He picked up the crimson longsword. It felt slightly heavy in his hand, and there was a faint flow of spiritual energy around the blade, but it appeared somewhat mixed and dull. Its quality was only considered ordinary among mid-grade magic weapons.

"It's better than nothing, I suppose."

Li Shen muttered to himself and put it into his storage bag.

A mid-grade magic weapon is still a mid-grade magic weapon; it might come in handy at a crucial moment.

After thinking it over, Li Shen sat cross-legged and adjusted his breathing for a while before lying down to rest.

I was quite mentally exhausted today and need to recover properly.

The next day, at 9:00 AM.

Li Shenzheng was preparing to refine the ritual implements.

Lin Xiaoxiao's clear voice came from outside the door.

"Fellow Daoist Li, would it be convenient for us to have a chat?"

As soon as Li Shen got up and opened the door, he saw Lin Xiaoxiao, with a sincere smile, handing him a jade bottle:

"Fellow Daoist Li, this contains a mid-grade first-level breakthrough pill. It's just a small token of my appreciation, please accept it."

Breakthrough Pill?

Li Shen was slightly taken aback.

Back then, I broke through to the fourth level of Qi Refining thanks to a first-grade low-level breakthrough pill given to me by Shi Yong.

The alchemy manual that Shi Yong gave him also mentioned that this pill was extremely difficult to refine, not only because the materials were hard to find, but also because the success rate was basically no more than 30%.

This first-grade mid-level breakthrough pill is undoubtedly a valuable gift.

With this Breakthrough Pill and the assistance of the Zhao family's Qi Gathering Array, I should be able to break through the bottleneck of the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Li Shen hesitated for a moment, then took the jade bottle:

"Fellow Daoist Lin, you're too kind. It's only right that we look out for each other. I would be impolite to refuse this Breakthrough Pill."

Seeing Li Shen accept the pill, Lin Xiaoxiao's smile widened, and then she lowered her voice slightly:

"Fellow Daoist Li, besides expressing my gratitude, I have another opportunity I'd like to share with you."

"Opportunity?"

Li Shen's expression shifted, and he became interested.

"Fellow Daoist Li, are you familiar with the Zhao family, a Foundation Establishment clan?"

Li Shen nodded slightly.

Lin Xiaoxiao continued:

"I have definite news that Zhao Ying, the daughter of Zhao Yuan, the current head of the Zhao family, has recently successfully broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage. To celebrate this, the Zhao family will hold a grand Foundation Establishment celebration in the family mansion in five days, and invite renowned and promising cultivators from the market to attend the ceremony."

"Zhao Ying is actually the daughter of the Zhao family patriarch."

Li Shen suddenly realized something.

I had already received information that Zhao Ying was preparing for Foundation Establishment, but I didn't expect her to achieve it so quickly.

Given that the other party was able to become a disciple of the Jade Sword Sect, their spiritual root aptitude must be quite good. With the support of their family, it is only natural that they succeeded in Foundation Establishment.

Seeing that Li Shen seemed to be deep in thought, Lin Xiaoxiao continued:

"My master has an old friend in the Zhao family. If Fellow Daoist Li comes, you can look for me, and I'll take you in. We independent cultivators usually can't get into celebrations of this scale. If we can make friends with a few Foundation Establishment family disciples inside, it will surely be helpful for our cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Li Shen pondered for a moment. He was already going to the Zhao family to deal with the matter of the guest talisman master, so he could take the opportunity to see this Foundation Establishment celebration.

"Thank you for informing me, Fellow Daoist Lin. I will remember this favor."

Seeing that Li Shen had agreed, Lin Xiaoxiao smiled sweetly and waved her hand:

"Fellow Daoist Li, there's no need to be so polite. Please take this..."

As Lin Xiaoxiao spoke, she handed over a wooden token:

"Fellow Daoist Li, this is a temporary pass. You can use it to freely enter and exit the inner city later."

Li Shen nodded and accepted it. Lin Xiaoxiao then mentioned a few points to keep in mind when operating in the inner city before taking her leave.

Back inside, Li Shen looked at the wooden plaque in his hand and pondered for a moment.

The so-called temporary effect should be achieved by using some special secret technique to leave the aura on it to achieve the purpose of passage, and it will automatically dissipate after a certain period of time.

"That's really amazing."

Li Shen muttered to himself, put away the wooden plaque, and resumed what he had been doing.

-

On the day of the foundation-building ceremony.

Li Shen put on a green robe, locked the door, and headed towards the inner city of the market.

Soon, he arrived at the inner city gate.

There was one guard on each side of the gate.

There was also a four-man guard patrolling the area, making it a very formidable defense.

The two gatekeepers were composed and made no attempt to conceal their presence; both were at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Li Shen couldn't help but sigh. The sixth level of Qi Refining, which he had struggled to break through, was nothing more than a gatekeeper in the inner city.

He shook his head and joined the queue to enter the city.

Before long, it was his turn.

The guard gave Li Shen a wary look and spoke succinctly:

"Let me see the access token."

Li Shen took out the wooden token given to him by Lin Xiaoxiao and handed it over.

One of the guards took it, his fingertips gleaming slightly. He gently stroked the token, and a barely perceptible pattern flashed across its surface before fading away.

"Go in."

The guard returned the token, stepped aside to make way, his face expressionless.

"The celebration is at the Zhao residence. Just walk straight along the main road, and you'll see the residence where the most cultivators are gathered."

Thank you.

Li Shen nodded his thanks, put away the token, and stepped into the inner city.

Once inside the inner city, the environment is completely different from that of the outer city.

The streets were wider, with smooth bluestone slabs on the ground, and pavilions and halls lined both sides, with a significantly higher concentration of spiritual energy than the outer city.

There weren't many pedestrians on the road, but most of them were well-dressed and had an air of refinement; they were mostly scions of prominent families, and occasionally a few scattered cultivators could be seen.

Most of them are at least at the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

As he was walking, Li Shen suddenly felt a tightness on his back, and a deep pressure slowly approached from behind, making him hold his breath.

Foundation Establishment cultivator!

He felt a chill run down his spine and immediately lowered his head, retreating to the side of the road and standing with his eyes downcast.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an old man in a gray robe walk slowly by with his hands behind his back. His face was thin and his eyes were calm. Behind him were three or four young cultivators dressed in various colorful clothes.

When Li Shen saw half of the jade pendant on the old man's waist swaying, his pupils shrank. This jade pendant was extremely similar to the one Song Changshan had.

The side that Li Shen happened to see was the one with the old man's name engraved on it.

"Song Kui..."

Li Shen pondered the name, his mind racing.