Mortal: Starting in a chaotic starry sea, I can upgrade everything.

Midday, Kui Xing Island, the residence of Liu Lian Dian.

A spirit stone transaction is underway.

"Three level-four Azure-Armored Crabs, two level-four Infant Carp Beasts, and one juvenile Xuan Turtle Shell. Hmm, all the beast bodies are relatively intact, and they are worth a total of nine thousand two hundred spirit stones."

"Oh dear, Fellow Daoist Jiang, I was wondering why you hadn't been around for two and a half years. So you've been off doing something important!"

Inside the Yi Bao Ge building.

On the counter was a bulging storage bag. The obese old man checked the materials inside, confirmed them repeatedly, and then withdrew his divine sense.

The old man smiled as he sized up the young man in black opposite him, not forgetting to utter a word of praise.

This Fellow Daoist Jiang is a regular at the Six-Linked Palace. He has a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation level and has been hunting demons in the surrounding seas for over twenty years.

Every two or three years, the other party would bring some monster materials to the Six-Linked Palace to exchange for spirit stones.

This time, the other party was very generous, handing over such a large amount of monster materials all at once.

"Five level-four demonic beasts, and over nine thousand spirit stones, that price is quite reasonable."

The young man in black thought to himself.

A slight smile appeared on his face, but he shook his head and said:

"Brother Yao, you've misunderstood me. I was just lucky to stumble upon a low-level monster cave, which led to this gain."

"By the way, in addition to the spirit stones this time, I need to buy a Dust-Clearing Pill. Same old rules, Brother Yao, you know?"

The young man finished speaking familiarly.

The old man surnamed Yao was stunned. His lively thoughts vanished instantly, and he was at a loss for words.

The Dust-Clearing Pill is a spiritual item that helps cultivators condense their golden core.

He probed with his divine sense and discovered that the young man opposite him was already at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.

It turns out he was preparing to form his core.

The elderly man surnamed Yao immediately felt a sense of envy.

He shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, Fellow Daoist Jiang, this hall is out of Dust-Reducing Pills."

"Huh, it's gone? How could that be?"

Jiang Yu frowned.

He clearly remembered that when he came to the Six-Linked Palace to buy Snow Spirit Water and Heavenly Fire Liquid two years ago, Dust-Reducing Pills were also available for sale.

At that time, his cultivation level had not yet reached the pseudo-core stage, so he did not buy it in order not to attract the attention of outsiders.

Did I miss out because I didn't make a move last time?

Seeing the doubt on his face, the old man surnamed Yao explained, "It seems Fellow Daoist Jiang is unaware of this yet. In three days, Kui Xing Island will hold a demon-suppressing ceremony. I have already used the remaining five Dust-Subduing Pills as a prize to preside over the ceremony..."

A demon-suppressing ceremony?!

Three days later, on Kui Xing Island... So that's how it is. The storyline came to this point right after I returned to Kui Xing Island!

While the elderly man surnamed Yao was still narrating, Jiang Yu reviewed the memories in his mind.

In his previous life, he was a human from Earth, but due to an accidental car crash, he was transported to the chaotic Star Sea in the mortal world.

The past is gone, no need to say more.

Twenty years ago, when his soul transmigrated to the mortal world, the original owner was a penniless rogue cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

His spiritual roots are just average, consisting of wood, fire, and earth.

In the mortal world, cultivators pay great attention to the quality of their spiritual roots.

The fewer spiritual roots a cultivator has, the faster they can cultivate.

While his three spiritual roots weren't considered exceptionally good, Jiang Yu was unwilling to settle for mediocrity. Since he had come to the mortal world, he also wanted to cultivate immortality and experience the path to longevity.

Therefore, for a period of time after he first arrived in the Chaotic Star Sea, he was trying to see if he could awaken some kind of cheat system or cheat ability.

Unfortunately, no matter how many times he called out to him, there was no response at all.

After failing to summon the system, he even considered whether he should work hard for decades to cultivate and wait for Han Li to arrive in the Chaotic Star Sea to seize the other party's little green bottle.

But soon, a chance discovery made him abandon the idea.

He discovered that he possessed a special ability to level up.

Simply put, if he places the treasure in his right hand, holds a certain number of spirit stones in his left hand, and silently recites "upgrade," the grade of the treasure in his right hand can be increased.

The treasures include, but are not limited to, magical artifacts, elixirs, talismans, and even spirit stones and cultivation techniques, all of which can be upgraded.

This ability is truly extraordinary.

As long as you have enough spirit stones, its functions even surpass those of the little green bottle.

With this cheat code, Jiang Yu initially accumulated spirit stones by buying and selling magical artifacts and pills.

Later, he felt that this method would easily attract the attention of those with ulterior motives. After all, it would be suspicious if a low-level rogue cultivator suddenly produced so many good magic weapons and pills.

So after he established his foundation, he would leave Kui Xing Island from time to time under the guise of hunting demons, returning only once every few years. Each time he returned, he would earn a portion of spirit stones.

In just over twenty years, he cultivated from the eighth level of Qi Refining to the peak of Foundation Establishment.

If it weren't for the concern of attracting the attention of high-level cultivators, this speed could be even faster.

.........

Jiang Yu snapped out of his thoughts.

"Therefore, if Fellow Daoist Jiang wants to obtain the Dust-Subduing Pill, he can only participate in the upcoming Demon Hunting Tournament."

The elderly man surnamed Yao finished speaking in detail.

He realized this person was about to form his core, and if he could defeat the man before him, he would reach the Sixth Palace.

Once this person forms a Golden Core, wouldn't he gain even more benefits in the Six-Linked Palace by having been invited to do so?

Therefore, the old man surnamed Yao conceived a plan to win him over and tried to persuade him gently:

"Alternatively, Fellow Daoist Jiang could join my Six Linked Halls. With the sect's protection, and given your Pseudo-Core Stage cultivation, you'll also be rewarded with a Dust-Clearing Pill. What do you think, Fellow Daoist Jiang?"

Jiang Yu, sitting opposite him, was no longer thinking about this.

Upon hearing the words "Demon Suppression Ceremony," he knew it was a trap.

Absolutely not!

As for joining the Six Palaces, that's even more impossible.

In the original storyline, the grand ceremony was almost completely ruined by Wu Chou from Ji Yin Island, and then the level 10 demon Lei Peng broke the seal and wreaked havoc on most of Kui Xing Island.

Why would he stay here at this point, rushing off to his death?

Jiang Yu even thought about his own home on Xiaohuan Island, which wasn't far from Kuixing Island, but it might not be very safe there either.

"No, this is no good, we have to run away."

In an instant, my mind raced through a thousand thoughts.

Regardless of his inner thoughts, Jiang Yu merely sighed slightly and shook his head, saying, "Fellow Daoist Yao, I'm sorry, I have other matters to attend to in the next session, so I'm afraid I won't have the opportunity to participate in this demon-slaying conference."

"Okay, fine."

The old man surnamed Yao said so much, but his expectations of gaining more benefits were dashed.

All he could do was sigh, lamenting how hard it was to earn spirit stones these days!

"Then I shall take my leave."

Jiang Yu put away the spirit stone storage bag given to him by the old man surnamed Yao, said goodbye, and left the pavilion.

They left the Liuliandian residence.

Next, he continued to wander around the market on Kuixing Island, casually strolling here and there.

Half an hour later, Jiang Yu walked into Yunmeng Pavilion, another market on Tiandu Street.

As the saying goes, you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket.

The monster materials he has obtained from hunting over the past two years are far more than what he just sold.

It's highly unusual for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to bring out so many treasures from one place at once, and it would easily attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.

......

Jiang Yu sold another batch of materials, earning over ten thousand spirit stones. With the shopkeeper's friendly farewell, he left Yunmeng Pavilion.

Then... I strolled around Tiandu Street Market again at a leisurely pace.

He seemed to be wandering aimlessly through the market, but his eyes subtly scanned the surrounding cultivators coming and going.

While Foundation Establishment cultivators are not considered top-tier in the Chaotic Star Sea, they are not considered bottom-tier either.

If one has a large supply of spirit stones, and it happens to be the time when a grand ceremony is about to be held on Kui Xing Island, a time when all sorts of people are mixed together, one is most likely to attract a deadly disaster.

He walked and stopped frequently.

Occasionally, he would pause for a moment in front of a few shops selling pills and magical artifacts, pretending to be selecting items, but secretly observing whether any cultivators were following him.

"Being so low-key, no one should be watching..."

Jiang Yu thought to himself.