Ascending from the mortal realm to become an immortal begins with taking charge of a grotto-heaven.

In that instant, Zhang Li made a sudden move, channeling his magical power into the Poison Spirit Sword and shooting it towards the skinny, dark-skinned stall owner who had no magical artifacts to protect him.

"Finally losing your temper? Trying to ambush me again?"

The moment Zhang Li activated the Poison Spirit Sword, the dark-skinned stall owner noticed it and his eyes showed disdain. He knew that if one's cultivation was not high enough, even the best magic weapon would be useless. He then reached out and slapped his storage bag.

A small cyan shield flew out of the storage bag in an instant.

This was his life-saving weapon, acquired at great expense of spirit stones. It was a genuine mid-grade defensive magic weapon, and even mid-grade offensive magic weapons activated by ordinary cultivators of the same level would find it difficult to break through it in one strike.

"Whoosh..."

The eerie green Poison Spirit Sword arrived between the small blue shield in an instant.

"I was originally thinking of leaving you with a complete corpse, but it seems there's no need for that now."

The dark-skinned, thin stall owner, his face contorted in a ferocious expression, channeled a magical artifact into the small cyan shield. Instantly, the shield expanded, firmly blocking him from behind.

Then the dark-skinned, thin stall owner took out a low-grade yellow longsword magic weapon from his storage bag, seemingly intending to multitask and launch an immediate counterattack.

Zhang Li watched the dark-skinned, thin stall owner's movements with an expressionless face, and made a hand seal.

The Poison Spirit Sword immediately unleashed a beam of eerie green poisonous light, which slammed into the cyan shield.

"What is this?"

The dark-skinned, thin stall owner immediately looked panicked.

This eerie green longsword is no ordinary mid-grade magic weapon; it is clearly meticulously crafted specifically to counter defensive magic weapons.

At the point where the Poison Spirit Sword made contact with the cyan shield, a continuous hissing sound of corrosion could be heard as the thick shield surface was being worn away.

Although it's difficult to inflict significant damage on the shield immediately, the risk of the shield being damaged increases with each passing moment of stalemate.

However, the thought that this magical artifact would soon fall into his hands made the dark-skinned, thin stall owner secretly look forward to its power.

In just a short while, the dark-skinned, thin stall owner's mindset changed three times.

From initial arrogance to lingering fear after witnessing the power of the Poison Spirit Sword, and finally to greed.

He hadn't expected Zhang Li to be so wealthy.

An ordinary Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator actually possesses a high-quality mid-grade magic weapon.

The dark-skinned, thin stall owner was not only grateful for his meticulous planning, but also for having brought a helper with him on this mission. Although this helper wasn't entirely on his side, and he would have to share half of the final spoils, it was all worth it.

"What are you waiting for, you old hag? Kill this man! We'll split the contents of his storage bag in half."

The dark-skinned, thin stall owner shouted impatiently, wanting only to finish the battle quickly. He channeled his magic into the blue shield to maintain its defense while simultaneously wielding his yellow longsword, slashing towards Zhang Li's hiding place.

The alluring female cultivator watching from the sidelines smiled sullenly. She had originally intended to sit back and watch the two fight it out, waiting until they were both severely injured before making her move and reaping the benefits.

Now that her thoughts had been exposed, she no longer concealed her abilities and quickly removed the crimson hairpin from her hair.

The seemingly ordinary hairpin suddenly shone brightly the moment it left the hair bun, transforming into a slender, crimson magic sword. The blade shimmered with a faint red light and shot towards Zhang Li. "Don't worry, he can't escape."

"It seems these two aren't entirely on the same page."

Zhang Li took in their actions; this was his chance.

After its first attack failed, the Poison Spirit Sword flew backward, its eerie green poisonous light surging instantly, before colliding with the Azure Shield once more.

Facing the two magical artifacts coming towards him, Zhang Li remained calm. They were just two ordinary low-grade magical artifacts. He poured his own magical power into the Heavenly Sun Sword.

The sword immediately burst into a dazzling light, igniting a blazing inferno.

The next instant, the Heavenly Sun Sword flew out of his hand and shot away.

"Another mid-grade magic artifact!"

The dark-skinned, thin stall owner and the alluring female cultivator immediately changed their expressions upon sensing the aura emanating from the Heavenly Sun Sword.

For ordinary rogue cultivators, family cultivators, or even mid-stage cultivators of sects, having a mid-grade magic weapon is already quite rare.

There are very few Qi Refining mid-stage cultivators who can possess multiple mid-grade magic weapons; they are definitely not ordinary cultivators.

"Two mid-grade magic artifacts... Just who is he?!" The alluring female cultivator's pupils shrank sharply. She had been cultivating immortality for many years, and this was the first time she had ever seen a cultivator with such wealth who was still unknown.

"Ding ding..."

As expected of a mid-grade magic weapon, the Heavenly Sun Sword held its own even when facing two low-grade magic weapons, forcing the dark-skinned, thin stall owner and the alluring female cultivator to retreat repeatedly, utterly powerless to retaliate.

However, Zhang Li was unable to control the Heavenly Sun Sword to break free from the entanglement of the two magical artifacts for the time being.

The situation quickly reached a stalemate.

Upon seeing this, the dark-skinned, thin stall owner's face lit up with joy, and he shouted, "Hold on! He only has the fourth level of Qi Refining cultivation, and it's impossible for him to activate two mid-grade magic artifacts for a long time. As long as we persevere, his magic power will eventually be exhausted, and then he'll be at our mercy."

Upon hearing this, hope ignited in the eyes of the alluring female cultivator.

The higher the grade of the magical artifact, the more magical power it consumes to activate. Since their cultivation levels were already high, they were not afraid of a protracted battle.

Currently, the Heavenly Sun Sword is tightly bound by their two low-grade magic weapons and cannot break free. On the other hand, the Poison Spirit Sword cannot break through the Azure Shield's defense for the time being and also needs a continuous supply of magic power. Under the pull of two lines, Zhang Li's consumption will only increase exponentially.

Zhang Li knew exactly what the two were thinking. He had already put several Qi-restoring pills in his mouth before the battle even began.

With the replenishment of Qi-restoring pills, the consumption of mana is not too great at the moment.

However, a few Qi-restoring pills could not make up for the gap in cultivation between him and the other two, and it was still quite difficult for him to drive two mid-grade magic weapons at the same time.

The longer the situation remains deadlocked, the more disadvantageous it becomes for him.

Zhang Li patted his storage bag, took out two Fire Serpent Talismans, and after injecting a trace of magic power into the talismans, he raised his hand and struck them out.

The two talismans exploded in the air, and two crimson fire snakes, each more than three feet long, took shape. Their scales flickered with fire, and they spat out scorching flames. They split into two paths and attacked the two people from the left and right.

The two dark-skinned stall owners were shocked to see this. He was trying to do two things at once, maintaining the blue shield and controlling the yellow longsword to entangle the Heavenly Sun Sword. He couldn't break free at all.

The alluring female cultivator also looked panicked. She hurriedly took out a talisman from her storage bag, activated it, and it transformed into a golden light shield that enveloped her.

"Damn it!"

Seeing that the alluring female cultivator only cared about her own life, the dark-skinned, thin stall owner could only grit his teeth and pour all his magic power into the blue shield in order to block the attack.

With a deafening roar, the crimson fire serpent slammed into the azure shield. The intense heat and flames scorched the shield's spiritual light, and the azure shield, already being constantly eroded by the poisonous spirit sword, finally began to crumble, cracks appearing on its surface.

The fire snake that lunged at the female cultivator from the other side struck the golden light shield, causing layers of fire to explode and the golden light to fluctuate violently, barely managing to keep the flames out.