"This place certainly doesn't charge rent. You two are welcome to stay as long as you wish," Xu Ping said with a chuckle.

Given his current standing, such meager rent income was naturally beneath his notice.

Moreover, the bond between the three of them was quite deep, making it unnecessary to fuss over such trivial rent.

...

...

The three chatted casually for a while longer before Duan Shuang and Gong Yang stood up to take their leave. Xu Ping leisurely strolled back to his cultivation chamber.

He took out the Hundred-Year Fruit and swallowed it in a few bites.

"Hmm, fifteen years of extended lifespan, and the Longevity Skill's proficiency increased by fifteen points. Not too bad," he remarked.

Xu Ping carefully sensed the growth in both lifespan and Longevity Skill proficiency and nodded slightly.

This was already the fourth Hundred-Year Fruit he had consumed, and still, to have a fifteen-year lifespan extension effect was quite impressive.

After all, most people find it hard to derive further benefits from the Hundred-Year Fruit after consuming just two.

Xu Ping calmed his mind, sat cross-legged, and began to meditate.

Once he had fully absorbed the effects of the Hundred-Year Fruit, he took out a jade slip and focused all his attention on studying the crafting method of the Lingxiao Sword.

...

...

Time flowed on gently, with Xu Ping peacefully residing at Thousand Leaves Mountain, wholeheartedly immersing himself in the art of Artifact Refining.

However, outside, the world was in an uproar over the rumors of the Yin Yang Qi Cauldron.

The entire Ruins Deserted Island was descending further into chaos.

Some sought to make one last big haul before the Yin Yang Qi Cauldron made its appearance; meanwhile, other cultivators, already driven to madness by their greed for treasures, hoped to fish in troubled waters amidst the tumultuous conditions.

Four months flew by.

In front of a luxurious building on the Ruins Deserted Island.

Seven or eight Fake Pill cultivators continually directed their Artifact Embryos to launch fierce attacks at the Restriction enveloping the entire building.

"Boom! Boom! Boom..."

With each resounding explosion, the Restriction's aura flashed incessantly, and the violent Spiritual Qi ripples surged in all directions like tumultuous waves.

Among those seven or eight Fake Pill cultivators, Hongyi's figure was conspicuously present.

"There's only a fifty percent chance. I sincerely hope the Transformation Pill Fruit is right here!"

Watching the Restriction remain stalwart despite everyone's concerted assault, Hongyi inwardly prayed.

Currently, within the Nine Nether Elder's relic, there were two places likely to conceal the Transformation Pill Fruit.

Yet, he really couldn't determine where the Transformation Pill Fruit was located.

Without any better option, he could only choose a place he deemed most probable to instigate his action.

Meanwhile, Fake Pill cultivators were also attacking the other location, and if his guess was wrong, his slim hopes of obtaining the Transformation Pill Fruit would become even more negligible.

"I hope my judgment isn't wrong!"

Although his mind was a flurry of thoughts, Hongyi's movements while maneuvering the Artifact Embryo against the Restriction showed no sign of hesitation.

The group's frantic assault continued unabated.

Crack, crack...

Finally, after a prolonged siege, at this moment, the sturdy Restriction, under their ferocious storm-like onslaught, could no longer hold and became riddled with densely interwoven crack lines like a spider's web.

The next moment.

Bang!

With an earth-shattering roar, the Restriction above the building burst open, and a vast wave of Spiritual Qi surged outward like a torrential flood.

At the instant the Restriction shattered, the Fake Pill cultivators present unhesitatingly maneuvered their brilliance, darting towards the building's interior like hungry wolves pouncing.

After half a moment.

Inside the building, in a Spirit Field, a solitary green plant swayed gently in the breeze, beside which stood a peculiarly shaped scarecrow.

"Transformation Pill Fruit!!"

Both Hongyi and another Fake Pill cultivator's eyes locked, as if magnetically drawn, onto the solitary, more-than-man-tall green plant in the center of the Spirit Field.

No!

To be precise!

Their gazes were fixed upon a fruit the size of an adult's fist that dangled from the branches of this green plant.

This fruit was a translucid pale pink, with silver streaks crisscrossing its surface.

"Die!"

Almost in the same instant they spotted the Transformation Pill Fruit, both simultaneously struck at each other.

The other Fake Pill cultivator, surrounded by surging Mana, unhesitatingly urged his Artifact Embryo towards Hongyi with vicious intent.

But Hongyi reacted with exceptional swiftness, decisively deploying the Cyan Profound Divine Thunder Talisman.

"Swift!"

Hongyi rapidly formed a seal with his hands, uttering a low command.

In an instant.

A massive Thunder Dragon appeared out of thin air.

This Thunder Dragon, enveloped in crackling arcs of electricity that flickered bright, unleashed a terrifying might capable of annihilating the heavens and the earth, rushing towards the Fake Pill cultivator like a roaring ancient beast.

"What!"

"Tier-three Talisman!!"

Witnessing this, the Fake Pill cultivator's face instantly revealed a hint of shock and fear.

Was this person mad?

Deploying such a trump card right at the start?

That was a tier-three talisman!

Even if it facilitated seizing the Transformation Pill Fruit now, how would he safely carry it away later?

If that Fake Pill cultivator knew that Hongyi still had several more Cyan Profound Divine Thunder Talismans, one wonders what expression this revelation would elicit.

Boom!

The Thunder Dragon, unstoppable, smashed the Fake Pill cultivator's Artifact Embryo aside and, with the massive impact, sent the Fake Pill cultivator hurtling backward.

Hongyi did not press his advantage, instead turning swiftly and darting toward the Transformation Pill Fruit's location.

In the blink of an eye, he was upon it, reaching out to securely grasp the Transformation Pill Fruit in his hand.

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