After entering Moon Tempering Valley, Li An made up his mind not to go out for some time.

Anyway, the resources available now are sufficient for his cultivation for a long while.

Moreover, with him around, many active functions of the Tier Two array in Moon Tempering Valley could be turned off, saving a lot of Spirit Stones—two hundred a month would be enough to maintain it.

When unmanned, the array remains in a full alert state, costing much more!

...

At this moment.

Profound Yang Sect.

The fire burned continuously for twenty days before finally dying down. The once-spanning mountains that belonged to the Profound Yang Sect had turned entirely into scorched earth.

The sect was in complete disarray; the Pill Hall, Talisman Hall, and Artifact Refining Hall had long been looted and set ablaze. The bodies of the Profound Yang Sect disciples were scattered everywhere, flies buzzed chaotically, and the stench was overwhelming.

At this moment, inside the inner hall of Profound Yang Sect.

Seven Foundation Establishment stage demon cultivators sat on both sides.

At the top sat, surprisingly, the elder of Profound Yang Sect—Li Yuan!

Only now, black demonic qi emanated from him, and he was exuding an unmistakable aura of demonic killing intent!

"Reporting to the Helmsman, all resources of the Profound Yang Sect have been accounted for and sent away as per your instructions; this raid has yielded great rewards!"

"Most of the Foundation Establishment stage remnants of Profound Yang Sect were killed; fewer than five escaped, incapable of causing any trouble!"

"We've kept a close watch on the Hundred Beasts Sect; they dare not act, so we can confidently attack the Liuyang River market!"

The Foundation Establishment stage demon cultivators spoke one after another.

At the head, "Li Yuan" nodded and said, "This triumphant capture of the Profound Yang Sect has been hard on you all."

"Each of you may claim three human cauldrons, twenty thousand Spirit Stones, and choose any other resources as you wish."

"Furthermore, spread the word for me, tell the world, that the old fool from Profound Yang, has been chopped into pieces by me and painstakingly made into mince to feed the dogs—hang his fellow junior brothers' and sisters' heads at every northern crossroads in Great Li for ten days!"

Everyone nodded.

"Li Yuan" suddenly remembered something: "What about that little talisman master from back then? Was he captured? Hang his head too. Although I sent myself to die on purpose back then, thinking of dying at the hands of such an object makes me angry—"

The last demon cultivator stood up, looking uncomfortable: "Reporting to the Helmsman, that black-hearted Talisman Master escaped..."

"I suspect he's the one who killed the senior brother back then, learned our Yin Yang Demon Furnace Skill, thus changed his appearance and slipped away—"

The Foundation Establishment stage demon cultivator next to him also said, "Helmsman, there's another small incident: the dozen or so subordinates I left at Moshang Ferry were killed and robbed. Combined, we deduce that it was likely done by that talisman master!"

"Li Yuan" instantly frowned: "You mean the one who sold me fake spirit talismans and beheaded me back then, slipped away right under my nose today, not only did he survive but also turned back to trick me, killing over a dozen of my subordinates and seizing treasures?"

The two Foundation Establishment stage demon cultivators began to tremble, their eyes filled with fear.

"Helmsman, we have already issued a kill order…"

Li Yuan suddenly said, "Well done!"

The two Foundation Establishment stage demon cultivators breathed a sigh of relief, "This is just our duty…"

"Who said you did well?"

"Li Yuan" continued, "I said that little talisman master did well!"

"That damn thing, such a vicious, ruthless, yet patient and decisive black-hearted Talisman Master. It seems my plan was seen through by him, haha... more like a demon cultivator than I am, and he even learned our Demon Sect's Yin Yang Demon Furnace Skill. Good, good, good!"

He actually began to praise loudly.

The many demon cultivators in the room looked at each other.

"What's the use of a kill order? For such a cunning and ruthless character, with so many resources taken, will he just wait for you to kill him? He'd definitely find some godforsaken place to cultivate for ten or eight years before emerging again."

"Withdraw that damn kill order, don't make a fool of yourselves. Wouldn't it be embarrassing to have an order out for ten or eight years without results?"

"Li Yuan's" tone was casual, as if idle chatter, without a trace of anger.

"Helmsman, are we just letting this go…"

A Foundation Establishment stage demon cultivator couldn't help but speak.

"Of course not. You two go find people related to that little talisman master, but don't make it known, secretly buy off one or two of those greedy and ruthless types."

"Li Yuan" said, "I guess, after ten or eight years, this bastard will likely show up, and by then he might contact old friends…"

The two Foundation Establishment stage demon cultivators immediately nodded, "When he appears, we'll personally go to kill him!"

"Li Yuan" rolled his eyes at the two subordinates, "Kill my ass, capture him alive, remember, I want him alive!"

After speaking, he stood up and said, "Let's go, better cultivate for a while, mostly still have to help old third capture that white-haired tigress…"

...

In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.

During these three years, Li An did not contact the outside world once, nor did he step out, but he regularly scouted a ten-mile radius around Moon Tempering Valley, focusing on detecting demonic cultivator auras.

Thankfully, the area around Moon Tempering Valley remained very peaceful.

"Spirit Root has officially reached Yellow Rank Middle Grade!"

This day, Li An introspected his Life Seed and felt the changes in the Spirit Root, feeling immensely gratified!

Currently, his Spirit Root sensitivity had reached 64 points!

Generally speaking, 30 to 60 points is Yellow Rank Low Grade, 60 to 100 points is Yellow Rank Middle Grade.

It requires exceeding 100 points to be considered a Yellow Rank High Grade Spirit Root.

A Yellow Rank Middle Grade Spirit Root cultivator can generally cultivate smoothly to the Late-Stage Qi Refining, and with enough opportunity, there is a good chance to break through to Foundation Establishment.

As for Yellow Rank Low Grade, such as Tan Qingxue, although she also cultivates diligently, she stops at Qi Refining Seventh Layer in this life, and the chance of Foundation Establishment is very slim.

The Spirit Root is fundamental to sensing the heavens and cultivating the Great Dao. If the Spirit Root is too poor, even like Chen Cheng, using three Foundation Establishment Pills consecutively is in vain!

He stood up and walked out of the room, then stretched his body, suddenly striking out with his palms like thunder.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Wherever his palms reached, thunderous sounds echoed in succession, and even the azaleas forty meters away were shattered by his palm power.

His figure moved continuously, coordinating with his consummate light-moving steps. His silhouette was lighter than a monkey's, like a butterfly lightly tapping over leaves and blades of grass, graceful like a startled swan, while the Thunderbolt Palm in his hand issued one superior strike after another. When the last palm was struck, the lake water eighty meters away exploded, raising huge waves up to tens of meters, which then crashed down heavily!

The power was extremely astonishing!

"Thunderbolt Palm has been completely mastered!"

At the same time, Li An gently exerted his power, with blue and green light blossoming on his hands, giving the illusion of a venomous snake!

"Cold Yin Finger also reached completion. Unfortunately, during this period, the poison hasn't kept up; I'll have to find more potent toxins to practice with in the future."

The only thing stagnant was Iron Tree Skill, with the golden bone state remaining as it was three years ago.

The main reason was the lack of resources; Melted Gold Liquid was nowhere to be purchased.

"Still a few years from perfecting Qi Refining Eighth Layer..."

The Life Nourishing Immortal Skill has a heaven-defying effect, providing comprehensive boosts in lifespan, Spirit Root, Divine Sense, and physique, but its downside is that the cultivation speed is significantly slowed down.

However, Li An did not complain about this. In fact, he increasingly realized that after slowing down, the quality of his spiritual power became particularly pure.

If he didn't use any magical artifacts or runes, relying solely on his own strength in combat, Li An was confident of holding his ground against a Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivator!

Moreover, after gaining Divine Sense, he held a natural advantage.

"Continue crafting talismans and creating arrays!"

Cultivation couldn't be rushed, so Li An focused his efforts on other areas.

Especially talismans, which were his foundation in life!

Another five years passed.

Li An finally perfected Qi Refining Eighth Layer, ready to attack Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

Meanwhile, the talisman papers and other resources he brought from the Spirit Talisman Shop were completely exhausted, all made into runes.

Now, he had a total of sixteen Tier Two talismans in his hand!

Five Bursting Talismans, two Breaking Charms, three Profound Shield Talismans, three Tier Two Swift Movement Talismans, two Thunder Shock Talismans, and one Soul-Calming Talisman.

"Still, not enough Bursting Talismans..."

Li An sighed. Ideally, he would carry twenty of each category: attack, defense, and control.

Breaking Charms and Swift Movement Talismans should also have at least ten as a baseline!

Only then could it be considered stable.

But this ideal was obviously beyond his current capability.

Firstly, it was limited by resources; Tier Two talisman papers require special materials. Even though he had taken many from the Spirit Talisman Shop, it wasn't enough.

Secondly, it was limited by his realm; spiritual power at the Qi Refining Stage still differed from that at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

In fact, being able to make Tier Two spirit talismans at this stage was already very impressive, something other Talisman Masters couldn't possibly achieve.

Additionally, he had four sets of high-level arrays in hand, covering defense, attack, and control categories.

"Prepare to attack Qi Refining Ninth Layer..."

Once he breaks through to Qi Refining Ninth Layer, it would be time to head out... to plot Foundation Establishment!

...

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