Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, more than two months passed.
During this time, Li Mu's daily observation of the Yin and Yang Spiritual Plants had become a common occurrence.
Crimson Wolf followed him closely every day; its body was not as good as before, its steps were slow, it couldn't walk more than a few dozen feet a day, and it was lazier than before. Li Mu patiently accompanied it.
Crimson Wolf was an important companion for Li Mu since he came to this world, from a Qi Refining Cultivator to a Nascent Soul cultivator, and it also witnessed his growth.
Under his careful care, Crimson Wolf's lifespan had already far exceeded the decades-long lifespan of other ordinary dogs.
Now, it was time for it to leave. Li Mu silently accompanied it until he personally buried it under an ancient tree.
After Crimson Wolf passed away, Li Mu guarded the spiritual field, continuing his ordinary and simple life.
During these two months of cultivating the Yin and Yang Spiritual Plants, Li Mu was not idle. He used the three Five-Rank Lightning Beast hides exchanged from Wanbao Pavilion to make over seven hundred sheets of Lightning-type Five-Rank Spiritual Charms paper.
During this period, he ruined more than twenty sheets before successfully drawing four Five-Rank Body Fixing Lightning Prison Talismans. Due to the extremely high failure rate, Li Mu chose to stop Spiritual Charms Drawing.
Anyway, the Nine Yang Spirit Grass would mature in another twenty-five years. By then, combined with the Nine Yin Spirit Grass, he would gain spirituality, and his Artifact Refining Skill and Puppet Art would advance again.
Once the skill Rank improved, the success rate of refining would also greatly increase, so it wouldn't be too late to draw them then.
During this time, Li Mu primarily focused on refining Star Concealment Puppets, as carving Star Concealment Puppets was quite time-consuming.
In these two months, Li Mu drew a large number of star wood Puppet bodies, adding two to three hundred more to the original one hundred and fifty-one Star Concealment Puppets.
Three hundred close-combat Star Concealment Puppets were equivalent to three hundred Elementary Nascent Soul cultivators. This combat power was not inferior to that of an average organization.
Li Mu naturally adhered to the principle of "the more, the better," like Han Xin deploying troops, preparing to refine all the star wood in his possession into close-combat Puppets.
Approaching the Central Spirit, the quality of Cultivators encountered in the past had greatly improved, and the number of Soul Transformation Cultivators in Barren Ancient City had significantly increased. Various forces were mixed, and several major Family branches from the Central Spirit also had outposts here. It was likely that Void Refining Realm powerhouses, or even those above the Void Refining Realm, might exist.
For safety, having an extra means of pressure provided an additional layer of security.
Just as Li Mu was fully engrossed in carving the Puppet bodies, the purple-gold token for the Auction, given by Lin Baoqing from the nine storage spiritual pearl, emitted a soft glow and a strange fluctuation rippled out.
Li Mu quickly stopped the carving knife in his hand, recalling the Wanbao Pavilion Auction. He put down the carving knife and summoned the purple-gold token.
From the token, a burst of purple light erupted, transforming into the figure of Lin Baoqing. His phantom was less than half an inch tall. He cupped his hands and bowed, announcing loudly: "Fellow Daoists, the three-month period is almost up. The Ten Thousand Spirits Auction will begin in three days. We hope you will attend on time."
As he finished speaking, Lin Baoqing's phantom disappeared.
Putting away the token, Li Mu suddenly realized that three months had passed without him noticing!
This Dragon Transformation Spirit Grass was very likely to appear at this Ten Thousand Spirits Auction, and Li Mu naturally wouldn't miss it. There were still three days left, so he could make it in time if he left now.
Thus, after Li Mu finished refining the Star Concealment Puppets, he stretched, got up, and left the Artifact Refining Room.
"Little Gold, Little Wa, come here."
Li Mu called out softly.
The next moment, Little Wa surged out of the ground, shrinking its size, and crawled to Li Mu's feet, rubbing intimately against him, looking up with an expectant expression, as if asking what arrangements its master had.
Before Li Mu could speak, there was a cry of a falcon in the sky, and a figure more than ten feet wide swooped down, stirring up gusts of violent wind.
After a flurry of flying sand and stones, the Third-Rank Flying Stone Giant Eagle landed in the courtyard. Little Gold sat on the Yao Beast's neck, holding a stick, revealing a human-like proud smile.
Good gracious, it's actually learned from the Azure-Eyed White Ape to capture Yao Beasts as mounts.
Li Mu couldn't help but shake his head and smile. He handed two communication tokens to the two beasts and instructed: "I need to set up a large trapping Formation here. You two stay within the Formation to guard these two spiritual fields. If anyone discovers this place, use this token to immediately send me a message. Do not fight them head-on. Stay within the Formation and wait for me to arrive."
Receiving the tokens, Little Gold and Little Wa nodded repeatedly, their attitudes cautious.
These two spiritual fields were their master's most precious treasures, and they dared not be negligent in the slightest.
Ordinary people would not easily enter this Yin Yang Valley. Those who could enter must be Soul Transformation Cultivators or even higher-level figures. Therefore, Li Mu specifically instructed the two beasts to guard the spiritual fields well and not to attack strangers.
Li Mu took out the Twin Dragon Bones from the nine storage spiritual pearl and set up the Twin Dragon Immortal Binding Formation, scattering a large number of Spirit Stones to cover the two spiritual fields, firmly protecting them.
Outside the Twin Dragon Formation, he set up an even larger Five-Rank Heavenly Confinement Grand Formation. With two layers of Five-Rank Formations covering this area, even if a Soul Transformation powerhouse arrived, unless they were a skilled Formation Master proficient in Formations, it would take several days to break through by force.
This would be enough time for him to return.
After arranging matters in the valley, Li Mu stepped on his spiritual sword, summoned the Five Elements Spirit Mountain, enveloped himself in the Five Elements Domain, and protected his Divine Soul with the Star Cloud Contemplation Method's Divine Thought, embarking on his journey back to the city.
After Li Mu rushed out of the Yin Yang Valley, he summoned the Celestial Shuttle Spirit Ship from the nine storage spiritual pearl, entered it, activated the spiritual boat, and transformed into a streak of light, rapidly heading towards Barren Ancient City.
---
Barren Ancient City - Floating Air Port was still bustling with activity. Outside the city gates, various Cultivators on spiritual ships, spiritual boats, riding Spirit Beasts, or flying on swords came and went in an endless stream.
Their sheer number was overwhelming.
The Cultivators traveling on foot below also had an endless variety of travel methods, but no matter which one, they had to dismount three feet outside the city gate.
Li Mu naturally did the same. He arrived at the city gate, paid one hundred medium spirit stones, and still presented himself in the guise of 'Zhang Laotou' before entering Barren Ancient City.
Li Mu was concerned about the two Yin and Yang Spiritual Plants and didn't want to delay any longer, so he headed straight for Wanbao Pavilion.
Today's Wanbao Pavilion was different from usual; the continuous flow of people was clearly greater, and there were many more powerful individuals.
Li Mu merely glanced casually, without even needing his Divine Sense to check, and saw three Soul Transformation powerhouses. They walked together, chatting and laughing. Several young maidens at the Elementary Peak stage near the entrance clearly knew their identities, their faces beaming with smiles as they warmly welcomed them.
As these three Soul Transformation powerhouses entered, several more Soul Transformation auras approached from a distance, heading towards Wanbao Pavilion.
"Today's Auction is really lively. I'm afraid I'll have to spend more Spirit Stones if I want to buy good things later," Li Mu sighed, muttering to himself helplessly.
The more prosperous the place, the higher the Rank of the Auction, and naturally, the cost of bidding would be different from before. Whether in the cultivation world or the Immortal Realm, this truth remained unchanged through the ages.
Forget it, I'll take it one step at a time.
My foundation is decent, so I shouldn't lose out in bidding to others.
Li Mu moved to the entrance of Wanbao Pavilion and coincidentally met Wan'er, who had just arrived for her shift.
Seeing Li Mu arrive, Wan'er's eyes lit up. She quickly stepped forward, greeting him warmly: "Senior Zhang, you've arrived."
"Mm!" Li Mu still maintained his aloof demeanor, giving a simple response, and lightly patted the token at his waist.
Wan'er knew that 'Senior Zhang' was by nature reclusive and disliked speaking, however, facing this wealthy patron, even if it meant being overly eager, Wan'er was willing to do it.
Wan'er enthusiastically led 'Senior Zhang' to the Auction hall on the ninth floor.
Wan'er's overly enthusiastic attitude, even neglecting to greet a Soul Transformation powerhouse, couldn't help but surprise some who noticed.
Does a Nascent Soul True Lord warrant such enthusiasm? It's as if she's seen her own father.
How could these ignorant people know Wan'er's thoughts? Li Mu's single transaction yield was worth decades of her effort, and the process was extremely simple.
Serving those Soul Transformation powerhouses, the commission for a single transaction wasn't much, and she had to be extra careful, fearing even a tiny mistake.
Wan'er led Li Mu to the Ascending Cloud Ladder. As they both stepped on it, the cloud ladder ascended at an astonishing speed, reaching the ninth floor in less than half a breath. The process was as light as a cloud, with no discomfort.
"Senior, the Auction hall is ahead. Please give me your token, Wan'er will arrange your seat. You can rest here first."
Wan'er smiled, her fair face flushed with happiness, and she gestured towards a reception room nearby.
There were already many Cultivators inside the reception room, apparently also waiting for their tokens to confirm their seats.
Li Mu didn't waste words, took off his token, and handed it to her.
Wan'er didn't dare to delay and immediately used her movement technique to quickly handle the matter. During this time, Li Mu looked around and walked forward leisurely.
This ninth floor was indeed unique.
The decor was magnificent, with gold as the main color. The lighting was primarily from Fourth-Rank Materials – golden origin stones, showcasing Wanbao Pavilion's immense financial power to the attendees.
The golden passage was about four feet wide. At the front of the passage was a purple-gold gate, where four guards in uniform black outfits stood, exuding powerful Golden Core Peak auras.
The cloud ladder quickly brought up another group of people: four more Soul Transformation powerhouses and seven Nascent Soul True Lords.
The greeter took their tokens, but it's worth noting that Soul Transformation powerhouses and individuals with extremely distinguished identities didn't need to wait in the reception room. Under the guidance of the greeter, they entered the Auction hall ahead of others.
In contrast, ordinary Nascent Soul True Lords all waited here, and not a single person dared to complain.
Li Mu also turned and entered the reception area, casually finding a seat. In the reception area, there were some Qi Refining Cultivators serving tea and water, attending to everyone.
The service was quite good!
They brought Fourth-Rank Enlightenment Spiritual Tea, which had the effect of refreshing and aiding enlightenment. Li Mu sipped it slowly while waiting.
In the next section, at a table where several people were seated, many Cultivators were chatting and laughing. Only an ancient old man in a purple Daoist robe, holding Buddhist beads, had flickering eyes and paid no attention to his surroundings.
His gaze was fixed on the Buddhist beads in his hand. The Buddhist beads in the old Daoist's hand emitted a faint golden light. Each time a bead was rotated, its angle subtly shifted, as if locking onto something.
The golden light of the Buddhist beads also flickered, dimming and brightening with each rotation.
When the Buddhist beads turned towards Li Mu's direction, the Buddhist text on them was filled with golden light and trembled slightly, as if wanting to fly towards Li Mu, but the old man pressed them down with one hand, applying spiritual power to control them.
"Such a strong vibration, that person must have a great treasure on him!"
A flicker of greed flashed in the purple-robed old man's pupils beneath his white eyebrows.
"Fellow Daoist Wanling, what's wrong?"
A Nascent Soul True Lord friend at the same table, seeing Daoist Wanling's strange expression just now, couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Nothing, thank you for your concern, Fellow Daoist. It's just that this string of Buddhist beads Magical Artifact that I refined is difficult to control its spirituality. I just tried to soothe it with Buddhist chants, but it wouldn't listen and almost flew away."
Daoist Wanling fabricated an excuse to brush them off. The few people at the table burst into laughter upon hearing this, and they were all curious about what treasure Daoist Wanling had refined.
Daoist Wanling said it was a treasure for averting misfortune, but as he spoke, his subtle gaze kept drifting towards Li Mu, who was calmly sipping his Spiritual Tea.
Who is this person?
Why has he been staring at me?
Li Mu savored his Spiritual Tea, noticing that keen gaze from afar. Almost all the Cultivators participating in this Auction were Nascent Soul True Lords.
The Divine Thought Divine Ability of the Star Cloud Contemplation Method, Star Concealment, was strong enough to compare with Soul Transformation. His Divine Sense covered this area, and no one could detect it.
This was a good opportunity to eavesdrop on the conversations of the surrounding Nascent Soul True Lords and gather some information about the Central Spirit.
After all, Barren Ancient City was relatively close to the Central Spirit, and many of the Cultivators who came and went originated from the Central Spirit. Therefore, some intelligence about the Central Spirit could naturally be obtained here.
Although he didn't expect to obtain any major intelligence, collecting some was always beneficial. He would definitely have to enter the Central Spirit when he had time.
It was better to know more and be prepared; the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.
But he never expected that while secretly probing, he would discover that the purple-robed old man had been paying attention to him all along.
He remembered having interacted with this person before.
Could it be? An intelligence scout from Tianji Pavilion?
Or has his identity as Li Jianxian been exposed? Is the other party confirming his identity now?
Thinking of this, Li Mu's heart sank.
He couldn't help but wonder where he had accidentally revealed a flaw.
Could it be that the batch of demonic artifacts he had dealt with this time had been sold and discovered by someone familiar, who then traced it back to his identity?
It shouldn't be!
Li Mu frowned. He didn't want to stir up trouble now. The two Yin and Yang Spiritual Plants would mature in another twenty-odd years. If someone were to disturb him now, he would have to relocate.
The Loose Cultivator Alliance was still hunting him, and he had twice disrupted important matters for the Nine Demon Sect, so they probably held a grudge against him and might have secretly sent Soul Transformation assassins to pursue him.
If his identity were exposed, troubles would be endless.
Li Mu was not worried that the Loose Cultivator Alliance would catch up. The Soul Transformation Sect's teleportation array would take several months to travel from Luo Tian City to here.
He would have more than enough time to leave this place after the Auction ended. After that, he would be more careful, conceal his whereabouts, and hide in Yin Yang Valley for a period of time, which would still be more than enough.
On the surface, Li Mu remained composed, but a thousand thoughts had already flashed through his mind.
This person looks familiar. Where have I seen him before?
Li Mu glanced at the purple-robed old man and immediately recalled his identity. It seemed to be the silver-haired old man who had invited him to explore the ancient water mansion ruins in Bihai City before.