Looking at the Cultivator who rushed out of the dense forest, Zhao Xier was startled.
Upon closer inspection,
the Cultivator in front of her looked a bit dusty, clearly having traveled for a long time.
Yet, his Qi was stable, and his Physical Body was without a single scratch.
He was definitely a Master of the Body Forging Realm.
Not to mention the small Cultivation families or low-level Schools in the vast mountains,
even the one-star Zhengyang Sect here would absolutely not be able to cultivate such an excellent Body Forging Disciple.
Hehe.
Another Fellow Daoist who came to seek treasure.
Which School did he come from?
Qingxi Sect?
Yunming Sect?
Or that legendary three-star School?
But it doesn't matter.
Since they had come to the vast mountains, everyone was a competitor.
Moreover,
even in a three-star Sect, no one in the Body Forging Realm could be stronger than her!
Thinking of this,
Zhao Xier smiled sweetly: "Fellow Daoist, you seem to be in such a hurry. Have you found any treasures?"
Looking at the two Human Race Cultivators in front of him, Li Zhuo was stunned.
The two female Cultivators had beautiful eyebrows and foreheads, charming and alluring, both possessing good looks.
Moreover, their breathing was steady and long, definitely Masters of the Body Forging Realm.
There should only be a few small forces in the vast mountains, unable to cultivate Disciples of this level, right?
Furthermore, Zhao Xier's words were also very strange.
Treasure?
There were many treasures in the mountains.
But they had long been considered his own.
And logically speaking,
the vast mountains were rarely visited, so they shouldn't attract Cultivators to search for treasures.
What was going on?
Li Zhuo cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Fairy, what are you saying? I have been Cultivating in the mountains, but I have never seen any treasures. May I ask what kind of treasure the Fairy is referring to?"
Zhao Xier chuckled.
She thought to herself, this kid has such a strong Physique, yet he's pretending to be a wild Loose Cultivator.
What a clumsy act.
However, she didn't expose him, only continued to smile and say, "Fellow Daoist, you're really joking. Treasures are, of course, Spirit Plants~ It's that one..."
Listening to Zhao Xier's introduction, Li Zhuo's heart tightened.
How could the Spirit Plant mentioned by this female Cultivator be so similar to what Little Red described?
It couldn't be that coincidental, could it?
Li Zhuo dared not speak further, only cupped his hands in farewell: "I really haven't seen any treasures. I have matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."
After Li Zhuo left,
Zhao Xier's Junior Sister, who was beside her, asked in confusion, "Senior Sister, he came out of the mountains, and you just let him go like that?"
"Heh, he only has a low-grade vine on him. Other than that, there are no treasures containing spiritual power. His claim of being a wild Loose Cultivator is probably just to avoid exposing his School. Let him be."
After speaking,
Zhao Xier and the other woman continued their ascent up the mountain.
To seek treasure.
Li Zhuo walked a long distance before taking a deep breath.
He muttered, "The vast mountains are not small, they might not necessarily find Wanshou Mountain. That being said, I still need to go back quickly."
Thinking of this,
he found another Cultivator and asked for the location of the market.
To Li Zhuo's surprise,
the Cultivators here had no hostility at all; instead, they were very enthusiastic.
So enthusiastic, in fact, that Li Zhuo found it a bit cloying.
He couldn't figure out the reason.
He just assumed that the Cultivators here disliked fighting and were solely devoted to the Dao.
Following the direction indicated by the Cultivator, he indeed arrived at a small market.
It was bustling with activity.
In the market, there were not only small stalls set up by Loose Cultivators but also shops operated by Cultivation families and small Schools.
Even,
there were teahouses and taverns opened by ordinary Mortals.
It was extremely lively.
Not only that,
the local host, Zhengyang Sect, had also dispatched Cultivators to patrol and maintain order.
Displaying a harmonious atmosphere.
"Hoo—"
"I thought the cultivation world was all about fighting and killing."
"It's much more peaceful than I imagined~"
After being inspected and questioned by the Zhengyang Sect Cultivators,
Li Zhuo successfully entered the market.
Looking at the various "treasures," Li Zhuo's eyes lit up.
Except for a few fakes, the rest of the items, more or less, carried a trace of spiritual power.
This was much better than searching for a needle in a haystack on Wanshou Mountain.
However, he was currently penniless.
Not to mention Spirit Stones or spirit crystals, he didn't even have any gold or silver.
Therefore,
he had to sell the few pieces of fine iron he had.
After looking around for a bit,
Li Zhuo suddenly noticed some excitement ahead.
The sound of hammering and shouting was incessant.
Li Zhuo's eyes brightened, and he immediately squeezed in.
In the crowd, a girl in red was holding a hammer significantly larger than herself.
She was forging iron.
She bent her knees slightly, used her waist to exert force, and swung the hammer with both hands!
Bang!
The large hammer drew a perfect arc and slammed heavily onto the red-hot metal.
Sparks flew!
"What a magnificent Chaotic Cloak Hammering Technique."
Li Zhuo praised in his heart and then looked at the metal the girl was hammering.
There was no furnace here, nor bellows.
Only a palm-sized crimson little beast.
Taking advantage of the girl's hammer swing, the little beast gently blew on the metal.
The metal immediately turned red, and even the air was filled with a scorching aura.
Clearly,
this little beast was a very pure fire-attribute Spirit Beast.
"The girl's strength isn't great, yet she dares to display such a treasure. She must have a significant background."
Not long after,
the girl put away her hammer.
The originally crimson metal had also taken the shape of a saber.
"Done for the day~ I won't be responsible for the hilt, wrist strap, or anything else."
The girl finished speaking and let out a soft sigh.
She muttered quietly, "Master is really something, actually making me forge a treasure~ Where am I supposed to find such good Materials?"
The man in the crowd didn't hear the girl's complaint clearly.
He immediately bowed and said, "Thank you, Fairy! Thank you, Fairy!"
With that,
he held out two glistening Spirit Stones.
The little beast's eyes lit up.
It opened its mouth and inhaled, and the Spirit Stones flew into the little beast's mouth.
The man, holding the saber blank, left joyfully.
"What a pity, his crude iron material was too poor to be engraved with runes at all. Otherwise, it would have been another treasure saber."
A Cultivator in the crowd clicked his tongue and commented, expressing regret.
Upon hearing this, someone immediately retorted.
"Where can we find such good Materials in our area? Old Wang's material, though called crude iron, is already a rare treasure."
"That's true."
The crowd chattered and discussed.
Li Zhuo also roughly understood the situation.
This girl came from the two-star Artifact Refining School, Wanqi Pavilion.
She also came to seek treasure.
But her Master required her to forge a treasure before she could go into the mountains to seek treasure.
Even the little beast was her Master's possession.
It could help the girl forge at any time and also monitor whether she was cheating.
There was no other way.
The girl could only set up a forging stall in this market to help these low-level Cultivators forge.
If she encountered ordinary Materials, she would collect one or two Spirit Stones to replenish what the little beast needed.
If she encountered good Materials, she would do it for free!
Just to complete the homework assigned by her Master.
Unfortunately,
for three consecutive days,
all she saw was crude iron, which simply couldn't be engraved with runes.
The girl looked around the crowd and sighed softly.
She felt that today would again be a fruitless endeavor.
"Is there anyone else who wants to forge an artifact? If not, I'm packing up~"
She called out weakly.
The girl shrugged, just about to pack up and leave.
Suddenly, a voice came from the crowd: "I want to forge a set of armor, but I don't have any Spirit Stones."
"No Spirit Stones, no problem, unless you have... fine iron? And of extremely high purity?!"
The girl looked up.
She saw a dusty young Cultivator.
A vine was coiled around the Cultivator's waist, and a puffed-up, adorable Squirrel stood on his shoulder.