Chapter 100

After leaving the Lingyun Sect group, Pan Tao immediately opened up, saying, "Nie Tian, regarding Sister An Ying's matter, I am truly powerless."

"Elder Gan Kang is the fifth senior alchemist of the Treasure Pavilion. The Treasure Pavilion and our Spirit Sect are separate entities. Even my grandfather can't interfere with them."

"Moreover, it's not just Elder Gan Kang who has designs on Sister An Ying."

"My grandfather, though the grand elder of the Spirit Sect, is unwilling to take on An Shiyi's matter just because I like An Ying."

Pan Tao was afraid that Nie Tian would look down on him, so he quickly explained his helplessness to Nie Tian.

"I understand," Nie Tian responded.

"By the way, what realm are you at now?" Pan Tao asked.

"Level nine of the Qi Refinement stage. I've finally hit a bottleneck in my cultivation," Nie Tian smiled. "My master sent me to the Spirit Treasure Pavilion to temper my mind and spirit, hoping I could enter the Later Heaven stage in my own way."

"Your advancement speed is astonishing. I know you were only at level six of the Qi Refinement stage when you entered the Qinghuan Realm. In just half a year, you advanced from level six to level eight. In this half year, you've broken through from level eight to level nine. With your talent and ability, it shouldn't take long for you to enter the Later Heaven stage," Pan Tao said.

"What about you guys?" Nie Tian asked.

Pan Tao laughed, "Let me tell you, everyone who survived the Qinghuan Realm trial has undergone a transformation. This Qinghuan Realm trial was so perilous and cruel that it broke many of our bottlenecks."

"An Ying, me, and Zheng Rui. We were all at level nine of the Qi Refinement stage before entering the Qinghuan Realm. Now, we've all broken through to the Later Heaven stage, and we didn't even use the Enlightenment Pill!"

"Not just us, Jiang Lingzhu, Ye Gu Mo, and Zheng Bin have all advanced from level nine of the Qi Refinement stage to the Later Heaven stage."

"Only Nie Xian from your Nie family, due to his short time at level nine, seems to have not accumulated enough strength through the Qinghuan Realm trial, and is still at the Qi Refinement stage."

Pan Tao detailed this, seemingly still nostalgic for the dangers of the Qinghuan Realm, saying, "According to my grandfather, the more harsh and cruel the environment, the more it can stimulate potential. In the face of life and death, we often see ourselves most clearly, thus finding ways to break through our bottlenecks and advance."

"Alright, my main purpose today is to buy a storage bracelet," Nie Tian said.

"Just follow me," Pan Tao, who had been chattering nonstop, changed direction and soon led Nie Tian to a stone building that specialized in selling special items.

Inside the stone building, there were many ancient books about formations and runes for Qi Refinement practitioners, as well as many books on alchemy.

"Hey, Pan Tao, what are you doing here?" The alchemists of the Treasure Pavilion, upon seeing him, asked curiously.

"I'm buying a storage bracelet for my brother," Pan Tao replied casually, then led Nie Tian to a counter specifically for storage bracelets.

On the counter, there were six storage items, four of which were bracelets and two were rings.

The two rings, one red and one gold, were priced at ten thousand spirit stones each.

The four bracelets, each of different colors, were priced at five thousand spirit stones each.

"Nie Tian, storage rings are smaller in size but have twice the capacity of bracelets, so they are also twice as expensive," Pan Tao explained on behalf of the alchemist. "You are only at the Qi Refinement stage, so I think a storage bracelet would be enough for you."

"Then I'll take a bracelet," Nie Tian nodded.

Previously, Liu Yan had also said that a low-level alchemist didn't need an expensive storage ring at the beginning.

According to Liu Yan, if he hadn't bought the Flame Dragon Armor, he wouldn't even need a storage bracelet, as a simple cloth bag would suffice to hold his essential items.

Having spent nine thousand spirit stones on the Flame Dragon Armor, he didn't want to be too extravagant, lest his master scold him for being wasteful.

"Let's take the dark yellow one," he took out Wu Ji's token and handed it to the alchemist behind the counter, pointing to one of the storage bracelets.

The alchemist, upon receiving the token, took out the storage bracelet he had chosen and handed it to him.

Pan Tao, on the side, explained the usage of the storage bracelet, telling him that he only needed to send a thread of spiritual consciousness or a strand of spirit energy to store or retrieve items.

He put the bracelet on and, following Pan Tao's instructions, placed some spirit stones from his body into it.

A thread of spiritual consciousness entered the storage bracelet, and he found that the internal space was a white, misty area, roughly one-third the size of a stone room.

For him, who currently only had some spirit stones, a piece of animal bone, a token, and the Flame Dragon Armor, this space was already more than enough.

Even if he added the banner he had stored with Jiang Lingzhu, it would only take up a small part of the storage bracelet's space. Therefore, this five-thousand-spirit-stone storage bracelet could definitely meet his current needs.

"Here's your token," the alchemist of the Treasure Pavilion handed the token back to him, and he casually put it into the storage bracelet.

Not in a hurry to leave, he showed interest in the stone building that sold various special items and began to wander around.

He originally thought that the Spirit Treasure Pavilion's appraisal meeting only sold various spirit artifacts.

Upon arrival, he discovered that besides spirit artifacts and spirit armor, the appraisal meeting also sold elixirs.

Now, under Pan Tao's guidance, he found that this place sold various books, incomplete ancient texts, fragments of mysterious formations, and many incomplete cultivation techniques.

Many of the items in this building were incomplete, but the types were extremely diverse, giving Nie Tian a new understanding of the various items that Qi Refinement practitioners possessed.

"Without obtaining the Spirit Nourishing Pill, I only got the Flame Dragon Armor and a storage bracelet. According to my master, I can still buy one more item," Nie Tian thought as he wandered around, considering what the remaining item should be.

"Alright, there's nothing worth seeing here," Pan Tao, growing impatient, said, "Many of the items here are incomplete and of poor quality. As for those ancient formation texts and fragments, you don't need them at all. Your master is an expert in this field, and these items have been confirmed by our Treasure Pavilion to have no value."

"Even if they were complete, your master wouldn't even glance at them."

"He is a true master, and if you bring this trash back, your master will definitely scold you!"

"Oh, I see," Nie Tian nodded and finally left the place, being pulled by Pan Tao to wander around the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.

"Look, those three peaks are the focal points of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion's protective formation. Our Spirit Treasure Pavilion's protective formation is called 'Earth Flame Burning Sky.' At the base of those three peaks, there are hubs that connect directly to the core of the earth, allowing a continuous flow of flames from underground."

"Once the Earth Flame Burning Sky formation is activated, the entire sky of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion will be engulfed by the flames from underground."

"Even a Xuan realm Qi Refinement practitioner would find it difficult to break through those layers of flames. Qi Refinement practitioners below the Xuan realm have no chance of breaking through the flame barrier and entering our valley."

"..."

Pan Tao was very proud, introducing the various unique features of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion to Nie Tian and telling him about the power of the 'Earth Flame Burning Sky' formation.

As the sky grew dark, the two agreed to go to the stone buildings with the main spirit artifacts the next day to witness the most intense auction.

After returning, Nie Tian found Jiang Lingzhu and retrieved the Flame Dragon Armor, placing it in his storage bracelet.

The banner he had obtained by slaying Yuan Feng, if revealed, might emit a faint fluctuation. Jiang Lingzhu was worried that Sang Bing and Yuan Xian from the Ash Valley might notice, so she told him she would give it to him after leaving the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.

Nie Tian wasn't particularly interested in the banner and wasn't in a hurry.

That night, he continued to cultivate using spirit stones and also specifically took out the animal bone and the Flame Dragon Armor from the storage bracelet.

Soon, he felt the warmth of the animal bone and noticed that the essence and energy from his body were gradually flowing into the Flame Dragon Armor.

He didn't know how long he had been cultivating, but he suddenly felt a heavy pressure in his mind and found it much more difficult to refine the spirit stones than usual.

Stopping, he looked out the window at the full moon, feeling that the cold, bright moon seemed to be covered with a faint layer of blood.

"The spatial fluctuations are off!"

At this moment, a deep voice from the sixth floor of the stone building suddenly echoed.

Soon, Wu Xing came down from the upper floor, and Nie Tian, along with Jiang Lingzhu and Ye Gu Mo, also left their stone rooms, standing in the corridor.

Liu Yan, Shi Yi, and Luo Xin also came down from the fifth floor, their faces heavy.

Liu Yan took out a stone with small holes from his pocket, trying to speak into the sound stone.

"Crack!"

Surprisingly, the sound stone shattered as soon as he spoke the first word.

Liu Yan was shocked.

Wu Xing's face turned cold, and he suddenly looked at the moon in the night sky, shouting, "Something big has happened!"

Everyone followed his gaze and saw that the previously silver full moon had, in just a short while, been covered with a layer of thick blood, turning a dark red and looking eerie.

"Blood Sect!" Luo Xin's voice trembled.

Wu Xing shook his head and sighed, "It's not just the Blood Sect; they wouldn't dare to attack easily. The Hell Mansion and Ghost Sect must have also sent their experts!"

"Ahh!" Luo Xin cried out in shock.

"Blood Moon in the Sky!"

"The Blood Sect is up to something!"

"Oh no!"

At this moment, in the other stone buildings, many keen-sensed experts also sensed something amiss and walked out onto the streets or shouted from the upper stone platforms.

Nie Tian observed carefully and found that everyone's face was filled with fear and anxiety.

...