Before entering the shop, Yun Che had already taken out a black robe from his storage bag and used it to cover his head and face.

  Once inside, he glanced around.

  Most of the artifacts on the first floor were flying swords. The majority were far from ordinary items, each carefully placed inside an elegant brocade box. Seals were affixed to both sides of the boxes to prevent sword aura from leaking out.

  In the center of the hall stood a cylindrical crystal display case. Inside it floated three flying swords arranged in a triangular formation, their tips pointing downward.

  The blades flickered with alternating light and shadow, occasionally radiating brilliant glimmers.

  Noticing Yun Che staring at the crystal case, a shop attendant approached.

  The young man looked to be around twenty, with a sharp and lively expression. As he walked over, he discreetly examined Yun Che.

  Covering one’s face was not unusual. Many customers disliked revealing their identities and dressed similarly.

  The attendant possessed a special technique passed down from the Refining Sect to gauge cultivation levels. Yet the more he observed Yun Che, the stranger it seemed.

  Sometimes Yun Che appeared to possess Core Formation cultivation.

  Other times he looked like Peak Foundation Establishment.

  Although the attendant felt puzzled, his expression remained perfectly polite.

  “Senior, are you interested in these flying swords?”

  Yun Che withdrew his gaze and looked at the attendant, instantly seeing through his cultivation—it was only around the eighth or ninth level of Qi Condensation.

  His tone remained calm.

  “Does your pavilion sell pill furnaces?”

  The attendant smiled.

  “Senior, throughout Nandou City, only our Refining Pavilion sells pill furnaces. Such items are not something ordinary cultivators can afford.”

  “If Senior wishes to purchase one, please follow me to the second floor.”

  Yun Che nodded slightly and walked toward the staircase.

  As he stepped onto the stairs, his eyes briefly swept across a cultivator on the first floor who was still haggling over prices.

  After a moment of thought, he continued upward.

  Upon reaching the second floor, the attendant immediately walked to a middle-aged man reclining in a rattan chair and whispered something in his ear before leaving.

  The middle-aged man had pale skin and no beard. Occasionally a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.

  He stood and clasped his hands politely.

  “Fellow Daoist, what quality of pill furnace are you looking for?”

  Yun Che glanced at him.

  The man’s cultivation was the same as his own—Peak Foundation Establishment.

  Yun Che felt slightly surprised.

  If the first floor is staffed by Qi Condensation cultivators… and the second by Foundation Establishment… then the third floor must have a Core Formation expert overseeing it.

  His expression remained calm.

  “Perhaps you could show me a few.”

  The middle-aged man laughed.

  “Please sit first, Daoist. I will bring them right away.”

  He personally poured Yun Che a cup of tea and placed it on the table before walking to a wall nearby.

  With a single tap—

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  The wall shimmered like rippling water and gradually turned transparent.

  Three beautiful young maidens dressed in palace robes stepped gracefully out.

  Each carried a white jade tray, upon which rested a redwood box roughly two feet wide.

  The three boxes were identical in size but engraved with different patterns, and each bore several sealing talismans.

  The maidens stopped half a meter in front of Yun Che, secretly studying the mysterious figure hidden beneath the black robe.

  The middle-aged man picked up one of the boxes and placed it on the table.

  “Daoist, this is the Qingxuan Pill Furnace, forged from Azure Steel Rock and Misty Crystal found deep within the Demon Sea. It was refined over forty-nine months. Its quality is third grade.”

  He tapped the box.

  It opened immediately, revealing a delicate furnace no larger than a fist.

  Yun Che looked at it calmly.

  Su Wanqing had once told him that her own furnace was only second grade. To safely refine the Heaven-Separation Pill, a furnace of fourth grade or higher was required.

  After a brief glance, Yun Che shifted his gaze away without speaking.

  The middle-aged man smiled knowingly.

  He waved his sleeve, returning the box to the maiden’s tray, and skipped directly to the third box.

  “This one may interest you more.”

  He placed the box down carefully.

  “This is the Hundred Beast Spirit Furnace, refined from the inner cores of ninety-nine low-grade spirit beasts. When refining pills with it, there is a high chance the furnace will absorb beast-core energy and enhance the quality of the pill.”

  He opened the box.

  Inside rested a blood-red furnace.

  On its surface were carved the images of ninety-nine ferocious spirit beasts, each incredibly lifelike.

  Even through the seals, faint waves of spiritual power leaked out.

  If the seals were removed, the spiritual aura would likely surge skyward.

  Even Yun Che felt his heart stir slightly.

  But outwardly, his expression did not change at all.

  The middle-aged man stroked the box proudly.

  “You know, Daoist, even a low-grade spirit beast is comparable to a Core Formation cultivator. Our sect spent years collecting these cores before forging this furnace.”

  “Its quality is fifth grade.”

  Yun Che thought briefly.

  “What price?”

  The man smiled faintly.

  “One hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones. That is the fixed price.”

  “Alternatively, you may trade a magic treasure of equal value.”

  Even though Yun Che had expected it to be expensive, his heart still sank.

  The price was astronomical.

  No wonder the Douxie Sect had spent nearly half their sect’s spirit stones just to purchase a furnace.

  The middle-aged man leisurely poured himself tea.

  “If that’s too expensive, Daoist, perhaps you should consider the Qingxuan Furnace. It costs one hundred thousand middle-grade stones—only about ten thousand high-grade stones.”

  Yun Che glanced at him.

  Then he slapped his storage bag.

  A large piece of flood-dragon hide appeared on the table.

  The man’s eyes widened slightly.

  “Flood-dragon armor hide?”

  He examined it carefully before placing it aside.

  “This is the hide of a mid-grade spirit beast flood dragon. How much of it do you have?”

  Yun Che calmly asked in return,

  “How much is required to exchange for the Hundred Beast Furnace?”

  The man calculated silently.

  “If the dragon was over one thousand meters long, then a full hide would suffice.”

  Without hesitation, Yun Che tapped his storage bag.

  Suddenly, piles of flood-dragon hide appeared on the table like a small mountain.

  Without even looking back, Yun Che grabbed the redwood box containing the furnace and walked downstairs.

  Behind him, the middle-aged man’s breathing grew slightly heavier.

  His divine sense swept across the hide.

  Even if it wasn’t the entire hide, it was almost complete.

  A mid-grade spirit beast was equivalent to a Nascent Soul cultivator at peak power.

  Such creatures were rulers even within the Demon Sea.

  Yet Yun Che had just thrown their hide onto the table like common goods.

  Yun Che left the Refining Pavilion quickly.

  Wealth invites danger.

  He knew that principle well.

  Although he had disguised himself, he still felt uneasy.

  While ascending earlier, he had noticed someone spying on him.

  Before leaving, he secretly planted a thread of divine sense within that person.

  Now, stepping outside, he immediately sensed the spy’s location.

  An inn across the street.

  There were many people inside.

  And beside the spy were three Core Formation cultivators.

  Yun Che pondered briefly.

  Instead of detonating the divine sense immediately, he turned several corners and attempted to activate Earth Escape Technique.

  But the moment the white light appeared—

  It failed.

  The entire city was covered by a restrictive formation that suppressed earth-escape techniques.

  Yun Che frowned slightly and immediately rose into the air, flying toward the city gate.

  Moments later—

  A thin, dark cultivator appeared where Yun Che had tried to escape underground.

  He licked his lips greedily while staring at Yun Che’s departing figure.

  This man was Jia Si, a purchasing disciple from the Douxie Sect.

  When Yun Che entered the second floor earlier, Jia Si had already grown suspicious.

  He pretended to browse casually while secretly observing.

  Once Yun Che went upstairs, Jia Si quietly notified his fellow sect members in the city.

  By the time Yun Che emerged, reinforcements had arrived.

  Even three sect elders had come.

  Jia Si was overjoyed and eagerly explained everything.

  Soon more than ten cultivators gathered around him.

  Most were Foundation Establishment cultivators.

  But among them stood three figures shrouded in black mist.

  They were the Core Formation elders Yun Che had sensed earlier.

  One of them spoke with a hoarse voice from within the mist.

  “Jia Si, you exaggerated too much. I thought he was truly a Core Formation expert.”

  “Hmph. He’s only a fake core cultivator.”

  “What treasures could someone like him possibly possess?”

  “We’ve waited here for so long. What a waste of time.”