Chapter 1: When the father suffers humiliation, the son must avenge him

  The young man's face turned bright red with shame as he was ridiculed by the crowd, his eyes darting towards Xiao Chen with a hint of fear. If not for being stuck at a bottleneck in his cultivation and unable to break through, he wouldn't have dared to act this way.

  "Senior... Junior is delusional, how could you possibly look down on this low-level talisman? Junior will leave immediately."

  "Slow down." Xiao Chen glanced at him lightly, "Leave a hundred fireball techniques, take two elixirs from the bottle."

  As soon as these words were heard, the whole scene fell silent for a moment, and then there was an uproar.

  That young man was overjoyed, and without hesitation put down the hundred fireball spell talismans. He carefully took out two pills from the Spirit Tempering Jade Vial and left with great joy.

  Even the trashy "Fireball Technique" is wanted now, and with the first successful example, the scene suddenly became explosive.

  "Senior, I have dozens of fireball spell talismans in my hand, and there are also earth cracking talismans, binding techniques, and more than a dozen diamond talismans. In exchange for three small restoration pills."

  "Elder, junior has in hand Quicksilver Golden Needle, Exploding Fireball, thirteen Mire Symbol. Hope to exchange for two Aggregating Spirit Dan plus one Nine-Turn Blood Jade Cream."

  。。。。。

  。。。。。

  More than half of the time had passed, and nearly half of the spiritual pills on Xiao Chen's stall had been consumed. However, there were already over a thousand talismans in his storage bag, which made him quite satisfied.

  The lowest level of fireball technique, although it's only equivalent to a single strike of the third layer of Qi Refining, but if a hundred are cast simultaneously, I'm afraid even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be severely injured if hit, and if utilized well, might just gain an extra life.

  "Hmph!"

  A cold hum spread from the crowd, containing a strong spiritual power and divine intimidation, instantly pin-drop silence, quiet to the extreme. The crowd hastily parted a path, a man in his thirties with a gloomy face and black clothes walked quickly to the front of Xiao Chen's stall, looking at the spiritual elixir on this stall, his eyes flashing with a few hints of fiery color.

  Congratulations on your graduation!

  Xiao Chen's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly calmed down. Although he hadn't formed his foundation yet, his spiritual power was robust and pure. Even in a head-on confrontation with a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he might not necessarily be at a disadvantage.

  "Senior wants to buy Dan medicine?" Xiao Chen said calmly and cupped his hands.

  The man in black hesitated for a moment, then slowly said: "I have a talisman in my hand, and it's not something that these small fry can produce." A hint of pride flashed across his face as he turned over his hand to reveal a crimson talisman from his storage bag. The talisman seemed to be burning with intricate patterns and complex textures, clearly no ordinary item.

  "Fire Blast Technique, input spiritual energy to trigger talisman explosion, the resulting attack power is equivalent to a first-level Qi Refining cultivator's single strike, how do you plan to exchange?"

  Xiao Chen's eyes flashed with a few sparks of fervent color, this explosive technique was clearly a second-order talisman, and it was also an attacking one that wasn't weak. If he had it in his hands, he would have another means to save his life.

  "Pei Yuan Dan, three pills." Xiao Chen thought for a moment, then turned his hand over and took out three medicinal pills from his storage bag. The rich fragrance of the medicine suddenly spread out, clearly superior to the medicinal pills on the stall by at least one level.

  Pei Yuandan, this is actually a pill that can increase the foundation-building period cultivator's cultivation, instantly causing a wave of fiery eyes from the crowd.

  The man in black clothes had a hint of fervor in his eyes, and without hesitation said: "Deal!" He carefully took the three Pei Yuan Dan from Xiao Chen's hand and put them into his storage bag. The man hesitated for a moment, then continued to say: "I also have a high-level Water Needle Technique talisman, which can release tens of thousands of water needles at once when used, even if it's against a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, it will have some deterrent effect."

  "Exchange!" Xiao Chen didn't hesitate, but Pei Yuandian had already taken it out. After thinking for a moment, he handed over five Rebirth Pills to the other party.

  "Rejuvenation Pill!" The black-clad man was also a connoisseur, and his eyes revealed a hint of delight. He carefully examined it for a moment before nodding in agreement to the exchange, handing over the High-Grade Water Needle Technique scroll to Xiao Chen.

  Xiao Chen carefully checked it again, and after confirming that everything was correct, he nodded in satisfaction and put it away in his storage bag.

  "Senior, if there are other talismans to exchange, I will definitely give a fair price." Xiao Chen looked at the black-clothed man, his eyes flashing with a few sparks of fervor.

  The man hesitated for a moment and then shook his head.

  Xiao Chen's eyes revealed a hint of disappointment, which was noticed by the man. He couldn't help but smile coldly to himself and walked away with large strides.

  After nearly a quarter of an hour, Xiao Chen exchanged over 200 talismans and waved his hand, saying: "Let's stop here for today, everyone can disperse."

  Although there were still many people who had not exchanged for Dan medicine, the cultivation of Xiao Chen's seven-layer refining period was enough to make them dare not have any dissatisfaction, and they could only disperse with a reluctant expression. Of course, among these people, there were also many whose eyes flickered, although they dispersed, but did not leave far away.

  Xiao Chen smiled coldly in his heart, slightly withdrew, and a green light flashed outwards.

  Leaving Xiaoshanxiang Town, Xiao Chen swiftly and steadily moved forward. After traveling for about a few hundred miles, the space in front of him shook violently, and a figure appeared to block his path.

  Xiao Chen's face was expressionless as he looked at the other party and said calmly, "Fellow Taoist, what do you mean by this? Our transaction has been settled, why are you blocking my way?"

  The man in black revealed a sly smile on his face, and coldly laughed: "Heh heh, my purpose is simple. If you're sensible, return the two talismans we exchanged earlier, and offer me several dozen spiritual pills as well. Maybe I'll show mercy and spare your life." In his opinion, Xiao Chen was definitely a direct disciple of some large sect; otherwise, it wouldn't be possible for him to have so many medicinal pills on him at just the Qi Refining stage. That's why he didn't reveal himself in the market, waiting until now when he confirmed that Xiao Chen was alone and had no one protecting him in secret. Thinking that this time he would gain a considerable profit, his eyes suddenly revealed a few sparks of fervor.

  Xiao Chen's face showed a perfectly timed look of horror and his body made as if to turn around and run away.

  "Haha, I advise you not to struggle in vain, otherwise you will suffer even more!" The black-clothed man had a confident face, although he was only at the early stage of foundation building, but wanting to kill a cultivator in the refining period was simply too easy.

  "Die!" The black-clad man spat out a red awn, which was the spiritual instrument nurtured in his body, and it flew straight towards Xiao Chen. Facing a Qi-refining stage cultivator who still used his spiritual instrument with full force to seek instant annihilation of the enemy, the black-clad man could be said to have been cautious to the extreme. If it were someone else, they would naturally not be able to avoid death, but he was facing Xiao Chen.

  "It's now or never!" The black-clad man spat out a spiritual device, thinking that Xiao Chen was sure to die. His vigilance relaxed to its lowest point, and Xiao Chen's eyes instantly cleared up, all the panic color he had just now disappeared without a trace.

  The man in black was shocked, but before he could make any move, he felt his consciousness being pierced by an iron awl, spitting out a mouthful of bloody mist, and his body swayed and fell to the ground.

  The Ling instrument lost its master's aura, and its power suddenly decreased. It let out a buzzing sound as if it wanted to escape. Xiao Chen's face was expressionless as he beckoned with his hand, and the fiery red Ling instrument let out a mournful cry as it was grasped in his hand.

  Medium-grade Spirit Artifact!

  Xiao Chen's heart was filled with joy, but this wasn't the time for investigation. He stuck two prohibition talismans on it and put it into his storage bag.

  The black-clad man's consciousness was severely damaged as he fell from mid-air, his body already lifeless. Xiao Chen felt no guilt in his heart; if this person hadn't harbored evil intentions and attempted to take his life, how could he have ended up like this? He reached out and took the storage bag from the man's body, then coldly swept his gaze backward before letting out a chilly snort and activating his Escape Light to flee into the distance.

  After a moment, several figures emerged from the rear not far away, their faces pale and exchanging a glance, all of them couldn't help but swallow hard.

  They instantly killed the foundation-building cultivator, and this person must have hidden their cultivation. Moreover, when this person left in the end, their eyes were filled with a warning, and they might have discovered them early on. Thinking of how they had walked around outside the Ghost Gate earlier, everyone couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines, and they all scattered away like birds and beasts.

  Without alarming anyone, he returned to Luoyun Valley and carefully checked the seal outside the valley. Only then did he nod in satisfaction and enter the medicinal garden within the mountain.

  First, sort out the various talismans that have been collected and put them away properly. Although each one's power is weak, releasing dozens or hundreds of them at once would be something even a Foundation Establishment cultivator wouldn't dare to face head-on.

  Afterwards, he played with the two high-level talismans obtained from the black-clothed man for a while before carefully putting them away.

  He reached behind him and pulled out a storage bag, which belonged to the black-clad man. With a wave of his hand, he dispelled the seal on it and poured all the items inside onto the ground.

  Xiao Chen's eyes lit up, and although this person's character was not to be mentioned, in terms of wealth, he was absolutely the richest among all the foundation-building cultivators Xiao Chen had ever seen. The storage bag alone contained hundreds of low-grade spirit stones and several pieces of mid-grade spirit stones. Xiao Chen happily put them away in his storage bag. Apart from the fire-red mid-grade spirit device that had been used, there were three other spirit devices in the storage bag - one mid-grade and two low-grade. Xiao Chen naturally took all of them. Although the medicinal pills seemed like a considerable gain to outsiders, they appeared somewhat insignificant to Xiao Chen. After taking a brief look and not finding any high-grade medicinal pills, he casually put them aside.

  In the end, only a few talismans and two jade boxes were left. Xiao Chen carefully examined the talismans and unexpectedly found three Fire Blast Techniques and two High-Grade Water Needle Techniques talismans, which brought him some unexpected joy.

  The contents of the jade box were carefully stored by a man in black, apparently very precious. Xiao Chen swallowed his saliva and carefully opened one of them. What appeared before him was a strange talisman. It's called strange because this talisman is different from other talismans with intricate patterns and lines, but it's extremely simple, with only a few strokes depicting a lifelike needle-like object.

  He held it in his hand and sensed it carefully, but there was nothing special about it. There wasn't even a hint of unusual spiritual energy fluctuations. Although it seemed very ordinary, Xiao Chen had an intuition that this shouldn't be a simple object, so he carefully put it away in the jade box.

  Opening the second jade box, two jade slips lay quietly inside, one in cyan and the other in milky white. Xiao Chen picked up the cyan jade slip, looked at it for a while, then shook his head and put it down. This recorded a small, extremely fine cultivation method called "Wave Source True Water Decision", but it was of little use to Xiao Chen. Taking the other jade slip and placing it on his forehead, the four characters "_Array Symbol Way" appeared before Xiao Chen's eyes, explaining how to set up arrays and modify them into talismans. Xiao Chen felt a surge of joy in his heart, although he had obtained "Array Foundation Chapter" from Yaodaozi which also explained some array symbols, it was still quite superficial, very suitable for beginners, but the recorded arrays were extremely ordinary! And now that he had obtained "_Array Symbol Way", combining the two would undoubtedly be more suitable for Xiao Chen's studies.

  Half a time later, Xiao Chen's divine consciousness exited and carefully put away the Jade Slip. The Array Symbolism was vast and profound, he would wait until later when he had more time to study it again.

  Update completed, haha!