Seeing Han's determination and his calm demeanor even in the face of precious artifacts, Ye Zhong couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration.

  “Your resolve is commendable,” Ye Zhong remarked, “but using treasures wisely to enhance your cultivation isn’t necessarily bad, as long as you avoid relying on shortcuts that may harm your foundation.”

  Han nodded, indicating his understanding.

  It seems I'll have to make the most of my natural talents.

  Ye Zhong wouldn’t lie about something like this, right?

  At the Wànxīng Merchant Guild, Han and Lù Qīngmò had arrived together.

  After gaining a more complete inheritance of incense-making techniques, Han was planning to collect the necessary ingredients for the incense, so that àn Láng could begin her practice whenever possible.

  Such a capable assistant couldn’t be left idle.

  As for Han’s choices in the treasure vault, Lù Qīngmò didn’t say much, offering only a few pointers.

  “This Haoran Great Palm is actually a technique passed down from the Eastern Zhou Academy of Saints, a powerful force whose strength and influence rival that of the Xuandu Sect,” Lù Qīngmò explained. “It’s one of their primary legacies.”

  Han frowned in confusion. “How did a technique from the Eastern Zhou Sect end up here?”

  “It was willingly passed down,” Lù Qīngmò continued. “The Haoran Great Palm is the foundation, but it has several subsequent variations. The highest forms are kept as secrets of the Eastern Zhou Academy. The State Ghost Command only has access to the second variation, and anything beyond that can only be obtained directly from the Academy itself.”

  This was clearly a power move.

  “This palm strike is majestic and righteous, very effective against evil spirits, ghosts, and demonic forces. When combined with Haoran Qi, it becomes invincible, providing immunity to all forms of evil,” she added.

  “Haoran Qi?” Han asked, intrigued.

  “It’s a special force, quite extraordinary. The Eastern Zhou Academy is the place where it originates, but even there, few people are able to cultivate Haoran Qi—it's extremely difficult.” Lù Qīngmò shook her head.

  “But don’t worry, even without Haoran Qi, this is still a top-tier technique.”

  “The Thousand-Mile Shadow has its second part as well, which is also available through the State Ghost Command.”

  “These are all excellent techniques, and they’ll be more than sufficient for you at this stage.”

  I knew Ye Zhong wasn’t lying.

  On their way to the second floor of the merchant guild, Han had a sudden thought. “Aunt Mo, do you think the Wànxīng Merchant Guild would buy the three Yang Marrow Beads I have?”

  “The merchant guild in Tian Yue County won’t take them,” Lù Qīngmò said flatly. “You should keep them.”

  “But what if…” Han began, but Lù Qīngmò suddenly fell silent, realizing her words might have been a mistake.

  She shouldn’t concern herself with what Han might want to do with them in the future.

  “I don’t need those things,” Han muttered.

  He didn’t need the marrow beads to crush his enemies!

  “Manager Lin, I’m here again. I need more incense materials.”

  Manager Lin looked up, surprised upon seeing Lù Qīngmò, and immediately stood up.

  “Greetings, Sect Leader Lù.”

  A merchant guild that operates in isolation would eventually fail, but one like this—well-connected and well-informed—would thrive. People like Lù Qīngmò, a disciple of Xuandu Sect, were well known in Tian Yue County’s various circles.

  She nodded slightly, offering no further words.

  Manager Lin quickly picked up on the cue and didn’t disturb them further, but instead, turned to listen to Han’s request. His attitude was noticeably warmer than last time.

  “Yes, we have everything you need. Please wait a moment, I’ll gather the materials right away.”

  Han raised an eyebrow, surprised at the sudden shift in attitude.

  He missed the old, rebellious Manager Lin. It was much more fun when he acted with a bit more defiance.

  Lù Qīngmò, however, was unbothered by it, as she had grown accustomed to this behavior.

  Though there were other forces in the world that could rival the Xuandu Sect, within the boundaries of the Great Qi, the Xuandu Sect was unquestionably the most powerful.

  Except for a few evil factions, most forces in the Great Qi were careful to show respect to the Xuandu Sect.

  “Next time, if you have the chance, you should visit the Wànxīng Merchant Guild in Yu Jing. It’s truly a place of wonders, filled with rare and exotic treasures,” Lù Qīngmò suggested.

  Han’s curiosity was piqued, and he sent a message through their spiritual connection, “Do they sell Pure Yang Flames there?”

  “…No, they don’t.”

  Okay, okay, I get it. My luck is incredible, I know.

  Yesterday, Lù Qīngmò had also been thinking about some things. Given Han’s past experiences, she quickly deduced that Han wasn’t just talented, but also incredibly fortunate.

  How else could he always stumble upon opportunities?

  Sometimes, luck is more important than talent.

  Because luck can change your destiny.

  Han is definitely someone with hidden potential, a dragon waiting to rise.

  Lù Qīngmò was pleased with his progress. After all, she had played a part in shaping his journey, even if it wasn’t a huge role.

  Manager Lin quickly returned, efficiently gathering the requested materials. He even offered Han a significant discount.

  “Manager Lin, isn’t this against the rules?” Han asked.

  “Not at all,” Manager Lin grinned. “People like Sect Leader Lù always get the best discount at our guild. If I didn’t give a discount, that would actually be against the rules.”

  Han glanced at Lù Qīngmò, and seeing her nod, he didn’t push the matter further.

  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  Thus, Han ended up purchasing a higher-grade batch of incense materials at a price almost identical to his previous purchase.

  Indeed, with greater status and power, you don’t need to ask—others will offer.

  Don’t buy into the “too pure to fish” mentality.

  You don’t have to take the offer, but it’s expected that it’s made.

  As they left, Manager Lin personally saw them off, his enthusiasm almost over the top.

  “The incense you acquired, the Thought Incense, can be bought by our guild,” Lù Qīngmò remarked as they exited. “But don’t expect anything extraordinary from this branch in Tian Yue County.”

  Han nodded in agreement. “Indeed, there’s nothing really special here.”

  Lù Qīngmò paused, thinking. Normally, there wouldn’t be anything unusual about what Han said. But for someone in the second stage of cultivation, to dismiss all the treasures here as unimpressive—it was a little strange.

  In this merchant guild, even the items displayed were useful to someone at the Flesh Refining stage.

  But Han didn’t see anything unusual.

  After all, he had been hacking away at the Great Thousand Immortal Tree daily, and the treasures he found were of a much higher grade than anything here.

  Once everything was settled, Lù Qīngmò casually summoned her familiar flying carpet and took the lead, while Han followed, albeit a little slower.

  As they were leaving, Han couldn’t help but notice Lù Qīngmò’s figure—a straight back, and below, her curves were enticingly graceful.

  He quickly averted his gaze.

  “Aunt Mo, has there been any word from the County about how to handle the Black Mountain God?”

  “I’ve reported it to the State Ghost Command. Whatever they decide, let them worry about it,” Lù Qīngmò replied.

  The carpet soared into the sky, heading towards Heiyun Town.

  “Given the strength of the Black Mountain God and the trouble he brings, this isn’t something that can be handled by a single county or district,” Lù Qīngmò added.

  “Sit still, don’t move around,” she instructed. “This isn’t your first time flying, right?”

  Han chuckled. “It’s just that I haven’t flown much…”

  Soon, Heiyun Town was in sight.

  With the space gear now at his disposal, Han had developed a new desire—a flying artifact.

  Great Thousand Immortal Tree, are you listening?

  I’m not subtly hinting—I’m being as direct as I can.

  Lù Qīngmò entered Heiyun Town directly, dropping Han off at the Taibai Martial Arts School.

  “Continue studying in the Peach Forest,” she reminded him, before leaving immediately.

  She didn’t even stop by to see Bái Ruòyuè...

  Before long, Han’s return was already spreading through Heiyun Town, and various factions immediately dispatched their men to Taibai Martial Arts School to probe into Han’s true strength.

  This time, they sent disciples at the Meridian Realm, as Han’s earlier feats were no longer seen as a mere breakthrough.

  However, when they arrived, they couldn’t find Han. He was too busy to deal with them, so he had Bái Ruòyuè drive them away.

  While Han remained elusive, a certain influential figure did take notice of him.

  On a rooftop in the city, the head of the Gao family, Gao Zhenxiong, stood, his gaze profound.

  "He’s not at the peak of his physical strength—he’s in the Meridian Realm," he mused.

  "Meridian Realm after just a few days of cultivation, and he's still visiting Lu Qingmo. He might even be cultivating his soul alongside his body…"

  "In this world, such a genius exists, and to top it off, he's the disciple of Bai Tian…"

  "With his cultivation speed, give him a few more years—no, just a year or two—and he’ll be unstoppable…"

  "Yet Bai Tian, you’ve been missing for so long…"

  "Black Cloud Town cannot afford to have someone this extraordinary…"

  With that, Gao Zhenxiong vanished from the rooftop, his speed too fast for the eye to follow.

  Once Han’s news spread, almost all the cultivators became intrigued. Heads of various families and masters of martial arts halls were no exception. A genius of his caliber surpassed all their understanding and shattered their conventional wisdom.

  It was no surprise that some of them came personally to investigate.

  And the last person Han had defeated, Gao Lu, was none other than Gao Zhenxiong’s son.

  Soon after, several letters arrived on the desks of family heads and martial arts masters.

  “Tai Bai Han has reached the Meridian Realm and is suspected to be cultivating his soul as well!”

  This news left some of them speechless, and others in disbelief.

  Achieving physical mastery in just a few days versus reaching the Meridian Realm in that time, and on top of that, possibly cultivating the soul—it was an entirely different concept.

  The disciples they had sent to test Han were quickly recalled.

  These were only beginners in the Meridian Realm or at its early stages. "Test?"

  They were more like delivery boys than actual testers!

  Han quickly turned his attention to refining the more comprehensive incense-making technique and began gathering the necessary materials for An Lang to continue her practice.

  Such exceptional labor should never be left idle.

  An Lang, however, found herself overwhelmed by the sudden increase in workload. The pile of incense-making techniques she now had to study was much thicker than before.

  This was cutting into her precious sleep time!

  Meanwhile, Han focused on martial arts training. Traveling made it inconvenient for him to maintain his usual practice routines, but he kept at it whenever possible.

  During Han’s training, Bai Ruoyue often observed him—both to offer guidance and to learn herself.

  Since Han had begun to cultivate the ability to transform his soul into various spirits, his martial techniques took on a unique quality.

  This was a domain Bai Ruoyue had never explored before. Observing him now had a profound impact on her.

  It wasn’t that her martial arts lacked perfection—far from it. Her techniques were flawless, refined to the highest degree.

  However, Han’s method of cultivating martial arts by merging it with the souls of different creatures was an entirely new concept. It was a path no one had ever thought to take, and it produced some novel results.

  These insights were unique, and Bai Ruoyue had never encountered anything like them before.

  She couldn’t resist asking Han for more of these pearls of wisdom.

  The quiet day soon turned to evening, and Han made his way into the Immortal Tree’s secret realm, marking the start of another round of intense training.

  His stamina was still intact, and once it refreshed, he would be able to perform his full eight strikes.

  Pure satisfaction.

  Four swift swings, and light orbs began to appear one after another.

  The typical spoils included three Spirit Plants and two Soul Plants—useful for either enhancing cultivation or strengthening the body and soul.

  These were far superior to the plants Han had seen in the Ghost God Division’s vault.

  [Rare Item: Soul-Suppressing Stone]

  [Can be placed on the soul to suppress it, rendering it immobile.]

  [Rare Item: Dry-Blood Cotton]

  [Consumes all the blood in the body upon ingestion.]

  Two powerful attack-type items dropped.

  But the real despair came with the appearance of another Martial Dao Seed.

  [Martial Dao Seed: Subduing Demon Staff Technique]

  [Upright and righteous, this technique subdues demons and displays divine might. It’s a true method for vanquishing evil.]

  “Ah, the rebellious nature of this is as consistent as always…” Han sighed.

  Alongside that, another Daoist technique seed dropped, which lifted Han’s spirits, helping to alleviate the despair caused by the staff technique.

  [Daoist Technique Seed: Purifying Heart Incantation]

  [A fundamental spell from the Eight Great Divine Spells of the Daoist Sect. It purifies the body and mind, eliminates distractions, and aids in spiritual clarity. It protects the soul and keeps it from wandering.]

  This technique, like the Golden Light Incantation Han had been using, was a key part of his spiritual practice. The Eight Great Divine Spells were interlinked, and practicing them together would lead to significant enhancements.

  Now, Han had three of the Eight Great Divine Spells. Perhaps, before his cheat ability refreshed, he would be able to collect them all.

  The next drop was a material called Yang Copper, a rare substance with light and scorching properties—perfect for weapon crafting.

  Three pills useful for cultivation also dropped, along with an item that seemed unfamiliar and hadn’t appeared before.

  [Special Item: Fusion Light]

  [Can perfectly merge various materials into a finished item. Single-use.]

  Han grasped the Fusion Light and quickly understood its purpose.

  For example, if he tossed a few herbs in, it would merge them into a pill, though its effects remained unknown unless following a specific recipe.

  If he used ores, they would be fused into a weapon. The quality would depend on the materials used, but the design could be freely chosen.

  “Well, looks like I’ve dropped into the realm of alchemy and weapon crafting…” Han scratched his head, a little stunned.

  Of course, this was just a tool dropped while he was in the Meridian Realm, so its abilities had limits.

  It wouldn’t let him fuse Black Mountain and Cloud River together, for example.

  Had this dropped before Han went to the county city, he could’ve easily fused Golden Liquid and Silver Essence into a weapon.

  But now, it wasn’t too late. Han had already formulated a plan for how to use it.

  He pulled out the Seaheart Armor, a piece of Semi-Warrior Armor, and a raw ore, and tossed them into the Fusion Light.

  Semi-Warrior gear could be upgraded to full Warrior-level equipment—Han had seen this happen before with materials from the Great Immortal Tree.

  The Seaheart Armor had flaws, but the raw ore could fix them.

  Han had several pieces of Semi-Warrior gear, but the Seaheart Armor was undoubtedly the most important, so it took priority.

  [Warrior Gear: Seaheart Armor]

  [A piece of warrior-level armor forged perfectly. It offers extreme defense, resists energy corrosion, cleanses itself, and has three unique traits: 'Ocean Embrace', 'Raging Wave', and 'Assimilation'.]

  Success! The Seaheart Armor was upgraded beautifully, now imbued with three powerful traits. It was a truly formidable piece of equipment.

  But looking at the blue inner armor and its name, Han couldn’t shake the feeling that it was oddly familiar…