Xin, a tiger-striped name, isn't much better. Looking at the little devil, so thin and dark-skinned, his appearance doesn't match his seemingly simple-minded name at all. Since entering this small cave, Zhang Xiaohu has huddled at the entrance, looking at Zhang Guodong with some fear, too afraid to come in.

From the mountaintop to the hall we just left, Zhang Xiaohu behaved very well, following behind Zhang Guodong. He didn't look around, which pleased Zhang Guodong.

He was secretly delighted; it seemed he'd scared the little devil quite a bit. This kid probably hadn't truly experienced a life-or-death battle yet. But that was good; instilling a sense of awe in the kid was more effective than any harsh words.

"Come in. From now on, you'll stay by my side and behave yourself, and I won't kill you. Maybe if you do well, there will be a reward!" Zhang Guodong said coldly.

As she spoke, she took out a warm tent and a quilt from her storage bag and tossed them to him. After thinking for a moment, she took out the golden, cooked wild rabbit that had cooled down, conjured a magic blade with her fingers, cut it in two, gave one half to Zhang Hu, and wanted to taste the other half herself.

"Eat up, then rest. Go set up your tent yourself!"

Leaving Zhang Xiaohu alone in the cave, the little devil stared blankly for a while, then greedily looked at the half-eaten rabbit, swallowed a few times, and finally realized that Zhang Guodong had agreed to eat it. He then let out a low shout and pounced on it.

To be honest, he was really hungry. He had worked as a handyman in restaurants and helped in the kitchen quite a bit, but he had never actually tasted anything he had cooked himself. He didn't have the privilege or the right to do so.

So the rabbit meat tasted completely different, and before long I had eaten half a rabbit. Looking at my belly, you wouldn't guess I had such a good appetite.

Outside the cave, Zhang Guodong, having emerged from the illusion array and felt the chill in the air, smiled slightly, having observed everything. He was now certain. There was absolutely no problem with the kid's identity. The only question was how this ghost, with such low cultivation, had come to the outside world; he was curious about that. However, now was not the time to inquire.

Holding half a wild rabbit in one hand and a jug of strong liquor in the other, taking a few bites of the meat, savoring the taste for a few seconds, and then taking a sip of the liquor, there seemed to be no better enjoyment on this cold mountain peak.

The reason is simple: Zhang Guodong doesn't possess any pseudo-magical artifacts that ward off dust. He enjoys experiencing the four seasons and different temperatures. Of course, with his current cultivation level, he no longer needs such things in ordinary environments.

"I didn't expect that something this kid made so simply would actually taste so good!" Zhang Guodong thought to himself. The spiritual energy in the rabbit meat had been stimulated, and a little bit of it had been lost in the short time, but it still tasted delicious.

Zhang Guodong felt that the products he produced in Taoyuan seemed to be wasted if made using ordinary methods.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Zhang Guodong didn't waste a single moment of these two days, taking time out to cultivate in the second level of Peach Blossom Spring, not wanting to waste even a single second.

Liu Meigui visited several times, but mostly they talked about the situation in the Southwest Imitation Market. Although Liu Meigui hadn't been there in person, she maintained constant contact with some cultivators via communication talismans. It was said that the place had become quite formalized and was now called the "Southwest Imitation Market," backed by several powerful figures.

Initially, only twenty or thirty people came to trade, and most seemed to be observing, worried it might be a trap. However, over the past two weeks, word of mouth has spread, and more and more cultivators have joined in. Now, the trade fair is held once a month, and each time it can gather hundreds of cultivators to participate.

The number of attendees continues to grow. It is said that, based on preliminary estimates, in a few months, the number of attendees at each of the prayer meetings will easily exceed five hundred.

Zhang Guodong was astonished by the number; he hadn't expected so many cultivators to venture into the outside world! This far exceeded his expectations. It was foreseeable that the number of people entering the outside world would likely continue to increase. Furthermore, those cultivators who ventured out would likely take on apprentices and create new opportunities, further increasing the number of cultivators.

Zhang Guodong was not afraid of this outcome. On the contrary, he saw it all as an opportunity! He seemed to see countless crystals and magical artifacts beckoning to him!

Aside from Liu Meigui, Bai Yin, that effeminate man, never gave Zhang Guodong a friendly look. Naturally, Zhang Guodong also disliked him and usually ignored the effeminate man.

Several other people visited Zhang Guodong two or three times, even offering to exchange items. However, Zhang Guodong refused, saying he didn't want anything at the moment. Seeing their gloomy expressions as they left, Zhang Guodong smiled slightly, not taking it to heart. If anyone caused trouble, he wouldn't mind double-crossing them.

The only person Zhang Guodong took the initiative to visit was Wu Xing of the Red Leaf Sect, who had a dull expression. Just as Liu Meigui had said, this man spent almost the entire day holed up in his cave, gesturing and drawing on the ground, sometimes taking out crystals to test them, or looking at memory talismans, and then pondering for a long time.

Zhang Guodong had intended to visit them in person, but unfortunately, he was turned away each time and had no opportunity to communicate. Left with no other option, he had to arrange to talk on the way or visit them at a later time.

His storage bag also contained array runes, but only two: a small spirit-gathering array and a teleportation array—two extremely valuable arrays. Besides these, there were no other arrays.

He was very interested in illusion formations, which could confuse the enemy. And if there were trapping formations or attack formations, he could subdue or even kill the enemy without even lifting a finger.

After everyone had finished cleaning up, Wu Xing also put away the illusion array, and only then did Zhang Guodong realize what was happening. He dug out a black disc from a corner of the ground, inlaid with three or four crystals. It turned out that the weeping crystals were what provided the power of the array. And the weeping black crystals were actually the array disc, an array tool made of crystals.

"Alright, now that everyone's ready, let's get going!" Liu Meigui was the temporary organizer of this group. "There might be dangers along the way, so I won't say much. I hope we can work together to reach Fang City safely. If we get there, those who are able can rent a place to stay, or spend some crystals to settle down and cultivate there." Among this group, apart from Zhang Guodong and Xiao Hu, the rest were all veterans. They just nodded without saying a word, and the group quickly flew down the mountain.

Zhang Guodong held Zhang Xiaohu's hand with one hand and followed beside Liu Meigui with the other. Liu Meigui also slowed down, seemingly to accommodate Zhang Guodong. After all, wouldn't it be suspicious if someone at level nineteen moved too fast?

"Senior Sister Liu, has the journey been unsettled? Is there anyone who dares to plot against our group?" Zhang Guodong asked as soon as he arrived at the foot of the peak with the others.

"Just in case, generally speaking, unless someone is a fool, they wouldn't try to take over a large group," Liu Meigui said with a charming smile.

I see!

"Those experts who possess overwhelming strength usually look down on us. Our magical artifacts and such are beneath their notice, so they naturally won't bother with us. However, among those of the same level..."

Liu Meigui gave Zhang Guodong some pointers, and Zhang Guodong learned a lot along the way.

The city of Fangcheng in the southwest is located in a very remote area. After leaving Langyue Peak, the group traveled through the mountains for two days, occasionally resting and replenishing their supplies with food.

They didn't arrive until the evening of the third day. Liu Meigui contacted the other party again, and they said they would send someone to pick her up immediately.

But looking at this desolate jungle, with its treacherous terrain, there are no human buildings or structures present.

The other party simply told everyone to wait there, and they had no choice but to comply. The imitation markets outside are probably different from those in the cultivation world; they can't be built openly and honestly. Perhaps they're worried about being discovered by mortals, so they've taken some kind of cover. For example, an array?

If there were a large illusion array, it could cover an area of ​​tens of square kilometers, but given the thin spiritual energy in the outside world, it could only cover a few square kilometers.

At this moment, Zhang Guodong found an opportunity and struck up a conversation with Wu Xing.

When the topic of formations came up, this taciturn Red Leaf Sect disciple became much more talkative.

"Senior Brother Wu, besides illusion arrays, are there any other arrays that can trap or injure enemies?" Zhang Guodong asked sincerely. "What level was that set of array equipment you put away earlier?"

So, Zhang Guodong had his eye on that set of array-making equipment. He had plenty of crystals, but lacked array-making equipment. With the equipment, setting up an array would be much easier.

“There are formations that can trap and injure enemies. That illusion formation is just an auxiliary formation among the basic formations. Many people think that the illusion formation is a useless formation, but in fact, the illusion formation also has destructive power, and it is very powerful! Entering the illusion formation can cause people to have a mental breakdown and go into qi deviation. But that’s nothing!” Wu Xing’s eyes lit up, and his interest immediately became high.

However, once the conversation started, it automatically expanded, leaving Zhang Guodong sweating profusely and only able to nod in agreement. He, however, became very interested in the illusion array mentioned later.

"Senior Brother Wu, do you have such array formation tools? Do you sell them in bulk?" Zhang Guodong asked hurriedly.

But Zhang Guodong was immediately disappointed. Although Wu Xing was obsessed with array formation research, the power of the illusion array he had just mentioned could only be achieved with high-level array formation tools, but high-level array formation tools were not so easy to forge.

After hesitating for a while, Wu Xing finally said, "This... I can currently only refine basic array artifacts, such as illusion arrays, fireball arrays, water arrow arrays, earth and stone arrays, and seven or eight other arrays. As for advanced array artifacts, or even higher levels, I can't refine them yet."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Guodong breathed a sigh of relief. Although somewhat disappointed, he also found it laughable. High-level array artifacts were not only impossible for the other party to craft, but he himself might not be able to afford them. If he were to buy them, he would probably go bankrupt.

Next, the two discussed basic array formations, and Zhang Guodong finally gained some insights. The basic illusion array set up using the array plate had a maximum coverage area of ​​twenty meters in radius. It consumed crystals, and because it was a basic array, the crystals couldn't be automatically replenished with spiritual energy. Once the crystals were used up, they had to be replenished.

For example, the water mist formation is also an auxiliary formation. It has the function of preventing spiritual entities from intruding and confusing people's vision. However, if it is to attack and harm people, poison can be added to the water mist, causing people to be poisoned without their knowledge. This formation has a frightening effect.

However, the combined effect of the water arrow formation and the water mist formation would be greatly enhanced. These are the functions of a basic formation. It might not seem like a significant effect, but Zhang Guodong was still surprised when he heard that a set of basic formation equipment cost two hundred low-grade crystals.

The price wasn't low, but it wasn't too high either.

The materials used to craft basic array artifacts are mostly common materials, with only a small amount of precious ores mixed in. The cost isn't very high, about thirty or forty crystals are enough. However, crafting them still requires specialized personnel.

If it's only this price, Zhang Guodong wouldn't mind buying a few to play with.

Update complete. As always, the Heavenly Dao continues its efforts and perseverance, so we hope you all will continue to support us! To be continued tomorrow.