Originally, Lin Xiaofei was quite worried about the cultivator who owned the rat beast, whom he had never met before. However, now that he knew who the other party was, he no longer felt uneasy.

Inside the Taoist temple, many people were discussing Master Zhang and Zhang Yugui, from which he learned a great deal of information.

Although Zhang Yugui has been cultivating immortal arts for seven years, his aptitude for cultivation is quite ordinary. His current strength is equivalent to the skin-refining level of a martial artist. However, magic is a mysterious and unpredictable method, so his exact strength is still unclear; we only have a general understanding.

However, Lin Xiaofei is now a disciple of the Right Protector of the Qingfeng Gang branch, which is a special status. He believes that Zhang Yugui would not dare to make things difficult for him openly.

After all, Master Zhang and Zhang Yugui both played the role of helpful people in front of everyone, so they probably wouldn't jump out and admit that all the chickens in the village had been killed by the rat beasts controlled by Zhang Yugui.

Therefore, after the trip to the Taoist temple, Lin Xiaofei left alone on his way back with his master and the others.

"I've only just started refining my skin, and my strength is still quite different from Zhang Yugui's. It seems I need to master the skin refining technique first to close the gap between us."

However, given the good reputation they've built in Qingshan Town, they probably won't attack me openly. So, on the surface, I'm safe. In other words, I'm relatively safe within Qingshan Town, but I can't afford to be complacent.

Lin Xiaofei thought to himself that the other party might not target him openly, but it was hard to say what they might do in secret.

He took the other person's things, and the other person will come after him sooner or later.

At this moment, his strength was still somewhat lacking, and he was still somewhat wary.

What can significantly enhance his strength now is the cultivation of the Three Body Tempering Techniques and the refinement of pills from the Hundred Herbs Record, which will boost his combat power.

Reaching into the spatial bead, Lin Xiaofei took out a heavy package and went directly into a medicine shop.

This medicine shop is constantly bustling with customers. On the shelves, there are various shapes of alchemy furnaces, including gourd-shaped, three-legged cauldron-shaped, and iron pot-shaped ones, in a wide variety of styles.

At this moment, there was only one shopkeeper in the shop, who was greeting other customers with a big smile, as if he was very happy.

Lin Xiaofei casually observed the shop, waiting until the customers left before asking, "Shopkeeper, I'd like to buy a medicine-refining furnace."

Okay.

Our shop offers a variety of alchemy furnaces, including iron, bronze, and black copper furnaces, among others. Of course, the prices vary depending on the materials and techniques used in their manufacture. Which alchemy furnace would you like, sir?

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper glanced at Lin Xiaofei. Although he was just a very young boy, he was dressed in fine clothes, so he dared not underestimate him and quickly said with a smile.

"Bring over all those medicine furnaces you mentioned so I can take a look."

The alchemy furnace is the key to making pills, so it cannot be taken lightly. Naturally, Lin Xiaofei had to choose a good one.

"I'll get it for you right away."

The shopkeeper responded and turned to walk towards the goods rack, taking out several alchemy furnaces. They were roughly the same in appearance, but differed in weight and materials.

Lin Xiaofei weighed and touched them in his hands, shook his head, and asked, "Shopkeeper, do you have any alchemy furnaces that are better than these?"

These alchemy furnaces, though of different weights, are made from materials with some flaws. They would be fine for making ordinary pills, but the pills they produce require a higher quality alchemy furnace.

The alchemy furnace he needs should ideally be made of materials containing a trace of spiritual energy. This way, when he is refining pills, the spiritual energy he projects into the furnace will be more easily gathered into the medicine, thus refining it into pills.

After practicing the Dew True God Technique several times, Lin Xiaofei's perception, or spiritual power, increased significantly, and he became able to sense things that contained spirituality.

However, none of these alchemy furnaces possessed any spiritual energy.

Moreover, after observing them, he found that although these alchemy furnaces looked good, the materials they were made of seemed to be somewhat rough. He estimated that after four or five years of use, these alchemy furnaces might crack on their own.

"Wow, I didn't expect you to have such a keen eye at such a young age."

A hint of surprise flashed across the shopkeeper's face, but he quickly recovered and hurriedly took out several more alchemy furnaces from the shelf.

Lin Xiaofei glanced at the three alchemy furnaces placed in front of him, and his eyes lit up immediately.

The alchemy furnace he brought this time didn't look much different from the previous one, but the feel and the materials used to make it were slightly different. Moreover, he could feel a fluctuation of spiritual energy emanating from the furnace.

Although the spiritual aura was very faint, the quality of the alchemy furnace was much better than the previous one, although it was still mixed with other rough materials.

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Xiaofei asked again, "Shopkeeper, can you provide a satisfactory alchemy furnace?"

Otherwise, I'll check out other shops.

"Don't worry, I'll bring out a medicine-refining furnace that will satisfy you."

The shopkeeper's eyes widened in surprise, and he immediately realized that the young man in front of him was no ordinary person. He quickly put on a smile and deftly took out three alchemy furnaces from behind the cabinet.

Before the shopkeeper could even place the three alchemy furnaces on the counter, Lin Xiaofei's eyes lit up, and he felt a little excited.

A spiritual aura emanated from the alchemy furnace.

Lin Xiaofei compared the three alchemy furnaces placed together, and finally focused his attention on the one on the far right.

This alchemy furnace is shaped like a small cauldron and is bronze in color.

Compared to the other two alchemy furnaces, although this small cauldron-shaped alchemy furnace has an ordinary appearance, the material it is made from has the highest spiritual content.

"Shopkeeper, what is the price of these three alchemy furnaces?"

Lin Xiaofei composed himself and asked calmly.

"These three alchemy furnaces are the best in my shop. They were personally crafted by Master Chen Shan, a master craftsman. Look at the quality, the exquisite appearance, and the carving patterns. These are not things that ordinary craftsmen can create."

"And since you have such a good eye, I'll sell it to you at the lowest price: thirty taels for a pill-refining furnace."

The shopkeeper spoke with a broad smile and great enthusiasm.

"Twenty taels," Lin Xiaofei said calmly.

"My alchemy furnace is the best of the best; twenty taels wouldn't even cover the cost of the materials for its refinement."

The shopkeeper quickly replied.

"Twenty taels, will you sell it or not?"

"Young man, we are destined to meet, and this alchemy furnace is truly a masterpiece. Here's the price: twenty-five taels."

"Twenty taels!"

Upon hearing the shopkeeper's explanation, Lin Xiaofei felt that his price might be a bit too high. After hesitating for a moment, he still called out the previous price.