"Here's what we'll do. In the nest of those stone ants, there's a small sword-like magical artifact, the Silver Light Sword, that I left behind after fighting with them. The Silver Light Sword has fifteen weapon markings, is exceptionally sharp, quite durable, and very powerful."

That magical artifact and the small sword in my hand were originally a pair. You've seen me use this artifact to continuously slash at the Stone Mountain Ant King; it's quite powerful.

Therefore, I will give you another small magical sword, how about that?

The old man pondered for a moment before speaking.

"I want your white flame spell."

Lin Xiaofei nodded and quickly said.

He had been very envious of the white light and flame spell the old man had cast earlier, and had been thinking about how he could exchange it with the old man for that spell. Now that the old man had spoken, he knew that his chance had come.

"Alright, but I can only give you this spell after we return to Qingshan Town and I inscribe it onto the animal hide. You'll have to wait a few days."

The old man nodded, then hesitated for a moment before explaining:

You saw how severely my physical strength and spiritual energy were depleted after casting this spell, and you're only at the third level of Qi Refining, not as advanced as me. I suggest you don't try this spell lightly, or it will harm your body.

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Wang."

Lin Xiaofei smiled and nodded. He had already witnessed the power of the spell Wang Qingliang had unleashed and saw that the old man was in a state of extreme weakness. Therefore, he would not rashly use the spell if his own cultivation was insufficient.

Soon, some black scorpions appeared out of nowhere near the cave passage. However, they only hovered and watched from a distance without getting close, but they seemed somewhat wary.

The two ignored the insects and beasts, and after the old man took all the bones from the Stone Mountain Ant King's body, they returned the way they came.

"This dark serpent is a newly molted beast, completely intact, and is estimated to weigh over 500 jin (250 kg). It's worth a lot of silver. If we bring it back to town to sell it, it will have a significant impact."

Here's the plan: although the meat of the exotic snake is worth a lot of silver, there's too much meat, and it would be difficult to handle if we took it back. It might attract attention and cause trouble. We'll just take the most valuable and lightest part.

"Snake skin, snake whip, snake gall, and snake bones—we only need these four parts. We estimate we can exchange them for over 150 taels of silver."

The old man looked at it and said.

As a cultivator, he naturally needs to eat grains and meat, but cultivators also need peace and quiet. He didn't want to bring back a strange beast and attract many people in the town to look for him, thus causing trouble for himself.

Lin Xiaofei nodded, agreeing with the old man's reasoning.

This is a dark serpent that has just become a beast, and it is not something that he, an ordinary mid-stage martial artist, can subdue. If he takes it back to town to sell, it will be seen by some people with ulterior motives, and thus others will see his true strength.

Just a few days ago, he met with his master, Zhou Huanshan, and displayed strength at the mid-stage of an ordinary martial artist. If his master asked him how he hunted the strange beast Dark Serpent, he would have a hard time explaining it to him, which would be a troublesome matter.

Lin Xiaofei drew his longsword and made a small incision along the jaw of the strange beast, the Dark Serpent, before peeling off the entire snake skin bit by bit.

Next, they quickly cut off the flesh and removed the snake gall, snake whip, and snake bones.

A short while later, the two men, each carrying two large bundles, walked out of the cave.

"Senior Wang, when you were casting your spell earlier, I saw you swallow three silver-white pills. What were those pills?"

During the journey, Lin Xiaofei voiced his doubts.

When the old man poured out the silver pills, they emitted a pleasant fragrance. After taking a deep breath, he immediately felt much more refreshed and concluded that it was a good thing.

"The Mind-Concentrating Pill is a pill that can rapidly increase mental strength."

Previously, casting fire spells would severely deplete my mental energy, so I took three pills beforehand to barely manage to sustain myself.

You're only at the third level of Qi Refining. If your mental energy is severely depleted, taking a Mind-Concentrating Pill will allow you to recover quickly.

"If you want them, I can sell them to you. I also have other pills here: Spirit-Gathering Pills, Mind-Stabilizing Pills, and Herb-Smelling Pills, each with different effects. These are all top-quality pills."

The old man smiled gently and said.

What are the prices of these pills?

Lin Xiaofei's heart stirred. None of the pills the old man mentioned were in his Hundred Medicines Record, especially the Mind-Concentrating Pill, which he thought was a very good pill.

He knew in his heart that each time he refined a pill, he would consume a lot of mental energy. He used to sleep to restore his mental energy, which was very time-consuming. If he had a Mind-Concentrating Pill, he would not need to sleep to restore his mental energy, and he could save some time.

Especially when casting spells, if one's mental energy is insufficient, the power of the spell will be significantly reduced.

"One bottle of Concentration Pill costs fifty-five taels of silver, while the Mind-Stabilizing Pill and the Herb-Smelling Pill cost twenty-five taels of silver per bottle. Each bottle contains three pills."

The old man said frankly.

"So expensive?"

Lin Xiaofei was taken aback. Just from the name, he knew these pills were good things, but they were just consumables. He still felt a little reluctant to spend so much money to buy them.

"I saw you take the pills a few times before, and they greatly improved your combat power. If it's alright, we can exchange them. What do you think?"

The old man smiled and quickly said.

Previously, when Lin Xiaofei fought against a large number of wild beasts, he not only took pills but also threw out pills that could harm the beasts, which made him very curious.

Moreover, he discovered that after Lin Xiaofei took the pills, his physical strength was restored, which was equivalent to restoring his fighting ability.

"OK!"

Lin Xiaofei quickly agreed.

"Senior Wang, there aren't many cultivators in my town. Do you know Master Zhang, who is skilled at dealing with powerful beasts?"

Suddenly, Lin Xiaofei changed the subject, pretending to speak casually.

Some time ago, while doing a mission, he happened to meet Zhang Shuanghai, the apprentice of Master Zhang. He overheard the conversation between Zhang Shuanghai and the bandit leader, Xiao Eba. In addition, Zhang Shuanghai was the fourth leader of Black Wind Stronghold. He guessed that these people must be doing something shady in Qingshan Town.

The old man had been in Qingshan Town longer than him and might know something, so he wanted to sound out Wang Qingliang's opinion.

"Master Zhang!"

I met this person once. He said he was the illegitimate son of a fallen family, abandoned, and that he accidentally found immortal techniques on a dead person, thus beginning his cultivation journey.

The old man glanced at Lin Xiaofei, hesitated for a moment, and then continued:

Although this Immortal Master Zhang has a good reputation in Qingshan Town, he's all talk and no action. I must warn you, it's best not to have any dealings with him, otherwise it might be detrimental to you.

Seeing the old man's kind reminder, Lin Xiaofei immediately understood that the other party might know something, nodded, and calmly said:

He and I are people of different statuses, so naturally we have no chance to interact. Plus, with Senior Wang's reminder, I will try my best to keep my distance if I encounter him in the future.