The moment Shi Xuan saw the wood, he thought of Lu Shenzhi. This piece of Soul-Nourishing Wood seemed to have been specially prepared for his senior brother. Perhaps his luck had really turned around.

Zhao Cai flew down from Shi Xuan's shoulder and landed on the piece of Soul-Nourishing Wood, seemingly quite pleased with it. Its tiny black eyes stared straight at Shi Xuan, who instantly sensed its joyful mood.

"How much?" Shi Xuan asked.

The stall owner seemed a little nervous around Shi Xuan. After thinking for a moment, she tentatively asked, "Twenty mid-grade spirit stones?"

It seems that they would agree immediately if Shi Xuan made a counter-offer.

This was a huge bargain. Shi Xuan readily threw down twenty mid-grade spirit stones, put the piece of wood into his storage bracelet, and took it with him.

The stall owner accepted the spirit stones, feeling delighted at the prospect of earning them, but also wondering if the customer would agree to ask for more.

Shi Xuan has already gone far.

With not enough spirit stones, Shi Xuan could only buy some spirit herbs that were not usually easy to buy. There were still several spirit herbs he wanted to buy but didn't have enough spirit stones for.

She secretly pondered that after returning to the sect from this alchemy competition, she should find a way to earn some spirit stones, otherwise she would be short of money to buy anything while traveling, which would be really unpleasant.

Otherwise... she had a sudden inspiration, how about we set up a stall on the ground?

Shi Xuan looked at Lu Wenxing and asked, "If I also set up a stall here, would the sect rules allow it?" Actually, it wouldn't matter even if it wasn't allowed, but since the sect leader was lurking right next to them, they had to at least give him some face.

Lu Wenxing looked blank and said, "Probably, maybe, perhaps it's possible. When Senior Sister Tang Nong used to set up a stall to sell spiritual food, no one ever interfered." He seemed uncertain.

Gu Liangce, who was behind him, coughed and replied for him, "Normally, our sect does not prohibit disciples from trading on their own, but during events, they cannot do anything that would affect the sect. We are currently in the midst of the Pill Dao Competition. If Senior Sister wants to sell pills, I'm afraid it will make other sects more wary of our sect."

Whether she was alert or not didn't matter; she was confident in herself. However, she was concerned about the sect leader behind her... Her eyes darted around, and she suddenly had an idea.

She sighed softly, looking sadly at the spiritual herbs she couldn't afford, and said, "These spiritual herbs are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I still have to buy them, I really have to. But we can't let this affect the sect's image. It's such a dilemma! So difficult!"

Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, a small bag of spirit stones appeared in her hand. Shi Xuan revealed a smug smile, looking rather mischievous. She weighed the bag in her hand; this time, she would buy whatever she wanted!

Shi Mingxiu, hiding in the shadows, shook his head helplessly. This little brat was clearly nagging him; if he didn't give her the spirit stones, she wouldn't let it go. Fine, he'd give them to her anyway.

Shi Xuan made a quick and easy purchase, and now her storage bracelet is no longer empty.

On the way back, Lu Wenxing clicked his tongue and said, "I thought Fan Hongde would come out with Fan Mingzhu, but I didn't see him in the end. He must not have come out. Otherwise, he might have slapped you when you angered Fan Mingzhu and she left."

“That’s not necessarily true,” Shi Xuan said, flicking a leaf far away. “I was about to tell a story at the time. He might have been too ashamed to hear such a wonderful story and ran away.”

“Hmph,” Lu Wenxing retorted, “I think he’d be faster to punch you to death than to run away.”

"That means he must have sensed that our wise and mighty sect leader was nearby, and dared not make a move!" In any case, she refused to admit that she was talking nonsense at the sect leader's door.

The group chatted and laughed as they left the town where the market was located and entered a remote area.

Shi Xuan sensed something was amiss and said to the sect disciples, "Why do I feel like something is watching us?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a person flew out of the bushes nearby.

The man was dressed entirely in black, and his face was covered with a black cloth, making it impossible to see his features. Without saying a word, he directly struck Shi Xuan with a palm.

"Hand over that piece of wood from before and I'll spare your life!" The man in black's voice was hoarse, as if something had damaged his throat.

Shi Xuan retreated sharply, and Lu Wenxing drew his sword to meet him, forcing the man in black to take a step back.

"Junior sister, go first! This person is a Nascent Soul cultivator!" Lu Wenxing was reliable at the crucial moment, directly blocking Shi Xuan's way.

Those alchemists with lower cultivation levels knew that if they rushed forward, they would only be a hindrance, so they all retreated.

Shi Xuan also took a few steps back. Lu Wenxing, a sword cultivator, already possessed solid cultivation, and was able to barely hold his own against a Nascent Soul stage opponent, but he quickly showed signs of weakness. A difference of one major realm is not something that can be easily overcome.

They've already left the market; the sect leader has probably gone back. If they don't deal with this person today, they'll probably all perish here.

Thinking of this, Shi Xuan took out a pill from the bracelet and flicked it out like a leaf, flying towards the man in black.

The man in black, unaware of what it was, tried to swat it away with his arm. However, when the small sphere touched his arm, it immediately dispersed, releasing a cloud of white, smoke-like powder. Even though the man in black immediately held his breath, he still inhaled some of it, and the rest landed on him.

Before long, he suddenly felt an unbearable itch all over his body, an itch that emanated from the inside out, an itch that made him want to scratch his heart and liver.

"You're asking for death!" The man in black was furious, all his hatred directed at Shi Xuan. He endured the intense itching all over his body, stepped over Lu Wenxing, and vowed to deliver a fatal blow to Shi Xuan.

In the critical moment, a swift wind blade flew out from nowhere and struck the man in black. He quickly dodged to the side to avoid a vital spot, but the wind blade still hit his arm, drawing blood immediately.

The man in black was shocked. Who had the ability to injure him? If it weren't for this intense itching all over his body, how could he have been so unprepared!

The wind blades enraged him even more. He reached out and pulled out a gear-shaped attack magic weapon, channeled his spiritual power into it, and hurled it at Shi Xuan.

The magical artifact seemed to possess its own consciousness, charging towards Shi Xuan's neck. Shi Xuan ducked to avoid it, but it persisted relentlessly, its speed increasing rapidly. Just as Shi Xuan was about to be caught off guard, Lu Wenxing was busy dealing with the man in black and had no time to spare for anything else.

Just as the gear was about to hit Shi Xuan, the wind blade reappeared, deflecting the gear.

Shi Xuan suddenly realized that this was not a wind blade, but the sect leader's sword energy!

"Sect Master, give me a few more hits!" Shi Xuan shouted.

The man in black was already unbearably itchy, and when he heard the sect leader's name called out, he was even more startled. If it really was the sect leader, how could he possibly win? Could it be that the wind blade from earlier...

Lu Wenxing seized the moment when he was distracted and thrust his sword forward. The blade had already pierced the black-clad man's sleeve, but unexpectedly, the man had a protective magic treasure inside. Lu Wenxing's cultivation was not high enough to injure him like the sect leader's sword energy, but he did manage to cut off half of the man's sleeve.