Looking at Shen Lian who was standing outside the rift, holding a charred figure in his hand.

Xue Zishou chuckled.

He didn't move.

"Fellow Daoist Xue, if you don't come out, I'll leave."

Shen Lian looked around and continued to speak with a smile.

In fact, he didn't know whether Xue Zishou had left or not. When this guy was about to break the formation and leave, he must have deliberately made a noise to let Gong Zhongze find him.

Moreover, after removing the formation flags, Shen Lian discovered that the formation buried under the rift was composed of three linked formations. Although they were all second-grade top-grade, they were no less complicated than third-grade ones.

Of course, the power did not reach the third level, but Gong Zhongze spent so much effort to set up three linked formations. There is only one explanation: these three linked formations are most suitable for him to control.

It can be seen from the fact that he is controlling the formation while casting spells that he has mastered the control of the formation to perfection.

If it were a third-order formation, it might not be able to unleash such power.

Shen Lian asked himself that if he didn't use the Tianyan Jade Talisman, it would not be as easy as Xue Zishou to break through the formation.

He needs to dismantle the formation bit by bit, but Xue Zishou must have a great treasure in his hand, whose quality is much superior to the formation, so he can break the formation so easily.

Shen Lian cursed inwardly. No matter how well he practiced for decades, there was still a gap between him and the damn Golden Core and Nascent Soul masters.

Seeing that there was no movement in the valley, Shen Lian summoned a flying boat, carried Master Huo Qian onto the boat and headed off into the distance.

"hey-hey."

Watching Shen Lian go away, Xue Zishou was about to come out, but he stopped, looked at the figure disappearing in the distance, took out the wine gourd and took a sip.

A quarter of an hour later, the scene in the valley began to ripple again, and another Shen Lian jumped out from the Thousand Mountains and Ten Thousand Images Formation.

He looked around, then soared into the air and flew away into the distance.

"hey-hey."

This time, Xue Zishou's laughter was even stranger.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, Fellow Daoist Lu, your divine sense is indeed stronger than mine, but mine is a replica of our sect's fourth-tier upper-grade spiritual treasure, the Tianyuan Zhenshen Needle. It has inherited some of the power of the fourth-tier upper-grade spiritual treasure. It is not easy for even a mid-stage Jindan to sense it."

After taking another sip of wine, Xue Zishou hid in the same place without moving.

He wanted to play the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, but he didn't expect that there was a cultivator named Shen Lian among the crowd, whom he was unsure of.

Precisely because he felt threatened, he showed off a little of his skills, deliberately tearing open the formation and leaving in front of Shen Lian with ease.

Just tell Shen Lian, you are very powerful, but you can't stop me even if I want to leave.

In this case, compared to this small amount of floating wealth, he felt it was more appropriate to make friends with Shen Lian.

After drinking for half an hour, Xue Zishou flew down from his hiding place in the valley and came to the outside of the rift where the Thousand Mountains and Ten Thousand Images Formation was located.

He was very curious about the magic that Shen Lian used to kill Gong Zhongze. He could clearly sense that his fire power was so ordinary, but he was able to kill someone of the same level with one strike.

Doesn't this mean that there is a possibility of killing him with one blow?

Xue Zishou thought it was normal that Shen Lian did not take away the Thousand Mountains and Ten Thousand Images Formation. Without the cover of the formation, the place would be exposed.

The earth-colored light on his body flashed, and the lightning turned into electric arc snakes that easily tore through the Thousand Mountains and Ten Thousand Things Formation. Xue Zishou plunged into the rift.

At the same time, on the cliff outside the rift, a face slowly emerged among the lush moss and vines.

Shen Lian frowned slightly. He checked the place where Xue Zishou had just hidden, but did not sense his presence.

In fact, he was not sure whether Xue Zishou had left or not, so he just wanted to give it a try and try his luck.

I didn't expect to catch a date after just two tries.

This guy didn't leave.

Although they are all at the ninth level of foundation building, the difference can be seen among the ten people this time.

In the Yuanying Sect, in order to ensure the sect's inheritance, golden elixir and Yuanying seeds will be cultivated, and these people will be cultivated with all their efforts from the very beginning.

The high-level magical instruments, skills, and secret techniques that are difficult for outsiders to access are nothing in their hands.

I guess this fellow Daoist Xue is such a person.

Shen Lian was not willing to provoke such a person of status as it would be easy to get into trouble.

This kind of person is best suited for making friends.

Fortunately, the two of them have always been restrained. Of course, the main reason is that neither of them has a clear understanding of each other's strength. You are afraid of me and I am afraid of you.

Thinking of this, he swept his mind across the valley and a stone flew up and slowly landed at the entrance of the rift.

And tapped the formation gently.

Not long after, Xue Zishou came out with a whoosh.

I saw a stone standing in front of me.

"Fellow Daoist Xue, let's have a drink at Huogu Market."

When Xue Zishou saw the stone, a flash of light appeared on the stone and it instantly turned into powder.

He suddenly raised his eyes, his eyeballs rolling around, taking in the entire valley.

After a few breaths, he took out the wine gourd and took a gulp.

"Hiss... it's hard to guard against."

…

Fire Valley Market.

"Friend Lu, you came here to invite me to drink, but when you got here you only drank your own. That's not nice."

In the attic hung with copper bells, Shen Lian and Xue Zishou sat opposite each other.

After Shen Lian left the invitation stone tablet, he didn't expect Xue Zishou to actually come, but it was not beyond his expectations.

The two of them can be said to have shared hardships together.

"Come, congratulate Brother Lu on having an additional property."

Xue Zishou raised his glass with a smile. He really didn't have much interest in the Huogu Market, even the property of those foundation-building cultivators.

If you can get it, get it. If you can’t, it doesn’t matter. Just go with the flow.

Coming to drink with Shen Lian made him even happier.

"There is also a copy for Fellow Daoist Xue."

Shen Lian raised his glass and spoke with a smile.

"Xue didn't do anything, so I won't receive any reward without any merit."

Shen Lian also realized that this guy, like himself, really had no intention of doing anything at the beginning. If Gong Zhongze didn't have impure intentions, he would have left long ago.

"Brother Lu, just one question, how do you know Xue didn't leave? Did you notice it?"

Shen Lian pondered for a moment. Of course he couldn't say that I was used to hiding myself. In fact, I was cheating you.

“Brother Xue’s skills and magic tools are superb, I just got lucky.”

Xue Zishou did not dwell on this question. "It is a godsend that I can meet Brother Lu during this trip. If Brother Lu has the opportunity to travel to Tiannan and Zhonglu in the future, please come to Tianyuan Sect to find me."

When coming to the South China Sea, Shen Lian bought the corresponding map and was more or less familiar with the names of the major sects in the nearby areas.

It is true that I have never heard of the name Tianyuan Sect, and I guessed that Tianyuan Sect is not the name of a sect in the Southern Continent.

Tiannan Central Land is the most prosperous place for cultivating immortals in the entire Tiannan Continent. It is different from Tiannan South Continent, as there are great cultivators in the late Nascent Soul stage there.

A sect like the Yunshang Sect, which claims to be the dominant sect in the South China Sea, cannot even get a place in the Tiannan Central Continent.

"Brother Lu, just call me Brother Xue."

After drinking two more cups, Xue Zishou changed the subject and said, "I am not even sixty years old this year."

Shen Lian raised his eyebrows. It was good enough for others to build a foundation at the age of sixty, but this guy was about to form a pill at the age of sixty.

Damn! If I don’t die suddenly while cultivating like this, I will definitely become a Nascent Soul.

"That's true. I am already over a hundred years old. Brother Xue's golden elixir is right in front of me. He will definitely become a Yuanying ancestor in the future."

"Brother Xue."

"Brother Lu."

Finally seeing surprise in Shen Lian's eyes, Xue Zishou happily drank three cups in a row.

"Dude, just tell me how you found me."

Under the influence of alcohol, Xue Zishou asked again.

Shen Lian raised his eyebrows and patted Xue Zishou's arm.

"Brother, you are still too young."

Xue Zishou was stunned by these words. Perhaps because he had drunk too much wine, his mind suddenly came to its senses.

"Ah... I told you, my magic weapon is..." After muttering a few words, Xue Zishou regained his composure.

"Been taught a lesson."

…

After drinking for a while, Xue Zishou left Huogu Market with a big laugh.

There was no communication jade talisman between him and Shen Lian, and they just agreed to meet again in Tiannan Central Continent in the future.

For the foundation-building cultivators, traveling to the central continent of Tiannan is very far away. They can be promoted to the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages later and travel freely throughout the Tiannan cultivation world.

There seemed to be no doubt about both sides' advancement to the Golden Core and even the Nascent Soul stage.

In the Huogu market, after sending Xue Zishou away, Shen Lian felt a little relieved. Otherwise, he would not have felt at ease accepting the property of eight foundation-building cultivators, plus a market, without knowing Xue Zishou's situation.

To be honest, if Xue Zishou really wanted some spiritual stones or spiritual objects, Shen Lian really didn't care. As a friend, it's no big deal to give him some money out of kindness.

Of course, the prerequisite is that you can support each other on the road to cultivation, such as Fellow Daoist Xue.

Sitting cross-legged in the largest attic of the market again, Shen Lian had an array plate in his hand. This was the core of the entire Huogu Market, which was obtained from Gong Zhongze's storage magic tool.

By reading Gong Zhongze's fragmented memories, Shen Lian was quite impressed by this man's experience.

I really admire you from the bottom of my heart.

This Gong Zhongze, like him, is also a cultivator with five spiritual roots. The scales of the five spiritual roots are also very low. The only high spiritual root is the fire spiritual root, and the scale is only forty points.

He entered the immortal path with his fire spirit root, and not only was he promoted to the foundation building stage, he also cultivated all the way to the ninth level of the foundation building stage, and was only one step away from forming a pill.

You can imagine how difficult this is.

The story of the relationship between Gong Zhongze and Master Huo Qian is quite long. Master Huo Qian's success and failure were all due to Gong Zhongze.

True Man Huo Qian is an orphan brought up by Gong Zhongze from the mortal world.

Although he is an orphan, Master Huo Qian's spiritual roots are quite good. His fire spiritual roots have entered the upper-grade category and reached over sixty. Not only that, he also has some talent in refining equipment.

After discovering the potential of Master Huo Qian, Gong Zhongze became extremely jealous and his mind became twisted. In order to control Master Huo Qian, he purchased the Hou Tu Contract, so that Master Huo Qian would never disobey him in his life.

He was even worried that the power of one Hou Tu Contract was not enough, and after Master Huo Qian was promoted to the Foundation Establishment level, he used the Hou Tu Contract three times in a row to strengthen the constraints.

Under Gong Zhongze's dedicated training, Master Huo Qian was promoted all the way from Qi training to foundation building, and was expected to reach the Golden Core realm.

At this time, Gong Zhongze's jealous and twisted psychology broke out again.

He did not allow Huo Qian to become a Jindan Zhenren, even though the probability was not that high.

So he asked Huo Qian to refine a magic pill, which completely cut off his path.

Not to mention Gong Zhongze's twisted jealousy, in Shen Lian's opinion, this guy is definitely a talent.

The cultivator with five spiritual roots started from humble beginnings, controlled a fake elixir, and even established a private market outside the Red Crystal Mine City. He also secretly colluded with the sect forces in the mining city to sell the smelted ore to earn spirit stones.

He is definitely a powerful man. If his spiritual roots were a little better... no... if he were given more time, with the financial resources he has accumulated, he might really be able to try for the golden elixir.

Gong Zhongze asked Huo Qian to establish the market openly, while secretly hiding himself behind the scenes, just to collect resources for himself to advance to the Golden Elixir stage.

…

Taoist Huo Qian's eyes moved, and he saw four illusory figures standing around him, enveloped by an aura that was enough to kill him without a burial place.

His face was pale, his breath was weak, and the pain coming from his soul made his face distorted.

After waking up, he checked himself and found that the storage tools on his body were long gone, and there was also an extra seal in his dantian.

Without elixirs, he was unable to circulate his spiritual energy, and having been attacked by the Houtu Contract twice in a row, his strength had long been reduced to only one tenth of what it was.

But even at his peak, what would that do? He was still no match.

Besides, he had no intention of resisting.

After walking on the edge of a knife for so many years, I finally hurt myself.

Thinking of Gong Zhongze, Master Huo Qian gave a bitter smile. After three hundred years of hard work, he was now only one step away from success.

It’s the time and the fate.

"He just wants to advance to the Golden Core stage..."

The corners of his dry mouth trembled, and Master Huo Qian closed his lifeless eyes again, as if he had fallen asleep.

“This is fate.”

Gong Zhongze had an extremely complicated relationship with him. Without this person, he would have died in the war in the mortal world long ago. This person led him to the path of cultivating immortals, but also cut short his path.

Shen Lian's spiritual consciousness enveloped this place. When he brought True Man Huo Qian back from the rift valley, he didn't want to save this person.

This is also a... person. For a moment, he couldn't think of any words to describe Master Huo Qian.

When looking through Gong Zhongze's memories, Shen Lian found a loophole.

This guy Gong Zhongze is hiding very deeply.

Here in the Red Crystal Mining City, Huo Qian is in charge of everything, including the trading of ore with the sect forces in the mining city.

To the outside world, Gong Zhongze is just a servant of Master Huo Qian.

Gong Zhongze's age is obvious, and on the surface, this master and servant look so alike that they are almost impeccable.

People outside also don’t know that their master-servant relationship is reversed. After all, the fake Dan Zhenren is high above everyone else. This is common sense in the world of immortal cultivation.

Because of this, Gong Zhongze has not been exposed for so many years, and anyone who knew the truth has been killed by him.

Until this time I met Shen Lian.

Of course, even if Shen Lian was not there this time, there was still Xue Zishou, and the result would be the same in the end.

If he could dig out all of Master Huo Qian's memories, Shen Lian felt that he could completely replace him.

From now on, he is Master Huo Qian.

They all play with fire, and they are all weapon refiners, just the same.

(End of this chapter)