However, after this tour, Yang Che's horizons were greatly broadened.
He even felt a little reluctant to leave this place.
And this was just one of the market towns in Wulong Valley, named 'Cloud Bamboo Workshop' because it was located in a lush bamboo forest valley perpetually shrouded in mist.
Under the faint mist, Cloud Bamboo Workshop was clearly a bustling long street.
On both sides of the street, paved with huge bluestones, stood numerous shops and pavilions, intricately carved and adorned.
In the open spaces between these pavilions, there were also many temporary stalls.
Whether inside the pavilions or at the temporary stalls, all sorts of strange and unheard-of Materials, as well as Talismans, Magical Artifacts, and Cultivation Technique classics, were available.
However, the careful Yang Che still noticed that whether in the pavilion shops or at the temporary stalls, Medicinal Herbs were extremely scarce, not to mention finished Medicinal Pills.
Yang Che still hadn't left, even after wandering until it gradually grew dark.
After all, this was his first time visiting a market town, and he wanted to learn more about the Materials that Cultivators could use, especially their approximate prices.
For example, a Qi Refinement Stage Metal-attribute Cultivation Technique called 'Ding Jia Gong' cost ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones, while a 'Five Elements Incantation Basic Compendium' actually cost fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones to purchase.
Furthermore, he already knew that the Low Grade longsword Magical Artifact 'Wandering Cloud Sword' he received upon entering the Valley was worth nine Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
Most general Low-Grade Magical Artifacts were around ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
Ordinary Mid-Grade Magical Artifacts, however, mostly ranged from tens of Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
A common High-Grade Magical Artifact was usually around one hundred to two hundred Spirit Stones.
However, a Peak-Grade Magical Artifact was much more expensive, costing several hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
Even sets of Peak-Grade Magical Artifacts were more expensive, requiring thousands of Spirit Stones to acquire.
This immediately gave Yang Che a rough estimate of the value of the Peak-Grade Magical Artifact 'Flying Fire Meteor' he had obtained.
Clearly, as a set of Peak-Grade Magical Artifacts mentioned in the Jade Slip, the Flying Fire Meteor was worth at least a thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
This naturally made Yang Che quite excited and delighted.
But in an instant, looking at the Talismans, incantations, and other items around him that he coveted but couldn't afford, he immediately felt quite disheartened.
Especially the urgently needed Alchemy Cauldron and the Medicinal Herbs required to refine the 'Eight Treasures Pill' made him even more worried.
There was only one shop in Cloud Bamboo Workshop that specialized in items related to Alchemy or Artifact Refining, named 'Qiao Gong Ge'.
This pavilion was located in the most prosperous area of Cloud Bamboo Workshop, standing seven stories high, truly magnificent and grand.
He had learned that an Alchemy Cauldron of slightly better quality cost approximately forty Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
Yet, after cultivating 'Puyu Huang' for half a year and exchanging it for Sect contribution points, he had only obtained six Low-Grade Spirit Stones. After three years, he wouldn't even be able to afford a slightly decent Alchemy Cauldron.
Relying solely on this method to earn Spirit Stones was clearly not feasible.
Fortunately, Yang Che had already inquired about several methods of earning Spirit Stones from Senior Brother Situ in the Scripture Pavilion, which somewhat eased his mind.
At this moment, standing outside 'Qiao Gong Ge', his mood was somewhat complex.
Among the Medicinal Herbs needed to refine the Eight Treasures Pill, the 'Wang Qiong Grass' and 'Diyun Shao' were not available at Qiao Gong Ge.
And the shopkeeper had sworn that no other market town would have them either.
Putting aside these two unavailable Medicinal Herbs, even the several that were available, he couldn't afford.
Yang Che suddenly realized that without a large amount of Spirit Stones, the Dao of Cultivation was simply impossible to traverse.
Leaving Cloud Bamboo Workshop, stepping onto his Sophora Leaf Magical Artifact, he slowly flew back towards Sunset Gorge, constantly pondering the methods of earning Spirit Stones that Senior Brother Situ had mentioned in his mind.
Half an hour later, he flew to an uninhabited desolate peak.
Yang Che suddenly noticed two auras rapidly flying towards him from behind.
Soon, two masked Cultivators, one male and one female, flew in front of Yang Che, blocking his path both in front and behind.
Yang Che activated his 'Heavenly Eye Art' and vaguely sensed that both of them were at the Qi Refining Sixth Stage.
"Senior Brother, Senior Sister, what is the meaning of this?"
Yang Che tightly gripped two Flying Fire Needles in his palm and asked coldly.
At this moment, the woman spoke, "Junior Brother, don't be afraid. We just saw you wandering around the market town all day without buying anything, so you must be very short on Spirit Stones, right? We have a method to quickly earn Spirit Stones and would like to invite Junior Brother to join us. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Che's heart jolted, and he immediately understood.
It turned out that his day of wandering around the market town, curious about everything but buying nothing, had attracted attention.
This made Yang Che feel a bit annoyed; he had been somewhat careless. It seemed that he must never let down his guard at any time.
"What method?"
Yang Che's mind raced, and a faint sweat seeped into his palms.
He only had Qi Refining Fourth Stage Magical Power, while the two in front of him were both at the Qi Refining Sixth Stage, two stages higher than him, not to mention they were working together. This naturally made the solitary Yang Che sense a strong feeling of danger.
"Junior Brother, if you also want to earn Spirit Stones, you must first give each of us ten Spirit Stones as a joining fee. Only after you join us can we tell you the method."
The woman deliberately lowered her voice, making it difficult to discern her true identity.
Yang Che, however, sneered inwardly. It wasn't impossible to pay a joining fee to join a group, but what was the meaning of them wearing masks?
He kept his face expressionless and pretended to agree, "Alright, I'll pay."
Before his voice fell, with a flick of his fingers, two streaks of dark light shot out, aiming for the foreheads of the two people in front of him.
At the same time, the Magical Power of the Sophora Leaf Magical Artifact beneath his feet greatly increased, and he fled at extreme speed.
With two 'ding ding' sounds, the man and woman simultaneously took out their Magical Artifacts and actually blocked Yang Che's two Flying Fire Needles.
"You're courting death!"
The male Cultivator finally spoke, seemingly enraged by Yang Che's actions, and immediately chased after Yang Che.
Yang Che glanced back, retrieving the Flying Fire Needles into the Meteor Box. At the same time, he noticed that the male Cultivator's Magical Artifact was a fiery red shield, while the female Cultivator's was an ice-blue short sword.
The Flying Fire Needles, which had always been effective before, were ineffective for the first time against Cultivators, fellow Immortals.
"That fiery red shield should be the defensive Magical Artifact I saw earlier. And that ice-blue short sword should also have defensive capabilities," Yang Che thought to himself.
Although the Flying Fire Needles had not succeeded, Yang Che was not disappointed at all; instead, he felt a strange excitement.
Flying Fire Meteor was originally a set of Magical Artifacts, and there were three hundred and sixty Flying Fire Needles alone.
According to the white Jade Slip, the true power of Flying Fire Meteor would be unleashed when it formed the 'Tai Xuan Hidden Light Formation'.
Unfortunately, with his current cultivation, he could only control twenty-four Flying Fire Needles at most simultaneously, still a significant gap from the minimum of thirty-six required to form the Tai Xuan Hidden Light Formation.
And even without forming the Tai Xuan Hidden Light Formation, when driven individually, according to the usage method described in the Jade Slip, the more Flying Fire Needles that could be controlled simultaneously, the greater their power.
Yang Che's Magical Power was inferior to theirs, and he found that after they applied the 'Wind Riding Art', he was at a great disadvantage in terms of speed.
Trying to escape by speed was almost impossible now.
Yang Che simply stopped thinking about escaping and instead revealed a fierce look in his eyes, a resolute Battle Intent rising from within him.
This was his first true battle against a Cultivator.
Moreover, his cultivation was at an absolute disadvantage, which made Yang Che's nerves constantly tense, not daring to relax in the slightest.
