In the Discarded Pill Room, Su Shi'er was unaware that he hadn't been discovered by the Black-clothed Person. Instead, he had already caught the attention of other fellow disciples.

A conspiracy against him was quietly unfolding.

After driving away those two servant disciples, he continued his arduous cultivation in the Discarded Pill Room.

Apart from the monthly delivery of discarded pills by disciples from various peaks, he rarely left his room.

Occasionally, when demonic beasts intruded upon his territory, relying on two worldly martial arts and a high-grade ritual artifact in hand, he could easily slay them.

Time flew by, and four years passed in the blink of an eye.

On this morning, atop Yihuan Mountain, a lean young man of sixteen or seventeen, with sun-darkened skin and wearing the Cloud Song Sect's disciple's robe, slowly made his way to the trading plaza at the mountain's peak.

The plaza was square, covering over ten acres. It was divided into four main streets and nine areas in a grid pattern. Each area was further divided in a cross shape.

The crisscrossing roads were lined with various stalls set up by cultivators. Both stall owners and shoppers wore the disciple's robe.

The place was bustling with people, lively and vibrant!

The young man blended into the crowd, carrying a sword pouch made of animal hide on his back. His ordinary face was unremarkable, and he wandered around without any urgency to buy anything.

This young man was Su Shi'er, who had been arduously cultivating in the Discarded Pill Room on Cuihuan Mountain for four years.

After four years of hard work, aided by a large number of top-grade Gathering Qi Pills, his cultivation level steadily increased.

Just a day ago, through persistent Qi Refining, the True Essence within him finally grew to the size of a fist, successfully reaching the fourth level of the Qi Refining stage.

Such a cultivation speed was comparable to that of a minor genius.

With less than half a year left until the newcomer trial, he knew it was impossible to break through to the fifth level of the Qi Refining stage in such a short time. After some serious consideration, he decided to visit the trading plaza to buy some items to enhance his strength for the upcoming trial.

After browsing around, Su Shi'er didn't buy anything, but he gained a general understanding of the trading plaza.

The items sold in the plaza were diverse and chaotic, including herbs, iron stones, animal hides and bones, pill medicines, talismans, ritual artifacts, and cultivation techniques.

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The currency used for transactions was not fixed; the most common was Foundation Pills, followed by gold and silver treasures, and occasionally bartering.

As Su Shi'er walked through the plaza, he was amazed and envious of what he saw.

Among the stalls, he noticed a talisman identical to the one used by the sword-carrying youth to escape four years ago.

A first-grade low-grade escape talisman, priced at three high-grade Foundation Pills.

Su Shi'er glanced at it but didn't make a transaction.

As he continued walking, he suddenly stopped, his gaze falling on a stall not far away.

The stall was surrounded by five or six cultivators, displaying many good items, including various talismans and blank talisman papers, as well as a dozen books related to talismans.

What caught everyone's attention was a sandalwood box in the center, containing a talisman emitting a faint earthy yellow glow.

A small wooden board beside it read in large characters: First-grade Top-grade Defense Talisman: Three low-grade Gathering Qi Pills.

Below that, in smaller characters: First-grade Low-grade Spirit Talisman: Three high-grade Foundation Pills. First-grade Mid-grade Spirit Talisman: Ten high-grade Foundation Pills. Talisman Books: Fifty Foundation Pills each.

"First-grade Top-grade Defense Talisman?"

Su Shi'er's pupils contracted. After browsing for so long, he had mostly seen first-grade mid-grade talismans. This was the first top-grade talisman he had encountered, and it was the most precious type of defense talisman among attack and defense talismans.

His eyes darted around, carefully examining it. He could clearly feel the dense earthy yellow spiritual energy surrounding the talisman, giving off a sense of weight as if it were a mountain.

The spiritual power contained within it made his heart race, incomparable to ordinary talismans.

"Indeed, you never know how vast the world is until you step out. Once this talisman is activated, even someone at the seventh or eighth level of the Qi Refining stage might not be able to break it!"

Su Shi'er was both envious and secretly alarmed.

At that moment, among the onlookers, a handsome young man with a sword in hand and a turban on his head spoke up, "I'll offer three hundred high-grade Foundation Pills for this first-grade top-grade defense talisman. Will you sell it?"

"No sale! This top-grade defense talisman, I only trade for Gathering Qi Pills," the stall owner, a young female cultivator in her twenties wearing a yellow long dress, shook her head without hesitation.

"Four hundred high-grade Foundation Pills! Sister Chu, a low-grade Gathering Qi Pill is worth at most a hundred Foundation Pills. At this price, you're making a huge profit," the turbaned youth continued.

The Chu-named female cultivator rolled her eyes coquettishly, "Forget it! Low-grade Gathering Qi Pills are hard to come by. If you really want it, trade with Gathering Qi Pills."

The turbaned youth pursed his lips and turned away in frustration.

Seeing this, the others also shook their heads and dispersed.

Among them, the highest cultivation level was that of the turbaned youth, at the fifth level of the Qi Refining stage.

They simply couldn't have Gathering Qi Pills, and even if they did, they would use them for their own cultivation, not easily exchanging them.

Soon, the stall was deserted.

Seeing this, Su Shi'er hesitated for a moment, glanced around to ensure no one was paying attention, and then approached the stall.

"Boss, this first-grade top-grade defense talisman..."

Before Su Shi'er could finish, the Chu-named female cultivator glanced at him and said coldly, "Brother, this first-grade top-grade defense talisman, I only exchange for Gathering Qi Pills."

"I know, but how about this?" Su Shi'er nodded, taking out a medicine bottle from his pocket and handing it to her.

The Chu-named female cultivator frowned, opening the bottle casually. Su Shi'er appeared ordinary, not like someone wealthy.

She had little hope for Su Shi'er.

However, the moment the bottle was opened, inside lay a smooth Gathering Qi Pill with a pill halo.

Her pupils contracted, and she exclaimed, "A mid-grade Gathering Qi Pill?!"

Halfway through her exclamation, she swallowed it back.

Her gaze scrutinized Su Shi'er, her fiery eyes quickly suppressed, and she said with a smile, "Brother, this pill is good, but a mid-grade Gathering Qi Pill is at most worth two low-grade Gathering Qi Pills. How about this, you bring out another one, and I'll throw in an extra fifteen first-grade mid-grade talismans for you, how about it?"

"I only have one Gathering Qi Pill. You should know, Gathering Qi Pills are priceless. One mid-grade Gathering Qi Pill for your talisman isn't a loss!" Su Shi'er shook his head decisively.

His eyes quickly scanned the other items on the stall, and whether it was the other talismans or those books, they all tempted him.

But he knew that taking out this one Gathering Qi Pill was already risky, and there was no way he could take out more.

"Really only one?" The Chu-named female cultivator sized up Su Shi'er, giving him a flirtatious look that almost made him lose his composure.

"Of course! Are you trading or not? If not, just pretend I said nothing!" Su Shi'er firmly insisted, reaching out to take back his Gathering Qi Pill.

If possible, he didn't want to use a mid-grade Gathering Qi Pill for the trade. It was too attention-grabbing!

But he had no choice; that mysterious Pill Furnace was too powerful. Discarded Gathering Qi Pills placed inside would be refined into top-grade Gathering Qi Pills in just a few breaths.

He had tried no less than twenty times, only to refine two pills.