After the owner finished, Lin Zheyu nodded slightly and said, "Too expensive."

"Fellow Daoist, it's already very cheap. Pills like the Phoenix Blood Pill are refined from the inner cores of beasts with Fire Phoenix bloodlines. They are extremely rare. And..."

"Thirty low-grade spirit stones. I'll take the Thousand Mechanisms Myriadweight Armor." Lin Zheyu cut him off before he could finish.

"Uh... the Thousand Mechanisms Myriadweight Armor... Well... Fellow Daoist, sixty spirit stones are already very cheap. I really can't sell it for fifty. This armor can not only block a strike from a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, but..."

"Hah. A single strike from a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator and a full-power strike are two completely different things. Don't try wordplay with me." Lin Zheyu interrupted again, his voice cold.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist has sharp ears. But this armor... Hey, wait, don't leave! Thirty low-grade spirit stones, it's yours!" Seeing Lin Zheyu shrug and turn away indifferently, the stall owner hurriedly called out.

This armor had been gathering dust in his possession for years and had never been sold. Now that he had finally found someone willing to pay thirty low-grade spirit stones for it, how could he let the chance slip away?

"Twenty-five," Lin Zheyu replied without turning back.

"Deal!" The stall owner's expression shifted. Gritting his teeth, he put on a look as though he had suffered a great loss. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Lin Zheyu fell silent.

Hearing the stall owner agree so readily, Lin Zheyu was speechless. He had definitely overpaid, but it was still within an acceptable range. He handed over the spirit stones, took the Thousand Mechanisms Myriadweight Armor, and turned to leave. The armor was very light, smooth to the touch, thin as silk, yet incredibly tough.

Around the waist of the armor were several small slots for placing spirit stones. Lin Zheyu found a secluded spot and put it on. A cool sensation spread over him. The armor felt almost weightless and could tighten or loosen at his command.

"Not bad." Lin Zheyu nodded slightly.

Now this feels more like cultivation.

He circulated his true origin and infused it into the armor. A faint glow formed on its surface, and he felt his body grow heavier. As more true origin flowed in, the weight continued to increase.

The effect is good, but consuming one low-grade spirit stone every hour is rather extravagant.

Fortunately, the armor did not require high-purity spirit stones, and even unrefined ones could be used. Lin Zheyu continued browsing and bought two more body-refining manuals from different stalls.

Fifteen manuals should be enough. I still have two hundred and eight low-grade spirit stones left. I'll exchange one hundred and fifty-eight for unrefined spirit stones as an energy reserve. The remaining fifty purified spirit stones I'll keep as backup.

Unrefined spirit stones had a special name in the cultivation world. They were called demonic spirit stones. According to market rates, one spirit stone could be exchanged for three demonic spirit stones. However, exchanging the other way required five demonic spirit stones for one spirit stone. Such exchanges could only be done at shops, leaving no room for choice.

After exchanging one hundred and fifty-eight purified spirit stones for four hundred and seventy-four demonic spirit stones at the shop, Lin Zheyu's trip to the immortal market finally came to a successful end. Demonic spirit stones contained both spirit power and dense Baleful Yin force, making them perfectly suited as energy for techniques such as the Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique, Ninefold True Demon Body, and Seven Fiend Ghost Manual.

Four hundred and seventy-four spirit stones should be enough... right?

He arrived at the plaza. To leave, he had to pass through the formation here. Entering required only one spirit stone, but exiting required two.

"Hm?" Lin Zheyu frowned slightly.

After stepping into the formation, two unfamiliar men entered as well. Their expressions were calm as they stood there without a word. Although they showed no hostility, Lin Zheyu felt an inexplicable unease. It was his martial instinct.

As his Perception Domain improved, so too had his instinct, reaching an extremely sharp level. His expression remained unchanged as his right hand slowly tightened around the Setting Sun saber, and his true origin began to circulate. The formation activated, and light flowed. In an instant, a blade flashed through. The blade flash was as fast as lightning, cutting across their throats before they could react.

A light breeze stirred, rustling the trees. Several figures suddenly appeared within the forest.

Two dull thuds sounded as two heads rolled to the ground. Their eyes were wide as bells, filled with confusion.

"With this level of strength, you dare try to rob others?" Lin Zheyu said with disdain.

Two storage pouches floated up from the headless corpses and fell into Lin Zheyu's hands. With a sweep of his divine sense, he easily broke the restrictions on the inferior pouches. There was nothing of much value inside. His figure moved, vanishing from the spot in an instant.

Suddenly, a longsword shot out, stabbing toward Lin Zheyu's forehead.

"Hmph! I've been waiting for you!" Lin Zheyu snorted coldly.

The moment he exited the formation, Lin Zheyu pushed his Perception Domain to its limit and detected the one lurking in the shadows.

Lin Zheyu shifted slightly, and the longsword plunged into a nearby tree, causing it to explode. At the same time, his body shot forward like lightning, his speed surging within a few breaths to an astonishing five times the speed of sound.

"So fast!" The man hidden in the shadows sensed Lin Zheyu's astonishing speed with his divine sense, his expression turning horrified. Without hesitation, he slapped his storage pouch, and two streaks of blue and red light shot toward Lin Zheyu.

"Detonate!" the man shouted coldly.

At the instant the two lights shot out, he pulled a palm-sized turtle shell from his storage pouch. It rapidly expanded and enveloped him within.

Lin Zheyu pushed off with both legs and avoided the two streaks of light, while a terrifying explosion erupted behind him. At that moment, he had already closed in on the man. Facing a defensive dharma artifact, Lin Zheyu did not hesitate to use the Blood Burning Saber Technique. He lacked strong offensive methods, and without them, he would be at a disadvantage against such powerful defenses.

A thunderous roar sounded as cracking noises spread across the turtle shell. Several fractures radiated outward from where the Setting Sun saber struck.

Continuous explosions rang out. Lin Zheyu's saber moved at incredible speed, striking more than a hundred times within a few breaths. The man did not remain idle. Under his control, the longsword shot toward Lin Zheyu.

"Die!" Lin Zheyu's eyes were bloodshot as he roared, and a crimson blade light crashed down.

With a sharp crack, the turtle shell, battered by over a hundred strikes, shattered violently. The blade light passed through it and plunged into the man's head, splitting him in two amid his horrified and regretful gaze.

"It's him!" Lin Zheyu frowned as he looked at the corpse. This was the stall owner from the immortal market, the one who had sold him the Setting Sun blade.

"Not bad. The money I spent has come back," Lin Zheyu muttered with a faint smile.

Killing and looting brought wealth quickly. If he ran out of money, fishing here was not a bad option. Of course, that depended on not hooking a terrifying big fish, or he might end up being eaten instead.

After collecting the man's storage pouch and any dharma artifacts worth selling, Lin Zheyu vanished in an instant. Within his Perception Domain, several figures remained, but after witnessing his strength, they quickly retreated.

***

By Green Serpent Lake, a burly silhouette gradually solidified at the lakeside.

"I'll first raise the Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique. This Ninefold True Demon Body also has great reference value..." Lin Zheyu's mind ran through the fifteen technique manuals he had purchased at the immortal market.

Among these manuals, most were special techniques, such as the Seven Fiend Ghost Manual, the Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique, and the Ninefold True Demon Body. These techniques shared certain similarities with martial cultivation methods and aligned more closely with Lin Zheyu's envisioned Primordial Golden Body.

A cool breeze stirred across the lake. Lin Zheyu sat cross-legged in the center of a small boat, gently swaying with the water.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 132]

[Skills: Primordial Concealment Technique (Perfection), Primordial Thunderfire Pill Technique (Perfection), Soul-Chasing Steps (Third Stage: 100%), Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique (Dormancy)]

Lin Zheyu looked at the data within his consciousness. With a thought, the information for the Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique appeared. With his prior research on the Origin Returning Art and the considerable time he had spent on this technique, he was already extremely familiar with it. He tapped his storage pouch lightly, and three demonic spirit stones appeared in his hand.

Use 1 unit of Origin Force to cultivate the Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique.

A familiar sensation arose. Lin Zheyu's spirit blurred for a moment as he entered the consciousness space. It was his first time cultivating such a special technique, so he did not dare use too much Origin Force. He decided to test it with a single unit first. If it had adverse effects, he could stop in time.

A vast surge of mysterious energy poured forth, sweeping the energy from the demonic spirit stones into Lin Zheyu's body. This time was different. Not only spirit power, but also the Baleful Yin force and all kinds of impure energy within the demonic spirit stones were drawn into him under the influence of the mysterious energy.

Sizzling sounds continued to come from Lin Zheyu's body. Baleful Yin force had a terrifying corrosive effect on living beings in this world, capable of turning them into demonic creatures. The Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique was created based on the Immortal Dao's corpse-refining methods.

At its peak, it granted the cultivator extremely powerful defensive strength. At the same time, it would turn the practitioner into a mindless, killing, living corpse demon puppet. That was for ordinary people.

When Lin Zheyu cultivated it, the technique underwent a remarkable transformation due to the special nature of Origin Force. In the consciousness space, Baleful Yin force continuously flowed into his body and, under the technique's operation, tempered his physique in a unique manner. Faint strands of dim, eerie light emanated from his body, condensing into mysterious runes that imprinted themselves into his flesh.

After one full circulation of the technique, the effect of the consciousness space was activated instantly. The hidden damage caused by the Baleful Yin force was completely healed in an instant. At the same time, the mysterious runes formed from the eerie light gradually faded away under the influence of the consciousness space.

During this process, a few of the runes underwent a strange transformation. Instead of disappearing, a brilliant golden light suddenly erupted from Lin Zheyu's blood. The golden light seeped into his flesh, completely engulfing the runes that emitted the eerie glow.

After a few breaths, the runes emitting an eerie glow transformed into radiant golden symbols. These mysterious runes not only caused Lin Zheyu no harm, but instead trembled slightly as they tempered his flesh, tendons, and bones.