"Then what do you have?" Lin Zheyu looked at Tu Yuan indifferently.

He had already forcibly broken open Tu Yuan's storage pouch, and there were indeed quite a few valuable items inside. Just the unknown bone dharma artifact and the skull alone were worth a considerable sum. However, Lin Zheyu did not know how to use those two dharma artifacts, so even when he held them, he could not draw much of their power. He had originally planned to take them to the market and sell them as second-hand dharma artifacts. But now that Tu Yuan had come to him, Lin Zheyu did not mind selling them back to him. It would be far more worthwhile than selling them at the market.

Tu Yuan pondered for a moment before proposing his plan. "My storage pouch was taken by you, so I do not have many valuables on me right now. How about this? Let us make a deal. After this matter is over, Fellow Daoist Xiao, please do not sell the items from my storage pouch for now. I will personally seek you out later and buy them back at a price you are satisfied with. What do you think?"

"Alright." Lin Zheyu nodded.

Tu Yuan took out a new Spirit Resonance Sphere and said with a smile, "Many thanks, Fellow Daoist. This is my Spirit Resonance Sphere. You can use it to contact me when the time comes."

He now had another storage pouch on him, likely taken from friends or other cultivators over the past few days. But that had nothing to do with Lin Zheyu. He gave Tu Yuan a calm glance and did not take his words too seriously. Tu Yuan's reputation was not good, and he did not trust him much. In any case, he would agree for now, then head to the immortal market to check the prices. If Tu Yuan offered significantly more, it would not be too late to sell to him then.

***

Troublesome. It seems he has indeed awakened some kind of spirit divine ability. Is it a perception-type...?

Tu Yuan cast a subtle glance at Lin Zheyu, who was sitting cross-legged nearby, a faint trace of cold intent flashing in his eyes.

That secret treasure must also be related to Fellow Daoist Xiao. I do not know what kind of treasure it is, but judging from its aura, it seems to be something capable of suppressing demonic qi. And that demonic lake was also artificially created. Perhaps that treasure has the powerful ability to extract demonic qi from the demonic lake and convert it into spiritual qi.

Tu Yuan's thoughts raced.

He was certainly not the only one thinking along these lines. Those who had been present, such as Liao Xingfan, Yuan Qiu, and the others, would surely have their own ideas as well. Tu Yuan did not believe that Ji Zitong had no thoughts of her own, either.

A faint, sinister smile appeared at the corner of Tu Yuan's lips as he thought, Hehe... If I were to spread this secret...

He was unwilling to accept it. The items had clearly been his, yet they were taken from him, and now he had to spend money to buy them back. That did not suit his nature. With a sudden movement, Tu Yuan burrowed into the dark soil and vanished.

After Tu Yuan left, Bai Lin suddenly walked over and said in a low voice, "Fellow Daoist Xiao, you should be careful of Tu Yuan."

Lin Zheyu looked at Bai Lin with some surprise. This man seemed far kinder than he had expected.

"I heard that you defeated Tu Yuan and took his storage pouch. Tu Yuan is the kind of person who never forgets a grudge. He kills and robs without restraint. Do not be misled by the goodwill he shows," Bai Lin warned.

He had just seen Lin Zheyu and Tu Yuan chatting, even seeming to laugh together.

Lin Zheyu cupped his fists in thanks and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Fellow Daoist Bai."

Even without Bai Lin's warning, he would remain wary of Tu Yuan. In fact, he did not trust any of these people. He only trusted himself.

***

The tide of demonic qi grew increasingly violent, stirring up fierce formation winds that howled like a raging storm. Tu Yuan and Lei Yongtao had gone somewhere unknown, leaving only Bai Lin, Lin Zheyu, and Shi Mulan at the scene. The three each found a spot and sat down cross-legged.

Lin Zheyu curiously observed Bai Lin. The flow of demonic qi energy around Bai Lin was extremely slow, and an invisible layer of energy enveloped the area around his Ren and Du meridians[1], where the Bridge of Heaven and Earth was located. Bai Lin did not possess the aptitude for cultivation, and the Bridge of Heaven and Earth he had forcibly opened served as his link to the world. Therefore, as long as that bridge was sealed, the corrosive effect of demonic qi on a martial artist would be greatly reduced.

Then he looked at Shi Mulan. A thin layer of energy enveloped her body. Lin Zheyu could tell this energy came from the same source as the Divine Power Crystal. Even Bai Lin was actually using energy from the Divine Power Crystal, but martial artists had stronger resistance to demonic qi, so he used it sparingly, to the point it was barely noticeable. Among the three of them, Lin Zheyu appeared somewhat strange.

"Interesting. Is he using some kind of secret treasure?" Shi Mulan examined Lin Zheyu with curiosity.

From the moment she first saw Lin Zheyu, she had already noticed something unusual about him. She could not sense the slightest fluctuation of Divine Power Crystal energy from his body, which was extremely unbelievable. The energy within the Divine Power Crystal was one of the most cost-effective methods in this era for resisting the erosion of demonic qi.

Almost every expert who entered the demon god barrier for training would carry Divine Power Crystals with them. Even the barbarians and ancient yaos were no exception. Although they did not call it Divine Power Crystal, the energy they used came from nearly the same source.

Could it be that Fellow Daoist Xiao has cultivated to the point where he can freely open and close the Bridge of Heaven and Earth?

Unlike Shi Mulan, this thought flashed through Bai Lin's mind.

As a martial artist, Bai Lin deeply understood the strength of the Immortal Martial Cultivation path. If one continued along this path with unwavering determination, it was not impossible to become a martial artist comparable to the Deity Transformation realm. According to ancient texts, when martial cultivation reached an unimaginable level, one could completely return from the acquired state to the innate, reverting to the origin. At that point, the side effects caused by forcibly opening the Bridge of Heaven and Earth would be entirely eliminated.

Reaching such a level was as difficult as ascending to the heavens. Even now, no such expert had appeared within the Martial Alliance. However, aside from that method, there were also certain secret techniques that could enhance control over the Bridge of Heaven and Earth, allowing one to close it again and reduce the corrosive effects of demonic qi.

Bai Lin guessed that Fellow Daoist Xiao might possess such a technique. Otherwise, how could he remain completely unaffected in a demon god barrier filled with such dense demonic qi, without using Divine Power Crystal energy to block its erosion?

Lin Zheyu felt somewhat helpless about Bai Lin's and Shi Mulan's guesses. He realized that he had indeed been careless. Earlier, the demonic qi energy within the demon god barrier was not as dense as it was now. Even without using the Divine Power Crystal's energy to block it, these talented individuals could endure for quite a long time.

They did not need to constantly use Divine Power Crystal energy to resist the erosion of demonic qi. They only needed to purify themselves with it at intervals. Thus, at that time, Lin Zheyu had not appeared particularly abnormal.

Lin Zheyu had not realized that he should use the Divine Power Crystal to conceal his abnormality. Now, the demonic qi energy had grown so dense that Bai Lin and the others had to continuously draw upon Divine Power Crystal energy at all times. At this point, Lin Zheyu's anomaly had become obvious.

"Forget it. Let them guess. That Tu Yuan has probably already suspected that I possess some kind of powerful secret treasure," Lin Zheyu muttered to himself.

The method of using the Divine Power Crystal was rather strange and mysterious, and Lin Zheyu did not want to use it casually. The energy within was infused with faith-based divine power and was connected in some mysterious way to beings as powerful as gods and demons. He did not want to become entangled with such existences for no reason. Shaking his head slightly, Lin Zheyu chose not to dwell on the matter any further.

Raising his head, he looked toward the begging bowl emitting golden light in the distance, and the massive golden Buddha hand extending from it. Even from several kilometers away, he could still sense the immense, abyssal, and demonic aura coming from it. At the same time, an increasingly intense spatial fluctuation was spreading from the space-time node.

As time passed, the fluctuations grew increasingly violent. Lin Zheyu pushed his Perception Domain to its limit, capturing the increasingly powerful void fluctuations permeating the air. Threads of mysterious ripples appeared within the unique world formed by his Perception Domain, only to vanish in an instant.

"Not enough... I'm still not strong enough..." Lin Zheyu murmured softly.

Looking at the massive Buddha hand in the sky, a trace of hesitation flickered through Lin Zheyu's mind. He felt an urge to push deeper, to approach the space-time rift and gain a deeper understanding of the Dao resonance contained within the spatial fluctuations.

Lin Zheyu let out a long breath, suppressing the restlessness in his heart. There was a reason Ji Zitong and the others had chosen this as the gathering point. If he went any further, the danger would spike immediately. Within his Perception Domain, he could sense a large number of powerful yaos lurking not far ahead. Perhaps because the two realms were about to collide and merge, the yaos within the demon god barrier had all withdrawn toward the vicinity of the space-time rift. If he wanted to infiltrate further, he would have to transform into his yao form.

There will be plenty of opportunities. There is no need to take unnecessary risks. Compared to comprehending spatial Dao resonance, the rule fragments about to descend are far more valuable.

There was no need to rush understanding spatial laws. There would always be time for that.

Taking a deep breath and calming his mind, Lin Zheyu settled down again and carefully sensed the spatial fluctuations within the void.

1. Ren and Du Meridians (任督二脉) are two primary energy channels in traditional Chinese cultivation and medicine. The Ren Meridian runs along the front of the body, while the Du Meridian runs along the back. Together, they form a core circulation loop for qi, and linking or opening them is often a key step in advancing one's cultivation or internal energy control. ☜