More than twenty days later.

On a quiet, unremarkable island, wooden cabins were scattered throughout the dense forests.

Within the forest clearing before the cabins, icy saber flashes tore through the air. Invisible saber intent swept outward with each strike, and the surrounding trees slid apart with soft slicing sounds, their cut surfaces impossibly smooth.

Lin Zheyu panted heavily, his entire body trembling faintly. Several minutes later, he let out a long breath of turbid air, a strange expression of both pain and enjoyment appearing on his face.

Use 1 unit of Origin Force to cultivate the Seven Absolute Sabers.

His consciousness blurred for a moment as he entered the consciousness space and began endless cultivation once more.

A few breaths later, Lin Zheyu slowly opened his eyes. The terrifying saber intent condensed around his body vanished in an instant.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 324]

[Skills: Earth Shrinking Technique (Perfection), Primordial Concealment Technique (Perfection), Seven Absolute Sabers (Fifth Stage: 3%), Primordial Golden Body (Second Stage: 100%), Spirit Martial Universe Secret Art·Beginner Edition (Perfection)]

"It's almost reached its limit," Lin Zheyu murmured softly as he looked at the data within his consciousness.

After this period of improvement, the Seven Absolute Sabers had finally entered the fifth stage. However, once it reached that stage, progress began slowing more and more.

This saber technique had been created by Lin Zheyu himself, using his martial cultivation knowledge as the foundation while integrating Mu Jianli's sword intent insights and the power of rules. Its starting point was not particularly high. A large portion of its power depended on saber intent and his comprehension of rules.

Now, nearly all the insights into spatial laws he had gained from the demon god barrier had already been fully converted into combat strength. Advancing the remaining three stages further through Origin Force alone would become vastly more difficult.

The fourth saber of the Seven Absolute Sabers is already more than enough. Unless they're Golden Core realm experts or possess powerful defensive dharma artifacts, most people probably wouldn't survive even one strike from me.

Continuing to spend Origin Force on the Seven Absolute Sabers isn't very worthwhile anymore. One unit only increases progress by less than 4%. I might as well continue cultivating the Spirit Martial Universe Secret Art instead. It's slower, but the returns are much better compared to the Seven Absolute Sabers. Lin Zheyu silently weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

After deciding on his next course of action, he took out the tracking compass once more to locate Shi Weiping. The positioning information did not actually come from the compass itself. The compass merely acted as a receiver, accepting updated location data sent from Martial Alliance headquarters.

The updates were infrequent, occurring roughly once per week. Taking advantage of that limitation, Shi Weiping constantly changed locations and remained slippery as an eel.

Lin Zheyu looked at the information on the compass, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips. "He ran off again, just as expected. But this time, the distance isn't far. If I head over immediately, I might actually find something."

Just as he was about to activate the Earth Shrinking Technique and leave, his expression froze slightly in surprise.

"He actually agreed?"

Lin Zheyu stared at the message within the Spirit Resonance Sphere in astonishment. The outrageous price of three high-grade spirit stones had made Tu Yuan hesitate for so long, yet the man had ultimately agreed to it!

Lin Zheyu took out the skull dharma artifact, curiosity filling his heart.

He wondered, Is this thing really that valuable? What kind of secret is hidden inside it that makes Tu Yuan willing to pay such a high price just to get it back?

During this period, whenever he had free time, he would take out the skull dharma artifact to study it. The Shamanic Clan power contained within it had indeed provided him with considerable inspiration, but that was all.

In Lin Zheyu's opinion, the thing was worth at most five hundred mid-grade spirit stones and not a single stone more. That valuation was already based on the skull's material being far tougher than ordinary dharma treasures, as well as on the considerable research value of the Shamanic Clan power hidden within it.

Lin Zheyu rubbed the skull thoughtfully, deep in contemplation. Three high-grade spirit stones... Should I agree to it?

He was undeniably tempted. Three high-grade spirit stones were no small amount. Many Peak Foundation Establishment realm cultivators could not even produce a single one. Most of the spirit stones they obtained were immediately converted into cultivation resources and used to enhance personal strength, leaving almost no savings behind.

Lin Zheyu pondered for a moment before making his decision inwardly. I'll drag this out for now.

His thoughts flowed into the Spirit Resonance Sphere as he sent Tu Yuan a message. I have important matters to deal with at the moment. Once I return to the Martial Alliance, we can arrange a meeting and discuss things in detail then. What do you think?

Tu Yuan was utterly speechless after reading the message. So this bastard really did discover it!

That was three high-grade spirit stones. Even Tu Yuan felt intense pain parting with such a sum. The moment he agreed, he already knew there was a high chance Xiao Yu would raise the price even further.

"Hmph. Since that's the case, then you can't blame me for what happens next!"

A vicious look surfaced on Tu Yuan's face. After casually replying to Lin Zheyu with a simple "Alright," he immediately began contacting other people.

***

Time passed in the blink of an eye.

Five days later, within the grotto heaven realm, in the city where Tu Yuan's family resided.

"Well, now, Fellow Daoist Tu Yuan, long time no see. What wind blew you over here today?" Tu Mingzhen reclined lazily against a lounge chair, watching the man emerge from the ground, a faint smile curving across her lips.

Tu Yuan's gaze unintentionally swept over the woman's full, snow-white chest, a flicker of heat flashing in his eyes before vanishing.

"We're both cultivators of the Tu Family. Can't I visit a friend even when there's nothing important going on?" Tu Yuan replied with a smile.

Seeing that Tu Mingzhen had no intention of inviting him to sit, he did not mind in the slightest. With a wave of his right hand, earthy yellow light surged outward and slowly condensed into an ancient-looking chair opposite her.

Smiling faintly, Tu Yuan calmly seated himself across from Tu Mingzhen.

"If it were another cultivator visiting, I would naturally welcome them warmly. But when Fellow Daoist Tu Yuan comes calling, I have to make sure everything in my home is properly guarded to keep it from mysteriously disappearing." Tu Mingzhen laughed softly as she mocked him without restraint.

Even though they were both cultivators of the Tu Family, she clearly held little goodwill toward Tu Yuan. Back then, the man had gone far too overboard. Relying on his powerful earth escape techniques, he had not only offended countless other cultivators but had practically terrorized even the cultivators within the Tu Family itself.

Tu Yuan could only reveal a helpless, bitter smile. He possessed a strong sense of self-preservation and knew very well who he could provoke and who he absolutely could not. Otherwise, with the way he behaved, he would never have survived this long.

As she was one of the Tu Family's geniuses, Tu Yuan had never dared to provoke Tu Mingzhen in the past. Still, her personality was... unusual. In a sense, much like Tu Yuan himself, she was also considered an oddball within the Tu Family.

Tu Mingzhen had an exceptionally straightforward temperament. Whether she laughed, cursed, or grew angry, she did so openly. She resembled a carefree and unrestrained martial artist of the martial world far more than a typical cultivator. Personalities like hers were exceedingly rare in the cultivation world, and no one knew how she had ended up this way.

As for someone with a terrible reputation like Tu Yuan, she had no intention whatsoever of hiding her likes or dislikes. If she disliked him, then she disliked him. The fact that she had not already thrown him out was only because they were both from the Tu Family.

Ignoring Tu Mingzhen's mockery entirely, Tu Yuan said with a calm smile, "You've been at the half-step Golden Core realm for quite a long time now, haven't you? The reason you still haven't attempted your Golden Core realm breakthrough is that you want to form a more perfect Eight-Pattern Golden Core, correct?"

The moment she heard those words, a sharp glint flashed through Tu Mingzhen's eyes. The lazy air around her faded slightly as she pushed herself upright against the lounge chair with her fair jade-like hand. Her entire demeanor changed at once.

"You found the Nether Refining Flame?" Tu Mingzhen looked directly at Tu Yuan. Although her tone remained calm, anticipation was clearly visible in her eyes.

She was a genius in her own right. As a fellow woman, she believed she was no inferior to Mu Jianli or Lei Xiyuan and had always treated them as the goals she intended to surpass. Yet as time passed, the two women had overtaken her in succession, and each formed an Eight-Pattern Golden Core.

Now, both had already reached the perfection of the Golden Core realm. After their recent sparring and mutual Dao verification within the Azure Dragon Realm, they would likely advance into the Nascent Soul realm within only a few more years.

Meanwhile, she remained stuck at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm, unable to advance. Tu Mingzhen refused to accept it. If she had only aimed for a Seven-Pattern Golden Core, she could have broken through decades ago. But she was unwilling.

One step behind meant falling behind at every step afterward. Tu Mingzhen's ambitions were immense, and she refused to settle for merely forming a Seven-Pattern Golden Core.

"No. But I do have information regarding Nether Refining Flame," Tu Yuan smiled as he said. This time, he did not intentionally keep her in suspense and continued immediately, "I know of a Shamanic Clan inheritance realm where I once saw Nether Refining Flame. As long as you help me with one matter, we can explore that ruin together."

Tu Yuan finally revealed the true purpose behind his visit.

To avoid further complications, he no longer wished to delay matters. Xiao Yu was shrouded in mystery. The man possessed greater talent and greater strength than he did. Once he successfully entered the Shackles realm, the gap between them would only grow even wider. Dragging things out further would bring him no benefit whatsoever.

Because of that, Tu Yuan first sent messages to stall Xiao Yu while secretly seeking helpers behind the scenes. He intended to snatch those two dharma artifacts back from him by force before he could advance into the Shackles realm.

"Tell me the details first. I need to know the target's strength and background," Tu Mingzhen replied calmly.

"Of course." Tu Yuan smiled faintly and retrieved a contract from his storage pouch.

This matter involved a Shamanic Clan ruin filled with countless opportunities. Before discussing anything further, they first needed to establish a Heavenly Dao contract.