Hark: For National Day on October 1st, there will be a minimum of three updates, totaling no less than ten thousand characters! More updates are coming; Baili is going all out today to ensure all book friends have a wonderful holiday and get their fill of reading! Chapter 107, 5000-Chapter Special Request for Monthly Tickets!!! “Brother Ye has arrived, come sit over here.

We were just discussing our recent cultivation progress.

Since you’re here, join in!” Zhang and Xia happily greeted Ye Qin when they saw him arrive.

But they quickly noticed that the spiritual energy surrounding Ye Qin was more imposing than usual; only high-level cultivators exerted such spiritual pressure on those of lower tiers.

Upon checking Ye Qin’s cultivation level, they were even more astonished.

Elder Xia Hei’s eyes widened, “Little Brother Ye is already at the fifth layer of Qi Refining? That’s one layer higher than my Old Hei! How did you manage to cultivate so fast?” Zhang Qiao happily stood up, her eyes shining, “Brother Ye is an Alchemist, he can refine spiritual elixirs, so naturally his cultivation is faster.

Brother Old Hei, who told you to be a blacksmith? If you had gone into alchemy back then, perhaps you’d be cultivating this quickly too.” Elder Xia Hei felt the same way, scratching his head in frustration.

Ye Qin smiled faintly and explained, “I was already at the peak of the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

I spent an entire month in seclusion last month, so some progress shouldn't be surprising.

Aren't Brother Zhang and Little Sister Zhang also at the fourth and third layers of Qi Refining, respectively?” “Not at all, our progress pales in comparison to Brother Ye’s.” Zhang Zhe smiled bitterly, not daring to compare.

He had painstakingly cultivated for half a year, plus dozens of Dew-Dropping Pills from Ye Qin, only managing to break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining recently.

He had originally intended to show off a bit among the crowd, feeling qualified to stand as an equal to Ye, Xia, and Fan, but in the blink of an eye, Ye Qin had already reached the fifth layer of Qi Refining and left him behind again.

Ye Qin sat down at a table and chair in a corner of the great hall and asked, “What have you decided about the matter concerning the Spirit Mist Grand Canyon?” Zhang Zhe pondered for a moment, “I’ve already sent a sound transmission talisman to my cousin, Xu Qing.

He should be here soon.

We’ll let my cousin lead the team to the Grand Canyon; perhaps we should wait until he arrives before deciding anything.” Ye Qin nodded.

This cousin of the Zhang siblings was a squad leader in the Patrol Team of the Rogue Cultivator Alliance in Xian Yuan City.

His cultivation was quite high; he was already at the sixth layer of Qi Refining in his thirties.

He was usually out on missions, so he rarely visited this place.

The Zhang siblings originally came from a Jianghu gang background, and their entry into the path of cultivation was largely due to this cousin.

One of their maternal uncles, a cultivator, discovered their spiritual roots suitable for cultivation during an accidental visit to the Zhang family and taught them immortal techniques.

Now that the Zhang siblings had achieved success in their immortal arts this year, they came to Xian Yuan City.

Under the care of their cousin, Xu Qing, the siblings managed to settle down here smoothly.

However, Xu Qing was usually very busy and seldom came to this inn.

Ye Qin had only met this Xu Qing once by chance and never spoken to him.

For some reason, he held no favorable feelings towards the guards and patrol teams of Xian Yuan City, even feeling a degree of repulsion.

Perhaps this stemmed from the fact that he had been mocked and ridiculed by the city guards upon entering the city.

He certainly didn't wish to become entangled with these sorts of people.

But he had to admit that Xu Qing, having stayed in Xian Yuan City for over a decade, was an experienced veteran.

Having such a seasoned leader guide the team into the Spirit Mist Grand Canyon would undoubtedly make the expedition much safer.

The group waited for a full half an hour.

Elder Xia Hei couldn't help but start complaining about Xu Qing's tardiness when heavy, thudding footsteps finally echoed from downstairs.

A tall, stern-faced young male cultivator walked up from below and appeared at the entrance of the great hall.

From head to toe, this person was clad in full black armor, complete with helmet, breastplate, boots, vambraces, and greaves.

The breastplate was etched with three small swords crossed together, symbolizing the Rogue Cultivator Alliance—quite conspicuous.

At his waist hung a dazzling, three-foot-long golden sword that was blindingly brilliant.

This was the standard issue equipment for the guards and patrol teams of Xian Yuan City, and the entire set was composed of spirit artifacts, not the fragile, common iron of the secular world.

Spirit artifact armor possessed extremely high defensive capabilities, while spirit artifact swords held formidable offensive power.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator would use tens of thousands of pounds of fine iron ore, discard the dross, extract the essence, and then temper it with the innate True Fire for forty-nine full days to forge such a set of spirit artifact armor.

Though the spirit artifact armor looked thin, just the helmet, a single boot, a vambrace, or a greave weighed at least a hundred catties; the entire suit worn on the body amounted to nearly a thousand catties.

Wearing this entire set of exceptionally defensive spirit artifact armor, even a guard at the sixth layer of Qi Refining could face an expert at the ninth layer of Qi Refining head-on without defeat.

However, ordinary Qi Refining cultivators would never use this kind of armor.

While its defensive power was terrifying, it was far too heavy, severely slowing down speed—it was unsuitable for quick movement.

This type of spirit artifact armor was only appropriate for the city defense guards of Xian Yuan City.

Ye Qin observed Xu Qing’s full set of spirit artifact armor.

Though he felt a flicker of envy, he was not tempted.

He had no use for such a set of spirit artifact armor.

However, obtaining a spirit sword would be rather nice.

This young male cultivator was none other than Xu Qing, the squad leader of the Xian Yuan City Patrol Team, and the elder cousin of the Zhang siblings.

He swept his gaze across the five people in the hall, a faint sneer touching his lips, with a hint of disdain hidden deep within his eyes.

The hall instantly fell silent.

Xu Qing’s arrival exerted considerable pressure on the group.

This was an unavoidable phenomenon for lower-tier cultivators when facing those of higher tiers; the greater the gap in cultivation, the more oppressive the spiritual pressure became.

None of the five spoke further, focusing their gaze on Xu Qing.

Behind Xu Qing, a few light footsteps sounded, and soon, a...

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