In the next moment, Xing Ming was attracted by the rich vitality emanating from the "Cloud-Piercing Willow." He quickly sensed some familiar refining techniques from this aura.
'This is a unique artifact refining technique from that place. No wonder it has such a rich vitality, while also being able to keep the spirituality within the magical treasure contained and unreleased.'
Many sects' artifact refiners and alchemists could make magical treasures or pills emanate a rich vitality, but that kind of vitality would be vigorous, overflowing like a tidal wave.
At first, it felt very nice, but after a short while, it would be too much, and one's meridians would begin to feel a stabbing pain.
A true master would make the rich vitality circulate within the magical treasure or pill, releasing it slowly, warming and soothing the spirit.
But not many masters could truly achieve this. Usually, only those at the level of high-grade artifact refining or alchemy grandmasters could master it.
Xing Ming, for example, could do it. But he still couldn't refine a magical treasure of the "Cloud-Piercing Willow's" level. He estimated that he would have to wait until he reached the great grandmaster level before he might be able to refine it.
In terms of artifact refining, he was already at the high-grade grandmaster level, and not far from becoming a great grandmaster. It sounded easy, but it was normal for this rank to trap someone for their entire life.
Both alchemists and artifact refiners were respectfully addressed as: Master, Grandmaster, Great Grandmaster, and Saint Master, a total of four tiers.
Those who could refine first, second, and third-grade pills or spirit artifacts and magical artifacts were called Masters.
Those who could refine fourth to fifth-grade pills or mid to low-grade magical treasures were called Grandmasters.
Those who could refine sixth to seventh-grade pills or high-grade magical treasures were called Great Grandmasters.
And those who could surpass all of this were called Saint Masters.
So with Xing Ming's attainments and status, he had come into contact with many artifact refining grandmasters. They came from different races, different regions, and through their exchanges, they all benefited from each other.
Xing Ming had only cut off contact with others because he had to hide his identity later. But in his spare time, he still constantly studied the artifact refining and alchemy techniques that the sect had collected from various places.
So, in just a few breaths, he had determined the origin of Zhang Ming's magical treasure. It was a magical treasure from the Verdant Continent.
Xing Ming, in flight, quickly pondered the information he had obtained.
'This shows that Zhang Ming's sect is indeed from the Verdant Continent. A magical treasure of this level, as long as it is sold or auctioned by major merchant houses, will be known among cultivators. I have never heard of this magical treasure, which most likely means it was held by its original owner. If his martial grandfather brought it from the Verdant Continent back then, there are two possibilities: one, his martial grandfather's original sect was on the Verdant Continent; two, his martial grandfather acquired it when he traveled to the Verdant Continent. With these, it can be indirectly concluded that Zhang Ming's sect came from the Verdant Continent.'
Having determined so much information from the other party's magical treasure, Xing Ming felt much more at ease, feeling that although Zhang Ming might not be completely open with him, he had at least shown his hand.
On the other hand, Li Yan had no idea that his one magical treasure would lead the other party to see and associate so many things. If he knew, he would be even more surprised by the other's speculation.
A streak of pale green light sped through the sky. Passing cultivators often only saw a flash of green before it disappeared without a trace. This made many cultivators turn their heads, and at the same time, they were full of apprehension towards this streak of light.
A cultivator who possessed such speed was at least at the Golden Core stage or above.
With Nascent Soul cultivators being elusive and Spirit Transformation old monsters not daring to easily use their magic power in the mortal realm, Golden Core cultivators were often first-rate experts in the outside world.
Li Yan was dressed in a green robe, his hands behind his back, standing on the tip of the emerald-green leaf, his black hair fluttering in the wind.
Although his appearance was ordinary, because his flesh and blood had been nourished by spirit qi for many years, and he had achieved the Great Perfection of the Golden Core, he naturally had a transcendent air about him.
As time went on, Li Yan paid no attention to the disciples behind him talking or moving around. They began to act freely.
Although they were curious about this Elder Zhang, they were also sensible enough not to disturb him.
Some disciples had already found a place to sit cross-legged and meditate, while others were gathered together, occasionally conversing via voice transmission.
Feng Tao was sitting cross-legged alone at the very back of the willow leaf. She was facing to the side, not closing her eyes to meditate at this moment.
Looking at the semi-transparent emerald-green light shield covering the "Cloud-Piercing Willow," and the scenery flying past outside, Feng Tao's originally somewhat apprehensive heart had now calmed down.
The other party had not specifically looked at her, let alone caused her any trouble. He had been standing in front, silent, as if thinking about something. It seemed that some of her previous worries were just wild thoughts.
The speed of this flying magical treasure was incredibly fast. Not to mention the ten Qi Condensation disciples, even the five Foundation Establishment cultivators had never had such a flying experience.
Initially, when the magical treasure suddenly accelerated, the surrounding scene became a blur, which shocked everyone, fearing they would be blown off by the strong wind in the sky.
But they soon discovered that no matter how the magical treasure slowed down or sped up, the thin, cicada-wing-like shield outside the magical treasure would only produce a slight breeze, not too fast, not too slow.
This allowed people inside the shield to not feel that sense of isolation, while also being able to feel the rapid soaring through the air.
Especially those Qi Condensation disciples. They were all elite disciples of Falling Star Valley, and were usually held in high regard in the sect, considering themselves well-informed.
They usually felt pretty good flying their own ordinary flying spirit artifacts. But compared to today, they now knew that their own flying was probably not even as fast as a snail crawling.
Some disciples with family or small sect backgrounds had also been taken flying by their elders. Now they knew that the "high-grade" magical treasures they had once regarded as such were nothing more than a wooden pole or a broken ox cart.
With Li Yan's current magic power driving the "Cloud-Piercing Willow," although he was not traveling at full speed, it only took him three days to arrive at the Sacred Demon City, which he had been away from for more than twenty years.
Looking at the majestic mountain peak in the "Sacred Demon City" from afar, and the towering, undulating city walls like mountain ranges on the periphery, endless...
Li Yan, sitting cross-legged at the front of the "Cloud-Piercing Willow," silently recited in his heart. "Senior Sister, I'm here. Are you... really here?"
The courtyard that Falling Star Valley had set up was not in a remote location.
After entering the city, Li Yan, following the markings in Xing Ming's jade slip, led the disciples for about half an hour before finally finding the place on a relatively busy street.
The courtyard had already been turned into a shop with two storefronts facing the street.
When Li Yan led his group of disciples into the shop, the clerk who came up to greet them was taken aback.
After carefully confirming, he saw that they were indeed a group of people wearing the same robes as him, and a brilliant smile immediately appeared on his face.
As fellow disciples, some of the people Li Yan brought were acquainted with the clerks here.
It was just that the clerk, not surprisingly, gave Li Yan a few extra glances, clearly finding him rather unfamiliar.
Immediately, one of the Foundation Establishment cultivators who had come with Li Yan stepped forward and called one of the clerks to go and inform the guarding cultivator here to come out and welcome Elder Zhang at once.
Then, under the watchful eyes of the customers in the shop, Li Yan's party followed another clerk through the shop and walked towards the back.
Soon, Li Yan and the others arrived at the back of the shop. The environment here was quite elegant.
Tianxingzi had also spent a considerable amount of spirit stones here back then. Behind the shop was a two-entry courtyard.
Even after accounting for the depth of the front shop, there was still a courtyard large enough to accommodate seventy to eighty people. Behind the courtyard stood a six-story pavilion.
Because all the pavilions and gazebos in the Sacred Demon City were built in circles up the mountain, layer upon layer, reaching straight into the clouds.
So, even when Li Yan and the others were standing on the street just now, the pavilion behind the courtyard here had not attracted their attention.
When Li Yan and the others had just stepped into the rear courtyard, they saw three people rushing out of the pavilion. Apart from one who was the clerk who had gone to report just now, the other two were both Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Their auras were very condensed; they were clearly powerhouses among Foundation Establishment cultivators. This was not surprising. Those who could be stationed in the Sacred Demon City, even if they couldn't compare to outsiders, were at least formidable experts in their own sect.
When Li Yan saw the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, a slight smile appeared on his lips. He had actually met one of them twice before, when he was entering and leaving the "Shattered Star Chamber."
He remembered that the deacon he had met guarding the "Shattered Star Chamber" seemed to be called Su Yuan.
At this time, Su Yuan's face was glowing with health, a complete change from his former listless look. His cultivation had impressively reached the Pseudo-Core realm, and he had an air of a shrewd merchant about him.
And the other cultivator beside him was slender, with a pair of small eyes that glinted occasionally as they moved. Li Yan's divine sense swept over him; this person had also reached the peak of the late-stage of Foundation Establishment.
With these two guarding the shop, it was sufficient to handle ordinary matters in the Sacred Demon City. After all, this was the foundation of the Sacred Demon Palace. If you wanted to cause trouble, you had to find the right place.
As long as it wasn't a major power deliberately coming to cause trouble, ordinary cultivators wouldn't dare to cause trouble in the shop. That would be to antagonize a sect or a family.
Su Yuan also saw Li Yan at a glance, and his heart was instantly relieved.
'It really is him!'
Several months ago, when the news that someone in the sect had finally been promoted to elder came, these disciples who were stationed outside had of course also received a message from the sect, but they were not asked to rush back for the ceremony.
When Su Yuan and the others received the news, they were all dumbfounded at first. None of them here knew who this "Zhang Ming" was.
At first, they all thought he was an expert recruited by the sect from outside. But at the end of the message in the jade slip, they found that was not the case.
Finally, at the end of the jade slip was an image of "Elder Zhang," and beside it was a line of small words.
"Elder Zhang is our valley's newly promoted Golden Core. All disciples are to be informed upon receiving this message. Do not be disrespectful or overstep your bounds in the future!"
When they saw Li Yan's image, the others still did not recognize him. But Su Yuan felt that this person was very familiar.
He thought for a moment, and suddenly a strange incident from decades ago when he was guarding the "Shattered Star Chamber" flashed through his mind. Someone had stayed underground for more than seven months, and he had even made a bet with two other deacons.
And that person was the one recorded in the jade slip. Although Su Yuan felt it was possible he wasn't mistaken, he didn't mention it to anyone else.
He couldn't let others know that he had once followed the current elder. A small matter could turn into a bad one.
After the great battle of Falling Star Valley, more than ten years ago, when Xing Ming decided to open the shop in the Sacred Demon City, he began to look for suitable candidates among the Foundation Establishment disciples.
The mountains are high, and the emperor is far away. The disciples who came to the Sacred Demon City to run the shop would naturally have many benefits. But Zhu Luomu and his two disciples were naturally better off staying by his side; Xing Ming would not send them out.
In the end, Xing Ming decided on a few people from among the Foundation Establishment disciples. These people were all old-school Foundation Establishment cultivators of Falling Star Valley, who had been in the sect for at least thirty years. Their past experiences were, of course, thoroughly investigated.
Among these people was Su Yuan. When the first batch of people was sent, Su Yuan was at the forefront. Xing Ming valued his smoothness and adaptability.
In the beginning, a shop needed this kind of person who could open up the situation.
When Su Yuan was asked for his opinion, he was already extremely happy.
He had been stuck at the late-stage of Foundation Establishment for a very long time, and was worried all day about how to get more cultivation resources. This undoubtedly gave him a golden opportunity.