Outside the thatched hut, Shen En stood at the doorway.
Xu Ning was speechless. How did he end up running into this guy? He then asked, "Junior brother, is there something you need?"
Shen En quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "Senior brother, junior brother Shen En has come to pay a visit!"
Xu Ning had no choice but to cup his hands and say, "Shen En, senior brother greets you!"
Shen En: "Senior brother, from now on we'll all be fellow disciples in the errand area. We can look out for each other if anything happens!"
Xu Ning: "Of course, of course!"
After chatting about some random things, Xu Ning sent the guy away.
After closing the door, Xu Ning was speechless; how could he have encountered something like this?
He put aside his chaotic thoughts, set up the iron pot, and began to refine the array.
The situation at Tianji Pavilion had stabilized in the past two days, and the first batch of array materials had been purchased and delivered.
Xu Ning was preparing to refine and upgrade the formation.
The first thing was an attack formation, which Xu Ning had already crafted.
Next was a defensive formation and four concealment formations.
Immediately, Xu Ning began to refine the defensive formation.
After a night, it was finally completed.
Then came the four sets of concealment formations, which took Xu Ning seven or eight days to refine.
Meanwhile, Shen En had been quite busy lately, spending his spare time helping with other menial tasks in addition to his own duties.
He even came over to fetch water for Xu Ning.
Xu Ning observed this and nodded inwardly. He had to admit that this kid had grown somewhat; at least he wasn't like the spoiled young master he used to be.
By getting information out of Shen En, Xu Ning also learned Xia Ming's whereabouts.
It had to be said, comparing yourself to others was truly disheartening.
Shen En and Xia Ming had joined the Liuyun Sect at the same time. Shen En was not talented enough and became a menial servant.
Xia Ming, on the other hand, was found to have an exceptional water-elemental root and was directly made an inner disciple, a true prodigy.
Whenever Shen En talked about this, his face was full of bitterness.
Xu Ning watched, secretly laughing to himself.
That night, Xu Ning was upgrading the attack formation when the communication talisman in his storage bag suddenly made a sound.
Xu Ning quickly took it out: "Junior brother, what's the matter?"
Sun Xiaowen: "Senior brother, do you still need cultivation techniques and incantations?"
Xu Ning: "Junior brother, do you urgently need spirit stones?"
Sun Xiaowen: "Senior brother, don't even mention it. Tuoyun City has been in chaos lately. I've used up many of my trump cards and need to replenish them!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Ning couldn't help but feel fortunate. Luckily, he had the foresight to do so, otherwise he would have been in constant trouble.
"Cultivation techniques and incantations are definitely necessary," Xu Ning replied immediately. "Let's trade at the Changjie Market in a couple of days! We can discuss the price then!"
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Sun Xiaowen: "Okay, senior brother. By the way, where are you now?"
Xu Ning: "I've joined the Flowing Cloud Sect!"
Sun Xiaowen exclaimed in surprise, "You joined a sect? Senior brother, can you tell me how you joined? I queued up for days, only to be turned away in the end!"
Xu Ning: "I, your senior brother, can refine pills!"
People like Sun Xiaowen, who didn't know any specialized skills, were usually just sent away. But if they knew alchemy or weapon crafting, the sect would make an exception and accept them.
Sun Xiaowen: "No wonder! Senior brother is really amazing!"
Xu Ning: "See you in two days!"
After ending the message, Xu Ning continued to upgrade the attack formation, directly upgrading it to the highest level of the Spirit rank.
Next, he would upgrade the defensive formation and the four sets of concealment formations to the highest level of the Spirit rank, and then prepare the materials to upgrade them to the legendary level of the Spirit rank.
Two days later, Xu Ning left the sect, disguised himself as Qu Ziming, and came to the Changjie Market, where he met Sun Xiaowen.
Both were very cautious, and after meeting, they found a secluded place to make the transaction.
"Junior brother, how about this: low-grade items will cost ten spirit stones, mid-grade items fifty spirit stones, and high-grade items five hundred spirit stones," Xu Ning said softly.
Sun Xiaowen: "Senior brother, add some more!"
Xu Ning: "Junior brother, as you know, these things are actually not easy to sell because of the risk of problems! Even if people buy them, they won't buy that many; they'll basically only buy one set."
Xu Ning wasn't lying. Cultivators were very wary of techniques and methods of unknown origin, fearing they might be problematic.
Moreover, ordinary cultivators didn't need that many techniques and cultivation methods, because trying to do too much at once would only lead to failure.
Moreover, the techniques and formulas could be copied and sold indefinitely, so the price was not as high as one might imagine.
Sun Xiaowen gritted his teeth: "Alright, senior brother, I have fifty sets of cultivation techniques and one hundred and fifty sets of magic formulas here."
In the end, Xu Ning spent over three thousand spirit stones to accept them all.
Just as he was about to leave, Sun Xiaowen called out to Xu Ning, "Senior Brother!"
Xu Ning turned around, looking puzzled: "Junior brother, is there anything else?"
Sun Xiaowen hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Senior brother, would you like a Yuan-level cultivation technique?"
Xu Ning: "Yes, I want them! I want as many as you can, even spirit-grade ones, and even higher-grade ones."
Of course, the more cultivation techniques and manuals he had, the better; having them on hand would definitely be beneficial.
Sun Xiaowen: "Senior brother, I have ten sets of Yuan-level cultivation techniques and thirty sets of spellbooks here. Name your price!"
Xu Ning pondered, "How about this, five hundred spirit stones for a set."
Sun Xiaowen nodded: "Okay, senior brother!"
The two made another transaction, totaling over 20,000 spirit stones.
The transaction was completed, and Xu Ning returned to his sect.
With the sect's protection, Xu Ning, though a menial servant, lived a relatively comfortable life because he kept a low profile and rarely left the sect.
However, among the handymen disciples, there were always injuries and deaths, so Xu Ning often saw off some familiar handymen, thus acquiring their spiritual roots.
And so, a year passed peacefully.
On this day, Xu Ning's blood energy surged wildly before returning to calm.
Finally, he reached the second level of Blood Refinement!
Unlike ordinary demonic cultivators, his blood and qi became increasingly pure, and his aura resembled righteous energy.
Standing up, Xu Ning walked barefoot to the window.
"Judging by the time, Master should have emerged from seclusion by now! It's a pity we probably won't be able to see each other for a while!"
"Forget it, why worry about a top-grade Golden Core cultivator! I should hurry up and work on weapon crafting and talisman making!"
After a year of continuous study, Xu Ning felt that he was about to master the Soul Refining Technique.
At that time, the Myriad Soul Banner would be forged.
He wondered if the souls he collected could be upgraded. If they could, they would be a great help to him in the future.
By the way, if someone saw him controlling the Myriad Souls Banner with his own righteous energy, wouldn't they mistake it for the Human Emperor's Banner? That was quite possible!
Upgrading several formations still required a lot of materials.
He would take his time!
In the following period, Xu Ning began to specialize in weapon crafting.
It must be said that with the foundation of array refining, plus some of his master's explanations on weapon refining, Xu Ning quickly got the hang of it and mastered the basics in half a month.
As for the blueprints for the Myriad Soul Banner, Gu Mu had them, but Xu Ning took them directly.
However, Xu Ning did not rush to forge the weapon. Instead, he continued to hone his weapon-forging skills while also continuing to study the Soul Refining Technique.
Three months later, Xu Ning finally mastered the Soul Refining Technique to the basics and then began preparing to refine the Myriad Soul Banner.