After leaving the market, Xiao Fei found a secluded spot to change back to his original appearance.
This time, the gains were quite good. With ten thousand spirit stones, the space could be increased by double the time.
In addition, the Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine was also very useful to him.
He had previously used Iron Thorn seeds to cast entanglement spells, but the effect against stronger enemies was only satisfactory.
If he could switch to the Bloodthirsty Demonic Vine, the effect should be much better.
Just as he was flying back on his Black Feather, he suddenly felt his feet sink, and a powerful pulling force dragged him towards the ground.
"Not good! An ambush!"
Xiao Fei immediately summoned his Tortoise Shell Shield, and eight shield phantoms condensed from spiritual energy appeared around his body.
Although this area belonged to the Cui Hua Mountain Range and was the territory of the Dan Xin Sect, it was a remote location, and the sect's management had limited reach.
Before Xiao Fei's body even landed, nine streams of white light shot towards him.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
Nine white flying daggers continuously struck the shield. Under the continuous slashes, the Tortoise Shell Shield vibrated, and several shallow cracks appeared on its surface.
After Xiao Fei's feet touched the ground, he fully unleashed his divine sense, searching for the hidden spot of the attackers.
His divine sense had already surpassed the tenth level of Qi Refining. Within a fifteen-zhang radius, he could perceive everything clearly.
At this moment, Xiao Fei's lips curved into a slight smile. He let out a loud roar, and under the chopping attacks of the nine flying daggers, he charged directly towards a large rock eight zhang away.
He cultivated wood-elemental techniques, while the attacker was of the metal element, which countered his techniques. As a result, even the high-grade Tortoise Shell Shield was cleaved with cracks.
However, his body-refining technique was not affected by the five-elemental cycle.
The eight-zhang distance was covered in an instant. At this moment, a long-handled great saber suddenly appeared in his hand, and he swung it down at the giant rock.
The saber's design was inspired by Lord Guan's Azure Dragon Crescent Blade, and he had commissioned a refiner from the sect to craft it.
It had no particular advantages; its only characteristic was its immense power.
This saber weighed 500 jin. When he wielded it, coupled with inertia, it could unleash at least several thousand jin of force.
"Boom!"
Stones flew everywhere, and a figure was sent flying backward by the saber strike, landing two to three zhang away. He crashed through several large trees before stopping.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
The hidden attacker coughed a few times and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"When did Junior Brother Xiao cultivate such a powerful body-refining technique? You've really made things difficult for me!"
Upon seeing this, Xiao Fei realized it was an acquaintance. This person was named Yang Ji, and he had visited Xiao Fei several times before.
At that time, he had called Xiao Fei his brother and was so enthusiastic that he wanted to become sworn brothers.
Indeed, one can know a person's face but not their heart.
"Yang Ji, why are you here?"
As Xiao Fei spoke, he discreetly crushed a wax pellet in his sleeve.
"Junior Brother Xiao, why do you feign ignorance when you know the truth?
You possess a Foundation Establishment Pill, something that ordinary disciples like me strive for decades to obtain."
As Yang Ji spoke, jealousy and resentment appeared on his face.
"Why is it that disciples with good talent like you can obtain so much with just one grand competition? How are we ordinary disciples with poor talent supposed to live?
The sect is unfair in its dealings, and it squeezes us ordinary disciples to subsidize you so-called genius disciples."
Yang Ji's face contorted, and his heart was filled with hatred for Xiao Fei.
He had struggled in the rogue cultivator world for countless years, experiencing all the hardships of life. He thought that after entering the sect, he could finally live a life superior to others.
Who would have thought that the path of cultivation would still be so arduous? He worked tirelessly on missions, but his earnings were barely enough to sustain his daily cultivation.
Now over sixty years old, he had achieved nothing and was still far from Foundation Establishment.
"All the benefits you receive from the sect are scraped from the flesh of us outer disciples."
"You strong ones occupy more resources and become stronger and stronger, while we outer disciples with ordinary talent will never have a chance to turn the tables."
Beneath Yang Ji's usually enthusiastic smile lay such a twisted heart. Now that his true nature was revealed, he looked like a madman.
"Hand over the Foundation Establishment Pill! Otherwise, you will surely die today!"
Yang Ji took a step forward, his aura surging. The nine flying daggers furiously slashed at Xiao Fei's protective shield.
Two of the eight protective shields condensed by the Tortoise Shell Shield had already been shattered.
Xiao Fei estimated that the poison of the Black Leaf Datura flower should be taking effect soon. If he could avoid fighting, he would try to conserve some energy.
The poison from the Black Leaf Datura flower and its seeds in his hand, while insidious and advantageous, also had obvious drawbacks.
One was that the medicinal effect was relatively slow, similar to some medications that require a course of treatment, taking a long time to show results.
Another was that if the opponent preemptively activated defensive spells or artifacts like a protective barrier, his poison would be blocked from entering and naturally would not take effect.
Yang Ji sneered, his spiritual power surging, and the nine flying daggers emitted a dazzling white light.
At this moment, he suddenly felt dizzy and then fell to the ground headfirst.
Without hesitation, Xiao Fei walked over and beheaded Yang Ji with a single saber strike.
Since the other party wanted to kill him, regardless of his reasons or grievances, he was his enemy.
Xiao Fei himself was just a low-level cultivator and did not have the right to pity others.
His own aptitude was even more abysmal. If not for his space and his own continuous efforts, he would have remained at the very bottom of the cultivation world, manipulated by others and unable to turn the tables.
Xiao Fei picked up Yang Ji's head and examined it, confirming that he was indeed dead.
He glanced at the Soul Nurturing Pearl hanging on his chest. It showed no reaction. His second sister had been too severely injured in the previous battle at Dragon Fall Abyss and had not yet awakened.
Otherwise, such newly slain residual souls would be the best nourishment for vengeful spirits.
Just as he was about to set fire to the corpse, two more people emerged from behind two large rocks.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
"Junior Brother Xiao is truly unfathomable, hiding so many tricks."
Xiao Fei recognized the two who had just appeared. They were Guo Fu and He Yuan.
They were also the ones who had called him brother and poured out their hearts to him back then.
"I remember that in the last grand competition, Junior Brother Xiao was eliminated after only breaking through to the tenth level of the Trial Tower."
"Also, Junior Brother Xiao's poison techniques are truly uncanny."
The two clearly believed that Xiao Fei had hidden his true strength in the last grand competition, unaware that his Body Tempering Art had only just been completed.
He Yuan and Guo Fu, wary of Xiao Fei's poison techniques, cast a golden light talisman from a distance, forming a protective shield around themselves, shielding them completely.
"Are you two also here for the Foundation Establishment Pill?"
Xiao Fei held the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade upright before him with one hand, his eyes fixed on the two with a cold smile.
"Of course! If Junior Brother Xiao willingly hands it over, it will save him a lot of pain."
"We have both cultivated to the peak of the twelfth level of Qi Refining but have been unable to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill. We don't want to waste any more time, so Junior Brother Xiao will have to endure some hardship."
The two spoke very casually, as if they had already secured Xiao Fei.
"But I only have one pill, and it's not enough for both of you!"
"That's not for Junior Brother Xiao to worry about. None of you alchemists are poor; you probably have plenty of wealth on you."
As they spoke, they each unleashed their divine abilities. Guo Fu summoned a red-skinned gourd and sprayed a stream of flames at Xiao Fei.
He Yuan, on the other hand, summoned a flying sword and slashed at Xiao Fei.
Xiao Fei poured all his spiritual power into the Tortoise Shell Shield, momentarily holding back the two attacks. He gripped the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade with both hands and charged at Guo Fu.
He had already realized that the red-skinned gourd summoned by Guo Fu had greater power, making it difficult for Guo Fu himself, thus hindering his movements.
Therefore, when he reached Guo Fu, the latter only had time to block with the red-skinned gourd.
Xiao Fei's Azure Dragon Crescent Blade slashed down diagonally, its immense power generating a fierce gust of wind.
This saber strike directly shattered the red-skinned gourd, sending flames scattering everywhere, which then engulfed both Xiao Fei and Guo Fu.
After passing through the red-skinned gourd, the saber blade did not stop and continued to slash diagonally downward.
It cleaved through the golden light shield Guo Fu had summoned around his body, entering from his left shoulder and neck and exiting from his right armpit.
"Ah!"
Guo Fu only managed to let out a scream before his head, along with one shoulder, slid to the ground.
Xiao Fei, having successfully beheaded Guo Fu with one saber strike, strode out of the raging flames, carrying his long saber.
At this moment, the Tortoise Shell Shield protecting him had completely shattered in the inferno, and his standard Dan Xin Sect robe had been incinerated, revealing the soft armor underneath.
He Yuan's eyes gleamed with greed. Alchemists were indeed wealthy.
The Tortoise Shell Shield that had just been broken, and the soft armor he was wearing now, were both exquisite pieces of high-grade spiritual artifacts, worth at least a thousand spirit stones each.
He immediately activated his flying sword and accelerated towards Xiao Fei. Xiao Fei swung his Azure Dragon Crescent Blade and fiercely struck the flying sword.
"Bang!"
He Yuan's flying sword, subjected to immense force, fell to the ground with countless cracks. The sword was temporarily rendered useless.
"I didn't expect Junior Brother Xiao's body-refining cultivation to be so formidable!"
Although his only flying sword was destroyed, He Yuan's fighting spirit was not extinguished; instead, it became even more frenzied.
With Yang Ji and Guo Fu now dead, as long as he successfully killed Xiao Fei, he would be the ultimate winner, claiming all the spoils for himself, and Foundation Establishment would be within reach.
At this moment, his mind was completely consumed by greed. He was focused on the benefits, ignoring the dangers, and was determined to risk his life for a gamble.
If he won, he would obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill and a large amount of wealth, successfully establish his foundation, and from then on break free from the lowest rung, completely changing his fate.
He even wanted to shout, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river!"
Whether He Yuan could turn his fortunes around depended on this battle.
With this thought, he unhesitatingly took out a handful of talismans from his embrace, five in total, and unleashed them all at Xiao Fei.
Each talisman was equivalent to a Qi Refining stage spell.
At this moment, it was as if five Qi Refining cultivators were simultaneously casting spells at Xiao Fei.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
A barrage of fire and arrows instantly engulfed Xiao Fei.
Just as He Yuan clapped his hands, feeling that the situation was decided.
He saw Xiao Fei emerge from the barrage of fire, carrying the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade and slashing horizontally.
A head flew into the sky, and a pillar of blood spurted out.
Xiao Fei stood to the side, propping himself up with the saber, panting. At this moment, the soft armor on his body had completely shattered, and his entire body was covered in wounds of various sizes.
Fortunately, the soft armor had helped him block most of the attacks, and the remaining blows were blocked by his body-refining cultivation.
Although he looked miserable now, they were merely flesh wounds.
He took a large gulp of spiritual wine from his space. The spiritual wine transformed into spiritual energy in his abdomen and was quickly refined, replenishing the spiritual power consumed by his body.
He picked up the scattered items on the ground, cast a few small fireballs to incinerate the corpses, and then quickly left the battlefield.