Xiao Fei returned to his cave dwelling on Thousand Birds Peak without encountering further dangers along the way.
The one-armed Foundation Establishment cultivator stationed at Thousand Birds Peak saw him return with injuries, seemingly accustomed to it, and made no inquiries.
Inside the cave dwelling, Xiao Fei took a healing pill before taking out a pile of miscellaneous items from his spatial storage.
After successfully killing the three individuals earlier, he was exhausted and dared not linger. He had left immediately after collecting the spoils, without paying much attention to what he had actually acquired.
First were Yang Ji's nine white flying daggers. This set of flying daggers was of good quality. Yang Ji, having lived for over 60 years, hadn't lived in vain.
Unfortunately, they were metal-attribute spiritual artifacts. He currently cultivated wood-attribute techniques and couldn't use them himself, so he would have to find a way to sell them later.
Guo Fu's red-skinned gourd was also quite good, but unfortunately, it had already been shattered by him.
He Yuan's flying sword was also covered in cracks after being struck by him, requiring a spirit artifact refiner to repair before it could be used.
During the battle, he had only focused on quickly incapacitating the enemies. Who would have thought about preserving the spoils of war?
He had also found a jade array disk on the battlefield. At the time, it was likely this item that had pulled him down from the sky.
Array disks were simple and convenient portable formations, prepared in advance by formation masters. Even those who didn't understand formations could use them, making them very convenient.
This was likely a flight-restriction formation. Once successfully deployed, it could affect a certain area, making flight impossible.
These three were cultivators with no significant background, and their possessions were not abundant. Besides this spiritual artifact, they only had over 200 spirit stones, some worthless miscellaneous items, and a few jade slips.
The jade slips contained copied cultivation techniques from the library.
Xiao Fei's spiritual sense scanned through the jade slips. They were all very cheap goods.
Suddenly, he noticed a jade slip that was somewhat different.
This jade slip did not record any cultivation techniques, only a short message.
"Xiao Fei has left Thousand Birds Peak and gone to the sect's market. After this matter is successful, I will give you another 1000 spirit stones."
After reading this message, Xiao Fei's mood soured. He felt insulted.
To buy his life for only 1000 spirit stones, was it that cheap?
His income from refining pills for a month could exceed this amount.
It seemed that in the eyes of others, his life was not worth much more than a demon beast of the same cultivation level.
Of course, the Foundation Establishment Pill was also a factor. Even without the spirit stones, someone would likely have been willing to take the job.
What puzzled him, however, was who exactly wanted him dead so badly?
Since joining the Danxin Sect, he had maintained a low profile and treated others kindly, never actively offending anyone.
He thought for a long time. Since entering the cultivation world, the only family that had held a grudge against him was the Lin family of Star Moon City.
This matter had always been hidden in Xiao Fei's heart, never revealed. His current strength was insufficient.
Although the Lin family was insignificant compared to the Danxin Sect, they still had several Foundation Establishment cultivators, making them a powerful force he could not yet face.
Compared to the grudge he harbored in his heart, the Lin family should not have taken this matter to heart, perhaps they had even forgotten about it.
After all, would a large family need to concern themselves with accidentally trampling one or two minor rogue cultivators?
It was like walking and accidentally stepping on an ant; one would never consider that the ant might harbor hatred.
If the Lin family had taken it to heart, they would have crushed him long ago.
With the Lin family's influence, crushing the Xiao Fei of that time would have been as easy as crushing an ant.
Thinking of the Lin family, Xiao Fei felt that they were a possibility, but he could not completely rule out other enemies.
Although he believed he had not offended anyone, sometimes hatred arose without reason, or perhaps he had inadvertently blocked someone's path. Anything was possible.
Xiao Fei dealt with these items and put them aside for the time being, unable to come to a conclusion.
At this moment, a seed covered in thorns and barbs, looking somewhat ferocious, appeared in his hand.
It was the Blood-Sucking Demonic Vine seed he had bought at a high price.
The Blood-Sucking Demonic Vine was almost extinct in the cultivation world, capable of growing to the second tier at its peak.
Xiao Fei took out a flying sword and used great effort to cut his arm, drawing some blood.
After his Body Tempering Art reached minor completion, his skin and muscles had become extremely tough, making it not easy to cut.
He drew a rune in the air with the flowing blood and infused it into the Blood-Sucking Demonic Vine seed, which absorbed it.
Therefore, this spiritual plant possessed strong offensive capabilities. Once it grew, it would attack any living creature that approached it, regardless of who they were. Although the rune Xiao Fei infused now could not control the Blood-Sucking Demonic Vine, it could ensure that the mature vine would not attack him in the future.
After inscribing several runes, he finally planted the Blood-Sucking Demonic Vine in his spatial dimension.
Currently, his spatial dimension was filled with a variety of spiritual plants.
The two Red-Sprout Fruit trees were once again laden with ripe spiritual fruits.
The two spiritual peach saplings had also bloomed and would bear fruit soon.
The oldest spiritual herbs were over 100 years old, their medicinal properties comparable to second-tier spiritual herbs.
However, most first-tier spiritual herbs could not grow for 100 years. Once they matured, they would wither even if not harvested.
These spiritual herbs that could grow indefinitely without withering would become second-tier spiritual herbs after reaching a certain age.
Currently, most sects and families could cultivate first-tier spiritual herbs themselves, so they were not excessively scarce.
The situation with second-tier spiritual herbs was different. Most second-tier spiritual herbs had long growth periods and demanding environmental requirements, making them difficult to cultivate.
Second-tier spiritual herbs were currently quite scarce throughout the cultivation world.
Upon reaching the Foundation Establishment realm, most cultivators could only meditate and cultivate. Consuming pills became a luxurious affair; being able to have a feast on special occasions was considered fortunate.
After organizing the spiritual herbs in his spatial dimension, he exited it and continued his cultivation.
Three days later, his injuries had completely healed. After finishing his cultivation, he tidied his belongings and left his cave dwelling once more.
This experience made Xiao Fei even more aware of the importance of combat power. If he hadn't coincidentally cultivated his Body Tempering Art to minor completion, the outcome of the battle would have been uncertain.
Xiao Fei, riding his Black Feather, flew directly to the plaza at the summit of Verdant Peak and then headed towards the Trial Tower.
During the last assessment, he had used all his strength and only managed to reach the 10th floor.
He heard that the disciple who ranked first in combat power in the last grand competition had successfully reached the 30th floor and beyond.
As he approached the entrance of the Trial Tower, he saw Zhu Yu walking out.
"Yo! Our alchemy genius has personally come to challenge the Trial Tower amidst his busy schedule!"
Zhu Yu's facial muscles were no longer twitching, and he seemed much livelier. Seeing Xiao Fei, he couldn't resist making a sarcastic remark.
"You're still alive? I thought you were dead. Truly a menace that lasts a thousand years!"
Xiao Fei naturally refused to back down. They simply disliked each other, so there was no need for politeness.
After exchanging a few sarcastic remarks, they passed each other.
Xiao Fei secretly envied Zhu Yu for having a Foundation Establishment master who could answer many of his cultivation questions.
Whenever he encountered something he didn't understand, he could only try repeatedly or search for various information in the library.
Often, he had to go through many detours before finding the right direction.
Moreover, many cultivation techniques and secret manuals in the cultivation world were made to be extremely profound and obscure.
Xiao Fei, however, was unaware that Zhu Yu also envied his talent for self-teaching and reaching such a level in alchemy.
Because he was a bit handsome, a senior sister had personally tutored him, allowing him to barely break into the top 100.
He had also made considerable sacrifices for this, consuming no small amount of kidney-tonifying pills.
Alas! If one's talent isn't enough, one has to rely on looks!
Zhu Yu sighed and walked down the mountain.
Xiao Fei entered the Trial Tower, paid 10 contribution points, and received a jade token for entering the tower.
For this year, his ranking allowed him to receive 3000 contribution points each month.
As an inner disciple, he received a monthly subsidy of 100 contribution points.
Furthermore, by taking on alchemy missions, he could earn several hundred contribution points each month.
Combined with the 10,000 contribution points awarded from the alchemy competition, he had now accumulated 52,000 contribution points.
In a little over a year, he would be able to gather 100,000 contribution points to exchange for the "Primordial Five Elements Technique" in the library.
Xiao Fei walked to the first-floor lobby and sat down cross-legged. He dripped a drop of blood onto the jade token and immediately felt a suction force from it.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself inside the Trial Tower. He felt his body's strength and indeed, his body-refining cultivation had been replicated by the Trial Tower.
Just then, a demonic pig, larger than an ox, roared and charged at him.
Xiao Fei showed no panic or evasion. He directly threw a punch. The pig demon's toughest skull was shattered by his punch.
After being killed, the pig demon dissipated into specks of spiritual light.
Xiao Fei did not stop and continued towards the second floor.
This time, relying on his body-refining cultivation, Xiao Fei broke through to the 25th floor before stopping.
This was a significant improvement from last time. This level of strength was already enough to rank within the top 100 in combat power, but he was still a bit behind the disciples in the top ten.