Chapter 22

The old monkey, its toothless mouth wide open, he-he heaved, and in the dim cave, its furry face looked abnormally terrifying.

But its pair of brown eyes strangely flickered with a hint of surprise, which quickly subsided as it calmed the equally agitated golden-haired baby monkey.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

The dull, muffled sound of bubbles bursting continuously emanated from Lichen, who was sitting still. After about an hour, the layers of steam that had risen from his body finally dissipated.

Under the envious gazes of the two black-armed monkeys, he slowly opened his eyes, and a piercing light immediately shot out. He slowly rose, bowed to the old monkey, and said, "Thank you, Old Monkey, for the gift of wine!"

Even if he were dull, he would now understand that the wine he drank must be the legendary monkey wine.

Although it only brought him from the initial stage of the sixth level of inner breath to the peak of the sixth level without directly breaking through his cultivation, just one sip had such an effect. Moreover, there was still a whole bamboo tube of monkey wine.

The most important thing was not the increase in cultivation, but the strengthening of his physical strength. Most of the essence energy from that sip of wine entered his muscles and bones, reinforcing them.

He clenched his fist slightly, and with a crack, he estimated that he was at least twice as strong as before.

Just by the smell of his body, he knew that this monkey wine definitely had the effect of strengthening his muscles and bones.

He-he!

The old monkey waved its paw, then pointed to the bamboo tube and gestured forward.

"Goodbye!"

Lichen understood that this was a sign to leave. He immediately bowed, took out all the spirit pills from his backpack, placed the bamboo tube inside, and then strode out.

Without lingering, he followed the two black-armed monkeys, climbing up the mountain along the vines.

Standing on the mountaintop, looking down at the Monkey Valley, Lichen knew that he now owed the monkeys a favor.

......

"Hey, welcome, sir. What would you like?"

In a small town on the outskirts of Ancient Cangshan, a shop welcomed a customer in a cloak. The shop assistant, who had seen many adventurers dressed like this, was not surprised.

"Do you have demon cores?"

A hoarse voice came from under the cloak, making it impossible to guess the age.

"Demon cores? This... sir, we have all kinds of pills, but no demon cores!"

The shop assistant looked troubled. Demon cores were extremely valuable cultivation resources, containing essence energy that was purer and easier to absorb than the various pills used by martial artists.

Of course, the demon aura inside had to be removed using special methods, and few martial artists sold demon cores, so they were rarely found in ordinary shops.

The cloaked person nodded and turned to leave.

"Sir, wait a moment. Our shop happens to have a demon core, but I'm not sure..."

Suddenly, a sharp voice came from behind, and the cloaked person turned to see an old man with a pointed face and a monkey-like jaw, smiling and rubbing his fingers together.

"What level?"

The same hoarse, emotionless voice came from under the cloak.

"There's a chance!"

The old man's eyes lit up, hurriedly stepped aside, and pulled back the curtain. "Sir, please come in. Little Li, bring tea!"

The cloaked person did not say much and followed the old man into the side room and sat down.

"A late-stage demon core, by my estimation, must come from a top-tier demon beast!"

After the shop assistant served the tea and left, the old man calmly pushed the teacup and stared directly at the cloaked person.

Unfortunately, the only visible part of the cloaked person's face was obscured by disheveled hair, revealing nothing.

"Green Thorn Vine, Night Velvet Flower, Purple Cloud Grass. If the quality is insufficient, one will be deducted!"

The cloaked person spoke succinctly.

"High-grade first-stage spirit herbs!"

The old man's eyes lit up, and he took a deep breath. "Sir, please wait a moment!"

He got up and went to the back room, returning shortly with a palm-sized black jade box. He glanced at the untouched teacup in front of the cloaked person, and a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

With a click, he opened the jade box, revealing a walnut-sized, mottled crystal core with a faint green glow.

The cloaked person leaned forward slightly, nodded, and reached into his robe, pulling out three jade boxes of varying lengths. He opened them one by one, and immediately a fragrance filled the air, revealing three different spirit herbs.

"The branches and leaves are undamaged, and the technique is proficient. This demon core is yours!"

The old man carefully examined the herbs and gently pushed the jade box over. With his keen eye, he could tell that these herbs had been recently harvested.

The cloaked person silently put them away and then took out a few more jade boxes and opened them. "Do you have Blood Recovery Pills and Body Strengthening Powder?"

"Yes, yes!"

The old man's eyes gleamed, and he smiled, taking four jade bottles from a nearby cabinet.

These two pills were only mid-grade first-stage. Blood Recovery Pills, as the name suggests, restore blood and qi, while Body Strengthening Powder increases strength, commonly used by low-level martial artists on treasure hunts.

The cloaked person picked up one of the bottles, removed the stopper, and sniffed it, then nodded and put it away without a word, and left.

"An old hand. Why are today's adventurers so shrewd?"

At the shop entrance, the old man clicked his tongue and returned inside, immediately pouring out the untouched tea.

Lichen, completely wrapped in his cloak, silently reflected on his gains over the past month.

In the half-month since leaving the Monkey Valley, he had trained in the outer mountains, and now he had come out of the Granary Mountain to exchange the spirit herbs he had obtained for what he needed.

Although he had hunted many demon beasts, the number of demon cores he had obtained was very few. Moreover, he had already broken through to the peak of the sixth level, and mid-stage demon cores could not replenish much of his inner breath.

Fortunately, this time he did not return empty-handed, having obtained a late-stage first-stage demon core.

However, he did not rush to consume the demon core. Although he had cultivated inner breath for not long, he knew that in martial arts, haste makes waste.

If he broke through too quickly, his martial arts foundation would be unstable, and he would suffer in the long run.

"Stop right there!"

The arrogant and capricious shout startled Lichen from his thoughts. Looking up, he inwardly cursed.

In front of him, there were about seven or eight young martial artists browsing the stalls. Among them was a pale-faced girl in green, who seemed uninterested, being the center of attention.

It was none other than Qiu Qianhua, who Lichen had taken hostage and injured in a cave half a month ago. Yang Rongfeng and others were also present.

At that moment, she was blocking a cloaked, slender martial artist with a sullen look.

It was clear that she was still harboring resentment over the incident and was questioning someone of similar build.

The martial artist was also sensible and, seeing the group's numbers, immediately removed his cloak, revealing an ordinary face, and was then let go.

Lichen paused, his mind racing, but ultimately had no plan. He continued walking as if nothing had happened, but veered to the other side of the street.

As a martial artist, one might have one or two enemies, so there were many cloaked martial artists on the street. Lichen only hoped that they would overlook him.

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