The first thing Liou Yuan did after crawling out was to lie on the ground and cough heavily, spitting out several mouthfuls of blood-streaked filth.

"That was close, almost died!" Liou Yuan’s lungs heaved violently like bellows, and he lost more than just hair and clothes in the fire.

The burning sensation on the skin was so painful that he nearly fainted.

Fortunately, he had the Cold Star Bracelet and the defense formed by the Blood Absorption Skill.

If he had been missing either one, he would have died here today.

He lay on the ground recuperating for a long time before feeling a bit better.

At this moment, he felt a breeze overhead. He sensed something and looked up, just in time to see Tuoba Xin, impeccably dressed, standing smiling in front of him.

He was unharmed.

"Mr. Liou, your appearance has made it difficult for me to recognize you."

Liou Yuan felt that Tuoba Xin was trying hard to suppress his laughter, and his eyes twitched because he was holding back so hard.

"Just laugh if you want to." Liou Yuan’s face, with only the whites of his eyes showing, gave Tuoba Xin a sideways glance.

"What are you saying, junior brother? How could I possibly laugh at you, hahaha!"

Halfway through his words, Tuoba Xin let out an unrestrained laugh.

The two of them had combined efforts to kill the Purifying Dark Demon. With this interaction, they now had a foundation for friendship.

Liou Yuan was not angry and let him laugh to his heart’s content. Only after this did he take a set of clothes from his Storage Bag and put them on. It was better than being completely naked, even if they weren’t clean.

"Didn’t they say there wouldn’t be a Foundation Establishment Star Erosion on this level of the trial ground?" Liou Yuan asked gloomily.

"Of course there wouldn’t be. Didn’t you see it was sealed and killed as soon as it appeared?" Tuoba Xin touched his face, which was aching from laughing, and explained, "You didn’t think I could kill a Foundation Establishment stage, did you?"

"Just got lucky with an opening."

"You definitely can’t kill a Foundation Establishment stage, but if a Foundation Establishment stage took that hit from you, it wouldn’t feel good either." At that time, although Liou Yuan was engulfed by the flames of the Purifying Dark Demon, he could still clearly see everything from the outside world.

He personally witnessed the spell Tuoba Xin cast, which delivered the fatal blow to the Purifying Dark Demon.

"Heh heh!" Tuoba Xin chuckled, giving Liou Yuan a noncommittal answer.

The battle was over. Although the process was fraught with danger and unexpected turns, the result was good.

Both Liou Yuan and Tuoba Xin were alive.

Although Liou Yuan was seriously injured, he knew his body well and it wasn’t too severe.

Even Tuoba Xin, after checking on him, said there was nothing serious, and then gave him an elixir to take.

When Liou Yuan smelled the elixir, he knew it wasn’t something cheap. He swallowed it in one gulp, and the burning sensation on his body immediately dissipated by more than half.

It was then that Liou Yuan and Tuoba Xin had the leisure to inspect the place where the Purifying Dark Demon had exploded.

At the moment of its death, the blue flames within it poured out, burning a massive hollow area at the bottom of the valley.

Liou Yuan was on the edge of that area, luckily surviving.

But in the central area, the ground had melted from the heat and then solidified again, forming something like crystalline glass in the pit.

Residual warmth still emanated from that area.

And in the position where the Purifying Dark Demon had previously been, a fist-sized, smooth, dark blue crystal hovered in midair, occasionally emitting stunningly brilliant colors.

There was no need to guess what that thing was.

With his eyes reflecting the shimmering crystal, Liou Yuan said, "Foundation Establishment Stone Bead!"

This was the stone bead left behind after the Purifying Dark Demon’s death.

As Liou Yuan admired the stone bead, Tuoba Xin already raised his hand, aiming at it with a gust of wind, drawing it into his hand.

Tuoba Xin held it in his hand, playing with it for a moment, then casually tossed it to Liou Yuan, saying, "As per our agreement, the stone bead of this Foundation Establishment Star Erosion is Mr. Liou’s."

The Foundation Establishment Stone Bead felt warm in his hand, not as scalding as Liou Yuan had imagined.

Yet, even someone as thick-skinned as Liou Yuan felt somewhat embarrassed, smiling awkwardly, "In this battle against the Star Evil, Mr. Tuoba did most of the work. You should keep this stone bead."

"Junior brother, no need to be polite with me; it was something we agreed on before. Do you want me to break my word?" Tuoba Xin waved his hand nonchalantly.

It was obvious that he held no sentimental value for the Foundation Establishment Stone Bead.

As for the reason, it was quite simple.

"I’ve got plenty of treasures in my pocket, one less won’t make a difference."

"On the contrary, Mr. Liou, you’re having a hard time in the Outer Sect. You should take this Foundation Establishment Stone Bead, whether to exchange it for Stone Skill, or to keep it as materials for array layout and artifact refining."

Liou Yuan realized why Tuoba Xin didn’t accept the Stone Bead; it turns out he didn’t even regard this treasure as valuable.

"No wonder he’s the precious jewel of the Inner Sect."

Since it was said to this extent, Liou Yuan didn’t stand on ceremony, and with a smile, he accepted the Stone Bead while not forgetting to express gratitude: "I’ll accept the Stone Bead, and I indeed hope to use this Stone Bead to impact the ranking in the training. This time, I owe Mr. Tuoba a personal favor, and you can freely ask for anything you need from me in the future."

Liou Yuan didn’t conceal his intentions, and admitted that the true purpose of having the Foundation Establishment Stone Bead was to challenge the Outer Sect rankings.

This was as Tuoba Xin expected; after all, not everyone is favored by the Inner Sect of the Five Extremes Mountain as the Six-Star Star Acupoint.

Even if Tuoba Xin didn’t rank in the Outer Sect training this time, he could still obtain the highest level Foundation Establishment Cultivation Technique.

"Haha, you bet, in the future, there will definitely be times when I need your help, Mr. Liou." Tuoba Xin had a deep impression of the array set by Liou Yuan.

At the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, he could already set up an array that traps the Purifying Dark Demon. He will definitely become an Array Master of Foundation Establishment Level in the future.

An Array Master who can set up a Foundation Establishment Array has a considerable status in the Inner Sect of the Five Extremes Mountain, and Tuoba Xin will definitely need Liou Yuan’s help.

"It’s a deal." Liou Yuan nodded solemnly.

Establishing a good relationship with the top genius of the Five Extremes Mountain has only benefits for Liou Yuan. And what is the first step of friendship? Of course, it’s owing each other favors.

Liou Yuan, having lived two lifetimes, fully understood this point.

"I’m leaving! Take care and heal well." Tuoba Xin said so nonchalantly, came easily and left easily.

With a wave of his hand, he rode the wind towards the top of the canyon.

Leaving Liou Yuan standing alone at the scorching bottom of the canyon that distorted the surrounding air.

He watched Tuoba Xin’s figure disappear at the top of the canyon, then lowered his gaze to the Purifying Evil Demon Stone Bead in his hand.

"This is purely an unexpected gain." Liou Yuan beamed with smiles.

The uses of the Stone Bead are numerous, needless to say.

Even Zhao Zhuoran mentioned that the reason the Five Extremes Mountain’s Outer Sect training chose this Erosion Land was partly to collect the Stone Beads.

The preciousness of the Foundation Establishment Stone Bead is imaginable.

"I also wonder how many Stone Skills the Foundation Establishment Stone Bead is worth."

Since it was an Outer Sect disciple’s training, the Five Extremes Mountain’s upper echelons never expected the sect’s disciples to be able to kill the Foundation Establishment Star Erosion.

Or it is almost impossible to come across them, so the value of the Foundation Establishment Stone Bead in Stone Skills was never set.

One thing is certain: the value of this single Stone Bead in Liou Yuan’s hand exceeds the total value of all the Stone Beads Liou Yuan has.

"Depending on the situation, if with the existing Stone Beads I can enter the top three, I won’t use it." Liou Yuan already had a plan in mind.

This Stone Bead is a safeguard.

Ensuring Liou Yuan absolutely enters the top three.

If he already can enter the top three, then this Foundation Establishment Stone Bead will certainly be kept for his own use.

Using it as an array eye or monetizing it would be perfect.

The Purifying Nether Stone Bead is indeed a pleasant surprise, but Liou Yuan’s real gains had long been acquired through the Fixed Star Compass.

At the moment when the Purifying Dark Demon was blasted by Tuoba Xin’s final strike, an indigo-blue glow that Tuoba Xin couldn’t see was pulled into Liou Yuan’s body by the Fixed Star Compass.

That glow finally turned into an emerald green and translucent elixir, suspended above the Fixed Star Compass.

It is exactly the extermination reward of the Fixed Star Compass: Vascular Formation and Meridian Opening Elixir.

As long as Liou Yuan thinks of it, that Vascular Formation and Meridian Opening Elixir can be extracted at any time.

Considering Tuoba Xin may not have gone far, Liou Yuan naturally couldn’t take it out.

Resisting the urge to take out the Elixir that could reshape the body’s foundation, Liou Yuan took a deep breath of the still hot air and turned his head towards the direction at the end of the canyon where the Purifying Dark Demon once slept.

There is still a Profound Yin Cold Marrow Stone detected by the Fixed Star Compass.

Without the protection of the Purifying Dark Demon, Liou Yuan could get hold of that Profound Yin Cold Marrow Stone.

As previously considered, Liou Yuan still feared that Tuoba Xin hadn’t gone far.

"That guy comes and goes unpredictably, his temperament is also hard to grasp; it’s possible he might suddenly return, wouldn’t it be bad to be caught by him."

"Let’s leave here first and come back in two days."

Liou Yuan pondered silently and activated Treading Flowing Waves, heading towards the mouth of the valley.