After receiving the message, Tu Yuan's expression darkened even further.

Three high-grade spirit stones... Xiao Yu is clearly doing this on purpose because he does not want to sell it to me at all.

"Damn, this bastard definitely discovered something... Fuck, he really did notice it!"

Just as the suspicion surfaced in Tu Yuan's mind, another message from Lin Zheyu arrived.

"Fellow Daoist, do you happen to possess a complete inheritance of the Shamanic Clan? If you do, I might even give it to you for free."

Tu Yuan could not hold back any longer and burst into curses. "Fuck your Shamanic Clan inheritance! If I actually had one, only an idiot would trade it to you."

He really could not hold himself back anymore. But after seeing Lin Zheyu's message, Tu Yuan had no choice but to accept the fact that Lin Zheyu had already discovered the secret hidden within those two dharma artifacts.

"Three high-grade spirit stones... If this truly concerns a Shamanic Clan inheritance, then using three high-grade spirit stones to settle the matter once and for all might not be impossible. But..." Tu Yuan muttered softly to himself, feeling an intense headache coming on.

The so-called treasure needed for his Golden Core realm breakthrough had only been an excuse. The truth was that those two dharma artifacts were connected to a certain Shamanic Clan ruin. That ruin was extraordinarily dangerous. The last time Tu Yuan entered it, he had barely escaped alive. Those two dharma artifacts were precisely what he had obtained there.

Originally, he had planned to wait until his strength improved and he successfully entered the Golden Core realm before returning to that ruin to seize its opportunities. Who could have expected the artifacts themselves to end up gone?

After some hesitation, Tu Yuan sent another message, "Fellow Xiao, I wonder whether you might have some free time recently so we can arrange a proper discussion. Even if the trade does not work out, I still owe you a favor from our trip to the demon god barrier last time. Please allow me a chance to express my gratitude."

Those two dharma artifacts were deeply connected to a certain trial within the Shamanic Clan ruin. If one wished to pass that stage, the artifacts were absolutely necessary.

Lin Zheyu looked at the message with some surprise. "He still refuses to give up? The treasures in that storage pouch seem to be worth far more than I imagined."

Even after the price rose to three high-grade spirit stones, the man still would not give up. That made Lin Zheyu suspect there might be something more valuable involved beyond the two dharma artifacts themselves.

Although the artifacts were incredibly durable, they were nowhere near valuable enough to justify three high-grade spirit stones. The only truly interesting aspects were the Shamanic cultivator aura hidden within them and the bones' unbelievable hardness. Those details had sparked Lin Zheyu's curiosity. He wanted to study them thoroughly and see whether he could derive some form of Shamanic Clan cultivation method from them, perhaps even integrate it into his own martial cultivation path.

The corners of Lin Zheyu's lips curled upward into a faint smile as he muttered, "Now this is getting interesting..."

Still, he did not rush to accept the invitation. Tu Yuan was deeply scheming and far from honorable. Going recklessly to meet him would most likely mean walking straight into a trap.

Lin Zheyu sent a message declining the meeting, packed away the formation flags, and stepped out of the courtyard. As he strolled through Pinghao City, the air was filled with the thick scent of smoke and fireworks. Children dressed in bright red new clothes laughed and played with their companions along the streets.

"What dense demonic qi..." Lin Zheyu murmured softly.

Within his perception, an immensely powerful demonic qi permeated the entire city. The aura originated from the mortals currently performing sacrifices and worship rituals. This energy could be called incense power or faith power. At their core, they were the same thing.

He lifted his head and gazed toward the sky. In Lin Zheyu's perception, vast streams of faith power gathered overhead before disappearing into the void itself. After sensing it for a while, he smiled faintly, though his expression carried a trace of complexity.

"Another year has passed. In the blink of an eye, it's already been eight years..." Lin Zheyu muttered softly as an unavoidable sense of loneliness rose within him. He found himself thinking of his parents, relatives, and friends from his previous life.

Lin Zheyu let out a long breath, forcefully clearing away the chaotic emotions in his heart. He was no longer the weak youth he had once been. After eight years of tempering, his temperament and will had already transformed into something incomparably resolute.

A thought stirred within Lin Zheyu's mind.

With this much faith power, this might actually be the perfect chance to search for the foreign races hiding within the city.

He discovered that beneath the influence of the overwhelming faith power, spirit power, blood qi, true origin, demon essence, and countless other forms of energy were all being affected. Even the spirit power drifting through the air, along with the demonic qi tangled within it, seemed to undergo purification. Although the spiritual qi remained thin, it had become incomparably pure.

As his perception spread outward, Lin Zheyu detected numerous hidden formations and restriction fluctuations. Previously, those fluctuations had been impossible for him to sense, but under the influence of the immense faith power, they had become unstable and much easier to notice.

Under such circumstances, locating spies became far simpler than before. With a flick of his right hand, a tracking compass appeared in his palm.

True origin poured into the tracking compass as he reconfirmed the location of the barbarian warrior. His figure blurred, vanishing from the spot in an instant. Every year during the New Year celebrations, these large-scale, high-frequency worship and sacrificial ceremonies lasted for a full fifteen days.

The days passed one after another, yet Lin Zheyu still failed to find any trace of the barbarian warrior.

He did, however, uncover quite a number of cultivators hidden within the city, along with several powerful formations and restrictions. As for the barbarian warrior, there was still nothing.

Even with the assistance of such overwhelming faith power, locating a perfectly concealed infiltrator within the massive Pinghao City was far from an easy task.

Finally, on the afternoon of the thirteenth day...

Night fell. A full moon hung overhead like a jade disc, scattering clear silver light across the land.

Lin Zheyu stepped out from the void, his perception instantly spreading to envelop the entire area.

A flicker of delight appeared on his face. "Found you!"

It had not been easy. He had finally tracked them down.

Lin Zheyu looked toward the sect below and muttered with amusement, "So they actually hid inside a martial cultivation sect. Interesting... Were they planning to steal their techniques?"

His figure shifted slightly. With a single step, he landed directly within the grounds of the Heaven-Shaking Sect. Invisible ripples of energy spread around him, twisting the surrounding light. Patrol disciples walked right past Lin Zheyu without noticing the uninvited intruder in the slightest.

With a flick of his right hand, a long saber suddenly appeared in his grasp. Under the moonlight, the blade reflected a chilling gleam that sent shivers down the spine.

Lin Zheyu had suppressed his aura to the absolute limit, not the slightest fluctuation escaping from him. He lifted his head and looked toward a building in the distance. His figure blurred, and the next moment, he was already standing outside the room.

"Mmm... ah... mm..."

Soft, seductive moans drifted out from inside, the atmosphere within overflowing with lustful passion.

A trace of confusion flashed through Lin Zheyu's eyes.

"A shaman?"

He distinctly remembered this target being a barbarian warrior. Given the terrifying physique of barbarian warriors, how had the woman inside managed to endure it?

"No... That woman... An ancient yao!"

Lin Zheyu's expression shifted as he immediately realized something was wrong. To remain hidden from his perception at such close range, that ancient yao clearly possessed some impressive methods.

A cold glint flashed through his eyes.

Let's end this quickly. This is also the perfect chance to test the power of the third strike of the Seven Absolute Sabers.

Although there was now an extra ancient yao involved, it made little difference. This was still a city of the Great Wei. In missions like this, the hardest part was locating the infiltrators. Killing them was comparatively simple.

A thought stirred within Lin Zheyu. Blood qi surged silently through his body as powerful rule power spread outward.

In the instant the saber light erupted, an unmatched saber intent descended from the heavens with overwhelming dominance, as though it sought to destroy the very world itself.

"Not good!"

The seductive moans stopped abruptly as the expressions of the two inside changed dramatically. Brilliant light exploded from their bodies as their protective dharma artifacts activated automatically.

A terrifying roar echoed out as the saber swept horizontally through the room. Within that domineering saber intent was an incomparably sharp and terrifying power of spatial laws.

The saber light sliced through their protective barriers and dharma artifacts as effortlessly as cutting through tofu. A thin line of blood suddenly appeared across both of their bodies. Then, amid expressions of shock and terror, their bodies slid apart with a wet sound. The cuts were incomparably smooth.