"This Half-Moon Immortal is worthy of being a first-class Golden Core cultivator. He possesses four mid-grade spirit treasures and a hoard of low-grade ones," Xue Jing marveled, looking at the more than a dozen spirit treasures before him.
He himself, a second-grade upper-tier Golden Core cultivator, only had one mid-grade spirit treasure. Compared to Half-Moon Immortal, his own collection was meager.
Of course, this was also because he had been sent to Earth shortly after entering the Golden Core realm. Had he been in the outside world, his current strength might have already reached the late or even peak Golden Core stage, granting him more power to acquire more spirit treasures.
At the same time, he realized that the square seal spirit treasure in Zhang Fan's hand was likely also obtained from Half-Moon Immortal.
A high-grade spirit treasure!
These were generally held by Nascent Soul Heavenly Immortals. Even first-class Golden Core cultivators only possessed a few.
"I'll take this sword!"
Wu Chen Sword Immortal made the first move. He was the only sword cultivator present besides Zhang Fan, so he made no pretense and naturally took the pitch-black longsword from the seventeen spirit treasures.
Holding the dark longsword, Wu Chen Sword Immortal casually thrust it forward. Instantly, countless root-like phantoms extended from the sword body, intertwining and subtly affecting space.
"A good sword!"
Wu Chen Sword Immortal's heart surged with excitement. As a peak Core Condensation realm cultivator, his previous weapon had only been a spirit artifact, which was truly pathetic.
Generally speaking, in the myriad star fields, a peak Core Condensation cultivator with some foundation could possess their own spirit treasure.
Of course, the spirit treasures mastered by peak Core Condensation cultivators were merely the most common low-grade spirit treasures. Even so, the power of a spirit treasure was far beyond comparison to spirit energy.
"This sword is forged from ten-thousand-year-old black wood. Although the forging technique is rather ordinary, due to the equipment used, its power is considered top-tier among low-grade spirit treasures. It will be sufficient for you even after you condense a second-grade Golden Core," Zhang Fan commented.
Wu Chen Sword Immortal gently traced his finger across the sword body, feeling its temperature. Every inscription on the sword was flawless, a masterpiece of craftsmanship. It was the most perfect sword he had ever seen, undoubtedly the work of a master artifact refiner.
Yet, Zhang Fan called the forging technique ordinary, which made Wu Chen Sword Immortal sigh at his master's exceedingly high standards.
Zhang Fan also used a sword. Although his ancient bronze sword, limited by its material, could only reach the peak of spirit artifacts, it had accompanied him for many years, nurtured by his spirit and divine sense. In Zhang Fan's hands, it was no less effective than an ordinary low-grade spirit treasure.
"Thank you, Master!"
After receiving the black wood sword, Wu Chen Sword Immortal bowed to Zhang Fan and retreated to the side.
"I think this pair of great hammers suits me!"
Lin Haotian strode towards the pair of great hammers with flames swirling on their surface. He extended his hands, unfazed by the flames, and grasped them.
Lin Haotian had not practiced any hammer techniques. He simply felt that his advantage lay in strength, and this pair of great hammers could better leverage that advantage.
"These great hammers are named Flowing Fire Meteorite Hammers, forged entirely from meteorite iron. They are considered upper-tier mid-grade spirit treasures. The hammer bodies are extremely heavy, but with your current minor success in the Sacred Body, and your immense strength, these Flowing Fire Meteorite Hammers are perfectly suited for you," Zhang Fan said with a nod. Originally, in his plan, these great hammers were intended for Lin Haotian.
Xue Jing watched with great envy. Lin Haotian, not yet a Golden Core cultivator, was able to possess a set of mid-grade spirit treasures, of a quality no less than his own Blood Axe.
Following this, the three Blood Clan princes each selected a low-grade spirit treasure. Knowing their strength was insufficient, they dared not choose the mid-grade spirit treasures.
Xue Jing already possessed the Blood Axe battle weapon and thus did not select another. As for the Blood Demon Flood Dragon, its combat relied entirely on its own abilities, and these spirit treasures were unsuitable for it, so it also did not select any.
"Alright." Zhang Fan saw that everyone had a suitable spirit treasure, and then waved his hand, storing the remaining treasures into his Star Sign Space.
"Follow me!" Zhang Fan released his divine sense, enveloping Xue Jing, Lin Haotian, and the others, then used his遁术 (Dùnshù - escape technique) to delve into the ground.
Initially, Xue Jing and the others were bewildered. Why was Zhang Fan suddenly leading them underground?
But gradually, they all sensed something amiss.
As they descended deeper underground, they could clearly feel the spiritual energy density in their surroundings rapidly increasing.
In just a few breaths, Zhang Fan had led them nearly a hundred meters underground.
"Is that... spirit crystals?"
Xue Jing was the first to sense it. Beneath this underground space, there was a spiritual vein. Although this spiritual vein was only dozens of meters long, quite pathetic, he had not seen a spirit crystal for hundreds of years and was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes.
After being sent to Earth, Xue Jing had never imagined that this planet, chosen by True Immortal Zhiwu as a place of opportunity, would not even have a single spirit crystal.
He himself had not brought many spirit crystals from the outside world. They had been depleted centuries ago. It was easy to imagine how desperately he craved spirit crystals.
On planets rich in spiritual energy, one could still rely on absorbing the power of heaven and earth to improve their cultivation. But on Earth, the spiritual energy was too sparse. Even if he constantly circulated his cultivation technique, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to cultivate, he might not be able to break through to the mid-stage Golden Core realm even by the time his lifespan ended.
"Although this spiritual vein is small, it is composed entirely of pure spirit crystals, with no impurities. If mined, it could yield millions of spirit crystals. If I were to cultivate here alone, it would likely allow me to reach the late or even peak Golden Core stage," Xue Jing said with fervent eyes.
"Your thoughts are quite grand."
Zhang Fan smiled upon hearing Xue Jing's fanciful words. This small spiritual vein was almost the entire fortune of Half-Moon Immortal. The last time he cultivated, he had only consumed a small portion, and the spiritual vein could automatically absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to recover in a short time.
However, this time, threatened by external cultivators, Zhang Fan did not have much time to slowly cultivate using this spiritual vein.
He had brought everyone here with the intention of using this spiritual vein to rapidly elevate everyone's cultivation realm.
"For the next period, this will be your place of secluded cultivation. In a month, I will also enter seclusion. During this month, you can ask me any questions you have regarding your cultivation!" Zhang Fan announced, his gaze sweeping over everyone.
Zhang Fan's主动 (zhǔdòng - proactive) offer to guide them brought joy to even Xue Jing.
Although Zhang Fan's cultivation realm was not the highest among them, his insights and knowledge in the path of cultivation were something even Xue Jing admitted inferiority to.
Over the course of the month, everyone sought guidance from Zhang Fan. Even the Blood Demon Flood Dragon consulted Zhang Fan several times on its doubts regarding the cultivation of the Blood Dragon Body Refinement Technique, benefiting greatly.
During this period, Zhang Fan found a Nascent Soul-grade hammer technique called "Radiant Moon Six-Pointed Star" in his mind and passed it on to Lin Haotian.
Simultaneously, based on the characteristics of the three Blood Clan princes, he taught them a combined attack formation that could maximize their strength.
After a month had passed, Zhang Fan set up formations, divided the areas, and began his secluded cultivation.
...