Yuan Ming moved around in the passage and familiarized himself with the abilities of the white belt.

He displayed the Wind Swift Art, and the lightness effect of the Wind Swift Art could be combined with the belt. Coupled with the Shadowless Step, his agility reached an astonishing level, almost impossible to catch with the naked eye. He could flash a distance of six or seven zhang in an instant, like a ghost.

If he fully displayed the Shadowless Step, he could even create illusions behind him, similar to some illusion-type spells.

Yuan Ming was secretly delighted. With this speed, coupled with the White Ape Transformation, he would have a significant advantage in both self-preservation and combat.

He looked regretfully at the other two gems on the belt. If these two gems also had the lightness rune engraved inside, the acceleration effect of this belt would be incredibly powerful.

Although there was only one intact gem left now, it was enough for him to use.

The only troublesome thing now was that this belt belonged to Sang Yan. Wearing it outside carried the risk of being noticed by members of the Black Fire Sect.

But this couldn’t stump him either. With some disguise outside, there shouldn’t be any problem.

Yuan Ming wore the belt inside his clothes and covered it with his outer robe. Then, he collected the storage bags from the five scattered cultivators who had died from the Snake King’s attack before turning towards Bai Ye.

Huan Shi had also awakened at this moment and looked at Yuan Ming with complex eyes. It was evident that he had learned everything from Bai Ye.

Seeing that Yuan Ming didn’t touch the bodies of the ten members of their alliance, Huan Shi felt relieved and his opinion of Yuan Ming changed significantly.

“Hao Gong Daoist conceals his abilities well, admirable!” Bai Ye clasped his hands together.

“You flatter me. I took the risk just now.” Yuan Ming blinked and said.

“What I admire even more is your sense of justice.” Bai Ye clasped his hands together again.

“Now that there is no threat outside, you should be able to handle your injuries yourselves. I will take my leave.” Yuan Ming said and turned to leave.

“Hao Gong Daoist, please wait a moment.” Bai Ye suddenly spoke up.

“What else does the leader of Bai Ye have to say?” Yuan Ming turned around to look.

“Hao Gong Daoist, you killed both of the Golden Flower Snake Kings. I wonder if their snake pearls are still intact?” Bai Ye hesitated for a moment and asked.

“There is one left. Why does the leader of Bai Ye ask?” Yuan Ming hesitated slightly and nodded.

“To be honest, our Bai Ye Alliance was commissioned by the White Dragon Island in the Eastern Region to hunt down the Golden Flower Snake Kings and obtain a Golden Flower Snake Pearl. I am willing to offer two thousand spirit stones to purchase the snake pearl in your hands. Can you part with it?” Bai Ye quickly said.

“One snake pearl doesn’t seem to be worth so many spirit stones. Besides, I heard that the young master of White Dragon Island has already died.” Yuan Ming slowly said. Although he had never sold a Golden Flower Snake Pearl before, he had seen similar second-grade spirit materials in the Black Rock City market, worth at most one thousand spirit stones. Bai Ye was willing to pay twice the price.

“Although the young master of White Dragon Island has died, this matter concerns the reputation of our Bai Ye Alliance. I hope you can part with it.” Bai Ye forced a smile. What he didn’t say was that if they didn’t obtain this snake pearl, the losses this time would be irreparable.

Yuan Ming nodded and took out the snake pearl of the One-Horned Snake King, throwing it over.

Bai Ye hurriedly caught it and took out two thousand spirit stones, handing them over.

“One thousand three hundred is enough.” Yuan Ming only took one thousand three hundred spirit stones.

He had some goodwill towards this leader of the alliance and could establish a relationship with him. This time, the other party had suffered heavy losses, and according to his character, he didn’t want to kick someone when they were down. Staying in the Bi Luo Cave was not a long-term plan for him. Perhaps the leader of Bai Ye would still be useful to him in the future.

“I said two thousand, so it’s two thousand. How can I give you a discount…” Bai Ye wanted to be polite.

“No need. Take care, both of you.” After Yuan Ming slightly clasped his hands, his figure disappeared like the wind.

Bai Ye was surprised. This Hao Gong hadn’t shown this speed during the previous battle. Could it be that he still had some reserves from the previous battle?

If that was the case, the potential of this Qi Refining Stage cultivator was too great!

“Big Brother, can you tell where this person comes from…” Huan Shi couldn’t help but ask.

Bai Ye gestured to Huan Shi with his eyes, indicating for him to keep quiet.

Huan Shi realized his mistake and quickly closed his mouth.

After a while, feeling that Yuan Ming should have gone far, the two of them spoke again.

“This Hao Gong saved our lives twice. After returning to Black Rock City, let’s not investigate his background anymore, and don’t mention him to anyone. Tell the young master of White Dragon Island that we obtained this snake pearl through the combined efforts of our entire alliance!” Bai Ye said.

“Understood. But if the Black Fire Sect investigates, it might be difficult.” Huan Shi nodded.

“What’s difficult about it? After entering the valley, we got separated due to the miasma. Who knows where they went? Besides, we didn’t kill them.” Bai Ye said.

“That’s true.” Huan Shi said.

“Younger brother, I’m sorry. I gave the Foundation Establishment Pill you prepared for Tuo Zhe to Hao Gong in exchange for his help earlier.” Bai Ye said.”Zhe’er has already fallen, the Foundation Establishment Pill is still here, but he can’t use it,” Huan Shi said sadly.

“So many people were lost in this mission, and the Purple Flame Flag was also destroyed. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have taken on this mission for the sake of greed,” Bai Ye slowly stood up and looked at the place where the members of the Bai Ye Alliance had fallen, his face filled with regret.

“Big brother, you don’t have to blame yourself like this. I also agreed to this mission and accepted the deposit. Who could have expected that there would be two Snake Kings here, one of which was nearing the Jiao Transformation stage. Fortunately, the mission has been completed, and the reward from the White Dragon Island is generous enough to compensate for some of the losses. Let’s do our best to compensate the families of the fallen when we return,” Huan Shi comforted.

Bai Ye forced a bitter smile and shook his head. Most of the members who participated in this mission were the core members of the Bai Ye Alliance. The death of each one was a great loss that could not be compensated with mere wealth.

“Hey, how is your body recovering? Leave as soon as possible!” he said to Huan Shi.

Huan Shi supported himself against the stone wall and slowly stood up.

The two of them picked up the scattered storage bags of the alliance members, tidied up the bodies, and walked outside.

A Soul Crow stood in the miasma ahead of Bai Ye and the others. When it saw them approaching, it turned around and flew away.

…

At this moment, an illusion dashed out of the Snake King’s cave, revealing Yuan Ming’s figure.

He heard the conversation between Bai Ye and Huan Shi through the Soul Crow and nodded slightly.

Yuan Ming returned to the previous cave and sealed it with a Four-Square Sealing Talisman, continuing to cultivate and recover.

After half a day, Yuan Ming’s mana had completely recovered, and the injuries caused by the previous battle had also healed.

He lightly patted his palm, and a small pile of things appeared in front of him. It was the Golden Silk Veil, as well as the Bone Diagram and other artifacts of Sang Yan and the others, storage rings, and storage bags.

Yuan Ming first picked up the Golden Silk Veil and saw that the delicate veil had three fist-sized holes in it. Although it did not cause the runes to collapse, its power was greatly reduced after being damaged.

This was borrowed from Xiying, and he didn’t know if Xiying would be angry after seeing it like this. He had to find a way to restore it to its original state.

The one-armed old man in the Ghost Market of Black Rock City mentioned that this Golden Silk Veil was made from Golden Silkworm Silk, Soft Gold Stone, and Fine Iron. Yuan Ming planned to collect these three materials after returning to the sect and see if someone could repair it.

He put away the Golden Silk Veil and took the black needle artifact from the Bone Diagram.

In the cultivation world, flying needle artifacts were small in size, difficult to engrave runes on, and extremely difficult to refine. However, once they were refined, their power was not small.

Yuan Ming used his divine sense to explore it and a look of joy appeared on his face.

This black needle was a decent middle-grade artifact. One of the runes engraved inside was sharp, and the other one he had never seen before. Judging from his feelings, it should be a hidden-type rune.

The black needle was small in size and had this hidden-type rune, which could be used to secretly attack others. This was what the Bone Diagram had done before, but unfortunately, it encountered Yuan Ming, whose spiritual consciousness far surpassed the same level of Qi Refining cultivators, and was seen through directly.

Yuan Ming carefully put away the needle and took the second artifact he obtained from the Bone Diagram, the Nine-Ring Golden Knife.

This knife was also a middle-grade artifact, and the two runes engraved on it were both sharp and powerful. In terms of destructive power alone, it was not inferior to the Cold Star Sword, but it didn’t have any special abilities.

Finally, Yuan Ming took out the storage ring from the Bone Diagram. His divine sense entered it, and his expression froze.

The storage ring was almost empty, except for about twenty to thirty low-grade spirit stones, a few ordinary spiritual materials, two trash artifacts, and a jade slip. The one percent of the storage ring’s space was not used at all.

Yuan Ming was extremely disappointed. He had originally hoped to make another fortune with the storage ring of this Foundation Establishment elder from the Black Fire Sect, but he didn’t expect this person to be so poor. He was just a pauper.

Yuan Ming didn’t know that all the resources of the Bone Diagram had been spent on refining the black needle artifact, which was why the storage ring was so empty.

The situation with the black needle was similar to that of the Cold Star Sword. It looked ordinary on the surface, but the main material used was extremely high-quality, a small piece of Nine Heavens Meteorite.

Nine Heavens Meteorite was produced outside the Nine Heavens Domain. It was repeatedly polished by the Nine Heavens Gang Wind, the power of the sun, the essence of the moon, and even the power of starlight. Its texture was indestructible, and it was a precious ore that could be used to refine treasures.

Moreover, because the formation process of the Nine Heavens Meteorite was complex and it had been tempered by too many forces, it could almost be compatible with all runes, making it of great value in refining treasures.

The Bone Diagram accidentally obtained this item, but unfortunately, the quantity was too small. After weighing the pros and cons, it could only be barely refined into a flying needle.

Although this black needle was small, its potential was great. The Bone Diagram planned to use it as its life artifact and hoped to advance it to a high-grade artifact in the future, or even a treasure after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. Therefore, it spent all its savings to ask a master refiner from the Black Fire Sect to refine this flying needle, but now it was given away for nothing by Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming naturally didn’t know the reason for all this and looked at the other things in the storage ring of the Bone Diagram.The spiritual materials were all ordinary and worthless. He glanced at them and quickly shifted his gaze, focusing his divine sense on the two magical artifacts.

One of them was a gray short knife, a lower-grade artifact, made from common materials. It was clearly a forgotten existence.

As for the other artifact, it was a black iron nail with a faint aura, appearing to be another lower-grade artifact.

The black iron nail was smeared with some fresh, dark greenish-black gel-like substance. It seemed like it had just been pulled out from somewhere, sticky and messy, and looked somewhat disgusting.

(End of Chapter)