Yuan Ming frowned and continued forward, witnessing yet another shocking scene.

In a small alley beside the main road, a headless corpse lay sprawled, its blood already dried. Not far from it stood a burly man with a bare chest and a bushy beard, exuding the aura of someone at the early Foundation Establishment stage. He was cursing loudly:

“Which damned bastard killed someone and didn’t even clean up the body, just left it in front of someone else’s house? Have you no decency?”

Seeing the man cursing so righteously and the nearby cultivators acting as if it was nothing unusual, some not even bothering to glance back, Yuan Ming couldn’t help but gain a new understanding of the chaos in this place.

However, as he entered the inner city, the situation improved significantly. Although the cultivators on the streets still exuded a murderous aura, at least there were no public brawls.

Soon, Yuan Ming found a place in the inner city to rent a house for shelter.

Unexpectedly, the yellow-robed cultivator in charge of rentals quoted a price that greatly shocked him.

“Six hundred spirit stones a year for a house in the inner city? Why don’t you just rob people?” Yuan Ming angrily retorted.

Though he had quite a few spirit stones on him, it didn’t mean he was willing to be fleeced. After all, the housing prices in Xiaohu City were only about two hundred spirit stones. How could this rundown place be more expensive?

Seeing Yuan Ming’s reaction, the yellow-robed cultivator quickly handed over a jade slip marked with the locations of vacant houses in the inner city. Yuan Ming took it and frowned again.

“Why are there only two places left?”

“No choice. Many people living in the outer city are desperate to move to the inner city. These two spots just became available yesterday, so you’re in luck,” the yellow-robed cultivator explained.

Yuan Ming, feeling helpless, didn’t bother to ask what “just became available” meant. He simply chose one of the relatively quiet spots, handed over the spirit stones, and received the key and a token marking his residency from the yellow-robed cultivator before leaving.

After renting the house, Yuan Ming hurried to a store in the city that sold elixirs.

This store, named Chunfeng Hall, was far inferior in both scale and decoration compared to Qingmu Tower in Xiaohu City. It had only a few types of elixirs for Foundation Establishment stage improvement, and their prices were more than half higher than those at Qingmu Tower.

This realization made Yuan Ming regret not buying more elixirs while he was in Great Jin and Zhao Country.

He began to calculate his current wealth. Though he still had tens of thousands of spirit stones, without the stable income from the spiritual incense shop, maintaining a relatively good cultivation environment would soon deplete his resources.

Yuan Ming hesitated for a moment and then waved for the shop assistant to lead the way.

The young assistant led Yuan Ming to the innermost part of the shop, where there was a counter displaying ten bottles of gray and black elixirs.

Yuan Ming scanned them with his spiritual consciousness and was surprised.

The elixirs in these bottles were vastly different from those outside. They were much smaller, with rough, grayish surfaces that made them look more like dirt pellets than elixirs.

However, the spiritual energy emanating from these elixirs was exceptionally strong, comparable to the Xueqing Elixirs he had taken before.

Most importantly, these elixirs were very cheap, priced at just over a hundred spirit stones each, with the most expensive ones being no more than two hundred spirit stones.

“What kind of elixirs are these?” Yuan Ming picked up a bottle and gently opened the stopper, releasing a strange, sour, and pungent smell.

“Insect Elixirs?” Yuan Ming looked at the assistant.

“The Black Wind Desert is barren, and transportation to the Central Plains is inconvenient. Although the underground mineral resources are abundant, spiritual herbs and medicines are extremely scarce. Fortunately, there are countless insect-type demonic beasts here. The alchemists in the Black Wind Desert have learned the alchemy methods of the Northern Wastes, using local materials and refining these Insect Elixirs with the insect cores of demonic insects,” the young assistant explained.

“Insect cores? Are they similar to demonic cores? As far as I know, second-level demonic beasts rarely have demonic cores. Only when they reach the third level do they commonly develop demonic cores. These Insect Elixirs can’t be made from third-level demonic insects, can they?” Yuan Ming asked, puzzled.

“In their heads…” Yuan Ming pondered.

The Black Wind Desert may look desolate, but its underground mineral resources are rich. The demonic insects here don’t lack spiritual power supplements, and the black winds in the desert greatly affect the soul. In such a unique environment, it’s not surprising that the demonic insects form insect cores in their heads to protect their souls with demonic power over the years.

“Oh, these Insect Elixirs have such good effects, but you’re selling them so cheaply. There must be some drawbacks, right?” Yuan Ming shook the bottle in his hand and asked with a smile.

If the drawbacks of the Insect Elixirs were really minimal, they wouldn’t be sold so cheaply given their efficacy.

After weighing the pros and cons for a moment, Yuan Ming finally decided to buy only one bottle for a trial, despite the assistant’s enthusiastic sales pitch. He chose a few other ordinary elixirs to take back and try.

After purchasing the elixirs, Yuan Ming returned to the rented residence. Although the cave dwelling was simple, it had all the necessary furniture and was clean and tidy, which slightly improved his mood.

He didn’t rush to cultivate but first carefully checked the house to ensure there were no hidden mechanisms or traps left by others. He then set up the Five Elements Illusionary Formation outside for added security.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Yuan Ming took out the bottle of Yanxu Elixir, poured out a pill into his palm, and, after some hesitation, swallowed it with his eyes closed.

To his surprise, the Yanxu Elixir melted instantly in his mouth, turning into a fragrant liquid with a slightly sweet taste, refreshing his mouth.

As the liquid entered his stomach, Yuan Ming felt a cool sensation spreading from his abdomen to his limbs, like drinking a bowl of iced tea on a scorching summer afternoon.

Immediately after, he felt a strong medicinal power merging into his body. He quickly activated his techniques to cultivate, taking advantage of the medicinal power. Although there was no significant improvement, his cultivation speed was indeed slightly faster than before.

But just then, Yuan Ming suddenly felt a pain between his eyebrows, followed by a buzzing noise in his ears, like the sound of insects.

At the same time, a thin black mist appeared in his sea of consciousness, slowly enveloping his soul.

Yuan Ming’s consciousness became hazy, and he felt as if he had turned into a black insect lurking in the sand, occasionally responding to the calls of his companions.

Moments later, the feeling abruptly vanished, and Yuan Ming returned to normal.

He rubbed his forehead and glanced at the Yanxu Elixir beside him, smiling bitterly.

Relying on the Yanxu Elixir for cultivation was fast, but he had to endure the emotional erosion from the medicinal power. If he continued using these Insect Elixirs for cultivation, it might eventually affect the state of his soul.

Yuan Ming shook his head and put away the Yanxu Elixir, deciding not to use it for now.

He tried the other elixirs and found that, apart from being extremely expensive, their effects were normal, which reassured him a bit.