Tian Li stepped forward with a smile and said, "Does this Daoist friend wish to sell second-stage demon beast flesh? I am Tian Li, the steward of Qiu Xuan Commerce Association. May I take a look first?"

"Alright!"

Xu Ping nodded, then tapped his storage pouch and placed a large piece of prepared snake demon flesh on the table.

Seeing this piece of demon beast flesh, brimming with Spiritual Qi and quite extraordinary, Tian Li was already halfway convinced, though he still needed to verify it carefully.

First, he formed a spell and cast a magic spell to test for poison.

Then, he took out a bronze mirror and shone it on the demon beast flesh.

Buzz!

On the surface of the bronze mirror, a strong blue glow appeared.

"Second-stage lower grade demon beast flesh!" Tian Li nodded and said.

Seeing Xu Ping's puzzlement, he explained immediately, "This is a magical artifact used exclusively for identifying demon beast flesh in this building. The color represents the rank; white is first rank Qi Refinement level, while blue indicates a second-stage demon beast."

"The number of circles represents the quality. One circle is lower grade, two circles mid-grade..."

"I see!" Xu Ping nodded.

This magical artifact is quite useful!

"I wonder how much second-stage demon beast flesh you have? Our commerce association will surely give you a satisfactory reward." Confirming that it was second-stage demon beast flesh, Tian Li's attitude became more enthusiastic.

Second-stage demon beast flesh is considered a scarce resource even in an Immortal City; it's definitely never hard to sell.

"A few hundred pounds!" Xu Ping tapped the storage pouch again, and several more large pieces of prepared snake demon flesh were piled on the table.

Tian Li checked them one by one, confirming they were all the same kind of second-stage demon beast flesh, his smile growing even wider:

"According to the market price, second-stage lower grade demon beast flesh is purchased for one Spirit Stone per pound!"

"In total, there are four hundred and fifty-one pounds here. How about I give you four hundred and fifty-one Spirit Stones?"

'One Spirit Stone per pound? This second-stage demon beast flesh is quite expensive,' Xu Ping thought to himself upon hearing this.

Ordinary first-stage demon beast flesh can be bought in two to three dozen pounds for a single Spirit Stone, whereas second-stage requires a whole Spirit Stone for just one pound, making it twenty to thirty times more expensive.

'This is about one-sixth of the flesh, which means, if I sell all this second-stage demon beast flesh, I can earn nearly three thousand Spirit Stones.' Xu Ping did a quick mental calculation of the total price, feeling quite pleased.

This would almost cover all the expenses of hunting the demon beasts!

Plus, he got a Purple Flower Grass for free!

This is a major profit!

"Alright, sold." Despite his inner excitement, Xu Ping still calmly nodded.

"Pleasure doing business!"

...

After the transaction was completed, Tian Li courteously escorted Xu Ping out the door: "Take care, and if you have any more second-stage demon beast flesh in the future, don't forget to come to our commerce association."

"These second-stage demon beast flesh pieces were acquired by sheer luck." Xu Ping shook his head and disappeared into the crowd.

The price of second-stage demon beast flesh is immense, so he definitely couldn't sell it all to just one place.

...

"No one is following."

As Xu Ping merged into the crowd, he didn't notice anything unusual.

He found a secluded spot, changed his appearance, and went to another large shop.

After going to multiple places, spending a full two days, Xu Ping finally managed to handle all the second-stage demon beast flesh he had.

"This time, I've made a big profit!" Xu Ping was in a very good mood.

He managed to sell the second-stage demon beast flesh for a total of two thousand nine hundred fifty-three Spirit Stones, recovering the money spent on arrays and talismans.

He only lost those two puppets, but he got the Purple Flower Grass!

This small loss is negligible!

...

...

At home.

Sitting on a stone stool in the small courtyard, Xu Ping took a blissful sip of tea brewed with Spiritual Spring water.

Making money always puts one in a good mood!

"Now, with the Purple Flower Grass, I'm almost at the ninth layer of Qi Cultivation. It's time to gather the remaining materials for refining a Foundation Establishment Pill." Xu Ping thought to himself.

"However, everything else is fine, but the Demon Core is a bit tricky!" He couldn't help but frown.

"To hunt a second-stage lower grade snake demon, I went all out, prepared thoroughly, and almost capsized. If I were to hunt a second-stage middle-grade demon beast, mutual destruction would be an optimistic outcome; the far more likely result is my demise."

"Even if I do manage to kill a second-stage middle-grade demon beast by luck, there's no guarantee it will have a Demon Core!"

"I'd need to hunt several just to be sure!"

Thinking of this, Xu Ping was immediately troubled.

There's no denying that, with his current strength, obtaining a Demon Core is still too difficult!

"I can only hope that once I reach the ninth layer of Qi Cultivation and the Five Elements Skill reaches perfection, and the Spiritual Qi liquefies, my power will see a surge."

"However, this is still not enough; it's best if I become a second-stage Body Cultivator as well to ensure the highest success rate." Xu Ping thought to himself.

"By then, with the ninth layer of Qi Cultivation, liquefied Spiritual Qi, and second-stage Body Refining, combined with Sword Qi Thunder Sound, my combat power should reach a very high level. With the array, even second-stage middle-grade demon beasts would not be impossible to slay."

Having sorted through his combat strength, Xu Ping felt slightly more relaxed.

If he truly reaches such combat prowess, planning for a Demon Core would not be out of the question.

He opened his proficiency panel.

[Realm: Eighth Layer of Qi Cultivation: 17/100; Nourishing Life Skill Third Layer: 91/100]

[Cultivation Technique: Five Elements Skill Achieved (Eighth Layer): 1245/1600]

"There's still time until the ninth layer of Qi Cultivation, but Five Elements Skill is nearly perfect, it will take about two more months. Training the second-stage Body Refining Technique can also be put on the agenda now."

His Nourishing Life Skill proficiency had already reached ninety-one, certainly meeting the conditions for cultivating a second-stage Body Refining Technique, but he currently didn't have a second-stage Body Refining Technique.

"I have enough Spirit Stones now, so there's no worry about not having a second-stage Body Refining Technique."

On this point, Xu Ping was not worried; the Immortal City didn't lack second-stage Body Refining Techniques, or even regular cultivation techniques, although those were quite basic.

If he wanted a better cultivation technique, he would generally only find it at auction.

"Should I wait for the auction?" He hesitated slightly, thinking that he had time and didn't need to rush.

If he had the choice, he certainly wanted to train a better Body Refining Technique.

"Wait a moment..."

Suddenly, Xu Ping's eyes lit up as he recalled a Body Refining Technique he obtained among the spoils from defeating the Demon Cultivator.

He carefully searched through his storage ring.

Soon, a black leather scroll appeared in his hand.

He opened the black leather scroll, and four large characters came into view: Blood Soul Body Refining.

This was a demonic path Body Refining Technique.

Blood Soul Body Refining had four layers.

The first layer, second-stage lower grade Body Refining, requires the essence blood from a hundred late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators and one Foundation Establishment cultivator as the main ingredient, supplemented with other Spirit Medicines, bathing to train for four months before achieving.

The second layer, second-stage middle-grade Body Refining, requires the essence blood from two hundred late-stage Qi Refiners, two Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, and one Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator as the main ingredient, supplemented with other Spirit Medicines, bathing to train for two years.

The third layer, second-stage upper-grade Body Refining, requires doubling the essence blood on top of the existing base and also needs the essence blood of one Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

As for the final layer, it is even more terrifying; it requires a Golden Core cultivator's essence blood.

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