Yuan Ming's eyebrows slightly knitted as he took out a cyan robe and put it on before stepping out.

The robe was obtained from the storage magic tool of Lin Liumu, a disciple's attire from Chang Chun Temple.

"I dare not claim to be a highly skilled expert. I, Lin, am just an ordinary disciple from Chang Chun Temple," Yuan Ming said frankly.

"A disciple of Chang Chun Temple!" The eyes of Bai Lin and the others landed on Yuan Ming, who was dressed in the attire of Chang Chun Temple, his bearing vibrant and his demeanor haughty.

The Southern Border Eastern Domain bordered the Central Plains, and there was frequent interaction. They understood the Immortal Cultivation World of the Central Plains far better than any other region in the Southern Border. Although White Dragon Island was one of the four major sects in the Eastern Domain, it was nowhere near the level of Chang Chun Temple.

The expression of Blue Lizard Wanderer also turned solemn, and he slowly rose from his seat.

Upon hearing Yuan Ming's words, Immortal Xuanhua's face also showed surprise, but he reacted very quickly and soon returned to calm.

"Haha, so you are a disciple of Chang Chun Temple. I, Bai, also know a few friends from Chang Chun Temple. May I ask which esteemed surname and given name you might carry, Fellow Daoist? Whose disciple are you?" Bai Lin gave a secret signal with his eyes, indicating for the people crowded around to step back, then stepped forward and cupped his fists in greeting.

The white barrier outside Xuanhua Temple also gradually dissipated.

"I am Lin Liumu, a disciple of Elder Xu Changqing of Chang Chun Temple. I have come to Xuanhua Temple on behalf of my master to negotiate the trade of Spirit Incense," Yuan Ming said, taking out Xu Changqing's identity token and giving it a shake.

Bai Lin, responsible for managing the trade of spiritual materials on White Dragon Island, indeed had some dealings with disciples of Chang Chun Temple, and had vaguely heard the name Xu Changqing. Seeing the identity token in Yuan Ming's hand, any doubts he had evaporated, and his face broke into an eager smile, "So it's Fellow Daoist Lin, what a fortunate meeting. Elder Xu has long been renowned in Ning City, but I have not had the opportunity to meet him. I hope Fellow Daoist Lin could introduce me when the chance arises."

"My master is here on other urgent matters, but I will convey Elder Bai's greetings," Yuan Ming said calmly.

Bai Lin nodded with a smile, his thoughts racing in his mind.

He hadn't expected someone from Chang Chun Temple to get involved in this matter. Naturally, he had to handle it with care, as angering the other party was definitely something he couldn't afford.

"My master is aware of the differences you've had with Xuanhua Temple. This Vortex Beast was hunted by his hand as a gesture to White Dragon Island. I wonder if Elder Bai Lin is satisfied?" Yuan Ming looked at Bai Lin and asked.

"Satisfied, of course, I am satisfied. To have a matter so trivial trouble Elder Xu himself, I shall offer my apologies in person when I have the chance." Bai Lin said with a smile.

"Then that's good. Xuanhua Temple will need to provide various types of Spirit Incense to Chang Chun Temple for a long time to come. Let's hope that no minor issues will get in the way of important matters," Yuan Ming said with a smile.

"Of course, I understand," Bai Lin nodded again and again.

"And who might this be?" Yuan Ming nodded with satisfaction, his gaze shifting to the Blue Lizard Wanderer by the side. His tone shifted from light-hearted to somber.

The atmosphere around them quickly turned cold, and many people instinctively held their breath.

The Blue Lizard Wanderer clenched his fists, unable to utter a single word.

Even though Yuan Ming was just a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator, he was backed by Chang Chun Temple, an entity as colossal and unreachable for White Dragon Island, let alone for a Loose Cultivator like him.

"This is Blue Lizard Wanderer. I was originally planning to entrust him with hunting this Vortex Beast at sea. Now that Elder Xu has acted, naturally, his services aren't needed," Bai Lin said, stepping forward to defend the Blue Lizard Wanderer as the situation demanded.

"Oh, so this is the Blue Lizard Wanderer. I have heard from the Temple Master of Xuanhua Temple that you would like to acquire Xuanhua Temple's Incense Making Secret Manual. My Chang Chun Temple also appreciates the Spirit Incense produced by Xuanhua Temple. However, we only negotiate trades with the Xuanhua Temple Master and have never considered taking someone else's heritage by force. You do seem to have quite the ambition," Yuan Ming's expression turned colder, his eyes like two deep, cold pools.

The color drained from Blue Lizard Wanderer's face, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Fellow Daoist Lin. The Blue Lizard Wanderer was acting out of good intentions, which led to a misunderstanding. I, Bai, guarantee that such incidents will not occur in the future. Blue Lizard Daoist, why don't you step forward and offer your apology to Fellow Daoist Lin," Bai Lin said after slight hesitation, signaling Blue Lizard Wanderer with his eyes.

"I was momentarily confused. Please forgive me, Fellow Daoist Lin and Temple Master Xuanhua," Blue Lizard Wanderer said, taking a deep breath and clasping his fists.

"I, too, am to blame for this matter. In addition to the Heavenly Glue, there are three precious pieces of spirit wood produced by White Dragon Island, all of high quality. I hope Fellow Daoist Lin and Temple Master Xuanhua will accept them," Bai Lin said, taking out a storage magic tool and handing it over.

Yuan Ming did not receive it and glanced at Immortal Xuanhua.

Immortal Xuanhua took the magic tool, activated his Divine Sense to scan it, and nodded at Yuan Ming.

"All right, for Elder Bai's sake, I will not pursue the matter further," Yuan Ming's expression softened.

Bai Lin's face was full of smiles, and after exchanging a few more pleasantries with Yuan Ming, he quickly left with everyone else in tow, looking rather downcast.

As Bai Lin and the others walked away, Immortal Xuanhua opened his mouth as if to say something but was stopped by Yuan Ming, who raised his hand and turned to enter the inner chamber.

He took out a Four Directions Sealing Spirit Talisman and opened a Barrier, then touched the silver Token to the Barrier's light screen. The Barrier immediately shimmered with a layer of silver light, completely isolating the inside from the outside. Only then did he relax.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, are you truly a disciple of Chang Chun Temple?" Immortal Xuanhua asked eagerly.

"Of course, I am a disciple of Chang Chun Temple. My master and I came from Iron Tiger Town in the Southern Border to Yue Country on business," Yuan Ming said.

"Fortunate, truly fortunate." Immortal Xuanhua looked into Yuan Ming's profound eyes and suddenly felt uneasy, deciding not to inquire further.

He took out the storage magic tool given by Elder Bai Lin and, after infusing it with mana, he waved it towards the nearby ground.

A flash of white light later, there appeared a small pile of spirit stones—no fewer than two hundred; three pieces of spirit wood, two red and one white; and a white jade box.

"It's all thanks to Fellow Daoist Yuan that Bai Lin left these things behind. I only need this Heavenly Glue. The spirit stones are yours," Immortal Xuanhua said as he picked up the white jade box.

Yuan Ming only took away the three pieces of spirit wood.

He recognized these three pieces of spirit wood as Fire Pine Wood, Red Blood Branch, and White Yuan Bamboo. They all contained abundant spiritual power, and he planned to later incorporate them into Black Incense to see if it would prolong the possession time.

Immortal Xuanhua was both in awe and grateful towards Yuan Ming, and without saying much, he put away the spirit stones.

"I'll leave the matter of the Foundation Establishment Spirit Incense to you, Fellow Daoist Xuanhua," Yuan Ming said.

"Rest assured, I'll take care of it," Immortal Xuanhua said, patting his chest confidently.

With the crisis of Xuanhua Temple completely resolved and relying on Yuan Ming's previous words, neither White Dragon Island nor Blue Lizard Wanderer would dare to oppress them in the future. Immortal Xuanhua felt light-hearted and extremely confident about successfully creating the Foundation Establishment Spirit Incense.

...

Seven days later, Immortal Xuanhua successfully emerged from seclusion.

"Congratulations to Fellow Daoist on successfully coming out of seclusion," Yuan Ming said with a smile.

Immortal Xuanhua was half joyful and half worried as he said, "I am truly ashamed; despite using all those materials, in the end, I only barely managed to make two sticks of Spirit Incense."

"To succeed at all is no easy feat and certainly a cause for celebration," Yuan Ming said with a smile.

"Now, we can only each take one stick. Whether we can successfully build our foundations is now up to fate," Immortal Xuanhua said, temporarily setting aside his worries as he passed one stick of Spirit Incense to Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming took it and looked it over carefully, noticing that the aura it emitted was somewhat similar to that of a Foundation Establishment Pill, which immediately gave him a bit more confidence.

"Then let's each trust in fate and wish each other the best," Yuan Ming said with a laugh.

Immortal Xuanhua nodded silently.

Half a day later, both of them were prepared. Each chose a quiet room and went into seclusion to attempt their Foundation Establishment breakthroughs.

Immortal Xuanhua was oblivious to the fact that Yuan Ming was holding his breath and focusing intently, sitting cross-legged within the quiet room. He silently circulated the Nine Elements Technique, adjusting his state until late into the night.

At midnight, feeling that he had reached his peak condition, Yuan Ming immediately took out a Foundation Establishment Pill and swallowed it whole. He held the Stealing Heaven Tripod in front of his body, close to his Dantian.

As his mana began to circulate, the medicinal power of the Foundation Establishment Pill slowly started to take effect, and a sensation of heat gradually began to rise in the pit of Yuan Ming's stomach.

Feeling that burning sensation, Yuan Ming immediately circulated his mana to control the power and direct it toward his Dantian.

With the constant influx of this hot energy into his Dantian, Yuan Ming felt as if his Dantian had turned into a blazing furnace, relentlessly heating and burning his mana, causing it to rise in temperature.

This searing power was indeed difficult to endure, but it was the necessary path for his mana to transform from gas to liquid, becoming more condensed and pure.

Knowing this was a long and arduous process, Yuan Ming could not be too anxious. He had to remain steady, using the Foundation Establishment Pill's power to gradually refine the mana within his Dantian.

Time passed bit by bit, and Yuan Ming spent a hard twelve days in the quiet room.

In those twelve days, he refined the power of the Foundation Establishment Pill completely, transferring it to his Dantian.

The hot power within his Dantian tormented him constantly, strengthening him; his mana boiled yet he still couldn't get over the final hurdle to achieve the qualitative change from gas to liquid.

At that moment, an incense stick with a unique fragrance was inserted in an incense burner.

It had been burning for over half its length, its crimson flame still flickering at the top, emitting tendrils of thick white smoke.

The smoke enveloped Yuan Ming from all sides, remaining concentrated and not dissipating, as if he were wrapped in a layer of white cotton.

Yuan Ming had his eyes tightly shut, but his brows were knotted; sweat streamed down his cheeks and his expression was one of pain.

Just this morning, he felt that the power of the Foundation Establishment Pill within him had peaked and then started to wane, a sign that was not at all promising. His previous experience told him that this meant his Foundation Establishment was likely to end in failure once again.

At this critical juncture, without hesitation, he lit the Foundation Establishment Spirit Incense. Immediately, azure smoke twirled upward, filling the quiet room.

However, now half a day had passed, and the Foundation Establishment Spirit Incense had burned down significantly. Apart from maintaining the gradually fading power of the Foundation Establishment Pill within him, Yuan Ming did not feel anything special; the mana in his Dantian was still in a state of boiling.

Could it be that even the Foundation Establishment Incense was struggling to compensate for his Spirit Root's deficiencies?

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