209: Fiery Desert

Watching Lin Feng disappear, Xu Miaoyin remained for a long time.

Holding the soul condensing jade, which was crucial for her Dao, the thread of indescribable love and desire for Lin Feng was still growing wildly within her, and her eyes were filled with complex emotions.

"Fortunately... fortunately, he broke free from the Seven Emotions Illusion Realm..." An absurd thought flashed through her mind, and her face flushed even more deeply.

If he hadn't broken free from the illusion just now, would she have taken advantage of the situation...? She dared not think further, but the emptiness and longing from deep within her body felt incredibly real.

Over the years, she had met countless men, but never had a man like Lin Feng made her feel such palpitations, unwillingness, yet also a hint of secret excitement and hunger, especially when she was at an absolute disadvantage.

"Once I use this jade to achieve a Breakthrough to the Core Formation Late Stage, my strength will greatly increase..." A flicker of ambition appeared in Xu Miaoyin's eyes. "I must find him! At that time, if his cultivation is inferior to mine, I will make him submit to me and become my aid! If he... if his cultivation is higher..."

Thinking of the second possibility, her heart trembled, and a strange shiver ran through her body. "Then... I, Xu Miaoyin, submitting to such a strong Cultivator and becoming his Dao Companion to explore the Grand Dao together, would not be impossible!"

Leaving the valley where he parted ways with Xu Miaoyin, Lin Feng controlled his wine immortal gourd, flying leisurely between the clouds.

His fingertips brushed the black jade bracelet, inside which the star tears he obtained from Xu Miaoyin emitted a gentle coolness.

This item was a top-grade Material for refining a Metal-attribute Flying Sword, and it couldn't be wasted.

However, he was still missing a few auxiliary Materials, especially "mystic silver sand." This item wasn't particularly rare, so he decided to visit the market near Qingyan Immortal City to look for it and, while he was at it, see if he could find any news about Wood-attribute Spiritual Plants.

Several days later, Lin Feng once again stood at the entrance of the market on the outskirts of Qingyan Immortal City.

The bluestone streets remained the same, and the banners of the shops on both sides swayed lazily in the breeze.

He didn't linger, heading directly towards a large shop in the middle of the market with a plaque that read "Hundred Treasures Pavilion."

A few days prior, when Lin Feng first arrived here, he had purchased a batch of Materials for refining Formation Flags and had met the shopkeeper once.

At that time, his decisive selection of Materials and prompt payment had evidently left a good impression on the shopkeeper.

Behind the counter, the portly shopkeeper was fiddling with an abacus. Upon seeing Lin Feng, a smile immediately appeared on his face: "Fellow Daoist, you're here! What do you need this time? Our humble shop has just received a batch of excellent Purple Copper Essence; its quality is superb, quite suitable for tempering sword embryos."

Lin Feng walked to the counter and shook his head slightly: "I don't need Purple Copper Essence for now. This time, I need mystic silver sand, and I need good quality."

The smile on the shopkeeper's face remained, but a subtle flicker of light passed through his eyes. He put down his abacus and lowered his voice: "Oh, Fellow Daoist, you've asked at both a good and a bad time. mystic silver sand... this item has been very scarce recently, and its price has risen quite a bit. To be honest, our humble shop genuinely doesn't have much of the high-quality stuff right now."

Lin Feng frowned slightly: "Scarce? I remember this item, though not common, used to have a stable supply."

"Exactly!" The shopkeeper seemed to open up. "Mainly, the west isn't peaceful! Several trade routes that used to be stable have been cut off recently.

It's not just mystic silver sand; many minerals and Spiritual Plants from the west are also in short supply. I heard that several merchant caravans traveling there have gone missing, it's very sinister."

As he spoke, he subconsciously gestured towards the west.

He leaned forward a bit more, lowering his voice even further: "There's something even stranger. A few days ago, a batch of Grey Thread Grass from the western swamps arrived. It's usually a common medicinal herb, but that batch was withered and, if you smelled it closely, carried an indescribable cold Qi. Most of its medicinal properties were gone; it was completely unusable, costing me a lot of Spirit Stones."

The west? Lin Feng noted it mentally, his expression unchanged, merely tapping the counter lightly with his fingertip: "I see. Shopkeeper, do you know where I might find suitable mystic silver sand now?"

Seeing that he was only concerned with the Materials, the shopkeeper also reined in his chatter. After thinking for a moment, he said: "In the Liu Huo Desert area, I heard there was a small ore vein years ago that occasionally produced some good quality mystic silver sand, but the quantity is small, and you'd need luck. If Fellow Daoist needs it urgently, perhaps you could go there to look, but..."

He paused, "That place isn't far from where the merchant routes had trouble. If Fellow Daoist goes, please be extremely careful."

"Thank you." Lin Feng nodded, left a few Spirit Stones as a consultation fee, and turned to walk out of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

Walking on the street, his Divine Sense carefully swept over several stalls selling low-grade Spiritual Plants.

Sure enough, on some of the medicinal herbs, he detected an extremely faint abnormal aura, different from the Spiritual Plants he had sensed before.

This thing is not simple.

It seems this trip to find Artifact Refining Materials will not be peaceful.

He looked up at the western horizon; the Liu Huo Desert was a must-visit.

At the edge of the Liu Huo Desert, heatwaves distorted the distant landscape, and even the air seemed to burn.

Lin Feng had been searching in this area for two days, following the shopkeeper's directions.

Beneath his feet was scorching yellow sand, and as far as the eye could see, there were only scattered, withered poplars.

Traces of mystic silver sand were much harder to find than expected; he had only sporadically found a few grams of ordinary quality grains, far from what was needed for refining a Flying Sword.

Just as he was about to delve deeper, a faint rumble of Spells mixed with the shrill roars of beasts intermittently reached him on the hot wind.

Lin Feng immediately concealed his aura, silently gliding onto a tall sand dune and looking down.

In the leeward hollow of the sand dune, three Cultivators, their clothes torn to shreds, were supporting each other in a small Three Talents Formation, struggling to hold on.

They wore the robes of the nearby Yellow Sand Sect, but all of them were injured, and their spiritual power fluctuations were chaotic.

They were being attacked by seven or eight abnormally large Third-Rank Demonic Beast Sand Wolves with blood-red eyes and drooling mouths.

However, these Sand Wolves' claws and fangs were entwined with black Qi, and their attacks were crazed and fearless, completely disregarding their own injuries, utterly different from the usual cunning and cautious Sand Wolves.

Lin Feng's gaze sharpened, realizing that these Sand Wolves had been corrupted and lost their minds.

After a brief contemplation, his fingertips began to form a sword incantation.

The xingxiu sword let out a clear hum, transforming into a crimson streak of light that flew into the air, drawing starlight and showering down dense, rain-like fine flame Sword Qi, which accurately poured onto the wolf pack like a fierce storm.

Where the sword light passed, the Sand Wolves didn't even have time to howl before they were torn apart and incinerated by the intensely Yang and rigid Sword Qi, instantly falling dead, leaving only a few wisps of charred black smoke dissipating into the air.

The three Yellow Sand Sect Disciples, who had already given up hope, saw their desperate situation turn around. They collapsed to the ground, exhausted, panting heavily, their faces pale, filled with the terror of surviving a catastrophe.

The middle-aged man leading them struggled to get up, looking at Lin Feng as he descended gracefully, his eyes full of gratitude and lingering fear. He bowed deeply to the ground, his voice hoarse:

"Many... many thanks, Senior, for saving our lives! If not for Senior's intervention, my Senior Brothers and I would surely have become food for these Yao Beasts today!"