After half a year…

　　In the yellow region of Qinglan, on the westernmost side of a barren hill, a burly young man dressed in a green robe stood with his eyes closed.

　　His face was straight and sharp, like a javelin pointing toward the sky. Meanwhile, his eyebrows were sloppy. It was none other than Shi Mu.

　　On his side, there was also a ruthless black iron stick equal to his height and as thick as an arm.

　　As sound began to buzz around him, Shi Mu’s eyes suddenly opened and a faint hint of golden awns emerged. A faint yet fleeting whirlpool of airflow slowly formed around him.

　　Shi Mu stretched out with one arm and grabbed the staff. His toe was gently kicked at the bottom of the long staff. The end of the staff suddenly jumped up and the other arm lifted and raised the staff in his hand.

　　He had both hands on the staff. With a twist of his arm, a circle was drawn in the air. A white cyclone, visible to the naked eye, sprayed out of the circle.

　　At first the vortex was not turning very fast but as soon as Shi Mu’s movements accelerated, the cyclone flew up. In a short time, a white tornado was formed.

　　The sandstone at Shi Mu’s foot could not help but tremble and float as it was inhaled into the white tornado.

　　At this moment, Shi Mu suddenly held back his long staff and took a step forward. He clenched onto his staff tightly and slammed forward.

　　Huff!

　　The white tornado wrapped in countless dust, like a white spirit snake, spurted out from the top of the rotten staff. It shot directly at a dozen tall hills outside, producing a loud banging sound.

　　The head of the hill burst under the impact of the white spirit snake, turning it into countless waves. The scattered rocks nearby were stirred into powder.

　　This technique was named Spirit Snake Exits Hole, wherein gas of the tip of the staff was merged with the force of the entire body in a single attack. Waves from the attack would pick up and instantly smash everything in its path. It was somewhat similar to the original technique known as Qi Bursting.

　　After the staff was handed out, Shi Mu did not stop but continued to hold tight to it. With a sweep, the tip of the staff was now in front of him. With the staff in his hand, he leaped forward into the air.

　　The wishful staff that fell behind him was dragged up by him. With a turn, his body suddenly fell.

　　Similar to the one that the White Azure Ape had used to smash the golden jiao serpent, its momentum was not as weak as it seemed.

　　However, Shi Mu’s staff did not fall but hit at the air.

　　Peng!

　　Hearing a dull scream, Shi Mu’s body suddenly rose several tens of feet by the force of this earthquake.

　　Being tens of feet in the sky, Shi Mu’s eyes flashed in golden light as his body bent backward like a bow. The staff clasped by his hands, slamming from the back to the front violently.

　　The whistling wind rang in Shi Mu’s ear as the staff constantly rubbed in the air. When it was less than ten feet away from the ground, a blowing sound could be heard as the staff was enveloped in flames.

　　Boom!

　　The staff crashed into the ground, filling the air with smoke and dust.

　　Ka ka…

　　Numerous cracks suddenly appeared on the ground, spreading like a spider web in all directions. The ground was like a block of tofu cut into countless pieces.

　　As the ground Shi Mu stood on was about to collapse, he turned and backed away before he got caught into it. After turning a heel in the air, a white cloud appeared on the sole of the foot to support his body.

　　After a while, the smoke was scattered underneath. Now the hilly landscape, which was slightly undulating below, had collapsed into a large circle with a few squares in the middle. Gravel rolled toward the middle.

　　Shi Mu saw this and nodded in satisfaction.

　　Even he did not expect that a combination of the Azure Climbing Technique and the Azure Falcon Technique could achieve such destructive power.

　　With the necessary physical strength, the Azure Climbing Technique could be carried out twice in a row. The Azure Falcon Technique could be doubled as well.

　　For the past six months, his hard work had not been in vain. The Eighteen Staves Through Heaven were divided into first eight then ten different styles. Every move seemed so simple and easy, however each stroke was more powerful than the other. At this point, Shi Mu had only used the top eight techniques while the latter ten, he was still unfamiliar with them.

　　In the first eight styles, in addition to the Spirit Snake Exits Hole, Azure Climbing Technique and the Azure Falcon Technique, there were others still. They were known as the Art of the Hawking Fowl, Art of the Tiger Paw, Art of The Serpent Waves and Art of the Thousand Blows. Their strength was formidable.

　　Among them, he initially bought the Art of The Hawking Fowl was somewhat similar to a rifle, but it was completely different.

　　The style was to hand the long staff back and forth around the enemy and then suddenly pull back and forth, unexpectedly, hurting the enemy under the cover of invisibility.

　　This staff could be light or heavy based on one’s liking. In addition, it could also be made light so that enemies could not locate it, giving it an unexpected effect.

　　The Art of Serpent Waves was used with the weight of the long staff. It required a huge force while flipping the staff up and down, directly scrolling through the vitality. It would make the staff like rivers rushing forward.

　　As for other moves, each had their own merits. Through continuous practice and skillful combination, one would be able to gained unexpected results.

　　Putting aside the staff, Shi Mu did not breathe a sigh of relief as Cai rushed down to his side.

　　“Not good! Something happened…” Cai screamed at the top of his lungs as he fell onto Shi Mu’s shoulder.

　　“Tell me slowly. What is going on?”

　　“Shi Mu, I’m not sure if you’re aware but all materials that contain extreme yin aura have been at the top of sales. Even the prices have increased drastically. I heard this news from Qi Feng!”

　　“How much exactly?” Shi Mu’s brows arched and asked.

　　“This… I did not inquire. However, since I heard about this, I might as well give you a heads up. Even Qi Feng did not have much information about it.”

　　“I am going out for a trip.”

　　Before Cai could even finished his words, two Green-winged Flying Carriages emerged behind Shi Mu. Under a fan of blazing light, Shi Mu flew toward the Xuanling Tower.

　　…

　　As Shi Mu entered the Holy Spirit Pavilion, the fat manager saw him and immediately greeted him respectfully.

　　Just when Shi Mu wanted to speak, the fat manager gave him a weird look which made him stop at his tracks.

　　“Dear guest, let us move to the inner room to speak,” the fat manager said as he led Shi Mu down to the inner hall.

　　“I’ve heard that the price for materials containing extreme yin aura has recently risen drastically. Is this true?” Shi Mu asked as he closed the door behind him.

　　“This is indeed true. Some spiritual materials containing extreme yin aura had mostly doubled.”

　　“Why is that? The usage of the materials containing extreme yin aura is limited. How did it become so popular all of a sudden?”

　　“On this… I am uncertain. All I heard was that a soul light of the Lofty Spirit Lamp in the Holy Land of Qinglan had extinguished recently. It seemed to be related to this incident.” The fat manager said strangely.

　　Shi Mu’s thoughts turned and he began to realize what was going on.

　　Ever since the news of the White Azure ancestors’ soul light had extinguished, people had been secretly learning the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art in the sacred land of Qinglan. This led to the increase in the price of spiritual materials containing extreme yin aura.

　　The extreme yin aura would be used for the second phase of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art.

　　“What about the blood essence of the Rime Phoenix…” Shi Mu asked.

　　“Sorry to disappoint you but the blood essence of the Rime Phoenix has been sold off to someone else who offered twice the original price,” the fat manager said while shaking his head.

　　“What? Who bought it?” Shi Mu’s raised his voice. He could not believe what he just heard.

　　Sure enough, the fat manager just shook his head apologetically, saying that he could not disclose the customer’s information.

　　Shi Mu understood the difficult position that the manager was in, and so did not shame him for his actions. All Shi Mu did was smile and nod.

　　However, the expression of the fat manager said otherwise. After a while, he slowly raised a finger and pointed it at the top.

　　Shi Mu saw this and his heart immediately became clear. The blood essence of the Rime Phoenix had been bought by a disciple in the upper class.

　　“In addition to selling some spirit materials and other things, there are those who sold information. I wonder if you could help me find out where else this extreme yin aura could be found?”

　　The manager was stunned for a moment.

　　“Materials with extreme yin aura are unusual. The place where they’re produced is mostly in a dangerous region. As a disciple of the Holy Land, as long as you spend some time here taking on tasks or selling materials from your residence, you can exchange for it. Other than that, it is really impossible to do…”

　　“If you know something, please let me know. I’ll be grateful for your help,” Shi Mu interrupted.

　　As Shi Mu spoke, he took a small bag of spirit stones out of his storage ring and handed it to the manager.

　　Under this circumstance of purchasing spirit materials related to the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art, people might be suspicious of him.

　　Moreover, not only did he not possess enough spirit stones, it was difficult for him to compete with the wealthy upper-level disciples. It seemed that it was better for him to venture out and look for it himself.

　　In fact, after careful consideration, that was the best choice at the moment.

　　“Well, as both of us are human, I’ll reveal some information I’ve heard but you have to be extra careful…” the manager kept the bag containing spirit stones and handed a green map to Shi Mu.

　　“Thank you!” Shi Mu took the map and thanked him.

　　“Oh, I almost forgot. If you find any other precious spirit materials there, you can also sell them to me. I’ll give them a suitable price.”