Two months later, with only three months left before the sect's grand competition.

Zhang Yiyi's cultivation level was still lingering at the seventh stage of Qi Refining, but she had already qualified to participate.

The sect's grand competition was divided into two groups: Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment.

Disciples in the Qi Refining stage who are above the seventh level and below twenty-five years old, as well as those in the Foundation Establishment stage who are under thirty-five years old, are eligible to register. Each disciple can only participate in the competition once per stage.

Zhang Yiyi had been signed up early by Senior Sister Pan. Afterward, they took the sect's flying boat to the nearest trading market to buy some supplies for the competition.

Since this wasn't their first time, and their needs were different, they went their separate ways upon arrival.

Zhang Yiyi first found a reliable store and exchanged more than ten bottles of Qi Cultivation Pills she had accumulated over the past six months for some medicinal pills useful for healing.

Usually, she never used auxiliary pills to boost her cultivation, so she accumulated the Qi Cultivation Pills issued by the sect every month, exchanging them for spiritual stones or useful antidotes and healing pills.

Now, she was in need of a decent offensive weapon; otherwise, she might be at a disadvantage in the competition.

"How much is this?"

After visiting almost every shop in the trading market, Zhang Yiyi finally found one she liked at the last store.

It felt just right in her hand, but the only downside was that it was a mid-grade magic weapon, far exceeding her original budget of buying a top-grade magical item.

"If you want it, the actual price is 2,300 low-grade spiritual stones, and I can't lower it any further."

The storekeeper's price wasn't too high; generally, a mid-grade magic weapon would cost around 2,000 spiritual stones, and this sword was obviously better than the average mid-grade magic weapon.

As the old saying goes, "Cheap goods are never good, and good goods are never cheap!" Over the past two months, she had spent almost half her time fighting demon beasts on the outskirts of Wanze Mountain, specifically saving up nearly a thousand taels of spiritual stones to buy a more suitable sword.

To her surprise, her keen eye had led her to this magic weapon, which was 1,300 spiritual stones more than her budget.

Not having enough spiritual stones and reluctant to give up the sword, she hesitated for a moment and finally decided to take out the Water Resistance Pearl that Qiao Chu had given her last time.

"I don't have enough spiritual stones on me. How much is this Water Resistance Pearl worth?" She hadn't originally planned to sell the pearl, as it was a gift from her future master, but now she had to prioritize her needs.

"A high-grade Water Resistance Pearl, in good condition. However, its use is quite limited. If you're willing to sell it to the store, I'll give you 3,000 spiritual stones."

The storekeeper was fair and knew that she was a disciple of Yunxian Sect, so he didn't deliberately lower the price.

Zhang Yiyi was satisfied with the price and nodded in agreement.

"Miss, do you need anything else? This store has the most complete range of items and the most reasonable prices. If you buy more, I'll give you a 10% discount on the sword as well. And in the future, if you visit the store again, you'll get the same treatment. I guarantee you'll be satisfied!" After completing the transaction, the storekeeper became even more enthusiastic, addressing a minor Qi Refining female cultivator with such respect.

Zhang Yiyi thought to herself that the storekeeper was truly a good businessman. Being so attentive and offering a discount clearly meant he wanted to make the most of the spiritual stones she had left from exchanging the Water Resistance Pearl.

"You really know how to do business."

She complimented him with a smile, willingly taking the recommendation.

Considering the price, she casually inquired about a few types of body refining materials that might be available at such a scale of store. If she was lucky enough to find any of them, it would be great.

Half an hour later, Zhang Yiyi walked out of the store, in high spirits.

Although she was down to only thirty-nine spiritual stones, she not only bought a suitable sword but also managed to gather the last two materials needed to advance to the third stage of body refining.

It was an unexpected joy; the Water Resistance Pearl given by Qiao Chu was truly a lucky charm! Once she returned and prepared, she would be able to start breaking through to the third stage of body refining. Entering the fourth stage of refining skin before the competition should be no problem.

"Yiyi, did you buy everything you wanted?"

After walking a few steps, she happened to run into Senior Sister Pan coming towards her. Seeing Zhang Yiyi in a good mood, Pan Xinyue pulled her along and said, "Come, come, come, follow me to see something and check if it's real."

Pan Xinyue took Zhang Yiyi to a small stall at the street corner and pointed to a piece of wood less than a palm long. She asked softly, "Help me see if this is really Soul Calming Wood and how is its quality?"

Ordinary Soul Calming Wood wasn't rare, but high-quality Soul Calming Wood that could contain souls was extremely hard to find.

Zhang Yiyi asked the stall owner and carefully examined the piece of wood.

With the memory of the ancient god race, she was very familiar with various herbs and materials.

Although Pan Xinyue didn't know the specific reason, after seeing Zhang Yiyi's ability to identify different materials over the years, she always turned to her first when in doubt.

"The item is genuine, but the quality is average. If the price is cheap, you can buy it; otherwise, it's not worth it. You can exchange it at the sect."

Zhang Yiyi knew that Pan Xinyue had been practicing formations diligently recently. The Soul Calming Wood could help her nourish her overexerted spirit, so she gave the most appropriate advice.

Upon hearing this, Pan Xinyue immediately started haggling with the stall owner.

Zhang Yiyi put the item back and couldn't help but be drawn to a copper mirror in the corner of the stall.

The copper mirror was plain, with a dull color and some rust, looking completely unremarkable. "Shopkeeper, what is this for?"

Zhang Yiyi picked up the copper mirror and felt it carefully but found nothing particularly special.

Yet, she had clearly sensed a very subtle fluctuation from the copper mirror earlier, so she was certain it wasn't a mistake.

The stall owner, having just settled the price for the Soul Calming Wood with Pan Xinyue, said, "To be honest with the two young ladies, I don't know its special use either. If you like it, you can take it for twenty spiritual stones. It might even be an extraordinary treasure."

"Twenty spiritual stones? For this broken mirror? And it's an extraordinary treasure?"

Pan Xinyue quickly interjected, "Give it up. This is clearly just a random trinket. My junior sister just likes to collect various small mirrors and asked you about it. Otherwise, who would waste spiritual stones on such a trinket?"

The stall owner's face turned slightly red at Pan Xinyue's words.

Indeed, as the other party said, this was something he had dug out from his home's junk room and put on the stall to fill space. If he could trick someone into buying it, that would be great.