Hearing this, Zhang Deming gave a wry smile and said, "The main materials for Duality are mostly like this. I also spent a great deal of effort searching for them back in the day.
"In Hongmeng today, every Noble Family hoards these materials for dear life. Any promotion-related materials that appear on the market are bought up immediately.
"Everyone is hoarding them, which makes the materials increasingly rare and harder to find.
"That’s just how the market is. It’s impossible to gather all the ingredients for a Duality Formula in a short time without a bit of luck.
"Even the Sect takes several years just to gather a few sets. You can imagine how difficult it is."
Zhang Deming actually understood this situation very well. He even grasped its core principles.
’Many things in my past life went through this same situation. To put it simply, it can be summed up in one word: hype.
’Take real estate from my past life, for example. By the time I died unexpectedly, the housing supply in the country had actually surpassed demand. In other words, if you averaged it out per household, there was a surplus.
’So why did the prices remain sky-high and even continue to climb?
’It was nothing more than hype.
’Well-off individuals would buy three or five properties, waiting for their value to appreciate.
’Add to that the traditional mindset of ’getting married and settling down,’ which was exploited by real estate developers. After wave after wave of hype, this was the natural result.
’The reason promotion materials in Hongmeng are like this now is pretty much the same at its core.
’The only difference is that there are no capitalists manipulating the market here. It’s all driven by spontaneous hype from everyone. And because of Spirit Nurturing Masters, there’s no risk of an excessive surplus building up.
’This situation has resulted in an incredibly stable market—infinitely more stable than one intentionally hyped up by people.’
As these thoughts flashed through Zhang Deming’s mind, he paused and said, "However, in your current situation, if you hang around Spirit Nurturing Peak and are willing to wait in line, you could probably get a set in fifty to a hundred years."
Li Shifan listened, a bitter smile on his face. He shook his head and said, "I’d rather not. Although I’ve only just promoted to Tai Chi Three Lives, it probably won’t take more than a few years for me to reach the peak of this stage.
"If I waste away for a hundred years like that, I’m afraid I’ll lose my edge.
"Forget a hundred years—even after ten years of slacking off, I’m not sure I’d still have the courage to spend my days in the back mountains, keeping my mind on high alert like this.
"So, rather than letting my edge be dulled like that, I’d rather risk it all now."
Zhang Deming paused slightly at his words, looked at Li Shifan, and said, "That’s a good way of thinking. I agree. That’s how a Cultivator of our generation should be."
The two exchanged a look and continued their ascent. And so, with Li Shifan leading the way, guided by the Spiritual Light of a special Compass Magical Artifact, Zhang Deming followed close behind.
...
"Anything? Has it reacted at all?" Zhang Deming asked after they had walked for a long time.
Li Shifan shook his head. "Nothing so far."
Zhang Deming frowned slightly. "What’s the search range of this Magical Artifact?"
"A radius of five li, but mountainous terrain has a serious impact. Since it’s a One-Star Magical Artifact, it can’t perform a spherical search, even if it’s only looking for one or two types of minerals. So the vertical distance has some effect," Li Shifan replied.
Just as Zhang Deming was about to reply, his expression shifted. Li Shifan sensed it too, and they both dodged to the side almost simultaneously.
BOOM...
A flash of Spiritual Light was followed by a tremendous roar.
Having dodged aside, Zhang Deming looked back. Where they had just been standing, trees had been knocked down, and a large crater was blasted into the ground.
As the smoke and dust settled, Zhang Deming’s gaze sharpened. In the crater was a strange Demon Beast... hmm, a Demon Spirit?
The Demon Beast looked like a Demon Ape, but it had three sword tips protruding from its back like a Sword Dragon. Its entire body was silver-white, as if formed completely from Spiritual Power.
But unlike the ethereal Sword Shadows, its entire body was solid.
Its aura was sharp and violent, and when its demonic eyes landed on Zhang Deming and Li Shifan, they flashed with a mindless frenzy. After getting a clear look at the Demon Ape, which he suspected was a Demon Spirit, Zhang Deming’s expression grew more solemn.
The previous Sword Shadows were ethereal. Although their attacks were powerful, they were also extremely fragile, shattering almost as soon as one of Zhang Deming’s vines pierced them.
This Demon Ape before him, however, now had a physical body. It had lost its strange, elusive movements but gained the resilience of a solid form. Shattering it with a single touch was clearly out of the question.
Moreover, the solidified Demon Ape’s violent aura was several times stronger than that of the Sword Shadows. Judging from its initial attack, it had inherited their characteristics and possessed the attack power of a Three Talents Cultivator.
With just a brief scan, Zhang Deming could sense the Demon Ape’s numerous mixed auras—it was resilient, sharp, and violent.
Before Zhang Deming could think further, the Demon Ape turned its head. The moment it saw him, its once-lifeless eyes flashed with madness.
The sword tips on its back flashed with Spiritual Light, and the Demon Ape’s body transformed into a streak of light, shooting toward Zhang Deming.
’What the hell!’
’Why me again?’
Zhang Deming was a bit speechless as he felt the streak of light coming at him. It also possessed a unique lock-on, just like the Sword Control Skill.
As someone who possessed the Tier Three Sword Control Technique, Zhang Deming knew it was impossible to dodge such a lock-on. Therefore, without a moment’s hesitation, his body trembled.
Technique: Vine Body Incarnation!